January 19

Genesis 20 One of my favorite scenes in the movie Lady Hawk is when the hero finally grabs the corrupt bishop, holds the sword to his neck and says, "You're dead!" Yes! Good finally triumphs! Now that is fiction, so it is okay to cheer. But somewhere along the line in our culture some people have come to think that such a thing is awful. We have come to think that death is never good. It is true that death is not God's first desire for people. We should go to great pains to avoid it. However, death is necessary for justice. There are some that would read this passage about Abimelech and find it abhorrent that God would say to Abimelech, "Indeed you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife." I have had people look me straight in the eye and say, "I cannot believe in a God that would condemn people to hell." Oh really? Such people don't really believe in justice either. Did you know that there have been 150,000 unsolved murders in the U.S.A. in the last 20 years? That tells me that there are a lot of people running around the US that literally got away with murder. They took someone else's life and have received, as of yet, no human punishment for their act. Is that justice? Hitler's regime was responsible for the taking of over 18,000,000 people--6,000,000 Jews in cold blooded murder. Where is the justice? Of course some would say, "Well that is different. Mass murderers deserve to die." My question is, "At what number does a murderer become a mass murderer? Is it 2? 22? 222? 2,222? 22,222? etc.? At what point do we say, "This is deserving of death but this is not?" If we are left to judge, I think we would all say that it is somewhere beyond what we have committed. That is the rub. We do not really understand justice. The point at which sin deserves death is a point, which we have all already passed. Now don't miss my point. I am not debating at what point man is allowed to take a person's life. My point is that because God is the author of life and because He is good, He has the right to take any man's life for we have all violated His justice and deserve to die. It is perfectly legitimate for the God of the Universe to say to Abimelech, "Indeed you are a dead man." Indeed it is His glory to take the life. Now that is tough thinking. Some would think that there is some kind of Law or Standard to which God must conform. But if there were a standard separate from God, then that standard would be greater than God. It would in effect become God, the Supreme Being. No, the Standard of Justice is rooted in God's own character. He is accountable only to Himself. If a man violates the standard of Justice, he violates the character of God. God's justice cries out for the punishment of that violation. If He never punishes it, then He is not good. But He is good. He demonstrates His goodness every time He judges. But in His justice, He is also merciful. He informed Abimelech of his sin. Abimelech repented and God showed mercy. You know, God does the same thing with us. We are in need of mercy. He shows our sin. If we repent, we receive His mercy. Is that not marvelous? Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * Nehemiah 9 Why did they do this? Why did they put on sackcloth and dust? Why did they do this as a corporate group? Wouldn’t it be appropriate to just handle it individually? Why did they stand and read from the book of the Law for one fourth of the day (at least 3 hours)? Why did they confess their sin for one fourth of the day (at least 3 hours)? Was this individual sin that they confessed, or was it corporate sin, or was it a combination of both? Why do the Levites in their ceremony recite the history of Abraham, the Exodus, the conquest, the judges, the time of the Assyrian kings (the exile)? After all, they were not even alive at any of those times. They were not the ones who sinned and brought on the exile. Why should they take responsibility for it? The Spirit of the Lord led them to do this. This teaches us that the Lord holds us responsible not only as individuals but also as corporate entities. Don’t be misled by the terminology. I am not talking about business corporations. Corporate comes from the Latin corporātus a participle of corporāre. It means united or combined into one. Does God still hold congregations accountable as a group? The letters of Jesus to the seven churches in the book of Revelation would indicate to me, “Yes, He still does hold churches accountable as a group.” As a matter of fact, He tells us in Revelation 2:5 “Look how far you have fallen from your first love! Turn back to me again and work as you did at first. If you don’t, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. At least in this case, if we do not corporately repent, he takes the church out of existence. The clear implication of this passage is that they considered their current trouble to be a result of their corporate sin, both sin of the current corporate generation and the sin of their previous generation. How is it fair that they should be held accountable for the sin of previous generations? I will leave it to those smarter than I to figure out the fairness issue. However, this I know; because Adam sinned, I have a sin nature. Because I have a sin nature, I have affirmed Adam’s sin. There is some sort corporate connection there. Because there was corporate sin, there needed to be corporate confession and repentance. What does this say about the congregation, of which I am a part? Maybe some of the trouble that we experience is a result of corporate sin. Because I am part of this body, I am responsible. Whether or not I was even around when it occurred, is irrelevant. The body will not progress properly until there is corporate repentance. Hmm. . . maybe if we are experiencing a lack of power as seen in the NT church, maybe we need to explore the possibility corporate sin that needs a corporate confession. What does all this have to do with the glory of God? Look at what the Levites said in the corporate ceremony: But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them. Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies, These are but a few of the ways that the Levites glorified God in their prayer! When we are willingly repentant as a corporate body, it releases a great testimony to the community in which we live of the magnificent grace and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. May be we should investigate our need of corporate repentance. It could only magnify His grace! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Psalm 19 Wow! I could ramble on forever about the Glory of the Lord from this Psalm, and everything I would write would fall far short of His glory! Years ago Laura and I lived in the Portland, OR metro area. Just a half-hour drive from our house was Larch mountain. It wasn’t a tall mountain, but its summit had a rocky peak that the park service had put up steps and railing to make it safe and accessible. The peak platform was an area about as large as my office, but it had an un-obstructed-360-degree view. It was a breath taking sight. On a really clear day, you could see Mt. Rainer to the north (near Seattle), Mt. St. Helens, Mt Jefferson, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Three Sisters etc. Wow! It just takes your breath away to think that our Creator made all of this. It gives a new sense of awe and wonder when you stop and see what He has made and know that we are so small. His glory pours forth day after day, if only we stop to look. Like the sun, it never stops. It is true of all His creation around us! But even more stunning is His word. His word is there to show us what He is like. In His creation we see His power; in His word we see Him. In keeping His word there is great reward. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Matthew 13:1-30 It is amazing what the Lord has done. He has made it possible that we can hear what He has to say to us. Imagine that, the One who created the universe has stooped to our level so that we can hear with understanding what He has to say to us. When I was in 7th grade science, we began studying the sun. We studied the nuclear processes involved in the sun that releases such tremendous energy of which we experience the benefits here on the earth. I have a brother 7 years older than me, who was a physics major in college. He carefully explained the process to me in a way that I could understand how it worked. He helped me have ears to hear how the sun could release so much energy. It is even more amazing to me that the Lord, who created all that is, has condescended to speak to us in the flesh and explain His truth to make it understandable to us. He is so confident in His own word that He allows the enemy to sow right among us. His word is easily recognizable when it has matured. But what is that word? It is His call to us who are lost in our trespasses and sins to come to Him for healing, redemption and relief. It is to come to Him for Him. When we embrace Him, we find all that our hearts long for and need. Finding Him, we are changed. Finding Him, we bear fruit. All along, the simple word is there in front of everyone's eyes. All along. the simple word is in front of everyone's ears. Sadly, some never hear it at all. Some hear it, but before they can digest its meaning, it is gone. Many hear it and are confused by its simplicity. Many hear it and are repulsed by its demands. He has made it easier to understand than nuclear fusion or fission. He has laid it out in front of us, in His person. It is simply, the Creator of the universe is just. We have violated His justice. He came and added to His person the nature of a man, the Lord Jesus Christ. As a perfect man, He took the just penalty of God upon Himself on the cross. He died in my place. He came to life again on the third day defeating my sin and my death. He now offers me as a gift His indestructible life. Will I trust Him to live His life in me? Will I cease my striving to be holy and trust Him? Simple, not complex, yet so profound that few really grasp it and it is more powerful than all the nuclear fissions of the universe combined. . Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john