July 14

Joshua 20-21
In the words of Drs. Hinson & Kroll,

For the sinner, to be found in the city of refuge was to be found in the only place of salvation. The correspondence between these cities and the Lord Jesus is striking.

I am guilty of breaking the law. I am worthy of execution because of my sin. Yet I have fled to the city of refuge, found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him I am safe for he is both the executioner and the city of refuge. He has received me and I am safe in Him.
The Lord gave them rest on all sides. Here in chapter 21 we read:

44 The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

Let us be diligent to enter into His rest. The writer of Heb. 4 shows us the importance of that rest for us:

11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

In His presence we find rest. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Psalm 13
I have a friend who recently felt like he was cheated out of $15.00 in an undisclosed set up fee from someone else who is also a friend of mine. He called the one up and complained. Whether he meant to or not, he came across as “yelling and screaming” on the phone. It all escalated. Both friends are currently in difficult situations. Both felt unjustly used by the other. I told the one friend that he was within his rights to complain about the $15.00 dollars, but the manner in which he did it was wrong, and he owed the other an apology. You can imagine how that went. He is obsessed with his rights and the $15.00. He is convinced that he did not yell and scream at the other. Yet I cannot understand how the other friend can be so upset if he did not in some fashion raise his voice. Anyway it is a big enough deal between them both that they both are emotionally stressed out over $15.00. What’s going on here?
What is going on here in Psalm 13? On the one hand, the Psalmist seems to be in the depths of despair. The enemy seems to have surrounded him. He has daily sorrow. He is genuinely afraid of dying. On the other hand, he concludes, “The Lord has dealt bountifully with me.” What made the difference? Three statements separate the two outlooks.
The first statement is that he will trust in the mercy of the Lord. The word that is here translated as ‘mercy’ refers to the abundant loving kindnesses of God’s eternal nature. It may also have reference to the covenant relationship with Yahweh. As David looks at his situation, he makes the choice to take his focus off of his situation and put it on the eternal character of God. He knows how God is, and he is willing to wait upon the appearance of those loving kindnesses.
The second statement is that he will rejoice in the Lord’s salvation. He makes a willful choice to rejoice. He is on the verge of dying and he makes a choice to rejoice! May his tribe ever increase! How I need to learn to rejoice in the midst of dramatic struggle, especially facing death.
The third statement is that he will sing to the Lord. Nothing lifts the spirit like singing to the Lord. Remember the Dallas Holms song?

When you’re up against a struggle that shatters all your dreams,
And your hopes are cruelly crushed by Satan’s manifested schemes,
And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fears,
Don’t let the faith you’re standing in, seem to disappear.
Praise the Lord! He can work through those who praise Him.
Praise the Lord! Our God inhabits praises.
Praise the Lord! The chains that seek to bind you,
Serve only to remind you they fall powerless behind you when you praise Him!

That is the glory of our Lord! Our measly $15.00, $15,000.00, $15,000,000.00, $15,000,000,000.00 or even $15,000,000,000,000.00 is nothing compared to His glory! We can let it go. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JEREMIAH 39
“Is there any Word from the Lord?” Zedekiah’s question still echoes down through the ages to us. Two days ago we read the question, when Zedekiah secretly inquired of Jeremiah. There was a word, but it was not what Zedekiah wanted to hear. That Word came true. Zedekiah’s eyes were put out. The last thing he saw was the execution of his sons in front of him. He was put in chains and hauled off to Babylon. He lived the rest of his life with that vision in his mind and with the knowledge that according to the word of the Lord, it could have been different. In sharp juxtaposition Jeremiah and Ebed-Melech are rewarded with their lives. It is the glory of the Lord that He ALWAYS keeps his Word. For Jeremiah and Ebed-Melech, it is what C.S. Lewis called, “A severe mercy.” For Zedekiah it was judgment. It could have been different, but Zedekiah would not receive it. The result is that we see the severe mercy of the Lord and the severe judgment of the Lord. Lord, enable me to hear your word and do it! I receive your mercy. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Acts 19:1-20
Ephesus, the Roman center of power for Asia, was indeed quite a religious city. The temple of Diana (or Artemis as the Greeks would say) was there. The Ephesians wanted an impressive temple for her. So, they built a structure that was a replica of the Parthenon found on the Acropolis of Athens. But they made it much larger! Its foundation still stands today. It was 425' long and 220' wide and contained 127 pillars to support the roof and its colonnade was 60' high. Diana was the mother goddess of the earth. As happens in many areas where pagan religions abound, the city was also filled with much occultic activity. Within the city was a strong contingent of Jews. Even within that contingent was a strong contingent of people who had traveled back to the Holy Land, heard the preaching of John the Baptist and were baptized by him signifying their preparing themselves for the coming of the Messiah.
How would the glory of our Lord outshine the glory of such a religious establishment? The Lord doesn't deviate from the principles that He has established in the church thus far. His glory is going to shine through His people as they speak His glory and do His works. For three months Paul spoke the message in the synagogue. Twelve men from the disciples of John believed the message and turned to Jesus. Then the rest of the synagogue hardened their heart toward the message. Paul remained in that city 2 more years preaching the message of Jesus. The way it is written here it seems to imply that after the message was rejected by the Jews that Paul began doing the glorious works of Jesus. Seven unbelieving sons of a Jewish chief priest sought to use the name of Jesus to work the same works. The glory of the Lord will not be compromised. Their exorcism worked -- to their own detriment, for they did not have the authority and protection of the Lord. Their failure increased the glory of our Lord. The result? Many left their magic and occult to follow Jesus. The glory of the Lord was so evident to them that the burned their books. They didn't sell them. They burned them. They needed no profit from their past acts of darkness. All that was important to them was the glory of Jesus.
How much money are we talking here? 50,000 pieces of silver. Assuming that the piece of silver referred to here is the drachma, this would equal 50,000 days wages. Now that would be a different figure in different areas. Assume in our area that a days wage for a laborer is $80. That would equal about $4,000,000. That's a lot of money! Why not sell it and give it to the poor or for building a temple to Jesus or something else? Isn't this a waste? They needed no profit from their past acts of darkness. All that was important to them was the glory of Jesus. Selling the books would allow others to be enslaved by the powers of darkness. Selling the books would continue to give the enemy a foothold in the lives of others. They needed a clean break from the past and they needed to not provide a door for others to go where they went. This was a way to proclaim the glory of Jesus. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John