Outside of the one of the public buildings of Davie County, North Carolina, in Mocksville stands a tall granite monument. On the one side of the monument is engraved the names of all the county sons who died in the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. On the other side are the names of all the county sons who died in the Civil War. The Civil War side of the monument is filled with names. The other side has many blank spots and gaps between the different war lists. My great grandfather, Charles Stanley Chaffin fought in the Civil War. He was 19 when he entered the ranks of the Army of North Carolina in 1864. Obviously his name is not on the monument, but there are a couple of Chaffins on the Civil War side. They must be cousins. There are no Chaffins at all on the other side. Somehow my Grandfather avoided being drafted in WWI. My Dad was in the Navy in WWII. My uncle was in Korea. My brothers missed the draft during Vietnam by being students. I turned 18 in 1973 when we pulled out of Vietnam. My son spent 15 months in Iraq. He lost a number of fellow soldiers. We are so grateful that he came home safe. I am not aware of any relatives that have ever been murdered. I guess my family has been preserved from violent deaths. I cannot think of a more unsettling thing to happen than to lose a loved one due to murder or war.
Bloodshed must be a very serious offense in Scripture. From Abel on God has held accountable those who spill blood. Even in this chapter, which deals with various kinds of bloodshed, we find that when a murdered corpse is found, God holds the nearest village accountable. He even required a blood sacrifice and a public declaration of innocence by the village elders. But tucked away in these verses on how to deal with the problem is verse 5, which says, “Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled.” In the very midst of our inhumanity toward each other, while holding us accountable for sin, He still desires to bless. In the midst of terrible injustice, He seeks to bring us back to Himself and to bless us. All he requires is truth and repentance. I think this reveals the greatness of His heart. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PROVERBS 16
I thought that I had it all planned out. The Lord spoke clearly to me in high school. He made it clear that He wanted me to go into some sort of ministry. Many denominations call it a “call to ministry.” Because of that call, I knew that there were certain plans and preparations which I needed to make. In general it would mean college then seminary. While in college I became deeply involved in Campus Crusade for Christ. Upon graduation I married. My bride had one more year of college, so I postponed future plans so that she could finish her degree. Upon her graduation, we felt certain that the Lord was calling us to minister on lay staff with CCC for three years. Then we would go to seminary. The application process for CCC included spending 2 months in Ft. Collins, CO—6 weeks at their Institute of Biblical Studies and 2 weeks of Staff training. At the end of IBS, the personnel people called us in, “After consideration of your application, psychological exams, interviews, and financial situation we have determined that we no longer feel that you are a good fit for CCC ministry. We withdraw our invitation to staff training.” Ouch.
We had put everything into that plan, financially, emotionally, and spiritually. We had believed that was the direction in which He was taking us. Now the door was shut. Not only that but we had spent all our financial resources on IBS. We had enough money to drive home, but it wasn’t enough to move to seminary and start school. Indeed we had to live with my parents for two weeks while I worked to earn enough money for rent and deposits, etc. I felt like a failure, but it was a teaching time from the Lord. One of the biggest lessons was what these verses from Proverbs 16 have in common:
1 The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. 9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. 16 How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. 25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.He is the Eternal God who is able to minutely manage every plan of every person who has or will exists, if He so desires. That in itself is mind boggling. If I remember that, then I can loosely hold my plans in my hands knowing that He might have a different and better plan. Sometimes, because of my inability to hear Him, He allows me to make a plan, but if I remain pliable, He will change the steps in mid-course of my plan. In retrospect the path I travel is much more satisfying than had I had my own way. Because I went to Colorado first, my life and my family’s life made a drastic course correction that would not have happened otherwise, and that has made a fantastic difference. His after all, He is the Eternal God, and He knows what He is doing even when I think that He is wrong. That is part of His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
JEREMIAH 11
We live securely in a day of unprecedented persecution of those who follow our Lord. If the Lord loves us, why does He permit this? Here is a similar question, “If the Father loves the Son, why did He ask Him to die for us?” During His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Son looked into the cup of what was about to happen. He saw the extent of the depravity that He was to become. He saw the extent of the wrath of the Father that would be meted out upon Him. He grappled with the extent of the eternal pain that would be applied to Him. He still chose to love the Father. He still chose the Father’s will. Because of the cross, throughout eternity we will view the extent of the love that exists between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Because of that great love we are drawn to Him. Because of that great love for each other, He loves us.
In a world where our sins hide the face of God from us, how can anyone see the love of God? Sometimes the only way some people can see the love of God is when we joyfully and willfully lay down our lives for our persecutors. Jeremiah could easily have escaped the persecution, which he experienced. All that he would have had to do was quit giving the message which the Lord placed in his bones, but He couldn’t. He cried out to the Lord. The Lord said:
Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; and there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring catastrophe on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their punishment.
Jeremiah escaped the wrath of his hometown buddies, but it was only to live in constant derision and persecution. Why? So that we might see in him that anything is worth the love which courses like fire in our bones when we choose Him.
With our hands lifted high to the sky and the world wonders why, we’ll just tell them we’re loving our king.*What else is there? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
*a song by Dennis Jearnigen
ACTS 2:22-47
Peter had become a changed man. In 50 short days he went from being a confused coward to one who could stand before thousands, who had 50 days earlier murdered the Lord, and tell them, “You have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death.” What made the change? It was the Spirit of God and the knowledge of the glory of Christ. What is that glory that so changes hearts?
The glory of Christ is this: He became a Man and was attested by God by miracles, wonders and signs which God did through Him. According to the purpose and foreknowledge of God, He was crucified and died. He was raised from the grave as was prophesied by David 1000 years before it happened, Psalm 16:8-11. He is exalted to the right hand of God. Being exalted at the right hand of God, He sends His Holy Spirit to live in those who repent and trust in His name. As they are filled with the Holy Spirit, they proclaim the glory of Christ to those around them and exhort those around them to repent and be baptized.
Indeed our King is a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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