October 7

1 Kings 10
The wealth of Solomon is indeed amazing. But even more amazing is that little statement tucked in at the beginning, “The queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the Name of the LORD.” Solomon is famous for his wisdom and his wealth, but Sheba is most impressed concerning the Name. The Name is the expression of who God is. He is Who He is. Why was she so Impressed with the Name? It was through the Name that Solomon received his own name, which means peace. Solomon is the first ruler of a united Israel to have peace. It was through the Name that Solomon acquired wisdom. It is his wisdom which she came to test. And when she tested it, she said, “Indeed, even the half was not told me.” Solomon at this point was a living testimony of the wisdom of God. He exalted the name of the Lord. May His name be exalted in my life for He is worthy of all glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Psalm 98
“Sing to the Lord a new song!” Laura and I had an acquaintance decades ago who was widowed at a young age. Her husband was a pastor. He was in an accident, received a blood transfusion and contracted a disease from which he eventually died. It was a miserable time for him and her. It was one of those times when you feel like saying, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Ps 137:4) She eventually remarried, and the Lord gave her a new song. Actually its main line was the first verse of this Psalm. I learned the song from Laura, who learned it at a women’s retreat where our acquaintance taught it to the women. It is an exciting song and one of the few songs that I can play and sing on the guitar from memory.
This Psalm and the song remind me that, although I may be enduring horrible circumstances, the Lord will reverse them. He will once again do marvelous things. He will bring me through the circumstances into victory. He will again allow me to again see His salvation. When I do, it is incumbent on me to quit singing my self-pity song and ring out a new song. Here is an old Scottish song that reminds me to belt out a new song to the glory of our Lord:

Cheer up ye saints of God!
Ye’ve nothin to worry about,
Nothin to make ya feel afraid,
Nothin to make ya doubt.
Remember Christ your Savior reigns,
So why not trust Him and shout!
You’ll be sorry ya worried at all tomorrow morning!

Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Hosea 7
I have been thinking back on my 30 years of pastoral ministry. Surely it has happened, but I cannot recall a single instance where as a direct result of my preaching ministry that I have seen someone come to the altar in tears because they had been convicted that they had committed sin in the presence of a Holy God. O sure, I have experienced people coming and confessing that they had sinned, but one who was so shaken to the core of their being over their sin in the presence of the Holy One so that it produced tears, I cannot recall such an instance. Yes there have been a few occasions in one-on-one counseling or in a group prayer meeting, but even they are few. That is a disturbing thought. What does it tell me about me or the people to/with whom I have ministered over the years?
In Hosea 6 we observed the apathy of the people of God as they gave lip service to repentance. This chapter is an extension of that passage. The central issue of chapter 7 is found in verse two:

They do not consider in their hearts That I remember all their wickedness; Now their own deeds have surrounded them; They are before My face.

The rest of the chapter is God recounting to them the sins that are before His face. They could be summed up with the first line of verse16, “They return, but not to the Most High.” So, to whom are they returning? They come to the appointed times. They participate in the dress rehearsals. They fork over the proper sacrifices, but they are not coming to the Most High. In other places God has told them,

“To obey is better than sacrifice,” 1 Sam 15:22.
“Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream,” Amos 5:23–24.
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. Isaiah 1:16–17
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. Psalm 51:16–17

To do the appointed religious things, without the heart to support it, is to not come to the Most High at all. It is not true repentance. Lord, am I guilty of this? Might this be the cause of the lack of effectiveness in building the Kingdom of God? My dear reader, are you guilty of this? Could this be the cause of your boredom in worship of the Holy God? Apart from true repentance, God does not reveal Himself to man or woman. When we repent, He promises to remove our sin as far as the east is from the west, but if there is not repentance, there is no removal. Help me Lord for I am weak. Help me to truly repent! Blot out my transgressions from before You. Thank you that this is done through the shed blood of Your son, Jesus Christ, and it is for His glory! Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

Philippians 3
Knowing Christ is worth more than any thing that we can achieve or obtain upon this earth. Why? Because he is the Lord of heaven and earth. He holds life in His hands. He is life. Anything and everything of eternal value finds its source in Him. The source of life is more valuable than the things of life. We can always lose the things of life if we have the source of life. The source will always replenish what we lose. But if we lose the source of life, then the only way to keep the things of life is to compulsively hang on to them. If I have the source, then I can enjoy the things that flow out of the source, but I can also let them go for I know that there will always be things flowing out of the source.
Many western movies have been made about range wars over water rights. When one owns the source of water, they usually are not worried about containing it. But if there is no water source on the property, then often that property owner is consumed with either finding a water source or hoarding all the water he can obtain. Or he begins fighting others to get water.
Our lives are the same. There are many things around us. Some are good. Some are bad. We often attach the value of our lives to the things around us. But there is only one source of real life. That source is Jesus. When we pursue and find Jesus, we find life. We sometimes have to let go of the things around us to pursue Him. But each time that He reveals a little of Himself, we come to the realization that it was more than worth it all. Everything else is rubbish compared to knowing Him. That word rubbish is a polite word in our English translations. The word is actually dung, manure. There is a less polite word commonly used today, but I won't use it. Suffice it to say that nothing compares to knowing Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john