Yesterday, I sat in a traffic jam. It took about thirty minutes to travel 3 or 4 miles. When we came to the point of the congestion, a car was being loaded up on a tow truck and moved out of the intersection. Apparently an accident brought a decrease in the normal order of things. Ever notice that in a long line at a traffic light that it takes a very long time for the twentieth car to be able to begin going? The lag time in human reaction from seeing the light change to when the car actually safely moves is such that is slows everything down. As the 20th car in line, I don’t expect to be able to clear the intersection before it turns red. However, if everyone could simultaneously move forward, eliminating the lag time, one could easily clear the intersection during the span of green time at the intersection. Can you imagine the logistical problems of trying to get 2,000,000 people to simultaneously break camp and begin moving?
God is a God of order. It is clearly demonstrated in his instruction for camping and how to break camp. Today he calls His body, His church, to move in an orderly fashion to fulfill His purpose in the earth. Sometimes it takes a massive coordination in how to break camp and move in unison. It is His glory to communicate to us to provide the coordination in order to complete the work. Are we listening to His instruction? He provides it, and that is when He is most glorified! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 115
Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. A god made by man behaves according to man’s nature. Anyone who has studied mythology can observe this. The mythological gods think and act as supermen, but men none-the-less. Consequently within the myths, men manipulate the gods in order to get them act as men desire. We become like what we worship. If we worship a god of our own creation, one created in our own image, we simply become more of what we are really like. It is no wonder that many churches have become powerless to change lives. It is no wonder that many churches use manipulation to get their desired results. They do not worship a God who does whatever He pleases. They worship a god who uses programs and plans that are manipulated by men. Why? Because that is what they are like.
But this God who does whatever he pleases also desires to bless us. He desires to bless us so that we will praise Him. He desires that we should recognize Him for who He really is. It is only in that recognition that we find what we were created to be and do. Let us bless the Lord for he does whatever He pleases, and He is pleased to bless us. That blessing is that we should be become like Him. It is not that He should become like us. Is my focus on His glory transforming me into His image? If not, then I am focused on my glory not His. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
ISAIAH 25
A couple of years ago, every Friday night I would teach an International Bible Study over at a Baptist Church. One Good Friday night, I walked into the church, and instead of the normal International Bible Study, the church was having a simulcast called ‘Secret Church,’ which had begun at 6:00 and would last until midnight. It was a flavoring of what the man teaches when he teaches in churches in countries where the Gospel is not allowed. When he teaches, there is not time for ‘entertainment’ upon which the American church has become so fat. Right after one of the teaching sessions the broadcast a recorded interview of a couple of pastors in India who live in an area of high persecution. They spoke of the high privilege which they have to suffer for the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have seen many other similar interviews from groups like VOM. What our brothers and sisters in other countries endure for Jesus makes our little problems pale in comparison. They endure much tribulation as is promised in Scripture.
One day a Great Tribulation shall come. It is spoken of in Isaiah 24. Coming out of the Great Tribulation the saints will sing the song of Isaiah 25. It is full of the glory of Jesus, but it is a song that comes out of His protection in experience, not theory. He will wipe away their tears. They will sing this because they have been able to wait upon Him. “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” It was a long agonizing wait. But what enabled them to survive through the tears? Simply put, it was His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
LUKE 18:18-43
Playing football as a senior in High School had its privileges. The local radio station interviewed two seniors every week and then broadcast the interview right before the game. We did not have many seniors on our team. So toward the end of the season they were scraping the bottom of the barrel for new interviewees. I was picked. We must have been really hard up for guys to interview. I wasn't exactly a stellar player. Indeed, I had never even suited up for a game until my senior year. That last year I was in the starting line-up only three times. The radio announcer asked me, "If you had it to do over again, would you do it?" I don't remember exactly how I answered it, but he summarized it by saying, "So it's kind of like being in the Army. You are glad you had the experience but don't really want to do it again." That summed it up pretty well. I really enjoyed the camaraderie of playing the game. But actual play time on the field, it just wasn't there. I gave up a lot of free time and put myself through a lot of grueling exercise and physical punishment in order to play that game. If game time was the desired goal, then it didn't happen.
In this incident with the rich young ruler, Jesus responds to the twelve with that familiar saying, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." The disciples were aghast. If it is that hard, who can be saved? Jesus explained that with God all things are possible.
You can just see the wheels in Peter's mind turning here. The rich young ruler wouldn't sell everything. But, the disciples had left everything to follow Jesus. Peter lets Jesus know what they had sacrificed. Jesus gave that promise that those, who have left everything for Him, will receive many times more in the eternal life to come.
If I had it to do over again would I? Even without this promise, I would. Why? Because every once-in-a-while I catch a glimpse of His glory. That makes all the difference in the world. I'll endure anything for that--even without the promise of reward. His glory is too rich! Reward is only icing on the cake. Have you caught even a glimpse of His glory? If you have, you'll agree with me. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
No comments:
Post a Comment