In Faith

Friday, April 28, 2023

“Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me.  He told me, “I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you.  I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt.  I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.”’  “The elders of Israel will accept your message.  Then you and the elders must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us.  So please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord, our God.’  “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him.  So I will raise my hand and strike the Egyptians, performing all kinds of miracles among them.  Then at last he will let you go.  And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed. Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses.  You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.”  Exodus 3:16-22

Starting a new chapter in life can be exciting, uncertain, and even downright scary.  Truth be told, life, however short or long, is a series of new chapters.  The final new chapter for all of us on earth is leaving this life’s cares, pain, loved ones, and virtually everything we’ve accumulated.  Christians (myself included) believe the final earthly new chapter is but the introductory words of the gift our God bestows upon us, the book without end…eternal life. 

At this point in life I can only reasonably conclude that I have many less years ahead of me than behind me.  That does afford the opportunity to do some evaluation of what life has held, and how I have been held up, even in my weakest moments.  Looking back over ones’ journey is far more important than merely nostalgia.  It had better be so…even the word is formidable.  The word nostalgia is formed from joining two thoughts, returning home and pain[1].  The mental image is nothing less than picking at an old wound!

Standing on the verge of full retirement[2] I’m doing a lot of musing over what will occupy my days hence.  The excitement phase of any new chapter, being ready to launch itself into the unknown, will fade into development of whatever God has in store, and I cannot wait to see the color and shape of a new adventure.  If this new ride through God’s vineyard leaves me even half as breathless as the previous 75 years, it’s going to be white-knuckles on the dashboard all the way!

In some way I identify strongly with Abraham.  God called his name and said: Come here, Abe…I want to show you something.  Life really got interesting when Abraham responded:  OK…you lead…I’ll follow.

But that’s the meaning of faith, isn’t it?

For You Today 

You may have hit this retirement moment long before my time, or you may have a while to go; either way we should realize we have the same challenge to launch every morning our feet hit the floor.  He’s ready to lead; our choice is the privilege of following!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Just When...  and  The Comfort of Being Known   

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] The Online Etymology Dictionary

[2] My first retirement (2013) was from full-time to part-time (somewhat an oxymoron in pastoral work).

The Many Faces of DIVERSITY

 

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.  Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors.  Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.  1 Peter 2:11-12

Diversity is one of those words which, when properly used, can lend itself to a holy perspective.  When used to settle an argument from a narrow, agenda-driven perspective, it leads to a divisive, and often violent end.  A preacher, for instance, could get fired just for bringing-up the subject.

There is, without question, a pervasive sense of diversity in every nook and cranny of God’s creation.  All plants share some relationship, yet even in tribes of elm trees, no two are the same.  In human beings there is a connection that sentient life shares, including the diversity of personality, shade of skin color, textures, abilities, and reactions to what they experience.  Consider the fingerprint, are they all not unique?  Yet, in their alikeness they match only one of the beings God created among billions.  We are each unique, and each alike, according to God’s creative choices.

Now, if that is the foundational truth about God’s creation, which, by-the-way, He decided was good…very good…then what is all the “rub” about?  It’s not much of a well-kept secret, the tempest in our human teapot is a matter of human judging of other’s worth.  It is no small thing that we do judge others, considering God has reserved that to Himself.  ^{Read Matthew 7}

There is a difference between judging another person’s character or intent, and simply observing differences.  When making a judgment as to WHY someone has behaved as they do, we take upon ourselves the mantle of God; that job is already filled!  On the other hand it is, without exception, patently-inaccurate to declare that all diversity is in accord with God’s intention.  The mutation of human body tissue by cancer is hardly a welcome diversity.  The desire to participate in serial murder or sexual attacks cannot compare to enjoying a spring day on a walk through the park with birds calling-out the morning songs of life. 

Of course there are shades of gray, where good and evil tend to blend.  The current deification of diversity for the purpose of advancing one culture’s power over another culture which has controlled the power, is hardly what God had in mind for human unity.  This is the battle Apostle Peter calls the war of worldly desires against [our] very souls.  Calling-out sin for what it is merely speaks truth; cancelling the worth of other people’s lives in the process is reckless murder.  Has it ever been that two wrongs add up to being right?  It is a very thin line a would-be prophet crosses when pointing the finger at another.

For You Today 

While there is hardly room in all the books of all the libraries to outline a reconciliation of the obtuse natures of prejudice and cancel culture, for a believer/follower of Jesus Christ, we must try, must think about it, must address both in our own lives and walk with Christ.  To do less is to kiss goodbye any chance we have to (as Peter wrote) live properly with honorable behavior among today’s unbelieving culture.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Honorable Behavior - Part 1  and  Honorable Behavior - Part 2   

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

Night Shift

 

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you who serve at night in the house of the Lord.  Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, and praise the Lord.  May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Jerusalem.    Psalm 134:1-3

You might be one of those dear folk who works the night shift.  I have to admire your ability to deal with the odd hours, and a schedule that’s upside down from the rest of the world.  When I was very young my dad worked the night shift at an aircraft factory.  He was just getting home when we got up.  He’d sleep while we were at school, and had already left for work by the time we got back home.  When my children were very young I had a brush with the night shift.  It was 1980, when Elizabeth and I packed all our stuff into a U-Haul and moved 600 miles to New Orleans to attend seminary.  We didn’t have a clue where we’d live, or how we would feed and clothe our three kids.  It was a leap of faith, and God took care of it all.  The first job I had was working the night shift as a security guard.  It gave me quiet and time to study.  The job lasted two days before I realized falling asleep in the following day’s classes was not going to work well.

There is another kind of night shift which almost every Christian I’ve known has labored.  It’s that time in the dead of night when you should be asleep, but:

·       that loved family member’s health is failing

·       your job isn’t going well

·       the month has lasted a lot longer than the money in your bank account

·       your child is                         (fill in that blank).

God never lived in the sanctuary…that is the place we meet Him.  And, in those particularly difficult times when life is uncertain, hard, and sometimes downright scary, we work night shift in His arms.  We pray, and we pray hard.  Sometimes we drift off in the middle of prayers as God gives His beloved rest.[1] 

Sometimes God directs us to work the night shift.  As Jesus was “driven” to the wilderness to fast and pray after his baptism[2], we are compelled towards prayer in the crisis moments of life. 

As a pastor I’ve seen the night shift look on more than a few drained faces.  Sometimes the results of night shift intercession for God’s move are seen in a church Sunday morning nap in the pew during a too-long sermon.

It’s the night shift…part human condition, part divine intervention.  We must pay attention to life during the night shift.

For You Today 

One of my night shift prayers for you today is what the Psalmist prayed:

May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Jerusalem.   

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers?  and  Bi-Polar Prayers   

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] Psalm 127:2

[2] Matthew 4

The House of Wisdom

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns.  She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table.  She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come.  She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.  “Come in with me,” she urges the simple.  To those who lack good judgment, she says, “Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed.  Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment.”  Proverbs 9:1-6

The Proverb-writer has purposefully described the open-handedness of God in a universal invitation to gain wisdom.  There’s a great banquet of wisdom, and an army of messengers to spread the open offer to come close to the source.  It’s a house of life-giving good judgment; it’s a place to grow strong, leaving the simplicity of childish ways, for the strength of providing for others. 

The “front door” of wisdom’s house arrived early-on in the introduction Solomon gave the Proverbs…where to begin if you wish to live a life of disciplined success, knowing how to do what is right, just, and fair.

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.  Proverbs 1:7

The foundation of wisdom’s house is fearing God…being reverent, respectful, and obedient to our Creator.  It is a small, but exceedingly-meaningful and important step to begin any journey.  If that step is in the wrong direction, the end of the journey will not be what one hoped.  That first step (surrendering every aspect of your life to reverencing God all through the journey) cannot be over-valued.

John was a retired Naval officer I met many years ago.  He attempted to side-step that first step.  He had seen much of the world and experienced many different cultures, but neglected Solomon’s advice about wisdom’s front door.  He had his own agenda, and that was his god.  Now, I do not say that with prejudice, or lightly; it’s simply an observable fact.  Whatever you do reveals that to which you give your allegiance.  If I go fishing 12 hours a day, it’s a reasonable assumption my behavior means I’m devoted to fishing. 

A living, breathing, passionate thirst for God’s Kingdom indicates you have (at least) begun the journey towards wisdom.  The retired Navy man craved experiences that pleased him.  When we met he was ready to “experience” faith.  He went through the motions, profession of faith, baptism, and church membership.  But, for John, it was like a field trip, another experience.  Soon, that brush with religious activities became boring, and then turned hostile.  In the end he became a sad footnote on the evening news, committing suicide in a stand-off with police in front of the local K-Mart store. 

I cried privately over John for months.  He had made the choice of a foolish and anguished moment, after trying to live life on his own.  In the end, experiences and the pleasure he thought they ought to bring him, just weren’t enough. 

For You Today 

It’s not enough to proclaim faith, get wet in a baptismal ceremony, have your name recorded on a church membership roster, and attend church regularly for the rest of your life.  Solomon did all of that, and also experienced every pleasure possible, and came to understood that real wisdom meant reverencing Almighty God.  Scripture tells us how we should respond to God, our maker:

“Be still, and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation.  I will be honored throughout the world.”  Psalm 46:10

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Standing in the Sweet Spot  and  Learning to Use Good Judgment   

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Please...Say That Again

Monday, April 24, 2023

The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day.  He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby.  When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.  “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while.  Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet.  And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.”  “All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”  So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.”  Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it.  When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men.  As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.  “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked.  “She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.  Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”  Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent.  Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children.  So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?”  Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh?  Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’  Is anything too hard for the Lord?  I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”  Genesis 18:1-13

Abraham had no problem understanding what was happening, and how important his three visitors were.  This was not his first rodeo; many years prior God had appeared to him and invited Abraham to uproot and become a follower.  On that journey he’d seen the hand of God move in miraculous provision, protection, and promise-fulfillment.  Abraham’s scurrying to get a meal and resting place ready for this triune theophany visit wasn’t just hospitality, this was an unannounced blessing of the presence of the eternal, almighty God, Jehovah; you pay attention, and listen like it’s the most important conversation ever!

If Abraham was busy thrusting every bit of attention to the Lord’s visit, Sarah simply eavesdropped.  God knew where she was, but the series of questions was asked out loud for Abraham’s benefit (and Sarah’s instruction).  Where is she?  Why did she laugh?  Why did she question my announcement of her pregnancy?  Leading questions are followed by the interrogative that ends excuse-making, and makes your head spin:  Is anything too hard for the LORD?  In the face of laughing at a promise God makes, you can always expect a challenge of faith.  And once God asks you to declare your faith with a “yes” or “no” the debate is over!

For You Today 

If you’ve been on Abraham’s journey with God for a good while, you certainly know what it’s like to pant, out-of-breath, just trying to keep-up.  And you’re also aware you don’t question the direction, you just cooperate!  You learn that lesson when you laugh like Sarah, and a brief time later the evidence of how right He was, and how foolish you were, is getting large in your belly cementing the lesson forever in your mind.  So, the next time God points you in a direction you hadn’t seen coming, whether it looks possible…good, or bad…or just too good to be real…try not to laugh.  God’s biggest and best blessings tend to happen in the unplanned and unimaginable!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Seriously?  and  Living Into the Seed of Promise   

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Crossing the Rubicon...with HOPE

Friday, April 21, 2023

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control.  Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.  So you must live as God’s obedient children.  Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires.  You didn’t know any better then.  But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.  For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”  1 Peter 1:13-16

When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river in 49BC he was returning from battlefield victories in Gaul (modern France), in response to the Roman senate’s summons and order to disband his army.  By Roman law it was a capital crime to lead any army into Rome.  Caesar carefully considered the consequences, and conferred with his officers.  According to the Roman historian Suetonius, Caesar remarked, “Even yet we may draw back, but once cross yon little bridge, and the whole issue is with the sword.”  Caesar is reported to have concluded the risk was worth taking and said:  Let the die be cast…he led his men across the river.[1]

Julius Caesar led a thousand soldiers across a bridge to begin a five-year civil war, culminating in the crowning of Julius as Rome’s dictator for life…albeit a life shortened by daggers.  How you come to power is, at least connected, and often the basis upon how your power ends.  Caesar was a warrior at heart, and brought the sword to everything he did.  His power was achieved by fear-producing threats, killing, and treachery; his eventual demise was the fruit of that sword.

Fast-forward fifty years and the cradle in Bethlehem was the crossing of another, vastly different and ultimately-important Rubicon, the point of no return for Heaven’s lamb.  Crossing that river to Calvary’s hill also declared war…on the Gates of Hell.  This war would not be fought with swords, or legions of flesh and blood, but rather the sword of the Spirit, and allegiance to the blood of the Lamb.

Moses asked a vital question of the people of God…who is on the Lord’s side?  The issue of faith has always been (and still is) decided by a Rubicon question.  To be a believer, one who trusts fully in Jesus Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and second coming, is to cross faith’s river with hope ONLY in Him.  And that kind of trust is a point of no return.  It shuts the back door of choices, and throws wide the door of moving forward – the bridge burning behind you.  For those who choose to trust Christ loosely, keeping ties with the old life, and options open, Scripture has a warning:

But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.)  Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”  At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.  Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go?  You have the words that give eternal life.  We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”  

John 6:64-68

For You Today 

The bottom line about being a disciple of Jesus is you either cross the Rubicon of faith with hope only in Christ, or you don’t.  There are not two horses to straddle!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Yahweh  and  The Marriage of Belief & Behavior  and   The Sacrifice of Self-Control 

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] A Daily Dose of History – Article January 10, 2023