Hiding From TRUTH

 

Friday, March 17, 2023

But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord:  your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?  Listen!  Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.  Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.  So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”  Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned.  I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.  But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.”  But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you!  Since you have rejected the Lord’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.”  As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe.  And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you.  And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”  Then Saul pleaded again, “I know I have sinned.  But please, at least honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.”  So Samuel finally agreed and went back with him, and Saul worshiped the Lord.  

1 Samuel 15:22-31

A mask hides what’s underneath.  Symptoms can mask a deeper problem.  Criminals wear masks, and use masks to hide their activities when caught.  Even when apprehended in the very act of their crime, an excuse mask is an attempt to wiggle-free from the consequences.  Masks are common, weak, and ever-present; just ask King Saul.

Saul knew what God wanted him to do, completely destroy the Amalekite nation.  He began well, but never completed his mission.  When it came to finishing the task, he tweaked the orders to savor some of the victory for himself.  He didn’t put the Amalekite King Agag (a ruthless killer) to the sword.  He also managed to pocket some of the wealth of the nation (livestock).  The reasons were obvious; parading the captured king Agag like a puppet on a string would build Saul’s prestige among the people he ruled.  And keeping the livestock to provide a feast for the people…well, feed them and who can get angry?  Keeping the critics off your back is sometimes a full-time job when you’re a king (or any other leader).

When questioned by the prophet Samuel about his rebelliousness, Saul put on his best excuse mask, deflecting Samuel’s questioning accusation.  The livestock were for a sacrifice to honor Jehovah.  From Samuel’s answer we can easily see that he saw right through it, and it disgusted the prophet.  He told Saul God was done with him, because he didn’t know the difference between building his own name, and honoring God’s name.  This incident is how Saul found out that, where God is concerned, there is no such thing as playing both sides of truth.  No mask is capable of hiding you from He who IS truth.  Saul tried to claim some of the glory and spoils that God had said were not to be spared.  That is not a plan that ever turns out pretty!

For You Today 

One of the reasons God gave us REGULAR worship is we are surrounded by reminders of what it is like to live in truth, and we are then more likely to value living in truth, than grabbing whatever we can obtain by untruth.  Saul learned that lesson the hard way, and it cost him whatever honor and place in the Kingdom he thought he possessed.  He was afraid of the people’s opinion of him; he should have been concerned with God’s opinion.

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:  A Rebellious Servant - Part 1  and A Rebellious Servant - Part 2  

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

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

Where Will They Take YOUR Bones?

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt.  He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.   Hebrews 11:22

Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers when he was very young.[1]  However, even as a slave in Egypt, this ancestor of Jesus kept his integrity and commitment to God on the faithful-front-burner.  He knew God was watching over him.  Throughout his time in Egypt Joseph never lost sight of God’s promises given to his ancestor, Abraham, that the land of Canaan would be their inheritance.  At the end of his days (on Earth) Joseph instructed his family to carry his bones back to that promised land when they left Egypt years later.  I’m not an historical mind-reader,  but it seems clear that Joseph’s intent was to stay true to God’s call and promises, even after he left this earthly realm.  Being buried (re-buried) in that place of promise was a significant gesture of his faithfulness – home at last!

Joseph’s clan did what he asked of them, burying him at Shechem, the first place his great-grandfather, Abraham had worshipped.  It was at that place God gave the promise of Canaan Land to the descendants of Abraham. 

Joseph’s intent all throughout his difficult early days, and glory later days, were aimed at going back to the altar where God first called.

For You Today  

You may have a lengthy line of Christians in your ancestry, or you may be the first of your family to profess Christ.  Either (or anywhere in-between) is a perfect place to adopt the kind of life-long holy determination that defined Joseph’s life.  If you had a rough start in life, like Joseph, or a relatively secure and happy start, like Opie in Mayberry, you will someday also have an end. 

For the time being, God is calling you to the kind of faithfulness Joseph lived…ready to serve and honor the One who gives the promise…Father, God, Lord of Heaven’s hosts.  By your thoughts, words, and deeds, leave no doubt in your clan’s minds where they should carry your bones when your time comes.

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: 

Never Give Up   Big Faith

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] Read the account of this rough start in life here:  Genesis 38

O Worship the King

There is, somewhere between the showmanship of TV evangelists, and the deadness of many churches today, a genuineness of worship that excites the child of God, and warms the heart of God.  Worship that is boring is, at the least, meaningless.   Worship that is merely a well-performed show is sinful. Neither comes close to what will happen in heaven, and through all eternity.

I often think of those people who find excuse after excuse to miss worship services.  Some of that may be attributable to poor worship leadership, which inevitably means boring services.  Often, however, I would venture it means a misunderstanding of the responsibilities and privileges in worship, and therefore choosing something else as important over worship.  The sad conclusion to be drawn is that, If you don't like worship here on earth, heaven will be a disappointment!

So…what about worship here on earth?  What should it be like?  What are the signs that you have truly been in a worship service?  There are several key indicators:

Spontaneous Worship which Praises God

The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly.  Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:  “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”  The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him.  Revelation 11:14-16

In a declarative thunder the angels sing the praises of God, and announce the settled fact that all kingdoms of the earth belong to God.  George Fredrick Handel took this text for his magnificent work,  The Messiah.  He had shut himself up without any outside contact, wishing to worship God without distraction.  Inspired and overwhelmed at the thought of the Christ who shall reign for ever and ever, he wrote the whole piece in less than a month!  This is a spontaneous declaration of praise.  True worship declares the wonder of God's mercy, grace, power, and love.  Has there been that in your worship this morning?

The twenty-four elders, representing the saints of all time, spontaneously respond to the praise of the angels.  They fall on their faces, prostrate before the throne.  That’s a difficult concept for many Western Christians.  Our fierce allegiance to political freedom has made bowing of any kind absent in our culture.  We may use words to deliver approval or disapproval, but praise demands full-body participation.

Our demonstration of worship should not be so tied to performing well; it should flow spontaneously from a heart that has decided to worship his Lord.  That doesn't rule out pre-planning in worship.  The planning allows that we have decided to worship, but the offering of our worship can alter the plan.  Spontaneity is God breaking into our plans, and us being ready to hear him.  Has there been in your worship this morning spontaneity which praises?

Singular Worship which Glorifies God

And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.  The nations were filled with wrath, but now the time of your wrath has come.  It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants the prophets, as well as your holy people, and all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest.  It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.”  Revelation 11:17-18

O Lord God, the Almighty is the name offered up in worship.  Singular worship means the dogmatism which is not afraid to declare there is only ONE God!  It does not offer acceptance for other Gods or worship systems. 

There is no room to glorify any other God when it comes to Jesus! 

Singular worship means without apology.  We don't bring New Age nonsense into the church of Jesus.  We don't buy the Age of Aquarius, and horoscopes.  We don't buy phrases like:  Well, we're all trying to get to the same place.  We're all serving the same God.  That's heresy!  It smells like smoke out of the pit of hell! 

True Christianity doesn't make room for any other gods!  Jesus taught with authority because He was (and is) God!  Have you recognized that in your worship this morning?

According to John the nations get very angry over the fact that Jesus is God, and that He has great power, and reigns.  Why is that?  Because in the end it means Satan, the Beast, and his false prophet, along with untold millions of his demons, and all human beings who reject Jesus Christ as Lord are going to be deposed, stripped of power, and cast into the lake of fire.  Beloved, there are only two sides of the eternal war.  You can have faith in this world, and Satan, who is the god of this world, or you can trust in Jesus, the true coming Lord of all life. 

A word of caution:  There is no Switzerland, no neutrality in this war.  If you try to sit on the fence, you'll find quickly that there no fence.  There is only a dividing line, the Word of God – and it is too sharp to sit on that blade! 

Singular worship means Jesus, and only Jesus!  Is He the only object of your worship this morning?  Are you glorifying Him?

Significant Worship

Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple.  Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.                     Revelation 11:19

Worship is bowing your life to the glory of God.  If there is one thing we seek when we come to worship, it is the vision of God.  We want to see Him, hear from Him, touch the hem of His garment.  Do we really?

Isaac Rankin says that just outside his window is a large wire which carries a heavy current of electricity for light and power.  It is carefully insulated at every pole and is out of common reach. "However," he says, "if I could lean out far enough to grasp it, death would be as swift as a lightning stroke.  Yet the doves in my neighborhood suffer no harm when they perch on it.  They fly from my windowsill, where I sometimes feed them, and preen in safety and contentment on the cables.  The secret is that when they contact that wire, they touch nothing else.  My danger would be that, should I attempt to reach out and do so, the walls of my house would act as a ground, and the current would turn my body into a channel through which the electricity would flow in damaging power.  Because they rest entirely upon the wire, they are unharmed. 

So God would have us seek our safety in complete surrender to His power and love.  It is when we reach one hand to Him while still holding fast to some forbidden thing with the other that we are in danger."

Worship can only be satisfying if we can stand in the presence of Holy God without being condemned of sin.  Otherwise it is like grabbing on to a high voltage wire, while standing in the bath water. 

How can one stand in God's presence and not be condemned for sin?  Only by trusting in the One who died for your sins.  Then there is no reason to be punished for them! 

Accept Jesus today, and stand now – this moment – before the Lord God Almighty who reigns forever and ever. 

Stand clean.  Stand forgiven.  Worship spontaneously.  Worship until you're satisfied.  You'll never stop!

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

 

Of God, Humankind, and Ants

 

Friday, January 8, 2021

Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for his glory and strength.  Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.  Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.  The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.  The God of glory thunders.  The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.  The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.  The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.  He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf; he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.  The voice of the Lord strikes with bolts of lightning.  The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.  The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare.  In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”  The Lord rules over the floodwaters.  The Lord reigns as king forever.  The Lord gives his people strength.  The Lord blesses them with peace.  Psalm 29:1-11

I’m a good bit larger than an ant.  And that’s not just because of pounds gained over the holidays, or coronavirus boredom eating; it’s just the nature of humans and ants. That is also the kind of relationship between humankind and God; we are a lot smaller than the I AM.

It’s easy enough for a human to crush an ant without much effort.  After all, at my post-holiday length, girth, and mass, it would take around 45,000 ants to equal the space I take up on this planet.  Still, if given a choice, I do not squash ants; they are God’s creatures, and you don’t mess with that.  Unless they sting you!  Or infest your picnic.  Or start gnawing the beams that hold your house up.  Then you call the exterminator.  As part of humanity my benevolence towards ants does have a limit. 

There is also a correlation in this with our relationship to our Creator.  He doesn’t smash us like unwanted bugs; His benevolence and patience extend to humankind on a much deeper level than ours does toward ants (and each other). 

Aside from the fact that God’s understanding of us is much greater than our understanding of anything, God also has limitless capacity for grace and mercy.  It is a good thing that is true, because we wouldn’t stand a chance of surviving otherwise.

And that is where my astonishment about we humans leaps to the foreground.  I am amazed at how lightly humankind presumes upon God’s grace and mercy by treading on His holiness.  It is almost like an ant invading the picnic and staring the human in the face and saying, I’m taking that slice of gooey German chocolate cake, buddy…and what’re YOU gonna do about it?  I can tell you, an ant with an attitude like that would be a stain on the checkered tablecloth in a heartbeat.

The Psalmist tells us our attitude towards God should be that of honor and worship.  That is a far cry from the reality of today’s world.  There are so many who deny even the existence of God, let alone His preeminence.  Many acknowledge God’s existence, but their lack of honor and worship disdains His rightful place in our lives.  For too many humans, worship is reduced to a ritualistic nod of acquiescence to custom, or simply doing what one must to cover the bases just in case God might notice their naughtiness and take away their toys.  We humans can be arrogant and petulant enough to make nursery school children look like Harvard scholars.  We seem to be as thankless to our Creator as ants raiding the picnic.

Unfortunately, it has always been thus.  The first thing Adam did upon hearing there was nothing forbidden him, except that one tree in the middle of the garden, was to hunt up a ladder to pick the highest cherry on the limb.  Our first parents literally ate themselves right out of house and home.  There is nothing like forbidden fruit to ensure we humans will make another stupid choice.

To the point for today’s Psalm…this poetic reminder of God’s majesty, holiness, and power, and the call to worship Him with all reverence and fidelity, is no suggestion; it is the sound of the ram’s horn, an alert that we stop being petulant ants at God’s picnic, and line up to serve the King of Kings.

For You Today

Here’s a good question at the start of another year:

What will you do differently this year to keep your worship of God genuine, fresh, and holy?  He is that important, you know.

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

For other posts on this text see The Voice of God and Kicking the Hornet's Nest      

 

When Your Choice is the Lesser of Evils

 

Monday, November 2, 2020

For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed.  For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.  It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.  For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.  Respect everyone, and love the family of believers.  Fear God, and respect the king.  1 Peter 2:13-17

Tomorrow is “Election Day”.  It sounds odd to proclaim that; probably more than half the voters in America have already cast their ballot, either in early voting or by mail-in ballot.  The early voting line last Thursday was an hour long.  My bride and I passed the time in the stiff winds, under our masks, still talking about the choices we would make in the voting booth.  Some are decidedly the lesser of evils.

The apostle Peter understood that condition.  In his youth the big fisherman was impetuous, idealistic, and brash.  By the time he wrote the words of our text he’d lived long enough, and sinned big enough, and been forgiven more than enough, to get his mind around what a Christian’s responsibility is when it comes to separating earthly authority from heavenly authority; you respect the king, and honor God.

I hoped I would get that right in this year’s general election; mature enough to respect those currently governing, and those running to replace them, all the while honoring God by my behavior and choices.  Considering the vitriol and outright mudslinging of campaign ads, which Peter would call foolish accusations, well, it wasn’t an easy fight!

For me, the choices always come down to the candidate that comes closest[1] to what Scripture proclaims is God’s ways.  Last Wednesday I watched a video sent to me by a friend.  It was Fr. Ed Meeks, a parish priest in Towson, Md, preaching about the non-negotiables of the Catholic church, which candidate Joe Biden, a self-avowed, lifelong Catholic, violates…proudly.

Biden is an enthusiastic supporter of abortion rights, disdaining church (and U.S. Constitutional) teaching of the sanctity of life[2]. 

He also leads a party that makes a mockery of the sanctity of marriage, even officiating the marriage of two men[3] in 2016 as the sitting vice-president of the United States. 

Fr. Meeks, in his homily of Oct 11^th also characterized Biden as a threat to religious liberty, also a non-negotiable teaching of the church.  Allowing that many policies and philosophies of governing, such as economy, national security, and much more, are debatable, and should be scrutinized, these three, sanctity of life, marriage, and religious freedom, are non-negotiable.

On the other side of the ballot stands Mr. Trump.  His is a personality that leaves little room for middle ground.  People seem to either love or despise him…profusely.  But personality is trumped[4] by ideology in the ballot booth.  The choices become a lot clearer for those who commit their lives to Jesus Christ.  The party to which Donald Trump belongs holds as sacred the sanctity of life, marriage, and free exercise of religion.  And the president may have some tall explaining to do (without spin) on these issues in his personal life when judgment day arrives.  But personality aside, the performance of his administration has tended to support the platform which protects the non-negotiables. 

On the other hand, Mr. Biden stands unabashedly with the Democratic party, which tends toward Socialist Marxism, a system that cannot help itself from becoming totalitarian, and, typically, an enemy of the church.  Ironically, Mr. Biden belongs to both the church and the party.  In the case of the church to which he proudly proclaims to belong, he also rejects their most sacred tenets, the sanctity of life, marriage, and religious freedom.  This is more than having your cake and eating it too…it is duplicity of the most dangerous sort.  I had little doubt standing in line last Thursday.  I still don’t; just a measure of sadness over a choice between the lesser of evils.

For You Today

Our elections are still free, and without coercion.  But what does compel, for a child of God, is the evidence generated over the last 6 decades of 61 million aborted children before they had a breath in their lungs, and the downward spiral of honoring God with our choices. 

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

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

For other posts on 1 Peter 2:13-17 see:  An Honorable Life and Honorable Behavior - Part 2

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[1] “Closest” is a good word here, because we do not live in a perfect world.

[2] Abortion may be legal in the U.S., however the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is interpretive.

[3] USA Today 8-2-2016

[4] Sorry…don’t unfriend me