No Other Rock

A garland instead of ashes. ~ Isaiah 61:3

Note: This devotion is from October 23-26

A couple posts back, I spoke about God’s timing with regards to the date I actually write the posts to accompany my daily devotions. I said this because the devotion for that day dealt with Baxter’s observation that many folks within Christendom have more or less bastardized the religion and made it self-serving. The end result is a generation, or multiple generations, that have a distorted view of what it means to be a Christian.

The timing to me is amazing because I am now about half way through the reading of Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller. While I may or may not agree with all his comments, thoughts and perspectives – and I am only half through it at the moment, the book is pretty much of the same context.

The three devotions for this time period are also of that subject. And when you really think about it, there is no wonder why people have an ugly view of the Christian religion. But the truth is that Jesus came as our Saviour, to give “a garland instead of ashes” – the King James version renders it as “beauty for ashes”.

Consider that again: THE SON OF GOD came to replace the ashes of my earthly sin – your earthly sin – and the sorrow and bitterness with heaven-bestowed garlands of salvation and consolation and blessing.

He came to take away the ugliness created by man and replace it with beauty. It’s unfortunate that so many are mistaking churchianity for Christianity. They equate Jesus merely with religion. It is a deplorable misunderstanding.

Today, I pray that you and I will continually seek to dispel the delusion which clouds many minds so that more will see the radiant joy that only Jesus gives.