His Voice

 

Monday, June 5, 2023

The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.  The God of glory thunders.  The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.  The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.  The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.  He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf; he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.  The voice of the Lord strikes with bolts of lightning.  The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.  The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare.  In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”  Psalm 29:3-9

Long ago I heard for the first time a preacher say these words:  If you’ve never trembled in the presence of Almighty God, it’s because you’ve never really stood in the presence of Almighty God.  He was making the point that we misunderstand a lot of things.  And sometimes we miss God, because we don’t know Him very well.  We hear about something marvellous being discovered – a cure for this disease, or that syndrome, or a new invention like driverless cars, or pilotless planes – and we mis-label a move of God for human inspiration.  We praise the Nobel laureates instead of marveling over Heaven’s gift.

Psalm 29 is attributed to King David.  It’s not hard to understand why; as a boy David spent many nights alone in the desert wilderness keeping watch over sheep.  To this boy, ordained to be the anointed king of Israel, the resounding crackling of lightning bolts were not merely storms, but the sacred voice of JHWH, the burst of almighty God’s love for His creation.  David heard THE Voice.

There are plenty of Biblical references concerning the presence of God, and how we are to enter boldly, to come closer, to dwell-in that presence.  Those are welcoming sounds – words of invitation to be near and experience God’s lovingkindness and majesty.  That is good, and it is right for us to receive those words as true; God means to provoke us to respond.  He wants His family to enter the house, and drink-deeply of His goodness.

But, somewhere, deep-down, within the center of our existential soul, there must be fear; not the kind of fear you might have facing a hungry lion in the wilderness, without a weapon or a place to hide.  Rather it is the awe of a majestic voice that thunders loud enough to split the cedars of Lebanon…trees that have withstood hundreds of years of storms and earthquakes.  This voice can make a mountain jump like a cat that’s been startled from behind.  His voice can strip a forest bare in an instant.  The power of God is limitless and unstoppable.  Scripture tells us that God’s power to rearrange, end, or begin life is without boundary.  He is God; his voice is final!  Apostle John was given a glimpse of that voice, and the finality of how it will preside over that great and final day of the Lord:

And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, “It is finished!”  Revelation 16:17

For You Today 

There is a day of reckoning approaching.  We’ve been advised in Scripture not to set a date, but rather to be prepared to meet that day.  If, as my preacher friend once said, you have never stood and trembled before a holy God, there will come a day when you will.  Better to stand there now in humble prayer, pledging your commitment to Him, and tremble as his thundering voice and loving arms embrace you.  The alternative is to stand before him later to receive judgment.

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:   Joy & Judgment  The Voice of God  

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are 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

When the Storm Rages

 

Friday, October 30, 2020

As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”  So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).  But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.  Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion.  The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”  When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence!  Be still!”  Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.  Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?”  Mark 4:35-40

It almost seems frightening to address the subject of plugging-in to God Almighty, and His power.  It’s one thing to talk about the awesome God Who created the universe and holds it all in the palm of His hand;[1] it’s quite another to contemplate standing near that kind of power, or have that powerful presence turning your life upside down.  Think Jesus, in the middle of your boat…the storm is raging…and Jesus caused it…and then He speaks to it and it hushes up.  I’ve been more comfortable around bare wires connected to a 220-volt line.

God's creative power is such that even the smallest thing takes on new significance when we consider His work.  Take bacteria, for instance.  Some bacteria divide every 20 minutes.  If just one of these microscopic blobs could get enough food, and dispose of its waste, it could, theoretically, in just 48 hours, grow to a size 4,000 times the size of Earth!  If God could put that kind of potential in a single bacteria cell, there isn’t anything we can imagine more powerful.

When Jesus came to the boat in that dark hour, when His disciples were struggling against the raging storm, He simply said, it is I, don’t be afraid.  Then he looked at the wind and said, Hush.  It takes power to do that!  And the words translated It is I, in the language of the ancient Scriptures, are ego emi, I AM.  Any questions about the source of that power? 

For You Today

In the midst of life's storms, go to God..He is your source, He is certain, He is secure, and He is willing to share with you, if you will pass it on to others.

He said so …and He did so!

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

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Title image: James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum via WikimediaComons   W   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For other posts on Mark 4 see:  Holy Mixtures - Part 3 and Listening to the Light

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[1] Isaiah 40:12 says that God, Creator measured off the heavens with the “span” (the width of a person’s palm)  Colossians 1:15-17 has Jesus as that Creator, holding it all together

 

The Sign of Jonah

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”  But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.  “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah.  Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.  The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon.  Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.         Matthew 12:38-42

To understand the sign of Jonah (a metaphor comparing the resurrection of Jesus with Jonah’s three-day ride inside God’s fish-taxi) we must understand to whom Jesus was talking.  Matthew tells us the group that came seeking a sign were teachers of the law and Pharisees; these were the religious professionals (clergy) of Israel.  The teachers of the law (rabbis) did just that, taught each jot and tittle of Scripture’s laws.  Their entire focus was zoomed-in on legal correctness, making certain no law was forgotten.  The Pharisees were more interested in living-out [applying] the law daily.  They took what the rabbis taught and tried to walk the tightrope of never crossing the line of transgression.  This group was made up of teachers of the law and keepers of the law.  Their tribe is legion to this day.

I recently had a conversation with a young man who had been raised in church but hadn’t been for some time.  It was a conversation that lasted awhile, and eventually turned to faith.  He explained that his main life’s goal was to treat other people like he wanted to be treated.  It was a golden rule approach of which the Pharisees would be proud.

This group of teachers and keepers of the law were also inspectors of anyone who infringed on their domain.  They came to Jesus looking for proof; they wanted a look at Christ’s credentials.  And so, Jesus held up Jonah and the queen of Sheba.  One was a Jewish prophet who had trouble obeying God’s command, but eventually had to repent and obey; the other was a non-Jew, and a woman, hardly representative of authority to rabbis and Pharisees, but displaying the utmost of wisdom when she came to sit at the feet of Solomon.

By holding up Jonah and Ethiopia’s queen as righteousness, juxtaposed to the rabbis and Pharisees who prided themselves on self-righteousness, Jesus turned everything upside-down.  And, the teaching for us is that the humility of repentance trumps the pride of righteousness every time.

Veiled [thinly] in Jesus’ teaching is the sign; the Lord is telling the teachers and Pharisees to watch for the humility of the grave to be overthrown with the power of God on the third day.  He was saying to them, you’re like little children if you don’t understand…you think you’ll be done with me if you put me in a grave…but you can’t keep God in a grave!

Here’s the apostle Paul’s commentary on the rabbis and Pharisees:

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!  But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.  As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”                                             1 Corinthians 1:18-19

For You Today

If you’re like my young friend, trying to keep the Golden Rule, but forgetting the humility of worshipping the God of that Golden Rule, you’re missing true wisdom and the power of God.  Start looking at the third day’s empty tomb.

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

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

For another post on 1 Corinthians 15 see Signs

Simon Peter's Ordination

[i][ii]

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s witness and followed Jesus.  The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, “We’ve found the Messiah” (that is, “Christ”).  He immediately led him to Jesus. Jesus took one look up and said, “You’re John’s son, Simon?  From now on your name is Cephas” (or Peter, which means “Rock”).  John 1:40-42(MSG)

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.  But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail.  So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”  Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.”  But Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”  Luke 22:31-34

If ever there was a portrait of a conflicted man it is Simon Peter.  The fact that we know this man by two names owes to Jesus renaming the Apostle.  But the struggle was Peter’s, not the name.  From the Gospel accounts, and even the epistles we find Peter’s epic war with his own nature.  He had an intense desire to follow and serve Jesus, but, like all of us, he had his baser instincts that caused him to shrink-back from the very Lord he loved. 

Peter could boast one evening that, if need be, he’d die for and with Jesus; before the rooster crowed in the morning, we hear him cursing that he doesn’t even know the carpenter.  Peter would embrace serving one day and fall to cowardice the next day.  He was impetuous and often wrong.  But when he was right, people just had to step out of the way, because the power of God worked in his life like the crashing of waters over the Niagara Falls.

His parents named him Simon…a good Jewish name.  Jesus nicknamed him Cephas, or Rocky, in connection with how Simon would answer Jesus’ direct question to the disciples; Jesus asked them who do YOU say I am?  Simon Peter is the one who got an A+ on this test; he said:  You’re Messiah, the son of the living God.  You’re the One we’ve all been waiting for.

Here we have a man who could be so spiritually-connected and holy, living in the same body with a fearful, survival-minded weasel shamefully avoiding the possibility of being known as a disciple of Jesus…will the real Peter…or Simon please stand up?  The fact is BOTH are Simon Peter, the conflicted, but consecrated servant of God.  And when Peter stands up, we stand with him…because we ARE him.  Each of us has Peter inside…a human nature, willing to rebel and deny Christ…and a spiritual image of the Living God, stamped on our souls, calling us to look and live higher.  We ARE Simon-Peter!

In Luke’s Gospel text for this morning there are just six sentences.  In that is the germ of Peter’s ordination, his call and sending into the ministry.  At first Jesus calls him by the human name his parents gave him, Simon.  Jesus tells him his human nature will be under assault by the evil one, Satan.  Then Jesus gives him assurance that he’s being prayed for in heaven, and Simon’s call is to repent of his own sins, and then strengthen all the other conflicted servants.  He is called to be the leader of the band. 

But then, by the sixth sentence Jesus reminds him that even Peter – the rock – will be subject to abject failure.  Peter is not going to be the infallible “pope” – he’s going to continue the struggle with that old man inside who is fearful sometimes, and wonderfully-powerful at other times.  He will be Simon-Peter.

For You Today

All who have called upon the glorious name of Jesus Christ in humble faith have a new nature birthed in them by the presence of God’s Holy Spirit living within; they’re just like, and no-different from, Simon Peter.  It never means the old nature has been taken away; it does mean we’ve been given the tools to fight the good fight and win over that old nature. 

Today’s simple question is…are you still fighting the good fight?

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

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[i] Title Image:   Rembrandt's The Apostle Peter (Public Domain - via Wikimedia Commons)

[ii] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©

Rocking the Temple

[1]

Friday, January 4, 2019

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord.  He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.  Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings.  With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.  They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!  The whole earth is filled with his glory!”  Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.  Then I said, “It’s all over!  I am doomed, for I am a sinful man.  I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips.  Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”  Isaiah 6:1-5(NLT)

Every time I think of Isaiah, or read his prophecy, I cannot get that sentence I heard many years ago out of my head:

If you have never stood in the presence of Almighty God with the ground shaking under you, and your lips burning because you realize you are a sinful man, you have never really stood in the presence of Almighty God.

There are so many inadequate ideas about who God really is:

·      Some name Him as Creator, far off, and unknowable

·      Some see Him only as a judge, stern, unloving punisher of all humans

·      Some imagine He’s all warm and fuzzy, love…your best life is His only waking thoughts…He’s like a great, cosmic vending machine…pop-in a request, and you win the lottery from Heaven.

The only problem with those inadequate ideas of God is they’re inadequate. 

·      God IS the creator, and he is certainly different than us, but His deepest desire is for relationship; he want us to know him. 

·      As JUDGE, God will involve himself in our lives for the sake of righteous fairness, but only because He is just and righteous; he is the only one in the universe equipped to judge. 

·      As for that insipid Heavenly vending machine idea…leave that to the curly-haired Sunday morning Texas tv guru.  God never promised to give you everything you want, only everything that is best for you, and that which fits with His will (which, by the way, is always what’s best for you.)  When I was seven, I wanted a real horse; but we lived in an 800 square foot 4 room house, and my father got laid-off at the factory often.  Mom and Dad could not have afforded to feed a horse, much less buy one.  But they also knew their son would have trouble following through on caring for that horse, feeding, brushing, walking, exercise; their son couldn’t keep his shoes tied!  If earthly parents understand their child, certainly God doesn’t just throw the divine checkbook open to our whims and greed.

So, what do you do when you find yourself standing in the presence of an Almighty God, Creator, Sustainer, and Judge of the universe, and the place is rocking because the thunderous angels are flying back and forth before the throne, shouting Glory to God?  Do you dare speak?  Would you even be able to speak?  Should you try?  Isaiah did what we should do – he acknowledged his own sinfulness and frail nature in the presence of the power that drives every molecule of creation.  He knew he was a “goner” if he got what he deserved, so he presented himself to God as one who stood in need of mercy.

That day in the temple Isaiah was as nervous as Tennessee Ernie Ford’s long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers with the temple rocking all around him.  I’ve stood a few times at Niagara Falls, the border between New York and Canada, with the water spewing over a 167-foot drop at the rate of 85,000 cubic feet per second[2].  That’s a LOT of water, and it makes a lot of noise, shaking the ground under you, and intimidating people like me from getting too close to the ferocious activity on the other side of the protective hand-railing.  But there are also generators harnessing that power, producing 2.4 gigawatts of power, one of the largest power-producers in the world.  Dangerous if you’re careless, but able to light up several counties if approached with respect.

And, like Isaiah, what we find when we come to God is a powerful, but merciful God who always wants us to find forgiveness in His presence, and the open door to a new way that leads to eternal life, and fellowship with Him.

For You Today

God wants us near Him, so, get close – but remember Isaiah; approach on your knees.

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

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com

[2] Wikipedia.org