Salvation Draws Near

Posted on January 9, 2024 by heatonkent

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. (Romans 13:11)

Salvation Draws Near

With each passing year, a spirit of resolution marks the beginning of a time of refreshing and renewal. Plans are made to change oneself, improve productivity, overcome obstacles, and challenge the spirit to grow. One of the wonderful things to consider about a new day and a new year is the reality that salvation is nearer than ever before. On a yearly scale, the joy of eternal life is one year closer. From the daily perspective, it is always a reminder that when the day is ended, salvation in Christ is twenty-four hours nearer.

There is value in looking at each day as a mark of progression. A long journey is marked by miles and how much further the journey requires. With each passing mile marker, the heart grows lighter, knowing the journey is quickly ending. Life is like a long journey. The challenge is not knowing when the end of life’s journey will be, but it remains in the heart to see how much closer salvation is day by day and year by year. That is the hope in Christ to envision the end of life to receive the blessings of an eternal reward. This must be measured by the journey growing shorter with each passing day.

Everyone grows older, and death will take all men. The only thing that will precede the death of all men is the coming of Christ. Whether death or the coming of the Lord, salvation is nearer. The cruel hand of death comes without warning. No one knows when the midnight bell of life will ring and life will be over. Most living at the eleven o’clock hour have little knowledge of how close salvation is. For the hopeful child of God, it matters not what time it is because the joy of eternal life always draws a man closer and closer with greater anticipation. There is the hope God wants His children to have: to know that life brings one closer to Him with each passing moment.

The joy of believing in Christ and obeying the gospel should never be forgotten. What is important for the believer is that every day is a day closer to salvation. It is nearer than when the man was cleansed of his sins. That day brings boundless joy and happiness, but how does that compare to the blessings of eternal life? Salvation draws nearer for those in Christ every day. What a joy to know the day when God wipes away the tears and removes sorrow is closer – drawing nearer every day. With each passing day, anticipation increases with a longing to be with the Lord.

When you finish reading these words, you are moments closer to salvation than when you began. Marking your life by the progression of eternal life drawing nearer and nearer will bring hope to the soul and courage to the heart. One day soon, salvation will be realized. As John concluded his revelation, he declared the words of Jesus, who said, “Surely I am coming quickly.” John responded, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” MARANATHA!!

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Lending Our Children To The Lord

Posted on January 8, 2024 by heatonkent

And she said, “O my Lord! As your soul lives, my Lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there. (1 Samuel 1:26-28)

Lending Our Children To The Lord

The story of Hannah is a story of a woman’s deep devotion to the Lord. She was married to a man named Elkanah, who also had another wife named Peninnah. Hannah could not have children, and because Peninnah had children, her rival severely provoked her. When the family went to Shiloh to worship at the Tabernacle, Elkanah would give Hannah a double portion of the offerings made that day. Elkanah loved Hannah more than Peninnah.

One year, when Hannah came to Shiloh, she audibly prayed to the Lord in her grief for a male child. Hannah promised if God would grant her request, she would give her son to serve the Lord all the days of his life. The High Priest Eli heard Hannah’s weeping and supposed her to be drunk. When Hannah told Eli what she had prayed, the priest told her to go in peace and that God would grant her request.

In time, Hannah conceived and bore a son. They called his name “Samuel,” which means “heard of God,” because Hannah had asked for him from the Lord. Hannah kept Samuel home for about three years or until he was weaned and took him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. Keeping her promise to the Lord, Elkanah and Hannah left Samuel with Eli, where the child ministered to the Lord before Eli, the priest. Samuel would become the last of the judges of Israel.

The prayer of Hannah is a model for every parent to follow. It is not the purpose of the Lord to have a parent deliver their children to a priest to serve. The motive of Hannah’s heart is what is needed in the kingdom of God. Hannah loved the Lord with all her heart. She was willing to give her son to serve with Eli, the priest. The Lord blessed her with three sons and two daughters. Samuel became a godly example of devotion to the Lord. The lesson to take from Hannah is the need for every parent to dedicate their children to the Lord by teaching them the way of truth and righteousness.

Children live under the microscope of peer pressure, immorality, social influences, and a host of challenges to a belief in the Lord God. They will grow up accepting the teachings of the world or their parents. Hannah planned to devote her son to the Lord, and she did. Her act of love was an act of sacrifice. She was willing to do whatever was necessary for the praise of the Lord. Parents must realize the importance of a daily walk with the Lord to lead their children to love the Lord.

Too often, parents do not pay attention to the spiritual needs of their children. Parents wring their hands after their children “grow up in the church,” when they leave home, they leave the Lord. The reason so often is that the children never saw God in the home. They were never taught devotion to the kingdom of God. Hannah devoted her son to the Lord. Parents must devote their children to the Lord every day. It is demanding work, and there are no mulligans or do-overs. Parenting is fraught with danger, and it is a one-time opportunity. Children must be given to God, teaching them to develop their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, devoted to the work of the kingdom, by the efforts of the parent.

Hannah’s prayer should be the prayer of anyone who is a parent. What the world needs more than anything are more godly young men and women. Children who know the Lord. Parents who instill in their children a devotion to God so that when they marry, they seek heaven with their loved one. There is no quarter given. No exceptions to the rule. Devoting children to the Lord requires everything. Give your children to the Lord, and He will give you enumerable blessings.

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Premillennialism

Posted on January 7, 2024 by heatonkent

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)

Premillennialism

The study of the Premillennial doctrine of the return of Jesus has profoundly impacted the religious world. Many churches embrace one form or another of premillennialism, and many believers accept the false doctrine. The theory of premillennialism is the view that Christ’s return will usher in a future millennium of Messianic rule. Any word that ends in “ism” is generally a false doctrine.

Adherents to premillennialism believe Jesus came to earth to establish an earthly kingdom but failed. Jesus was not supposed to be killed by His own brethren but tragically rejected by the Jews and crucified by the Romans. In place of the earthly kingdom, Jesus set up the church until such a time that He could return to finish His work. The last two thousand years is called the “Church Age.”

Sometime in the future, there will be a secret rapture. Only the saints will be raptured, which means the Lord will suddenly take them. A mother fixing breakfast will disappear. The bus driver will vanish. It seems hard to believe, but one picture of the rapture has a pilotless airplane crashing into a building. Untold numbers of people will simply disappear. Following the rapture, there will be seven years of tribulation. This will be when the Jews are restored to Israel, the remnant of Israel is converted, including the rebuilding of the Temple, the establishment of the priesthood, and sacrifices are restored.

At the end of the tribulation, Jesus will return for the battle at Armageddon, the resurrection of the saints found in the tribulation and their judgment. The kingdom will be established, and Satan will be bound for one thousand years. There will be peace on earth as Christ reigns on a literal throne (of David) in Jerusalem. After the thousand-year reign of Christ, Satan is released and finally defeated. The world comes to an end, followed by the final judgment. Other theories are Post-millennial (Jesus to return after He reigns a literal or figurative one thousand years from heaven) and A-millennial (There is no literal one thousand-year reign; Jesus reigns now and can return anytime).

The problem with premillennialism is that it minimizes the church. Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:9-11 the church was the eternal purpose of God. Jesus is the head of the church (Colossians 1:13-18) and bought the church with His blood (Acts 20:28). Who can believe that the church, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit, is accidental or by chance?

Premillennialism minimizes the gospel. The Holy Spirit revealed to His holy apostles and prophets the importance of the church (Ephesians 3:5-6). Paul declared in the final verses of Romans that the hidden mystery was made manifest in the gospel. If Jesus fails, what is the purpose of the gospel? Premillennialism is not the gospel system of things at all. It is inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus and has no purpose for the plan of salvation.

John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles taught the kingdom was at hand (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Mark 4:14-15). Jesus called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, and He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power” (Mark 9:1). Foy E. Wallace writes, “If God did not know that the kingdom was going to be postponed, it denies the omniscience of God, destroys His integrity, and impeaches the veracity of Jesus Christ.”

Premillennialism voids the great commission. It denies the last days as mentioned in Hebrews 1:1-2, Joel 2:16-17 (which is fulfilled in Acts 2:16-17), and 2 Peter 3:2. The New Testament constantly affirms the saints of the first century were living in the last days, showing that for the past two thousand years, the earth has been in the last days. One of the greatest fallacies of premillennialism is it demotes Jesus from His throne. Hebrews 1:8 says the throne of Jesus is forever. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God (Hebrews 1:3,13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). Peter said Jesus was sitting on the throne of David (Acts 2:30-32), which did not refer to a literal throne but the throne of promise. If there is a millennium on earth, Christ will not be in it.

Foy E. Wallace makes the following observations: “Why bring Christ back to earth? His mission of redemption is complete. His revelation is complete. His authority is complete. His kingdom is complete. His throne is complete. His name is complete. His glory is complete.” (God’s Prophetic Word) The church is the Bride of Christ, and He reigns as King of King and Lord of Lords. Hebrews 9:28 says Jesus will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Jesus is only coming back one more time. There will be no other opportunities for anyone to change their lives. His coming marks the end of all things.

There is no Biblical proof of a rapture, and no one will be “Left Behind.” When the Lord returns, you need to be ready. His return will be the final message of God to the world. Are you ready?

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A Building From God

Posted on January 5, 2024 by heatonkent

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. (2 Corinthians 5:1-4)

A Building From God

It is easy to become discouraged in life because of the burdens of the soul, mind, and body. Life can become very tedious and demanding. One of the consequences of the fall of man was the infirmities of the body, leading to death. When God removed man from the garden, the Tree of Life was taken away. All men die. Many suffer. The earthly dwelling of the flesh is a body of groaning for relief, seeking a greater plane, desiring a habitation of peace.

God promised the faithful a change in body when they crossed the river of death. Paul calls the suffering of this life a “light affliction” because it is but for a moment. There is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory realized in the building planned by God for those in Christ. The earthly body will be destroyed. There is no doubt of that. God wants His children to believe that a greater and better possession is coming in eternal life.

The fleshly body is likened to a tent. It is transitory, temporary, easily folded, and provides little comfort and security. A building is a permanent structure offering greater comfort and a place to feel secure. Paul says the earthly body is nothing more than a tent or a house. God is preparing a building for the faithful to dwell and share eternity. This house is not made with hands but is eternal, never-ending, everlasting, without end. The physical body is something all men groan and find weariness to hold on to. Death is the joy of receiving a body without sorrow, pain, and suffering.

Children of God desire to be clothed with an eternal habitation. The building promised by God is without comparison to anything man has experienced. John declares in the Revelation that God will wipe away all tears. There will be nothing in the new body or building from God that will experience pain. It is hard to imagine such a body. How can life be filled without the aches and pains of daily living? The building of God comes without suffering. Christians desire to be further clothed with the glory of God. It is the focus of life to receive this new body.

What makes the idea of a new body difficult is to realize attaining that body can only come through death or the return of Jesus Christ. Until the day of the Lord when Jesus comes with His holy angels, death is the means to receive the new building from God. Those left behind are filled with sorrow, but the one who dies experiences the joy of a new body. Angels carry the faithful to the bosom of Abraham, outfitted with a new tabernacle. What a glory. Praise God for His mercy and power to recreate us with a new body. Lord, come quickly that I may receive my new building.

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Silent Before Jesus

Posted on January 4, 2024 by heatonkent

Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” And they could not answer Him regarding these things. (Luke 14:1-6)

Silent Before Jesus

The Pharisees constantly sought the opportunity to trap Jesus in His teachings but never denied His miracles. Their hypocrisy was heightened by how they watched Him closely to see if He would perform a miracle on the Sabbath. How incredible that they could not deny the power of God through the miracles and yet were so blind; they watched Jesus closely to entrap Him. How do you accuse a man who performs a miracle in front of your eyes? The lawyers and Pharisees watched Jesus and kept silent.

A man with dropsy was a guest at the house of the Pharisee, where Jesus came to have a meal. Dropsy is a cardiac or renal disease causing the arms and legs to swell. One form of dropsy was liver disease after a bout with malaria. He was able to attend the meal at the invitation of the ruler. Jesus knew the hearts of his detractors and asked them whether it was lawful to heal a man on the Sabbath. The question is simple, direct, and easy to answer. Either healing on the Sabbath was against the Law of Moses, or it was accepted. Faced with the dilemma of answering an obvious question, the lawyers and Pharisees remained silent.

Jesus took the man with dropsy, healed him, and sent him away. The lawyers and Pharisees watched Jesus perform the miracle, saying nothing. Their eyes saw the miracle, but their hearts denied the power. For the man with dropsy, he knew the power of God as he felt the Holy Spirit cleanse his body of his disease. He felt immediate relief. When he walked away, there was no swelling or pain. No doubt he returned home to share with his family what great things the man from Nazareth had done for him. The lawyers and Pharisees did not believe.

Challenging their hard hearts, Jesus asked the leaders how to interpret the law. God had forbidden any work to be done on the Sabbath. There were strict laws governing how a man conducted himself on the seventh day of the week. During the wilderness wanderings of Israel, a man was found picking up sticks on the Sabbath. After consulting with God, the congregation stoned the man to death. There was a clear lesson learned. Jesus asks the lawyers and Pharisees if one of their animals fell into a pit, if, because it was the Sabbath, they would leave the animal to die. It was a rhetorical question with apparent consequences to how they answered. They remained silent.

Anyone would immediately rescue their donkey or ox that had fallen into a pit. They would not be judged guilty according to Sabbath law. There was a certain expectation that understanding the law would allow such matters without breaking the spirit of the law. If a man was found wounded on the side of the road on the Sabbath, God expected that all things needed to restore the man’s life be done. This would include caring for his wounds, putting him on a donkey, and taking him to an inn to care for him. None of this violated the Sabbath.

The point Jesus made is how hard-hearted the Jewish leaders had become. They remained silent because they stood accused – and they knew that. By their silence, they testified to the work of God. The man with dropsy was healed. God was glorified. The law was not broken because the Son of God had pity on a man and healed him. They needed to remain silent lest they open their mouths and show what fools they were. The silence of the men proves the power of God.

Critics of the Bible try in vain to dispel the authority of scripture. The truth does not change. It matters not how loud or silent they are whether the Bible is God’s word or not because it is and always will be. Jesus proved that God is true and all men liars. Those gathered that day in the house of a ruling Pharisee saw a great miracle. It was the Sabbath. God was praised. The man was healed. Jesus proved He was the Son of God. May the eyes of the blind be opened by the word of the Lord to see His great power and majesty. Jesus Christ is King.

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Paul’s View Of Chains

Posted on January 3, 2024 by heatonkent

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. (Philippians 1:3-7)

Paul’s View Of Chains

Roman prisons in the first century were filthy, hot, dark, and musty, with poor ventilation. There were few separate cells for prisoners as most had groups chained together in a single room. Most of the time the prisons were overcrowded. The stench would almost be overpowering. Stocks were used to secure the feet of the prisoners, making movement difficult. Few prisons had long-term inmates as the use of the prison was a holding place before execution. It would not be uncommon to hear screams from parts of the prison as the guards tortured the unfortunate. Food was not regularly supplied because friends and family were expected to bring food to care for the prisoner.

Paul was familiar with the Roman prison. Before he became a Christian, his familiarity was the men and women he dragged to prison for following Christ. He used the prisons as a weapon to persecute the church with vigor. How different for the former persecutor to be thrown into a prison, chained with other men, and left in the dark. His former wealth, prestige, and comfortable life were replaced with poverty, humiliation, and suffering. He did all of that for the cause of Christ. Faced with the repeated trips to prison, the apostle developed a positive view of his chains for the glory of God.

Philippians is an epistle to the Philippian church about joy and rejoicing. The epistle is remarkable because Paul was in a Roman prison (jail) at the time of writing. His bonds were the chains on his hands and probably his feet. He was not free to go where he wanted and do what he so desired – preach the gospel. There was plenty to discourage the apostle as he languished in a dark and dreary prison. Paul refused to let his circumstances define his situation. He tells the saints his chains were for the furtherance of the gospel. Looking down at his chains, he did not see discouragement or failure. Paul realized why he was in bondage – in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

Chains can bind a man or set his heart free. Paul knew no chains could separate him from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Paul’s spirit soared in the face of persecution. He knew his life was spent in the declaration of the gospel, and spending time in prison confirmed his love for God. Learning to look beyond the iron chains secured on his hands and the painful wooded stocks binding his feet is how Paul made sense of where he was and why. Paul’s final days were spent in prison before the executioner severed his head.

A positive view of life is learning to look beyond those things that seek to shackle the spirit to a dark world. There were many unpleasant reasons to stay away from the Roman prison. His Roman citizenship protected him from being beaten or scourged. Enduring the difficulties of prison life became common for Paul. He focused his mind above and beyond the place where he found himself. Things in life can shackle the heart, but the key has always been to look beyond those things to Jesus Christ.

Whatever challenges we face can make us stronger. Trusting in God and looking at the chains of life as the link to eternal life will help the soul overcome discouragement. Nothing can defeat those who walk in Christ. God has never forsaken His people, and He never will. Paul sat in prison thinking about how God was to be glorified through him. He kept his focus on the work of the Lord. Changing the mind to overcome chains is done when the heart is filled with the word of God and the feet are busy with the kingdom’s work.

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God’s Promise

Posted on January 2, 2024 by heatonkent

For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:39)

God’s Promise

Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost was a stirring appeal for the devout Jews to consider Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God, the Christ. Three thousand people heard the preaching of the twelve and obeyed the gospel. In response to the preaching, the crowd asked what they had to do to be saved. Peter told them to change their hearts and wash away their sins in the waters of baptism. If they obeyed these words, they would receive the remission of their sins. Entering into a covenant with God, they would also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee.

Two powerful promises were made that day. First, the remission of sins. God would wash away all of the sins. He would forgive them of every evil. A remission is a dismissal or a release. All the sins that corrupted the heart would be completely taken away. Peter outlined the conditions of repentance and immersion in water to receive forgiveness. God would not weigh the balance and take seventy percent of sins away. He would remove one hundred percent of every sin as far as the east is from the west and to the depths of the deepest sin. That was a promise.

The second promise was the gift of the Holy Spirit. There was nothing miraculous about this gift, but it was an incredible divine gift. God promised all those who obeyed the gospel would receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of salvation. Paul would later describe this promise as the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The Spirit of God would dwell in the newly washed heart, cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Paul explained the Holy Spirit would help with the weaknesses of the heart.

Forgiveness or remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit are promises that have continued for two thousand years. What happened on the Day of Pentecost was not an isolated case. Luke tells the story of the early church, where the promise was carried out multiple times with individuals, families, and multitudes. The word of God was preached, and people repented of their sins and washed their sins away in the waters of baptism. When they came up out of the water, the Father granted both promises. Two hundred years later, in a hamlet in another land, people received the promise when they obeyed the gospel. In 1492, people were washed in the blood of Jesus Christ and rose to receive the promise. This promise has been granted for two millennia.

God made a promise that has been kept faithfully because God is faithful. What Peter said is still true today for all those who believe Jesus is the Son of God and obey the gospel. When the crowd wanted to know what to do to be saved, Peter told them to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins. The promise was given to three thousand souls that day. When someone repents and is washed in the waters of baptism, their sins are washed away (promise one), and they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (promise two). Time will not change that promise. What a wonderful God we serve who keeps His promise.

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525,600 Precious Minutes Lost And Gained

Posted on January 1, 2024 by heatonkent

So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

525,600 Precious Minutes Lost And Gained

Moses lived for one hundred and twenty years, or just over sixty-three million minutes. Methuselah lived nine hundred sixty-nine years, or just over … never mind. Each day is twenty-four hours, containing 1,440 minutes. God has given every person an incredible bank to draw from every day, starting with a zero balance. Whatever happens with 1,440 minutes is entirely left to the decision of man. He can do with it as he sees fit. Part of that time will be spent sleeping (average 6-7 hours). The rest of the day is a varied state of wakefulness.

No man knows how long he will live. The old must die, the young can die, and those in the middle will grow old. Time is measured by the creation ordained by God from the beginning. The lights in the sky are signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. With each passing day, those deposited minutes are lost forever. There is no way time can be reversed, and try as he might, man cannot change what happened yesterday. He can consider the lessons of yesterday and learn from them; but to go back in time cannot be done. When the minute is used, it disappears.

Moses lived a long and full life. When he died, his strength was not diminished, and his eyesight was clear. He writes in the psalm the wisdom of a man counting his days. What the prophet means is how important it is for everyone to consider the brevity of life, how short it is, and the importance of making suitable deposits in the bank of time. The new year began with great anticipation. Looking back on the previous twelve months, victories are realized, and defeats are admitted. A sense of hope seeks to create resolutions to make the coming year a time of victory. It will be twelve months before an answer is given.

Each year, we swap 525,600 precious moments for the next 525,600 minutes. Whatever we did with last year’s 525,600 minutes is now history. What we must look forward to is how to spend the next portion of time granted to us by the grace of God. Looking at the new year as a twelve-month bank of time is helpful but unfulfilling. Trying to plan out twelve months is a daunting task. One of the main reasons resolutions fail is because goals are made that are unrealistic and unattainable. Making long-term goals is essential to success, but goals are never accomplished without the awareness of the daily process of using minutes properly.

Instead of looking so closely at the 525,600 minutes, think about the next 1,440 minutes that make up a day. Yearly goals are accomplished one day at a time. Each day brings the opportunity to succeed and fail. God has only promised the day we have to work for Him. Worrying about tomorrow is a waste of time and unproductive. Work in the kingdom is a daily process of accomplishing the will of the Lord. After spending 1,440 hours a day seeking the will of God, we will find at the end of 525,600 minutes (one year) that we have been diligently working in the kingdom of God.

Moses asked the vital question of life. How do we number our days? It is not the number of hours we have lived. It becomes the awareness of the heart to know how short life is, and upon this short time, our eternal soul depends. We need to count the cost by learning how to number our days. Have we spent our time in service to God? Are we seeking the things that are above where Christ is? What will God say of our lives? Life is a one-way journey that can never be done again. Eternity is final with no change of station.

Numbering our days brings about wisdom. Looking at the past year to learn from yesterday’s mistakes will give us greater knowledge of how to live in the coming year. Each year should be a time of change. Every new day is the opportunity to dig deeper into the mind of God to know more perfectly His ways. God allows every man to start fresh with a new set of minutes to use wisely or waste. How we use that time is our choice. Learning to number the precious minutes we have will help us to draw closer to Him. It will change our life. Today is the day of salvation—all 1,440 minutes.

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Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage

Posted on December 31, 2023 by heatonkent

For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. (Romans 7:2-3)

Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage

When God finished creation, He looked upon the world filled with nature, animals, and Adam and Eve and said, “It is very good.” He designed the world in perfect harmony. God created man and woman to complement one another and bring God glory. The purpose of creating one man and one woman was to unite them as one. This was the will of God. He is displeased when men change His will.

Sin destroyed the relationship between God and man. It also began to change the law of marriage ordained by God. Fornication and adultery transgress the law of God, specifically the law of marriage. The Lord has always hated divorce (Malachi 2:14). It was never his intent that Adam and Eve live with hatred, anger, and distrust. Marriage is sacred because God ordained it. Divorce is contrary to the will of the Lord. God allowed for divorce in the Law of Moses, but it was very restrictive. Jesus reminded the Pharisees that from the beginning, it was not the will of God.

Jesus taught one man for one woman for life in Matthew 19:1-9. He knew many would not like this law (Matthew 19:11-12). Divorce was a subject Jesus did not hesitate to discuss when pressed by the Pharisees about the teaching of Moses’ law. The aim of the Jewish leaders was not to find some truth about marriage and divorce but to entrap Jesus in a legal quagmire of doctrinal inconsistencies. Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trap him with the question of whether a man could divorce his wife for any reason. Appealing to the law, Jesus took the Pharisees back to the Garden of Eden, showing that God had created Adam and Eve and that the marriage bond was created in that union. What God had joined together was not to be separated.

The first answer Jesus gave the Pharisees was the law of marriage. God intended for the man and woman to be married to one another and remain faithful to their union. In the creation, the Father established the law of marriage as a binding covenant. There were going to be challenges in marriage. One of the purposes of Satan’s coming to the garden was to bring division between the woman and the man. He has succeeded throughout the ages as marriage is ignored as a divinely established covenant. The philosophy of human wisdom is that marriage is not sacred, and sexual immorality and divorce are accepted norms. Men and women fight and argue and are unfaithful to one another, and Satan smiles. The devil has won a victory when the marriage is dissolved and couples divorce, but God hates divorce.

After Jesus answered the Pharisees, a second question was given: the trap the religious leaders had hoped for. They knew what Jesus would answer whether a man could divorce his wife under the Law of Moses. Hearing Jesus answer correctly, they pressed the Son of God to explain why Moses would say in the law that a man could give his wife a divorce and send her away. This misrepresented the true nature of the law, but Jesus did not flinch. He put the blame squarely upon the hearts of men who had hardened themselves against the pattern of God’s will.

Moses permitted divorce because of the people’s hard hearts, but from the beginning – IT WAS NOT THE WILL OF GOD! The Son of God then declares that divorce can only be granted for one reason and one reason alone: infidelity. He further commands that any marriage ending in divorce for any other reason than sexual immorality is sinful. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. The only exception is for the cause of sexual immorality.

The teaching of Jesus stunned the disciples. Their response to what Jesus said about marriage and divorce left them speechless. They responded that if what Jesus said was true, it would be better for a man and woman to remain unmarried. The eternal consequences of marriage and divorce had never been considered as serious as Jesus taught when questioned by the Pharisees. Jesus knew what He taught would not be popular with a world craving self-satisfaction.

Divorce was common in the days of Jesus and is common today. What men fail to see is the teaching of Jesus has not changed. Not everyone would accept the will of God two thousand years ago, and sadly, the teaching of Jesus on marriage and divorce is not readily accepted today.

Jesus knew not everyone would believe His teaching on divorce. There is only one reason for divorce. Incompatibility is not a reason, falling out of love is not a reason, and not liking one another is not a reason; in the eyes of God, the only reason for divorce is sexual immorality. Not everyone will accept this teaching, but it does not change the will of God. There are many lives turned upside down because of divorce.

It will take the courage of a devoted man or woman to follow God’s will; in some cases, the person may have to remain unmarried for the rest of their life. What is that compared to the eternal destiny of those who refuse to accept the teaching of Jesus? Divorce is a tragedy of sin. From the beginning, God made man and woman to be united as one. What God has joined together, let no man dare to separate.

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He Is Survived By His Husband

Posted on December 29, 2023 by heatonkent

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘Made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)

He Is Survived By His Husband

President Abraham Lincoln loved to employ a brain teaser to make a point to constituents. He would ask, “How many legs would a sheep have if you called his tail a leg?” Naturally, they would meekly respond, “Five.” “Wrong! You are mistaken. The sheep would still have just four legs. Calling something a leg doesn’t make it so.”

The wisdom of men is never so ignorant as its attempt to make five legs out of a sheep. With the appeal to rejecting all good and common sense, the intellectuals of our day offer the most ridiculous statements known to man. These conclusions are not new. From the time Adam and Eve got kicked out of the Garden of Eden, man has tried to justify his carnal pursuits with a program of redefining terms. It is not uncommon to hear of a man dying and, in his obituary, said to be survived by his husband. The assumption is the man who died was the wife, and that takes the depravity of man to a higher level.  

Calling the tail of a sheep a leg makes as much sense as saying two men who are “married” have a relationship of husband and wife. The only conclusion is that both men are husbands, and in the case of women, both are wives. Again, this is against nature on many levels. Regardless of whether intelligent people refuse to define what a woman is, it is evidentially clear there are males and females in the world. Calling a woman a man or a man a woman is stupid in the clinical definition. Two men cannot produce a baby. The same is true of two women.

The science of man can never, ever, never ever produce a baby from two men or two women. Men do not have the organs to create a baby in the womb. There will never be a man who gives birth to a child because life is given by the Creator, who made male and female. Biologically, men can only produce half of the formula to create life. Without the help of the biological design of the women, there is no life. Men cannot have ovarian cancer. Women cannot have prostate cancer. The list goes on. To call a man a husband is ludicrous at best and blasphemous at worst.

Jesus was not teaching some dark secret of wisdom when He said that God made male and female at the beginning. That is a natural fact that can never be changed. When a man rejects the pattern of God for male and female, he is going against the natural design. It is unnatural for a man to join himself to a man and a woman to join herself to a woman. The laws of nature are against it, and it is an abomination before God. The United States Supreme Court can define a woman as anything but a woman or a man to be anything he identifies with, but God is the one who created male and female, and that will not change.

The sad reality of modern homosexuality, transgenderism, etc., etc., etc., philosophy is what is found at the end of the road. Death is the great equalizer of all things. Fifty years after a person dies, their skeleton can be examined to determine their sex. There will be no indicators of identification or mental determinations to change the outcome. God created the human body to identify with its creative design. Men are men, and women are women. At the end of the day, there is no fulfillment or joy against the creation of God. Adam and Eve were created as male and female to find the happiness intended by the Creator. Going against nature denies male and female. There is never fulfillment in the wisdom of men.

Jesus declared that what God has created cannot and will not be changed. Men seek to usurp the word of the Lord and show themselves greater fools by their ignorance. God made male and female. There is such a thing as a father and a mother (male and female). Children come into the world either as male or female. Everyone dies as a male or female. Death removes the identifying marks of rebellion against God. What God has created cannot be put asunder. That is Truth.

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