Life's Wider Picture

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life.  I will teach you wisdom’s ways and lead you in straight paths.  When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble.  Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go.  Guard them, for they are the key to life.  Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t follow the path of evildoers.  Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way.  Turn away and keep moving.  For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day.  They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.  They eat the food of wickedness and drink the wine of violence!  The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.  But the way of the wicked is like total darkness.  They have no idea what they are stumbling over.  My child, pay attention to what I say.  Listen carefully to my words.  Don’t lose sight of them.  Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.  Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.  Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.  Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.  Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.  Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.  Proverbs 4:10-27

A question which I have always viewed with a little watchful skepticism is: 

Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, or 25 years?

Watchfulness over my answer is a matter of following the instruction my coach in high school gave me about hitting; he said:  keep your eye on the ball!  So my skeptical eye doesn’t have contempt for looking ahead to make plans, but rather objecting to such a short view.  As a life-navigator, I would rather see the end goal…it’s easier to chart a straight course that way.  And to do that for a life-plan you need to step back, get higher in the balcony, and see the bigger picture.

That snapshot of planning a life from the mere wisp of time we are granted on this planet, 50, 60, or 110 years, is way too short a focus.  Planning where and how you want your life to make an impact demands looking down the road for generations to come, even into eternity.  I’d rather start from the longest point from now, and work backwards to the present.

Now, many people would say:  That’s impossible; you don’t know the future.  And I would certainly have to agree that I don’t know the future, but I certainly can plan-for, and step-towards a goal I set for the future.

That is where Solomon’s wise advice comes in.  Wisdom for setting a life’s course begins with developing a worldview based on the light of truth, leaving evil and darkness in the dust behind you.  All else is meaningless (vanity if King James is a “must” for you). 

Only truth will guard your heart from sinking-into, and following evil.  When truth governs your heart, it will keep your mouth from perverse-speak; strength, healing and kindness will be your legacy, and it will last through eternity.

For You Today 

If you will let Solomon’s godly light of truth guard your heart today, and always, then 5, 20, or two-million years from now, your words and life’s impact on all who cross your path, will stand true, while evil is long forgotten. 

Prophet Isaiah has our last word today:

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”  Isaiah 40:8

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

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Ears Open - Heart Straight - Eyes on the Road - Sure Foot  and  Small Package - Big Message  and  When the Killing is Done                                        

 

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

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

Stan...

Friday, November 4, 2022

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

On Wednesday we said goodbye to Stan Bingham, a friend and church member.  Only time and the unfolding of life’s mystery and purposes of God will tell the total of Stan’s doing right, loving mercy, and walking humbly with his God.  However, I strongly suspect the talley of all that will not do his memory any harm in his new home, a place not made with hands, where he sees clearly what he has meant to the countless people his life and kindness touched, as well as the love with which his Savior, Jesus Christ, embraced him.

I’m writing this on Thursday (the day before you read it, and the day after the gathering of saints and sinners to say that goodbye…and I am as exhausted as I’ve ever been – maybe more).  Being in a sizeable crowd, and responsible to lead a service for someone who is a legend in North Carolina’s legislative chronicles, well…my supply of energy isn’t grand to begin-with…yesterday ran the tank dry.    I feel a little like one of Stan’s dogs from a story posted in Lexington’s Dispatch, about the VW Stan had converted to run on used cooking oil.  

Whenever the Senator would arrive home from an event where he drove the Bug, the hounds would come running to the scent of french fries.  Stan said he feared he’d not get to them in time to keep them from killing themselves on fry-fumes.

From saving his old dogs from themselves, to more than 170 bills passed in the legislature over 16 years, Stan was always shooting for doing right, loving mercy, and being humble enough to not care who gets the credit.

One of the speakers at the service[1], Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, shared that story in his eulogy, and it helped continue the theme of a joy-fillled homegoing for a much-loved, larger-than-life, prank-loving legislator, who was taken home so suddenly.  It was a grand send-off.

As a personal note of observation, tempered by 75 years of watching people, more than 40 of those years being a people-watching pastor, I can say I was most impressed by a mother and her four daughters, Stan’s closest family, long used to the press, and the fishbowl of public life, but less-mindful of the presence of all the trappings of that life, rather focused on celebrating the joy of a man who loved, and lived his life working for justice and mercy, all the while walking humbly with his God.

For You Today ,

You might be a good-sized cog in the wheel of life, or, like me, a rather smallish cog, who gets worn-down easily amongst the bigger cogs; either way, remember this:  you’re a cog that God loves, and has you in the right place on His wheel. 

So take that as seriously as my friend, Stan, by loving God with your whole heart, poured-into doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with He who gave you that first, and every breath you take on this planet.

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 libraryI.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

       Do What?   and   Resetting the Compass

[1] Images: Title image courtesy of The Denton Orator, Used with permission by Bingham family   

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

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[1] You can watch the entire homegoing service for Stan Bingham on YouTube HERE

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!

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: 

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 Sandal of Integrity - Part 2

 

Friday, November 5, 2021

Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, “We are witnesses!  May the Lord make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended!  May you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.  And may the Lord give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.”  So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife.  When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son.  Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family!  May this child be famous in Israel.  May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age.  For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”  Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast.  And she cared for him as if he were her own.  The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!”  And they named him Obed.  He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.  Ruth 4:11-17

It is entirely possible that Boaz and Ruth lived to see their great-grandson, David, become Israel’s second king.  Legacy is not dependent on whether or not you live to see it.  King David’s earthly life did not extend a thousand years to see his family name reach the pinnacle of pinnacles in lowly Bethlehem’s manger.  But that day in Bethlehem, when all the elders and townsfolk stood in the gate of the city and notarized Boaz’ sandal of integrity, their prayer became a prophecy.  The kindness of Boaz and Ruth’s faithful unselfishness birthed Obed, continuing a heritage that one day hung on a cross for our salvation. 

Integrity is never extinguished!  Madmen and evil dictators have done their worst to spread the darkness.  King Saul didn’t want to relinquish the throne he had squandered to the shepherd-boy, David.  He threw spears at his protégé in manic rage, and pursued him with armies and soothsayers throughout Palestine to kill Obed’s grandson…but all it accomplished was God’s will, not Saul’s.  Herod heard the prophecy about Obed’s lineage producing a Redeemer (just like Boaz and Ruth’s neighbors prophesied), and it led to the slaughter of the innocents to attempt saving his crown. 

But Jesus, the Son of God, and Promised Messiah/Redeemer lived on to die for us.

Integrity is much more than telling the truth, or knowing right from wrong; integrity is something woven deep in the soul that becomes obedience to God…at any cost!

For You Today

Many people have a trust issue that first asks in prayer for a sign.  That prayer is seldom answered, because it is based in seeing before believing, which is the polar opposite of faith.  Faith trusts by acting…and is sometimes rewarded with sight.  But whether-or-not God blesses your obedience with physical evidence to validate your integrity to serve Him, serve Him anyway!  You’ll be in the company of Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David, Solomon, and a host – a veritable cloud of greatness among the witnesses![1]

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

[1] Title and Other Images:  Wikimedia Commons (public domain)  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©    

[1] See Hebrews 12:1-3

 

The Sandal of Integrity - Part 1

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there.  Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by, so Boaz called out to him, “Come over here and sit down, friend.  I want to talk to you.”  So they sat down together.  Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses.  And Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab.  She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.  I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish.  If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses.  But if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.”  The man replied, “All right, I’ll redeem it.”  Then Boaz told him, “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow.  That way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family.”  “Then I can’t redeem it,” the family redeemer replied, “because this might endanger my own estate.  You redeem the land; I cannot do it.”  Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party.  This publicly validated the transaction.  So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, “You buy the land.”  Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon.  And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife.  This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown.  You are all witnesses today.”  Ruth 4:1-10

The saga of Naomi and Ruth’s epic struggle to find peace, and even just stay alive after losing their husbands, ends in joy.  Mostly the big press for this story is the women’s saga and the happy ending.  But there is other big news here – the integrity of a wise man.  Boaz acted with the kind of integrity that is different from the 21^st century norm.  He chose to follow the model of the prophet Micah:

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

Notice the wisdom of Boaz:

He “did right”

In choosing to protect Ruth’s reputation he made the offer publicly to marry her, but only after all the customary channels of redemption were satisfied.  There was no question in the public of the law being observed with honesty.

He “loved mercy”

With her reputation protected, Ruth would have no doubt of Boaz’ intentions to care for her; their relationship was built with a strong foundation.

He “walked humbly with God”

Boaz placed this declaration of his care for Ruth (and Naomi) squarely in public view, calling ten witnesses of the community.  This was an “Accountability-101” step.  When you make your intentions known (as opposed to a back room deal), there is a certainty of honor.  It takes humility to placy yourself in accountability to God and the community.  It is a vow, and your legacy depends upon the way you fulfill those promises.

For You Today

Because you are human, one day the forming of your legacy will end…you will die and the books will be closed on this chapter.  Your mission to create the legacy of doing right, loving mercy, and walking humbly with your God will be a story of your days and your integrity.  Make sure the story is well-worth reading!

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

[1] Title and Other Images:  Wikimedia Commons (public domain)  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©    

 

Slim's Legacy

[1]

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

So be careful how you live.  Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.  Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.  Ephesians 5:15-17

My Dad would’ve been 101 today.  He was only a few years short of making it to triple digits when God decided there was a need in heaven for a laughter-loving, corny-joke-telling guy.  Elwood Frederick Brownworth (Slim, for short), wasn’t a dry wit; rather he was someone who made use of that bottomless pit of Readers Digest stories and quips.  Born into a generation that saw the end of World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II, my Dad had to leave school after the 6^th grade in 1930 to  pick up work here and there to help support a 7-member household.  In those days you did what you could just to keep food on the table. 

But exiting from the traditional school system didn’t mean he stopped learning.  Indeed, when he retired he went back to school, earning his GED.  And what he lacked in formal education he learned to replace by informal means.  Dad loved to travel and find out what made things tick.  He loved to put his knowledge of learned skills to use, teaching others.  When I was a pre-teen, Dad took a course to become a certified bowling instructor so he could organize children and youth bowling leagues.  Every Saturday morning our family would begin the day opening the bowling center…an old, smelly 10-lane place called Carlton Lanes, complete with a bar (which I never was permitted to enter).  We’d be there 6 hours or more while nearly 100 kids spent a week’s worth of pent-up energy from all that schoolwork, at noise levels approaching 140 decibels.  And, right in the center of the tornado of activity you’d find Slim, laughing and making corny jokes.

It’s coming up on 4 years since Dad left us to join Mom and many friends and family in God’s forever place.  Dad didn’t leave behind a truckload of stuff, or a bunch of land, or financial wealth.  Instead, our family treasures are the example of a Godly husband and father, what it’s like to be faithful, and a person who loves with his life’s commitments, and his word kept.  We have a legacy of attending church because we knew there was more to life than just stuff that pleases you. 

Somehow, my Dad, who didn’t have a knack for remembering Scripture, had learned to live what the apostle encouraged in his letter to the church folk at Ephesus…not to be fools, but understanding what God wanted them to do.  Dad loved to laugh and tell a joke to brighten up everyone’s day.  It wasn’t foolishness, it was his understanding that some are evangelists, some teachers and pastors….but some are called to live a life bringing light with wit, humor, and a knack for being there when the chips were down.

It’s hard to sum up a life in a few words, but some people live their lives in such an uncomplicated way that you really can get at the heart of the depth of their legacy in simple terms.  My father was one like that.  And here are the words that come to me this day:

They called him Slim, but that was his body; 

his life was full!

For You Today

When it’s all done, what will people remember about you?  If you’re talking about the people closest to you in life it will probably be little about your job, or your accomplishments.  I’m thinking it will be more how you loved them with your life opened to what mattered most to them. 

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©

Paul's Legacy

[1]

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him.  When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears.  I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews.  I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes.  I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.  “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem.  I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.  But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.  “And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again.  I declare today that I have been faithful.  If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.  “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.  I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.  Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.  Watch out!  Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.  “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.  

Acts 20:17-32^(NLT)

Final, or parting words are memorable only when the life and words match-up.  Nathan Hale was a patriot who declared:  I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.  The first deacon of the church, Stephen’s last words were of forgiveness for those who were stoning him:  As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.  Acts 7:59-60^(NLT)

While this passage does not record the final words of Paul’s life, they are his parting words to the Christians at Miletus, and all the Asian continent before heading off to Jerusalem.  This was the pathway that would ultimately lead to Paul’s execution – but also his greatest impact for the Kingdom of God.

In this address are:

·      Paul recalling his work in that area to bring the Gospel, overcoming hardship and opposition

·      The call of God’s Spirit to endure even worse as he presses on to Jerusalem

·      An assurance that this was a one-way-ticket; the Apostle would never see them again, and…

·      Paul’s clear heart; his legacy included telling them everything he knew about God and Christ, along with a warning to guard against any enemy that would steal that teaching, or their faith.

All the way to the end – finishing the course – that is what this apostle, a man sent by God to do the work of God, did.  And, in this beginning of the earthly end for Paul, his concern is that whatever legacy he left, it would include first and foremost, the souls of those God entrusted to his pastoral care.

Frankly, a preacher who does not feel this burning inside for those to whom she or he preaches, and those to whom God has sent him or her, is no preacher of the Gospel of Jesus.  To be called of God is to despise one’s own life for the sake of another’s.  It is what Jesus did on the cross; it is that to which Jesus calls his disciples:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.  Matthew 16:24^(NLT)

For You Today

Daily, piece by piece, you are stitching-together the legacy you will leave some day.  Whatever “words” you say at the end will not change what you do today. 

For a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ, the marching order today is as unchanging as the course of the sun, moon, and stars; pick up the cross and follow.

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