A Difficult Thing

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.  And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.”  But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!”  So they went down together to Bethel.  The group of prophets from Bethel came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”  “Of course I know,” Elisha answered. “But be quiet about it.”  Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Jericho.”  But Elisha replied again, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.”  So they went on together to Jericho.  Then the group of prophets from Jericho came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”  “Of course I know,” Elisha answered.  “But be quiet about it.”  Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to the Jordan River.”  But again Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.”  So they went on together.  Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River.  Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground!  When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.”  And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”  “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah replied.  “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request.  But if not, then you won’t.”  As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire.  It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.  Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!”  And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress.  Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up.  Then Elisha returned to the bank of the Jordan River.  He struck the water with Elijah’s cloak and cried out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”  Then the river divided, and Elisha went across.  When the group of prophets from Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed, “Elijah’s spirit rests upon Elisha!”  And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.  2 Kings 2:1-15

Elisha would not be separated from his mentor, Elijah.  That is so like Ruth clinging to Naomi, a fierce determination to faithfully serve what God has given you.  Three times Elijah told his protégé to wait behind; three times Elisha answers with his lifelong commitment to serve God by staying close to the shadow of Elijah.  In the end it was only a chariot on fire with Heaven’s glory that could separate them.

What do we make of this event, and its place in God’s Word to us?  If you’re dissecting the event to make sense of the miracles, or wondering what part the prophets of Bethel and Jericho play, or what kind of material it would take to produce Elijah’s miracle-generating robe…we’re likely placing more weight on the miracles than on the Giver of miracles.  The main sense I see in this whole account of Elijah’s last days is the shift of God’s work that falls on the shoulders of Elisha.  He asked for a double-share of the spirit of his teacher.  Elijah called it a difficult thing.  There are two ways to take that; either it was a tricky thing for Elijah to produce it for Elisha, or a double prophet’s portion would bring a very difficult life to Elisha.  Elijah left it all in God’s hands; if that was God’s will, Elisha would see it.

For You Today 

If you’ve sat at the feet of some Godly teacher(s), you have sensed something of what God wants to do with your life.  Dare you ask for a difficult thing?

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 via Wikimedia.org

Images without citation are in public domain.  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

The Root of Guilt

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves.  The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.  If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.  But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year.  For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  Hebrews 10:1-4

Taking away sins is indeed a tricky business.  We can hear the preacher say:  In the name of Christ, you are forgiven…and a nanosecond or two later we are having the same thoughts and desires that got us into the debt of our evil in the first place.  And the guilt starts a new cycle.  Our base problem (sin nature, courtesy of Adam) makes us (as the hymn-writer has it) prone to wander and we can no longer imagine we are forgiven than jump over the moon.

What’s not so tricky is understanding this about me.  Having spent the better part of 8 decades in this human skin of a life examining the insides of Russell, knowing just how crumbly human clay feet can be, and how permanently the scars of our sins can destroy our sense of peace, I have become acutely aware of how successfully guilt can rob us of everything powerfully-good in our daily lives.  The annual sacrifices at the Temple could do nothing to asuage a guilty conscience.  Something greater was required to get at the root of our guilt. 

Paul[1] later described for the Jewish tribes of believers how Jesus’ sacrifce was that something better to root out the assault our arch-enemy, Lucifer makes on our vulnerable conscience:

Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins.  But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time.  Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.  There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet.  For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.  

Hebrews 10:11-14

A careful reading of Paul’s explanation offers the subtle (but sure) difference between a clear conscience and overwhelming unrest in the soul.  It is the enemies of Christ that are destined for humbling punishment, not the friends!

To be a friend of Jesus means trusting him.  When we trust him with our future, our past is included in the forgiveness of all the sins we have done, or ever will do.  Jesus, the flawless friend is the fulfillment of the title, Best Friend Forever

…a real friend sticks closer than a brother.  Proverbs 18:24b

For You Today  

Somewhere during your walk with Christ, the enemy will whisper in your ear an accusation or two about stuff you shouldn’t have done, or stuff you should have done, but didn’t, or maybe the desire for something evil that you just didn’t get around to doing….yet!  Remind the serpent that when you repented of that sin, God forgave you, and God never lies.  Apostle Paul wrote that too:

Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true.  Romans 3:4b

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: 

A Clean Sweep, But Not Swept-Away  and  Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

Images:  Title Wikimedia Commons   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] Paul was more than likely the author of Hebrews according to many scholars.

Under His Wings

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  This I declare about the Lord:  He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.  For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.  He will cover you with his feathers.  He will shelter you with his wings.  His faithful promises are your armor and protection.  Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.  Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.  I will protect those who trust in my name.  When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble.  I will rescue and honor them.  I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”  Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

It is no wonder that, during difficult times, believers instinctively turn to the Psalms for comfort and assurance.  And, there are always difficult times; often it seems life is one long wrestling match with mountains.  If you’re not in a tough moment, you’ve just come out of one, and if you’ve been trouble-free for a good while, just hang-on, your old enemy will bring you a tempest soon enough!

The pure joy that floods my soul reading Psalm 91 is balm for whatever ails me.  Whether it is physical difficulties that the doctors can’t cure, financial shortfalls, a relationship on the rocks, or some spiritual malaise that has managed to worm its way into my life, and suck the joy right out of my bones, God’s assuring presence and power are just one surrendering-prayer from lifting me out of the depths.  It’s almost inexpressable how His Word cares for me.

The hymnwriters, no strangers when it comes to tough times, pen words and music that heal.  They’ve been, to my soul, master craftsmen of preaching God’s comfort and power through major and minor keys, meter, and rhyme.  One hymn that expresses so well the care God has for his children is Under His Wings.[1]

      Under His wings I am safely abiding;

Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him--I know He will keep me,
He has redeemed me and I am His child.

Refrain:
Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.

Under His wings, what a refuge in sorrow!
How the heart yearningly turns to His rest!
Often when earth has no balm for my healing,
There I find comfort, and there I am blessed. (Refrain)

Under His wings, O what precious enjoyment!
There will I hide till life’s trials are o’er;
Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me,
Resting in Jesus I’m safe evermore. (Refrain)

For You Today

Sheltered, protected, resting safe-evermore…nothing in this world can ever match that…and it’s free and assured in Christ Jesus for the child of God.

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: 

Under His Wings (2016) and "Mother" Nature

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

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[1] Under His Wings, Text:  William O. Cushing,    Music:  Ira D. Sankey, The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration, (Waco, Texas, Word Music, 1986) #356

Crown-Wearing

 

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   Philippians 2:9-11

Yesterday’s post[1] about Cross-bearing, and today’s topic of Crown-wearing are so connected we can see a syllogism that makes an eternity statement:

You will be crowned by Christ in Heaven

To the same degree you have crowned Him here on Earth.

Don't forget that the spiritual far outweighs the material or natural.  In the spiritual realm, things are always reversed from the way they were in the natural.  That which was high will be made low; the first shall be last. 

Following that sunbeam thought back to the source, we can also say that those who appear to be less than worthy of wearing a crown (here on earth) will be the very ones wearing them in Heaven.  Who are they?  They are all who have truly allowed their lives to be firmly rooted in Christ.  They are the disciples who only bow to the crucified, risen King of Glory, Jesus.  These are they, for whom nothing took higher priority than Christ-likeness.  They were, as Paul expressed, not conformed to the image of this world, but transformed in mind and thought by Christ to serve what pleases God, not self.[2]

If friends, or a family, church, or even a nation would be honored, in heaven, then Christ-likeness must be the goal, our target for life.  Hear the testimony of Scripture on the matter:

James, Jesus’ brother:

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.  James 1:12

John, the beloved disciple:

…the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever).  And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.  For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”  Revelation 4:10-11

Jesus, laying out the indisputable measuring stick: 

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.  Luke 9:23

Cross-Bearing and Crown-Wearing!

For You Today

Taking up the cross daily has a reward in Heaven.  Anticipating the crown, followers of Jesus will not be disappointed.  And neither will those who (sadly) choose to walk away from the cross to follow their own path.

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] April 27, 2022, Cross-Bearing

[2] Romans 12:2

Cross-Bearing

 

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.  Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.  Philippians 2:5-8

Paul’s words to the church reminds us that the man who died on Calvary wasn't like any other man; HE was God!  Paul said that Jesus made himself nothing.  One Bible translation uses the word emptied.  The picture is one of sacrifice. 

In the temple a sacrifice of an animal was made for sin.  The blood and water were poured on the altar, an emptying.  Like that picture, imagine God was in one form in heaven.  Like a glass contains water and can be emptied, so God poured Himself into the form of a man and died for us. 

Of course, Paul was looking back to what Jesus said about following – a disciple becomes just like the Master.  And what Jesus said about that was it would include the more sticky parts of that which Jesus was willing to do for others. 

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.  Luke 9:23

This should put to rest the notion that salvation and discipleship are handled neatly in a moment’s decision at the end of a church service.  Jesus said take up your cross DAILY!

W. E. Orchard wrote:  It may take a crucified church to take a crucified Christ before the eyes of the world.  If a person is to be Christ-like, it will be through cross-bearing.  So, what’s the definition of cross-bearing? 

·       Attending church worship services in our comfortable seats, in air-conditioned sanctuaries is not cross-bearing. 

·       Paying our tithes and giving offerings is not cross-bearing. 

·       Serving on committees, or showing up for workdays isn't cross-bearing. 

Those acts of worship and service, doing things for others, are not bad or a waste of time.  True disciples do all that…and much more.  But cross-bearing is beyond just being kind or helpful, or committed to routines or rituals…it is the attitude Paul said Jesus had, being willing to die for others…people who didn’t have a clue how much of a gift was coming their way…even the ones who shouted out crucify him, and the ones who engineered having him nailed to the cross. 

So, what about us…those of us who claim to follow Him as disciples?  Do we have the Christ-likeness to give ourselves up for poor people in our county?  How about people of different skin color?  What about the unchurched and uncaring?  What about the dirty street people?  Beloved, following the Master in true cross-bearing, emptying oneself for the sake of another, is a far cry from deciding to fry chicken for Homecoming this year! 

For You Today

If you’ve ever been challenged at this point of discipleship, to become a cross-bearing follower of Jesus, you’ve also asked the question:  WHY?  Aside from the obvious (response to His loving death on a cross for you), there is another, most personal reason.  It has to do with the result of cross-bearing. 

So, let me tease you into tomorrow’s devotion:

If cross-bearing is the decision, crown-wearing is the destination.

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^©   

Of Shows and Service

 

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee.  They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.”  Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.  Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory.  I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone.  But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.  Those who love their life in this world will lose it.  Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.  Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am.  And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.  “Now my soul is deeply troubled.  Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’?  But this is the very reason I came!  Father, bring glory to your name.”  Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.”  When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.  John 12:20-29

The Greeks who came for the Passover celebration in Jerusalem wanted to meet Jesus.  No doubt they’d heard the stir over his healing people, feeding people, and teaching that rattled the temple walls.  They were in town for the year’s biggest gathering, and, in true county fair circus mode, they certainly didn’t want to miss the biggest attraction.  For those who wanted to see it all and go back home with an autographed Scripture scroll, Jesus was the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Eiffel Tower, and Presidential inauguration – the sightseer’s musts on the to-do list!

If Jesus had been praying that prayer of holy week, O, Father, save me from drinking this cup, he might have been anxious to see these Greeks who made a special effort to meet him.  You know the way that happens – you’re facing an unpleasant event (putting the cross in a much milder category, mind you).  You’ve stepped-up your praying to “crisis mode”.  Two strangers tell your disciples they want to meet you.  Could this be the answer God is sending? 

The trouble with that scenario is our praying becomes a simple prologue to finding a way out of the discomfort, rather than a key to how God will be served.  That kind of prayer is more a knee-jerk reaction to the heat of the coming situation than a surrender to the will of God.  We wanted the show of a miracle, instead of the service of a disciple.

But Jesus wasn’t praying that way.  He was waiting for the signals of the Father’s movement so he could cooperate with the will of His Lord.  And when the movement winds started blowing, Jesus put the show on hold.  He held up the reality check…a seed comes to be dropped in the ground to bear a crop in the hundred-fold measure; it’s for sew, not show.

For You Today

You’ve faced (perhaps) many crises of faith since that first crisis of giving your heart to follow Christ.  Here, in holy week, we are reminded that whatever crisis we face, health, financial need, relational bumps, or worse, we are seeds-in-training; we’ve come to give our lives in whatever way the Master leads.

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

[1] Title image: Bing Images   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Sunrise in the Orange Grove

 

Monday, April 11, 2022

Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead.  A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor.  Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him.  Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair.  The house was filled with the fragrance.  But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages.  It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.”  Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.  Jesus replied, “Leave her alone.  She did this in preparation for my burial.  You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”  When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead.  Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.  John 12:1-11

When we moved back to Florida in early 1983 after attending seminary, the first church we served was in McIntosh.  There were no apple trees, but the neighboring little town was (appropriately) named Orange Lake.  There was a small lake, and the most northern stand of orange groves in Florida.  Easter sunrise service on April 3^rd was overlooking the lake, surrounded by orange trees; the overwhelming aroma was provided by sunrise and orange blossoms.

After 39 years the memory of that day has shards of scented snapshots:

·       a layman preaching to a gathered assembly of Presbyterians, Disciples, Methodists, Baptists, and the curious cultural seekers,

·       and the mud…a trail between the orange trees in full blossom, on a forty-degree morning. 

·       The faint whine of a portable generator powering a scratchy portable sound system, and

·       the fog concealing the lake next to the grove. 

But one of the pictures remains vivid and unwrinkled, it is how clearly the scent of orange blossoms in early spring covered the smell of diesel fumes from the tractor that hauled the flatbed trailer, upon which the gathered choir from 6 churches stood next to the squelching sound system. 

Many years prior a woman brought such a fragrance to the table, anointing Jesus’ feet, and, of all things, wiping those sacred feet with her hair.  And, many years later, on this morning, remembering the smell of orange blossoms in a town named for apples, the message of a savior, prepared for death by a seeker, offering the best she had.  And the fragrances conjoined – a sacrifice that lasts.

Past the cross and empty tomb, perhaps for weeks, wherever Mary went, that sweet aroma in her hair filled the rooms – a reminder of sacrifice and salvation, of offering and joy…the hair that wiped the savior’s feet still carried the unmistakable memory of God’s loving presence.

For You Today

You have memories, plenty of them.  If there are rememberances of simple joys, the smile, a caring lift to your day, an unexpected laugh, the kinds of things that inspired and intrigued you, draw on the these lingering fragrances.  And remember Mary’s hair, and the sweet odor of sacrifice.  It was very costly, and totally free…for you.

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^©