The Way
Father, as I have sat down today in preparation for Sunday, I give You praise for pulling together things together to where they are at this point. You always know best, and your timing is always perfect.
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A few days ago I used the phrase “the Way” when referring to Christianity. I’m leaning a bit more into the concept of that phrase for a couple of reasons. One is the fact that being affiliated with the term Christian is looked upon with more and more disdain in today’s world. Merriam-Webster defines disdain as open dislike for someone or something considered unworthy of one’s concern or respect.
The thing is, if Jesus’ followers were truly following Him – loving Him with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving others as they loved themselves – then we could stalwartly bear the disdain. (Though in all honesty, if we truly lived that way, unbelievers would be hard-pressed to feel that way about us!)
But the thing is, many who claim to be Christians are not living as we have been called to live…grieving our Lord Jesus.
Secondly, I’ve started following a gentleman named Chad Bird on TikTok. He has served as pastor, professor, and guest lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew. He will often speak about a certain Hebrew word and then expound upon it, in a short but pithy exchange.
A few days ago, he shared the name by which the followers of Christ were first called, the Way. (It is used several times in the book of Acts.) The word in Hebrew is derekh (it’s pronounced pretty much how it is spelled). So, in the Old Testament, a derekh is a way or a road, but it’s also a custom or a journey, or a behavior.
He stated that it really sums up Christianity because it’s a holistic word encompassing deeds and creeds, faith and love, believing and doing.
I wholeheartedly agree that being a follower of Christ is rich and deep. We are who we are as believers – as followers of the Derekh – because of who Jesus is…not because of who we are or who we make Him out to be. So, when you follow Christ, you follow Him on the derekh, on the Way.
Psalm 25 is a perfect expression of this…you could call it the Derekh Psalm because the word…occurs several times in various forms. Verse 9 begins with the verb “he leads” and ends with the noun “the way” – both words are forms of the word derekh.
“He leads the humble in justice,
And He teaches the humble His way.” NASB
So, now take that and think about who Christ is.
In John 14:5-6 one of Jesus’ disciples said to Him,
“Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life…” AMP
Christ is the Way to the Father, he is our Derekh that leads us into the arms of our heavenly Father. and so, we follow Him on the way because He is the Way.
And I, for one, want to be part of the Way!
Oct 18th, 2022, Tues, 12:58 pm
Blue Jay Lessons
A brisk day, with a few flurries and graupel, to boot, but Your beauty was a sight to behold, Father! The vibrant colors of the trees in all their splendor, it would take a mighty God to create such a diversity of hues across the vastness of nature! All praise to You!
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One thing that I’ve noticed recently is the crazy number of blue jays flying around! Especially on my elementary route in the early mornings, I’ve seen them, alone and in pairs, zooming in and out of the trees.
I’m sure it’s happened before, but this is the first time I’ve seen them in action. In the spring they are quieter and a little less active, due to mating and having and raising their young – don’t want to draw too much attention to themselves and their young families. In autumn they let it all out, they are raucous rabble-rousers! Calling back and forth, scavenging for food, and then leaving caches of it all about.
In the spring it’s all about their nuclear family but in autumn it’s a huge family reunion – every one of them is in the mix! Like us they are highly social and are more active in autumn, when the harvest is good and families are reuniting, it’s a time to come together – the more the merrier! With the turning of the season, it brings an end to the ban on brassiness. They can be loud again. They can be themselves.
OK, here is a weird fact about blue jays from the blog Cats and Birds.
The pigment found in blue jay feathers is actually brown.
Melanin, the same pigment found in human hair and skin, is a brown pigment – and it is the pigment found in Blue Jay feathers.
Why, then, do they appear blue?
Bird coloration is produced in a variety of ways, of which pigmentation is just one. The blue appearance of many blue birds is due to refraction – a light scattering phenomenon. The barb structure of Blue Jay feathers is such that, when light hits them, the blue light is refracted while the other wavelength of visible light is absorbed by the melanin, making them look blue.
If you come across a Blue Jay feather, try backlighting it. Without direct light, the blue is no longer reflected, and the feather will look brown.
This wasn’t necessarily the direction I thought this would go, but God obviously is pointing me in this direction.
We are born separated from God. Sin and its impact upon our lives “discolor”, if you will, the beauty that God created us to show forth. With our salvation, the sinful color of our souls is refracted by Jesus, the Light of the world (John 8:12). What was once drab and detrimental to our lives is changed to the purest of whites! Most believe that the sum of all the colors of light adds up to white.
Jesus, the Light of the world, sums up all of what we are meant to be! and with Him, we are just that, all we were created to be!
Oct 17th, 2022, Mon, 6:32 pm
Dam Cracks
Thank You for Your multiplied presence in our services today, Father. May the word that was given be multiplied in all present and in all that will participate online in days to come. Amen.
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If you’ve read my posts more than a few times, you probably know without looking that my blog is called MoreThanUseless. That’s been its name from the beginning. It’s still applicable today. I am…you are…more than useless. No matter what we’ve been led to believe, no matter what the world says, no matter what any parent, sibling, spouse, boss, neighbor, ad nauseam, has to say, we are all more than useless.
I stand by that, but as time has passed my heart and mind have shifted – at least in my understanding. Now I’ve written and vocalized this before, but to live a victorious life in Jesus, we cannot do it alone! There is no pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps in the Way (better known as Christianity).
To conquer our bent to sinning we must count on Jesus. Every breath of every day, we must live our lives in Him. That may sound a bit odd…but think about it.
I would dare say that we all have weaknesses of some sort or the other. Now we may go awhile without yielding or entertaining thoughts regarding those weaknesses, but over time there will almost definitely come a moment when we will linger just a second or two longer than we normally allow ourselves to in that area of weakness. That is a crack in our dam of determination. We may shove it back a little but the next time that weakness rears its head, we often will linger once more…maybe not for very long, but another crack appears in the dam.
It may take a few times, but each time another crack will appear, and at some point, we will linger longer. More cracks will appear, the yearnings of our heart pressing more and more to escape. Eventually, those yearnings will overwhelm the desire we have to hold back, and before we know it the dam will burst, and we will be thrust into the irresistible flood of yearnings and desire.
Initially, there may be some satisfaction but for many of us, it will quickly give over to feelings of guilt and remorse, at which point we will drag ourselves back to Jesus’ feet, asking for forgiveness once more…for the thousandth upon thousandth time.
I do not claim perfection. (Everything I’ve just written shows that I’m pretty familiar with how things work…) But…I will say that while I cannot do it alone, I most assuredly can be victorious if I walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Once more The Valley of Vision speaks to me. Here is a portion of Spiritus Sanctus.
Holy Spirit…
Come as power,
….to expel every rebel lust, to reign supreme and keep me thine;
Come as teacher,
….leading me into all truth, filling me with all understanding;
Come as love,
….that I may adore the Father, and love him as my all;
Come as joy,
….to dwell in me, move in me, animate me;
Come as light,
….illuminating the Scripture, moulding me in its laws;
Come as sanctifier,
….body, soul and spirit wholly thine;
Come as helper,
….with strength to bless and keep, directing my every step;
Come as beautifier,
….bringing order out of confusion, loveliness out of chaos.
Magnify to me thy glory by being magnified in me,
….and make me redolent* of thy fragrance.
*redolent – strongly reminiscent or suggestive of
Oct 16th, 2022, Sun, 4:35 pm
My Hand in Yours
Father, I am amazed… Seven-plus years ago, I sat down for the very first time and what had not been, was. Yes, I had known You for many years. I had claimed You as my own. I had vowed dedicated service to You. But as time passed, the wonder of it all had passed as well. Then there was renewal! There was a revitalization of spirit and wonder! And we were together in a way that I had never experienced before.
Over these past seven years, I must admit that the wonder has waned somewhat. It is not as overwhelmingly glorious as it had been in those early years. You were consistent. You never changed. You never wandered from me. The problem was me… I was inconsistent. My spiritual and mental focus ebbed and flowed. I got distracted…I allowed myself to get distracted. And with distraction came wandering…not too far, as to separate myself from You. But far enough that I was just out of earshot – though if I had tried, I could have clearly heard You no matter where I was. I let go of Your hand. If I had truly kept my gaze fixed on Your face, I would not have done those things. But the glitter…the false glitter of the world lured me; it relentlessly called out to me.
Of course, You never stopped calling out to me. Your extended hands did not cease reaching out to bring me once more close to Your side. But I was the one to brush You away. I did not sever ties with You – I knew enough to do that much. But the invigorating richness of our times together were much fewer and farther between. But You didn’t give up. Your love was relentless.
But as of late, the staleness of the world’s offerings has no longer been able to stand against the reality of Your greatness…You power…and over and above all, Your love. There’s no love of worldly origins… I truly believe that whatever genuine love is in the world is connected to You, whether we realize it or not. It is not You that gets old. It is the world that gets old.
The world’s promises are empty. Your promises come to fruition without error. For me, the lure of the world has been quelled. Lord Jesus, I stand in Your strength and power alone. I cannot go this way alone. My hand in Yours is the only way to victory. My eyes constantly fixated upon Your face, gives me the power to fight…to stand. Fill me. Use me. I yield myself to the guidance of Your wisdom and staying with You, I cannot fail!
Oct 13th, 2022, Thurs, 6:08 pm
Not Outward but Inward
Father, how many times have You met me here? I’ve long lost count but You know. This has been an anchor for me. Through ups and downs, it has kept me tethered to You. I have drifted in the past, but it’s never let me get too far. Thank You for Your hand in it all. Thank You for Your unrelenting love.
Romans 2:25-29 (<<click here to read the passage)
I realize that some have been totally turned off by all that has been going on since Queen Elizabeth’s passing. They are tired of hearing about all the inner workings of royalty and the transition of “power”, such as it is. I find it interesting myself, though I must admit that I’ve only been keeping tabs on a news story here and there.
But as I was reading through today’s text, a thought came to me. For millennia, in Great Britain and many other countries over time, leadership of this nature has passed from generation to generation – father or mother to son or daughter, whatever the case may have been. At the center of it all – plain and simple – was bloodline. Where a father may have been a very strong all-around leader – great with decisions, wise in his dealings, fair in his judgments, gifted in his military strategies – his heir, who took things into his hands upon his father’s death, could very well have been entirely incompetent on all fronts. All countries have suffered from very poor leadership at some time or another.
Just because an individual was of royal birth, just because they had been around and gone through all the pomp and circumstance of living in such an environment, does not mean that they automatically have what it takes to lead as their forebearers have.
Paul plainly states in verse 28,
For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision.
Just because my father and mother gave themselves over to the Lord and faithfully obeyed his directives for their lives, does not mean that I “inherit” their salvation. Just because I might be capable of parroting their actions and vocabulary when it comes to “Christian” living does not mean that I am automatically a Christian. Their influence upon my life is of great importance but unless I embrace for myself that intimate relationship with God, all my words and actions are worthless.
Each of us is responsible for ourselves…no one else. I cannot make decisions for anyone but myself. My wife makes her own decisions. My son makes his own decisions. All the men and women of my congregations are responsible for making their own decisions. I can only point them in the right direction. And they should question even that, assuring within themselves – in light of the Holy Spirit’s leading – that I have spoken the truth.
Circumcision was an outward sign of a Jew’s relationship with God, but Paul made it very clear that that wasn’t enough. True circumcision was more than an external and physical act. To be a true Jew – and for that matter a true Christian – it is being one inwardly; and [true] circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by [the fulfillment of] the letter [of the Law]. His praise is not from men, but from God. v29 AMP
Lord Jesus, may we all yield to You. We cannot enter a relationship with You based on anyone else’s relationship with You. It is our decision and ours alone.
Oct 12th, 2022, Wed, 7:45 pm