Made Right

Friday, March 3, 2023

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.  And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.  For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight.  He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.  For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.  People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.  This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time.  God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.  Romans 3:22-26

In many dramas you will hear a character resolutely say:  I’m going to make things right.  He or she lied, or stole something, or in some way offended another person.  The statement is the desire to undo the wrong…to make it right again!  This is the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the making right of all the wrong that’s ever been done, via the cross. 

I am aware that there are still five weeks left until Good Friday, but that is part of Lent…looking ahead to the Good News of forgiveness, being made right with God.  And making things right begins and ends with God’s love.  Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome puts a bow on this concept.  He explains the cross and God’s heart in nine sentences, 158 words…modern preachers could learn that lesson.  Ouch!

It's amazing to entertain that God’s longsuffering put-up with sins in ancient times, looking forward to the forgiveness He would make possible on the cross.  That should alert us to how gracious God is, because that means he was also looking forward to our days in the 21^st century.   He knew we would need forgiveness to be made right with Him.  In fact, you were on God’s mind before Day #1 of creation.

Some years the anticipation of Lent just about overwhelms me.  I want to rush to Good Friday, get the suffering, pain, and blood in the past, and sit, vigil-like by the empty tomb until the Easter dawn, so I can shout with the angels.  But with these thoughts of God’s forgiveness worked-out for time past, present, and future, there is a calmness to my joy, knowing that I have been made right with He who knows me best, and loves me most.

For You Today 

There is, and has been, only one caveat to being made right with God, and that is the leap of faith to believe Jesus died so you could be forgiven; he took the punishment for your sins.  Paul said it clearly in his letter to the Roman believers:

God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.   Romans 3:26

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 on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Blush  and  Lenten Walk - Part 6      

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^©   

Cradle to Grave - Part 3

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.  Ecclesiastes 11:5

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.  Psalm 127:3

The womb is such a complex mystery, the seedbed of God’s crown of creation, the life of humans.  Many other Scriptures point to the first home we all inhabit.  From the Psalmist to the wisdom of Solomon, and the prophets, the womb is sacred.

·       King David shared how God put him together in the womb:

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Psalm 139:13

·       The prophet Isaiah said God was calling him while he was not yet born:

Listen to me, all you in distant lands!  Pay attention, you who are far away! The Lord called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name.  Isaiah 49:1

·       Jeremiah claims God knew all about him even before the womb:

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.  Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

·       Hosea pointed to the personalities of Jacob and Esau while still unborn:

Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God.  Hosea 12:3

In yesterday’s devotion, I promised to deal with the “sexism” issue today.  The surprising thing (especially for those who have either never read Scripture, or misunderstand what they have read of God’s Word) is that there is no issue; it is more a modern confusion…which Paul clears up.  It’s a little humorous that Paul is the one to settle this issue, as he generally gets the bad rap of being sexist…but here’s what he said: 

There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female.  For you are all one in Christ Jesus.  Galatians 3:28

Resolution for pointing fingers at women in the abortion issue (and therefore the hornet’s nest reaction of women’s rights being violated), is not so much a matter of stopping the finger-pointing, but pointing in the right direction.  We must remember that there were two participants in creating the child; there is a father as well as a mother.  Throughout recorded history the patristic cultures which viewed women as chattel have assigned blame for abortion on mothers.  It has been the selfishness of the fathers shirking responsibility that skews the issue.  That does not absolve women, but places responsibility on the shoulders of both partners in the death of unwanted children.  The law (Roe v. Wade specifically) did not change the hearts of men and women; how could it?  Law only points out where we have failed.  But the “law” of God’s Word not only accuses, it also corrects, pointing to our responsibility to preserve life and protect the innocent.

For You Today  

With all the Biblical evidence proclaiming the holiness of the womb’s residents, it is natural to conclude that destroying what God has created, and even named beforehand as a holy gift to us, is an abomination; He said so:

There are six things the Lord hates—no, seven things he detests:  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.  Proverbs 6:16-19

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: 

       Subway Sermon   and   An Apology to Molech

Images: Title image 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^©   

Cradle to Grave - Part 2

 

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  

2 Timothy 3:16

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.  He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.  Everything was created through him and for him.  He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.  Colossians 1:15-17

I’m aware, with the next few sentences, I will offend some people, as well as get a few ”amens”.  However, like Martin Luther, when asked to recant his condemnation of a church gone dark into selfishness and spiritual death:  I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.  So, here goes:  Abortion is a wrong choice.  ---  Click!  ---  Half of those who heard that just tuned-out.  For those with an open mind still reading/listening, I did not make a sexist/mysogynistic statement.  I didn’t even mention sex or gender.  Abortion is a medical procedure assaulting a living being inside a woman’s body with the intent to cause death. 

My reason for writing this is to address the faulty reasoning for making the decision to abort a living being.  The primary case that has been made for abortion as an acceptable choice has always appealed to women’s rights.  Certainly that presupposes only the rights of the woman carrying the unborn child, and not the rights of the child within the womb.  My argument is not against women, or rights, however, rather a contention with unsound logic.

In yesterday’s devotion I held up two principles – Scripture is authoritive in matters of my life, and Jesus is the only arbiter of my actions, because He is the center of Scripture’s content and purpose of Almighty God.  With that as my marching orders, the only honest and objective conclusion about abortion is that it violates every tenet of Scripture’s profile of life.

The point is, if God thought enough to create us in the first place, and clearly stated that every life is valuable – even the sparrows – as much as even the hairs on your head, arbitrarily snuffing-out a life for the sake of convenience is wrong.

The hermeneutical principles of interpreting Scripture demand that no Scripture contradicts another Scripture.  There may be contrasts, such as describing one side of an elephant, then turning to the trunk or tail with a differing description, but the elephant is one cohesive being.  And the elephant of Scripture is God’s cohesive treatise on life.  All else, save protecting life, fails…eternally!  Note the contrast in Jesus’ own words, from the passage where He describes himself as the Good Shepherd, and what God’s purpose was for sending Him:

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.  John 10:10

If life is the supreme good which God was engifting to all humanity, the enemy’s purpose…in this discussion, abortion, is a declaration of war.

For You Today  

I’ve stated the position I hold…or rather I see that God holds, and I cannot do less than affirm.  Tomorrow we will consider the sexist issue.  Stay tuned.

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: 

       Small Package - Big Message   and   Eyes that do Not See; Ears that do Not Hear

Images: Title image 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^©   

Cradle to Grave - Part 1

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  

2 Timothy 3:16

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.  He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.  Everything was created through him and for him.  He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.  Colossians 1:15-17

These two passages are the ruler by which I measure all my thoughts and deeds.  Paul’s admonition to Timothy reminded the young Pastor that Scripture would keep a person on the right track, an informed, humble allegiance to God.  Paul’s letter to the Colossian believers outlines the primacy and supremacy of Jesus Christ, the One who created, sustains, and has prior claim, on everything.

Scripture is entirely focused on God’s Messiah, Jesus the Christ, from Genesis through Revelation.  That is His clearly-stated declaration in Revelation:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”  Revelation 1:8

It doesn’t get clearer than that.  And with that clarity, we are left with two choices, we can believe, or not.  Because we are given free will, Heaven hangs in the balance of the choice to serve Him; rejecting makes Hell the alternative.

At the risk of being redundant, I want to point out that God has given each of us free will to choose, and with that responsibility we are also blessed (or cursed) by the choices we make.  Isn’t that ever the way?  If you decide to put your hand in the fire, there are scorching consequences.  If you decide to feed a hungry child, nothing that ever happens can take away the inner peace that you did the right thing.  Choose poorly and you can’t forget it; choose wisely and you sleep well.

As a young person I chose to serve God by trusting in Christ’s sacrifice for my sin.  Although there have been some very difficult times in my life, I have never regretted that decision.  I have made some poor choices at times, and the consequences have been correctional in nature, with God getting my attention, showing me my errors, and how to get back on track.  (Sometimes, depending upon my stubbornness factored-in, it took a little longer than necessary).  However, the two principles I chose to follow, God’s Scripture is true, profitable, and without error, and…Jesus Christ is the embodiment of Scripture, and I will honor him with all my words and deeds...these principles have never failed to bless, comfort, strengthen, and enlighten me for more than the past 60 years. 

So, this is my introduction to what I would like to say about choosing life over death from cradle to grave.  My hope is that you’ll stay with me the next two or three days as we comb-out a few bed-head-hairs of misconception about choice.

For You Today  

If you are ready to choose to believe Scripture, and honor Christ in all you do, here is what God’s Word says about making that decision:

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.  Romans 10:9-10

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

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

       Life Off-Track   and   Choosing; and being able to live with the Choices

Images: Title image 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^©   

 

Out of the Stump

 

Monday, December 13, 2021

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.  And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.  He will delight in obeying the Lord.           

Isaiah 11:1-3a

A stump is not the kind of icon you’d choose to represent heath and vigor.  The land on which our house stands was full of pine and gum trees, not exactly what we wanted to see.  The unwanted trees were cut down, and then came the stump-grinder.  His work wore-away what was left of huge trees to a network of disconnected roots 6-8” below the ground surface.  Eventually they rot and disintegrate.  Such is the nature of ground-down stumps. 

Not so in the case of David’s line.  The prophet wrote these words about Jesus, a direct descendant of King David’s line.  God saw fit to have Messiah come from this stump of a bloodline.  And when Jesus was born, the spirit of wisdom and understanding (internal wealth) and the Spirit of counsel and might (external usefulness) and intimate relationship with Creator God (spiritual life) came to live among us.  His perfect obedience in holiness became our salvation.

In the timeline of Advent, now just a dozen days from celebrating the birth in a livestock feeder, Mary and Joseph are packing their bags for a trip to the tax collector’s office in Bethlehem.  It’s going to be a hard journey, the better part of a week to cover 90 miles back to their hometown.  Mary is a tough young girl, braving the grueling combination of being jostled by the donkey beneath her for ten hours a day with the child within stretching and kicking in preparation to enter the land of the dying.  The stump is about to sprout, and nothing about life would ever be the same for Jesus’ parents…or the world.

Later, after the accomplishment of everything Jesus came to do, I’m certain Mary remembered this trip, and the excitement and wonder she was carrying.  As certainly as she accepted what the angel told her about the source of her condition, she still had questions about how it would all play out.  The bumping and discomfort of the journey was but a foreshadow of the epic struggle to come.

I am just as certain that Isaiah’s prophecy of the blossoming of Jesse’s stump was not lost on Mary.  This was her ancestor’s line; she was a daughter of Judah; her blood included Abraham, and even Rahab, the prostitute.  The stories were told to her from a tender age of how Messiah would come from this stump.  And Mary had a front-row seat for it all.

For You Today

What excites you about Christmas?  If you’re like most people, there was a time that the gifts under the tree were the main event.  But what about now?  What excites you now?  Perhaps the first blush of hushed joy ought to be the sight of the stump of that Christmas tree you bring home, and remembering the image of a new shoot coming out of a (supposedly) dead stump.  Everything that holds your eternity is held in that stump…and another one that would be raised on Golgotha 3 decades later.

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

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

For another post on this text see Jesse's Stump

Waiting for the Prince

 

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.  And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.  Philippians 3:20

The little chapel sits just off the road on Highway 62 in Trinity.  We’ve been living in Thomasville for 20 years and travelled that road a zillion times.  My bride maintains she’s never seen it before, but that chapel is older than we are.  

It got me to thinking about two stories.  The first has no author, but many writers.  The second has an author, but no other writer.

The first story appears in many movies of the darker, mysterious sort, where a distraught and somewhat rumpled older woman is sitting at a bar, decked-out in her fanciest evening gown, which is somewhat tattered.  Her hair is straggly, and she is covered with her entire jewelry box contents, mostly costume gaudy stuff.  She is quite drunk and crying.  She is also always willing to spin her tale of woe to anyone willing to listen.  She is waiting for her prince who will come and marry her.  He is tall and handsome, a dream of man.  She has been waiting forty years; he never shows up.  It’s a sad story, and the writers never have to finish it.  We know how that ends…sad, alone, broken.

The other story is of another fiancé waiting.  Her prince isn’t the Hollywood type.  In fact, the last time she saw him he was so disfigured she could hardly believe it was her man.  He’d been beaten with fists until his face was so bloodied and swollen, crowned with a thorned wreath, scourged with a cat-o’-nine-tails, and finally nailed to crossbeams between two thieves on the town garbage dump. 

This was her bridegroom!

To those uninitiated to the backstory, it seems a little like the two stories have the same ending – disappointed bride, broken and lost.  To those more familiar with the historically accurate story with no earthly author, this isn’t a story; it’s a promise, written in blood.  This bride will not be disappointed.  The only ones disappointed will be those who do not prepare for the coming of the Lord, the churches’ bridegroom.

“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.  When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’  “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps.  Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’  “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us.  Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’  “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came.  Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.  Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord!  Open the door for us!’  “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’  “So you, too, must keep watch!  For you do not know the day or hour of my return.  Matthew 25:1-13

For You Today

That little chapel on Highway 62 is a picture of the waiting.  It’s a quaint and quiet setting with nothing special happening there.  Except that there is a notebook which many visitors have signed, leaving behind thanks for the quiet assurance of a chapel in the middle of nowhere.  Some leave a prayer request for help and healing.  To spend a few moments there, reading the hearts of travelers’ longings, is like listening-in on the whispered prayers at altars, it’s holy.  In the quieted hush of that log chapel, broken occasionally by a passing car or truck, there is an anxiousness to the waiting, but nonetheless a peace in the middle of anxious days.  It is patience.

The church today is a little bedraggled and lonely at times.  Her costume jewelry, robes, and all the fanfare of rituals and rule books don’t do her destiny much justice.  We look a little absurd and distorted, like her beaten and crucified bridegroom.  But there is coming that day when she will see her bridegroom coming with clouds and glory[1].  Best to be prepared as you’re waiting for the Prince.

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

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Title image, Pixabay.com   W   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For other posts on Philippians 3:20 see:  Citizens of Heaven and  The Pattern of a Life 

---

[1] Matthew 24:30  …And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

 

Jesus; Preeminent

11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989

A preacher once spoke on what Paul said about “giving thanks to the Father”. After the service a woman leaving the church said to the minister, “I enjoyed that sermon.” The minister replied to her, “Don’t thank me. Thank the Lord”. She said, “It wasn’t that good!”[1]
Paul’s “sermon” to the Colossian believers paints a graphic picture of just who Jesus is, what he has done, and what that means to us. Paul holds up for us the preeminent Christ.

What does it mean when you say that “Jesus is preeminent”? Primarily it means that (as Paul says in verse 18) Jesus has first place in everything. That’s what it means when we use the medieval term “Lord” as applied to Jesus. Consider just how appropriate that term “Lord” is:

He is LORD OF THE UNIVERSE
Jesus is the lord over the universe, because He created it. The scripture says that "For by him all things were created....and in him all things hold together." Jesus is lord over HIS universe.
Zig Ziglar is a successful salesman and motivational speaker. I attended a service where he told of seeking God for an answer to his questions. He later saw a shooting star, and understood it to be God's answer to him, planned out years ago, when the star actually burned-out. He said, "That seemed to be saying to me, 'I Am...I created and I control...And don't you forget it!'"

The fact that Jesus controls is sometimes forgotten; especially for believers. We see such heartache, and wrong - we forget He's still in command. And He's not worried; He is LORD over the universe.

He is LORD OF THE CHURCH
The reality of the church is that it was ESTABLISHED by Jesus' death and resurrection; He is Lord of it. Jesus is enthroned because he established HIS church.

A young man went to a preacher and blurted-out in great distress, "Pastor, can you tell me what I need to do to find peace?" The minister replied, "Young man, you’re too late." "I'm too late to be saved?" "No," said the preacher, "but you're too late to do anything. Jesus did everything that needed to be done twenty centuries ago." That is why He is in charge.

He is Lord of the universe, and Lord of the church. Yet, in spite of all His grandeur, power, and authority, He has still ordained that it is up to each of us, individually, whether...

He is LORD OF MY HEART
With the entire universe to rule, and the right to do anything He wants, why does Jesus want to be lord over my heart? Well, quite frankly, it has to do with love. Note in John 3:16 that God loved us so much He sent Jesus to be our Savior. God had a purpose in mind; and that purpose is found in Col 1:20 (Making peace between the Creator and the Creation), and Col 1:22, cleansing us, making us free from accusation. God loves us so much He wants to take away the guilt and shame of our sin, and replace it with joy, love and peace. WHAT A DEAL!

There is a prerequisite to receiving that peace. It tells us in Paul’s letter[2] that all people were alienated, enemies of God because of sin. That means that reconciliation must take place.

When families come to me for counsel because there is a dispute, there must be reconciliation. I tell them that someone must make a way. One of the family members HAS to take the first step in loving the others. Until there is movement, no one can get closer.
With the sin that separates us from God, He took the first step. Paul says[3] that the bodily death of Jesus provided the way of reconciliation with God. Our only step is to receive that.

The barometer of Christianity is relationship to the Master – and that is based upon reconciliation. Lordship is the final description of who Jesus is to Christians. A most appropriate illustration of this is the Lord's Prayer. We say, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done." It is not wishful thinking ("I hope Your kingdom will come soon, Lord")....Rather it is a statement of what we want to accomplish this day ("Father, I want to obey Your will completely today, and be right in the center of Your kingdom!") That is Lordship!

You might say, I don't want to make that kind of resolution to belong to Jesus; I might not be able to keep it. Good news, friend...None of us can keep it. It is HE who keeps us! We all fail. Resolutions don't reflect your ability, they reflect your heart. And that's what the lord of the universe, the church, and millions of hearts is after....just our hearts!

You can begin – right now…today - a lifetime of relationship to the preeminent Lord of the universe and church. You simply entrust all of who you are to Jesus with a simple prayer.
It can be as simple as this, Lord, be Lord of my heart.

And then, since He’s Lord of the universe, the church and your heart, he is also Lord of the table; come, the table is for you!

In the name of the Father
Because of the Son
Cooperating with the Spirit
--------------
ENDNOTES
[1] Robert S. Smith, Kane, Pennsylvania, Christian Reader, “Lite Fare.”
[2] Colossians 1:21
[3] Colossians 1:22