September 16

2 Samuel 12
Even though we are forgiven of our sin (a judicial declaration in the eternal realm), we still often must endure in the temporal realm the consequences of our sin. David has three very severe consequences that he must endure because of his sin: 1) the sword will never leave his house; 2) His wives will be publicly ravished; 3) the infant produced by his adultery will die. All three of these consequences happened. Why, if he is forgiven, must he endure such consequences? The Lord gives the answer, “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme. . .” To blaspheme is to denigrate the glory of the Lord. That the Lord carries a greater temporal consequence for giving cause to blaspheme his name speaks to how much His glory should be revered. He gives power to satisfy our sexual desire in the way that reflects what He is like. When we don’t avail ourselves of that power, it denigrates the glory of the Lord. It gives His enemies cause to blaspheme His name. We must be careful! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Psalm 77
Fairy Tales, we love them so much that we make cartoons out of them for our children. We love them because there is an element of truth to them, which we desire to be true. What do all fairy tales have in common? What is it about those commonalities which attract us?

1. They recognize the resident evil in the world that surrounds and overwhelms all of us.
2. They recognize the beauty that exists.
3. They extol the ultimate victory of good over evil.
4. They play upon the innate desire of each of us to be that one who overcomes the odds to defeat evil, to be that hero or heroine portrayed.
5. There is almost always some supernatural standoff when it appears that evil is about to triumph.

In this Psalm Israel is depicted as having been cast off from the mercies of the Lord and shut up from His tender mercies. The psalmist comes to a point where he asks, “Has the Lord forgotten to be gracious?” Have you ever felt like the Lord had forgotten how to be gracious to you? The psalmist chooses at that time to remember the mighty works of the Lord on Israel’s behalf. He talks about the waters, the seas, the skies etc. What has that to do with the price of tea in China? The pagan gods of the Israel’s surrounding enemies were gods of the air, the sea, the waters. He remembers how God separated the Red Sea to cause Israel to pass through in safety. Such an act clearly demonstrated God’s great power over the pagan gods who supposedly ruled the sea. Yahweh’s thunderings and lightnings also clearly demonstrated His power over the gods of the atmosphere.
Fairy tales use those themes of the power of the sea, thunder, lightning. They are forces which, even with all our technology today, we cannot control. We need someone omnipotent to intervene for us. In the midst of those times when you feel like the Lord has forgotten to be gracious, it is appropriate to stop and remember that He is a God who does wonders that bring shame upon the gods that vie for our attention. As in fairy tales where superhuman powers clash in the sea, thunder and lightning, our god will ultimately destroy evil. It is not a matter of if God will triumph; it is simply a matter of when God will triumph and when we will live to see His supernatural display. Ultimately He will lead His people like a flock to safety. In the meantime we must remember those wondrous events of past intervention to keep us mindful that He will one day do so again. It is, after all, His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Ezekiel 46
Not knowing that we would not be allowed, we attempted to walk to the temple mount. Armed guards immediately recognized us as westerners and approached us commanding us to turn around and walk back. We were not permitted to go any further. We were a bit frustrated because the residents (Muslims) were allowed to continue going that direction. The guards either wouldn’t or couldn’t give us any explanation. They simply said, “You must go!” and waved us away. We eventually found out that the temple mount was only open to westerners during certain hours on Sunday morning and only through a certain gate. We went at the assigned hours. Not expecting a long wait we showed up at the appointed hour to find hundreds in line in front of us. Security was tight and it took more than an hour to get through. We entered a ramp and a gate on the west side just south of the “Wailing Wall”. We enjoyed a leisurely walk around the temple mount circuiting the Dome of the Rock. We found ourselves on the inside of the Eastern Gate around 11:00. We were the only ones there. We knew it was time to leave, so we started to go south to finish our circuit around the Dome and exit the Mount. Some Muslim men spotted us and brusquely walked toward us to inform us that we must leave immediately. We informed them that we were headed the direction in which we came in. They said, “No. You must exit the nearest gate now.” They were very adamant about it. So we left opposite the way we came, at the northeast corner of the mount. It meant a longer walk through the crowded streets of the old city.
In Ezekiel’s future temple, many will come to worship the Lord. Like us, they will enter on one side and exit on the opposite. I don’t know why. Perhaps it will be a matter of traffic control because of the great crowds. Although the prince will be different, he will exit the same side he entered. Worship will be regular, on the Sabbath and the New Moons. People won’t have to be coerced, neither shall armed guards be necessary to protect against warring religious ideas. The glory of the Lord will be there. Warring ideas will not exist. The priests will be well fed from the sacrifices given. Property will usually remain within families and always returned at the year of Jubilee. It will be an ideal world because the glory of the Lord will be there. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Inside the Eastern Gate:


2 Corinthians 9
The Lord Jesus Christ is God's indescribable gift to us. Every day of the rest of my life I will be meditating on the glory of Jesus Christ. I will never exhaust my thought on Him. Why? Because, He is ultimately indescribable. He can be described, but not fully, not completely. Take for example His grace as He gives to us. He makes His grace abound to us in whatever situation that we find ourselves. His grace always overflows so that we have an abundance of resources to do whatever tasks He calls us to do. He multiplies to us so that even in our poverty we may give. That is why the Macedonians, even though poor, were able to give so much. It was the Lord Jesus giving through them because they had first given themselves to Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John