April 16

LEVITICUS 20
Yesterday we looked at reflecting the glory of God in our own lives by being holy because He is holy. That vein of thought continues on in today’s passage. There are a number of associations mentioned here in which God would not allow His people to participate because they would reflect upon His holiness. Included here are: sacrificing children to Molech, turning to mediums and familiar spirits, cursing a parent, adultery, various forms of incest, bestiality and homosexuality. The people of God are not to participate in these activities because they defile His holiness.
Recently I read a book by an accomplished theologian defending the practice of monogamous homosexuality. Certainly he had to explain away passages like this one and a few others found in the Scripture. The gist of his argument in this passage was that the context was reacting to Canaanite worship. These were all practices that the Canaanites had in their worship of their gods. Since God is holy, he argued that the Israelites should not use the heathen practices in their worship of the LORD. He then surmised that unless the practice was forbidden elsewhere in Scripture, then the practices were okay as long as they were not used in worship.
Hmmm. . . I guess that would mean that as long as it was not an act of worship I could sacrifice my children. My children had better look out! I can visit mediums and seek familiar spirits as long as it is not an act of worship. I can curse my parents as long as it is not in a religious ritual. I can go commit adultery as long as it is not a religious ceremony. Incest is fair game, just not in church. Approval of bestiality might open up a whole new market for a dog business. Now in all fairness, I guess I should not have addressed cursing parents and committing adultery for they are forbidden in the ten commandments. Maybe I should put up a palm reading sign on my front door. After all, I wouldn’t use it in a worship service. No! These are not activities that reflect the glory of the LORD in any situation. Is it not better just to say that these are sin? Is it not better to repent if I fall into this sin?
In another light, yesterday we saw the greatest command was to love your neighbor as yourself. What if I have a neighbor who sacrifices his children? The loving thing to do would be to tell the authorities for he must be restrained from sacrificing his children. What if the authorities will not intervene? The loving thing to do would be to love that neighbor and tell him that God does approve of the sacrifice of their child. Would it not be better to help and support that neighbor to make a decision for life? (Do we not have neighbors that practice child sacrifice, abortion?) If we have neighbors who are practicing the dark arts, do we seek to pray for them, love them and share the truth with them? If we have neighbors who are adulterers do we love them and share the truth with them? If we have neighbors who practice incest, should we not tell the authorities? Should we not let them know that this practice is wrong? Would not PETA speak up if I bred dogs for people who practice bestiality? If my neighbor is practicing homosexuality, is it not incumbent upon me to love them and to share with them that this practice is wrong?
Here is the marvelous glory of God. On the one hand, He hates and detests sin. On the other hand, He loves people. He tells us what sin is. He loved us so much that He gave His Only Begotten Son to die for the penalty of our sin. He gives us opportunity to repent and receive forgiveness of sin. How can we do any less? We are to reflect His glory, His holiness. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PSALM 106
God is full of lovingkindness and mercy, but He is also full of justice. It is His glory to reveal both. His lovingkindness and mercy postpones the day of judgment that we might have time to repent and receive a greater measure of mercy. The history of the nation of Israel, recited in this psalm, is an example of God’s mercy extended over centuries of waiting for the corporate repentance of the nation, but finally the day of judgment had to come. That day was foreshadowed in the wilderness:
They soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel, But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul.
I often marvel at how quickly they forgot His works. They were less than a week into the desert, after the miraculous Passover, when they forgot those works. They lusted exceedingly for water (Exodus 15:22-26), meat and bread (Exodus 16:1-16). Those are things that every one of us would call the basic necessities of life. Each of us would have lusted for the same. Rather than wait for His counsel, they murmured against Moses. Why would they not wait for His counsel? They forgot His glory. The focus on their desires instead of His glory spiraled into murmuring, testing God. When His glory appeared, it was not enough for them. He gave them the manna and quail. Greedily they gathered and ate the quail (Numbers 11:31-34). They received the meat they wanted, but their souls were dry.
Hmmmm. . . God’s glory is constantly available for me to gaze at in His word. His Spirit is ever present to illuminate it. Are my requests of Him for the increase of His glory, or are they for the fulfilling of my desires? Maybe that is why my/our prayer life exhibits a leanness of soul. O sure, He does grant requests in prayer. They are indeed ‘blessings,’ but do they bring a fatness or leanness of soul? Do the requests of my/our prayer life bring an increase to His glory or my/our desires? O Lord, let my gaze and desire be upon You and Your glory! Satisfy me only with Your glory and not my desires! “Save us, O LORD our God, . . . To give thanks to Your holy name, To triumph in Your praise.” Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ISAIAH 14
We certainly live in uncertain economic and political times. It is almost unnecessary to mention the doomsayers who predict the destruction of our economy because we have learned to buy now and pay later. We have been presented evidence that we have sold our grandchildren into bondage. We are constantly reminded that the national debt cannot continue in the direction it is going, and it will eventually crumble and destroy the economy and the nation. On the one hand, one cannot but admit that they seem to be truly forecasting the direction in which we are headed. On the other hand, one looks around at all the wealth and wonders, “There surely must be much wealth here. How could it all possibly just disappear? Surely there is much power in the USA. How could it ever be lost?” I think there is this subconscious thought that while the economy could suffer harm, it could never be completely lost. There is this thought that the USA, while it could be shaken, could never be brought down. And certainly, no one who lives here, wants that to happen.
We saw yesterday the wealth and power of Babylon. Surely in the heyday of Babylon, no one ever thought it would fall. Imagine having a 52,000 pound gold idol in the center of the city! What wealth! Certainly the king himself thought himself secure (see Daniel 5). Belshazzar, even while under siege, partied and reviled the LORD, thinking himself secure in his fortifications. Yet that very night through engineering deftness, Cyrus’ army entered the city and took it. Babylon took a downhill slope from which it eventually perished, and became uninhabited. To this day it remains empty.
Could this ever happen to us? Have we ever been guilty, as was the king of Babylon, of saying,

‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north; (the temple location in Isaiah’s day)
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’

Hmmm. . . I think this exhibits the spirit of America. Is it any wonder that much of the Islamic world calls us the Great Satan? Tertullian (an ancient church father) and others have interpreted this passage as speaking of the fall of Satan. Modern scholar/interpreter, Ed Young dismisses it saying, “Inasmuch, then, as this passage describes a king’s downfall and removal from the scene, it cannot apply to Satan.” However, Hinson and Kroll remark,
The reference to Lucifer is most certainly to Satan himself. The real issue of interpretation in this passage is whether Satan is to be viewed literally as the referent of the prophecy in these verses, or whether he is to be viewed as the power behind the throne of the Babylonian king
Sometimes the economic, military and political power that is in control just seems too overbearing and powerful. It truly is the work of Satan behind it. Can there be any hope? Oh YES THERE CAN AND IS! We must remember in those dark times that the Lord’s purposes will be accomplished! They will not be subverted. He will cast Satan down. In Isaiah’s day the looming power of Assyria looked terrible and incontrovertible. In Jeremiah’s day the smashing power of Babylon looked irreversible. Yet God destroyed them both. It is God’s glory to ultimately accomplish His purposes, especially when it seems the darkest.
For the LORD of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?” What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD has founded Zion, And the poor of His people shall take refuge in it.
Is your world or my world dark with the gloom of disaster? Look to Him! He will eventually accomplish His good purposes in YOU! And you will declare His glory! Take refuge in Him! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

LUKE 13:22-35
I used to live in a relatively small community that experienced horrendous traffic jams. There was one intersection that controlled access between Oak Island, Southport, travel west toward Charlotte and northeast toward Wilmington. If you were on one side of the intersection and needed to get to the other side, there was only one route, through that intersection. DOT had been trying to rebuild the intersection in order to produce better traffic flow. The Construction caused tremendous traffic problems for us. I heard stories of people taking over an hour to get through that one intersection. When I know that a certain direction is going to produce problems, I avoid it. Don’t you?
Jesus was headed for an intersection under construction. Verse 22 says that He was journeying toward Jerusalem. He was going there for one supreme purpose, and He was painfully aware of it. He spoke of it to His disciples as He journeyed. One day some friendly Pharisees came to warn Him of Herod’s intent to kill Him. Their intent was to get Him to take a detour, avoid the intersection. But it was Jesus’ glory that He already knew of the problem and was actually controlling the traffic. He would go there. He would die. He would then defeat death. Purposely He headed there, not because He couldn’t avoid it but because He loved us. In order to bring us into His kingdom, there was only one route, through that intersection. He controlled the construction. He controlled the traffic. He controlled the way.
Along the way He instructed us that if we want to enter the kingdom, its entrance is a narrow gate. He is the gate. Identification often times means heading to a painful intersection. The only route through is death to self. We choose to die with Him that we might be raised with Him. Some seek to enter the kingdom. They see the cost of the entrance at the gate and avoid it. They go a different direction. That is His glory! He chose death and resurrection for us. We have the privilege of identifying with Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john