We Don’t Have to Pick a Hill to Die On
It may seem redundant to some but, Father, I am grateful each day that You motivate and enable me to accomplish things needing done. All praise to You!
Romans 9:17-24 (<<click here to read the passage)
Something that needs to be stressed is that sometimes we have to admit we don’t know everything or in some cases that we don’t understand everything. This is one of those times for me.
A debate that has gone on for centuries is whether we as God’s children have true free will or if there is no free will. Having no free will is referred to as predestination, which means God determines our destinies, we do not.
I’m not going to argue either side, though my leaning may come through unintentionally. I know of two exceptional theologians who debated this theological point, John Calvin and John Wesley. They were contemporaries and though they agree on many, many things theologically, they could not come to an agreement on that.
The point that I am trying to make is that, one, we don’t have to know or understand everything, and secondly, we, as followers of Christ, don’t always have to pick a hill to die on – though many over the centuries have done just that. There have been far too many deaths – lives taken – in the name of Christ.
Are these things important? Yes…but personally I will let God sort it all out. He is Sovereign and all will be right in the end regardless of our take on some things. He is a just, fair, loving, and compassionate God. We have no need to worry about that. What we need to be concerned about is loving Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And once we’re well on our way to that end of things, to love our neighbors as ourselves – no argument there!
A good verse here is from Galatians 5:22-23,
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! NLT
Lord Jesus, regardless of our stand on so, so many things, may our love for You and Your love in us and through us stand above them all! Amen and amen!
July 10th, 2023, Mon, 7:30 pm
Like a Squirrel on a Feeder
Thank You for a pleasant day all the way around, Father. Good times of worship and some sweet fellowship tonight. I would ask, as we come together, that You would guide my mind and heart. Amen.
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One of my greatest irks in recent days is at least one squirrel who has figured out how to jump up onto my office window ledge and then in a quick, consecutive leap land on a bird feeder suspended from the gutter a foot and a half or so beyond my window. The perpetrator is a glutton.
He grabs hold of the one edge of the roof of the feeder and drapes himself over the roof so that his head – specifically his mouth – is within arms reach of the other side of the feeder where the black oil sunflower seeds are ripe for the taking…and boy does he take!
Early on, I had time to crack the window a bit at the bottom and then as he judged his next move I could poke him with a letter opener – not enough to hurt but enough to “encourage” him to cut it out! There’s no possible way to pull off any poking now at all. His eyes are on the prize and there is nothing that I am going to do to distract him from getting what he wants.
Isn’t that the way we are with the things of this world? Often, we set our hearts on things that in and of themselves are not innately evil but there are times when God just says, “No.” “Those things are not what’s best for you.”
Initially, we may be deterred but we know that we want those things, and we are determined to get a taste. Now, I can’t monitor my bird feeder every hour of every day so at some point the squirrel gets what he wants, and then he’s hooked – easy access to what he wants most.
Though God’s eyes are always on us, He allows us to do what we want though it is detrimental to our relationship with Him – it’s called free will.
If I catch the squirrel on the feeder open the window and scare him off, but nothing will stop him if I’m not watching.
God wants us to avoid those things that bring division between ourselves and Him. He encourages us not to do those things, but ultimately it is our choice.
Over time we will often tire of our indulgence and will see it for what it is. We will seek forgiveness and turn back to God. But the stupid thing is even after all of that, we will far too often go after it again. It truly is a vicious circle.
Only God can help us turn our backs on that which displeases Him, but we must be diligent in our interaction with Him. When we take our eyes off Him, it’s easy to catch glimpses of the sin that so easily entangles us and desire it once more.
…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1b-2a NIV
Lord Jesus, help us to keep our focus on You. Our relationship with You is the greatest reward we could ever receive. May our hearts be drawn to You.
The last lines of the third stanza of the hymn, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, come to mind.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for Thy courts above. – Robert Robinson, 1758
Amen and amen.
July 9th, 2023, Sun, 7:23 pm
Are You Building an Invisible Ladder?
(This isn’t mine but it’s pretty close!)
Father, thank You for the opportunity to interact with people from my churches. Sometimes it’s more difficult than other times, but seeds are planted when You are in charge. All praise to You!
Romans 9:15-16 (<<click here to read the passage)
For he says to Moses,
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
….and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. NIV
Ladders are not my favorite things, but I must use them on occasion. And not just any ladder will do. One of my ladders was rejected by its owner. At least one of its steps has been replaced and it’s just a tad rickety but overall, it’s solid. Anytime I need to get up on our roof or clean out gutters it’s the one for me.
This particular ladder is constructed of wood and is held together with metal rods pulled tight by tightened nuts on each end of the rod. Like I said it’s solid. But what if I used twigs found in my yard, or straw from some local farmer’s field? What if I made one of marshmallows and toothpicks? Except for something decorative, those other means of constructing a ladder would be ludicrous in real life.
We touched on this topic a few days ago, but the Apostle Paul once again tells us that our salvation does not depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
The notes from my Life Application Study Bible paint an excellent picture.
The fallacy of gaining salvation by human effort remains as strong as ever – people…imagine that their efforts are building an invisible ladder to heaven made of service, family, position, reputation, good work, and desire, although none of these rungs will support a feather. People are so busy trying to reach God that they completely miss the truth that God has already reached down to them. We cannot earn God’s mercy – if we could, it would not be mercy. (emphasis mine)
It simply cannot be stressed enough, when it comes to our relationships with God all we are called to do is to obey. No other act or “contribution” makes any difference.
Back in the book of Exodus, Moses asked to see God and interestingly enough, God agreed. It tells us in Exodus 33:19,
And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. NIV
It is solely up to God…and no one can argue with that.
July 6th, 2023, Thurs, 8:20 pm
Playing Favorites?
Though I was a little under the weather, I still was able to accomplish a fair amount today, Father. Thank You for Your support and encouragement.
Romans 9:10-14 (<<click here to read the passage)
To be totally honest, I sometimes struggle with favorites on my bus route. Some kids, for a multitude of reasons, just hit it off with me, and they probably get away with far more than they should. Other kids are very adept at breaking – not just bending the rules – and then it becomes an issue of boxing them into that mindset.
One child has been a handful for some time now, and I’ve had to consciously not think that they are up to no good at any point in the day, every day! I realize their home life is not the best and I also blatantly see that they desire friends, but their actions often alienate them from others.
I try to be fair but often it is just plain difficult to do so!
Aren’t we glad that God is not that way with us? He loves us for who we are and for who we can be. But the thing is He knows us through and through, and there are probably things in life that we experience – or don’t experience – because He knows who we are. My Life Application Study Bible states that God is sovereign; he is not arbitrary, that is He is not random, capricious, or illogical.
In today’s passage, the Apostle Paul speaks of Jacob and Esau. “…before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad” their mother, Rebekah, received a message from God. It sounds pretty harsh, and, from our limited human perspective, extremely unfair.
“The older (Esau) will serve the younger (Jacob).” As it is written and forever remains written, “Jacob I loved (chose, protected, blessed), but Esau I hated (held in disregard compared to Jacob).” v12-13 AMP
Just reading those words may get our dander up a bit!
One thing we must realize is that the loved and hated references are from the Old Testament book of Malachi and refers to the nations of Israel and Edom (Esau’s descendants) rather than to the individual brothers. God chose Jacob to continue the family line of the faithful because he knew his heart was for God. But he did not exclude Esau from knowing and loving him.
As we well know, God knows us. We are not cast in an unbreakable die. We can choose to follow God or not. In all things he works for our good; he is trustworthy; he will save all who believe in him. When we understand these qualities of God, we know that his choices are good even if we don’t understand all his reasons.
Lord Jesus, first help us to make the choice to follow You. And then secondly, help us to understand, even though it may be hard, to trust You in all things. Amen.
July 5th, 2023, Wed, 6:50 pm
We Are Freely Chosen
It is always a day of cherished moments to meet up with my parents and my sister. Father, thank You for the blessing they are to me. Help me to cherish the moments we have together. Amen.
Romans 9:6-12 (<<click here to read the passage)
Part of our makeup as human beings is pride. Some have it in great abundance while others have seemingly microscopic amounts in what makes up who they are. My sermon this coming Sunday is opening with thoughts of pride and humility. I’ve not gotten very far, but as I sit to write I cannot help but see how we find our standing before God.
I’ve mentioned before that I am a third-generation pastor. My father and both of my grandfathers served faithfully as God led them, impacting the lives of many. That’s very cool (at least to me!) but is that why God chose me – because of my personal heritage? No, it has absolutely nothing to do with that. God chose me because He alone is free to do so.
Does God choose us because of the good deeds we can perform…all the giving of time, effort, resources, energies, and efforts? No, it has no effect whatsoever.
It’s shocking to hear but the Prophet Isaiah wrote as directed by the Lord,
We are all infected and impure with sin.
….When we display our righteous deeds,
….they are nothing but filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6a NLT
…God does not choose us because of our filthy rages…
As Paul continues to write in today’s passage, he refers to the great pride the Jews took in being descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But he pointed out that Jacob and his twin brother, Esau (Jacob’s sons)…
…were not yet born and had not done anything either good or bad, so that God’s purpose [His choice, His election] would stand, not because of works [done by either child], but because of [the plan of] Him who calls them, it was said to her, “The older (Esau) will serve the younger (Jacob).” v11-12
Paul asserts that no one can claim to be chosen by God because of his or her heritage or good deeds. God freely chooses to save whomever he will…it is God’s sovereign choice to save us by his goodness and mercy, not by our own merit.*
In Ephesians 2:9, Paul wrote,
Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. NLT
We all stand on level ground. God chooses us for who we are and there’s nothing we can do or be to earn it. Drop all pretense of pride and humbly accept the salvation He so freely extends to us. Amen.
*New Living Translation Life Application Study Bible
July 4th, 2023, Tues, 7:47 pm