October 26

2 KINGS 7
Why are we so slow to believe the Word of the Lord or to see the glory of the Lord? Elisha was obviously a man who had accomplished many miracles, and the fame of them had spread far and wide. Surely when Elisha spoke, the people would have responded positively. Yet the officer of the king could only respond to Elisha’s prophecy of the coming miracle with, “If the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But is this not just like us? Each new test of faith brings with it our inabilities to believe. That is why it is so vital for us to be fixed upon the glory of the Lord. When fixed upon His glory, we believe. When fixed upon our problem, we are in unbelief.
When the Lord provides the miracle, why do we keep it to ourselves? The lepers got up and went into the Syrian camp to find bread. Finding the camp deserted with all of the Syrian possessions left behind, they had stumbled upon the miracle. They busied themselves collecting wealth. Finally, it dawned upon them, ““We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.” The Lord constantly showers His glories of changed lives upon us. We busy ourselves collecting wealth. A multitude of people remain imprisoned behind the gates of the city we left. The gates of Hades cannot prevail against us. If we return to the city, walk through its doors and share with the inhabitants where the glory of the Lord maybe found, some will follow us outside Hades gates and find His awesome glory. But am I too busy collecting wealth for myself. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PSALM 118
Mercy! Many of us instinctively know that we are in need of it; the rest just lie to themselves. His mercy, once extended, endures forever, and the Psalmist knows it very well! He calls out to the Lord, “Save now, I pray, Oh Lord!” (v.25) (translates into ‘Hosanna!’) He knows that he lacks the righteousness to enter into the gates of the temple of the Lord. He stands before the gates and throws himself upon the mercy of the Lord. Oh Lord, save me! I don’t have the required righteousness to come through the gates into Your presence. But when does the plea for salvation come? After the stone which the builders rejected becomes the chief cornerstone.
On Jesus’ triumphal entry the crowds and the children cried out, “Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” The stone presented Himself to the builders. They rejected Him. They bound the sacrifice (so to speak) to the horns of the altar. They crucified Him. God raised Him from the dead! That death and resurrection became the basis for mercy which pours out abundantly on those who will now kneel and plead for His mercy! He told us about it 1,000 years before it happened. Oh Lord, I receive Your mercy! Wow! Now that is glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

AMOS 9
The little cart rumbled through the haunted ghost mine on the track while the strobe light flashed and produced a sense of terror upon the eyes and mind. New scenes of gore and horror appeared at each turn of the track. As an 8-year-old, it was indeed a terrifying experience as I rode with my friends through the twisted path. About half-way through a hand touched me on the shoulder from behind sending an adrenaline rush through my body that caused me to bolt to remove the unwanted grasp from my shoulder. But as quickly as I tried to move, the hand was gone. But the hand had produced its desired effect, a sense of terror.
The Lord reveals His terror to and upon us. His is not for the effect of an adrenaline rush, but rather that of a changed life. The terror of the Lord is indeed something that should frighten us. His terror has been observed throughout this little book of Amos. As always, His terror should lead us beyond the experience to something rewarding. The Lord calls for the destruction of the nation, the scattering of the people for the goal of an eventual restoration. He will filter the people through the other nations for the purpose of restoring His people in holiness.
Notice from this passage that His terror is inescapable. One can go to Hell or Heaven, to the mountain top or bottom of the Sea, to Rivers that produce abundance or to the nations that are influential, but one can never escape His sight. He finds us wherever we try to hide. His terror sifts us like flour through the twisted paths of life. We can attach to what is evil and remain in the sieve forever, or we can submit to His filtering process and look for restoration to come. His reward is equally inescapable.
Israel benefitted from the sieve process. The benefit was a restoration of the tabernacle of David. In the Acts 15:16-20 James refers to this tabernacle as the church through which the Gentiles would be able to come and seek the Lord. If that is the case, then Paul refers to this (Ephesians 2:11-13 and Galatians 3:26-29) as Jesus breaking down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile to place them in one body. During that journey through the sieve, those who believed in Jesus remained and were made part of the tabernacle of David, and those who did not believe experienced the true terror of the Lord.
What a difference! Through many trials and tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. Therefore let us remain steadfast in clinging to and relying upon the Lord Jesus for if we do, we will receive an eternal reward. If we do not we will receive eternal terror. That is His glory, eternal joy for those who believe, eternal terror for those who do not. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

1 TIMOTHY 6
Our living God is the one who gives life to all things. Jesus is that living God made flesh. He is the only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords. What is a Potentate? The word is translated sometimes as sovereign. It comes from a group of words whose root word means power or ability. Hence, it is a ruler or a sovereign that has power or ability. A sovereign is the one who can make things work or happen. He is the one who really is in control. Of all the kings, lords, presidents, dictators, premiers, chancellors of the earth, now or past or ever will be, He is the sovereign. He is in control. When we truly yield to Him as our master, no other person or thing can rule us, no unwholesome word, no evil spirit, no pursuit of wealth, no desire to be rich. They cannot rule us because He is the sovereign living God and those things do not give life but He does. Only He provides real life, abundant life, life with meaning, life with purpose. He alone has immortality because He is life.
He dwells in unapproachable light. What does that mean? I am sure that given all the volumes of the world and the ability write wisely and sensibly in them about this subject, I could never exhaust it. His light reveals reality. His light shows me exactly who I am. His light reveals the truth about everyone and everything. If I were to be instantly transported into His light, it would be more than I could bear. Yet He does reveal a little bit of His light to me, just enough to make it bearable, just enough to change me a little bit at a time. He is sovereign. He is revealing His glory in me through His light. If He is your Potentate, He is doing the same thing in you. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John