Devotion.al

  • Not Always Better

    Deuteronomy 9:1–9:7, Psalm 36, Romans 5:20–6:11

    You have been trouble from the beginning of this! Moses’ long good-bye speech (all of Deuteronomy) is a summary of God, God’s message, God’s calling, and Israel’s past, current, and . It’s not pretty.

    We can often look at the Israelites and question their memory, , or sanity. How do they keep making the same basic mistakes? Of course, we really get the Cliff Notes or Spark Notes version. A quick summary of the highlights, 40 years of highlights. If you could only write the highlights of your life, you could make it short, too. Plus, you would write about you, and some close family, and maybe some large events. This summary of the Israelites journey from Egypt to the threshold of the Promised Land (for the 2nd time) is for a populace that many times larger than the City of Marysville. If we took only our highlights, or perhaps lowlights, our story may sound similar. Moses is driving home a point. Don’t take God’s blessing for granted, and don’t ruin the inheritance of God.

    Much of the story of the Israelites’ travels from Egypt to the Promised Land is about hearts that were not continually grateful (and therefore humble). They had food they barely worked for (Mana). They were (generally) protected from enemies. Their clothes and sandals didn’t wear out. They had plenty of herds. They had plundered Egypt. They became comfortable with what they had and felt they should get more. They looked back at an idealized and false view of Egypt and threatened to to Egypt if they didn’t get what they wanted. They certainly weren’t . They were definitely stubborn. They were receiving the result of God’s to people long dead. God was faithful.

    Even in Moses’ time, the truth of Paul’s words still rings loudly, “…where multiplied, multiplied even more.” (Romans 5:21) Throughout the journey, God’s grace was abundant. While the Israelites didn’t think this way, apparently there were Gentiles that wanted to sin more (or thought they should) so that God’s grace would be even larger. Paul’s head may have not been in his hands in disbelief, but nevertheless, his disbelief comes through his writing. Of course, we should seek to sin more! That’s what we were saved from! Why would we go back to that life? Oh, , that sounds familiar. The Israelites wanted to go back to “that life.” Somehow, the slavery that they left (the law and sin) was somehow better than the Promised Land (grace and blessing).

    That is, however, the problem with many of the sins we struggle with. It seems “better” to live that way. It seems “better” to the world. It seems “better” to those around us. It must be better than.

    1) Why do we often return to the bad stuff (habits, behaviors, thoughts) that Jesus has been and is working out of us?

    2) Why does our knowledge of the way we used to live still pull us back?

    3) The Israelites left harsh conditions. Why would they choose slavery over ? When have you done the same?

    FD) What is grace?

  • Interceding Love

    Genesis 44:18–34, Isaiah 59:15b–20, Hebrews 7:11–28, Romans: 8:26–39

    It has been said the person who does not pray for their spouse will have their prayers bounce back. It has been said that a person who is not prayed for by their spouse will experience the same. It does seem to be a catch-22. It isn’t. This is to be a lifestyle of , not once or twice. It is to be regular. One should know best what one’s spouse needs prayer for, maybe even better than their spouse. Prayer shouldn’t there. People should pray for their parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, and other family members. People should pray for friends. People should pray for their . People should be praying…a lot. This sounds like a lot of shoulds, and it is. Intercession is an act of toward and for . Do you love people? Pray for them.

    Not all intercession is prayer. In Genesis, Judah intercedes for his brother Benjamin on behalf of their , Israel. Yes, there is a lot more to than just that. Intercession is often putting oneself in the place of another, just like Judah was trying to do with Benjamin. Understanding the “putting oneself” piece is put into a larger context when Jesus says, “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Life has many places where one can and should intercede for others.

    While Judah was trying to avoid the breaking of his father’s , Isaiah speaks to the people of Israel. The leaders are not interceding on behalf of their people. They are not supporting and living out . Therefore God has to exercise salvation. Justice and salvation are part of intercession. Think about that for a moment, and go back to intercessory prayer. Justice and salvation are part of that, too. THANK GOD! That’s where Jesus comes in!

    The author of Hebrews notes that Jesus’ intercession on our behalf means that we receive salvation. As Jesus continually (until the end of this world) is before the Father interceding on our behalf. Just as Judah interceded to keep his father’s heart from breaking, Jesus (from the Tribe of Judah) intercedes on our behalf so that God the Father’s heart is not broken by losing us. When Judah died, there could be no more intercession. Jesus is eternal so the intercession never ends.

    As if that wasn’t enough, the intercedes on our behalf in the intent of the first piece, intercessory prayer. 2/3 of the Trinity is interceding on our behalf. Jesus and the Holy Spirit interceded in one heart/mind/spirit with God the Father, on whose behalf Jesus came for us. It is just amazing!

    1) If that much of God is about interceding, should our be any less?
    2) God obviously views intercession as important. Do you view intercession as an important part of your walk with Christ as God views it?

    3) Why is intercession for others so important? Does intercession your heart regarding those people for whom your interceding?

    FD) Have you ever defended somebody who didn’t “deserve” it? Why or why not?

  • Disappointment Not Punishment

    Psalm 34, Job 1:1–10, 1 John 4:7–21

    There is something in the Old Testament that remains unresolved. The Psalmist declares that the wicked will not be remembered and the will be. This is a common theme. Yet, when we look at scripture, and we look at the world around us, we rightfully question that. So, what is going on? Perhaps we ought to question who is doing the remembering. Both Old and New Testaments are testaments of God to humanity. In other words, humanity is the object of the story (the Bible), God is. Scripture tells the story of the imperfect revealing the glory, , , , , ,… of God. Humanity is just the target of all of that. Since we tell the stories, we confuse being the tellers of the story with being the subject of the story.

    There is another tension in both Old and New Testament: of God. The psalmist talks about teaching the fear of God to people. How does that match with this loving God we tell people about? First, of course, is our language. That is the start of the problem. There is also an automatic opposition to the word fear. Fear is bad. Except when it is not. When driving to work, one cannot be overcome by fear (you’ll never leave the driveway). Yet, defensive driving (a form of fear) is very wise when driving with all the other people that are obviously not as good of drivers as you are.

    The opening verses of Job tell us that fear from the of Scripture may not match our own. We read that Job makes sacrifices on behalf of his children, for he fears they might have sinned. In support of Job, God (proudly) declares that Job fears him (God). What? How about the insight from Satan (how’s that for weird), that of course Job fears God, for God has protected him and blessed him with property and . Fear? Well, fear must not mean…fear.

    Our last insight comes from 1 John, with fear and love being polar opposites. And this is that final insight. Bad fear, the fear that we should not have toward God, is the fear of punishment. Which leaves us with good fear, which is having the right perspective of God. God is almighty. God is love. Right fear is the fear that we are not in fellowship with God, but God so loves us that he pours out his grace and mercy upon us, so that we need not fear punishment, but are devastated by God’s disappointment.

    1) What about God do you fear?

    2) What about people do you fear?

    3) Why does true love cast out (bad) fear?

    FD) When you think of God, which is a stronger emotion: fear or love? Why?

  • Growing Knowledge

    Isaiah 5:18–24, Luke 11:37–44, 2 Corinthians 11:1–11

    Much of today’s passages revolve around religious leaders, religious know-it-alls, and egotistical maniacs using religious language. It is really easy to point out the flaw of our and of course everybody else’s religious leaders. Oddly enough, they’re human too. The easy thing to point out is when their pride gets the best of them, and it becomes about them, and not God. We should not be so quick.
    In Jewish , just accepting one’s was being a child (which was good). Yet, owning one’s faith meant digging into God’s words and ways, especially with others. Ignorance was no excuse. Christianity continued that tradition (despite what many naysayers would have you believe). We weren’t just to inherit the faith, we were to embody the faith. There is one point where Paul admonishes his charges to be eager to stop being children (“spiritual milk”) and become adults (“meat of the faith”). We are not to have a milk toast kind of faith.

    The flip side, however, is that there are those who take their to the extreme. These aren’t even the, “so heavenly minded, they’re no earthly good.” These are the people whose quest for knowledge or pride in having knowledge overrides their with God and others. These people are often the religious leaders that struggled with. Their knowledge or legalistic formulae were perfect. Their walk was anything but.

    The “super-apostles” that Paul wrote about were people who were great debaters or scholars. They believed they have the corner on the right spiritual knowledge. They certainly had the rhetorical skills to make Paul acknowledge that he wasn’t good at public speaking. Yet, while he was religiously well-trained he set it aside to have a relationship with Corinthians so that they could see how the life was to be lived out. Paul took his knowledge and applied it to their lives. He also lived with them. He them. When we talk about # this is what we are talking about. Milk knowledge is starting knowledge. It is not supposed to stop there. That’s just the beginning. As we walk in the life, we from and teach others. We struggle . We live life together. Great religious knowledge is the flip side of great religious ignorance. That little space between them is where we need to be.

    1) Have you ever experienced a Christian that saw themselves as so knowledgeable about the faith that you disliked them? What about that was uncomfortable for you?

    2) Have you ever experienced a person that called themselves a Christian, but as you talked with them, you realized they didn’t really understand what that meant? What was the feeling you had?

    3) The biggest thing about is walking beside one another. How can you walk alongside another in those situations above?

    FD) Isaiah uses the word “woe”. There are 2 primary meanings: sadness and beware. Which do you think Isaiah meant?

  • Growing Foundations

    Romans 1:19–23, Isaiah 2:1-5, Nehemiah 8:1–12, 2 Corinthians 1:12–14
    From the foundations of the world, God’s hands are at work. We often are blind to our own ignorance, sometimes willingly so. God doesn’t want us to remain ignorant of Creation, its ways, and certainly not his ways. The high ways of God are often easy to see, but hard to travel. We may know the paths, but remaining on them is hard. One of the biggest obstacles is our own pride.

    In Nehemiah, the pride of Israel has already been struck hard. They are at the of a powerful empire. This powerful empire through a powerful act of of God, allowed the exiled Jews to to their homeland. However, sadly, many of them had lost, or never learned, what the ways of the Lord even were. They did not know the law. They did not know the law that their forefathers violated leading to their exile. They did not from their past. Many, apparently, willingly avoided learning from the past, just based on the ignorance of their history conveyed in this passage in Nehemiah.

    The appointed religious leaders had to teach the people what they should have already known. While it is easy to blame the religious leaders, it had always been the duty of the families to pass on the history and laws. The religious leaders had their duties, but it wasn’t to replace the responsibilities of families, clans, and tribes to teach their people. As the people were taught, they learned. They mourned. They began to understand how far they were. It may have not been their fault, but it was their responsibility. Now, however, the religious leaders interpreted and explained the basics. Then they probably built upon that. They had to rebuild an entire religious understanding in a people with no foundation.

    There is no fault here. It just is. There is responsibility. The responsibility each of us have with God’s words and ways. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul knows that he cannot convey everything to them in a letter, or even multiple letters. It takes living with them to teach them to the depth of understanding he wants for them. Yet, by laying the foundation which they can understand, the leaders the follow after Paul have a foundation they can build on to explain the depth, height, and width of God’s grace, , and mercy.

    1) What can you do to deepen your understanding of God’s ? Now, will you commit to doing it?

    2) -y language (or jargon) is often mysterious to people with no religious or church experience (and sometimes even to those that do). What can you do to in a way that people are better able to understand God and God’s ways?

    3) We often cast blame at saying, “they ought to know better.” Instead of that attitude, will you take on an attitude of, “how can help them better understand God, and be full of grace, and be open to learning myself?”

    FD) What is the difference between fault and responsibility? Why does that matter in our with God?

  • How Do We Look?

    Psalm 120, Mark 13:9-13, 2 Peter 1:20-2:9

    Psalm 120 is a lament. The psalmist is among those who live a life of lies. These same people are warmongers, seeking strife and conflict. The psalmist is living in foreign lands that seek no peace, but the cry of the psalmist’s heart is for peace. The psalm begins with the end. God answered him, the of the psalm is about what the problem was. The truth is that while the psalmist was referring to a specific people, we all know the type. There are those that do not seem happy unless there is conflict. There are those who do not peace. When one does not have peace, one resorts to force fairly quickly. We are all guilty of this to some degree. Sometimes the is yelling, crying, ambivalence, disregard. These all are violent to the heart and soul of others, and often to ourselves. We quickly think that all violence is . The truth is that violence is the outward sign of an inward pain.

    Jesus’ words in Mark are certainly not comforting. They can be terrifying. The internal strife of families torn apart. Neighbors calling out neighbors. Remember the Second Great Commandment? Love your neighbor as yourself. This is the outward sign of it not being so. Jesus is warning that his peace is not the peace of this world. All too often, the peace of this world is bought and paid for by blood and . The peace of God is not so. The psalmist understood this. The response of the psalmist to those around him was, “God me!” It wasn’t a slap to the face, or something more. It was . As Jesus continues, he refers to the Holy . The Holy Spirit is the source of the peace of God. When the Holy Spirit resides in us, we can respond to those around us with a grace and wisdom that is not ours.

    The God-ly wisdom of the Holy Spirit requires our humility. Peter has to confront people already who say that they have a new revelation from God. Peter is quick to point out that the prophets themselves did not understand their prophecies (unless granted so by God). It was only after the fact that it was proven that their prophecies were true. This is an important thing as the church, and groups that masquerade as the church, often have those that themselves prophets or revealers or divine actors of some sort that are bringing a new truth from God. Often these new truths are then used in ways that are violent to the hearts and souls of the innocent (and even not-so innocent). These people use the of media, guilt, society, anything at all to crush the hearts of the people of God. We too can be guilty of using God in this same way. God’s ways are the ways of peace. God’s ways are the ways that sooth and heal.

    1) Has some “religious” person ever said something to you that was hurtful? How did that make you feel toward the religious they claimed to follow?

    2) Often (and rightly) people are told that if they are abandoning religion because of people, then they are looking at the people not God. What does that mean, then, when we also say, “we may be the only Jesus they every see?”

    3/FD) Being a peace-lover or peace-maker does not mean being a pushover. How does one make peace without violence?

  • Trusting God’s Way

    Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17:5-10, 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

    Has someone ever said to you, “I don’t anyone?” First, imagine living like that. Someone who lives such a paranoid life could never be happy. You cannot if you cannot trust. Second, anyone who says that hasn’t walked down the road of thinking that through to the . You certainly cannot function in modern society, or really among humans, without some level of trust. Even when driving (when trust is often least), we generally trust people. We have no choice. To get from one place to the other we have to expect that everyone is trying to get to their destination, too, and will behave accordingly. Oddly enough, if such a person were to exist, there is still one person they have to trust, themselves.

    While it is almost impossible to distrust everyone, it is far to easy for people to believe in those who are in power or have influence. We often seem to turn off our common sense and our ability to discern right from wrong when dealing with certain people. Sometimes, even more strangely, we continue to trust people that have already betrayed our trust. People put a lot of trust in the things of man: wealth, power, influence, cars, homes, boats, , etc. The most dangerous trust, though, is when we get to the point where human knowledge trumps God. For clarity, we’re talking about God. We aren’t talking about, for example, evolution and Genesis, or Jonah and the whale (fish). We’re talking about trusting things of man rather than God. The thing that probably endangers man most of all is knowledge.

    Whether your perspective of the Garden of Eden (a story in the book of Genesis) is a parable (story) or definitive truth, the underlying truth (other than humankind’s pride) is that knowledge is a barrier between us and God. We put it there. We chose, and daily choose, to put knowledge between ourselves and God. Our society honors and elevates those who use knowledge to oppose God. This is nothing new. The sad state of most American Christians (and there are exceptions) is that if there is an enemy (of which America has had and has made many) the general is not one of, “God, forgive us.” It is, “…raise the Department of Defense budget.” We often justify this response by saying, “it’s a wise choice.” The question we should constantly be asking ourselves “is it the God-ly choice.” Now, here is the real rub. Honest (with themselves) Christians may disagree on many fronts including “just” war, dealing with poverty, dealing with immigration. That is perfectly okay (and normal). What is not normal, and should be, is, “what is God’s response to this through me?” Am I honoring God, or dishonoring God. Again, the reality is that different people will come to different conclusions. Yep.

    When we trust God’s redemptive work in us and by extension God’s redemptive work in , we can trust people not because people are trustworthy. We trust God’s work because it’s God’s work, not ours. When we trust God’s work, we become that tree planted by the water, nourished by the love and of God. God’s transformative grace continually works on, in, and through us. Changing our lives from ones that trusted the things and ways of man, into lives the revolve around God and his love. When God justified us he set us apart to be weird. Trust God. God does amazing things.

    1) Even in the , people often turn to the ways of man. Why do you think that is?

    2) Especially in the church, people turning to the ways of man is problematic at best, sinful at worst. How can you tell when something is the “ways of man” rather than the “ways of God”?

    3) Often the phrase, “the reason of the heart,” is used to not judge another (and justifiably), but also it is used to justify our personal actions. Why is the concept of only God knowing our heart (both feeling and motivation) both freeing and very dangerous?

    FD) How can you start asking yourself “is this God’s way” ? What do you think the result will be?

  • Engraving Hearts

    Jeremiah 17:1-4, 2 Timothy 3:1–9, 1 Peter 2:4–10, Luke 3:7-8
     
    Imagine having a so hard that you need an iron needle or a diamond point to put a mark in it. That is the hardness of the heart, not just toward God, toward their fellow man as well. The Israelites were completely and utterly spiritually lost. The diamond point and the iron stylus were engraving the of that which they valued. Their idols and treasures were taken away. Their was taken from them. It wasn’t that God didn’t offer a choice, God did. They chose to ignore it. Whether it was pride, stupidity, ignorance, or poor training, we will never know. It could be a combination of it all. This was not the last time either.
     
    When writes to Timothy, there are already difficulties. They are under Roman rule. From a Jewish , they are almost at the same level as their forebears that suffered previously. Instead of writing something positive, Paul warned Timothy that it was going to be worse. The list of issues that Paul writes about is really nothing new. How they form in people’s lives, how they are reinforced, how they are lived out may look different, but the basic reality is that there is nothing new under the sun. There will always be deceivers, whose hearts are hard. God still uses an iron stylus and a diamond point on our hearts.
     
    Yet not all hearts of stone are equal. Christ is the heart of our . Peter called Jesus a stone that people tripped over. As the “rejected” stone, Jesus also became the cornerstone of our faith. When Jesus is the heart made of stone, it solid, firm, and the basis of our faith. There is a transformation here. The original heart of stone is one that rejects God. The new heart of stone is God. Weird isn’t it? There is a time where John warns the Jews that God can make a whole new from a bunch of rocks. We are the rocks; we are the family.
     
    1) Normally we think of hearts of stone as bad. What do you think of it now?
     
    2) Engraving on stone is difficult. One generally does it if the value of the stone is high, or the contribution of the stone to the greater whole is high. Why do you think God spends so much effort engraving on hearts of stone?
     
    3) We are quick to point at regarding their “hearts of stone” toward God. Reread Jeremiah and Timothy. Where is God calling you to soften your heart toward him?
     
    FD) What is a cornerstone? What does it mean when we say that Jesus is our cornerstone?

Devotion.al

Not Always Better

Deuteronomy 9:1–9:7, Psalm 36, Romans 5:20–6:11

You have been trouble from the beginning of this! Moses’ long good-bye (all of Deuteronomy) is a summary of God, God’s message, God’s calling, and Israel’s past, current, and response. It’s not pretty.

We can often look at the Israelites and question their memory, wisdom, or sanity. How do they keep making the same basic mistakes? Of course, we really get the Cliff Notes or Spark Notes version. A quick summary of the highlights, 40 years of highlights. If you could only write the highlights of your life, you could make it short, too. Plus, you would write about you, and some close family, and maybe some large events. This summary of the Israelites journey from Egypt to the threshold of the Promised Land (for the 2nd time) is for a populace that many times larger than the City of Marysville. If we took only our highlights, or perhaps lowlights, our story may sound similar. Moses is driving home a point. Don’t take God’s for granted, and don’t ruin the inheritance of God.

Much of the story of the Israelites’ travels from Egypt to the Promised Land is about hearts that were not continually grateful (and therefore humble). They had food they barely worked for (Mana). They were (generally) protected from enemies. Their clothes and sandals didn’t wear out. They had plenty of herds. They had plundered Egypt. They became comfortable with what they had and felt they should get more. They looked back at an idealized and false view of Egypt and threatened to to Egypt if they didn’t get what they wanted. They certainly weren’t righteous. They were definitely stubborn. They were receiving the result of God’s to people long dead. God was .

Even in Moses’ time, the truth of Paul’s words still rings loudly, “…where multiplied, multiplied even more.” (Romans 5:21) Throughout the journey, God’s grace was abundant. While the Israelites didn’t think this way, apparently there were that wanted to sin more (or thought they should) so that God’s grace would be even larger. Paul’s head may have not been in his hands in disbelief, but nevertheless, his disbelief comes through his writing. Of course, we should seek to sin more! That’s what we were saved from! Why would we go back to that life? Oh, wait, that sounds familiar. The Israelites wanted to go back to “that life.” Somehow, the slavery that they left (the law and sin) was somehow better than the Promised Land (grace and blessing).

That is, however, the problem with many of the sins we struggle with. It seems “better” to live that way. It seems “better” to the world. It seems “better” to those around us. It must be better than.

1) Why do we often return to the bad stuff (habits, behaviors, thoughts) that Jesus has been and is working out of us?

2) Why does our of the way we used to live still pull us back?

3) The Israelites left harsh conditions. Why would they choose slavery over freedom? When have you done the same?

FD) What is grace?