Out of the Darkness

 

When we leave the womb, we begin to face the possibility of isolation, being alone, abandoned.  And, not being created for aloneness, it troubles us.  There have been a number of times in my life, (and it still happens occasionally), that the aloneness of that small and vulnerable newborn child, just out of the mother’s womb, rises up in my soul and proclaims the profoundness of the deep darkness that surrounds and would swallow me up!

How does it happen, that darkness?  It generally comes (at least in my life) when I am isolated, and the memories of other aloneness or rejection haunts my thoughts.  I haven’t been hunted by a deranged king whose army has been given orders to capture or kill me like King Saul after David, the shepherd boy[1].  However, I have had people angry at me, and a few who would have rejoiced if I’d never been born.  But even simple conflict (what we would call “drama” these days), is enough to bring the darkness close and threatening.  It is at times like that I need the comfort of leaving the darkness behind and rejoining the light of God’s goodness.  When it comes to chasing the darkness away, there’s no better choice than the One who is the Author of light – Jesus!

If you recall last Friday’s three important questions in life…Where did I come from, What is my purpose here, and Where am I going…here are all three in a nutshell.  In the days leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion He taught his disciples the profound truth about where He came from, what His mission (purpose) was, and where He was going, and would take those who believe with Him.  He was (and IS) the light, and will lead us out of darkness every time!

Jesus cried out, “The one who believes in me believes not in me, but in him who sent me.  And the one who sees me sees him who sent me.  I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me would not remain in darkness.  John 12:44-46 ^(CSB)

Did you catch that last phrase about believing in Him and NOT remaining in darkness?  Did it roll around your mind like a healing ointment of calm joy?  That’s what truly worshipping God brings.  Jesus responds to those who worship His Father, the one true, living God, by throwing a floodlight over the gloom of darkness.  And a light soul cannot be engulfed by darkness. 

As the people of God offer genuine, heart-felt worship, darkness is dispelled, chased from our lives.  That is why whenever you don’t feel like coming to church on a given Sunday…and you go anyway…when you leave church that day there is a general sense of lightness; you feel better for having attended – glad you went!  Darkness had to leave when you emptied yourself in the presence of the ONE Who IS light!

For You Today

If there are circumstances on your horizon that threaten dark days, don’t forget where the light is found; He wants to light up your world!

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 Christian Standard Bible^©   

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[1]Read the entire fascinating story in 1 Samuel – Chapters 18-26

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!

Go to VIDEO

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^©   

Liturgy of Light in Dark Places

(originally published August 3, 2017)

Thursday, August 3, 2023

O Lord, hear my plea for justice.  Listen to my cry for help.  Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from honest lips.  Declare me innocent, for you see those who do right.  You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night.  You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong.  I am determined not to sin in what I say.  I have followed your commands, which keep me from following cruel and evil people.  My steps have stayed on your path; I have not wavered from following you.  I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God.  Bend down and listen as I pray.  Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways.  By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies.  Psalm 17:1-7

I’ve often wondered how the people of great reputation in the Biblical accounts could also appear so small, frail, and full of weakness.  But as soon as I begin that pondering, reality rises up in my thoughts, that those people are flesh-and-blood, not icons painted on a wall.  Of course they have moments, even months or years, when they’re not icons of faith; they’re reminders that we all come from small places.

When we leave the womb we begin to face the possibility of isolation, being alone.  And, not being created for aloneness, it troubles us.  David spent months being chased into the wilderness places, hounded by an increasingly insane King Saul, former benefactor and mentor (when your friends turn, the darkness deepens!).  So David spent time hiding in caves to avoid capture and death.  Dark caves, silent places, are places where you have no place; you only exist.  David spent a lot of time crying-out to God for rescue from his troubled existence.

 Did you catch David’s dark weakness when he lifted up his voice to pray?

I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God.  Bend down and listen as I pray. 

David expressed faith (I know you will answer, O God).  But the next phrase tells just how much David senses his prayers are very disconnected from God:  Bend down…, this is the cry of someone who feels very small and very isolated. 

This is my liturgy of light for dark places.

There have been a number of times in my life, (and it still happens occasionally), that the aloneness of that small and vulnerable newborn child, just out of the mother’s womb, rises up in my soul and proclaims the profoundness of the deep darkness that surrounds and would swallow me up!  It is then I need the liturgy of light! 

Liturgy is something we might connect with a labored, boring responsive reading, or long, drawn-out call and response during the sacraments.  Literally, the word “liturgy” is work of the people, our part in offering worship to God.  As the people of God offer genuine, heart-felt worship, darkness is dispelled, chased from our lives.  That is why whenever you don’t feel like coming to church on a given Sunday…and you go anyway…when you leave church that day there is a general sense of lightness; you feel better for having attended – glad you went! 

The darkness had to leave when you emptied yourself in the presence of light!

For You Today 

Got darkness?  There’s an app for that…liturgy of light!

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:  By Dinesh Valke from Thane, India, via Wikimedia Commons 

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

Without Vision Nations Crumble

 

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Where there is no vision, the people perish:  but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.  Proverbs 29:18^(KJV)

The reason the apostles were all willing to die for Christ (and most of them WERE martyred) is they had a clear vision of the cross.  They knew God had been crucified on Calvary, but He was alive again!  The vision of a Lord who not only ruled life but death as well, gave them the power to live and die as conquerors. 

·       It was a clear vision of living in freedom that caused a ragtag bunch of slaves to follow a former murderer named Moses out into the desert. 

·       It was a clear vision of God's holiness that caused Isaiah to fall on his knees and cry out, Woe to me...I  am a man of unclean lips, and my eyes  have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.  ^{Isaiah 6:5} 

·       It was a clear vision of an irresistible call of God that caused a young shepherd-boy named David to stand against Goliath. 

·       It was a clear vision of the need of grace in the life of each one of us that caused Jesus to set Himself towards Jerusalem, submit to  the emotional pain of Gethsemane, the evil purposes of a sham trial, and the excruciating penalty of judgment for all our sins on that old rugged cross. 

My friends, if you can get ONE CLEAR VISION of what your life is to stand for, your days will never be the same.  In Christian circles we call that finding God's will. 

I've been told so many times by sincere, seeking people, I'm certain God wants me to do SOMEthing.  I just wish I could know what His will is.   Beloved, you're no different than anyone else who's ever wanted to know God's will.  The fact is God Himself wants you to know it.  Often we are so less willing to DO God's will than He is willing to share it with us, so that we aren't in a position to hear His will if He shouted it in our ears.  There are conditions to knowing God's will, but...

YOU CAN HEAR AND UNDERSTAND GOD'S DIRECTION FOR YOUR LIFE IF YOU WANT TO; AND IT WILL OPEN YOUR EYES! ^[1]

For You Today

If knowing God’s will for your life is the most important responsibility He’s given you, isn’t it the clearest mandate you need to seek that will, above all else, until He reveals it to you?

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

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

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[1] Russell Brownworth, Learning and Doing (a sermon)

The Awful Grace of God

 

Friday, January 15, 2021

You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.  Psalm 139:16

Aeschylus, an ancient Greek playwright wrote:  “The memory of pain falls drop by drop upon our heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.”[1]

As a young person, if there was one place I never expected to look for wisdom, it was in the face of pain.  But Aeschylus had it right – unbidden, pain comes to us anyway, and it is our most dramatic and (sadly) our most profound teacher. 

One important gleaning from pain-induced wisdom, however, is the fact that you will not hear wisdom, or sense it is even in the room when a person is in the middle of pain.  Anguished cries and incoherent, incomprehensible utterances of those who are overwhelmed by loss do not display wisdom – they display human agony.  Wisdom comes later, upon reflection. 

As with Aeschylus, it is the memory of our pain, long-since subsided, that sparks the light of God’s grace on our souls.  I would add that it is the well, and honestly-considered memory that allows the dawning of wisdom. 

When pain is compartmentalized, stuffed-away in a dark corner of our being, unfaced, and unprocessed, for fear of hurting deeper than our supposed coping resources, it invites the fragmenting of our soul and spirit.  We can become spiritual zombies, only a façade of the aliveness of resurrection people.

The result of unprocessed or ignored pain is a large map of destinations.  Among the most fearsome is the sociopath, that monster which feels nothing for others, or even himself.  The grace of God is the antidote for this road trip.  In an awe-filled way, the grace of God invites us to face our pain and overcome the monster waiting to be born in us.

Our country is at that type of crossroads today.  In our pain of lost elections, riots, COVID-19 deaths, and the angst of an uncertain future, we would, frankly, rather go on vacation, and not deal with the mess.  It’s tempting to apply temporary solutions to such pain.  I am a subscriber to the old standby that there are few problems that will not be better when you take a break.  Things always seem less problematic after a good nap.

But this is not one of those times. 

We are in the midst of national crisis of mega proportion.  Many have adopted the simplistic notion that, if this leader or that one is in charge, our problems will go away.  The lines in the sand between parties of different methodology and ideology have been drawn deeply and (at times) violently.  I think it would be accurate to compare this time in our country’s history, fresh from last week’s insurrectionist attack on the Capitol building and Congress by domestic terrorists, to that of the mid-19^th century, the prologue to Civil War. 

This is a time to face our problems, and the pain we all would rather avoid.

Facing those problems is not for the debaters who have all the answers and want to push their agenda.  It is not for the faint of heart who will just do a lot of hand-wringing and vent their disdain for what ails us.  Facing the problems is a matter for what history teaches us in the likes of men such as King David, who, when confronted with his own shortfall of character, confessed, and was restored.[2]  Or men like Nehemiah, who put his life on the line and offered to go help rebuild Jerusalem.[3]  Or women like Esther whose people were on the verge of annihilation and she accepted the fact that she was born for such a time.[4] 

The Scriptures are filled with those who stood firm in the flames of opposition and threat.  For us it can be no different.  If God’s people will not pray and be ready for serving as balm for the wounds of mankind’s madness, this country, or the human species doesn’t stand a chance.

For You Today

Standing firm does not mean turning on anyone.  Wisdom borne of pain has taught us by the awful grace of God just the opposite.  It means standing true to what Christ has taught us about pain; we bear our brother’s burdens like ours was borne at Calvary.

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

GO TO VIDEO

[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

Calvin and Hobbes (cartoon) by Bill Watterson

For other posts on this topic see Death With Dignity? and Prayers in a Dark Place      

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[1] Excerpt, Washington Post Article (Two Sides of Joe Biden) citing Robert F. Kennedy upon the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

[2] Read Psalm 51

[3] Read Nehemiah 1-2

[4] Read Esther chapters 3-4

 

When the Killing is Done

 

Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t follow the path of evildoers.  Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way.  Turn away and keep moving.  For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day.  They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.  They eat the food of wickedness and drink the wine of violence!  The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.  But the way of the wicked is like total darkness.  They have no idea what they are stumbling over.  My child, pay attention to what I say.  Listen carefully to my words.  Don’t lose sight of them.  Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.  Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.  Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.  Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.  Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.  Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.  Proverbs 4:14-27

There is a good reason we have in Proverbs these wise words of King David to his son, Solomon.  It was Solomon’s pen, but it was David’s life experience of going down the rabbit hole of wickedness and violence.  The once fresh-faced shepherd boy who became a king also chased the illusion of being invincible.  David became convinced the press reports were right about him being wonderful and, in pride, he slipped into the darkness.  The words are recorded as a warning to his son, Solomon, but they are David’s testimony, gleaned wisdom from a life that went from zero–to–hero–and back!  The man who slipped off the hero pedestal, admired by the people of Israel for being a righteous man, became an adulterer, a conspirator in murder, and the corrupting influence that destroyed his own family.

The sins of a powerful leader who falls into dishonor are in no way a private matter.  David’s warning to Solomon is painted in the strongest images of unimaginable pain for those whose hearts are unguarded, and the perils they face by disregarding truth in favor of their fantasy grandeur.  The trappings of power tend to shield one from the reality of human fragility; we are here for threescore and ten – we are NOT God!

Leaders tend to over-estimate their successes and deny their failures even exist.  It is rare to find even a teaspoon of humility in the spotlighted halls of world leaders.  It is a matter of pride and power; left unchecked, pride leads to destruction.  We have seen that worked-out in the streets of Washington of late.  It leads to insurrection, mob-justice, and death.  That it was done largely by misguided loyalists does not keep the hands of the leader clean.  King David was in Jerusalem when the plot was unleashed to kill Uriah the Hittite on the battlefield in Ammon[1]  But distance did not change the king’s culpability in murder; it was David’s order.  David’s plan was a cover up after his adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba.  He was trying to protect his squeaky-clean image as a good guy with a plot to kill an innocent man.  Evil and self-aggrandizement is a dark rabbit hole.

However dark it must be at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue these days, I am still more amazed at how the darkness of the leader has shrouded whatever common sense the leader’s followers may have once possessed.  To riot, destroy, and even cause death as a (so-called) righteous response to a fraudulent election (of which proof is somehow still lacking), is disconcerting at least.  It reminds me of the crowd outside Pilate’s house yelling crucify and raising fists in violence and murder, while the only evidence against Jesus was his healing and teaching to love one another.  It just doesn’t make any sense!  I would say that I have no solution to offer for what ails us.  But deep within I do recognize there is One who does have a solution.  He knows first-hand what mobs do…and why.

For You Today

It takes courage and more than a little risk to stand up to bullying and murdering with bullets or words.  If you need a reminder like Solomon needed David’s testimony, remember, vultures are only waiting for when the killing is done.  David said it best, Son… Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way. 

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 noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For other posts on this text see Ears Open Heart Straight Eyes on the Road Sure Foot and Healthy      

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[1] See 2 Samuel 11:1-17

 

When the Tank is Empty

 

Monday, July 13, 2020

Psalm 142:1-7

I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord’s mercy.  I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.  When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn.  Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me.  I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought!  No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me.  Then I pray to you, O Lord.  I say, “You are my place of refuge.  You are all I really want in life.  Hear my cry, for I am very low.  Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.  Bring me out of prison so I can thank you.  The godly will crowd around me, for you are good to me.”

King David was looking back on the time before he was king, and the reigning king, Saul (who was bordering on psychotic at the time) was chasing him all over Israel to stamp out the decree that God had made through the prophet Samuel, that David would be the one to replace Saul on the throne.  It was a king and his army, the most powerful army on earth, against one young man, who had taken to hiding in caves and pretending to be a lunatic to avoid being captured and executed.  In the words of the Verizon guy, David is praying and cries out to God:  I’m LOW…can you hear me now?  Considering the circumsances, to say that David was low, or severly depressed, and that he was out of options with an empty tank, just seems a little understated.  The situation was as critical as it gets. 

J.D. Walt writes a devotional I’ve been reading for awhile now, and in a recent post he shares about stumbling points in faith; in his concluding prayer he states it clearly that, when it comes to his faith, there are gaps…

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. I confess it with joy—Jesus is Lord! I want to mean it with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. There are gaps. Come Holy Spirit and fill in the gaps in my own character and maturity. Thank you for grace in the meantime. Train me to be so gracious with others. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.[1] 

I don’t know many people who won’t admit to the dry times, when gaps in our faith bring us low.  Let’s face it, the tank, if not attended to, gets empty, and we get sidelined, unable to move forward; we feel depletetd, deleted, and halted in our spiritual and emotional life.  Sometimes it may be because the world really is at odds with us and we’re up against it; at other times (perhaps most times) it’s just that we haven’t taken sufficient self-care to keep the tank refueled.  Either way, being down and out is not fun.  Waiting by the side of the road, empty gas can in hand, on the chance some kind Samaritan will give you a ride to the gas station, is not my idea of a fine way to spend a Saturday afternoon. 

When your tank is empty the tendency is to hide how foolish you were in running out of gas.  When a Christian’s spiritual tank runs low, because of self-inflicted sins, or just a lack of attention to keeping the worship tank full, sometimes the game plan gets tossed.  Worship, prayer, ministry, fellowship with other believers, and being in the place where (as David put it) …the godly will crowd around me, is put aside in favor of staying in our four walls to sulk, lick wounds, and generally wallow in our misery.

Do you recall that feeling you had one time (or a thousand) when it was Sunday, and you just weren’t feeling it…just didn’t want to go to church…but the “habit” took over, and you went anyway?  Do you recall how you felt so much better that afternoon?  That’s what happens when you make a decision that the momentary gap in your faith is not going to rule the day.  And God’s Spirit gathers the godly around you, and focus returns; and your heart is glad.

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, our gaps are too real, and too strong sometimes.  Come, fill those gaps with the balm of Gilead; heal our stripes, and make us whole, so we can serve and honor your name.

For You Today

Nobody schedules a gap time; that stuff is manufactured as a surprise attack in the pit of Hell and shows up when you least expect it.  The preventative is to keep the tank full of worship, praise, service, sacrifice, and discipleship.

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

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

For another post on Psalm 142 see Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me

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[1] J.D. Walt’s The Seedbed Daily Text