The Gift of Morning Dew

Friday, August 18, 2023

How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!  For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe.  Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion.  And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting. Psalm 133:1-3

Harmony produces synergy.  That’s when everything works together to have a result which is greater than the sum of its’ individual parts.  The Psalmist tells us it’s a wonderfully-pleasant reality.  Most people misunderstand its source, it’s a gift from God.  The Psalmist compares Mt. Hermon’s misty-morning dew, flowing-down as a gift over the blistering summer heat that parches the entire region.[1]  Without that refreshing dew falling on the lower region of Zion’s hills, the scorched earth would produce famine and death.  And, since humankind is not in charge of the earth’s atmosphere or weather, it is the hand of the Creator (Jehovah-Jireh) which provides that misty life-saver. 

It is so with harmony.  One individual human being’s decision to work-together is simply that – one unselfish decision.  To have even the slightest chance of germinating into harmony requires the cooperating touch of another.  But even a crowd of cooperators, working like carpenter ants, cannot produce genuine harmony without the dew of God’s gift. 

Much like Colonel Sanders’ fried-chicken venture, the chicken, flour, spices, frying pan, and cornflakes were already there; but it wouldn’t have synergized into that wonderful original and crispy, unless the white-bearded man put them together.

In a greater way, God designed human life to be saturated with this gift of harmony, soaked with kindness, forbearance, generosity, patience, joy, peace, gentleness, and love.  The opposite is selfishness, impatience, greed, petulance, anger, violence, crudeness, and isolation; these are known by their common name, sin. 

For You Today 

Living together in harmony is something of a delicate art, as tenuous as thinking two cats with their tails tied-together will be able to keep their cool more than 3 seconds. 

But God made it possible for us to dwell together in peace as families, neighborhoods, countries, races, and any other diverse complication in the universe, with another kind of “dew” that drips down from Golgotha, the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  This is the gift of ultimate synergy for the soul, and it is the only solution that will bring peace in this lifetime or eternity!

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:  Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] The Biblical Illustrator, Electronic Database© 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. BibleSoft.com

With Ears Like That...

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  I will advise you and watch over you.  Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”  Psalm 32:8-9

God made us different from the rest of sentient beings (fish, animals, and plants). God gave humans consciousness (awareness) of meaning and the importance of intrapersonal connection.  More than merely an affiliation with our own species, God gave us an innate sense of the purpose and worth of each other’s existence, as well as the sacredness of all creation.  And on top of that gift God placed a requirement that we use all that awareness better than a stubborn mule. 

We humans are a particularly strange lot, especially in our lack of intelligent choices.  One would imagine humans possessing sensory understanding, or (if you wish) ears like a mule , humanity might pay better attention to our Creator’s instructions.  That is so strange, considering God has given us a promise (as the Psalmist clearly stated) of guidance to the pathway of a better life.  And it has been so from the opening gun.  Adam and Eve were told not to dine on one particular tree…that lasted a half-second.  Cain and Abel were told what to bring for a worship offering.  Cain completely ignored God’s instructions, got angry with jealousy, and killed his brother for spite.  If you’ve ever had the responsibility of a parent, to make important choices for your child, you know first-hand what that child will do when you say clearly, authoritatively, and lovingly:  Child, don’t go near that road.  In the next heartbeat he or she will be dancing on the pavement!

We have ears to listen and, generally, turn them to a deaf side.

Occasionally, however, there is a revival of God’s Spirit, like the one currently in progress at Asbury University.  

By many social media accounts and news outlets, it isn’t a wild jumping-over-the-pews, shouting goofiness.  Rather, its calm sitting in His presence, praying for each other, boldly trusting that waiting before God for His next word is more important than classes, jobs, spreadsheets, schedules, or anything else in which we dabble-away our time.  It is joy without giddy foolishness.  It’s healing of the spirit, building of the spirit, and connection with God’s family.  It is, frankly, koinonia, the common Greek word used in the New Testament to describe how the real church acts when they truly listen to God’s voice.  It is the combined atmosphere of community, communion, sharing, and deeply-held intimacy.[1]  This is the spiritual garden where God’s Holy Spirit produces excellent fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control[2].

For You Today 

The spiritual fruit of revival begins in the church, when God’s people, who have surrendered Lordship to Jesus Christ, promising to walk in the Spirit, nail their sinful desires to the cross, and invite the transforming power Jesus offers, to change their deaf ears to deeply-listening ears.  And with ears like that…there’s no telling what good Christ will produce in your life!

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: 

Oh! What Joy  and  The Problem With Pharisees      

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] For more understanding read κοινωνία in Wikimedia.com

[2] See Galatians 5:22-25

The GENTLE Way

 

Friday, October 14, 2022

Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.  A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.  Gently instruct those who oppose the truth.  Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.  Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap.  For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.  2 Timothy 2:23-26

The old apostle Paul, is sharing advice with his protégé, Timothy, a young pastor.  He is reminding him of what he’s already mentioned several times:  When you’re a pastor, you can’t get too fiery or debate-minded…you start more fires when you use fire, and one fire is enough!  Paul understood well-enough that arguing is a sure way to create division, not understanding and progress.

It's somewhat strange to contemplate Paul’s history (when he was still Saul), of persecuting the church, even handing Christians over to the executioners…against the advice he now gives Timothy, to gently instruct those who oppose the truth of God’s Word.  But time has passed, and Paul has gained insight and wisdom from the hurt he not only caused, but also experienced first-hand, when the methodology of changing the world meant might makes right.  He saw the devastation of fanaticism.  It is, as he told Timothy, the devil’s trap.

I'm not sure I have ever met a more gentle person than the one who gave birth to me.  Mom maintained a quiet, gentleness that showed support, restraint, kindness, and a safe-haven place to be…for anyone. 

Criticism was in short supply when Cecilia was speaking…and she believed in the adage that God gave you two ears and one mouth, and they ought to be used in those proportions – listen, hear, and understand, twice as much as speaking…if not more.  You always knew you would have a listening ear, without judgment.  But, in a surprising turn, whenever she had your ear, she was not hesitant to talk about God’s goodness.  I believe Mom had paid attention to Paul’s wisdom imparted to Timothy, to gently instruct.  That is usually the only way opposers come to a change of heart…when all the rancor and harsh words are left in the dust.  It’s then God can speak to a heart, and bring a wanderer to his senses.

For You Today

There’s an old saying:  When birds are arguing, no one in the nest gets fed.

The case for the gentle way is:  when restraint, kindness, support, and a safe-haven for other ideas, is married to thinking the best of others, everyone will be fed, and God’s Spirit is freed to do what the Spirit does – empower the work of the Kingdom to flourish like a field of wildflowers in bloom.

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: 

Fruit of the Spirit - Part 7 Gentleness   and   A Different Time

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