Sovereign

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

“From eternity to eternity I am God.  No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.  No one can undo what I have done.”  Isaiah 43:13

Once one gets past the sophomoric notion of atheism, to admit there IS a divine Creator, one must grapple with a supremely-challenging dilemma of IF that divine One is truly in charge…and to what degree.  Is God sovereign, or are there some things he cannot (or chooses not) to touch?  And if He truly is “in charge” of everything, why is the world in such a mess?

If one has the temerity to affirm God is Sovereign (as Isaiah wrote), the final question surrounding humankind’s response to a sovereign God is two-fold:  What does that look like, and how should I live now that I know that?

In my limited experience as a human being, and a believer in the sovereignty of God, in nearly 50 years of theological thinking, writing, preaching, and pastoral ministry, I have never been able to fully articulate in a single sentence the answer to that question…until yesterday, when a Facebook friend re-posted a prayer from a friend’s page:

It took me just a moment to read it, and pass it off as simply another superficial stab at teaching a child to pray.  I continued scrolling through the endless and mostly inane trivia of social media, but the thought of that sentence would not fade to the background  Then the depth of faith contained in this one sentence scratched its’ way to the surface of my tired mind and shouted:  Listen, Russell; you’re never going to need more in life, or My Kingdom than this.  This is what living in My Kingdom is like; this is how you bow before Sovereign Lord.

I’m not one given to hearing God audibly, or seeing a message behind every bush or cute thing my dog does, but this one sentence about how to go about greeting God every morning of my life makes more sense than all the combined drivel you can find in self-help speeches and books; this is placing 100% of all the trust I can ever muster in God’s care for me. 

Fix me when I’m the problem – is taking the humble knee, admitting I’m broken enough to need fixing

Protect me when I’m not the problem – is admitting I’m going to move on in God’s strength, speaking up for loving justice, doing mercy, and walking humbly with God[1], because my strength isn’t enough for this messy life…I need Him to have my back.

·       This is taking my stand on the only hill I’ve ever truly needed to die on. 

·       This is how you take up the cross and follow the One who died for you. 

·       It is the bottom line of the call. 

For You Today 

Want to know how to walk in God’s presence?  Let your heart pray:

Sovereign Lord, fix me and protect me as I walk with You today!

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:  via WikimediaCommons   Images without citation are in public domain.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.Micah 6:8

The Lord Was Watching Over Me

[1]

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me.  So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!”      Interlude

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.  I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain.  Interlude

I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me.  I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side.  Arise, O Lord!  Rescue me, my God!  Slap all my enemies in the face!  Shatter the teeth of the wicked!  Victory comes from you, O Lord.  May you bless your people.  Interlude            Psalm 3:1-8

It comes in the dead of night.  It’s after all the light switches have been turned off, and even the nightlight is not working because the bulb burned out and you forgot your wife requested a replacement (of the lightbulb, not you).  Your body is exhausted because you’ve been anguishing over that lingering possibility that it might all be over in the morning.  Every source of help seems exhausted, tapped; you’re afraid that miracle is just not going to happen.  The gathering storm clouds of doubt are looming over what is going to put an end to your career, your family, or a friendship.  Or that doctor’s appointment in the morning is certain to include mention of getting your affairs in order….and for some unknown reason, that is when you drifted off to sleep.

And when you awakened the next morning, it was somehow different.  The problem was still there, but some new dimension had replaced all the anxiety with peace.  There was a sense that some unseen hand was at work during the night, holding you, taking the bedlam of a nightmare that was developing and, with colors before unknown to you (or anyone, for that matter), shaped a whole new canvass of beautiful strength and joy.  You can’t explain it; you’re at a loss for existing language to describe it, yet there is an understanding.  It is joy, a Gift of something beyond the grasp of human imagination.

The big fisherman, friend of Jesus wrote about this to a church that was going through great difficulty; suffering and persecution had turned off the lights of hope and burned every nightlight bulb.  Peter lit a candle for them – and that light warmed their souls:

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.  1 Peter 1:7-9

Nineteen hundred years later Annie Johnson Flint would echo Peter’s joy unspeakable and full of glory in verse that has brought that peace and joy to thousands:

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.[2] 

For You Today

It’s ok…you can lay your head down; just imagine those hands, the ones with the nail prints are your pillow.

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

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com    Unless noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

[2] Annie Flint Johnson, (Watch video) He Giveth More Grace – Gaither Homecoming 

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Under His Wings

[1]

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  This I declare about the Lord:  He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.  For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.  He will cover you with his feathers.  He will shelter you with his wings.  His faithful promises are your armor and protection.  Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.  Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.  I will protect those who trust in my name.  When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble.  I will rescue and honor them.  I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”  Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

North Korean nukes, Russian hacking, Ebola and flesh-eating viruses, cyber-bullying, mass shootings, climate change, disasters du jour, and now impeachment inquiry to overshadow the 2020 elections; tell me, where do I sign up for an exit strategy from the stress of life in the new (and improved?) millennium?

Despite world tensions over diseases, natural disasters, and political posturing, nothing is new or (as the talking news-heads proclaim) unprecedented.  Solomon knew that; the wisest man on earth had tried every diversion and pursuit possible and concluded:

History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.  Ecclesiastes 1:9

All that given, nonetheless, people scurry about looking for my aforementioned twenty-first century merry-go-round exodus route.  Some try pills, or indiscriminate sexual escapades, alcohol-induced amnesia, computer games, or losing one’s mind in scrolling posts on Facebook…perhaps literally!

One of the oldest methods of fleeing the terrors of the night, and the arrows of the day is religion.  Now that may sound strange coming from the preacher, but religion takes many forms.  Some I’ve already mentioned…sex, drugs, booze, et al.  Of course, there’s the traditional approach, church three times on Sunday, Wednesday nights and revivals.  There is serial religiosity pursuing mainline religions or any of the estimated 4200 offshoots, from the slight variations to the ridiculous fringe extremes.[2]  Religion?  We’ve got whatever you like!  I do not wish to be misunderstood, but here’s my take on it:

All forms of religion are good at some points                          and fail miserably at most points.

The point at which religion always fails is that all of it is an attempt to reach upward to “God” as opposed to acceptance of God’s reaching downward in His grace and love.  Any attempt to reach up smacks of our participation in accomplishing salvation, when all it really does is make us feel better about ourselves.  God has shown us in His Word that is a non-starter.  It was wholly God’s initiative to save us; it is our simple responsibility to accept what God has already done.  All else we do in terms of living the joy and thankfulness with which we are blessed is simply a natural response to God’s mercy and forgiveness.

For You Today

The old hymn is my exodus from the madness of everything life can sling at me, including religious rules-following, approval or disapproval of my fellow humans, friend and foe alike, and I invite you to sing it along with me:

Under His wings I am safely abiding.  Tho' the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me.  He has redeemed me, and I am His child.
Under His wings, under His wings, Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide, Safely abide forever.[3]

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

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com     Unless noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

[2] How many Religions are there worldwide?  Reference.com

[3] William Orcutt Cushing (words), Ira David Sankey (music), 1896, (Public Domain) courtesy of Hymnary.org

Rescue

[1]

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.  A psalm of David.

What if the Lord had not been on our side?  Let all Israel repeat:
What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us?  They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger.  The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us.  Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.  Praise the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart!  We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap.  The trap is broken, and we are free!  Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  Psalm 124:1-8

Steven Spielberg made multiple billions with the narrow rescue theme.  Indiana Jones is a prime example.  The Archaeologist/Adventurer is in search of yet another priceless relic.  Jones’ archenemy, the greedy bad guy takes evil pleasure in the thought of grabbing the prize first AND eliminating his competition.  Dr. Jones is beaten, bound, and thrown into a snake pit (snakes; snakes; why did it have to be snakes?) With the bad guy looking down on the vanquished Dr. Jones, he smiles and seals the entrance.  But, in just a few minutes, jumping heroically from one crumbling rock formation to another, Indiana narrowly escapes for the 1,282^nd time in fourteen minutes; it’s a new record, and totally believable (wink, wink).

Most of the action and adventure movies ever made ought to have Psalm 124 as a footnote on their scripts. 

As entertaining as escapism is, (pardon the pun), it works against living in reality.  Super-powers aside, like the invincibility of characters in a video game where you kill fifty attackers per minute, and if they get you before you get to the next level, you just boot-up and go again – well, pardon my cynicism, but where was Indiana Jones on September 11, 2001?  Why are there untold millions of war-dead lying in graves, along with millions more – victims of earthquakes, storms, terrorists and other, deranged and deluded aggressors, prodded by evil to bring pain, heartache, destruction and loss?

And yet, there are those inscrutable rescues which do occur.  I believe everyone gets at least a few in a lifetime.  There’s that familiar close call on the Interstate, where you thought you weren’t going to make it.  Or that time you lost control in the snow or rain.  That time you thought you were going to get fired, and the reason the boss called you in was to tell you about your new raise or promotion.  And what about that ominous message the doctor’s office left to please call back the minute you get this message? 

David knew exactly how you felt at those times.  King Saul was once David’s friend and benefactor; now he was the pursuing enemy.  King Saul, had hounded David out of Jerusalem, chased him so ferociously he had to hide out with the wild animals in caves.  And by the skin of his teeth, David was rescued, and wound-up on King Saul’s throne. 

So, what’s the connection with Indiana Jones here?  Drama…evil lurking in the background…certain destruction looming like Mt. Everest dead ahead.  But the difference between a Harrison Ford movie and the chronicles of David, King of Israel, is that which happened after the drama.  For Indiana Jones the credits rolled on the screen, and the movie faded to black; everyone left the theatre!   

But David didn’t just survive; David’s survival and the remainder of his life were spent remembering God’s great preservation of life.  It was spent exploring the truth of God’s way as opposed to fairy tales.  He spent his days living his life in thanks to the God Who had saved him and granted him real life in an eternal kingdom!

For You Today

There are times when we all forget what God has done for us.  And we also forget the untold numbers of times God has preserved us when we didn’t even know it.  The word today is  don’t forget…continue to remember and be thankful! 

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

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com     Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©

My Cliff to Climb

Monday, December 15, 2014

You’re my cave to hide in, my cliff to climb.  

Be my safe leader, be my true mountain guide.  

Free me from hidden traps; I want to hide in you.  

I’ve put my life in your hands.  

You won’t drop me, you’ll never let me down.      

Psalms 31:3-5 (MSG)

This picture was taken on a family visit to Pilot Mountain last month.  We’ve been there so many times, but when scattered family gathers for Thanksgiving, you’ve got to do something together. 

It’s a good thing my bride, Elizabeth (their grandmother) never saw the picture being taken.  The sight of four of her grandkids scaling mountain walls might have stopped her pacemaker.  (OK, she doesn’t have a pacemaker, but you get the unsettling reference).

Looking at the picture recently made me think of King David’s “mountain experiences”.  He hid in caves, hills, behind cliffs and anywhere he could to avoid being detected by the king’s army chasing him.  David was a hunted man; this was no time for a walk in Pilot Mountain’s park.  King Saul wanted David’s head; he could not stop to enjoy the scenery.

When David later wrote this psalm, the idea of mountains and safe crags in the rock were indelible pictures his mind recalled as he hid and was guided by God’s hand.

There is a life-parallel here:  David climbed physical cliffs and hid in dark, damp and smelly caves; there are a lot of spiritual places like that. 

The days we would color a “depressive blue” are like cave-dwelling.  This time of year, with its bare trees, bleak gray skies and impending winter sometimes brings a cold rock kind of melancholy.  (Especially when older bones start to groan and creak!). 

So why did David recall his cave-dwelling, mountain-hiding days so fondly?

He didn’t! 

But he did remember that, despite the fear and furious pursuit the king unleashed towards David, the hiding place of God – dark, smelly and dangerous as it looks to a grandmother worried about her grandkids – in reality was a haven of protection.

At the risk of offending those who hold to the theory that God won’t put anything more on you than you can handle – sometimes there is more than you can handle…and God is the one who made sure you had to face it!  It’s a mountain, or a king chasing you, or a spouse that leaves, or a bill that will break your bank.  It may be the doctor’s report or something that goes “bump in the night”.  But God is right there, seeing to it that you can’t get to the left or right of it; you can’t go over or under…you’ve got to look it right in the eyes and deal with it!  And it’s more than you can bear!

And that’s the whole point.

There are some things, like “death” for instance, that you cannot bear or handle, or even understand. 

And because of that you don’t need a poor theology that says you can DO it; you need God’s hand guiding, protecting, leading and healing, because you CAN’T do it.

It’s called faith.  It’s like a cliff, dangerous and scary; but it’s how God’s children walk. 

For you, today

Got your day planned?  Got your resources in place?  All going well today?

Well…good; just don’t let all that lead – let faith in God light your path.

Road Rescue

Tuesday, September 22, 2014

Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things.  Make known his praise around the world.  Isaiah 12:5 (NLT)

And always be thankful.  Colossians 3:15b (NLT)

I have never lived life hunting for “signs” from the Lord. 

But sometimes they sneak up on me. 

Last Thursday I was driving home after a committee meeting.  My little VW was zipping along SR-42, slicing through the darkness; and, lo, it was very dark!  And when it’s that dark there are things that go “bump” in the night. 

Things went bump in the night! 

A loud noise and that thump, thump, thump….were all too familiar.  I had a flat, and it was raining…hard.  And I was wearing church clothes, and there was rain and mud out there.  Phrases crossed my mind that I would not be proud to list in this devotion.

As I pulled off to the side at a crossroad, my car half-blocking the side road, I thought of an episode of Criminal Minds[1] I’d watched recently where the (really) bad guy clobbers this unsuspecting traveler changing a tire on the side of the road on a rainy night. 

My heart did a few flips.  (That’s actually possible when it’s really dark).

As I was kneeling in the rain, staring at a flat tire (and, lo, it was very flat), I was holding a jack with thing-a-ma-jig attachments I’d never seen before (It’s been a long time since I had a new car).  Then a white pickup truck pulled alongside.  (Insert Criminal Minds music here – did I mention it was really dark?). 

The window rolled down and a voice said – “You need some help, partner?”  Remembering that was the opening line in the Criminal Minds episode, I stammered out, “uh…yeah, I really do,” at the same time noticing how dark the night was surrounding that white pickup.  The “heart flips” began to feel like death rolls.

In a heartbeat, the young man was changing that tire just like he had nothing better to do in the rain and mud on a very dark night.  And while he was on that, the patrol cruiser pulled up; the officer in his crisp, clean uniform joined us in the rain, adding the power of his flashlight and car top flashers to stave off the night’s darkness.

Besides the obvious help – getting me back on the road with that cute little donut tire looking much better than my flat, shredded tire – the deputy and the young man who actually spent all that time and muscle in the mud, made me feel so much at ease. 

What had started out in feelings of fear and frustrated helplessness turned into that sweet warmth of the sense of being totally loved by a God who cares for you through the thoughtful touch of caring people.

John Phillips and Officer Brad, thank you for being instruments of God’s peace last Thursday; you guys are the best!

For You, Today…

It may be changing a tire or a visit with a casserole dish in hand, or maybe just a smile you cast towards someone in need – but you can be a thankful, joyful, caring instrument of God’s peace today.

And by the way – stop watching so much Criminal Minds.

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[1] © CBS Broadcasting

"Mother" Nature

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Our overnight “guest”, a little bird, was huddling beneath the umbrella on our deck.  As the night summer storm’s thunder crashed, and lightning streaked through the sky in frightful displays of unleashed power, the little guy was covered, safe. 

I immediately thought of Psalms 17:8:  Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. 

People who confuse God with "Mother Nature" don't know either.  Nature is cruel.  Nature causes planes and buses to crash with dozens of students dying.  Nature causes forest fires to rage out of control and make people homeless.  Nature encourages things like cancer and sinkholes that both swallow up things. 

People talk about “natural” with a smile.  “Natural” is good when you’re talking fiber and chicken parts without GMO’s.  Nature is harsh and mostly unforgiving in real time.

I have to shake my head in amazement when people talk about the “natural” order of life in terms of a calm resignation about death.  

Don't talk to me of "natural".  Death is natural for this world.  And it isn’t pretty!  

“Nature” is nobody’s mother!

Rather, speak to me of the protection of Almighty wings, where, even in the face of nature's most drastic attempts otherwise, I can live, move and have being. 

Speak to me of the God who created nature, but remember:  what is “natural” is not now what God created it to be.  We still live in a fallen world with natural forces that are impacted by sin and upheaval.

Nature is harsh and unfeeling.  God is so different than that!

Today

When you speak of nature and natural, remember the proper perspective of the One who could speak words like Peace, be still ^{(Mark 4:39b)} and nature obeys!

Title Photo:  http://www.deepintolove.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/bird-in-the-rain1.jpg