A Difficult Thing

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.  And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.”  But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!”  So they went down together to Bethel.  The group of prophets from Bethel came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”  “Of course I know,” Elisha answered. “But be quiet about it.”  Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Jericho.”  But Elisha replied again, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.”  So they went on together to Jericho.  Then the group of prophets from Jericho came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”  “Of course I know,” Elisha answered.  “But be quiet about it.”  Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to the Jordan River.”  But again Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.”  So they went on together.  Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River.  Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground!  When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.”  And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”  “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah replied.  “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request.  But if not, then you won’t.”  As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire.  It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.  Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!”  And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress.  Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up.  Then Elisha returned to the bank of the Jordan River.  He struck the water with Elijah’s cloak and cried out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”  Then the river divided, and Elisha went across.  When the group of prophets from Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed, “Elijah’s spirit rests upon Elisha!”  And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.  2 Kings 2:1-15

Elisha would not be separated from his mentor, Elijah.  That is so like Ruth clinging to Naomi, a fierce determination to faithfully serve what God has given you.  Three times Elijah told his protégé to wait behind; three times Elisha answers with his lifelong commitment to serve God by staying close to the shadow of Elijah.  In the end it was only a chariot on fire with Heaven’s glory that could separate them.

What do we make of this event, and its place in God’s Word to us?  If you’re dissecting the event to make sense of the miracles, or wondering what part the prophets of Bethel and Jericho play, or what kind of material it would take to produce Elijah’s miracle-generating robe…we’re likely placing more weight on the miracles than on the Giver of miracles.  The main sense I see in this whole account of Elijah’s last days is the shift of God’s work that falls on the shoulders of Elisha.  He asked for a double-share of the spirit of his teacher.  Elijah called it a difficult thing.  There are two ways to take that; either it was a tricky thing for Elijah to produce it for Elisha, or a double prophet’s portion would bring a very difficult life to Elisha.  Elijah left it all in God’s hands; if that was God’s will, Elisha would see it.

For You Today 

If you’ve sat at the feet of some Godly teacher(s), you have sensed something of what God wants to do with your life.  Dare you ask for a difficult thing?

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 via Wikimedia.org

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

A Pathway Through the Darkness

 

Friday, December 3, 2021

Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”  Luke 1:78-79

Each morning I sit in darkness in the wee hours before dawn’s first light.  There’s a lamp at my desk, and I’m typing words about how God’s light dispels darkness.  This is the beginning of my day, writing about the Daystar, the one John the Baptist’s mother said would break upon us.  When the light breaks things become much clearer.

Each year, at the beginning of the Christian Year cycle, this text bids us to turn to the light and be guided through the darkness that surrounds us.  Sin, the source of all anger, violence, injustice, and other callous attitudes we humans can fling around, is the darkness of our souls.  And, just as we cannot escape the rising and setting of the sun, no human is exempt from the touch of darkness.  We all walk through the valley of the shadow of sin’s death.  We all participate in adding to the darkness, and we all groan in waiting for the light to dawn.  It is as if we cannot wait for the darkness in our souls to produce death, the door to light.

A reflection of that valley (and the pathway of light that guides us through it) has become my traveling companion of late.  A few months ago I was told my heart is not performing well.  Since that time more test results have given me more information than I ever wanted to hear.  And it makes you think…deeply.  When I was attending Duke Divinity School to learn how to be a Methodist, I would walk past many doors in hallways on the path to daily chapel services.  One of those doors nearest the chapel was the Department of End-of-Life Studies.  In retrospect, I could swear there were cobwebs on the door hinges to that room.  None of the student-preachers wanted to be chaplains in death’s waiting room.  We wanted to point to eternal life, happiness of soul, and God’s love, not death.

Of late, the theoretical garment of the end-of-life’s journey has begun to unravel; in its’ stead is the haunting specter of Russell putting-on the practical shroud.  It’s haunting because it’s inevitable.  As I recently said to one of my loved ones, none of us gets off this planet alive!  A few notable exceptions are Elijah and Enoch; God took them home without tasting the transition we call death.

Without getting too maudlin on a Friday, let me say that I’m not totally preoccupied with the idea of death; being 74 years old I’ve had a lot of time to think about it up to this point…not to mention the truckload of funerals and hospital room conversations ministry has visited upon me.  I am, as Jesus was, well-acquainted with sorrows and grief[1].  What I am preoccupied with is finishing well.  I want to walk through that valley with wonder, amazement, faith, and an abiding sense of well-being.  I want to do what I’ve been preaching for forty years; I want to trust all to He Who judges justly[2] and who is also merciful for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ.

I want for my life – whatever legacy that might be to my family, friends, and whomever God may choose – to offer hope in Christ and no other.  I want to experience what the Apostle Paul told the Philippian believers he craved above all, the fellowship of His sufferings, and the power of His resurrection!

For You Today

The Psalmist has the last word today; He knew what finishing well looks like on that final journey:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.  Psalm 23:1-6

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^©   

For another post on this text see Zechariah's Song

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[1] Read Isaiah 53:3

[2] Read Jeremiah 11:20

View From the Fence

 

Monday, December 14, 2020

Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab.  Tell him that I will soon send rain!”  So Elijah went to appear before Ahab.  Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria.  So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devoted follower of the Lord.  Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves.  He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied them with food and water.)  Ahab said to Obadiah, “We must check every spring and valley in the land to see if we can find enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules.”  So they divided the land between them.  Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.  As Obadiah was walking along, he suddenly saw Elijah coming toward him.  Obadiah recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground before him.  “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?” he asked.  “Yes, it is,” Elijah replied.  “Now go and tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”  “Oh, sir,” Obadiah protested, “what harm have I done to you that you are sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab?  For I swear by the Lord your God that the king has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you.  And each time he was told, ‘Elijah isn’t here,’ King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim.  And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’  But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you away to who knows where.  When Ahab comes and cannot find you, he will kill me.  Yet I have been a true servant of the Lord all my life.  Has no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord’s prophets?  I hid 100 of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water.  And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’  Sir, if I do that, Ahab will certainly kill me.”  But Elijah said, “I swear by the Lord Almighty, in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab this very day.”  So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come, and Ahab went out to meet Elijah.  1 Kings 18:1-16

As we reflect on this passage, we should keep in mind one of the apostle Peter’s cautions:

Fear God, and respect the king.  1 Peter 2:17^b

Obadiah was a person who got half of that right.  He feared (or reverenced) God, but in the face of a challenge to do God’s bidding by going to Ahab as Elijah requested, Obadiah let his fear of an unrighteous king block his unquestioning service; Obadiah feared Ahab’s fury!

To his credit, the man who respected the king, and all he stood for in Israel, and was even a government employee, eventually did what Elijah requested.  But the prophet had to swear on his life and fidelity to the Lord to get him to do it.  Sitting on the fence between faith in God and faith in a worldly ruler is hardly the way to get nominated for faith’s man-of-the-year!

We live in a day when people are drawing the lines rather deeply.  The recent presidential election – still going on a month after the balloting – serves as a prime example of how deeply the lines are dug.  The current tally of over 81 million votes for one candidate, and 74 million for the other, show just how divided the American voting public stands, and how much it means to both sides to have their candidate on the throne.  All the while church pews remain largely forgotten. 

Makes one wonder just how much “fearing God” is going on? 

For You Today

If you’re passionate about elections, that isn’t necessarily wrong; everyone needs to be involved in the political process.  Politics is simply a word that describes how citizens decide about how we will act as a society.  Sitting on the fence is not deciding anything, but whether we’ll have splinters behind us when we’re forced to jump down like Obadiah.

To respect the king (president, ruler, or all government officials) is good; to fear God is to keep the king human.

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

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Title image, Pixabay.com and    W   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For another post on this passage see:  When Kings Must Bow

 

When the Mighty Fall

 

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

1 Kings 21:17-29

But the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria.  He will be at Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel, claiming it for himself.  Give him this message:  ‘This is what the Lord says:  Wasn’t it enough that you killed Naboth?  Must you rob him, too?  Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth!’”  “So, my enemy, you have found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah.  “Yes,” Elijah answered, “I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the Lord’s sight.  So now the Lord says, ‘I will bring disaster on you and consume you.  I will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel!  I am going to destroy your family as I did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made me very angry and have led Israel into sin.’  “And regarding Jezebel, the Lord says, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s body at the plot of land in Jezreel.’  “The members of Ahab’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures.”  (No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the Lord’s sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel.  His worst outrage was worshiping idols just as the Amorites had done—the people whom the Lord had driven out from the land ahead of the Israelites.)  But when Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap, and fasted. He even slept in burlap and went about in deep mourning.  Then another message from the Lord came to Elijah:  “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me?  Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime.  It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty.”

Ahab was King of Israel.  By definition that means he was God’s servant, charged with the responsibility to make certain God’s people were turned to God, rather than evil.  Ahab failed miserably, because he chose to use his position of power to get what he wanted, rather than do what God required.  Some things never change!

By contrast, Elijah, God’s faithful servant, was always in some kind of hot water with the powers that be.  That describes the life of anyone who will speak for God.  As a pastor, I learned early-on that there are two parts to the job description:

               ·       Comfort the afflicted, and…

               ·       Afflict the comfortable.

Ahab fell in the later category, and it was Elijah’s task to deliver the uncomfortable truth about the king’s sin.  That part of the job never includes a pleasant afternoon tea time.  I learned that thirty years ago; it was homecoming Sunday, and the church was full. The smell of fried chicken and homemade delights filled the air.  But my thoughts on what God had spoken to my heart about the state of a church that was long past its glory days led me to preach a sermon on how serving self leads to destruction.  It included recounting how the church dies when it is more in love with what the church has done in its history, rather than putting on the work gloves and serving God in the here and now.  After the service, I was greeting the crowd at the door, and one older woman approached me with a deeply furrowed brow.  She growled:  Those people didn’t need to hear all that disturbing stuff; a preacher ought to make a homecoming crowd feel good about how we used to do stuff.  With that, she huffed and stormed off.  Well…shut my mouth! 

It’s an odd thing the way God chooses preachers, particularly in my case.  I was like Moses at the burning bush, trying to get God to send anyone but me.  And this woman was proof that it was going to be a long haul – if I lived through the confrontation God’s Word always precipitates. 

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, we’re more apt, especially when we get older and weaker, to wear the medals of what we have done for You, than to hear the marching orders.  We want ease rather than the confrontation spiritual warfare requires.  Forgive our selfishness, and renew us for serving you today.  Help us hear Elijah, and refuse the temptation to be Ahab.

For You Today

A positive thought to end today’s devotion is Ahab’s response to Elijah’s message.  To his credit, Ahab went into repentance mode, showing Godly sorrow over his sin.  And, God saw it, and God responded.  As evil as he’d been, Ahab found out his life’s sins were not unforgivable.  And THAT is the very definition of Good News!

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

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Title Image:  Welcome Collection Gallery (via Wikimedia Commons)

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

When Kings Must Bow

[1]

Monday, December 18, 2017

Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab.  Tell him that I will soon send rain!”  So Elijah went to appear before Ahab.  Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria.  So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace.  (Obadiah was a devoted follower of the Lord.  Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves.  He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied them with food and water.)  Ahab said to Obadiah, “We must check every spring and valley in the land to see if we can find enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules.”  So they divided the land between them.  Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.  As Obadiah was walking along, he suddenly saw Elijah coming toward him.  Obadiah recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground before him.  “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?” he asked.  “Yes, it is,” Elijah replied.  “Now go and tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”  “Oh, sir,” Obadiah protested, “what harm have I done to you that you are sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab?  For I swear by the Lord your God that the king has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you.  And each time he was told, ‘Elijah isn’t here,’ King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim.  And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’  But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you away to who knows where.  When Ahab comes and cannot find you, he will kill me.  Yet I have been a true servant of the Lord all my life.  Has no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord’s prophets?  I hid 100 of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water.  And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’  Sir, if I do that, Ahab will certainly kill me.”  But Elijah said, “I swear by the Lord Almighty, in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab this very day.”  So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come, and Ahab went out to meet Elijah.  When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, “So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?”  “I have made no trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied.  “You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the Lord and have worshiped the images of Baal instead. 1 Kings 18:1-18^(NLT)

Scripture’s account of the confrontation between Ahab and Elijah is more than a skirmish between a king and a prophet; this is a clash between the living God and a man’s ego.  If you’ve never read the account of how it all turned out, suffice to say it does not turn out pretty for Ahab; it never does when you dig your heels in against God!

There are only two possible outcomes when humans go to war against the Lord:

1.     The human recognizes foolishness and repents, surrendering

2.     The human recognizes foolishness and presses on in pride…and gets toasted!

The conclusion is always:  fighting God is a fool’s errand.

For You Today

Whether called by the title of King, Sultan, Mullah, Sheik, Sha, Raja or President, it usually means there is more than enough pomp and circumstance to inflate a ruler’s ego.  And any ruler would do well to remember that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

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

Chosen....Still!

[i]

                                                                                                        Tuesday, February 28, 2017

I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel?  Of course not!  I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.  No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning.  Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this?  Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars.  I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”  And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”  It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them.  And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works.  For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.  Romans 11:1-6^(NLT)

Depending on your worldview and how you see history, the grace-filled covenant lovingkindness of God towards Israel can either inspire you or make you shake your head like a doubting prophet. 

Elijah was discouraged – big time!  He had served God with a fierce passion and now thought he was the only servant God had left.  Elijah had stood alone on Mt Carmel in a contest against the thousands of prophets of Baal, a false god, and against all odds God gave Elijah a decisive victory.  But Queen Jezebel had put a price on Elijah’s head, and he was so scared of that woman he ran to the wilderness to hide and whine.

God’s answer to the downhearted prophet was a stinging rebuke.  God told Elijah He was not about to break His covenant promises to Israel because it looked bad in the polls, or because Temple attendance was down in Jerusalem.

Hundreds of years later Paul would write to the Christians at Rome and echo God’s message to Elijah – no matter what current circumstances are created by prevailing human notions and whims, God is faithful. 

And God always has his remnant. 

In Elijah’s day it was 7,000 who would stand – alone if necessary – against a deluded King Ahab, or an evil Queen Jezebel.  When it comes to the power of thrones, you have to look a little higher than the crust of earth’s surface if you want to know where ultimate power resides!

It’s important to remember that God is sovereign over this universe:

It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall.  Psalm 75:7^(NLT)

I have to remind myself of this at least every four years when one gets elected, and one has to go home.  No matter which one I supported for our version of kings and castles, the winner is in office either by God’s design or God’s permission. 

God always has the final and deciding vote!

For You Today

Can you, like the apostle Paul, trust the grace and lovingkindness of God to keep you exactly where His sovereign will determines will be best?

And can you do that no matter what forecast the stock market, your doctor, lawyer, Congressman, or news channel declares?

Remember, life’s most important question is not what’s in YOUR wallet; life’s most important question is whom do you TRUST!

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

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NOTES

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Title image: By Gideon Pisanty (Gidip) גדעון פיזנטי (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

How Long, O LORD?

[i]

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
I am sick at heart.
How long, O Lord, until you restore me?  

Psalm 6:2-3^(NLT)

There is almost nothing harder on your inner self than waiting. 

At the moment Elizabeth and I are awaiting the verdict on a house problem.  It seems some time ago our shower drain decided to break, leaking water into the crawl space under the house.  Now, when you add moisture to a dark place that has lots of insulation and wooden joists for food, you create a perfect storm for mold to take over like Methodist locusts at a dinner on the grounds.

That this could go undetected for a long time…months…is evidence of my sanity; what sane man crawls under his house to check the humidity?  Especially when you have to fight the spiders and snakes to do so!

The first two estimates about remediating the algae on steroids were enough to make the national debt disappear….or my shingles return.

We are waiting on the third guy now.

Waiting.

Did I say we are waiting?

The waiting room is an awful place. 

David, suffering the consequences of his sins, waited in agony for the Lord to heal his brokenness of spirit.

John the Baptist waited in prison for his cousin, Jesus to vindicate all that preaching John had done in the wilderness to vindicate him.

Elijah waited under a broom tree to die because he was afraid of Jezebel’s fury.

Paul waited in a jail under threat of execution.

Waiting is tough business.

And so, we say, How Long O Lord?

And God answers:  my grace is sufficient for whatever you need, boy.

And then we hear Paul, faithful servant, waiting:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.   Philippians 4:6^(NLT)

And so, we will!

For You Today

Waiting got you by the throat?

Listen to your very good friend, Paul.

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

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NOTES

[i] Title Image: By Andrew Katsis, via Wikimedia Commons