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!

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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^©   

How Can This Be?

Thursday, September 28, 2023

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.  After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus.  “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us.  Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”  Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”  “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”  Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.  Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.  So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it wants.  Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”  “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.  John 3:1-9

How can it be?  I would imagine if you told someone unfamiliar with American history that a back-woods, self-educated country boy in 1860 would be elected President of the United States, that visitor would wonder How can this be?  If you told a man two hundred years ago that in the future people would get in a big silver colored coach in New York and sail through the air at 500 miles an hour, landing safely in Los Angeles just six hours later, he’d say How can this be?  And if you told anyone living in Paris a hundred years ago that jingling, vibrating in that person’s back pocket would be Grandma calling him from Idaho in the States, and by pressing a button you’d see her, talk to her, and make plans to meet the next day for lunch in New Mexico, they would not only ask How can this be…they’d also arrange for you to meet the gatekeeper at the psych-ward.

That was the question of the evening for Jesus.  Nicodemus asked him how can a man go through the birth canal a second time?  I can imagine Jesus smiling and chuckling over that one.  But then it got serious.  Jesus was talking to a man of age, not a schoolboy, a man of great learning, you didn’t get to be a Pharisee, and a leader of Israel without intense study…and he was talking to a man of enormous influence, a respected teacher of Scripture.  Jesus told him to take all his age and life experience, all his study and certificates, and all his leadership awards honorary degrees and….dump ‘em…begin again…start over![1] 

As a person mid-way through the eighth-decade of life, I groaned when I heard those words in my mind and heart, just as assuredly as Nicodemus must have looked for the nearest exit.  How can you spend your life studying about God, teaching about God, serving God, and loving God….and then just dump all that life experience to start over?  And what does that even mean?

Then it clicked-in.

When you count on all you’ve seen…all you’ve experienced…all you’ve done, written, and the way people have said Good Job, man…that’s what you’ve got; you’ve got YOU in the center of the stage in Congratulatory Hall accepting awards and stars on your crown.  Suddenly God’s not in focus…you are!  That’s what Jesus was telling Nicodemus.  Or me.  Or you.

For You Today 

Today, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve lived the most perfectly acceptable successful life, done everything right, or if you’ve wasted every second and breath you’ve been given.  What matters is who is being worshipped right this moment.  In what Kingdom do you live, breathe, and have your being?  Who sits on the throne of your heart?

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 The Chosen via Wikimedia                      

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

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[1] This thought comes from Dr. John MacArthur’s Grace to You broadcast, September 27, 2023

Sovereign

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

“From eternity to eternity I am God.  No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.  No one can undo what I have done.”  Isaiah 43:13

Once one gets past the sophomoric notion of atheism, to admit there IS a divine Creator, one must grapple with a supremely-challenging dilemma of IF that divine One is truly in charge…and to what degree.  Is God sovereign, or are there some things he cannot (or chooses not) to touch?  And if He truly is “in charge” of everything, why is the world in such a mess?

If one has the temerity to affirm God is Sovereign (as Isaiah wrote), the final question surrounding humankind’s response to a sovereign God is two-fold:  What does that look like, and how should I live now that I know that?

In my limited experience as a human being, and a believer in the sovereignty of God, in nearly 50 years of theological thinking, writing, preaching, and pastoral ministry, I have never been able to fully articulate in a single sentence the answer to that question…until yesterday, when a Facebook friend re-posted a prayer from a friend’s page:

It took me just a moment to read it, and pass it off as simply another superficial stab at teaching a child to pray.  I continued scrolling through the endless and mostly inane trivia of social media, but the thought of that sentence would not fade to the background  Then the depth of faith contained in this one sentence scratched its’ way to the surface of my tired mind and shouted:  Listen, Russell; you’re never going to need more in life, or My Kingdom than this.  This is what living in My Kingdom is like; this is how you bow before Sovereign Lord.

I’m not one given to hearing God audibly, or seeing a message behind every bush or cute thing my dog does, but this one sentence about how to go about greeting God every morning of my life makes more sense than all the combined drivel you can find in self-help speeches and books; this is placing 100% of all the trust I can ever muster in God’s care for me. 

Fix me when I’m the problem – is taking the humble knee, admitting I’m broken enough to need fixing

Protect me when I’m not the problem – is admitting I’m going to move on in God’s strength, speaking up for loving justice, doing mercy, and walking humbly with God[1], because my strength isn’t enough for this messy life…I need Him to have my back.

·       This is taking my stand on the only hill I’ve ever truly needed to die on. 

·       This is how you take up the cross and follow the One who died for you. 

·       It is the bottom line of the call. 

For You Today 

Want to know how to walk in God’s presence?  Let your heart pray:

Sovereign Lord, fix me and protect me as I walk with You today!

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:  via WikimediaCommons   Images without citation are in public domain.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.Micah 6:8

Faith Birthing More Faith

Monday, August 21, 2023

The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the Lord had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.  At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid.  One day the girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria.  He would heal him of his leprosy.”  

So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house.  But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River.  Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.”  But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me!  Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel?  Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage.  But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it?  So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’”  So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him.  And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed!  2 Kings 5:1-3, 9-14

This is one of those favorites in Scripture, because it has one of the most dramatic illustrations (on so many levels) of the purity and exceptional nature of faith. 

First, the servant girl, who expresses love for the master who owns her.  In compassion she wishes aloud her master would go to Elisha to be healed.  Naaman acts in faith that is clouded with expectations of a grand show of magical powers, but the prophet won’t even answer the door; he sends a servant to tell the sick man to exercise a more profound faith…go dip in the Jordan seven times! 

When Naaman’s expectations are ignored, he gets angry and, in his rage, wants to take his ball and go home.  But his servants convince him with logic…you wanted a grand show, and you got a simple request:  If it was some hard thing, you’d have done it…what’s a little dip in the muddy waters?  Naaman caves, and the healing evidence becomes history!

I love this account of Naaman’s healing because it is our story of faith in Christ.  Sin in the soul is immeasurably more damning than leprosy in the flesh.  Leprosy can kill only a temporary skin-and-bone body; sin in our immortal soul condemns our eternal being to a never-ending separation from God. 

We are all Naaman…confronted with our sinful ways, we’re faced with the decision to have faith in God by trusting in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins, or remain rotting in our chosen sinful ways. 

For You Today 

You have a choice to make, much like Naaman.  Apostle Matthew records the exact words of Jesus about this eternally-significant choice:

Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul.  Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  

Matthew 10:28

Hardly any advice needed on this, simply an invitation:  trust Christ now, and be forever thankful for His gift of eternal life.

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:  via WikimediaCommons   Images without citation are in public domain.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Access Point

Monday, August 7, 2023

I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God.  Bend down and listen as I pray.  Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways.  By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies.  Psalm 17:6-7

Prayer is something like a house with only one access point, the door that admits a person into the presence of God.  In these two verses there are four bitting cuts (like the ridges of a key which align with a lock’s notches to open the door).

  King David’s prayer is a model no believer ought to forget.  Without these cuts no prayer will align with God’s requirements…the access point will remain closed.

Bit-Cut #1 – I know you will answer

Faith is trusting that God does hear and answer; apostle James understood this:

But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.  James 1:6

Faith isn’t arrogance or knowing the magic combinations of words (your own words are always better…right from the heart and soul).

Bit-Cut #2 – Bend down

Asking God to “bend down” to hear you is an acknowledgement of your position relative to God’s.  He is the enthroned one.  Isaiah gives us this picture:

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.  Isaiah 6:1^(KJV)

“High and lifted up” is where God resides.  Our prayer access point won’t open if we approach God as equal; all facts are to the contrary.  God is eternal, creator of the universe, all powerful, and holy.  We are below that; way below that.

Bit-Cut #3 – Unfailing love

The Hebrew word for God’s “unfailing love” is chesed.  In other parts of Scripture the word is translated as lovingkindness, or mercy.  The primary thought is of God’s covenant love, the love he showed to Abraham in blessing him for his obedience.  This is the “unfailing” love of which David writes…the response of God to anyone who withholds nothing from God.  Apostle James explains:

Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see, his faith and his actions worked together.  His actions made his faith complete.  James 2:21-22

Bit-Cut #4 – Surrender to the rescue

King David recognized it is God’s mighty power that rescues those who acknowledge God’s sovereignty in this universe.  This is a matter of trusting God no matter what the circumstances seem to dictate.  It is placing faith in Him alone, rather than any other sources of supposed strength you may have considered or leaned-upon in the past.  God gave Solomon this thought to pass on to us about surrendering to God’s rescuing blessings:

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 

God’s covenant love was best expressed in Jesus Christ.  Jesus told his disciples there wasn’t anything he would withhold from them if they asked in his name.[1]  That’s the access point – not a magic formula, simply a fact.  To ask in his name, is to have all the “bitting cuts” in place:  faith He will answer, faith in His strength, faith in His mercy, and surrendering all to His will.

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 Devotions library.  

 

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com 

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

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[1] John 14:13