BOLD Moments

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.  This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.  There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.  

Hebrews 4:14-16

I’ve never really been into daredevil stuff.  When I was young, I had little problem walking away from one of those “step across this line” challenges.  To this day, I’m not certain whether it was fear or wisdom.  In retrospect I’m thinking it was probably fear and the grace of God; wisdom was not my strong suit!  The sole tussle I got involved with was not by choice; one of my classmates jumped on my back during outside recess.  We were only third graders, so it wasn’t exactly an epic struggle to the death.  I can laugh about it now, but I still can recall thinking when that boy wrestled me to the ground:  Armageddon is here; I’m gonna die!

I can recall other fear-filled moments.  There was that time I was lost in the woods as a young boy, fearing I’d get eaten by a lion.  It was in the early evening and the darkness approached.  Of course the only lion on Long Island was in a  zoo, but you never know…!  There was also that time when I had just turned sixteen, gotten my driver’s license, and begged my Dad to let me drive his brand-new station wagon, his pride and joy, over to my best friend, Gene’s house to show.  I stayed too long, enjoying the newfound freedom.  In the dusk I never saw that old Plymouth coming…he creamed the left side of Dad’s new car. 

The thought of facing Dad, brought musings on how one could emigrate to Mars or Jupiter.  It wasn’t about boldly going where no man had been; more like preserving life and limb.  In the end, my Dad was kind, and the story had a good ending.  (Stay tuned for tomorrow’s devotion, and I’ll share it there).

Close calls with death in the wood’s growing darkness, or a third-grade playground war, or facing Dad with a marred rear fender panel cause us, even the youngest among us, to think about consequences.  That’s not a bad thing.  All of us need to have that thought, at least on the back burner, if not closer at hand.  Offending the laws of nature, or a playground bully’s space, or facing a Father’s wrath really should enter our thoughts; it is such that develop the wisdom of living a more righteous life, being a blessing, rather than a boil on humanity’s skin. 

And that brings up the main point about such thoughts:

Our Heavenly Father loves you more than his new station wagon!

And when that is firmly placed in your mind’s computer, your spiritual hard-drive, there is every reason to believe what Paul wrote to the Hebrew Christians about coming boldly into God’s very throne room.  For those who enter the presence of God, fully-knowing their offenses, there is no condemnation from the Father, only the mercy of forgiveness and restoration. 

For You Today 

Facing the author and creator of the universe and life may seem like the last thing you’d want to be bold about.  But the trust you exhibit as you take the first step in that door to His love, is just the first evidence of how wise you’ve become!  It’s then you’ll hear those words, well-done, faithful one!

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

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Chester's Prayer  and  When It Hurts So Much      

Title Image:  Pixabay.com   Images without citation are personal property of the author, or in public domain.

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

Blessed

Monday, February 27, 2023

God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory.  And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.  So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father.  That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.  For he said to God, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.  I will praise you among your assembled people.”  He also said, “I will put my trust in him,” that is, “I and the children God has given me.”  Hebrews 2:10-13

There are many internal and external needs we humans must have to survive.  Internally, our organs and blood supply must do their thing, pumping, moving, cooperating with all things bio-physiological.  Externally, we need air, water, and food (some of us would have listed coffee as a necessity…but I digress). 

Those are the basics; then there’s safety from our environment, both in the natural realm (earthquakes, floods, wild animals...), and the most dangerous of all, other human beings.  From Cain’s relationship to his brother, Abel, down to today’s Wild West, East, North, and South, human anger is a killer of extraordinary proportions. 

God, says the writer to the Hebrews, is the creator of everything, and it all was made for Him, as well.  Created beings, like you, like me, were not only made by God, we were made for God.  That does not imply we were like dolls purchased at the store, meant to be played with, then put away for another day.  It strongly informs us that we were made for relationship (fellowship) with God.  Stated categorically:  God desired us!  He wants us.  He would (and did) die for us!

The writer of Hebrews[1] tells us that Jesus, the Son of God, Who died for us, is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters[2].  Paul also tells us that it goes beyond a simple unashamed status…we are loved so greatly God adopted all who trust in Christ, and has deemed us His heirs:

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;                 Romans 8:17a

Now, savor that lovely thought, the security of Heaven’s favor for those who believe in Christ, and have entrusted past, present, and future to His care.  But let’s also remember we are now fully-engaged in Lent…40 days of somber preparation for the brutality of Jesus being scourged with a whip made of iron tips and broken glass shards, mocked by crowds and religious leaders, and enduring the sin-taking pain of death on the cross. 

That’s quite a juxtaposition…contemplating familial love and adoptive grace, at the price of unimaginable suffering and blood.  Yet, that is exactly how Jesus asked us to always remember this cherished family relationship…the bread of His body, and the cup of His blood…those grace-filled symbols of the cost of His love, and God’s adoption.  We are truly blessed.

For You Today 

In your Lenten moments it is important to remember Jesus’ suffering and death for us…how else would we treasure so precious a gift?  But keep in mind that suffering is never to be repeated…the adoption has been made final.  So rejoice in it, loved and blessed one…Your adopted Father said so!

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

            Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

When the Candle Dies  and  A Little Lower Than the Angels      

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

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

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[1] Many theologians consider the writer to be Apostle Paul

[2] I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.  I will praise you among your assembled people.  Psalm 22:22

Jonah...Under His Shade Tree in a Snit

Friday, February 24, 2023

This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry.  So he complained to the Lord about it:  “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord?  That is why I ran away to Tarshish!  I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  You are eager to turn back from destroying people.  Just kill me now, Lord!  I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”  The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”  Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city.  And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun.  This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.  But God also arranged for a worm!  The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away.  And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah.  The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die.  “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.  Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”  “Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”  Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there.  It came quickly and died quickly.  But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals.  Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”  Jonah 4:1-11 

Jonah was attempting to float an argument that never floats, that his anger was justified.  He was angry at God for sending him to Nineveh, an arch-enemy of his Jewish heritage.  Jonah knew it was possible that city might respond to God’s sovereignty, repent, and be saved.  And that was the last thing Jonah wanted.  He was angry at the Ninevites for their atrocities on his people.  He didn’t want God to forgive them; he wanted them toasted…extra-crispy.

This look into Jonah’s character is also a peek behind our curtain.  We are not at all different from Jonah, making excuses for our bad behavior, sulking when God doesn’t incinerate our enemies, and blaming God for the awful mess that we have created for the next generation.  We respond with ground troops or drone strikes. 

On a personal level we turn to Jonah’s shade bush for comfort:  drugs, alcohol, or building a bigger and better (and much more lucrative) mousetrap.  And if that doesn’t work to soothe our pouting curmudgeon ways, we settle for making everyone else around us miserable with the same excuses Adam and Eve gave about their rebellion; they blamed God.  Asked by God to account for his behavior, Adam replied: 

“It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”  Genesis 3:12

Jonah’s life was many generations removed from the Garden of Eden, but nothing had changed about rebellion against God’s ways.  And it still hasn’t to this very moment.  The prophet predicted that.  Preaching about why a Messiah would have to die for our Jonah attitude and ways, Isaiah said:

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.  We have left God’s paths to follow our own.  Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.  Isaiah 53:6

For You Today 

This Lenten season, stay away from Jonah’s bush of complaints; instead, hang out with the Psalmist:

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 

Psalm 37:4

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

            Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Fall - Redemption - Obedience  and  It's Not Easy Being Green      

Images:  Title Via WikimediaCommons   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

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

Once Again; Slowly This Time

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time:  “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”  This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.  On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds:  “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!”  The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.   Jonah 3:1-5 

I’ve never spoken to anyone who has never heard of Jonah.  Most of the time, whether it is someone who has been in church all his life, from the cradle roll to Senior Adult class – or someone who has never set foot inside a church, their immediate recollection of Jonah is his disobedience and being swallowed by a huge fish.  Thus proving the point, being a bad boy gets a lot more press than obedience.

I get the feeling that after Jonah’s unplanned submarine ride God spoke to him that second time a little more slowly, and with a tone somewhat like what my Dad used to have when I was dangerously close to my last chance to get it right (and treading on his last nerve!). 

God said:  Jonah…son…let me say this one more time….slowly…

NIN-E-VEH….NOW!

Seven of the sweetest words you’ve ever heard followed:

This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command…Jonah 3:2^(NLT)

While most people remember Jonah’s disobedience, it is the best news to recall how he began to get it right by repenting and being forgiven and used in God’s service. 

Certainly Jonah still had attitude problems to deal with later, but with his bigger problem solved – obeying the unmistakable command of God to proclaim a message of love to his enemies – Jonah was now able to hang around and have God do some major repair on the prophet’s sense of compassion.

And doesn’t that sound like somebody YOU know?

Well, more slowly this time…isn’t that US?

For You Today 

If you went to Ash Wednesday service yesterday, you may have had a cross drawn on your forehead with some ashes.  

Every year that cross of ashes helps me remember the Jonah in me – disobedient, running from God – apprehended by grace – marked by the ashes of repentance, mixed with the oil of healing.

I don’t mind that being remembered about me.

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

(Today’s devotion is a re-posting of this title from 3/2/17)

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Do What?  and  Pyxis Points      

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

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

Gather ALL the People

Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2023

…the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time.  Give me your hearts.  Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.”  Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  He is eager to relent and not punish.  Who knows?  Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse.  Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before.  Blow the  ram’s horn in Jerusalem!  Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting.  Gather all the people—the elders, the children, and even the babies.  Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room.  Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence, stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.  Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord!  Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery.  Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say, ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”  Joel 2:12-17

The prophet pours-out that which God had poured-into him…Sound the alarm, blow the trumpets, tell everyone you know, and those you don’t know.  God was calling for a gathering of ALL the people, and the message was too important to miss.  And when the people came, this is what God had to say:

“Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy.  Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.  In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike.  And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and columns of smoke.  The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.  But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the Lord has said. These will be among the survivors whom the Lord has called. Joel 2:28-32

Today is Ash Wednesday; the calendar says it is time to go to get a little thumb-print of ashes and oil on your forehead.  Some places are offering a drive-thru service…McAshes King…no waiting for the flame-broiled religion burger.  No kneeling, hand-sanitized and gluten-free charred remains of the day…open your car window for a three-second, deeply-meaningful grab of God…then get to your 18-hour-a-day job to take care of real life.  Hmmm.

That’s a bit much cynicism and sarcastic exaggeration, but sometimes I wonder just how easy we can make things for ourselves…even dumbing-down repentance to a Methodist-Lite dosage.  God says:  Give me your hearts!  That takes a bit more than hoping the line at the church won’t be long enough to make you late for work or tennis, or a drink with the girls.

Down to business.  That “little bit of ashes” is an announcement to all who see you today.  Does it say:  I’ve been an obedient church member.  Or does it announce what the prophet was aiming at:  I’m a sinner.  I repented, and God forgave every bit of it.  He promised to wash it all away, and I’m forgiven!

For You Today 

If it’s just a little dirt on your brow, skip it; that’s just surface anyway.  God is inviting the deeper version of you to connect.  Submitting to the ashes is surface; repentance begins deep, down, inside.  That’s where the Spirit dwells.

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: When the Darkness Comes  and  The Brokenness of Lent      

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

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

With Ears Like That...

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  I will advise you and watch over you.  Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”  Psalm 32:8-9

God made us different from the rest of sentient beings (fish, animals, and plants). God gave humans consciousness (awareness) of meaning and the importance of intrapersonal connection.  More than merely an affiliation with our own species, God gave us an innate sense of the purpose and worth of each other’s existence, as well as the sacredness of all creation.  And on top of that gift God placed a requirement that we use all that awareness better than a stubborn mule. 

We humans are a particularly strange lot, especially in our lack of intelligent choices.  One would imagine humans possessing sensory understanding, or (if you wish) ears like a mule , humanity might pay better attention to our Creator’s instructions.  That is so strange, considering God has given us a promise (as the Psalmist clearly stated) of guidance to the pathway of a better life.  And it has been so from the opening gun.  Adam and Eve were told not to dine on one particular tree…that lasted a half-second.  Cain and Abel were told what to bring for a worship offering.  Cain completely ignored God’s instructions, got angry with jealousy, and killed his brother for spite.  If you’ve ever had the responsibility of a parent, to make important choices for your child, you know first-hand what that child will do when you say clearly, authoritatively, and lovingly:  Child, don’t go near that road.  In the next heartbeat he or she will be dancing on the pavement!

We have ears to listen and, generally, turn them to a deaf side.

Occasionally, however, there is a revival of God’s Spirit, like the one currently in progress at Asbury University.  

By many social media accounts and news outlets, it isn’t a wild jumping-over-the-pews, shouting goofiness.  Rather, its calm sitting in His presence, praying for each other, boldly trusting that waiting before God for His next word is more important than classes, jobs, spreadsheets, schedules, or anything else in which we dabble-away our time.  It is joy without giddy foolishness.  It’s healing of the spirit, building of the spirit, and connection with God’s family.  It is, frankly, koinonia, the common Greek word used in the New Testament to describe how the real church acts when they truly listen to God’s voice.  It is the combined atmosphere of community, communion, sharing, and deeply-held intimacy.[1]  This is the spiritual garden where God’s Holy Spirit produces excellent fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control[2].

For You Today 

The spiritual fruit of revival begins in the church, when God’s people, who have surrendered Lordship to Jesus Christ, promising to walk in the Spirit, nail their sinful desires to the cross, and invite the transforming power Jesus offers, to change their deaf ears to deeply-listening ears.  And with ears like that…there’s no telling what good Christ will produce in your life!

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Oh! What Joy  and  The Problem With Pharisees      

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

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

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[1] For more understanding read κοινωνία in Wikimedia.com

[2] See Galatians 5:22-25

Holy Ground

 

Monday, February 20, 2023

“Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush.  When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight.  As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the Lord called out to him,  ‘I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look.  “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.  I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt.  I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.’  Acts 7:30-34

Even current day images of Mt Sinai leave no doubt Moses was in a wilderness place.  

After being kicked-out of Pharaoh’s palace, the former Jewish foundling child, raised as Pharaoh’s grandson, spent forty years in the shadow of Sinai, living a quiet life as a “nobody shepherd”.  Then came that burning bush which just wouldn’t leave him in peace. 

It's been that kind of time in Wilmore, Kentucky the last week.  

Wilmore is the site of Asbury University, where revival broke-into a chapel service, and has grown stronger each day, with no sign of letting up.  Revival is kind of that way; it shows up unannounced, and takes over.

Not having been there, I’m not about to offer any opinion on what’s happening, nor if the Asbury revival is a genuine move of God, or perhaps a cultural phenomenon, spurred by generations of longing for revival.  Either way, it is sweet music to hear of young people desiring God’s presence in their lives.  Like Moses, the young people of this century (as well as us older birds) have been in a dry, spiritual wilderness for too long. 

My prayer is that this local event in Wilmore spreads like a wildfire across this nation, and the entire globe. 

May there be a new awakening to God’s presence, love, and holiness.  May the fire of heaven’s glory light us up to prevail against the gates of Hell.

For You Today 

One consistent fact about revival is that it always begins with brokenness, a heart that cannot live in its own death-loving sinfulness any longer.  That is the place where God shows up, and it’s holy ground.  And that is exactly what John the Baptist meant when he shouted-out from a wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord.[1]  What way?  It’s that pathway straight into our hearts so He can revive us.

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Heart, Soul, and Strength  and  We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us!  and  Orchard of Driftwood  and Holy Ground  

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

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

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[1] For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  Matthew 3:3 ^(KJV)