The Cost of Rejected Forgiveness

Monday, August 28, 2023

Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you?  Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?  But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself.  For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.  He will judge everyone according to what they have done.  He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.  But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.  But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.  For God does not show favoritism.  Romans 2:4-11

Paul’s message to the believers at Rome is that of a story as old as Adam and Eve’s first two sons; it’s a story of jealousy and choices ^{(see Genesis 4)}.  Cain was the firstborn, and he despised his younger brother, Abel.  God had instructed them what to bring as an offering, but Cain stubbornly brought what he wanted, while Abel obeyed God.  When God rejected Cain’s “innovated worship” and accepted Abel’s obedience, anger raised-up in Cain like a volcano of jealousy; he killed his brother.  That was a momentary wrong decision fueled by bad judgment and independence.  Unfortunately for Cain (as his parents before him), when he sinned, he persisted in defending his petulance.  When God judged him for it, he whined, claiming God was being too hard on him.  This was resoundingly-odd, considering it was Abel rotting in a shallow grave.  Cain spent the rest of his days wandering like a lost soul.  Indeed, he was lost, and judged. 

We’re still playing “Cain and Abel” these days.  There has been war someplace on this planet without fail since the first killing.  As Paul wrote, God’s kindness and patience with humanity is an offering of forgiveness.  Sadly, human stubbornness is in abundant supply.  In the spirit of independence, alive and thriving today, we don’t need some Jew from the antiquities to die on a cross for us.  We are good enough, thank you…we’ll meet any challenge head-on.  Thanks, God, for the offer, but no thanks…we’re good.

Only we’re not!

Even in the short space of my lifetime I have witnessed the diminishing sense of kindness and compassion that human beings have for each other.  (You have only to observe Interstate road-rage for a half-mile to validate that statement).  The value of human life plummets in the murder statistics.  Porch-pirates, sales of home security systems, with weapons to back them up are at an all-time high.  As was the case with Cain and Abel, killing (with weapons or words) is how we deal with the anger of a lost soul.  And we seem to get better (darker) at it every year.

Many people reject God’s kindness, simply ignoring what a magnificent, precious gift of forgiveness they refuse….choosing instead an eternity of separation from their Creator.  That is the sad reality of evil…thinking we stay strong by holding God at arms-length, we condemn ourselves to eternal punishment.

Placing all that in perspective requires us to turn and look at Calvary’s Lamb, Jesus, nailed to a rough-hewn cross, beaten within an inch of life’s endurance,  spat-upon, alone, abandoned, yet crying-out:  Father, forgive them! 

This is the kindness of God; it is the offer of healing and hope. 

For You Today 

The choice is always there…reject His forgiveness, or receive His goodness,

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. 

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Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.  “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned.  “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted.  But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”  Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you.  Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day.   I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.  On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”  So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt.  In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us.  What have we done that you should complain about us?”  Then Moses added, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him.  What have we done?  Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us.”  Then Moses said to Aaron, “Announce this to the entire community of Israel: ‘Present yourselves before the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’”  And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness.  There they could see the awesome glory of the Lord in the cloud.  Then the Lord said to Moses,  “I have heard the Israelites’ complaints.  Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want.  Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”  That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp.  And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew.  When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground.  The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it.  “What is it?” they asked each other.  They had no idea what it was.  And Moses told them, “It is the food the Lord has given you to eat.  Exodus 16:2-15

The Israelite tribes complained bitterly that they were on a “fool’s errand”; they complained God had gotten them out of Egyptian slavery, only to die of hunger and thirst in the desert.  After 400 years of bondage, they’d gotten pretty comfortable in Egypt; none of them had ever known freedom.  They didn’t have a clue how costly freedom was to obtain, nor how much self-sacrifice and work it would be to maintain it.  As a nation they were infants facing Goliath.  Spiritually they were like naïve children; they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I have known that twice in my life and ministry.  In 1981 I was ordained as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The battle over women in ministry had reached a boiling-point with a conservative “takeover” in the Southern Baptist Convention.  It was a contentious time, and ten years later the denomination split into Southern Baptist and Cooperative Baptist groups.In 2005 I was drawn into the serenity of the United Methodist Church as a pastor.  Nearly two decades have been overshadowed by a fragmentation of leadership between far left progressives and far right conservatives.  Of late the parting of ways between the UMC and Global Methodists has been sometimes peaceful, even amicable; at other times, World War III.  In some ways I sense I’ve been struck by lightning twice during my 40+ years of simply trying to follow God’s leadership in the midst of a tornado.  The daily cares of pastoral work seemed diminished, overshadowed by strife and hot tempers.  My ministry began in Florida where they say it’s hard to remember you’re draining the swamp when you’re up to your eyeballs in alligators.   

It does not take a rocket scientist to compare the divisions between two large denominations with the sordid unbelief of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness.  Anyone with even a slight understanding of Scripture can picture the evil in failing to trust God.  And the shorter leap is knowing if we can’t trust Him, it’s hopeless to think we have a shot at trusting each other.

For You Today 

There is a sense of hope that abounds in even the wrongest of places at the worst of times…Jesus didn’t come to bring anger, confusion, and death; He is life!

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 Devotions library.  

 

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

 

So Much Anger

Monday, January 30, 2023

Stop being angry!  Turn from your rage!  Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm.  Psalm 37:8

The story of Adam and Eve’s sons, Cain and Abel[1], is such a familiar story.  I believe many of us miss some very important lessons in that tragedy because we imagine there’s nothing we haven’t read before.  Big mistake!

Just consider how many Hollywood movies should footnote the Bible in their credits.  Their storylines come right from the brother’s struggle which revolved around money and sibling jealousy.  And don’t forget the issue was church stewardship – bringing gifts of offering to worship God!  And when Cain’s disobedience and pride were confronted he got ANGRY!  And he stayed angry while he plotted against his brother.  How many families have been destroyed by anger’s ugliness?

Why So Much Anger?

I would be hard-pressed to recount all the ways anger evidences itself in our world.  Let these words open the door in your memory; let them relocate some images for you:

·       Columbine, 9-11, Iraq, Jihad, Afghanistan, Ukraine

·       Stores at Christmas-time, shoppers are trampled in the name of baby Jesus

·       Drunk drivers, IRS, Insurance companies, Covid, Insurance companies

·       Boxer Mike Tyson’s teeth biting-off Evander Holyfield’s right ear!

·       Every show Jerry Springer ever made.

Now, I’d like to be able to say our human family’s anger problem is someone’s fault – blame it on the Republicans or Democrats!  It would be convenient to blame society and the economy – my next-door neighbor.  It would be really easy to simply say “well, it’s my nature; I can’t help how God made us.” 

It would be easy, indeed; it would also be wrong.  Anger is not in the genes; anger resides in the spirit.  Anger is a desire for revenge.  With Cain it was the fact that he brought an offering and God rejected it (because it was not what God had required).  Cain got even with God by striking God’s creation.  That’s anger!

When I was six or seven my mother and aunt took the kids to the lake to swim.  My younger cousin Gary spent half the afternoon building a magnificent sand castle.  I was envious and wanted to play with it; he told me to get lost!  Mom got tired of our ruckus, and told me to leave Gary alone.  I looked at Gary like Cain looked at Abel.  I left, but as I walked away, I stepped right on Gary’s sand castle! 

Anger is part of our existence because deep down in the spirit, if we want something and can’t have it, or someone says something and we don’t like it, or she’s prettier than most and we can’t stand it, we get angry, and we want to get even.  It is born of an arrogance that demands our own way – and plots revenge if we don’t get it!  Anger is one human’s attempt to punish another. 

For You Today  

Understanding where anger begins is the first step in truly confessing it as sin.  This becomes the first step towards leaving anger in the rearview mirror.  Without understanding and repentance, there is no chance of forgiveness and healing.

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 "Saying Nothing" Isn't an Option  and  When God Laughs  and  Short Fuse

This is an updated version of “So Much Anger” published on Rocky Road Devotions January 16, 2014

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] Read the story here:  Genesis 4:3-7