Uzziah’s fame spread far and wide, till he became strong. But when he was strong, he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. It is only for the priests to burn incense. I am so tempted to want to receive praise for the things I do. Whenever I seek the praise of man, whenever the praise of others is my motivation for action, I am infringing on the glory of the Lord. Uzziah had been abundantly blessed by the Lord. In that blessing he became deceived thinking that God had elevated him to a place that he had not been elevated. How could he possibly have thought that? That is the subtle temptation of pride. If we could see it coming, it would not overtake us. How could Satan have thought that He could elevate himself to God’s level? How could he ever have thought, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High?” Yet he did, and Uzziah followed in his steps. If we have an elevated view of ourselves and devalued view of His glory, we too will follow in his steps. Lord, let me constantly know who I am and who You are! Break down the pride in me! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PROVERBS 22
“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold.” What does it mean to be rich or poor? Recently in our Getting Ahead circles, we have from time to time mentioned that poverty is not always economic poverty. There are many kinds of poverty other than economic. There is emotional poverty, spiritual poverty, relational poverty, family poverty, intellectual poverty. You can probably think of a few other types of poverty. Just as there are many types of poverty, there are also many types of riches. I remember one time, when I was very young (at least under 6), asking my mother if we were rich. I had never had any memory of not having something which we needed. She gave a very perceptive but non-committal answer, “Some would say we are. What does it mean to be rich?” I was too young to understand the question, much less give a good answer. Looking back on it, of course my question was in relation to financial poverty. My parents were always able to give us what we needed, if not what we wanted. Is that rich? At least 1/3 of the 7 billion people in the world would say so. It was before Johnson’s war on poverty, and I suspect that we would have been ranked at just barely above the poverty level of the USA.
I learned from watching how they lived (raise up a child) that a good name is to be chosen rather than riches. I know that from 1981 through 1994, if you look at my Social Security records, it would reveal that my income was below the U.S. government’s standard for poverty for a household of four. But I was more interested in choosing to follow the Lord than to pursue financial riches. Many of those years we would have been eligible for food stamps and other government programs. There was only one government program which we used, WIC. Why? We wanted our Father to be our primary care giver. We wanted His name to be exalted in us.
Jesus set the example. He gave up the riches of heaven to become one of His creatures. Not only did He give up riches, but He took my spiritual poverty upon Himself going to the cross, dying a transgressor’s death, experiencing the wrath of the Father against my sin. The Father recognized the great love that His Son had for Him because the Son chose the name of the Father rather than great riches. Because of this excellent choice, the Father gave Him a name above any other name that at the name of Jesus every knee would bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord! He exalted the living Word above His name.
Ever notice the relationship in Scripture between name, word and deed? Consider the following Scriptures:
Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
Isaiah 45:23 (The Living Bible) I have sworn by myself, and I will never go back on my word, for it is true—that every knee in all the world shall bow to me, and every tongue shall swear allegiance to my name.Deeds are performed because of choices which are made. Choices are made upon the basis of the understanding which we have of them. The understanding we have of them comes as a result of the words spoken about them. The deeds, choices and words done by or for someone all contribute to the glory or defamation of their name. Jesus, the Eternal Word of God, communicates to us the value of what God is like. He performed deeds which explain God. He made choices which reveal what God is like. His greatest choice in relation to us is the cross. The cross speaks deeds and words of what God is like. Simultaneously the cross speaks of God’s intense hatred for sin and passionate love within the Trinity and for us.
John 17:6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
Revelation 19:13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Does God hate sin? Absolutely! Just look at the cross! That is what God does to sin! Does The Son love the Father? Absolutely! Just look at the cross! Jesus was willing to endure the cross for the love of the Father. Does God love me? Absolutely! Just look at the cross! Jesus was willing to become sin in my place so that the punishment of my sin might be carried out upon Him rather than me. Is God able to change me? Absolutely! Just look at the resurrection! He could raise Jesus from the dead after 3 days. He can also enliven me so that I may live victoriously over sin. All of this glorifies His name. It stemmed from a choice, deed and words that Jesus did. Lord let me ever live in that choice, those deeds resting in those words for they bring glory to Your Name!!! In all of this I am rich! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
REVELATION 13
It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe tongue, and nation. . . . Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Satan is incapable of beating the Lamb and he knows it. Yet he continues in his rebellion. The only way that he can diminish the glory of the Lamb is by coercing those who have chosen to receive the Lamb to despair and give up. The Lamb could respond in one of two ways. He could put a hedge around those who receive Him and not allow the temptation. Or He could allow Satan to attack and see if His followers will remain steadfast in the midst of the attack. Which will bring the Lamb more glory? It would seem to me that to stand steadfast in the midst of a horrible ordeal because one has found the Lamb's glory more valuable than comfort, speaks more loudly of the Lamb's glory than to be coddled in comfort, never having been aware that you have been protected from a fierce enemy.
In our time of serving the Lord, Laura and I have experienced-at no direct fault of our own-financial deprivation, rejection, death of loved ones, false accusations, illnesses etc. While I don't necessarily want to go through any of those experiences again, I am well within the mark when I say that in each and every situation, when it seemed the darkest, the Lord met us and walked us if not carried us through the situation. And some of those times His presence was so strong that I would have been willing to continue on in those situations for the sheer joy of experiencing His presence. Satan cannot do anything to us without it being granted to him by the Lamb. What blessed opportunities to show the glory of the Lamb! He suffered and died for me. I am willing to live, suffer and die for Him. In so doing I have the privilege of increasing His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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