October 16

1 KINGS 19
I think it was February 14, 1981. I was in my house in Portland, Oregon studying for a Greek exam. A low rumble like a giant truck going down the street began. As it increased, the bookshelves on the wall in front of me began to bounce. It finally dawned upon me, “This is not a truck.” I turned on the radio, and sure enough, I had experienced my first felt earthquake. It was November 5, 2011; OSU was playing Kansas State University. OSU defeated KSU in a dramatic finish in the closing minute of the game. Seconds later, as the fans left the stadium, the ground literally rumbled under a slight earthquake. The next day, November 6, 2011, Oklahoma trembled under a 5.6 magnitude earthquake. Later that night flash floods and hail storms swept through the state, and on Nov. 7 the largest November tornado on record swept through the state. I am not sure, but I would guess that during that time our fire department responded to a fire somewhere in our community. Earthquakes, tornados and fires, they are all dramatic events which are pegged in our memories and fill the headlines or our newspapers. They are full of power to change and alter lives.
Elijah had been used by God to stop the rain from falling for 3 years, been fed by ravens, caused flour and oil to miraculously multiply, raised a boy from the dead, called fire down from heaven, killed 450 false prophets and caused the rain to fall again. He could do this because he knew and trusted the glory of God. But when Jezebel threatens to kill him, he ran like a scared rabbit. What’s up with that? After he ran south to Horeb, Sinai, the Lord asks him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Note that Elijah’s answer is focused upon himself not the glory of God, “I have been very zealous. . . I am the only one left. . . they seek to take my life.”
So what does God do? He sends him out of his cave to stand on the mountain and experience wind, earthquake and fire. I have experienced tornadic weather. It is exhilarating to say the least! I’ve been in earthquakes. It is indeed a fearful happening. My house has burned down. I was powerless to stop it. They were all dramatic events, I did not meet God in the tornados or the earthquakes or in the fire, but in those events God did speak to me. It was not an audible voice. It was in the stillness of my spirit. It was an impression in my mind, heart and spirit. God simply said, “I love you, and I am with you.” The drama did not cease, but I knew that He was with me. It was not in the dramatic events that Elijah met God, it was in the still small voice. I tend to think of the glory of God as being the dramatic big events, winning the victory, shaking the earth, blowing buildings away, burning up things, but really His glory is found every bit as much, if not more, in His still small voice in the midst of life’s drama, heartaches, victories, defeats, amazements, he speaks softly. It is the relationship of the Infinite One stooping down to me as the finite one and whispering, “I love you and I am with you. Be still and know that I am God.” Yes, I am replaceable, but He will stoop down in my despair and lift me up. In the still small voice He asks me in my despair, “What are you doing here?” The dramatic deliverance wasn’t enough. I need to hear His still small voice. It calms my soul and restores me. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Go to: http://genesistochroniclespictures.blogspot.com/ “On top of Sinai”

PSALM 107
REDEEMED. Redeemed is word Christians throw around quite frequently, but how often do we stop to think of the import of the word? A few who read this have had the personal privilege of never having known the bondage of debt. Most who read this are from the middle class. Your debt has extended at least to the mortgage on your house. You know the tension of what might happen if you lost your job. Your house is just 6 months away from foreclosure. Perhaps a few of you know all too well the sinking feeling of having more debt than you could ever pay. Health problems combined with a low paying job and no insurance have financially sunk you. Even if you worked every day of your life and properly budgeted your money and lived to be 100, you would still never pay back what you owe.
In the Psalmist’s day, most everyone reading this would understand the danger of such debt. In his day you would be sold as a slave in order to pay your debt. The United States no longer permits people to be bought and sold on the market as slaves; although, we still illegally have slaves through human trafficking. The closest thing that we have to a debtor’s prison are the laws we have for not paying child support. When I was involved in jail ministry in Brunswick County, about 1/3 of the people in jails on misdemeanors were there for not paying child support. For many of them, it was willful. For many it was a matter of economics. They did not make enough money to support themselves and the children they sired, who lived in a different household. What do you do when your debt owed is greater than your ability to pay?
In the Psalmist’s day, someone who needed to be redeemed was someone who owed more than he had ability to pay. In such a case, first his lands would be sold off. If there were still money owed, that person’s family and even himself could be sold as a slave. But God had made a provision for such circumstance and instructed the nearest of kin to come in and buy back the person in debt. That act of buying back is redemption. The nearest of kin was a redeemer.
The Psalmist calls the redeemed to declare the goodness of the Lord. Why? Because He has bought us back out of the slave market of sin and given us our life and land back. Many, either living in or having come through the degradation of living as a slave, focus upon the horror of slave life:
—hunger—either physically, spiritually or emotionally,
—darkness—physically, spiritually or emotionally,
—bondage—to sin or in some cases physical jail,
—death—separated from the life of God to know only the misery of this life.
Jesus seeks to set us free from them. It is our privilege and duty to declare His goodness for setting us free from the slave market of sin. We can participate in His glory. What a joy to declare His goodness in doing so! I was hopelessly lost in the consequences of my sin, and He died in my place. He paid the price for my redemption. I love the words of the old song written by the blind composer Fanny Crosby:

1 Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed thro’ His infinite mercy,
His child and forever I am.
2 Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.
3 I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long:
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.
Chorus Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
His child and forever I am.

When that song is on our lips, we are obedient to the command of this Psalm, and we have seen His glory! OH Lord, how great is Your goodness toward me for buying me back out of the slave market of sin! I was there of my own doing, yet You bought me back anyway! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JOEL 2
Eight nights ago (Oct 7-8, 2014) we had the second blood moon of the 2014-2015 blood moon tetrad. A blood moon is when the moon appears to turn a reddish hue because it passes through the shadow of the earth. John Hagee and others are making a big deal out of this particular tetrad as it relates to Biblical Prophecy. I think there is some significance associated with the fact that there was a blood moon on the Passovers of 30 & 33 A.D. (both leading candidates for the date of the crucifixion of Jesus). Peter in his sermon at Pentecost refers to Joel and to recent events of the Jesus’ crucifixion as fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. (Acts 2:15-36) Earthsky.org had this to say about blood moon:

Depending upon the century in which you live, a lunar tetrad (four consecutive total lunar eclipses, spaced at six lunar months apart from one another) may happen fairly frequently – or not at all. For instance, in our 21st century (2001-2100), there are a total 8 tetrads, but in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, there were none at all. If we include all the centuries from the 1st century (AD 1-100) through the 21st century (2001-2100), inclusive, there are a total of 62 tetrads. The last one occurred in 2003-2004, and the next one after the 2014-2015 tetrad will happen in 2032-2033.
However, if we want to know which tetrads specifically fell on the Jewish feasts of Passover and Tabernacles, there appear to be a total of 8 in these 21 centuries:
1. 162-163 C.E. (Common Era)
2. 795-796 C.E.
3. 842-843 C.E.
4. 860-861 C.E.
5. 1493-1494 C.E.
6. 1949-1950 C.E.
7. 1967-1968 C.E.
8. 2014-2015 C.E.

Passover prefigures the sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So it would indeed be significant that Joel’s prophecy of the moon turning to blood should happen on the Passover in which Jesus was crucified. Listen to Joel’s promise of salvation found in Joel 2:12–14:

12“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. 13So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. 14Who knows if He will turn and relent?”
And
31The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. 32And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.

Perhaps that was exactly part of what Peter was referring to as he quoted Joel. The Feast of Tabernacles prefigures the coming of the Messiah. Zechariah even prophesied that when the Messiah would come that anyone who would not celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles should be cut off from the people. So it is possible that the blood moon would be a precursor to both His first and second comings. We are in a great pause in between the first and second coming during which He will pour out His Spirit upon people. Who knows maybe He will return soon and the blood moons are a warning. Then again, maybe this tetrad is just another in a series of tetrads. After all there was no tetrad at His crucifixion, just a blood moon.
So what about the glory of the Lord in this passage? It is His glory to call us to return to Him after we have so heartlessly turned away from Him. It is His glory to call us back to Himself, and it is His glory to even put signs in the heavens to demonstrate His call to us to return. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

1 THESSALONIANS 4
The Lord is the avenger of all who have been defrauded or taken advantage of, especially in the church. How does this increase His glory? He doesn't just remove our sins from us, declaring us justified. He also desires to change us so that we no longer sin. I was talking with a friend yesterday concerning disciplining children. He told me how he told his children, "Some one has to play the bad guy, and that is me." Why do we as parents sometimes have to play the bad guy and discipline our children? Because if we don't discipline them, our children's nature is such that they will never learn proper behavior. The Lord works with us in a similar way. He disciplines us so that we might change in behavior to reflect what He has judicially declared to be true of us. In short, He calls us to holiness. He disciplines us so that we will trust Him to make us holy in our experience. He calls us to love. He disciplines us so that we will trust Him to make us loving in our experience. His glory is on the line in our experience. That's why He is an avenger. It is to make our lives reflect His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John