February 2

Genesis 34 Where is the glory in this chapter? Sometimes such awful things happen that we cannot help but think, “Where is the Mighty God of Israel?” He certainly does not seem to be active in this episode! Their little sister is raped. Their father is doing nothing about it. Hmm. . . They will take care of the problem. Why didn’t Jacob/Israel do anything? Maybe he was finally learning to wait upon his mighty God for a solution rather than plowing ahead with his own. However, years of Jacob sowing his own seed of applying his own solution have take root in his sons. They are every bit as deceitful as he once was. They take it a step further and add murder to their sin. One of the things that strikes me concerning the veracity of the Scripture is that it never paints its heroes as morally perfect. It is interesting to me that the one who is called honorable in all this is Shechem. But how can we see the glory of Christ in sordid mess of rape, lying and murder? I think it is that the Lord can take this sordid mess a mold it in order to bring a Savior through the line of these rotten people. Indeed, as old men, these men seem to come to an understanding that when God blesses, He adds no sorrow. If the Lord can bring glory out of this mess, there is hope for me. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * Job 1 “How many of you still believe that there is an all-powerful and all-loving God?” Such was the question at the end of the first third of the semester in my agnostic professor’s “Philosophical Problems class.” I and maybe two other guys in the class raised our hands. The prof latched on to me and said, “I want to know why.” Unable to answer some of the other questions, which he had raised, I simply responded with, “Because I believe in the undeniable evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” His response was that that was an appeal to authority and that was not acceptable in a philosophy class. I tried to rebut, but he cut me off and moved the class on. I believe there are three instinctive tests that God has given to all humans in order to determine truth. The first is, “Is the truth claim consistent with reality?” The second is, “Is the truth claim consistent with itself?” The third is, “Does the truth claim satisfy the desires of my heart?” Right or wrong, deceived or not deceived, we all depend upon how we answer those tests in order to determine the validity of truth claims. In my opinion, the truth claim that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, is the most consistent claim with the evidence of the empty tomb. It certainly is consistent with itself and clearly satisfies the desire of my heart. I clearly could not deal well with some of the problems that I ran into in reconciling the clear evils in the world with the truth claim that God is both all-loving and all-powerful. If He is both, why does he allow evil to exist at all? Somewhere in the infinite mind of God the answer is more brilliant than the sun. However, I am finite and sinful. I have a problem grasping this whole concept of infinity, much less an infinite God. This much I understand. I am sinful; therefore, if I want all evil to be annihilated or to have never happened, then if that happens, I will disappear. It would be as though I never was, am or would be. That certainly is not consistent with reality or the desire of my heart. I like my existence. Along with Descartes, I claim, “I think; therefore, I am.” One of the things that I learned in the “Problems of Philosophy” class is that the problem of why a loving God allows evil is never really answered frontally by God in the book of Job. Through this first chapter, we simply see that evil exists. It exists in Job. It exists in his children. Indeed, he sees the need to act as a family priest for his children in sacrificing for them on a regular basis. We see the evil in other people who attack Job. We see evil in nature as fire falls from heaven destroying much of his goods, and as a tornado collapses his children’s house killing them. These evils come with the permission of God from Satan. Now that scenario is very consistent with reality. Evil does exist, and it exists in me! Should I then charge God with wrong because the world and I are the way we are? I don’t think so. God is busy restoring His kingdom. He calls me to obedience while I watch His restoration in me and in others. Now that is consistent with itself. It is consistent with reality. Is it consistent with the desires of my heart? That one is up to me. If it is not, then I need a new heart. How do I get it? I get it by repentance and faith in Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * Psalm 33 I remember as a kid getting up on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons. Frequently I would awake before the station even signed on for the morning. I would turn on the TV and watch the test pattern come on. After the test pattern, came The Star-Spangled Banner with a picture of the flag & the Blue Angels flying in the background. Following the anthem there was a voice over with the words on the screen, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Years later, when I was of the age where I would rather be awake when the station signed off the air at night, I found that they had the same routine at night. I no longer watch broadcast TV, so I really don’t know if stations even sign on and off the air anymore, and if they do, do they still say, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord?” May I ask a question which to some the answer should be obvious? Why would a nation whose God is the Lord be blessed? Well, a nation whose God is the Lord, would be blessed because He loves righteousness and justice. A nation, whose God is the Lord, will pursue righteousness and justice in their dealings within themselves and with other nations. That, in and of itself, would result in blessings for the nation. A nation, whose God is the Lord, would realize that He is the Creator of all the earth, and as such, would be good stewards over the land that God has entrusted them. A nation, whose God is the Lord, would realize that any counsel but His would eventually come to nothing. So, that nation would highly prize His counsel before making any decision. A nation, whose God is the Lord, would consider the wisdom of war and plead before God what He wants. That nation would realize that ultimately their deliverance was not in their military strength, but in God. I wonder how it would change our country if our churches would throw ourselves before the throne of God asking for His intervention rather only trusting in our elected officials? Would God show His glory to us if we did that? Hmm. . . Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * Matthew 21:23-46 Over thirty years ago I visited my brother Eugene who lived in Karlsruhe, West Germany. He took me on a boat ride on the Rhine River. Thirty years has taken its toll on my memory. I don't remember the exact city. It think it was Speyer. We stopped to look at this gigantic Cathedral. For a country boy from Oklahoma where no massive buildings were built until after 1889, this 12th century cathedral was indeed impressive. We are not talking about steel and glass that is slapped together with modern technology. We're talking massive stones, shaped and put into place using hand tools. It was simply beautiful. The spire was taller than most buildings in Oklahoma. Most of the original buildings built immediately after the land run of '89 in OK are no longer in existence. They were often built of the native cottonwood trees, which are not known for their long-term durability. After 50 years they tend to sag and fall apart. I understand that old buildings like the cathedral in Germany have a cornerstone from which the rest of the building gets its orientation. It is the main stone in the foundation. You want to pick the best quality for that stone. It is usually massive and perfectly shaped. By uniting two intersecting walls, a cornerstone helped align the whole building and tie it together. Jesus says that He is the stone the builders rejected. He became the chief cornerstone. The wall of heaven and the wall of earth intersects. Ever since the fall of Adam, the human cathedral was falling. It collided with heaven's wall. The human wall was crooked and never fit. God gave some instructions to the Jewish nation concerning how to build. Imbedded within that instruction were prophecies concerning the Cornerstone. Indeed, Jesus is quoting Psalm 118:22,23. Apart from Jesus our lives are badly splintered. They sag. Our walls are crooked and lack orientation. We have difficulty connecting and aligning with others. But when we submit to Him, He takes our feeble cottonwood structure and turns us into living stones and begins fitting us into His building. Properly yielded to Him, we come into alignment, and we become part of something greater and more beautiful than we could ever imagine. Those who do not yield are ground to powder by His massive weight. We are becoming a beautiful living building for His habitation. We won't stand for just a few hundred years, but rather, for eternity. Not yielding to Jesus is like wanting to build a cathedral out of cottonwood. When I look at the strife going on in the world and yes even in the church, I would despair except for this, "He is the Chief Cornerstone and builder. He will accomplish a great work, and you and I are privileged to be part of the materials that He is using. When finished, we will be more beautiful than anyone can ever imagine! It will all be to His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious serving King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John