Mustard Faith

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God?  What story should I use to illustrate it?  It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”  Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand.  In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.  Mark 4:30-34

As a tourist or resident, walking the busy streets of New York isn’t a complete experience unless you get a hot dog from a street vendor.  And, of course, you must have mustard!  (If you eat it plain the STREET-EATS POLICE will get ya’).  

As a former New Yorker who has eaten many of those “tube-steaks” I can attest to the oft-mused answer to the question about what gives those doggies their special flavor.  The answer is threefold simple…ambiance of the great city, a fair amount of soot, and taxicab tailpipe exhaust in the air[1]. 

Now, It's something of a leap from street-vendors selling New York hot dogs, to Jesus talking about mustard in Jerusalem; but there is a connection.  You do know there isn’t a person in the entirety of humanity who hasn’t tasted a hot dog.  In the same way everyone in the crowd to which Jesus spoke in that agrarian community knew mustard seeds as a “must” for the garden.  The image of the tiny seed, growing into a huge, tree-like bush, and how mustard’s pungent taste can enhance many foods, is common in any culture you care to name.  When you bite into anything coated with mustard, you know it’s there.  And that may be a hint of why Jesus used such a common image to help people understand God’s Kingdom. 

The rapid growth of a tiny seed, coupled with its unmistakeable presence when matured, is an appropriate characterization of what God is able to do with us.  Consider the magnificent presence of Mother Teresa…as tiny a human being (physically) as you could ever meet, and quiet enough, personally, that you’d never expect a mustard kind of effect out of that little package.  But she drew the attention of the entire world to change the way children are treated. 

Much as a mustard plant can double as a shade tree for a hot, weary bird or two, any tiny human being, whether isolated in the mountains of Cambodia, or living on the busy streets of Mubai, India, another face in the crowd of 21-million other people, God can grow some evidence of His Kingdom-presence to feed a leper, or put clothes on a street kid.  Small, common seeds…big, holy results!

For You Today 

From the antiquities of the first century church we have what Paul told the belivers at Colossae:

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.  Colossians 3:23

You may not be called to work with children like Mother Teresa, or labor at a microscope to cure cancer, or gear-up with the astronauts to travel to distant stars.  But whatever God places in your hand, your heart, or your head, He has placed it, and you, there to make a difference.  Start as a mustard seed; grow to be a shade tree for some weary, wandering bird who needs to know what it’s like to come face to face with the Kingdom of God.

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

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

 

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] With humble apologies to my New York friends and relatives…tongue in cheek; it’s really da mustard

Will Your Rope Hold?

 

Thursday, January 5, 2023

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.  And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.  Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.  Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.  Hebrews 12:1-2

I have heard people talk about the Christian life as if it were a rope.  There are as many theories as there are people as to how to go about living that rope-life.  But they distill-down to about three:

1.    The Latent Atheist:  When you come to the end of the rope…let go…there was nothing there in the first place, only the end of the rope.  It’s over.

2.    The Budding Optimist:  When you come to the end of the rope…let go, because God will catch you.

3.    The Uncompromising Pragmatist:  When you come to the end of the rope…tie a knot and hold on, because that’s what people do.

I’m not at all sure you can take any of those in raw form and build a plan for life which is Biblically-sound.  Certainly not atheism; there’s no future in the absence of hope.  Optimism may sound good on a mountaintop, but Christians are called to walk in the valleys of life.  Pragmatism is the other side of a dry well because it smacks of humanistic self-reliance, the very opposite of surrender to the will (and Providence) of God.  Besides, human strength goes only so far.

So…what to do?

A case can be made for both perseverance and faith.  Perseverance is tying the knot, and faith is engaging life, walking, trusting God for the ground under your feet with every step.  It is the game plan for the surrendered life in Christ.  It is not an absence of fear, but putting your leg to the next step despite fear, depression, hurt, wonder, or any other of the six billion things that might short-circuit following in Jesus’ footsteps.  You breathe, in and out, you walk daily, serving, loving, and waiting on His direction.

There’s an oft-repeated line in a poem entitled When He Comes.[1]

There’s a King and captain high, Who’ll be coming by and by.

And He’ll find me hoeing cotton when He comes.

When He comes!  When He comes!

And He’ll find me hoeing cotton when He comes!

For You Today  

The Christian life of surrender to God’s will is filled with hoeing cotton, a euphemism for doing what God brings your way; you walk with Him in prayer and obedience, and you engage your community in every way, both the simple and complex.  As Paul put it: 

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.  Colossians 3:23

Today, breathe, pray, get moving, keep serving and loving…hoe all the cotton He gives you…and keep looking for when He comes.  You won’t have to worry about whether your rope will hold…you know the One who holds the rope!

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: 

Holy Huddle  and  Strength to Go On

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] When He Comes, French E. Oliver, 1921

A Toast to the End of Half-Heartedness

 

Friday, August 26, 2022

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another.  Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.  Do you have the gift of helping others?  Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.  Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.  All glory and power to him forever and ever!  Amen.  1 Peter 4:10-11

My Dad was fond of the idiom:  Jack-of-all-trades; master-of-none.  The first half of the saying was originally a compliment to indicate multi-tasking, being able to do a basketful of different trades (skills).  Later, some cynical troll added the second part, turning a bright compliment into a dig.  The troll was, according to some, Robert Greene, a late 16^th-century writer, who tweaked the compliment into a snide rebuke of another writer, who had turned from actor to writer of plays; fellow’s name was William Shakespeare.[1]

Apostle Peter, of the historical first-century, had cast his vote over 1,600 years before, encouraging excellence in whatever you do.  And, heading-off the elitist criticism from the beginning, Peter didn’t care what skill or skills you may employ, he says:  whatever you do, don’t do it half-heartedly, give it all you’ve got.

The sole reason for this is that each Christian disciple of Jesus Christ is given spiritual gifts to use in building the Kingdom of God, by building fellow believers.  To use any gift of God in a half-hearted manner is the character of an ingrate, unable, or unwilling to appreciate the holiness of God’s gifts, a slap in God’s face.

John Wesley, Founder of Methodism, wrote that Christian efforts at doing good were to be an unceasing quest for believers, doing all the good we can, by all the means we can, in all the ways and places we can, at all the times we can, and to all the people we can, for as long as ever we can.  This is a plea for the extermination of half-heartedness – a call to arms against mediocrity, and in support of excellent, unselfish service.

The kingdom of God was never advanced by people with a cavalier attitude, acting as if serving others was bothersome, or even optional, or required little personal sacrifice.  Serving God in any way, from the highest to lowest of positions is a holy endeavor, and must receive our best efforts.  As Oswald Chambers wrote, it must be my utmost for His highest!

For You Today

If you’re a preacher, singer, teacher, Sunday School worker, custodian, or keeper of the records…your best efforts belong to God.  He gave you those gifts because He has confidence you’ll use them well. 

A word from the deep well of Apostle Paul’s wisdom to do nothing half-heartedly:

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.  Colossians 3:23

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:  Glory and Wise Choices

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

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[1] The Phrase Finder

The Beauty of Holiness

 

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Psalm 29:2

Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. ^(KJV)

I was introduced to the Scriptures as a very young child.  The version of Scripture heard in our church was King James.  Memorization of God’s Word was taught as an important duty, key to having it (the Word of God) hidden in our hearts.[1]  I always assumed that the phrase in the beauty of holiness was a command that I come to God as holy, forgiven, and not steeped in my sinful ways.  That was difficult for someone like me, full of youthful questions and doubts.  I despaired of ever being “good enough” to come before God as holy.

Enter the world of other translations.  The version I have taken the time to fall in love with is the New Living Translation^©  This morning’s verse hit me with a different look at an old friend, the beauty of holiness.

Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.  Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. ^(NLT)

Instead of a command to come before God for worship in my brand of holiness, the command shifts to worship God because of His holiness!  It’s a command towards reverence, not a command to get clean and live right, so you are then permitted to worship. 

This is the dress code thing I’ve bumped up against since the 60’s.  It follows this line of reasoning:  You come to God’s house dressed in your finest to honor God.  Now, that’s not bad reasoning.  If I were invited to the White House, I believe I’d wear a suit and tie.  It’s a sign of respect towards the one who sits at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.  But I don’t wear a suit and tie every day; especially to sleep in my own bed.  Yet, I am commanded to worship when I get up in the morning, when I leave my house, when I return, and all day, in everything I do.[2]  So, worship isn’t confined to the church house, nor is there any amount of scrubbing-up my life to get to a point of “holy” sufficient to satisfy any worthiness level before God. 

Now, that does two things:

a.     It makes me aware that I can only truly worship God when I come before Him humbled and honest, as Charlotte Elliott wrote,

Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

b.     It compels me to remember that I am always in that condition, and keeps me connected with God’s grace, which is only sufficient for sinners.  I cannot be holy without His imputed holiness to my life.

Warren Wiersbe, in his Bible Study series comments that:

True holiness is a beautiful thing to behold, and certainly the greatest demonstration was in the life of Jesus Christ when He ministered on earth. Sin is ugly, no matter what we may call it, but true holiness is beautiful and brings glory to God.[3]

So, it isn’t “holiness” that I can muster up, or fake; holiness is trusting in the God of Calvary, Who brought glory to the Father with His life, and stands with opened arms to welcome us into that beautiful holiness.  Our lives surrendered to that purpose of bringing glory to Yahweh is a beautiful thing.

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, we understand that when we worship You, who are altogether worthy AND beautiful, it is an act that brings us beauty to share with others.  Allow us grace to receive Your beauty of holiness.

For You Today

Both ugly and beautiful are forever, except when the grace found in worship makes an eternal exchange of one for the other.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!       

Go to VIDEO

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

For another post on Psalm 29:2 see Honor the Lord  

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[1] Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

[2] Colossians 3:23 and Deuteronomy 11:18-22

[3] Warren Wiersbe BE Bible Study Series © Warren W. Wiersbe

Before You Give...

Monday, September 8, 2014

He stood on the platform, and then he knelt in front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his hands toward heaven.  He prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth.  You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion.           

2 Chronicles 6:13-17 (NLT)

On the day of dedication of "Solomon's Temple," the king erected a brazen platform in the outer court.  All the people gathered, as the king ascended the platform, in full view of the altar.  The altar would be the site of many offerings, many sacrifices. 

However, before the first sacrifice, the first exchange of money for doves or lambs, the king offered himself on the brazen platform.  This is much like the Macedonian Christians whom, Paul said; their first action was to give themselves to the Lord….[1] 

When Solomon placed himself at God’s disposal here’s what happened:

When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple.  The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it.  When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the Lord filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying,

“He is good!  His faithful love endures forever!”   Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord.            2 Chronicles 7:1-4

Solomon’s actions – giving himself first – was acceptable to God.  This should be a pattern for our lives as well.

When we give, pray, lead, share our faith, conduct business, change a diaper, do homework, drive to the mall – whatever we do we should do it as unto God.[2] 

·        When it comes to giving, put yourself in the offering plate first! 

·        When it comes to business, determine He will be the Senior Partner. 

·        When it comes to anything remember Solomon's Temple; it was immersed in consecrating prayer and surrendered to the Lord's will before a single sacrifice was placed upon the altar!

For You, Today…

What have you got on your schedule today?

What should you do first?

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[1] 2 Corinthians 8:5

[2] Colossians 3:23