When You Are Not Sure

Monday, February 13, 2023

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.  He will not rebuke you for asking.  But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.  Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.  Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.  James 1:5-8

When it comes to difficult choices which harbor a nagging conflict, a strong pull on two (or more) sides, how can you be sure?  King Solomon had that on a scale none of us would ever want.  Two women were hauled before the king for a decision.  The infant child of one of them had died, and she was claiming it wasn’t hers, but the other woman’s, who was claiming it as her own.  What to do?  It’s a very familiar passage in 1 Kings 3.  Solomon calls for a sword and declares the child must be cut in two.  The real mother of the child is horror-stricken, and pleads for the child’s life…don’t kill the child…she can have him.  Only the real mother would give her child to another, if it meant life for the baby. 

End of story.  

But what of the backstory that explains how Solomon knew what to do?  The story before the story of the women with a dilemma, helps us understand how the king, with a child’s life in his hands, and an unknowable fact to be decided, uncovered truth.  It’s found in the prayer of a young, new king who felt overwhelmed:

“Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around.  And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted!  Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong.  For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”  The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom.  So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—I will give you what you asked for!  I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!  1 Kings 3:7-12

Recognizing his calling was too great, too demanding, and too important for relying only on his own strength, Solomon called on God to bless him with an understanding heart.  God responded to the open-mind and heart, with blessings of wisdom and great resources. 

He does that a lot!

For You Today  

Consider the warning of James, when you contemplate praying like Solomon for wisdom and understanding…you need not be certain about a lot of decisions you’ll need to make in life, but you must certainly be sure about the ONE whom you will trust to lead you through all of them.

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

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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: 

Divided Mind  and  Difficult Choices 

Images:  Title via Wikimedia Commons   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

On the Right Side of History

 

Monday, January 25, 2021

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation.  I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.  I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.  All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”  Genesis 12:1-3

I’m old enough to have a history with experience.  My first vote in a presidential election was in 1968; in a total of 14 elections, I voted for the winner 8 times.  In Las Vegas, being right 57% of the time means you go home with full pockets.  But I’m not sure this applies; it’s just reporting the results like the newscasters.  “Winning” is so very temporary and having the most votes simply equates with popularity.

As each of those voting seasons came to an end, the “winning side” claimed a new era of peace, justice, and the American way, that the “other side” had been defeated, and now we can begin again to set things right.  And every time I heard one of those afterglow statements of victory, I always had an uneasiness about the certitude of the winner.  Depending on whether my vote had been for the victor, my feeling was either agreeably-uncertain, or disdainfully-uncertain.  I always had a sense of what-if, as in what-if-my-vote-was-on-the-wrong-side-of-history?

Now, before I lose you in thoughts of either gloating over winning, or sour-grapes for losing, this is about neither.  It has to do with choosing the right-side of history, which has nothing to do with which side may “win” or “lose”. 

Winston Churchill is often attributed for originating the phrase history is written by victors, however it is a phrase much older than World War II.  It is also suspect according to some:  One author has it that, [t]he more accurate quote would be, ‘History is temporarily twisted by people who’re going to profit from it in the short term.’[1] 

Whether it comes from the political right or left, I think this expediency motive may prove flawless.  It’s simply a matter of understanding that publicity matters when it comes to staying in power; when it comes to holding the high ground in public opinion, perception is its’ own reality.

Now, all of that is a matter of human relationships, political machinations, and intentions of those who would be the victor, not the vanquished.  The tides of popularity and so-called success are short-lived. 

So, what do we make of all this?  Is this just cynicism, or hyper-criticism?  Should we not participate in it at all…summarily trash everything?  Absolutely not!

So, what then?  What is the purpose in all of this?  Why even bring up the matter if there is no end to it? 

Well, I’m glad you asked.

Like the unknown cards in another’s hand, God stands behind the curtain of our ability to see.  And, as with Abraham, the Lord stands ready to bless or curse, depending on whether we intend to act with or against His will.  This is the nature of God in His complete Sovereignty.  Sovereign God is the ultimate winner in complete righteousness.  His will is immutable and irresistible.  And, therefore, it is God’s will which constructs, writes, and validates any “history”.

For You Today

If you want to be on the right side of history, it is a matter of surrendering one’s heart and life to God’s will. 

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 Genesis 12 see Yield - Part 2 and Leaving and Arriving      

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[1] Shubham Jain in “History Is Written By Victors” Is A Foolish Phrase

 

Life & Death Tightrope

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Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God.  And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.  We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments.  Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.  For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.  And who can win this battle against the world?  Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.  1 John 5:1-5

We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.  We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.  And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God.  And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ.  He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.  Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.  1 John 5:18-21

Habit determines everything.  

Habitually practicing the art of couch potato-ing can result in heart disease, or a guest appearance on a segment of My 600-Pound Life.  Habits set the pathway of our life’s decisions.  The apostle, John is giving sound spiritual advice to the church of how forming our life around obedience to God’s commandments is the pathway that leads to life. 

On first reading many people are tempted to imagine this obedience thing as walking a tightrope suspended over hell’s fires; one slip and you’re toast!  However, that would be inconsistent with God’s grace and patience.  God knows us and understands better than we do that when it comes to being perfect in our obedience we slip off a rope like that.  We see that in the apostle’s description of both sin and obedience; he points us in the direction of habituation, making a practice of either.  A well-practiced habit becomes our default, part of our character, who we really are.  A slip-up is an aberration, a setback from the path we really want to travel.  John is making the case that true belief in Christ, trusting Christ and relying on His power for every need and every shortcoming, is not only possible, it is part of God’s promise.  And what it looks like in everyday living is forming habits.  The person that wants more strength for living a life of obedience forms the habit of meditating on God’s Word.  A person who wants greater strength resisting temptation of any kind forms the habit of prayer, fasting, and removing themselves from the source of temptations. 

One of my mother’s favorite sayings was you lie down with dogs; you get up with fleas.  John’s whole case about being obedient to God’s commands is that we must make the choice where we will stand, and it must be peremptory; the first time we decide to cuddle up to the fleas of sin will be merely the first step in setting the habitual practice.  We warn our children about taking the first pill, or drink, or tobacco product so they will not get caught in the addictive downward spiral that affects their health.  We use parental controls on media to monitor their internet time and what content they view to protect them from the downward pull of pornography and violence.  Should we do less for our children and ourselves when it comes to spiritual health?

For You Today

A healthy spiritual practice is to habitually examine our habits; look at the things we do regularly with an eye towards answering the question:  is this what God wants my life to look like?

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

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[1] Title Image:  Adi Holzer via WikimediaCommons    Unless noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

James the Just - Part 8 - Patriarchs and Prostitutes

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Thursday, August 22, 2019

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 

Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see, his faith and his actions worked together.  His actions made his faith complete.  And so it happened just as the Scriptures say:  “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”  He was even called the friend of God.  So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.  Rahab the prostitute is another example.  She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.   Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.    James 2:14, 21-26

How can I know I have a genuine faith, and not a mirage?  How can I be sure?  Look at the examples James gives: 

Abraham was justified... (that means God accepted him) based on his faithfulness.  God asked Abraham to burn the bridge behind him, leave his home and follow God out to the wilderness.  Abraham said, Alright, I'll go.  That was faith.  But it was the loading of the camels, the endless ridicule he endured that was works. 

I can picture the scene: Abraham and Sarah packing up the family stuff, and the neighborhood wag leaning over the fence; 

Hey, Abe...Don't you know there's snakes out there in that sand?  I know another fool that went out there without a map.  He never came back.  Abe, maybe you'd better reconsider this. 

But he went.  Faith came alive in deeds. 

The other example James gives was Rahab the harlot who burned her bridges behind her.  When the children of Israel were marching towards her city, Jericho, she made the decision to throw in with God's people, and she helped by hiding the reconnaissance team Joshua had sent. 

Think of the scene inside the walls of Jericho that night.  

Sister Rahab, are you nuts, girl?  Here we are inside the most fortified city in Canaan.  Those silly Jews don't know how to fight; all they can do is walk around the outside.  You'd better reconsider this; the city fathers aren't going to like it when they hear you've been helping those spies.

But Rahab hung in there, and those silly Jews kept on marching seven days around the walls of Jericho.  And then 7 times on the 7th day....and the walls came down.  The faith of Rahab, a common streetwalker, is chronicled in Matthew's gospel ^{(Ch 1)}.  Rahab's grandson was named Jesse who had a son named David, King David.  And out of the lineage of David was born a king in a manger... Jesus. 

Rahab had faith.  She put it all on the line in deeds.

For You Today

How can you know for sure that your faith is alive?  You can begin to take your spiritual pulse by throwing yourself wholeheartedly into deeds of loving service to others.  I guarantee you will know inside of a month what is genuine and what is mirage. 

Where do you start?  Begin with forgiving your neighbors, and fellow church members. 

Ø  Start to give OF yourself, instead of concentrating ON your own needs.  That is the model Jesus gave us. 

Ø  Start to depend on the Father to supply what needs to be given.... Don’t concentrate on what you don't have to give. 

Ø  But, most of all...Do Start!

Occasionally a person will get involved in a church, and there’s no change.  There’s no joyful satisfaction to being involved in the things of God.  The problem there was the “cart before the horse.”  You cannot work yourself into having faith. 

Faith is a gift from God.  I invite you today to make a commitment in your heart to the Author of faith, Jesus Christ.  Then the works – the good deeds you do – will be a matter of joy, not a matter of trying to work your way into heaven.  It can’t be done!

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

 

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of  Wikimedia Commons     Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

James the Just - Part 4 - Advice to Both the Rich and Poor

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Friday, August 16, 2019

Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.  And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them.  They will fade away like a little flower in the field.  The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away.  In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.  James 1:9-11

I have never been in danger of being included on the Forbes List of the richest people anywhere.  I was stationed at Fort Knox for the last six months of Army service, but I never even saw the gold (they never let you get too close!). 

On the other side of that coin I was born a citizen of the United States of America; that immediately placed me in a category of wealth compared to most of the world’s people.  Being a rich person is always relative based upon to whom you’re being compared.  Compare my bank account to a homeless man, and it appears I struck the mother lode; re-focus the comparison to Donald Trump or Warren Buffet, and that contest is a joke.

James says the poor are honored by God.  In our culture, with its emphasis on owning stuff and building a life on the stuff you can acquire, that is a startling statement.  But, startling statements are nothing new when you’re turning the pages of Holy Scripture. 

James started off his epistle talking about faith being tested with tough times, and he’s elaborating here on the wise exercise of faith.  The apostle says acting in faith means making decisions which affirm the fact that my relationship with God defines the meaning of my life, not the size of my portfolio.  Jesus nailed that down neatly for us:

Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”   Then he told them a story:  “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.  He said to himself, ‘What should I do?  I don’t have room for all my crops.’  Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones.  Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods.  And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come.  Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’  “But God said to him, ‘You fool!  You will die this very night.  Then who will get everything you worked for?’  “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”  Luke 12:15-21

Besides building bigger barns, rich and poor alike have always tried to build bigger monuments to what they have done in life.  This, if you believe Solomon, is also vanity, or emptiness.  James says the achievements of which we boast will fade like our hairlines, waistlines, and lifelines.  I have read the stories of many rich people in history, including Hughes, Rockefeller, Gates, Jobs, Onassis, Kennedy, and even King Solomon.  Ultimately it is not the balance sheet that impresses me about any of them, but rather the faith that connects creature with Creator, and how it impacted what they did. 

Jesus didn’t own a thing.  Even the robe he wore got repossessed and became the prize in a dice game.  Jesus’ true legacy shows up in the hearts and decisions of millions of believers every day. 

For You Today

If you were the rich guy in Jesus’ story, would you have the wisdom James talks about to change the ending of that story?  And would you?

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

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of  Wikimedia Commons
                          Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

Lenten Walk - Part 7

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Friday, February 23, 2018

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him.  But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar.  So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children.  Go and sleep with my servant.  Perhaps I can have children through her.”  And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal.  So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife.  (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)  So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant.  But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt.  Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault!  I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt.  The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!”  Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.”  Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.  Genesis 16:1-6^(NLT)

Abram [later Abraham] is called the father of the Jewish community.  It is said of him in Scripture that he believed, or placed his faith in God, and that was why God accepted and blessed Abraham.  It is also true that Abraham was not perfect in this; he caved to his wife’s “plan B” of gaining an heir through a servant girl.

Trying to put myself in Abram’s shoes when it comes to walking the walk to which God has called me, I can imagine how tough it was to face the reality that he was over 80 and still without an heir.  In terms of sticking with Plan A, it was getting really problematic!  And then there was the voice of Sarai, his wife of many years, apparantly barren, and depressed over that, and the heir problem; she suggests Plan B and the conflict is game-on! 

What is a guy to do?  Should he hear his wife’s plan?  After all, having a child with a servant wasn’t unheard of in that culture.  Should he stick to the original promise?  The biological reality was looming large; Sarai was way past child-bearing age and perhaps this thing about having a child with the servant girl, Hagar could actually be God’s will…what is a guy to do?

The spiritual discipline of Lent is a mystery in terms of what constitutes the most beneficial way to wade through the waters of seven weeks of spiritual preparation for the most important event we celebrate in the calendar of human existence…the anniversary of the resurrection of Messiah.  This whole season is designed for introspection and clearing the pathway for a King to reside in our hearts.  The reality about such discipline is the more deeply you look inside, the more muddy the waters can become.  How do you make preparation for the God of the universe to live in you?   

Well, one of the things we can say in response to that is to remember how wrong it went for Abram and Sarai to derail Plan A in favor of bringing Hagar into the bedroom.  Hagar became a thorn in the side of this operation, and the result has been contention down through the centuries between the children of Hagar and the offspring of Sarai.  It’s always a clearer decision in the daylight of retrospect, but choosing to do God’s will, no matter what, is always the right response to God’s call…even when it looks like the well has gone dry on God’s promise.

For You Today

If you’re wrestling with a decision through this season of preparing a clean place to host your Savior, try to remember that your cleaning tool must also be clean.  The most expedient answer isn’t always the best, and the easiest pathway is seldom the best.  Accept the burden of being kind, going the extra mile, and being a source of extravagant, unknown generosity towards those who are in the center of your decision.

Then watch God unfold his plan.

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

When Wisdom Calls

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Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Listen as Wisdom calls out!  Hear as understanding raises her voice!  On the hilltop along the road, she takes her stand at the crossroads.  By the gates at the entrance to the town, on the road leading in, she cries aloud, “I call to you, to all of you!  I raise my voice to all people.  You simple people, use good judgment.  You foolish people, show some understanding.  Listen to me!  For I have important things to tell you.  Everything I say is right, for I speak the truth and detest every kind of deception.  My advice is wholesome.  There is nothing devious or crooked in it.  My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge.  Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.  For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies.  Nothing you desire can compare with it.  “I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment.  I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.  All who fear the Lord will hate evil.  Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.  Common sense and success belong to me.  Insight and strength are mine.  

Proverbs 8:1-14^(NLT)

Wisdom is sometimes hard to define.  Among the synonyms you hear are understanding, knowledge, good judgment, insight, perception, astuteness, intelligence, acumen, prudence, sagacity, and just plain common sense.  And as hard as it may be to give an all-encompassing definition of wisdom, it is safe to say that you’ll recognize wisdom when you see it in action!

I recall a church board meeting many years ago where we discussed the thin financial condition of the church; we debated how to solve the problem long into the night.  One of the members, a successful businessman, had proposed a fund-raising idea that was, shall we say, rather shaky and shady, filled with some rather ethically-murky issues.  Another member, possessor of no college degree or even a high school diploma listened quietly, but I could see the wheels turning behind his solemn expression.

After turning the issue over multiple times, inside-out, upside-down, and making little headway, the successful businessman called for a decision, informing the board if we wanted to keep the church afloat it was now or never!  He further punctuated his firm belief that we must do something by pledging several thousand dollars of his own money to get started.  At that moment the other man, who had little financial means and limited formal education stood and spoke; he said:  Gentlemen, I’ve been coming here since I was a little boy, and I love this here church.  I would hate to see her go under…but I tell you, I’d rather see her go under than to see the church budget get fat and watch our souls sink into hell. 

My friend then sat down and was silent for the rest of the three minutes it took the board to scrap the proposal.  His “speech” was somewhat shorter than Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, and every bit as effective.  It was filled with the kind of Godly wisdom that says you must always strive for success and excellence, but the way you do things is more vitally-important than any success coming from what you do.

Incidentally, the following week we were notified by an attorney that a longtime member who had recently died left the church over $60,000 to be used in any way it was needed to keep the church doing God’s Kingdom work.

Wisdom can evade the possessor of Harvard post graduate degrees, choosing rather to reside in the most humble places.  But one thing can be said about the places you find genuine wisdom:  it never chooses to live where God’s Word is ignored.  Educated or not, you will never be wise unless you honor God.

For You Today

This would be a good moment to reflect on whether wisdom is growing in you; simply and honestly review what your relationship to truth is like.

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

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com