Mary's Song and God's Glory

Friday, December 23, 2022

Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.  How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!  For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.  For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me.  He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.  His mighty arm has done tremendous things!  He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.  He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble.  He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.  He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful.  For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”  Luke 1:46-55

There is something of an idyllic impression which persists about Mary, the teen virgin;  she is untouched, and therefore “perfect”.  That is not supported in Scripture.  In fact, Scripture goes to great lengths to debunk that notion.  Old Testament prophet, Isaiah pointed to the universality of human sin:

We are all infected and impure with sin.  When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.  Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.  Isaiah 64:6

New Testament apostle Paul reaffirmed total human depravity:

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:10, 23

If all that falls short of convincing, even Jesus said it plainly:

“Only God is truly good.  Mark 10:18

What is untainted in Mary’s case is not sinlessness of the vessel, but the immaculateness of conception…the fact that Jesus had no earthly father.  Mary was simply the host chosen by God to participate in God’s plan.  It was a miracle that she became pregnant, sidestepping the order of things in the natural, or biological sense.  But there was no circumventing the spiritual order of things; Mary was a human, born of a lengthy line of sinners, stretching back to Adam.  It’s often made note of Mary’s (and therefore Jesus’) family heritage, which included harlots (Rahab), and conspirators in murder (King David).  For God to choose Mary, it was the love of God for all humanity, laying aside the prerogatives of deity, choosing mercy and forgiveness to offer holiness to undeserving humankind.  It was nothing less, or more, than grace

It is no wonder Mary sang a song of blessing; even as a human, especially another sinful human like you or me, she could see she wasn’t worthy, except for the gracious love of God wrapping holy arms around her life.  She was overwhelmed by kindness and joy.

For You Today  

We have an immediate identity with Mary.  She wasn’t naïve enough to imagine she was beginning a road-trip paved with rose petals and sunshine; her position was dangerous and swimming upstream all the way.  Her “blessedness” (which we only see from this side of the story) is that she would be overshadowed by the glory it would bring to God. 

Mary’s story, God’s glory, our choice to follow.  True disciples of Jesus Christ can never be bored with hum-drum lives; it’s a path like no other.

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

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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: 

   Highly Favored   and   Mary's Song; Our Song

Images:  Title Annunciazione by DaVinci via 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^©   

Creation & Awe

 

Monday, June 1, 2020

Psalm 104:24-34

O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!  In wisdom you have made them all.  The earth is full of your creatures.  Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small.  See the ships sailing along, and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea.  They all depend on you to give them food as they need it.  When you supply it, they gather it.  You open your hand to feed them, and they are richly satisfied.  But if you turn away from them, they panic.  When you take away their breath, they die and turn again to dust.  When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew the face of the earth.  May the glory of the Lord continue forever!  The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!  The earth trembles at his glance; the mountains smoke at his touch.  I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.  I will praise my God to my last breath!  May all my thoughts be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.

This passage moves from the general to specific.  The Psalmist begins with the vast diversity of God’s creation (what a variety of things you have made) to the prayer of a specific man for what God has done.  It is nothing more or less than the fundamental essence of worship; we see what God has done, and awe pours forth!

Click picture to view on Youtube

Whales are monstrously huge.  I’ve never been up close enough to touch one, but you can’t watch the nature channel without getting that perspective.  Sooner or later you’ll see someone swimming alongside Leviathan (literally, the sea monster).  Even on a TV screen you get the sense of being next to a wall that’s breathing.  And yet, says the Psalmist, this moving skyscraper is made to play in the sea.  Frankly, when I think of whales, my mind immediately goes to Moby Dick, harpoons, and ships full of blubber and oil; I don’t easily associate playfulness with whales.  But God has put that in all his creatures, even the scariest of them (to us).

The Psalmist’s reaction to the awe he obviously felt while considering God’s creative power and majesty is a reminder of the slippery slope to which we can fall victim, if we are not prudently watchful over our emotions and senses.  It is a small leap (but a very costly one) to begin to worship creation itself, rather than be in awe of the creation and maintain the focus on Creator. 

The Apostle Paul shows us that God considers that sinful, a break with trust in God, and leading to all sorts of mayhem to the soul and spirit of man, for which God had much different, and better plans.

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.  They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.  For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky.  Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse for not knowing God.  Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks.  And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like.  As a result, their minds became dark and confused.  Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.  And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.  So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired.  As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.  They traded the truth about God for a lie.  So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.  Romans 1:18-25

Let’s Pray Together

Father, God, our hearts, minds, soul, and spirit are always touched by the majesty of what You have created.  Help us to keep our very beings focused on the Who of creation, more than the What of creation.

For You Today

Creation invokes awe, but our Creator is the source of both the created realm and the awe it inspires.  Don’t make an idol of what you can see; God, after all, is Who created even your eyes!

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 another post on Psalm 104:24-34 see Reason to Rejoice and for “Worship” as a theme see gods or God?                             See the whale video HERE

Seven Spirits of God

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Monday, May 28, 2018

Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast.  The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.”  And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.  The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian.  And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.  Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them.  They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads.  From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder.  And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames.  This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.  In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.  In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back.  The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.  Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out.  Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
    the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”  Revelation 4:1-8^NLT)

Sevenfold Spirit of God, four flying beings, their wings covered with eyes and an unending worship service – this is the imagery of a Stephen King movie! 

There is much about heaven of which we can only speculate.  God is, after all, mysterious and far above our pay grade to describe.  That being said, there are some bits and pieces we can string together to understand the multiple meanings passages such as this communicate.  Not the least of these messages is the holiness of God which is to be imposed upon God’s creation in the time to come.

John is given a vision of the throne room and the glory of God surrounding and filling the entire space.  There are elders – representative of the ancient twelve tribes, and the New Covenant Apostles.  These are gathered around the throne while the choir four living beings with ferocious animal-like faces, and eye-covered wings, encircle the whole scene with glorious and unending praise to Yahweh, enternal God, flanked by seven torches, the sevenfold light of God’s eternal Spirit, flashing, rumbling like thunder, with the chorus chanted over and over:  Holy, Holy, Holy!

Many have undertaken the explanation of God’s sevenfold Spirit.  Some of these interpretations include the 7 characteristics of God’s nature.  Others include the work of the Holy Spirit, some with allusions to the churches on earth. 

As to which of these (if any) are God’s intended, I only have impressions that are, as yet, unresolved.  I lean towards the character attributes, wisdom, honor, truth, and so forth.  Perhaps combinations or pieces of these explanations may be simple glimpses or perspectives of that which is indescribable in our present human condition…as I said previously…above our ability.

But those distinct impressions push me to join the choir.  Whatever this total scene in heaven portrays, what transcends to my mind is the holiness of God, and the centrality of all creation falling down in worship before Him.

Much of what we understand as our duty in the here and now, as we prepare for the then and there, is to learn to worship and praise God.  And when I read about that I realize my life as a follower of Christ is sifting me year after year, slowly conforming me into the image of the One who showed us the holy pattern of true life – worship.  It is times like this when it becomes agonizingly clear that my feeble attempts to lead worship are just that – woefully inadequate in the presence of almighty, eternal, living God.  If it were not for His condescension to enter a manger and hang on a cross, I would have no hope of surviving being within a million light years of the throne.  I think I’m beginning to understand how Peter felt when the vastness of Jesus dawned on him:

When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”  Luke 5:8^(NLT)

For You Today

Can we ever understand it all?  Maybe a better question is:  can we ever be bored in worship again?

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

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy Pixabay.com

To Cooperate (or NOT)

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Tuesday, December 5, 2017

After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor.  He gave a mighty shout:  “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!  She has become a home for demons.  She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal.  For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of her passionate immorality.  The kings of the world have committed adultery with her.  Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich.”  Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, “Come away from her, my people.  Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her.  

Revelation 18:1-4^(NLT)

Many times in Scripture we are urged to cooperate with fellow believers to do the work of the Kingdom of God.  Just as often we are warned to steer clear of alliances which drag us more into personal desires than Godliness.

Revelation is full of God’s judgments which fall on those who oppose Him.  In this passage we see final punishments falling on those who have let themselves become steeped in the passionate immorality of the age. 

It is a deep trap into which we fall when we attempt to minimize the seriousness of personal sin.  Scripture is very clear about this.  And in this passage of future judgment we see just how fiercely decisive the sword of punishment is for those who place personal gain over Godly compassion; even worse is the judgment that falls upon the heads of those who lead others into such sinful lifestyles.

The thought of judgment being more stringent for those who lead always brings a shudder to my soul.  As a pastor, even in a small membership congregation, the moment you open your mouth in teaching, preaching or leading in any way, the possibility of saying something that will affect someone else’s eternity looms large!  That being said, I am still thrilled to be a pastor, because the opportunity to effect change for good in someone’s life is just as much a possibility as leading one astray.  The two (human) dynamics in that mix are:

·       My faithfulness in preaching, teaching and leading in a Godly way

·       The Godly faithfulness of those who follow

Another aspect of this is on a grander scale in the human family – that of leadership of nations.  And Revelation is just as clear for what a national leader (and followers) do as it is for individuals.  National leaders that provoke the culture along a pathway that leaves righteousness, compassion, and Godly living fading into the rearview mirror are stockpiling riches for themselves in this world and an eternity of misery for the next.  I’ve often said I would never want to be president of any country.  The temptations associated with that much power are far above my pay grade.

For You Today

Your actions today are merely a teaspoon of water in a vast ocean of the deeds of humans throughout the world.  But even the smallest drop creates a ripple.  What effect will your ripples be in the life of another human being who crosses your path today?

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

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com