Psalm 118
Mercy! Many of us instinctively know that we are in need of it; the rest just lie to themselves. His mercy, once extended, endures forever, and the Psalmist knows it very well! He calls out to the Lord, “Save now, I pray, Oh Lord!” (v.25) (translates into ‘Hosanna!’) He knows that he lacks the righteousness to enter into the gates of the temple of the Lord. He stands before the gates and throws himself upon the mercy of the Lord. Oh Lord, save me! I don’t have the required righteousness to come through the gates into Your presence. But when does the plea for salvation come? After the stone which the builders rejected becomes the chief cornerstone.
On Jesus’ triumphal entry the crowds and the children cried out, “Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” The stone presented Himself to the builders. They rejected Him. They bound the sacrifice (so to speak) to the horns of the altar. They crucified Him. God raised Him from the dead! That death and resurrection became the basis for mercy which pours out abundantly on those who will now kneel and plead for His mercy! He told us about it 1,000 years before it happened. Oh Lord, I receive Your mercy! Wow! Now that is glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
April 26
Psalm 116
He looked me in the eye and said, “I just want you to know that I don’t like the way you are treating my brother.”
“How am I treating your brother?” I responded.
His open palm went up and he declared, “Enough said!” He ignored my question, my voice, and stormed out of the building. Such a response can be expected out of an immature child, or even and immature adult, but not out of a man in his sixties who has spent the bulk of his life in ministry and is a trained psychologist. He ignored my voice. It did not endear me to him.
Has your voice ever been ignored? The Psalmist says, “I love the Lord because He heard my voice.” If there is anyone in all of creation that I might expect to ignore my voice, perhaps it would be the Creator. After all as I look at the vastness of His creation and its overpowering complexity, I am convinced of my smallness! Why should He listen to me? Not only am I such a small thing in His finite creation, but He has a reason to be mad at me. I have rebelled against His authority and sinned against Him. According to His own justice, I deserve death. The Psalmist cries out to the Lord as he is about to die. The Lord heard his voice and delivered him.
I have called out to the Lord; He has delivered me from death and from the power of sin. Sin no longer has dominion over me. I will take that cup of salvation. It enables me to live victoriously over sin in this life. I can live this life in victory because He has heard my voice. I can call on His name and because He hears my voice, I can expect power to live victoriously. It endears me to Him. I love Him for it.
My death is precious in His sight. Physically I think that means that if I am walking with Him, my death is a valuable thing to Him. It will come neither before nor after the appropriate time. Spiritually, He desires the death of my old nature. It is precious to Him so that He can raise me to walk in newness of life. This infinite God desires to hear my voice. He desires to hear me call out to Him so that He might deliver me from and through death. Wow! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
He looked me in the eye and said, “I just want you to know that I don’t like the way you are treating my brother.”
“How am I treating your brother?” I responded.
His open palm went up and he declared, “Enough said!” He ignored my question, my voice, and stormed out of the building. Such a response can be expected out of an immature child, or even and immature adult, but not out of a man in his sixties who has spent the bulk of his life in ministry and is a trained psychologist. He ignored my voice. It did not endear me to him.
Has your voice ever been ignored? The Psalmist says, “I love the Lord because He heard my voice.” If there is anyone in all of creation that I might expect to ignore my voice, perhaps it would be the Creator. After all as I look at the vastness of His creation and its overpowering complexity, I am convinced of my smallness! Why should He listen to me? Not only am I such a small thing in His finite creation, but He has a reason to be mad at me. I have rebelled against His authority and sinned against Him. According to His own justice, I deserve death. The Psalmist cries out to the Lord as he is about to die. The Lord heard his voice and delivered him.
I have called out to the Lord; He has delivered me from death and from the power of sin. Sin no longer has dominion over me. I will take that cup of salvation. It enables me to live victoriously over sin in this life. I can live this life in victory because He has heard my voice. I can call on His name and because He hears my voice, I can expect power to live victoriously. It endears me to Him. I love Him for it.
My death is precious in His sight. Physically I think that means that if I am walking with Him, my death is a valuable thing to Him. It will come neither before nor after the appropriate time. Spiritually, He desires the death of my old nature. It is precious to Him so that He can raise me to walk in newness of life. This infinite God desires to hear my voice. He desires to hear me call out to Him so that He might deliver me from and through death. Wow! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
April 25
Psalm 115
Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. A god made by man behaves according to man’s nature. Anyone who has studied mythology can observe this. The mythological gods think and act as supermen, but men none-the-less. Consequently within the myths, men manipulate the gods in order to get them act as men desire. We become like what we worship. If we worship a god of our own creation, one created in our own image, we simply become more of what we are really like. It is no wonder that many churches have become powerless to change lives. It is no wonder that many churches use manipulation to get their desired results. They do not worship a God who does whatever He pleases. They worship a god who uses programs and plans that are manipulated by men. Why? Because that is what they are like.
But this God who does whatever he pleases also desires to bless us. He desires to bless us so that we will praise Him. He desires that we should recognize Him for who He really is. It is only in that recognition that we find what we were created to be and do. Let us bless the Lord for he does whatever He pleases, and He is pleased to bless us. That blessing is that we should be become like Him. It is not that He should become like us. Is my focus on His glory transforming me into His image? If not, then I am focused on my glory not His. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. A god made by man behaves according to man’s nature. Anyone who has studied mythology can observe this. The mythological gods think and act as supermen, but men none-the-less. Consequently within the myths, men manipulate the gods in order to get them act as men desire. We become like what we worship. If we worship a god of our own creation, one created in our own image, we simply become more of what we are really like. It is no wonder that many churches have become powerless to change lives. It is no wonder that many churches use manipulation to get their desired results. They do not worship a God who does whatever He pleases. They worship a god who uses programs and plans that are manipulated by men. Why? Because that is what they are like.
But this God who does whatever he pleases also desires to bless us. He desires to bless us so that we will praise Him. He desires that we should recognize Him for who He really is. It is only in that recognition that we find what we were created to be and do. Let us bless the Lord for he does whatever He pleases, and He is pleased to bless us. That blessing is that we should be become like Him. It is not that He should become like us. Is my focus on His glory transforming me into His image? If not, then I am focused on my glory not His. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
April 24
Psalm 114
What would God do to deliver me out of sin and into His holiness? Would He divide Keystone Lake to provide a way of escape? Would He stop the flow of the Cimarron to give me access to the other side? Would He make the plains of Oklahoma tremble with an earthquake that I might know His law? What would He do? He has already done far greater for Israel. Indeed, He has done far greater for me. He has divided the flesh of His own Son on the cross, raised Him from the dead, seated Him at his right hand, so I might be delivered. That provision is mine when I identify with Him. My flesh is, so to speak, divided with His, giving me a way of escape. As I identify with Him, He enables me to stop the flow of the power of the old nature and replenishes it with the flow of His life giving Spirit. I now have a fountain of life giving waters flowing out of me. What would God do to deliver me out of sin and into His holiness? What more could He do? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
What would God do to deliver me out of sin and into His holiness? Would He divide Keystone Lake to provide a way of escape? Would He stop the flow of the Cimarron to give me access to the other side? Would He make the plains of Oklahoma tremble with an earthquake that I might know His law? What would He do? He has already done far greater for Israel. Indeed, He has done far greater for me. He has divided the flesh of His own Son on the cross, raised Him from the dead, seated Him at his right hand, so I might be delivered. That provision is mine when I identify with Him. My flesh is, so to speak, divided with His, giving me a way of escape. As I identify with Him, He enables me to stop the flow of the power of the old nature and replenishes it with the flow of His life giving Spirit. I now have a fountain of life giving waters flowing out of me. What would God do to deliver me out of sin and into His holiness? What more could He do? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Monday, April 23, 2012
April 23
Psalm 113
When I woke up Sunday morning, I already had an e-mail in my inbox from a friend in Japan. He had written it after returning from church and he was telling me about his experience. By the time I read it, it was eight o’clock at night in Japan and I had not yet started to church. Before I had gone to bed Saturday night, people just across the International Date Line were rising to praise the Lord. As the earth spins at the rate of 1,037.56 mph at the equator, people are rising every minute to bring praise to the glory of his name. If believers were evenly distributed in every time zone, and if there are 2 billion believers in the world, then 83 1/3 million rise every hour. We were created for the purpose of praising the Lord. If each of those 83 million were fulfilling their purpose, then what a sound of praise is rising up to heaven to give God praise! “From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD’s name isto be praised.”
But He deserves more praise! There are still 5 billion people who do not name the name of Christ. There are still 2 billion people alive right now who will die without ever having had the opportunity to hear the name of Jesus in a Gospel presentation! He has humbled Himself to behold us! He beheld us by becoming one of us. He was seen with human eyes and handled with human hands. He was heard with human ears. With human hands He was crucified that He might bear our sins upon the cross. He was raised without human hands by the Father and His own power. In so doing He is able to raise the poor out of the dust and the needy out of the ash heap. I was sinking in the ash heap of sin, and He raised me up! Not only did he raise me out of sin, but He seated me with Himself in heavenly places, the right hand of the Father. I am seated with the Prince of the universe! This is all His doing! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
When I woke up Sunday morning, I already had an e-mail in my inbox from a friend in Japan. He had written it after returning from church and he was telling me about his experience. By the time I read it, it was eight o’clock at night in Japan and I had not yet started to church. Before I had gone to bed Saturday night, people just across the International Date Line were rising to praise the Lord. As the earth spins at the rate of 1,037.56 mph at the equator, people are rising every minute to bring praise to the glory of his name. If believers were evenly distributed in every time zone, and if there are 2 billion believers in the world, then 83 1/3 million rise every hour. We were created for the purpose of praising the Lord. If each of those 83 million were fulfilling their purpose, then what a sound of praise is rising up to heaven to give God praise! “From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD’s name isto be praised.”
But He deserves more praise! There are still 5 billion people who do not name the name of Christ. There are still 2 billion people alive right now who will die without ever having had the opportunity to hear the name of Jesus in a Gospel presentation! He has humbled Himself to behold us! He beheld us by becoming one of us. He was seen with human eyes and handled with human hands. He was heard with human ears. With human hands He was crucified that He might bear our sins upon the cross. He was raised without human hands by the Father and His own power. In so doing He is able to raise the poor out of the dust and the needy out of the ash heap. I was sinking in the ash heap of sin, and He raised me up! Not only did he raise me out of sin, but He seated me with Himself in heavenly places, the right hand of the Father. I am seated with the Prince of the universe! This is all His doing! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Friday, April 20, 2012
April 20
Psalm 110
In this Psalm David says that Yahweh says to his lord, “Sit at my right hand till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” I have many questions about this passage. Some are, “When did Yahweh say this to him? How did David hear it? Was it verbal? Was it through a prophet? Was it a voice in his thoughts? How did he know it was Yahweh? Does Yahweh speak to us in the same way? How do we know it is Him speaking in our thoughts?” While the Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus, Jesus quotes this verse and asks them how David can call his descendant his lord. Clearly Jesus understood the passage as referring to Himself. So in this passage, God the Father is speaking to God the Son. It speaks clearly of His glory.
First is speaks of His authority. God the Father commands the Son to sit at his right hand. In royal etiquette one does not sit at the right hand of a sovereign except at his invitation, and in so doing the sovereign is granting authority to rule with Him. Jesus has all the authority of God the Father to rule over the whole universe! Peter picked up on what Jesus had to say to the Pharisees when he quoted this verse. In His famous sermon on Pentecost Peter preaches to a once hostile crowd and says concerning Jesus:
“For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Wow! He is a gusty fellow! But he could be gutsy because of who Jesus is and where He is seated. He has all authority in that seat. One day He will even reverse the effects of death. Now that is authority. So what if I die? The One whom I trust has authority even over death! The writer of Hebrews (1:13) makes it absolutely clear that there is no other being that has greater authority than He.
The second thing that the Father speaks to in His Son is the Son’s role a priest. As a priest in the order of Melchizedek (King of Righteousness), He intercedes for those who volunteer to be among His ranks. I would be too afraid to come to the Son, if He did not have this role. My sin was like a fog horn before me sounding out to a Holy God that I had transgressed His holiness. My sin was like a dead skunk on the highway to holiness. The stench would make the holy God seek to eradicate me. My sin was like the putrid rotting flesh of the leper who had never been treated and was in the late stage of the disease. The mess could only be revolting to His holiness. Yet my King of Righteousness has taken on the role of being my priest. Unlike the Levitical priests who had to make continual sacrifices for themselves and for others, and who died and had to be replaced, my Priest is of the order of Melchizedek in that He is righteousness in Himself, and He has always been and always will be! He ever lives to make intercession for me! I do not have to worry about my sin. He has eradicated it. He intercedes for me!!!!!!!!
Authority and Priesthood, now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
In this Psalm David says that Yahweh says to his lord, “Sit at my right hand till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” I have many questions about this passage. Some are, “When did Yahweh say this to him? How did David hear it? Was it verbal? Was it through a prophet? Was it a voice in his thoughts? How did he know it was Yahweh? Does Yahweh speak to us in the same way? How do we know it is Him speaking in our thoughts?” While the Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus, Jesus quotes this verse and asks them how David can call his descendant his lord. Clearly Jesus understood the passage as referring to Himself. So in this passage, God the Father is speaking to God the Son. It speaks clearly of His glory.
First is speaks of His authority. God the Father commands the Son to sit at his right hand. In royal etiquette one does not sit at the right hand of a sovereign except at his invitation, and in so doing the sovereign is granting authority to rule with Him. Jesus has all the authority of God the Father to rule over the whole universe! Peter picked up on what Jesus had to say to the Pharisees when he quoted this verse. In His famous sermon on Pentecost Peter preaches to a once hostile crowd and says concerning Jesus:
“For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Wow! He is a gusty fellow! But he could be gutsy because of who Jesus is and where He is seated. He has all authority in that seat. One day He will even reverse the effects of death. Now that is authority. So what if I die? The One whom I trust has authority even over death! The writer of Hebrews (1:13) makes it absolutely clear that there is no other being that has greater authority than He.
The second thing that the Father speaks to in His Son is the Son’s role a priest. As a priest in the order of Melchizedek (King of Righteousness), He intercedes for those who volunteer to be among His ranks. I would be too afraid to come to the Son, if He did not have this role. My sin was like a fog horn before me sounding out to a Holy God that I had transgressed His holiness. My sin was like a dead skunk on the highway to holiness. The stench would make the holy God seek to eradicate me. My sin was like the putrid rotting flesh of the leper who had never been treated and was in the late stage of the disease. The mess could only be revolting to His holiness. Yet my King of Righteousness has taken on the role of being my priest. Unlike the Levitical priests who had to make continual sacrifices for themselves and for others, and who died and had to be replaced, my Priest is of the order of Melchizedek in that He is righteousness in Himself, and He has always been and always will be! He ever lives to make intercession for me! I do not have to worry about my sin. He has eradicated it. He intercedes for me!!!!!!!!
Authority and Priesthood, now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Thursday, April 19, 2012
April 19
Psalm 109
This is what is commonly called an ‘imprecatory’ Psalm. It is one of those Psalms that calls for destruction of the Psalmist’s enemies. Some have real problems with someone under the inspiration of the Spirit calling down curses on their enemy, but there has to be justice if God is good. And if there is true justice, we do not have to worry about desiring it. We simply need to remember that we are the recipients of mercy. We received mercy because we responded to His unmerited favor. The people in imprecatory Psalms are ones who have refused to respond to God’s unmerited favor, particularly in today’s Psalm. The one upon whom David is calling down curses is certainly unrepentant. More than unrepentant, Peter recognized that David was looking beyond his enemy down the corridor of time to Judas. He quotes Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8 in reference to Judas.
Certainly Judas is an example of one who was unrepentant. He was seeking to manipulate Jesus to his own ends. I believe that was his purpose in betraying Jesus. He had left his former lifestyle and hooked his wagon to what he thought was the rising Messiah. Judas saw an opportunity to wealth and power. When Jesus began speaking of suffering and death, he felt cheated and sought to redeem what he could of the situation. He sold Jesus for the price of a slave. There is nothing wrong with desiring true justice. We just need to remember that if it were not for His mercy, we would be obliterated in the distribution of true justice. But that is the glory of our Lord. He is indeed truly just, but He also ministers mercy to the repentant! ! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
This is what is commonly called an ‘imprecatory’ Psalm. It is one of those Psalms that calls for destruction of the Psalmist’s enemies. Some have real problems with someone under the inspiration of the Spirit calling down curses on their enemy, but there has to be justice if God is good. And if there is true justice, we do not have to worry about desiring it. We simply need to remember that we are the recipients of mercy. We received mercy because we responded to His unmerited favor. The people in imprecatory Psalms are ones who have refused to respond to God’s unmerited favor, particularly in today’s Psalm. The one upon whom David is calling down curses is certainly unrepentant. More than unrepentant, Peter recognized that David was looking beyond his enemy down the corridor of time to Judas. He quotes Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8 in reference to Judas.
Certainly Judas is an example of one who was unrepentant. He was seeking to manipulate Jesus to his own ends. I believe that was his purpose in betraying Jesus. He had left his former lifestyle and hooked his wagon to what he thought was the rising Messiah. Judas saw an opportunity to wealth and power. When Jesus began speaking of suffering and death, he felt cheated and sought to redeem what he could of the situation. He sold Jesus for the price of a slave. There is nothing wrong with desiring true justice. We just need to remember that if it were not for His mercy, we would be obliterated in the distribution of true justice. But that is the glory of our Lord. He is indeed truly just, but He also ministers mercy to the repentant! ! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)