July 3

JOSHUA 5
As Jesse and I have walked around the neighborhoods here (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), I have noticed a number of round concrete manhole type things protruding out of the ground next to the street. Occasionally the cover will be slid to the side. At first I thought that they were just utility manholes or storm sewer access holes. But then as we walked by one of them, a distinct outhouse smell wafted out and there was an overwhelming increase in the number of flies. My thought was, “If we were walking in the dark and did not see the opening, one could possibly stumble into the hole.” Now there is a nasty thought. One would become a reproach to all who came near. I thought of a National Geographic article that I read a number of years ago concerning the untouchables, the Dalit, in India who are used as human sewer line cleaners. They would indeed be revolting, a reproach to all.
Remember the event in Exodus 4?

4And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him. 25Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” 26So He let him go. Then she said, “You are a husband of blood!”—because of the circumcision.

Apparently, Moses’ wife, not being an Israelite, did not understand the practice. I would assume that she opposed Moses in the practice, and giving in to her, Moses did not circumcise his sons. The Lord was angry with him because he did not obey. Circumcision was given to the Israelites as a sign of their special relationship with the Lord. By not practicing it, it was like saying that he did not want his sons to be part of that special relationship. That was unacceptable! It was so unacceptable that the Lord sought to kill Moses probably by some sort of illness. He had become a reproach to God. Zipporah finally saw the importance of circumcision to the Lord. Moses was unable to perform the act. So, she performed it. As she did so, the Lord restored Moses.
The Israelites had not practiced the covenant sign of circumcision since they had left Egypt. Why? Maybe it had to do with the lack of water; maybe it had to do with their constant travel. Certainly it was disobedience. By not performing the sign, they had rejected their special relationship with the Lord. They had become a reproach. They were revolting in the presence of God. Now they have miraculously been delivered into the land promised to Abraham. They have crossed the Jordan in the spring (flood stage). They want to renew the covenant. They begin with circumcision. God rolled away their reproach. He made them clean. Gigal, by the way, means, “rolled away.”
Then they celebrated the Passover, another sign of the covenant. Then they ate of the fruit of the Promised Land. Then the manna ceased. Then the Commander of the army of the LORD appears to them. They were then ready to possess the land.
I was walking on my dark path. I stumbled into sin. The result was that I was covered with the stench of sin. I became a reproach to my LORD. I had no way to remove the stench which seeped from every pore. But Jesus came. He washed me in His own blood. I became whiter than snow. He clothed me in clean garments. He perfumed me with His own fragrance. I am now acceptable in the presence of God. I am now equipped to battle against the spiritual forces of darkness who seek to enslave me once again to the yoke of sin. This is all true because of what Jesus has done. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john


Driving north on the highway parallel to the Jordan river, here is the exit to Gilgal.


The Jordan River somewhere near the crossing.

PSALM 2
Yesterday I installed an antenna on my HD TV. For the first time in over 4 years, I have broadcast TV. I haven’t missed a whole lot; although, it is nice to have access to news and weather. I have to admit, it will be nice to be able to see OSU play football once or twice a year, especially today’s game. We watched an episode of George Lopez. George’s son’s dog was dying of a malignant tumor. His son manipulated George into praying for the dog’s healing. In his prayer George made a deal with God that if God would heal the dog, he would crawl on his knees for a mile at a cathedral in Mexico. The dog was miraculously healed. George was annoyed. He never really believed that his prayer would be answered. He was forced by his son and his conscience to keep his promise, which he tried every way not to keep. In one instance he quipped to his wife, “If God expected us to keep every promise, and we did not, then the world would be filled with wars and poverty.” Hmmm. . .
Are we like the kings of the earth who wrangle for power and wealth? We make promises and don’t keep them. If they even acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being, they seem to think that the Lord will do nothing to stop them. Our world is filled with men seeking to gain preeminence over other men and nations. They are in total disregard of the Sovereignty of God. Yet are we any different? Maybe what we wrangle over are the same kind of things but upon a much smaller scale, like keeping promises. Am I trying to break the bonds of the purpose for which the Lord has created me? Have I identified who I am in His sight so that I may fulfill His plan?
If I really grasped that He does sit in heaven and scoffs at my plans of mutiny against His purpose, would I still follow the daily and moment by moment course that I follow? If I was really convinced that He will one day return to secure His throne as King of the nations, would my interests still lie in the same area in which they presently lie? Would I be more careful in making promises and more consistent in keeping them? Do I really understand how my life fits into His purpose and how my living that daily purpose fits into bringing Him back as King of kings and Lord of lords? Lord Jesus, let me embrace Your discipline and instruction so that I may fully live my life as one which fully trusts in Your plan for Me, those around me and the nations. Perform Your plan in me! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JEREMIAH 28
When the signal was given the pair of draft horses immediately sprang into action. They were bred for this. They were trained for this. They were eager for this. Often times their eagerness to pull the burden is so great that they fault at the start and lose the competition. If you have ever been to a draft horse pulling contest, you know exactly what I am talking about. Laura loves to watch the beauty of the horses as they are yoked to pull together in competition. Consequently, I often take her to the county fair to watch this event. It always amazes me that these horses have such a strong desire to pull these awesome amounts of weight. They are eager to do it. They are passionate about it. Are you passionate about the work of the Lord Jesus?
The Lord had clearly stated through Jeremiah that the nation was to submit to the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar and that Jeconiah would never come back from Babylon. But in the wave of nationalism in Jerusalem, Hananiah could not resist the thought that Jeremiah was not speaking for the Lord. He announced that within a few short years, Coniah would be returned and the yoke of Babylon would be broken. Hananiah was making the people trust in a lie. He died within the year as a punishment for speaking that lie. What was wrong with the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar? It just did not square with their nationalism.
There is a yoke that the Lord has called us to. It is recorded in Matthew 11:28-30. He said,

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

When a rabbi called a young man to be his disciple, he would call him to take his yoke upon him. For those of you who are not familiar with the agrarian setting, a yoke is an apparatus used to link a beast of burden to a plow or some implement or wagon for the purpose of accomplishing a laborious task. Often two or more beasts of burden would be yoked together in order to perform tasks greater than which one beast could perform. When training a new animal, it would be yoked to a stronger well trained animal until the new animal was fully trained. Before we find Jesus, we are under the burden of sin. When we find Jesus, He sets us free from the burden of sin order that we can share in His yoke. He does not save us from work but for work. It is a work in which we are yoked with Him, for Him and by Him. He enables us to do our part and trains us. His burden is easy, and His yoke is light.
This July 4th I wonder, “Are we eager to be in the yoke to which He calls us? Or like Hananiah do we prefer the yoke of nationalism?” Are the comforts and values of our country more important to us than the job to which He has called us in the establishment of His kingdom? It would seem that there are many voices that beckon us to lay aside the yoke of the Lord. Some of the voices even come from trusted spiritual leaders. Are we more passionate about our nation than we are His work? It is the glory of the Lord to yoke us together with Himself to accomplish the work of His Kingdom. Are we passionate about our part in that Kingdom? After all it is for His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ACTS 12
From a human perspective, it was a dark day for the glory of our Lord. James the brother of John had been put to the sword. And then Peter was arrested. One would be tempted to roll over and play dead. However, verse 5 has a very important little word, ‘but’ and then follows the clause, ‘prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.’ As a result of the death in the last outbreak of persecution, the Lord accomplished the salvation of Saul. What would he do this time? The church knew that the glory of the Lord was on the line, as well as Peter’s life. They went to prayer.
God never seems to work in the same way in similar situations. He always seems to do a new solution for each problem. He dispatched an angel. The angel set him free. Do you ever notice we often don’t believe the answer to our own prayers? When Peter showed up at the prayer meeting, held on his behalf, they didn’t believe he was at the door. On the one hand, we shouldn’t be amazed when He does things like that. On the other hand, that’s part of what makes it glory—it’s amazing.
God still wasn’t finished with just setting Peter free. Herod wasn’t done either. He had the guards put to death. I sure wouldn’t want to have been a guard back then. Note what happened when he took what should have been God’s glory. He was eaten by worms and died. What an awful way to go. God is jealous of His own glory and the glory of His Son. Surely we need to speak much and often of the glory of Jesus. Indeed we have a glorious King! Speak his glory to someone today!
--Pastor John