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!

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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?

Old Minds & New Wine

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, “Why don’t your disciples fast like we do and the Pharisees do?”  Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom?  Of course not.  But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.  “Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth?  For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.  “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins.  For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins.  New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”  Matthew 9:14-17

The older one gets, the more one looks back on the chapters that were, instead of looking ahead to the chapters yet to be written.  Perhaps too much!  It’s difficult to look ahead when your mind is full of the past.  Yet, there is something to be said for meditating on what has happened, if the future is going to make any sense.  For instance, a pastor’s unquestioned task is always to preach God’s Word, in God’s timing, so that the true wisdom of God can bless and direct God’s people.  So a pastor must face what’s ahead while keeping the past in mind.  To let the future have sovereign reign is to fall prey to some of yesterday’s mistakes, spilling the new wine of tomorrow before it has time to mature.  To let the past reign (especially in an old mind) is to turn your back on the promise of all things new. 

We make choices, many without thinking; we are conditioned so, and life demands choices and changes.  And, in the wisdom that unfolds with time, we know everything of the past was not entirely evil or entirely good, as well as we know everything new will one day be in the past.  We live, we choose, we learn.

If our minds are the wineskins of which Jesus taught, then the possibilities of the wine of yesterday or tomorrow are what goes in.  Jesus said you can’t put the new wine (of tomorrow’s experience) into old skins (an old man’s mind, perhaps).  The common reasoning is that the fermenting of the new wine creates growth action that will expand (and burst) the old, stretched-to-the-limit skins.

As it is with old minds and new wines, so it is with the church and her ebb and flow of serving Christ’s Kingdom.  The more churches dwell on the past, lamenting the loss of those good ol’ days, the less fit we become for the new wine of Christ’s promise…behold, I make all things new.[1]  And when God is moving in the hearts of young people to stretch and accept his growth to expand the Kingdom, we do well to make room for that which is coming, or risk the judgment of Pharasee-like hardened skins, ready for bursting.

I know of only one remedy for that, and Apostle Paul made it simple:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  Romans 12:1-2

Renewed minds…new wineskins for what’s coming, made possible by the kind of faith that presents body, mind, and soul to Christ…the surrendered life.

For You Today  

Old wine is best in taste, but it is strong, and is meant to be savored and sipped.  New wine is best in promise, meant to be expanding and changing.  There is room for both…no, there is necessity of both in the Kingdom of God. 

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: 

The Tear in the Fabric  and  Drinking the Pastor's New Wine

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] Revelation 21:5

Nevertheless

 

Friday, March 26, 2021

While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the Lord gave him this second message:  “This is what the Lord says—the Lord who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the Lord:  Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.  For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:  You have torn down the houses of this city and even the king’s palace to get materials to strengthen the walls against the siege ramps and swords of the enemy.  You expect to fight the Babylonians, but the men of this city are already as good as dead, for I have determined to destroy them in my terrible anger.  I have abandoned them because of all their wickedness.  “Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s wounds and give it prosperity and true peace.  I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and rebuild their towns.  I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion.  Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth!  The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them.  Jeremiah 33:1-9

Jeremiah the prophet was in jail.  This is the same guy who wrote about calling on the Lord for answers, and he’s in a pit for telling the truth about Israel’s sin, and how God would use the Babylonians, despised pagans, to destroy the Holy City. 

This was the same Jeremiah who earlier wrote[1] words of joy and good plans for hope and a future.  Now he tells the men of the city to not waste their time fighting God’s enemy, Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king…Jerusalem’s freedom fighters are already as good as dead.  I suppose it was anybody’s guess which Jeremiah would show up on a given day, optimist or pessimist!

However, after predicting the fall of Jerusalem (which did happen), Jeremiah’s prophecy turns on a dime with one word:  NEVERTHELESS!

The prophet speaks of a time when God would forgive, heal, and prosper His people.  The words are as gracious and hope-filled as the former words were frightening:  heal, prosperity, peace, restore, rebuild, cleanse, forgive, joy, glory, honor, good.

Nevertheless – what a word; what a welcome word! 

God’s promises are like that.  With a single word, even spoken from a jail cell, God’s righteous judgment can send us into waves of shock and despair over our rebellious, sinful ways.  And with another word of hope, restoration, and forgiveness, the despair becomes light and a future.

There are people, like you, like me, who have plummed the depths of despair.  We know our sins, and how much we’ve strayed from God’s pathway.  We know how dark our minds and hearts can grow.  We’ve seen the wrong side of living. 

And, yet, there is that one word…Nevertheless!

For You Today

So…what kind of voice from the pit calls to you today? 

If your Jeremiah’s words are despairing, grief, and looming destruction, own them and lay them at the foot of the cross.  The “nevertheless” still stands.  He will heal, restore, bless, and….well, you get the idea!

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

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

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[1] See Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

The View of Forever Right Now

[1]

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Praise the Lord, all you nations.  Praise him, all you people of the earth.  For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever.  Praise the Lord!  Psalm 117:1-2^(NLT)  

“In that day,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.  This is what the Lord says:  “Those who survive the coming destruction will find blessings even in the barren land, for I will give rest to the people of Israel.”  Long ago the Lord said to Israel:  “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.  With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.  I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel.  You will again be happy and dance merrily with your tambourines.  Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there.  The day will come when watchmen will shout from the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord our God.’”   Jeremiah 31:1-6^(NLT)

Today is the last day in the Christian year’s lectionary cycle.  Tomorrow we move from having celebrated the birth, ministry, passion, resurrection, ascension, return, and reign of King Jesus; we then start over again at his promised first coming.  We are also nearing the end of a calendar year, and when you come to the end of anything it usually provokes rear view mirror thoughts!  Our Scripture passages today depict the different view of forever people can have. 

Jeremiah’s time was hard, harsh and hopeless.  Being conquered by cruel enemies tends to be that way!  The prophet first spoke a warning; then he spoke hope to their hearts.  People who have little (or zero) faith in God tend to see forever as something of either a curse or the end of existing – an entrance into nothingness.  This life is to be enjoyed, grabbed, pushed to the limits, and then you’re worm food.  Get all you can in your 70 years (plus or minus), because that’s all there is…and then you’re gone.

Even though Jeremiah’s warnings of the coming enemy conquest were blunt and harsh, they were an accurate picture of life in the family of God.  When you disobey your Creator, you’re going to the woodshed for a lesson.  But at the end of that lesson is hope!  There is a forever future to celebrate; there will be planting, dancing and joy!  You may have messed-up big-time in this life, but God is the forever Savior; the game is not entirely over!

And so both the Psalmist and the Prophet say go on and worship…praise the Lord for all His goodness and mercy.

This is the consummate difference between those outside the family of God and those within; the view of forever right now brings a smile for God’s children and a curse for those who are outside.  There is laughter and singing within, and hopelessness without.

The great news about the view of forever right now is that we get to choose which we will have.  God has called everyone to come close, be His child, and rejoice forever. 

For You Today

The positive, joy-filled view of forever right now begins with choosing to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and LORD. 

The ball is in your court. 

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

Why God Got Some Ink

[i]

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.  Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.  Soon your descendants will come back, and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.  Look around you and see, for all your children will come back to you.  As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.  “Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land will soon be crowded with your people.  Your enemies who enslaved you
will be far away.  The generations born in exile will return and say, ‘We need more room!  It’s crowded here!’  Then you will think to yourself, ‘Who has given me all these descendants?  For most of my children were killed, and the rest were carried away into exile.  I was left here all alone.  Where did all these people come from?  Who bore these children?  Who raised them for me?’”  This is what the Sovereign Lord says:  “See, I will give a signal to the godless nations.  They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms; they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.  Kings and queens will serve you and care for all your needs.  They will bow to the earth before you and lick the dust from your feet.  Then you will know that I am the Lord.  Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.”   Isaiah 49:16-23^(NLT)

The prophet Isaiah’s voice was mostly intended for a troubled nation caught in a downward spiral.  Their national sin was immense; the nation formed in the heart of a loving and holy God had become a stench in His nostrils.  Judgment was already on the way; their destruction was imminent and their children would soon be carried away by their enemies.  Disaster was their future!

Then God decided in favor of tattoos!  Really! 

Well, I’m not sure that it’s a blanket endorsement to cover your body with ink; it’s more an artistic way to say that God’s thoughts are open and on display for anyone willing to see.

Isaiah records that God wrote the name of His beloved Israel on the palms of His hands as a visually constant promise that not only would the children return, brought by their penitent and now-submissive enemies, the day would come when Israel would flourish again when God once more would place Himself undeniably back in Israel’s focus.

An insurance company has the slogan:  The future belongs to those who prepare for it.[ii]  God’s slogan, tattooed by God Himself on His palms (long before that insurance company): 

The future belongs to those who trust in Me

For You Today

Whatever you’ve got going on in your life that’s making the future so uncertain you can hardly concentrate on the present…well, that may be God getting your attention.

A bit of advice…give Him your attention.

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

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NOTES

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[i] Title image: By Meena Kadri from Global Roaming (Vibrantly Rabari), via Wikimedia Commons

[ii] ^©The Prudential, Newark N.J.