November 2, 2010

2 Kings 15

More than half a century of history is covered in this chapter. Azariah, better known as Uzziah in 2 Chronicles, reigned 52 years. The Kings record only devotes a total of 7 verses to describe those 52 years. Funny, David reigned only 40 years and he received 39 chapters; 24 were from his reign as king. Uzziah must have had a pretty stable and powerful administration to have lasted 52 years. Humanly speaking, he must have been an incredible king. Because of his longevity, the kings of Israel are dated according to his reign. Isaiah dates his call to ministry to the year that King Uzziah died (Is. 6:1). Yet, only 7 little verses. The Lord was not too impressed. When we get to 2 Chronicles, we will have more to say about Uzziah then. But for now we could sum it all up by saying, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the praise of the whole world, but lose the glory of God?” I am not in the least implying that Uzziah went to hell, but rather I am saying that Uzziah had potential to elevate the glory of God beyond compare. Instead, he chose his own glory. He lived out the tail end of his life as a leper because he was only concerned about his own rights. Sad. But am I any different? When I am given the choice of pursuing my own rights as opposed to obedience to the Lord, which do I choose? The world is filled with Uzziahs. Lord, keep me from being one. Lord, let your glory exceed, multiply and fill my life! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john

Titus 3

Jesus is kind. What does it mean to be kind? Webster says it means to be sympathetic, friendly, gentle, benevolent, generous etc. Let us start with the first one, sympathetic. Do you ever stop to think that the One who created the Universe is sympathetic toward you? Bill Clinton is famous for the oft used line in his speeches, "I feel your pain." Whether or not it was true, it struck a very solid note with a lot of people. People want to know that someone who might have the power to do something about their situation feels their pain. If that person feels their pain, then they might be inclined to do something about it. Jesus, our Creator and Sustainer, feels our pain. That is part of why He became a man. As a human being, He felt every human emotion to its fullest extent, yet without sin. But kindness goes further than just feeling another's pain. It does something about it. It is benevolent. It is moved to bring relief to the pain.

That is why Jesus showed us mercy. Our pain was caused by that which kept us from Him, our sin. Our sin demanded justice, death. But in His kindness He took our sin and death upon Himself so that justice might not destroy us. Then He regenerated us. There is a lot of talk about stem cells. He is the original stem cell. He goes back to life without sin. He is able to regenerate a new life in us. He makes us new. He washes away our sin. The old is gone. The new is come.

We are now heirs with Him. An heir has an inheritance. What is His inheritance? It is us. What is our inheritance? It is Him. My first thought is that we got the better end of the deal. But then, remember He is the stem cell. What He is making us into is something that He puts on the level of us being His bride. He is not going to marry some ugly old maid. I tell you that the day my wife walked down the isle to marry me, she was the most beautiful woman in the world (and still is). I often tell her she is gorgeous. She usually responds that I have something wrong with my eyes, but it is okay for me to think she is gorgeous. Jesus has nothing wrong with His eyes. He has regenerated us and is renewing us day by day. When that day comes when we will be presented to Him, we will be radiant and without spot or blemish. We will be the perfect bride for the King of the universe. And it will all be because of His power. Now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor John