Judges 20
There is justice in the instance when there seems to be no justice. This has to be among the grossest stories told in the Bible. There was no king in those days to execute justice. The tribe of Benjamin refused to bring forth justice for the concubine. I say justice for the concubine because the husband certainly was not righteous. So God brought forth justice. The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel. Yes justice was served. There was no mercy. As a whole, the tribe protected the evil rapists and murderers. As a whole, the tribe was almost destroyed because of its unwillingness to execute justice. What would have happened had the tribe been willing to execute justice and the guilty men repentantly begged for mercy?
I never ask for justice for myself from God. If God gave me justice outside of Christ, He would kill me. Instead, I ask for his unfailing loving kindness. He gives it abundantly. His justice has been abundantly shown in my case as well. He poured it out upon Jesus upon the cross. Now that is glory, only glory that He should have. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Romans 8:22-39
I long for the day when my body is redeemed—no more muscle aches, intestinal cramps, headaches, fevers, pulled muscles, broken bones, arthritis, back pain, toothaches. But more than the physical pain, I long for the day when I will be conformed to His image. Indeed, the whole creation longs for that day. Until that day we live in a foreign land. C.S. Lewis called it living behind enemy lines. As we live in enemy territory, He takes every work of the enemy and causes it to eventually work together for us for our good, namely to conform us to His image. There is no work of the enemy that can separate us from His love. His love for us is His motivation to conform us to His image. His glory is seen in each circumstance of our lives that we dislike or like, because He is using them to conform us into His image! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
Friday, August 6, 2010
August 5, 2010
Romans 8:1-21
We saw a few days ago that Jesus Christ is the eternal judge. Have you ever had to go before a judge knowing you were guilty? Maybe it was a traffic ticket, or something worse. There wouldn’t be much hope in that, would there? We all constantly stand before the eternal judge, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are guilty. He knows our sin. We cannot hide it or give a decent excuse. But we, who walk in Jesus, have this promise: There is now no condemnation for those who walk according to the Law of the Spirit. NOW there is no condemnation, not in the future but now! We stand before the eternal judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He does not condemn us! Not only that but He has sent His Spirit to live in us and lead us! His Spirit is a foretaste of the glorious liberty we have in Him! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
We saw a few days ago that Jesus Christ is the eternal judge. Have you ever had to go before a judge knowing you were guilty? Maybe it was a traffic ticket, or something worse. There wouldn’t be much hope in that, would there? We all constantly stand before the eternal judge, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are guilty. He knows our sin. We cannot hide it or give a decent excuse. But we, who walk in Jesus, have this promise: There is now no condemnation for those who walk according to the Law of the Spirit. NOW there is no condemnation, not in the future but now! We stand before the eternal judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He does not condemn us! Not only that but He has sent His Spirit to live in us and lead us! His Spirit is a foretaste of the glorious liberty we have in Him! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
August 4, 2010
Romans 7
We were born married to the Law. To be married to grace is spiritual adultery. It would be wrong to be united to another. Ah, but through Jesus, we died to the law. It no longer has a claim upon us. I am free to be married to grace. I can be free from sin and death through Jesus. Now I can live a righteous life, not in order to become righteous but because He declares me righteous and lives in me to empower me to be what He has declared me to be. That makes Him glorious. What I could not do and cannot do, He does! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
We were born married to the Law. To be married to grace is spiritual adultery. It would be wrong to be united to another. Ah, but through Jesus, we died to the law. It no longer has a claim upon us. I am free to be married to grace. I can be free from sin and death through Jesus. Now I can live a righteous life, not in order to become righteous but because He declares me righteous and lives in me to empower me to be what He has declared me to be. That makes Him glorious. What I could not do and cannot do, He does! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
August 3, 2010
Judges 17
“Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since I have a Levite as a priest.” How does the New Testament put it, “1But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2For men will be . . . 5having a form of godliness but denying its power.” What could be more pious our godly in appearance than using your own money to hire your own personal priest? Wow God! Look what I am doing for You! Can we get a little Quid Pro Quo going here? Maybe a little tit for tat? I have done this; surely You will be good to me. Sounds ridiculous does it not? In 2006 Time Magazine had as its cover story, “Does God want you to be Rich?” It was an expose on prosperity teachers of many mega churches in the USA. I wonder if their mindset is any different than Micah’s.
What do we think of the glory of God when we operate in such a fashion? The man is not condemned. Or is he? Snuggled in the midst of this story is the theme statement of Judges, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” It is not that everyone did what was right in the eyes of a Glorious God. Micah’s problem was that his eyes were fixed upon His own glory. Does God want to give good things to His children? Certainly, that is part of His glory. But the primary good which He wants to give us is Himself. It does not come as a Quid Pro Quo agreement. It comes as a demand on His part, “Lose your life.” Then He gives us His. That is not a Quid Pro Quo relationship; we get the greater end of the deal. It is an exchange of our life for His life. Worldly riches are a small thing in comparison. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Romans 6
What is the glory of Jesus? He allows and yes, even desires, that you and I should be identified with Him! He, being eternal, causes us to be identified with that human part of Him that was crucified 2,000 years ago and that was raised from the dead 3 days later. Because He died, we died. Because He lives, we live. Because He lives and walks in righteousness, we should live and walk in righteousness. We are no longer slaves to sin. We are slaves of God because of His gift to us. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
“Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since I have a Levite as a priest.” How does the New Testament put it, “1But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2For men will be . . . 5having a form of godliness but denying its power.” What could be more pious our godly in appearance than using your own money to hire your own personal priest? Wow God! Look what I am doing for You! Can we get a little Quid Pro Quo going here? Maybe a little tit for tat? I have done this; surely You will be good to me. Sounds ridiculous does it not? In 2006 Time Magazine had as its cover story, “Does God want you to be Rich?” It was an expose on prosperity teachers of many mega churches in the USA. I wonder if their mindset is any different than Micah’s.
What do we think of the glory of God when we operate in such a fashion? The man is not condemned. Or is he? Snuggled in the midst of this story is the theme statement of Judges, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” It is not that everyone did what was right in the eyes of a Glorious God. Micah’s problem was that his eyes were fixed upon His own glory. Does God want to give good things to His children? Certainly, that is part of His glory. But the primary good which He wants to give us is Himself. It does not come as a Quid Pro Quo agreement. It comes as a demand on His part, “Lose your life.” Then He gives us His. That is not a Quid Pro Quo relationship; we get the greater end of the deal. It is an exchange of our life for His life. Worldly riches are a small thing in comparison. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Romans 6
What is the glory of Jesus? He allows and yes, even desires, that you and I should be identified with Him! He, being eternal, causes us to be identified with that human part of Him that was crucified 2,000 years ago and that was raised from the dead 3 days later. Because He died, we died. Because He lives, we live. Because He lives and walks in righteousness, we should live and walk in righteousness. We are no longer slaves to sin. We are slaves of God because of His gift to us. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
Monday, August 2, 2010
August 2, 2010
Aug 2, 2010 Judges 16
Samson loved a woman. Sally Jesse Raphael used to say on her late night radio talk show, “It doesn’t matter who you love as long as you love.” Is that correct? Samson, as a deliverer of the people of God, should have loved a woman within the covenant. This Philistine woman never gave even pretense of loving Yahweh. She loved Dagon, the Philistine god. She loved money. When offered a great sum of money to entice Samson to discover the secret of his strength, she had no qualms about misleading him. Because of his love for her, Samson had no qualms about eventually telling her the secret of his strength. I guess he thought that he would always have his strength. Temptation is always like that. He gave in to her pestering. He lost his God-given strength. He should have guarded his heart as to with whom he allowed himself to love.
Having been humiliated by the Philistines, they began to give praise to their god, Dagon. They denigrated the only true God, Yahweh. The Lord is very protective of His glory. Yes, Samson had royally blown it. Yet the Lord is protective of His glory. He answered Samson’s final request. As a result Samson destroyed more Philistines in death than in life. Not only that but it was in the temple of their god Dagon. Hmmm. . . . The Lord seeks to exalt His glory in us. Would it be better to cooperate with Him in life, or let it be accomplished in death? I choose life. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Romans 5
Peace is a scarce commodity in our world. Terrorists capture the headlines almost everyday. Even in the USA where we live in relative safety, peace eludes many. In our homes of luxurious comfort, we still fight with one another. We still verbally attack, accuse and defend.
Why? Because we are not at peace with ourselves. Why are we not at peace with ourselves? We suffer from condemnation. Deep inside we know an ugly secret, “There is something that makes us unlovely.” We live without hope that the ugliness will ever be taken away. In actuality that ugly secret is there because we are at war with God.
That is what makes Jesus so glorious. Through His death a peace treaty has been called. His blood is the provision of the peace treaty. His blood bought the peace. It is paid for by Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
Samson loved a woman. Sally Jesse Raphael used to say on her late night radio talk show, “It doesn’t matter who you love as long as you love.” Is that correct? Samson, as a deliverer of the people of God, should have loved a woman within the covenant. This Philistine woman never gave even pretense of loving Yahweh. She loved Dagon, the Philistine god. She loved money. When offered a great sum of money to entice Samson to discover the secret of his strength, she had no qualms about misleading him. Because of his love for her, Samson had no qualms about eventually telling her the secret of his strength. I guess he thought that he would always have his strength. Temptation is always like that. He gave in to her pestering. He lost his God-given strength. He should have guarded his heart as to with whom he allowed himself to love.
Having been humiliated by the Philistines, they began to give praise to their god, Dagon. They denigrated the only true God, Yahweh. The Lord is very protective of His glory. Yes, Samson had royally blown it. Yet the Lord is protective of His glory. He answered Samson’s final request. As a result Samson destroyed more Philistines in death than in life. Not only that but it was in the temple of their god Dagon. Hmmm. . . . The Lord seeks to exalt His glory in us. Would it be better to cooperate with Him in life, or let it be accomplished in death? I choose life. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
Romans 5
Peace is a scarce commodity in our world. Terrorists capture the headlines almost everyday. Even in the USA where we live in relative safety, peace eludes many. In our homes of luxurious comfort, we still fight with one another. We still verbally attack, accuse and defend.
Why? Because we are not at peace with ourselves. Why are we not at peace with ourselves? We suffer from condemnation. Deep inside we know an ugly secret, “There is something that makes us unlovely.” We live without hope that the ugliness will ever be taken away. In actuality that ugly secret is there because we are at war with God.
That is what makes Jesus so glorious. Through His death a peace treaty has been called. His blood is the provision of the peace treaty. His blood bought the peace. It is paid for by Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
August 1, 2010
Romans 4
Wow, the righteousness of Jesus is imputed to me, simply because I put my trust in Him who raised Jesus from the dead! What does imputed mean? It means that someone else’s actions are counted to be legally true of me. Adam’s sin in the Garden was imputed to me. Jesus’ death for my sin was imputed to me! Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to me!
Have you ever wanted Bill Gates entire fortune to be imputed to you? That is poverty! Jesus shares His righteousness with all those who will truly trust Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
Wow, the righteousness of Jesus is imputed to me, simply because I put my trust in Him who raised Jesus from the dead! What does imputed mean? It means that someone else’s actions are counted to be legally true of me. Adam’s sin in the Garden was imputed to me. Jesus’ death for my sin was imputed to me! Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to me!
Have you ever wanted Bill Gates entire fortune to be imputed to you? That is poverty! Jesus shares His righteousness with all those who will truly trust Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
July 31, 2010
Romans 3
The law makes the Lord Jesus even more glorious. The Law shows us the depth of our sin. Without the Law we would be unaware of the depravity of our sin. We wouldn’t know that we were unrighteous before a Righteous God. When we look at the Law, we realize that we could never live up to the standard of righteousness that it demands. It teaches us of our inability to satisfy the Law’s demands—no one can do it.
But Jesus give us His righteousness. He can do that justly because 1) he completely fulfills the righteous demands of the law and 2) He took upon Himself the penalty of the law that was due toward us. What grace He loves to lavish upon us! He demonstrates that the law was good and so is He! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
The law makes the Lord Jesus even more glorious. The Law shows us the depth of our sin. Without the Law we would be unaware of the depravity of our sin. We wouldn’t know that we were unrighteous before a Righteous God. When we look at the Law, we realize that we could never live up to the standard of righteousness that it demands. It teaches us of our inability to satisfy the Law’s demands—no one can do it.
But Jesus give us His righteousness. He can do that justly because 1) he completely fulfills the righteous demands of the law and 2) He took upon Himself the penalty of the law that was due toward us. What grace He loves to lavish upon us! He demonstrates that the law was good and so is He! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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