April 23

LEVITICUS 27 It is the glory of the Lord to allow us to join in with what He is doing. This is seen in the valuations of Leviticus 27. The valuations are for persons, animals, lands and fields. Each of the items could be valued and then sold and the money given to speed the work of the Lord. When one sees the glory of the Lord at work, it is natural to be enamored with what He is doing and desire to join in with Him. But it may be that the person for one reason or another cannot join in. By giving something of himself, that person may join in. So these are voluntary gifts that could be given because one has so fallen in love with the glory of the Lord. Have you fallen in love with the glory of the Lord that you delight in giving to the advancement of His cause? Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * PSALM 113 When I woke up Sunday morning, I already had an e-mail in my inbox from a friend in Japan. He had written it after returning from church and he was telling me about his experience. By the time I read it, it was eight o’clock at night in Japan and I had not yet started to church. Before I had gone to bed Saturday night, people just across the International Date Line were rising to praise the Lord. As the earth spins at the rate of 1,037.56 mph at the equator, people are rising every minute to bring praise to the glory of his name. If believers were evenly distributed in every time zone, and if there are 2 billion believers in the world, then 83 1/3 million rise every hour. We were created for the purpose of praising the Lord. If each of those 83 million were fulfilling their purpose, then what a sound of praise is rising up to heaven to give God praise! “From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD’s name is to be praised.” But He deserves more praise! There are still 5 billion people who do not name the name of Christ. There are still 2 billion people alive right now who will die without ever having had the opportunity to hear the name of Jesus in a Gospel presentation! He has humbled Himself to behold us! He beheld us by becoming one of us. He was seen with human eyes and handled with human hands. He was heard with human ears. With human hands He was crucified that He might bear our sins upon the cross. He was raised without human hands by the Father and His own power. In so doing He is able to raise the poor out of the dust and the needy out of the ash heap. I was sinking in the ash heap of sin, and He raised me up! Not only did he raise me out of sin, but He seated me with Himself in heavenly places, the right hand of the Father. I am seated with the Prince of the universe! This is all His doing! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * ISAIAH 23 How much is your soul worth? I always find market places fascinating, especially in so-called third world countries. Recently I was able to go to Phnom Penh. While there, we walked to the central market and enjoyed the various booths found around the market. One could find just about anything one desired there from toiletries to jewels to high-tech electronics. The country abounds with small entrepreneurial businesses. It is the only way for individuals to fight their way out of the poverty that has enmeshed the country. Negotiation of prices is the name of the game there. If you pay the owners first asking price, you paid way too much. What is an item worth? It is worth whatever a buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to exchange. Oh there are large businesses that are bringing manufacturing jobs to at least half a million textile workers in Cambodia, but it would appear that those businesses are owned by foreign owners who are able to keep the wages low (about 35 cents per hour). The low wages enable them to be a very viable presence in the world market. Those half-million textile workers are glad to have a job. For them it is better than no job, but it provides only a subsistence living. What is it worth for someone living in abject poverty to give to be raised to a subsistence living level in life? For the owners of the companies, it makes them rich in the world market place. The owners believe that they deserve the wealth—pride. Tyre was a city founded upon world trade, the world market place. Located at the east end of the Mediterranean Sea, she was strategically located to bring trade from Spain (Tarshish), Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. She was like the hub in the middle of a wheel. Of course that meant profit as the trade came through her walls. She didn’t have to produce anything, just tax the trade. But Tyre was also able to produce a purple dye that was famous throughout the world. Her wealth increased, and as it did, so did her pride. That is a very common human tendency. Dependency upon wealth usually results in independence from God and a trading of His glory for our own glory. So it happened with Tyre. What would they give in exchange for glory and wealth? Like a harlot who sells her body for money, so was Tyre in her trade and pride in the world. So also are the large company owners who make their millions of dollars on the backs of millions of underpaid factory workers. So also are the underpaid factory workers who give up their lives for a subsistence living. So are you and I when our lives become the sum total of what it takes to earn just a little bit more. In our pursuit of a little bit more, whether money or glory, we eclipse the glory of our Eternal King. What does the Lord think of all this? His concern is more about our pride in that we would think that our pursuit of money or glory is more important than our pursuit of Him. Tyre becomes an example to the world. So the Lord allows Tyre to be destroyed as an object lesson to the rest of us. As verse nine says, “The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has done it to destroy your pride and bring low all earth’s nobility.” (NLT) When we pursue money or self-glory above Him, we are proud and no better than a woman who spreads her legs for money. How much is your soul worth? As one created in His image, God says that it is worth far more than money or man’s glory. He says that it is only worth the knowledge of Him. Like the factory workers in Cambodia, we sell ourselves far too short. Like the common prostitute, we sell ourselves far too short. Why do we settle for money or man’s glory when we could experience the glory of the Creator of the Universe? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * 2006 LUKE 17:20-37 We are all watching closely the activity in Iraq, especially those of us who have loved ones there or will soon have loved ones there. We want the new government there to succeed. We want it to become a just and effective government, serving the Iraqi people well. If for no other reason at all, we want it to do well so that we can bring our soldiers home. So we watch and observe hoping the government will be supported by the people and will protect the people, hoping it will provide security for them. We want to do all that we can to get it to succeed. So we watch and observe. The glory of our King is not like that. His is a glory that is built from within. It cannot be observed from the outside. We have no idea who His cabinet will be, or what kind of officers the cabinet will have, or even if He will need a cabinet. There will be no immediate need for drawing up a constitution, no electing a provisional government, no appointing of judges to sort out the war crimes. There will be no protests because of slowness to rebuild the infrastructure. Will electricity, running water and sewer to houses be an issue? Will distribution of food be a problem? Will medical facilities be required? Will clothing manufacturing and sale be a conundrum? Will the entertainment industry have to be rebuilt? Somehow those things might be a part of the Millennial Kingdom, but I don't think it will be anything like we can imagine. Jesus says that His physical Kingdom will come without observation. It will be sudden and conclusive. In the mean time, His Kingdom is within us. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about building character in His people. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about building righteousness in His subjects. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about building love in His family. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about proclaiming the good news to non-citizens that they can receive citizenship if they will repent and believe in Jesus, receiving Him as their King. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about building a relationship with Him. In the mean time, His Kingdom is about rejecting the world's values and embracing His values. Those things cannot be observed. Oh sure, if we are building those things in our lives it will result in things that we can see around us. It will result in our serving others more than ourselves, and that will ultimately be visible. But there are those who do not know Him that serve others more than themselves. So what glory is that? The glory will be revealed when He returns. It will be sudden and obvious. And we will all marvel at what He has done. His Kingdom doesn't come with physical observation. But it will bring greater security and peace than any army, constitution, legislature, judicial system or other ruler could ever supply! I want His glory to be advanced. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john