The Hamilton Minute

“And He answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” Matthew 15:3 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

In Matthew 15, Jesus exposed the Pharisees pernicious wickedness by contrasting their tradition with God’s command. God said honor your father and mother.

The Pharisees tradition was to refuse material support to their biological parents by declaring “Corban. What would’ve have been given to parents is dedicated to God.” Since they functioned in the priestly role, the Pharisees’ “Corban” declaration simply meant they kept the money for themselves.

Heart conditions can be revealed by how we treat our parents, especially as they age.

God’s command rivals our culture’s tradition.

“For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:7-8 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

The Apostle James introduces us to the notion of a double-minded man as one who doubts whether God can grant the wisdom necessary to successfully navigate and overcome trials.

The one who remains steadfast, unwavering in their confidence in God, in the face of adversity is able to rejoice in the midst of trials because of the faith produced by intimate communion with God and full persuasion of His unyielding goodness.

The unstable man is “double-minded” as to whether God remains trustworthy at all times and in all seasons.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

Jesus gets us, but do we get Him? Jesus is God. He left Heaven, came to Earth, lived among us—fully God and fully man; to show us the way, to tell the truth, to give his life for us on the cross, and conquer death by His resurrection. Tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He didn’t sin. And He loves us enough to pay the penalty for our sin.  Don’t be fooled by those who say love means tolerance. No! Love means truth.

Yes, Jesus gets us. Through repentance and faith, we can get Him… eternally!

“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 2:2-3 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

Just before his execution, Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy by the Spirit of God to seek out faithful men, who would be able to teach others, and pour into them all he’d received from the incarcerated Apostle. He then exhorted Timothy to anticipate times of hardship and to press forward with Jesus commission to make disciples nonetheless.

Jesus warned that hard times would come. We must press forward in obedience even while suffering hardship.

“For this reason a man shall leave his Father and Mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Matthew 19:5 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

It’s often repeated that 50% of marriages end in divorce. However, that statistic is not based on hard data and it doesn’t apply at all to committed Christians who marry.

Over 70% of married, Bible-believing Christians, who are active in their local churches have never divorced.

Though the rate of divorce is still too high, it isn’t nearly as high as the world would have you believe.

Simply put, marriages comprised of a husband and wife who place their faith in Christ Jesus for salvation individually usually remain in tact and thrive.

“When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.” Mark 6:34 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

The word we live in likes to emphasize emotions. Our government educational system is riddled with social-emotional learning. Our young people are being indoctrinated into the notion that feeling is synonymous with thinking. All of this undergirds an unbiblical understanding of compassion.

The world cultivates the notion of simply feeling our way through life. But biblical compassion is responsive and active. Jesus was moved with compassion. It compelled him to teach many things.

Biblical compassion moves us to action. Compassion teaches.

“Leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” Matthew 5:24 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

Jesus focused authentic Christ-following to heart evaluation in addition to conduct assessment in the Sermon on the Mount. He also highlighted the reality that worshiping God includes our relationships with Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

He described a worshiper en route to make an offering unto the Lord who remembered that he had a frayed relationship with a Brother. Christ commanded him to render a whole offering by first being reconciled to the Brother. Then, continue in worship by making an offering.

Love for God is displayed in our relationships in His Body.

"A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.” Proverbs 1:5 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

As Solomon pronounced the entire purposed for the book of Proverbs in its first chapter he also noted that a wise man sets himself to hear, to learn, and to increase his knowledge as a result. That wise man, a man of understanding, also affirmatively seeks out wise counsel.

In short, the wise man knows that he doesn’t know it all. As a result, his course is set for continued accrual of wisdom. If you want to be wise, pursue sources of  wisdom and learn from them. The greatest available wisdom source is God’s holy word.

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15 (NASB95)

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

In Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer recorded in John 17, He makes the observation that the world would hate His disciples. Yet, He follows that by praying not that His disciples would be removed from the world, but that we would be kept from the evil one.

As difficult as times have become, we Christ-followers must recognize that our God and King saved us and planted us in the world at this time intentionally. It would be an abdication of our assignment to adopt an escapist disposition. We’ve been ordained for this moment.

"Longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy.” 2 Timothy 1:4 (NASB95)

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

Paul’s second epistle to Timothy was written near the very end of Paul’s life,  while he was incarcerated awaiting an imminent, albeit uncertain execution under Nero.

He begins chapter one of this epistle describing how he prayed for Timothy night and day and how he longed to see him. This reveals a fiber and texture that undergirded their relationship. Paul and Timothy loved each other deeply.

This deep and abiding reciprocal love is necessary to effective disciple making. Knowledge isn’t enough to make a disciple. The love of Christ must abound.

“And he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill for doing any work in bronze.”

My name is Abraham Hamilton III, and this is The Hamilton Minute.

This is a description recorded in scripture about a man named Hiram.  His father was a Sidonian.  His mother was an Israelite, of the tribe of Naphtali.

Because God filled Hiram with wisdom, understanding and skill for all manner of metalwork, Solomon summoned him from Tyre to work on the Lord’s temple.

We must understand, embrace and celebrate that God’s granting of wisdom includes our metalworkers, stone masons, carpenters, plumbers, truck drivers and more.

He gives wisdom for daily duty, and we need laborers filled with God’s wisdom.

“I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14(a) (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

Instead of buying diapers from companies who give your hard earned money to organizations that want to kill innocent image bearers consider EveryLife.

EveryLife provides high-quality, affordable diapers and wipes centered around the belief that every child is a gift from above that deserves to be loved, protected, and celebrated every day.

Additionally, EveryLife offers the “Buy for a Cause” program that allows people to donate a month’s supply of diapers and wipes to young struggling families. In additional to selling diapers, EveryLife wants to use its business to cultivate a culture of life.

Go to everylife.com for more information.

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Matthew 19:5 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

God initiated human history and defined for all time what marriage is and identified the only two types of candidates that comprise a marriage: one man and one woman. He also identified the archetypical union from which these candidates would derive. The prospective husband and wife both come from the ancestral unit of a Father and Mother.

Though Adam and Eve didn’t have biological parents, this pronouncement reveals God had particularized specifics in mind as to what He ordained Fathers and Mothers to be. Fallenness didn’t change God’s plan.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24 (ESV).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

Our world that is changing quickly and dramatically. But we do not have to fret. Jesus, as He concluded the Sermon on the Mount, already told us how to prepare ourselves. Submitting ourselves to his Word with regularity and consistency is one part of the preparation strategy. The other part is doing what He’s said.

The coming rain, floods, and wind are inevitable. He didn’t say “if” they come. He said “when” they come. Having Christ’s Word, but failing to obey Him qualifies one for the hall of fools.

“And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

As comforting as it is to know that eternal life in the tangible, manifested presence the Messiah is our home, salvation is not intended to focus us exclusively on the eternal state. In fact, Jesus explicitly instructed His disciples that we are to be reproducing disciple-makers.

Central to following Christ as his disciple is denying ourselves daily. Living self-willed, self-absorbed, and self-centered lives is actually contrary to the call to follow Christ. Denying ourselves is a daily priority if we are to follow Him.

“You must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile.” 1 Samuel 12:21 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

Samuel admonished the Israelites, “… do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.” v. 20(b). The inevitable consequence of “turning aside” from the LORD is that you will give yourself to futility, things that “can not profit or deliver.”

Do you want your life to mean something? Do you want it to count? You actually were created for life eternal. The only way forward is to give your life wholeheartedly to Christ.

Eternal life is the only way to live now.

“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.” 1 Samuel 12:23 (NASB95).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

When the Israelites finally grasped the gravity of what they’d done in demanding a “king to judge us like all the nations,” they asked Samuel to pray for them that they “may not die” (1 Samuel 8:5; 12:19). Samuel agreed to both pray and instruct them in righteousness.

Christ-followers shouldn’t allow people to manipulate us into co-signing wickedness by saying, “just pray for me.”

We will certainly pray AND speak the truth in love.

"Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.” Jeremiah 29:1 (NASB).

My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most quoted verses in scripture, albeit usually out of context and misunderstood.

Something that is often missed is that it is one sentence from an entire letter God sent to exiled Jews in Babylon. What should be noted here is that even in the midst of judgment, God still provided guidance and instruction to His people ,anticipating their return to Him.

So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

My name is Abraham Hamilton III, and this is the Hamilton Minute.

First Samuel chapter 1 begins by introducing us to a woman named Hannah.

She was tormented and grieved by bareness.

Hannah wept continually and was so disturbed that she wasn't eating.

Yet she makes her way to the Lord's temple, poored out her heart to Him , moving her lips but not uttering a sound.

Immediately, as she concluded her prayer, the matter was settled.

Though she didn't have any tangible evidence of an answer to her heart's cry at the moment, she had the tangible confidence in the one to whom she cried.

The matter was settled, in prayer.

So she gleaned in the field until evening.  Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

My name is Abraham Hamilton III, and this is The Hamilton Minute.

Before she ever became aware of the possibility of a kinsman redeemer, Ruth the Moabite demonstrated a strong work ethic and confidence in the God of Israel.

The way toward God's destiny for our lives is through faithful obedience to Him and diligent execution of what He's put in our hands to do right now.

Before concerning ourselves with what may be next, we should first ask whether we've been faithful where we are.

Faithfulness and diligence now yields clarity later.  Let's put our hands to the plow we have now.