Never Ending

Thursday, August 10, 2023

Today’s post is a message of hope written by Anna Murdock.

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me?  Seven times?”  “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!”  Matthew 18:21-22

I saw an older man

dressed in torn and dirty clothes.

He was in need of a shave

and surely a hot shower

would have felt good to him.

This man, walking along my route,

was mumbling to himself

and counting his fingers –

touching each finger to his thumb;

   first the right hand -

   one, two, three, four …

   then his left hand -

   one, two, three, four …

   then back to his right hand -

   one, two, three, four.

And so it went,

on and on

and on and on.

The counting seemed

to never end …

   from right hand to left,

   from finger to finger

   to finger to finger.

What was so important

to this man of the streets?

What words were needing

to come out and be spoken?

Was he just “another one of those”

who mumbled quietly

as they walked along

the roads of our lives?

As I continued my drive to work,

weary from the day before,

angry from two days before,

feeling very alone

from the week so far,

I too began to mumble

and count the ways

   to weariness,

   to anger,

   to aloneness.

How many times

am I to forgive

(both myself and others)?

From right hand to left,

from left hand to right,

and back to the right hand

again…

   from finger to finger

   to finger to finger …

   the counting seems

   to never end.

How many times and ways

are the words “Be not afraid”

whispered, written,

        shouted to all who fear …

               (and don’t we all fear)?

From right hand to left,

from left hand to right,

and back to the right hand

again…

   from finger to finger

   to finger to finger …

   the counting seems

   to never end.

And what about God’s Love?

How many times is this Love

   seen, felt, whispered,

    promised, given, and received?

From right hand to left,

from left hand to right,

and back to the right hand

again…

   from finger to finger

   to finger to finger …

   the counting seems

   to never end.

If this man is “one of those”,

who mumble and count,

then I am one as well …

one of those

who cannot fathom

  such forgiveness,

  such assurance,

  such Love ...

  for it is all

NEVER-ENDING.

                                      ©2011 anna murdock

For You Today 

Our last word today is how my friend Anna introduced this image…of us…

Jesus says, "Seventy-seven times. It is never-ending...this forgiveness."  May we see no end to forgiveness, no end to God's assurance, and no end to the Great Love that binds us together.  May the One who is without limits send us out to share this 'never-ending' good news with others.  This is the community of faith that we are called to be.

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:    ©2011 Anna Murdock original work

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

Living in Guilt and Anxiety; the Unsolvable and Unchangeable Presence of Hell

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Pray like this:  Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.  May your Kingdom come soon.  May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.  Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.  And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.  Matthew 6:9-13

Last year I remember seeing a post on a friend’s Facebook page:

No amount of guilt can solve the past,

and no amount of anxiety can change the future.  

It’s not terribly difficult to see the deep truth of that plea to live in the present.  No person can do the time-travel thing that is popular on TV these days – to go back in time and fix the mistakes, so everything will be perfect.  The few moments I spent writing those last sentences cannot be undone.  Time is a one-way door through which we pass, willingly or not.  Grieving over what transpired in that process has theraputic value, but only in the sense that we can learn, and then apply that knowledge for living in the next passage. 

This brings us to the second half of the saying – anxiety over the next passage, the future time of this revolving door we call life.  Anxiety is a wrestling match over the outcome of desired vs. undesired results of the present.  We want good stuff, good feelings, friendly places, and an easier ride.  Past experience tells us that there are precisely eighty-nine bazillion ways that can go wrong.  Truth be told, there are that many ways we are our worst enemy!  The future is unknown to us, and no amount of anxiety will help, it will only lead to stomach ulcers.

I believe that's why forgiveness is the only real solution.  To be forgiven by those to whom you are accountable, and have transgressed (chief and primary among those is God), and then to forgive those who are accountable to you for their brand of transgression.  Without both we can get stuck.  It is a choice we all make, to move forward without fear, or remain stuck in handwringing angst.

Others, those you have transgressed, who, for whatever reason(s), will not offer their forgiveness when asked, is about the only contaminating fly in the ointment of assuaging our guilt.  But that is not, or at least should not be, a reason to hold back receiving the healing forgiveness God offers, when others are too proud, or angry, to forgive.  Getting “stuck” in guilt is a form of self-punishment. 

This thought can be (like any good advice, or process) treated like a get-out-of-jail-free-card, or simply a mechanism to avoid the consequences of poor behavior or intentions.  It is not intended to be that, or simply a convenient crutch to avoid the harder work of forgiving and being forgiven.  The keys to this process of fleeing from the hell on earth of brokenness, are honest self-awareness, and destruction of our pride; the absence of either can derail any relationship. 

For You Today

If we value our relationship with God, we must hold sacred our treatment of each other.  The way Jesus taught us to pray was to ask God for forgiveness in the same way we have already forgiven others…that means the ball of offering forgiveness is always in our court FIRST.  When we refuse to acknowledge and enter the process of offering and seeking forgiveness, we yield to the temptation of the evil one, our enemy…and the contest is forfeited…game over…hell continues to reign.

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: 

Forgiveness & Families - Part 1   and   Families & Forgiveness - Part 2

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

Years Ago - This Year

 

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Isaiah 44:1-5

“But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one.  The Lord who made you and helps you says:  Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, O dear Israel, my chosen one.  For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields.  And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.  They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.  Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord.’  Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’  Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands and will take the name of Israel as their own.”

Seven years ago my bride and I were blessed to purchase the first brand new car we’d had in 30 years.  I’d forgotten what that new car smell was like!  Our daughter gave us a set of white fuzzy dice as a funny reminder of the 1950’s fashion statement.  Back then, anybody who was cool had fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror.  Back then, we watched Andy, Barney, Aunt Bea, and Opie on TV; today, we hang our facemasks on the car mirror

The words of Father God through the prophet Isaiah are like soothing balm on sunburn-scorched skin.  It proves one thing, even God’s people are in need of reassurance.  It’s not that we have lost faith today (as opposed to yesterday’s strong connection), but, rather, today the circumstances have changed, and an assault on our faith questions that connection.  It’s normal to run to your parent in times of crisis, or when you’ve been in a struggle.  We see that over and over in the Psalms, David wants to reach out and feel the embrace of his Heavenly Father.  Job, a man of intense faith and Godliness, constantly asks for clarification on the why of his troubles.  Jonah, the “disobedient prophet” tries to hide from his detestable calling from God of bringing the message of blessing to the despised Ninevites. 

When we look around, perhaps especially today, and see anger, protests, division, and hatred, it is more than mildly discomforting; it’s scary!  And we need God’s comforting voice telling us He is with us, and it will be alright.

As a pastor, just one of many thousands of pastors, I am always concerned about how the church is doing, and if we’re doing enough to pass along the faith to the next generation, who will take the reins and help steer the wagon for the generation that comes after theirs.  I don’t think you can be a pastor without that concern.

I first felt that concern as young man, seeing firsthand the results of the God is Dead movement, where the prevailing thought was that God, if ever such a being really existed, must now be dead, and we are on our own in this universe.  Among ministers and the faithful was a deep concern that the church could not survive such an onslaught of unbelief.  The wave of people leaving the church, particularly young people, the so-called future of the church, was astounding.  However, throughout the last half-century, the church has not only endured, it has matured, and changed, and adapted, and ministered, and grown.  In short, the church is still the church, God’s church, His witness, His special creation, and loved family.

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, we’re no different than Israel in Isaiah’s day.  We need Your comfort and blessing.  Abba, in Your mercy…

For You Today

The church, throughout the centuries has seen culture change, rearrange, come unglued, reassembled, knocked to its knees, and get up again.  The church has been there every step of the way because God said so. 

The church you knew in your youth isn’t gone, but today it doesn’t look like you remember it, or like you think it should look.  Rather, it looks like what God is moving it to be.  Our best hope of being faithful to God’s purpose and design is to continually fast, pray, and cooperate with God by serving others.  That is the one constant and calling of those who claim the faith, once delivered to the saints[1]. 

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 this text:  God's Election

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[1] Jude 1:3

Now Then, You Kings, Act Wisely!

[1]

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Why are the nations so angry?  Why do they waste their time with futile plans?  The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one.  “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”  But the one who rules in heaven laughs.  The Lord scoffs at them.  Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury.
For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.”  The king proclaims the Lord’s decree:

“The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son.  Today I have become your Father.  Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession.  You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.’”

Now then, you kings, act wisely!  Be warned, you rulers of the earth!  Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling.  Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—for his anger flares up in an instant.  But what joy for all who take refuge in him!     Psalm 2:1-12^(NLT)

A well-known preacher from the last century said that a preacher ought to have a Bible in one hand and the daily newspaper in the other.  I think that’s so true, because the Scripture is as timeless, and as current as it needs to be to guide us through anything.

In 2016, my newspaper has many pages…CNN, Fox, Facebook…and on and on.

Facebook and my Bible reading collided this morning.  It was a small collision; David and Goliath always have the same outcome!

But I digress.

A fellow pastor on Facebook commented on the UMC General Conference debating divesting from Israel (as being so wrong).  A comment that followed was:  How (do) you show God’s love for Palestinians also?  It is a real dilemma for Christians!

My immediate thought was:  you don’t!  Although loving your enemies is certainly a New Testament staple, when it involves abandoning those God loves, how can you justify it?

Psalm 2 is all about the holy relationship between JHWH and Israel, and how the enemies of Israel are always plotting, making alliances and prodding the anger-pot to throw off God’s plans.  By comparison, Christians have historically stood with Israel, in part because there is much more in our common root (Jesse’s stump) than with her enemies.  But the primary reason is God’s admonition in Scripture:

Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.  Psalm 122:6^(NLT)

All the land of historical Palestine belongs to Israel.  According to the Psalmist God perpetually warns the kings of the earth to behave themselves and bow down to God’s will. 

That includes being at peace with (not aggression against) Israel.

For You Today

When your Facebook feed blows up over political riots and suicide bombers, threats of Far East nuclear power, or even terrorist and economic disaster, do not be anxious; the noise you can hear in the background (if you listen well) is JHWH having a daily laugh over the kings of the earth flexing their muscles.

At such times, look up…your redemption is drawing nigh!

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

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[1] Title Image:  By U.S. Department of State from United States, via Wikimedia Commons