Facts...Questions...Answer

Friday, September 15, 2023

When the Israelites escaped from Egypt—when the family of Jacob left that foreign land—the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary, and Israel became his kingdom.  

    The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! 

    The water of the Jordan River turned away.  

    The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs!
        What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way? 

        What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?
        Why, mountains, did you skip like rams?  Why, hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.  He turned the rock into a pool of water; yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock.  Psalm 114:1-8

Every kid whose eyes were glued to a black-and-white 11” TV screen in the 1950’s knew if you wanted to solve a murder mystery, Dragnet’s Sergeant Joe Friday was your guy!  The police were called, and Sgt Friday showed up to investigate.  The dialogue always included his no-nonsense, deadpan, direct approach; he didn’t want anything but the truth.  He would cut through speculation and side-issues with his piercing eyes and flatly require:  Just the facts, ma’am!

Had I paid more attention to Joe Friday’s relentless pursuit of truth, I would have figured-out Psalm 114 a lot sooner.  I’ve read it many times, but missed the main flow of God’s truth until it thundered in my ears in this morning’s dark, early hours.  There are facts, followed by questions, and only one answer.

The Psalmist states the facts about when Israel made her exodus from Egyptian bondage:

   …the Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of the way to let them pass.

   …the Jordan River felt the first steps of the marching band and turned aside.

   …the mountains and hills skipped for joy like playful rams and lambs.

Then he asked why all the hurrying, turning, and skipping for joy?  All those facts, and all those questions (and many more throughout history), but only one answer:  The Presence of the Lord, God who does the unexpected, unimaginable, and totally-documented undeniable.

This was Israel’s history on a platter for us all to digest…the God who is unseen to human eyes, but ever-present for anyone with an open and reverent heart to see, know, and love, is He who makes the hills cry-out in praise, like animals skipping for joy, and the water going where He directs.

For You Today 

It’s one thing to do a bunch of stuff for people in ancient history; it’s a totally different matter when what He does is for every person in every era, age, or circumstance.  And it was more wonderful than making the hills and mountains scurry, or splashing the waters around; God dressed himself in mortal flesh and died for our sins.  And then he kicked the tomb-door open and proclaimed that we can do the same.  That, as Joe Friday would say, is an open and shut case!

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

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library. 

Images without citation are in public domain.  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Of Politics and Pariahs

 

Thursday, April 8, 2021

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.  A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.  And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.  They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.  They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people.  And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.  Acts 2:42-47

Pariahs, or outsiders, are just that, outside that which is accepted or expected by those on the inside.  In human relationships, that political dynamic equation never changes.  In America the insider (powerful) and outsider are determined at the ballot box; when either Dems of the left, or GOP’s of the right sit in the seat of the top dog, it is the other group who are left standing…outside.  In today’s cultural hot topics it can be expressed this way:

Those on the left or right are pariah to those on the other side.

No matter whether you favor the political left or right, both have in plain view a demonstrable Christian basis (if you dig hard enough in Scripture to find it…and also ignore the plain context that hurts your viewpoint).  The group of Jerusalem believers in Acts lived like “nearly Socialist” left-leaners, selling-off everything for the common benefit.  On the other side of the aisle, “nearly Laodicean, right-leaning capitalists”[1] rested in their wealth to create their perfect environment.  There you have Biblical foundation, much like Judas who was looking for the Messiah, but for all the wrong reasons.  Judas followed Jesus around hoping he would fulfill Judas’ hopes and dreams for a chance at being an insider, ejecting the pariah Roman occupation forces from Palestine.  His was the same line of reasoning rabid uber-nationalists stormed the Capitol in January….if you can’t see and do things the way I see and do things, there’s gonna be a fight to the death!

Political struggles are idealogical, centered in agenda, preferences, and greed.  They are not nearly as much grounded in ethics or moral behavior for the common good.  In the end, political struggles are all about winning and losing, never being our brother’s keeper.

When it comes to political struggles (from a theological viewpoint), those who are truly Christian will be pariah to both the left and right!

Getting back to the belivers at Jerusalem.  All the devotion to prayer, shared meals and generosity was voluntary.  Devotion to God’s ways produces awe/reverence/fear of God, which, in turn produces willingness towards trust, fellowship, brotherhood, joy, and generosity.  That will never come out of Washington.

The other side benefit is the answer to the problem in the church we see today of empty pews….when people start truly living in God’s ways, the trust, fellowship, brotherhood, joy, and generosity will be irresistable to people seeking meaning; the churches would constantly have the (joyful) problem of standing room only!

For You Today

Being a pariah goes against the human natural desire to fit-in, and be liked.  But that is different from what Jesus said (through Apostle Peter):

You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.  1 Peter 2:9

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

[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com      Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

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[1] See Revelation 3:17

Still There

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Thursday, May 31, 2018

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.  How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered!  I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!  And when I wake up, you are still with me!   Psalm 139:13-18^(NLT)

There are those times I go through some pretty wide sweeps of thought ranging from the pit to pinnacle.  If you’re an introvert you do a lot of reflecting in the quiet times like now; the sun isn’t quite up, and Wellie and Gracie (the dogs who own us) haven’t yet demanded to be fed.  It’s quiet; I can think.

In these early-hour moments I keep the sense of awe that King David expresses in this Psalm.  It’s that the hand which knit me together in my mother’s womb, and the divine eyes that scrutinized the assembling of every molecule as I came together, before I had a single awakening thought or sensation of the sun on my face – THAT God, knows every complexity that makes me a soul.  I am, from the DNA in my bloodstream, to the flesh, bone, sinew and impulses of my brain, soul and spirit, a constant evidence of God’s loving care. 

He thinks about me!  And would that be a strange idea, considering I have as many moving parts as it takes to do anything at all?  There are billions of cells which form Russell, all working together under the supervision of God’s creative hand.

There is a theory I first heard in seminary years ago about the beginnings of the universe, and God’s involvement, if (according to this theory) there is a God at all.  God, if he ever existed, created the universe like a master clockmaker puts together a timepiece.  He wound it up, and left it to run; God never tinkers with it…it’s up to us to make sense of the time of day, and what to do about all we encounter.  We are in charge; there’s nothing else.

Now, a theory like that is espoused by those who fear that there really might be a God Who is involved in the affairs of humankind, but is more afraid to finally deny God altogether…just in case!  So he comes up with a theory that allows God a “hand” in getting things started, but doesn’t really care about us.  It’s a way of gaining a degree of separation from a holy-Creator God by obscurring the line between moral behavior with its’ accountability, as opposed to doing what we want without guilt.  No matter how you explain it, we have to call it what it is – rebellion; we are made in God’s image, but we are definitely children of Adam.

All of that to say this:  as King David said, when I wake up, You are still with me!

The sun’s about up now, and with the light of dawn, my billions of cells, random thoughts, desires, plans, relationships, joys and sorrows all stand amazed in the reality that God still thinks about me, hopes for me, cares for and loves me…enough, certainly to have assembled me in the latter days of 1946 in my mother’s womb; and even more certainly, with his hands-on providence and presence today.

He’s still There!

For You Today

Take a walk through all you are today; check out the mud of your existence, along with the wind in your face as you’ve soared at times.  Even while you’re feeding the dog, He’s still there.

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

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com

Self- Control

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Wednesday, July 20, 2016

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against these things!  Galatians 5:22-23^(NLT)

Continuing with our journal from a short mission trip to South Africa:

Zimbabwe Journal, Sunday, October 7, 2007

4:30pm

“We left for Victoria Falls – only 10 minutes’ drive away.  We were not disappointed.  This incredible sight reminded me of Niagara and the Grand Canyon, and, of course, the magnificent hand of our Creator, God.

We walked one side of the canyon along the river, moving along the ridge on paved walkways.  It was worth the seat and mosquitoes – and then some!

Tammy and Matt (above) are a husband and wife missionary team.  Tammy also loves to do photo journalism.  Mat hates it that Tammy has no fear of getting right up to the edge of a 300-foot drop – straight down, no safety net!  He spent most of the walk holding-on to the back of Tammy’s backpack, holding her back like you’d restrain a toddler from Greensboro traffic.

From the overwhelming pristine beauty of Victoria Falls we descended to the shopping mall.  It was an outdoor market for tourists.  And from the moment we stepped off the bus we were surrounded by young men who do not know the meaning of “I don’t want it”.

Within a half-hour I’d emptied my pockets of the money I brought to bring home a few keepsakes, and realized I had bought some heavy items to lug around Zimbabwe until it was time to go home.

Again….stuff!

8:00pm

When we returned to the lodge Gertie had a wonderful fish dinner ready.  We’ve been in Zimbabwe for 7 hours and already consumed more food than most African people eat in a week.

I guess that when it comes to leaning over a cliff, Matt wished Tammy had a little more of the Spirit’s self-control.  And I’m also guessing the Lord wishes the same for me when I get too close to the dinner table.

As for Victoria Falls, one of the famed seven wonders, it’s hard to exercise any kind of control when it comes to the awe and wonder you feel standing near to where God’s hand has drawn so dramatically on earth’s canvass.  And, with Paul, I don’t think there’s a law against feeling that way!

For You Today

What brings out the child in you?  What makes you stand wide-eyed and jaw-dropped?  If you have trouble answering that…it’s been too long since you stood in His presence.

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

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NOTES

[i] Title Images: Russell Brownworth (own work)