July 7

JOSHUA 9
Many liberal theologians speak negatively of the Old Testament as a “bloody religion.” They speak this in reference to the sacrificial system, but more negatively they speak of it in reference to command of the Lord to kill the inhabitants of Canaan and other similar commands. They (liberal theologians) seem to leave you with the impression that the Canaanites were innocent people who did not deserve to be killed or kicked out of the land. But consider this, many of the Canaanites practiced child sacrifice. Also, consider what the Lord told Abraham in Genesis 15:15-16:

“Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

If you don’t know, the Amorites are one of the seven ethnic groups that lived in Canaan. By the time that the Israelites were delivered from Egypt their immorality had advanced to the point that they deserved to be kicked out of the land.
Another problem with the so-called innocence of the Canaanites is that many assume that the Canaanites were given no warning or option. But listen to what the Gibeonites said,

“Because your servants were clearly told that the LORD your God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were very much afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.

Clearly they had been warned and had the options of pleading for mercy or fleeing the land. This is a picture of our need in salvation. We stand wholly destitute in front of a Holy God in need of mercy. We have no option but plead for mercy for salvation. We cannot flee the land for where can we flee from God? We have been warned. All of creation points to fact that we have offended a Holy God. All of Scripture points to the fact that we have offended a Holy God. If we will not yield to the revelation of nature and the revelation of Scripture, there is no remedy. There is no mercy. He is a just God.
But praise be to the name of the Lord Jesus, we can call out to the Father for mercy and He freely gives it to us in Christ. We need not and cannot resort to deception. We simply become aware of our need. We repent and believe. Then His mercy and grace are applied to us. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
P.S. Probably a more important matter than the discussion of, “Was it right to destroy the ‘innocents’,” is the discussion of v.14b, “but they did not ask counsel of the LORD.” Sometime in the future, I think I will meditate upon and write about this.

PSALM 6
I began my first class of seminary when I was 25, almost 26. I walked across the stage to receive my diploma when I had just turned 30, little over 4 years of constant toil. To a 25-30 year-old, 4 years seems a long time. Working full-time, going to graduate school full-time, having a family, and spending 10 hours a week in ministry was very wearying to the body, mind and spirit. When 2 years were completed and there were still 2 more years to go, it seemed that I had been working forever and that eternity stretched out before me. I was weak, and my bones were troubled. The question was, “How long O Lord?”
David was in a worse situation. He knows that he is guilty of sin for he cries out, “Do not chasten me in Your displeasure!” Could this be one of the Psalms that he penned after lusting after Bathsheba or wrongfully taking the census? Or could it be just some other occasion of which we are not informed of his sin? After all, he is a man of bloodshed, a man who had a minimum of 8 wives. He was a man full of passion—not just sexual passion. Perhaps his guilt is in one of those other areas of unbridled passion. Whatever his guilt, it is immaterial to the Psalm. In his misery he cries out, “How long O Lord?”
Tell me, was his question directed toward how long the Lord would put up with his mess or how long until he would be delivered? He desired to be healed of the trouble. Am I troubled by my sin, or do I push it off and cover it up in hopes that it will go away? Do I want to be healed of it, not just forgiven for it, but healed of it? Do I want it departed from me?
One thing that David knows is that it is the presence of the Lord that heals. He cries out, “Return to me!” When all other remedies lead to death, and we recognize that they lead to death, then we can honestly cry out, “Return to me, deliver me!” It is in that time of vulnerability that the Lord returns.
In that self-revelation of truth, that vulnerable moment, he makes the decision, “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!” David wants no part in being tempted back into participating in his former state. He wants to walk worthy of the Lord. That is when the Lord meets him and delivers him.
After two years of seminary, it seemed that I had endured an eternity and had another eternity to go. How long? I called upon the Lord and kept on the path that He had revealed. Laura prayed for me and helped me. The Lord met me and enabled me to keep on pursuing Him and His course of action. He delivered me. That is always the case. Even when I am guilty of sin, He waits for me to come again to that point of repentance where I can honestly say, “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!” Why? Because only in that state, can I truly be interested in His glory. It is no longer about me and only about Him. There is one day when He will judge the world. Those who have never come to that point of repentance, to them He will say, “Depart from me you workers of iniquity.”
That is His glory. He will exchange my iniquity for His glory if I will repent and believe. He will empower me to live as He directs. He will judge those who do not. That is His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JEREMIAH 32
“A piece of property is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.” It is a common saying that I have heard from realtors; maybe you’ve heard it too. When I moved to Oak Island, NC, in January of 1995, almost any interior lot could be purchased for $7,000.00—$8,000.00. But alas, I did not have the spare money to purchase one, and the bank would not loan me the money. In January of 2006 real estate speculators had driven up the price of lots on Oak Island. Lots could not be found for less than $250,000.00. Before that happened, the Lord had provided several lots for me on the mainland in Boiling Spring Lakes. Two of them, through the help of an interested party, I was able to purchase for $1,000.00 each in 1997. A couple of years later I was able to purchase the adjacent lot for $5,000.00. Eventually the real estate speculation migrated over to the mainland. Lots like mine were selling for as much as $45,000.00, but then the bubble burst. By June of 2006 nobody was buying anything. About that time the Lord began to make it clear to me that I should move back to Oklahoma. But Lord, I said, ”It is financially irresponsible to move without a job and maintaining a mortgage on house here in a market where the house will not sell.” He has since proven to me that nothing is too difficult for Him.
Jeremiah found himself in a similar situation. Jeremiah was in prison for preaching God’s word. The nation was occupied by an invading army. No one was buying fields or lands anywhere; after all, the Babylonians would be taking everything anyway. The Lord said to him, “Go buy your uncle’s fields.” Jeremiah knew that the fields were worthless. They would be worthless until the Babylonians left and the land was once again Israel’s. It looked hopeless! But it is in the middle of this realization that Jeremiah cries out,
Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. . . . You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.
Somehow, God would release them from the yoke of bondage they were in. Sometime down the road the lands would once again be of value. What seemed impossible, God would do. Are you facing something impossible? Nothing is too hard for the great and mighty God. His counsel may seem foolish to you, but it always works out in the long run. I still own my lots in NC. My house burned down, but God delivered me through it, and moved me to Oklahoma. When you are in the pits, it is time to look at the long term work of God, and not your momentary distress. Nothing is too difficult for Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ACTS 15:1-21
2,000 years of tradition from Abraham & Moses is hard to break. As a pastor, I am aware that even 20 years of tradition is hard to break. How do you break a tradition and mindset that represents over 50,000 people and 2,000 years of passing from generation to generation? Only our glorious Lord could do such a thing. The tradition was that the Gentiles could not be part of God's people unless they were circumcised as were the Jews. For 2,000 years circumcision had been the sign that your family was part of God's covenant people. It is the glory of our Lord to change it without causing a split in the congregation. He did it in such a way that it could not be refuted. First, he sent the Holy Spirit upon the Jews at Pentecost with visible and audible evidence to demonstrate that they knew the Lord. Then, He converted Saul with the purpose of making him a light to the Gentiles. Then. He gave Cornelius, a Gentile, and Peter, the leading Jew, simultaneous visions. Then, He poured the Holy Spirit out upon Cornelius & household just as he had done for the Jews at Pentecost. Then, He sent a mighty movement among the Gentiles in Antioch and Asia Minor raising up Paul (Saul) to plant churches of converts in city after city. Now the rub starts. Do these new coverts have to be circumcised or do they not? 2,000 years of tradition says they do. Paul and Barnabas say absolutely not! What do we do? Take it to the top! The case is laid out. Peter speaks. Paul & Barnabas speak. James the apparent head of the church in Jerusalem speaks. He confirms not only the experience of Peter & Paul but he quotes the Scripture in support of the Gentiles coming to God through Jesus without needing circumcision. God usually works that way. We may have experiences that we deem valid. But if it is from God, our experience never contradicts God's Word. Sometimes His word is a little confusing to us, but as James says, "Known to God from eternity are all His works." That is His glory. If we could always figure out His works, it wouldn't be all that glorious, would it? At times his ways are strange to us because He is the Creator and we are the Creature. Its kind of like the title of the song Intimate Stranger. On the one hand we have great intimacy with Him because of His blood. On the other hand He is the Eternal God. We cannot figure Him out. His ways are strange to ours. Indeed, we serve a glorious king! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John