Fiery Trials

Monday, October 24, 2022

Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.  Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.  If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.  

1 Peter 4:12-14

It’s important to learn to stand against both big and little things the devil throws in our pathway; God's people have always had to do that.  There are enough false things out there to trip up any believer, from lunatic cults to nationalism-driven manipulative politicians from the far left or right. 

While there are all those spiritual traps Satan provides, there is also the reality that we are beings of the flesh as well.  Sometimes we are like the cartoon character, Pogo:  We have met the enemy, and he is us!  

God knows us; He knows our frame, that we are dust.  And so, God provides spiritual protection.  The apostle Paul called it the whole armor of God.[1]  If we will take it, and put it to the intended use, we will be successful in waging spiritual warfare.

Joe Lewis was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world.  He fought, 71 times; he lost only once.  During the fifteen years he held his title, he defended it 25 times. 

Bill Stern, the voice of American sports on radio interviewed the Brown Bomber toward the end of his career to find out the technique or secret that Lewis used in fighting his opponents, and how he could win over people who often were much larger than he.  His answer was very simple, I study my opponent, I plan my fight very carefully.  The results are always the same.  I'm never surprised and I stay on the offensive. 

That's pretty good counsel for dealing with the devil.  Satan wins many of his attacks and victories because he surprises us.  We continually live shocked.  The believer has no reason to be shocked, intimidated, or surprised by the attack of the enemy – none whatsoever. God has given us the armor and the battle plan to overcome his attacks. 

Like Joe Lewis we must never underestimate the enemy!  But with that, let me remind us all, that even the enemy’s worst fiery darts hurled at our lives cannot pierce the shield of faith; that is why God can promise us a blessing every time the world, flesh, or devil throws something else in our path.

For You Today

Take a deep breath, and invite God’s Spirit to have complete control in your day.  With that release of control, exhaled towards Heaven, the blessing of peace and God’s rest will descend on your head, like a crown you will wear with distinction and honor!

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: 

       Ears Open - Heart Straight - Eyes on the Road - Sure Foot   and   Between the Mountains

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

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[1] Read Ephesians 6:10-18

The DOG...in ME

 

Monday, January 3, 2022

When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes.  In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!  Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home.  And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.  Job 42:10-11

I recently read a version of a story that I’ve read (and experienced) many times.  The storyline goes like this:  Two dogs enter a room.  Later, one emerges growling like a wounded wolf, the other smiling like a contented puppy.  The question that sets-up the punch line is:  What, in the same room, could make one dog happy and another hopping mad?  Of course the punch line is…MIRRORS!  A dog may not have the sentient awareness to know he is looking at his own image, but he has the built-in radar to understand the danger or welcome signs he’s seeing.

It’s a short leap from a dog story to my story.  In a room full of mirrors that reflect my emotional state, political views, hurts, fears, joys, and all the other stuff that make up this dog called Russell, I’m going to bump into the real me.  And no matter what I may think of the critter I behold; he is what he is. 

The United States has, besides Russell, 332,915,072 others who have that same peculiarity…what we see in a mirror may make us mad or glad; it all depends on what we brought to the mirror.

Job was no different than Russell, or you, or any of the other 7.9 billion human critters on planet earth, past and present.  Job’s experience was pleasant at first.  He was rich, respected, and led a good life.  Looking in the mirror would not have been difficult.  Then it changed…hero became zero in an afternoon.  His family, riches, and comfort zone were taken down like a house of cards in a windstorm.  His “friends” finished the task with 40 chapters of telling him it was his own fault.

The end of Job’s life was better (by far) than the tale of woe.  But it’s been puzzling theologians, skeptics, and scoffers for as long as humans have breathed.  Why is it so that some dogs have so much to smile about, and others growl?  Job’s answer is not about what happens TO you, but how you respond to what has happened.  Notice that the Scripture tells us what Job did…he prayed for his friends.  The group that sat with Job, poking their fingers on Job’s sore spots, accusing him of some secret sins that brought the world of God’s judgment down on him…that’s the crew Job prayed God would forgive…and bless!

Did that sound familiar?  You may have heard it on a Sunday, or read it in the life of someone else who was in on the conversation with Job:

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.   But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.  For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.  If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.  Matthew 5:43-46

Jesus told his listeners (that’s US if we will hear) to do a tough thing; he told them to pray for those who persecute you…love them.  But who can do that?  I’m glad you asked; it’s only the dog who brings a smile to the mirror.  All the others will rip apart whatever’s in front of them…and be angry at the entire world for being so violent and harsh.

For You Today

What we see in a mirror is what we bring to the table.  A good piece of advice is to make sure whatever we bring to the table is edible.

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

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

For other posts on this text see When Job Got it Right and Job's Story - From Hero to Zero (and back)

 

Life Can Be Tough

 

Wednesday, February 10, 2021
“If my misery could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales, they would outweigh all the sands of the sea.  That is why I spoke impulsively.  For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows.  Their poison infects my spirit.  God’s terrors are lined up against me.  Don’t I have a right to complain?  Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass, and oxen bellow when they have no food?  Don’t people complain about unsalted food?  Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?  My appetite disappears when I look at it; I gag at the thought of eating it!  “Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant my desire.  I wish he would crush me.  I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.  At least I can take comfort in this:  Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.  But I don’t have the strength to endure.  I have nothing to live for.  Do I have the strength of a stone?  Is my body made of bronze?  No, I am utterly helpless, without any chance of success.  Job 6:2-13

As Job analyzes the situation and all that has happened, he knows that the circumstances are bleak.  It's been a tough week.  He's lost everything he worked so hard to accumulate, including his health, the respect of his friends and even his wife.  And yet, later in his ramblings, Job makes a dramatic (and oddly-strange) statement that hardly seems to fit the moment to all who hear it; he proclaims,     I know that my Redeemer lives....I will see God. ^{Job 19:25}

The circumstances say that Job is going down for the third time.  His life is in the dumpster.  His family is dead, and his wife is looking to collect his insurance money.  Job's friends are heaping on the insult that the God Job has been serving is at fault.  The ulcers of ancient leprosy are oozing his very life's blood...and Job has church, singing about how his heart "yearns within."  What gives?

The secret of Job's faith is that he knew that pain and suffering are not altogether inconsistent with the love of God.  How did he know that?  God had placed the reality within Job years before when Job gave his life to the Lord. 

A story is told of a sculptor who was working on a bust of Lincoln.  Day by day he would only make a few carefully planned strokes with the chisel.  Each night the cleaning lady would sweep up the debris and complain to herself about the "...mess this ol' rock makes."

Finally, one night, as the bust was nearing completion, the cleaning lady saw it for the first time, that it was the much-respected Abraham Lincoln.  She got so excited she came back during the day to watch the sculptor work on it.  She couldn't wait to see the final product.  She asked the artist, "How did you know Ol' Mister Lincoln was in there?"  The artist smiled and said, "Oh, I didn't really, I just started chiseling-away what just didn't seem to belong."

In a lot of ways, that is what happens when people give their lives to Jesus.  Before, like a block of uncut rock with a masterpiece inside, he or she is just waiting to be worked-on. 

But Mrs. Job didn't see that.  She felt the pain of the Master's chisel....she never trusted the Redeemer's stroke to bring out her beauty.

For You Today

Have you been "on hold"?  Are your prayers unanswered? 

What shall you do while you're waiting?  Here are a few suggestions:

·       Don't speak for, or before God.  See what His word will say, search it, milk it, digest it. 

·       Don't hide from God....struggle with him as He chisels-away the rubble. 

·       And don't forget that He loves you...So much that He died for you. 

That kind of love will eventually give you answers.  Answers like,

I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.  John 11:25 ^(KJV)

What is your choice…Mrs. Job's curse God and die?  Or Mr. Job...I know MY Redeemer lives..."

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

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

 

Undivided Loyalty

 

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.  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.  Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.  James 1:5-8

Over the last 11 months, since we all got an introduction to COVID-19, we have all been living in a waiting game of epic proportions.  During such times of testing and personal trials, cooperating with God to grow our faith always proves to be an integral part of maintaining sanity and trusting in God’s care.

When it comes to really trusting God there is a certain abandoning of ourselves – putting-aside our options. 

Did you know that God isn’t into making us guess; He wants us to have His wisdom?  The Lord is pleased to give us wisdom and all the help we need.  James says God won’t rebuke us for asking for wisdom.  Literally translated from the language of the New Testament, that word rebuke means God won’t make fun at you when you ask. 

However, receiving that wisdom does come with a price:

If we are going to have His wisdom, we must trade in ours.

That means setting-aside our prerogatives and agenda, and being obedient to Him, because trusting God is all about Christian (Christlike) living. 

It is the essence of the surrendered life.  When you trust Him, it means you take your stand with Him – publicly, privately, and any other way He demands. 

Solomon, the wisest man on the face of the earth, said it this way:

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^(NLT)

The personal cost of trading your wisdom for God’s is total trust, trusting with all your heart and THAT is no small price!  It’s easy to trust in the Lord with all your heart when everything’s going your way.  But there are times when things come unglued, and you want to fall back into a nice, safe, “hidey-place” all secure, safe, warm, and comfy. 

Now, some of us even get that way before our world comes apart.  The worst, for me, of any trial is that limbo place of not-knowing what’s coming; I just hate not knowing!  Just tell me it’s the worst…or the best…just don’t tell me I have to wait!

Many of you are aware that the throat cancer I went through three years ago qualified me for Veteran’s Benefits.  It seems Agent Orange in Vietnam caught up with my vocal cords, and while I was going through 28 rounds of radiation, we started receiving a temporary benefit until they could evaluate and categorize my status. 

Up until Uncle Sam summoned me in for that evaluation, I was nervous about not knowing what they were going to say; would it be, since the radiation worked, you don’t need a pension?  Were they going to open Uncle Sam’s arms (and wallet), making my retirement plans a lot easier? 

This is the kind of thing about which I normally obsess.  I go to sleep wondering.  I wake up every hour worrying and get up in the morning moody and distracted. 

Now, that is simply perfect for a pastor who is supposed to be an encourager to the flock to have faith.  I tell you to cast all your cares on Him, take it to the cross, and leave it there…but the preacher develops an ulcer worrying! 

Well, that is unacceptable to the surrendered life; what I did was confess my unbelief to God; I gave it to the Lord with a promise that I would take a deep breath and allow Him to take over my worries. 

That appointment with the VA was a year and a half ago, and the doctor told me that since this type of cancer, caught this early, rarely returns, my disability had vanished with the tumor on my voice-box. 

Now, I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but you don’t have to have a rocket scientist to figure out this one: 

No disability means no pension…

thank you for your service; you’re on your own!

After the appointment Elizabeth and I went to lunch at Panera Bread and thanked God for His kindness to us and how He has provided for us through the thick and thin of 5 decades of life together. 

Incidentally, this Friday marks year #54 of the best years of my life!

Now that doesn’t sound like the success story that usually goes along with a sermon; except for the fact that success is not to be found in:

·       having a pension or not having pension;

·       success can’t be found in an easy retirement or pinching pennies. 

Success in this answered prayer was about peace within; I didn’t think about the situation the rest of the afternoon and night.  In fact, I didn’t think about the pension or no pension thing until the next afternoon when I was trying to think deeply about what I’d tell you that Sunday about trusting in the Lord. 

That’s when it hit me square in my dull little mind that I had just lived what you needed to hear.  I had trusted God fully, and he overcame the biggest spiritual battle I ever have…my own lack of faith.  He gave me faith to rest in His promises!

Here’s the way the apostle Paul puts it:

 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7^(NLT)

Now, that’s not a one and done bucket-list checkoff, is it? 

I have found myself worrying at other times.  I still get agitated when I’m in limbo, where the outcome is uncertain.  After all, I’m a work in progress; God will correct that in this Russell model when He finally takes me to Heaven.

The point is – THAT point in time, with THAT issue of trial for Russell became a victory, and a peace that has blessed me, and become a source of rest for my soul that is badly-needed in THIS time of pandemic waiting!

So, how do I remind myself to trust…fully, to put worry in the garbage can?  It is, as Paul suggests, praying about everything, so I’ll learn to trust God’s promises through God’s Word for everything God wants for my life.

And here is a verse that I start with each time I pray:

God is not a man, so he does not lie.  He is not human, so he does not change his mind.  Has he ever spoken and failed to act?  Has he ever promised and not carried it through?  Numbers 23:19

Our Prayer

Father, we give our thanks for your Word…your trustworthy Word, backed by the bloodstained cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Lord, the world’s calling is to deny You, lay-down our cross, and party-on.  We have discovered in Your Word that is a formula for a divided mind, that which destroys any sense of loyalty to the One who loves us and died for us.  Father, in the name of Christ, give us victory starting with picking up our cross to deny self.

For the glory, honor, and praise to which You alone are worthy, o Lord, we pray in the Name of the Son, cooperating with the Spirit, to honor and exalt the Majesty of the Father.  Let it be so in each of our lives…Amen!  

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

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Trials Stink!

 

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

“For I am persuaded that neither life nor death, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 8:38-39

Note:  our guest columnist today is our beautiful daughter, Jennifer.  She and husband Ken have three children, two grandchildren, and a lock on my heart.  As a vibrant Christian with more than a little experience facing life’s difficult side, she writes from walking with God during the trials that inhabit the Rocky Road.

Trials stink. 

It is so hard to change mindset when being hurt, or struggling financially or emotionally or relationally. 

But, trials can be a purifying fire and a cleansing water.  Although we don’t want to get burned or drown, we do want to be refined and renewed through the Lord.  God uses trials for His purpose. 

If you are struggling through all the turmoil in our country right now and the depressing nature of social media and mainstream media, be encouraged - God is with you through all these things!  He is always there in our midst, working through things. Carry it in prayer, but do not carry the burden!  Stay out of God’s way and let Him do the heavy work.  If you feel crushed, fearful, strain in your relationships, or been through any kind of personal disaster, invite the Holy Spirit into these circumstances because only God can transform them!  Our suffering will seem like nothing compared to the glory of God worked in us.  And know that nothing can separate you from the ENDURING LOVE of God![1]

For You Today

Thank you, Jen, for a great reminder that we are not designed to do it all.  God’s way is for us to join Him in the next great adventure; our job is to listen, be ready, and always give thanks. 

Even though trials do stink, some suffering in this life, even great suffering, is for a short time compared to an eternity with our Lord and His family. 

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   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For other posts on Romans 8:38-39 see Afraid to Die? and The Confident Hope of All Saints      

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[1] Jennifer Brownworth Klim, Facebook.com post, January 15, 2021

 

The Silk Purse in the Sow's Ear

[1]

Thursday, August 30, 2018

This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad.  Greetings!  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.  If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.  He will not rebuke you for asking.  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.  Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.  James 1:1-8^(NLT)

The followers of Jesus were chased from Jerusalem; the church was in hiding.  Persecution had scattered the believers like water poured on a grease fire spreads it everywhere.  And, James, their praying pastor, told them to look at their displacement as an opportunity for great joy; you gotta love his optimism!

It’s just like James to give us the answer before he poses the question.  The reason the disciples’ trials and hardship were to be considered great joy isn’t that we are supposed to love getting clobbered for the faith, but that suffering any kind of humiliation grows our faithful endurance.  James was comparing their experience to what a fighter goes through in rigorous, determined, physical training, pushing the development of his stamina to the limit, so that when he enters the ring, his body is conditioned, strong and resilient, ready to prevail in the fight, whatever the enemy throws at him.

To tell you the truth I have never been partial to that kind of conditioning.  In high school I decided to try out for the football team.  That first day I never saw a football stadium, or even a football; there was only pushups, wind sprints and something the coach called up/downs.  It was a grueling 15 minutes of running in place until coach blew the whistle, and you were supposed to drop to the dust, landing on all fours.  But it wasn’t nap time; you had to spring to your feet and keep running to nowhere.  Up – down – up – down…up/downs!  It didn’t take too long before I wanted to go home!

But, for three weeks we conditioned our bodies.  Then we finally got to play a little football.  For me the emphasis there was on the word “little”.  I got clobbered (in practice, of all things) and wound up on the operating table with a ruptured spleen, bleeding internally.  After the operation the surgeon (bless that man) told my parents my young body’s muscle-tone was well-developed, and that conditioning I’d received in football helped control the bleeding, so I hadn’t needed a transfusion.  This turned out to be significant, because the nearest blood bank that had my type was in New Jersey.

The point – those wind sprints, pushups, and…heaven help me…up/downs contributed to the kind of endurance I would need to survive 11^th grade.

So, this is the great benefit of accepting life’s hardships and trials with great joy – God is blessing us with a growing, faithful endurance, which conditions followers of Jesus Christ for spiritual warfare.  It may not be the kind of fun, or easy ride you envisioned when you became a disciple, but the up/downs, and running for the sake of endurance build a faith that cannot divide your loyalty from Christ; and that is the whole point of what you need…not what you wanted.

For You Today

It may look like you’ve been handed a sow’s ear with what you’re going through…but God has a way of making a silk purse out of the strangest circumstances!

So…rejoice today…greatly!

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