Hope Anew

Monday, November 13, 2023

So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.  Then they will not be like their ancestors—stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.  Psalm 78:7-8

Asaph, the writer of this Psalm, makes a very compelling point of caution for each new generation in humankind to set its hope anew on God so we don’t forget His great power, what He’s done, and how we must not be stubborn about it. 

If there is one consistent, and nearly inviolate reality about the human family, it’s the tendency towards promising fidelity lightly, and then breaking promises in favor of a supposed better way.  Israel’s history is a microcosmic rule-of-thumb for humanity’s proclivity to agree with God today, and discard their allegiance when the road gets a little bumpy. 

From Asaph, fast-forward to Russell’s generation, raised in the 1950’s/60’s.  Yes, we’re talking about the hippy-era, free love, LSD, marijuana, or alcohol, your drug of choice, but everybody joins the march against Vietnam involvement.  Yes, THAT generation!  We were going to be different than our parent’s generation.  Everything was going to be different, and much better than the old folks.  Music changed from swing to rock.  Clothing was unimportant, and we drove VW vans, not Cadillacs.  But the truth is we were just making Asaph’s point…every new generation has its own style, but the root of Adam’s nature, rebellion against authority, puts us on a collision-course with our Creator’s authority.  Our arrogant stubbornness separates us like night and day from God’s love and care.  As the cartoon character Pogo once said:  We have met the enemy, and he is us!

Opposite the viewpoint of the “new” generation is the head-shaking disapproval of the “old” generation.  My parents didn’t like my music, and frankly I’m not too thrilled with the stuff I hear and see in the current generation’s entertainment.  And this makes Asaph’s point as well.  It isn’t the style of any generation that matters.  I can say that unreservedly because you won’t find style-police in Scripture.  What matters is not a generation’s style, but whether they will set their hope anew in God.

This brings a Scriptural focus to the so-called “worship wars” down through the generations.  There is enough criticism to fill the universe with nausea about how people worship.  The list includes music style, traditional style, contemporary style, blended style, liturgical vs. free style, fogey or edgy style, robes or skinny jeans, somber or giddy, silent or bedlam, pretribulation rapturist, or anti-rapturist.  Most everything that creates an argument is a tempest in a teapot about style.  And there is a verse in John’s Gospel that tells us what God thinks about all of it:

For You Today 

A prayer for those with whom you see wide gaps of difference, is to ask God to let the scales of criticism drop from your own eyes, and help you to ignore the style of that next (or former) generation, and pray for them to see the magnificent opportunity and blessing they have to place their hope anew in God’s love and care.  Much better to pray for someone’s blessing than against their style.

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.

Today’s title Image from Pixabay.com  

Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

The Gift of Morning Dew

Friday, August 18, 2023

How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!  For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe.  Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion.  And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting. Psalm 133:1-3

Harmony produces synergy.  That’s when everything works together to have a result which is greater than the sum of its’ individual parts.  The Psalmist tells us it’s a wonderfully-pleasant reality.  Most people misunderstand its source, it’s a gift from God.  The Psalmist compares Mt. Hermon’s misty-morning dew, flowing-down as a gift over the blistering summer heat that parches the entire region.[1]  Without that refreshing dew falling on the lower region of Zion’s hills, the scorched earth would produce famine and death.  And, since humankind is not in charge of the earth’s atmosphere or weather, it is the hand of the Creator (Jehovah-Jireh) which provides that misty life-saver. 

It is so with harmony.  One individual human being’s decision to work-together is simply that – one unselfish decision.  To have even the slightest chance of germinating into harmony requires the cooperating touch of another.  But even a crowd of cooperators, working like carpenter ants, cannot produce genuine harmony without the dew of God’s gift. 

Much like Colonel Sanders’ fried-chicken venture, the chicken, flour, spices, frying pan, and cornflakes were already there; but it wouldn’t have synergized into that wonderful original and crispy, unless the white-bearded man put them together.

In a greater way, God designed human life to be saturated with this gift of harmony, soaked with kindness, forbearance, generosity, patience, joy, peace, gentleness, and love.  The opposite is selfishness, impatience, greed, petulance, anger, violence, crudeness, and isolation; these are known by their common name, sin. 

For You Today 

Living together in harmony is something of a delicate art, as tenuous as thinking two cats with their tails tied-together will be able to keep their cool more than 3 seconds. 

But God made it possible for us to dwell together in peace as families, neighborhoods, countries, races, and any other diverse complication in the universe, with another kind of “dew” that drips down from Golgotha, the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  This is the gift of ultimate synergy for the soul, and it is the only solution that will bring peace in this lifetime or eternity!

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^©  

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[1] The Biblical Illustrator, Electronic Database© 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. BibleSoft.com

Showers of Blessing

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders.  From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy.  Psalm 65:8

With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!  Isaiah 12:3

The Feast of Tabernacles is an incredible reminder of God’s goodness.  It has its root in the deliverance of the Exodus.  Moses was God’s chosen leader of the captive slaves.  They were rescued ultimately by water that was moved by the hand of God.  Pharaoh let the people go…and then had a change of his hardened heart; he sent the armies after them.

Moses’ band of freed slaves was caught between mountains on the left and right, with the Red Sea in front, and Egypt’s army behind; it seemed certain to be a slaughter and re-enslavement of Israel.  But God opened up the Red Sea and the people walked to safety on the other side.  The army followed, but all were drowned as God released the waters.  As Israel witnessed this deliverance, Moses sang a song of praise to God which was four hundred years in the making^[1].

As the children of Israel turned from the Red Sea’s waters and wandered in the desert they found more water at Marah, but it was bitter.  God sweetened that water with a branch he showed to Moses.  When there was no water at all, God instructed Moses to speak and the water gushed from solid rock.

Too much water, bitter water, and no water – all terrible; all wonderful, as they displayed the power of God and His kindness to his wandering people. 

The Feast of Tabernacles was kept for centuries after the events at the Red Sea, Marah, and all through Israel’s “glory days”.  It was a week-long celebration.  The people would leave their homes, and live in makeshift shelters of tree branches, remembering how God made the mighty waters safe, the bitter waters sweet, and the hidden water flow.  They remembered God’s great gifts; especially the water!

Certainly Isaiah had all this in the back of his mind when he wrote about drinking deeply from the fountain of salvation.  It is the picture of God rescuing His own; it is our story too.  As it was in the desert, so it is today.

The Scriptures declare that when we were in the darkness of sin’s grip, lost as could possibly be, Christ came by water and bloodto wash us.^[2]  He came and died to rescue and redeem all who would turn to Him. 

For You Today 

Here’s a question to chew on today:  Is it a bigger miracle to make a dry path in the ocean, bitter water sweet, or a barren wasteland gush with water….than it is to take away the sins of somebody like me…or you?

·       Moses simply stood still to see the waters part. 

·       He only had to throw the branch God gave him into the pond at Marah to make the waters sweet. 

·       And he just spoke to the rock to turn on the faucet. 

·       But for our sins – it took the priceless blood of the Lamb.

Are you washed in the blood?

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^©   

Devouring the Sheep

Thursday, June 8, 2023

These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind.  They are doomed to blackest darkness.  They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting.  With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception.  They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption.  For you are a slave to whatever controls you.  And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.  It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life.  They prove the truth of this proverb:  “A dog returns to its vomit.”  And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” 

2 Peter 2:17-22

The backstory on this part of Peter’s letter is the Apostle’s warning about leading people away from God, and into a twisted lifestyle of sin.  It is proclaiming sin as holy, and is the upside-down version of what God desires for each of us.  Peter calls this kind of leader useless – slaves to their own sin; they lead others astray.  The metaphors, dog and pig, are always surrounded by filth.  Dogs cannot ignore what has come up from inside them, and pigs are hopelessly drawn to the mire.

A troublesome reality of the church’s marching orders is Jesus’ command to love.  I don’t disagree with the Lord, just saying:  we mess up what He’s saying.  Loving is not simply embracing everything and everybody.  If a person is a serial killer, we can love them; embracing their lifestyle is altogether a different matter.

Preacher, where did you come up with that notion?  Well, the seeming dichotomy of loving people, but rejecting their lifestyle is the example of God, Himself.  In many passages of Scripture we learn that God is the very essence of love.  Jesus proved that God so-loved everyone, he gave his life on Calvary’s cross.  On the flip-side of that are the many passages pointing to how this loving God will bring judgment for lifestyles that reject Him.  Listen to how another apostle, Paul describes God’s judgment for those who say they love God, but choose to prove just the opposite with their actions, their lifestyle of perversion:

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God?  Don’t fool yourselves.  Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.  1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Leadership (bishops, and a predominance of clergy) of the tribe in which I have served the past 18 years (United Methodist) have moved closer and closer to accepting homosexuality as a valid lifestyle.  It is proclaimed as loving.  In practice, however, it is elevating perverted sexual desire over self-discipline, and honoring God’s command.  Those who do so are “loving” neither the churches they are leading into disaster, nor the ones who practice their sinful ways.  They are merely heaping up judgment on their own heads.

For You Today 

Question for those second-guessing a church, now in full-blown division/schism:

Is it a right decision to stay “united” and, without words, affirm a sinful lifestyle in rebellion to God’s way…or is it better to stand with God’s Word and separate?

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:   Living in Sodom  and  Legacy of Lies and Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fire and                                     He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands 

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

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

The Sheep of His Pasture

Monday, May 1, 2023

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!  Worship the Lord with gladness.  Come before him, singing with joy.  Acknowledge that the Lord is God!  He made us, and we are his.  We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.  Give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good.  His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.  

Psalm 100:1-5

Sheep are not warring creatures, they’ve been domesticated for thousands of years, and are by nature gentle.  They communicate with sounds and body language, much like any species, locating food, alerting the flock to predators, and singling-out their family position.

Perhaps one explanation of why God’s Word characterizes the people of God as sheep, and tells us to shout loud praises to our Lord, is because sheep will bleat loudly and continuously when near their food source.  Domesticated sheep tend to view their shepherd as their food source.[1]  That has some strong implications for the relationship between God and the sheep of His pasture.

The sheep of God’s pasture have a gentle posture.  In teaching the crowds of would-be followers he offered rest and strength to weary sheep:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you.  Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  Matthew 11:29

John’s Gospel changes the metaphor from Shepherd and Sheep to Vine and Branches, but the relationship is clearly the same:

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers.  Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.  But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!  When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.  This brings great glory to my Father.  “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.  When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.  I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!  

John 15:5-11

For You Today 

Sheep with a Shepherd, and Branches with the Vine…earthy examples of the way God loves and provides.  This is an open invitation to join the flock, stay close to the Good Shepherd, and have eternally-overflowing joy.

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Flat Tire Worship  and  Of Sheep and the Shepherds Song    

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

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

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[1] North American Nature

When the TEST Comes

 

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

But thank God!  He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 15:57

This picture came to me via a Facebook post a friend shared.  It expresses one of the verities I’ve come to lean on in following Jesus: 

·       God doesn’t allow a test to find out if I can stand it;

God allows tests so I will know HE will keep me standing through anything!

Funny thing about tests…many people confuse temptation with testing.  The truth is they couldn’t be further apart than East and West.  So let’s do a little definition work here: 

·       What is a temptation?  It is Satan’s attempt to make you FALL

·       What is a test?  It is God’s activity to help you stand TALL

There is plenty of Scripture to back up this difference between the Hellish motives of Satan, and the Heavenly providence of God’s loving care:

And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.”  God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.  Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.  These desires give birth to sinful actions.  And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.  James 1:13-15

“Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”  Exodus 20:20

So victory in Jesus Christ is a matter of surrendering to the will of an Almighty, and entirely loving God who wants us to succeed in our surrender.  The test, when it comes, is another brick in that road paved with difficulties, joys, failures, miracles, and whatever else God is using to build His warriors.

For You Today

If you’re facing some stuff today that seems to threaten, feels like a burden, pushing you into a corner of decision…do not give up…rather, surrender!  Surrender to His everlasting arms one more time…and behold the salvation of your God.  On the other side of the test lies the crown of  glory.

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

[1] Title image: God's Glory (on Facebook) April 2, 2022   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Hard Times

 

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord.  But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”  “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked.  “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”  “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied.   And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors.  Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you.  Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”  So she did as she was told.  Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another.  Soon every container was full to the brim!  “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.  “There aren’t any more!” he told her.  And then the olive oil stopped flowing.  When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.”  2 Kings 4:1-7

Many people I’ve known have lived through some tough times.  The widow who came to Elisha was down to family facing indentured slavery because they couldn’t pay their debts.  There were no reserves, bank accounts, or 401K from which to draw.  She went to Elisha and told her tale of woe.  And, it’s Elisha’s question that has always intrigued me:  …what do you have in the house?  The woman’s answer was one of those “duh” moments…no food, just a little cooking oil.  Had I been Elisha I’d have been stumped.  A small flask of cooking oil won’t pay off debts that calls for debtor’s prison.  But Elisha wasn’t stumped.  He told the woman to start pouring-out that oil.  And it didn’t stop until they had no more room to store any more.  Every debt was paid…and some oil left over to boot.

Isn’t it curious how some miracles are connected with what is already available to us? 

     ·       The woman had only a little oil left.  Elisha’s mentor, Elijah, had also met a poor       woman[1] who was down to her last meal.  Same result – God’s multiplication of the flour barrel’s contents. 

     ·       Jesus fed 5,000 men and their families from a basket with just a small boy’s lunchbox.[2] 

     ·       Ten lepers came to Jesus with less than nothing, so they simply brought themselves.  Jesus took the diseased skin they possessed and turned them into new people.[3] 

     ·       When the wedding at Cana had run out of wine, Jesus took the water they did have and the joy of the day was not only complete, it was the best ever.[4]

Sometimes, when we shake our heads in amazement over the miracles, we are forgetting the fact that the God who created everything is still there, still the same, and still knows how to provide for every need we face.

For You Today

If you’re facing some hard times, remember that you have something God will use to turn your world right-side-up!  Every person in scripture who had a miracle change their lives just needed to listen and act on what God was saying.  Remember, Jesus took the pain of scourging that took him to the brink of death, mocking that was undeserved and crushing, a cross, and a borrowed grave…not the kind of inventory anyone would like to count on for retirement…and he turned that less-than-nothing of resources into the salvation of souls for anyone who would trust in Him.  If your hard times have never included trusting Jesus…that’s the first miracle your life needs.

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

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

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[1] 1 Kings 17:8-24

[2] Matthew 14:13-18

[3] Luke 17:11-17

[4] John 2:1-11