The POINT of Learning

Monday, September 7, 2026

Teach me, Lord, the meaning of your statutes, and I will always keep them.  Help me understand your instruction, and I will obey it and follow it with all my heart.  Help me stay on the path of your commands, for I take pleasure in it.  Turn my heart to your decrees and not to dishonest profit.  Turn my eyes
from looking at what is worthless; give me life in your ways.  Confirm what you said to your servant, for it produces reverence for you.  Turn away the disgrace I dread; indeed, your judgments are good.  How I long for your precepts!  Give me life through your righteousness.  Psalm 119:33-40

But to Israel he says, All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and defiant people.  Romans 10:21

We start early with learning, sending our 5-year-old children to kindergarten.  In North Carolina there are roughly one and a half million children in the public schools.  With a $19.4 billion-dollar budget, that works out to an investment of more than $12-thousand dollars per year in each student.  If the old maxim of follow the money holds true, we believe in learning.

That statistic makes me cringe when I think of my attitude towards learning when I was in elementary and high school.  I thought getting up every morning before the sun was fully up, getting cleaned-up, fully dressed, and riding in the yellow torture chamber to the brick building, and being forced on threat of having my “permanent record” sullied with red marks, was a form of imprisonment; I was warehoused for seven hours while my parents danced-off to whatever they cared to do in their free time.  It’s odd, isn’t it…how my attitude got a severe corrective when I became a parent, responsible to house, clothe, and find a good school for my little prisoners?

If you re-read that passage in Psalm 119, you might catch the shift in King David’s attitude.  I caught the complete flip when he said he asked to be a good student, obeying God’s ways and commandments; he went so far as to say he takes pleasure in it.  (I wonder if that included the year-end finals?)  This could only have been written by a man who had sinned long enough, and big enough to understand the pain he was heaping up on his life.  If you’ve never taken a trip through David’s sins, let me give you the cliff notes, he did qualify as an adulterer, and co-conspirer to murder his mistress’s husband, and a cover-up that invited Watergate in Jerusalem’s palace.  David was a king with all sorts of power, but he was also a sinner standing in need of forgiveness from Sovereign God, Who, by the way, holds people accountable for their sins and rebellious defiance.

Fast forward a thousand years from David to Apostle Paul who quotes the prophet Isaiah, pointing the long, bony finger at Israel and saying that God says:  All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and defiant people.  Again, the cliff notes on Paul and Isaiah…they’re pointing out that God is gracious, loving, and forgiving, but Israel was like a petulant school child pouting over having to ride the bus, sit through boring classes, and (gulp!) study for tests. 

Life’s not fair!  But “fair” isn’t the point of learning.  And neither is “learning” the point of learning.  It’s all about learning all about living…and living a life that is worthy of the gift of living.  It’s all about finding the center of God’s good will for our lives and camping out there as He gives us opportunities every day to serve Him, by serving others.  That’s the point!

For You Today

It’s no secret that life is tough, sometimes fiercely-so, and a lot tougher than a ride in the bus, or sitting through the class that never ends.  But there is a God Who loves you and has promised to never leave or forsake you.  He will even be with you when you take the finals!

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

[1] Title and Other Image by    Sabrina Eickhoff from Pixabay

Unless noted, Scripture quotes The Christian Standard Bible^© 

 

 

Good Times - Bad Times

Monday, October 23, 2023

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you.  My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.  I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory.  Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!  I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.  You satisfy me more than the richest feast.  I will praise you with songs of joy.  I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.  Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.  I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.  

Psalm 63:1-8

If you’ve lived three minutes on this planet you know there is a raging war which cannot be seen.  The battlefield is within, and the fighting is intense every day.  Like the results of a physical conflict, you can see the results of the mental and spiritual battle:  deep furrowed lines on faces, matching the hollowed, empty eyes staring at nothing in particular.  Substances, meant to relieve pain caused by the struggle, have replaced the inner determination to keep breathing, marching, or thinking.  It is survival mode; it is not pretty, a void-like existence…not living. 

There are enough personal stories to illustrate that struggle; we need not point a finger at anyone to understand the reality of abyss-darkness, the place where those who enter must, as Dante penned it, abandon all hope. 

All humans experience fear, loneliness, heartbreak, and grief.  In that internal pain, we tend to dwell on the worst-case scenario…the place where we find ourselves beyond hope, with only the memory of past “good times”.  The memory of “bad times” in the past, drag with them the dread they’ll return.  Strains of the song Never Again play in our head, an unspoken vow of “doing better”.

King David knew, perhaps on the most intense level, both privately and publicly, the heights and depths of both good and bad “times”.  He was a national hero in Jerusalem, favorite to the king, hated and hunted by the same king.  He won battles often, and failed the simple choice of faithfulness, enough to lose a kingdom.  David had known hero and zero in his life, the products of wisdom and foolishness.  He’d been up and down, in and out, and understood the fact that power, riches, pleasure, and pride were (as his son, Solomon would later write[1]) vanity…empty…a languishing, disappearing vapor of hope-turned to despair. 

Now, if this sounds unfamiliar, like it only happens to other people, just hold on; you’re not smarter than Solomon, or better looking and popular than David.  You’ve just not lived long enough, or sinned big enough…yet.  When that time gets here, you don’t have to email or text me about what to do.  David’s inner thoughts, and what he did, how he prayed, and how he depended on God are wiser, better, and stronger than any advice I’d have.  All I would do – all I could do is point you to Psalm 63, and say:  Do what he said!

For You Today 

So-called good times and bad times are part of the human experience. Each person must deal with pain, and enjoy what pleasure God gives us, and leave the balancing of it to Heaven’s lovingkindness and grace.

If you have just come through a night when all you could do is lay awake, opening the painful wounds of your heart to God with tears and that old friend of a question on your mind…WHY, God….Why?...then you’re not far from the kingdom, my friend.  Keep asking, seeking, knocking…His care is near; He’s got you, and His grip is secure!

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 or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”  Ecclesiastes 1:2

God's Generals

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

This day’s lectionary readings display three major characters in Scripture, King David, Moses, and Paul, and the ministry difficulties they faced.  Each passage focuses on their struggle with adversaries, and showcases the model for effective, Christ-honoring servant-leadership.  We can learn from each of them.

King David had his life threatened constantly.  It seemed that often the threats were going to be successful.  David’s first public act was as a young boy standing up to Goliath.  Ever the underdog, God prospered the young man from Jesse’s household.  David suffered bouts of self-doubt and fearing the worst (who could be confident when chased by an army?).  But faith returned again and again.  Listen to an older David’s heart:

Why am I discouraged?  Why is my heart so sad?  I will put my hope in God!  I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!  Psalm 42:11

Moses led Israel out of Egyptian bondage, and he had more than his share of adversaries who wanted to turn back.  Holding court for peanut-sized issues took all day.  Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, saw how Moses was being worn-out with settling minor disputes and problems, and advised him to find Godly leaders to help shoulder the load.  Moses took Jethro’s advice and diligently built a structure to honor God’s ways, and keep God’s people focused on the mission.

Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions.  He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people.  Exodus 18:24-25a

Paul is the poster child for leaders with critics who were trying to undermine and siderail his ministry.  The most glaring example were those who preached the Gospel out of envy for Paul’s success.  They thought that building their own following would put Paul to shame.  They wanted him to rot in prison.  Paul’s letter to the Philippian believers was his response, the selfless, Christ-focused answer of the ages:

Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ.  They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me.  But that doesn’t matter.  Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice….For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past.  And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.  For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.  Philippians 1:17-18, 20-21

For You Today 

The models of Moses, David, and Paul take personal hardships and transform them into mirrors which reflect God’s power and goodness.  All who lead in God’s family should make it a life-goal to do the same.

·       Like David, learn to put fears and worries in the rear-view mirror.

·       Like Moses, listen to sound advice from elders who love God.

·       Like Paul, trust and lean on God’s decision about the future, and continue serving until he calls you home.

It’s safe ground to follow the leadership style of God’s choice vessels.  If you’re going to lead in God’s army, study His best Generals.

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 Wikimedia.com (see each individual picture for link to source)                   

Images without citation are in public domain.  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Pieces of the Parent

Monday, October 10, 2022

‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion.  But he does not excuse the guilty.  He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’  Numbers 14:18

DNA is hardly refutable.  From color of our hair, skin, and so many other physical characteristics, to mannerisms, voice, and aging, we pass-along who we are.  The other day I leaned over to my bride and said:  When did we become our parents?  During the time when our children were teens, I would make a call to the house to talk with Elizabeth.  If Jennifer (our oldest) would answer, for the better part of a ten minute conversation I’d have no clue that the voice belonged to our child, not her mother.  That is well-documented stuff, and palatable (on the positive side); it sometimes even makes us laugh. 

What’s not so clear (nor palatable) is the Scripture verse.  Having the children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren pay for the sins of the parent, seems more than a little unfair!  The picture of a child, constructed entirely of pieces of the parent is a chilling reminder of the responsibility we bear as parents, to instill the best of what God gives us in our children. 

And it’s not just what we do, but how it is done.  The old adage is just as chilling:  Children learn what they live with.  Our poor behavior can tip the scales in the opposite direction of what we intended.  Another old saying comes to mind here:  Do what I say, not what I do.  Truth be told, that threadbare dog will not hunt.  Your children are much more apt to do what you do, than what you tell them.

The suspicion that the Scripture is slanted towards being “unfair” is nonetheless true.  It is so with everything in the natural realm.  A stone tossed in a lake will make ripples that never end.  A tree falling in a forest makes a thud that vibrates.  All actions have corresponding and equal reactions.  And, if you jump out of an airplane at 10,000 feet without a parachute, the gravity of the situation will become clear (and painful). 

Just as clear, and much more palatable, is the other side of that coin.  If slipping into untoward behavior (sin), is damning to your children, grands, and more, then the opposite (repentance and obedience) can be just as healing.  And there is only one obstacle standing between the parent who has behaved poorly, and beginning the healing process for the offspring:  the parent’s pride.

The greatest example of this paradigm is King David.  David’s self-absorbed behavior with Bathsheba, including lust, adultery (bordering on rape), conspiracy, and the cover-up that took integrity apart in his soul, nearly destroyed not only his kingdom, but (more importantly) his relationship with God.  When the prophet, Nathan, finally unearthed what David had tried to bury, the king broke, and confessed openly.  The damage to David’s children was severe – they were following in his footsteps…pieces of the parent.  But his transparent confession became his legacy.

For You Today

Let’s let apostle Paul have the last word today about a life principle that will always be the higher ground for parenting and living a purposful, holy life:

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.  Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Philippians 4:8

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: 

Mary's Confusion   and   How Was Your Weekend?

[1] Images:  via Reddit.com (copyright restrictions unknown)   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

The Cost of Deception

 

Friday, July 8, 2022

O Lord, I give my life to you.  I trust in you, my God!  Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.  No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.  Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow.  Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me.  All day long I put my hope in you.  

Psalm 25:1-5

A member of the governing board of a church convinced the board to ask the pastor to resign.  The pastor responded to the board at the next meeting that God had called him to this church, and he did not sense his work was yet finished, so he would not resign.  The board member quickly replied:  Well, God may have brought you here, but we’re getting shed of you! 

Some stuff that is said may sound good.  Sometimes church leaders, pastors, board chairs, committees and members say things that may express what the majority of a group thinks, but that does not always mean they’ve found God’s will.  Sometimes they’ve only found a way to rationalize a decision that allows them to ignore God’s will, while still keeping the appearance that they’re spiritual.  The real issue is greed or control.  You can do that if you’re willing to parade lies as truth.  But there is a cost to doing it; the contention between the governing board and pastor of that church was 35 years ago. The churchbuilding is still standing today, but it is used for a community center now.[1]

Deception has always been common to the human condition.  Adam and Eve imagined to avoid contact with God after sinning.  Their son, Cain, tried to deflect God’s question about what Cain had done to his brother, Abel.  And, so-on throughout human history. 

In today’s culture the deception dance around truth has become something of an epidemic.  In business and politics you have the cliché expectant behavior, as in:  How can you tell if a politician is lying?  Answer:  His lips are moving.  But that which is cliché in the obvious public targets is now commonplace in families, friends, and even church.  

From whence cometh this devaluing of truth?  According to Jesus, it is the Prince of Darkness who pushes this behavior.  When the Pharisees were debating with Jesus about heritage and privilege, their obtuse attitude needed a little rebuking. 

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning.  He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.  

John 8:44

Writing about this constant war between truth and deception many hundreds of years prior to the “conversation” Jesus had with the Pharisees, King David came to a conclusion that, no matter the cost, he would be led by truth, not lies.  It was not easy for David to make this switch from the lies and deception that had blackened his soul.  He had a history of convincing himself it was OK to steal another man’s wife, and conspire to kill her husband, and then cover it up, drawing others into the plot.  Truth would be a hard sell.  But his prayer in Psalm 25 was also a commitment:  All day long I put my hope in you.

For You Today

Today’s choices will include that inconvenient fork in the road:  truth or deception.

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 on Rocky Road Devotions. 

To dig deeper into today’s topic or Scripture text:  Faith Finding the Path to Do Right and Lenten Walk - Part 2

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

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[1] From a previous post, Parading Lies as Truth

Overwhelmed!

 

Friday, June 24, 2022

I cry out to God; yes, I shout.  Oh, that God would listen to me!  When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord.  All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted.  I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help.               Interlude

You don’t let me sleep.  I am too distressed even to pray!  I think of the good old days, long since ended, when my nights were filled with joyful songs.  I search my soul and ponder the difference now.  Has the Lord rejected me forever?  Will he never again be kind to me?  Is his unfailing love gone forever?  Have his promises permanently failed?  Has God forgotten to be gracious?  Has he slammed the door on his compassion?            Interlude

And I said, “This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me.”  But then I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.  They are constantly in my thoughts.  I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.  O God, your ways are holy.  Is there any god as mighty as you?  You are the God of great wonders!  You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.  By your strong arm, you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.   Psalm 77:1-15

It's a very common experience; all too common!  The pressure builds on the job, or in the family, or with neighbors, death, Covid, bills, age…and on into the abyss.  You’ve been overwhelmed; hope has vanished.  Even just listing these gives me a cold chill.  I’ve been there; chances are you have too, or you even live there.

Whether you’re a believer in God, follower of Jesus, or someone who’s not quite sure if God is even there, you’ve probably prayed during those times.  You ask for a solution, or at least some relief, and the heavens respond back quickly with….NOTHING.  There’s no sound, no skies unfolding with answers, not a twinge of assurance suddenly welling-up in your gut; just the emptiness and certainty that you’re on your own, in your pain, and completely forgotten.

The Psalmist, a court musician in King David’s reign, spent a night in prayer over what was happening in his life, and a kingdom in chaos.  Heaven went dark on him.  You can just picture the building sense of Why Bother?  If you’ve watched that develop in a friend, or family member, you know it’s time to collect all the loose prescription bottles around the house and change the combination on the gun safe.  The scenes start playing over and again in your mind of how you can escape such pain.  If you’ve faced this, and lived-through to a revival of hope, you know it was something greater than what was left inside of you that saved you from yourself.  There was a moment when it all changed, or it gradually dawned in your soul, that a genuinely-hopeful light did exist at the end of the darkness.

For Asaph, it was a long history of staying close to God’s family, prayer, and choosing faith over feelings.  He began to recall (out loud in his written prayer) all the historical facts of God’s goodness.  He started listing them, one-by-one, and with each post of God’s unending faithfulness, the light of dawn crept a little closer.  This practiced litany of Israel’s history with God’s lovingkindness became a sermon Asaph penned for other depressed, hopeless ones in Israel.  By the time this court poet was done, his own darkness was glowing with surprising and fierce joy; the next Psalm ends with God’s solidified tenderness and hope:

He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands.  Psalm 78:72

For You Today

Is your hope tank on empty?  Take Asaph’s lesson; joy comes in the mourning!

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

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For other posts on this topic:  A Prayer From the Hourglass and Has God Forgotten to Be Gracious?

[1] 6 Images:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

 

A Dangerou Freedom

 

Monday, November 15, 2021

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.  There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.  For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.  For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge.  I will pay them back.”  He also said, “The Lord will judge his own people.”  It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  Hebrews 10:26-31

Ambivalence, that love-hate relationship of indecision and constant companion of procrastinators like me, is alive and annoying in the mind of Paul, as he holds up the most unsettling of truths for the followers of Christ – we have free will!

There is something deep within each of us crying-out to be free, yet recognizes the consequence of that freedom requires us to walk a dangerous line between the selfishness of doing what pleases us, as opposed to living obediently to another’s choices…namely our Creator’s will. 

The most dangerous place on the planet has nothing to do with war, global warming, or crossing a counter-punching ex-president; the most dangerous place on planet earth is between your own ears.  That’s so because in the recesses of our free will we make choices that have earthly consequence in the here and now, but also eternal consequence in the heavenly realms.  Free will is a dangerous freedom!

The consequence of sinning, deliberately choosing our own way in place of what God requires (doing what is right, loving mercy, walking humbly with God[1]) is judgment by our Creator.  That consequence is seen abundantly enough in Scripture to drive us to God’s mercy.  Yet we are prone, like the prophet Jonah, to hop a ride to the opposite direction.  We are running, but, as King David discovered – there is no place to hide.  In Noah’s day the freedom to choose devolved from any semblance of godliness until the only “salvageable” family left on the face of the earth was Noah’s.  God closed the door on the ark and drowned everything else with a flood of judgment.

It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God is Paul’s final comment in today’s text; it makes my heart skip a beat, because I know it is true, and I stand as a fragile sinner before God just like anyone else.  Unlike the thinking of a favorite uncle of mine who used to tease me about getting a special sin discount because I preach on Sundays, I know my will is God’s biggest gift to me, and my own worst enemy.  My choices – my ways – are entirely selfish and my heart is as the poet Robert Robinson wrote it: 

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it —
Prone to leave the God I love;[2]

And so this dangerous freedom, cradled in the unstable will of this human man, is the one thing that drives me to the forgiveness of God – this prone to wander heart understands grace is the only thing that pulls me back.

For You Today

So…are you prone to wander into your free will’s selfishness like me?  Let God’s forgiving grace pull you back.  It’s what called you to Him in the first place.

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

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

For another post on this theme see I Believe in Me - Nov 23, 2018

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[1] See Micah 6:8

[2] Robert Robinson, 1758