Rivers We Must Cross

Crossing the Rubicon is a phrase that means a particular spot--in life-- in which there is no turning back. It comes from the life of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was a general before he was an emperor.

Many rulers were popular war heroes in history, and Caesar had endeared himself to the common population through the many war campaigns he had won. The assembly had ordered him to stay where he was, however Caesar disobeyed and crossed the Rubicon River and headed back to Rome. In so doing he declared his intention of becoming the ruler of Rome. An action from which he would either be the victor, or the vanquished.

Hence the phrase Crossing the Rubicon came to mean an action from which there was no turning back. Once he crossed the Rubicon the ruling assembly fully understood what Caesar's intentions were.

In each of our lives we find many Rubicons. Oh, we may not recognize them as such, but none-the-less they are points from which we make no turning back decisions.

Isaiah 28:10 "For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.... 12)  to whom he said, This is the rest, give ye rest to him that is weary; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. 13)  Therefore shall the word of Jehovah be unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. "

Jehovah is not happy with Ephraim. He's trying to teach them, but will they listen? No, they will not listen. Therefore he leaves them to their own devices.  A lesson here is that God gives us the truth. He instructs all people as to how to get to heaven, but just as it says in Ecclesiastes 7:29  "Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions."

God made man (people) to be upright. He made us to fear him and seek him,  but all fall short of the glory of God. All have sinned and erred from the truth. Not just stumbling from the truth, but to seek out --as it says--inventions in order to go astray. They work to do evil. They work to misunderstand truth.

2Thessalonians 2:11 "And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: 12)  that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

When a person goes out of their way to look for a lie to believe they will surely find it.

Day by day we want to search out good, not evil. Day by day we want to make wise, godly decisions, but we can't make those decisions without honest, humble prayer. There are decisions day by day we are making that may not look big, but it's the small minute decisions we make to be honest in our dealing with friends, relatives, maybe even strangers. Making good choices line upon line, time after time, gives us good standing with God, and it should give us good standing with others as well. Seek the good paths; don't seek out workings of error. If you are going to cross a Rubicon, it needs to be into the grace of God. It needs to be the river into righteousness, and for righteousness.

Isaiah 28:16 "therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone of sure foundation: he that believeth shall not be in haste."


What Rubicon are you crossing today? Choose wisely.    Hallelujah! What a Savior.