All posts by ljmonson

Devotions, Justice, Life, Motivation, Preaching

Parable of the Rock

Colossians 1:13-14 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

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I cannot change the past. It is a stone that is simply too large to move. It is the immovable object trailing along behind held by ropes to my inner well-being. It constrains my self-image. It impedes whatever progress I think I am making in all my relationships. I scratch and pull and yank and sometimes I simply try to ignore the weight constantly restricting me. I get so tired of the strain, I stop and think, “my place, my current position good enough”. But the weight continually increases until the shadow of that immense rock shades everything I do. I toil in a tethered country of struggle. The stone becomes the hallmark of the dominion in which I live. But there is a solution to the darkness, to the weight that so easily restrains my progress. A solution that does not include darkness, struggle, or immobility. The solution is forgiveness and the severing of the bonds that would impede my headway. The solution which opens to me a new kingdom. Bliss and progress are now my paths.

Devotions, Life, Mercy, Motivation, Personal, Theology

No looking back

1 John 1:9  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

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Occasionally I receive remarks and comments on my writing.  Not too long ago, I was called up short by a comment on the harshness of God’s view of man. God does see his creation as flawed and corrupted, and this willfulness on our part separates us from Him. Further, I understand how God has interacted with and often tested his people.  The result of this testing has been mostly repeated failures.  It is terrible to fall into an angry God’s hands.  It is a terrible state of mind to only think of yourself as constantly unworthy. Conviction of my state is the first step to understanding my need to be forgiven. A need to experience God’s mercy and grace. Everyone, including me, has corrupted the image of God in which we were created. This feeling of being less than expected or even unworthy should point to something more than dwelling in the slough of self-loathing.

I am saved by grace.  I am forgiven of my multitude of flaws.  I have felt the mercy of God upon my face.  I walk boldly in the calm, sweet, renewed path set before me, and I don’t look back.

Bible, Bible Study, Devotions

Fellow miners

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

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No more shortcuts to the decisions of my life. I will do my best to understand the weighty matters of my world.  It is my job to understand.  I must make well-thought-out and knowledgeable assessments of what is before me every day. My daily life starts with coffee and writing.  Sometimes, this combination results in deep and provocative ideas.  At other times it is just stating the obvious.

Most of my epistles are from my daily research of God’s Word and come with the satisfaction of personal understanding. The Bible has been studied, dissected, clarified, commented on, taught, defended, and remarked upon by smarter Saints than I. With the availability of so much information, it is easier to accept someone else’s opinion or conclusion than to make my own. The desperate need today is not for more intelligence or more of the gifted. I do not need those who would speak and write with great eloquence to make my case for me.  I need to write what is revealed to me. I will not be satisfied by the status quo or take anything at face value. I dig deep that I am not ashamed. I dig deep so that I may handle God’s revelation might be imprinted upon my heart. Please don’t take my word for it, don’t let others tell you the code of scripture, dig for yourself.

Church, Culture, Devotions

Change is not always comfortable

Romans 12:2 “Don’t be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your very being, and that will prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.”

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The church has been a large part of my life for over 50 years. The perfected sameness of three hymns, an offering, and forty minutes of Bible-centered preaching all concluding with an opportunity to find peace was the formula of the Church. But that idealistic church has changed.

The change in climate in the church has slowly and almost imperceptibly shifted itself into something different. Can you feel it? Much like a grand ship not going fast enough in a headwind, the church seems to be drifting. In response to the secular, the church is no longer a place of forgiveness for sinful people, but a place of feeling good about ourselves. Instead of being a place where grace and mercy were to be found, it has slowly, imperceptibly, and almost without notice, drifted by culture.  It has changed from changing people to meet God’s expectations to “can’t we just get along.” The church I knew was a place of commitment, resilience, and sacrifice. It was a place of finding the will of God and following that will.  It has become a place of social gathering in the hope some of the holy stuff may rub off on them. Social justice is not Biblical justice.

Then again it might be my age. Yet I find myself humming the song, “Give me that old-time religion.”

Bible Study, Culture, Devotions, Renewal

Forever

I John 2:17 “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

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We live in a world of distractions.  Thousands of voices call us to change our focus from what really matters.  These voices use our feelings of inadequacy to charm, seduce and dominate our lives.  We have an idea that our lives must be lived to the fullest.  That every moment must be crammed full. Our attention span shrinks in the onslaught of these distractions. All these things that would grab us and enthrall our minds are just fleeting.  Whatever achievement, thrill, or body enhancement we accept into our sphere of life will mean little 50 years from now. Our infatuation with the now is simply tragic. Look to the unseen, the invisible realities of hope and faith in Christ for true fulfillment. Do so and live not in the moment but forever

Culture, Devotions, Motivation, Ramblings

Seeking God First

Thought for January 23– Day 23 of the new year

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

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Our times seem to be becoming ever more difficult.  Cancel culture, perceived racism, homeless in the streets, and the destruction of past norms, all seem to point to a need for mercy and grace.  We hear from all sides this is the “new normal.”  Nevertheless, if this new way of seeing the world leaves out our dependence upon God, I want no part of it.  Instead in our times of need, my reach must be much further than my grasp and my vision must be more than what I perceive.  God is here and He is willing to hand out both lavishly and perfectly the love of mercy and grace.  Today I am in need, so please forgive, and pour out your mercy and grace, as I do so for you.  Renew in my heart the desire to seek God before any other solution.

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Assurance, Devotions, Life, Motivation

Race one step at a time.

Thought for January 21 – Day 21 of the new year

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 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. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

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The Christian race is ongoing.  All those who have gone before are our observers. We are required to run without the baggage of a thousand regrets. The past of our lives is always the greatest hindrance to our progress.  Regret, shame, and guilt slow our progress. We must just let it go and run.  It is extremely easy to think and say the race is about the final checkered flag.  Yet it seems so far away.  I need to just concentrate on the next step, the next few feet.  It is about perseverance.  It is about focused continual action.  The accomplishment of one step is an encouragement to make it to the next after that.   

Assurance, Bible Study, Devotions, Life, Motivation

Renew me again

Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” ——————————————

It is recorded that as Sir Walter Raleigh placed his neck on the chopping block of his execution, the executioner asked, “Does your head lie easy, Sir Walter?” Answering the man holding the double-edged ax, “It matters not, my friend, how my head lies, provided my heart is right.”

The state of my heart is my decision.  My soul can be a stone with an associated hardness and lifelessness, or it can be a thing of hope, caring, forgiveness, and love.  I cannot allow ideology to supplant God’s will.  I cannot let my wants, needs, desires, and my own personal demand for control, take the place of God’s will. My alliance with God’s perfect will, my decision, makes me who I am.  It is an act of God’s renewal of me.

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Assurance, Devotions, Life, Mercy, Music, Personal

Showers

Acts 3:19 “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,”

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The sun is out this morning.  It seems like there has been rain or a threat of rain for almost a month. There are showers of refreshing for all those who are willing to stand out in them without fear of getting soaked. A sign on my wall so aptly states, “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but learning to dance in the rain.”

God’s favor is for those who have been made clean, made into new creatures, being made in His image. Similar to the hymn we used to sing in church:

There shall be showers of blessing,
This is the promise of love
There shall be seasons, refreshing
Sent from the Savior above.
Showers of blessing we need
Mercy drops ‘round us are falling
But for the showers, we plead.

Refresh me again Oh God. 

Devotions, Ministry, Motivation, Personal, Ramblings

Different or weird?

Revelation 21:5 “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

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Revelation, the last book of the Bible, is difficult to understand. Visions of beasts, horses, fire, judgment, and images that are simply unimaginable. It is just weird. But then again, I am weird too. To the world my belief is weird. I am weird enough to believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, survived in the wilderness 40 days, walked on water, healed the sick, raised a man from the dead, was hung on a cross, and rose from the dead, was and is God and now sits at the right hand of the Father. If I am weird, so be it. Join me in my weirdness.  Perhaps, our stubborn defiance of the norm will make a difference in the world.