July 9

JOSHUA 11
Five times in this chapter the word “commanded” is used to describe how Joshua completed the destruction of the kings of Canaan in obedience to the Lord. If, as we said before, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan is a type of our battle over the flesh after our conversion, then observe how important is obedience to the command of the Spirit of the Lord. Yes, the Christian life is the exchanged life for the life of Christ. We can never let loose of that truth. However, in the midst of that exchange there is a call to obedience. When we lay hold of the life of Christ and in His power learn to put to death the deeds of the flesh, as Joshua, we enter into rest. The Christian life becomes one of rest. Lord, I present my life for today to You. What You desire to accomplish through me, I yield. I take your Life as my own. As You direct me, I choose to obey. I will consider myself dead to the deeds of the flesh as it seeks to raise its ugly head. Thank you for Your great Life. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PSALM 8
What makes a name excellent? Is it not what a person does which positively exhibits what that person is? If I say, “Mickey Mantle,” and you are my age and a baseball fan, you immediately think of the man who held the homerun record for decades. I still remember watching him on television on October 10, 1964, Game 3 of the Worlds series. It was the bottom of the ninth. The Yankees were tied 1-1 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Mantle walked to the plate and slammed a home run on the first pitch. I was elated. I immediately took a victory lap around the house. When I hear the name Mickey Mantle, that is what I think of. However, if you are old enough to be my father, you might think of a man who could not hold his alcohol, was inclined to gambling and womanizing, and was therefore not worthy of being a role model for kids. A few years before his death, Bobby Richardson shared the gospel with Mickey. He prayed to ask Jesus to be his savior. His life seemed to then fall in line with a godly lifestyle. A few years ago, I used the name Mickey Mantle in a sermon as an illustration of heroes. After the sermon a man the age of my father told the negative things about Mickey Mantle that I had never learned from baseball cards or the newspapers. In his mind it was not an excellent name.
What makes God’s name excellent? What He has created should alone make His name excellent. When I consider the stars and moon, it sends me reeling in awe of our fantastic creator. Just the sheer size alone, mass and volume, dwarfs me in overwhelming smallness. Then I consider the complexity of how it is set in place, then I am amazed at His capacities. Why should He ever think about me? I am less than a grain of sand in the whole world in comparison to the Universe! Yet, He is mindful of us. I never think of sand, unless it annoys me. He not only constantly thinks of us, but He has made us a little like Himself. He has given us some glory and honor. He has given us the right and ability to rule over the sentient beings of this earth. Even as He rules, so can and should we. Does that make His name excellent? We are born to rule under Him. Wow! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JEREMIAH 34
From a worldly aspect, I chose a severe mercy. I had a good paying job working for Mercury Marine with good benefits, but the Lord directed me to go to seminary in Portland, Oregon. Resigning my job, I packed up my wife and baby and headed for Portland, no job, no promise of a job, only a promise of expenses. We went. For 6 months I was without a significantly-paying job. We ran out of money after a month. For 4¾ years we were without a full-time job. The security of a job was gone; I had only the security of the Almighty God, whom I could not see with my physical eyes nor hear with my physical ears. Ah but, I can see Him with my spiritual ears and see Him with my spiritual eyes. He only said, “Trust me.” I learned in my experience that He is trustable and worth the exchange.
It is a severe mercy and a severe justice at the same time. Right up unto the very end the Lord was offering the nation mercy. Already they had filled the country with innocent blood. They had sacrificed their children to Molech making them pass through the fire. For that God said that He was taking them into captivity. Justice demanded their removal from the land. Even as the king of Babylon had overrun all the villages and cities of Israel except Lachish, Azekah and Jerusalem, and even as he laid them under siege, and even as certain doom was looming before the nation, the Lord offered them mercy. The Law had stipulated that no Hebrew could be retained as a slave. Hebrews could be kept up to six years as a hired servant, but on the seventh year they must be set free. They had not obeyed the Law. He promised that if they would just set their Hebrew slaves free, then He would look mercifully upon them. A severe mercy indeed, their economy was based on save labor. To set them free would compromise their already dying economy. They initially agreed and cut a covenant with the Lord. But they reneged on the covenant. They sealed their fate. Death and exile were now coming. A severe justice indeed.
I was sinning in rebellion to God. Sin was having its way in my life. It had laid siege to the major centers of my life. I was in its control. The Lord set before me a choice, a severe mercy or a severe justice. The severe justice? I could die in my trespasses and sins and be forever lost and separated from Him. The severe mercy? He became flesh and died in my place paying the penalty of my sin. What must I do to find mercy? He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” In my already perishing life He said, “I want your money, your wife, your children, your parents, your lands, your cars, everything you own. Yes, I want your very life. Don’t hold anything back. Then I will give you true life.” Now that is severe mercy, both on His part (it cost Him His life) and on my part (it costs me my life). Do I value Him to be greater than my already perishing life? If so, then why am I so reluctant to let go? The Israelites refused to let go. They died. The Lord constantly lays before us choices. Of course there is the choice of receiving salvation, but there is also the choice of walking in sanctification. When I let go, I truly live! Now that is real glory. Severe mercy means denying self. I choose severe mercy; do you? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john


ACTS 16:1-21
Time Out!!! What's going on here? We've just had this big fight in Antioch that necessitated a special trip to Jerusalem on which the council decided and the decision required two envoys be sent back with Paul and Barnabas to validate their report. The issue was over circumcision--was it required to be part of the people of God. And now Paul is taking one of his associates and circumcising him in order that he might accompany him. Isn't that a classic example of saying one thing and doing another? Ah, but here again is the glory of our Lord. The issue was the requirement to be part of the people of God not the voluntarily laying down of one's rights in order to share the Gospel with them. That makes all the difference in the world.
Would I be willing to do that to share the Gospel with others? I can hear Timothy now, "Paul, you want me to do what so that I may be able to share the gospel with people who do that? But its not a requirement. This is getting awfully personal!"
I can also hear Paul's response, "Yes, but unless you do it, they won't engage in any kind of relationship with you. They will consider you unclean. In short, they will not listen to you."
Timothy was willing. For the glory of the Lord Jesus, he laid down his right not to be cut on. He allowed circumcision, while at the same time helping deliver the decree which said it was not necessary. Our Lord's glory is really awesome. He can change the heart of someone to that point of commitment all because of His glory. The Lord changes hearts!
The Lord establishes two things that seem contradictory. Outward keeping of the law is not necessary to be one of His children. He calls his children to voluntarily acts of laying down their rights related to the outward keeping of the law in order to promote His glory. Having established these things for the church-Jew and Gentile alike-, the Lord redirects Paul's ministry geographically and for the time being, mostly toward Gentiles in the Roman city of Philippi.
Our Lord changes hearts. He doesn't just lay down the law, He changes hearts. Do we get it? He loves us so much that He doesn't beat us into submission like some brute animal. But He uses our circumstances and His glory to change our hearts. Indeed, we serve a glorious king! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John