The King gave a party and invited all of us “friends.” When we want to do something we like to have those of like interests around,those who will approve or tolerate our behavior. At this party the forces of evil had a field day. There was much corruption and riotous living.

It was at the height of this party that Belshazzar called for the vessels of God that his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. While they were drinking from these. And praising pagan gods something startling began to happen. Prior to this the king and his cronies were living it up. As the world says, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Then all of a sudden the king’s face grew pale and terror came into his heart. We might say he was “as white as a sheet as if he had seen a ghost.” But we all know it was more at that. The Most High God was making Hs presence known. He did something that would make them stand up and take notice.

What did Belshazzar do? He did the same thing that Nebuchadnezzar did; he called on his wise men to tell him what was transporting. These counselors could not come up with the answer. It is foolishness to think that world can have the right answers. Then a familiar tune: Daniel is called in. He read the writing; it was a message of judgment. (Daniel 5:1-24). What did the “handwriting on the wall” mean?

• Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
• Tekel: You have been weighed in the scales and found wanting.
• Peres: Your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.

It happened just like God said it would. That very night Babylon fell. There are a number of lessons to be learned from reading this account.

1. Sin is not static. What do I mean by this statement? The one who sins never stays on the plateau. The path of sin always leads downhill (James 1:13-15). In many cases we do not learn from experience who God is and that He is the Sovereign God in control of the universe. Belshazzar fell into that category. He knew or had heard how God had dealt with Nebuchadnezzar; he went farther and blasphemed God by desecrating the holy vessels. This pattern of sin is clear from Romans 1:21-24; 26, 28.
2.  Sin puts us to sleep in regards to sin. We think that we are living “all right lives” and that we are in control of our destinies. We don’t even think we are sinning.
3. God is not static. There are times in history when sin abounds and God does not seem to intervene. We must not think that just because God has postponed judgment that He will forget; He will pour out His wrath against sin. We say that there are only 2 sure things in life: “death and taxes.” Well, you can avoid paying some taxes, but death is certain (Hebrews 9:27). This verse gives another certainty for mankind: judgment.
4. The final destinies of mankind. We see a foretaste of the final days here. All sin will be judged. Each of us has to make a decision on whether to follow Christ or not. Those who have followed Him and are alive when He returns will be caught up to meet Him in the air as recorded in I. Thes. 4:16-18. But what about the unbeliever? Read Rev. 20:11-14. It will be a time when “every knee will bend and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.” But for the unbeliever it will be too late. People think they have plenty of time to be saved. Where will you spend eternity? The choice is yours. God tells us the destiny of the wicked so that we might turn from sin to salvation. God desires that all be saved, but we know that will not happen (2 Peter 3:9).

If it were not for the long suffering of God we might not have had the opportunity to become a Christian. Judgment is coming! To those outside of Christ the three word on the wall have meaning today.

• Mene: God is going to number your deeds to show that you has failed to achieve His standards. At the Great White Throne, books are opened; all the evil you have do will be poured out on one side of God’s scales.
• Tekel: All the lies, hypocrisies, all the self-seeking, all the evil will be weighed as you stand there the scales weigh down to condemnation.
• Peres: The Greek word for judgment means divided. Thee is a path that leads to eternal life for those who have accepted Christ and have obeyed the Gospel But at this judgment, it is too late for that.

What will those who are lost say to God on that day? Perhaps they will tell God that they lives a good life. You must choose to live for Jesus and serve Him.

Christians must focus on sharing the Gospel message with the lost. We must help unbelievers find their way out of the kingdom of darkness into the marvelous light of the Gospel, this avoiding the destiny of the lost!

As is evident in many Scriptures, Paul contrasts what we commonly call “both sides of the coin.” He shows us that we are influenced by both good and bad throughout our lives.  He contrasts a life that is controlled by Satan and one who is controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Paul tells us that we all are  following a course in life.  Here in Eph. 2 we have the negative viewpoint, a life that is directed by Satan. It is a life that centers on the things of the flesh. It is a life that stresses living in the flesh and satisfying carnal desires. It is a life that is alienated to God.  It is a life that has no room for the Lord Jesus Christ and one that will lead to Hell.

But, praise God that He exhibited His mercy.  Romans 5:8 says that “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.”  He is not a God who is stingy with His mercy; rather He is, like the title of our article, rich in mercy.

He has lavished His love and mercy upon us. Jesus said that He came that we might live an abundant life spiritually (John 10:10). We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly place in Christ (Eph. 1:3).

As a result of God being rich in mercy, Jesus came and died for us that we might have life in Him.  Eph. 2:8-10 tell us of that great news of salvation. Paul tells us of grace and faith and their part in salvation. He tells us that there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn that salva­tion. He tells us that we have be saved in order that we might work for the Lord. Not working to be saved, but working because we are saved.  Christians should be  the best workers the Lord has.

Because He is  rich in mercy and has delivered us out of the darkness of this world (Col. 1:14ff), we have the privilege to tell others of that mercy and  help them find the marvelous light of the Gospel.

Let’s always be a thankful people, living the Christian life to the fullest and always be striv­ing to “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)  By do­ing this we will “let our light shine for Him.” (Matthew 5:16)

-Larry Miles, April 17, 2012

One of the reasons that we have salvation is found in I Peter 2:9-11. Peter contrasts the life of the lost with that of one who is a Christian. He tells us what should be the result of our salvation and how that should impact our Christian life and those we come in contact with.

Peter starts off in I Peter 2:9 by describing the church as:

• A chosen generation.
• A royal priesthood.
• A holy nation and
• His own special people.

All of the above designations tell show us different aspects of what it means to be a Christian. He goes on to further elaborate on that last one, “His own special people.” It is from the description of what it means to be “His own special people” that we get the title of our article.

Peter tells us that it was/and is the will of God that we not keep our salvation to ourselves. We have been given a privilege, yea a command to tell others about our salvation. We are to tell others about God’s love for lost mankind and help them find their way out of darkness into the light of the Gospel, that is, salvation.

He says first of in 1 Peter 2:9 that we should “proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” The Apostle Paul in Col. 1:13-14 sheds some light as he talks about how we were called out of a kingdom of darkness and “conveyed (translated) into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” In both passages, darkness and light are contrasted.

We should love and appreciate the “marvelous light of the Gospel” so much more than the spiritual darkness that leads to Hell that we want to help others who are lost find that pathway. We must, as the song goes, “Take the Name of Jesus With You” and try to fulfill the words of Jesus in the Great Commission to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel…” Our “world” may not be around the world, but in our own family or sphere of influence.

Wherever it is, Christians must be faithful in evangelism. Remember, we proclaim Jesus, both audibly and by our actions– let’s always “practice what we preach” and live our lives as close to the Lord as we can. By doing so, we will not only draw nearer to the Lord ourselves, we might influence some one outside of Christ to desire to know about the Lord Jesus Christ.

-Larry Miles