An Upside-Down World

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.  Isaiah 5:20 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.  So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth.  It broke his heart.  Genesis 6:5-6

I watched a video my cousin Rick sent to me.  I don’t have time to watch a lot of internet stuff, but this one caught my eye.  It was presented by a young woman host of a Youtube/TikTok video blog called Defender of the Republic.  It’s about the “upside-downness” of cultural norms in our world, particularly in the U.S.A.  From an unquestionable breakdown of morals and common sense, to racism, vaccinations, illegal immigration practices, and cutthroat government gutting what was once (at least) a marginally-trustworthy institution, she names today’s absurd inequity, injustice, and insanity without pulling punches.  Some of it could be seen as political partisianship, or just plain political rhetoric, but most is spot-on common sense.  According to John Q. Public, good is now evil, and, conversely, evil is incredibly the best!  All told, this stark assessment of our current world adds another billion tons of credence to Jesus’ prophecy:

“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.  Matthew 24:37

As God’s assessment in Genesis, that Noah was the only human being on planet earth who tried to stay away from evil, nothing could hold back the judgment flood that was brewing. 

And, I believe, there isn’t much doubt that the 21^st century has just as imminent a Judgment Day on the horizon.  The Days of Noah are upon us!  And Jesus gave an indelible reason why that is so, and will be universally-conclusive:

And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.  John 3:19

For You Today

That judgment inevitably follows action is as predictable, and undeniably just, as when you jump out of an airplane at 10,000-feet without a parachute.  It’s unavoidable, and brings a close to the chapter you’re writing.

So here’s today’s (and tomorrow’s, and every-day’s) question:

Do you know the Editor who can shed light on your story?

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: 

Good and Evil; the War and God, with a Broken Heart

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

A Treasure of Common Sense

Friday, May 20, 2022

For the Lord grants wisdom!  From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.   Proverbs 2:6-7a

Solomon would have known a thing-or-two about wisdom; Scripture informs us there was not a wiser man on planet Earth.  Following the reasoning of Proverbs here, the wisdom of God, granted an honest person, is a treasure of common sense.  Common sense is defined as:  sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.[1] 

A decision which is “sound and prudent” is my kind of joy.  Most of us have made more than enough of the other kind of decisions, the less-than-sound, and woefully-imprudent.  That kind of decision usually gets one in trouble. 

Now, having stated the (painfully) obvious, let’s unpack the source of common sense…how to move towards being a wise person.  It arguably begins with truth.  Solomon[2] tells us it is to the honest person that God grants a treasure of common sense.  So, that would be a starting point for developing into a person said to possess a treasure of common sense.  Sadly, in the 21^st century world that would be a sparsely-populated starting gate.  James Russell Lowell’s famous line, truth forever on the scaffold; wrong forever on the throne, has never more accurately described a culture that populates this world as now.

Whoever first said honesty is the best policy may have been a Solomon reader.  And she or he was right.  If not just because of some lofty aspiration to be noble or admired, but to rightly understand one can be neither without pure and discerning judgment.  And to be such a person requires an ongoing, absolutely intimate relationship with knowing truth, and speaking truth, all in the context of love.  Paul urged the believers at Ephesus to do just that:

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.  Ephesians 4:15

For You Today

You could go to graduate school at the most prestigious universities in the world for the next 20 years to study ethics and the workings of honesty.  You might come out with a PhD of this world’s approval, and high-sounding theoretical philosophy.  And the world would probably buy your books.

Or you could sit at the feet of the One who said:  I am the way the truth and the life[3], and begin to experience the common sense treasury’s flooding your soul with what really matters. 

Your call.

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

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

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[1] Merriam-Webster Dictionary

[2] Author of much of the Book of Proverbs, probably chapters 1-29

[3] John 14:6

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

Sovereign Means Sovereign

[1]

Friday, May 17, 2019

As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.  He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence.  He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him.  His rule is eternal—it will never end.  His kingdom will never be destroyed.      Daniel 7:13-14

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:  “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”         Revelation 11:15

Some things are just common sense, like dying.  Human experience tells us that death is the culmination of all the breaths we’ve taken; eventually we all come to that final one.  The other part of the dynamic duo of death and taxes has little to do with common sense.  However, you can be certain you’ll get the tax bill.

Some other things aren’t immediately evident; they must be taken by faith.  Just because yesterday you weren’t clobbered on road to work does not mean you have an automatic pass today.  And just because that chair at the dinner table held you up for breakfast, you do not have a guarantee that triple-Whopper with Cheese you ate for lunch won’t be a chair-breaker this evening. 

Common sense, everyday stuff; faith, also common, but requiring a leap!

Of faith is the idea of sovereignty.  The word means independent, a self-governing entity.  That, in the elementary understanding we have of God, is true; Eternal JHWH is apart, other, unreachable to those who would exert power over Him.  God is sovereign, and there is no greater power, or love, or judgment; sovereign is sovereign!

Both Old Testament prophet Daniel, and New Testament Apostle John point to the sovereignty of God and His eternal rule of the universe.  This is, of course, the next great event for which all humanity and the creation groans[i], and waits.  Since “the fall” in the Garden of Eden, humanity awaited the arrival of Messiah.  The cross wasn’t what they expected, but God’s plan, like God himself, is not subject to the creation’s expectations; sovereign is sovereign, unrestrained, unexplainable, undeniable, and unfathomable. 

From the cross we (again) occupy the waiting seat, perhaps eagerly wondering, but unquestionably looking for the coming again of Messiah.  The difference between Old Testament waiting and our lot is a promise from the Sovereign of all sovereigns that the next coming will not be meek and lowly, hay and stubble cradle with only the smelly barnyard for a palace; the next coming will be in power and majesty to set everything right which has been so wrong.  This coming in the clouds will be with honor, authority, and a final crowning of sovereignty in which sin will be no more, and all creation will be under that authority!

For You Today

Sovereignty is sovereignty…God is over all.  But His Sovereign rule is not to be despised; it is only that sovereignty which sets us free to love.

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©

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[i] Romans 8:22