God's Handful

 

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

This is what the Lord said to me:  “Go and buy a clay jar.  Then ask some of the leaders of the people and of the priests to follow you.  Go out through the Gate of Broken Pots to the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and give them this message.  Say to them, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says:  I will bring a terrible disaster on this place, and the ears of those who hear about it will ring!  “‘For Israel has forsaken me and turned this valley into a place of wickedness.  The people burn incense to foreign gods—idols never before acknowledged by this generation, by their ancestors, or by the kings of Judah.  And they have filled this place with the blood of innocent children.  They have built pagan shrines to Baal, and there they burn their sons as sacrifices to Baal.  I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing!  So beware, for the time is coming, says the Lord, when this garbage dump will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.  “‘For I will upset the careful plans of Judah and Jerusalem.  I will allow the people to be slaughtered by invading armies, and I will leave their dead bodies as food for the vultures and wild animals.  I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, making it a monument to their stupidity.  All who pass by will be astonished and will gasp at the destruction they see there.  I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone.  Then those trapped inside will eat their own sons and daughters and friends.  They will be driven to utter despair.’  Jeremiah 19:1-9

Jeremiah certainly did not soften his words when he delivered God’s message of doom to Jerusalem’s ruling highbrows.  And why should he?  Jeremiah said the leaders of Judah and Israel’s downward spiral, away from God, would have a ringing-in-their-ears over God’s judgment for gross, eyes-open-wide sin.  That kind of message should never be blunted; a death sentence is a grave matter (literally).

Anyone with even a small portion of decency in their soul who reads or hears these words of Jeremiah’s sermon could not mistake the connection with what is happening in 21^st century culture – particularly in America.  We have earned the name Jeremiah said would be Ben Hinnom’s new legacy:  The Valley of Slaughter.  

Respect for life hangs by the weakest of threads in the land.  Decency and modesty are up for grabs to the highest bidder in Hollywood.  There is so little credence given to decorum, and kindness.  We are a land of selfish entitlement, lasciviousness, and disingenuousness when it comes to even a nod towards God’s sovereignty.  It is surprising to me that our Godless culture is still standing.

Now, this is not to say there are no Godly people left on our planet; the Lord always has a remnant who serve Him well.  That said, we must recognize that the days of Noah are upon us.  Those who faithfully serve God’s will are in a pitiful miniority.  There is coming a time, perhaps in my lifetime, perhaps in the next generation, but certainly a time of God’s own choosing…that the bill for thumbing America’s collective nose at God’s laws from the bedroom to the boardroom and big screen will come due.  The bankruptcy of our unrighteousness will be upon us!

For You Today

If you will serve God’s bidding these days, you’ll be branded a throw-back to Queen Victoria’s day, a prude, or do-gooder.  If you get labeled that way, wear it well; God’s handful of a remnant are the apple of His eye!

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: 

Ambush and Consider the Rock

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

The Surrendered LIfe

 

Friday, July 24, 2020

Your laws are wonderful.  No wonder I obey them!  The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.  I pant with expectation, longing for your commands.  Come and show me your mercy, as you do for all who love your name.  Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.  Psalm 119:129-133

As Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill was an inspiring leader through the nightmare of World War II.  In a speech to his alma mater, he advised the students to neither give up or give in.  With apologies to Mr. Churchill’s memory, that is precisely what we were all created to do…surrender!

Admittedly, Mr. Churchill was rightly advising the graduates to persevere through difficulties, such as the temptation to give in to something dishonorable, or the threat of an unconscionable monster like Adolph Hitler.  The kind of surrender to which our Psalm writer advocates is our human will and it’s allegiance to God’s will.  The Psalmist (probably King David) had learned the importance of living the surrendered life by faith, and also by the unfortunate experience of not standing by his faith.  David had given in to temptation, sinned greatly against God, and, because he surrendered to God’s sovereignty, had been forgiven and restored by God’s grace. 

About this whole business of our stubborn will, and how the surrender of it to God avails us of the solution to eternity’s biggest fear and penalty, is one of the most perplexing of human mysteries.  This conundrum of human bent to self-destruction is, at once, a universal flaw in our souls, and a startling field of self-discovery; when we realize how lost we are without God, the light bulb switches on, and we then have the choice of doors to walk through to our solution.  Some choose the door of surrender, the rest choose death. 

In some (small) way I understand my own heart as to why we participate in the foolishness of resisting God’s grace.  As a young teen I sensed God’s sovereignty, and how I was accountable for my actions.  I ran from that sense of culpability, just as Adam and Eve attempted to hide their sins behind fig leaves. 

What is absurd so about that is how, having heard many sermons, and personally read the Scriptures that show God to be merciful and forgiving, I still wanted independence; my will was MY will, and even a benevolent, forgiving, gracious God wasn’t going to have that.  I was the proverbial two year old, holding my toy, tight-fisted, independent, self-centered.  Aren’t we all[1]?

In my case, the teenage rebellion ran its course before I turned 30, and that independence lost a good bit of luster under the load of emptiness I’d amassed in my soul.  It finally became clear that surrender to God’s offer of forgiveness was the only hope left for one of God’s creatures who had gotten himself horribly out of the place where God’s image had once been.  It was an empty place Russell had tried to fill with a career, family, experiences and stuff.  None of that could take the place of a God that can fill your heart with love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, and every other kind of good, fulfilling life-giving hope!

So, I surrendered.  And God was good to His promise.  He still is.

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, many of us have had that same experience, trying to hold you at arm’s length, just because our pride makes us stubborn.  For those who have joined you in total surrender, they know Your kindness, and the joy of a heart filled with light and purpose.  For those who still resist, may the emptiness drive them to the only home they were created for…Your arms!

For You Today

If you’ve discovered the surrendered life, you know the joy; if you haven’t, give us a call and let’s talk about it.  There’s good stuff waiting for you on the other side of the Amen!

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 sharing the this text:  John Wesley; Homo Unius Libri and Rivers of Tears

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[1] Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

   Romans 3:23   For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.