Patient Prayer

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?  The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?

 …Teach me how to live, O Lord.  Lead me along the right path, for my enemies are waiting for me.  Do not let me fall into their hands.  For they accuse me of things I’ve never done; with every breath they threaten me with violence.  Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.  Wait patiently for the Lord.  Be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.  Psalm 27:1, 11-14

Did you ever do that thing as a kid (or – gulp – as an adult)?  The pastor preached on being patient in prayer, waiting on God’s answer…and your prayer was more like, God, show me a sign and I’ll believe…I mean, right NOW, God!

The author of this Psalm was undoubtedly King David.  It is a prayer laid at God’s feet to do-with as God will.  He asked for God to teach him how to live in the crisis of a lifetime.  He was completely innocent in his thoughts and actions for which powerful people had targeted him.  He tried to live a clean, useful, and Godly life, but he’d been unjustly accused.  In this pickle David lifted his life towards the God who had always rescued and blessed him, and said:  Lord, I need an answer, and I’ll wait…no matter how long it takes.  This is patient prayer!

There are those times when we shoot a prayer heavenward in a crisis.  Before the days of cell phones I was on a dark road one night, and the muffler fell off my old car.  It was still attached, but dragging, and I couldn’t untangle it from the mess of bolts and hangers.  It would have been dawn before I could walk to the house.  Driving the car meant sparks flying from the muffler dragging against the road.  Visions of explosions danced in my brain.  My arms ached from trying to either rig the muffler back in place, or yank it off the car.  Nothing I did worked! My only hope was one of those “arrow prayers” and God’s immediate answer.  I prayed, Lord, help me here, I’m out of options and strength.  I pushed once more, and was totally-shocked that the muffler went back in place – and stayed there! 

Once, on another dark road.  It was raining, the tire was flat, and I didn’t have a clue how to get the wheel off.  (The hubcaps on my new car had a key, secreted away so well by the manufacturer it required a search warrant to find).  I stood there in the rain, dead cell phone in hand, staring at my useless new car in the mud.  I was stuck…again!  (Thanks to a State Trooper who “just happened to be there” I made it home…again!)

It's so hard to wait, to be patient when it seems your world is crumbling.  Mufflers and flat tires are minor crises.  What about marriages that fall apart, or loved ones who are on death’s doorstep?  What about a catastrophe that is going to wipe-out your life savings and put you in bankruptcy, and add you to the homeless statistics?  How can you wait silently and patiently when those kinds of elephants walk in your room?  The key for those, and any other crisis, is patience.  And that does not mean just taking deep breaths, or reading another self-help book, or frantically-searching Google for a government program.  It’s much simpler, and more commonly ignored, but light-years better than that.  The answer is staying close enough to God to hear Him whisper:  Hey, bud…be brave and courageous; I’ve got this one too!

For You Today 

You were created with enough faith for whatever God knew you were going to face in this life.  Stay close to the Author and Source of that Faith, and you’ll learn to be patient until He brings that which you never imagined or asked-for to knock-down the wall, or open the door!  Wait patiently, quietly…for His whisper.

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 courtesy of Pixabay.com Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Got Wisdom?

Friday, October 6, 2023

The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.  The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.  Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.  The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.  They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.   They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.  They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.  How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?  Cleanse me from these hidden faults.  Keep your servant from deliberate sins!  Don’t let them control me.  Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  Psalm 19:7-14

King David taught his son Solomon what wisdom looked like.  Soaking-up all the truth of Scripture, David summarized wisdom by the qualities God’s Word will become in a believer’s heart:

     ·       God’s Word is impeccably-perfect…reviving the soul

     ·       God’s Decrees are trustworthy…making the simple person wise

     ·       God’s Commandments are right…making joy flourish in the heart

     ·       God’s Commands are clear…light on life’s path

     ·       Reverence towards God is pure…an eternal blessing of clear conscience

     ·       God’s laws are true…making fairness an everyday experience

Knowing God’s ways bring life, wisdom, joy, insight, and permanence; His way and blessing are available to all who will worship the true, living God.

David concluded his prayer recorded in Psalm 19 with a question and answer. 

The question:  How can I understand my own heart…all the sins hidden there?

The answer:  Humble confession that I can’t know the depth of my own heart’s sins merely by my own wisdom.  I must place my heart in God’s hands…ask Him to forgive and cleanse me, so my proclivity towards sinning won’t control me.

David closed the prayer with one final request:  Lord, whatever I’ve laid before You, O Lord…may it be pleasing to you…do what you will with me…you are the bedrock of all my days and eternity.

If you’ve ever wondered where to start with praying to God, go back to Psalm 19 and grasp the depth of how anyone should (and can) approach Almighty God.  This is the model for placing your life in His care, and your heart’s love at the foot of Calvary’s cross.  The result of studying God’s love letter to humanity is revival for the soul, wisdom for making decisions, joy in the heart, light on your journey as you step-out each day with a clean conscience, and a burning desire to spread justice and fairness to every creature on earth. 

Did he leave anything out?

For You Today 

David’s son, Solomon, took his dad’s evaluation of God’s Word to heart, and both history and God’s Word call Solomon the wisest man ever.  That’s not a bad place to start your day.  It will make finishing your day an adventure that won’t disappoint.

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^©   

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^©   

An Extra Hour

Thursday, August 24, 2023

On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”  So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.  Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar?  The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day.  There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer. Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day!  Joshua 10:12-14

If you have ever found yourself wishing for an extra hour in the day, because you haven't had enough time to "do it all" this is for you!

The day started with my phone losing its mind. It was supposed to awaken me at 5:30 am so I could get to my VA doctor’s appointment on time, but when I opened my eyes at 6:15 the phone was still in its own stupor!  Great....starting the day 45 minutes behind!  Getting dressed quickly, I ruminated on how my phone must be listed somewhere in the Bible’s “begets” of Hell’s spawn.

One other “proof” of how useless my mobile phone has become is the choice it makes, based on algorithms which ignore my needs, in favor of the desires of roughly 14-gazillion companies double-checking the expiration date of my car’s warranty.  One of those fascinating (but totally sinister) algorithmic choices also totally ignores the fact that I need my calendar to awaken me to the reality that my frenzy of activity to get to the VA for an 8:40 appointment, is silly, considering the appointment is an hour later at 9:40…a fact I totally missed, because the said appointment was for the eye doctor, because I am half-blind!

In frenzy-mode, I forgot that a careless placement of my coffee travel-mug on my car’s rooftop, coupled with a hasty “plop” of my overweight carcass in the driver’s seat means my mug-full-of-steaming-hot-Green Mountain Dark Magic coffee will wobble off the car roof and splatter all over my garage floor.  There’s no app or algorithm in the world that can cope with the stain on both my cement garage floor (which now must be painted, as Elizabeth always wanted), and my broken heart, having to face a 30-minute dash to the VA with zero-caffeine in my blood!

When I arrived at the VA and checked-in, the receptionist smiled, and said:  My, you’re early!  It was then I realized the calendar was right, and I had an extra hour to wait, be still, and know my hurrying had been in vain.  But all was not lost…in the VA lobby, stands a Starbucks, testament to the fact that our government leaders really do have a heart.  I reclaimed my lost Green Mountain Dark Magic, and sat in a space overlooking the parking lot to contemplate my madness in silence.  During the next hour I resisted opening my algorithm-driven demonic device, and used the time to be still, chill, pray, and sip my over-priced Folgers.  Within a few moments an elderly lady sat down at the lobby piano and played a lovely hymn.  And my blood pressure returned to normal (for me).  I managed to have enough presence of mind to thank God for that lovely, calming hour’s interlude, and soon was lost in praying for each of you, as the Lord brought you and your needs to mind.  Part of God’s answer to my prayer was when he spoke to my heart:   Russell, do you understand now, how you, getting up early, all worried and coming apart at the seams, when I wanted you to have an extra hour's rest for your weary bones and spirit, is a blight on the day’s journey?  I could only smile and nod an apology…He knows me well, without an algorithm.

For You Today 

Like Joshua, you can trust God for whatever extra hour he wants to build into your day; it will be the best hour of the day.  

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.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Clean Closets...and Other Myths

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”  Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”  But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home.  Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.  I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers.  I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come.  And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”  When Jesus heard this, he was amazed.  Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!  And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.  But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home.  Because you believed, it has happened.”  And the young servant was healed that same hour.  Matthew 8:5-13

I guess it was inevitable; that closet had been crying-out for years to be cleaned.   I could no longer pretend that disorganized heap of stuff would heal itself.  Besides, what else do retired preachers do?  Since Monday the task has begun to include two other rooms in the house; it will be a little while before this project is concluded.  What was I thinking?

The Roman officer may have had the same thought.  That servant of his was sick.  That presents two possibilities (at the least) as to why he went to the Nazarene preacher.  This officer may have been uniquely-compassionate for an important man, and was anxious to help him, or perhaps it was just that the servant couldn’t serve if he was bedridden; the officer’s “compassion” was more self-serving…a healthy servant would make the Roman’s life easier.  Jesus identified the officer’s request as sincere faith, so we must attest to his compassion as no less.

However, if we take into consideration that this Roman soldier’s prayer is lodged in the presence of a largely Jewish audience, we understand they were probably wondering why Jesus bothered healing the servant of a Gentile “dog”.  But Jesus, grasping this teachable moment, holds-up the humble, authentic trust of this Gentile, in contrast to the treachery of the Jewish religious leaders masquerading as faith which he would have to shortly endure.  Jesus’ teaching here was a gut-check for not just the crowd following at that moment, but for all of us…every day.   Sometimes that which we assume is our genuine faith, is just what we’ve hung in our religious closet for so long, we cannot see how crowded our “faith” is with stuff that doesn’t belong…

·       An attitude that won’t budge

·       A secret hate for an arrogant co-worker

·       Claiming a pure life, while hiding impure desires

·       …and so the myths keep rolling.

For You Today 

We all have that closet-cleaning thing to which we must attend.  Life is messy, and it creeps into our thoughts, attitudes, and selfish ways telling us the damning, but enduring myth, that we are put here on this planet to do what makes us happy. 

Like the Roman soldier’s compassion for his servant called-out his duty to do something, and my clothes closet called to me to come clean, so we are compelled to look deep into our faith, and how we’re called to be IN this world for God’s purposes – not part OF this world to serve our own desires.

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:  Russell Brownworth (own work)  Images without citation are in public domain.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Sovereign

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

“From eternity to eternity I am God.  No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.  No one can undo what I have done.”  Isaiah 43:13

Once one gets past the sophomoric notion of atheism, to admit there IS a divine Creator, one must grapple with a supremely-challenging dilemma of IF that divine One is truly in charge…and to what degree.  Is God sovereign, or are there some things he cannot (or chooses not) to touch?  And if He truly is “in charge” of everything, why is the world in such a mess?

If one has the temerity to affirm God is Sovereign (as Isaiah wrote), the final question surrounding humankind’s response to a sovereign God is two-fold:  What does that look like, and how should I live now that I know that?

In my limited experience as a human being, and a believer in the sovereignty of God, in nearly 50 years of theological thinking, writing, preaching, and pastoral ministry, I have never been able to fully articulate in a single sentence the answer to that question…until yesterday, when a Facebook friend re-posted a prayer from a friend’s page:

It took me just a moment to read it, and pass it off as simply another superficial stab at teaching a child to pray.  I continued scrolling through the endless and mostly inane trivia of social media, but the thought of that sentence would not fade to the background  Then the depth of faith contained in this one sentence scratched its’ way to the surface of my tired mind and shouted:  Listen, Russell; you’re never going to need more in life, or My Kingdom than this.  This is what living in My Kingdom is like; this is how you bow before Sovereign Lord.

I’m not one given to hearing God audibly, or seeing a message behind every bush or cute thing my dog does, but this one sentence about how to go about greeting God every morning of my life makes more sense than all the combined drivel you can find in self-help speeches and books; this is placing 100% of all the trust I can ever muster in God’s care for me. 

Fix me when I’m the problem – is taking the humble knee, admitting I’m broken enough to need fixing

Protect me when I’m not the problem – is admitting I’m going to move on in God’s strength, speaking up for loving justice, doing mercy, and walking humbly with God[1], because my strength isn’t enough for this messy life…I need Him to have my back.

·       This is taking my stand on the only hill I’ve ever truly needed to die on. 

·       This is how you take up the cross and follow the One who died for you. 

·       It is the bottom line of the call. 

For You Today 

Want to know how to walk in God’s presence?  Let your heart pray:

Sovereign Lord, fix me and protect me as I walk with You today!

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

Go to VIDEO

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^©  

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[1] 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

Access Point

Monday, August 7, 2023

I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God.  Bend down and listen as I pray.  Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways.  By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies.  Psalm 17:6-7

Prayer is something like a house with only one access point, the door that admits a person into the presence of God.  In these two verses there are four bitting cuts (like the ridges of a key which align with a lock’s notches to open the door).

  King David’s prayer is a model no believer ought to forget.  Without these cuts no prayer will align with God’s requirements…the access point will remain closed.

Bit-Cut #1 – I know you will answer

Faith is trusting that God does hear and answer; apostle James understood this:

But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.  James 1:6

Faith isn’t arrogance or knowing the magic combinations of words (your own words are always better…right from the heart and soul).

Bit-Cut #2 – Bend down

Asking God to “bend down” to hear you is an acknowledgement of your position relative to God’s.  He is the enthroned one.  Isaiah gives us this picture:

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.  Isaiah 6:1^(KJV)

“High and lifted up” is where God resides.  Our prayer access point won’t open if we approach God as equal; all facts are to the contrary.  God is eternal, creator of the universe, all powerful, and holy.  We are below that; way below that.

Bit-Cut #3 – Unfailing love

The Hebrew word for God’s “unfailing love” is chesed.  In other parts of Scripture the word is translated as lovingkindness, or mercy.  The primary thought is of God’s covenant love, the love he showed to Abraham in blessing him for his obedience.  This is the “unfailing” love of which David writes…the response of God to anyone who withholds nothing from God.  Apostle James explains:

Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see, his faith and his actions worked together.  His actions made his faith complete.  James 2:21-22

Bit-Cut #4 – Surrender to the rescue

King David recognized it is God’s mighty power that rescues those who acknowledge God’s sovereignty in this universe.  This is a matter of trusting God no matter what the circumstances seem to dictate.  It is placing faith in Him alone, rather than any other sources of supposed strength you may have considered or leaned-upon in the past.  God gave Solomon this thought to pass on to us about surrendering to God’s rescuing blessings:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.                    Proverbs 3:5-6

For You Today 

God’s covenant love was best expressed in Jesus Christ.  Jesus told his disciples there wasn’t anything he would withhold from them if they asked in his name.[1]  That’s the access point – not a magic formula, simply a fact.  To ask in his name, is to have all the “bitting cuts” in place:  faith He will answer, faith in His strength, faith in His mercy, and surrendering all to His will.

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 Devotions library.  

 

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com 

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

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[1] John 14:13