July1

JOSHUA 3
“By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and. . . “ Imagine that—the living God among us. Is that not what we long for? Is that not what Utopian dreams are all about? That the God who spoke the universe into existence should desire to commune with us is incredible! That He should want to dwell among us is beyond the wildest dreams of any science fiction, fantasy or romance novel. But it is not fiction. It is reality. But there is a problem in Utopia. We are sinners in front of a God who detests sin.
In the New Testament the crossing of the Jordan is considered to be a type of rest, spiritual rest. The Lord promised to be with them to defeat the enemy. In the NT the enemy is the sin that towers above us toying with us as an evil slave master. The Lord promises to drive out that slave master who is over us. By this we know that the living God is among us; He without fail breaks and cancels the power of Satan, sin and death which holds sway over us. Yes we still have to deal with the flesh and the world. but we do it in His victory. We exchange our meager abilities for His life, His victory. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Here is what the Jordan looks like near the crossing in modern times:


PROVERBS 31
Laura has told me on a number of occasions that this is one her ‘unfavorite’ chapters of the Bible. (I hope I am not in trouble for revealing that, but then I suppose that this an ‘unfavorite’ chapter for a lot of women. It holds an incredibly high standard for the virtuous wife. Certainly, if I were a woman, I would not be able to meet the standard.) But let us look beyond the literal meaning of this chapter to a different level. Since the theme of the Bible is the restoration of the Kingdom of God, what does that look like as we illustrate it? One of those illustrations is marriage. Our marriages are to reflect the marriage of God and humanity. When the kingdom was train wrecked with Adam and Eve’s sin, the marriage of God and humanity experienced a postponement, a divorce; Jesus became a widower. The theme of Scripture is not only the restoration of the Kingdom of God; it is also the marriage of Christ and His resurrected bride.
As Lemuel’s mother gives him instruction for being a king, she tells him to not give himself to ways that destroy kings, particularly giving his strength to women. There are many other things that he should do as king, avoid intoxication, uphold and pursue justice, plead the cause of the poor and needy. All of these things Jesus has done and does. But Lemuel’s mother’s greatest instruction is to find a virtuous wife. Could it be that one of Jesus’ chief goals in His interaction with humanity is to find a virtuous wife? Certainly that would be the indication of Ephesians 5:22-33 and Revelation 19:1-10. When the whore who sought to supplant the bride is judged, and the preparation of that virtuous wife is complete, we see the coming forth of the Bridegroom to destroy those who resisted Him by resisting His bride (Revelation 19:11-21). So we see that it is the intention of the Lord to raise up for Himself one great bride. He will not give Himself or waste His strength of the whore of this world.
So what does this bride look like? I think that Proverbs 31: 10-31 could be a metaphor for what Jesus desires in His bride. As we fulfill that metaphor, we bring glory to Him, just as this virtuous wife brings glory to her husband. Jesus trusts in His wife because she is constantly seeking to do Him good and bring Him gain (v.11). She searches the world over to bring Him riches (missions v. 12-14). She works tirelessly to provide food for household (v.15). The glorious bride, the church, provides a rich diet of the word of God for her household. She girds herself with strength (v. 17). Where does our strength come from but from the Spirit of God? She helps the poor and needy when the needs of her own household have been met and because that is the work of her husband the King (v. 20-21). Her husband is made known in the gates because of her proclamation and work (v. 23). As the church proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom, we are making the name of Jesus known in the world. She is dressed in fine linen (v.25), the righteous acts of the saints (Rev. 19:8). Her husband praises her (v. 28). We shall one day stand before the bema seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:9-17). Our works shall be judged by fire. The good works shall remain, and we shall receive the praise of our Lord and husband. He shall say, “Well done, you good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.” Great, attractive and entertaining programs of churches are deceitful and passing, but a congregation that fears God shall be praised by Him (v. 30).
You see, when we are this kind of wife, we bring glory to His name. When we are not, we bring shame to Him. It is all about His glory, not ours. Our marriages are to reflect this. Proverbs 31 is a goal for women to reflect what the church should be like. Men, we should reflect what Jesus is like. He “loved the church and gave Himself for her.”(Eph. 5:25). Proverbs 31 demands a great deal out of wives; Eph. 5:25 demands more. Men are we doing it? When we do, we bring glory to Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Be His glory in your marriage today!
--Pastor john
P.S. Laura, my darling, in my mind you fulfill Proverbs 31, even though you do not think you fulfill it. You are my virtuous wife! You are marvelous, and I am so proud that you are my wife!

JEREMIAH 26
Observe the mercies of our Lord! He sends messenger after messenger to us warning us of His wrath against sin. How is it that so many are so adept at resisting His mercy? He sent Micah to Hezekiah warning of the wrath that was coming. Hezekiah repented! The destruction of the temple was postponed! He sent Urijah to Jehoiakim to proclaim the need for repentance. Jehoiakim sent his special ops people down to Egypt to kidnap Urijah and bring him back to Jerusalem to execute him. The Lord sent Jeremiah to Jehoiakim to proclaim the wrath and mercy of the Lord. The people arrested Jeremiah immediately. Why were they so intent on resisting the mercy of the Lord? The Lord raised up one to intercede for Jeremiah, but He raised up no one to intercede for Urijah, why? Urijah was executed; Jeremiah lived on. By the way, Ahikam, who interceded for Jeremiah, was part of the delegation that Josiah, decades earlier, had sent to the prophetess, Huldah, to inquire of the Lord concerning the possibility of revival. Ahikam was also the father of Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar appointed Governor of Jerusalem after its destruction and protector of Jeremiah. Gedaliah was assassinated by Jewish nationalists led by Ishmael. Talk about resisting the mercy of God!
It is easy to point at Jehoiakim or Ishmael and talk about them resisting the mercy of God, but what about us? Do I resist the mercy of God? Hmmmm. . . . maybe that is hitting too close to home. If someone points out my sin, do I welcome their pointing it out? If you are like me, probably not. Hardly anyone wants to be told that he is wrong, but if one is really wrong, should he not welcome correction? Is it not a mercy to be told I am wrong so that I might have opportunity to correct the wrong? God in His mercy sends us correction through His word and through others. It is all about His mercy. Can I see the mercy of God even when I am corrected? I probably need correction more than I am willing to admit. When the correction comes, do I see it as the mercy of God. When I see the mercy of God revealed, do I see it as part of his glory? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ACTS 10:24-48
It is unfortunate that I can't hear Peter speaking to Cornelius. Upon the first reading, I hear the intonations of Peter implying, "I really don't want to be here, but God made me come. What do ya want?"
Actually, I am too harsh with Peter. That probably wasn't his intonation. Most likely Peter was just expressing his surprise that God wanted him to actually enter the house of a Gentile and that God wanted Gentiles to know Him. To the Jewish mindset, they had always been God's special people. God just didn't consort with Gentiles--according to their mindset. I don't think we even begin to imagine the cultural contempt of the Jews toward Gentiles; therefore, we miss the contempt which Peter and the whole church had for Gentiles. Yet it is the glory of our King to unite the two groups into one and to use the ones who held the greatest contempt to reach the group that held the least contempt. Peter gives a very simple explanation of the Good News of Jesus with which he ends, "To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins."
While Peter was still speaking those words, the Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles evidenced by tongues--just like Pentecost. The Lord Jesus made sure that there was no question about His desire to reach the Gentiles. Peter did not teach them to speak in tongues. He didn't even get to lead them in the sinners prayer! He just spoke the words and they were born again. Why? Two reasons:

1. Anyone, anywhere, who really wants to know Him, God will move heaven and earth to reveal His glory to them. But He always sends people to explain the Gospel. We have to go. These people wanted to believe in Jesus they only lacked knowledge and when the knowledge came, it was received with out a verbalized prayer. Yes we can believe in Jesus without a verbalized prayer. It is a commitment of the mind, will and emotions. We ask people to pray because it helps focus on the commitment.
2. God wanted for all time to make clear that He receives Gentiles and that the church was for both Jews and Gentiles. Pouring out the Holy Spirit, even before Peter had a chance to even say anything about the Holy Spirit, was proof that this was from God and not a trumped up event.

Peter is backed against the wall. The glory of the Lord Jesus is shining clearly in the Gentiles! A new era has begun! Praise the name of Jesus, that glory still shines today to all who yield in faith to the indwelling presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. He still wants to take His glory to all peoples of the earth. Indeed we serve a glorious king! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John