August 1

JUDGES 15
Capture the flag was one of our more popular games on a campout night in Boy Scouts. On one occasion after the game had progressed for quite some time without any action, the thought occurred to me, “What would happen if I just walked into the enemy camp as though I were one of them, and then grabbed the flag and ran. Would the person guarding the flag remember that I was not part of their team?” It almost worked, I was just a few steps away from the flag when the guard remembered I was not one of his team. I spent the rest of the game in jail.
Samson was working by the principle, “An eye for an eye,” trying to mete out justice. His own people were too afraid to support him. They felt that the Philistines had too much power over them. When a thousand Philistines came against them to subdue Samson, they gave in to fear of the large force which was left behind. Three thousand men went to Samson to demand his surrender. Is there a type of Christ here? We were bound in the slavery of sin. He left His home in heaven to invade enemy territory to set us free. His own came to Him and arrested Him. They led Him bound before Pilate. Pilate, at the urging of the powers of darkness, sentenced Him to death. While in the tight bonds of death in the tomb, He broke those bonds like flax in the fires of hell. He overcame death conquering thousands, millions, yes even billions with the foolishness of a cross. With the jawbone of an ass, Samson killed a thousand and provided a temporary deliverance. With the foolishness of the cross, Jesus crushed the head of Satan, trampled him under His feet and provided an eternal deliverance for those who would trust in Him.
Just as Samson caught the Philistines by surprise, so Jesus caught Satan by surprise with the cross. The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Cor 2:7-8:
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
My deliverance took Satan by surprise. He keeps me in his bonds only by his bluff that he holds power over me. It’s a game of capture the flag, and Jesus has already captured the flag. He did it by surprise and by His awesome power. If I remain in bondage, it is only because I have not understood the freedom which He has obtained for me! It is only because I have not claimed it as my own! I am such an ass! His glory has obtained the victory! He did it with a cross! Heap upon heap, I am freed by the cross. Upon His deliverance of me with His cross, He gave me His Spirit to quench my thirst and empower godly living. What a miracle! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PSALM 31
I remember Mom making preserves. She made several kinds, but foremost in my memory is the sand plum preserves. Sand plums grow wild in thickets. The cattle used to like to go into the thickets to get shade from the hot summer sun. If I remember right, the sand plums ripened in early summer. We went out to the cattle lease to the thickets and picked them empty. When we brought them home, Mom cooked them and did whatever it is you do to fruit to sweeten and preserve it. We had preserves to eat with our peanut butter for months to come. But if they were not preserved, they only lasted a few days at most.
It always strikes me as odd when I read the Psalm and hear it say, “The Lord preserves the faithful.” I get images of the Lord cooking us down to mush and adding sugar and whatever in order to make us tasty and to not spoil. I almost get the image of Him putting us on the shelf for Him to come back later and consume. After all, we were created by His desire, His will, as the KJV puts it, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” So when I cry out, “Preserve me, O God!” I know that what I mean is, “Don’t let me be destroyed!” But do I stop to think that the preservation might involve some unpleasantries comparable to the metaphor of being cooked down to mush and having other ingredients added in order to make me palatable to His taste, and that the whole process is to please Him and not necessarily me?
What does David mean when he cries out, “9 Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; My eye wastes away with grief, Yes, my soul and my body! 10 For my life is spent with grief, And my years with sighing; My strength fails because of my iniquity, And my bones waste away?” Sounds like being cooked down to mush to me. How does that bring glory to our God? Well the cooking process destroys the bacteria that bring ruin to the fruit. The cooking process in our lives destroys the sin that brings ruin to the eternal fruit of our lives. In so doing, He can enjoy us forever, and we can enjoy Him forever. Preserve me, O Lord! Love the Lord all you His saints! Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

LAMENTATIONS 5
The scene Jeremiah describes here is absolutely heartbreaking. I have never experienced anything so absolutely devastating. For that reason I have no personal experience to share. I cannot even begin to imagine the emotional devastation which Jeremiah describes here. It must have been incredibly painful. It is painful for me to just try to put myself in that situation. How does Jeremiah keep himself sane? He is bedrocked on this one thought

19You, O LORD, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. 20Why do You forget us forever, And forsake us for so long a time? 21Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old, 22Unless You have utterly rejected us, And are very angry with us!

In the midst of horrible anguish there is one thought that keeps Jeremiah buoyant. It is that God is indeed on His throne and there is hope for restoration. As long as God is on His throne there is hope for restoration. No matter the depth of the horrible anguish in my or your life there is hope for restoration in God. What is the requirement? He must be on His throne. Not only must He be on His throne, but He must be on the throne of my life as well. He will remain forever on His throne. The only question is, “What about mine?” That is always in my hands to choose. His glory will shine one way or another. The question is, “Will it shine in the mercy which He shows me, or will it shine in the justice which He metes out against me?” The choice is mine. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ROMANS 4
Wow, the righteousness of Jesus is imputed to me, simply because I put my trust in Him who raised Jesus from the dead! What does imputed mean? It means that someone else’s actions are counted to be legally true of me. Adam’s sin in the Garden was imputed to me. Jesus’ death for my sin was imputed to me! Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to me!
Have you ever wanted Bill Gates entire fortune to be imputed to you? That is poverty! Jesus shares His righteousness with all those who will truly trust Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John