Blessed

Monday, February 27, 2023

God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory.  And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.  So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father.  That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.  For he said to God, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.  I will praise you among your assembled people.”  He also said, “I will put my trust in him,” that is, “I and the children God has given me.”  Hebrews 2:10-13

There are many internal and external needs we humans must have to survive.  Internally, our organs and blood supply must do their thing, pumping, moving, cooperating with all things bio-physiological.  Externally, we need air, water, and food (some of us would have listed coffee as a necessity…but I digress). 

Those are the basics; then there’s safety from our environment, both in the natural realm (earthquakes, floods, wild animals...), and the most dangerous of all, other human beings.  From Cain’s relationship to his brother, Abel, down to today’s Wild West, East, North, and South, human anger is a killer of extraordinary proportions. 

God, says the writer to the Hebrews, is the creator of everything, and it all was made for Him, as well.  Created beings, like you, like me, were not only made by God, we were made for God.  That does not imply we were like dolls purchased at the store, meant to be played with, then put away for another day.  It strongly informs us that we were made for relationship (fellowship) with God.  Stated categorically:  God desired us!  He wants us.  He would (and did) die for us!

The writer of Hebrews[1] tells us that Jesus, the Son of God, Who died for us, is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters[2].  Paul also tells us that it goes beyond a simple unashamed status…we are loved so greatly God adopted all who trust in Christ, and has deemed us His heirs:

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;                 Romans 8:17a

Now, savor that lovely thought, the security of Heaven’s favor for those who believe in Christ, and have entrusted past, present, and future to His care.  But let’s also remember we are now fully-engaged in Lent…40 days of somber preparation for the brutality of Jesus being scourged with a whip made of iron tips and broken glass shards, mocked by crowds and religious leaders, and enduring the sin-taking pain of death on the cross. 

That’s quite a juxtaposition…contemplating familial love and adoptive grace, at the price of unimaginable suffering and blood.  Yet, that is exactly how Jesus asked us to always remember this cherished family relationship…the bread of His body, and the cup of His blood…those grace-filled symbols of the cost of His love, and God’s adoption.  We are truly blessed.

For You Today 

In your Lenten moments it is important to remember Jesus’ suffering and death for us…how else would we treasure so precious a gift?  But keep in mind that suffering is never to be repeated…the adoption has been made final.  So rejoice in it, loved and blessed one…Your adopted Father said so!

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

            Go to VIDEO (read by author)

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: 

When the Candle Dies  and  A Little Lower Than the Angels      

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

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

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[1] Many theologians consider the writer to be Apostle Paul

[2] I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.  I will praise you among your assembled people.  Psalm 22:22

The Brokenness of LENT

 

Ash Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Sound the trumpet in Jerusalem!  Raise the alarm on my holy mountain!  Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the Lord is upon us.  It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds and deep blackness.  Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains, a great and mighty army appears.  Nothing like it has been seen before or will ever be seen again….That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time.  Give me your hearts.  Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.”  Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  He is eager to relent and not punish.  Who knows?  Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse.  Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before.  Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem!  Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting.  Gather all the people—the elders, the children, and even the babies.  Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room.  Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence, stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.  Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord!  Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery.  Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say, ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”  Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

The prophet calls for Lenten practices serving the purpose of giving our hearts to God.  A physical demonstration of repentance involved tearing one’s outer garment displaying grief over sin.  Joel pleads instead to open the hardened walls of our hearts to show God we mean to have our lives opened to His way.

I’ve always had an uneasy relationship with this Season, and the all-too-common question:  what shall I give up for Lent?  It’s seems so trivial; give up chocolate (if you can actually do that) and God is pleased?  Eat fish, instead of red meat, and you’re a spiritual giant? 

Somehow the superficiality of that crumbles in both spirit and practice.  Why should surface routines suggest the entire soul is undergoing the revolution of a surrendered heart?  In a conversation with an expert specialist of religion, a Pharisee, Jesus told him his way of performing ritual after ritual wasn’t opening hearts, but slamming Heaven’s door in the faces of hurting people.  He went on to say the Pharisee’s way was utter hypocrisy, they were like…

…whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.  Matthew 23:27

By contrast, Joel shows us what it looks like, in work clothes, to be genuine children of God.  He says, turn, fast, weep, mourn (over sins), sound the alarm, spread the news, gather the people, pray…and trust God. 

Looking at the state of church in the 21^st century, it would seem we have our work cut out for us in this season.  There’s hardly enough brokenness of heart, or urgency towards Godly sorrow, to even show up at church more than a few times a year, let alone reach the foot of Heaven’s throne room with a prayer.

For You Today

Lent begins on the calendar hanging on our wall today; whether it will begin in hearts, rent with repentant weeping, and Godly sorrow, remains to be seen.

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

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

Fading to Light

 

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Ephesians 4:30 - 5:2

And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.  Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.  Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

The whole idea of “fading to dark” leaves me empty…as it should.  Fading to dark is descriptive of what happens in a movie or stage play, when a scene is ends.  Fading is light going out of the theatre; you are left on your own with your thoughts. 

My thoughts this morning are on fading to light, where the cloudiness on your perspective clears, and you’re now able to see more vividly, make more reasoned decisions.  And the only thing better than being able to see clearly, is to be part of the kind of fading to light so others can also see more clearly. 

The picture I’ve chosen to accompany today’s devotion is an owl in his tree habitat.  He is designed to fade into that background so predators who want owl for dinner, as well as prey the owl would like to be dinner, can’t see him.  His fading is a weapon, designed to deceive, and give him enough advantage to keep his belly full.  A follower of Jesus Christ is also designed to fade into the light, but for a different purpose altogether; the invisibility achieves visibility.   As a believer grows in his or her likeness of Christ, the believer is less of a standout, and Christ is more the image the world can see.  When I become less, Christ in me becomes everything.

There is a stark, shudder-causing difference between darkness and light, as evidenced by Jesus’ use of this metaphor for those who prefer evil or good.  The apostle, Paul, picked this up and said it plainly as to which side we’re called:

For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.  1 Thessalonians 5:5

There’s a bit of confusion about this metaphor if we don’t remind ourselves often about the true nature of darkness (representing evil), and the true nature of light (representing Godliness); these two, in character, are well known enemies, but they do not show up on the battlefield and fight to the death.  In their nature they are representations of the absence of each other; they don’t co-exist as enemies, nor (especially) as friends.  Their nature is to be mutually-exclusive; the presence of one announces the absence of the other.  This is seen in the way Paul describes how to live as children of light.  He tells us to get rid of (banish) the behavior of darkness (bitterness, anger, rage, harsh words, etc.).  And, when that happens, in place of such evil you find the behavior (or presence) of light, tender-hearted kindness and forgiving of one another. 

Darkness fades to light…more accurately, it fades to Jesus; the Light of the world.  This is what John the Baptist meant when he said

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.  John 3:30

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, we cannot see clearly sometimes for all the darkness in this world.  Yet, still, you call us to be children of light, and walk in Your light.  Let Your light so shine in us that we fade into the light.

For You Today

At times, when you’re wondering why you have difficulty concentrating on God’s light, and wondering where the light went, it will be beneficial to fast and pray on what darkness to which you’ve become attached.  Remember, the presence of darkness announces the absence of light.  And, it is also true the other way around!

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

Go to VIDEO                                                                                                                  

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

For another post on this text:  Words That Destroy and The Power of a Curse and A Life of Sacrifice

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.

Go to VIDEO

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

When the Darkness Comes

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Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Sound the trumpet in Jerusalem!  Raise the alarm on my holy mountain!  Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the Lord is upon us.  It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds and deep blackness.  Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains, a great and mighty army appears.  Nothing like it has been seen before or will ever be seen again.

That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time.  Give me your hearts.  Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.”  Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  He is eager to relent and not punish.  Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse.  Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before.  Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem!  Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting.  Gather all the people—the elders, the children, and even the babies.  Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room.  Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence, stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.  Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord!  Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery.  Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say, ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”  Joel 2:1-2, 12:17^(NLT)

Ash Wednesday, along with Good Friday, are among my least favorite days of the year.  Let’s face it, this is an invitation to go to church with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  On the whole, I’d rather be in the dentist’s chair when he says, root canal!

Now, putting my personal preferences aside (which is certainly a big part of becoming a Christian in the first place…you remember, denying self and taking up the cross daily). Well, laying to the side my preference for the celebration days of Easter, Christmas, Pentecost, and all the other happy times, it is this day I NEED more than any celebration.

Ash Wednesday is:

·       the day of my personal mourning and repentance for my own sins

·       a time for clearing-out the cobwebs of conveniently-forgotten promises to God

·       a moment to confront those failed attempts to get back on track with living the faith life of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, this Ash Wednesday coincides with Valentine’s Day, and, consistent with all the other sentimentality which creates the Hallmark syndrome throughout the year, too many of us will opt for chocolate over confession; we want a celebration, not a solemn meeting.  After all, wouldn’t we rather be happy  instead of going to a somber service, singing Just As I Am, and When I Survey the Wondrous Cross? 

Actually, I may have just stumbled across the point…how can you actually BE happy WITHOUT this day of confession?  How can you survive eternity without that wondrous blood-stained cross and the marvelous grace that says you can come to Christ just as you are, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me?

Which would you rather have?

·       Celebrating “love” in a sentimental gush of emotions, fueled by flowers, chocolate, four-star dinner, and maybe a few diamonds, making the owners of that every Kiss begins with K™ slogan deleriously happy (not to mention rich), knowing you’ll have to top that next year…or…

·       Connecting with the author and finisher of all faith in a way that experiences the cleansing power of mercy and grace…and sensing a renewal of that child within, cleansed, forgiven, re-purposed and strong?

This isn’t a harangue against St. Valentine, Hallmark, or even celebrating the day by thinking of your loved ones; it’s just a reminder that there is a better target that is being held in a whole different place.  Don’t miss that target…go for the ashes!

For You Today

Celebrate the cross…that’s the REAL DEAL when it comes to love!

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

Go to VIDEO

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com