May 24

NUMBERS 33
Every once-in-a-while it is good to stop and remember where you came from and to where God has brought you. In 2006 God told me to return to the land of my fathers. The journey of being able to accomplish that was at times tense and full of questions. On the road to returning, I have seen His enabling presence at many crises in my life. My son deployed to Iraq for 15 months. My father-in-law passed away. My house burned down. My second son and his wife conceived our first grandchild. She was born premature and passed away a few days after being born. I had the opportunity to complete a missions trip to Senegal and then a family vacation in Germany. I finally accomplished returning in 2008. Since returning to the land of my fathers, God has provided three different jobs. I’ve had the wonderful privilege of meeting and ministering to and with a bunch of new people and renew old relationships. I have had four more grand children born. My father passed away. I’m being audited by the IRS (Its strange; the audit was initiated after I wrote a rather terse but respectful e-mail to Mr. Obama explaining what I thought about him requiring companies to violate their conscience by providing health plans that make provision for abortion.) In each and every situation, God has demonstrated His presence. He has communicated His great love by being with me at every step of the path. It is good to stop and reminisce. I’ve seen His glory there.
Beginning with the mighty judgments and Passover in Egypt, Moses recites for the new generation each of the places in which they camped along the way. The names elicit memories of what happened each of the places named. We have seen some of the details of those happenings as we have read Exodus through Numbers. We have seen His mighty presence, sometimes for Israel’s good, sometimes in judgment, but always for their good and His glory. Sometimes it’s good to stop and remember. If you look carefully, you will see a thread of His mercy and grace being weaved into your life even in the midst of your rebellion. That is what I have seen both in the Scripture and in my life. Will you stop and look for that thread? It is there. It is there for His glory! Let’s glorify Him! Indeed, we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Psalm 143
I am sure that by now most everyone who reads this has heard the news of Tom White’s (leader of Voice of the Martyrs) death. Tom had been accused of inappropriately touching a young girl. Whether or not he was guilty, Tom apparently could not live with what was about to happen, so he took his own life. Hmmm. . . what does this tell me about the glory of the Lord and our own lives?
Apart from the Lord, I am faithless (v1), unrighteous (v1), powerless (v5) and unmerciful (v11). David makes it very clear that this is true of himself, and sadly I see myself there too (and you). Yet the Lord is the opposite of each of these negative attributes. David makes it abundantly clear in this Psalm that he is distressed over his lack of power to deliver himself from these sins. Any student of David’s life is aware of the coarse cruelty and sexual promiscuity of which David was capable. We are acutely aware of David’s unfaithfulness, unrighteousness, at times powerlessness to do the right thing and at times unmercifulness. Yet the Lord at one time called him, “A man after His own heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14)
Why would the Lord call this flawed man this? Because this flawed man recognized his flaws. Whenever the flaws flared up, he pressed back into the Lord to remember His glory, to receive of Him the life change he needed. What does David see as he presses in? He sees faithfulness in the Lord in contrast to his own unfaithfulness. If any of us had been God, when David exhibited his unfaithfulness, we would have left David hanging by his own rope. Yet God remained faithful. Because of His faithfulness, David returned to the Lord. David sees righteousness in God. If any of us had been God, when David exhibited his unrighteousness, we would have instantly judged him and given him what he deserved, death. Because David sees righteousness in God, he returns to him. David muses on the works of God’s hands. One cannot do that and not be overwhelmed by the vast power of the living God! David would see his own powerlessness in his own sin. So he would return to the living God to beg His power to walk as he ought. David rejoices in the lovingkindness and mercy that he finds at the throne of God. Consequently, he returns to receive, to drink long from that well! His own failure teaches him how dried up and thirsty he is. Only at that well can we be restored! It is the well of His Holy Spirit. That is why he is called a man after God’s own heart.
There is hope for me and you if we press into drinking of the glory of the Lord. Only by drinking of the faithfulness, righteousness, power, lovingkindness and mercy of the Lord can we be restored. That is His glory! That is His desire! I don’t know why Tom White took his own life, but I suspect that it was somewhat related to not being able to drink of the well of the glory of Christ. Somehow Tom’s own glory gained preeminence over the Glory of Christ. All the more reason for me to press in to the heart of the Lord to see His Glory, for I am sure that Tom White was a better man than I! After all, it is all about the glory of Christ, not mine or Tom’s. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ISAIAH 54
I’ve heard it said and/or prayed over me many times, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” It is a nice sentiment, but is the promise one which I can claim individually? If as those who say, “All the promises in the Book are mine,” is true, then certainly I can claim it. This promise’s primary meaning is actually given to the nation of Israel as God redeems her out of the nations and makes waste places to blossom through the work of His Servant. Is it true for me? Well the context of the promise would say no. However, in a spiritual sense the answer is, “Yes.” As we know, the New Testament writers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, saw Isaiah 53 as the work of the Messiah, Jesus, upon the cross to purchase our redemption. By extension then, anything needed for our redemption, which the cross purchased, is a promise to us for the complete fulfillment of our redemption. It is a similar promise that Jesus gave when He promised that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed then we may say to this mountain, “Be cast into the sea,” it shall be done. No weapon formed against us for the fulfillment of our redemption will prosper. He did the work necessary described in 52:13-53:12 to purchase and fulfill our redemption. Therefore nothing can prosper against its work accept our refusal to believe Him.
For that reason (chapter 53), in 54 he can command us, “Sing O barren one!” For out of the redemption which He provides He will bless and multiply us in our redemption. He will remove the wickedness of my life and wash it away as He washed away the wickedness of Noah’s generation with the great flood. For that reason (53), He is pleased with us. For that reason (53), He is at peace with us. For that reason (53),His kindness will not depart from us. For that reason (53), He has mercy upon us. For that reason (53), He comforts us. For that reason (53), the terror of possibly losing our redemption will not come upon us. No weapon, which is designed to prevent the application of work of the Servant described in chapter 53 can ever prosper against us. I have an eternal redemption which is promised to me, and it will be accomplished for His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JOHN 8:31-59
Bet ya can't eat just one. If there ever was a good example of sin's power over us, it was that old Lays Potato Chips commercial. Ever had a craving for something that you just could not resist? Of course you have had such a craving. Everyone has them. Has it ever been related to doing something wrong or sinful? Of course you have. Everyone has. The glorious thing about Jesus is that He came to set us free from those cravings. The very first time that you gave in to that sinful craving it was like someone slapped hand cuffs on your wrists and a ball and chain on your ankle. Got ya! Now you can't get loose. Oh you don't give in every time the craving comes, but over time it reels you in. After a while you cease even struggling.
Do you want to be free? Of course you do! Everybody does! Actually, not everybody wants to be free. Some people kind of like the familiarity of their sin. It is like the time Jesus asked the lame man, "Do you want to be made well?" Of course he did! But then, why did Jesus ask? Laying paralyzed by the pool was all the man ever knew. If He were healed, then he would have to start working. Life would be different. Being set free from the bondage of sin is something Jesus can do for anyone. But it will cost you your life. He wants your life.
Actually, when you come to understand the truth about your life and His life, the exchange of your life for His freedom is really quite a bargain for us. The problem is that most of us don't really know truth. We don't understand the depth of the depravity of the sin that besets us, NOR do we understand the great limits of the holiness, justice, mercy and grace of Jesus. (They are infinite.) When those all come into focus and balance, and we embrace them, the shackles fall off. Then, as the song says, "I can never go back to the old way ever again." That's the glory of Jesus.
How do we learn that truth? Jesus is the truth, and He speaks the words of God to us. We learn it from Him. We learn it by gazing into His face, the face of God. We learn it by submitting to His name rather than exalting our own name. That is when the shackles fall off. Isn't He beautiful? May His name ever be exalted. May my name be only His.
The day Abraham died, the truth was revealed to him, and for the first time he really lived. How so? When he died, he came face to face with the Son. When the Son left heaven to become flesh, to become Jesus, Abraham rejoiced. Abraham knew that He (God the Son) left Eternity (actually He didn't leave Eternity, He just entered time and space by adding flesh to His person) to enter time to break the shackles of sin. Oh there was joy with Abraham because the Son from Eternity entered time and space to reign over sin and death. That is our Jesus! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John