Thanks - Living

Thanksgiving Day 

Thursday, November 23, 2023

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

At one time the English poet Rudyard Kipling's writings were so in demand that he was paid 10 shillings (about $1) per word for his efforts.  A group of students thought that was outrageous, and sent him a letter with 10 shillings enclosed.  They asked him (since his words were so expensive) to send them his best word.  He replied, of course, "Thanks!"  

In all of life and human existence our best word is "grace."  Today as we once again celebrate Thanksgiving, we could talk about the many ways God’s loving grace provides for our needs:

·       of food and a roof over our heads 

·       healing and miracles

·       family and friends

·       freedom

But the best word is still grace, and no scripture says it better than John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." 

I'm thankful for grace.

His grace is enough!

His grace is enough to forgive my sin, and make me clean.  That means I will not perish because I'm forgiven. 

A man was considering the purchase of a Rolls Royce.  He asked the dealer some questions about the luxury car, and all were answered, until the man asked how much horsepower the engine had.  The dealer didn't know, and since there was no manual for this hand-crafted vehicle, he sent a telegram to England for the answer, "How much horsepower does a Rolls have?"  Shortly a return message came; there was only one word:  "Enough!"  As much, and as bad as my sins are, Jesus' grace is enough to wash me white as snow.  

His grace is eternal. 

Eternal life is as much quality as quantity.  None of us would care to live forever if it meant the current human condition.  As a child it seemed that I would just go on forever.  I know better now.

·       Bodies wear out, and relationships falter. 

·       There is much suffering and pain in the human family. 

Anything that will last forever has to be the best.  I'm grateful that I will live forever and "for better!"  I have the greatest gift for which to be thankful.  

HOW SHALL I RESPOND?

We are taught from a very young age that, when someone gives you something, you say Thank You.  And, as we also find out, words can be cheapened if we do not back them up with actions that match those words.  To say “thank you” for all God has done is best said by living it out.  So I'm going to live thankfully!  For me, today and every day is "Thanks-living” Day!

For You Today 

I have no great homework assignment to lay on your shoulder today…only a prayer for your day, and your life, that you may find joy, peace, and eternal rest as you live thankfully in our Lord’s presence.

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.

Today’s title Image from Pixabay.com  

Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Un-BOT-able

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing. 

John 15:5

There are many things a human cannot do.  Unlike the cow in the children’s rhyme, humans cannot jump over the moon, (at least not without a Bazillion-dollar Space Shuttle).  We also cannot change our DNA, or place of birth, or a bunch of other characteristics:  eye-shape, fingerprints, genetically-inherited diseases or some traits, like color of our hair (well, aside from Miss Clairol and Sally Beauty salon revisions…which are entirely external masks).

On the reverse side of that stuff that humans cannot do, is what science cannot do.  In one of the comparatively new branches of science, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robots are being taught how to (at least) mimic human characteristics for a wide range of applications, doing tasks that humans no longer want to do.  If you’ve ever asked Alexa to change the channel, turn on the lights, or lock your front door from 20 miles away, you understand.  

But in today’s culture AI is much more than having a butler do everything you want in the house, from taking out the garbage, to picking out which cool T-shirt to wear to the game.  Today’s research is already overwhelmingly-involved with virtually everything you buy, including cars, food, clothing, furniture for your front porch, and pet shampoo.  Frankly, you cannot do a single thing online without someone getting ahold of your preferences in where to take a vacation and what toothpaste you love.

Billionaire tech genius, entrepreneur, co-founder of Google, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, and now owner of Twitter, rebranded as “X”, Elon Musk has been involved in developing AI in the form of bot-tech (computer brains that serve humans by imitating being human).  Despite that deep immersion in artificial intelligence, and being armed with a bankroll larger than most small countries, Musk has some cautions now about the whole thing; in an interview this April he said:

[1]

For all the magnificent (some would say malevolent) machinations of mankind to copy human intelligence into machines, there is one human characteristic (at the very least) science cannot force into wired circuit boards, chips, and whatever other mysteries run computer thingies…and that is eternity…an eternal soul that will never die.  They couldn’t even get to the point of a temporary soul that has genuine compassion.  

All humankind’s science can muster is mimicry – a painted  face doll, with programed responses, and not an ounce of caring for what becomes of its fellow inhabitants of planet earth.  God, who is creator of all that is seen, and that which we haven’t yet seen, has declared many times within the pages of Scripture that he will not share his glory with anyone.  I will not give my glory to anyone else,  Isaiah 42:8.  So as for AI, it will remain artificial; the real thing is God’s, and quite unique! 

For You Today 

For those who trust in God’s promises, this world may rob you of your job, your health and play a lot of nasty tricks on you.  There is one thing God has given each of us complete control over; our eternal soul.  Its Un-BOT-able!

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 or cited via weblinks.  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] Elon Musk Believes AI Could Destroy Us All – So Why Is He Investing In It?

In Faith

Friday, April 28, 2023

“Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me.  He told me, “I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you.  I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt.  I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.”’  “The elders of Israel will accept your message.  Then you and the elders must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us.  So please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord, our God.’  “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him.  So I will raise my hand and strike the Egyptians, performing all kinds of miracles among them.  Then at last he will let you go.  And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed. Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses.  You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.”  Exodus 3:16-22

Starting a new chapter in life can be exciting, uncertain, and even downright scary.  Truth be told, life, however short or long, is a series of new chapters.  The final new chapter for all of us on earth is leaving this life’s cares, pain, loved ones, and virtually everything we’ve accumulated.  Christians (myself included) believe the final earthly new chapter is but the introductory words of the gift our God bestows upon us, the book without end…eternal life. 

At this point in life I can only reasonably conclude that I have many less years ahead of me than behind me.  That does afford the opportunity to do some evaluation of what life has held, and how I have been held up, even in my weakest moments.  Looking back over ones’ journey is far more important than merely nostalgia.  It had better be so…even the word is formidable.  The word nostalgia is formed from joining two thoughts, returning home and pain[1].  The mental image is nothing less than picking at an old wound!

Standing on the verge of full retirement[2] I’m doing a lot of musing over what will occupy my days hence.  The excitement phase of any new chapter, being ready to launch itself into the unknown, will fade into development of whatever God has in store, and I cannot wait to see the color and shape of a new adventure.  If this new ride through God’s vineyard leaves me even half as breathless as the previous 75 years, it’s going to be white-knuckles on the dashboard all the way!

In some way I identify strongly with Abraham.  God called his name and said: Come here, Abe…I want to show you something.  Life really got interesting when Abraham responded:  OK…you lead…I’ll follow.

But that’s the meaning of faith, isn’t it?

For You Today 

You may have hit this retirement moment long before my time, or you may have a while to go; either way we should realize we have the same challenge to launch every morning our feet hit the floor.  He’s ready to lead; our choice is the privilege of following!

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Just When...  and  The Comfort of Being Known   

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

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

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[1] The Online Etymology Dictionary

[2] My first retirement (2013) was from full-time to part-time (somewhat an oxymoron in pastoral work).

River of Life

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!  Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!  For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”  John 7:37-38

The festival apostle John said was coming to an end was the Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles).  For seven days all observant Jews would leave their permanent homes and camp out.  They would build small, lean-to shelters, booths that suggest a family on the move.  

Image via Wikimedia Commons

It was much like our Thanksgiving celebration of harvest, God providing for our needs.  For the Jews it not only celebrated a current harvest, but commemorated the miracle of provision for their ancestors in the wilderness wanderings for 40 years.  It was a joyful and thankful time for reflecting on Yahweh’s lovingkindness.  The booths were not comfortably furnished, nor would they pass any construction standards of modern times.  They were for subsistence shelter, and kept alive memory of the rigors of wilderness life.  All memorials point to bigger things than a party…they help us to not forget someone else’s struggle.  They help us keep fresh in our minds the cost of life.

Our Scripture this morning says it was at the end of this week of “roughing-it” that Jesus stood and offered living water.  That was a great opening-line; Jesus knew how to get the attention of tired people who were probably in need of a bath!

It is not much of a secret how often Jesus used the simple things of life to speak of more complex issues.  His sermons were peppered with common ground metaphors:  seed-sowing for growing His Father’s kingdom, harvest-time for helping those lost in a field of sin to come to the storehouse, healing crippled limbs for making-whole crippled spirits.  In this simple offer of thirst-quenching water Jesus opens the wellspring, the fountainhead of eternal life.  He says it is living water…a river of never-ending life.  And the metaphor is truly the quality of human relationship with the divine…Jesus is offering the keys of Heaven’s door to all who will embrace Him.  He is saying:  Come close, sit-down, learn, love, enjoy, and share with others this fellowship Adam once knew…daily walking with your Creator.  Now THAT’S one living river!

For You Today 

As all the other metaphors Jesus used to describe how much God loves us, and wants us close to him, we are left to make the leap from physical to spiritual.  We are left to open the door to our hearts.  Not a wooden or steel door, the door of our souls, where God’s Holy Spirit is standing…bid Him come in.

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:  Rivers of Living Water  or  Fountain Joy       

Title Image: via Pixabay.com    Images without citation are in public domain.

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