December 4

2 Chronicles 3-4 Much is said about the building of the Temple. 600 talents of Gold were used to inlay the walls. How much gold is that? That coverts to about 34,800-48,000 pounds of gold, or 17-24 tons. What would it cost to buy that much gold today? I just went on line to check the price of gold. As I write, gold is $1,131.00 per ounce. Let’s use the low end. 34,800X16X1,131.00=$629,740,800.00 That is just to buy the gold for the temple. Isn’t that extravagant? To build that temple today would take close to a billion dollars. That is extravagance for 7,000,000 people, men, women and children. It is about $90.00 per man woman and child. If we spent that today to build a building to house an average church of 70 people over an average payment time of 30 years, it would be about 90X70X30=$189,000.00 just for the gold. Is our God worth it? He is worthy to receive glory and power and dominion and riches!!! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john Proverbs 4 Today verse 23 struck me the most: Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. (NKJV). The New Century Version, translated on a third grade reading level, says, “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.” Hmmm. . . How much of what I think on the Glory of Christ runs my life? Do I really grasp the relationship between thinking upon his greatness as it relates to every area of my life and what actually happens in those areas? If it is legitimate to segment my life into areas in order to more fully grasp how thinking about His glory in that area, how would thinking first about His glory there change how I think and run my life in each area. Of course I would have to begin with my relationship with Him. If I did that, then certainly I would become more of a person who practices the presence of God (i.e. Brother Lawrence). How would it affect my relationship with my wife? Does the way I love her reflect His glory? Does it reflect the way He loves? How would it affect my relationship with my children? My grandchildren? How would it affect my relationship with the congregation which I pastor? How would it affect the use of the material things of which He has appointed me a steward? How would it affect the use of the time which He has given me to live? How would it affect my interaction with my neighbors? HOW? HOW? HOW? I think I am starting to get worn down by how far short I fall from the ideal. I cannot attain His glory. But I guess that is part of what Paul was talking about when by the inspiration of the Spirit he said, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” It almost makes me want to throw up my hands and say, “So what’s the use? I cannot do it!” That is why He offers grace. It is His divine enablement in me. It is Himself in me. Verse seven says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” Nelson’s Topical Bible Index says that understanding is knowing things in their right relationship. I cannot know anything in its proper relationship without understanding its relationship to the glory of Christ. Lord, give me understanding and the power to put it into action! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john Malachi 4 Do you enjoy promises? Of course you do. Promises are the basis of good relationships. Thirty-four and a half years ago, I made a promise to Laura and she to me. Those promises have been the bed rock of our marriage. Yes, you guessed it. They were our wedding vows. Those promises have made our marriage work. Why? Because we both honored them. We can trust each other even during trying times. She honors my name. Because she honors my name, it is my delight to do everything that I can to demonstrate my love for her. Part of the wedding vows, which I regularly include in my wedding ceremonies, includes the following vow that the groom gives to the bride: I (Groom’s name) take you, (Bride’s name), as my wedded wife; to love you with all my heart's affection; to give you all my earthly possessions; to give you all the honor of my name; and to share with you the grace of my God. Malachi 4 is a promise to “those who fear My Name.” He promises to be the sun of righteousness, who has healing in His wings. The healing extends to hurting relationships, especially to turn fathers back to children. He heals families. Now that is glory! Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john 1 John 3 Once when I lived in a community that did not have public water, My neighbor awakened me one morning. It was my day off, but he needed something. His water pump had died. It had died two days earlier. He needed water. We ran a hose from my house to his house. Finally they were able to get clean water to take a shower, wash their clothes & dishes, and flush their toilet. What a convenience it is to have clean water! I don’t know whether they drank tap water or not. We didn’t. Our water was clean (as in healthy) but it tasted really nasty. It was not pure. We bought water at the grocery store to drink. Our water was not pure in that it had gasses in it that gave it a nasty smell and taste. If you let the water sit open for a while the gasses escaped and then it was tolerable to drink. But the essence of good drinking water is that you want it on demand. It is pure even from gasses. Jesus is pure. There is no sin in Him, on Him or around Him. Someday, when we see Him, not only will we be declared pure, but we will be pure in our experience. Those who fix on His glory understand that and cooperate with Him purifying their lives now. Could it be like the water coming out of my well? We ran it through a water softener which collected the unwanted minerals in the water. Could that be compared to His declaring us righteous on the basis of His death upon the cross? Yet, the gasses from the minerals still remain in us. The smell and effects of water is still in, on and around us. Sometimes it is a process of getting rid of gasses in us, spiritual flatulence. But Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. That includes getting rid of the impurities in us. The spiritual flatulence in us keeps us from loving others and others loving us. As we gaze upon Him, we begin the process of removing the spiritual flatulence. One of the ways that we know that we have come to know Him is that we are in the process. He is pure. He wants us to be pure. Let us gaze upon His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John