November 14

Zephaniah 3 Some years ago Laura’s mother was nearing her death. She was in the ICU at the hospital. That morning I read in my quiet time Zephaniah 1-3. I was struck by the iniquity of Judah and the promised judgment of the Lord, but then the Lord shifts gears and talks about how he would bring Judah back into the land in belief. Verse 17 says, “ The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” That concept of the Lord of the Universe singing over us is really amazing to me. What tenderness, what love, what compassion, what joy is expressed in that act! I spent much time meditating on the fact that the God of the Universe would rejoice and sing over us. Later in the morning we went to visit Laura’s mother at the hospital. As we sat there quietly next to her bed, Mrs. Mummery commented to Laura, “That is beautiful music you are singing; did John write it?” Laura responded, “Mom, we are not singing. What do you hear?” “Oh it is beautiful music! Did John write it?” “Mom, tell me about the music you hear.” “Oh it is beautiful! It is all about Jesus and God. Did John write it?” Mrs. Mummery had never heard any of the songs I have written, nor am I aware that she knew if I had ever written a song. It was one of those rare moments where God clearly had spoken. I pulled out the Gideon Bible found in the hospital room and explained what I had read that morning and then read Zephaniah 3:17. Laura and I needed that encouragement from the Lord. Later that afternoon Mrs. Mummery stepped into eternity with the God of the Universe singing over her. Isn’t He incredible? Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

November 12

Zephaniah 1 Grandma was a godly woman. She had 20 grandchildren. We occasionally would all be out at grandma & grandpa’s farm for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or 4th of July. It was a great time together playing spoons or football or hunting or simply walking in the woods. I have two cousins that have both served the Lord as ministers of music, one also as a pastor. It is nice to have that common bond with them. I also have cousins that do not embrace the glory of our Lord. While I still love them dearly, it hurts not to be able to have that same bond in Christ that I have with other cousins. Just because we share the same godly heritage, does not mean that we share the same god. Zephaniah was the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah. Josiah was the great-grandson of Hezekiah. I think that would make them 6th cousins. As part of the royal lineage, Zephaniah was also chosen by God to be a prophet. That could be either a good thing or a bad thing. Were Josiah evil as were his father and grandfather, then Zephaniah’s message would be ill received by Josiah. Jewish tradition informs us that Josiah’s grandfather had the prophet Isaiah sawn in half. Manasseh and Amon had left the nation in a religious mess. They had mixed the worship of Yahweh with the idolatrous practices of the Canaanite gods. The result was that the people were left with gods who did nothing, who were impotent, and the people knew it. The problem is that because the people had mixed the worship of Yahweh with their impotent gods, they could not distinguish the impotence of their false gods from the omnipotence of Yahweh, the true God (v.12). It was a crisis point for a vision of the glory of the Lord. Into this context Zephaniah is called to speak God’s message of judgment upon Judah’s idolatrous defamation of God’s glory. Would the new king Josiah be open to the rebuke, or would he be like his father and grandfather? Did Zephaniah even know Josiah well enough to know how he would receive the message of the Lord? Zephaniah had a message of the glory of God and judgment that burned within him. Whether or not he was aware of how he would be received, it had to come forth! It was a message of judgment: 4”I will stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, The names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests— 5Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the LORD, But who also swear by Milcom; Zephaniah’s message of judgment was delivered to his cousin and to the nation. How was it received? 2 Kings 23:5 informs us of how Josiah responded to the message: Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. Today we live in a nation which has mixed the glory of the Lord with our idolatrous gods. The result is an impotent church. We are satisfied with it. As long as our programs continue along to produce what they have always produced-lukewarm Christians-, we are satisfied. It matters not to us that the programs produce nothing of eternal value. We are satisfied with a God who does neither good nor evil. I need cousins who will settle for nothing less than the glory of an omnipotent God who judges evil and rewards those who seek Him with mercy and His presence. Will you be that cousin? Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

November 11

2 Kings 24 I can’t help but see the same cycles which Judah experienced occurring in our nation today. In 1973 we permitted the taking of human life in the womb for the sake of not being saddled with the responsibility of raising unwanted children. Since then, we have lurched from one president to another who each seem to be opposites on their stand to the taking of human life in the womb. With each cycle we seem to move a little more toward a president who is more permissive of the murder of children in the womb or partially born or in some cases infanticide. Last spring president Obama addressed Planned Parenthood. He proudly announced his support of preserving ‘women’s rights’ to privacy of their own bodies. The code words take the focus of what is being destroyed onto what is supposedly being preserved. But if we are indeed destroying innocent human life, then what kind of rights are we preserving? We are preserving the right to destroy a human being who is created in the image of God. We are lashing out at the Creator who made us. 2 Kings 24:3–4 Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon. What is the ‘innocent blood’ which Manasseh shed? Is it God’s glory that He would not pardon it? Manasseh had led the nation in sacrificing children to Molech. He even made his own sons pass through the fire. While Manasseh repented of it later, the damage was done. He made it culturally acceptable in his time. His repentance did not carry over to all of the people. Yes, there was a temporary revival under Josiah where the people seemed to repent, but inside rebellion was rife. As soon as Josiah died, and his evil son was on the throne, the people returned to their old ways. The Lord would not pardon, and rightly so. If there is not repentance, how can there be pardon? Thousands of year later in a land far away, our land, we still sacrifice our offspring to the god of our own pleasures. Even if president Obama were to repent, I fear it is too late. We may postpone the judgment of God by a temporary revival, as did Josiah, but judgment is coming. Too much innocent blood has been shed. The judgment will bring glory to God, but men will not recognize it. The souls of innocent slain in heaven will recognize it and give glory to Him, and so will I. Yes, forgiveness is available to individuals who repent and trust in the Lord, but corporately, I do not think He will pardon. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john Taken from the western end of the Hinnom Valley looking through the length of the valley to the East. In the distance modern Silwan is seen where the Hinnom meets the Kidron Valley. Manasseh sacrificed his sons to Molech in the valley. The nation followed suit. After the exile the nation turned it into a garbage dump where garbage was constantly burning. By Jesus’ day the valley had become called Gehennah, a corruption of the Hebrew, Ben Hinnnom. Gehennah became a metaphor for Hell because of its constant smoldering and rotting garbage. Judas was buried at the Eastern end of the Valley, the Potters Field. Today it is kind of a park and pleasant to walk through, although its cliffs are riddled with tombs and graves.