Got Wisdom?

Friday, October 6, 2023

The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.  The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.  Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.  The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.  They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.   They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.  They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.  How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?  Cleanse me from these hidden faults.  Keep your servant from deliberate sins!  Don’t let them control me.  Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  Psalm 19:7-14

King David taught his son Solomon what wisdom looked like.  Soaking-up all the truth of Scripture, David summarized wisdom by the qualities God’s Word will become in a believer’s heart:

     ·       God’s Word is impeccably-perfect…reviving the soul

     ·       God’s Decrees are trustworthy…making the simple person wise

     ·       God’s Commandments are right…making joy flourish in the heart

     ·       God’s Commands are clear…light on life’s path

     ·       Reverence towards God is pure…an eternal blessing of clear conscience

     ·       God’s laws are true…making fairness an everyday experience

Knowing God’s ways bring life, wisdom, joy, insight, and permanence; His way and blessing are available to all who will worship the true, living God.

David concluded his prayer recorded in Psalm 19 with a question and answer. 

The question:  How can I understand my own heart…all the sins hidden there?

The answer:  Humble confession that I can’t know the depth of my own heart’s sins merely by my own wisdom.  I must place my heart in God’s hands…ask Him to forgive and cleanse me, so my proclivity towards sinning won’t control me.

David closed the prayer with one final request:  Lord, whatever I’ve laid before You, O Lord…may it be pleasing to you…do what you will with me…you are the bedrock of all my days and eternity.

If you’ve ever wondered where to start with praying to God, go back to Psalm 19 and grasp the depth of how anyone should (and can) approach Almighty God.  This is the model for placing your life in His care, and your heart’s love at the foot of Calvary’s cross.  The result of studying God’s love letter to humanity is revival for the soul, wisdom for making decisions, joy in the heart, light on your journey as you step-out each day with a clean conscience, and a burning desire to spread justice and fairness to every creature on earth. 

Did he leave anything out?

For You Today 

David’s son, Solomon, took his dad’s evaluation of God’s Word to heart, and both history and God’s Word call Solomon the wisest man ever.  That’s not a bad place to start your day.  It will make finishing your day an adventure that won’t disappoint.

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.

Title Image(s) courtesy of Pixabay.com                   

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

The Struggle Between Good and Evil

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Thursday, September 5, 2019

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.  But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.  They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.  Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.  But not the wicked!  They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.  They will be condemned at the time of judgment.  Sinners will have no place among the godly.  For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.  Psalm 1:1-6

Just like following a beam of light from earth all the way back to the sun, if you follow the anger beam back to its’ source, you will discover angry apocryphal arrogance.  The first Psalm is a study in the effects of what went wrong in humankind.  For anyone who has ever wondered from whence sprung all the anger, violence, and lack of decency in our world, it is the outcropping of the seeds of sin; when we fail to obey God, the only other choice is to embrace being the enemy of God, and that requires anger and death.

It seems ludicrous that anyone would choose death and decay over life and love, but it doesn’t happen overnight.  In angry apocryphal arrogance, the apocryphal or mythical part is how we got where we are; it is the steady beam of fading light away from God’s presence.  It is what happens when people begin the turn away from God to self.  On a cosmic scale, there is not a single human who hasn’t experienced that[2].  On a personal level it is played out very young.  The first time a child realizes the one holding him back from grabbing something he wants, the seeds of rebellion and sin begin to sprout.  That creates an anger and resolve to have that toy, or hissing snake, no matter the cost.

The Psalmist traces the behavior and fate of those who (eventually) choose godliness over selfishness.  The good prosper; evil dies.  This is seen in the psyche of the child that is grasping the forbidden object for the first time.  Instead of intense and growing satisfaction at having what was heretofore taboo, there is a growing sense of guilt and shame at having defiled the relationship between child and parent.  As a child you did feel that thing inside about disappointing Mom and Dad, didn’t you?

The antidote we humans seem to prefer is to begin (and keep on) telling ourselves some version of a fairy tale that we’re ok, when evidence to the contrary keeps building up.  Over the course of time we begin to believe the lie and mock the truth.  This is the progression of sin…we entertain sin, begin to listen to its advice, and finally adopt it as righteousness.  Our childhood angst over this hard-wired guilt is turned into self-righteousness, and, in a frantic (but futile) attempt to gain a foothold of respectability, we repeat the lie so often that I’m OK; you’re OK, we wind up validating a searing of our conscience.  As Scripture states it, we earn ourselves a hardened heart[3], but whistle in the dark about how good we really are!

News bulletin:  That didn’t work in Noah’s day when the raindrops began falling!

For You Today

The world’s culture all around you will sneer at the goodness God wants to create in your life.  Mocking is a natural response to anything Godly.  What God-followers do is listen to the Holy Spirit who prods us to reject this world and be transformed by God’s light.  Darkness and Light are locked in an eternal struggle; and we must choose how we will walk every day, covered in God’s light, or stumbling in evil’s darkness.

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     Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

[2] Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12

[3] Matthew 13:15, Jeremiah 17:9

Shipwrecked Faith

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Friday, February 9, 2018

Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier.  May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles.  Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear.  For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.  Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples.  I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.  1 Timothy 1:18-20^(NLT)

Paul was Timothy’s mentor.  From other references in Scripture we know that Timothy was raised in a Godly household, and Paul was probably instrumental in his conversion.[2]  Timothy accompanied Paul on his missionary journeys, and at times was sent to churches by Paul when he couldn’t go personally.  Six of Paul’s letters have Timothy’s greetings to the churches, if not his influence in what Paul wrote. 

As much as Paul was a tutor and “father” in the faith to Timothy, this friendship included Timothy’s influence on Paul.  When Paul came to the end of his days on earth he called for Timothy to come to the Roman prison, and bring the Scripture scrolls ^{(2 Timothy 4:9)}.   Like any other human, at the end you want your closest friends.  For Paul it was the Word of God and his “son” in the faith.

In giving Timothy some final instructions for his life and ministry, Paul charged Timothy to live with particular attention to the meaning of his name, which is:  honoring God.

The caution to Timothy in this advice is that only an un-violated conscience can honor God.  Hymenaeus and Alexander were believers who had crossed that line intentionally.  It may have been that they were under some pressure from authorities to deny Christ, or it may have been a temptation that they just weren’t willing to fight…but it was serious enough for Paul to act with discipline – a last ditch effort to save their souls.  These men had made a shipwreck of their faith walk with Christ; Paul was throwing them a compassionate lifeline in the form of a wakeup call.  Better to get a cold splash of holy water in the face than wake up in the searing fires of hell.

The whole point is conscience – that inner voice of God’s Holy Spirit which, if we let Him, directs our daily life’s choices, and leads us into living a Godly life.  Paul strongly reminded Timothy that nothing mattered as much as clinging to that faith (in Christ) once-delivered to the saints.  Trusting Christ would help him stay clean in conscience and strong in the battle against the darkness of life in a godless world. 

This is certainly true in the life and ministry of those called to work in God’s field.  And whether pastor or lay person, we are ALL called to labor in God’s vineyard!  God calls us to do so with these clean tools: 

·       faith in Christ alone,

·       the Word of God,

·       unending prayer,

·       the daily surrender of self, and

·       a clean conscience. 

These are the tools of a follower of Jesus; we must keep those tools clean and sharp!

For You Today

Look over your toolbox today.  When you reach for help in that toolbox you don’t need to find a dull, rusted conscience!

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

[2] Robert Dean in Holman Bible Dictionary © 1991 Holman Bible Publishers Electronic Edition STEP Files

Leaving the Door UNLOCKED for God's Spirit

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Thursday, October 19, 2017

“But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going.  Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you.  But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come.  If I do go away, then I will send him to you.  And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 

John 16:5-8^(NLT)

When our youngest child, Carrie (now a mother of two boys) was only 7, her best friend, Amber lived just around the corner from our house.  Sometimes this duo would play at Amber’s house, and sometimes at ours.  Whenever the after-school play was away from home, Carrie knew she had to be home before dark.  Most times she made it.  One time it was well after the street lights came on that we spotted her coming down our street towards the house.  I decided to make an important point about the missed curfew.  I stood (silently, but rather menacing) in the carport, arms folded with appropriate “Dad-scowl” on.  Carrie, our little princess was skipping home, singing a carefree child’s song, and never saw me standing in the dark shadow of the doorway…until she was right in front of me.  She stopped dead in her tracks like a head-on collision, looked-up at my dead-pan face, with the blood drained from her own face, white as a sheet, remembering the curfew, and proclaimed in a small, stage whisper:  I’m dead meat!

I have to admit it was really…I mean REALLY hard to keep my smile hidden, much less keep the belly-laugh that wanted to burst-out of me down where it belonged.  It was even harder to impose the sentence of a weeks’ worth of no-play after school.  After all, she’d gotten it; it was a momentary, childish lapse of thought…and she was only 7 with a ton of remorse.  We let her off with a warning.

The remarkable thing to me was that I never had to say a word.  Conscience, presence, and the working of God’s Spirit to bring righteousness to the surface was what that situation needed – not another sermon.  Sure, my child felt guilty – some guilt is warranted when you’ve stepped over the line.  The fact that she felt guilty is a mark that God’s Spirit was working in her.  That is what Jesus told the disciples would happen when the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, would come to bring conviction to the hearts of people everywhere.  Some guilt is necessary and good, particularly when it points you in the direction of Heaven.

There is a decided “no-vote” in our culture today – against morality and judgment.  Everything and anything that remotely suggests a flaw in sexuality, relationships, conversation or lifestyle behavior is seen as judgmental; say it twice and you’re guilty of a hate crime.  Mention God while you’re saying it and you are a Bible-thumping bigot.

Today’s generation wants everyone to be accepted and feel accepted.  However, lifestyle choices that are 180° opposite of what Scripture declares as righteous, is what makes people uncomfortable around people who are attempting to live a life surrendered to God’s will.  You mostly don’t have to say a word; the Spirit of God will be in the midst of your relationships with others.  Those who live rebellious lives, apart from God and refusing to submit to His will, inevitably blame the Christians in front of them; if you’re the target…if you’re the dead meat for their anger, so be it; it is the Holy Spirit of God they’re fighting against – not you.

For You Today

Some guilt is holy.  Sometimes people need to see their sin, and feel the reproving of the Spirit. 

Most times it is a wise thing to lock your lips, and leave the door open and unlocked for God’s Spirit to do what He wills…not what you think.

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

Keeping a Clear Conscience

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Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Everyone must submit to governing authorities.  For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.  So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.  For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong.  Would you like to live without fear of the authorities?  Do what is right, and they will honor you.  The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good.  But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you.  They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong.  So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.     Romans 13:1-5^(NLT)         

On the political scene we are nearly 8 months into a new administration in Washington.  I fully expected that one of two things would have happened by now; either the world would have ended, or the angry rhetoric would have simmered-down to a grumble level.  There is no indication either has happened.  The news cycles, with the President and everything he does subject to micro-inspection crosshairs of critique, push the envelope from the (so-called) moral high ground.  This is the traditional role of the side that lost an election.  Pushback from the other side is as fragmented as can be, the president seemingly not beholden to any group, and willing to fry anyone at any time.  And the leadership of the party in power mill around dazed and chaotic as to whether they  really “won” anything, and what to do about the power/non-power they possess.

It is a strange time!

Whichever side you voted for in the election, the critical question for any thinking citizen, (particularly those who want to follow Christ) is:  What do I do now?  If you pulled the lever in either direction last November – or if you chose to stay home and stay out/above the process – you do have a life to live, and responsibilities to your neighbors; we are our brother’s keepers.

Paul reminds us that a believer’s responsibility is first to God.  It is from God all authority is received.  Whatever party and platform of government you favor, it is with an eye towards obedience to God that you must choose your actions; that is, if you wish to have a clear conscience. 

Of course this brings into view the whole matter of the possibility of civil disobedience.  For a Christian, disobeying civil authority only comes into focus when that government clearly requires you to do something clearly opposite of what God’s Word requires of you.  For instance, if a government wants you to murder, steal, or otherwise violate the God-given life of a fellow human being, and your conscience tells you this without doubt, you are bound to obey God rather than man.

My Dad had a clear conscience the day he refused to fire a man, when ordered to do so by his superior.  Jobs were scarce, and the man to be fired was a good, hard-working employee who’d served the company well for many years; he’d also done nothing wrong.  My Dad’s superior just happened to be having an extra-marital affair with the woman who was only a temporary employee.  The boss wanted to keep her on the payroll.  Dad stood firm, and told the boss if he insisted on firing the man, he could add my Dad’s name to the termination list.  As a result, my Dad was out of work along with the man he stood-up for.  You don’t have to ask whose conscience remained clear.

For You Today

A believer’s first responsibility is to the government of that city made without hands.

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

Culture or Cross?

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Thursday, July 13, 2017

When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law.  And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it.  For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God.  It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight.  Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it.  They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.  And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.  Romans 2:12-16^(NLT)

Decades ago Debbie Boone had a big hit with Joe Brooks’ love song entitled You Light Up My Life[ii].  The lyrics include:

It can’t be wrong when it feels so right

It’s just a little problematic to believe that.  A drug addict will tell you that “high” he feels when the heroin rushes into his blood stream feels so right!  A teenager who has just pinned the speedometer on his Mustang at 140mph will feel so right until the siren and lights start blaring in his rear view mirror.  And a person caught in believing that the wave of cultural acceptability for such things as pre-marital, extra-marital, or same-sex practices will also tell you that those feelings of love and community the culture provides are proof that it’s OK with God too!

They are wrong!  Deadly wrong!

Despite the increasing flood of normative-creating culture in favor of same-sex, trans-gender, and whatever sexual flavor of the month cause our world can generate, God’s Word still declares that the bonds of marriage are for one man and one woman for one lifetime.

As ever, we have choices to make about what we will believe.  Those choices are between believing the culture in which we live, so we can feel so right, or following the demand of living the life of Christ’s cross, honoring our Creator and Redeemer.

For You Today

A believer/follower of Jesus Christ, who is living the cross-life of surrender, conforms his heart to the will of Christ, which is found in the Word of God.  If my will, and what feels so right, conflict with what God has proclaimed, it isn’t God who is wrong!

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

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NOTES

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[i] Title Image: Pixabay.com and Pixabay.com

[ii] Joe Brooks ^©Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

Redeemed Forever

[i]

Holy Week

Monday, April 10, 2017

So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come.  He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.  With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.  Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity.  Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God.  For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.  That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them.  For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.  Hebrews 9:11-15^(NLT)

There have been a number of times I’ve been glued to the TV or radio.  In the Fall of 1955 I couldn’t walk home from school – I had to run because the World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers was being broadcast, and my team, those Brooklyn Bums, had a chance to win.

In 1961 we waited without breathing as Alan Shepherd became the first American in space.  Two years later we mourned with a shocked nation as they carried the body of President Kennedy to Arlington Cemetery.  Several years later my bride and I stayed up late, eyes glazed as we watched live coverage of the first moon landing.  In 1981 I should have been studying my Greek lessons in seminary, but we were awed with the pomp and grandeur of Prince Charles and the lovely Princess Di getting hitched in London.

Everyone has those high-drama moments that will live in memory for a lifetime. 

Here, on the first day of Holy Week, we’ve been trudging through six weeks of Lenten expectation in preparation for the event that stands immeasurably above any World Series, space launch, President’s funeral or state wedding; we are about to celebrate the Good News of the redemption of humankind by the blood of the Lamb.

The title picture of this devotion is the artist’s depiction of that moment when Christ, resurrected, returns to the Father in Heaven, and, by the power of the eternal Spirit, presents himself as the Lamb, crucified, buried, resurrected, and now glorified. 

And He does it for our redeeming.  He claims victory over sin and death before the host of Heaven, angels, humans and the Great throne.  There has never been a greater moment in time for all humanity.  It’s not an American victory, racial triumph, gender-level or any other kind of culmination to human struggle; it is simply (and magnificently) God’s love covering all of what went wrong with us fallen human beings.

Christ is now our High Priest, and the mediator of a new covenant with God; God is now approachable through Jesus, because Christ’s blood cleanses our sinful hearts.  And, in the bargain, the cleansing of soul is also the cleansing of conscience.  There is no regret, only the memory of a once-for-all sacrifice and forgiveness to set-at-right that which was so wrong.

This is our inheritance as children of God, followers of Jesus Christ – freedom from the penalty and power of sin, able to worship our God in the beauty of holiness, and in spirit and truth; we even have the contemplation of one day, in the New Heaven, freedom from the presence of sin when the Father creates all things new!

For You Today

As we get closer to celebrating the cross this Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the resurrection victory of Easter Sunday, keep the cost of your eternal redemption in mind: His pain then, is our joy now. 

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

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NOTES

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 ^I Title image: By Wilhelm Hauschild (1827-1887) (www.pittstate.edu/engl/nichols/neuschcastle.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons