HOPE

 

August 24, 2026

Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.  Hebrews 10:23

My son’s feline child is named “Hope”.  She is a living, breathing, stalking dichotomy; she sleeps roughly 60 hours each day and for the other 12 minutes she is bouncing off every wall and door in our house.  The energy she stores up sleeping in the bay window seat comes out in the “zoomies”, mostly late at night when the rest of the semi-normal people are trying to sleep.  Hope’s energy rivals what you would find in an exploding star; she’s a feline super-nova telling the rest of the universe to get out of the way – this is MY moment, I’m unstoppable! A few weeks ago, our Sunday School class lesson was on servanthood.  Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that there is no other foundation (no other hope if you will) for God’s plans and work in the universe, than Jesus Christ[1]  With due respect to our feline resident’s delicate psyche’, she is not the real hope for humanity, even though she strongly believes so.

The word “hope” can be used in many ways.  One of those is to express a longing for something, such as, “I hope the mail comes early today.”  We might use the word to express a fear, such as, “I hope that noise I hear under my car’s hood won’t be expensive”.  (How’s that one working out for you?)  That kind of hope has two possibilities, positive or negative (that early mail might include a check!)  Hoping about that engine noise usually turns out less than positive in my experience.  But the hope in which we place our trust in Jesus Christ is not such an “iffy” thing that can go good or bad; rather it is more the expression of certainty.  When we’re certain of the outcome of what the future holds, we say something like, “you can take that to the bank” …or, “you can bet your life on that”.        There is no uncertainty when it comes to Christ’s love for us, or His forgiveness of our sins, or the power He has to extend eternal life.  He doesn’t just give us hope; He IS our hope.

As a pastor serving Jesus Christ, I have met too many people over the last half-century who have a “hope-so” answer to the question “Are you saved?”.  They have placed the weight of where they will spend eternity on a “hope” that has good and bad possibilities, and they’re longing for the good.  They hope they’ve done it ok, lived this life “right enough” so that God will take them to Heaven.  Frankly, that kind of hope (or faith) merely casts a shadow of doubt over God’s ability to forgive our sin and save us from sin’s penalty…death.  That doesn’t make sense; if Jesus died, was buried, and raised again on the third day so our sins can be forgiven, why the doubt?  Why believe Satan’s accusation that he whispers in your ear.  Something like: “Well, sure, God forgave that little white lie about your wife’s new hairstyle, and that one you said when she asked if that outfit made her look fat, but what is forgivable about the way you cheated that retired widow out of $20-grand for that worthless car you sold her?”

We confess such and then doubt.  And that isn’t even close to placing our trust in He who conquered sin and death.  He alone is our hope, the foundation of all God’s promises of Heaven

For You Today

When it comes to our hope and eternity, we can sit back and watch life go by at warp speed like my son’s cat doing her nightly zoomies, or we can sleep like that cat does through life, ignoring the threat of our human frailty passing into eternity.  Or we can place our faith, our life, past, present, and the eternity of our future in His strength – our only foundation, Jesus Christ, our HOPE.

I have it on irrefutable authority that your doubt is not the end of you, because Jesus died to take even that to the cross.  Do you recall one of Jesus’ disciples we call “doubting Thomas”?  One look at the risen Lord and he fell to his knees, and his faith was placed in the only hope the world, the universe, and your heart needs![2]

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

1] Title and Other Images: Russell Brownworth photo.  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The Christian Standard Bible^© 

Posted on Facebook Hope 

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[1] 1 Corinthians 3:11

[2] John 20:24-29

Shipwrecked Faith

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear.  For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.  1 Timothy 1:19

Everyone is born with faith; life is a series of faith choices, both good and poor.  When we place our faith in a chair, by sitting on it, we exercise our faith that the chair will hold us up.  If it does, it was well-placed faith.  If we place our faith in a man who whispers to us on the street corner….psst, buddy…you want a great deal?  I got these Rolex watches worth twenty grand each; sell ya one for $75.  Chances are rather strong, our faith in that guy will rust as fast as the watch.

It's one thing to be naïve about the worth of a trinket; it’s quite another matter to allow preconceived notions about God shipwreck our faith.  Faith, in spiritual matters. is supposed to guide our choices towards God’s open arms.  Misplaced trust in anything other than God’s will and way leads to a shipwreck of our faith.  Sometimes we cling to a hope that is ill-founded merely because it sounded good, or real when we first heard it from a friend.  We didn’t run it through the God-filter; instead, we just believed it (placed our faith in it), and couldn’t believe how badly it turned-out.  It’s like the story of the man who worried himself over the question of whether life wasn’t fooling him, and he began to think he was dead.  He started believing it and telling everyone he was dead.  No friend or family member could convince him otherwise.  Finally they got him into therapy.  The psychiatrist had no better result; the man thought he was dead.  Frustrated, the shrink decided on a graphic, undeniable test.  He asked the troubled man:  Do dead men bleed?  The man said:  No, dead men don’t bleed.  With that, the shrink pulled out a pin, pricked the man’s arm with it, and it started to bleed.  The shrink pointed to the man’s arm and asked:  So what do you make of that?  The man, now puzzled, finally offered:  Well, I’ll be durned…dead men DO bleed!

What Apostle Paul was telling Timothy is a stern warning for any one of us to beware of letting our faith settle on anything that won’t pass the blood test.  There is so much heat these days on television news, social media, blogs and vlogs galore, which promote hatred, violence, and rebellion, as well as perversity as a normative good choice, if that’s what you want.  That kind of stuff conflates a small amount of truth about political and sociological problems, with isolated Biblical verses to create a wedge of doubt between your conscience and the good sense given to you by God’s kindness.  We can fall victim to good sounding, but false theories of how to view the world.  We can be like Eve who heard the serpent whisper did God REALLY say that?  Satan even used that tactic, quoting Scripture to Jesus (way out of context, of course); the devil was tempting Jesus to abandon the Father’s mission and serve the darkness of Hell.  In all three of the temptations recorded in Matthew[1], Jesus denied Satan’s offer with Scripture, appropriately interpreted, countering Satan’s use of twisted Scripture.

For You Today 

We must use our faith, nurture our faith, and grow in our faith.  But we must be careful to grow straight, rather than crooked.  To grow straight requires bathing our worldview in the Word of God.  There is nothing about popular worldview opinions that can match the strength of God’s Word to avoid shipwrecking our faith.  Paul gave this advice to his young ministry student, Timothy:

Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval.  Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15

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 Pixabay.com  Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] See Matthew 4:1-11

Taking Time to Smell the Roses

 

Friday, June 30, 2023

“Be still, and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation.  I will be honored throughout the world.”  Psalm 46:10

Each year at annual conference the several days at Lake Junaluska was enjoyable and inspiring in the mountain setting of Western North Carolina.  There was one opportunity I always loved, and the half-week stay would have been empty if I’d missed walking the half-mile of roses.  

The variety of sizes, colors, and textures, combined with the astonishing mixture of beautiful delicate scents, are always a welcome contrast to the sturdy ruggedness of mountains and lake…you cannot walk that half-mile without stopping to take it in and dwell on the majesty of God’s handiwork.  Breathing-in the crisp morning air, and seeing the dew-kissed petals of God’s creation, is one of life’s wonderful joys.  It’s hardly a mystery why we all know that familiar phrase:  take time to smell the roses!

It's also no surprise to me that today marks an end to the last 18 years serving as a pastor to United Methodist churches, and the 25 years before that as a Baptist minister.  I am retiring from vocational serving, and entering serving for the pure joy of being obedient to He who has been faithful and my Rock every day of my life, including that first nine months when my Mom carried me around.

I have been expecting this day to come, and since it is now here, I can share the mixed emotions that flood my soul, as surely as the beauty and scents of the Junaluska Rose Walk. 

One of those emotions is, of course, sadness.  The many challenges and joys of serving as pastor cannot be placed on a scale to see which outweigh the other.  Despite the hard times, even if they overwhelmed the good and great times, I would not trade loving what God called me to do these last 45 years, ever since a pastor, long overdue for vacation, invited an inexperienced church member to fill his pulpit while he was gone.  I had promised God I would never say “no” to an opportunity to proclaim His word.  It’s been a ride!  And God has blessed, never failing to teach, help, heal, and direct me all along the trail.  The sadness I feel is that this chapter on what I have loved so deeply is now closed.  And that leads me to the second emotion at the other end of the spectrum:  I feel great joy!  That joy isn’t relief from the pressure, or the weight of caring for others 24/7/365; rather it is in knowing, with all my flaws, sermon-flops, missed opportunities, and times of never knowing the next step…God has it all sorted-out.  And, much like Joseph, the 13^th son of Jacob (Israel) who was sold into slavery by his brothers, in the end, faced with either revenge on his evil brothers, or forgiveness, God enabled Joseph to figure it all out just what God had in mind.  Here’s what he said to them:

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.  Genesis 50:20

My joy is that I trusted God for it all, and that trust wasn’t wasted!  He will use all of it, because God’s Word never comes back to him empty-handed![1]

For You Today 

Smelling the roses (for me) is going to mean thinking-back, evaluating, and just plain resting.  There will be a little golf, some aimless mountain roads to drive, just to take-in life along the way, spending quiet time with my bride.  I’m going to be still, and know He is God.  I’m also going to hit the pause-button on publishing Rocky Road Devotion for July, and much of what I have been doing as a pastor these near 5 decades.  Going to smell those roses…be back in August.

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 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] It is the same with my word.  I send it out, and it always produces fruit.  It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.  Isaiah 55:11

Elisha's Faith

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

One day when her child was older, he went out to help his father, who was working with the harvesters.  Suddenly he cried out, “My head hurts! My head hurts!”  His father said to one of the servants, “Carry him home to his mother.”  So the servant took him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But around noontime he died.  She carried him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and left him there.  She sent a message to her husband: “Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the man of God and come right back.”  “Why go today?” he asked.  “It is neither a new moon festival nor a Sabbath.”  But she said, “It will be all right.”  So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, “Hurry!  Don’t slow down unless I tell you to.”  ….  So Elisha returned with her.  Gehazi hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child’s face, but nothing happened.  There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The child is still dead.”  When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet’s bed.  He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the Lord.  Then he lay down on the child’s body, placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the child’s hands. And as he stretched out on him, the child’s body began to grow warm again!  Elisha got up, walked back and forth across the room once, and then stretched himself out again on the child.  This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!  Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. “Call the child’s mother!” he said.  And when she came in, Elisha said, “Here, take your son!”  She fell at his feet and bowed before him, overwhelmed with gratitude. Then she took her son in her arms and carried him downstairs.  2 Kings 4:18-24, 30b-37

The faith of Elisha has always fascinated me.  The test of a true prophet is 100% accuracy.  There was no “wiggle-room” for that.  The penalty for prophetic failure was death.  Speaking or acting in the name of God, and then having your words or deeds fizzle-out, was a mark that you were a false prophet; it got you a death warrant.

It seemed Elisha’s faith was far beyond worrying about what others might think of him or his words and deeds.  For Elisha it was all about serving the God who had called him to be a prophet.  Laying face-down on the child, with mouth, nose, hands, and eyes all identifying with the boy, Elisha was (once-again) accepting the risk of being a prophet.  This boy would raise to life, or Elisha would join him in death.  This was no time for unanswered prayer!

For You Today 

In a day when, for most of this world’s culture, even the pretense of Godliness has been tossed in the recycle bin, it’s especially difficult to find faith like Elisha’s, big enough to trust God, no matter what this world’s fads demand.

Despite that, the offer from Heaven still stands:

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.       2 Chronicles 7:14

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

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:  Big Faith and Jailbreak!

Title Image: Elisha raises Son, via Wikimedia Commons    Images without citation are in public domain.

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

It Was By Faith

 

Friday, February 17, 2023

It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.  It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.  He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.  It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger.  He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.  It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.  

Hebrews 11:23-28

It's a whole lot easier to entertain faith from an easy chair, or from a pew in the sanctuary.  It is in those safe places faith seems workable.  It is in protected comfort we plan how living by faith will work, and we plot our course to build a life of fellowship with God…to be a good person.  We can see it all laid out in our minds; we even jot it down in a journal.  We can see a future that makes sense.

And that’s just the problem…we see it!  Seeing is not Faith!  Acting on a promise, without having the end, and how it will all work, is trusting…and trusting, without seeing, is the heart and soul of faith.  If you require knowing the beginning point, the end, and all the steps you will take in-between, perfectly laid-out, charted, with PowerPoint displays and checklists, you’re no closer to faith than an iceberg surviving in the fiery furnace! 

But what if you’re bent that way?  What if you’re an introverted thinker, one who makes to-do lists, and wants to plan-the-work and work-the-plan?  Are you irrevocably-doomed to the abyss?  (I am that sort of person; welcome to my world!)  According to Jesus, looking ahead to count the cost isn’t wrong; in fact, it’s an integral part of the process if you want to be His disciple![1]

So where does counting the cost end, and faith begin?  When do you stop contemplating God and His call on your life, and begin cooperating with Jesus in whatever He puts in front of you.  Or do you just totally put-aside thinking and just begin doing?  Those are some good questions, but looking for a timetable for thinking and doing, evades the trust issue of faith…and trust is the key.

Remember Moses.  He had plenty of time for thinking about God, and searching for God’s will.  Growing up in a palace, power at his fingertips, this Jewish boy, hiding in Egyptian clothing, had a heart that was on fire for God.  Every choice he made was pointed towards worshipping Almighty God.  He never rejected meditating on God, or making plans (just look at plans for the wilderness Tabernacle).  But he was always ready, without a moment’s notice, to step-out into the uncharted waters of change.  He did count the cost, and he found out early that he would make mistakes (he killed an Egyptian soldier, and had to spend the next forty years on the backside of nowhere).  But he also knew an unconditional heart’s commitment to God’s ways.  To the casual observer, every decision Moses made was towards the downward spiral.  Exile, hardship, poverty, and the anger of Pharaoh, instead of power, luxury, and fame was his counting the cost…and walking by faith in the God who called him was always the choice.

For You Today 

When you serve the King of Kings, walking by faith needs no other vision.

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: 

God's Mountain - Moses' Faith  and  An Unusual Child  and  By Faith 

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   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] See Luke 14:27-29

Exuberance and Exhaustion

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator.  Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.”  Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky.  Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop.  Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.  Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades.  Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.  Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire.  Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.  Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken.  Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well.  For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.  “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”  Keep this in mind:  The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew.  He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them.  The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.  The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful.  Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.  But, my child, let me give you some further advice:  Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.  That’s the whole story.  Here now is my final conclusion:  Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.  God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.  Ecclesiastes 12:1-14

In every old man or woman there is a child awaiting release; a tribute to the memory of days when waking up would be without assorted pains, joints adjusting, and thoughts of:  what new ailment might there be on the menu today?

Solomon, or someone who knew him very well, wrote this part of Ecclesiastes.  And he contrasts the energy of youth, with the depletion of old age.  It can be depressing, especially if you’re closer to the end than the beginning. 

Yet, in it all, there is a sense of refreshing about the teacher’s conclusion, which gets down to the nub of what’s important, fearing God, and trusting all to His judgment.  He says God will judge all the good and bad, whether hidden or open.  Once again the contrast between youth and the aged is evident; youth are busy doing things, making their mark, full of energy and hope.  The old are winding-down, remembering, evaluating their lives, both good and bad, regrets and satisfaction.  The youth are on display; the old are watching reruns.  And God judges us all.

For You Today

Whether your life is flowing like spring water, or your well’s rope is broken along with the drawing bucket, life is the same…live it as God gives you breath, and give it to others as God blesses your strength.

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 in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic explore some of these:  Something Better and Remembering Before You Can’t

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

Below the Surface

 

 

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Help me understand the meaning of your commandments, and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.  I weep with sorrow; encourage me by your word.  Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.  I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations.  I cling to your laws.  Lord, don’t let me be put to shame!  I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding.  Psalm 119:27-32[1]

If you notice the words and phrases in red, the Psalmist asked for understanding of what God’s ways and character mean when put into daily living.  He asked for encouragement (strength) to live that way.  He asked for knowing, a clear understanding of his own character (not lying to himself), all an indication of the tendency to stray from God’s way.  He wanted to change; he wanted to be pleasing in God’s sight, and he expressed faith that God …would expand my understanding. 

How about a little expansion for today?  How about going deeper than the surface “milk” of God’s word, clear-down to the “meat”?  For instance, read this verse from Paul’s letter to the Corinthian believers:

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13

In a “surface” read many people assume what you often hear as bedrock Gospel; The Lord won’t put any more on ya’ than ya’ can stand.  But if you dug deeper you’d have to admit God does just that sometimes (even often).  Just ask Job.  In the oldest of the Biblical writings, the story of Job proclaims him a good man.

There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.  Job 1:1

Read a little farther and you discover Job, a man loved by God, got clobbered with more bad stuff than most of us would face in 3 lifetimes.  But at the end, Job found mercy and grace.  And in the long-run, in God’s timing, things turned-out far-better for Job than the earthly wealth and success he’d managed to accumulate.

The prophet Isaiah wrote that God said:

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.  “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9

God’s wisdom, strength, and gifts all match his mercy and grace, and it is all available to us, if we will trust like Job, not popular theology that denies God’s Word.

For You Today

If you can pray with the Psalmist for underestanding, strength, clarity, and discipline to live God’s way, you’ve taken a first step in a lifetime of heading in the right direction, pleasing God in every way.[2]

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 on Rocky Road Devotions. 

To dig deeper into today’s topic or Scripture text:  Tough Trust  and Faith Leap

[1] Images:  Russell Brownworth (own work)  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] Emphasis (mine) added

[2] See Romans 12:1-2