Donavon Roberson's Blog, page 2
September 19, 2022
It’s time to rest, truly rest.I love the words used in th...
I love the words used in this verse. In verse 1 the Psalmist actually states that we “will not want” - we will not be lacking, in need or become less than we already are. Think about that for a second, we will never be less than who we are today.
- when you doubt…you are not less than you are today
- when you fear…you are not less than you are today
- when you are run…you are not less than you are today
- when you stumble…
- when you hide…
- when you turn away…
- when you…
You will never be less than you are today because our shepherd knows you, he leads you, he guides you…he makes you lie down in green pastures, he leads you beside the still waters.
The word “make” here actually carries two meanings; to be constructed and to be compelled. Each of us are made to find rest in our shepherd…that is what we each have in common. The second meaning I think is a bit more personal, it is reflective of those that have a personal walk with God…we are compelled to lie down, we can’t help it, we find safety in knowing that he is leading, guiding, protecting, providing…we find rest in the fact that nothing can be taken from us and we are compelled to lie down, to stretch out with ease and find rest!
This is the rest that Jesus mentions to the disciples…you will find rest for your soul. I don’t know about anyone else but my soul longs for this and I think the moment I discover that I will never be lacking in my life…I long to lie down and find that rest for which I was made, constructed, designed.
The pastures by which we are led are beautifully adorn with praise and the waters are waters of rest. The beautiful imagery here is breath taking and if, in reading these words, your heart begins to beat ever more quickly, your soul cries our a little more loudly, your breath becomes just a bit deeper and richer…know that this is the heart that was constructed for the very rest you long for. It’s yours…simply recognize that your shepherd has more in store for you than you can imagine and that you will never be lacking for anything, ever again, and find rest.
September 12, 2022
What’s in a name?Everything!Revelation 3:12Jesus is sayin...
Everything!
Revelation 3:12
Jesus is saying to those that have kept his word, observed his word, obeyed and protected his word…to those individuals he will establish them in such a way that they will never be removed or abandoned.
Jesus, the one who has conquered sin and death, the overcomer, the one that has established himself above all things will give those that keep his word a purpose, a place and a permanence that is established and can not be removed or taken away!
Look at this; he will make them a pillar in the temple (a purpose to uphold the very presence of God for all to see and for all to be invited to), he will give them a name of the city of God that is being established anew (a place to be and move and have our being) and he will write upon them his own name (a permanence because a name was something that was inseparable from the person to whom it belongs).
Jesus say “keep my word and live it out in your life and I will establish you in the Kingdom forever”. That’s what is in a name…everything!
August 23, 2022
It’s simple…you harvest that which you plant!For context ...
For context Romans 614 says that I’m not under the law under grace. The verse speaks about dominion and that the law of the flesh has dominion over me and makes me subject to its ways…its ways and its consequences.
The law is a legal, binding agreement that exacts a legal precedent over its subjects…the of the flesh brings about the legal precedents of the flesh, including its rewards and consequences. The same is true with the law of grace, living under the dominion of grace I will live under the rewards and consequences of grace.
Galatians 6:8 speaks to these laws a bit further in that there is the law of the flesh and the law of the spirit. The law of the flesh brings about destruction and the law the spirit brings about life.
It’s quite simple…to sow and to reap simply means that whatever it is that I sow or plant I will harvest. If I plant the law of the flesh, my harvest will lead to death and destruction, that which is withering away and will not last. However if I sow that which is if the Spirit (if I sow grace and love) then I will harvest the forever life of God whose rewards are joy, thanksgiving, cheer…eternal life.
What am I sowing in my life? I used to spread a whole lot of sin and destruction with my choices…I want my life to be about that forever life of God that brings about joy, thanksgiving, love and grace!
August 22, 2022
How’s your walk?Galatians 5:16 tells us to walk in the Sp...
Galatians 5:16 tells us to walk in the Spirit; literally to trample and coming from the root word to sting…it has an effect to be sure! It’s a journey that has meaning and impacts our lives and the lives of others, it’s a way of life not simply an act but an action defining life.
When we live this life and walk in this way, we will not gratify or fulfill completely the lists of the flesh; we will not bring about the results of or the natural consequences of the flesh.
In Galatians 6:2 the writer tells us that we are to carry the burdens of others, that is to walk in or become part of the burdens of others. It also denotes the continual act of being part of the lives of others and in so doing we repeatedly, over and over, bring to completion the law of Christ. By caring for each other on a regular basis we are walking in the act of love that Christ has commanded.
Walking in the Spirit is likened to Walking in LOVE…we do this by caring for one another and carrying the burdens of one another on an one going manner. This is a way of life that is the fulfillment of the command of Christ to love one another…anything but this life is a life of the flesh that is counter to the calling we have been given by King Jesus.
deeply moved…to action
Jesus was deeply loved and greatly troubled…don’t miss the greatness of this passage by the simplicity of the word.
deeply moved - divine judgement
greatly troubled - from a place of origin, at his inmost being, the place that gives Jesus life…he was filled to his fullest being with indignation
Genesis states that God saw what He created and it was good and He continued to create, move and act. In this passage we see what happens when God is moved because it is not good…it’s powerful.
Jesus sees His friends and loved ones weep and morn for one that has passed. He is moved to act because the state of things has disrupted Jesus at His core. I don’t think it was simply because Lazarus died. I don’t think it was simply because they were weeping at the death of Lazarus. I don’t think think it was because Jesus was upset at the loss…I think it was all of these things and something deeper.
He has been trying to help them understand life and the resurrection and the way of the Kingdom…but they weren’t fully understanding the message or the implications. I think Jesus saw the heart of humankind and that even with the hope of heaven in our hearts, with the knowledge of what is to come in our minds and with the very presence of the divine in our midst…even still our hearts break, we experience loss at the core of our existence and are moved at the impact of death compared to the value or life and when Jesus saw the complexity of all of this He was moved to the core with divine judgement and indignation because this was not the design and he compelled to act and remind us again why He came and what our futures are in store for.
This word is used in Mark 14:5 as “scolded”, you scold when something you care about is being afrontes. Jesus is afrontes by the impact of death upon those He loved and is moved to take action…an indignation that moves the divine to act and reveal just how deeply God cares for His creation.
Jesus is moved to act by giving life to Lazarus, He is also moved to act by giving His own life for us and in so doing conquering death so that we understand death is not the end and that Jesus has so much more for us to experience.
What I LOVE about this is that He doesn’t dismiss the emotions of the moment but feels the tension and the complexity that comes from the heart of being and experiences the same thing at His core. It’s truly a beautiful moment…I can be assured that in my darkest hour God is moved to His core by a divine justice and indignation because what I am going through was not His design and that the power used to bring Lazarus back to life will be worked out in my life, for my good.
August 19, 2022
getting better…every day and in every way
Wow!
Paul makes a very bold statement that rattles me to the core…my outward self, the me that people see as a result of choices I make isn’t WHO I am or HOW I will end up!!! My existence isn’t wrapped up in my outward self but inner most being.
In this verse Paul is essentially saying: Don’t give up on yourself or your God, don’t lose confidence…trust the process. The flesh, the outward self, the “dead man walking” that is living a life that is focused mainly on self preservation isn’t the end game…in fact quite the opposite is true!
Those areas of your life are being cast aside, they are withering away through and through and right down to the core of tour being and in its place…oh dear one that is the most amazing and transformative part of the story.
God is replacing your self centered flesh with your truest, most authentic soul. God is at work on the very heart of your being dear one…you are being renovated in the most beautifully disruptive way possible and it’s happening with such intensity that God is reversing any damage done by your outward self and recreating you through and through from the inside out!
That is an amazingly powerful truth that should encourage our hearts and energize our being!
August 17, 2022
What are you afraid of?Psalm 56:3-4The psalmist is under ...
Psalm 56:3-4
The psalmist is under attack from others, from the craziness of the world around him and when he fears for his life he takes refuge in God.
The psalmist uses two forms of “trust in” the first indicates the action of seeking refuge and the second indicates being settled in that refuge…it’s powerful to find refuge in God and not live in fear!
It’s almost as if the psalmist is saying when I am afraid, I look to you God and seek refuge…I’m looking for a place to hide. And then I realize that you are the God whose name shines forth from my lips as a blinding light, you are the God that has protected me in the past, you are the God that never fails…so I settled in and find my refuge in you!
It know it’s a different context altogether but this is the difference between seek and find…Jesus tells us that if we seek, we will find and the psalmist here is saying something similar - those that seek refuge will find it in God.
together with one voice
Together with one voice…one message
What is that message? Love.
We read in verses 5-6 that is in harmony, unity of mind and thought, that we are to let our message be heard and in so doing glorify God.
Isn’t it funny that if all of the world religions we are the most divide and on issues that are really nonsensical? Ok it’s not funny…it’s sad.
People know more about what Christians stand against than what they stand for. The church has spent decades building fortresses to the laws of man and not the laws of God. The world, in need of a movement of love, has created a version of love that meets a felt need but doesn’t meet the inner most needs of true love and acceptance that can only come for God…and while the world was busy in search of love, the church has been waving its bibles and condemning their actions in the name of God.
Jesus lived a radical love that shook the thinking of the church and the world…we as true Christ followers need to get back to that place and love like Jesus loved.
August 15, 2022
He hears your cries!This is a beautiful verse, the afflic...
He hears your cries!
This is a beautiful verse, the afflicted are the poor and needy; they are without and as a result they suffer. The verse also reflects the passages used of Christ and how he was seen at the point of the his impending death on the cross…poor, broken, needy, put upon and having nothing to speak of.
The Psalmist goes into this verse saying that the Lord has not rewarded the poor and needy with contempt or disgust…reward is the result of effort and it’s pretty clear in this passage that the Lord doesn’t see the poor and needy as being their of their own accord; they aren’t being rewarded for anything they have done, in fact it’s not who they are but where they are in the moment. God doesn’t see us as poor and needy, God doesn’t look on us in disgust because we are wanting or without…He doesn’t view our current circumstances as our fault or our future.
Instead, the Lord hears our cries for help…that is the amazing truth of this passage (and of our God) - the Holy One that is set apart from us and everything opposite from the poor and needy hears our cries, turns to us and gives us all that we need in life.
He recognizes that our circumstances don’t reflect our reality or our future state…He sees us as we are and responds to us in our reality!
not your cosmic santa claus
This is NOT what the Lord wants and He will give you what you desire…this is to take exquisite delight or rejoice in the Lord and he will personally deliver (with understanding) all that you need!
If you read the other passages and the context of this passage, David isn’t throwing conditions on God’s provision by saying “if this than that”, his statement is that delighting in the Lord comes from a place of trusting the Lord and turning to Him. When we walk in a way that honors God, our lives are impacted and we begin to take more and more exquisite delight in who God is and how He shows up, when we experience God in this way He then knows and understands us personally as a loved one and personally delivers, with understanding, those things that we require in life.
This isn’t a cosmic Santa Claus or profits and loss sheet that requires our obedience or justification in order to acquire anything and everything our heart requires, this is what happens when we encounter a loved one that gives us the gifts that we need, that we want or that will bring us the most joy because we know the value in them.
