May 8

NUMBERS 16
He was one of the most impressive men that I have ever met. He had many degrees, which I believe included a certificate from Moody Bible Institute, a BA, a Masters in Counseling and a Th.D., all from institutions which I greatly admire. He was extremely articulate and a great teacher of the word. He immediately attracted people to himself and began teaching a Bible Study which was wonderfully beneficial to those involved. But there were some things that he saw that were wrong about my ministry, among them was that he said that I was arrogant. He led a group of people that demanded my resignation. At one point during the struggle he suggested that I was mentally ill, and was afraid I might commit suicide. Eventually he called me a hireling and said that my life was a ‘waste.’ After leaving our church he went to another where he did a similar thing with the pastor there. He claimed that he had no desire to promote himself, but that we were deficient in our service. In terms of gaining a following, he was indeed a man of ‘renown.’
How is it that people who have seen the glory of God can be so obstinate in seeking their own glory? I am not sure that I can answer that question, other than the simple answer that it is inherent in the heart of all humans as part of the sin nature. We do not see a clearer example than in this chapter. If God had not so clearly been involved in Moses’ leadership, then one might be able to excuse Korah, Dathan and Abiram, but by this time God had many times revealed Himself through Moses and his ministry. This speaks to me that I must be very careful, in as much as my heart is extremely susceptible to self-deception! Yes, Moses had taken on much authority, but it was all at the call of God, not his own. The events of the Exodus and the first year and a half out of Egypt should have clearly demonstrated it! Why would these ‘men of renown’ (v.2) criticize Moses in this way? Well, certainly God had told the nation that He wanted them to be a ‘kingdom of priests’ (19:2), but they had rejected it by their response to God’s appearance at Mt. Sinai (20:18-19). It is almost as if after there was enough time for the shock and awe of the appearance of God to wear off, that the people forgot His awesome glory.
How is it that these ‘men of renown’ could so easily forget? How is it that they became known as ‘men of renown’ anyway? First of all they were apparently heads of their family groups, that helped. Secondly, by this time the nation had already gained a major military victory against the Amalakites (Ex 17). Undoubtedly they had gained reputation by the way they fought and/or helped organize the battle. However it happened, the point is that the text clearly states that they were men of renown. Could it possibly be that their own renown ‘went to their heads?’ I think it had. There was one cure to it. God once again revealed Himself in His glory. This time it was the glory of His wrath. In response to the glory of God, the ground opened up and ate the 250 men of renown for lunch. Mmmm. . . tasty. I’d better be careful about His glory! . We need to be careful that when God has put someone in place of responsibility that we do not oppose that authority unless there is clear sin involved. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PSALM 127
As a freshman in college, I was taking too many classes, working too many hours and involved in too many activities. The combination resulted in too little sleep. I would study up on the fourth floor of the library in the religion section. Occasionally the Campus Crusade for Christ staff would have their morning devotions there. Frequently I would fall asleep at my study desk. On one of those occasions I awoke with a handwritten note on my open text book. It simply read, “It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.”—Psalm 127:2. It was signed by one of the CCC staff women. I was confronted with the practical fact that it is the glory of the Lord to give his children sleep. If I order my life so that I am not getting enough sleep and that happens on a continual basis, then it demonstrates that I really do not trust that He will provide for me in such a way so that I will plan to take the sleep that is needed for good health. I wish I could say that I learned my lesson then. I had to relearn that lesson in seminary. As my age is catching up with me, I think that the Lord is forcing me to learn that lesson. I can no longer keep the schedules I used to keep and remain buoyant.
There is a similar lesson to be learned in relation to making the Lord the center of our families or cities. It is the glory of the Lord to provide the grace to build into our children’s lives. I really believe that some form of consistent reading of the word as parents with children is a necessary ingredient for allowing the Lord to build our families. Where else can our children see the glory of the Lord except when we read them diligently to our children, and talk of them when we sit in our houses, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up. Somehow they have to hear the word and see it lived out in our lives. It has to be something that God accomplishes. He does everything through His Spirit and His Word. That is how He shows His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ISAIAH 38
Ten days ago, I turned 60. Hezekiah died at around 54 years of age. He was 25 when he began to reign and he reigned 29 years. I was 25 when I left for seminary. I was 30 when I took my first pastorate. I have ministered 30 years. The events of today’s passage occurred 15 years before Hezekiah died. So, Hezekiah was 39 when he said that he was in the ‘prime of his life.’ At 39 my oldest child turned 15 and my youngest would not be born for 5 more years. At 39 I moved to North Carolina to take my second pastorate. I guess I was in the ‘prime of my life.’ I am now 21 years down the road. I guess I have outlived Hezekiah.
Most of the good things that Hezekiah saw of the glory of the Lord occurred during or before his 39th year. He led the nation in a revival. He trusted the Lord to deliver the nation from a massive invading army. The two main evil things that are recorded of him happened after this year. Looking back on my life, 39 was indeed awfully young to find out one was dying. A lot of good things have transpired since that day. The Lord has been really good to me. My four oldest kids give every appearance of following after the Lord. My youngest is only 15, so the verdict is still out on him. I surely hope that he doesn’t end up like Manasseh.
On the day of celebration of receiving the promise of the Lord that he would live another 15 years, Hezekiah proclaimed, “The living, the living man, he shall praise You, As I do this day; The father shall make known Your truth to the children.” If any man was equipped to make the truth of the glory of the Lord known to his children, it was Hezekiah. What went wrong? Manasseh became one of the worst kings that Judah ever had; he completely rejected Yahweh as a young man and lived that way until he was old. Hezekiah failed to pass on the glory of the Lord to Manasseh. It is the glory of the Lord to deliver us from our troubles. His glory deserves that the succeeding generation embrace that glory for themselves. How do we pass it on? I have one more to go. O Lord, let me live in such a way that he sees Your glory for Himself and receives Your glory for himself! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

LUKE 24:36-53
The young people in my former church made several movies for inclusion in their youth service. They call them, The Meaning of It All. They are a parody of super hero themes. The plot is group of super-heroes cleverly disguised as musicians (punk rock or concert) who save the world. I really enjoy their creativity and comedy. Why do we enjoy super-hero themes? We enjoy them because we know there is evil in the world. We instinctively long for a hero who will set us free from the death and destruction in our souls. In reality Jesus is the hero we all long for.
Today’s passage is the stuff of which super-hero movies are made; except, this is reality. Jesus can appear anywhere, even in locked rooms. Yet he is not just a spiritual apparition. He eats food like a normal man. He is one of us. He is the one of whom the law and the prophets spoke. The earliest prophecy was given 4000 years before His birth and types of Him can be found in almost every book of the Old Testament. The statistical probabilities of the likelihood of the prophecies which he fulfilled are staggering. His death, burial and resurrection were foretold in Psalm 22, Isaiah 53 and Psalm 16.
His message of liberation was to be preached to all nations. You and I have that privilege. We can tell the nations about His glory. That is one of the reasons why meditating on His Glory is so important. Without that consistent meditation, we quit focusing on what is important and find our selves falling once again under the spell of the evil ruler of this world. Also, He has given us the promise of special empowerment to be witnesses of His glory. We were born again for this. What a thrill it is to be witnesses of His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john