In January of the this year, I was reading concerning Obamacare. In the news at the time was how his program was requiring all companies to provide healthcare which provided abortion coverage and coverage for drugs which might cause an abortion. In as much as the Scripture indicates that human life begins at conception, and the taking of human life apart from self-defense or at the direction of God-ordained authority is murder, then to force companies to provide for abortion or abortive drugs is tantamount to forcing those companies to be accomplices to murder. Some companies such as Hobby Lobby objected that they were being forced against their conscience to provide such services. They are being forced to either comply or face fines which will drive them out of business. Naturally, I wrote Obama an e-mail which strongly expressed my dismay at such an evil practice. Two weeks to the day after I sent the e-mail, I received letter from the IRS that I was being audited. The audit continues to drag on to this day. I have a hard time believing that this was just a coincidence. Am I surprised? A little bit.
Should I be surprised? Not really. Governments under the best of men have their faults. Governments under lesser men go south quickly. Is Obama a lesser man? Absolutely! It is demonstrated in his unwavering support of abortion at any age including partial birth abortion, which really is nothing less than infanticide. It is demonstrated in his unwavering demand that people like me acknowledge that homosexual relationships should be equivalent to marriage. I acknowledge that in our form of government homosexuals have the right to practice their sexual preference, but the government does not have the right to force me to pronounce it as morally good as marriage. That is just nonsense. It is similar to the government forcing me to declare that adultery, fornication and divorce & remarriage are all morally good. It is just nonsense! Yet Obama desires and demands that I agree with him.
What does this have to do with the glory of God? In today’s passage the nation rejects Samuel’s sons as leaders for the nation. Instead they want a king. In so doing they were rejecting the Lord as their king. God wanted them to know what they would be getting when they asked for a man to rule over them. They would be getting military conscription, forced servitude for their sons and daughters, and taxes that are overwhelming. We are not far off. The further away from the Lord that we and our leaders wander, the greater will be our bondage to our government. Thomas Jefferson once said, “That government, governs best which governs least.” Only when a people voluntarily submit to the glory of God and obey him can a government afford to govern least. Unfortunately, we have a leader like Obama because we deserve him. We have rejected the Lord as our king in exchange for pleasure, prosperity and security. We have rejected the glory of the Lord. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 46
It has been an interesting year. A year ago today, we had the coldest day on record for Stillwater, Oklahoma. That led into a drought and a long hot summer. We set records for heat during the summer. In the fall as the drought began to weaken (we still haven’t recovered), we had on the same day tornados, thunder storms and an earthquake. The extreme cold, the extreme heat, the drought was devastating for our farmers and ranchers. In November, Quad Graphics, a large employer in Stillwater announced an impending shutdown of their plant. Mercury Marine, a long time Stillwater employer, closed their plant in December. Last week, Frontier Engineering announced a layoff of 20 employees. All told we have lost hundreds of jobs in Stillwater in the last year. We have gained some too, so I am not sure of the net loss. Oklahoma’s 45th infantry deployed to Afghanistan. We have lost a lot of young men there. Stillwater has had its share. The good news is that our men in Iraq have come home for the most part. OSU almost won a national football championship-just one interception away.
Mountains seem to be falling upon us as the ground literally trembles beneath us. The desolation of drought robbed many of income for the year. The closing of industry robbed others. Wars might be coming to an end, but our young men still die. What is God trying to teach us in the midst of all this? Primarily He is trying to teach us that He alone is our mighty fortress. He alone is our protection. He alone is our income. He alone brings us safely through war. His water of life alone can make us glad. Neither bumper crops, large herds, great employment, domestic or foreign peace or even national football championships can make us glad in a significant way. His river of life alone makes us glad, and that is His glory! Let us behold the works of the Lord as He works desolations upon the face of the earth. Let us be still and know that He is God! Let us exalt Him among the nations for He is our refuge! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
EZEKIEL 15
In Portland, OR, the blackberry vines were everywhere. They were almost a nuisance. If you didn’t keep mowing them, they were like what kudzu is to the south. They would take over an empty lot if left unchecked. After they reached a certain size, the lawn mower could not handle them. I have seen blackberry brambles on empty lots that grew taller than I. They had only one purpose, to produce blackberries. The vines are not useful for anything else. But ohh in August, when the blackberries were ripe, they were wonderful! The fruit has only one purpose—to reproduce the life of the vine. I guarantee you that if they did not produce fruit, no one would put up with them. Without the fruit they are just a nuisance, fit only for burning.
We are called to seek the Lord. That is our life. We were created for the purpose of knowing and glorifying Him. What does the Lord do when we cease to fulfill that purpose? He first calls us to repent. What if we ignore that call? He continues to call. What if we continue in resisting Him? Eventually, He will burn those who continue in resistance. When we seek Him, His fruit, His life, is produced in our lives. Apart from His fruit, we are just a nuisance, fit only for burning. Everything else is useless vine. But ohh, when the fruit of His life is ripe in our lives, something wonderful happens. He wants that something wonderful to happen. If it persistently does not happen, He will burn His vine. He wants us to know Him, that is when the fruit is produced. And ohh His fruit is wonderful! Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
ROMANS 15:14-33
It is the glory of Christ to use us to take the Gospel to those who have never heard and to minister to those who know Him. On July 18 (Acts 21:1-17), we investigated the ambiguity of discerning the will of the Lord. In 30-33 Paul begs them to strive with Him in prayer to be delivered from those in Judea so that by the will of God he might come to them and be refreshed by them. The Lord delivered Him. He visited the Romans. He exalted the Glory of Christ on the way. However, it was through much hardship. God did accomplish what He wanted in Paul. And it is possible that Paul eventually made it to Spain (after visiting Rome). Luke did not record 100% of Paul's missionary activities (evidenced by Paul's mention of visiting Illyricum v.19).
Perhaps sometimes in our lives there is more than one way to accomplish the will of the Lord. Maybe that is part of His glory. He partners with us to accomplish His will, while He remains absolutely sovereign and we remain free to choose. How do I logically explain that? I am not sure that I can. I guess that is why we have so many opinions and explanations on the topic and why He is God and we are not. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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