I had a godly grandmother. As a young teen, I remember her asking me, “Jesus asked the Pharisees to explain the Psalm,‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’? If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”—Can you explain that?” My mom started to explain for me when I hesitated. Grandma interrupted, “I want to hear what John has to say.” Her question was not because she wanted an answer. Her question was because she wanted me to learn to think for myself—a very rabbinic way of teaching. Many years later I was spending the summer in Ocean City, New Jersey. She sent me a letter. Within the letter she let me know how she had been praying for me and was still praying for me. I still possess and cherish the letter. A year and a half later she went into the presence of the Lord on Christmas Eve-massive heart attack. The extended family began to suffer many different problems. Our prayer covering was gone. My godly grandmother had a quiet but powerful influence in my/our life.
What if her influence had been away from the Lord rather than toward it? What if she had been a Pagan or a Wiccan? Let’s assume that I was emotionally close to here and that she wanted me to follow in her Pagan ways. What would it take to convince me that her Pagan ways were wrong and that I should reject them to follow the Lord? Furthermore, what if she was a public figure and so was I? What if my following the Lord meant a public disgracing of her Pagan ways? It would indeed have been a decision which would have required great moral fortitude and great conviction that following the Lord was the right thing to do.
Asa’s grandfather, Rehoboam had 18 wives and 60 concubines. By them he had 88 children. I would expect that when one has that many wives, concubines and children that one really could not have a close relationship with all of them. 2 Chronicles 11:21 tells us that Rehoboam loved Maacah, Asa’s grandmother, more than all his wives. She was the Grandaughter of Absalom. She probably followed the religious influence of Absaom’s maternal grandpa, the Canaanite king of Geshur. Worship of Asherah probably ran deep in her family. She certainly whole heartedly embraced it. Asherah was a female goddess and a wife of the god El, sometimes referred to as Baal. Her worship was popular among women in Canaan. She was the goddess of love and fertility, not war. Her worship symbol, a pole, a tree trunk with the branches lopped off was clearly a phallic symbol. She clearly had great influence not only on Rehoboam but also her son and grandson.
What would it take to pry him away from the worship of the Canaanite gods to follow the Lord? Furthermore, what would it take for him to not only follow the Lord, but to also remove his grandmother from office because of her rabid devotion of Asherah? I submit that while Asa was certainly not perfect, he had seen enough of the glory of the Lord that the beauty of His glory was all the motivation which he needed to remove her. That is how glorious our Lord is. When we are focused upon His glory, it breaks through even our most fundamental relationships and changes us. Unfortunately, Asa did not stay focused on the glory of the Lord. It resulted in some really poor decisions later in life. But it did sweep in right action in this decision. Help me Lord to remain focused upon you. Keep my feet planted on you as the Solid Rock. Keep me seeing Your glory at all times. I am week and need your help! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Psalm 103
Regularly we must remind ourselves of the benefits of following the Lord. Otherwise, we get wrapped up in our challenges and forget to bless Him. If we took the time to find an example of each of the things David mentions, the result would be a lengthy book. But we should do a few anyway, in so doing we see His glory and bless His holy name.
He forgives all my iniquities. Dare I air my dirty laundry? Before Him I have confessed them. If I commit public sins, I will confess them as sin publicly. If I commit private sins, I will confess them privately to God. If there is a sin that seems to have a bind on me, I will find a partner to whom I can confess and who will help me in the struggle of overcoming. (Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much James 5:16.) Suffice it to say that, according to God’s standard, I have broken every one of the Ten Commandments multiple times. Apart from His forgiveness, I stand condemned before a holy God. Yet, He has forgiven me because He died and rose again on my behalf. I could stop the list right here and that would be enough to bless Him for eternity.
He heals all my diseases. In the past He has healed me of Pneumonia, flus, colds, back injuries, ankle injuries, shoulder injuries, knee injuries, mononucleosis, ear infections, but on this earth He will not heal me of all diseases. I will still age; I will still die. That is one thing that I have in common with all who can read or will read this book. We will age and die, but as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the right to come before His throne and ask if He might heal us now. He might say, “Yes.” He might say, “No,” or “Not now.” But as a believer in the Lord Jesus, He will one day grace me with a new body that will never see disease.
He redeems my life from destruction as described in the last sentence, but He also has redeemed me on other occasions that are now past. Laura and I were driving on I-70 in the middle of the night. We hit black ice. There was a semi in front of us and behind us. The car began to spin out of control at 65 mph. Somehow we ended up in a snow bank with absolutely no injuries. Snow was packed up around the engine under the hood. A Highway patrolman appeared almost immediately, helped dig us out and sent us on our way with this instruction, “The highway is covered with black ice between here and the state border. Take the next exit and find a motel.” I don’t think our missing the semis or his appearance were accidents, rather they were His hand of redemption from destruction.
He crowns me with lovingkindness and tender mercies. On a few occasions in my life, I can recall where His Spirit has whispered to my spirit, “I love You.” They were those experiences where words cannot express the bliss of the experience. I would walk through hell to experience it again.
He satisfies my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s. You know, sometimes I get really weary. I just want to lay down and quit. But He won’t let me. In the nick of time, He always provides what I need. It might be a vacation; it might be a retreat; it might be a prayer summit; it might be an encouraging friend; it might be just His refreshing presence.
I am 60 years old. My life has been brief and will soon be over. Sixty years from now, my grandchildren might think of me on occasion, but they will probably be the only ones. One hundred years from now, no one on earth (if it is still here) will think of me or remember me, or care, but the Lord will. As the flowers which I buy for my wife today will be gone tomorrow, so I will soon be gone. But He will call me to His eternal home, and there I will literally dwell with Him forever. Bless the LORD, O my soul! LORD, You are glorious! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Hosea 12
I remember well the drought & heat of 2011-2013 in Oklahoma. 2011 saw 63 consecutive days of 100+ temperatures. 2012 saw 3 consecutive days of 110+ temperatures. I specifically remember seeing one bank thermometer that displayed 117 degrees. I don’t think the official station registered that high, but the official station is not located in downtown concrete but out on the edge of town at the airport. The winds sucked the moisture right out of the ground. Lakes, ponds and streams all across the state dried up and disappeared. They were long-hot-life-sucking summers.
“Ephraim feeds on the east wind.” It is a metaphor that operates on several levels. In Israel an east wind would be coming out of the desert. The east wind would scorch grain, wither the vine and flowers, and dry up fruit. It was from the east that plague of locusts would come. It was the east wind which blew over Job’s son’s house and killed his children. It was the East wind which God used to part the Red Sea and dry up the land. It is to the northeast that Jacob went to find his wives. At the beginning of that trip and at the end of his return, God met him at Bethel. It was to the north east that Israel often illegitimately looked for allies. Feeding on the east wind is a metaphor of looking in the wrong place to fulfill emotional, physical, spiritual and political needs. Instead of seeking the true source of the fulfilling his needs, Israel (Ephraim) seeks other things which really just dry him up. He has chosen to seek to find life in an environment that sucks life out of you. He traded the pursuit of the glory of God for the east wind.
How often do we pursue the east wind instead of the glory of God? Laura was just now listening to something on facebook. Some guy was singing, “I Did It My Way.” I wonder, when we do it our way, are we pursuing the east wind? I think so. God has so graciously revealed His glory to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Instead of pursuing His glory we pursue our own way. Imagine that! Instead of pursuing the glory of the Creator, we pursue our own way! It is incredibly stupid, but we do it anyway. It sucks the life right out of us. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Colossians 4
We have a master in heaven. In American culture, to be a slave or sometimes even be a master, is often shrouded in negative concepts. At the mention of slavery, our minds are flooded with images of cruelty and barbarism. Additionally, we talk so much of freedom that even the slightest controls on speech, sends shivers to the core of our cultural mindset. To be a master evokes images of a maniacal masochist who delights in bringing his slaves to the lowest possible point. To be a slave evokes images of being brutally treated, given only subsistence living, never given a chance to think or decide for oneself.
We dare not think of the Lord Jesus in those terms. It is not true and demeans His glory. Yes, He is master in the following senses: He has absolute authority over every detail of our lives. He has the right to tell us what brand of toothpaste to use. He even has the right to deprive us of toothpaste. He has the right to provide filet mignon or just rice for our meal. He even has the right to withhold our meal. He has the right to give us the Biltmore Estate to live in or a shack made of sticks and mud. He even has the right to completely take away our shelter. He has the right to clothe me in a Brooks Brother's suit or clothes obtained from a church clothes closet. He even has the right to send me away naked. I could mention someone in Scripture who fulfills each of the above. Most specifically, the Lord Jesus has been in each situation.
He is a master who desires the absolute best for His subjects. Sometimes it is in the best interest of a servant to learn obedience to his master. Jesus learned obedience to His Father, even to the point of death on a cross. But that obedience was for a greater good and a greater joy. It was for the joy set before Him that Jesus endured the cross, even though He despised the shame. Our master desires nothing but the absolute best for us. Sometimes the best means seasons of pain. But He is not a maniacal masochist. He has been there before you. He knows the pain. He hurts with us. But He knows the good it produces.
Lord Jesus, once again I lift myself up to you. I relinquish everything that I view as my "rights" to You. I trust You. Master, because I believe You desire only the best for me, even in times of pain I say to You, "Lord, not my will but Your will be done." Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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