Be Still...and Know

Friday, September 29, 2023

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.  So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.  Let the oceans roar and foam.  Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!  

….“Be still, and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation.                          I will be honored throughout the world.”  Psalm 46:1-3, 10

When the storms of life head your way, it becomes an absolute necessity to know and trust the strength of the position you occupy.  It won’t do to start fixing the roof when the raindrops begin.  This is why Scripture constantly tells us, shows us, and reminds us to meditate on God, to study His Word, and trust His strength, rather than our own.  He is our roof, walls, and foundation; He wants us to survive the storms.  So…this morning, let’s meditate on God in the stillness:

Be Still and See His Creation

The Psalmist tells us God created all that we can see, as well as that which we still haven’t discovered.  Take a deep breath and contemplate how God has put you together, intricate, beautiful, capable of great kindness and compassion, having free will to serve goodness or evil; you are fearfully and wonderfully-made.

Be Still and See His Gentleness

With all His power to create the universe, God made sure we would have the tenderness to be gentle with that which is vulnerable.  What trust our God has in us to ennoble us with such gifts that display His image in us.  We are blessed with a family resemblance.

Be Still and See His Kindness  

God did not have to create us, or be gentle with His creation, but rather chose to do so because of His nature to be kind.  Even the covenant word used for God’s promises to all who look to him as Father…the word is lovingkindness.  That is the stuff of His creation and promises.

Be Still and See His Majesty

Mountains, plains, seas, sky, and all that is in them, declare the handiwork of God.  And with all of that to display his glory, God also has not chosen to live in a house made with bricks, mortar, wood, or stone; God lives within the crown of His creation…humankind.  He decorates his abode with love, compassion, and eternal life.

Be Still and See His Mercy

In the storms of our lives, God is there; He cares what we’re going through, and what we’ve learned, how much we’ve suffered, or laughed.  He knows us so fully…every molecule of our body, every thought of our being, every tear we’ve ever shed is collected in His bottle, and He knows every pure or vile thing we’ve thought or done.  And in His mercy, we are loved.

For You Today 

What could we possibly add to Creator, Gentle, Kind, Majestic, and Merciful? 

Tons more…we have just barely touched the slightest glimmer of the grandeur of God’s glory.  And the greater news is, for those who love Him and call Him Father, we will have an eternity to explore all He is, and the greatest measure of His love, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

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 The Chosen via Wikimedia                      

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

Perfect Math

 

Thursday, February 10, 2022

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

My brother, Thom, is the math major in the family.  Before he retired he taught young people math skills for over 50 years.  When speaking the language of math Thom sometimes encounters that blank look from his brother.  My math does not enter the lofty realm of quantum physics and such.  Give me 1 + 1 = 2, and I’ll be with you to the finish; if you get much past 3 + 4, I’m (as they say) out the door! 

By contrast, the language of the Primary Psalm is math, simple enough for even me.  And it answers a question concerning “divine earthly retribution” which scholars have debated for centuries.  That question is: 

Does God really bless the good behavior of those
who honor Him, and punish the wicked?

It is tempting to read the Psalm that way and expect immediate reward and punishment.  But that would be to presume we understand all there is to know about God’s timetable.  And that would be a wrong presumption, because there are at least two Scripture passages which point-out how we must not try to put God into a box, by assigning when it is right to hand-out punishment or blessing:

1.     Time was created by God, a sufficient reason to understand why he isn’t constrained by time.  The Creator is always above and beyond the creation.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.  2 Peter 3:8

2.    We cannot possibly understand the motives of, and movements in, the purposes of God. 

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:9

We can always count on God to punish the wicked and lift-up the righteous, but we must constantly remind ourselves to not assume the position of judge over God.  And we must also constantly resist the thought that we know all about what God thinks, or does.  Remember, there are some secret things[1] which God reserves to himself. 

For You Today

For now we must trust God, and look forward to the time when He reveals all to us, which he has also promised:

Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.  1 John 3:2

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^©   

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[1] See Deuteronomy 29:29

Getting the Good News

 

Thursday, January 20, 2022

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.  He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.  To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.  In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.  They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago.  They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.  Foreigners will be your servants.  They will feed your flocks and plow your fields and tend your vineyards.  You will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God.  You will feed on the treasures of the nations and boast in their riches.  Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor.  You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.                     Isaiah 61:1-7

It’s safe to say everyone on planet earth is waiting for a bit of good news these days.  With pandemic the last couple of years, economic struggles, international tensions, isolation woes, restrictions-by-the-truckload, and a million other reasons, it’s like the good news train has been derailed in the night by a tsunami of whatever-can-go-wrong.  For a change, we want to hear a little good news!

The story of Israel in the millennial time before Jesus’ birth is the backdrop.  From the time God’s special people escaped captivity in Egypt and entered the land flowing with milk and honey ^{(Exodus 3:8)} they were the human poster child of what part of good news didn’t we understand!  God’s blessings were always forgotten within a few years, or a few generations.  They forgot their vows of allegiance to Jehovah and began chasing the rainbows of success and power.  Like the church today, hopping on political bandwagons of conservatism or progressiveness, they forgot who they were.  God would take them to the woodshed for discipline; they’d repent and cry-out for another Exodus kind of deliverance; God would hear and answer, and they’d do it all over again!

Then came Jesus with the final solution – good news that won’t ever be forgotten by posterity’s laziness, and won’t be forsaken by a righteous God who refuses to be forgotten.  The good news is that this kingdom, promised by Jesus’ word, and secured by Jesus’ death and resurrection, is now written on hearts. 

For You Today

No matter what social scientists, pandemiologists, and politicians may say about the present woes, or predictions about future disaster, the redeeming work of Christ is set in better than stone – it’s written on streets of gold in a temple built without hands.  It’s time the people of God get back to “getting” that Good News, and living by it every day.

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^©    

...and EVERYTHING in it!

 

Thursday, July 8, 2021

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.  The world and all its people belong to him.  For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.  Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?  Who may stand in his holy place?  Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.  They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.  Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.  Psalm 24:1-6

According to King David’s Psalm, there are only two possibilities when it comes to a right relationship with God;  You’re either blessed and IN a right relationship with God, or you’re not.  According to David, the dividing line is bowing to the first two sentences; hear them again:  The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.  The world and all its people belong to him.  

In an increasingly pluralistic world it may sound strange to hear such dogmatic utterance…and that may explain the reason why church attendance is waning like the last embers of a fire before it goes out.  Church doctrine and preachers who leave little wiggle-room on letting people choose other than the check-boxes of saved or lost, are written off as antiquated, obtuse, or just not ‘woke’.  Popular opinion demands choices, but God isn’t into popular opinion.  Poet/Rock Star Bob Dylan sang the famous lines in his ‘70’s hit Gotta Serve Somebody:

The bottom line is God is Creator, and that means the keys to everything He created are hanging on His key chain – the earth, and everything in it!

The soul, or core of David’s Psalm is an invitation to enter-into that right relationship with God.  That tells us the most important thing we can dwell on today:   Having a right relationship with God is more than saving the planet He created, or being woke, or rituals, or your bank account.  It’s knowing that a right relationship is possible with God, and God wants it with you as passionately as you want your next breath of life.  Even more!

And while many are willing to bow in the direction of God as some benevolent force who created stuff; more of humankind than not prefer to leave it at that.  It is something of an ok…you gave us a start…we’ll take over now approach.  They want the benefit of 70 or 80, maybe 95 years of life, grabbing for the brass ring, and a little fame, along with their pleasures, but the idea of a relationship which includes all that other stuff of which King David wrote, notably clean hands and heart, telling truth and living truth…well, that’s not for me, so I’ll see you later.  Bob Dylan was never a favorite of mine, but he definitely got that one thought right…everyone who draws breath belongs to the Lord…He is Creator AND Judge.

So, what does it take to be IN a right relationship with He who created us?  If you pick apart the finer points of David’s Psalm (and, by the way, all the rest of Holy Scripture), you’ll find only two things, wanting that relationship, and willing to let go of everything you’ve decided you want more than having that relationship. 

To boil the pot down a little more, it’s a matter of wanting God more than your next breath.  It is bowing-down in humility to the fact that God is indeed Creator, and owns everything, even you.  No wiggle-room; no exceptions!

For You Today

The soul, or core of David’s Psalm is an invitation to enter-into that right relationship with God.  That tells us the most important thing we can dwell on today:   Having a right relationship with God is more than saving the planet He created, or being woke, or rituals, or your bank account.  It’s knowing that a right relationship is possible with God, and God wants it with you as passionately as you want your next breath of life.  Even more!

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^©    Other images by Pixabay.com

 

When You're Already Wondering and He's Asking

 

Friday, June 5, 2020

I had this conversation once with God.  Or I should say, I bumped into God one morning as I was wallowing in my self pity over some pretty disturbing turns in my life…and God disturbed me a little more…no, a lot more! 

God disturbed me with some questions that were really irritating.  Here’s how the conversation went:

              God:  Russell, you’ve been through a lot of educational stuff, haven’t you?

Russell:  You know it, Lord…and it’s getting a little old.

              God:  Yes, Russell…that’s why I’m not going to bore you with a lecture.  I just have a few questions

Russell:  OK, I’m all ears; maybe I can help.

              God:  You remember when the sun went down last night?  And, then it came up again this morning?

Russell:  Uh, yeah

              God:  Good.  What was it you said that made the sun do that?  And by the way, was it you that told the dawn to look so pretty yesterday…you know, spread out and tell the shadows to get lost, open up all those brilliant colors, and send wicked people who do things in the darkness back to their hiding holes?

Russell:  Uh, Lord…where you going with this?

              God:  Well, Russell, I’m just wondering if you could direct me to where a couple of things are…like where the water comes from that fills all those seas on the earth, and where death actually lives, and why it causes so much gloom to humanity.  And where does the light come from?  And, when it gets here, I wonder, where  does the darkness go?  I’m thinking, because you know all there is to know, you must have been born before that was all set into motion.  I’m just wondering if you could enlighten me…I mean, with all your street smarts and wisdom and all…hmmm?

Russell:  ZIP  (the sound of my mouth’s zipper quickly closing)

Generally, I read the Scritpure first, then make some comments for us to ponder.  Today, I bared my soul about my conversation with God that made me realize what an arrogant know-it-all I can be.  It really did happen you know; it happened to me when I read how that same conversation went between Job and God:

Job 38:12-21

“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?  Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?  As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors.  The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.  “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?  Have you explored their depths?  Do you know where the gates of death are located?  Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?  Do you realize the extent of the earth?  Tell me about it if you know!  “Where does light come from, and where does darkness go?  Can you take each to its home?  Do you know how to get there?  But of course you know all this!  For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!

As with all the other dark themed ways common to humanity, the arrogance of putting ourselves on God’s level (at least in our minds) is a possibility that raises two cautions:

#1.  It is possible for us to try…

#2.  It is not a very wise thing to try…because it hurts a lot when you finally have to face the truth that He is God, and we are not.

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, we invite you to have that talk with us before we go too far in our arrogance.  Lord, You know how prone we are to thinking too highly of our own ideas and strength.  Help us to remember before we forget…again.

For You Today

There’s a pretty surefire way to avoid the trap of self-importance, and that is to give it away…to He who is really important.

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

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

For other posts on Job 38 see An Uncomfortable Answer from the Whirlwind and God Answers Job

Lenten Walk - Part 24

[1]

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:  “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.  Who is like me?  Let him step forward and prove to you his power.  Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future.  Do not tremble; do not be afraid.  Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago?  You are my witnesses—is there any other God?  No! There is no other Rock—not one!”  

Isaiah 44:6-8^(NLT)

Three times[2] in the book that bears Isaiah’s name Almighty God delclares that He alone is first and last.  As an echo we hear the same phrase three times[3] in John’s Revelation, the final time near the very end of Scripture:

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”  

Revelation 22:13^(NLT)

There are several significant attachments to this phrase, all of them so important to our theology…why and what we believe about God.  He is first and last in the sense that He is the Creator, but also sustainer.  He was before and He holds it all together, and will be there to restore His creation to glory at the end of time.  Paul gives us this synopsis:

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^(NLT)

Another significance of this phrase first and last is the idea of preeminence; God was not only the first in the sense of time, but also in the matter of imporance.  As Isaiah records, God isn’t just the most important among all the gods you might hear about; Jehovah is the ONLY God.

One other thought about first and last, which sums up why we can hardly claim we comprehend the vastness of the nature and character of this unseen eternal One, is that He is before time and space, and exists above that realm in which we humans dwell.  As such, God knows the beginnings and endings of all things.  It is like our universe is one very long parade, and God has a drone’s perspective of the banners at the beginning of the parade, and the sweepers after the procession…all at the same time.

For You Today

Lent is that dark time inbetween. 

It is when we turn a corner from Jesus demonstrating his power over what He created, magnificent miracles and heartening sermons…to the shadow of a cross.  In this 40 days of wandering in the wilderness of inbetween, it is important to remember that we are within time and space.  We cannot yet comprehend what life is like above this realm…we can only imagine, as John wrote:

Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears.  But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.  

1 John 3:2^(NLT)

This Lenten promise reminds us that He not only was first, creating and breathing life into us; God is also the last, standing ready to extend that life with Him in eternity. 

In Lent…inbetween…it is enough to know that we will know!

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] Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, 48:12

[3] Revelation 1:17, 2:8, 22:13