The Hamilton Minute

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him."  Luke 15:20 (ESV).

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

When the the Prodigal Son parable is discussed the focus is usually placed on the young son who squandered his inheritance, yet returned home when “he came to himself.” But, if you look closely at the biblical text you will see it actually reveals the inexhaustible love of The Father.

Jesus’ story-telling reveals that this was no usual earthly father. When the young  son squandered all, brought shame upon himself and his family, The Father sees him from a distance, runs to him and restores him. That’s our heavenly Father.

"Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but [only] one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."  Luke 10:41(b)-42 (NASB).

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

After Jesus resurrected their brother, Lazarus, Martha and Mary, hosted a dinner party in their Bethany home. You can imagine the excitement and the buzz that swirled through the town and the number of people who came because the Rabbi had returned.

Martha busied herself with preparations. Mary sat at Jesus’s feet, basking in his teaching.

Life’s demands can easily consume our focus, but one thing is necessary: that we remain at Jesus’ feet, anchored in His word!

“And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.”  Acts 19:22 (ESV).

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

As Apostle Paul navigated torrential ministerial waters in Ephesus, he sent Timothy and Erastus ahead of him as an advance team to Macedonia. Paul also includes Erastus as one who greeted the church at Rome in Romans 16:23 in which Paul described Erastus’ job as the City Treasurer in Corinth.

In 1929, archeologists in Corinth discovered a mid-1st century latin inscription that read “Erastus in return for his aedileship laid the pavement at his own expense.” The modern equivalent of a 1st century aedile would be a City Manager.

The Bible is trustworthy!

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.”  1 Peter 2:9(a) (ESV).

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

When the the Spirit of God penned those words through Apostle Peter he meant every bit of them. Christ-following is distinct from the world. Christ-followers must look different from the world.

We shouldn’t be surprised then, when the world does not understand us and demonizes our faith. Jesus said, the student is not above the teacher. The world hated Jesus. We mustn’t be surprised when the world hates us.

We are called to be peculiar. Understand it. Embrace it. Get comfortable with it. Get used to it.

We are in the world, but not of the world.

Stay peculiar my friends.

“The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.”  Jeremiah 1:1-2 (NASB).

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

Jeremiah descended from a priestly lineage in Judah. He grew up in Anathoth, about 2-4 miles northeast of Jerusalem, where the temple was located. He began ministering prophetically about 627 B.C., during the 13th year of King Josiah’s reign. This is about 5 years before Josiah began Judah’s spiritual reformation.

It is very likely that Josiah’s reformation was influenced by Jeremiah’s preaching.

“He who walks with wise [men] will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.”  Proverbs 13:20 (NKJV).

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

The American Enterprise Institute conducted an empirical study to understand the decline of religious faith in America. They concluded,

The data seem to show the main driver of secularization in the United States is government spending on education and control over the curricular content taught in schools.

Why? Because,

Children learn more at school than reading, writing, and arithmetic. They imbibe a whole set of implied assumptions about what’s important in life. Faith in God becomes a sort of optional weekend hobby akin to playing tennis or video games.

And our taxes dollars pay for it.

“And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation.”  Acts 17:26 (NASB).

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

The scripture teaches that God has sovereignly “determined the boundaries” of our habitation and the “appointed” the times in which we would live.

That means the fact that you live right now in the United States of America, in the 21st Century, following the November 2020 elections is not a mere coincidence. It is the time and place that God has appointed for you. This isn’t a time to shrink back. It’s our moment to contend! May the Remnant arise to meet our moment.

In Jesus’ name.

“And you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”  Acts 1:8(b) (NASB).

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

The 128th Psalm explains it is the individual who’s been transformed by the power of God who then builds the transformed family. Transformed families build transformed churches. Transformed churches build transformed communities and transformed communities impact the broader society.

The way forward in America is repentance and living locally. Focus intensely on your families, your local church, and your local community.

What goes on in your house is far more important that what happens in the White House.

Great commission execution must begin in Jerusalem.

“Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.”  Proverbs 14:34 (NASB).

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

The prophet Isaiah diagnosed the condition of the rebellious nation of Judah prior to its conquest and exile by Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 59 of his book. He explained that Judah’s transgression separated the nation from YHWH. Due to Judah’s sinfulness truth had fallen in the streets. The consequences for their rejection of truth was that lawlessness abounded.

Similarly, truth has been rejected in our nation. Abundant lawlessness is the consequence for a nation that has turned away from the LORD. Repentance is what is needed in our nation, starting in the church. Righteousness is what exalts a nation.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”  Revelation 21:1-2 (ESV).

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

The city lies foursquare. Its length, width, and height all equal: 1,380 miles for each dimension.

The city’s wall is 216 feet high. Twelve gates surround the city, with each gate made of a single pearl.

Streets of gold so pure their translucent.

No need for a sun. God’s glory light’s the city.

No tears. No pain.

I wouldn’t miss it for the world!

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”  2 Timothy 4:7 (NASB).

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

Have you ever seen one of those track and field events where the runner starts out in blazing fashion, leading the pack for majority of the race, only to stumble just before reaching the finish line?

Starting the race well and running well are vitally important, but if we don’t finish the race well, all else can be overthrown.

The Apostle Paul penned those words, having fought the good fight, right on to the end as he faced imminent execution under Nero’s sword.

Let us all brothers and sisters set our courses to finish well.

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

Prior to the passage of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, over 80% of American families were debt free.

Today, over 80% of the American people are saddled with debt.

I was asked recently asked what advice I could offer in the midst of the national tension we currently face. One of the things I said in response was to work toward getting completely out of debt.

So much fruitfulness and faithfulness to God has been robbed from us due to the impact of crushing debt.

One of the best things you can do for your family right now is to become debt-free.

“Faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”  1 Corinthians 13:13 (NASB).

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

Karl Marx, an emissary of evil, and Charles Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers,” were evangelists of diametrically opposed messages, yet they both lived in London and the same time.

In fact, when asked the name of the person he most detested, Friedrich Engels, Marx’s cohort in chaos, responded unequivocally: “Spurgeon.”

A generation later George Bernard Shaw, a hardcore communist, seethed in hatred for William Booth and his Salvation Army of volunteers.

Time and again, robust Christian witness has been the inoculate against the proliferation of Marxist poison in society.

“You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness.” 2 Timothy 3:10 (ESV).

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

Apostle Paul penned his second epistle to Timothy, now an Elder in the Church at Ephesus, about 64-65 A.D. while imprisoned in Rome awaiting his imminent execution under Nero.

In warning Timothy about the coming perilous times, marked by the increased anti-Christian persecution in the Roman empire in 64 A.D., Paul directed Timothy to his speech and his feet.

In speech, Paul gave Timothy priceless Biblical instruction. In feet, Paul left Timothy a legacy of lifestyle.

Christ-following demands consistency between speech and feet.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19 (NASB).

And the second is like it.  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

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

When Queries by the pharisees concerning the greatest commandment, Jesus answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."

He then said the second greatest commandment is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

He didn't simply say love your neighbor.  He said Christ followers must love our neighbors as ourselves.

Christian duty requires us to employ discernment and active empathy.  We worship our Lord when we put ourselves in one another's shoes as we do live together and resolve misunderstandings.

"The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.”  Proverbs 15:31 (ESV).

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 (ESV).

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

Psalm 46 is a popular Psalm as it includes the text, “Be still, and know that I am God.” This was the conclusion to a Psalm that previously observed,

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

This described what looked like the end of the world. Nevertheless, the Psalmist remained unshaken. He refused to allow present difficulty to cause him to forget God’s past faithfulness.

Virus or no virus, God is our refuge and strength.

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Matthew 19:5 (ESV).

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

With this statement Jesus affirmed what He’d already said in Genesis 1 and 2 and defined marriage for all time. Contrary to the protestations of the nouveau critical theorists, the nuclear family consisting of a married father and mother is not a western sociological prescription or construct.

Marriage did not originate in the west.  It’s origin isn’t suburban America.

It started in Genesis, in the Garden of Eden.  Marriage is God’s idea.  Therefore, He alone defines it.  If you don’t like it, your problem is with God… not me.

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.”  Proverbs 13:20 (NASB).

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

When my wife and I first started having children we discouraged our family members from speaking to them in baby talk… you know the gaga-googoo stuff.

The reason was simple.  We wanted our children to speak English well.  Baby talk would hinder that development.

The same principle applies to spiritual development.

If we want our children to be wise disciples of our LORD we should ask ourselves how much of their time is spent investing in spiritual maturity.

Protracted time in the company of spiritual baby-talkers will inevitably cause harm.