A Little On the Dumb Side!

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to bring you twelve wooden staffs, one from each leader of Israel’s ancestral tribes, and inscribe each leader’s name on his staff.  Inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe.  Place these staffs in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark containing the tablets of the Covenant, where I meet with you.  Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose.  Then I will finally put an end to the people’s murmuring and complaining against you.”  So Moses gave the instructions to the people of Israel, and each of the twelve tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff.  Moses placed the staffs in the Lord’s presence in the Tabernacle of the Covenant.  When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron’s staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds!  When Moses brought all the staffs out from the Lord’s presence, he showed them to the people.  Each man claimed his own staff.  And the Lord said to Moses: “Place Aaron’s staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant to serve as a warning to rebels.  This should put an end to their complaints against me and prevent any further deaths.”  So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.  Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we are doomed!  We are dead!  We are ruined!  Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the Lord dies.  Are we all doomed to die?”  Numbers 17:1-13

If there is one consistent theme in Scripture about the people of God it’s their inconsistency (with a few notable exceptions).  It’s like that New Year’s resolution you make about eating less, working-out more, and avoiding driving past Krispy Kreme; the vow lasts until the next temptation arrives.  And so it goes.

The next temptation for Israel was always grumbling about the way they were led; the target of their grumbling was all about the leader, Moses, a humble man. But over and again God had demonstrated Moses was the leader.  Even with a dead stick budding, blooming, and producing ripe almonds, all in the space of one night[1], demonstrating God’s leadership choice, God’s gracious miracle only produced fear in the hearts of the people.  And fear will destroy any faith!

Such is the point of this account.  Time after time God’s people were in a crisis and God rescued them from danger; each time there was immediate relief, but the return to fear and grumbling (with its accompanying unbelief, or lack of faith) arrived within nanoseconds. 

And so it goes…even today.

This problem is not a particularly Jewish thing; it’s endemic to humanity.  It started with the first sin in the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve took a bite, realized their separation from God, heard the Lord approaching, and they hid!  They hid because of their shame, knowing (as fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil suggests), that they were now less than they were created to be, and had separated themselves from God.  And what were they hiding from?  The Lord, the solution to their problem.  And what did they do about it when busted for their sins?  They offered excuses trying to deflect their responsibility to others:

      Eve:  The serpent tricked me 

      Adam:  Lord, the woman YOU made, gave me that bite.  And so it goes.

For You Today 

The question of the day (and of the ages) is…when we’ve seen how that worked-out for Adam and Eve, why do we join them in that foolishness?  All it produces is more fear and grumbling.  When fear arises, it kills your faith.  Wouldn’t it save a myriad of trouble and heartache to live in faith, and let it destroy your fears?

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] It takes one year after a bush has matured (3-4 years) to produce the first crop – see Nav Athwal article Forbes

A Difficult Thing

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.  And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.”  But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!”  So they went down together to Bethel.  The group of prophets from Bethel came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”  “Of course I know,” Elisha answered. “But be quiet about it.”  Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Jericho.”  But Elisha replied again, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.”  So they went on together to Jericho.  Then the group of prophets from Jericho came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”  “Of course I know,” Elisha answered.  “But be quiet about it.”  Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to the Jordan River.”  But again Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.”  So they went on together.  Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River.  Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground!  When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.”  And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”  “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah replied.  “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request.  But if not, then you won’t.”  As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire.  It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.  Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!”  And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress.  Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up.  Then Elisha returned to the bank of the Jordan River.  He struck the water with Elijah’s cloak and cried out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”  Then the river divided, and Elisha went across.  When the group of prophets from Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed, “Elijah’s spirit rests upon Elisha!”  And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.  2 Kings 2:1-15

Elisha would not be separated from his mentor, Elijah.  That is so like Ruth clinging to Naomi, a fierce determination to faithfully serve what God has given you.  Three times Elijah told his protégé to wait behind; three times Elisha answers with his lifelong commitment to serve God by staying close to the shadow of Elijah.  In the end it was only a chariot on fire with Heaven’s glory that could separate them.

What do we make of this event, and its place in God’s Word to us?  If you’re dissecting the event to make sense of the miracles, or wondering what part the prophets of Bethel and Jericho play, or what kind of material it would take to produce Elijah’s miracle-generating robe…we’re likely placing more weight on the miracles than on the Giver of miracles.  The main sense I see in this whole account of Elijah’s last days is the shift of God’s work that falls on the shoulders of Elisha.  He asked for a double-share of the spirit of his teacher.  Elijah called it a difficult thing.  There are two ways to take that; either it was a tricky thing for Elijah to produce it for Elisha, or a double prophet’s portion would bring a very difficult life to Elisha.  Elijah left it all in God’s hands; if that was God’s will, Elisha would see it.

For You Today 

If you’ve sat at the feet of some Godly teacher(s), you have sensed something of what God wants to do with your life.  Dare you ask for a difficult thing?

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 via Wikimedia.org

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

Facts...Questions...Answer

Friday, September 15, 2023

When the Israelites escaped from Egypt—when the family of Jacob left that foreign land—the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary, and Israel became his kingdom.  

    The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! 

    The water of the Jordan River turned away.  

    The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs!
        What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way? 

        What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?
        Why, mountains, did you skip like rams?  Why, hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.  He turned the rock into a pool of water; yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock.  Psalm 114:1-8

Every kid whose eyes were glued to a black-and-white 11” TV screen in the 1950’s knew if you wanted to solve a murder mystery, Dragnet’s Sergeant Joe Friday was your guy!  The police were called, and Sgt Friday showed up to investigate.  The dialogue always included his no-nonsense, deadpan, direct approach; he didn’t want anything but the truth.  He would cut through speculation and side-issues with his piercing eyes and flatly require:  Just the facts, ma’am!

Had I paid more attention to Joe Friday’s relentless pursuit of truth, I would have figured-out Psalm 114 a lot sooner.  I’ve read it many times, but missed the main flow of God’s truth until it thundered in my ears in this morning’s dark, early hours.  There are facts, followed by questions, and only one answer.

The Psalmist states the facts about when Israel made her exodus from Egyptian bondage:

   …the Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of the way to let them pass.

   …the Jordan River felt the first steps of the marching band and turned aside.

   …the mountains and hills skipped for joy like playful rams and lambs.

Then he asked why all the hurrying, turning, and skipping for joy?  All those facts, and all those questions (and many more throughout history), but only one answer:  The Presence of the Lord, God who does the unexpected, unimaginable, and totally-documented undeniable.

This was Israel’s history on a platter for us all to digest…the God who is unseen to human eyes, but ever-present for anyone with an open and reverent heart to see, know, and love, is He who makes the hills cry-out in praise, like animals skipping for joy, and the water going where He directs.

For You Today 

It’s one thing to do a bunch of stuff for people in ancient history; it’s a totally different matter when what He does is for every person in every era, age, or circumstance.  And it was more wonderful than making the hills and mountains scurry, or splashing the waters around; God dressed himself in mortal flesh and died for our sins.  And then he kicked the tomb-door open and proclaimed that we can do the same.  That, as Joe Friday would say, is an open and shut case!

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. 

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

Faith Birthing More Faith

Monday, August 21, 2023

The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the Lord had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.  At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid.  One day the girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria.  He would heal him of his leprosy.”  

So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house.  But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River.  Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.”  But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me!  Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel?  Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage.  But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it?  So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’”  So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him.  And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed!  2 Kings 5:1-3, 9-14

This is one of those favorites in Scripture, because it has one of the most dramatic illustrations (on so many levels) of the purity and exceptional nature of faith. 

First, the servant girl, who expresses love for the master who owns her.  In compassion she wishes aloud her master would go to Elisha to be healed.  Naaman acts in faith that is clouded with expectations of a grand show of magical powers, but the prophet won’t even answer the door; he sends a servant to tell the sick man to exercise a more profound faith…go dip in the Jordan seven times! 

When Naaman’s expectations are ignored, he gets angry and, in his rage, wants to take his ball and go home.  But his servants convince him with logic…you wanted a grand show, and you got a simple request:  If it was some hard thing, you’d have done it…what’s a little dip in the muddy waters?  Naaman caves, and the healing evidence becomes history!

I love this account of Naaman’s healing because it is our story of faith in Christ.  Sin in the soul is immeasurably more damning than leprosy in the flesh.  Leprosy can kill only a temporary skin-and-bone body; sin in our immortal soul condemns our eternal being to a never-ending separation from God. 

We are all Naaman…confronted with our sinful ways, we’re faced with the decision to have faith in God by trusting in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins, or remain rotting in our chosen sinful ways. 

For You Today 

You have a choice to make, much like Naaman.  Apostle Matthew records the exact words of Jesus about this eternally-significant choice:

Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul.  Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  

Matthew 10:28

Hardly any advice needed on this, simply an invitation:  trust Christ now, and be forever thankful for His gift of eternal life.

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:  via WikimediaCommons   Images without citation are in public domain.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

A Miracle on Malta

Friday, June 9, 2023

Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta.  The people of the island were very kind to us.  It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us.  As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand.  The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt!  Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.”  But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed.  The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead.  But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.  Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island.  He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days.  As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery.  Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him.  Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed.  As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip.  Acts 28:1-10

Many of us read accounts of healing miracles, and how the power of God was all over Paul’s daily life’s journey….and we think:  I could never do that.  And, for most of us…we’re right.  The chief reason is that God never called us to be Paul, or Peter, or John, healing with a short prayer, walking on water, or feeding a crowd of five thousand with a few loaves and fishes.  I’m relatively certain God never called me to test that whole snake-handling thing.

So, what is the reason for seeing this account in Scripture?  Like  any miracle, God’s reasons are His.  However, we can say that most miracles are for our encouragement, to help our faith understand Who is in control, no matter what the circumstances.  Miracles also teach us that our compassionate God cares about us, and that we ought to care for others.  But the problem is that we fail to connect the dots about our part in the miracles God wants to do.  Hmm….say a little more about that, preacher; glad you asked.

Miracles come in all walks of life, and to people with strong faith, and to people with little faith, or even those who doubt God even exists.  And miracles are entirely a gift which is in God’s hand, not because of some innate power any human being possesses.  The way miracles show up is surprising.  Sometimes it is as private as a prayer at three-o’clock in the morning, when your child has spiked a 104° fever for five hours, and you’re at your wits-end; you’ve prayed half-a night over that child, and she keeps getting sicker.  Suddenly, out of nowhere, that kid wants a hamburger, and her skin is cooled, the temperature is down.  Four hours later she’s on her way to school. 

Your house’s sick heating system needs to be replaced, and the leaves are falling; winter’s on the way, and your bank account is as sick as the furnace.  You never expected to open a manilla envelope at the mailbox, and discover $4,000 in cash, with the unsigned note that said:  Hope this comes in handy.

For You Today 

Bottom line:  You never know when, why, how, or what will be the answer to the dilemma you’re facing…but you can know (very intimately) WHO has the answer.  And when that happens, thank Him, and listen closely for when he wants you involved in somebody else’s miracle.

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:   Signs  and  Killing Two Birds with One Fish and Understanding a Miracle                                        

Title Image:  via Wikimedia Commons   Images without citation are in public domain.

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

When God Makes You Laugh

Monday, December 19, 2022

Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai.  From now on her name will be Sarah.  And I will bless her and give you a son from her!  Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations.  Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”  Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief.  “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought.  “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?”   Genesis 17:15-17

There are those times when God unveils a blessing that’s just too good.  Scripture records the kind of laughter Abraham experienced as unbelief.  That’s very different from being known as the father of the faithful.  But, in this case, it’s somewhat understandable.  Abraham’s heart had hungered so long for the reality of the promise God had made to him, yet he and Sarai had never been parents together.  They were well-past such things.  Now he was a hundred, and his bride was 90.  Was God unaware nursing homes aren’t equipped with maternity wards?  I can just see the smirk forming at the corners of Abram’s lips, picturing himself signing-up for Lamaze classes down at the VFW.  It seemed like a cruel joke to play on an old man.  For decades he’d hoped and been patient.  Now, when all that hope seemed a mere frustration, was God just messing with Abram’s mind? 

Rewinding the video to an earlier time, Abram had never smiled at the hard things before.  There was that moment when God said:  Pack your bags, Abe; bring Sarai and all your stuff…got something I want to show you.  Abraham looked at the horizon beckoning, and just took the first step…not much of a miracle. 

But  God asking him to believe in becoming a dad when he was already on Social Security…this was just too much a fantasy.  How could he NOT laugh?  Scripture tells us Sarai also laughed over that incredible idea, but 9 months later there was a cradle in their bedroom, and the fulfillment of God’s Word meant diapers, and a whole new way of thinking about this life of faith to which God had called them.  What a ride!

For You Today  

Have your prayers gone unanswered?  Are there some things you’ve hoped for that no other person on earth knows about, but have been almost daily in your prayers?  Does it seem too good to be true that God might be telling you to hang-in with Him a little bit longer…because His promises are certain? 

And what if it happened?  What would it be like to have God make you laugh…today?

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: 

   An Uncomfortable Answer from the Whirlwind and The School of Suffering and Unanswered Prayer

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^©   

Under His Wings

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  This I declare about the Lord:  He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.  For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.  He will cover you with his feathers.  He will shelter you with his wings.  His faithful promises are your armor and protection.  Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.  Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.  I will protect those who trust in my name.  When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble.  I will rescue and honor them.  I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”  Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

It is no wonder that, during difficult times, believers instinctively turn to the Psalms for comfort and assurance.  And, there are always difficult times; often it seems life is one long wrestling match with mountains.  If you’re not in a tough moment, you’ve just come out of one, and if you’ve been trouble-free for a good while, just hang-on, your old enemy will bring you a tempest soon enough!

The pure joy that floods my soul reading Psalm 91 is balm for whatever ails me.  Whether it is physical difficulties that the doctors can’t cure, financial shortfalls, a relationship on the rocks, or some spiritual malaise that has managed to worm its way into my life, and suck the joy right out of my bones, God’s assuring presence and power are just one surrendering-prayer from lifting me out of the depths.  It’s almost inexpressable how His Word cares for me.

The hymnwriters, no strangers when it comes to tough times, pen words and music that heal.  They’ve been, to my soul, master craftsmen of preaching God’s comfort and power through major and minor keys, meter, and rhyme.  One hymn that expresses so well the care God has for his children is Under His Wings.[1]

      Under His wings I am safely abiding;

Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him--I know He will keep me,
He has redeemed me and I am His child.

Refrain:
Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.

Under His wings, what a refuge in sorrow!
How the heart yearningly turns to His rest!
Often when earth has no balm for my healing,
There I find comfort, and there I am blessed. (Refrain)

Under His wings, O what precious enjoyment!
There will I hide till life’s trials are o’er;
Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me,
Resting in Jesus I’m safe evermore. (Refrain)

For You Today

Sheltered, protected, resting safe-evermore…nothing in this world can ever match that…and it’s free and assured in Christ Jesus for the child of God.

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: 

Under His Wings (2016) and "Mother" Nature

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

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[1] Under His Wings, Text:  William O. Cushing,    Music:  Ira D. Sankey, The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration, (Waco, Texas, Word Music, 1986) #356