August 8

RUTH 1
I remember being told by a friend in college that she felt that God had great things in store for me in my life. Wow! How does ones respond to a statement like that? What expectations does that set up? How does one measure fruitfulness on an eternal scale? When I finally made it through seminary at the age of 30, I took my first pastorate. I was there 9.5 years. A few years after I left, the church closed. To be honest some of the seeds which brought its closure were there before I became pastor. Yet I still feel this responsibility for its demise, for I could never remove those seeds. I was in North Carolina for 13.33 years. As I write six years later, the church I left in NC is now closed. The seeds which led to this point were sown while I was there. I was unable to remove those seeds. It remains to be seen what will happen with the church of which I am now pastor. It has experienced a numerical decline since the time I became its pastor. The seeds of its downward slump were there before I became pastor, but I have been unable to remove those seeds. It remains to be seen what will happen with this church. How does one measure fruitfulness on an eternal scale? All three churches had/have much promise of fruitfulness, has it happened?
This couple bore names which were once full of promise. Elimelech means my God is king, and Naomi means pleasantness. What greater confidence would one need than to have the Almighty as your king and a wife who was pleasant? They were Ephrathites, a nickname for Bethlehem. Ephratha means fruitful. They lived in the fruitful community of Bethlehem, which means house of bread. Yes, they began their life together with much promise. Apparently, their children were not too healthy at birth, for they named their first son, Mahlon, which means sickly, and their second son, Chilion, which means wasting or pining away. Ironic is it not that they had to leave Bethlehem for Moab, which typically is dryer, because of famine? There was no bread in the house of bread. No fruit in the land of fruitfulness. Their original hope of promise appeared to be vanishing. They decided to move to a pagan land—Moab, on the other side of the Dead Sea. If they moved when the boys were 12 or 13, then the boys died at 22 or 23—ten years later and shortly after being married. Elimelech also died. Naomi’s promises of a fruitful life all appeared to be voided. She had no relatives in Moab to help support her. To remain in Moab would be to remain defenseless and penniless. In her culture there would be little she could do to support herself unless she married a pagan or resorted to prostitution. At her age, neither option would be very profitable. Yes, the promises seemed to have dissipated.
But she had found a true friend in Ruth, for her name means ‘friendship.’ Orpah, whose name means, ‘Gazelle,’ returned to her home when released by her mother-in-law. Bounding away like a gazelle, she returned to her family and her gods, where we presume she found a second husband and lived a full life. But Ruth would not let Naomi go. She apparently had seen in Naomi something that she did not find in Moab. She desired Naomi’s God and Naomi’s friendship. She desired them so much that she was willing to risk moving back to Bethlehem where there was no guarantee of acceptance or provision, only a name. In the house of bread she would always be the ‘Moabitess’, the outsider. Ruth gives Naomi a promise of friendship that is so wonderfully and poetically expressed that it is still used in many marriage vows even today. Ruth lived up to the promise of her name. She saw in Naomi a little of the glory of Yahweh. That glory was worth the risk of a wasted life.
Have we seen the glory of Yahweh? Would we risk our whole lives on one toss of the dice as did Ruth? Would we risk it because we have tasted of His glory? Apparently for Ruth, that one taste of glory was enough to risk it all. In a house of bread and fruitfulness where we have no bread or fruit, would we remain faithful to the Lord? Naomi did. It left the majority of her life empty and bitter. Mara means bitter. She was returning home empty. Or was she really empty? She still had His glory. And as Yogi Berra is famous for saying, “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings.” Do you feel empty and bitter? How do you measure fruitfulness on an eternal scale? Keep your eyes on His glory! No life is wasted which is spent focused on the glory of the Lord! He will take your bitterness and make something beautiful out of it, which will increase His kingdom and His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john



The above is a picture of the traditional Shepherd's fields near Bethlehem. Perhaps they might be Boaz's fields.

PSALM 38
I do not know that I have ever experienced this kind of depression. I mean, look at what David says, “There is no soundness in my flesh. . . my iniquities have gone over my head. . .my wounds are foul and festering. . . My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, And my relatives stand afar off. . . I am like a deaf man who does not hear.” When did David ever experience this? Did this all literally happen, or in his depression does he just feel this way? Certainly when he sinned with Bathsheba and against Uriah, he would have felt the weight of his iniquities. But what wounds did he have. He had stayed home from war. That is what placed him in trouble with Bathsheba. When was he deserted by friends and family? Even when being chased by Saul, his cousins and the discontent of Israel joined and supported him. He had 600 men following him. When pursued by his son Absalom, he was still supported by his old guard who delivered him from Absalom.
When we are in depression, we frequently amplify our pain and make it greater than it is. I remember a time when I was attacked by those I was shepherding. It is hard to think straight when depressed. It was only a third of those, whom I was shepherding, that attacked, but it felt like everybody. If you have lived any amount of time, you probably know exactly what I am talking about. How do we triumph in those circumstances? David has the key: “In You, O LORD, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.” When our hope is in Him, He makes the worst of circumstances tolerable because of His great presence. We will slop through the situation, but He will eventually come to us. In the midst of the attack He communicates His love for us. That communication is worth all the depression and pain. The smile of the Creator upon us creates inestimable joy. May the Lord make haste to us in our need. That is where we see His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

EZEKIEL 7
Is there beauty in justice? If one turned to pop culture, one would definitely get the answer, “Yes.” Last night I watched the most recent True Grit. If you haven’t seen it or read it, it is about a 14-year-old girl on a journey to bring the murderer of her father to justice. Although she hired a U.S. Marshall to help her, ultimately she becomes the executioner with the aid of the Marshal and a Texas Ranger. Part of the ‘fun’ of the movie is that she obtains the justice which she so deeply desires. Everyone wants the ‘bad guys’ to be brought to justice. Even one of the ending scenes where she meets an old Frank James who rudely refuses to stand in her presence, she tells him, “Keep your seat, Trash.” She has a way of demanding and getting justice. We all have a sense of a time past when we did not get justice, and we want justice served. We also think that the ‘bad guys’ are much worse than we are; therefore, they deserve our retribution. There is beauty in justice; we sense it innately. The problem lies in that we never think it should be applied to us for we think we are never at fault.
Are not the people of Jerusalem a people just like us? Indeed they are. Maybe that is why many liberals like to use the justice of God, found in this passage, to make a supposed difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. The doom of Jerusalem is proclaimed to the exiles. Retribution in coming! We don’t like that message. It is not beautiful; it is painful. How can that be part of love? But if God is love and just at the same time, then the justice must somehow also be love. That is the beauty of the cross. It is both Divine justice and love in one beautiful act, or is it an ugly act? I’m uncomfortable with the destruction of Jerusalem in such a violent manner, but they had it coming.
I am uncomfortable with the cross, but I had it coming. Fortunately for me, I had a substitute. Fortunately for me, when I identify with the cross, justice is served against me. Fortunately for me, my substitute bore the justice due me. Fortunately for me, my substitute overcame the death that the executioner exacted upon Him. Fortunately for me, I live because my substitute lives. The cross is beautiful because of what it produced. The destruction of Jerusalem is beautiful because of what it produced. Is there beauty in justice? Yes. My Lord is beautiful. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ROMANS 9:16-33
I went through elementary school in a small town. We had less than 200 students in the whole school system 1st-12th grade. Consequently there was a much greater connection of the community with the school system. In the community was an older gentleman named Mr. Hesser. We all called him the candy man. He would show up about once a month and give every child in the grade school a piece of candy. It was a thrill to see him coming. Our outer classroom walls were almost all windows. You could count on the first child to see him to call out, "The Candy Man!" General squeals of delight would then erupt.
Sometimes the pieces of candy were all the same for every child and sometimes there was a variety in what he gave. There was never any argument over somebody else getting a different kind of candy. We all knew that he was giving to each of us out of his own goodness. Just because someone else got something different from him was not a cause of complaint against him. Once or twice a couple of children might exchange with each other what they received from him. But we were all grateful for what we had received. The teacher made sure we all sang out in chorus as he left, "Thank you, Mr. Hesser!" He delighted in giving. None of us had done anything for him making us deserving of the candy. He gave because he delighted in giving. To my knowledge, he had no grandchildren or great grand children in the school. He just delighted in giving. To this day I have never done anything for Mr. Hesser that made me deserving of the candy I received. My receiving was all rooted in his giving.
The first time that I was in the class room when Mr. Hesser came, I refused to receive the candy. I was in second grade. I had been taught to never take candy from a stranger. My teacher came over and said, "It’s alright, John. He's not a stranger. You can take the candy. Your mother won't be upset." Then I received it.
The Lord Jesus is sovereign in His giving. There is nothing in us that compels Him to give. He could condemn us all to death, and He would be just in so doing, for we have truly sinned against Him. And our sin is worthy of death. But He desires rather to give us mercy. He is rich in mercy. He delights in pouring it upon us. It is all about Him. He delights in making us part of His family. Many are those who will not receive His gift. He is righteous in pouring His wrath upon them. They act as though mercy is unneeded. Whether then, He gives mercy or He gives wrath, He is righteous in what He does. Our response to Him should be to simply cling to Him in faith. Whoever clings to Him in faith will never be put to shame. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John