FEBRUARY 2000 APRIL 2000 THE READING ROOM HOME
Using All The Strength Available
(Kent Heaton)
A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic shovel. In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox. The boy dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. With no little bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by using his feet. (He was a very small boy and the rock was very large).
When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, however, he found that he couldn't roll it up and over the little wall. Determined, the little boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but every time he thought he had made some progress, the rock tipped and then fell back into the sandbox. The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, & shoved; but his only reward was to have the rock roll back, smashing his chubby fingers. Finally he burst into tears of frustration. All this time the boy's father watched from his living room window as the drama unfolded. At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the sandbox. It was the boy's father.
Gently but firmly he said, "Son, why didn't you use all the strength that you had available?" Defeated, the boy sobbed back, "But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!" "No, son," corrected the father kindly. "You didn't use all the strength you had. You didn't ask me." With that the father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it from the sandbox.
In our sandbox of life, we come across boulders of despair, rocks of frustration, mountains of faith challenging events that seek to defeat us and cast us down. The greatest blessing in being a child of God is to know that we have a Father who cares for us and will help us in our daily struggles. There is nothing that we can find in life that - with God's help - we cannot overcome.
We find this first in Paul's letter to Corinth when he wrote,
"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13) The important key in this verse is not to think that we can overcome temptation by ourselves but our Farther will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we (me and God) can handle. The Father will do his part and we as trusting children will do our part.Again Paul writes in Philippians 4:13,
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Paul had said in verses 11,12 that he had seen in life that the Father would take care of him in whatever state he would find himself - whether abased or abounding or hungry or full. Again we find that "all things" is based upon what can be done with the strength of myself and Christ.The great chapter of victory found in Romans 8 declares,
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Take time to read the whole chapter and see how Paul declares the victory found in being a child of God. What can separate us from the love of the Father? "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (v37) With God's power, what can we not accomplish?Life can be filled with many boulders and difficulties. The greatest of all has been satisfied with the blood of Jesus Christ. The Father took that burden away and now we have salvation by His love. That act of love continues to those who are His children and use all their strength to overcome. That strength is found in the faith of the child and the power of the Father.
When There Is No Line Of Morality
(Kent Heaton)
Children kill their fellow students in the classroom and on the campus of our schools. Disgruntled employees kill their fellow workers and many innocent bystanders. Gangs dance through the streets of our cities spreading death in their wake. Homosexuality is viewed as an "alternate lifestyle" and its acceptance is portrayed as normal. Pornography reeks from the airwaves of television and the internet in volumes unchained. School libraries are filled with books describing the degradation of man's thirst for sexual pleasures.
These trends shock and dismay the public at large and yet the public is to blame for the continued rise in these levels of immorality. When immorality rises it is because the moral fiber of the society has been taken away. No longer are there clear lines of morality that will keep these acts from occurring. Because of the cry of "rights," we have given over all authority and ability to regulate the immoral acts of those who would impose their "freedoms" upon all. Freedom of expression has come to mean that I can do anything I want to do and no one can deny me that right. Is it possible for a society to live without law? Is it possible for a society to exist without a standard to live by?
Children kill other children because they have been taught they have the right to express themselves by murdering their fellow students. If you have a disagreement at work, you have the right to kill those who oppose you. The perversion of homosexuality is seen as a lifestyle that is healthy and normal. Television has become the venue of sexual exploitation and viewing pleasure as well as the instrument to show how violence is the means to justify the end. Our school libraries cannot ban certain books because of the "rights" of those who impose their level of immorality upon our children. Is there any question why our society is in so much trouble today?
The sad part about humanity is that it has such a short memory. The most important subject taught in school should be history. Mankind has been around for a few thousand years and yet he can never learn from the past. History shows what happens when men seek their own way and fail to draw a line of morality. Is it any wonder then when we bury our dead children and live in fear of one another because of what is happening in our world?
During the days of the Judges, this statement is made:
"In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6) Does this sound familiar? Is this not what we are seeing today? With no law everyone will do what they please. David tells us what the root of this kind of action is founded upon: "An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes, when he finds out his iniquity and when he hates. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. He devises wickedness on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not abhor evil." (Psalm 36:4)Solomon said that nothing was new under the sun. What we are experiencing today is the same lawless mind of man when he sets upon himself to do as he pleases. Until we have the courage to draw the line of morality and stand by it, we will be destroyed as a nation. As a people we must draw the line in our lives and in our words. School officials need to have the courage to draw that line. Our bodies of government must draw the line and have the courage to stand by it. As a people of God, we must draw the line of morality in our lives and let God's Word be the rule by which we measure our lives. If not, we are a lost nation. We shall become as all nations who did what was right in their own eyes.
"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes." (Proverbs 12:15)(Kent Heaton)
The bride glides down the aisle into the waiting arms of the one who will take her hand and in love join in matrimony their lives together. Families weep as young ladies become wives and young men become husbands. It is a time of great joy and excitement as a new home is begun. All too often it is a home begun with a child in the womb.
Young people face many challenges in their lives and the greatest of these is to remain pure. Bombarded by television that exploits the sexual temptation between a man and a woman, young men and young women struggle to maintain a balance of knowing what is right and what is wrong. Through the movies and the music blaring from the sexually dominated themes, young lives are drawn to experience and enjoy relationships that are sacred to the marriage bed. More and more of the weddings performed today include a child.
While it is obvious to know the reason for the pregnancy, it is just as easy to deny the cause and result of the act. Pregnancy happens as a result of sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. The relationship of the sexual act is holy to the marriage bed and not to the relationship of dating couples. Young people find themselves drawn to one another in the beginning by common ties and interest. They begin to spend time together and grow in their love for one another. As this process continues, they begin to be attracted to one another in a physical way. This is how God has planned the union of two people together.
These feelings of yearning for one another - while natural - is to be kept in check with the understanding of how God has made the physical body. Paul described this emotion in 1 Corinthians 7:9 -
"But if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion." Burning with passion is a blessing God has given in the marriage bed as wholesome and satisfying. To fulfill this passion outside of marriage is fornication - it is sin!"Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband."
(1 Corinthians 7:1,2) The passion shared by young people is a wonderful thing to enjoy in the marriage bed but only in the marriage bed. The act of sexual enjoyment before marriage is why brides come to the wedding pregnant with the father becoming the husband. God has some very strong words about this matter: "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." (Hebrews 13:4)A wedding where the bride is pregnant is a marriage that is begun with defilement and we need to understand that and teach that to our young people. Even the child born will be able to understand that when they grow up and realize they are older than mom and dad have been married - consequences of sin continue years after the act.
The greatest blessing God has given mankind is the avenue of repentance and forgiveness. We rejoice in this knowledge and love and appreciate those young people who correct their lives and grow to be great men and women of the Lord's body. But we must work even harder to keep young men from believing the lie of the devil to enjoy the fruits of sex and to encourage our young women to fight for the purity of their bodies.
Pregnancy is the product of sex and sex is the product of fondling and petting. Heed the words of the Lord through Paul in 2 Timothy 2:22 -
"Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." Keep the heart pure and the hands clean. Fornication is a sin! Let the wedding be pure!(Kent Heaton)
When Moses was writing about the early days of the world, he penned the thoughts of God concerning mans state of mind.
"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5) The result of mans depravity led to the destruction of all "flesh that moved on the earth ... all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died." (Genesis 7:21,22) We may find a glimpse of the condition of the world as in Noah's day from Romans 1:18-32. It is more evident that we are finding this mind-set in our world today.Our society has turned upon the appeal of the flesh. There are few things sacred and holy in the thoughts of men today. It may surprise some to find those who are capable of blushing anymore. There seems to be little shame in the things we see and the things we hear. Because of the open and free discourse of every aspect of life, we are bombarded by things we would never have heard before.
On television, women are paraded about in their undergarments as advertisements. Skin cream ads portray the naked backs (nearly full view) of women who sensuously stroke their smooth skin. Men and women are shown in the shower together to plead the cause of soaps and cleansing agents for showers. The monthly times of women are broadcast daily through ads either for the product itself or for hair shampoo.
Television shows or sitcoms seek laughs when talking about the sex life of married people and more often than not - those who are living together. Many of the shows are based upon the sexual relations and exploits of men and women - and homosexuality! In a recent broadcast of "The View," a host talked about the impossibility of having sex during pregnancy and described in every detail as to why that was impossible. Those things that are sacred to marriage are plastered over the screen as vehicles to gain popularity and ratings. There is no shame left in the marriage bed.
"Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled," is no longer a sacred trust in the minds of men. (Hebrews 13:4) To take matters further, we now have television ads discussing the inability of men to complete the sex act and avenues of cure to help.The honor of the marriage bed is being exploited all over the television screen and radio broadcast. On the radio, commercial's air that discuss the sexual problems between a man and a woman and the cure for such. Ads seek women who are not sexually satisfied because of age or stage of life to call in to participate in research along those lines. Condoms are freely given time on the air (and on TV) to discuss their role in sexually related themes. There is no shame left!
When Adam and Eve were in the garden and before sin come upon man,
"They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." (Genesis 2:25) There is no shame in the relationship of the man and the woman together in the sexual union. The naked body is a blessing to all in the marriage union. That is how God has made the home and it is a place of honor. Those matters should be left in the marriage bed and no where else. To exploit them as we have seen in our society today only suggests to our young people and to all others, sex is to be enjoyed however and whenever we want it. "Fornicators and adulterers God will judge." (Hebrews 13:4)We need to instill shame in the manner we allow society to use the beauty of the marriage bed to the lustful intentions it seeks. How difficult it is for our children to not become entangled with such things today. There will be a day - not far off - that owning a television or radio will destroy the lives - and minds - of those who follow after its view of taking the marriage bed to Hell.
(Kent Heaton)
The surest character of God is found in faithfulness. The comparison between God's faithfulness and man's faithfulness is as far as the East is from the West. Man at his best is not in a place to assure absolute confidence. God is one that is described as being faithful and upon His faithfulness, man can have hope of salvation. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:9 -
"God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." Paul reminds the saints at Corinth that God is filled with grace "given to you by Christ Jesus." (v4) By the grace of God they were "enriched by everything in Him in all utterance and all knowledge." (v5) The promise of the coming of Jesus Christ is shown in verse 7 and upon this revelation all saints can have the hope of salvation, confirmed to the end and found blameless on that day. How can we be assured of these promises? God is faithful!Paul affirms this character of God in 1 Corinthians 10:13 when he writes:
"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." With everything that men face in life, one truth stands out throughout all time - God is faithful! In the face of temptation, God will not leave us but offer a way to escape. We sin when we fail to heed the admonition of God and look for the way of escape.As we stand before God fighting temptation, He tells us that temptation is the common lot of all man. God protects His children in such a way that He will not allow Satan to tempt us beyond what we are able. The faithfulness of God is shown that of all the temptation that befalls us - we are able to bear it! Why is this true and how is this possible? Is it because of our own strength and our own wisdom? No - it is because God is faithful. We sin when we fail to trust in God. Whenever we are faced with trials and temptations and those things that would seek to destroy us, God offers a way to overcome them. His faithfulness is assured by His desire that no one should perish.
2 Peter 3:9 tells us -
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." God is faithful in His long-suffering. His desire is for all to come to repentance. When we stumble and fall, He offers the way of escape and offers the avenue of repentance if we would but take it. God will never fail to offer His love and mercy to those who seek it.The assurance we have in God is found in His character of Truth. Numbers 23:19 -
"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" Deuteronomy 7:9 - "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments." Psalm 100:5 - "For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."The fellowship we enjoy in Christ Jesus is given by the assurance of the promises of God. When we look to the promise of eternal life, we can know that God will bless us with that which He has promised. Titus 1:2 -
"In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began." God does not lie and when we keep His commandments and live for the hope of eternal life, His Truth will endure all generations until that final day when He brings us in to His eternal home. God is faithful!