January 1

GENESIS 1
I love studying creation. I love science. Why? As was said by somebody smarter than I, "Studying science is thinking God's thoughts after Him." My wife once came across a Christian who was surprised that we taught science in our home school. The person's surprise was because she thought that one could not truly teach the Bible and still study science. What a ludicrous thought! Where do Christians get these ideas? It is the glory of Jesus that He is our Creator. It is the glory of Jesus that He has given us His word, the Bible. Jesus is always consistent with Himself, maybe not with our logic but always with Himself.
The Bible is always true on whatever subject it speaks because it is God's word. God does not use lies to teach us His truth. The Bible, properly interpreted and understood, never conflicts with true science. If there is a conflict, it is either because we have not properly interpreted the Bible or we have not properly interpreted science. You see, it is the glory of Jesus to be consistent with Himself. It is always incumbent upon us to see the glory of Jesus by first properly interpreting the Scripture and then by properly interpreting science.
So what happens when science and Scripture conflict? First we make sure that we have properly interpreted the Scripture. Having done that, we make sure we properly interpret science. The glory of Jesus is that His word concerning creation is always true. He was there when it was created. He knows how it was done. He can accurately describe how it was created. He can describe it in a manner that is appropriate for all people of all cultures of all times. We tend to think that what scientists say is without error and the Bible--well let's take it with a grain of salt. Actually, we ought to be thinking the Bible is without error and what scientists say--well let's take it with a grain of salt. If you hold what scientists say above what Jesus has said, you are obscuring His glory. Get out of the way and let God be God! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PSALM 1
Is pleasure a choice? Dictionary.com states that pleasure is, “1) The state or feeling of being pleased. 2) enjoyment or satisfaction derived from what is to one's liking; gratification; delight.” I often fall into the trap of thinking that pleasure is more or less a spontaneous state that arises as a response to my experiences. While pleasure can be that, the deepest pleasures are something more. Back in the 70’s there used to be a T-shirt that said, “Candy is dandy, but sex won’t rot your teeth.” It was the age before the eruption of AIDS and the multitude of STDs. It was an age of the pursuit of pleasure for the sake of pleasure. It was an age that at times professed sex as being little different than any other bodily function. I even remember it as being equated to drinking water. I also remember Josh McDowell quipping, “Let me tell you, there is a whole lot of difference between drinking a glass of water and experiencing sex.”
We are now culturally and corporately reaping the rewards of pursuing that short-term pleasure gratification. More than half of our young people are infected with STDs. Abortion remains unabated. The greatest contributor to poverty is single parent households. We no longer understand what marriage and family should be. Culturally, we have walked with the ungodly; we have stood in the path with sinners; now we are sitting in the seat of scoffers. Marital union (sex), marriage and family were meant to reflect the image of God and to reflect the marriage of Christ and the church. What was meant by God to be a pleasure and a delight of the deepest kind has become a confusion and battleground. What happened?
The allure, the delight, of pleasure varies greatly according to many factors. In many ways, the pleasure experienced is directly proportional to the choices one makes on the road to the experience. In many ways the deepest pleasures are the result of many choices that postpone an immediate shallower pleasure for a deeper longer lasting pleasure at a later time. Hebrews 11:25 tells us that Moses chose to ‘suffer affliction with the people of God’ rather ‘than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.’ Why would anyone choose affliction over pleasure? Moses knew that a greater pleasure awaited him down the road if he chose affliction now. He had to lose his position in Pharaoh’s court, experience 40 years of living in the desert herding sheep and goats, 40 years of leading a stubborn and rebellious people. He chose that to experience communion with God. During the last 40 years of his life, he had occasion to enjoy the pleasure of speaking with the Lord face to face as a man speaks with his friend. Indeed, Moses is currently experiencing unimaginable pleasure in the presence of the Lord.
I like that famous quote of C.S. Lewis found in The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses:

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

The Lord calls us to take delight in His Law, to meditate upon it day and night. Meditation takes effort and work. There are many other things that might promise greater short term delights. Watching television takes less effort than meditating upon the Lord, and in that sense, it promises to bring greater short term pleasure, but it is passing. The Lord requires us to make the choice to meditate upon his Law. We make it a delight. Yes, pleasure in the Lord is a choice. As Moses made the choice for a present affliction in order to receive a future pleasure, so too, we choose meditation upon/with the Lord as a delight in order to receive the pleasure of speaking with Him face to face and the eternal pleasure of His presence.
Would I choose to turn down the alluring propositions of the most beautiful Hollywood actress? Absolutely! Why? Because the long-term benefits of pursuing pleasure with my wife are so much greater. Should I choose focusing upon the needs of my wife above my own needs? Absolutely! Why? Because the long-term benefits will bring greater pleasure to me, because in so doing I am bring Glory to God, because that is what He does. Pretty self-centered isn’t it? Yes, but that is the way God designed it!
Yes pleasure is a choice. The deepest pleasures always require postponing a present pleasure for future reward. It requires the ability to see the future. It requires the ability to spend time in His law. Those who say that they do not have time to spend daily reading and meditating upon the word of God are lying to themselves. What they are really saying is that they prefer the passing pleasures of the present above the eternal reward of His glory. What they are really saying is that they have time to walk in the counsel of the ungodly but not the Lord. What they are really saying is that they have time to stand in the path of sinners but not with the Lord. What they are really saying is that they have time to sit with the scorners but not the Lord. Yes pleasure is a choice, let us pursue a pleasure of the deepest kind, the pleasure of His presence. Let us find Him in the word! Let us put off lesser pleasures that keep us from pursuing Him! For His presence and glory are greater and deeper! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

EZRA 1
“Obama Orders Rebuilding of Christian Cathedral in Washington D.C.” Can you ever imagine such a headline? I can’t. I could see this headline, “Obama Donates Funds to Building Mosque in Jerusalem.” Granted we are a different culture and context than was Cyrus, king of Persia. But nevertheless, this is pretty amazing stuff! The Lord moves upon the heart of Cyrus, not only to permit the rebuilding of the temple, but to also fund it from the government treasury! The way Ezra phrases it, it seems as though it was the direct prompting of the Lord without any requests from the priests, Levites or people of Israel. Wow! Truly as Proverbs 21:1says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Now that is glory!
Do you think the Lord would change Obama’s heart? Obviously it is possible, but would He do it? Hmmm. . . I suppose if it met God’s purposes for history, He would do it for certainly that is why He moved Cyrus. I also suppose that if God’s people, as a whole, really became serious about prayer and personal and corporate repentance, then it would also happen. But that doesn’t appear to be on the horizon. In the meantime, isn’t it great to bask in the knowledge that even the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John

MATTHEW 1
Remember in High School they used to have those ‘honor’ organizations that you had to have special qualifications in which to enter? I never possessed the proper qualifications. There was the Daughters of the American Revolution, you had to be a female direct descendent of someone who fought in the Revolutionary War (on the side of the colonies of course). I am not a female-don’t qualify. There was National Honor Society. I wasn't brainy enough. There was the letterman’s club. I wasn’t athletic enough. There were All State Chorus, Band and Orchestra, you had to possess and demonstrate a certain level of musical proficiency—enough said. I guess I never made the ‘big time’ because I didn’t have the qualifications.
Matthew establishes Jesus as possessing the qualifications of being the Christ (Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah). It is an interesting title, one for which only Jesus possesses the qualifications. First of all He is a legal direct descendent of both Abraham and David. As such He fulfills the promise of Genesis 12:3 given to Abraham and 2 Samuel 7:16 given to David.
Second He is virgin born, fulfilling the prophecy given in Isaiah 7:14. Now, there is one that only God could fulfill. I had an English professor at OSU that made a big deal out of the fact the Hebrew word used in Isaiah 7:14 does not have to be translated virgin. It can be translated young girl. Of course the implication is that it isn’t necessarily a miracle. Therefore, He is nothing special. People who make such arguments really miss the point. The meaning of a word is determined by the range of the field of meaning of a word and, most importantly, the context in which it is used. Certainly the range of the field of meaning includes a young girl. However, the context demands the word virgin. What impact would, “Behold, the young girl shall be with child,” have upon anyone? I mean really, that happens everyday in every society. It would have no import at all as a prophetic sign. As it is in the context, it establishes Him as fulfilling a sign of the Messiah. Not to mention that as being virgin born, it establishes Him as being free from the pollution of original sin. It also establishes the possibility of calling Him Immanuel. Immanuel means God with us. So the prophecy predicts the virgin born child as possessing deity. So, Jesus is God with us. He is God in the flesh, pretty impressive qualification.
Third He is to be called Jesus. Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Yeshua or the English Joshua. It means “Yahweh saves” or “the LORD saves.” The whole of the Messianic ministry is that He would save His people.
Now there is glory for you. He has the right ancestors, fulfilling God’s promises. He is virgin born conceived of the Holy Spirit giving Him deity as well as humanity. His whole mission is to save His people from their sins. Who else can do that? The answer is no one. He is unique, one of a kind, only begotten. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John