January 14

Genesis 15 “I am your shield.” I can think of many experiences where it was clear that the Lord had been my shield. Should I tell about being lost in Mombasa and not knowing how to return to my hotel. How about the night we hit black ice on I-70 in Indiana? Should I tell about the night we spent in a motel on I-5 near Sacramento. Later I found out that it was a drug dealer infested area. Maybe I should write about one the wild experiences that I had during the hours from 2-6 a.m. delivering The Wall Street Journal in downtown Portland, Oregon. What about the long bus ride from Oklahoma City to Philadelphia and back. I’ll never do that with a family again. On a few occasions I have ministered to people who were hooked on crack. Shall I speak of entering their neighborhoods? I would have done none of these voluntarily; except, I know that He is my shield. “Your exceedingly great reward.” What would be an exceedingly great reward for you? Maybe it would be hitting the jackpot at one of our now numerous casinos or the state lottery. For those of you who are of a more lofty mind, maybe it would be winning the Nobel Peace Prize. What we often think are great rewards turn out to be great punishments. Five months after moving to Portland, Oregon to attend seminary, I found myself unemployed and penniless. Listening to a local Christian radio station, we found ourselves to be the winners of one of their contests. It was an album of some Christian classical guitarist. The only catch was we had to drive to the station to claim our reward. The station was located on the top of one of Portland’s tallest peaks. We drove to claim our reward. The last 100 yards of the road to the station was not paved. The road was very rough, and at one point the oil pan of our engine scraped over some tough bed rock. The next morning I found oil all under my vehicle. All of the oil had leaked out onto the street. My reward ended up costing me $50.00 to repair the oil pan, $50.00 that I did not have and had I had it, I would like to have used it elsewhere. After delivering Lot, turning down the booty that was rightfully his and tithing to the Lord, then the LORD appears to Abram. Abram has learned already that the Lord is God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth. At this point the LORD reveals Himself to Abram as his ‘shield, His exceedingly great reward.’ Having established this, the Lord now to him again and made His unconditional covenant with him. Abram does not need great reward. He does not need a great shield, neither do we need one. He alone is our shield and exceedingly great reward. That is the nature of His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * 2011 Nehemiah 4 Have you been following the case of the Chinese Human Rights Lawyer, Gao Zhisheng? A little more news about him surfaced today because President Obama will soon be meeting with Chinese officials. If you are interested, you can read the AP news story at http://www.chinaaid.org/2011/01/ap-exclusive-missing-chinese-lawyer.html One on line comment to the AP article was by Housetop Shouter. That person commented: Now in 2011 China has Most Favored Nation trade status with the US. In other words, USA's mammoth trade deficit plus the money borrowed from China has had the economic effect of putting China's boot onto USA's neck. Result is wasted effort for any grassroots boycott. I believe that prayer is still the best way to help brother Gao because God is greater than anything China can do to him. May the Lord set Gao free soon! I believe that he or she is correct. Nehemiah demonstrates that principle. Look at: v. 9 Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, v. 15 God had brought their plot to nothing v. 20 Our God will fight for us. It may be that Gao will never be released this side of heaven. We should pray for his release; however, God may use his martyrdom to advance His kingdom in China. Then again, He may use Gao’s release to advance His kingdom in China. We do not know. But we do know that we can pray as did Nehemiah. Somehow our prayers are interconnected with what God is accomplishing in this world. That is to God’s glory! It would be one thing for a Sovereign God to create a world and design for all the creatures to act in a certain way without any free will. It is a wholly different thing for a Sovereign God to create a world and design the creatures such that they can interact with free wills with him to accomplish His sovereign plan. They both exist. They both declare His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Psalm 14 There are times when it seems that everyone is against me. David seems to look around and see no one but sinners. In Romans 3:10-12 Paul quotes some of the first 3 verses of this Psalm in order. On the one hand, David sees God looking down and seeing no one but sinners. On the other hand, he sees God looking down on a generation of righteous people. It is as if there is a divide in the culture. Then David expresses a desire that the captivity of the people would be restored. It seems as if there is a generational divide. When did David’s people ever experience a captivity? I would think that it was in the time when he fled from Absalom to the eastern side of the Jordan. It would have seemed to David at that time that everyone was against him. Where is the glory of God in all of this? When I think that I am drowning in a sea of wicked people, like David I can cry out, “O, that salvation would come out of Zion!” We can have that certainty that salvation is coming. When it comes, salvation is from Him! It brings Him glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Matthew 10:1-20 I remember hearing a story about JFK. Whether it is true or apocryphal, I do not know. It seems the President was busy in a meeting. John Jr. wanted to see him. As he approached the door, the Secret Service man told him that he couldn't go in there; the President was busy. John Jr. pushed his way on through saying something to the effect, "I don't want to see the President, I want to see my Daddy." Whether the story is true or not, it illustrates a good point. Because the lad was the son of the President, he was able to push on through. No other child would have been allowed to do that. The President's authority in some way was extended to him. Jesus extends the glory of His authority to His church. He began first with the 12 disciples. He desired to teach them how to use that authority for His glory. He sent them out in pairs to teach them. They preached the good news of the kingdom of God. They healed the sick. They trusted God for their needs. They encountered people of peace who received them, and they encountered people who persecuted them. Note that these were all things that Jesus had already done. Now He extends His authority to them. They are doing what He does. It is not because they had any intrinsic glory in themselves. It is because Jesus imparted to them His glory. Just as JFK Jr. could push through into the presence of the President of the USA because he was a son, so also they were able to extend the glory of the Lord Jesus because they were His disciples. As we will see as we continue through the Scripture, later Jesus sends out 70. Apparently, the 12 disciples had discipled 3 or 4 each. At the day of Pentecost, there were 120. The movement is growing. Paul told Timothy, "The things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." The glory spreads through multiplication. It is spread through the church, people to people. His glory is spread through multiplication, not just addition. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John