Devotion.al

Feed Your Soul

  • Put Ahead

    Psalm 150, Mark 11:23-25, James 3:11-4:6

    “Let everything that breathes the Lord. HALLELUJAH!”

    Psalm 150:6 (NIV)

    “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.”

    Mark 11:25 (NIV)

    “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

    James 3:16 (NIV)

    Without question, Psalm 150 is a song of praise and adoration, and it is often best to start with adoration. Some people have been taught to use during was ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. Adoration, though is often too easy, and we skip to supplication, because confession and thanksgiving are harder. Confession is probably the hardest.

    In Mark and James, and James (respectively) about putting ourselves above , especially when it comes to prayer. Praying for others, especially those with whom we are in conflict, is essential to a functional Christian framily.

    Jesus ties forgiving others into our own forgiveness. This serves as a litmus test of sorts. You see, when we have fully accepted, embraced, and embodied the of forgiveness we’ve received through the cross, we are able to forgive others, and that can be very difficult. When we don’t forgive others, can we really say in hearts that we are forgiven? Forgiveness isn’t about those who hurt us, it is about us.

    James address a different, but similar issue in his letter. Envy and selfish ambition are signs of a heart that puts itself first, and not God, and certainly not others. In a framily, putting oneself ahead of others breaks the essential bond of framily.

    1) In your own words, why is forgiveness essential?

    2) Why do envy and selfish ambition create disorder?

    3) Agape is self-sacrificing love. How is agape love in forgiveness, and the lack of envy and selfish ambition?

    KD) Supplication is a that means ask for something. Why is that last in the order of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication?

  • The Right Food

    The Right Food

    Psalm 130; Isaiah 28:9–13; 1 Peter 4:7–19 The Psalm is a cry to people to hold onto God. Not the “opiate of the masses” that Karl Marx spoke of, but an active holding on that requires us to meet intimately with God, and pay attention to what God says to us. Our whole being is…

  • No or Many Blessings

    No or Many Blessings

    Psalm 20; Numbers 6:22–27; Mark 4:21–25 You may know the song, “Count your blessings, one by one…” The “Aaronic” blessing outlined in Numbers is one of my favorites. As a pastor, I will default to it at appropriate times (such as the end of a church service). First, of course, it is the one used…

  • Loving Presence

    Loving Presence

    Psalm 20; Exodus 25:1–22; 1 Corinthians 2:1–10 “…so that I am present among them.” (Exodus 25:8) It seems like a strange statement to us as Christians. Our theology talks about God’s omnipresence (God is everywhere), so a tent doesn’t really change that. The tent was, however, the place set aside for meeting God. As part…

  • Worship Even Here

    Worship Even Here

    Psalm 20; Numbers 9:15–23; Revelation 4:1–8 Trusting God is hard. Trusting that all things work for good is hard. How can COVID be good? How can a bad economy be good? How can not being able to be with our loved ones be good? A lot of this hasn’t been good. For the psalmist, that…