Grudges do not die naturally. That is why the Lord calls us to forgive. Well, the Ammonites had a 400-year grudge against the children of Israel. Their leader Nahash believed he was strong enough to have a good fight against Israel. So, he picked on Jabesh Gilead, a city two miles east of the Jordan River. Now, if you remember your reading in the Judges, Jabesh Gilead had refused to partake in the punishment of the tribe of Benjamin. Remember when the Levite entered into Gibeah of Benjamin? The men of the city wanted to ravish the Levite man. Instead he gave them his concubine. The result was that she died. So, the Levite cut her in pieces and sent a piece to every tribe in Israel. The Israelites were greatly offended, and after much warfare they succeeded in killing all but 600 men of Benjamin. Those 600 needed wives. Jabesh Gilead had refused to participate in the punishment of Gibeah and Benjamin, so the Israelites killed every one in Jabesh Gilead except 400 virgins. They gave the virgins to the 600 men so that the tribe might not disappear. I guess none of the virgins had difficulty finding a husband. Saul’s hometown was Gibeah. He was a Benjamite. One of his ancestors was one of those virgins that had been taken from Jabesh Gilead. Nahash was not only attacking an Israelite city, but it was an ancestral city of the king of Israel. Saul was enraged. Nahash had picked his target carefully. He had desired to draw Saul into a fight on his side of the Jordan. He thought he could satisfy his grudge against Israel. Obviously, it did not happen.
So where is the glory of the Lord Jesus in all this tragedy? Now that is a difficult question to answer. I would say that it is simply this. The Lord is able to deliver His beloved in spite of the wrath of man. Saul’s wrath is satisfied against the enemy on the outside. After the battle, some desired to continue their wrath on those who had criticized Saul before the battle. In one of Saul’s few shining moments, he said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has accomplished salvation in Israel.” Now there is the glory of the Lord! He provides salvation for His beloved. When His beloved receive it, they are to lay down their grudges. Samuel seizes the moment and calls the people back to Gilgal to renew the kingdom. It is time to let the grudges go. It is time to be unified as one people. The Lord Jesus is like that. He has accomplished a great victory against our enemy Satan. He has defeated him. He calls us now to unify underneath Him to renew the Kingdom. Because of His glory He calls us to let all grudges go. As we stand united under Him, He will crush the head of Satan underneath our feet. That is His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 49
I once learned something which I repeatedly learn again. Sometimes when I stop and think about it, I feel really stupid. God doesn’t need me to earn a lot of money in order to meet my needs. Seems like a simple concept, but I have to keep learning it. The first summer that Laura and I were married (1977), I worked my tail off and only made $300 per month. Yet we had all of our needs met. The next summer I had no job, yet all of our needs were met. In November of 1980 we moved to Portland, Oregon. I had no job. By January 1, I was out of money. I did not get a decent paying job until the end of March/ beginning of April, yet all of our needs were met. All through seminary and my first ten years of ministry, we lived below poverty level income, according to government standards. We never received food stamps; although, we did sometimes receive WIC food. All of our needs were met. In 1981 I obtained a loan to purchase a car. From that experience I decided that I would never again take a loan for transportation. Since then the Lord has given me a vehicle or the money to buy a vehicle without having to borrow. I have owned 10 different vehicles that way. The Lord provided each one. But still when money gets tight, and there is not enough to buy what I want, rather than just what I need, I get nervous. I start scheming ways to get what I want. The Lord has to teach me again. Why do I have to keep relearning?
Maybe it has to do with my seeing His glory. Perhaps I have reduced Him to a giant banker in the sky. Maybe I see Him as the ultimate cashier or auctioneer. Perhaps He is a cosmic vending machine. If I just put the right currency in the slot and hit the right combination of buttons, then I will receive exactly what I want. Is the Mighty Creator of the Universe such a trivial exchange artist in human currency?
6Those who trust in their wealthGold is just a common element to our Creator. It is no more or less difficult for Him to create than helium, carbon, silicon, iron or platinum. Why should He ever be interested in me giving Him gold in exchange for something? For me to think that I could give Him anything, which He would consider to be valuable, is to demean who He is! There is only one thing that I can give Him, which He cannot more easily create, my trust. Oh sure, He could force my affections, but He has chosen to allow me to choose trust or mistrust. There is no amount of currency that can buy my or any other person’s redemption. He simply wants our trust in all areas of our lives. We cannot categorize our lives separating our spiritual life from our financial life. He wants our trust in all areas of our lives. Why? Because He wants us to realize the greatness of His glory!
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
7None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—
8For the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
That he should continue to live eternally,
And not see the Pit.
Why do I keep learning the same lesson over and over again? Because I keep forgetting the greatness of His glory! He is more than everything! That is why I must seek Him daily! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
EZEKIEL 18
A few days ago I watched the original pilot episode for the TV show Stark Trek. The episode was not broadcast as originally produced because it was deemed ‘too cerebral.’ Interesting, I never thought of Star Trek as ever possibly being ‘too cerebral’. Anyway, the pilot deals with Captain Pike and landing party beaming down to a planet inhabited by a race which was greatly mentally evolved but not evolved emotionally or physically. They had gained the ability to use mental telepathy to change the way lower life forms viewed reality. The motivation for the superior being to do so was that they could then live vicariously through the thoughts and emotions of the lower beings. They could not force the lower beings to do anything, but they would manipulate them to do what they wanted by controlling their thoughts. In one scene they forced Captain Pike to writhe in agony in a pool of molten brimstone and fire. The superior being then told him that the scene was taken from a fable buried deep within the recesses of his mind. Obviously implied in the statement is the idea that there is no hell.
What is behind the idea that hell does not exist? Is it not that if there is a hell, then God must take pleasure in it? To think that God would take pleasure in the eternal torture of someone is rather twisted.
God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Some liberal theologians posit that the God of the Old Testament is a harsh and vengeful God and that the God of the New Testament is a God of love and mercy. Yet it is the New Testament and Jesus that speak so much of hell. Some people including Christians seem to live under a cloud that God is harsh and joyless. Yet when I come across passages like today’s passage, I see the compassion and mercy of a just God. He must be just or we would want nothing to do with Him. He must be compassionate and merciful, or He would strike us dead. When God assigns someone to hell, it is because He must do so or He is no longer just, but He has no pleasure in their death. It is simply what must be, in order for justice to be just. The real problem lies in our distorted views of justice and compassion. He is indeed just and compassionate. Therein lies the depths of His glory. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
1 CORINTHIANS 2
One would think that the rulers of this age are pretty impressive. By virtue of his office, the President wields more power than any other ruler in history. The supposed wisdom of this age is fairly great too. Never have we seen so many universities and so much education made available to such a high percentage of people. But even with all our power and wisdom, war and poverty increases. Why? Ultimately, all our problems stem from one problem, sin. All the power and wisdom of this world cannot rid us of that problem. There is only one person who can rid us of that problem, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is bringing the wisdom and power of this world to nothing. Currently the power and wisdom of this world is orchestrated by spiritual rulers behind the scenes who are not human. Jesus is bringing them down. Jesus accomplished His victory when He let them crucify Him--there He won the victory over sin and death. Jesus is in the process of mopping up and claiming His victory now. Like an old western movie, our hero, the Lord Jesus Christ, silently came into town (planet earth). He destroyed the bad guys (Satan and his hosts). He has left to return later. In the meantime He expects His people (the good citizens) to spread the word of His victory. He did it all by Himself. We did not have a hand in His victory. The power and wisdom of this age is nothing compared to Jesus. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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