June 23

DEUTERONOMY 28
I was born in 1955 shortly after the call to an end of hostilities in Korea. Growing up, I thought of Korea as a small impoverished nation. In the 1970’s I began to learn of a revival that was sweeping Korea. In 1977 a friend of mine visited Seoul in order to be part of EXPLO ’77 organized by Campus Crusade for Christ. Over one million people attended the event. It was believed at the time to be the largest gathering of Christians that the world had ever seen. Today South Korea sends a high percentage of her believers throughout the world. The largest single church in the world is in Seoul. When I think of South Korea, I think of Christians with a zeal for the Lord, a commitment to prayer and a willingness to sacrifice for the Gospel. It is interesting that along with this rise of spirituality in South Korea that there has also come a rise in economic prosperity. I no longer think of South Korea as a small impoverished nation. It is economically affluent, intellectually advanced and a leader in the world. Indeed, today (2010) I am teaching at Mongolian International University. MIU is here at the request of the Mongolian government, but it exists because of the help of South Korea-her churches in particular.
We remember from yesterday’s reading that justice that was revealed on Mount Ebal. Flowing down from the justice pronounced on Mount Ebal to the valley before Mt. Gerazim, the Lord instructed an altar to be built. The only remedy for the transgression of justice is death, hence the altar. In today’s passage we read of the blessings that God would pronounce upon the nation if they obeyed. Flowing out of justice through sacrifice, blessing is received in God’s mercy as the result of obedience. Is it not interesting that prosperity of many kinds was promised to Israel after justice was satisfied and obedience was secured? Is it not interesting that the history of the USA follows roughly the same path? Is it not also interesting that as the USA has turned her back upon the Lord, and Christians have spent more of their income and time upon themselves that the USA has begun to decline? Is it not interesting that as South Korea began to turn to the Lord that she also began to increase in other ways? Is it not interesting that China who sought to destroy Christianity in her borders in the 50’s and 60’s found a dramatic increase in the growth of the church. Of her one billion+ population it is estimated that over one hundred million name the name of Christ. Is it not interesting that China in recent years has also begun to prosper. It is her prosperity that has caused her to begin to buy up metals driving up the price of metals worldwide. Is it any coincidence that her rise in prosperity corresponds to a rise in her people turning to Jesus as Lord and Savior? It is the Chinese house church that has committed herself to completing the great commission by taking the Gospel back to Jerusalem along the Silk Road.
It is the principle of Deuteronomy 27 & 28 that the Lord desires to bless His people when his justice is satisfied and obedience procured. But beware; in that blessing we become selfish thinking that we are the source of the blessing and we spend it upon ourselves. The result is that we turn from the Lord to the blessing. When we do that, cursing is just down the road. Yes, He is a God of justice, mercy and grace. We can never leave out just one. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PROVERBS 23
What is ancient? Growing up in Oklahoma, ancient was any building over 100 years old. I went to Israel with my third son in the summer of 2012. Ancient had a different connotation there. Archeologists in Israel regularly dig at sites that are uncontestably up to 5,000 years old. So what is ancient? The Free Dictionary defines ancient as:

1. Of great age; very old.2. Of or relating to times long past, especially those of the historical period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire (A.D. 476). . . 4. Having the qualities associated with age, wisdom, or long use; venerable.

By definition #2, Oklahoma has next to nothing that is ancient. We have the Spiro Mounds which are ancient Native American burial grounds, but in terms of human artifacts, that is about the extent of all of it. In Israel on the other hand, almost every community has areas with history dating back at least 1,600 years. If we take the fourth definition as our definition, then Oklahoma is rich in oral history of its Native American tribes.
So what does the Proverb mean when it says, “10Do not remove the ancient landmark?” Literally it refers to the stones and markers, which were difficult to move, which delineated property boundaries. If one could stealthily move the boundaries, one could increase the size of one’s own property. But, must the ancient landmark refer to property boundaries? What if it also referred to moral boundaries which are associated with age, wisdom, or long use? Could it be that such tampering might result in an increase in the number of fatherless in the culture? A case could be made that the good intentions of welfare regulations begun in the war on poverty and Johnson’s Great Society have over the years evolved and, along with other influences, resulted in producing a generation of fatherless children. The result of generations of fatherless children has not only produced a deeper divide between the rich and the poor in our country, but it has also produced predators upon those children.
Both those who moved the boundaries and those who prey upon the fatherless should beware. For their Redeemer is mighty. He will one day plead their cause to the judge of all the earth. That redeemer is the Ancient of Days. That redeem is full of glory. We must remember that we must give an account to Him for all our actions. This demands that we fear Him all the day. There surely is a hereafter, and we will give an account to Him. In this we hope. In this we make our decisions. We make them knowing that He is more ancient than all. We make them knowing that He knows where the ancient boundaries were set. We make them knowing that will righteously judge according to His ancient standard, not our modern thought. Now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JEREMIAH 18
Many years ago when my oldest was around 12 years of age, he gave me a gift for my birthday. It was a pewter figurine of a potter working on a foot powered potter’s wheel. He hand wrote on 3X5 cards a few of the verses of Jeremiah 18. It has made many moves since then. It has fallen off the desk many times. The head is broken off at the neck. The potter is no longer connected to the wheel. But I still have it and the hand written cards, which he gave with it. I keep it for many reasons. It was a very thoughtful gift from my son. It is a strong reminder to me that the Lord is still working on me. Hopefully my son understands that when he sees my imperfections. When I feel that I am hopeless, I can be reminded of the words of Jeremiah. He is the potter, and I am the clay. What I become is based on two things 1) the Lord’s skillfulness as a potter and 2) my yieldedness to His shaping hands.
Yesterday we saw in Jeremiah 17 the contrast between those who trust in the arm of the flesh and those who trust and hope in the Lord. We saw our need to cast ourselves at His feet to show us and change our hearts. If we were to see the complete depravity of our hearts all at once, I am convinced it would drive me to despair. It would probably drive you to despair also. I cannot change! Today in Jeremiah 18 we see a wonderful illustration of why we have hope and not despair. He is the potter, and I am the clay! If we will yield to Him, He is willing and able to mold us into the vessel which He wants us to be. The only issue is, “Will I yield; will I repent? If so, He is the master potter!
The message was too simple for the Israelites. No, they had their righteousness (so they thought). Jeremiah was just, absurd! They not only walked away, they began plotting how to destroy him. What was Jeremiah’s response? He asked the Lord to deal with them in His anger. There is always this tension with the Lord. On the one hand He is a loving forgiving Father to His children who repent and trust in Him. On the other hand, He is a just God who dispenses wrath on those who will not repent.
Do I like who I am? Oh Lord, keep me always with my mind being changed into conformance to your desires. I yield to you that you may mold me however you desire. You are the master artist. I am simply clay. As I yield, I choose to delight in the work of the Master Artist. How about you? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ACTS 7:1-21
Stephen begins his defense before the council. As we will see when he finishes the defense, it is really more of an offense. Why? They have missed the glory of God, and Stephen wants to make sure they understand the glory of God in the flow of Biblical history. It was the God of Glory who called Abraham apart and gave him the promise that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. That seed is Jesus! It was the God of Glory who worked in all the circumstances of Joseph resulting in the salvation of Israel's family and their move to Egypt. Joseph is a type of Jesus! It was the God of Glory who arranged for the daughter of Pharaoh to rescue Moses from the river and allowed Moses to grow up in Pharaoh's court. Moses received much needed training in Pharaoh's court that equipped him to be God's deliverer. Jesus is God's ultimate deliverer. He is our King of Glory! He is the promised seed of Abraham who blesses all ethnic groups. Like Joseph, He is the patient One who endured the humility of becoming human and the agonies of becoming sin on our behalf that He might bear the eternal justice of God and rescue us from the penalty and power of sin. He is a deliverer of the magnitude that Moses could only be a small foreshadowing. This is the glory of our King. Indeed our King is a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John