Of Red-winged Blackbirds and Hawks
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
….Worship the Lord with gladness.
….Come before him, singing with joy. Psalm 100:1-2 NLT
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One thing I frequently see, this time of year, in particular, is red-winged blackbirds chasing hawks or crows. They fly right over them and are often pecking at their heads. I looked it up and found out that they’re not really hurting the other bird but are driving home (literally with their beaks!) the message of “Keep your distance! This is our territory, and your presence is explicitly not welcome! Get lost!”
As I am known to do, I thought about that and came up with an analogy but with a bit of a twist. I assigned one of the birds to be the enemy of our souls, the devil, and the other bird to be us. What worked best was to make the devil the red-winged blackbird. We will make us, the hawk.
Like the hawk, we are flying along doing what God created us to do – we excel in being the very best hawk we can possibly be. As we are doing that, it draws us closer to God. Well of course the devil doesn’t like that one little bit, so he lashes out, diverting us from our goal of drawing closer to God.
He calls, “Keep your distance! We’ve claimed this area for darkness and light may not enter- it is our territory. Your presence is explicitly not welcome! Get lost!”
It is far too easy for us to be daunted. We become discouraged from moving toward God and instead are distracted into changing course or possibly even turning back. It’s a bad move but the thing is, it’s not like it is totally our fault…in a way. Who likes putting themselves into situations where we are harassed? Who likes being humiliated? I mean seriously we are a mighty hawk, and this little pipsqueak red-winged blackbird is wailing on us! What are we supposed to do?
It can be easy to lose our focus but with prayer and practice and much more prayer, we can stand firm against the distraction, and, where the red-winged blackbird might win the battle, the devil cannot stand against us. He must yield, for, in Christ, we are the victors!
So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. James 4:7 AMP
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 NIV
…let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith… Hebrews 2:1b-2a NASB
Hang in there with Jesus by your side, you got this!
May 15th, 2022, Sun, 6:21 pm
Do We Measure Others by OUR Yardstick?
Father, today I am grateful for another day. Yes, it is full of blessings, for which I am grateful, as well. But none of us are guaranteed another day, yet You grant them to us over and over again. May I use it well. Amen.
Acts 15:1-21(<<click here to read the passage)
It is interesting how God so often layers things in our lives. As I usually do, I’ve been prepping for this Sunday’s service. A concept with which I will begin the sermon, using the key text, has to do with prophecies of the Old Testament coming to fruition in the New Testament. The same thing happens in today’s blog passage.
As we come to this particular passage, we are at a major point of decision. Many occurrences in the lives of Peter, then Paul and Barnabas, have made it very clear what God’s intentions are, but as we in our humanity are want to do, we get stuck on points that we think are of utmost importance. Since we are dealing with the things of God, we think that that is good enough to make whatever we think to be important.
The crossroad they found themselves at had to do with what was to be expected of new believers who were Gentiles and not Jewish. Some Jewish believers had been affiliated with the Pharisees so of course, they insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.”
First, I want to make it clear that I don’t feel they were being malicious. They just felt very strongly about it. It was important to them, for obvious reasons. We all have beliefs (some of them fervent), we all have experiences, and our tendency is to want to measure others by our yardstick. It is common for believers to think that their experiences, their convictions, are true and should be the norm. Different ideas are thought to be inferior or invalid. (emphasis mine)
…to measure others by our yardstick. Aren’t we guilty of that more often than we would care to admit?
My Life Application Study Bible also stresses that, yes, Peter, Barnabas, and Paul all had very compelling experiences to put a great emphasis on their point. But despite that, James – the brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church – didn’t just jump on the bandwagon with them. Wisely, he turned to God’s Word as the ultimate test of truth.
And we must do the same. Ultimately…what matters is what God’s Word says. The more we know God’s Word, the more we read it, study it, memorize it, and meditate on it, the better we will be able to discern what is right and best in times of controversy or doctrinal disagreement.
As part of his response, James quotes from the book of Amos and Isaiah. He says,
‘Afterward I will return
….and restore the fallen house of David.
I will rebuild its ruins
….and restore it,
so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord,
….including the Gentiles—
….all those I have called to be mine.
The Lord has spoken—
….he who made these things known so long ago.’ vs16-18
So, in the end, they didn’t burden them with the entirety of the Law – including circumcision – but instead encouraged them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. v20
May God and His Word serve as our sole guide. May we all measure ourselves by His yardstick Amen.
May 12th, 2022, Thurs, 12:52 pm
Hardships Are a Must
I am amazed, Father! You enabled me to accomplish so much this morning! I am very grateful; may our time together now be as fruitful. Amen.
Acts 14:21-28(<<click here to read the passage)
If someone were to ask me about the trials and tribulations throughout my life, I’d have to pause and think. I feel that I’ve been abundantly blessed. Yes, I’ve had difficult times, but those times seem so small in comparison to the times of blessing I’ve had. Honestly, it bothers me in that I feel like I haven’t had nearly the number of troubles that so many others have had. And I can assure you that it’s not because I am better or more holy than others. If you’ve read my blog for any time at all you realize that I have more than a couple of issues and am far from perfect! …just ask my family…
In the latter half of verse 22, Paul and Barnabas encouraged the disciples of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia to remain firm in the faith, saying, “It is through many tribulations and hardships that we must enter the kingdom of God.” AMP
I like the “remain firm in the faith” portion of the Amplified Bible, but the New Living Translation phrases that verse a little differently, and at least in my perception, it makes that part a little easier to understand.
They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.
It’s unusual, but my study Bible didn’t say anything about this verse, so I poked around some online commentaries and found studylight.org. (I don’t know anything about them, but this exposition was pretty sound, so I will share it with you.)
Their focus is on the concept of the word must and take that it is fit or proper that we should. Not that it is fixed by any fatal necessity, but that we are not to expect that it will be otherwise. We are to calculate on it when we become Christians. Why it is proper, or fit, the apostle did not state. But we may remark that it is proper:
(1) Because such is the opposition of the world to pure religion that it cannot be avoided. Of this they had had striking demonstration in Lystra and Iconium.
(2) It is necessary to reclaim us from wandering, and to keep us in the path of duty…
I used to wander off until you disciplined me;
….but now I closely follow your word. Psalm 119:67 NLT
My suffering was good for me,
….for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. Psalm 119:71 NLT
(3) It is necessary to wean us from the world; to keep before our minds the great truth that we have here “no continuing city and no abiding place.” Trial here makes us pant for a world of rest. The opposition of sinners makes us desire that world where “the wicked shall cease from troubling,” and where there shall be eternal friendship and peace.
(4) When we are persecuted and afflicted, we may remember that it has been the lot of Christians from the beginning. We tread a path that has been watered by the tears of the saints, and rendered sacred by the shedding of the best blood on the earth. The Saviour trod that path; and it is enough that the “disciple be as his master, and the servant as his lord,” Matthew 10:24-25.*
Times innumerable, someone says it much better than I could. If need be, read that through once more, it gives us quite a bit to chew on. Amen?
*For reference purposes: https://www.studylight.org/commentary/acts/14-22.html
May 11th, 2022, Wed, 12:37 pm
Better Than a Turkey?
A full and interesting day, Father. Thank You for the opportunity of getting to know a couple of friends a little better on a shared bus trip. Use our interactions to strengthen the spiritual bond between us. Amen.
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This morning something very exciting happened to me! Some people seem to experience it regularly, but it had never happened to me. Early on my elementary route, I witnessed a large bird take into flight from the road several yards in front of me. It was a bald eagle! To my knowledge, I have never seen one in the wild. Oh, the joy of God’s creation in all its many forms!
It is commonly believed that early on in the history of the United States, there was a competitor of the bald eagle for being our national symbol – the turkey! Both are native to North America and are fairly common in the United States. I understand that the turkey was not really considered but that it was merely Ben Franklin’s private opinion on the matter.
What got me thinking, was comparing the two birds. We have come to hold the bald eagle as majestic and regal. And as far as the turkey is concerned, we are more apt to think of them as being much more common and not overly bright. Though they can fly (as I mentioned in a previous post – See How Fast You Can Fly!) they really don’t seem to match up to the highly held stature of the bald eagle.
Without going a great deal into comparing the two, the point I want to stress is, at least from a human perspective, we need to be careful of who we hold in high esteem. It is easy for us to admire those with power, talent, wealth, beauty, etc. For example, I am astonished that we put so much stock into what entertainers have to say about important topics! Yeah, I can sing better than most people, or I’m better at throwing a ball through a hoop than just about everybody. Oh, and did we mention that people pay good money to see us do these things? You really should be impressed! Oh, and by the way, this is what I think about such and such.
On the other hand, usually, we are much less impressed with regular Joes – custodians, mechanics…school bus drivers(?), and any number of others. Now I’m not totally ruling out entertainers from having wisdom any more than regular Joes having a corner on the wisdom market.
First and foremost, God and His Word should be at the core of our search for wisdom. James, the brother of Jesus and early leader of the Jerusalem church said,
But the wisdom from above is first pure [morally and spiritually undefiled], then peace-loving [courteous, considerate], gentle, reasonable [and willing to listen], full of compassion and good fruits. It is unwavering, without [self-righteous] hypocrisy [and self-serving guile]. James 3:17 AMP
If we personified the bald eagle and the turkey, doesn’t what James had to say sound a bit more like a turkey?
Regardless, let’s put God first and then consider what those who consider themselves to be His followers have to share, always holding up their words against His.
Paul sums it up pretty well in Colossians 2:8,
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ. AMP
May 10th, 2022, Tues, 7:41 pm
God Did Not Leave Himself Without Some Witness!
What a beautiful day! Thank You, Father, for the warmth of the sun and the green of spring! All praise to our awesome Creator God!
Acts 14:8-20(<<click here to read the passage)
As He so often does, God has made a connection with my opening praise to today’s passage! It never ceases to amaze me!
When Paul saw that a man who had been crippled from birth listening to him in the crowd had faith to be healed, he proclaimed, “Stand up on your feet.” And he jumped up and began to walk. vs9-10
After that, things got pretty crazy. The local Gentiles thought them to be gods come down in human form and set about honoring them with sacrifices and all! When Paul and Barnabas realized what was happening, Paul immediately exclaimed,
“Men, why are you doing these things? We too are only men of the same nature as you, bringing the good news to you, so that you turn from these useless and meaningless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them. In generations past He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; yet He did not leave Himself without some witness [as evidence of Himself], in that He kept constantly doing good things and showing you kindness, and giving you rains from heaven and productive seasons, filling your hearts with food and happiness.” vs15-17 AMP
I think that even people who don’t really know God – at least not personally – have to stop and think, “How is all of this beauty possible?” There is so much intricacy and variance in creation, there is no way it could all have just randomly come about. And as Paul says, God did not leave Himself without some witness [as evidence of Himself]… Rain and productive seasons are two obvious reminders.
My Life Application Study Bible references Romans 1:20,
For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense. AMP
It may be harder to find in our socio-political climate, but we absolutely cannot miss it in the world of beauty around us! May God’s creation cry out and may we, His children, echo the praise! Our God is at work in the world and is sovereign! Amen!
May 9th, 2022, Mon, 12:44 pm