We drove an old beater pickup. It had no doors, no headlights, no side-rear-view mirrors. Our job was to pick up the trash at the camp ground and take it to the dump. We had a full pick-up load and took it to the dump. After emptying the bed of the truck, we jumped back into the truck. As we pulled a number of yards away from the dump pile, the driver said, “We forgot to put up the tailgate.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll get it!” Without thinking I unbuckled my seat belt and stepped out of the moving truck. You know when you are already going ten miles per hour or faster and are expecting the ground to be not be moving, you cannot stay on your feet. I immediately went down. It freaked out the driver. He screamed and slammed on the brakes. The truck fish-tailed a little bit. The rear tire came within inches of my head. There was less than a step between me and death. God was merciful, and the only thing hurt was my pride.
“There is but a step between me and death.” Taken literally, it is a very grim statement. David meant it literally. He knew that Saul was intent upon ending his life, and why not? Saul had already been told by Samuel that God was going to rip the kingdom from him and give it to another whose heart was fully intent upon seeking Him. Samuel had anointed David as Saul’s successor. David had won the hearts of the people through his slaying Goliath and many successes in battle against the Philistines. David was the rags to riches story that everyone loves. David was the people’s favorite. Saul had only two choices; he must hand the kingdom over to David, or destroy him. He became intent on destroying him.
Jonathan was David’s best friend. David could handle just about anything if he knew that his friend was with him. He needed reassurance. So he confronted Jonathan head on. You’ve read the story. Jonathan was surprised to find out that David was correct. Saul was seeking to destroy David. Jonathan would have been the heir to Saul’s kingdom. In the flesh, there was no reason for Jonathan to spare David’s life. Yet, Jonathan knew that David belonged on the throne. He could have easily been a part of Saul’s plan to destroy David. Yet, he laid aside his own rights so that David might live and rule on the throne.
There is a slight parallel here between Jonathan and Jesus. Jesus ruled on His throne in heaven. I was in rebellion against Him. I was in death in the sense of separation from God. The wrath of God was upon me! But He and the Father and the Spirit all chose to have me rule on the throne with Him. In order to accomplish that, Jesus laid aside his right to rule and became a man, a servant. I was but a step from death, but He died in my place and rose on my behalf. Through repentance and trust in Him, I can now sit with Him on His throne, because He took my place! Now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 58
“He is very charming.” What does that mean? It runs in two veins. It is pleasing, pleasant, or it means to have a magical power over something. David refers to his enemies as deaf cobras which do not respond to the charmer. In this context God is the charmer. Snake charming has been a long tradition in the east, middle east and Africa. While in practice it looks like the charmer exhibits some magical power over the snake, in actuality it is all a matter of appearances. But the point of the Psalm is that God seeks to charm us. He desires us to be pleased with Him. In the arms of Jesus there are ten thousand charms. But David’s enemies are not in the least pleased by the Almighty. They are like deaf cobras, He holds no pleasing power over them. Because they do not respond to the pleasing power of our Lord, David invokes the justice of our God over his enemies.
As I think about the charms of our Lord, what are they? He is the Almighty. He is full of loving kindness. He is beautiful. He is patient. He is kind. He is joy. He is peace. He is creative. Should not these charms (pleasant attributes) draw me to Him? Should they not be enough to motivate me to obedience? If I really believed that He is all these things and that He wants me to share with Him in these charms, then shouldn’t that be an overwhelming motivation to seek Him? It should be, but there is something flawed in each of us, so that we do not seek Him. The result is that we need also to learn of His justice. He will bring those who are not repentant to judgment. When our enemies refuse to repent, He will judge. Now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
EZEKIEL 27
I am a baby boomer, born in 1955. The decades following 1945 saw the USA at the pinnacle of her military, economic, political, social power in the world. We became both loved and hated by the nations of the world. We possessed much of the world’s resources. We inherited one of the greatest political systems for providing freedom for her citizens that the world has ever seen. Our wealth compared to the third world nations became legendary. The average citizen in the USA was immeasurably better off economically and in every category of measure than most of the third world. Our resources and system had led us to the top in the world. We were much like Tyre.
In the midst of our wealth, we forgot God. We excluded Him from our schools. In the name of freedom of religion we excluded Him from public life. Our true god became our focus. Our true god? It is nothing less than freedom from any outside restraint. To have that freedom, we have sought to amass great wealth. To have that freedom, we have sought to broker political power that will support our own interests. To sustain that freedom, we sought to build the world’s greatest military machine. To have that freedom, we have sought to throw off all moral sexual restraint. Daily we fall at the altar of “Have It Your Way,” in order to worship our impotent god. We are headed at break neck speed down the high slope of this roller coaster toward the valley of freedom of restraint. We are much like Tyre.
What would happen if we shifted our focus off this false god which we have so passionately embraced to the living God whose glory is inexpressible? Perhaps the Lord might lift us off of this insane roller coaster and set us on a plateau with an incredible view. But alas we are much like Tyre. We have exchanged the glory of the invisible God for the glory of what we can see, feel and experience. It is the glory of money, sex and power. What a putrid god it is in relation to the glory of the invisible God. Help me/us Lord to focus on your glory, not the gods of this world, lest I/we end up just like Tyre. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-18
When the Children of Israel came out of Egypt, the Lord not only provided miraculously for their exit but also for their sustenance as they traveled the desert He provided manna for bread, quail for meat and water via various miracles. Two of those miracles were occasions where water poured from a rock after Moses struck it. (If you remember the first time he was commanded to strike it, the second time he was commanded to speak to it but in disobedience, he struck it again.) Paul says that Rock was Christ. He is the Rock who brings us the water of life when He was struck down in His crucifixion but raised again, declaring us righteous before God. He is also the Rock who brings us ongoing, daily life as we kneel before Him yielding our lives to Him in reverence.
Throughout the Scripture “Rock” is used as a metaphor of Christ. “Rock” is used by the Psalmist as a place of safety and refuge, like Masada. Jesus refers to hearing and obeying His words to being like a person who builds his house on solid bedrock. Here the “Rock” is the source of pure living water that sustains our life. Jesus also refers to Himself as the manna that came down out of heaven. He is the source of our sustenance.
Paul says Jesus followed the Children of Israel. The Lord Jesus is our “Rock”. He follows us. He is always there. He is our place of refuge and safety. He is the bedrock upon which we can build. He is the source of pure living water that sustains us and is the source of sustenance. What comfort there is in that knowledge! What warning is also there! Paul kind of understates the case when he says with most of them God was not well pleased. Indeed, He was not well pleased with all the adults except Joshua and Caleb. They were His children. He met their needs. But because of their unbelief, they lived out their natural lives in the wilderness never experiencing the promised land for which they had been called out of Egypt.
We are often tempted to leave or ignore the source of our sustenance. That amounts to idolatry and immorality. But He constantly follows us. He is there ready to give us a way of escape from the temptation if we are willing to take it. We can bear it, because He is there. This blessed truth is part of the symbolism of communion. We drink of one cup together—the cup of the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes us holy through communion with Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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