Hearing, Learning, & Loving

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.  When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ.  When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law.  Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law.  When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ.  But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.  When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ.  Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.  I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.                                      1 Corinthians 9:19-23

The WHY of apostle Paul’s living a somewhat chameleon-like life, blending-in with every sort of different person, nationality, or social status, was his learned ability to love.  It was so important to Paul to treat others with an open, loving heart, he virtually gave himself to others, so that he would have the opportunity to introduce them to Christ. 

Paul changed; he was no longer a fire-breathing zealot on a crusade to destroy everything related to Jesus Christ.[1]  In place of the old Saul, there was now the new, loving Paul who would literally give his life to bring others to Christ.[2]  Why the shift?  Jesus confronted Paul in the middle of his holacaust work of destroying the church, and taught him to love, because he was loved.  In the process, Paul couldn’t get enough of loving others.  Real Christianity is contagious!

Finding common ground with others is how you learn to love the unlovable.  You cannot do that when you’re unwilling to hear others with the receptive ear that helps you learn who they are, underneath, in their being, and understanding what wakes them up in the middle of the night with the cold sweats.  If you’re serious about sharing the love of Christ, that someone else might know Christ, and find eternal life, you cannot engage in screaming matches, or massive campaigns to exclude people from your life.  In short, you just can’t be afraid of others who are different…you must hear them, and understand them, so you can love them.

There’s an old idea that just doesn’t ring true for me, that dogs will chase cats because dogs hate cats.  Well, my daughter’s pets didn’t get that memo.  Boomer, the huge Mastiff, has gotten quite used to Carrie’s feline borders, Smith & Wesson.  In the picture you see just how close a 100-pound Mastiff can relate to a 7-pound kitty he could have for lunch.  It wasn’t always that way.  Whenever Boomer came into a room, Wesson used to run for the nearest place the hound couldn’t reach.  Little by little that changed.  Now they even play together.  Somewhere along the line, they began hearing each other out…listening, and learning…and now loving.   

Boomer is still a dog…a big, drooling mess of a mush, incapable of not being loved.  Wesson is still a mischievous feline, climbing-on anything high, jumping-off anything dangerously placed, and squeezing-in any tight spot (especially if there’s a slight trace of food to be had).  Neither of them have changed species; but now they play together…and they’re both the better for it.

For You Today

Learn Paul, Boomer, and Wesson’s lessons…listen, learn, love – and play nice!

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: 

Living in a Dumpster and When Tolerance Grows Up into Spiritual Maturity

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

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[1] See Acts 9

[2] See Romans 9:3

Thoughtful Living

 

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

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.  Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life.  Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.  And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

Ephesians 5:15-20

In response to reading Paul’s admonition to give thanks for everything, I’m grateful to God for the life of my dear friend, John, who graduated to the church triumphant this past week.  I didn’t get to see John and his bride, Anne, in person a whole lot because our homes are separated by a four-hour drive.  We had just made plans to meet for lunch this Saturday.  Now I will have to wait for a different meeting time and place of our Heavenly Father’s choosing.  John’s passing to be in the presence of his Lord is going to take some getting-used to.  I’m going to miss the banter-by-email we shared.  He was a masterful pun-machine, able to spin one of my thoughtlessly-dropped words like a coin turning on its end.  Conversation with John was laced with joy and thoughtfulness.  I always marvelled how his rapid-fire quips rolled with such awesome humor and wisdom, entwined like a well-crafted sermon in a phrase.  I told John that if he came to visit in our church he’d better belay the “wisdom in a word” around my church family; they’d start a petition for sermons of his length.  His reply:  Sensor-ship.

Admittedly, my mind takes a lot longer to respond than did John’s.  But I have no doubt his every answer was much more than glib banter – rather a lifelong evidence of inquisitiveness about human nature, and the Divine.  An avid reader, lover of locomotives, traveller, churchman, teacher of young people’s confirmation classes, and classical music addict, JC, had interest in the gift God gave him of life and time to use it well.

There is an art to this business of living thoughtfully.  It is purposeful investment of the gift of that next breath, impervious to the mindlessness of herd mentality, and ever vigilant to the leading of God’s Spirit.  If pressed, I would characterize my friend John as one who helped me in that direction. 

Thank you, brother…may you rest in peace, and rise in glory.

For You Today

There are many people God brings into your life to help you think and live thoughtfully.  Listen closely, drink deeply, and follow the Spirit’s calling genuinely.  There’s a kingdom to gain.

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^©   

When You're Already Wondering and He's Asking

 

Friday, June 5, 2020

I had this conversation once with God.  Or I should say, I bumped into God one morning as I was wallowing in my self pity over some pretty disturbing turns in my life…and God disturbed me a little more…no, a lot more! 

God disturbed me with some questions that were really irritating.  Here’s how the conversation went:

              God:  Russell, you’ve been through a lot of educational stuff, haven’t you?

Russell:  You know it, Lord…and it’s getting a little old.

              God:  Yes, Russell…that’s why I’m not going to bore you with a lecture.  I just have a few questions

Russell:  OK, I’m all ears; maybe I can help.

              God:  You remember when the sun went down last night?  And, then it came up again this morning?

Russell:  Uh, yeah

              God:  Good.  What was it you said that made the sun do that?  And by the way, was it you that told the dawn to look so pretty yesterday…you know, spread out and tell the shadows to get lost, open up all those brilliant colors, and send wicked people who do things in the darkness back to their hiding holes?

Russell:  Uh, Lord…where you going with this?

              God:  Well, Russell, I’m just wondering if you could direct me to where a couple of things are…like where the water comes from that fills all those seas on the earth, and where death actually lives, and why it causes so much gloom to humanity.  And where does the light come from?  And, when it gets here, I wonder, where  does the darkness go?  I’m thinking, because you know all there is to know, you must have been born before that was all set into motion.  I’m just wondering if you could enlighten me…I mean, with all your street smarts and wisdom and all…hmmm?

Russell:  ZIP  (the sound of my mouth’s zipper quickly closing)

Generally, I read the Scritpure first, then make some comments for us to ponder.  Today, I bared my soul about my conversation with God that made me realize what an arrogant know-it-all I can be.  It really did happen you know; it happened to me when I read how that same conversation went between Job and God:

Job 38:12-21

“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?  Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?  As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors.  The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.  “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?  Have you explored their depths?  Do you know where the gates of death are located?  Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?  Do you realize the extent of the earth?  Tell me about it if you know!  “Where does light come from, and where does darkness go?  Can you take each to its home?  Do you know how to get there?  But of course you know all this!  For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!

As with all the other dark themed ways common to humanity, the arrogance of putting ourselves on God’s level (at least in our minds) is a possibility that raises two cautions:

#1.  It is possible for us to try…

#2.  It is not a very wise thing to try…because it hurts a lot when you finally have to face the truth that He is God, and we are not.

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, we invite you to have that talk with us before we go too far in our arrogance.  Lord, You know how prone we are to thinking too highly of our own ideas and strength.  Help us to remember before we forget…again.

For You Today

There’s a pretty surefire way to avoid the trap of self-importance, and that is to give it away…to He who is really important.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

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Title Image:  Space.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For other posts on Job 38 see An Uncomfortable Answer from the Whirlwind and God Answers Job

Learning the Hard Way

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Friday, January 17, 2020

Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols.  O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.  Your plans for us are too numerous to list.  You have no equal.  If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.  You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings.  Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand— you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings.  Then I said, “Look, I have come.  As is written about me in the Scriptures:  I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”  Psalm 40: 4-8

I guess one of the reasons this devotional is named “Rocky Road” is because I’m (painfully) aware of the pathway; in my life I have so often learned the hard way.  King David indicated he had this same character deficiency when he wrote, in what seems a tone of resignation:  Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand….  

Life’s road is mostly not a cakewalk, but it’s a much rockier road when you learn the hard way.  Scripture is full of backup to this thought.  Solomon learned from David that a child’s life is much more likely to hold success and fruitfulness if he listens to what a loving parent tries to share.  Listen to the father-son chat:

“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind.  For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought.  If you seek him, you will find him.  But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.                   1 Chronicles 28:9

In marriage, men do well to listen to their wives (I speak here from personal, and at times painful experience of failing to hear with open ears).  Often God tries to get through the thick exterior covering the husband’s brain, and a loving wife just might be God’s voice. 

In business or government, leaders that learn the hard way rarely get to stick around for re-election encores, or franchise expansion.

In church, pastors who begin to believe the press reports of how wonderful their sermons are, or how wise they are, flirt dangerously with the worst kind of pride; Scripture declares that is the prologue to the un-gluing of your ministry!

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.  Proverbs 16:18

In any discipline of life, we can learn from David’s wise words that life itself is a gift.  Making that life a valuable contribution to the lives of others and God’s Kingdom is a sacred responsibility.  And it becomes abundantly more achievable when one’s heart and mind remain humble enough to stay off the rockier path of going it alone. 

For You Today

If you have had enough of life’s rockier road, seek God’s will in Scripture.  And a trusted mentor wouldn’t hurt. 

Most of all, remember that God gave you two ears and only one tongue; that suggests a good ratio of use…you learn much more when you hold that one tongue and use those two ears.

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

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