April 7

LEVITICUS 10 The lure of the train whistle was just too much for us 2nd & 3rd graders. Four of us partners in crime began to leave school grounds; we all decided that it would be great to head down to the railroad tracks and watch the train go by. The highway overpass over the tracks was only 3 or 4 blocks from the school. We arrived just in time to slide down the embankment to see the train go by. Just as it arrived, we looked up to see our teacher’s car pulling off the highway on to the shoulder above. She was livid. “You boys have disobeyed the rule that you must go straight home from school!” Loading us all up in her car, she took us back to the classroom and began to administer the ‘board of education’. I think she had determined beforehand that she would spank us until we cried. She began with the youngest first. He was wailing before she even picked up the board. He received one swat. She saved me for last. To this day I am not sure why. But I was convinced that this was unjust. I didn’t know anything about going straight home. I was not going to cry! Not a wise decision. The board of education met me 13 times before she gave up. I was still convinced the penalty was unjust. Kids usually never understand rules that are created for their benefit. When she happened to see us heading toward the railroad tracks instead of home, she probably had many images of news articles about boys who were killed or severely disabled because they were playing on the tracks. The penalty she administered had nothing to do with justice; it had everything to do with discipline to teach us to play safely. To this day she remains my favorite teacher. Why? Because I knew she loved us. As an adult, I see that love even more clearly now. Boy, she was strict, but it was strictness born out of love. Boy, does God seem strict here. He struck Nadab an Abihu dead for offering ‘profane’ fire. Why is He so upset? Get the context. On the previous day, the glory of God had descended upon the tabernacle creating a wonderful experience for the people of Israel. I am convinced that they wanted to experience it again. What is ‘profane’ fire? God had given a specific recipe for incense for the priests to use only in the daily worship. No other recipe could be used. They used a different recipe for incense. Why? They probably thought that they could spice it up a little. They probably thought they had something to add. They probably had seen and smelled this particular incense used in worship in Egypt, and thought it was great. Essentially by offering profane fi re, they were saying that they had something to improve the worship of the Most Holy God. That is a very dangerous playground. You can go there and not get hurt, but it is unlikely. God’s penalty is a penalty born out of love. We need to learn how treat Him as Holy. It is imperative that we learn to treat Him as holy. But death? Well, He is also the author of life. He is able to resurrect them at any time. He probably will resurrect them. Death has no ultimate victory or sting. We needed to learn the lesson from their death about the priority treating God as holy. I like J. Vernon McGee’s comments on this:

If God struck today as He struck Nadab and Abihu, I think half the church members would be dead. The liberals would be struck for denying the deity of Christ and the forgiveness of His sacrifice for us. Many fundamental church members would be struck down like Ananias and Sapphira for their hypocrisy, their lying to the Holy Spirit. God is dealing in mercy today, giving time for repentance and for men to come to the knowledge of the truth. Otherwise many people would be struck dead. There is a wonderful lesson for you and for me. When we come to God, we must come on His terms. This is not an arrangement which we can make. We are not making the rules. God is the One who saves and He is the One who says how we shall be saved. Jesus Christ says that no man comes to the Father but by Him.5

Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * PSALM 97 “Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.” Why clouds and darkness? Listen to what these other verses say of Him: Exodus 19:9 And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD. Deuteronomy 4:11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 1 Kings 8:12 Then Solomon spoke: “The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud. Psalm 18:11 He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. Consider what we read a few weeks ago in Exodus 33:20, “But He said, ‘You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.’” One of the ways that we define God is that He is eternal. Eternality is more than just time. Another word for it might be infinitude. God is infinite in all that He is. So, every attribute that He has is infinite. His love, His hate, His justice, His mercy, His holiness, His compassion, His wrath, His power, His ability to restrain His power, they are all infinite. Obviously we are not infinite; we are finite. How can I, as a finite being, ever fully experience the infinitude of each or any of His attributes? Logically, I cannot! First, the metaphor of darkness must refer to the fact that I can never comprehend, understand or fully know the Infinite One. Second, the metaphor of darkness must refer to the fact that if I, a finite being who has transgressed His law, were to enter into the presence of His infinite justice, I surely would immediately be judged and rendered to nothing. Third, the metaphor of darkness must refer to the fact that if I, a being of finite power, were to step fully into the presence of infinite power, I would immediately be disintegrated (v.5). It would be like me stepping into the middle of a nuclear reaction. Unless He restrained Himself, I would immediately be undone. We could apply this to every attribute. It is no wonder that Isaiah in His midst called out, “So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” He covers Himself in darkness for our protection! Consider that out of that darkness comes lightnings to light the world (v.4) and light is sown for the righteous (v.11). Consider Psalm 104:1–2 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. How can He surround Himself with darkness and cover Himself with light at the same time? What does the combination of these two metaphors teach us? The darkness is the protection He wraps around Himself so that we may be protected from what He is like. Out of the darkness comes light so that we may understand a little bit about our reality and some of His attributes. When He sends that light, we can see His glory (v.6). Even though we are still in sin, we can see some of His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * * ISAIAH 4 Many people have trouble with Isaiah because he moves so fluidly between judgment and restoration. In my mind that is what really establishes the unity of the book of Isaiah. It is his style. It is the way the Lord communicated using Isaiah’s personality. He constantly presented judgment for the cleansing of sin followed by the comfort given to a cleansed and restored people. Verse one of chapter four really belongs with the judgment of the previous passage. But as the Lord burns away the sin of the nation in judgment, He brings back the beauty of the nation in restoration. The Branch of verse two speaks of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Some interpret it as the fruitfulness of the land under the Messiah. Others interpret it as fruitfulness of the nation under the Messiah. Others, like myself, view the Branch as the Messiah. This term seems to also be applied to Messiah in Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; and Zechariah 3:8; 6:12. This Messiah, our Jesus, shall come upon the heels of judgment. When He cleanses His people, He sets up a canopy, a tabernacle, a place for dwelling in fellowship with His people. That is the beauty of our Jesus. He loves us too fiercely to permit us to live in sin. He orients everything so that we will be holy, even as He is holy. When we are clean as He is clean, then He opens to us the pleasures of fellowship with Him. Do you want to see Him in His beauty? It will require some burning. He is a consuming fire and burns away those things that are displeasing to Him, but the result is the sweet privilege of communion with Him. Communion with Him is the sweet fruit of the earth. It is excellent and appealing. It is what our hearts long for. It is that for which we were created. Oh Lord, burn the chaff out of my life so that I may continually walk in the glory of Your presence! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * LUKE 9:18-36 We were quite a distance away, and the deer were standing stone still. From our car they looked like statues. We were on the grounds of Woolaroc Museum, the former estate of Frank Philips, founder of Philips 66. Others insisted that they were statues. I insisted they were alive. "How do you know they are alive?" they asked. "The deer flick their tails every once in a while," was my reply. "We are too far away to see its tail flick," they insisted. "It is flicking its tail. There it just did it again," I said. I really could see it flicking its tail when no one else could see it. "No, they are just statues. Let's drive on." As we started to drive away, the deer decided it was time to move on and they walked off. Of course, "I told you so," slipped out of my mouth. The glory of God is so immense that when we get far enough away to be able to see the whole, we cannot see the detail. In the awesome splendor of the whole, He looks like a statue. In today's passage we get a glimpse at the whole. Peter rightly has seen the revelation from heaven that Jesus is the Christ of God. Jesus immediately begins warning about the crucifixion and our responsibility to join Him on the cross. Then He gives the promise of seeing Him in His glory. Peter, James and John accompany Him to the mountain where He is transfigured before their eyes into the glory that He will have in the kingdom. What an awesome sight that must have been! We all long to see such a sight. Then the voice of the Father boomed out of Heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son. Hear Him!" What we often miss when we view the glory of Jesus is that this is a living breathing process. It is not a statue captured in time at a museum for us to behold. Part of the glory is that we are called to share in His glory. Imagine that! We are called to share in His glory! But it is a living breathing process. As the glory of Jesus is unwrapped, if we look closely at the detail we see the flickering of His suffering as He marched toward the cross. Without a cross there is no glory for us. He had to go to the cross in order to redeem us. It was a living breathing process that was full of fun, enjoyment, pain and suffering but in the end, glory. If we are to share in His glory, then we will take up the same cross. It is a living breathing process that is full of fun, enjoyment, pain and suffering but in the end, glory. The suffering proves that we are alive and not statues on God's lawn. The suffering is a flicking of a tail. Are we willing to lay down our rights for others to follow Him on the cross. That is a hard question. He was willing. He did it for us. It is hard to see from a distance. But He did it. So also, can we. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John

April 6

LEVITICUS 9 The first seven days were for preparing Aaron to serve as High Priest. The eighth day he began to function as the High Priest. Notice the order of the sacrifices which the High Priest presents on behalf of the people. First there was the sin offering, a kid of the goats. We all come to Him as sinners and must have our sin taken care of first. Next was the burnt offering; the grain burned upon the altar. The nourishment for our life is laid down on the altar. He is the bread of life that has come down from heaven. Finally came the peace offering. With His sacrifice we have peace with God. The long war with God is over. Now we can enjoy His glory! Then Moses and Aaron came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to the people. Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the sacrifice. Then the people shouted and fell on their faces. Lord, let Your glory appear and your fire fall! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * PSALM 96 He is great! What is so great about Him? He is our Creator. A long look at His creation reveals His greatness for He is necessarily greater than His creation. We are to fear Him; why? He told Moses that to see His glory fully and frontally would kill us. We couldn’t take it. Infinite power and infinite purity scares me. If we could instantly be placed on the surface of the sun, the heat of the radiated power would vaporize us instantly. Why should being exposed completely to the infinite God, who created that sun, be any less threatening? I don’t walk in fear of the sun destroying me, but I do know my rightful position in relation to it. I know to wear sunscreen, a wide brimmed hat and long sleeves if I am going to be exposed to its rays. I know that I cannot get too far from it, or I will die. I know that I cannot get too close to it, or I will die. So with God, I cannot get too far or too close to Him, or I will die. I need a healthy fear of Him. Honor and majesty are before Him. Last week I performed a wedding ceremony. Part of the vows that I made the groom give to the bride was to “share with you all the honor of my name.” What if the grooms name was not honorable? What if he was a cheating scoundrel? What would he be sharing with her? His name had to be honorable if that vow were to be of any value to His bride. Suppose honor were something that was already ingrained in Him, suppose that honor was a deep part of His character, then the vow would have great meaning and benefit to his bride. Honor must go before him. We are the bride of our great God. He seeks to share with us all the honor of His name. His honor goes before Him in strength. He is not a scoundrel, but is faithful and true. He keeps His promises. He is pure. We benefit greatly from Him. Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. How is strength in a sanctuary? Beauty I think I understand, but how can strength be in a sanctuary? Maybe I should defer to my friend, Mark Pruitt, an architect to speak to this issue. Some sanctuaries are plain and unadorned. Some are simply the vegetation of the outdoors. Some are grandiose and gaudy. I have had opportunity to travel a little in Germany and Mexico. I have seen great cathedrals and chapels which were built hundreds of years ago. Buildings over a hundred years old in Oklahoma are rare indeed. Most buildings in Oklahoma of that age are decaying and weak. But the cathedrals are strong and will probably endure much longer. But their strength is more than just their ability to stand strong through the ages. When you walk into a cathedral, there is just an atmosphere of strength. There is something about the architecture that exudes strength. It makes you look up. It makes you feel small. It makes you realize the power of a greater force. Hopefully that force would be God, but sometimes it is another god. The point is that He is STRONG! When I come to worship Him, is that what I find, a God who is strong? Is He stronger than all the problems of my day? Indeed He is. Greatness, honor and strength are all part of His glory. To bless His name, I need to know these things about Him, relate them to my life and then speak them to others. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * * ISAIAH 3 “All rise for the Honorable . . . “ I have had many occasions to attend court with people with whom I am serving. Usually the court session begins with the above quote as the bailiff prepares the court room for the judge’s entrance. The court room is still one of the few vestiges of honor left in our society. No one, even the attorneys, questions the honor of a judge in the court room. We may wail upon them outside the courtroom, but in the courtroom, the judge is held in high esteem. In the court room, the judge reigns supreme. It must be that way for justice to remain just. In this chapter Isaiah declares: The LORD takes his place in court and presents his case against his people! 14 The LORD comes forward to pronounce judgment on the elders and rulers of his people: “You have ruined Israel, my vineyard. Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor. 15 How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?” demands the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. The Lord is a just judge. In this court room scene, He is bringing in wealthy rulers of Israel who have abused the poor in order to advance their own cause. I wonder how often we abuse the poor in our own society in order to advance our own cause. Yes, I know that most of the time the poor are in the court room because of their own willful breaking of the law. But, how often do the rich not even get brought into the court room because of the connections they have because of their wealth. Not so with the Lord! He is a just judge, and He despises an unjust scale. All of the guilty are brought into His courtroom! And the gavel comes swinging down, “Guilty as charged!” Fortunately, we have an advocate in the Lord Jesus. His blood cries out for those who repent and believe in Him, “The penalty is paid!” Mercy triumphs over judgment. When mercy triumphs over judgment in my life, how can I ever not extend mercy to my brother or sister who has wounded me? I cannot. Why? Because I am so wonderful? No! Because He is so wonderful! He, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, is a just judge, but He is also merciful. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * APRIL 6 Luke 9:1-17 Remember in high school when you were learning the ropes? There was a definite pecking order in the classes, when it came to authority. As a freshman or sophomore, you had not yet attained to the glory of a 'Senior.' Were you ever told things like, "A freshman is so low that . . ." no I won't go there. Oh of course, every sophomore is told that the meaning of sophomore comes from two Greek words, sophia-wisdom and moros-fool. A sophomore is a wise fool. Freshmen and sophomores had absolutely no authority on campus. Of course as a freshman and sophomore I was also painfully smaller than most guys. If I remember right, as a freshman I weighed all of 125 pounds. I eked up to 135 as a sophomore and 145 as a junior. Being small did not help matters of authority any. Ah but thanks to a weight lifting program to which my body finally began to respond, my senior year I finally, weighed in at 170 pounds with not an ounce of fat. On Friday of homecoming week (Western Week) everybody was supposed to dress western. If you didn't dress western, then you were liable to be thrown in jail during lunch break. Sitting in the hallway studying at lunch time with my moccasins on (It was the only thing western that I owned), a freshman, who was a brother in Christ, walked up to me. He had no western wear on. I said where is your western stuff? He said, "I don't have any." "You'd better be careful, you might get thrown in jail." I replied. "That's why I'm in here. I'm trying to avoid being thrown in jail. Are you going to throw me in?" I said, "No, I've got other things to do. Why don't you sit down here you'll be safe till I leave." He sat down. I continued studying. Soon a sophomore jock walked up. He was looking for people to throw in jail. He threatened to have me thrown in jail. I told him that I had moccasins on and that satisfied the requirement. Then he saw my friend. He started to grab him to take him to jail. I said, "Leave him alone!" He replied, "He doesn't have anything western on. I'm taking him to jail." Standing up off of the floor I said, "You and who else? Leave him alone." He surveyed my size and backed down. The authority of being a senior and having 20-30 pounds of size on him spoke volumes. He left. It felt good for once to be able use authority for good. At least in the eyes of this one freshman, my glory was enhanced. In revealing His glory, Jesus gave power and authority to his disciples over all demons and to cure diseases. It was for the purpose of glorifying Him. He then sent them through the country to preach and to heal. Upon the heels of sending them out, He performed the miracle of feeding the 5,000. I believe Jesus still wants to reveal His glory in the similar ways. He desires today to glorify Himself by extending His authority to us to preach and to heal and to feed. It’s a trinitarian focus (to borrow a term from Christian Schwarz) for His body. In preaching He desires us to use His authority to proclaim the Gospel, to do evangelism and discipleship. In preaching the Gospel He desires us to set the captive free with the truth. The demonic must flee when we claim the truth of His authority and yield to Him. His glory is enhanced in the eyes of men when we do that. In healing there are different kinds and means of healing. There is medical healing, divine healing, emotional healing, spiritual healing. Where ever the church has gone throughout the world, it has built hospitals and brought medicine to hurting people. This has brought much glory to Him. But I also believe that we are far too lax at asking Him for divine healing. I think sometimes we miss divine healing simply because we don't ask. That freshman would never have found safety had he not at least said, "Are you going to throw me in?" I believe that God still heals miraculously. He doesn't do it every time we ask or even the majority of times we ask. But He still heals. In all of these kinds of healing we must remember that any healing we see in this age is only temporary. The body is still going to die. The ultimate healing is in the resurrection of the dead at His return. But He occasionally brings a divine healing in order to remind us of where the glory comes from and that the greatest glory is yet to come. He also wants to heal more than the individual physical body. He also wants to heal social injustice. He wants us to feed the hungry. It brings glory to Him when we stand up for the rights of the oppressed and the poor. It brings healing to a society. He desires that we bring an end to racial prejudice. He desires that we replenish the earth not destroy it. It brings glory to Him when we use wisdom in relating to the environment. He desires to reveal His glory as we take His authority and show concern for our environment. In the midst of our endeavors we must remember that they are temporary. The social healing will be lost. People will return to hating and dominating each other until He returns as King of kings and Lord of lords. The earth will continue to decay until He remakes the heavens and the earth. But in the meantime, He wants to glorify Himself through us as we take His authority to bring food to our neighborhoods and the nations. Jesus is looking for people through whom He can extend His authority so that He can bring glory to Himself. It is to His glory that He lends us His authority to us. Will I take it and glorify Him or will I try to glorify myself or will I just ignore it? How about you? Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today

April 5

LEVITICUS 8 I enjoyed reading J.Vernon McGee’s commentary on this chapter today. I particularly appreciated his interpretation of the significance of Fellowship offerings and the placement of the blood upon the ear, thumb and big toe of the priest: Actually, fellowship in the New Testament means to share the things of Christ. Only those who are the blood-bought believers can share the things of Christ. The priests had to go inside the holy place to see the beauties of that place. The outside was not very pretty. Just so, the unbelieving world does not see the beauty of Christ and rejects Him, but the child of God is finding new beauties and glories in Him every day. The blood-tipped ear symbolizes the ear that will hear the voice of God. Without that, friend, you are not going to hear Him. The natural man does not receive the things of Christ. The bloodtipped hand was essential for service. It is impossible to serve the Lord before one is saved. The blood-tipped foot was essential for the walk before God. All of this is symbolic of the fact that the total personality must be presented to God. (J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary). Jesus, our High Priest, presented Himself totally to the Father. Let us do the same through the blood of His sacrifice. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * PSALM 95 Psalm 95 What causes you to sing? Do you ever just break forth into singing? What motivates it? I have several motivations when I break into singing. Occasionally, I just enjoy it. Sometimes I am kind of melancholy, and it just seems fitting to sing a sad song. Sometimes I am depressed, and I need to combat depression with joyful expression. But usually it comes as an outburst of something I am joyful about. I have written a few songs, not many but a few. They all came to me when I was thinking about the Lord when He had just brought Laura into my life. It set me in a joyful mood because of His wonderful grace. The songs just came. The Psalmist, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, commands us to sing joyfully to the Lord. It is not enough for him to give us a command, but He also tells us how great He is. He is in the deep places of the earth. I have visited a few caverns. I have been to Marvel Cavern, Lurray Caverns, Alabaster Caverns and some caverns in Chiapas, Mexico. I am always amazed at the beauty under the earth that God has created. Who knows what beauties lie under the earth that only God knows what is there. He alone appreciates their great beauty. He created if for His own pleasure. Yet man from the very beginning has been digging in the earth trying to mine its treasures and explore its beauties. I am equally amazed at the beauty of the sea. I saw the ocean for the first time when I was 19 years old. For almost three years I lived only three blocks from the beach. Another ten years I lived just a fifteen minute drive from the beach. The sea is incredibly vast in its majesty and beauty. It has been said that we know more about outer space than we know about our oceans. I don’t know if that statement is true, but I do know the ocean is an incredible ecosystem which also is full of the beauty of the Lord. Its storms are terrible indeed. Its life is teeming with complexity and diversity. Its color is breath taking. I remember one night walking on the beach. We had some kind of anomaly in the ocean that caused thousands maybe millions of little jellyfish to wash up on the beach. As Laura and I walked along, the breakers would dash the little jellyfish against the sand. When their tentacles hit, they would light up light like mini-lightning bolts. The beach literally sparkled with the jellyfish raging against the breakers and sand. It was a sight of outrageous beauty. He created it for His own pleasure. Even if we had not been there, it would have happened, and He would have enjoyed it! What was it like for those firs explorers to build boats and rafts and set out for other continents across the vast sea? I have also lived near mountains. Their beauties to me are the most staggering of all. To stand on the edge of an outcropping of rock near the pinnacle of a mountain causes a swelling of awe to rise up in me that takes my breath away. Because of the panoramic scene which spreads out before me, it causes me to see how little I am in a vast array of beauty. Yet I am only able to enjoy its beauty because others have built roads and cut pathways for me to get to the top safely and then return home. Yet God created and sees this beauty and more that we cannot ever see. He does it all for His pleasure. This God, who does this, takes even greater delight in His creation of us. He sees possible beauty in us that no one else can see, and He rejoices! With all this possibility, He chooses take us into His flock, and he cares for us as a shepherd for his sheep. He yearns to draw that beauty out of us, but it means that we must listen to His voice. It is going to take a lot of work. Work makes me tired, but if we listen to his voice, He leads us into a work that is restful. That is His desire. He leads us into a work of beauty that is restful. Why wouldn’t that knowledge cause a song of joy to well up in me? I have to let it out! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * * I briefly had a part-time job selling baseball tickets for the Portland Beavers over the phone M-F 6:00-8:00. It was an interesting job. I only made minimum wage plus $1.00 for every package that I sold. It lasted for about 4-6 weeks. As you can imagine, I did not make much money. What made the job interesting was the people with whom I worked. One of them was a local bank vice president. He made a comfortable living. I was a little perplexed as to why he bothered. He said that he did it because he was bored at home, and he thought this might be interesting temporary outlet. One night I was out of gas and money, so I rode my bicycle into town. When he found out that I had rode my bicycle 11 miles to show up for a 2-hour minimum wage job, I guess that he felt sorry for me. He asked if he could give me a ride home. I wasn’t hard to persuade. He volunteered to take me home the rest of the nights until I was paid and could put a little gas in my car. During the next week or two, I got to know a little bit about his values. And we talked about spiritual things. He even taught me a song that he learned as a kid: I don’t care if it rains or freezes Just as long as I’ve got my plastic Jesus Sittin on the dashboard of my car. . . Hmmm. . . I don’t remember his name, but I remember the silly song he taught me. . . . Yet the song represented his spiritual thought so well. He had invented his own god whom he worshipped. In truth he worshipped a god that was the work of his own hands. To people such as they, who never repent from the work of their own hands, Isaiah says three times that they will hide away from “the glory of His majesty.” (v. 10, 19,21) Most people spend their lives worshipping the work of their own hands. My friend did. He had risen to vice-president of data control for a bank. He wasn’t extremely wealthy, but he was comfortable. He didn’t need (so he thought) the real Jesus. He was comfortable with his plastic Jesus, one made with his own hands. Why would he trade the glory of His majesty for a Jesus made with his own hands? Could it be because he never stopped long enough to seek Him in His word to see His majesty? Could it be that he had never seen the majesty of the real Jesus? Isaiah tells us that the day is coming when Jesus will dwell among us visibly. His majesty will be available for viewing. Then nations will say, “Come and let us go unto the mountain of the Lord.” They will do this in order to experience Him. How ever we view the glory of His majesty now, it is certain then the glory of his majesty is something that will motivate people to lay aside all for which they had warred in order to cease warring and take up farming. His glory, when fully experienced, is worth laying aside all for which we previously fought and died for in order that we might know Him. Do we have that kind of knowledge of Him now? If not, why not? What is it about Him that would make one want to give up the god of their own making to trade it in for farm implements? Maybe we have a faulty view of the glory of His majesty. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * In August of '04 I had the privilege of being one of the adults to take our youth to our national youth conference, Life, in Phoenix, AZ. We took an extra day to take some of them up to the Grand Canyon. It was the first and only time that I have ever seen it. Even the best photographs just do not do it justice. I've seen these panoramic pictures that are extra wide of the Grand Canyon and nothing does it justice. For me it was breath taking. It is interesting, now that I have been there, to go to picture books and look at the little photographs of certain localized spots of the canyon. But now I know that those photographs cannot even begin to communicate the greatness of the glory of the Grand Canyon. And yet there are even larger canyons. The Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico is reported to be 4 times larger consisting of 6 major canyons that make up the system and over 10,000 miles of winding river passages. It is hard to see the glory of such canyons through just photographs. The greatness of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is even greater than the creation, for He made it all and holds it all together by the word of His power. Yet we can get little photographic shots of little niches of His glory. In one sweeping panoramic view Luke reveals Jesus setting one man free from the bondage of sin, cleansing a woman from the stain of sin, and raising a girl temporarily from the penalty of sin. It speaks volumes to what He can and will do in our lives. The picture of His victory over the demons with the demoniac demonstrates that there is no habit, no bondage to sin, no behavior from which He cannot set us free and give us victory! No drink is too controlling that He cannot bring self-control. No drug is too strong that he cannot bring freedom. No emotion is so overpowering that He is cannot bring relief. No drive is so great that He cannot apply the brakes. The picture of His healing of the woman with the issue of blood reveals His great power to cleanse us from our sin. In Jesus' culture the woman's physical problem rendered here ceremonially unclean so that she would have been forbidden to participate in acts of worship and even in some social interaction. If she followed the regulations, she would have felt not only physical weakness but also a great deal of isolation because of her ceremonial impurity. Certainly she had to deal with many issues of guilt feelings. Many ills that people endure today stem from guilt feelings resulting from unresolved sin issues or improper thinking concerning their sin. Because of their guilt they feel isolated from others. But Jesus forgives sin. He washes away the guilt associated with our past behavior. We are clean in His sight. No stain is too deep that He cannot remove it. No past is too wrong that He cannot right it. The picture of His raising Jairus' daughter reveals that one day we too will be raised finally and completely from the dead. Death is an unwanted intruder. It was never part of the original creation. It is the result of sin. The last enemy that will be laid aside by Jesus is death. In His resurrection He has already secured its defeat. But one day He will apply it to all who are in Him. Death has no victory and no sting. The raising of Jairus' daughter reveals that. Jesus does all of these. He sets us free. He cleanses us. He raises us from the dead. Right now they are little still photographs of a glory that cannot be comprehended in a photo. By the way I read somewhere once that if you reduced the earth to the size of a ball bearing that we cannot make ball bearings that are as smooth as the earth would be. And yet, I am impressed with the Grand Canyon. That presents His glory from a different perspective. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

April 4

LEVITICUS 7 It was Brian’s birthday. He had us all sit down cross-legged in a circle on the playground. It was following lunch of our fourth grade class. Producing a brown lunch bag full of penny candy, He began methodically apportioning the candy to us one person, one piece at a time until it was all gone. He told us that because we were his friends, he wanted to give to us on his birthday. Wow, I was impressed. Even now, almost 50 years later, I remember that unselfish act of kindness. Usually when one has a birthday, one expects others to give to oneself, but not so with him. He wanted to give to others. He lived with his grandparents. I don’t think they were wealthy, but he wanted to give. Brian died of a brain tumor when we were seniors. Whenever I think of Brian, I usually think of that selfless act, which was characteristic of him. Each priest received a portion of the meat, bread, and skin of the sacrifices as he participated in offering the sacrifices. Remember that the priest and the sacrifices are pictures of our Lord Jesus Christ and that we are made priests together with Him. The priest who was consistent in serving in the process of the sacrificial system had the privilege of viewing the symbol of what the Messiah would one day do for all of us. We have the privilege of ministering to Him in His sacrifice. Jesus told the people of His day that they only came to Him because He fed their bellies. He told them to not labor for food which perishes but rather for food that did not perish. He told them that unless they ate His flesh, then they would not receive eternal life. All but the twelve were disgusted and walked away. But as we minister to Him, we also receive a share of His meat, bread and skin. Focusing on and enjoying His glory is akin to eating his flesh, the bread of His body. As we do, He dresses us in the clothes of His righteousness. When Adam and Eve sinned, they dressed themselves in fig leaves and hid from God because they were naked. God killed an animal and made clothes out of the skin for Adam and Eve. Many have postulated that God had Adam kill the animal and taught him about sacrifice as he did it. The act was the first teaching situation concerning the coming Messiah. That would be why God would not accept the sacrifice of Cain, for Cain based his sacrifice upon his own works rather than looking for a blood substitute. It seems the same lesson is being given here. Isn’t that glorious? It is as if He invites us to sit with Him cross-legged on the playground. In His great generosity, He pulls out of His brown bag sumptuous meats, breads and clothing. He gives us this marvelous feast, all at His own expense, when we ought to be the ones giving it to Him. The feast is Himself. Wow, I sit with Him feasting upon Him. I am amazed and full of wonder at His mercy and grace! It is an act characteristic of Him. I can never forget this great act of love! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * PSALM 94 I receive it once a month, and perhaps you do as well. It is a magazine called The Voice of the Martyrs. Every month it is full of stories of the faithfulness of God’s people in the world today who are willing to lay down their lives for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. They endure hardships, imprisonments, tortures and unspeakable difficulties all for the love of Jesus. A skeptic might ask, “What kind of glory is that?” Even believers at times fall into the trap of thinking in the same manner. What they/we forget is that God is the One to Whom belongs vengeance. In the words of R.G.Lee’s famous sermon, there is a “Payday Someday.” His lack of vengeance now is really His patience and love waiting upon the perpetrators to repent and turn to Him; He loves even them. The Psalmist reminds us of that. We are reminded that judgment will one day return to the righteous. Woe to the unrepentant in that Day! The Scripture is clear that the Lord hates the unrepentant. The Psalmist consoles himself in those thoughts. Whenever the anxieties of the day begin to rise up, he comes back to the thoughts that the Lord will help, and the Lord’s mercy will hold him up. I love verse 19, “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” One of the things I love about the stories in The Voice of the Martyrs, is how those have been persecuted for the sake of His name, so frequently talk about what a privilege it is to be counted worthy to endure hardship for His name. It is a living demonstration of His comforts, which delight our soul. I say, “That is a greater glory than a would-be god who promises us no hardship!” His comfort is so sweet that it exceeds any hardship imposed upon us! Now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * * ISAIAH 1 Boys and mud go together. I don’t know what it was, but as a kid it was so much fun to get dirty. In the second through sixth grades, we lived in a house on the corner of two streets that were both gravel roads. One day after washing the family car, I noted how the water was running down into the street like a river. They had just finished building Lake Keystone, and we had recently been out to observe the massive structure which created a lake which caused whole towns to be relocated. Being fresh in my mind, I could not help but make the correlation between the stream and the street and the Arkansas River. I wondered if I could build by own dam and have a miniature lake in my street. I began with gusto piling up gravel and dirt in the street to build my dam. Soon I had a little pool forming instead of a stream. But as rapidly as I built the dam, the pool would expand and go around the dam. Eventually, my mom came out to see what I was doing. I was covered from head to foot in mud. She was not pleased, but she wasn’t wrathful either. Isaiah speaks of the Lord as the Holy One of Israel in this chapter, twelve times in the first half of the book and 14 times in the second half of the book. Why? What is holiness? How does it relate to Isaiah’s message? Basically, holy means separate. He is separate from His creation. In the most fundamental sense, He is separate from us, different from us, other than us. More specifically He is separate from any moral impurity. He will not allow moral impurity in His manifest presence. Isaiah is calling the nation to repentance. They had become dirty. They had been playing in the filth of this world. They were building dams to store up their own supply of water. They were covered in sin which Isaiah compares to crimson. Crimson stood for blood-guiltiness before God. In their day the crimson dye of the scarlet worm was “absolutely colorfast and indelible.” Though their sin had stained them, and it was colorfast and indelible. He promises them cleansing. And how will it be accomplished? He says, “Let us reason together.” To reason means, “To prove, decide, judge, rebuke, reprove, correct, be right.” If we will but come into communion with Him and let Him prove, judge, rebuke, reprove, correct, and make us right, He will remove our sinful-blood-guilty stains and restore us clean! But if we resist, we will be devoured. That is His glory. He takes our blood-guilty stains and washes them in the judgment of His blood, and we come out clean as new-fallen snow! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * LUKE 8:1-25 Ever noticed how we all have selective hearing? Of course you have, it’s a common part of our nature. I remember when my mother would call me. If she used the diminutive, 'Johnny,' (which wasn't very often) I could pretty well bet that she was going to ask me something that she wasn't going to force upon me, but I probably wouldn't like. If she used just my first name, I knew that things were ok, and we were basically in the beginning of the obedience test. If she said, "John Craig!" I knew that her patience was strained, and I'd better act. If she said, "John Craig Chaffin!" It was too late, I had already crossed the line of the obedience test, and I had better brace myself for the consequences. I was the last of 5 kids. If she was calling me by starting at the top of the list of my siblings until she got to me, then I knew that she was frustrated or excited about something. It was time to listen closely, lest I further her frustration. My hearing and obedience was selective relative to how I was addressed and the tone of her voice. As I grew older, I learned that selective hearing worked both ways. Often it is common for a parent to act like they are listening to the ongoing prattle of their child when in fact, their mind is far off. My mom was a school teacher. Sometimes I found that if she was immersed in thought that the best way to get here attention was not to call her, "Mom," but to say, "Mrs. Chaffin." I guess when my daughter wants my attention she says, "Father." She has learned that that usually gets my attention. Why? I never addressed my father as, "Father." It was always, "Daddy," or "Dad." So when I hear, "Father," I automatically feel like I am in a very formal situation, and I begin paying attention. What does selective hearing have to do with today's passage on the glory of Christ? Jesus addressed the multitudes in parables, which most of them did not understand. We humans have selective hearing. It is the glory of Christ to plainly tell His message to everyone. Yet, only those who listen will understand. It is so important for us to take heed as to how we hear. Only those who concentrate upon hearing Him will understand and obey. Spiritually, most of us have attention deficit disorder, ADD. For a period in time, even Jesus' mother and brothers were suffering from spiritual ADD. They thought Jesus had gone mad. They had come to collect Him. What was Jesus' response? "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it." Our obedience level is directly connected to our selective hearing level. He is not a God that will demean Himself by ignoring our inattentiveness. However, He does arrange circumstances in our lives so that we will sharpen our hearing faculties. Hence for the disciples, they immediately cross the sea of Galilee, Jesus falls asleep and a great storm threatens to destroy them. Hadn't they listened to the parable of the sower and hearing and obedience? Well, yes, but in the storm He had their full attention. Their hearing was no longer selective. They saw His great glory. Are you in a storm? Pay attention! It is in the storm where you can see His glory at its greatest! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John

April 3

APRIL 3, 2010 LEVITICUS 6 I recently went on a campout with the families of my 4-H Outdoor Adventure Club. One of our lessons was on campfires. Our campout provided the youth a time to apply what they learned in building a campfire. Our fuel for the fire was a little damp from recent rains, so we did not accomplish our goal of starting a fire with one match. However, each campsite was able to accomplish getting their fire going. We kept the fire burning until late at night. At my campsite, I was the first one out of the tent in the morning. I decided to start a fire using the coals from the fire from the last night. It was very easy. The coals, although they looked dead, were still very hot. No matches were needed. All I needed was some dry tender and smaller sticks and soon I had a roaring fire going again. If properly tended, a fire is very easy to keep going. Here in the midst of the instruction on burnt offerings, the priests are commanded, “A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.” Fire is a symbol of purity, passion and presence of God. If we are now a tabernacle of God, what does the fire, which never goes out, symbolize? The context within the passage is concluding instruction concerning trespass offering. These are offerings for sins that were intentional. The continual fi re was representative of our continual need for forgiveness of sin. The writer of Hebrews tells us that these sacrifices are a picture of Jesus who is our High Priest, Heb. 8:3-5, and our sacrifice, 10:5-12. He is a priest who ever lives to make intercession for us. He never lets the fire go out! But the question remains, “Do I avail myself of His ministry?” Do I regularly return to the fire that He ever keeps burning? It is to His glory that He keeps it burning. After all, He died and rose that He might accomplish just that. The coals of His fire never grow cold. I remember a line from The Man from Snowy River, “A fire can be a hard to find in the mountains, but you’re welcome at my fire anytime.” A fire that provides for the forgiveness and removal of our sin can only be found one place. It is the glory of the Lord that He tends that fire and He welcomes us to come. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * PSALM 93 He is clothed in majesty. I once had a coffee table book that displayed photographs of the kings of Africa. We have all seen TV pictures of royal events such as the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. We have seen movies that display the royal glory of past kings and queens. But I like Matthew Henry’s comparison of the majesty of earthly kings compared to how God clothes Himself in majesty, “The majesty of earthly princes, compared with God’s terrible majesty, is but like the glimmerings of a glow-worm compared with the brightness of the sun when he goes forth in his strength.” What difference does it make that He has such glory? When I am secure in His majesty, my circumstance is irrelevant. Ever been in a flood? I lived in Southport, NC when the eye of Hurricane Floyd went over us. The next week a Tropical depression went over us and dropped even more water than Floyd dropped upon us. We had floods! Our community was cut off from the rest of the world for days. For weeks I had to follow a twisted path to find streets that were not washed out in order to get out of my neighborhood. What difference does it make? His majesty rules even in the floods of life! When they rise up, He delivers! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * * SONG OF SOLOMON 8 The Shulamite is delighted that they are now on their way home in her beloved shepherd’s arms. She desires to kiss him, it is culturally inappropriate at this point. Her reference to wishing that he were his brother is so that she would not be despised at showing inappropriate affection. She gives one last charge to the daughters of Jerusalem to not to try to tempt her back to Solomon. In verse 5a we see Solomon’s cry of disgust as he realizes that he is losing the Shulamite to this simple shepherd of the wilderness. In verses 6-7 we hear her request of her shepherd to be faithful to her forever. Her love for Him has become like an unquenchable flame. As they continue home she reminisces of when younger her older brothers set some parameters upon her for her moral purity. She now concludes, “I am a wall.” She has remained morally pure even under the strongest wooing of Solomon the King! Solomon has a thousand vineyards with other women to enjoy them. She has but one vineyard which she will enjoy with her beloved shepherd. Back at home as she prepares for her wedding night, she hears her beloved shepherd out in the garden speaking with his companions. She calls him back in. Come quickly! So where is the glory of the Lord Jesus in this? Is His glory so wonderful to us that we would endure all the temptations of this world for Him? Indeed, to be wooed by Solomon the “richest and wisest” man on earth at the time would have been very tempting. She could have lived a life of ease, comfort and pleasure. She could have lived a life with servants constantly waiting upon her. She would have passed through life with no cares. But the love of her shepherd was far more wonderful. Do we view Jesus this way? I am reminded of the song I’d Rather Have Jesus. The lyrics were written by Rhea F. Miller and the tune written by George Beverly Shea.

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands, I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand. Than to be a king of a vast domain Or be held in sin’s dread sway, I’d rather have Jesus than anything This world affords today. I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause; I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause; I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame, I’d rather be true to His holy name. He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom; He’s sweeter than honey from out of the comb; He’s all that my hungering spirit needs, I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.

That is the glory of my Jesus. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * LUKE 7:31-50 I think we often play mental games with whether we love God more than other people. In our own minds we come up with all kinds of ways to measure that love. Usually it involves things like, “Do I commit adultery either physically or mentally?” If not then I must love God more than those who do. “Do I give 1%, 10% or 90% of my income to God?” If I give 1%, then I must love God more than those who give 0. If I give 10% then I must love God more than those who give 1%. If I give 90%, then I must love God more than those who give 10%. Somehow we equate how much we love God with how good we are. There is a bit of truth to that for Jesus did say, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” However, that is twisted when we start trying to compare ourselves to others on the basis of the good things we do or bad things we don’t do. Simon the Pharisee had a problem with that. Jesus was at Simon’s house for a meal. What better way to show your love for someone than to invite them into your home for a meal. Simon did that. Somehow a sinful woman gained access to the house during the meal. With tears of repentance, she washed Jesus’ feet, dried them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with costly oil. Simon was offended that Jesus would permit such a sinful woman to touch Him. Hmmm, giving a meal or kissing feet. . . which do you think shows the greater love? Between the two, Simon and the woman, the woman is the one who really understood the glory of Jesus. You see the glory of Jesus is revealed in His great forgiveness of our great sin. The woman understood that and received the forgiveness that Jesus offered. The result was an overwhelming joy that she could participate in His glory. Simon thought that the glory of God was increased because he sinned less than the woman. Non-sense! Can you ever imagine the Great God of Glory saying, “Oh thank you so much! You have increased My Glory by sinning less than others! I am so grateful that you have done this for me!” God’s glory is not changed by our obedience. Maybe the ability of other people to see his glory is changed by our obedience. What we really need to do is to learn to bask in the greatness of His forgiveness. As we do, we are changed. Sin decreases in proportion to our focus on His glory—because we love Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

April 2

LEVITICUS 5 Thank you, Lord, that my trespasses against you can be atoned for. They are paid for and covered over by the blood of the sacrifice of Your Son. Indeed You are a glorious King. Enable me to speak Your glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * PSALM 92 “I will triumph in the works of Your hands.” Is this a hope of victory because of the works of His hands, or is this a statement of ecstatic joy because of the works of His hands? And the answer is, “Yes.” Verse seven indicates that the psalmist’s enemies are alive and well. Verses 8-9 indicate that psalmist is resting in the overwhelming high-eternal power of the Lord. Because of the bedrock knowledge of that power, he has a hope of a future victory. Because of that knowledge, he has joy now. What is that knowledge? It is that the Lord has accomplished already many great works; He is full of deep thoughts; He anoints and exalts us; He makes us flourish like mighty trees of a forest; He gives us fruit in our old age; He is our rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Hmmm. . . I turn 57 this month. I am already considered by some to be a senior citizen. I guess I am on the doorstep of old age. But He will cause me to bear fruit. I wonder how much longer I have to live. Lord because of Your great works, cause me to bear much fruit in my old age. Glorify Yourself in the works of Your hands in my old age! I triumph in the works of Your hands. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * * SONG OF SOLOMON 7 “I’m just a girl who can’t say no. I’m in a terrible fix. I always say, ‘C’mon lets go,’ just when I oughta say, ‘Nix.’” Perhaps you recognize the lyrics from Addo Annie’s solo from the play Oklahoma. It would seem that Solomon was a guy who wouldn’t take no, and the Shulamite was girl who wouldn’t say, “Yes.” Solomon is indeed persistent in his desire to seduce the Shulamite. This is more of the direction in which we spoke yesterday. He continues to speak of her beauty in 7:1-9. He is sexually charged and desires to consummate his advances. He gives many metaphors of her beauty which would be understood by any resident of Israel of Solomon’s day but which are rather curious to us. Some of the metaphors we understand, and others take some digging. However, it is clear that the speaker is declaring the beauty of the Shulamite. Finally upon hearing that the roof of her mouth is like the best wine, the Shulamite has had enough. She turns the phrase back on Solomon. That wine is only smooth for her beloved! She belongs only to her Beloved and His desire is for her. She is saying in effect, “Back off Solomon there is only one man for me, and you are not him!” At verse eleven, she realizes that her beloved has arrived and now addresses Him. She calls out to him for them to quickly exit and find the fields where they can be betrothed and their togetherness consummated. The Shulamite has succeeded in resisting the advances of Solomon. Now she may enjoy her beloved. Do we resist the advances of the world as she does? The world is constantly seeking to seduce us with its boast of our beauty and how only we can satisfy its lusts. Are we a girl who can’t say, ”No?” When the world says that our “Cheeks are like cream and its gotta have cream or die,” how will we possibly keep from being seduced? We resist only by remembering the glory of our Beloved, only by remembering that we belong to Him, only by remembering that His desire is for us. That is His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * LUKE 7:1-30 Circumstances often discourage us. We get a picture in our minds of how things ought to be. Then they don’t turn out that way, and it is hard for us reconcile what God had done or should I say allowed to happen with the picture in our minds. In the spring of ’75, Gene challenged me to go to Africa that summer on a project with Campus Crusade for Christ. I prayed about it and felt that that was the direction that the Lord was leading. If I remember correctly, the cost was going to be around $1,700. That was a substantial sum for a college student in ’75. Gene challenged me to pray, ask the Lord, tell people of my need, and ask the Lord to lay it upon their hearts. If the Lord wanted me to go, He would raise the funds. I did, and I began the process. My pastor soon contacted me and politely and kindly asked me not to talk to anyone in the church about my trip. He said the church was in bad financial situation at the time and my fund raising would draw off needed resources. So, I ceased activity in what I thought would have been a major source of God’s provision. Gene suggested that I speak to another pastor in town, one which was financially well off. I did and the church decided to give $50.00. They were capable of doing much more, had they wanted to do more. This was not matching the picture in my mind of how things should go. Gene encouraged me to keep trusting the Lord and see what He would do. Funds slowly began coming in from many different sources. Some of them were quite surprising. But three days before the deadline when I had to mail in all of the money, I was still $500.00 short. I had contacted everyone I knew. It didn’t look too likely that it was going to happen. This wasn’t playing out like the picture in my mind. But Gene encouraged me to pray right up to the deadline and not give up. The night before I had to send my money in I received two phone calls. Both calls were from uncles, living in two different cities. Both uncles informed me that they had sent a gift for me to headquarters. The combined sums exceeded what I needed to go. I even had a little spending money. God supplied, but it wasn’t the picture I had in mind. John the Baptist had much time to think sitting in Herod’s prison cell. He no longer had anyone to whom he could preach. Occasionally, Herod would bring him out of his cell to discuss theology with him. But it soon became apparent because of his hard stance on repentance as preparation for the Kingdom of God that he would never leave his cell. What’s more is that Jesus was doing nothing about it. This wasn’t playing out like the picture he had in his mind. Sure he had said, “He must increase and I must decrease!” But that really meant to him that Jesus would become the Righteous King who would usher in a righteous kingdom, while John retired to perhaps a more contemplative life in the desert. But Jesus had made no moves to build a kingdom, and John was permanently in jail. Definitely not the picture he had in mind. He had plenty of time in his jail cell to think discouraging thoughts. There was a widow in the village of Nain. She had one son, now a young man. Not only were her emotional hopes tied up in the young man, but in her culture, much of her financial security would have found its provision in his successful economic endeavors. The young man died. First her husband died, then her only son. Definitely not the picture she had in mind. She was filled with discouraging thoughts as the funeral procession advanced out of town toward the tomb. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion. He raised the young man to life. There was joy in the camp! John sent a message to Jesus, “Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?” His discouragement had dropped to the point that he wondered if any of the picture that he had in his mind was correct. What was Jesus’ answer? “Tell John . . . the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” Yes, He is the Coming One. No, His actions do not always proceed like the pictures in our minds. The end result for the widow was that she received back her son. He would die another day. The end result for John was that he would remain in jail to eventually lose his head on a chopping block. When we are discouraged, it is time to dwell on the glory of the Lord. He is the One who makes the blind see, the lame to walk, the lepers to be cleansed, the deaf to hear and raises the dead. Surely He will meet us in our circumstances. But remember when He meets us, He might raise the dead, or He might say, “My grace (glory) is sufficient for you.” We can ask, but He paints the picture. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john

April 1

LEVITICUS 4 “So the priest shall make atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.” I am so thankful that my High Priest, the Lord Jesus the Messiah, took my sin upon Himself and offered His own body for my sin so that I am forgiven by trusting in Him. I committed the sin. He made the atonement with His own body. Thank you Lord Jesus. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * PSALM 91 A lot of legends have developed around this Psalm. One is about a 91st Infantry Brigade of the U.S. Expeditionary Army in WWI. The Brigade reportedly read this Psalm together every morning during WWI, and is reported to have had no casualties. A brief check on the internet reveals to story to be bogus, in as much as there was no 91st AEF in WWI. However, there are a number of individual stories of God’s provision for soldiers who claimed this Psalm for themselves. Here is a link to one of them: http://www.cantonrep.com/newsnow/x1446674109/WW-II-Then-and-Now-Invaded-from-the-sky Here is a an actual incident, which I know to be true. My son spent 15 months in Iraq at Taji with the 7th Cavalry, Nov., 2006-Jan., 2008. He was a Chaplain’s Assistant. Since chaplains are forbidden to use firearms, anytime they went outside the wire, the assistant became the chaplain’s body guard. My wife daily prayed for many things for my son. One of them was that the Lord would protect the seat of the Humvee in which my son would ride. On one occasion my son and the chaplain were scheduled to go outside of the wire. At the last moment, the Chaplain decided not to go. By necessity my son would not go either. So a group of four other soldiers were assigned to the Humvee. During the excursion, the Humvee, in which my son would have been riding, hit an IED. Three of the soldiers were instantly killed. The fourth, a female army journalist, who was riding in what would have been my son’s seat, was thrown from the Humvee. Her only major injury was a sprained ankle. She is reputed to have said that it was like hands came under me and set me down on the ground. Hmm. . . I don’t know the theology behind why God allowed the three other soldiers to die, but of this I am convinced, God protected that seat in which my son would have sat. In His time and at His discretion, He saves some who are in battle. It is His glory to do so. So should I be encouraged to go into battle? Well, we have to do what we have to do, but let us be careful not to tempt God. Satan quoted verses 11 & 12 to Jesus in tempting Him to jump from the pinnacle of the temple. What was Jesus’ response? He quoted Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not tempt the LORD your God.” No, we never force God to show His glory, but we should be ever mindful that it is at time His desire to show us his glory by delivering us from the situation. If He chooses not to show us His glory by delivering us, His glory is revealed by our willingness to lay our lives on the line on His behalf. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John * * SONG OF SOLOMON 6 Yesterday we closed with the Shulamite’s description of her beloved, her friend. Today in sarcasm the court ladies ask, “So where is your beloved?” Implied in the sarcasm is, “Why do you keep holding on to this hope of your beloved when you are in the presence of the Solomon and you could be enjoying the pleasures of his court?” Once again the world casts its sarcasm upon us as we are willing to hold out for the beauty of His presence denying all the riches and pleasures that this world promises to us. For those ensnared by the world’s system, it is incredible that we should seek Him above the riches of this world. How many people have stood in astonishment as men and women have given their lives for the glory of their Shepherd? How many people have seen the sacrifice and declared, “What a waste!” But the Shulamite will not be persuaded. Once again she states, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” Her beloved is far more beautiful than all the wealth of Solomon. But now Solomon arrives on the scene. Now he begins to try to woo her to himself. How do we know this is Solomon speaking this time? The speaker compares the beauty of the Shulamite to things with which he is familiar and things with which she is familiar. He begins by comparing her to Tirzah and Jerusalem. According to the KJV Bible commentary, Tirzah, which means delightful, was a city of great beauty and of course Jerusalem was Solomon’s capital city in which he was doing many building projects. If this were the Shulamite’s shepherd, he probably would not be comparing her to cities. Solomon knowing that he had competition also uses pastoral imagery to woo her. But the really telling feature is that Solomon in his arrogance compares her to his harem by stating that she is the most beautiful of all his queens. Verse eight could literally be translated, “I have sixty queens and eighty concubines.” He goes on to talk about how there is only one like her. I semi-jokingly often tell my daughter that she is my favorite daughter. She is never impressed because she is my only daughter. The Shulamite, however, has lots of competition. But her desire is not to be the best of many, but to be the only love of her shepherd. She tries to explain to Solomon (v.11) how this whole sordid event was put into motion. She was simply on a gathering excursion for groceries when she encountered the royal accompaniment. Before she knew what was happening she had been recognized for her striking beauty and placed in the prince’s chariot to be forced into Solomon’s harem. Now back in the present and she trying to run away, they call out to her to return. Her response is, “What would you see in me?” The reply of the men is the dance of the two camps, Mahanaim. That was the name Jacob gave to place where he wrestled with God. In Genesis 32:1 we read that when morning came that Israel saw a camp of Angels next to his own camp. So, he named it Mahanaim. Israel was speaking of the place where the Divine met the human. The men were speaking of her that they saw in her something of where the Divine met the human. Today the church of our Lord Jesus Christ is the God-ordained place where the Divine meets the human. If the world is going to see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, He is going to reveal it in the church (Eph. 3:21). So, if Satan is going to seek to hide the glory of our Lord from the world, what is he going to do? He will do his best to seduce the church to draw her away from her true love her true shepherd. IF he can fill her with the world, then the glory of our Lord will be hidden. Now more than ever, we must resist the advances of the world and focus only on the Glory of our Lord Jesus. We are betrothed to Him and Him alone. Only to Him can we give our affections. Oh Lord, help us to love only You and not love the world. Lord, everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, are not of the Father but of the world. Oh Lord, help us to perceive that the world is passing away. Its allurements are only to draw us away from you. When it is done with us, it will just toss us aside like used toilet paper. Oh Lord, give us pure hearts, hot for the love of You! Like the Shulamite, enable us to sacrifice all for You. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * * LUKE 6:27-49 Since World War II the USA has tried to improve the nations we first subjugated. Study World History and you will find that, that is pretty different from what most nations do to those whom they defeat. The USA has had mixed motives in doing this. Some of it is that we have come to see that it is in our best interest to feed our enemy and help him rise from the dust that we put him in. The reason we have somewhat decent relations with Germany and Japan today is because we helped in the post-war years feed their people and rebuild their economy. We have since learned that in general, countries that we have helped don't usually attack. Hence, the rationale for our continued involvement Iraq is that if we rebuild a secure Iraq, we will have a more secure future. But what has caused us to take that route after WWII? Part of it is that at that time we were still a Christian culture. The teaching of Jesus to love your enemy, do good to those who hate you, was at least partially embedded in the culture. It wasn't purely from that motive, but that motive was undeniably part of it. I am currently reading Tea with Hezbollah by Ted Dekker. It is fascinating reading, and I recommend it if you would like to meditate some more on Jesus’ teaching concerning loving your enemy, and how that plays out in our world. Jesus offers us the commands to love our enemies, not because we might become their friends if we do, although that might happen. He offers the commands because it is the right thing to do. It is also the glorious thing to do. Look at His example. He died for the sins of the whole world. But the whole world does not receive the provision for which he died. He loves the world none-the-less. Yes, many of us become His friends because He turned the other cheek on the cross. But many still find the cross an abomination, a stumbling block. But right up until their death Jesus extends the offer of forgiveness. Now that is glory! I cannot prove it with chapter and verse but I think that at the Great White Throne Judgment, when He has the final judgment of all those who refused to receive Him, they will bow the knee, but not willingly. They will go into Eternal Judgment still rejecting Him, still fighting Him. It will be clear to all of us that He is just in sending them to the lake of fire. After all, He died in their place, He turned the cheek and they struck it again and again and again. He loved them but they refused to acknowledge their utter need for Him. Love will not force love to be returned. He loves us. Even when we were still enemies with Him, He loved us. As we fall in love with Him and gaze upon His glory, we are changed into that same likeness. To build upon any other foundation brings extreme ruin. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John