The Right Time

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

“You saw the misery of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cries from beside the Red Sea.  You displayed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, his officials, and all his people, for you knew how arrogantly they were treating our ancestors.  You have a glorious reputation that has never been forgotten.  You divided the sea for your people so they could walk through on dry land!  And then you hurled their enemies into the depths of the sea. They sank like stones beneath the mighty waters.  You led our ancestors by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night so that they could find their way.  “You came down at Mount Sinai and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and instructions that were just, and decrees and commands that were good.  You instructed them concerning your holy Sabbath. And you commanded them, through Moses your servant, to obey all your commands, decrees, and instructions.  “You gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were thirsty.  You commanded them to go and take possession of the land you had sworn to give them.  Nehemiah 9:9-15

After being released from yet another long period of bondage, Israel rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls.  But the long, hard process to rebuild a nation had just begun.  As the covenant with their God is renewed, the man who oversaw the whole project, Nehemiah, leads the worship time, remembering parts of their journey: release from Egyptian bondage, travels through the wilderness, and God’s continual providence meeting their every need.  He challenges the people to renew the covenant in their hearts…to renew their grip on the plow handle of God’s Kingdom, and serve without fear or reservation.

Looking back is a good thing when it is used to take strength in moving forward, not just longing for the good ‘ol days.  There have been more than a few times in my life that process served God’s purpose well.  At the beginning of our ministry together, I told Elizabeth I was convinced God was leading me to give up the job that had fed, clothed, and housed us for 10 years, so I could go to school and work out just how God wanted to use us in ministry.  The timing of my announcement was odd; Elizabeth and our newborn third child, Carrie, were in bed trying to get through scarlet fever.  My bride smiled, and said “OK…as long as we do it together.”  Over the next 40-plus years there were so many difficult times, and so many right times when God’s providential care opened a window, when all the doors had been locked shut. 

Today, these early days of “retirement” have been walked gingerly, awaiting God’s move once again.  We have often talked of what to do now, and there is no handbook to give definitive answers, other than the Book we’ve used to proclaim the Kingdom of God.  And from that Book, the wisdom of Solomon still speaks through tough times and easier times, through gladness and sadness, with all the certainty and mystery life holds.  Scripture still tells me one thing:

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 

I have (perhaps like you too) been broken, confused, wondering where the strength for another single step will come.  The answer is always the same:

God will supply…at the right time!

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^©   

Without a Single Fault

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.  Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment.  Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.  Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.   Jude 22-24

It takes a mountain of skill, experience, and work for a carpenter to take a log and make it into a flawless work of art.  One careless, ill-placed strike of the hammer or chisel can make kindling for a fire, rather than a priceless piece of furniture, to be handed down from one generation to the next.  Wood, by its nature, carries with it the internal characteristics of all it has faced since the day the tender shoot broke the surface of the earth…storms, dry times, wind, cold, and every other force of every day.  There are flaws cradled in the core of every tree’s story.

Apostle Jude cautions each believer to take part in caring for each other, rescuing our brothers and sisters from the self-destructive nature we all possess.  At the same time we are to be careful we don’t cross the line of judging, doing more damage to our own walk of faith.  It’s a fine line between helping and harming.

I recall a time more than thirty years ago when the pressure of a challenging time as pastor of a dying church had stripped-away my outer bark to bare, cracked wood.  Internal power struggles were destroying what was left of that church.  I began to realize I was losing hope.  I spent more hours weeping in my study than preparing for Sunday worship.  My heart had more cracks than wood left in the desert sun for forty years.

A couple of men who were prayer warriors, and far above my pay-grade in spiritual warfare, recognized my empty fuel tank, and just happened to show up at the church one day around lunch time.  They would not take “no” for an answer, loaded the weary preacher in the back seat of the car, and carted me off for a two-hour lunch and time of prayer.  It didn’t solve the problems of that church (which took another two decades to finally close the front doors), but it lifted this man from the abyss! 

Those two could have been on the golf course, or tending to some need of their own; they chose to push the delirium of my personal faith crisis to a front row seat.  They helped me face the reality of a quagmire I’d allowed to overshadow and swallow my faith.  On that sunny Florida afternoon I received no epiphany of knowledge – and, truth be told, I didn’t need any more facts, or opinions about strategy, or just head knowledge – I got much better than any lesson.  What still stuns me from that afternoon has nothing to do with what I ate for lunch.  Or what was prayed.  Or who drove, or which car it was.  The memory I carry deep within is how much I was being loved. 

For You Today  

The fact of the quagmire with which you struggle, that deep, boggy, wet-mud that wants to drag your faith into oblivion, is part of the structure of your being’s core.  You were born with a sin nature that has endured many storms and parched moments.  You don’t know how it could be, that Jude could believe you will be presented to Christ without flaw.  But it’s even better than you hoped. 

That whole group of believers you gather with at church on Sunday – God has prepared them for you, and you for them…to be carpenter’s glue to all your woody cracks and flaws.  He’s building a masterpiece of an heirloom out of your life.  You are loved by Him, through them.  You go cooperate with Him in that!

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: 

       Living in a War Zone   and   Chained Like Angels

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^©   

What if...?

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

What if the Lord had not been on our side?  Let all Israel repeat:  What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us?  They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger.  The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us.  Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.  Praise the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart!  We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap.  The trap is broken, and we are free!  Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  Psalm 124:1-8

I think Advent is my kind of season.  As an introspective sort, I naturally turn towards the inner self, thinking, evaluating, wondering, and (too-often) overthinking!  But, it is what it is; we are hardwired one way or another.

As much trouble as I can get into by keeping my mouth closed, and mind working, and, therefore open to criticism of being moody, or uncaring, I do sense I stay out of trouble more that way than the other.  Two sayings come to mind:

1.    Open mouth, insert foot…and

2.    Better to keep mouth closed and be thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove all doubt.

Advent was built with the thinker in mind.  To relfect is to consider deeply about what you’re doing, or what happened, or, perhaps most importantly, what’s coming.  In the Christian life, there is no larger consideration upon which to reflect than that last one…what’s coming is Jesus!

The “thinker” of Psalm 124 does all three:

He looks back:  What if the Lord had not been on our side?  The result of life in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria would’ve been a catastrophe.  The blood would have run neck-deep to a horse for miles. 

He looks at what he does now in light of what happened:  The trap is broken, and we are free!  Freedom carries responsibility; the Psalmist doesn’t want to waste this gift of opportunity to reflect positively on God’s great kindness.

He looks very deeply at what’s coming:  Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  To consider every last nook and cranny of creation takes a long time.  Somehow, the sober moment of escaping the tragedy of an enemy attack, has driven this thoughtful one to remember not only where he (and all Israel) would be without God’s divine favor and grace, but resolve to trust in no other strength, save the lovingkindness of JHWH, Jehovah-Jirah, the God who is I Am.

For You Today  

There is enough emotion at this time of year.  Hallmark sees to that detail.  For believers, it is a time to think, carefully, deeply, and with the very-pointed purpose of engaging where we’ve been, what we’re doing, and what’s coming. 

Advent is the stuff of life time.  What hangs in the balance for you and me is to either being engulfed by this world’s system, or released like a bird from a cage.  Prison of sin, or release to the Kingdom.  That’s Advent; that’s today!

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: 

       Rescue   and   Committing Advent

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^©   

 

Good News for a Weary Time

 

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees.  Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.  He is coming to save you.”  And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf.  The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!  Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.  The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.  Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.  Isaiah 35:3-7

We’re in the middle of Advent, a time for reflection and preparation.  At the first Advent it was a time of oppression.  Roman soldiers occupied Mary and Joseph’s country.  Taxes were high.  Government was a heavy hand, hard and capricious.  Mary was expecting her first child any moment.  Even at Mary’s tender age the exuberance of youth could be reduced to barely an ember.  Tired hands, weak knees, and, in Mary’s case, probably swollen ankles and backache were the stuff of every morning’s challenge.  And then came the tax decree that meant a week’s journey on the back of a donkey for a very pregnant girl.  Add that to the complications of pregnancy, and “weariness” just doesn’t begin to describe the difference between the darkness of Advent and the coming of the Day Star. 

Fast-forward a couple of millennia, and here we are on the post-side of two years’ pandemic-frenzy.  Heavy-handed and capricious government is still a reality.  Tired hands and weak knees are much the common experience.  And taxes?  Let’s not even go there!  That’s where the fearful hearts dwell too.  And Isaiah is still saying to us Be strong and do not fear…!    

And the normal response is, Lord, in your mercy.

Every time I think it’s safe to write (or even think) a phrase like winding-down, or, coming-to-a-close in connection with Coronavirus, there’s a new spike, or a new variant, or something else that stokes the flames of conflict and fear.  There is precious little rest for the weary, and little hope for any sense of normalcy in this world.  This old man’s heart aches for the groaning of our children and theirs, and for the children of Adam and Eve around the world.  This Advent is little more than waiting and whistling in the darkness.

And Isaiah still says the blind and deaf will have working eyes and ears; the lame will leap, and the mute shall sing; the springs will become rivers, and the echo of all-is-lost will fade into the distance like the memory of childbirth’s pain.  And it will be because our God is coming for us.  And anyone with a modicum of sanity understands that this world cannot sustain if He doesn’t.

And doesn’t that describe the waiting angst of Advent?  It’s not about Christmas trees, twinkling lights, and candy canes.  Salvation is not simply a one-and-done trip to the altar, or getting your name added to a church roster.  It’s not a matter of subscribing to this progressive doctrine, or that traditional dogma; salvation is the strength of the Creator, condescending to distribute His blood over our sins, and the Divine mingling with our souls.  It is taking away the burden of our selfishness and offering us a strong right hand of joy in exchange.

Advent is waiting for Emmanuel…that God with us.

For You Today

Emmanuel…kinda makes the wait worthwhile; don’t you think?

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

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

For another post on this text see the WORLD UPSIDE DOWN

Consider the Rock

 

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Isaiah 51:1-3

“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance—all who seek the Lord!  Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined.  Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation.  Abraham was only one man when I called him.  But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.”  The Lord will comfort Israel again and have pity on her ruins.  Her desert will blossom like Eden, her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord.  Joy and gladness will be found there.  Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.

Remembering from whence we came is, at once, the greatest blessing and bane humans enjoy and endure.  When we recall our sinfulness, willful and self-destructive, we must endure its shame.  When we recall our humble entrance into this world, small, and totally dependant on the kindness of our parents, we gain the perspective of dust; lowly we began, and we are bound for it again.

God points out to the enslaved nation of Israel, losers in war and captives again, that both their sin and their Savior are attached together.  The God who used Israel’s enemy to awaken them to their sinful ways would also be their Savior, bringing greatness out of brokenness, once again.

This is a thought that occupies my mind and soul these days.  And not just for America; we are only a few days away from the July 4^th anniversary of our nation’s birthday, but this is not patriotic nationalism.  This is about humanity’s survival.

God’s promises are at least two things:

          1.     They are certain…what God promises, God brings to pass

          2.     They are misunderstood, and misrepresented…just turn on the TV and see the commercials during religious programming. 

Isaiah says God promises joy that will replace the ruins of a disgraced superpower.  In so-doing the prophet invites the beleagured nation to consider the rock from which they were cut; he holds up their humble beginnings for examination. 

It was to an old couples’ childless vacuum God promised an heir, the firstborn of a nation, to be numbered as the grains of sand on the beaches.  To Sarah, 90 years old, and her 100 year old husband, Abraham, there was given a birth, and beginning of fulfillment.  What was once the emptiness of no evidence of God’s promised blessing, is now breathing, cooing, nursing, and filling diapers in a geriatric couple’s tent.  Amazement, laughter, and joy have replaced sad resignation.  Singing and dancing are the new order of the day.  Humble beginnings in Abraham’s tent now shows the flower of spring in the garden of hope.

But, it also began a rough ride. 

Abraham’s family has known what every other family on earth has experienced, treachery, jealousy, hypocrisy, poverty, oppression, tears, joy, singing, parched times, and good.  And, eventually, the fruit of God’s promise came to a cradle in Bethlehem, born a child with no earthly father, but nonetheless a part of Abraham’s lineage.  This is the centerpiece of God’s creation, understood from before the foundation of the universe, that the promise of restoration is carved from the bedrock of Yahweh’s strength.

And, here we are, muddled in such deep and abstruse mysteries, such as whether or not to wear a face mask in WalMart.  And we have deep pain over the shortage of toilet paper.  And on, and on, ad nauseum.  We are drowning in the proverbial puddle of plague-concern at the moment, with all sense of normalcy on-hold, except for the incessant droning of the news channels counting the dead. 

All this…and it is substantial…is momentary.  God is forever; and we have been mined from His quarry, not some primordial pond of protoezoa.  We are made in His image, and, blurred and muddied as that image is in 2020, we remain the apple of His eye[1], His crown of creation[2], and as much as we might feel as depressed and forgotten as Abraham and Sarah, the promises of God never fail.

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, we are thankful that the promise of Your word will never return to You unaccomplished.  What You set out to do is already done.  Prime our faith to receive this truth, we pray, in the name of Your holy child, Jesus.

For You Today

If the “virus culture” of this moment has you a little (or a lot) depressed or bewildered, don’t let the mud puddle claim another victim; just lift your head to look at the rock from which you were cut!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

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

For other posts on God’s Promises see After the Storm – Part 2 and Why God Got Some Ink

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[1] Zechariah 2:8

[2] Genesis 1:28

Rescue

[1]

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.  A psalm of David.

What if the Lord had not been on our side?  Let all Israel repeat:
What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us?  They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger.  The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us.  Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.  Praise the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart!  We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap.  The trap is broken, and we are free!  Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  Psalm 124:1-8

Steven Spielberg made multiple billions with the narrow rescue theme.  Indiana Jones is a prime example.  The Archaeologist/Adventurer is in search of yet another priceless relic.  Jones’ archenemy, the greedy bad guy takes evil pleasure in the thought of grabbing the prize first AND eliminating his competition.  Dr. Jones is beaten, bound, and thrown into a snake pit (snakes; snakes; why did it have to be snakes?) With the bad guy looking down on the vanquished Dr. Jones, he smiles and seals the entrance.  But, in just a few minutes, jumping heroically from one crumbling rock formation to another, Indiana narrowly escapes for the 1,282^nd time in fourteen minutes; it’s a new record, and totally believable (wink, wink).

Most of the action and adventure movies ever made ought to have Psalm 124 as a footnote on their scripts. 

As entertaining as escapism is, (pardon the pun), it works against living in reality.  Super-powers aside, like the invincibility of characters in a video game where you kill fifty attackers per minute, and if they get you before you get to the next level, you just boot-up and go again – well, pardon my cynicism, but where was Indiana Jones on September 11, 2001?  Why are there untold millions of war-dead lying in graves, along with millions more – victims of earthquakes, storms, terrorists and other, deranged and deluded aggressors, prodded by evil to bring pain, heartache, destruction and loss?

And yet, there are those inscrutable rescues which do occur.  I believe everyone gets at least a few in a lifetime.  There’s that familiar close call on the Interstate, where you thought you weren’t going to make it.  Or that time you lost control in the snow or rain.  That time you thought you were going to get fired, and the reason the boss called you in was to tell you about your new raise or promotion.  And what about that ominous message the doctor’s office left to please call back the minute you get this message? 

David knew exactly how you felt at those times.  King Saul was once David’s friend and benefactor; now he was the pursuing enemy.  King Saul, had hounded David out of Jerusalem, chased him so ferociously he had to hide out with the wild animals in caves.  And by the skin of his teeth, David was rescued, and wound-up on King Saul’s throne. 

So, what’s the connection with Indiana Jones here?  Drama…evil lurking in the background…certain destruction looming like Mt. Everest dead ahead.  But the difference between a Harrison Ford movie and the chronicles of David, King of Israel, is that which happened after the drama.  For Indiana Jones the credits rolled on the screen, and the movie faded to black; everyone left the theatre!   

But David didn’t just survive; David’s survival and the remainder of his life were spent remembering God’s great preservation of life.  It was spent exploring the truth of God’s way as opposed to fairy tales.  He spent his days living his life in thanks to the God Who had saved him and granted him real life in an eternal kingdom!

For You Today

There are times when we all forget what God has done for us.  And we also forget the untold numbers of times God has preserved us when we didn’t even know it.  The word today is  don’t forget…continue to remember and be thankful! 

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

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com     Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©

Friends

[1]

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.  Proverbs 17:17(NLT)

Everybody needs friends, especially in times of trouble.  Reece Elliot was my next-door neighbor; he was also a friend.  Reece was a decade or so older than I am, and we only met a few years before he retired.  He passed several years ago, but not before he taught me some important stuff.

We had some great times taking a break from mowing on Fridays.  Whenever our mowers happened to be near our common property line at the same time, there was this shady spot under the oak tree between our houses…and the mowers would silence for a 20-minute catch-up time.  It was a convenient place where the wives (domestic supervisors) couldn’t see how much down time was occurring when chores needed doing.

One Friday morning, about a dozen or so years ago, I climbed up on my roof to clear some debris, and, in true Russell fashion, taking the last step to get on top of the house, I managed to knock over the ladder; jumping down was not an option, so I was trapped.  It was only about nine o’clock, but it was already hot in the August sunshine on that roof.  I looked at the situation like Google Earth, 360° from above, and saw nobody!  I figured I was going to cook like a fried egg on that hot shingle frying pan until Elizabeth got home from work that afternoon.

Then I heard the mower; Reece was on the job.  Friday morning was always mowing day; thank goodness for people of habit!  As my neighbor rounded the house I realized my rescue was not going to be all that simple.  Reece was at least as hard of hearing as I am, and the John Deere diesel mower made quite a bit of noise.  I yelled and yelled, bellowing out Reece’s name…but all to no avail.  All I could hope for was one of those shade tree break times.

About 20 minutes into my neighbor’s mowing my opportunity arrived as Reece shut down the mower to wipe his brow and get a drink.  As I shouted his name, he looked around, wondering.  Several more times I shouted before Reece looked in my direction, but still towards the ground.  “Up here, neighbor”!  Reece looked up, shielding his eyes from the white-hot morning sun and said,

“Preacher?  Preacher; what’re ya doin’ up thar?” 

In my native Yankee makeup sarcasm comes out when I’m frustrated.  “I’m having a tea party, and you’re invited; what do you think I’m doing up here, calling your name for the last half hour?  I knocked over my ladder and can’t get down!” 

“Well, preacher, why’d ya do that?” 

“Oh, I don’t know…it’s a nice day; thought I’d sit up here for an hour or twelve.”

Then came the grin, a pause, while Reece looked down at the ground to consider his next move, and he lifted his hand in a wave, while he said: “Well, be careful up thar, preacher; don’t do nothin’ stupid.  See ya later.”  And with that he started the John Deere and proceeded to mow the lawn, while the preacher on the perch shouted, “NO…wait…come BACK, come BAAACK!”. 

Reece almost made it to the end of his yard before his bouncing on the mower was more than just going over the bumps, he was laughing so hard I thought he’d fall off the John Deere. 

As consternation melted into feeling really foolish, it became impossible not to join in with Reece laughing at the situation, and the way my neighbor friend brought some humor to this otherwise frustrating start to my day off.

Everybody needs a friend like Reece.

For You Today

It’s true that everybody needs a friend like Reece.  But, perhaps even more importantly, everybody needs to BE a friend like Reece.

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

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com