People and families are important to God. That is why there are chapters like this in the Bible, especially Numbers. It is also important to God that we treat Him as Holy. That is why there are reminders of Korah, Er, Onan, Nadab, Abihu. All were men, important in the family, but did not treat the Lord as Holy. They died untimely deaths. But largely this chapter is a reminder of a whole generation, important to God, but they did not treat the Lord as holy. They refused to believe and enter the land. The result was a purposeless life wandering in the wilderness. They could have done great things for the Lord to display His holy name and awesome power. Instead, they reaped death in the wilderness. They failed to trust and obey.
Like them, you and I have the opportunity to live purposeful lives. We have opportunity to display to our families and the larger human family the glory of the Lord. He has lands for us to conquer. Not literal lands but spiritual ones. Yes there are giants in the land. But the Lord is with us. Will we trust and obey? If so, his glory will be displayed in our victories. If not, His glory will be displayed in our purposeless lives and ultimate death. The choice is ours. However, it will involve laying everything on the line. Will we do it? It is the only way to see His glory in a pleasant way. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 136
If you asked me to tell you what are the most striking attributes of our Lord’s glory, what would I tell you? Would I concentrate on the riches of His goodness? Would I emphasize that of all the gods, which I have worshipped, He alone exceeds or excels above all the others in His love for me? Would I talk about the great wonders he has performed in His provision for me? Would I talk about the beauties of the heavens that can now be even more fully seen through the Hubble telescope? Would I talk about the fantastic nuclear furnace which He created and placed a mere 150 million kilometers from us? Its radiant heat provides more than abundant energy to sustain our lives. Or could I refer to the reflective and gravitational power of the moon which he put in motion around us? Oh but then, I could become really personal and talk about the things which He has done in order to deliver me out of the bondage of sin. I could speak of the comfort of His leadership as He guides me through the wilderness, where I have often become stranded because of my sin. Would I talk about the wonderful relationships that He has given me, my wife , my children, my grandchildren, my church family, my friends? Would I speak of the marvelous way that He takes care of me financially? Would I speak of the way that He is my health? Yes I would, but with each one, I would echo with the Psalmist, “His mercy endures forever.” His mercy is greater than all those. Those are just icing on the cake! Thank You, Lord! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
ISAIAH 47
Occasionally I begin to think and act like I am and there is no one else beside me. It is an easy trap to fall into. It may be triggered by a financial difficulty, a physical ailment, a relational problem, but all of a sudden, it is the only thing I can think about. Depending on its severity, I can sometimes obsess about it for hours days or even weeks on end. If you are honest with yourself, you can identify times in your life when you have done the same. In its more severe times it can be somewhat disabling, impairing the motivation and ability to move forward with what really needs to be done. Really the truth is that there is only One person who can truly say, “I am and there is no one else besides me.” Only when I firmly trust in the fact that He is and there is no one else besides Him, am I able to reach my potential of who I am created to be.
God raised up Babylon to chasten Israel, His servant. In the midst of fulfilling her role, Babylon became ruthless toward Israel. Babylon thought and acted as though she was and no one else beside her. She overstepped her bounds. The result? She eclipsed the glory of the Lord, and suffered its severe consequences. I guess that is why I need to daily stop and meditate on the glory of the Lord. Otherwise, I begin to become the center of my universe. When I am the center of my universe, I begin to careen toward destruction, if not of myself, then of others. As in the Greek myth Phaethon mortal son of the god Helios, he was obsessed with proving his greatness to others. He obtained the sun chariot to drive it for a day. But his pride got the best of him. He lost control and was destroying the earth. The result was his own destruction by Zeus.
That is what happened to Babylon. It can happen to us also; unless we are careful to fix our gaze upon His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
JOHN 5:25-47
Mars is farther from the sun than the earth. Try as I might I could not convince my sixth grade teacher. She knew I was wrong and would not believe me. There have been many times in my life when I have not been believed. Why should anyone have believed Jesus? After all, there have been many prophets who have made many claims, many outlandish claims. And there have been those who sought to be witnesses for them. What witnesses of Jesus do we have that substantiate His glory? We have three, His works, His Father and His Word.
The works which Jesus did were and are unequaled by any other. He healed the sick. He made lepers clean, the dumb to talk, the blind to see. He multiplied food, walked on water, turned water to wine. He raised the dead and was Himself raised from the dead. It was the Holy Spirit, who did these things through Him. Essentially His works are the testimony of the Holy Spirit as to who Jesus is. The works the Holy Spirit does in us is in essence a testimony to who Jesus is.
The Father verbally testified several times of Jesus. He testified verbally at Jesus’ baptism saying, “This is My beloved Son. . .” (Matt. 4:17). He would testify again on the mount of Transfiguration saying, “This is My beloved Son. . .” (Matt. 17:5). Again the Father testified on the night on which Jesus was betrayed. He answered Jesus’ prayer to glorify His own name saying, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again,” (John 12:28). The greatest testimony of the Father occurred on resurrection morning when He commanded the stone to be rolled back and Jesus came forth from the dead!
The third witness is the Eternal Word, the written word of God. The Scriptures drip with testimony of Jesus. He is:
The One Who will crush the Serpent’s head, Gen 3:15;
The seed of Abraham who blesses all nations, Gen 12:3;
Our Ram in the thicket, Gen. 22:13;
The Man who wrestled Jacob, Gen 32:24-30;
Our Passover Lamb, Ex. 12:6 & 1 Cor. 5:7b;
Our Parting of the Red Sea, Exodus 14:13,22;
Our Healer, Exodus 2:26; Isa. 53:5;
The Rock Who followed Israel Ex. 17:6; Num 22:8; 1 Cor. 10:4;
The Tabernacle and all its furniture;
Our cleft in the rock, Ex. 33:17-23;
The Sacrifices in Leviticus;
The One Whose face shines upon us, Num. 6:22-26;
Our Name, Num. 6:27;
Our Communication with God, Num. 7:89;
The One Who is revealed to us, Deut. 29:29;
Our Joshua, Deut. 31:3;
Our Commander, Josh. 5:14,15;
Our Deliverer, Judges;
Our Kinsman Redeemer, Ruth;
Our Promised Ruler of David, 2 Sam. 7:16;
Our Holy One, Isaiah 6:1-3 & John 12:41;
Our Suffering Messiah, Psalm 22:1-21, Isaiah 53;
Our Ruling Messiah, Psalm 2:7-12; 8; 22:22-31; 24:7-10; Isaiah 9:6,7; 65:24,25;
Our New Covenant, Jeremiah 31-34;
This is the short list. Can I have a witness? Let God be true but every man a liar! Jesus is glorious! By the way, Mars is farther from the sun than the earth. It did not matter that the authority did not believe it. There is a greater witness in the sky. It does not matter what any earthly person says, Jesus has three eternal witnesses of His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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