God's Generals

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

This day’s lectionary readings display three major characters in Scripture, King David, Moses, and Paul, and the ministry difficulties they faced.  Each passage focuses on their struggle with adversaries, and showcases the model for effective, Christ-honoring servant-leadership.  We can learn from each of them.

King David had his life threatened constantly.  It seemed that often the threats were going to be successful.  David’s first public act was as a young boy standing up to Goliath.  Ever the underdog, God prospered the young man from Jesse’s household.  David suffered bouts of self-doubt and fearing the worst (who could be confident when chased by an army?).  But faith returned again and again.  Listen to an older David’s heart:

Why am I discouraged?  Why is my heart so sad?  I will put my hope in God!  I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!  Psalm 42:11

Moses led Israel out of Egyptian bondage, and he had more than his share of adversaries who wanted to turn back.  Holding court for peanut-sized issues took all day.  Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, saw how Moses was being worn-out with settling minor disputes and problems, and advised him to find Godly leaders to help shoulder the load.  Moses took Jethro’s advice and diligently built a structure to honor God’s ways, and keep God’s people focused on the mission.

Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions.  He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people.  Exodus 18:24-25a

Paul is the poster child for leaders with critics who were trying to undermine and siderail his ministry.  The most glaring example were those who preached the Gospel out of envy for Paul’s success.  They thought that building their own following would put Paul to shame.  They wanted him to rot in prison.  Paul’s letter to the Philippian believers was his response, the selfless, Christ-focused answer of the ages:

Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ.  They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me.  But that doesn’t matter.  Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice….For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past.  And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.  For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.  Philippians 1:17-18, 20-21

For You Today 

The models of Moses, David, and Paul take personal hardships and transform them into mirrors which reflect God’s power and goodness.  All who lead in God’s family should make it a life-goal to do the same.

·       Like David, learn to put fears and worries in the rear-view mirror.

·       Like Moses, listen to sound advice from elders who love God.

·       Like Paul, trust and lean on God’s decision about the future, and continue serving until he calls you home.

It’s safe ground to follow the leadership style of God’s choice vessels.  If you’re going to lead in God’s army, study His best Generals.

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 Wikimedia.com (see each individual picture for link to source)                   

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

TRUST

 

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

All you who fear the Lord, trust the Lord!  He is your helper and your shield.  Psalm 115:11

The Psalmist speaks a truth that challenges every hidden corner of willfulness and timid self-doubt.  It is a foreign truth to today’s Western culture, namely that we should trust God rather than our own abilities.

Consider the language of today’s parents to children:

          ·       YOU can be whatever YOU want

          ·       It’s YOUR life – YOUR choice

By contrast, the Psalmist speaks conditionally – if you really fear (or, more accurately, worship) God, then put your trust in Him…he wants to be your help and shield.

Some would answer that challenge with a string of probing questions: 

          ·       What does that kind of ‘trust’ look like in real life?

          ·       Why is it necessary to trust God; isn’t He good all the time?

          ·       What do I get on the other side of taking that leap of faith?

Those questions do not seem out of place, or odd in today’s cultural climate.  Before we invest, we want proof that it will pay-off, or at least a little sound reasoning that it’s the best choice for me.  

Doesn’t all that have a self-center kind of ring to it, as if the worshipper is what’s important, not the Creator, Sustainer, and Source of all life?  And isn’t that the issue that forms the whole of purpose in life from the beginning?  Let’s put the answer to that series of questions in a single declarative sentence:

God is worthy.

If there is such a thing as “sovereignty,” being in complete control of all beings and things created, that Sovereign would therefore be the source of all power.  That One would be sovereign over all extant beings, and things, and therefore, the giver of life and will.  If there is a God like that, THAT GOD is worthy to be worshipped, worthy to be completely trusted!

For You Today

So, the whole matter of today’s devotional thought is not one of what trusting in God looks like, or what my life might look like on the other side of trusting God.  Or any other condition I might try to introduce in negotiating a better deal on earth or in Heaven.  Rather, it is me, making up my mind which god I will serve…

·       The little ME today’s culture whispers in my ear is sovereign

-  or  -

·       The one, true, living God who loved me enough to leave his divine glory in Heaven and embrace me from a cross?

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

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

Misplaced Trust

 

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Psalm 33:12-22

What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance.  The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race.  From his throne he observes all who live on the earth.  He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.  The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.  Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—for all its strength, it cannot save you.  But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love.  He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.  We put our hope in the Lord.  He is our help and our shield.  In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.  Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.

One of the (generally) misunderstood issues of the relationship of Christian faith to military prowess is assigning naïveté to the former, and complete trust in the later.  The Psalmist, probably King David, is no stranger to military ventures.  His remarkable career started in a tussle with a giant, and David was celebrated for victories aplenty…so much so, it drove King Saul crazy.  David understood battle, and he understood the value of military might.  But, even with the start of the skirmish with Goliath, David trusted God much more than any earthly strength:

David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head.   1 Samuel 17:45-46

We know David wasn’t perfect; later his mistakes with his family and his fidelity proved that he was an imperfect man, capable of messing up more than most.  But, at least at this point, David had it together, using strength, but trusting in God.

Fast forward several millennia and you have the world’s population on its knees, not necessarily praying.  We’ve been knocked to our knees by a bug so small we cannot see it without a microscope.  COVID19 has taken over the economy, our activity, and news cycles unending.  The debate rages about how to act, what to do, and whom to avoid.  And our trust may be misplaced.

I say that because some advocate throwing caution to the winds, simply, and naively trusting that they don’t have to use common sense.  They act as if being a person of faith guarantees them an immunity from biological attack.  On the other hand, there are those who imagine the entire effort rests with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and all the technology man has marshalled against the demonic bug.

It’s time to remember that David took a big risk fighting Goliath, but he also packed more than one stone.  And the boy who took down a 9-foot battle-hardened enemy, was fighting with faith and a plan.  There was nothing naïve in a kid accustomed to facing “hairy” nightmares.  As a shepherd, David knew how to go up against the odds.  When King Saul questioned him about his chances against the giant Philistine, David replied:

“I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said.  “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth.  If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.  1 Samuel 17:34-35

Let’s Pra y

Father, God, we know our trust is to be entirely placed in You, alone.  You have also given us common sense and strength.  Help us to keep enough common sense to use our strength, and place our trust in You, and not the other way around, placing our trust in strength, and using Your promises like a vending machine.

For You Today

Whether our enemies are armies or viruses, our trust is misplaced to think we can handle it in our own strength; we must always come to the battle in the name of He who is the Lord of Heaven’s armies.

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 33 see Total Trust and Meeting With God and Broken Pieces

Trust

 

Friday, May 8, 2020

Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me, for I find protection in you alone.  I entrust my spirit into your hand.  Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.  Psalm 31:4-5

If there’s one thing about a word written in sand on a beach, come the next tide, those letters will have given way to a clean slate.  When trust is swept away, the slate is anything but clean.  Whatever relationship is left when trust has been violated and trampled upon, it will be muddy and tenuous at best. 

The uncertainty of whether trust can ever be restored is something that must have eaten the inner fabric of apostle Peter’s stomach lining.  In the early darkness of Friday morning outside Pilate’s house, Peter had denied being Jesus’ friend and follower; to underscore his trust-breaking lie, he even cursed that he’d ever known the man.  When the rooster sounded after Peter’s third denial, reminding the apostle Jesus had known his friend would betray him, Peter disappeared into the darkness weeping bitterly for his unfaithfulness.  He had broken trust with the best friend, best man he’d ever known.[1] 

Knowing our inner nature sometimes makes it hard to trust.  We know what we’re capable of, and project that unfaithfulness on others.  Yet, in today’s Scripture, the Psalmist offered the spirit of his life, all his hopes, dreams, the calendar for today, and his labor for tomorrow, into the hand of this unseen God…and then, perhaps, with the hesitation of a man who knows how fickle men can be, declared God to be faithful, a loving God of forgiveness, faithfully extending his loving care to anyone’s penitent heart, despite the nature of a sinful man who didn’t deserve being forgiven.

Scripture tells us that later, after the resurrection, when Jesus met his disciples on the beach for breakfast, Jesus made certain that Peter understood just how resilient the trust was between them.  Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter really did love him.  It must’ve been agonizing for the fisherman to have to face the memory of his past betrayal while Jesus was on trial.  And, to do so now, with any meaningful declaration of love for Jesus, had to feel like a really disingenuous apology.  But Jesus followed the Q&A with an invitation that was an iron-clad, sealed-with-blood reminder that Jesus would trust Peter; He simply said follow me.[2]

And, history reminds us, Peter did!

For You Today

Whatever trust you may have broken with God, or with any other human being, the same hand of forgiveness that was extended to Peter is willing to accept your heart’s repentance; He forgives. 

It’s that simple; we repent, and the assurance of our heart is He trusts us.

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 Psalm 31 see Ambush and My Cliff to Climb

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[1] See Luke 22:54-62

[2] See John 21:15-19

Waiting In a Small Place

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Tuesday, October 1, 2019

I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.  So many enemies against one man—all of them trying to kill me.  To them I’m just a broken-down wall or a tottering fence.  They plan to topple me from my high position.  They delight in telling lies about me.  They praise me to my face but curse me in their hearts.                                              Interlude

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.  My victory and honor come from God alone.  He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.  O my people, trust in him at all times.  Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.                                           Interlude

Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind, and the powerful are not what they appear to be.  If you weigh them on the scales, together they are lighter than a breath of air.  Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing.  And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life.  God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times:  Power, O God, belongs to you; unfailing love, O Lord, is yours.  Surely you repay all people according to what they have done.  Psalm 62:1-12

King David knew himself well.  You don’t spend days and nights alone tending sheep and not thinking about the small places inside you upon which you’ve learned to depend.  Preachers are particularly subject to this, spending hours nose-deep in Scripture and thought about what to say next Sunday.  I wait quietly in small places.

David may have sounded a bit paranoid about all the people plotting against him; truth be told, he wasn’t paranoid – he just understood the nature of humans.  David understood his own shortcomings, reasons why he shouldn’t be king.  David knew his sinfulness and feared his shortcomings.

When alone, particularly early in the morning as this moment can attest, I think of the life I’ve lived, and those small places that I return to…

          ·      stubborn, not submitted to Christ’s changing power

          ·      willful, hardly obedient, except if it can be seen by others

          ·      selfish, less than generous, except if it can be seen by others

          ·      fearful, not depending on the Rock of Jesus’ saving power

          ·      wavering, looking for a way out that I can see instead of faith-walking

          ·      wobbly-kneed, untrue, and crabby…hardly a tower of graciousness. 

Before I begin a day I must always cover this ground in my prayers.  Like David, I know myself too well to imagine I’ll be just fine without God’s constant hand leading, and His Spirit forming me from the inside-out.

For You Today

So, now you’ve watched me reveal my soft underbelly, my weak spots.  What are you going to do about being honest with God about yours?

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 used from The New Living Translation©

When GOOD Becomes Enemy of BEST

[1]

Monday, June 17, 2019

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.  Always be humble and gentle.  Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.  Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.  For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.  Ephesians 4:1-4

Every time I convince myself I’m done with it, that I’m not going to think about it, write about it, or care about it ever-again, the Apostle Paul gets in my way.  He’s like that, constantly reminding us about love.  And to use the word “love” there’s no sense of smarmy, warm and fuzzy emotionalism in the mix.  The Apostle’s “love” (of which Paul is not the originator, but merely the messenger) is that singularly God-like selfless love, agape’.[2]  In this is no room for emotion-driven, touchy-feely I’m OK-You’re OK drivel.  This kind of love is much more difficult, requires using your brain, and is eminently greater at fixing human relationships.  This love is what Paul was driving at when he challenges believers to live a life worthy of that to which God calls us.  Note the explanation:

Christians who wish to lead a life worthy of the calling to which they have been called, are obliged, in imitation of their Lord, to forbear one another in love, with all lowliness, meekness, and patience (Eph 4:2). That is, they are to exercise calm patience under provocation, avoid resentment and retaliation, be slow to judge and punish, and be ever ready to forgive (Phil 4:5; Col 3:13; 2 Tim 2:24).[3]

Paul got in my way with this, because he calls us to use every power, resource, and possible effort to stay united.  For someone who belongs to the tribe called United Methodist, them’s fightin’ words!  Well, at least it would seem so. 

I hate fighting, or conflict of any kind.  Perhaps I owe it to my hardwired nature to be shy, and introverted.  Perhaps it was my intoverted Mother’s training, or just the prevailing era’s mantra of not saying anything if you had nothing nice to say.  But, whether your profile is that of wall-flowering recluse, or highly-active drama queen, mixing it up in the latest bruhaha, you’re not even near baby understanding of God’s agape’ if you are just willing to sit and fume, or, worse, strike-back like a counter-punching president.  That is not anywhere in the same universe with forbearing or making every effort to keep united in the Spirit.

I fear for my tribe that we are descending into the hell of plotting, intrigue, and manipulation of institutional-infighting which is anything but forbearing one another, remaining humble and gentle; this has no chance at all at ending what has been a dividing war for decades.  And it’s the exclusive fault of neither one side nor the other…rather it is pure evil that drives separation of people who are called to the worthy (albeit quite difficult) task of being bound-together in selfless living, so the world may truly see God.

Admittedly there is “good” on both “sides” of the (not-nearly united) Methodist holy war.  Both want to be connected to God and serve Him.  Both want to be a blessing, not a curse.  Both sides want to grow in love and usefulness in the Kingdom.  But when that good intention becomes tainted with human need to control, own and manipulate in order to accomplish keeping their side of the elephant as holy, while disposing of the rest of the beast…well, let’s just say we have allowed the good to become enemy of the best!

For You Today

If you’re stuck in some holy war, and sides are taken, and you’re being pulled in either or both directions….STOP, think, be annoyed by the Apostle Paul’s call to get your stuff together under the tent of God’s kind of love, and choose to forbear, forgive, and bring together; that is the best that will cooperate with the Spirit to drive the combatants to examine their so-called good.

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

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com     Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©

[2] In Greek, ἐν ἀγάπῃ

[3] Encyclopedia of the Bible