October 2

1 KINGS 4
“And God gave.” What a simple sentence it is, and yet it states so much about His glory. One who gives does so usually for two reasons. They have ability to give, and they desire to give. Both of those are true of our Lord. He Himself is wisdom and possesses all wisdom. It is an attribute which theologians call omnisapience. Of God’s omnisapience Tozer says:

Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means. It sees the end from the beginning, so there can be no need to guess or conjecture. Wisdom sees everything in focus, each in proper relation to all, and is thus able to work toward predestined goals with flawless precision.

God possesses all wisdom, so He is able to give wisdom. Not only does God possess all wisdom, but He desires to give wisdom. He gave it liberally to Solomon, not that Solomon always availed himself of it. If God gave it to Solomon, do you suppose He would give it to us? I think so. It is the promise of James 1:5-8. It is God’s glory to give us wisdom, if we will seek it in faith. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PSALM 93
He is clothed in majesty. I once had a coffee table book that displayed photographs of the kings of Africa. We have all seen TV pictures of royal events such as the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. We have seen movies that display the royal glory of past kings and queens. But I like Matthew Henry’s comparison of the majesty of earthly kings compared to how God clothes Himself in majesty, “The majesty of earthly princes, compared with God’s terrible majesty, is but like the glimmerings of a glow-worm compared with the brightness of the sun when he goes forth in his strength.” What difference does it make that He has such glory?
When I am secure in His majesty, my circumstance is irrelevant. Ever been in a flood? I lived in Southport, NC when the eye of Hurricane Floyd went over us. The next week a Tropical depression went over us and dropped even more water than Floyd dropped upon us. We had floods! Our community was cut off from the rest of the world for days. For weeks I had to follow a twisted path to find streets that were not washed out in order to get out of my neighborhood. What difference does it make? His majesty rules even in the floods of life! When they rise up, He delivers! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John

HOSEA 2
No one is as dear to me as my wife. That would truthfully be said by any husband in a healthy marriage. It is certainly true of me. I cannot even begin to imagine the emotional pain that I would experience if I were to find out that I had become cuckold. Yet to illustrate to Israel her infidelity to Himself, God makes Hosea marry a woman who will have sex with just about anyone but himself. The pain Hosea experienced I am sure was immense. Yet God compares that kind of relationship to Himself with His own people, yes, even with me. His pain is immense. This tells me that every time I sin, it is as if I drive a deeper barb into the heart of my Lord, for I have been unfaithful. Honestly If Laura were as unfaithful to me a Hosea’s wife were to him, I would probably turn and walk away from the marriage. The pain would be just too overwhelming. Yet God continues to love you and me.
So what is this pain laden God going to do about our adulterous hearts? He will do whatever it takes to cure us of our spiritual adultery. For Israel He causes crop failure for grain, vineyard, fig and olive tree. For ancient Israel, this has massive economic implications. He brings in military conquerors. Essentially He brings her to the point where she is destitute and remembers when she had it good in the days when she was faithful to Him. Then she becomes willing to return. The Lord does the same with us. As C.S. Lewis put it, “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Our pain is an alarm to return to the God who loves us. He is the God who is in agony over our turning away from Him. How is it that the infinite God is in such agony over my spiritual adultery toward Him? Such love! Yet
He desires me to return to Him! Such glory! Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

EPHESIANS 5:1-14
We are exhorted here to walk in love as Christ loved us. The natural question is how did Christ love us? He gave Himself for us. His death was acceptable to God. It bought us out of sin. If it bought us out of sin, then surely God does not desire for us to remain in sin. His love includes holiness. Pure love desires holiness in its object. We are the object of Jesus’ love. He desires holiness in us. That is the reason He died for us. Some people seem to think that because He died for us and because He loves us that from the time we receive Him, we no longer need to worry about holiness. Well, yes and no. True His death covers the depth of our sin, past present and future. But His love will not allow us to continue to walk in sin. He will do whatever it takes to remove sin from His children because no sinner has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. His love will do what it takes to remove unholiness. If we willingly persist in walking in sin, then the divine remedy may be very uncomfortable for us.
His love includes light. Light is that which enables us to see reality. Our lives are full of secret attitudes and thoughts that are sinful. Because His love seeks to remove our sin from us, His light reveals, a little bit at a time, the sinful attitudes and thoughts that can lie hidden in the darkness. His love calls us to walk with Him in the light to reveal the true thoughts and intentions of our hearts. When we bring them to the light, then He removes them. He does not condemn us. The sin was already condemned upon the cross. He removes them, because He loves us. Love always seeks the best for its object. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John