A Little On the Dumb Side!

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to bring you twelve wooden staffs, one from each leader of Israel’s ancestral tribes, and inscribe each leader’s name on his staff.  Inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe.  Place these staffs in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark containing the tablets of the Covenant, where I meet with you.  Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose.  Then I will finally put an end to the people’s murmuring and complaining against you.”  So Moses gave the instructions to the people of Israel, and each of the twelve tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff.  Moses placed the staffs in the Lord’s presence in the Tabernacle of the Covenant.  When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron’s staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds!  When Moses brought all the staffs out from the Lord’s presence, he showed them to the people.  Each man claimed his own staff.  And the Lord said to Moses: “Place Aaron’s staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant to serve as a warning to rebels.  This should put an end to their complaints against me and prevent any further deaths.”  So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.  Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we are doomed!  We are dead!  We are ruined!  Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the Lord dies.  Are we all doomed to die?”  Numbers 17:1-13

If there is one consistent theme in Scripture about the people of God it’s their inconsistency (with a few notable exceptions).  It’s like that New Year’s resolution you make about eating less, working-out more, and avoiding driving past Krispy Kreme; the vow lasts until the next temptation arrives.  And so it goes.

The next temptation for Israel was always grumbling about the way they were led; the target of their grumbling was all about the leader, Moses, a humble man. But over and again God had demonstrated Moses was the leader.  Even with a dead stick budding, blooming, and producing ripe almonds, all in the space of one night[1], demonstrating God’s leadership choice, God’s gracious miracle only produced fear in the hearts of the people.  And fear will destroy any faith!

Such is the point of this account.  Time after time God’s people were in a crisis and God rescued them from danger; each time there was immediate relief, but the return to fear and grumbling (with its accompanying unbelief, or lack of faith) arrived within nanoseconds. 

And so it goes…even today.

This problem is not a particularly Jewish thing; it’s endemic to humanity.  It started with the first sin in the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve took a bite, realized their separation from God, heard the Lord approaching, and they hid!  They hid because of their shame, knowing (as fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil suggests), that they were now less than they were created to be, and had separated themselves from God.  And what were they hiding from?  The Lord, the solution to their problem.  And what did they do about it when busted for their sins?  They offered excuses trying to deflect their responsibility to others:

      Eve:  The serpent tricked me 

      Adam:  Lord, the woman YOU made, gave me that bite.  And so it goes.

For You Today 

The question of the day (and of the ages) is…when we’ve seen how that worked-out for Adam and Eve, why do we join them in that foolishness?  All it produces is more fear and grumbling.  When fear arises, it kills your faith.  Wouldn’t it save a myriad of trouble and heartache to live in faith, and let it destroy your fears?

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] It takes one year after a bush has matured (3-4 years) to produce the first crop – see Nav Athwal article Forbes

An Extra Hour

Thursday, August 24, 2023

On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”  So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.  Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar?  The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day.  There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer. Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day!  Joshua 10:12-14

If you have ever found yourself wishing for an extra hour in the day, because you haven't had enough time to "do it all" this is for you!

The day started with my phone losing its mind. It was supposed to awaken me at 5:30 am so I could get to my VA doctor’s appointment on time, but when I opened my eyes at 6:15 the phone was still in its own stupor!  Great....starting the day 45 minutes behind!  Getting dressed quickly, I ruminated on how my phone must be listed somewhere in the Bible’s “begets” of Hell’s spawn.

One other “proof” of how useless my mobile phone has become is the choice it makes, based on algorithms which ignore my needs, in favor of the desires of roughly 14-gazillion companies double-checking the expiration date of my car’s warranty.  One of those fascinating (but totally sinister) algorithmic choices also totally ignores the fact that I need my calendar to awaken me to the reality that my frenzy of activity to get to the VA for an 8:40 appointment, is silly, considering the appointment is an hour later at 9:40…a fact I totally missed, because the said appointment was for the eye doctor, because I am half-blind!

In frenzy-mode, I forgot that a careless placement of my coffee travel-mug on my car’s rooftop, coupled with a hasty “plop” of my overweight carcass in the driver’s seat means my mug-full-of-steaming-hot-Green Mountain Dark Magic coffee will wobble off the car roof and splatter all over my garage floor.  There’s no app or algorithm in the world that can cope with the stain on both my cement garage floor (which now must be painted, as Elizabeth always wanted), and my broken heart, having to face a 30-minute dash to the VA with zero-caffeine in my blood!

When I arrived at the VA and checked-in, the receptionist smiled, and said:  My, you’re early!  It was then I realized the calendar was right, and I had an extra hour to wait, be still, and know my hurrying had been in vain.  But all was not lost…in the VA lobby, stands a Starbucks, testament to the fact that our government leaders really do have a heart.  I reclaimed my lost Green Mountain Dark Magic, and sat in a space overlooking the parking lot to contemplate my madness in silence.  During the next hour I resisted opening my algorithm-driven demonic device, and used the time to be still, chill, pray, and sip my over-priced Folgers.  Within a few moments an elderly lady sat down at the lobby piano and played a lovely hymn.  And my blood pressure returned to normal (for me).  I managed to have enough presence of mind to thank God for that lovely, calming hour’s interlude, and soon was lost in praying for each of you, as the Lord brought you and your needs to mind.  Part of God’s answer to my prayer was when he spoke to my heart:   Russell, do you understand now, how you, getting up early, all worried and coming apart at the seams, when I wanted you to have an extra hour's rest for your weary bones and spirit, is a blight on the day’s journey?  I could only smile and nod an apology…He knows me well, without an algorithm.

For You Today 

Like Joshua, you can trust God for whatever extra hour he wants to build into your day; it will be the best hour of the day.  

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

Go to VIDEO

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.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Chains of the MIND

 

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Rescue me from my enemies, O God.  Protect me from those who have come to destroy me.  Rescue me from these criminals; save me from these murderers.  They have set an ambush for me.  Fierce enemies are out there waiting, Lord, though I have not sinned or offended them.  I have done nothing wrong, yet they prepare to attack me.  Wake up! See what is happening and help me!  O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, wake up and punish those hostile nations.  Show no mercy to wicked traitors.  Psalm 59:1-5

King David seems just a little paranoid (OK…a LOT paranoid).  He cries out to God for rescue from the “enemies” who are coming after him to destroy, to murder by ambush…fierce enemies!  David even tries to be God’s alarm clock…wake up, wake up, God…RING….RING….RING! 

To be tormented by an enemy face-to-face is bad enough, but the faceless enemy in the night that keeps you awake is the border of madness.  As a boy, tending his father’s sheep in the wilderness, David had plenty of encounters with ferocious beasts – lions, and bears.  As a youth he stood before the gathered armies of two great nations, facing a giant of a warrior (Goliath).  David and his sling faced the taunting sneers of this towering, grizzly, battle-hardened war machine with only a sling and a few small stones, and he gave no ground.  Fast forward a few decades and now King David is a heap of shivering night sweats, fearing enemies he can’t see.  The mind of a warrior king, can be chained like any of us.  Fear cannot read your resume’. 

But that fear, as genuine, or imagined as it can be, has the potential to be the greatest teacher at any stage of life.  David’s imprecatory plea that God might wake-up and clean house of these enemies, is uttered in the wake of fear and faith.  His fear awakens his own fight-or-flight response, but his faith holds it in check, calling-out for protection and justice to the only One who can give it.  And the result is what David’s son, Solomon, who watched his Dad’s faith growing up, would write later, the calmness of an untroubled soul:

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.  Psalm 127:2

This is full cycle for anyone who lies awake, fretting over what might happen.  We awaken to our fears, face them like the Goliath that threatens, and offer the outcome to the hand of He who loves us best.  After that, there’s nothing left to do but enjoy a good night’s rest.

And that is precisely what David did, his untroubled soul resting in the night, and rejoicing in the morning!

But as for me, I will sing about your power.  Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love.  For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.  O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.  Psalm 59:16-17

For You Today

My friend and mentor from seminary days was Dr. Charles Graham.  One of his favorite expressions of faith which overcomes worry was:

If something bad is going to happen…that will be a bad event;

Worrying is a second bad event;

One bad event is enough!

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

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

Tell EVERYONE!

 

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.  Let the whole world know what he has done.  Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.  Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.  Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the Lord.  Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.  Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given, you children of his servant Abraham, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.  He is the Lord our God.  His justice is seen throughout the land.  He always stands by his covenant—the commitment he made to a thousand generations.  This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac.  He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:  “I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.”  Psalm 105:1-11

There’s enough bad news to go around these days (especially if you snap on the news channels and cry while they endlessly pour on the world’s messiness).  So, let’s focus on a little Good News (ie. The Gospel).

Here’s the question:  How do you share a positive witness for Christ while there’s so much going on that’s got people wringing their hands and checking their pulses?  And will people really hear what you’re saying about Jesus when they’re so worried?

Well, that’s really two questions, isn’t it?  So let’s deal with them one at a time.  (Which is really the answer to most of life’s problems).

About sharing a positive witness, even in tough times of crisis…make sure you have a witness before you set about sharing it.  That’s another twofold checkpoint.

1.     You don’t have a witness if you’ve never given your life to Christ.  Give me a call and we’ll make sure of that.

2.     This other part becomes easier, because it’s just a matter of applying what the Psalmist wrote in today’s text.  Go back over this Psalm and ask the questions of what he’s telling you to do.

Let’s unpack what the Psalm writer is asking us to consider:

The Psalmist writes:  Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness

So, do that, and mark in your mind how if feels to say those words.  Adopt that as your theme for the day, week, or, better yet, your life.

The Psalmist writes:  Sing to him; yes, sing his praises

Invest $12 in a hymnal for your home, but don’t let it collect dust on a shelf.  Use it in your devotional time every day.  If you can’t carry a tune in a bucket (like me), just say the words out loud.  In those hymns are so much doctrine and understanding of God’s ways, and how to proclaim His greatness, singing them often will embed Godliness in your conversation with others.

The Psalmist writes:  Exult in his holy name;

In a post a couple of years ago ^{(see it here)} I wrote about “exulting”.  That’s exactly the kind of relationship pigs have with their mud.  They wallow (as pigs do) in mud to rid themselves of parasites.  But, they also just seem to love it!  That is the key to exulting in God.  You pursue relationship with God, exulting, wallowing in all He shows you in His word, because you know He will deal with the parasites of sin.  The wonder it creates in you is guaranteed to shine around for others to see. 

So, yes, you can share a positive witness, even (especially) in hard times like now, if you’ll let the Word of God dwell richly in you, it will change you every day, giving your conversation a different tone, bringing the word of hope to your world.

Now, for the other question:  With all they’re worrying about, will they hear?

Are you kidding?  With all people are concerned and wringing their hands about these days a good word is the one thing they crave to hear. 

But, in the bigger picture just remember that it’s not in your job description to make them hear, your job is to make certain what you say is the Good News, and the way you say it is born of love in your heart. 

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, hear our prayer today; we are often fearful of sharing our faith.  There’s so much misunderstanding and anger these days.  Help us to overcome fear, and be faithful witnesses.

For You Today

Go graciously to people, care about them, share what God has shown you and done for you, and then leave the worrying to God; He knows how to handle that.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO                                                                                                         

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

For other posts on sharing the Good News:  Telling the Story and Let the Whole World Know

Worship...From a Distance

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Then the Lord instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders.  All of you must worship from a distance.  Only Moses is allowed to come near to the Lord.  The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.”  Exodus 24:1-2

A few days ago I had to get an X-ray done.  When I entered the facility everyone was wearing masks.  When I walked into the room with the big machine the small talk moment was a hello nod.  The first words from the masked man were:  you’re wearing gloves?  I answered in the affirmative because it’s hard to ignore robin’s egg blue latex on all ten fingers.  I then got a lecture on the medical mistakes I was making, such as cross-contaminating everything my gloves touch, and how, underneath the offending gloves, the unventilated sweating of my hands was providing a perfect storm of bacteria.  It was a monologue that lasted the full 10 minutes it took to look at my insides with the magic machine.  I found myself bristling at this sermonic tsunami of medical expertise coming from a mouth I couldn’t see, probably quite unventilated, and (I surmised) only loosely fact-checked.   My last bristling thought was:  I wonder if he knows how much of a bacteria perfect-storm is brewing in that cave underneath his face mask?

The technician must have sensed my bristling (I’m not a good poker face sort when held captive under 3 tons of equipment, forced to listen to how I’m ruining the universe and Mom’s apple pie with my blue gloves).  He took a little breath-break in the middle of his diatribe to inform me that he was just trying to educate [me].  I have to admit my first words to this man I’d never met surprised even my natural affinity for sarcasm…I replied...I guess all those surgeons are wrong about wearing gloves.  When I left the room there was no goodbye nod.

I suppose most people are registering higher on the Richter Scale of edgy these days.  Even though I’m trying my best to stay calm under my mask, taking deep breaths, not adding to the national debt of angst, it is getting harder.  And, like Aaron and the 70 elders, I’m not happy with having to stay at a safe distance…especially in worship.  I grew up with a prevailing sentence ringing in my ears every Sunday morning as our pastor’s morning prayer always included the phrases that thanked God for this land, where we are still free to gather in worship!  I’m a lot older now, and, hopefully, a little wiser; this land is still a God-given beautiful place.  The free part…not as much.

I never thought I’d actually see the day when we had to close the church doors at the direction of political fiat.  Closing the church doors was always a euphemism for the consequences of God’s people behaving like the world, a fate to be suffered by congregations too afraid or lazy to do the Kingdom work of spreading the Good News.

But, here we are!  We have been social-distanced out of the sanctuary!  Only the proverbial resident church mice abide under the steeples of the houses of worship.  Now our altar is an IPad, or a desktop screen, or (for more contemporary types), a smartphone.  There is no embrace across the pews, handshaking, offering plate-passing, lingering, or holy hush moments.  The hymnals lie collecting dust, along with the Sunday School roll book.  We have kept our distance.  

Now…if that’s the lament, here is the joyous response of praise.  We have been forced from the forms of worship to which we’d become stagnated and unprofitably glued, and launched back into the catacombs, finding dangerous ways to follow the Christ Who still indwells, still calls, and gifts to do His bidding…no matter the cost.

For You Today

There are times for distancing – from sin, from forms of godliness which deny the power of God, and so on…but there is nothing that can ever social distance God’s people from His love.  Let’s dwell on Paul’s words on that promise:

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; 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 Exodus 24 see Covenant

And I Will Give You Rest

[1]

If you recall "Alice In Wonderland" is a children's story.  If you recall it in detail you remember it is not a pleasant children's story.  Alice faces some very scary and confusing circumstances.  The difficulties Alice faced were fantasy.  Most of us will never be confronted with a Cheshire cat or nasty Queen of Hearts.  (The jury is still out on TweedleDee and TweedleDum – although McConnell and Pelosi come close). 

But the crises that trouble our lives are as much perplexing as Alice's walk through the looking glass.  All through her adventure she is looking for direction, a road to travel.  Like Dorothy in the Land of Oz, there is the anticipation of rest and home, if we can just get where we're going. 

In the 1960's, my generation, the rebellious flower children, were frantically searching for themselves and finding they needed something from without to help them understand that which was crying-out from within. 

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel expressed the inner turmoil of that day, and Alice, and Dorothy’s as well:

All my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity,

Like emptiness and harmony, I need someone to comfort me....

Homeward bound, I wish I was homeward bound. 

Home, with my music playin',

Home, where my thoughts escapin',

Home, where the love light's waitin' silently for me.

There is not a person in this room that doesn't want the kind of rest Simon and Garfunkel sang about in their longing for home, or Alice frantically needed down in the rabbit hole, or that rest Dorothy couldn’t find in Oz. 

Jesus told his followers how to find it:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

We once had a toaster that provided entertainment more than toast.  It had a frayed wire.  The sparks were like Disney's light parade.  Electricity knows when you are not its' master.  I have learned to have a lot of respect for electricity. 

When I "fixed" that toaster, it became like other things that didn't get professional care in our house.  My kids called it a Dad-fixed thing.  Whatever dad fixes is sure to come unglued, undone, and certainly the results are unholy! 

It is like that with the Christian's walk with the Master.  Without a good connection, our power leaks out, and we become short-circuited.

Jesus' offer to us is to Come.  That is an invitation to come closer to Him, so we might be restored to a closer relationship with Him.  Too often believers are willing to be in the family of Christ, but not under His daily control and direction.  That is like trying to live in two different worlds at the same time; and THAT will wear you out.  Jesus offers rest, the kind of rest that allows you to be peaceful inside and out.

There are SEVERAL DYNAMICS at work about responding to Jesus’ invitation to come to Him and receive that rest.  That call is an offer of restoration, a repairing of what we started out to be, but messed-up.  And even more, Jesus’ brand of restoration goes beyond just a new start; it’s a start on a higher plane than where we began.  

For that restoration touch we turn in our Bibles to Paul’s second letter to Timothy, and pick up where we left off last week ^{(2 Timothy2:15)}…with seeking God’s approval by becoming right handlers of God’s Word. 

In the next chapter^(#3) Paul tells Timothy right handling of that Word means listening to what God has to say to us, about us.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.  2 Timothy 3:16-17

Paul did not hiccup or stutter when he stated flatly that every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, and training us to live God’s way.

Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.  And that brings rest to our souls.

Let’s take a look at the process:

I.  God’s Word Showing Us Truth  

(to teach us what is true)

The truth God shows us is how we are in need of being in line with God’s pattern for human beings as He created us. 

Last week in the children’s message I showed them my new electric power saw.  I then showed them the owner’s manual and compared that with how the Bible, God’s Word, is the manual for humans.  Just like my power saw is dangerous if not understood and operated properly, so the human being must operate within God’s will. 

We were created to respond to God’s nature…not our own whims and desires.

The current tension and impending split in the United Methodist Church is a textbook illustration of this truth.  When humans begin to reject (rebel) against God’s truth with their sexuality, choosing to live in a rebellious perversion, rather than as God created us, it should not surprise anyone that the world will be flipped upside down in judgment.

When that happens God’s Word will move from teaching to exposing…

II.  God’s Word Exposing Rebellion  

(make us realize what is wrong in our lives)

The King James word is reprove; the Word of God rebukes us by showing us where the error lies.  And there are only two responses possible when God speaks a definitive word:  increased rebellion or cleansing repentance. 

This “exposing” of our rebellion is something God’s Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts.  This can happen under many different circumstances, but often God uses a preacher speaking the word of truth, and the Spirit bringing conviction to the hearer’s heart.  Sometimes that leads to the end of a rebellion; too often it leads to a firing of the preacher because the pride of a backslidden Christian doesn’t want to hear all about his rebellion.

So…the process begins with the God-breathed truth of the Word which exposes our rebelliousness, and then the Word tells us what must be done to get back on course, walking with God, not away from Him in rebellion…

III.  God’s Word Correcting Rebellion  

(corrects us when we are wrong)

Correction is what the doctor does.  We’re sick, and he gives us medicine to cure it.  This may be the hardest step in the process. 

It’s like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus.  He’d been a good person all his life, but he was married to his money.  He wanted to know what further good thing he needed to do; Jesus said Give up your love of money.  That was the living Word of God correcting the man’s rebellion.  But the man turned and walked away.  It’s hard to let go of our favorite sin!

But what does the Word have for us if we do?  What if we hear the truth of God’s Word, find out we’re off course in rebellion, hear how to change our ways, swallow our pride, and lay it all on the altar, asking God’s forgiveness?

What if we’re willing to change our way, surrender our life’s pattern for following the pattern of Jesus? 

That’s when the Word of God teaches us how to stay on course…

IV.  God’s Word Training to Live  

(God’s Word…teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work)

By this point in the process of being restored to peace in our lives, both within our hearts and minds, and with other people, we’ve learned that God teaches us truth, exposes our rebellion, and shows us how to stop rebelling and start cooperating with God. 

Those are wide-pathway principles that cover every area of life.  Accepting those principles is a momentary decision.  It’s like responding to the evangelist, saying yes at the altar, and signing a pledge card.  It’s a simple yes or no decision.

However, this next – final – step in the process lasts from that moment on, until that fateful day you step on Heaven’s shores and meet Jesus. 

Until that day it is training, becoming a disciple, learning constantly how to live denying self, taking up the cross, and following Jesus.[2] 

It’s being conditioned to follow the pattern of right living, the kind of living only God’s Holy Spirit can empower.

There is so much more to this last discipleship step than can fit in a sermon, or a library of sermons.  But, perhaps the testimony of one who found rest after being restless for years can help.

The Story of One Who Moved from Rebellion to Rest

This one who moved from rebellion-to-rest was a young boy, raised in church.  He heard the truth about loving and cooperating with God in his home, and at church.  By the time he’d reached 9 years old he had accepted that truth and the Savior of that truth.  He became a Christian.

But in the two decades that followed, old rebellion showed its ugly face and stunted the spiritual growth of this newborn babe in Christ. 

Married by this time, and having suffered enough unrest because of his rebellion, he was searching frantically for a way home where the music played, and the thoughts escapin’ were waiting to comfort.  Like Dorothy longing for Kansas, or Alice wanting desperately to climb out of the rabbit hole, this young man anguished for rest!

Finally, the Word of God began coming back, making sense, calling him to the home not made with hands.  And the Word who had become flesh and dwelt among us had those hands of flesh outstretched, opened wide in invitation to come and learn of the meek and lowly. 

It was the old, old story, and it told the young man to take the yoke again; it was easy and light…and it would lead to rest…restoration of all that was really needed.

That young man swallowed his pride and took that yoke; he felt the outstretched hands wipe away the tears. 

And the Word of Truth spoke again – rest; enter into My rest, Russell…there is rest for your soul.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…Amen!

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[1] Title Image:  Russell Brownworth (original work)      All Scripture from The New Living Translation (unless otherwise stated) 

[2] Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24