Let Me Put My Nose In Your Tent
(Kent Heaton)
One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.
A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here." "Yes, you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.
Finally, the camel said, "May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do." "Yes, yes," said the Arab. "Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us." So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.
To understand sin, we must understand the manner it comes upon us. It is simple to recognize sin when it comes with blaring horns and flashing lights. While we refrain from the obvious sin before us, it is the deceitful nature of greater sin that we allow to enter our lives. We boast of our ability to defeat sin on the one hand - falling for the greater sin that creeps in slowly.
Sin is not recognized in it's true form in the beginning. When the Arab allowed the camel to "just" put his nose in, the intent of the camel was far more. He knew asking the Arab to come all the way in would be met with objection. So he began small and gradually moved completely in - moving the Arab completely out. Sin overtakes us in the same way. If we allow just a "little" bit of sin to influence us, it may lead to something greater. If left unchecked, it can remove us from the tent of God.
James shows the progressive nature of sin in Chapter 1 when he says, "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." The way we can keep sin out is to stop it early - control the desire, remove the enticement and abort the continuing desire so that conception does not take place. This is scriptural abortion! By allowing sin to continue, even in a small way, will bring forth the full fruit of sin and lead to death.
The Psalmist also shows the progressive nature of sin in Chapter 1 - "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;" To keep from sitting in the seat of the scornful, we should not walk in their counsel nor stand in their paths. "My son, do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from their path; ... Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn away from it and pass on." Proverb 1:15; 4:14,15. This will surely keep the camel out of our tent.
Is sin controlling your life? God seeks men to come to him who are willing to reject the power of sin and obey the pure gospel of His Son. Would you not seek that today? We pray you would write to us or call that we may assist you in your obedience and defeat of Satan. "He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed." Proverbs 13:20
(Kent Heaton)
News from El Paso, Texas is confusion on the role of wives in the marriage. It seems the Baptist General Convention of Texas is not pleased with an amendment to the denominations declaration of beliefs that was approved in 1998 during the Southern Baptist Convention in Salt Lake City that said that wives should submit to their husbands. The confusion comes from Clyde Glazener, president of the Texas convention, who said, "That amendment, though it spoke about family and had some decent things in it, also had in it some beliefs that were intended to hammer women about subservience, in my judgment." [Information gleaned from http://www.Infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2561989557-a23; Posted 9 November 1999]
Confusion will always be the order of the day when men seek to depart from the word of God. Regardless of men's "judgments" or "conventions" or "councils" - the wisdom of God stands. Ephesians 5:22 says,
" Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." This has not changed nor will man be able to change the perfect pattern of God. Does a wife become "subservient" to submit to a man? Those who argue against the submission of the woman to man will not be willing to submit to anyone. Ephesians 5:21 uses the same Greek word when it reads: "Submitting to one another in the fear of God."In both verses, Paul emphasizes
"the fear of God" and "as to the Lord." The basis of submission to one another and for wives to husbands is because it is God's will. Our submission to one another is found in what Paul wrote in Philippians 2:3-4, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." The definition of submission is "1) to arrange under, to subordinate 2) to subject, put in subjection 3) to subject one's self, obey 4) to submit to one's control 5) to yield to one's admonition or advice 6) to obey, be subject ++++ A Greek military term meaning 'to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader.' In non-military use, it was 'a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden.'" [Strongs Greek/Hebrew Dictionary]The woman is to be subservient because God said for her to be! We are to be subservient to one another because God said so! Does this allow men to be dominate dictators over women? God also directs the husband in the same context:
"For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,." (Ephesians 5:23-25) The husband's role of leadership over the wife (1 Corinthians 11:3) is based upon the role of leadership Christ has over the church. Do we - as members of the bride of Christ - feel oppressed because we are subservient to Christ? I thank my God for that submission to one who loves me so much to die for my sins.The wife who is subservient to her husband, submissive to her husband, is following the pattern of God's word. The husband who exercises his role of leadership in the proper manner will give his wife the blessings of being in the submissive role. Ephesians 5:33 restates it this way:
"Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." What is there to vote on? Husbands - love your wife! Wives - submit to your husbands - God said this long ago. (See also Colossians 3:18-19; Genesis 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; Titus 2:5; 1 Peter 3:1-7)(Kent Heaton)
It is hard to imagine what Adam and Eve went through when they found their second son was dead. The record only tells us that she bore another son whom they called, Seth,
"For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed." (Genesis 4:25) As death has been a part of mans existence, so has the action of the final disposition of the body. The first burial that is recorded is the "burial at sea" performed by God in the great flood. (Genesis 6)On mans part, burial was a common practice. Numerous places in scripture mention burial as a mode of disposing of the body when death occurred. Notable burials include Abraham seeking a place to bury Sarah (Genesis 23). Joseph promised to fulfill his father's request not to bury him in Egypt. (Genesis 50:12-14)
The ceremonies of disposal of the body vary from culture to culture. The word "funeral" comes from an old Sanskrit word of northern India which means "smoke." Many of the customs of disposal of the body are connected with geography (need to bury above ground), theology (Indonesians of the island of Bali make a life-sized image of a scared bull to hold the coffin of the dead person - during the funeral, the bull and its contents will be carefully burned), necessity (burial at sea) or traditions of culture (the Viking dead were placed in their boats, which were set on fire and pushed out to sea).
The process of disposing of the body at death is not given as a law in the word of God. As there are many examples of burial there are a few examples of what is defined as cremation. Cremation is the act of destroying the body by fire. The method used today is to place the body and casket in a special furnace where they are subjected to a heat of from 2,000 - 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The bones are reduced to ashes.
There are examples of "cremation" in the Bible. (Joshua 7:24-26; 1 Samuel 31:12,13; 2 Kings 23:19,20) Under the Law of Moses, certain sins were punished with the burning of the body. (Leviticus 20:14; 21:9) In the story of Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38), when Judah was told that Tamar had played the harlot and was with child, Judah said:
"Bring her out and let her be burned." These are specific examples of "cremation" being used as the penalty for sin.The act of cremation is not a sin. Sin is defined in 1 John 3:4 as
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." God does not have in His law a place that makes the act of cremation a violation of His law. To burn the body is a personal choice that can be made by anyone who desires to do so (in accordance with civil law).The problem with cremation that many feel is not in association with the law of God but rather the personal attachments given the body. This is a natural course of mans makeup. The reason for marble monuments is to remind ourselves of the outward person that we know and love. As Christians we recognize the importance is not the outward man but the inward man.
We know that our fleshly bodies will grow corrupt and decay to return to the dust. What we look forward too is the eternal body that will never decay or die. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28,
"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." The focus of our lives should not be grounded upon the outward man but what will become of us when we stand before God.The disposal of the body at death is not relevant to our eternal salvation.
"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." (2 Corinthians 5:1) Whether we are buried above ground, below ground, at sea or burned with fire, our soul is what matters. The disposal of the body is left to our own desires and wishes in accordance with the law of the land. We look forward to our "new" body!(Kent Heaton)
The spirit of thankfulness is found in the heart that recognizes the value of the gift given. To give thanks is to show a spirit of dependence upon someone else. If someone opens a door for us and we say "thank you," we acknowledge the deed done by someone else for us. In our expression of Thanksgiving, we pause to offer words or thoughts of a gift given on behalf of others. During the Thanksgiving holidays, our country stops to recognize the gift of freedom and peace to those who first landed on our shores to build a new country. Through the years, many men and women have given their lives to provide this freedom and we say, "thank you!"
Family is important with the gathering of parents and children in the home to enjoy a meal together. The feast of the day is not only from the food but from the time spent together as family. Again we show our need for each other and our dependence upon each other. This is an important time to refresh our lives with the love of family and the remembrance of those who have passed on before us. In the beginning of time when God brought the man and the woman together as one - creating the family - He shows the need of unity in the family with the bond of companionship. Thanksgiving is a time to rekindle the bonds of family and love of one another.
Above all things, Thanksgiving is a time to remember our dependence and need for God. The apostle Paul told the people of Athens, "For in Him we live, and move, and have our being." (Acts 17:28) The world exists by the power of God and is held together by His power. "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store." (2 Peter 3:7) Daniel proclaimed in Daniel 5:23 that God holds our breath "in His hand and owns all [our] ways." The rising of the sun and the beautiful setting in the west is a reminder to all that God still rules and we depend upon Him. With each new birth, the miracle of life expresses the magnificent power of God and our hearts should be filled with our dependence upon Him.
God is to be the center of our universe and of our lives. Trusting in God is what made this nation great and when we fail to trust in God, our nation will destroy itself. Thanksgiving is not a time for man to brag about what he has done but rather by the grace of God what has been given to man as God’s blessing upon Him. "For He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:45) We live because of God! We have life because of God! Our whole being is dependent upon God!
The wise man Solomon sought the answers to life and found that all is vanity and seeking after the wind. When he concluded his study of man and life, he made this observation - "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether if be good or whether it be evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14) Thanksgiving cannot be complete without an understanding of these simple rules. We live for God and God is the reason we exist. In our hearts of thanksgiving we acknowledge our dependence upon God and our need for Him. It is only through His love that we have the hope of a better world beyond this one. Salvation is only measured by the gift given by God in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His Son. "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57)
Thank you Father for the gift of your Son and the blessing of hope in eternal life. May we daily pause to give thanks unto the Father for His love and His most perfect gift.