When Power Makes You Nervous

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.  But whoever obeys the law is joyful.  Proverbs 29:18

I must admit that I have never understood the obsession underlying power.  Personally, it has always made me quite nervous to be in the company of those who wield the kind of strength of presidents, governors, and other influential positions.  Those who lead bear a considerable weight of responsibility for the well-being of others.  It is an inherently-unselfish calling.  The fly in the ointment of the democratic system of choosing leaders who are perceived as strong-enough to do well, is that politics is a magnet for the best and worst of motives.

In an article[1] reflecting on the state of world affairs, published earlier this year by Princeton University professor, Jonathan Gold, calling for (at a minimum) mandatory psychological testing of candidates for public office, Gold trotted out the elephant in the rebel room, concerning the two most powerful leaders who should never have been elected by sane people:

At the extreme end of the scale are the symptoms associated with anti-social personality disorder (ASPD), which ought to be out of bounds for an elected official but read to the untrained like a character description of Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin.

This devotional blog is not a blatant political tool, rather a purveyor of Godly advice from the Scriptures.  What Solomon said about God’s guidance as the life-giving need for any nation, is precisely what leaders Putin and Trump ignore, in favor of ascribing all knowledge and power to their own imaginations.  It is often quoted that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  And if that is true, it removes (by definition) any hope of governance without corruption; the lone exemption is the one, true, living God. 

For You Today  

If your children and grandchildren are the hope of the next generation of leaders for this world, better teach them by example to be humble and honor God.  Otherwise those who live in those generations and beyond are going to be bound to the same human foolishness of the current times, thinking we have all the answers, yet having no vision at all.

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: 

   Stubborn to the Bitter End and Without Vision Nations Crumble

Images:  Title Article - Don't Hand Power to Dangerous People   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

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

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[1] Don’t hand power to dangerous people (even when they really want it) — a modest Buddhist proposal

Without Vision Nations Crumble

 

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Where there is no vision, the people perish:  but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.  Proverbs 29:18^(KJV)

The reason the apostles were all willing to die for Christ (and most of them WERE martyred) is they had a clear vision of the cross.  They knew God had been crucified on Calvary, but He was alive again!  The vision of a Lord who not only ruled life but death as well, gave them the power to live and die as conquerors. 

·       It was a clear vision of living in freedom that caused a ragtag bunch of slaves to follow a former murderer named Moses out into the desert. 

·       It was a clear vision of God's holiness that caused Isaiah to fall on his knees and cry out, Woe to me...I  am a man of unclean lips, and my eyes  have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.  ^{Isaiah 6:5} 

·       It was a clear vision of an irresistible call of God that caused a young shepherd-boy named David to stand against Goliath. 

·       It was a clear vision of the need of grace in the life of each one of us that caused Jesus to set Himself towards Jerusalem, submit to  the emotional pain of Gethsemane, the evil purposes of a sham trial, and the excruciating penalty of judgment for all our sins on that old rugged cross. 

My friends, if you can get ONE CLEAR VISION of what your life is to stand for, your days will never be the same.  In Christian circles we call that finding God's will. 

I've been told so many times by sincere, seeking people, I'm certain God wants me to do SOMEthing.  I just wish I could know what His will is.   Beloved, you're no different than anyone else who's ever wanted to know God's will.  The fact is God Himself wants you to know it.  Often we are so less willing to DO God's will than He is willing to share it with us, so that we aren't in a position to hear His will if He shouted it in our ears.  There are conditions to knowing God's will, but...

YOU CAN HEAR AND UNDERSTAND GOD'S DIRECTION FOR YOUR LIFE IF YOU WANT TO; AND IT WILL OPEN YOUR EYES! ^[1]

For You Today

If knowing God’s will for your life is the most important responsibility He’s given you, isn’t it the clearest mandate you need to seek that will, above all else, until He reveals it to you?

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

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

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[1] Russell Brownworth, Learning and Doing (a sermon)

Seeing and Following the Light - part 3

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Friday, February 10, 2017

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.  Proverbs 29:18^(KJV)

In the last two days we’ve seen that vision or God’s revelation is what keeps us from wandering through life, and that kind of spiritual famine destroys God’s purposes and plan for our lives. 

Now let’s take a look at the antidote for a lack of light for a follower of Jesus Christ!

CHAOS CAN BE WHIPPED BY OBEDIENCE. 

In most cases a negative statement implies the positive opposite.  If there is no vision or revelation, seeing restraints, there is chaos.  The inverse then is that discipline towards God will end the chaos and bring peace. 

Many of the Bible's heroes were men who were visionary, ready to see the discipline of God in their lives.  Jacob learned the hard way.  His life was chaos, as he tried to trick his way to wealth and position.  But the vision of a ladder climbing up to God's heaven changed him, and put him on a path of learning and loving God.  Jonah got enough chaos for a lifetime inside God's submarine.  He repented and ran to the discipline of preaching in Nineveh.  Peter messed things up on an incredibly regular basis; yet he went to the mountain with Jesus, and the vision of Moses and Elijah made him fall on his face in belief.  Paul's life was angry and chaotic.  He persecuted the church relentlessly.  And then he met Jesus.  His statement was what whipped the chaos in his life, Lord, what do you want me to do?

Applications of this text are many for each of us today.  But there are some that are universal, and we can start there: 

1.     YOU NEED VISION IN YOUR HEART 

Without obedience to God, the discipline of love towards the Father in Jesus, life is nothing but chaos.  The only way to take a step towards God is via the cross.  Accept Christ now if you have never done so.

2.     YOU NEED VISION IN YOUR HOME

Every one of us has a home.  Is it marked by God's control, discipline?  Is Christ really the unseen guest at every meal? 

3.     YOU NEED VISION IN YOUR DAYS 

Going to work, school, play, running errands or just relaxing....do you go to the Father for instruction?

4.     YOU NEED VISION IN YOUR CHURCH 

All our goals, programs, and all we do at church should have the discipline and worship of Christ as its target. 

There is a story of a bloodhound that started a hunt chasing a huge buck.  When a fox crossed the dog's pathway, the hound picked-up a new scent and chased after the fox.  Then a rabbit crossed the trail, so the hound chased it a while.  Later, the hound caught the scent of a mouse, and was diverted to chase even it to its lair.  The hound began the hunt on the trail of a magnificent buck, and ended up watching a mouse hole. 

God put each of us on this planet for the purpose of serving and loving Him.  As our Creator, it is His sovereign right because He wrote the owner's manual.  And there are many things that will dim the light of our vision and cause chaos.  Our job is not chasing mouse holes, but growing in the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For You Today

Have you ever caught yourself watching mouse holes instead of waiting upon the Lord?  We all do that at least occasionally; the point begs an answer, what should you do about it?

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

Go to VIDEO

NOTES

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[i]  Title image: By Anant Nath Sharma (www.thelensor.tumblr.com), via Wikimedia Commons

Seeing and Following the Light - Part 1

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Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.  Proverbs 29:18^(KJV)

In Proverbs 29 the writer deals with discipline and its effects.  He talks of disciplining children and employees, and also lays-out the disastrous consequences of ignoring that discipline. 

The text uses two words that open the entire train of thought, vision or divine guidance, and perish, which is a word picture of a usually tame animal running wild.  A modern day picture would be a locomotive, with all its power, off the track and headed for destruction. 

Vision comes from two basic words in Hebrew which mean to see, and restriction.  Prophets are people who "see".  In ancient times they were even called "seers".  In this case, revelation, or vision is seeing the restrictions.  It has to do with discipline. 

Paraphrased we could say:  "When the people are not seeing things that should properly restrict, then they run amok, unrestrained."  The Proverb writer knew in his heart that God requires humans to observe the restrictions placed upon them.  It is then, and only then that we can live a meaningful life. 

At one point in Alice in Wonderland she asks the Cheshire cat: Would you please tell me which way I ought to go from here?" 

That depends a good deal on where you want to get to, the cat replied. 

I don't care much where, Alice says. 

Then it doesn't matter which way you go, says the cat. 

I really think the writer of Proverbs could have ghost-written the Cheshire Cat’s dialogue.  The Proverb text declares a real human goal, to see the discipline, the restrictions of God, because without it we won’t get anywhere.

Over the next couple of days we want to see from this text some plain Axioms, eternal truths that cannot change, and which, if we apply them to life will bless our days.

Let me restate Solomon’s proverb for the 21^st century:

Where we cannot see the compelling logic, and overwhelming evidence of God's prior claim on our lives, we will scatter and not serve Him.  Proverbs 29:18

And now let me give you what Jesus had to say about seeing:

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world.  If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”  John 8:12^(NLT)

So…say it simply, preacher:  God owns us, and He expects us to serve Him.  From this main thrust we can see a few other related truths....

1.   WE ARE EXPECTED TO BE DISCIPLINED SO WE'LL GROW 

In every area of life there is a discipline in which to enter for the purpose of becoming more proficient.  A child obeys parents to learn wisdom and grow.  A worker learns new developments in his field to serve his employer.  A leader studies trends to understand the marketplace.  And in the spiritual realm, believers study scripture, worship often, give, and serve so that they will become mature parts of the body of Christ.  The alternative is staying as a spiritual infant. 

In the book All God's Chillun the author recounts when his little 2½ year-old daughter was chastised for some little wrong, she used to say:  It was not I who did that; that was another little girl in me.  Failing to accept responsibility for growing as believers is destructive.  Chaos is not a good thing in any area of life.  The word perish in Proverbs 29 could very well be translated chaos.  Discipline changes the chaos of life into stable growth for a strong body.

For You Today

Got any chaos in your life?  Any idea how to change all that?

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

Go to VIDEO

NOTES

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[i]  Title image: By Anant Nath Sharma (www.thelensor.tumblr.com), via Wikimedia Commons