“John, you need to be bolder in your witness.” Man it’s uncomfortable when somebody corrects you, especially when you know they are right. The young woman and I were returning from going out to invite youth to a revival service which my brother was preaching. I no longer remember her name, but I do remember she was right. By nature I am a very reserved person lacking any self-confidence. Even when I know I am in the right, I just have trouble being zealous about it. I can’t help but think that if I could somehow shed this lack of zeal in my very personality, then greater victories are possible.
God dealt graciously with Jehoash, or Joash. Note that he continued to walk in the sins of his fathers by mixing worship of Yahweh with the worship of idols. God allowed the country to be reduced by Syria to an army of a mere fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen. But as we have seen before when God reduces someone, it can be an opportunity for God to show His glory through them. Elisha was dying. The little good left in Joash is seen by his decision to visit Elisha on his deathbed. The words from his mouth were, “O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!” These are the exact same words that Elisha had elicited upon the departure of Elijah on the chariots of fire. After Elijah’s departure, Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle and declared, “Where is the God of Elijah?” Elijah had at least 7 miracles recorded. Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit and performed at least 14 miracles. Was Joash actually hoping for a similar enablement from Yahweh?
Elisha sees a spark of possibility in Joash. He first teaches him with the metaphor of an arrow of the Lord giving him victory over Syria. Then he tries to draw out of Joash that commitment to unite with Yahweh in zealous battle against the enemy. Elisha gives Joash a handful of arrows and commands him to strike the ground with them. Not understanding, Joash tentatively strikes the ground three times. His tentativeness is representative of his commitment to the Lord. Elisha is furious. Joash could have complete victory if he would just wholeheartedly unite with the Lord, but he won’t. Consequently, he will have to settle for only three victories over Syria. On a positive note, even three victories with only fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand footmen is impressive, but he could have had complete victory!
Lord, how often have I failed to obtain all that You have for me simply because I lacked the zeal to follow through on completing what you have commanded? That is a scary thought, and a thought so full of promise. You want so much to reveal Your glory in and through me, but I fall short because like Joash, I will not completely abandon myself to Your glory alone. O let me see Your glory so clearly that I cannot but help to abandon myself in You! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 120
Clint was a lot bigger than me. He was the biggest guy in our 5th grade class. Normally he was of great humor and fun to be around, usually pretty nice. One day during recess, he came to me saying, “John, I have a surprise for you that I want to show you, but you have to close your eyes and follow me.”
“How can I close my eyes and follow you at the same time?” I responded.
“Oh, just put your hands your head, and I will put my hand on your hands and guide you.” He was bigger than me and kind of insistent, so I complied. We walked out of sight of any teachers. He said, “Keep your eyes closed. Here is the surprise.” The next thing I felt was his fist striking me in the stomach. “Stay away from Genevie!” he commanded as he stomped off. I lay on the ground sucking for air as I wondered what that was all about. Apparently, he thought I had been flirting with her. Well, I enjoyed teasing girls in the fifth grade, but I had never considered it flirting. Some of the others in our class had told him that I was flirting with her. In fifth grade I still didn’t get the boy/girlfriend thing, so I was glad to oblige. I stayed away from Genevie. Later Clint came to me and apologized. He said that some others had told him that I was flirting with Genevie, and now he realized that they were lying. Nevertheless, I continued to stay away from Genevie, and I did not trust Clint again after that.
Lying tongues, it’s the stuff soap operas are made of. The fact that the soaps make money off of it is an indicator that it is a common problem in the human race. It is what makes espionage difficult. It often fuels war. Hey, if Clint had just come and talked to me before hitting me, I would have stayed away. He was a lot bigger than me, and I really wasn’t interested in Genevie. But what if I had been interested, and what if I had been closer to his size? There might have been war between us. Lies are what fuel wars between countries. Lies are what elect politicians. During this current election time, how do we sort out lies from the truth? It is a difficult proposition. Lying lips in life often cause distress. Satan is the father of lies, and he tells them smoothly and often enough to keep us in distress.
In our distress there is ultimately only one thing we can do. It is to call out to the Lord for deliverance. Only the author of truth can sort out the lies from the truth. That is why we must daily call out to Him. He is the only true beacon that can guide us through the fog of lies. But what if He cannot hear us? The infinite God can hear us, and if we are willing to do His will, He delivers us through the circumstance of the lying tongues. Now that is glory! Let us seek Him! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
JONAH 4
ISIS or ISIL has become famous for its unabashed cruelty. The YouTube videos serve for the most part to cause moral people to be out raged by their lack of respect for human life. At times it elicits desire to see the “bad guys” wiped off of the face of the earth. Many non-ISIS people would like nothing better than to see ISIS annihilated. One interesting aspect of what is happening is that ISIS controls the area that used to be ancient Nineveh. Early on in their taking control of the region, ISIS was credited with destroying a mosque that was built over the site of a church that was reputedly built over the site of the tomb of the prophet Jonah.
Jonah finished his preaching tour as commanded by God. It was time to relax. Sometimes we can do things for the Lord simply because the Lord will not let us do otherwise. Jonah was certainly that way toward Nineveh. Deep inside he was hoping that the Ninevites would not repent. He found a place to rest to observe the city hoping that God would destroy it. Building a quick shelter to protect himself from the hot Mesopotamian sun, he settled down to hopefully await its destruction. The Lord sought to teach Jonah a lesson. Miraculously the Lord caused a vine to grow up over the shelter faster than a kudzu vine of the deep south. The leafy vegetation provided a cooling from the desert sun that was hard to find in the area. Jonah began to feel that he was to special to the Lord. The vine was a good outward justification of the feeling. He developed a strong attachment to the vine. As quickly as it had sprouted up, the Lord sent a worm to destroy Jonah’s air conditioning. He had not had the vine long, but it was long enough for Jonah to emotionally attach himself to the vine. It was gone. Jonah pitied himself and the plant as he broiled in the sun. As he put it, he was angry enough to die.
And now comes the kicker. If Jonah could be so jealous over a plant why couldn’t God be concerned about 120,000 people who were lost in spiritual darkness, people for whom he cared. That is the glory of our Lord. He has pity, even pity on people that we find offensive. If people as despicable as the ISIS murderers were to repent, would God have pity on them? The story of Jonah demonstrates that He would. The question remains, “Would we have pity also?” Jonah didn’t have pity for Nineveh, but did have pity for a plant. Would we have pity for ISIS? The glory of our Lord is seen that He will have pity on any who will repent. He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. However, repentance is mandatory, but His glory grants mercy when repentance comes. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Titus 1
There are certain things that we can count on which bring glory to the Lord. One of those things is that He cannot lie. In a world where we constantly find that our leaders have lied, we have One leader, the Lord Jesus Christ who cannot lie. It is not even in His nature. It is a logical impossibility. When He says that all who come to Him He will in no wise cast out, we can bank on it. When He says, “Whoever believes in me shall not perish but have eternal life,” we can believe. When He says, “Take My yoke upon you for my yoke is easy and by burden light,” we can take it in confidence and find rest for our souls. When He says, “I am with you always even to the end of the earth,” we can know He is with us even if we do not feel His presence. When He says, “If they persecuted Me, they will persecute You,” we shouldn’t be surprised when it happens. When He says, “I will supply all your needs,” be sure your needs will be met. When He says, “If you abide in Me and I in you, ask what you will and it shall be done for you,” He will do it. If what we asked for doesn’t come to pass, then we were not abiding. When He says, “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him,” and we don’t receive the petitions we asked, guess what, they were not His will. When He says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” we are cleansed when we confess. When He commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, then we know it is His will. He does not lie. If then we yield completely to Him and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, it is done.
Any other person at some time or another will give us a promise that they will fail to keep, especially our politicians. But not Jesus, He has no reason to make false promises. He is King of kings and Lord of lords whether or not we follow Him or vote for Him. When He makes a promise it is only to increase His glory. It is not in His nature to lie. He cannot do it. Some idiot once told me that God was not all powerful, omnipotent, because He couldn’t lie. Omnipotence has nothing to do with those things that are logically contrary to God’s nature. Now here is where the rubber meets the road. If I do not believe the promise He has made, then I am calling Him a liar. That is a very serious charge to bring against the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Maybe we need to rethink how we approach some of His promises. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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