Shipwrecked Faith

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear.  For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.  1 Timothy 1:19

Everyone is born with faith; life is a series of faith choices, both good and poor.  When we place our faith in a chair, by sitting on it, we exercise our faith that the chair will hold us up.  If it does, it was well-placed faith.  If we place our faith in a man who whispers to us on the street corner….psst, buddy…you want a great deal?  I got these Rolex watches worth twenty grand each; sell ya one for $75.  Chances are rather strong, our faith in that guy will rust as fast as the watch.

It's one thing to be naïve about the worth of a trinket; it’s quite another matter to allow preconceived notions about God shipwreck our faith.  Faith, in spiritual matters. is supposed to guide our choices towards God’s open arms.  Misplaced trust in anything other than God’s will and way leads to a shipwreck of our faith.  Sometimes we cling to a hope that is ill-founded merely because it sounded good, or real when we first heard it from a friend.  We didn’t run it through the God-filter; instead, we just believed it (placed our faith in it), and couldn’t believe how badly it turned-out.  It’s like the story of the man who worried himself over the question of whether life wasn’t fooling him, and he began to think he was dead.  He started believing it and telling everyone he was dead.  No friend or family member could convince him otherwise.  Finally they got him into therapy.  The psychiatrist had no better result; the man thought he was dead.  Frustrated, the shrink decided on a graphic, undeniable test.  He asked the troubled man:  Do dead men bleed?  The man said:  No, dead men don’t bleed.  With that, the shrink pulled out a pin, pricked the man’s arm with it, and it started to bleed.  The shrink pointed to the man’s arm and asked:  So what do you make of that?  The man, now puzzled, finally offered:  Well, I’ll be durned…dead men DO bleed!

What Apostle Paul was telling Timothy is a stern warning for any one of us to beware of letting our faith settle on anything that won’t pass the blood test.  There is so much heat these days on television news, social media, blogs and vlogs galore, which promote hatred, violence, and rebellion, as well as perversity as a normative good choice, if that’s what you want.  That kind of stuff conflates a small amount of truth about political and sociological problems, with isolated Biblical verses to create a wedge of doubt between your conscience and the good sense given to you by God’s kindness.  We can fall victim to good sounding, but false theories of how to view the world.  We can be like Eve who heard the serpent whisper did God REALLY say that?  Satan even used that tactic, quoting Scripture to Jesus (way out of context, of course); the devil was tempting Jesus to abandon the Father’s mission and serve the darkness of Hell.  In all three of the temptations recorded in Matthew[1], Jesus denied Satan’s offer with Scripture, appropriately interpreted, countering Satan’s use of twisted Scripture.

For You Today 

We must use our faith, nurture our faith, and grow in our faith.  But we must be careful to grow straight, rather than crooked.  To grow straight requires bathing our worldview in the Word of God.  There is nothing about popular worldview opinions that can match the strength of God’s Word to avoid shipwrecking our faith.  Paul gave this advice to his young ministry student, Timothy:

Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval.  Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15

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] See Matthew 4:1-11

Smooth Talk - Poison Heart

 

 

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters.  Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught.  Stay away from them.  Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests.  By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.  But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord.  This makes me very happy.  I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong.  The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  Romans 16:17-20

Apostle Paul could speak to the believers at Rome with confidence because his heart for them was filled with genuine love.  This is the same love that God had for all humanity, displayed on a cross at Golgotha, the town garbage dump of Jerusalem.  From the earliest moments of Jesus’ ministry people were either blessed or angered by the carpenter from Galilee.  Those who received his love told the truth about how their lives had changed; those who resisted his love told lies about Jesus then, and still do.  To the people at Rome, Paul had brought the message of God’s gospel of Jesus Christ.  The result was gladness in the hearts of those who heard with open hearts; the self-righteous powerful rulers responded with angry venom.  Jesus was crucified by that same kind of prideful human rebellion.

The apostle called those who were misleading innocent folks smooth talkers using glowing words….but having selfish motives…a poison heart.  That is, unfortunately, not a phenomenon confined to the first century.  Lies are everywhere in any era or community.  It began in the Garden of Eden, as the serpent smooth-talked Eve into the first bite of rebellion.  It continues today to write the tragedy of refusing godliness in favor of selfish gain.  You will see it in every walk of life; when there is something to be gained (money, power, prestige, or just some evil satisfaction), a clever lie will be the hinge upon which the door of deception swings.

A church I once served was without a music director.  Of all things, I (who cannot even carry someone else’s tune) was leading the singing.  A group of a dozen visitors showed up one Sunday morning.  After the service, Carl, a very distinguished-looking member of that crowd, invited me to visit him the next evening.  I showed up, and was treated to two hours of Carl lauding his musical talents – complete with solo and framed music course certificates.  The evening ended with Carl’s statement:  Preacher, me and those other families want to join your church…if you’ll make me the song leader.  I told him I thought he and those other folks would probably be happier in another church.  Now, I didn’t know the man from Adam’s housecat.  But I did know that anytime there’s an offer-with-an-if, you’re in the middle of a business transaction.  I needed a music director, but this was Mt. Temptation.  I later found out the man had split two other churches with his marvelous music.  His wrong reasons had plenty of sound right, (complete with certificates to prove it) – but they were still wrong reasons.  He cared nothing for the church he was so generously “offering” to serve – it was his agenda and pride that mattered to the song-man.

For You Today 

It’s not a genuine Christian trait to walk around in suspicion, expecting to hear a lie in every place.  On the other hand, we are to be wise, understanding there are plenty of lies told, and always with a motive to gain something for the smooth-talker.  The best way to defeat deception is to follow Jesus’ example…He got up early enough to spend quality time with His Father.  Go thou, and do likewise!

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

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Title Image(s) courtesy of Pixabay.com                       

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

Pretender

Thursday, January 12, 2023

I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ.  You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all.  You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.  Galatians 1:6-7

That ancient descriptive about a wolf in sheep’s clothing is all about pretense, pretending to be something, in order to gain another’s favorable view.  The sharpened teeth of that gain is when the wolf eats the sheep that has given trust.  When Jesus sent his disciples out to spread the good news of salvation, he commissioned them with a cautionary bit of advice:

“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.  Matthew 10:16

Wolves that pretend to be sheep is a caricature of those who would eat you alive if they can gain your trust.  And the chief tool used by spiritual wolves is the same as any other – the lie.

Apostle Paul was shocked at how the Galatian church had been turned by lies so quickly.  Human nature is fickle, and this is why studying and meditating on God’s Word (which is entirely unadulterated truth) is so important.  Internalizing the Word of Truth is a guard against the twisted claims of pretenders.  Consider these two bedrock necessities for the believer:

Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed.  Proverbs 12:19
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.  Psalm 119:11

The crux of the issue in the case of the Galatian churches was truth, twisted to suit bending these new believers away from the freedom and strength of the Gospel, in order to enslave them to follow these spurious teachers who would take them even further from Jesus’ way.  Our day has plenty of parallels:

·       Prosperity Lies – which attempt to make the Gospel a pyramid scheme, an easy entry into gaining wealth or power if you subscribe to the cult’s twisted version of God’s Word.

·       Healing Lies – focusing on physical well-being of the body as something that can be extorted from God’s power by twisting Scripture out of its context…making the focus all about our human bodies, which by definition are flesh that is passing-away (wouldn’t it be terrible to live in these aging,  sagging, weakening human skeletons forever?).

·       Sexual Lies – these days have no end.  In my youth (1950’s/60’s) the so-called sexual revolution “liberated” fornication (sexual activity between unmarried couples)…it became accepted, even lauded.  In the 1980’s same-sexuality relationships started to become normal.  A neverending barage of media and social campaigns culminated during the Obama era of legalizing same-sex marriage, flaunting man’s disdain for God’s commands.

·       Spiritual Lies – have the result of destroying long-standing faithfulness to godlinesss, and have even turned sanctuaries consecrated to worship of God into houses of human idolatry, “sanctifying” same-sex marriages.  The United Methodist Church, descendant of Wesley’s strong foundation in the Scriptural Word of Truth, is undergoing a complete devolution in this lie.

In our day the lie has gained a reputation for truth.  Sad.

For You Today  

Be a dove kind of sheep…but be different than the Galatian brand; be as shrewd as snakes.  Beware the pretending wolves in sheep’s clothing.

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: 

The Third Day  and  Living in Sodom

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^©   

Yes...and No

Friday, December 16, 2022

Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’  Anything beyond this is from the evil one.  Matthew 5:37

Humpty Dumpty made his appearance as a riddle of the late 18^th century.  His presence has graced virtually every literary idea-push from Mother Goose fairy tales to edgy political satire.  Alice (of the Looking Glass in Wonderland) has a conversation with Dumpty, the talking egg:

"I don't know what you mean by 'glory,' " Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't—till I tell you.   I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!'"

"But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a nice knock-down argument'," Alice objected.

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master—that's all."

Alice was too much puzzled to say anything, so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again.  "They've a temper, some of them—particularly verbs, they're the proudest—adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs—however, I can manage the whole lot!  

Impenetrability!  That's what I say!"

The riddle of The Dumpty is much too dark for children, and therein lies the point; we can be as imperceptible as we wish, skewing the meaning (and therefore the intent) of our words.  Jesus says that’s too dark and evil for a believer.  A simple yes or no is clear, unmistakable, and wholesome.  And that is rather the Godly point.  To be any different than Thou shalt not, or thou shalt, when it comes to what thou dost…crosses the boundaries of love.  And, for Christ, that is the utmost concern…because it is the benchmark of Godly character.  To deceive, even with a so-called child’s riddle, is to be Satan’s offspring.

In our contemporary culture truth, unvarnished and untarnished, is just as uncomplicated (and uncommon) as it’s always been.  From interpreting economic forecasts to explaining a new law’s intent and purpose, politicians have danced with truth as you would dance with molecules of Coronavirus, just as far from being pinned with your words as possible.  The shade of darkness of Sir Humpty’s word-penetrability is directly proportionate to what’s at stake for the dissembler.

The most telling illustration of this in my memory is from 1998, when the Grand Jury asked President Bill Clinton if there was any improper relationship between himself and staffer Monica Lewinsky.  The president’s Dumpty moment surfaced when he responded:  It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.[1]

For You Today  

For anyone with a reasonably-sized vocabulary, it is always a temptation to hide-behind a word wall.  Jesus, ever the master at punching-through deceptive walls, is never taken unawares by any attempt to cover the truth.  Following Him means you will let your ‘yes’ and ‘no’ stand on nothing less, or more.

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: 

   Of State Dinners and Spies and Diverse - and Dying

Images:  Title Via Wikimedia Commons   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] Bill Clinton and the Meaning of “Is”

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

A City Under Siege

 

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

How great is the Lord, how deserving of praise, in the city of our God, which sits on his holy mountain!  It is high and magnificent; the whole earth rejoices to see it!  Mount Zion, the holy mountain, is the city of the great King!  God himself is in Jerusalem’s towers, revealing himself as its defender.  The kings of the earth joined forces and advanced against the city.  But when they saw it, they were stunned; they were terrified and ran away.  They were gripped with terror and writhed in pain like a woman in labor.  You destroyed them like the mighty ships of Tarshish shattered by a powerful east wind.  We had heard of the city’s glory, but now we have seen it ourselves—the city of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  It is the city of our God; he will make it safe forever. 

Psalm 48:1-8

The Psalmist recounts how the people of Jerusalem in that generation (seven centuries before the birth of Jesus) had only heard how powerful their God had acted in the past, delivering the children of Israel from many disasters.  Now they needed to know – needed to see that power with their own eyes.  The Assyrians and their allies were camped outside the gates of God’s holy city, and the outlook was bleak.  Then God revealed Himself to the enemy as the city’s defender, and the mighty army ran like a rabbit being chased by a hungry lion.

Talk is cheap; so goes the old saying.  It’s true, and particularly so, when there are no fact-checkers around to hold the talker accountable.  On the flip side is that which is priceless – demonstration, the enfleshment of promises or claims. 

The legendary boxer, Muhammad Ali[1] was known for boasting about his superiority over his opponents in the ring.  He once stated flatly (and loudly) I am the greatest!  When asked by a reporter why he would brag so boldly, he replied:  It isn’t bragging if you can back it up.

That is what the Assyrians found out.  It is also what the residents of Jerusalem found out.  Before that moment when the Assyrian army fled like a bunch of field mice in an elephant stampede, they’d only heard of God’s greatness.  Now they saw the mighty power of God with their own eyes.

For You Today

You might see or hear a hundred claims to greatness today, everything from a laundry detergent that will get your clothes cleaner than any other, to a politician who is going to solve everything that’s wrong with our country.  Every commercial on TV or a billboard is bought as an investment to bolster those claims.  In the end, it’s merely boasting. 

You will make a lot of judgment calls in your life about what is boasting, and what is true.  Sometimes you’ll get it wrong, and sometimes you’ll get it right.  Those decisions about which laundry detergent, or who should get your vote, are minor blips on the radar.  The vital life decisions center on whom you will trust to show up when the city’s under siege.

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

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

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[1] Image courtesy of Wikipedia.com