Articles
The Most Important Thing to Know and Why
The Most Important Thing to Know and Why
By Kent Heaton
There are two absolutes in life that no one can deny: there is a God – you are not Him. The glory of God belongs solely to the Lord Himself and no matter how much men try to make themselves gods there will only be one God. Israel failed as a people because though chosen by God to be His own special people they rejected the idea of the one Lord. When the nation was first formed at Mount Sinai the law was given that declared there could be no other gods whether in thought or image. The presence of the Lord was clearly evident at the mountain as the fury, glory and majesty of God was shown to the people. Away from the mountain and the fearful presence of the Lord the people drifted into idolatry and began to serve multiple gods to fill their carnal desires and pleasures. As the nation sank into immorality the idea of God was dismissed as children’s fables. The people of God no longer gave honor to the Lord Himself as God but made and served the gods of men. Living by the statues and commandments given to them at Sinai fell by the wayside. Things did not go well for the nation as first the Assyrians and then the Babylonians destroyed everything they had. The land promised to Abraham was taken away from the people because they decided that the Lord Himself was not God and they could not follow His will. Finally God sent His Son into the world to show man His greatest love and to bring to a final close the chapter of Israel. Today the Jewish people cannot be saved outside of Christ and all men must come to the cross for eternal life. The lesson given in the Law is still true today.
The God that told the Hebrews there was only one God is the same God that declares through His word there is one way, one truth and one life. There is only one God and the Lord Himself is God. When a nation turns away from a belief in one God the nation stands on the slippery slope of destruction. This catastrophe that waits is true and certain because the systems of belief in the hearts of men turn to themselves instead of the commandments of God. The Bible is no longer honored for truth, purity is ridiculed as old fashioned and the honor of holiness is reviled as a nation falls into ruin. There is only one truth that man must know and sadly this is the truth most men reject. The Lord Himself is God and there is no other. Regardless of what men try outside the law of God it will fail. Every system of belief that rejects the character of one God will crumble on feet of clay. Lives that are built without the foundation of the commandments of the Lord will end in misery. There is one God and nothing man can do will change that. He can reject God, deny God and refuse to worship the Lord God as one but it will never change the Lord Himself is God and there is no other. The statutes and commandments of the Lord have continued for millennia because nothing in the character of God has changed in what He expects of man. No matter what time period the history of man has unfolded the Lord has given man a choice: obey Me or deny Me. Sadly in most cases and in most times including the present day most men do not believe the Lord Himself is God and they believe less that the Bible is the divine word of God. The world slowly crumbles into self revealed chaos of anarchy and immorality and ruin.
Believing the world to be flat does not change the fact that it is not. Rejecting God as Lord does not change the fact that He is. All men can deny that God is Lord in this life but all men who die believe that God is Lord and there no other. Every time a person dies they become a believer in the Lord God. They come to know in an instant that God is Lord Himself and there was never any other. It also becomes abundantly clear the word of God is true. The sad irony of death is that a person can live anyway they want while on this earth and decry the Bible as a book of fables but the moment death takes them to eternity they know how true the Bible is and there is nothing they can do about it. Death brings about belief but belief that is too late. Once the vale of life is torn and a person stands in the eternal world without end there will never be a change that takes place. The Lord Himself is still God and the word of God is still true but there is nothing a man can do to change his station. He will be lost in an eternal lake of fire because he did not take to heart and know that the Lord Himself is God and there was no other. How sad and how tragic. But if you are reading these words then you can still know the one true God and come to obey the only book that has the words of eternal life. What do you know? What will you consider? What will you obey? The choice is yours until one day that choice is taken away.
A Psalm Before the Presence of God
By Steve Melton, 12-31-17
I come before You with a mind of trouble and confusion,
But, You give me a peace deep within my heart.
I come to you as an orphan from the world,
But You adopt me into your inner family.
I come to You as a dim light,
But You brighten my countenance with joy.
I crawl before You with trembling and fear
But You lift me up into Your embrace.
I ask for but a crumb from Your table,
But You set a banquet feast before me.
I praise and honor Your divine majesty,
But a word of praise from You is more than all the praises of men.
I come to You with thanksgiving,
And You give me even more to be thankful for.
I come to You ashamed of my sin,
But Jesus took it away forever.
I come and asked to be in Your glorified presence forever,
You say, “You may, for I have always kept My promises,
Will you keep yours?”
