September 29

1 Kings 1
Adonijah’s name means “Yahweh is my Lord,” but was He lord of Adonijah? I doubt it. Adonijah is David’s fourth born. By birth order Chileab, son of Abigail, should have been next in line for king after Amnon. Both Amnon and Absalom were dead receiving death as the reward for their sin. We know nothing of Chileab. It was probably common knowledge that David had promised Bathsheba that Solomon would receive the throne. Apparently, Chileab made no overtures to obtain the throne even though he is the oldest living son, so Adonijah began to pursue the throne. Apparently, David did not rebuke or correct him. That was an indication either that David approved, or David was temporarily incompetent, or David just did not have the emotional energy to address the issue. So, Adonijah makes his move. His move indicates that he is grasping after that which does not belong to him.
Bathsheba and Nathan intervene. Solomon is anointed king. Now in most cultures of the world, the first thing that the new sovereign would do is eliminate his opposition. Solomon does not. Had Adonijah been successful in becoming king, he certainly would have eliminated Solomon. We see a small glimmer of the glory of the Lord Jesus in Solomon’s act of mercy. We stand before Him guilty of treason. We sought to usurp His throne. He says to us, “I paid the penalty for your treason. You are forgiven. Live and rule with me.” Let us prove ourselves worthy of His mercy for the glory of His grace by extending mercy to others! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

2012, Psalm 90
I did not sleep well last night. I don’t know why. I just couldn’t sleep. The last time I looked at the clock, it was around 3:00 am. I awakened naturally at around 7:00. It was a short sleep. I am 57 years old. It seems like just yesterday that I was playing little league baseball. Almost every time that I look in the mirror lately, my first thought is, “Who is that old man?” Then I realize that it is I. It was just a short time ago that I donned that baseball uniform. I am a grandfather now. How did that happen so fast? It seems only a short time ago that I brought home my first child from the hospital. Now he has three children.
Moses lived to be 120 years old. That would indeed have been a record in his day. His first 40 years were spent in comfort in Pharaoh’s household. His second 40 years must have been tedious indeed, as he took care of sheep in the desert. His last 40 years were stressful leading Israel through the wilderness. Over his last 40 years, everyone died who was above twenty years old when they left Egypt, an entire generation, or possibly two generations! Imagine that! That is over 250 funerals per day! By the time Moses died, there was not a single person in Israel who was over 60! It must have been awfully depressing for Moses. How could he possibly have kept his sanity? I think this Psalm reveals how. Moses looked steadfastly at the glory of the Lord and found in it his solace and what was needed for the people.
First He recognized the eternality of God, “From everlasting to everlasting You are God.” Then He recognizes the justice of God, “You have set our iniquities before you.” Then He recognizes the compassion of God, “Have compassion on your servants.” Finally, he recognizes that the only solution to the dreary dread of this malady is to be overwhelmed with His glory:

Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.

No human except maybe Peter, James and John should know the glory of the Lord better than Moses. Moses had the privilege of spending 40 days and nights basking in the glory of God at Mt. Sinai. Moses had the privilege of speaking with God as a man does with his friend. Based upon what Moses knew of God and what he knew of man, what does he ask of God? Let the glory and work of the Lord appear to His people. We can endure just about anything, if we can simultaneously experience his glory. His glory is just that good. Oh, Lord it has been too short (or is it too long) a time since I last saw your glory. Let your shine upon me. Let Your beauty establish the work of Your hands. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Daniel 11
The small nuances of systematic theology often trip me up. Indeed, some of the things that people argue over are really frustrating to me. Some argue over the identity of this first visitor to Daniel. If he is the same person that put a hand on Daniel, then there is not a question to his identity. If he is not the same person, then is He the Pre-incarnate Christ? Either way, consider this the glory of this person caused Daniel to fall on his face and tremble. Does meditating on the glory of Jesus ever cause me to tremble? If not, then quite probably, I still am not getting the true picture. His unveiled glory is so great that it will cause a strong man to quake in fear. Hmmm. . .
The overall aspect that I see in this particular chapter of the glory of the Lord is the incredible accuracy of this chapter in predicting the history of Persia, Greece and the empires created as a result of Alexander the Great’s death. It is so accurate that it leads liberal scholars to conclude that the vision could not have been recorded by Daniel, but rather the prophecy was actually written by an unknown author after all the events had taken place. My opinion is that that is nonsense. After all, since God is God, He is perfectly capable of telling His servants what is going to happen in the future without any error. It simply enhances His glory. If you cannot believe it, then it simply indicates the brokenness of your heart. My Lord, is capable of guiding history without violating freewill. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Ephesians 2
Jesus is rich in mercy. What are the words to the hymn? "My sin, o the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!" My sin is deep enough if that I alone were the only one for whom He died, then that would be a great mercy indeed! Yet, I am convinced that there will be billions in heaven who will say the same thing. How vast is His mercy!
Part of His mercy and grace is that He made us alive. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. Have you every wondered why God cursed dead things so that they smell really nauseating to us? A few days after hurricane Ophelia I was out in the yard picking up the debris and burning it in my lot next to me. I kept smelling a foul dead odor. Liam finally came across the carcass of a small dead animal. With my shovel I threw it in the burn pile. Within 15 minutes the dead smell was gone. There are few, if any, smells that are more disgusting than a rotting animal. I think God made that dead smell so disgusting to us so that we might understand a little bit about how disgusting we were to Him when we were dead in our trespasses and sins. But for those of us who trust Jesus, He does not throw us in the burn pile. He makes us alive again. He takes the smell away. He make us new--organs, skin, spirit, everything. He makes us alive again with Christ. It would have been so much easier for Him to throw us in the burn pile and start over. Ahhh but He is merciful!
The kindness of God is demonstrated through Jesus. He always deals with His children kindly. Remember it is the kindness of God which leads us to repentance. Sometimes that kindness is severe because our unwillingness to repent is so great. But as His workmanship He works to bring us into peace with Himself--just like disciplining a child. The best discipline has only the motive of desiring the child's best. So is Christ's kindness, work and peace with us. He indeed is the secure rock on which to build our lives. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John