January 7

Genesis 7 Can you imagine the sense of irreparable loss that might have flooded Noah and his family as they sat in the ark. The floodgates of the deep were broken up. The water canopy from above fell. Forty days and nights the water poured down. Perhaps Pangaea was breaking up during this time. Tremendous volcanic and seismic forces were rocking the earth causing tidal waves that washed the face of the earth wiping it clean of the violence of man. All living flesh outside of the ark and on land died. Noah had been told by the Lord what was going to happen outside the ark. There was an opening along the top where they could look out. Do you suppose they spent much time there? Light in the ark would only have been provided by candles, lamps and fires. But the chaos outside would have been far worse. In the midst of irreparable loss, the Lord invites them in to the ark, “Come in to the ark, you and all your household.” Inside they found safety. That must have been one wild ride inside the ark with wild animals inside and wild waves outside. Do you suppose the Lord protected them against seasickness? Although, its 450 ft. length, 75ft width and 45 ft. height would have made it extremely stable, except for in the most horrendous tidal wave. The size is enormous. It would be a total of over 1.5 million cubic feet. It could not sit flat inside OSU’s Boone Pickens Stadium. It was safety in the chaos outside. Noah and his family and the animals were secure in the midst of irreparable loss. Peter compares the ark to the salvation which we find in Jesus: 1 Peter 3:20-21: 20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. 21 And this is a picture of baptism, which now saves you by the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection. Baptism is not a removal of dirt from your body; it is an appeal to God from a clean conscience. The New Living Translation Baptism is essentially identifying with Jesus. Like the ark in the midst of irreparable loss, Jesus invites us into the safety of Himself. He says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Ezra 7 I often long to see the hand of my LORD upon me or to see Him work in a really obvious way. Do you long for the same thing? It does not happen regularly in Scripture, but it does happen. Josiah died about 609 BC. It was not long after that the first deportation to Babylon occurred. Cyrus rose to the throne around 539 BC. The Return to Zion was shortly after he rose to the throne. It was awesome for that generation to see the LORD move upon the heart of Cyrus to decree the return and rebuilding of the Temple. It was awesome once again to see Darius decree that the temple be completed about 20 years after Cyrus’ decree. Now Ezra comes along. This chapter begins about 457 BC. It is about 82 years after the decree of Cyrus. Once again the LORD moves upon the heart of the pagan king to work the LORD’S own will! Look how Ezra phrases it, 27Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, 28and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes. Once again we see the Glory of the Lord in the pagan king. But we also see the glory of the Lord working in Ezra. 10For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. . . 28So I was encouraged, as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me. Ezra prepared himself in three ways: 1) sought the Law, 2) did it, 3) taught it. If Ezra had not prepared himself, would God still have done what He did? Yes and no. Yes he would have still moved upon the heart of the king, no He would not have used Ezra. He would have raised up someone else to do the job. I long to see the hand of the LORD move upon me. I long for His glory to shine in me. I think there are some requirements though. I must seek Him to do what He says and share it with others. Do you desire the same? Let us pursue Him! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Psalm 7 There have been times in my life when I have been attacked by those whom I considered to be my brothers. While I make no claim to being sinless, in many of those instances there was no sin of my own of which I needed to repent, but rather, they were looking for fault in me because they did not like the direction we were going. It is painful indeed. What is the appropriate response? The title to this Psalm indicates that it is a response to the words of Cush the Benjamite. Saul was a Benjamite. We can only assume that this near or distant kinsman of Saul had been slandering David. Most likely this occurred during the time before David became the king of the united kingdom. How did David respond? He first spent some time in self-evaluation. He sought to see if any of the accusations were true. How else could he say, “If I have . . . , Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; Yes, let him trample my life to the earth, and lay my honor in the dust.” Then he appeals to the Lord to rise up and judge. He asks for a judgment of the wicked. Finally, he rests in the fact that God is a just judge. He is angry with the wicked every day. He lets it go there. Hmm. . . if God is angry with those who have inappropriately judged me, why should I be angry with them. If I really believe that God is a just judge, it is only right that I should rejoice in justice, but why should I take their punishment into my own hands? I would not want to be a sinner in the hands of an angry God. He is much more capable of punishing sin than I am. He is also much more capable of extending mercy than I am. It is His glory to extend both as needed. The appropriate response to being attacked is to spend time in letting God judge me and reveal to me my heart. Then it is appropriate to call upon Him to judge. Then it is appropriate to revel in the fact that He is a just and merciful judge. When I do that, it allows for others to see the operation of His justice and His mercy. It also allows for greater healing in my life. Lord, search me and try me and show me any hurtful way. Judge me and those around me. You are a just judge! Be merciful in judgment! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Matthew 6:1-21 Most of us are those who do our good works in order to receive recognition from other people. Few of us would do them if the only recognition we received were from God after we die. There is a big performing arts theater at a community college near where I used to live. It is named Odell Williamson, for the man who gave the money to build it. He is known for having given millions to different things in the county. I often wonder, if no one would ever know what he had given to, would he still give? I guess only he and God know. My gut feeling is that if his name were not on the theater building, then he probably would have given less. Why? The reason is because that is human nature. Jesus warns against doing our good works for the adulation of others, whether it is giving money, praying, or fasting. Those who do it for others to see, receive only that as a reward. He encourages us to labor for reward in heaven. When we do good works only for the glory of the Father in Heaven, then we receive reward in heaven. Jesus gave all He had for the Father. He fasted in private, for the Father. He prayed in private, for the Father. He went to the cross for the Father. Since His motivation was for the Father, imagine the pain He felt when He felt the Father had forsaken Him! He will receive His reward from the Father. His reward is we who are changed by the power of His blood and His Spirit. He is worthy of His reward. Would you endure all He endured for an audience of One, the Father? He did. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John

January 6

Genesis 6 When I was in grade school I used to have this recurring dream. I can't really tell you what the dream was about. Even after waking up from just having had the dream, I couldn't really tell you the events of the dream. I could only tell you about a few images still in my mind and about the overwhelming sadness still in my heart. I remember an image of a giant tube (like the ones at a drive through bank) and being sucked through the tube, helpless to stop it. I always awoke with a sense of irreparable loss and sadness. Sometimes I awoke crying in my sleep. As the memory flew away, I would wonder why I was crying. Next to the story of the fall some of the saddest words on earth are Genesis 6:5,6: Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Beginning with the fall, mankind has been sucked through a tube of irreparable loss. There was a loss of righteousness, a loss of the ability to be holy. There was the loss of the ability to resist the evil thoughts that crept into our hearts. The world was young 6,000 years ago. Life was bursting forth. I think there was a refusal among men to believe that the intent of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually. The evil was always in someone else's heart. There was no sadness among men over the grief they had brought to the Lord. Jonathan Edwards once delivered a sermon called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Often when I sin, I have images in my mind of an angry God. We find from other parts of Scripture that God is indeed angry with sinners. But do we ever stop to consider that He is also grieving over our sin? Whenever we pursue the evil intents of our hearts, God is grieved. The heart of God is saddened. Can God have a sense of irreparable loss? His highest creation, those created in His image, those created for Him, was in rebellion against Him. He was first grieved, then angered. But in contrast one of the most promising statements is in 6:8--But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Our Lord is full of grace and truth. This story of Noah is such a great picture of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a type of Christ. When Noah entered into the ark, it was like our being united with Christ. God was grieved over the sin of man. His grief led to a righteous anger that produced judgment upon the earth. The earth's population was given a full 100 years to repent and believe Noah's preaching. Anyone who would enter into the ark would have been safe from the judgment of God. But only 8 believed and entered into safety. The judgment of God fell. God is grieved over our sin. Judgment is coming. There is only one place of safety--it is in the Lord Jesus Christ. There we find grace in the eyes of the Lord. Now that is glorious. All around us we see the effects of our sin and the current judgment warning us of the judgment to come. Why are there hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, droughts, thunderstorms? To some degree they are probably a result of the change in the earth's environment as a result of the flood. Of course the reason for the flood can be traced back to the fall. The people of Noah's day partied to their death. There was no grief for their sin. In a college class called Modern Short Story I read a book called Sadness. The book was a collection of bizarre and sometimes random thoughts on life. One of the stories had a picture of Jael killing Sisera (Judges 4). The caption below the picture was "Scenes of Domestic Violence." There is now a sadness that prevails over modern and post modern culture. Life on earth is no longer young and bursting forth. Only the most Pollyannic among us can look at the human race and not see that the intent of man's heart is only evil continually. But even in the midst of our cultural sadness, we do not grieve that our sin grieves the heart of God. We only grieve the result of our sin-the war and suffering around us. We are like the thief who grieves getting caught but not that he is a thief. Oh but there is grace to be found in the eyes of the Lord! When we unite with Jesus, we find His grace and safety from His judgment. At first we enjoy the fact that we are safe from His judgment. But as we look into His grace, we begin to understand the depths of our sin. Gazing upon His grace changes us so that we begin to grieve over sin, not because of the judgment it brings but because it grieves the very heart of God. That pains us because we have found His glory to be too precious to sully with our sin. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Ezra 6 There are many times when I have experienced great joy, graduations, my wedding day, the birth of my children, the weddings of my sons. I could go on and on. But one expects joy on those days. One peculiar time stands out in my mind. It was a time where I had been through great disappointment. Yet in the midst of that disappointment, I chose to worship Him with all of my heart, soul and strength. When I did, He flooded me with His joy. The disappointment and pain were still present, yet His joy continued to flood my soul. What a paradox! Wow, once again the Lord moves upon the heart of the pagan King to establish His temple and His people. Twenty years after their return, they finish the temple. They celebrate the Passover. Look at verse 22: “And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the LORD made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.“ The LORD made them joyful. That is the wonderful thing about knowing the LORD is that when we are obedient, He makes us joyful. It can be the worst of circumstances, yet when we are obedient, He makes us joyful. Thank you Lord for your joy! It is indeed part of your glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Psalm 6 I began my first class of seminary when I was 25, almost 26. I walked across the stage to receive my diploma when I had just turned 30, little over 4 years of constant toil. To a 25-30 year-old, 4 years seems a long time. Working full-time, going to graduate school full-time, having a family, and spending 10 hours a week in ministry was very wearying to the body, mind and spirit. When 2 years were completed and there were still 2 more years to go, it seemed that I had been working forever and that eternity stretched out before me. I was weak, and my bones were troubled. The question was, “How long O Lord?” David was in a worse situation. He knows that he is guilty of sin for he cries out, “Do not chasten me in Your displeasure!” Could this be one of the Psalms that he penned after lusting after Bathsheba or wrongfully taking the census? Or could it be just some other occasion of which we are not informed of his sin? After all, he is a man of bloodshed, a man who had a minimum of 8 wives. He was a man full of passion—not just sexual passion. Perhaps his guilt is in one of those other areas of unbridled passion. Whatever his guilt, it is immaterial to the Psalm. In his misery he cries out, “How long O Lord?” Tell me, was his question directed toward how long the Lord would put up with his mess or how long until he would be delivered? He desired to be healed of the trouble. Am I troubled by my sin, or do I push it off and cover it up in hopes that it will go away? Do I want to be healed of it, not just forgiven for it, but healed of it? Do I want it departed from me? One thing that David knows is that it is the presence of the Lord that heals. He cries out, “Return to me!” When all other remedies lead to death, and we recognize that they lead to death, then we can honestly cry out, “Return to me, deliver me!” It is in that time of vulnerability that the Lord returns. In that self-revelation of truth, that vulnerable moment, he makes the decision, “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!” David wants no part in being tempted back into participating in his former state. He wants to walk worthy of the Lord. That is when the Lord meets him and delivers him. After two years of seminary, it seemed that I had endured an eternity and had another eternity to go. How long? I called upon the Lord and kept on the path that He had revealed. Laura prayed for me and helped me. The Lord met me and enabled me to keep on pursuing Him and His course of action. He delivered me. That is always the case. Even when I am guilty of sin, He waits for me to come again to that point of repentance where I can honestly say, “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!” Why? Because only in that state, can I truly be interested in His glory. It is no longer about me and only about Him. There is one day when He will judge the world. Those who have never come to that point of repentance, to them He will say, “Depart from me you workers of iniquity.” That is His glory. He will exchange my iniquity for His glory if I will repent and believe. He will empower me to live as He directs. He will judge those who do not. That is His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Matthew 5:27-48 The Lord of glory continues to demonstrate the high standard that must be in the heart of His followers. He begins with one that cuts to the heart of every man who is in puberty or beyond, "If a man looks on a woman to lust for her, he has committed adultery with her in his heart." In a culture where women are encouraged to visually promote their bodies so that men will desire them, most men don't even try anymore to be pure in their hearts. Some estimates place pornography addiction as high as 1 in 3 men. The next standard that Jesus lifts up is divorce and remarriage. The divorce rate in our culture has risen above 50%. Most of them remarry. Our Lord's high standard for the heart of His subjects goes straight to a simple agreement. I am told that there was a time in our culture that a man's word was his bond. Today even legal contracts are up for grabs. Jesus says that the purity of our hearts should be such that a simple, "Yes," from our mouths means, "Yes," and "No," means "No." Have you ever gone back on a yes or a no? The glory of His standard is seen in His demand that we cheerfully serve others even when common thought is that we should retaliate against them. We should even love those who hate us and seek our downfall. Can anyone honestly say that their hearts have always and always will reflect this high of a standard? Yet the glory of our Lord is that He alone can say, "My heart always has and always will reflect this standard." Indeed, when on earth, Jesus was pure in heart. In spite of Dan Brown's putrid imaginations in the DaVinci Code, Jesus was pure in all his relations with women and never married. Jesus' 'Yes' & 'No' could always be counted upon, and always will be. Jesus was slapped in the face at His trial, and He did turn the other cheek. He allowed Himself to be beaten until He was almost unrecognizable. He prayed for those who were mocking Him as they crucified Him. This is our Lord! He is the perfection of character. He demands nothing from us that He, Himself, has not already done or is able to do and as He lives in us, He enables us to do the same. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John

January 5

Genesis 5 Adam means man. Seth means substitute or put. Enosh means mortal. Cainan means fixed. Mahalalel means praise of God. Jared means descent. Enoch means initiated. Methuselah means man of a dart (a dart is a branch, a shoot, a sword or a weapon). Lamech comes from an uncertain root and we do not know its meaning. Noah means rest. Put them together and you have, “man, substitute or put, mortal, fixed, praise of God, descent, initiated dart (a dart is a branch, a shoot, a sword or a weapon), rest. Chuck Misler puts them together like this: "Man is appointed mortal, frail, and unto sorrow. The Blessed God shall come down to teach. His death shall bring to the despairing rest.” What a glorious Lord! He even designs the names of the first ten generations of His word to fit together to describe His plan for mankind. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Ezra 5 The summer after I graduated from High School, I was impelled by the Spirit to go witnessing. It was just something that I could not resist. I got in my car and began driving looking for someone with whom I could share the gospel. I was driven. I was scared. My personality is such that I hate initiating conversations. Seeing some acquaintances from high school parked alongside the road, I stopped. I thought that I could talk with them until God showed me someone with whom I could share the gospel. I assumed that they would not be interested. Steve had always been very sarcastic toward me in the past, especially concerning Jesus. As I stepped out of the car, Steve said, “Chaffin, I’m glad you are here. I need to be reformed.” Thinking that he was once again being sarcastic, I said, “Right, Steve, you need to be reformed.” He replied, “No, really, I need to be reformed.” I replied sarcastically, “Uh, uh, you do need to be reformed.” “I’m serious,” he replied, “I need to be reformed.” Still thinking that he was being sarcastic, I rebutted, “Well, I don’t reform people; I just introduce them to Jesus.” “Well, introduce me to Jesus.” “Uh, huh, introduce you to Jesus.” “I’m serious! Introduce me to Jesus!” “You’re serious?” “Yes, I am serious. Introduce me to Jesus!” I pulled out my New Testament and began to share the gospel with him. A few minutes later, he was praying to ask Jesus to save him from his sin. It was one of those times when it was clear that this was a God-thing. It was nothing of me and all of Him. The eye of my God was upon him and there was nothing that could have stopped Steve from trusting Jesus, except if I had refused to follow the prompting of God. That is His glory! The eye of their God was upon the returnees to rebuild the temple. Nothing could have stopped them. That is His glory! When asked who gave them the authority to build, they were not hesitant to make it known that they were the servants of the God of heaven and earth. Sure, they mentioned that Cyrus had given them the command, but of more importance to them, they were the servants of the Most High God. That was all that they needed. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am the servant of the Most High God. His glory is far more unimaginably great than I can ever dream. When His eye is upon me, I will accomplish that for which He has designed me. The only question is, “Will I listen to His direction, and will I obey?” When those two questions are affirmative, He will eventually display His glory in me. Granted, most of life is rather mundane and even toilsome. Just look at the lives of the great men of God, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David etc. The majority of their time was mundane and toilsome. But they had their moments that were full of the glory of God because they listened and obeyed. So it was with the ones rebuilding the temple. They knew that they were the servants of the Most High God. Consequently they listened and obeyed and didn’t give up. The glory of God was displayed in their work. Lord, display Your glory in us! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * Psalm 5 I was once a machining floor inspector at Mercury Marine. The basic idea of quality control at that time was that when a machine was set up to run a process, the inspector would examine a part produced by the machine. If the part met all of the specifications, then they could begin performing that process on the part. Periodically during the run of that process, the operator of the machine was required to check for the quality of the process. The inspector would make rounds of the different machines to consider each process and to determine if the parts met the standards. If they did, then everything was fine. If they did not, then the operator and foreman would be informed; the process would be stopped until corrections were made. The parts produced since the last inspection would be individually inspected until the point was found where the parts were properly machined. Some machine operators were always nervous when I came around. For various reasons, they did not like having their work inspected. Others did not care. They had confidence that their work met the required standard. The inspection only confirmed their confidence. “Consider my meditation.” Would you be able to declare with David the same request? How could David make such a request? After all, he was a man of bloodshed. The common declaration of Him was, “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands.” When Nabal refused to reward David’s men for their volunteer work, David strapped on his sword and was on the road with his men to kill him, and he would have if Abigail had not interceded. He had Uriah killed in order to cover up his adultery. It sounds pretty blood thirsty to me. David had seven or eight wives before he ever met Bathsheba. It sounds pretty lustful to me. Adultery and blood thirstiness begin in the mind. How could David request God to consider his meditation? David knew God’s character well enough to know that he (David) was flawed. He knew that in the process of life, he needed correction. He knew that God is also merciful enough that if he daily came into the presence of the almighty King, he would receive the mercy that he needed for the meditations of His heart and the grace that he needed to follow the corrections that needed to be made. He had to make it a daily morning cry, or his heart would lead him out of God’s specifications. He knew that he was a man of bloodshed and that he needed the Lord to lead him into righteousness. He knew that he was an adulterous man and that he needed the Lord to straighten him out. Was he not afraid of the wrath of this stern God? Yes he was, but he was also convinced of His mercy. He knew God well enough to know that he had to come to Him. Why then did David go into adultery with Bathsheba and murder Uriah? I can only think that as years progressed, He let that morning appointment, that morning correction go fallow. Bit by bit the glory of God was obscured in His meditations. Step by step he let himself be carried away. Without realizing it, his morning meditations were no longer God centered but David centered. Like the frog in the kettle he did not realize that the water was heating up. Only when it was too late, did he realize it. Only after the prophet came to correct him, did he come to his senses. But praise to our Lord, He does forgive. That is part of his glory! Even though David was forgiven, he still had to live with the horrible consequences of his sin. Let us never use God’s forgiveness as a justification for permission to sin. But let us not shrink from God because we think he will not forgive. Let us daily enter into fellowship with Him inviting Him to consider our meditation. In so doing we enter into His joy and love His name. He in turn defends us and surrounds us with His shield. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Matthew 5:1-26 Every four years we elect a president. After the president is elected, we have an inauguration. At the inauguration, the newly inaugurated president gives a speech. The speech usually gives a general outline for the direction in which the president would like to take his administration for the next four years. Matthew has recorded the kingly events surrounding the birth of the King of the Kingdom of heaven. He has introduced the King's forerunner. He has recorded the King's first test and temptation and His early activities in preaching and healing. As the King has now drawn a multitude, Matthew records what might be considered the King's inaugural address. Here Jesus paints in bold strokes the general outline for what He as king requires for His subjects to be able to enter into His Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. We will be looking at different aspects of the speech for a total of 5 days. First Jesus upholds the validity of the law, i.e. the Old Testament, especially the first 5 books. He declares that He did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. The nation of Israel had never fulfilled the Law completely. Even under Josiah, of whom it is said that no other king kept the Passover like he, Israel did not fulfill the Law. The King addresses the people in His address. In this first section of His address, He lays out three basic principles: 1. Keeping of the Law begins in the heart. 2. He came to fulfill the Law. 3. The righteousness of those who would enter the Kingdom must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. The problem with the scribes and the Pharisees is that their righteousness did not begin in the heart. Their righteousness was all a show for the outside. Righteousness that begins in the heart wells up in such a way that it brings glory to the Father in heaven. He lays out His first specific in relation to the law. The Law said, "You shall not murder." The Law that begins in the heart does not even get angry with his brother so that he would call him a fool. By the King’s standard, that kind of anger is murder. Jesus says that He fulfills the Law! Wow now that is living at a level above what I am capable. Indeed He is glorious! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John

January 4

Genesis 4 “But it was just a nickel. . . .” I had stolen it from my Dad’s dresser. I knew he kept his loose change there. It was an act for which I felt incredible guilt. My intent was to go around the block and buy a pack of baseball cards. On the way my nose intersected with a brick which had been thrown by another kid at someone other than me. I had the misfortune of riding my bike between them on my way to the store. It knocked me off of my bike. I was bleeding profusely and in incredible pain. Leaving my bike, I ran home. All the way home I heard in my mind, “It was because you stole the nickel.” Now you might be saying, “But it was just a nickel. God wouldn’t punish you in that way.” But was it a punishment or a warning? I can tell you this, “I was never again tempted to steal my dad’s loose change.” By the way, I healed quickly. The kid, who threw the brick, actually walked my bike back to the house and apologized. Although My nose is a bit crooked, I do not think that it is a result of intersecting with that brick. Cain performed an act that most of us would consider very terrible, certainly worse than stealing a nickel, or is it? Yet God dealt very gently with him. He warned him before he committed murder. He asked him questions to force him to see his own guilt after he committed the murder. He even gave him some relief when he cried out for mercy. Cain certainly didn’t show Abel any mercy. What’s up with this? I thought God was just. Shouldn’t He have taken his life? God is merciful to each one of us. His Spirit warns us through our conscience before we sin. His Spirit convicts us of our sin after we commit it. The warnings and convictions are for our good. They are there to lead us to repentance. Sin is sin. It is not just a nickel. Theft is sin. Sin deserves death. But it is the glory of God to work with us and show us mercy by giving us time to repent and return to Him. Eventually, His patience comes to an end and judgment comes. But in the mean time, He calls and waits for us to repent. That is His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Ezra 4 If God can move the heart of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia to order and finance the rebuilding of the temple, surely he can also move upon the hearts of the people living in Jerusalem upon the return of the Jews. Why doesn’t he do that? Surely He is able. Therefore, this is something He has permitted. Why does He do things like that? Even in the midst of God accomplishing His grand scheme in history, He still seeks to do it in such a way that He causes us that we willingly bring our own hearts for the accomplishment of His plans. The time span from the death of Cyrus the Great to the ascension of Darius I is about 8 years. Therefore the minimum amount of time from Cyrus’ decree for the Jews to return to the incident recorded in today’s passage is a minimum of 8 years. In all likelihood it was at least 12 years. Motyer figures that it was 18 years from Cyrus’ decree to when Haggai proclaimed his prophecies exhorting the people to finish the temple. Why after 8-12 years was only the foundation of the temple built? The answer is found in our own hearts that are easily dissuaded from following the Lord. The Lord is showing us how easily we can be discouraged and stop the work that He has called us to do. It can come in the form of direct opposition as it did from the people who discouraged the returnees when they wrote a letter to Darius. But the returnees had already been dragging their feet. I would think that 8-10 years was more than enough time to build more than just a foundation. Why doesn’t the Lord move the obstacles? He wants to show the people their hearts first. That is part of His glory. He desires to change our hearts with our cooperation. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * Psalm 4 I remember the early days of our relationship. Laura’s face would literally brighten when she saw me. I cannot put into words how fulfilling that is to me. Here is the person of my choice, and she brightens when she sees me. “Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.” That word for countenance is literally face. Listen to what the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) says of this word: This particular word always occurs in the plural, perhaps indicative of the fact that the face is a combination of a number of features. As we shall see below, the face identifies the person and reflects the attitude and sentiments of the person. As such, panim can be a substitute for the self or the feelings of the self. . . . A “shining” face is evidence of joy. . . . Most of these idioms and phrases are also applied to God. God’s face “shines” as a sign of favor and good will. To ask God for the light of His countenance upon us is to ask Him to be joyful about us. It is to ask for His favor upon us. It is to ask the person of greatest worth to treasure us. It is to ask the person of our choice to enjoy us. It is to ask Him to fulfill us. It is to crave Him, to desire Him. It is more than just a smile of joy. It is to know that He is pleased with us. Remember in the movie Chariots of Fire where Eric Liddell says, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.” That is Eric experiencing the light of God’s countenance. God has indeed made us for a purpose. That purpose is related to how He made us physically, mentally and spiritually. When we seek Him to fulfill that purpose, God experiences inexpressible joy in our seeking. He in turn sheds the light of His countenance, His pleasure, upon us. It is ecstatic. This is the divine romance. Nothing is more pleasurable to me than when my wife joyfully responds to my pursuit of her. Nothing is more deadening to me than when my wife ignores my pursuit of her. Nothing is more deadening to my wife than when I expect her to respond to me when I have not pursued her. I would hope that nothing is more life giving to her than when I have pursued her, and she responds. Our marriages are to reflect the marriage of Christ and the church. He pursues us, but do we respond to Him? The divine romance is that He pursues us and we respond by pursuing Him. Is it any wonder that there is such a lack of divine life in our congregations when there is such a lack of response on our part to His pursuit of us? In mountains near Ashville, North Carolina, lies the Biltmore Estate. Built by George Vanderbilt near the turn of the 20th century, it is America’s largest single family dwelling. It rests on 8,000 acres of land. The house has his and her bedrooms. One is at one end of the mansion; the other is at the other end of the mansion. Each bedroom is larger than my house. It is a couple of minute walk from one bedroom to the other. I understand that the Vanderbuilts only had one child. I really don’t know, but it sounds like their sleeping arrangement might have had something to do with it. It sounds like there was a problem with pursuit and response. In the midst of opulence and wealth, there was very little offspring life. Sounds like the American church. Could it be that we have failed to respond to His pursuit of us? Could it be that as the culture around us turned the glory of our Groom into shame that too few of us were angered by it? Could it be that those who were angered by it responded in a sinful way? Could it be that we have failed to meditate upon our beds concerning the ecstasies of the righteousness of our Groom? Could it be that when He was pursuing us to let the light of His countenance fall upon us, we were ho-hum about it thinking, “Who will show us any good?” Would that not deaden His pursuit of us? Is it not time for us to cry out to Him, “Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us!” If we responded in such a way, would He not pour out gladness in our hearts? Would it not bring joy in excess of this world’s wealth or wine? Would we not then lie down in peace in sleep? Would we not then experience true safety? Would it not produce an overflow of glory to His name? Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Matthew 4 The Son of God is led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Adam was a man without sin. When he was tempted in a paradise to eat what He shouldn't, he yielded even though his yielding was not out of a physical hunger. After all, he was surrounded by delicious fruit that was his for the picking. He simply desired the fruit more than he desired obedience to his Creator. Jesus is a man without sin. He fasted for 40 days. The physiological sensation of hunger at the end of a 40 day fast is far greater than most people will ever experience. Satan capitalized upon the situation in order to bring the fullest temptation possible to Jesus to misuse His power to meet his need of food. Jesus resisted. Adam sought to force God to find him by hiding in the bushes. Satan sought to tempt Jesus to force God to reveal His care for Jesus by throwing Himself from the temple pinnacle. Jesus was a man and God. Yet no one to this point really recognized who Jesus was. As a man, He was tempted to the fullest extent to receive a public affirmation of His identity. Jesus remained content in who He was no matter if anyone else ever knew. Adam brought ruin upon all posterity by his sin. Jesus came to deliver Adam's entire race through His agonizing death. Satan tempted Jesus to bypass the agony of his mission by simply worshipping him. Jesus felt the full power of that temptation in a manner greater than any of us will ever experience it. Yet He is without sin. Our Lord, as a man, felt every temptation that we can feel and yet remained sinless. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John

January 3

Genesis 3 I had a blast in fencing class in college. I have often wished that I had the time and lived in an area where I could pursue fencing as a hobby. During the semester of fencing, I developed a planter’s wart on the heel of my right foot. When one is right handed and makes a thrust in fencing, one kicks their right foot forward and lands on their heel. The planter’s wart became painful. I went to the doctor. On three visits over three weeks he applied some acid to the wart and then the next week he would cut off the dead part of the wart and then reapply the acid. There were one or two days where I could not fence in class because it was too painful to land upon my heel. Yet, I overcame the pain and remained one of the top fencers of the class. The glory of Jesus is seen right from the fall of Adam and Eve. We are not told how long Adam and Eve were in the garden before they sinned. We are only told of the simple act and its terrifying, dreadful, deadly results. The sin immediately cast Adam and Eve into defensively hiding their sin and blaming someone else for their sin. That sin brought pride into the life of Cain, who became the first murderer. That sin brought ruin on the whole race. Adam's race quickly multiplied. (Can you imagine living to 900 and being healthy enough to bear children until you were really old?) Genetic mutations in the gene pool were just beginning. So, as a whole they were not only healthier, they were probably also smarter, as a whole. In an environment that was much friendlier than ours, they probably had more free time. We spend the majority of our adult working lives paying for our home and setting ourselves up for retirement. Can you imagine having your home paid for and still have 800 years of your working life in front of you. You could work part time and devote much of your time to things that really interested you. And so they did. Jabal developed his interests in animal husbandry. Jubal developed his interests in music. Tubal-Cain developed his interests in metallurgy. But the planter’s wart of sin was growing in the race. Rather than using their free time to glorify God, the sin infection of the sin and too much free time corrupted them and they became violent. The human race was off to a poor start. Fifteen hundred years had produced an exploding population full of morally corrupt people. Satan's bite upon the heal seemed to be fatal. But the glory of Jesus was seen from the beginning. The seed of the woman whose heel would be bruised looked prophetically beyond the descendants of Adam and Eve to one particular descendent, Jesus. The planter's wart of sin has grown in every human since. Adam’s sin was transferred to Jesus on the cross. Jesus did not have a wart until the cross. He was born of a virgin and did not inherit the deadly virus from Adam. So on the cross God allowed Satan to bite His Son. God transferred the wart from us to Him. That was a painful bruise. But He did it willingly. It looked as though the serpent had taken Jesus' life. But on the third day Jesus came out of the tomb and crushed the head of the serpent. The acid did its job on the cross and in the resurrection. Oh it was painful! But He overcame the pain and He was victorious. He offers His victory to you and me. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Ezra 3 Sitting in the backyard of my parent’s house on a fall Saturday afternoon can sometimes be a noisy experience. They are about 5 or 6 blocks from Boone Pickens Stadium. We can hear the roar of 60,000 people whenever something good or bad happens during the game. We know that OSU has scored whenever we hear the ROTC cannon fire and the band playing Oh, A&M. It is a noise of celebration that we like to hear. Do you celebrate the goodness and mercy of the Lord? It had been 70 years since the first exile and about 54/55 years since the destruction of the temple. Hmm. . . as I write I am 55 years old. Had I been born when the temple was destroyed, I would have had no memory of the first temple. All my memories would have been only of the exile. I am sure my parents would probably have replayed again and again their memories of Jerusalem. To be able to return to live in Jerusalem as a free man would certainly have seemed like a dream. Yet God accomplished it in their lifetime. They were able to establish homes and return to Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles and then lay the foundation for the second temple. Surely this was a time for celebration! Indeed the Lord is good and his mercy is everlasting! I was in exile from my Lord. My sin had alienated me from experiencing the pleasure of His presence. But He is good and His mercy is everlasting toward me. In His kindness He moved upon the heart of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver me from exile. He has brought me back to Himself. What a joy and cause for celebration that is! When the people laid the foundation for the temple, they rejoiced, and it was heard far away. Their 70 year old dreams were being realized. With 42,000+ people assembled on the top of Jerusalem’s rocky temple mount, the sound of their celebration could be heard far away. God had scored an amazing touchdown in their nation! Should I not also celebrate upon my return from exile? He has scored an amazing touchdown in my life! Let the celebration of his goodness and mercy begin! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * Psalm 3 Salvation belongs to our God. What does He save us from? He saves us from His own wrath. He saves us from ourselves. He saves us from our families. He saves us from our enemies. Wow, salvation belongs to Him! At a time when he was at one of his greatest emotional lows, David declares that salvation belongs to our God. Can you imagine being hunted by your son? Absalom was a son who was truly gifted. He was good looking and charismatic. He was talented enough to have won the hearts of the people over to himself. He had a sense of justice. When Absalom’s full sister was raped by her half-brother, he waited for David to execute justice. It was not executed. Absalom made it happen with His own hands. David couldn’t bring himself to forgive Absalom or completely condemn him. After all, he too was a murderer. It led to David’s downfall and crowned the schism between them. Surely David was proud of him, and yet, he was repulsed by him. He had held Absalom at arm’s length. Now Absalom was seeking to kill him. David is dying. His own past condemns him. His son seeks his life. How can God save him? But He does. God saves David. He heals David’s broken heart. He delivers David from death. In the midst of it all David can say, “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” If He can do that for David, He can do that for me! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Matthew 3 Every great leader has his entourage that goes before him to prepare the way. In May of 1974 President Nixon gave the graduation address at Oklahoma State University. My house was on 5 or 6 blocks from the stadium. The campus was a whirl of excitement as the SS did their advance preparation for the visit of the president of the United States of America. Although we had no family graduating, we went to the graduation. It was the only time I had seen a president in person. Each entrance into the stadium was carefully watched by men looking for any suspicious activity. The whole event was carefully planned. The President arrived by helicopter from the Air Force base in Enid. I was expecting one helicopter. Several arrived. They landed near the field house. The President entered the stadium surrounded by a great number of men. He exited in the same manner. When the helicopters had left we were released. Three months later the President resigned in the ignominy of one of the most publicized scandals of Presidential history. What kind of advance preparation would you expect from the coming of the King of kings and Lord of Lords? He sent a forerunner, John the Baptist, before Him to tell the people to prepare for His coming. Their preparation was not for the protection of the King, but for their own protection. They needed holiness not pomp. Therefore, John's message was of the purifying glory of our King. His purifying glory is like a fire. If we yield to Him our sin is taken away and we experience the power of the Holy Spirit. If we don't, His fire is to our detriment. John's baptism was a baptism identifying with repentance, with yielding to His purifying fire. Jesus' baptism was a baptism identifying Him as the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. When John baptized Him, the glory of the triune God was seen. The Spirit of God descended physically upon Jesus like a dove, revealing Jesus' Spirit baptism power. The heavens opened and the voice of God the Father was heard saying, "This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." There is no greater testament to a son's character than for a father to pronounce that he is pleased with his son. The greater the character of the father will be greater the value of the father's pronouncement. This is God the Father speaking of God the Son of His pleasure in Him! You can't get a better endorsement than that! All three persons of the God head are expressing their delight in each other and in the beginning of the redemption of mankind. What an entrance into redemptive history! Three years later our King of kings suffered innocently in our place the ignominy of crucifixion with two criminals. But unlike the president of the USA who never recovered from his disgrace, our King rose again on the third. He forever defeated sin and death. He is returning not as a suffering servant but as Lord of lords! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John

January 2

Genesis 2 In Chapter 1 we read, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; . . . 27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Here we get a fuller explanation of how He created them in His image. Part of the image of God is seen in our rule over creation. Part of the image of God is reflected in our marriages. At this time no sin was in humanity. God called it very good. He makes sure that Adam knows that it is very good. He makes Adam name all the animals before He creates Eve. In so doing Adam profoundly realizes his aloneness. When God finally creates Eve and brings her to him, he is really excited, “This is now!” or as the New Living Translation puts it, “At last!” Adam needs this woman to be complete in reflecting the image of God! Did you ever stop to consider that not only you are to reflect the glory of God, but also your marriage is to reflect the glory of God? Hmm. . . What are the relationships like among the three persons who are one essence in what we call the trinity? What is the relationship like with the one with whom I am one flesh? Does it reflect the glory of the Godhead? It should! The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are completely in love with each other. Everything they do, they do out of love for each other. That is the way He wants my marriage to be, so that I may reflect His image. So if I truly understand the glory of God, it will improve how I treat my spouse. Why? I will improve it so that I may reflect His glory. Lord help! Let me love my wife like each person of the Godhead loves each other. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Ezra 2 I was stuck in a traffic jam on the loop that surrounds Atlanta. If I remember correctly, there were six lanes going the direction I was going. It was an interchange, and the highway eventually narrowed down to 4 lanes. We were hopelessly gridlocked, six lanes across, completely stopped, as far as I could see. The opposing lanes were also shut down. I looked over the mass of humanity and thought, “Lord, how can you know all of these people and be intimately acquainted with all our thoughts, yet You do and are!” Today’s passage is one of those passages that remind me that my infinite Lord knows every one of the 7 billion people on this earth and is intimately acquainted with all our ways. He lets us know that by listing the heads of the family of all those who returned from exile. They are each important to Him. Even the Nethinim are important. Who are they? They were the non-Israelites that were forced into serving the Lord after Joshua conquered the nation. Their descendants became servants of the Levites and were carried away into exile with the rest of the nation with the fall of Jerusalem. God even includes them in recognizing those who returned. He knows the most intimate details of those the world would deem insignificant. Isn’t He wonderful? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John Psalm 2 Yesterday I installed an antenna on my HD TV. For the first time in over 4 years, I have broadcast TV. I haven’t missed a whole lot; although, it is nice to have access to news and weather. I have to admit, it will be nice to be able to see OSU play football once or twice a year, especially today’s game. We watched an episode of George Lopez. George’s son’s dog was dying of a malignant tumor. His son manipulated George into praying for the dog’s healing. In his prayer George made a deal with God that if God would heal the dog, he would crawl on his knees for a mile at a cathedral in Mexico. The dog was miraculously healed. George was annoyed. He never really believed that his prayer would be answered. He was forced by his son and his conscience to keep his promise, which he tried every way not to keep. In one instance he quipped to his wife, “If God expected us to keep every promise, and we did not, then the world would be filled with wars and poverty.” Hmmm. . . Are we like the kings of the earth who wrangle for power and wealth? We make promises and don’t keep them. If they even acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being, they seem to think that the Lord will do nothing to stop them. Our world is filled with men seeking to gain preeminence over other men and nations. They are in total disregard of the Sovereignty of God. Yet are we any different? Maybe what we wrangle over are the same kind of things but upon a much smaller scale, like keeping promises. Am I trying to break the bonds of the purpose for which the Lord has created me? Have I identified who I am in His sight so that I may fulfill His plan? If I really grasped that He does sit in heaven and scoffs at my plans of mutiny against His purpose, would I still follow the daily and moment by moment course that I follow? If I was really convinced that He will one day return to secure His throne as King of the nations, would my interests still lie in the same area in which they presently lie? Would I be more careful in making promises and more consistent in keeping them? Do I really understand how my life fits into His purpose and how my living that daily purpose fits into bringing Him back as King of kings and Lord of lords? Lord Jesus, let me embrace Your discipline and instruction so that I may fully live my life as one which fully trusts in Your plan for Me, those around me and the nations. Perform Your plan in me! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Matthew 2 About seven hundred years before I was born, Chaucer wrote His Canterbury Tales. Being an English Lit major, I read them and other works of literature from that period. You know, not once did I ever come across something that foretold my birth. But then, one would respond, “So what?” But then, I never came across any other writing that foretold the coming of any great leader of our century. When I was born, no stars appeared in the sky nor did wise men come from Europe or Africa or Asia to worship me. Again one might respond, “So what?” But then, no wise men came to worship any one from any where in our time—of which I am aware. I am not aware that my birth or anyone else’s birth produced any political jealousies to the extent that leaders in power sought to destroy me as a baby or anyone else as a baby. But the glory of Jesus is that the place of His birth was foretold by Isaiah 700 years before He was born. Wise men, who lived 1,000 miles away, saw a star, somehow understood it to be the birth of a King and traveled to worship Him. In their worship they presented the baby with gifts. Gold is a gift fit to be given a King. Frankincense is a gift fit to be given to a priest, as it is a major ingredient in many incenses. Myrrh was typically an embalming spice. These wise men recognized the glory of the Lord. He was to be a King. He was to be a priest—interceding for many. His death was to be some how significant in history. When the wise men failed to inform the reigning king of their find, he sought to kill all young life that could possibly be the rival King. His parents fled to Egypt fulfilling Hosea’s prophecy given 700 years earlier. The infants of Bethlehem were massacred fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah written 500 years earlier. People who love power more than life can never stand the glory of Jesus. It is too threatening to their cause. The glory of Jesus is too powerful, too majestic, too wonderful. Even as a baby, one is given only two options, worship Him or fight Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John

January 1

Genesis 1 I love studying creation. I love science. Why? As was said by somebody smarter than I, "Studying science is thinking God's thoughts after Him." My wife once came across a Christian who was surprised that we taught science in our home school. The person's surprise was because she thought that one could not truly teach the Bible and still study science. What a ludicrous thought! Where do Christians get these ideas? It is the glory of Jesus that He is our Creator. It is the glory of Jesus that He has given us His word, the Bible. Jesus is always consistent with Himself, maybe not with our kind of logic but always with Himself. The Bible is always true on whatever subject it speaks because it is God's word. God does not use lies to teach us His truth. The Bible, properly interpreted and understood, never conflicts with true science. If there is a conflict, it is either because we have not properly interpreted the Bible or we have not properly interpreted science. You see, it is the glory of Jesus to be consistent with Himself. It is always incumbent upon us to see the glory of Jesus by first properly interpreting the Scripture and then by properly interpreting science. So what happens when science and Scripture conflict? First we make sure that we have properly interpreted the Scripture. Having done that, we make sure we properly interpret science. The glory of Jesus is that His word concerning creation is always true. He was there when it was created. He knows how it was done. He can accurately describe how it was created. He can describe it in a manner that is appropriate for all people of all cultures of all times. We tend to think that what scientists say is without error and the Bible--well let's take it with a grain of salt. Actually, we ought to be thinking the Bible is without error and what scientists say--well let's take it with a grain of salt. If you hold what scientists say above what Jesus has said, you are obscuring His glory. Get out of the way and let God be God! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Ezra 1 “Obama Orders Rebuilding of Christian Cathedral in Washington D.C.” Can you ever imagine such a headline? I can’t. I could see this headline, “Obama Donates Funds to Building Mosque in Jerusalem.” Granted we are a different culture and context than was Cyrus, king of Persia. But nevertheless, this is pretty amazing stuff! The Lord moves upon the heart of Cyrus, not only to permit the rebuilding of the temple, but to also fund it from the government treasury! The way Ezra phrases it, it seems as though it was the direct prompting of the Lord without any requests from the priests, Levites or people of Israel. Wow! Truly as Proverbs 21:1says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Now that is glory! Do you think the Lord would change Obama’s heart? Obviously it is possible, but would He do it? Hmmm. . . I suppose if it met God’s purposes for history, He would do it for certainly that is why He moved Cyrus. I also suppose that if God’s people, as a whole, really became serious about prayer and personal and corporate repentance, then it would also happen. But that doesn’t appear to be on the horizon. In the meantime, isn’t it great to bask in the knowledge that even the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * Psalm 1 Is pleasure a choice? Dictionary.com states that pleasure is, “1) The state or feeling of being pleased. 2) enjoyment or satisfaction derived from what is to one's liking; gratification; delight.” I often fall into the trap of thinking that pleasure is more or less a spontaneous state that arises as a response to my experiences. While pleasure can be that, the deepest pleasures are something more. Back in the 70’s there used to be a T-shirt that said, “Candy is dandy, but sex won’t rot your teeth.” It was the age before the eruption of AIDS and the multitude of STDs. It was an age of the pursuit of pleasure for the sake of pleasure. It was an age that at times professed sex as being little different than any other bodily function. I even remember it as being equated to drinking water. I also remember Josh McDowell quipping, “Let me tell you, there is a whole lot of difference between drinking a glass of water and experiencing sex.” We are now culturally and corporately reaping the rewards of pursuing that short-term pleasure gratification. More than half of our young people are infected with STDs. Abortion remains unabated. The greatest contributor to poverty is single parent households. We no longer understand what marriage and family should be. Culturally, we have walked with the ungodly; we have stood in the path with sinners; now we are sitting in the seat of scoffers. Marital union (sex), marriage and family were meant to reflect the image of God and to reflect the marriage of Christ and the church. What was meant by God to be a pleasure and a delight of the deepest kind has become a confusion and battleground. What happened? The allure, the delight, of pleasure varies greatly according to many factors. In many ways, the pleasure experienced is directly proportional to the choices one makes on the road to the experience. In many ways the deepest pleasures are the result of many choices that postpone an immediate shallower pleasure for a deeper longer lasting pleasure at a later time. Hebrews 11:25 tells us that Moses chose to ‘suffer affliction with the people of God’ rather ‘than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.’ Why would anyone choose affliction over pleasure? Moses knew that a greater pleasure awaited him down the road if he chose affliction now. He had to lose his position in Pharaoh’s court, experience 40 years of living in the desert herding sheep and goats, 40 years of leading a stubborn and rebellious people. He chose that to experience communion with God. During the last 40 years of his life, he had occasion to enjoy the pleasure of speaking with the Lord face to face as a man speaks with his friend. Indeed, Moses is currently experiencing unimaginable pleasure in the presence of the Lord. I like that famous quote of C.S. Lewis found in The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses: It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. The Lord calls us to take delight in His Law, to meditate upon it day and night. Meditation takes effort and work. There are many other things that might promise greater short term delights. Watching television takes less effort than meditating upon the Lord, and in that sense, it promises to bring greater short term pleasure, but it is passing. The Lord requires us to make the choice to meditate upon his Law. We make it a delight. Yes, pleasure in the Lord is a choice. As Moses made the choice for a present affliction in order to receive a future pleasure, so too, we choose meditation upon/with the Lord as a delight in order to receive the pleasure of speaking with Him face to face and the eternal pleasure of His presence. Would I choose to turn down the alluring propositions of the most beautiful Hollywood actress? Absolutely! Why? Because the long-term benefits of pursuing pleasure with my wife are so much greater. Should I choose focusing upon the needs of my wife above my own needs? Absolutely! Why? Because the long-term benefits will bring greater pleasure to me, because in so doing I am bring Glory to God, because that is what He does. Pretty self-centered isn’t it? Yes, but that is the way God designed it! Yes pleasure is a choice. The deepest pleasures always require postponing a present pleasure for future reward. It requires the ability to see the future. It requires the ability to spend time in His law. Those who say that they do not have time to spend daily reading and meditating upon the word of God are lying to themselves. What they are really saying is that they prefer the passing pleasures of the present above the eternal reward of His glory. What they are really saying is that they have time to walk in the counsel of the ungodly but not the Lord. What they are really saying is that they have time to stand in the path of sinners but not with the Lord. What they are really saying is that they have time to sit with the scorners but not the Lord. Yes pleasure is a choice, let us pursue a pleasure of the deepest kind, the pleasure of His presence. Let us find Him in the word! Let us put off lesser pleasures that keep us from pursuing Him! For His presence and glory are greater and deeper! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Matthew 1 Remember in High School they used to have those ‘honor’ organizations that you had to have special qualifications in which to enter? I never possessed the proper qualifications. There was the Daughters of the American Revolution, you had to be a female direct descendent of someone who fought in the Revolutionary War (on the side of the colonies of course). I am not a female-don’t qualify. There was National Honor Society. I wasn't brainy enough. There was the letterman’s club. I wasn’t athletic enough. There were All State Chorus, Band and Orchestra, you had to possess and demonstrate a certain level of musical proficiency—enough said. I guess I never made the ‘big time’ because I didn’t have the qualifications. Matthew establishes Jesus as possessing the qualifications of being the Christ (Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah). It is an interesting title, one for which only Jesus possesses the qualifications. First of all He is a legal direct descendent of both Abraham and David. As such He fulfills the promise of Genesis 12:3 given to Abraham and 2 Samuel 7:16 given to David. Second He is virgin born, fulfilling the prophecy given in Isaiah 7:14. Now, there is one that only God could fulfill. I had an English professor at OSU that made a big deal out of the fact the Hebrew word used in Isaiah 7:14 does not have to be translated virgin. It can be translated young girl. Of course the implication is that it isn’t necessarily a miracle. Therefore, He is nothing special. People who make such arguments really miss the point. The meaning of a word is determined by the range of the field of meaning of a word and, most importantly, the context in which it is used. Certainly the range of the field of meaning includes a young girl. However, the context demands the word virgin. What impact would, “Behold, the young girl shall be with child,” have upon anyone? I mean really, that happens everyday in every society. It would have no import at all as a prophetic sign. As it is in the context, it establishes Him as fulfilling a sign of the Messiah. Not to mention that as being virgin born, it establishes Him as being free from the pollution of original sin. It also establishes the possibility of calling Him Immanuel. Immanuel means God with us. So the prophecy predicts the virgin born child as possessing deity. So, Jesus is God with us. He is God in the flesh, pretty impressive qualification. Third He is to be called Jesus. Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Yeshua or the English Joshua. It means “Yahweh saves” or “the LORD saves.” The whole of the Messianic ministry is that He would save His people. Now there is glory for you. He has the right ancestors, fulfilling God’s promises. He is virgin born conceived of the Holy Spirit giving Him deity as well as humanity. His whole mission is to save His people from their sins. Who else can do that? The answer is no one. He is unique, one of a kind, only begotten. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John