June 17

DEUTERONOMY 22
Why does God care whether the people of Israel mix a woolen garment with a linen garment? Why does God want tassels on the four corners of their covering garment? Why is it an abomination to God that a woman should wear a man’s garment, or a man a woman’s garment? Why is it an abomination to God that sexual morality reflect one man, one woman committed to each other in a marriage relationship, and no other relationship? He really does not explain Himself.
Maybe looking at the creation of humans and seeing God’s purpose can yield an answer. After He created all the animals and spiritual beings, and before He created humans, He said,

Genesis 1:26–2:24 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; . . . 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. . . .18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. . . . But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Unlike the animals we are created in God’s image. Theologians have argued for years on what it means that we are created in in the image of God. Whatever it means, the context demands that it include that we are male and female, that we are different from the animals, and that we as male and female are to become one flesh without losing our distinctiveness.
God is one! The thought rings through the Scripture. Yet through the Scripture we find that Jesus claimed to be Yahweh and yet differentiated Himself from the Father. Through the Scripture we find that the Holy Spirit is considered to be God and yet He is differentiated from the Father and the Son. How do we explain these thoughts? We do it by describing God as one in essence, yet eternally existing in three persons. Try wrapping your mind around that!
If God were one and having only one person within His essence, if He were love, to whom would He express His love. He would need someone outside Himself to whom He could express His love. God, by definition, needs no one and no thing. He could not be love unless He had a way of expressing love within Himself. It would be similar to the old question, “If God is all-powerful, can He make a rock big enough that He cannot pick it up?” Admittedly it is a silly question, but similar. If God is love, can He exist without someone to love? If He is one in essence, but eternally existing in three persons, then He does not need someone else in order to love. Rather than need, He chooses to love, so He creates.
Part of our design is to love. We are made male and female in order to love. In loving we reflect His image. As male and female, we come together in one flesh. This becoming one flesh reflects what He is like. The occasional result of becoming one flesh is the reproducing of another human life, another life with the capability of reflecting the image of God. God is forever united as one. He does not divorce Himself. He forever loves Himself. We are to reflect that as His image. So to resort to any other path than the created order is to disparage His image. There should forever be oneness with distinction, just as it is with Him. To divorce is to mar that image. To have multiple sex partners is to mar that oneness. To seek to be one with the same sex is the deny the distinctions. To cross dress is to blur the image. To seek sex with animals is to deny our image. Frankly I do not understand the wearing of two different types of clothing. Perhaps it is that He wanted His covenant people to be reminded of the special image they bear by wearing only one clothing type. Perhaps the tassels on the four corners of the outer garment were to be reminders of their special relationship with Him as image bearers.
He is one. He loves. He is three persons who love. They are one. His love for us is born out of choice not necessity. He chose to create to enlarge the circle of love. We are made to reflect His image. We are made to love in oneness out which springs new life. That is indeed glorious. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PROVERBS 17
For many years I have been seeking to focus daily on the glory of the Lord. When it gets right down to the bottom line of life, does it really matter? Practically speaking, how does focusing on His glory help life right now? Does it really produce anything of value?
Wouldn’t it be better to spend that time seeking to better my life and my situation than to waste in meditation on His glory? As I have meditated, I look back on events of life that would have at one time put me over the edge in emotional turmoil. Instead of turmoil, yes there is pain, but instead of turmoil there is more often a lightening of the load, a peace that comes. I can only conclude, “Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife.”
Wouldn’t it be better to avoid completely situations that test the integrity of my heart? But standing in the furnace of His glory, I am drawn to His fierce love. He lures me into the glory of His molten purity, in order to burn away the dross of my heart. It is not pleasant; the dross is not pretty, but the glimpses of His purity are worth every bit of discomfort. Yes, “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests the hearts.”
Rather than minister to the poor, wouldn’t it be much more productive to minister to those of a higher socio-economic status? After all, it is the wealthy who will have the resources to provide for the poor. But as I gaze at the wealth of the glory of the Lord, I gain a conviction that, “He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.”
Wouldn’t it be better to protect my ‘rights’ so that no one harms me, or be sure that I am always vindicated? When someone does something that causes me discomfort, rather than bringing an accusatory finger, do I try to find out why the person did what he did and help them know how not to do that again, or do I rail against them in order to protest my injury. When shown the error of their transgression and they repent, can I become their friend? The glory of the Lord is that He has covered my transgression against Him. As I gaze upon that wonderful deed, I learn that He changes me toward His glory, so that I too, can cover those who transgress against me. He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends. Sometimes covering a transgression is one-sided.
When in a disagreement with others, would it not be better to beat them to the punch? Jesus loves me even when I am feuding with Him. He reconciled the Father toward me before I began to reconcile toward Him. When my face was turned against Him, He brought peace into the relationship so that the war might cease. Gazing at His glory makes me see that and causes me to do the same toward others. “The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts. . . A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.”
These are all things that He has done for/toward me. As I gaze at His glory, I see those things. Gradually it begins to free me so that I can and will do the same. Daily spending time gazing at his Glory is time well spent. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JEREMIAH 12
I have had a number of people to whom I have ministered who have asked me to accompany them to a court case in which they were involved. I presume that they just wanted me there for emotional support for I have been in enough court rooms now to know that the judge usually doesn’t give a whit or even care that I am there. It has been my observation that judges in America are treated like gods. One dare not speak out of turn or unbidden. As a matter of fact, it has been my observation that if I were to say anything in the court room without being invited by the judge, then the judge would take it as an affront to himself and to the system of justice, and it would not go well for me. I particularly sense that if I were to speak up uninvited and say, “Judge, I don’t like the way that you have ruled in this case and this is why. . .” It wouldn’t be long before the judge would instruct me to be quiet, and if I did not obey then I would probably be removed from the room by the bailiff.
Here we are in the court room of the Cosmic Judge, God Himself. Jeremiah has the audacity to say,

Let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; They grow, yes, they bear fruit.

Now, in Jeremiah’s defense, he really does have a good question. God has called Jeremiah from his youth to speak for God Himself. Most commentators think that the prophecies up to this point of the book are uttered during the reign of Josiah. Josiah forced the nation to follow the Lord. It appears that while the nation obeyed Josiah, their hearts were far from Him. For whatever specific reasons are behind this, Jeremiah sees through their façade. Thus, he says, “You are near in their mouth but far from their mind.” Essentially Jeremiah is accusing God of not being just. He genuinely feels that these people should be punished. He is wondering why they are not. He is accusing God of letting them get away with murder! Very few judges in the USA would put up with that kind of speech in the court room.
That God does not blow Jeremiah away is testimony of the mercy of our Lord, and an invitation to really let God know what is on our hearts, as long as we say it to Him respectfully, as has Jeremiah. God mercifully responds to Jeremiah in verses 5-13. “Jeremiah, if you are wearied by the footmen, what are you going to do when the real flood comes?” Every year with the spring snow melts of Mt. Hermon and the spring rains, the Jordan River would overflow its banks. If you have ever had the experience of being in a swift flowing river that is out of its banks, then you know this metaphor. Keeping in step with the march of the footmen in the army is easy, but what are you going to do when the army marches into the current, and it sweeps you off your feet? How are you going to keep step then?
Essentially this was the best time of Jeremiah’s life from a human perspective. Jeremiah was already upset with God’s seeming lack of judgment. Pain and persecution against Jeremiah will only increase in the future for Jeremiah. God is calling Jeremiah to consider how he would respond in the future when the judgment comes. We Americans have it so easy, yet we complain so much about the lack of justice. This is an invitation to come and know the heart of God. He is just! He is merciful. He calls us to rest in His mercy and grace. Yes we must speak out against injustice, but we must speak out against the human side. We must understand that in His time God will judge the wicked, and in time the flood against us from the wicked might become multiple times worse, but ultimately we must rest in the fact that it is part of his glory to punish the wicked in His timing. In the meantime it is also part of His glory that receives our complaints toward Him as long as they are respectful and obedient. It is His glory to receive us. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ACTS 3
Jesus. The power of His name can heal the lame. Yesterday I was at the body shop with Brice. The owner was standing with crutches next to a wheelchair. "What happened to you?" I asked. He recounted the story of being struck down by some auto-immune syndrome that completely paralyzed him in December. He will eventually regain 90-100% of his previous abilities but it will take a lot of time and therapy. He has lost a lot of muscle tissue and weight due to atrophy--non-use. He recounted how for six weeks he lay in a hospital bed and could only slightly move his head. His fingers began to curl from non-use.
This man at the gate called Beautiful was lame from his mother's womb and daily carried to the gate to beg. Surely, His muscles were severely atrophied. He had never learned to walk. Peter spoke the name of Jesus and the man walked. He who had never walked before not only walked but also leaped! He had the muscle mass, tone and coordination to do this immediately! What glory there is in this healing!
But, was he not there when Jesus passed by so many times before the crucifixion? Yet, Jesus never healed him then. Why did Jesus make him wait so long to be healed? Sometimes Jesus doesn't heal because he plans on glorifying Himself in some other fashion. This case was because He wanted to glorify Himself through His disciples. Think on this. Peter and John were simple fishermen, poor fishermen at that. They had given up their trade to follow Jesus. When asked for a simple alm by a beggar, they didn't have it to give. Yet, they had Jesus. They didn't have medical degrees or drugs or therapies. Yet, they had Jesus. They spoke the Name and the man was instantly healed.
The amazing event triggered a crowd. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, took advantage of the situation and preached a sermon explaining the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. As we will see tomorrow, Peter and John were arrested for this--but not before 5,000 men repented and believed in Jesus.
For whatever reason, God does not heal as instantaneously as often as He did in those early days of the church. Yet, I have met several people who have been instantly healed. Many of you are experiencing prolonged illnesses. Why? I don't know. But this I do know, He expects us to keep our eyes on His glory, to seek His face with all that we are. In the proper time He will heal us. Focus on His glory!
What glory there is in the Name of Jesus! Indeed our King is a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John

June 16

DEUTERONOMY 21
Outside of the one of the public buildings of Davie County, North Carolina, in Mocksville stands a tall granite monument. On the one side of the monument is engraved the names of all the county sons who died in the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. On the other side are the names of all the county sons who died in the Civil War. The Civil War side of the monument is filled with names. The other side has many blank spots and gaps between the different war lists. My great grandfather, Charles Stanley Chaffin fought in the Civil War. He was 19 when he entered the ranks of the Army of North Carolina in 1864. Obviously his name is not on the monument, but there are a couple of Chaffins on the Civil War side. They must be cousins. There are no Chaffins at all on the other side. Somehow my Grandfather avoided being drafted in WWI. My Dad was in the Navy in WWII. My uncle was in Korea. My brothers missed the draft during Vietnam by being students. I turned 18 in 1973 when we pulled out of Vietnam. My son spent 15 months in Iraq. He lost a number of fellow soldiers. We are so grateful that he came home safe. I am not aware of any relatives that have ever been murdered. I guess my family has been preserved from violent deaths. I cannot think of a more unsettling thing to happen than to lose a loved one due to murder or war.
Bloodshed must be a very serious offense in Scripture. From Abel on God has held accountable those who spill blood. Even in this chapter, which deals with various kinds of bloodshed, we find that when a murdered corpse is found, God holds the nearest village accountable. He even required a blood sacrifice and a public declaration of innocence by the village elders. But tucked away in these verses on how to deal with the problem is verse 5, which says, “Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled.” In the very midst of our inhumanity toward each other, while holding us accountable for sin, He still desires to bless. In the midst of terrible injustice, He seeks to bring us back to Himself and to bless us. All he requires is truth and repentance. I think this reveals the greatness of His heart. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PROVERBS 16
I thought that I had it all planned out. The Lord spoke clearly to me in high school. He made it clear that He wanted me to go into some sort of ministry. Many denominations call it a “call to ministry.” Because of that call, I knew that there were certain plans and preparations which I needed to make. In general it would mean college then seminary. While in college I became deeply involved in Campus Crusade for Christ. Upon graduation I married. My bride had one more year of college, so I postponed future plans so that she could finish her degree. Upon her graduation, we felt certain that the Lord was calling us to minister on lay staff with CCC for three years. Then we would go to seminary. The application process for CCC included spending 2 months in Ft. Collins, CO—6 weeks at their Institute of Biblical Studies and 2 weeks of Staff training. At the end of IBS, the personnel people called us in, “After consideration of your application, psychological exams, interviews, and financial situation we have determined that we no longer feel that you are a good fit for CCC ministry. We withdraw our invitation to staff training.” Ouch.
We had put everything into that plan, financially, emotionally, and spiritually. We had believed that was the direction in which He was taking us. Now the door was shut. Not only that but we had spent all our financial resources on IBS. We had enough money to drive home, but it wasn’t enough to move to seminary and start school. Indeed we had to live with my parents for two weeks while I worked to earn enough money for rent and deposits, etc. I felt like a failure, but it was a teaching time from the Lord. One of the biggest lessons was what these verses from Proverbs 16 have in common:
1 The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. 9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. 16 How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. 25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.
He is the Eternal God who is able to minutely manage every plan of every person who has or will exists, if He so desires. That in itself is mind boggling. If I remember that, then I can loosely hold my plans in my hands knowing that He might have a different and better plan. Sometimes, because of my inability to hear Him, He allows me to make a plan, but if I remain pliable, He will change the steps in mid-course of my plan. In retrospect the path I travel is much more satisfying than had I had my own way. Because I went to Colorado first, my life and my family’s life made a drastic course correction that would not have happened otherwise, and that has made a fantastic difference. His after all, He is the Eternal God, and He knows what He is doing even when I think that He is wrong. That is part of His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JEREMIAH 11
We live securely in a day of unprecedented persecution of those who follow our Lord. If the Lord loves us, why does He permit this? Here is a similar question, “If the Father loves the Son, why did He ask Him to die for us?” During His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Son looked into the cup of what was about to happen. He saw the extent of the depravity that He was to become. He saw the extent of the wrath of the Father that would be meted out upon Him. He grappled with the extent of the eternal pain that would be applied to Him. He still chose to love the Father. He still chose the Father’s will. Because of the cross, throughout eternity we will view the extent of the love that exists between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Because of that great love we are drawn to Him. Because of that great love for each other, He loves us.
In a world where our sins hide the face of God from us, how can anyone see the love of God? Sometimes the only way some people can see the love of God is when we joyfully and willfully lay down our lives for our persecutors. Jeremiah could easily have escaped the persecution, which he experienced. All that he would have had to do was quit giving the message which the Lord placed in his bones, but He couldn’t. He cried out to the Lord. The Lord said:
Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; and there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring catastrophe on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their punishment.
Jeremiah escaped the wrath of his hometown buddies, but it was only to live in constant derision and persecution. Why? So that we might see in him that anything is worth the love which courses like fire in our bones when we choose Him.
With our hands lifted high to the sky and the world wonders why, we’ll just tell them we’re loving our king.
What else is there? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ACTS 2:22-47
Peter had become a changed man. In 50 short days he went from being a confused coward to one who could stand before thousands, who had 50 days earlier murdered the Lord, and tell them, “You have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death.” What made the change? It was the Spirit of God and the knowledge of the glory of Christ. What is that glory that so changes hearts?
The glory of Christ is this: He became a Man and was attested by God by miracles, wonders and signs which God did through Him. According to the purpose and foreknowledge of God, He was crucified and died. He was raised from the grave as was prophesied by David 1000 years before it happened, Psalm 16:8-11. He is exalted to the right hand of God. Being exalted at the right hand of God, He sends His Holy Spirit to live in those who repent and trust in His name. As they are filled with the Holy Spirit, they proclaim the glory of Christ to those around them and exhort those around them to repent and be baptized.
Indeed our King is a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John

June 15

DEUTERONOMY 20
In 2009 I had an English Composition student who was in the Oklahoma National Guard. He sometimes would miss class because of his Guard duties. In one of my discussions with him he told me that he had volunteered for active duty in Afghanistan. I asked him, “Why?” He said, “Because I really want to defend my country.” We have all heard stories of men and women who have done things like that because they love the glory of their country. That young man was rare.
As I think about this chapter, how is it that the Lord could give so many opportunities for a man to get out of serving in the army and Israel would still be able to field an army? Look at the reasons listed which would keep a man out of the army: If he just built a new house, if he just planted a new vineyard, if he just got engaged, if he is afraid, all of these disqualified him from serving in the Lord’s army. Is there really anyone who is not afraid before going into combat? What drives a man to not be afraid? Certainly there are a number of factors that can subdue fear so that a man might not sense it. Adrenaline can do that, but you already have to be in the heat of battle to get the adrenaline. Hate can do that. One can be so overcome with hatred for an enemy that fear is funneled into the hate making the desire to kill, maim or destroy become even stronger. Fear is lost in a surge of hatred. Another thing that can drive a man to not be afraid is a strong sense of invincibility. What could cause a man to have a strong sense of invincibility? What is invincibility? Invincibility is that from of an eternal viewpoint, I know I will be better off eternally than I am now, no matter what happens between now and then.
What would give the men of Israel a sense of invincibility? Would it not be that one understood that in the sight of the Eternal, Infinite, Almighty, All-compassionate God, one is fully loved and accepted, and that He is with me? It has much to do with His glory. My concept of God really does shape my emotions and my sense of security. What good would be a god who is not any of the things I just listed? Then again if I fully understood that He is all those things but was not convinced that I am fully loved and accepted and that He is with me, then what good would that be to me? The glory of Jesus is that the Eternal, Infinite, Almighty, All-compassionate God became flesh like me so that I could become fully loved and accepted to Him. When I become fully loved and accepted to Him, He is always with me. When I fully begin to grasp those things, it begins to give me a sense of invincibility. Wow! I can endure anything!
Even so, I don’t think I will volunteer for Afghanistan, but I will volunteer for service in the Lord’s army! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PROVERBS 15
Clint and I were seniors. We took World Geography (a sophomore level class) because we wanted an easy schedule our last year. Clint liked to talk. We were constantly being corrected by the teacher because of talking. One day I was in an annoying mood, so I kept quietly pestering him. He finally got tired of it and turned around to slug me. I held up my clip board. When he hit it, it went flying. The teacher had looked up at just the right moment to see him do the dastardly deed. She immediately gave him detention, and I got off Scott-free. (Where does that term come from?) Anyway, I felt guilty. . . for about two minutes. We laughed about it later. I haven’t talked with Clint since 1973. I wonder if he ever held it against me. I’ll have to look in the phone book and see if he is still around. It really wasn’t completely just for him to be punished for something that I provoked him into. But then, he was a free moral agent; he could have handled it in another manner, and as he said, “I get detention all the time.” . . .
Most of the time in the human world, there is no one there to view what really happens, so justice is rarely served. Not so with the Lord. Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good. Later on in verse 11 it says, “Hell and Destruction are before the LORD; So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.” Our teacher would probably not have seen me pestering Clint, even if she had been watching. The angle of how we were sitting from her location was wrong for her to see from where she was standing. However, if she could have seen our hearts, perhaps I would have been the one in detention, and Clint may have walked away with just a reprimand.
Yes, justice is rarely served in this world, but He keeps watch on the evil and the good, and our hearts are before Him. We cannot hide our evil or our good from Him. One day we will stand before the Lord; He will reveal the thoughts and intentions of our heart as it related to every deed. He will judge with just judgment in our every intention and deed. Now there is a scary thought, but there is one comfort in the midst of that. He removes all our sins and lawless deeds if we repent and believe in Him. When it comes to that point in our trial, there will be missing minutes in the tape because they are under the blood of the Lamb. Justice will have already been served on the cross. Wow! Such mercy! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
P.S. Here is what Ask Yahoo says about the term “scot-free”.
First off, let's set the record straight on the expression itself -- it's actually "scot-free." And contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with Dred Scott or the Scottish. Sceot is the Old English for "a tax." Scot and lot was a medieval municipal tax levied on residents. Someone who managed to avoid paying this medieval tax got off "scot free." Eventually, the word evolved to describe getting away without any kind of punishment, fiscal or otherwise. Kids who fake fevers get out of school scot-free. Cagey adults escape jury duty scot-free. And dogs with remorseful eyes get off scot-free from just about any wrongdoing.


JEREMIAH 10
Tornadoes have been abundant lately. Fraidy holes (tornado shelters) are abundant in Oklahoma. Last night a thunderstorm swept through. I lay in bed and enjoyed the thunder and lightning. At times I wondered if a tornado was coming. I never heard the CD siren so I wasn’t too worried about heading to my safe room. There is something exciting about the raw power in weather that produces tornadoes. I know they cause great grief when they hit homes and kill people. Joplin is indeed a horrible tragedy. Nevertheless, I revel in the power of the storm. It reminds me of the greatness of our God. I rest in the fact that my days are numbered by Him. If I am walking in obedience, I won’t exit this world until He is ready for me to exit. He can control the path of the tornado. I just need to obey Him and use the wisdom He gave me. The storms remind me that
The LORD is the true God;
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will tremble,
And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.
Ultimately they remind me that there is only One whom I should worship.
Jeremiah informs us of the process that the people of his day had used to make idols. Asherah poles were common idols of the people of Judah in Jeremiah’s day, and this is probably a description of their formation. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary says this:
The goddess Asherah (1 Kin. 15:13; 2 Chr. 15:16; Asherahs, Judg. 3:7) was portrayed as the wife of El (or sometimes Baal) in Canaanite mythology. Asherah was a favorite deity of women. Some of the wives of David and Solomon worshiped her (1 Kin. 15:13), as Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, also probably did (1 Kin. 16:31–33). King Asa suppressed the worship of Asherah (1 Kin. 15:13), and King Josiah destroyed “the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven” (2 Kin. 23:4). Recently discovered inscriptions at Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el-Kom seem to indicate that the goddess Asherah was sometimes worshiped as if she were the wife of the Lord Himself—a pagan abomination of the worst possible sort.
The word asherah also refers to a wooden pole, or cult pillar, that stood at Canaanite places of worship—perhaps the trunk of a tree with the branches chopped off—and associated with the worship of the goddess Asherah.
The pole itself was a phallus symbol, and served as a means of invoking the gods to grant fertility and hence wealth. At the peak of its use great immorality was associated with the worship practices. Jeremiah juxtaposes his description of God’s creative power (including rain storms) to the futile construction of idols. It shows the utter futility of worshiping other gods. At first reading the chapter might seem interesting reading but too far removed from us to be of value. But think about it. The worship of Asherah was to increase fertility-human, animal and vegetable. In an agrarian society fertility was wealth. In a post-industrial society we still worship wealth, but fertility is considered a threat to our wealth. So with what have we replaced the worship of Asherah? Maybe it is or financial portfolios. Maybe it is the use of our time as we see fit. Maybe it is our personal health. Maybe it is a certain relationship. When the stock market trembles and loses value, do you suppose that God is once again juxtaposing His power with our idol? When He places us in situations where our time is sucked from us, do you suppose that God is once again juxtaposing His power with our idol? When God permits our health to crumble, do you suppose that He is juxtaposing His power with our idol? When our personal relationships collapse in a shambles, do you suppose that He is juxtaposing His power with our idol?
O LORD, I know my way is not in myself; it is not in me to direct my own steps. O LORD, correct me, but with justice; not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing. Blow down my idols, but protect me in the midst of the tornado! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ACTS 2:1-21
Having established that it is His glory to fill and empower His people with His Holy Spirit, the Lord now does exactly that. This is a first time event. So, the Lord had planned long ago this event. Indeed, the prophet Joel had spoken of it (Joel 2:28-32) more than 850 years before it happened. The Lord brought accompanying signs, a sound from heaven, the appearance of a divided tongue of fire over each one filled, the ability to speak human languages they had never learned. The event caused the people of Jerusalem to question what was going on. Peter pointed right to the word of God (what the prophet Joel had predicted) to explain the event. He was bringing out the fact that this is God's doing. When God does something, it brings glory to Him and those through whom He performs it always point to Him. He wants to fill us with His Spirit, not to glorify the person whom he fills or to glorify the Holy Spirit, but to glorify Himself. He wants to fill you and me to glorify Himself through powerful witness of Himself.
Indeed our King is a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John

June 14

DEUTERONOMY 19
The dispensation of justice in this world is a difficult thing. We are all aware of folk stories of the Hatfields and McCoys. Generally it runs that one family begins to feel wronged by the other family, so they retaliate. The retaliation is a little bit stronger than the original offense in order to communicate to the other that they should not be messed with. Gradually or suddenly the retaliations explode until the acts toward each other are indeed horrendous. History is full of examples of this cycle as one nation rises up against another. Palestinian and Israeli confrontations are ones that are constantly in the news now. What really surprises me is that the media vociferously attacks Israel as an aggressor, when often (not always) Israel’s damage upon the aggressors is less than the Palestinians and is more surgical in hitting a military target than the Palestinians, and almost always in response to a Palestinian aggression. This passage addresses justice. Justice is a balance of the scale where moral acts are equal. Justice requires equality. The terms ‘life for lie’, ‘eye for an eye,’ and ‘tooth for a tooth,’ are examples of equality. For justice to be dispensed, it must not be more than or less than the equivalent act. Under the rule of law, justice must be equal. Israel was to be a country under the rule of law. They were to be sure that as such, justice was equal.
Jesus refers to verse 21 in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:38,39, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As followers of Jesus, we are to understand that justice was carried out upon our sin but not upon us. In as much as He Himself bore our sins upon Himself, “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed.”-1 Peter 2:24. Justice was carried out, but it was carried out upon Him in our place. We who have repented and believed in Him have received mercy not justice. Because we have received mercy, we likewise are to extend mercy to others. In so doing we reflect His glory in our lives. His mercy endures forever. May it also do so through us! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PROVERBS 14
It is the longing of our hearts for good to triumph. It is the stuff movies are made of. Strangely enough it partially what sometimes drives us to war. The Proverb tells us, “The evil will bow before the good, And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.” Hmmm. . . That is exactly what is going to happen. Philippians 2:9–10 tells us, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.” It will happen. I will drink from the glory of this well on a daily basis. I will bow my knee now, so that on that day He will call me friend. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JEREMIAH 9
At mid first semester in seventh grade I switched schools from Glencoe to Stillwater. School work had always come relatively easy for me so it wasn’t much of a problem. At the end of the first semester my grades were good enough for the honor roll except for one class, PE. I made a “C” in PE. How can anyone make a “C” in PE? I went to the coach and asked. He said that he graded on improvement. I just hadn’t shown enough improvement in my half-semester there to warrant anything better. I was aghast. There were a number of things he tested, 440, rope climbing, jump rope etc. The idea was to increase incrementally from one level of achievement to the next. Coming at mid-semester, I had wanted to prove that I was just as good as anyone else in the class. I was already in pretty good shape. I did the very best that I could in every event. If you are being graded on improvement, you want to do your very best on the last time you are tested and your very worst on the first time. But one event in particular had always stymied me. The gym wall had a wooden board attached to it. In the board were two pegs at the bottom and a number of corresponding holes going to the top. The idea was to go from the bottom to the top by using the pegs and going from hole to hole until one reached the top. I never could make it to the hole just above the bottom one.
Sometimes known as the weeping prophet, Jeremiah wishes for buckets of tears to shed for his people, who are being slaughtered. Why are they being slaughtered? Look at what verse 3 has to say:
And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies.
They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.
For they proceed from evil to evil,
And they do not know Me,” says the LORD.
They are not valiant for the truth. They proceed from evil to evil. “Evil to evil” now there is an interesting phrase. What exactly does that mean? It is similar in construction to “faith to faith” (Rom 1:17) and “glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). In Romans the phrase is all about revealing the righteousness of God in us. In 2 Cor. The phrase is all about revealing the image of God in us. In Jeremiah it is all about revealing the deceit in our hearts. It is going from peg to peg. They go from evil to evil, peg to peg. What does it reveal? It reveals that they did not know Him.
He takes it to an even lower level in verse six, “Through deceit they refuse to know Me.” This is a consistent thread in Jeremiah in relation to our own hearts. We are so capable of self-deception. We tell ourselves that we know the Lord, and yet the pride of our lives is in our accomplishments and not in the knowledge of Him. How does one know that the pride of one’s life is in one’s accomplishments? If I were stripped of all my accomplishments and the reputation of my accomplishments, would I still be content with the mere fact that I know Him? Ultimately, that is exactly what Jesus did. He emptied Himself of His right to be worshipped as God by taking the form of a bond servant and going to the cross and dying for my sin and shame. He did it simply because He knew and loved the Father, and He knew and loved me.
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the LORD.
I am hanging in the middle of a spiritual peg board. I have no strength to go up from glory to glory. I only have ability to go down from evil to evil. I can only do one of two things. I can enter into a relationship with Him, where in getting to know Him, I learn how to allow His lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness to flow through me. In doing that, He strengthens me to go up the board from faith to faith, from glory to glory. In which case, I can only glory in my knowledge of Him, for He is the One working in me enabling me to do all righteousness. Or I can deceive myself and listen to the lies that I have been telling myself about what I deserve. The result is only the ability to descend down the peg board from evil to evil. The sad thing is, I don’t even realize that I am going down.
Who is this King who enters my life exercising lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness? He is my only claim to fame. He is my King of glory. In this I will boast! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ACTS 1
Luke says that Jesus appeared to the disciples during the forty days between His suffering/resurrection and His ascension speaking things pertaining to the kingdom of God. The Prophets had envisioned the Kingdom of God as a glorious Kingdom in which the Messiah would reign and Israel would be the head nation of the earth. All nations would come to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh.
Yet the only thing that Luke records of what Jesus said concerning the kingdom of God, is that in not many days they would receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then the disciples asked Him if it was at that time that He would restore the Kingdom. His reply was significant but a little cryptic in relationship to the kingdom of God.. He said,
It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

He was then gloriously lifted up into the clouds and some angels appeared to the disciples and told them that Jesus would return in the same manner in which he saw them leave. The glory of Jesus in the time being is that we should be filled or clothed with power from the Holy Spirit. Having been endued with power, we are to make disciples of all nations, building His church until the end comes. Right now, the glory of Christ is seen by the world only in His people who are filled with His Holy Spirit and are busy witnessing by their words and actions, making disciples, building His church.
Indeed our King is a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John

June 13

DEUTERONOMY 18
Do you remember these words from Exodus 20:18–19?
Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
The event happened right after the giving of the basic stipulations (the ten commandments) of the Law. They apparently have not yet even heard the ten commandments; they have only seen the manifestations of the glory of God, and they change their minds. In Exodus 19:6 God was calling them to be a kingdom of Priests. Initially they agreed and said, “Whatever the Lord says, we will do!” But now after experiencing first hand His glory, they weren’t so sure. True Glory is frightening. So instead of everybody being priests, only one family line and one tribe served.
Additionally, the Lord would send prophets to correct and restore the Word of God. Isaiah, for example, is one of those upon whom God came to speak His word to the nation, “I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ” Is. 51:16. All of the true Old Testament prophets were in a line of succession from this promise. But ultimately this promise is fulfilled only in Jesus. Peter says in Acts 3:22, “For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.” Jesus is simultaneously the living Word of God and speaks the words which God has given Him. The result is that He has restored the priesthood of the believer to His people. His church, His people now are the ones who receive and distribute the word of God as He said in John 17:8, “For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.” He in turn has sent us to speak His word and glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PROVERBS 13
Woody Guthrie of Okemah, Oklahoma, is well known for his folk ballads and social activism. One of his best known songs was “This Land Is Your Land.” I remember being in school viewing an old film of him leading social protests for workers’ rights and unions. He was definitely presented as a socialist. One of his more scathing protests was against organized religion. He certainly was an influence on Pete Seeger’s “You’ll have pie in the sky when you die.” I guess it was a commentary on the action of the fundamentalist church of the 30’s, which distanced itself from the social gospel and capitulated the ministry to the poor to the liberal church and eventually the government. He envisioned Jesus as preaching a gospel of mandatory giving up of all earthly material goods. You can hear his song at this site http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDS00Pnhkqk. (Woody might have been an acclaimed song writer, but I don’t know how anybody could stand his voice. Must be why he and Bob Dylan got along so well.)
“There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.” At least that is how the NKJV & the Authorized put it. All the others say “pretend to be.” It is an interesting nuance, but an important one. Which is correct? I don’t know. But ultimately there is one example that applies to the principle of this proverb. Paul told us in 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” What riches He had in heaven before He became flesh! He was constantly adored by the hosts of heaven. His praise literally shook the heavens. Then He left that throne room to add the nature of a man to his person. Born in the place where people kept animals, he was despised. His parents were put there because they were thought unclean, and therefore there was no room for them in the kataluma (Inn or guestroom). While He ministered, He had no home or bed of His own. He was literally homeless. He really was poor in the world’s wealth and reputation. He was not just pretending.
He did it to purchase with His own blood His bride. In so doing He became wealthy in true wealth, not silver, gold, land, or power. He bought a beautiful bride. It is to be the marriage of the human to the divine. We are His bride, His riches. Somehow when I look at us, I think He got the short end of the stick. Yet I must remind myself that He is not finished cleansing and transforming us yet. It is indeed a process, and when He is done, it will mean great riches for Himself I’ll take it by faith. But we can come alongside Him in building His riches. We do it by becoming poor, just like He did. We let go of everything. When we do, He makes us rich. Lest I am misunderstood, it is not the riches of this life. I am infinitely richer than Bill Gates because I have Jesus, and to my knowledge, Bill Gates does not have Jesus. I am rich because of the great glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The most economically poor person on this planet, who has Jesus, is as rich as I am. That is because of His great glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JEREMIAH 8
We often refer to them as our finest. I speak of course of our military personnel. Why do we call them that? I have a friend who told me that when he was in the Navy, and anyone asked him what he did for a living, he said, “I’m a professional killer.” Well, that is true, and it is not. His actual job in the Navy was related to nuclear power on a nuclear aircraft carrier. He did not personally kill anyone, but his unit was hired to defend our nation, and that defense always involved being ready to destroy things and kill people. In a real sense our finest are professional killers. Now granted, when we were in Iraq, after our initial tumbling of the Saddam regime, our finest did their best to rebuild the infrastructure of Iraq. They sought to rebuild water, sewer, electrical systems and rebuild schools. But never-the-less our finest were professional killers as well. Why do we call them our finest?
We call them our finest because there is by necessity a need for a hero to protect us. They laid their lives on the line for us. The ones who lay their lives on the line for us should be called our finest, even if they are professional killers; after all, that is what we send them to do. Is there anything wrong with slaying the evil doer? I would say, “No, as long as the evil doer is truly evil, and the one who does the slaying truly has the authority to slay. If the one slain is not truly evil, and the one slaying does not have the authority, then it is an unrighteous and evil act.”
So what does that have to do with today’s passage? There are times when the justice of God is terribly beautiful. For justice to exist it must be terrible toward evil. It is just that we never want to think that we are evil because we do not want terrible justice to happen to us. Such was the case with Israel. Were they truly evil? They had sacrificed their children to other gods. They had worshipped other gods with a passion. Their sincerity and passion for the other gods reached a climax when they sacrificed their children to those gods! Yes, they were truly evil! If no justice were carried out, we would say that it was intolerable! Does God have the authority to dispense justice? Certainly if He does not have authority, then no one does. So in a sense there is beauty in His dispensation of justice.
That is His glory! He is our hero! He comes to destroy the evil one and to dispense justice! If He did not, we would cry out against Him! Yes, His description is gross, but all taking of life is gross. Does He take pleasure in the death of the wicked? Well in the sense that justice is served, yes. However, He would much prefer that the wicked repent so that He might forgive them. Consider that we are the wicked. We are truly evil apart from Him. He became a man and took our place so that He could carry out His justice upon a perfect man, Himself. If he does that to provide a way of escape for the wicked, and they still refuse Him, what else is there to be done but let the wicked have their way? What else is there, but to let the non-repentant receive what they have chosen, eternal separation, eternal death. It is gross and beautiful at the same time. He would not have it any other way; neither would we.
Now to those who will receive Him, He does not stop there! He rebuilds our infrastructure. Where we once could not help but sin, now He sends His Holy Spirit to enable us to live holy lives! When we cooperate, He flushes out the sewer of sin in us. He causes the flow of the water of the Spirit of life to flow out of our inner-most being! He enables us to renew our minds! He makes us clean so that we may know Him. He makes us clean so that we can love others! He makes us new so that we can lay down our lives for others as He did for us. How can I know that I have entered into such a life? I know when I can truly love not only my brother but also my enemy. Now that is glory! He is our finest! Yes, He kills the evil one, but He would prefer to rebuild their infrastructure. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JOHN 21

I have been revived.
For the first time in my life I am alive.
Since I looked into Jesus,
I found me a friend
And I'll never go back to that old way of life ever again.

So went the chorus of a song sung at a Dawson McAllister Student Conference back in the late 80's or early 90's. I tried to find the author, but I couldn't locate it on Song Select. So it must not be registered with CCLI. I've always liked the sentiment/declaration of the song. It represents a decision we all need to make. But truthfully, it doesn't happen. Even the best of us sometimes turn back to the old way of life. That certainly was true of Simon Peter, who was thought to be the boldest and most out spoken of the 12 who accompanied Jesus.
Peter had a particularly difficult time understanding the death and resurrection. He denied Jesus three times at the trial. Paul says Jesus appeared first to Peter. Now I assume that means first in time. Although, it could mean first in priority of importance. Anyway, Peter was having difficulty believing the resurrection. He disobeyed the Lord's command about going to Galilee after the crucifixion to meet Jesus there--even though it seems Jesus appeared to Peter before anyone else. The Lord had to appear to the apostles several times before they got up the gumption to leave Jerusalem for Galilee. Finally, it appears that Peter went more out of going back to the old way of living than anything else. He told the others, "I am going fishing." It was his old occupation.
Jesus had told him, "Follow me and I will make you a fisher of men." Peter left everything and followed Jesus. Where did it lead him? It led to a cross and a tomb. Even now, that the tomb was empty, Peter was having a difficult time believing that Jesus wanted him to be a fisher of men. Peter had denied Him. How could Jesus use him to catch men? Perhaps in Peter's mind there was probably no longer a call upon his life. How could Jesus love him after this? The best thing to do was to go back to the old way of life. He went fishing.
We all know the old saying, "You can't go home again." Peter went fishing all night long and caught nothing. This was the design of Jesus to remind Peter of Jesus' call upon his life. Jesus showed up after a fishless night. Suddenly they caught more fish than they could handle. He brought them back to the shore. At breakfast Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me more than these?" He was probably pointing to the fish. At least Peter was honest. He said, "Lord, you know I am your friend." Jesus explored that and for each time that Peter had denied Him, Jesus asked concerning Peter's love and then affirmed His call upon Peter's life.
Peter went away a changed man. And on the day of Pentecost after the coming of the Holy Spirit, Peter stood in the midst of the crowd that had asked for Jesus' crucifixion and preached Jesus. That day three thousand souls trusted Jesus. Peter had become a fisher of men. Oh we know from the Apostle Paul that Peter still blew it on one occasion. But Jesus always brings us back. The old way of living can never keep its hold upon us when we have truly met Him. Because of us? No! It is all because of Him. That is part of His glory. He draws us back to Himself. Indeed our King is a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John

June 12

DEUTERONOMY 17
What if my wife said to me, “John, you are so harsh. I wanted to spend some time with other men, and that upset you. What is so wrong with me having dinner with another man, or even having a sleep over with him. Some of the men I meet are so protective. I feel much more secure around them than I do with you. There isn’t anything wrong with me enjoying their riches and their company.” If my wife said that and meant it, I do not think there would be very good odds that our relationship would last long.
Some would say that the God of the Old Testament is harsh. Certainly there are some pretty harsh consequences here. Can you imagine if today we stoned anyone who worshipped other gods? We would be killing a lot of people. What would happen if we followed the other guidelines revealed in this chapter?
Why couldn’t a king multiply horses? Horses were strategic weapons of war. A horse and chariot were the tanks of their day. To multiply horses was tantamount to raising a mighty army. If the king multiplied horses, he would be tempted to put his trust in the army rather than the Lord. What would happen if we applied that concept to our republic? One of the driving forces of our economy is the trust we have placed in our military industrial complex. I still sometimes wonder about our entrance into the Iraq war. Was it really about weapons of mass destruction, or was it to protect western oil interests? If it were not for the far superior military technology of our military, would we still have entered into the war? In whom or what were we trusting when we entered the war? Had we not had a superior military, where would we have place our trust?
Why couldn’t a king multiply wives? The first response to that question is that it is just wrong to have more than one wife, and the king should model a righteous family. While that is true, it does not include the fact that marriage alliances were used to provide national security. When Solomon had 700 wives, I find it difficult to believe that he had a sexual relationship with 700 women. If he visited one per day, it would take him 2 years to make the rounds. So why did He have so many wives? It was another way of providing national security. The marriage alliances provided peace for the country. Seven hundred allies is a very formidable support group. One of Solomon’s main marriage alliances was his marriage with Pharaoh’s daughter. That one alliance secured his southern border, but at what price? She turned his heart away from the Lord. Would God have given him peace without the multiple marriage alliances. Maybe, maybe not, but he would have been less likely to have turned his heart away from the Lord. He lost the privilege of feasting on the glory of the Lord.
Why couldn’t a king multiply silver and gold? When we are rich, it takes great discipline to resist the corruption of trusting in wealth rather than the Lord. Solomon became so rich that silver became devalued. Can you imagine that? You might be saying, “No, I can’t, but I would like the opportunity to try.” Solomon’s riches also were instrumental in turning His heart from the Lord.
The Lord wants my heart. He wants me to enjoy Him as my security. He wants me to rest in Him as my protector. He wants me to value Him as true riches. Why? Simply because He is. To settle for anything else is to settle for poverty. He wants to give me Himself—that is true riches. How can I but give Him myself? His glory is too awesome! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PROVERBS 12
He lay in the hospital bed with his pain managed by morphine. He had asked for a chaplain. The hospital did not deem a fulltime chaplain as a fiscally responsible investment, so they relied on volunteers. I was a volunteer, so they called me to come in. He was disappointed to find that I was not a Mormon. He was certain that Mormon elders had the power to heal. Both shin bones had been shattered by gunshot wounds. The pain was tremendous and obviously more than physical.
His parents were out of town for a few days and left this 19-year-old in charge. His little brother decided to invite a few friends over for a beer party. Soon people began showing up whom he did not know. Eventually some of those uninvited guests started becoming rowdy. He played the role well as an older brother. He told the uninvited rowdy guests to leave. They left, but unfortunately they were gang members. They were back in less than ten minutes with the entire gang. The gang was spotted through the window as they drove up. The older brother told the others run and hide while he tried to shut and lock the door. Too late. He was able to get to the door in time to try to hold it shut, but he was having trouble locking it. They shot multiple times through the door shattering his shin bones. Their revenge was accomplished. They left him to bleed to death.
In the hospital he waffled between blaming God for letting him get shot and calling out for healing. It has never ceased to amaze me that he blamed God for getting shot. Verse 28 says, “In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.” What did he expect to happen when a bunch of under aged teens got together to drink? Was this a way of righteousness? Did he really expect God to protect him from evil as he walked in unrighteousness? Apparently so! But then that is an easy example for me to point at and say, “Well, you were walking in unrighteousness. God is under no obligation to protect you on that path!” When do I/we ever walk in righteousness so that God is obligated to protect me/us? Just where do we draw the line? What exactly is the pathway of righteousness, and what is life and death?
Jesus defined life in his High Priestly prayer in John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. Life is knowledge of the Holy One, not about the Holy One, but ‘of’ the Holy One. That is why in the pathway of righteousness there is no death. But wait a minute; the one common element to all humans is that we all die. That would imply that there are none who are righteous. Might it also imply that there are none who know God? Hmmm. . . . So the task of Jesus was to bring us into the pathway of righteousness so that we might know Him and God the Father. The implication of that is that I am just as culpable as the young man who had been shot, and that I need someone to put me back on the pathway of righteousness. Hmmm. . . Well that is certainly what Jesus is seeking to do with me and with you. Sometimes he lets our path of unrighteousness follow its course yielding a great deal of pain. The pain is supposed to function to cause us to choose Him over our sin. When our pain level cannot be managed even with morphine, will I cooperate? Will You? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JEREMIAH 7
Recently I have been going to the Spudnut shop to do my Meditations on the Glory. I seem to get less interruptions there. Today a young lady waited upon me. She was wearing wrist band that says, “Life TV Church.” So, I asked her, “Why do you like Life TV Church?” She was so excited to answer that question. She immediately answered, “The message. And it is so non-traditional!” I have a passion that people walk with Jesus, not so much that they talk about their church but that they talk about HIm. (Although, Jesus has a passion for the church, so if we have a passion for Jesus, we will have a passion for His church.) But what is the church? I cannot help but question, “Is Jesus’ concept of the church for which He gave Himself one of sitting in front of a projected image of an excellent teacher and participating in excellent live worship,?” But I guess I have to also question, “Is what I subject the people in the congregation of which God has appointed me pastor any more church than Life TV?” The obvious answer would be, “I would hope so; otherwise, I should move the congregation to become more like Life TV.” But my point is not to get sidetracked into the differences between Life TV and my congregation, but rather to illustrate that we all have a lot of different ideas about what it means to be part of the people of God and Jeremiah 7 clearly addresses some of those ideas.
What does the Lord mean when He says through Jeremiah, “4Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’?” The people of Jeremiah’s day loved to attend temple. However, the observance of God’s commands at the temple had no effect upon their lives outside the temple. God is just. He expects His people to live justly. God is merciful; He expects His people to live mercifully. God is faithful to us; He expects His people to remain faithful to Him. God is true; He expects His people to remain true to Him and each other. The end result of their going to temple had no change upon their behavior in everyday life. Going to ‘temple’ or ‘church’ is not primarily about the liturgy. (All churches have liturgy. It is just that some are more organized than others.) Liturgy is performed at a building, but church is about the meaning of the liturgy, the Power behind the liturgy and the Person that drives the liturgy. The people of Jeremiah’s day used the temple as a cloak to practice their immorality. The liturgy was no longer about Yahweh, empowered by Yahweh or driven by Yahweh. It was about them, empowered by them and driven by them.
So what had the temple become? It had become a den of thieves (v.11). It is no accident that this is part of what Jesus quoted when He drove out the money changers. What else did He quote? He quoted Isaiah 56:7, “For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Church is not a building. It is the people of God. When we come together in a building, it is for prayer. It is for relationship with Him corporately. When it is about Him, empowered by Him and driven by Him, we become what He desires. We are in relationship with Him, we fulfill the function for which He created us. His glory is magnified abundantly. If that is not happening, we are not much less than a den of thieves. Jeremiah goes on to explain what happens to those who remain in “den of thieves” mode, and it is not pretty. But, that reveals His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
P.S. Maybe on my next visit I will ask the girl what she thinks of Jesus, probably a more appropriate question.

JOHN 20
Peace is an elusive thing. On an international level we have found that to be true. Those of you who know your history remember that World War I was to be the war to end all wars. That was a cruel misconception. It only fueled WWII. Then came Korea, Vietnam and so on and so forth. There are constant conflicts world wide. We are in Iraq because we felt it necessary to protect ourselves from terrorists and weapons of mass destruction. Now, we wonder if we can ever get out again.
Peace on an interpersonal level is also an elusive thing. Divorce is so common now that many don’t even bother to marry. It has become an assumption that “incompatibility” will eventually become a problem. Peace even in the church seems to be a problem. Many denominations are fighting within themselves over issues that ought to be givens. Many churches are fighting within themselves over issues that ought not to be. Churches are increasingly getting rid of their pastors. Many are fighting personally against God and don’t even realize it.
Some years ago I was doing a 40-day fast. On the 26th day I began to experience a panic attack. You know the sensation that you get when some one scares you? That flush that seems to come from the gut and shoots up through your head? Your heart begins to race, and you have an intense desire to run but don’t know where to run to? Well, that was happening to me; only, it wouldn’t stop. I thought I was going nuts. I immediately ceased the fast. But it took me months to get over it. I had a few more attacks in the coming weeks. I only recently have discovered that it wasn’t the fasting alone that caused the problem. I was getting a cold and had taken some pseudoephedrine hydrochloride to help overcome the symptoms—in my weakened fasting state the pseudoephedrine is what triggered the attack. I had no peace or months. Personal is a problem. Sometimes our biggest enemy is ourselves.
When Jesus rose from the dead, to what did He rise? One disciple had betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver. When the time of prayer came, the disciples all fell asleep. All of the disciples had run in terror to hide when push came to shove. One disciple publicly denied even knowing Him. The masses had called for His crucifixion. His own Father forsook Him on the cross. Another disciple refused to believe the testimony of others of His resurrection. All of the disciples refused to obey His pre-crucifixion command to go to Galilee to meet Him there. I don’t know about you, but if I were Jesus, I’d be a lot disgruntled. Yet, He was not.
Three times after His resurrection, He communicates peace to His followers. Once He communicated peace to the fearful disciples as they huddled in the upper room, hiding from possible arrest and execution by the religious leaders. Suddenly, He stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Once it had settled in that this was not an apparition but Jesus Himself, He told them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also sent you.” Thomas missed that meeting. Jesus appeared to them again when Thomas was with them and said, “Peace to you!” That is the glory of Jesus! He is always working to bring us to peace with God, peace within our own psyche and peace with each other, even though we do not believe Him.
Are you lacking peace today? The glory of Jesus is that He has worked and is working to bring that peace to you and eventually to the world. Indeed our King is a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John

June 11

DEUTERONOMY 16
The Three major feasts of Israel are reiterated here. The Passover graphically portrays Jesus as our Lamb who takes away our sin. The Feast of weeks eloquently proclaims the coming of the Holy Spirit to enable us to bear fruit. The Feast of Tabernacles looks to the Second Coming of Messiah as King of Kings and Lords when our labor by the sweat of our brow will be ended and the harvest of His Kingdom shall be brought in. His glory exudes in each celebration. When they are all fulfilled, we shall indeed cry out with the 24 elders

“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

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

PROVERBS 11
It has been said that in a democratic society, the people get what they deserve in an elected government. Obama has been elected to a second term. What is he like in terms of Biblical values? Let’s see, he is for unqualified support for abortion no matter how late and for the government paying for it. The final straw that caused Israel to be kicked out of the land was when her kings began shedding much innocent blood by causing their children to pass through the fire (child sacrifice). It seems we have that again in a president. Do we deserve it? Since 1973 our people have murdered 50,000,000 babies in the abortion chambers of America. Looks like we deserve it.
But murder is not the only Biblical value. "You shall not commit adultery,” is the negative statement of the positive command to protect the institution of marriage. Biblically marriage is one man, one woman for as long as they both shall live. Obama is on record for redefining marriage to include homosexual couples. Do we deserve that? Well since the early sixties the church has been letting sexual mores slide. We look the other direction when our people divorce and remarry, but hammer homosexuals for their ‘sin.’ Looks like we deserve Obama.
“You shall not covet,” is the negative statement of “having food and clothing, with these be content.” One third of the world goes to bed hungry every night. America controls the majority of the world’s resources; we are the most giving nation in the world. Yet we could give so much more. Evangelical Christians alone could easily give double what they give to the Lord’s work, yet we do not give it. What we do give, we spend more than ninety percent of it in the USA, while billions enter a Christ-less eternity. Obama loves to hammer the rich that they should be paying their fair share, but the record shows that before he ran for president, Obama gave very little to charity. As a matter of fact, before he ran for president (2000-2004), I gave more to charity than he did. Considering my salary in 2004 and his salary in 2004, that is not saying very much for him. Sounds like we deserve him.
How did we get in this position? Well verse 3 says, “The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.” Sounds like when we went to the polls our integrity guided us corporately. We got what we deserve. The Lord hates dishonest scales and perverse hearts. Oh Lord change me so that I am honest in all of my communications with others. Untwist my heart so that it might be pure in all of its dealings. Let the truth of Your being and the purity of Your life shine in me. Yes, the glory of the Lord shone in the elections. We got what we deserve. Oh Lord, we would have preferred mercy, but we received what we deserve. Have mercy upon us. We pray for the president whom we deserve. Change our hearts and his heart. Incline them toward true righteousness. Let us/him repent of shedding innocent blood. Let us/him repent of our attitudes toward your design for marriage. Let us/him repent of our lack of contentment toward this world’s goods and giving to those in true need. You are glorious in that You shed Your own blood, so that we would not have to die eternally. You are glorious in that You are eternally committed to Your own bride, the church. You are glorious in that You are content with simply who You are, and gave up your riches in heaven to humble Yourself as a servant in order that we might experience Your riches. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JEREMIAH 6
This is a hard chapter about which I can be positive. There is not a whole lot of positive in it. It is one statement after another about how the Lord is going to destroy Jerusalem. In this prophecy, what is the reason that the Lord gives for Jerusalem’s destruction?
She is full of oppression in her midst.
7 As a fountain wells up with water,
So she wells up with her wickedness.
Violence and plundering are heard in her.
Before Me continually are grief and wound. . .
13 “Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is given to covetousness;
And from the prophet even to the priest,
Everyone deals falsely.
14 They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’
When there is no peace.
Looking back on the history of Jerusalem, I could have picked out some things that from my western mindset that I would think would be a little more significant. I would have chosen their sacrifice to other gods, their raising of Asherah poles, their spiritual adultery, their physical adultery, their sacrifice of children to other gods. But what does the Lord pick out in this instance? He talks about their violence, their plundering, their covetousness and the false message of the spiritual leaders. Ouch! That is a perfect description of America!
Our Lord is the Prince of Peace; He is the Lord of abundance; He is the King of liberal giving; He is the Judge who sets us free! However, He does not normally remedy those problems in our lives until we repent of the ways in which we oppress others, plunder others, covet the things of others and speak the truth to one another. Am I oppressed? He sets me free. Have I been plundered? He gives liberally. Do I desire the things of others? He is the abundant One. Have I bought into a false message of peace and prosperity? He is the Prince of Peace. In each one of those problems we must realize that He Himself is what we need. We need to be satisfied with Him. Jerusalem’s destruction was coming because they were not satisfied with Him. Lord, let me see You! Set me be satisfied with you! You indeed are all that I need! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

JOHN 19:23-42
John recalls three communications of our Lord from the cross that reveal the glory of our King. In the midst of His tremendous agony, Jesus still was in control and thought outside Himself.
1. He gave charge for the care of His mother over to John.
2. He pronounced His thirst in order to fulfill the Scripture found in Psalm 22:15
3. He knew when He had accomplished and finished the task of paying the penalty for our sin. Only then did He "give up" His spirit. Normally when people die, they have no choice in the separation of their spirit from their body. Giving implies a choice. Even in His death He was in control and He "gave up" His spirit at the appropriate time. That's amazing!

John observes that the soldiers, coming to break His legs to hasten His death, saw that He was dead. In order to be sure that Jesus was dead, one soldier pierced His side with a spear. John observed a flow of water and blood. Some doctors have suggested that the cause of this flow was a ruptured heart. A sentimental response is that He died of a broken heart, the creation that He loved and the Father that He obeyed killed Him. But John says that this was done to fulfill the Scripture found in Psalm 34:10, Zech. 12:10 & 13:6. Even when nailed to the cross, Jesus controlled His death. Those killing Him, worked His will. Who can control the circumstances of their death? Only those who commit suicide. But even then their death is without purpose. Jesus controlled the circumstances of His own death for the purpose of saving us and fulfilling Scripture in the process. Indeed our King is a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John