Divided

Monday, October 16, 2023

But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted.  They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires.  These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.  But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life.  In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.  Jude 17-21

Jude warns that divisions in the church would be a constant threat to the spiritual health of Christians because war-like conditions are brought about when selfish ambition takes over.  If you have followed Christ, and been part of the church, you understand; despite the smiles on Sunday, there are spiritually shell-shocked believers in every pew.  And, the truth is coming to the surface, no matter how much we learn about interpersonal relationships and personally-toxic behavior, and no matter how many sermons are delivered on unity and kindness, the division in humanity is growing deeper, breaking-up more homes, closing the doors of more churches, and spewing hatred into every seam of life’s fabric.  

According to Jude there are two characteristics that are present in a human being who causes division of any kind:

1.    Selfish ambition – people who honor their personal desires above any person or sense of morality.  They only care about themselves.

2.    Ichabod – the Hebrew word which describes the absence of God’s Spirit.

These two telltale signs are related and always bound in the heart of the ungodly.

Jude says the antidote, or immunization from this condition is to build each other up in [our] most holy faith.  This is the open door to patience in prayer, the willingness to let the lesser things of personal ambition fall by the wayside, in favor of progress in God’s Kingdom.  That, says Jude, is the only way to remain spiritually-safe, living-into God’s love.  So then, what does it mean to live-into God’s love?  Glad you asked.  I grew-up in the 1950’s-60’s.  It was the heyday of Billy Graham’s crusades.  The whole emphasis on church growth was personal salvation…the revivalist mode.  We cannot in good faith deny the need for that; it is the entry door to God’s house and family.  However, being born-again presents the picture of a new infant.  In matters of the Spirit that is good, and it can be disastrous.  It’s necessary and wonderful to be born, but to stay an infant means a lifetime of dependency.  Arrested growth is not desirable; it is a death sentence to God’s blessing of maturing in your relationship with Christ and others.  Infants have a milk diet, but not forever; they graduate to adult food…with good reason:

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation….You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple.  He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.  And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.  1 Peter 2:2-5

The grown-up baby stones, gathered, and strategically-placed together by the Master Builder, become stronger by the support and strength of communal effort.  A common slogan you’ll hear these days is Together We are Stronger.  That’s true in any sense, but it is critically-vital for the church, and God’s Kingdom.  Without denying-self and personal ambition, in favor of taking-up Calvary’s cross, the church will be as empty as more promises from Washington, D.C.

For You Today 

Discipleship – growing into a mature relationship with Christ and other believers, is what’s on the agenda today, and every moment until God calls us home.

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

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Lord? Savior? King? Just Who Are You?

Thursday, February 9, 2023

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!  Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!  For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”  (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him.  But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)  When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.”  Others said, “He is the Messiah.”  Still others said, “But he can’t be!  Will the Messiah come from Galilee?  For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.”  So the crowd was divided about him.  Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.  John 7:37-43

Jesus’ teaching in the temple was not clouded.  The people who heard him could not have mistaken what he meant when he offered “living water” – it was Messiah-talk.  But they got divided over Jesus’ pedigree…and thus it goes, day after day, century upon century.

It’s hard for someone like me to look critically on those who had questions in their hearts about just who (or what) Jesus was going to be in their lives.  After all, I’m a logic-driven male child; I live to divide my own thoughts.  I like to think things through until the box is all well-defined; then I want to seal it and preserve what I’ve discovered forever!  (Why do you think I write a blog?)

There are those who live on the other side of the brain; they intuitively feel and sense their way through stuff in a manner totally-alien to my brain.  The difference between us is much like the difference between a foot-soldier with a rifle who thinks:  ready-aim-fire, versus a technician getting ready to shoot a guided missile who is trained to ready-fire-aim.  That tech guy launches the missile, then steers it all the way to the target.

Whether you’re a cautious-stepper or a freestyle-leaper, Jesus has always caused division.  Life’s journey and the Kingdom of God have always had (and needed) both. 

For You Today  

My word today is to the cautious.  Like me, you tend to want to know it all before you do anything.  If you question Jesus like a prosecuting attorney, with the purpose of removing every last doubt before taking the leap of faith with him, you’ll find it’s still a leap of faith at the end.

Point from one who has been there – take the leap – he’s ready to catch you.

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: 

What Do You Think?  and  Rivers of Living Water 

This is an updated version of “Division in the Crowd published on Rocky Road Devotions May 8, 2013

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^©   

The Comfort of Being Known

Thursday, September 1, 2022

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.  You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.  You go before me and follow me.  You place your hand of blessing on my head.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.  How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered!  I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!  And when I wake up, you are still with me! 

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

Our little Shih-Tzu dog, Wellie, is always under-foot; he’s not intentionally trying to have us trip on him…he just wants to be near us.  When I sit at my desk to study or write, there’s never a question where he’ll be.

The veternarian might call this little guy’s attachment “separation anxiety” but the fact is, we are mostly all he’s got.  There aren’t any other furry critters in the house, and he doesn’t get around too well because his back legs don’t work.  So Wellie talks to us (a lot)!  And he will not be quieted; he wants response (especially around dinner time)!  We’re thinking there must be some comfort for him to be near his human pets. 

You and I are not a whole lot different from Wellie.  We are really limited, physically, mentally, and relationally-speaking.  We mess up a good bit, some of it because we just can’t help ourselves, and some because we’re mean.  (Wellie is rarely mean, but if we get home after his meal time, he’s as cranky as they get!) 

Like Wellie, we too have an owner.  God is our creator and we are so dependent on Him for everything…even the next breath you take is in His hands.  The Psalmist marvels at the closeness of God, and the knowledge He has of the complexity with which we are put together; He made us, and it was with the simplest of His thoughts, but light-years ahead of our deepest comprehension.  And the comfort it brings us to know He is there, even watching over us as we sleep – being there when we awaken – and knowing our needs before we can even think of them….it is all so very above imagination!

For You Today

Let this thought govern your day, and your dreams tonight…

God introduced Himself to Moses with the name of His being:  I AM…that I AM.  And with that he described what drives our faith, and helps us understand the meaning of our very existance…along with being able to rest in His care:

The I AM loved us before, now, and for all eternity.  Try that on for comfort!

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: 

The Doily and Subway Sermon

[1] Images:   Title Image today is a portrait in oils of our Wellie, by Jennifer Brownworth Klim                                                              Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Bending the Tongue

 

Monday, May 30, 2022

“My people bend their tongues like bows to shoot out lies. They refuse to stand up for the truth. They only go from bad to worse. They do not know me,” says the Lord.  Jeremiah 9:3

And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire.  It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body.  It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.  James 3:6

I’ve got a lawnmower with a very sharp blade.  Actually there are 3 blades that spin like Hosea’s whirlwind.[1]  They cut the grass into clippings.  Then they cut it again…and again, before spitting them out on the sidewalk.  If you pick up a handful you’ll notice there are many different sizes of these clippings.  

It owes to several factors:  how many times the grass blade has been cut by the mower blade, how long the grass was growing, and the angle at which the mower approached the blade.  There may be other factors, which I’ve not considered, perhaps many.  But this one thing is certain:  That sharp blade can cut a lot of grass from ANY angle!

The same can be said of the tongue.  Like James’ description of a sharp tongue as a wildfire from hell, setting your world on fire, so the tongue cuts whatever’s in front of it, mowing down the landscape of humanity.  God sent Jeremiah to warn Jerusalem’s population of what their lying tongues were accomplishing.

Bending the tongue is my favorite phrase for crooked speech, or lying.  Small or large, white, gray, or midnight dark, lies are falsehood that cut things (mostly people) into all sorts of discardable waste.  There are many different categories to which you can sort lies, except one:  HELPFUL.  This is because lies separate people from truth.  And when a crooked tongue bends the truth, it immediately sets up an unhelpful barrier between the liar, and the one to which the lie is spoken. 

For instance, I can say a lie to a friend to get off the hook:  I had a headache last night; that’s why I didn’t call you, sorry.  The friend not only buys it, but feels sorry for me.  I’ve bought three seconds of compassion from my friend, when I really rather deserved a sharp look for not calling when I’d promised to do so. And I didn’t call, because I got an opportunity to be with another “better” friend.  At this point, I’ve got to enlist the “better” friend’s help to support my lie, by never mentioning it to the friend to which I told the lie.  Then, I’ve got to write myself a memo to remember the lie, so I don’t get caught talking to him about the good time with the other friend.  And so-on, and so-on.  That mower blade just keeps on cutting…and relationships will lie like shredded grass on the sidewalk before long.  As Jeremiah put it, things go from bad to worse.

That’s the way of all lies.

For You Today

Tell the truth.  You don’t have to keep track of it, worry about it, bend your tongue to reach it, or ever regret it.

There, isn’t that better?

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

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

---

[1] Hosea 8:6-8

Ambushed Again

 

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss.  But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”  When the other disciples saw what was about to happen, they exclaimed, “Lord, should we fight?  We brought the swords!”  Luke 22:47b-49

If you’ve ever gotten ambushed by a friend you understand something of the sorrow Judas brought to the garden that night.  An ambush is when there exists an unfair advantage.  Because the discussion, skirmish, event, or whatever has been planned, without one side being given opportunity to consider and prepare, makes the playing field unlevel.

When betrayal is plied by the hand of a friend, it may be the harshest form of deception possible.  I have been blind-sided by betrayal before: 

     ·       A co-worker who smiled at me every day, but secretly spread rumors

     ·       A staff member’s wife who stoked those rumors

None of that is nearly like what the Son of God endured at the hands of those he came to save and befriend.

Wile E. Coyote has been trying to ambush the Road Runner for decades.  He never seems to get it, that his plans are doomed.  But that’s a cartoon, right?  That doesn’t happen in real life, does it?  Sometimes the bad guy wins, eh?

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to ask Judas.  Judas was planning to ambush Jesus for awhile.  He decided, researched, and executed his plan.  What Judas left out of his contingency plans was the God-thing.  Jesus knew what was in Judas’ heart. So it came as no surprise to Jesus that Judas was going to turn.  Whatever Judas hoped to achieve fell flatter than unleavened bread.

But, you’d say, didn’t Judas’ plan work? 

Didn’t they execute Jesus? 

Didn’t Judas get the price he asked? 

Of course it looked like Judas came out on top…at first. 

     ·       Jesus got taken away by soldiers, then out of the tomb by the resurrecting power of God.

     ·       Judas got the purse, then realized blood money stinks.

The plan worked…at first…just not in the way Judas expected.  It fell victim to the Wile E. Coyote syndrome…evil comes, but God overcomes.

For You Today

Being betrayed is hard to take. 

And, when a devotion ends with just that thought, you’re left to ponder what to do next on your own.  Kinda like betrayal’s aftermath.

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^©   

Speaking in Tongues; Lesson from a Paralyzed Shih Tzu

 

Monday, January 24, 2022

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.  Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.  Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.  And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.  Acts 2:1-4

This is our resident human manager, Wellie.  You can understand Wellie’s language…if you’re listening.  His bark and stare are both loud and piercing.  His eyes stare a laser-hole right through you; it bellows and slashes-out messages: 

·       are you not wearing your hearing aids, Russell, boy…or are you just plain dumb?  I want to eat NOW…not 4 minutes from now. 

·       Hey, human…put me up on that chair…NOW.

·       I KNOW there are treats in your pocket…they belong to ME!

At times Wellie “says” things with those eyes which I don’t quite understand.  He gets a little louder at those times.  This past week I finally began to understand some of what Wellie has been trying to teach me.  When he wants something, he exhibits the most persistence I’ve ever seen.  He can be irritating to an impatient human, who would rather have quiet for his reading and study.  He’s not the “cuddly” sort of hound, unless he’s been fed (enough), and would sleep it off hanging upside-down in a windstorm at the North Pole.  Sometimes, when he’s calm, he’ll even let you pet him, or scratch his itch under the chin…just a little further up, and over to the left, please.  Sometimes an insistent bark is not about food; it’s a warning to get him to the outside business area before it’s too late. 

We’ve had to learn a whole new set of dog language; Wellie’s back legs don’t work much, so his needs push us in different ways than having a pet who can fend for himself.  The language of an old, partially-paralyzed Shih Tzu has Biblical implications for the family of God.

The people that heard the disciples speaking in tongues that first Pentecost Day didn’t get what was being said, they simply figured the disciples were drunk.  Like humans trying to take care of a disabled Shih Tzu, they were missing something about what God had been saying to them for ages.  The message was this:

No matter the differences between you and the next guy, the fact that I love both of you, should tell you I want you to love each other, get along, and stop figuring-out ways to control each other; just do what’s best for the other guy!

Wellie’s been trying to get through to his dense caretaker for nearly 7 years now.  And while I’ve learned a lot about what he’s telling me, I realize, when it comes to speaking in Shih Tzu language, I’ve still got much to learn.  And that realization is 99% of the work of developing patience with the differences between us.

For You Today

In the human family, we have just as many communication-fails as when you try to understand Shih Tzu-ese.  But when you develop a little patience with each other, the joy of the journey comes back.

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

[1] Title and Other Images: Russell Brownworth (own work)   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©    

The DOG...in ME

 

Monday, January 3, 2022

When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes.  In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!  Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home.  And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.  Job 42:10-11

I recently read a version of a story that I’ve read (and experienced) many times.  The storyline goes like this:  Two dogs enter a room.  Later, one emerges growling like a wounded wolf, the other smiling like a contented puppy.  The question that sets-up the punch line is:  What, in the same room, could make one dog happy and another hopping mad?  Of course the punch line is…MIRRORS!  A dog may not have the sentient awareness to know he is looking at his own image, but he has the built-in radar to understand the danger or welcome signs he’s seeing.

It’s a short leap from a dog story to my story.  In a room full of mirrors that reflect my emotional state, political views, hurts, fears, joys, and all the other stuff that make up this dog called Russell, I’m going to bump into the real me.  And no matter what I may think of the critter I behold; he is what he is. 

The United States has, besides Russell, 332,915,072 others who have that same peculiarity…what we see in a mirror may make us mad or glad; it all depends on what we brought to the mirror.

Job was no different than Russell, or you, or any of the other 7.9 billion human critters on planet earth, past and present.  Job’s experience was pleasant at first.  He was rich, respected, and led a good life.  Looking in the mirror would not have been difficult.  Then it changed…hero became zero in an afternoon.  His family, riches, and comfort zone were taken down like a house of cards in a windstorm.  His “friends” finished the task with 40 chapters of telling him it was his own fault.

The end of Job’s life was better (by far) than the tale of woe.  But it’s been puzzling theologians, skeptics, and scoffers for as long as humans have breathed.  Why is it so that some dogs have so much to smile about, and others growl?  Job’s answer is not about what happens TO you, but how you respond to what has happened.  Notice that the Scripture tells us what Job did…he prayed for his friends.  The group that sat with Job, poking their fingers on Job’s sore spots, accusing him of some secret sins that brought the world of God’s judgment down on him…that’s the crew Job prayed God would forgive…and bless!

Did that sound familiar?  You may have heard it on a Sunday, or read it in the life of someone else who was in on the conversation with Job:

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.   But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.  For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.  If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.  Matthew 5:43-46

Jesus told his listeners (that’s US if we will hear) to do a tough thing; he told them to pray for those who persecute you…love them.  But who can do that?  I’m glad you asked; it’s only the dog who brings a smile to the mirror.  All the others will rip apart whatever’s in front of them…and be angry at the entire world for being so violent and harsh.

For You Today

What we see in a mirror is what we bring to the table.  A good piece of advice is to make sure whatever we bring to the table is edible.

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

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

For other posts on this text see When Job Got it Right and Job's Story - From Hero to Zero (and back)