December 28, 2010

2 Chronicles 33

John Wesley Hardin (1853-1895) was a Texas outlaw who was so mean that he once shot a man for snoring too loud. He claimed to have killed 42 men; although, he was accused of killing many more. How do I know this? I looked it up. While doing some genealogy research, I found out from ancestor.com that I am a distant cousin to him. It turns out that he was the son of a Methodist preacher, and is named after the founder of the Methodist movement. (Why is it that so many outlaws were preacher’s kids?) What happens that could take a man from being the son of a godly man to being a paragon of evil?

What happened so that Manasseh, the son of one of the godliest kings of Judah, turned out for a period to be one of the most ungodly kings of Judah? We are not told. But we are told of what the Lord did in order to force repentance out of Manasseh. The Lord brought the king of Assyria upon him, captured him, dragged him off to Babylon, and finally released him. It was done in such a way that Manasseh knew that the Lord had performed it. But it was too little too late. He had already seduced Judah to do more evil than even the surrounding nations. Yes, the Lord forgave Manasseh, but the nation continued in rebellion and Manasseh’s son led them in it.

What do we see of the glory of Jesus in this? We see His unfailing grace. He forgave Manasseh, who had sacrificed his own sons, built false altars in the temple, practiced the occult and many other gross deeds. Let us revel in His grace, but let us also take care to do all that is within us to pass the knowledge of His glory on to our sons and daughters. Help us Lord, for we are unable!

John Wesley Hardin spent 16 of his 42 years in jail. The last 11 years in jail he seemed to have repented. He became the jail Sunday school superintendent. He studied law. Upon his pardon from jail he passed the bar exam and became a lawyer. (from one life of crime to another :)) But the old ways still haunted him. He never seemed to get a grasp on his anger. He constantly was getting into fights. He finally died at the hands of an enemy. He was shot in the back of the while playing cards. Repentance? Only God knows. What was needed? I would say it was the same thing Manasseh needed, to get a true grasp of the glory of God. Where can we get that? Only by consistently being in His word and letting His Spirit reveal His glory to us. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Revelation 19

When the whore is destroyed, the bride is revealed. Who is the bride? We are His bride. We, who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, are His bride. Finally, the bride in all her resplendent glory comes forth! And what is foremost on her mind when she comes forth? It is declaring the glory of her husband the Lamb! The declaration of her praise for Him is so magnificent that John can only describe it as the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! . . .”

Then in the midst of her praise, He, the Lamb, is revealed. His glory is indeed awesome. He rides into the world as the King of kings and Lord of lords, with a description that captures the imagination, slaying those who oppose Him with a sword coming from His mouth. No one and no thing can resist His advance. And we, His bride, ride with Him. Dressed in white linen, we ride unassailed by the foe. The foe are all destroyed and the Beast and False Prophet are captured. He does it all effortlessly and simply by coming in His presence. This is our hope. This is what we look forward to. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John