This is now the 5th time that God has spoken directly to Jacob. It is significant to me that the first time God meets Jacob at Bethel, He tells Jacob, “I will be with you.” I believe this is the last time that God appears to Jacob. Again He tells him, “I will be with you.” It is the story of Jacob’s life. His God is with him. He never left. Through all of Jacob’s waywardness, He never left Jacob. If we belong to Him, through all our waywardness, He never leaves us. Now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 44
He knows the secrets of my Heart. The very things that I do not wish anyone else to know about, He already knows. Consequently, He seems to leave me as sheep for the slaughter. What do I do? This Awesome God, who is holy and just, knows the secrets of my heart even when I cannot discern them. The Psalmist knows that. He is painfully aware that he and the nation are guilty and deserving of the invading nation that is so cruelly oppressing them. He knows that we are like sheep being led to the slaughter. But he also knows the great mercy of our Lord, so he calls upon the Lord to awaken out of His slumber and deliver!
Paul knows of the great love of the Lord. In the middle of waxing eloquent concerning the love of the Lord in Romans 8, he asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Then, Paul quotes this verse stating that for His sake we are killed all day long and led like sheep for the slaughter. Strange kind of love? Actually no! Love that is the greatest is revealed only under the greatest stresses. What stress is greater than death? What stress is greater than apparently meaningless death? He knows the dark secrets of my heart and loves me still. He ever works to remove the evil secrets and reveal His greatest love toward me and perfect my greatest love toward Him. That necessarily involves the death of my flesh. It is not a pleasurable thing, but it is necessary. It is not His hate that promotes it, rather it is His love. That is glorious. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
JOB 12
Job admits to being just like his accusers. He also has wisdom and insight into the greatness of God, yet He is without ability to apply it to his situation. If He withholds the waters, they dry up; if He sends them out they overwhelm the earth. We had little precipitation in Stillwater over the last six months. We were dry. God had withheld the water. These last two weeks He has sent snows that have overwhelmed us. God overthrows the mighty. This week in Egypt we have seen the government tottering like a wall about to fall. The King of Jordan dismissed his cabinet. God has the ability to bring all governments to its knees. Yes, even the USA is not exempt from His great abilities. He enlarges nations and makes them great. But how does this knowledge of His glory affect our daily lives? Do we not need a personal understanding of how the Lord applies His glory to our lives? He does give us this knowledge if we wait upon Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
MATTHEW 26:47-75
When I was in sixth grade, it seems that I was perpetually in trouble at school. I think I spent more time at my desk at recess than on the playground. If I wasn’t in a fight with someone, I always seemed to be doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. One of the times the janitor had just removed a ton of boxes from the cafeteria storage. They were in this pile outside. We asked him, “Can we play with these?” His answer was, “If you help me throw them away in a little bit.” Then he went back into the cafeteria.
We tore into those boxes with a vengeance. We had been playing with them for less than two minutes when we turned around and saw our teacher stomping toward us. She was not a happy camper. “What do y’all think you are doing?” was her cry. Don’t you hate it when someone asks you a question when you know she already knows the answer? We had been in enough trouble already that year. We did not even try to explain. We just started walking back to our room.
Here is the One who created the universe. He could destroy the whole lot with a single word for He created it by speaking. They are coming to arrest Him. One of the twelve is leading Him. He knows that Judas is coming to betray Him. He has already forecast the problem (26:1, 21-25). Yet, He greets Judas, “Friend, why have you come?” Don’t you hate it when someone asks you a question when you know he already knows the answer? No answer was given. Do you suppose Judas hated the question? He knew Jesus knew the answer.
Peter swings into action slicing off the ear of the servant of the High Priest. “Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” Peter ran away, confused. Don’t you hate it when someone asks you a question when you know he already knows the answer?
Now to the multitude Jesus asks the question, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?” Don’t you hate it when someone asks you a question when you know he already knows the answer? They ignored the question and took Him anyway.
The Sanhedrin now thought it was there turn to ask the questions. Jesus kept silent until they charged Him by the living God to give an answer. He gave the answer that was true and that they wanted. He made Himself equal with God. Judas would not recognize it. Peter didn’t get it. The multitude rejected it. The Sanhedrin would not permit it. But it was true. Funny how a question drives the point harder than a straight up answer, and yet people still reject it.
With the exception of the Sanhedrin, I believe that in each case Jesus was still extending love to those who were betraying Him, denying Him and arresting Him. He wanted the best for them. What marvelous love and patience does our Lord have! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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