What does God require of you? Jehoram put away the Baals of his fathers, yet he was still termed as evil. He worshipped the idols of Jeroboam. Why was that so evil? After all Jeroboam still worshipped the Lord. It was just that he used the golden calves as a representation of the Lord. At least he wasn’t sacrificing children to idols as did the Moabites. Well, first of all, the making of images in order to worship the Lord is forbidden in the second commandment. Second of all, the use of the images was for the express purpose of manipulating the people politically. Religion and politics do indeed make strange bedfellows. Jehoram was intent only upon one thing, remaining the top dog of Israel. He would do so by the use of any available tool, including the Lord.
Having committed himself to subduing the rebellious Moabites, he finds himself stranded with his armies and no water to give them to drink. Jehoram is quick to blame the Lord. Jehoshaphat calls for a prophet of the Lord. Elisha prophesies that the Lord will provide water. It happens. The three armies proceed to attack Moab. Moab is doing their best to resist Israel, Judah and Edom, but they are fiercely outnumbered. In one desperate attempt to avoid destruction, the king of Moab sacrifices his own son upon the wall to his god, Chemosh. Shouldn’t that be motivation to the Israelites to destroy such wickedness? No, indeed, it had the opposite effect. The Israelite, who didn’t really know their god, succumbed to their superstitious ways. They were afraid of what Chemosh might do. They knew not the glory of their Lord. Why? They did not know what the Lord required of them. 120 years later Micah would answer the question, “To do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God!” Did they walk humbly with their God? Absolutely not! The Lord was someone to be manipulated. Since they could not manipulate Him, they turned to other gods, which could be manipulated and used to manipulate others. They forgot the glory of our Lord. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Go to: http://genesistochroniclespictures.blogspot.com/ “Dead Sea-Southern End”
PSALM 113
When I woke up Sunday morning, I already had an e-mail in my inbox from a friend in Japan. He had written it after returning from church and he was telling me about his experience. By the time I read it, it was eight o’clock at night in Japan and I had not yet started to church. Before I had gone to bed Saturday night, people just across the International Date Line were rising to praise the Lord. As the earth spins at the rate of 1,037.56 mph at the equator, people are rising every minute to bring praise to the glory of his name. If believers were evenly distributed in every time zone, and if there are 2 billion believers in the world, then 83 1/3 million rise every hour. We were created for the purpose of praising the Lord. If each of those 83 million were fulfilling their purpose, then what a sound of praise is rising up to heaven to give God praise! “From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD’s name is to be praised.”
But He deserves more praise! There are still 5 billion people who do not name the name of Christ. There are still 2 billion people alive right now who will die without ever having had the opportunity to hear the name of Jesus in a Gospel presentation! He has humbled Himself to behold us! He beheld us by becoming one of us. He was seen with human eyes and handled with human hands. He was heard with human ears. With human hands He was crucified that He might bear our sins upon the cross. He was raised without human hands by the Father and His own power. In so doing He is able to raise the poor out of the dust and the needy out of the ash heap. I was sinking in the ash heap of sin, and He raised me up! Not only did he raise me out of sin, but He seated me with Himself in heavenly places, the right hand of the Father. I am seated with the Prince of the universe! This is all His doing! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
AMOS 5
It was 1997 at the Clergy Keepers conference in Atlanta. The evening before we had sung a song that I had never heard before, All I Once Held Dear or better known as Knowing You. How my heart resonated with the words of that song which are taken from the Scripture! The next morning in the shower, I was singing it to the Lord. Then as I sang the chorus ending in, “And I love You, Lord,” the Lord spoke to me in one of the most clear ways that I have ever heard Him speak. He simply said, “And I love you too.” I melted. I fell to the shower floor under the awe of such a thought, such a communication. Often in times of struggle, I recall that experience to mind. It encourages me to keep pursuing Him. But you know, I cannot live in the past. I cannot be dependent upon that one experience.
The Lord tells Israel, “Seek Me and live; But do not seek Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing.” Why these places? They are historic places where God had met Israel’s ancestors. It was at Behel that God met Jacob, not once but twice. It was Bethel where Jeroboam defiled the country by placing a golden calf for the country to come worship. It was at Gilgal where Israel renewed the covenant after crossing the Jordan before conquering the land. It was at Beersheba that God did at least two significant works in Abraham’s life. Beersheba was the location where, when Hagar was reduced to nothing, the Lord met her need. It was Beersheba where the Lord appeared to Isaac. It was at Beersheba where the Lord appeared again to Jacob. All of these places are rich with past experience of the Lord meeting with His people. The mere mention of them would bring to mind to the past experience of the revelation of God to the people of Israel. But they had perverted it. They worshipped the memory not the Lord in the memory.
Worship of a memory leads to perversion in our lives. Memory, even 100% accurate memory, does not change us. He changes us. When we honor just a memory, we cease to hear what He has to say about our lives right now. At least that is what happened in Israel. How did it pervert them? Past memories don’t convict us of change needed now. When we worship a memory, we cease viewing what the Lord wants done in our lives today. When we worship a memory, injustice occurs around us and we are not outraged. When we worship a memory, God blesses us with material goods meant to be shared with others, and we spend it mostly upon ourselves. When we worship a memory, even the God-ordained methods of worship become a sham and an affront to Him. When we worship a memory, it opens the door for us to bring in even other gods to use to worship Him.
Lord, empower me to worship You today. Thank you for the memories of the past powerful ways in which You have met me. Thank You for the strength those memories give me in current struggles. But Lord, I need You today! Only You can keep me from slipping down the wrong path. Only You can keep me from becoming unjust. Help Lord! I choose to receive Your grace to seek You and live! Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
1 TIMOTHY 2
There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. It is the glory of Christ that He is the only Mediator between God and men. Why is that? It is pretty exclusive. Many theological voices are in our world today that proclaim that Jesus is just one among many. “Sure,” they would say, “He is a mediator. But there are many mediators.” Yet this verse is very clear. There is one God and one Mediator between God and men. No one else can bring them together. Only He can do that. Why? Only Jesus has both the eternal nature of God and the perfect nature of a real human being. Only such a Being could pay the eternal price of death for sin and over come it. Only He is qualified to come between God and men—He is perfect God and perfect Man.
When I focus on that glory, what should it produce? It should drive us to intercessions, prayers and supplications and giving of thanks for all men, for leaders and for those in authority. Why? Because our Mediator has chosen to respond to our prayers. He has chosen to cause people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth, when we pray. He delights to include us into His glory. The first step to our being included (after meditation on His glory) is prayer. Our mediator has somewhat limited Himself to our prayers. He does this so that we can be part of His glory. In due time, He gives open doors, power and ability to powerfully testify of His glory. He does this, so that, others might be saved. Oh let us press on to know Him and share in His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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