Moving from Oklahoma to Portland, Oregon, during the winter time, we decided to take the southern route—I-40 to California, and then up I-5 to Oregon. As we crossed Mt. Shasta in northern California, near the Oregon border, the view was spectacular! Descending down into southern Oregon, we could see what looked like clouds in the valleys below us. As we approached Medford, Oregon, we entered the clouds, or more aptly put, the fog. Visibility dropped to almost zero. I was becoming a nervous wreck because I could see neither in front of me nor behind me. Since it was late afternoon, early evening when we entered Medford, we decided to find a motel and spend the night in hopes that the new day would bring better visibility. After checking in, we went to eat at a restaurant (within walking distance). I noted the local newspaper headlines in the newspaper box as we entered the restaurant, “5 STRAIGHT DAYS OF FOG!” The front page had a picture of a school bus driver exiting her bus in tears as she finished her route. The stress of the responsibility of driving the children in dense fog had taken its toll upon her. The story said that the weather man did not see any let up in the fog. I suddenly felt like I had made a poor decision. We spent the night, waited until almost noon the next day and decided to inch our way to Portland. After about an hour of driving, the fog began to slowly lift, and we could begin to drive normally again. But those were some hours of white knuckle driving constantly scanning and looking for what might or might not be in front of me. I have never since experienced such poor visibility.
The Glory of the Lord was wonderfully visible during the reign of Hezekiah. The visibility of the glory of the Lord reached an all-time low in Judah under Manasseh. It was like the Medford fog. He “seduced them (the people of Israel) to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.” Now that is quite a statement. Can you imagine that? They did more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before them. As a result God said that He would wipe Jerusalem like one wipes a dish. O LORD, let me be a channel of your glory. Let me not be a fog, one who hides your glory with my pride. Let it shine through and beyond me. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Psalm 128
I spent the morning with a man who is estranged from his wife and children. His life is not very pleasant right now. Granted he has his faults and probably does not love his wife like Jesus loved the church, but His estranged wife has also not dealt faithfully with him. I am so appreciative of the fantastic woman that God gave me. She is truly a gift from Him. She makes it a joy being home. She is better than the finest wine. And my children, they are great! I am not sure why I would want a lot of olive plants in my house, but I guess in David’s culture that is a reference to intrinsic riches. If that is what the Psalmist means, then O Lord, I am so glad for the riches which you gave me in my children!
This is another Psalm of Ascent. In other words, it was a Psalm sung while going up to Jerusalem to worship. The OT festivals were family affairs. The whole family would go together whenever they were able. Consequently, they probably would have traveled with other families, perhaps one huge extended family. This Psalm, like 127, is focused on the family. Can you imagine looking others, with whom you are traveling, in the eye and singing this? All of a sudden, it becomes, or should become intensely personal.
Somehow it seems a little foreign to me to think of turning to one of my brothers in the Lord and saying to him, “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table.” It just seems a little weird, but why? Maybe it’s the metaphor. Maybe it’s that there is something wrong with me. Maybe it is that in our culture men do not often express delightful desires for other men in relation to family. At least, I, for one, do not have any memory of any other man expressing to me that he hopes my wife will be like a fruitful vine and my children like olive plants in my house. Honestly, I think if another man wished that for me, my initial reaction would be to laugh.
Why would I laugh? The essence of humor is a pleasant unexpected circumstance. That is why timing is everything in being a good comedian. If another man wished me that about my wife and children, it would be unexpected, and it would be pleasant, maybe even uncomfortably pleasant. But it is the glory of God that we should genuinely desire such pleasantries for our brothers, and that we express it to them. Otherwise, I don’t believe He would have put this in His word. It is God’s glory that we desire the best for our brothers and this is a best. So for all you guys out there who might be reading this, “May your wife be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table.” When that happens, know that it is from our glorious Lord! My Lord is glorious. I see His glory in my wife and children and my children’s children. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
NAHUM 1
What a contrast is today’s reading compared to yesterday’s final chapter of Micah. On November 5, 2011, as the fans were beginning to leave the football stadium after OSU’s narrow victory over Kansas State, we felt the rumbles of a 5.6 magnitude earthquake, the strongest earthquake on record in Oklahoma, and whose epicenter was 40 miles southeast of here. Today we read:
The mountains quake before Him,Yes, judgment and justice are coming. But it is good to know that in the middle of it, the Lord is good. He is our stronghold in trouble. He knows when we truly trust in Him. Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
The hills melt,
And the earth heaves at His presence,
Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.
6 Who can stand before His indignation?
And who can endure the fierceness of His anger?
His fury is poured out like fire,
And the rocks are thrown down by Him.
The LORD is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble;
And He knows those who trust in Him.
--Pastor john
Hebrews 5
One of the great glories of Christ is that He did not glorify Himself. In our age it is natural for a leader to glorify Himself. In a democracy where people vote for their leader, glorifying oneself is the natural demand of the political machine. If you do not glorify yourself, your opponent will glorify himself and the people will vote for the one who does the best job of glorifying himself. After all, you are not going to vote for someone in whom you have no confidence. If you have no confidence in yourself, no one else is going to have confidence in you. In a dictatorship the dictator rules by the absolute authority He wields over the people. Part of that absolute authority is obtained by the image the people have of you. Therefore many dictators are given to excessive boasting as part of their way of producing the image that keeps that sense of absolute power over their subjects. In general, Jesus did not glorify Himself. When necessary or pushed, He declared who He was. But most of the time He let His works (done in the power of the Holy Spirit) or His Father glorify Him. And glorify Him He did! The Father has called Him His Son. The Father has made Him the High Priest.
Another of His glories is that learned obedience by suffering. Imagine that! The Eternal Son of God learned obedience as a Man. As a man, He suffered in order to obey the Father. The suffering was greater that any that you or I will ever experience. Beginning in the Garden of Gethsemane until the resurrection morning He endured unimaginable agonies. He did it partially out of obedience to the Father. There are times when you and I are suffering innocently. Remember He suffered innocently to a much greater extent. His glory is our shining example of how to endure suffering when undeserved. He succeeded and offers His life and glory to you, so that you may share in His glories! But part of the glory is learning obedience when suffering innocently. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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