Uncertain Times

 

The Annunciation – Friday, March 25, 2022

When Ahaz, son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, set out to attack Jerusalem.  However, they were unable to carry out their plan.  The news had come to the royal court of Judah: “Syria is allied with Israel against us!” So the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm.  Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Take your son Shear-jashub and go out to meet King Ahaz.  You will find him at the end of the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.  Tell him to stop worrying.  Tell him he doesn’t need to fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah.  Yes, the kings of Syria and Israel are plotting against him, saying,  ‘We will attack Judah and capture it for ourselves. Then we will install the son of Tabeel as Judah’s king.’  But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “This invasion will never happen; it will never take place; for Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin.  As for Israel, within sixty-five years it will be crushed and completely destroyed.  Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah.  Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”  Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz:  “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz.  Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.”  But the king refused.  “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”  Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David!  Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience?  Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well?  All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign.  Look!  The virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).  Isaiah 7:1-14

The Annunciation to Mary, to the shepherds, and even in foreshadow of the Old Testament context, generally connects with our softer side, the announcement of a gift to come, God’s forgiveness for our mess-up.  We don’t usually associate the annunciation with confusion and uncertainty.  But that’s because we know the rest of the story…we’re 2,000 years on the other side of Mary’s pregnancy and all the confusion from which it was sprung.

We have a hard time in confusing times, times of darkness, where babies are killed in the womb, huge nations invade smaller, vulnerable neighbors, values are trampled in the dust, wrong is paraded as right, and Godliness is mocked…and then connecting the dots to God’s will and perfect plan being birthed.  These days certainly qualify as confusing.

But ask Isaiah.  King Ahaz was offered a sign, and was either too frightened, or just too politically-invested to participate.  The prophet said:  OK…you’re too fragile for this faith stuff…God will speak it clearly…a virgin’s womb will bring the answer to every problem you think you have.

For You Today

Sometimes, especially when the entire world and all you call holy has gone upside down, it’s hard to imagine God is bringing forth something wonderful from the mess.

In confusing times, when we can’t understand what God is up to, just keep your attention on Scripture, prayer, worship, fellowship, and serving Him.  If He can bring His salvation to a virgin in a manger, what’s going on today doesn’t give the LORD any perspiration on His brow…and it shouldn’t destroy peace in God’s family either.  We who trust in God should believe what the LORD said to Ahaz:  God won’t MAKE you stand firm against these uncertain and ungodly times, but when you stand firm in your faith, He will keep you standing firm.

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

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

How Long, O Lord?

[i]

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

This message was given concerning Edom.  This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says:  “Is there no wisdom in Teman?  Is no one left to give wise counsel?  Turn and flee!  Hide in deep caves, you people of Dedan!  For when I bring disaster on Edom, I will punish you, too!  Those who harvest grapes always leave a few for the poor.  If thieves came at night, they would not take everything.  But I will strip bare the land of Edom, and there will be no place left to hide.  Its children, its brothers, and its neighbors  will all be destroyed, and Edom itself will be no more.  But I will protect the orphans who remain among you.  Your widows, too, can depend on me for help.”

Jeremiah 49:7-11^(NLT)

Whenever there’s a death there is certainly mourning.  And it lasts for a time, after which, life then tends to move on.  But not with political grief; that just seems to hang around forever.  If the Democrats win the day it will be Republican sorrow and gnashing of teeth; if it’s the other way around, Democrats will sit in sackcloth and ashes for the duration of the next cycle.  Calamity is the face of the party of opposition, no matter if it is mule blue or pachyderm red.  For either side of the aisle, when one side wins, in the mindset of the other side it means the end of the world for decency, prosperity and apple pie…except in heaven.

God gave Jeremiah a message to deliver to neighboring Edom – a thorn in Jacob’s side since antiquity, and still so – to those who put all their trust in political power – for the right or wrong reasons; God said:  don’t do that, because, if you think for one minute political power can save you….when it comes to disaster, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

Now, I’m certain that’s not the way it sounded in Hebrew; I’m sure the LORD uses better grammar than that…but the meaning is unmistakably foreboding.  God is patient, but God never relinquishes his sovereignty.

In the U.S. presidential campaign of 2016, there were those who wanted to Make America Great Again; and there were many who wanted to save the world from those who wanted to make America great again.  When the dust settled…well, it actually hasn’t settled…nor will it…ever…but, at least after the ballots were counted, the dance of political intrigue and posturing was just starting; and so it goes. 

I’m wondering this morning if we in modern America are just like ancient Edom; do we trust in what we’ve built through our history of possessing this land, and building our power structures through Congress, and having powerful armies and weapons around the world?  Is our trust in having enough economic power to bully anyone who gets in our way?

Whether it’s fair or not to compare the U.S. to Israel’s Arab neighbors is debatable; my wonderment is tied to the attitude of invincibility of people who have vested their eternity in American exceptionalism.  If there’s one thing about history repeating itself that is fixed and unchanging it’s that invincibility is transitory at best, and an illusion at its most dangerous.  Like the Emperor’s New Clothes, we can tell ourselves God is on our side, and that we are once again great, and that all the news is fake or true.  But the only lasting government is located a good bit North of Washington, and a lot higher than CNN.

For You Today

Edom was completely destroyed for her arrogance and resisting God’s ways, as well as persecuting God’s people.  The existence of the nation ceased, and their civilization is unknown today, just as Jeremiah prophesied. 

It seems we could add a little addendum to our national motto, In God We Trust.  Perhaps we could also remember daily, nationally, and very personally:

It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  Zechariah 4:6^(NLT)

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

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NOTES

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[i] Title Image: Pixabay.com

Light Has No Shadow

[i]

Friday, July 29, 2016

There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.  Proverbs 16:25^(NLT) 

If I have heard it once, I’ve heard it countless times, a theology of who God is, based on some wishy-washy figment of somebody’s imagination.  It goes something like this:  The God I know would never send people to Hell, or Jesus never said anything about smoking marijuana being wrong, or, yada, yada, yada….

Then comes the brilliant analysis which reveals WHY the person feels that way; they are trying to construct a god to fit what they think, so they don’t have to live like Scripture’s true God demands.

It’s that simple!

We want what we want, and we don’t want anyone to interfere with how we live. 

And we tend to convince ourselves we’re right.  Every time a Bible verse contradicts the way we want to live, we are willing to listen to any explanation of that verse which gets us off the hook and lets us do what we want.  And the enemy is quite willing to produce a friend or acquaintance who will suggest that explanation from his vast Biblical knowledge gained in a week at VBS 30 years ago.

Fact:  Biblical ignorance, no matter how eloquently stated, and no matter how culturally acceptable, is still ignorance.

Another fact:  For those who would try to say something about who God is, it would behoove them to actually study Scripture objectively, with ethical integrity. 

This is necessary for two reasons:

1.     It saves you from saying a whole lot of stupid things.

2.     You will meet God when you search for him with your whole heart[ii] and your heart will be changed. 

And you will know the truth about God, and it won’t be from a friend who only thinks he’s right, but in fact is heading down the path of destruction.  You’ll be hearing it ring true within, as the Holy Spirit speaks words of strength and encouragement to your soul.

Jesus told his disciples this very thing:

The Spirit alone gives eternal life.  Human effort accomplishes nothing.  And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.  John 6:63^(NLT)

For You Today

There’s a lot of stuff being kicked around about life and what’s right and wrong.  Make sure your source is dependable; eternal life is not a trifle kind of thing.

In the nature of God there is no shadow, no darkness at all. 

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

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NOTES

[i] Title Image: By Internet Archive Book Images [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

[ii] Jeremiah 29:13