Road Work Ahead!

"A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain and the rugged terrain a broad valley; then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken'" (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Everyone who has ever driven on the open road knows full well how aggravating it is to be diverted onto a "detour" route and away from the more direct route you had chosen to travel. Yet when road surfaces are torn up in the process of being repaired - graded, filled in, leveled, whatever - progress along such routes becomes difficult if not impossible.

In the spiritual life of the believer, the very same reality holds true. Here in the example of Israel as she came to the end of her years of captivity under the Babylonian dynasty, we discover in God's words of comfort through His prophet Isaiah a wonderful challenge for restoration that will fit our lives very nicely today as well.

Note first the command to "clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness." As He rescued them from their bondage, Jehovah wanted nothing to stand between Himself and His people as true restoration of spirit and heart took place. And He certainly wanted nothing of what had sent them into captivity in the first place in any way to mar their relationship in the future. But how were they to "clear the way" so that this relationship could be maintained?

His first instruction was for them to "let every valley be lifted up." Valleys are low places, beloved, and can represent to us today those fallen places in our lives wherein we have lowered the standard of God's righteousness in our living. These low places need to be brought back into line with the Word of God!

He further instructed them to "let every mountain and hill be made low." Hills by contrast are high places and can represent to us today those exalted places wherein we have allowed our own self-righteousness to prevail and have been self-seeking in our ways. These high places need to be "made low" in the sense of forsaking our own agendas and seeking to focus our living upon Jesus Christ alone.

He then instructed them to "let the rough ground become a plain." Such places can represent to us those paths that are blocked by the "rubble" of this world, making spiritual headway difficult or even impossible. Such places need to have all obstacles removed so that free and full access and progress are possible.

Finally, God instructed His people to "let the rugged terrain become a broad valley." Here the idea of "rugged" is that of something that is "crooked" or not straight. These places can represent those times in our lives when our feet have wandered down other paths, enticed perhaps by the pleasures of this world so readily available. These places need to be "straightened" so that we can walk the straight and narrow of God's perfect holiness.

And what will happen as our own personal "road work" is accomplished? God's promise is that "the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together." Would you exhibit the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in your living, beloved? Then we each need to get busy with some "road work" of our own! Our "filled-in, leveled, cleaned-up, straightened out" lives will make God's glory in Christ Jesus so visible to others that all in our world will be able to see it! Famed songwriter Baylus Benjamin ("B.B.") McKinney described such road work in our lives in a beautiful hymn written in 1924:

"While passing through this world of sin, and others your life shall view,
Be clean and pure without, within; let others see Jesus in you.
Let others see Jesus in you; let others see Jesus in you.
Keep telling the story; be faithful and true; let others see Jesus in you."

Are your own personal "work zone" signs posted and visible, beloved? Then let's get to work!

Ron

Losing the Holiness of God

"But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Peter 1:15-16)

How does someone go about "losing the holiness of God," beloved? And what does that mean anyway? We often hear Christians quote a part of this passage - "you shall be holy for I am holy" - and we shout in response, "Amen! Preach it, brother!" You see, we assume that by the words "you shall be holy" God is talking about that "holiness" that comes as a result of the working of His grace in our lives. He is holy and He makes us holy through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And all of that is so very true that now it is my turn to respond with - "Amen! Preach it, brother!"

And on our way we go, assuming that all is well in the "holiness" corner - God is holy and so are we because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. But that is not the primary thrust of Peter's words, beloved! Pay close attention to the command that precedes the quote found in these verses - "be holy yourselves in all your behavior." The apostle makes it clear that "imputed" or positional holiness is not good enough. Very simply, it matters how we live! Let me give you a personal example. I was recently involved in a wedding rehearsal for a young bride and groom when, in a moment of jesting, one of the groomsmen made an inappropriate gesture to one of the other groomsmen. He was horrified, however, to look up and catch my eyes upon him and knew instantly that I had seen the gesture. Immediately he was filled with remorse and began to apologize profusely. My own thought was that his apology was misdirected. Instead of moving horizontally, it should have been winging its way vertically!

This young man missed the point about personal holiness, beloved. He was only concerned that I had seen him and not at all that the Father had seen him also. Peter let his readers know that God wants us to be holy because He is holy, not because the pastor is holy or the deacons are holy! Beloved, it does not matter in this regard how others may be living their lives. You and I are to be holy ourselves because God is now, always has been, and always will be holy!

Peter could not possibly have been more clear in his instructions to believers of his day. He told them that God expected them to "be holy in all your (their) behavior." It is not because the pastor may find out or the Sunday School teacher may be disappointed, beloved, but rather that God sees and knows every thought, word, and deed. And whenever we fail to live according to His standard for our lives, we are losing the holiness of God!

Are we as ashamed when we sin in private and it is never known to man as we are when we sin publicly and it becomes known to others? How we answer that question will reveal how much we understand about what God expects of us and why. When we begin to really care about God's holiness being lived out in us, it will not matter to us where and when we sin. What will matter is that we do sin and fall short of the glory of God. And we will finally begin to seek earnestly to be holy in our living simply because that is what our Father wants us to do!

Ron

In the Shadow of the Cross

"But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14)

As a young boy growing up, beloved, how well I remember my dad praying either in a public service of worship at church or in our family setting at home. One statement that he used often and which always grabbed my attention as a young Christian was his request that God "hide us behind the cross." While I was not at all sure back then just what he meant by those words, I believe that I have a much clearer understanding today as an adult myself.

I am convinced that Dad's request of God in prayer was tied directly to the principle of living mentioned in this verse of Scripture by the Apostle Paul, specifically that of glorying "in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." You see, beloved, the cross of Jesus Christ is the focal point of every true believer's life! How could it possibly be otherwise? It was on the cross that Jesus shed His blood and laid down His life for our sins. It was on the cross that Jesus did battle with Satan and won the victory over sin, death, and Hell. And it was on the cross that Jesus forever satisfied the offended holiness of God and paved the way for each one of us to have an eternal relationship with the Father.

In what is surely one of her most beautiful and beloved hymns, Fanny Crosby captured the essence of what it means for us as Christians to be hidden behind the cross:

"Jesus, keep me near the cross - there a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream, flows from Calvary's mountain.
In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find rest, beyond the river."

For us to walk, then, "in the shadow of the cross" is to stay focused upon its message in our lives and its need in the lives of those around us. It is to be sensitive to opportunities to share this good news with folks to whom the Spirit of God may lead us. And it is to develop a biblical worldview of life on earth and to see it as part of God's unfolding plan for His eternal kingdom. It is to walk visibly in the personal righteousness of Jesus Christ, becoming an example and an inspiration to other believers and an enticement to those who do not yet know Christ to seek to know Him personally themselves.

So when we ask God to "hide us behind the cross," are we not just expressing our desire to be kept close to what is most important in our lives? Are we not asking the Father to keep us fixed upon the supreme objective of eternity, the seeking of His kingdom and His righteousness? Paul stated emphatically that for himself, he could and would only glory in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Can we who are Christians today ourselves do any less?

I am determined to live my life "in the shadow of the cross," beloved. And my continuing prayer will be for all of us that God would truly, as Dad put it so beautifully each time he prayed, "hide us behind the cross."

Thanks, Dad!

Ron

To Be Sure NOT!

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (Romans 6:1-2)

The unusual statement which serves as the title for this devotional, beloved, is a well-known and oft-used declaration in the South. Whenever someone says something that is unbelievable or in any way incredulous, the listener will often respond with "To be sure not!" It's a southern way of saying "Surely that can't be true!" It may even be a common term in other parts of the country, but I know that at least it is quite common here in the South.

What may surprise those of us who have ever used this term is that the Apostle Paul had his own version of it in the first century. The Greek term me ginoito has been translated in a number of different ways depending upon the English translation which you are using. From the King James Version's "God forbid!" to the Recovery Version's "Absolutely not!" the range of translations presents a startling contrast. In the original language of the New Testament, however, the term me ginoito leaves little room for doubt as to what the apostle meant by his choice of words. The literal translation of the term is "not be" or "not become" in the sense of someone declaring "May that never happen!" To elaborate a bit upon the King James rendering, Paul could be said to have been thinking "God forbid that you should ever think such a thing!"

And what was it concerning which the apostle felt so strongly, his "to be sure not," if you will? Some to whom he wrote were suggesting that, because God's grace is sufficient to forgive us and cleanse us from all sin, why not just live more indulgently in sin so that God's grace might flow even more abundantly? And today, though we never hear any professing Christian say such a thing, still lifestyles indicate that we may at least be thinking it!

The very thought that because we are recipients of God's grace in Jesus Christ we do not have to worry about the standard of our living is absolutely contrary to the Bible's call to personal holiness in our Christian walk, beloved. No wonder that Paul's response to them was a hearty me ginoito! From the purest of thoughts to the purest of deeds, our lives are to ever become a pursuit of godliness in full view of a watching and wondering world lost in sin. We must show everyone what Jesus has done for us so that they will come to see what He can do for them. Only then will we have "earned" the right to share with them the good news of Calvary.

What do you say, beloved? Are we going to miss opportunities to reach others for Christ simply because our personal lifestyles don't line up?

Me ginoito!

Ron