June 16

Deuteronomy 21 Outside of the one of the public buildings of Davie County, North Carolina, in Mocksville stands a tall granite monument. On the one side of the monument is engraved the names of all the county sons who died in the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. On the other side are the names of all the county sons who died in the Civil War. The Civil War side of the monument is filled with names. The other side has many blank spots and gaps between the different war lists. My great grandfather, Charles Stanley Chaffin fought in the Civil War. He was 19 when he entered the ranks of the Army of North Carolina in 1864. Obviously his name is not on the monument, but there are a couple of Chaffins on the Civil War side. They must be cousins. There are no Chaffins at all on the other side. Somehow my Grandfather avoided being drafted in WWI. My Dad was in the Navy in WWII. My uncle was in Korea. My brothers missed the draft during Vietnam by being students. I turned 18 in 1973 when we pulled out of Vietnam. My son spent 15 months in Iraq. He lost a number of fellow soldiers. We are so grateful that he came home safe. I am not aware of any relatives that have ever been murdered. I guess my family has been preserved from violent deaths. I cannot think of a more unsettling thing to happen than to lose a loved one due to murder or war. Bloodshed must be a very serious offense in Scripture. From Abel on God has held accountable those who spill blood. Even in this chapter, which deals with various kinds of bloodshed, we find that when a murdered corpse is found, God holds the nearest village accountable. He even required a blood sacrifice and a public declaration of innocence by the village elders. But tucked away in these verses on how to deal with the problem is verse 5, which says, “Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled.” In the very midst of our inhumanity toward each other, while holding us accountable for sin, He still desires to bless. In the midst of terrible injustice, He seeks to bring us back to Himself and to bless us. All he requires is truth and repentance. I think this reveals the greatness of His heart. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

June 15

Deuteronomy 20 In 2009 I had an English Composition student who was in the Oklahoma National Guard. He sometimes would miss class because of his Guard duties. In one of my discussions with him he told me that he had volunteered for active duty in Afghanistan. I asked him, “Why?” He said, “Because I really want to defend my country.” We have all heard stories of men and women who have done things like that because they love the glory of their country. That young man was rare. As I think about this chapter, how is it that the Lord could give so many opportunities for a man to get out of serving in the army and Israel would still be able to field an army? Look at the reasons listed which would keep a man out of the army: If he just built a new house, if he just planted a new vineyard, if he just got engaged, if he is afraid, all of these disqualified him from serving in the Lord’s army. Is there really anyone who is not afraid before going into combat? What drives a man to not be afraid? Certainly there are a number of factors that can subdue fear so that a man might not sense it. Adrenaline can do that, but you already have to be in the heat of battle to get the adrenaline. Hate can do that. One can be so overcome with hatred for an enemy that fear is funneled into the hate making the desire to kill, maim or destroy become even stronger. Fear is lost in a surge of hatred. Another thing that can drive a man to not be afraid is a strong sense of invincibility. What could cause a man to have a strong sense of invincibility? What is invincibility? Invincibility is that from of an eternal viewpoint, I know I will be better off eternally than I am now, no matter what happens between now and then. What would give the men of Israel a sense of invincibility? Would it not be that one understood that in the sight of the Eternal, Infinite, Almighty, All-compassionate God, one is fully loved and accepted, and that He is with me? It has much to do with His glory. My concept of God really does shape my emotions and my sense of security. What good would be a god who is not any of the things I just listed? Then again if I fully understood that He is all those things but was not convinced that I am fully loved and accepted and that He is with me, then what good would that be to me? The glory of Jesus is that the Eternal, Infinite, Almighty, All-compassionate God became flesh like me so that I could become fully loved and accepted to Him. When I become fully loved and accepted to Him, He is always with me. When I fully begin to grasp those things, it begins to give me a sense of invincibility. Wow! I can endure anything! Even so, I don’t think I will volunteer for Afghanistan, but I will volunteer for service in the Lord’s army! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

June 14

Deuteronomy 19 The dispensation of justice in this world is a difficult thing. We are all aware of folk stories of the Hatfields and McCoys. Generally it runs that one family begins to feel wronged by the other family, so they retaliate. The retaliation is a little bit stronger than the original offense in order to communicate to the other that they should not be messed with. Gradually or suddenly the retaliations explode until the acts toward each other are indeed horrendous. History is full of examples of this cycle as one nation rises up against another. Palestinian and Israeli confrontations are ones that are constantly in the news now. What really surprises me is that the media vociferously attacks Israel as an aggressor, when often (not always) Israel’s damage upon the aggressors is less than the Palestinians and is more surgical in hitting a military target than the Palestinians, and almost always in response to a Palestinian aggression. This passage addresses justice. Justice is a balance of the scale where moral acts are equal. Justice requires equality. The terms ‘life for lie’, ‘eye for an eye,’ and ‘tooth for a tooth,’ are examples of equality. For justice to be dispensed, it must not be more than or less than the equivalent act. Under the rule of law, justice must be equal. Israel was to be a country under the rule of law. They were to be sure that as such, justice was equal. Jesus refers to verse 21 in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:38,39, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As followers of Jesus, we are to understand that justice was carried out upon our sin but not upon us. In as much as He Himself bore our sins upon Himself, “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed.”-1 Peter 2:24. Justice was carried out, but it was carried out upon Him in our place. We who have repented and believed in Him have received mercy not justice. Because we have received mercy, we likewise are to extend mercy to others. In so doing we reflect His glory in our lives. His mercy endures forever. May it also do so through us! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

June 12

Deuteronomy 17 What if my wife said to me, “John, you are so harsh. I wanted to spend some time with other men, and that upset you. What is so wrong with me having dinner with another man, or even having a sleep over with him. Some of the men I meet are so protective. I feel much more secure around them than I do with you. There isn’t anything wrong with me enjoying their riches and their company.” If my wife said that and meant it, I do not think there would be very good odds that our relationship would last long. Some would say that the God of the Old Testament is harsh. Certainly there are some pretty harsh consequences here. Can you imagine if today we stoned anyone who worshipped other gods? We would be killing a lot of people. What would happen if we followed the other guidelines revealed in this chapter? Why couldn’t a king multiply horses? Horses were strategic weapons of war. A horse and chariot were the tanks of their day. To multiply horses was tantamount to raising a mighty army. If the king multiplied horses, he would be tempted to put his trust in the army rather than the Lord. What would happen if we applied that concept to our republic? One of the driving forces of our economy is the trust we have placed in our military industrial complex. I still sometimes wonder about our entrance into the Iraq war. Was it really about weapons of mass destruction, or was it to protect western oil interests? If it were not for the far superior military technology of our military, would we still have entered into the war? In whom or what were we trusting when we entered the war? Had we not had a superior military, where would we have place our trust? Why couldn’t a king multiply wives? The first response to that question is that it is just wrong to have more than one wife, and the king should model a righteous family. While that is true, it does not include the fact that marriage alliances were used to provide national security. When Solomon had 700 wives, I find it difficult to believe that he had a sexual relationship with 700 women. If he visited one per day, it would take him 2 years to make the rounds. So why did He have so many wives? It was another way of providing national security. The marriage alliances provided peace for the country. Seven hundred allies is a very formidable support group. One of Solomon’s main marriage alliances was his marriage with Pharaoh’s daughter. That one alliance secured his southern border, but at what price? She turned his heart away from the Lord. Would God have given him peace without the multiple marriage alliances. Maybe, maybe not, but he would have been less likely to have turned his heart away from the Lord. He lost the privilege of feasting on the glory of the Lord. Why couldn’t a king multiply silver and gold? When we are rich, it takes great discipline to resist the corruption of trusting in wealth rather than the Lord. Solomon became so rich that silver became devalued. Can you imagine that? You might be saying, “No, I can’t, but I would like the opportunity to try.” Solomon’s riches also were instrumental in turning His heart from the Lord. The Lord wants my heart. He wants me to enjoy Him as my security. He wants me to rest in Him as my protector. He wants me to value Him as true riches. Why? Simply because He is. To settle for anything else is to settle for poverty. He wants to give me Himself—that is true riches. How can I but give Him myself? His glory is too awesome! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

June 8

Deuteronomy 12 “It’s your thing! Do what you wanna do.” So goes the lyrics to the Isley brothers 70’s hit song. It seems to have been the motto of many in the early 70’s. The song is appealing to the individual. However it is devastation to relationships. Some where within relationships there must come a centrality of purpose and action. The Lord clearly lays out the necessity of the centrality of the tabernacle/temple in this passage. Why was there to be only one place of worship? One main reason is given. It was to prevent every man from ‘doing what was right in his own eyes’ (v.8). History clearly demonstrates the proclivity of man to do his own thing. Consider for example the 33,000 to 41,000 denominations in the world. Consider for example the ease with which people jump from church congregation to church congregation, much like they go from Wal-Mart to Wal-Mart. God’s people are not immune to doing what is right in their own eyes. One would think that It would be a little different with God’s people. After all, Jesus prayed in John 17:22, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.” Wouldn’t being one preclude 33,000 denominations? Am I missing something? Much of the glory of our Lord Jesus is invested in the unity of His people. Consider these verses: We are one temple. There is only one foundation, and only one building which He is building on it. Ephesians 2:19–22 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. One day the son of perdition will build a temple in Jerusalem so that He can show Himself to be God. You see the purpose of a temple is to display God. That is why He is building us into a temple—so that He can display Himself as God in us (2 Thessalonians 2:4). It is through his building of the church that His glory is seen. Ephesians 3:21 tells us, “To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” His glory is somewhat dependent upon our unity. So how does He get glory out of the current state of the church? I can only guess that it is through the organic unity of the church, not the organizational unity. One day the organizational structures of the church will be dissolved. When it does, only the organic unity will remain. That will be true glory. On the one hand, in that day we will still do our thing; however, at that time our thing will be one thing: to bring glory to Him. Don’t you think for the sake of His glory we ought to work a little harder on unity? Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

June 6

Deuteronomy 10 With the invention of the printing press, the reformation and the enlightenment, the western European mindset was forever changed. We moved from a culture that presented images and then used words to understand and explain them, to a culture that primarily used words to understand and explain life. Visit a Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian, or Coptic (all traditions that were well entrenched prior to the invention of the printing press) church building, and you will find that the architecture and embellishments of the buildings are full of images. Indeed one of the long-standing arguments between Catholic and Protestant has been the understanding of the second commandment, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image.” Most of those from those ancient traditions would argue that they do not worship the images but simply use them as teaching tools. The use of an image in teaching, understanding, explaining and motivating is indeed powerful. God uses images here. There are two major images included in this chapter which help illustrate the glory of our Lord. The first is the image of the ark. So just what is an ‘ark?’ It is basically a box. It is interesting that it could be translated ‘coffin.’ Think of the image here. The stone tablets upon which are written the Ten Commandments are stored in a coffin. In Moses’ day when a king (Suzerain) conquered another king (Vassal) a Suzerain/Vassal treaty was written up. Portions of both Exodus and Deuteronomy follow the form of such a treaty. One of the things that would take place with the treaty was that a copy of the basic stipulations of the treaty would be placed in the temple of the god of the Vassal and the temple of the god of the Suzerain. When you think of the Ten Commandments as the basic stipulations of a Suzerain Vassal treaty, it takes on an added significance. The Lord would be the Suzerain and the people of Israel would be the Vassal. It very well could be that the two tablets of the Ten Commandments were identical tablets. The Lord is the only God involved. The focal point of His tabernacle or temple was the ark of the covenant. The basic stipulations of the peace treaty were placed in the coffin. The ark is considered by most Christian commentators to be a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you get the image? The basic demands of the law, the peace treaty, are placed in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. With His death, the demands of a holy God are satisfied. Peace is obtained. Before they had even received the tablets of the basic stipulations, they had broken them. Now that they had received them, they are immediately instructed to place them in a coffin! What an image! What do you think they thought when they saw the image? Every time that they got up to move to a new location in their 39 years of wandering in the wilderness, the focal point of their move was the cloud or fire above the coffin which held the stipulations which they had broken! What an image! Before I had any understanding of the holiness of God, I had already broken the entirety of the Law. The demands of my breaking the law are carried out in the Lord. Every time that I see Him, both now and in Eternity to come, I will see His scars and be reminded that I broke the Law, and the demands of the law were placed upon Him causing those scars. He died for me! He is my peace. What an image! But there is a second major image dealing with the covenant in this passage. It is the image of circumcision. What a strange request God would have of His people. Why in the world would he want the males who are part of His covenant to have their foreskin cut off? First of all, it would be a lifelong image. Every time a male would urinate or bathe, he should have a visual reminder that He was part of the covenant family. Every time he made love to his wife, he should be reminded that he was part of the covenant family. Today there is a reaction against circumcision. In some countries there are groups that are trying to make the practice illegal. I wondered if there was any health benefit to circumcision, just as there is for much of the dietary laws. According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, circumcision might have various health benefits, including: easier hygiene, decreased risk of urinary tract infections, decreased risk of sexually transmitted infections, prevention of penile problems, decreased risk of penile cancer. The New York Times reported that a new study suggests that circumcision in adult males in Africa reduces the risk of getting HIV from a female partner, cutting infection rates 40 to 60 percent. Hmmm. . . it would seem to me that those benefits imply that circumcision increases hygiene which then results less likelihood of infection. Underneath the extra skin, uncleanness can hide. Removal of the skin reduces the area where unwanted bacteria, fungi or viruses can hide. What image does that produce spiritually? God calls them to circumcise their hearts. He is telling them to remove from their lives anything which would allow sin to hide and produce its killing infectious disease. We must cut away anything from our thinking process or decision making process or emotions which hides the truth about the condition of our hearts. We must allow our hearts to be invaded by the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. When He shines His light upon it, we must confess the sin, repent and receive His provision to set us free! Now, take those two images and apply them to this passage. We are commanded to love the Lord our God. The ark is the image which motives us to do that. What else could we do but love Him who died just for us? Circumcision of the heart is the image that tells us how. We come to His light. We expose ourselves to Him. We cease hiding. Is that not amazing? What images which declare His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

June 5

Deuteronomy 9 Believe it or not, I played football in high school. I wasn’t any good, but I was on the team. I was too light and weak to be a lineman and too slow to be a back or a receiver. For some reason I was placed on the line. As a sophomore I was 135 pounds. As a junior I was 145 pounds. As a sophomore and junior, I never suited up for a game. My senior year I soared up to weighing 165 pounds and bench pressing 240 pounds for the playing season, not very big or strong for a lineman. I actually started two games early in the season my senior year, but alas, my performance was so poor that the coach quickly pulled me out. Before the last game of the season, our nose guard had a slight injury. The coach decided to take a chance on me one last time. I was tapped to start at nose guard. I would be playing opposite guys whose average weight was around 200 pounds. We were playing the #10 ranked team in the state. Going into the game we had a win/loss record of 4/5. I wanted nothing more than to go out with a bang. All week long, I asked the Lord to allow me to play the absolute best that I could in order to bring glory to His name. The first play of the game I sacked the quarterback. They ran three plays and punted. I had two other unassisted tackles during the game and a couple of other assisted tackles. By the end of the game they had negative running yardage in the middle of the field. They did have one play where they made yardage up the middle. It was a screen pass. I tripped and fell. As I was getting up, I looked and saw their back standing next to me receiving a lobbed pass. It is difficult to tackle someone when you are getting up and have no momentum. So I wrapped my arms around his waist as I was trying to get up. He drug me along for a couple of yards. To this day when my mom relates my football experience, that is the one which she tells about. But that was the only play of the game where they made yardage up the middle. Every time I came off the field, I was greeted with, “Wow, Chaffin! You’re doing great” With each compliment I replied, “Praise the Lord!” How is it that a crummy player like myself could outplay guys who were some of the best in the state and were 20% larger than me? There is only one answer. The Lord permitted it so that I could speak glory to His name. How is it that we can stand up to giants who are great and tall, about whom it has been said, “Who can stand before them?” The Lord wanted the Israelites to go up against the giants so that they would realize experientially that through Him we can destroy all of His enemies. What giant is there in our way that is keeping us from performing the purposes of God? The Lord permits those giants to come into our lives in order to help us learn experientially that He will empower us to overcome! As a consuming fire, He burns away every obstacle which keeps us from experiencing His kingdom! But like the children of Israel we must act in faith and obedience. When we do, His glory is seen. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

June 4

Deuteronomy 8 I always get nervous before a major exam. It usually makes my performance on the exam go down. Should I be nervous? Why do they have to give exams anyway? Some say it is so that the teacher can see how well they have taught. Somehow I do not think that is why most teachers give an exam, but since teachers are paid to do what they do, tests become a way of measuring whether the teacher is effective or not. Some say that is so that the teacher will know what the student has learned; therefore, he or she will know how to rank the student according to the norms. Having been a teacher before, I usually could fairly accurately forecast how a student would do on an exam based on his/her participation prior to the exam. Others say that the teacher gives tests so that the student will know what he or she has mastered. That is probably the best reason for giving the test. If the student cares then he can take what he has learned from the test and improve what is needed. Why does God test our hearts? God is amenable to no one, so I do not think He gives tests to see how effective He is as a teacher. Who’s going to fire Him, or evaluate Him? Does He need to evaluate Himself? So, why does He give the test? God is all-knowing, so He knows before I enter the test how I am going to respond. So, why does He give the test? He gives the test so that I will know the true condition of my heart. He allows me to hunger to show me how important physical bread is to me in relation to spiritual bread. He wants to teach me to hunger in the same way for spiritual bread. One morning in seminary we had no bread. We had nothing with which to make a meal in the cupboards or refrigerator. We had no money. I walked to the seminary library to have my quiet time and pray. While sitting there reading the Word, another student, whom I barely knew, stood up walked over and put a twenty dollar bill on the table in front of me and said, “I don’t know why, but the Lord told me to give this to you.” I thanked him and he walked away. That was a defining moment for me. It taught me that the Lord can and will meet my hunger needs. The problem is that I am not as sensitive to my spiritual hunger needs as I am to my physical needs. As I am writing, I am sitting at the Tampa Convention Center looking out over Tampa Bay. People are constantly walking and jogging by. I am amazed that there seems to be a higher number of beautiful women jogging than there are buff men, or perhaps it is just my maleness that notices it. One might say that it could be a time when the Lord is testing my heart and showing me what it is really there. Twenty years ago I would have had to have found a different location. I’d like to think that my heart is purer now, but really, it probably has more to do with the fact that I am getting old. He allows me to be in situations where I can see the true condition of my heart so that I can turn to Him to change it. Maybe He is changing it. Yesterday one of the other delegates reported that the Howard Johnson’s Hotel in which he was staying caught fire. It prevented him from getting to the center on time. I had left my Howard Johnson’s early in the morning, so I wondered if it was the same one in which I was staying. Secretly I was hoping that it was my hotel and that my clothes were burned up. It would be a wonderful excuse to get a new wardrobe. What does that test say about my heart? Rather than being content with simple covering, perhaps I cling more than I should to having nice clothes. The clothes I have are not bad. My house burned down 5 years ago, and the clothes I have were given to me after the fire. They are starting to get a little old. After all, they were used when I received them. If one looks closely, one can see that they are getting a little worn. Can you imagine walking around in the desert for 40 years and not wearing out your clothes? What do you suppose the test revealed about their hearts? I want my children to have their needs met, but I also do not want them to be so focused on their needs that they miss what is really important in life. Otherwise, they end up whining all the time. We do have God given drives for food, sex and clothing, but our heart’s desires for them twist those desires making them more important than they are. We then rationalize ways of fulfilling them that are outside of God’s plan. It is part of our sin nature. That nature takes those desires into directions that The Lord did not intend for them to operate. God allows tests for us to see what our hearts are really like. He, like a father, sends those disciplining—challenging tests, so that we may join with Him in changing our hearts. He loves us too much to let us remain demanding whining little children! He desires to deeply bless us with our needs, but those needs should be kept in alignment with His design! There is bread that is more important than physical bread. There is intimacy that is greater than sex. There is covering that is better than clothing which we wear. These are found delighting in His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

June 3

Deuteronomy 7 As I write, I have four living grandchildren. They are each a delight to my soul and precious in my sight. When they come, I want nothing more than to bless them. But if I gave them everything they asked for, it would not be healthy. They would end up with a diet that is full of sugar and lacking in nutrition. The puppies would probably be mangled, and other dangerous things would happen. Sometimes they are quite demanding. Sometimes I have to say, “No.” Nevertheless I suspect that I am more merciful with them than I was with their fathers, and I am probably more faithful to them than I was to their fathers. “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Now, I am not trying to represent that I am, by any stretch of the imagination, godlike, but I do want to communicate how much I want to bless them. Verses 12-13 tell us, Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. 13“And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. It is the glory of the Lord that He desires to bless His people. But notice, it is dependent upon His people listening to, keeping and doing His judgments. The greatest blessing that He can give to us is for us to experience His glory. Hmmm. . . the more we listen to, keep and do his judgments, the more He blesses us. The more He blesses us, the more glory He receives. It is also to his glory that He disciplines His people. So the more we do not listen to, keep and obey, the more He disciplines. The more He disciplines, the more He is glorified. So then, He is glorified whether I obey or disobey, but if I am obedient, then I can enjoy His glory. If I am disobedient, His glory will be painful. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

June 2

Deuteronomy 6 Love is a many splendored thing. Wasn’t that the name of a song, or movie, or TV show? Whatever, it is indeed a true statement, if not extremely corny. Some friends and I were at breakfast this morning. One friend mentioned about another friend as to how devoted he is to his wife. He was right. We all talked about the good things our friend does for his wife. One commented that he didn’t think he had it in him to be that loving. Well, if the truth were known, none of us has it in us to be that loving. It takes a decision to trust Jesus for it. But when true love exists, it motivates us to do all kinds of things. How do we know that our friend is loving toward his wife? We know it by the things that he does for her. How do we know that God loves us? How did Israel know that God loved them? Well, he gave them freedom they did not fight for, land they did not earn, houses they did not build, furniture they did not craft, wells they did not dig, orchards and vineyards they did not plant. How do I know that God loves me? He loved me so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that I would not perish. In this is love, not that I loved God, but that He loved me and sent His Son to be the propitiation for my sins. But God demonstrates His own love toward me, in that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. No greater love has anyone had for me than this that He lay down his life for me and called me his friend. How does anyone else know that I love God? Is it not by what I do? Is it not in my obedience? Some strive to make a big deal out of obedience. But when they do are they not missing the point? Yes, we are to obey, but if I truly loved God, would I not obey? Is it possible to obey and not love? So, if I do not obey, then does it not stand to reason that my love is not strong enough to produce obedience? So, I am in a terrible fix! I am commanded to love Him, who has given me everything, yet my obedience, even my desire for obedience, displays that my strength to love falls woefully short. What shall I do? Will His awesome love span the distant void created by my pathetic attempts to love Him? Somehow I think that if He laid aside all in order to die for me, then His love will span the void as long as I will trust in, cling to and rely upon Him. That is His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

June1

Deuteronomy 5 The law was given 50 days (Pentecost) after the Passover which delivered the people from Egypt. Forty years after leaving Egypt, The Children of Israel crossed the Jordan into the promised land. Deuteronomy is Moses once again reciting the law to the new generation of Israelites. This is around 39 years after their departure from Egypt. Moses is speaking to an entirely new generation. Everyone except Joshua and Caleb and their families who were 20 years old and older at the rebellion at Kasdesh-Barnea is now dead. Yet Moses says to these people many of them adults, who were not yet born 38 years earlier, “The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.” Interesting! So Moses in Deuteronomy (which means second law) is giving that covenant for a second time, because many of those with whom it was made were not even alive when it was made. This chapter includes the basic stipulations of the covenant, better known as The Ten Commandments. The promise and warning from the Lord was this (v.33): “You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.” This generation obeyed the law and took possession of the land. Future generations vacillated between obedience and disobedience. Eventually the disobedience became so severe that God kicked them out of the land. As He was kicking them out, He sent the prophet Jeremiah to the nation to tell them that 70 years later He would let them return. Jeremiah also prophesied that God would make a new covenant with them. While in this chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses says that the law was written on tablets of stone. In Jeremiah 31:33-34 Jeremiah says: But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” At the last supper when Jesus say, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood,” It is of Jeremiah’s prophecy that He is speaking. While the New Covenant is obviously not in full force yet, it is obviously initiated in the death of our Lord. The first generation at Mt. Sinai could not keep the covenant. The second generation was obedient enough to possess the land, but future generations lost it. Jesus makes a New Covenant not with just the people of Israel but with all the ethnic groups of the earth. If we will repent and believe, He will walk with us so that our sins will be remembered no more and we can fulfill the Law! Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it in us! I am completely incapable of fulfilling the law, the Ten Commandments. Through Jesus, I can love the Lord with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. Through Jesus every day is a Sabbath, setting me free for rest and work. Through Jesus I can truly honor my mother and father. Through Jesus I can not only keep from committing murder, but I can love my enemies like He loved them. Through Jesus I can not only keep from lusting after women, but I can love my wife faithfully to the degree that He loved me—He died for me. Through Jesus not only can I cease stealing, but now I can give. Through Jesus not only can I quit bearing false witness, but now I can speak the truth in love. Through Jesus not only can have what I need, but I can be content with having only food, clothing and shelter, or I can be content when He makes me abound. I cannot do any of that without Him. That is what makes Him so glorious. Not only is He like that Himself, but when I yield to Him He invades my life and make me what He wants me to be. Now that is glory for Him! I can relax and enjoy Him! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john