Devotion.al

  • It’s Forever

    Psalm 68, Genesis 28:10-22, Hebrews 11:13-22

    How often do we look at the world asking, “what’s wrong with the world today?” How often do we look around ourselves asking, “what’s wrong with everyone?” How often do we look at ourselves in the mirror asking, “what’s wrong with me?” Often this question comes when we feel as if we have no control, even over ourselves.

    How do we then to the faithfulness of the psalmist? I have no doubts that the psalmist saw many things that were wrong in the world. Whether it was foreign nations, the powerful around him, the struggles within his , or even the struggles inside himself. Despite all of this, the psalmist still trusted God. The concepts of good and , positive and negative, right and wrong, just or unjust are going through dramatic changes and challenges in our current culture. Many Christians are searching for solid ground to put their feet upon in the midst of this turmoil. All are seeking to be true to Christ, to their faith community, and to their framily.

    Jacob was in disarray himself, at the time of his vision. Regardless of how you perceive of Jacob at this point, from a practical point of view, he was an exile from everything he knew. He was on his way to his uncle, who he didn’t know. In between the past and the , Jacob had a vision. In this vision, Jacob received a that was the continuation of the promise God gave his grandfather.

    While the psalmist may not have seen the Godly he anticipated, for sure Jacob (and his and Grandfather) did not see the fulfillment of the promise. Yet, they held onto God. The author of Hebrews emphasizes their trust and faith. The author noted that they viewed themselves as foreigners and temporary residents. This should also be our of things. When we have the long-seeing and long-reaching understanding that this is temporary, it gives us some relief from our human responses to everything around us, and to instead develop a Godly response to the world.

    1) Why is it important to understand in your head and your that forefathers (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) didn’t see the fulfillment of the promise that God made to them?

    2) Why might long-seeing and long-reaching be important to developing your Godly response to the world?

    KD) Has someone made a promise to you that it took forever to be completed? How does that feel?

  • Old With New

    Psalm 147:12-20, Proverbs 1:1-7; James 3:13-18

    He declares his to Jacob,
    his statutes and judgments to Israel.
    He has not done this for every ;
    they do not know his judgments.
    Hallelujah!

    Psalm 147:19-20


    The fear of the LORD
    is the beginning of ;
    fools despise wisdom and .

    Proverbs 1:7

    Christianity is rooted in Judaism. That must never be ignored or denied. Judaism provides context for the New Testament. The New Testament loses much of its weight and impact when separated from Judaism. That is not to say that Judaism as practiced today is insightful, just that Jesus, the 12 original Apostles, Matthias (the man who replaced Judas Iscariot), and were all Jews. It would be better to say that Christianity is the fullest expression of what Judaism was intended to be.

    The essentiality of this understanding means that we, just as Jews have done, must wrestle with the Old Testament. The Psalmist declares that Israel (the Jews) are blessed as they know (and have experienced) God’s statues and judgments. The Psalmist basically is saying that everyone else has lost out, as they don’t know God. The Christian understanding is that people who don’t know Jesus as the Saving Son of God have lost out. While there is a difference, there is a strong similarity: not being of the of God is losing out.

    In Proverbs, the introduction ends on a powerful and significant note, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” In this instance, fear is reverence and respect one feels towards one’s God. In other words, God is God, and I am not. Fools are those who do not have God in the right perspective. This takes the “losing out” aspect and adds on . This is the foolishness of the despairing and dying. This foolishness takes on a number of forms, pride, shame, ignorance, fear and even hatred. The words of James guide us in how to answer this. Wisdom.

    In particular, it is God’s wisdom that will guide the willing person away from the foolishness of the world, and toward the wisdom of God. As the bearers of God’s Word, we are to be humble and gentle. It is to come from a heart that knows God is God, and I am not. This same heart seeks to be like God and love those whose hearts are far away and draw them closer.

    1) The world often looks at Jesus’ followers and shakes its head. It sees our weakness, and attacks it. In light of the passages we’ve read, how can we respond?

    2) What do you think worldly wisdom is? Can and Godly wisdom ever be aligned?

    KD) Why do you think it is important to that God is God, and you are not?

  • New Year’s Prayers

    Psalm 8, Galatians 4:4-7, Numbers 6:22-27

    “What is a being that you him, a son of man that you look after him?” [Psalm 8:4]

    “So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.” [Galatians 4:7]

    There are some important concepts shared in our first two passages today. God created everything, including us. Despite us being created, God still set humankind in God’s own image. Created from dust we are still bearers of God’s very image.

    takes it even further and calls us heirs. We are inheritors of God’s and will. We are no longer mere creations with God’s stamp. We are his children! The awesomeness of this is that we get all of God! We, despite our nature, are given something beyond our comprehension.

    There is a flip side to this. One of the roles of an inheritor (in Paul’s and Jewish custom and culture) is to preserve and expand what was inheritor. In other words, the inheritance is not to stay the same, but to ! We get it all. We are also responsible for it all.

    Let that sink in. We are responsible for all of Creation because has given it to us as our inheritance. There will and are arguments for how that is supposed to work out. That isn’t the point. The point is why. Why are we doing what we are doing? Are we doing it for ourselves? Are we doing it for ? Are we doing it because it’s the right thing to do? Are we doing it to bring glory to God?

    Creation, including people, is our responsibility. We are responsible for others, and we are responsible to others. This past year has been filled with people banging their drums, sometimes for reasons, other times for self-righteous reasons. As we enter the new year, pray for those who offend you. Pray for those who hurt you. You are responsible to them. Bring them to the throne in , not so that they will be like you, but so that they will be like .

    May the LORD bless you and protect you; 
may the LORD make his face shine on you 
    and be gracious to you; 
may the LORD look with favor on you 
    and give you .

[Numbers 6:24-26]

    HAPPY NEW YEAR!

  • Guilty and Free

    Psalm 103, 1 Samuel 4:1-22, Isaiah 43:14-25

    Imagine being someplace you’ve never been and driving down the road only looking at the rear-view mirror. Your peripheral vision would catch some of the more dangerous things, but you would miss a lot. All too often we go through this way. You may not have escaped your past, but you cannot embrace the future without looking forward.

    Much of life is common among people. We live and die. We and hurt. We fail and succeed. We have regrets and we have .

    For many people, this year has been very hard: huge changes; life-changing events; lives lost; lives gained; big mistakes; new jobs; of jobs; moving; being forced to . There are many that are looking to this year, and so very ready to start the new one, yet many will be filled with fear, unsure of what will come.

    In 1 Samuel, we read of a very bad time. The Ark of the , a Godly object—that many staked their and security on—was lost to a powerful . Their leader (judge) and his sons have died. All seemed lost. The Israelites were fearfully looking toward the future.

    By the time of Isaiah, the people were again looking to the future with fear. There had just been a declaration of guilt (Isaiah 42) and failure. The so-called People of God had been reminded of their failure to fulfill their role. The judge of the universe had declared their guilt. Just as many are fearfully looking to the new year, so, too, were the People of God fearful of what came after their conviction.

    “Do not the past events, pay no attention to the things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming…” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

    1) Be deeply honest with yourself. What do you fear in regards to the coming year?

    2) One can fear what is coming and still trust God. It is the type of fear that is the key. How can fear be good or bad?

    3/KD) What is the one thing you are most worried will happen next year? What is the one thing you are most looking forward to next year?

  • Foundations and Firmaments

    Psalm 148, Colossians 3:12-17, Luke 2:41-52

    What are your thoughts when reading Psalm 149? Do you ever think of all of praising God, the Creator? If you haven’t seen Louie Giglio’s Stars and Whales (link below), I strongly recommend it. To think that it is not just us (human beings) that are called and made to God. It is important to understand that praise is a core piece of our very existence. If we are not praising, the foundation of our Christian life is in question. It might even be in jeopardy.

    A firm foundation is important, especially in light of our passage in Colossians. Verses 12-14 are not easy. When we live out our lives with others, our compassion, , , gentleness and patience are often put to the test. As we bear with others’ weaknesses (and as they bear with ours), letting go of offenses can seem impossible, and even unfair or unrighteous. This is why the Peace of Christ (v 15) is essential to lay down upon the foundation of praise. With praise and peace, comes . This is where we need to pause and remind ourselves that there are acts of thankfulness (which is a spiritual practice), and then there is a spirit of thankfulness, which is an outpouring of trusting God.

    It is from all of this, that then Paul (the author of Colossians) gets to correction. He notes that it is through God’s , psalms, hymns and spiritual songs that we correct the excesses of others, and others correct our excesses. It is important to look to Scripture as to what might be (emphasis on might) going on in the spiritual lives of others, rather than depending on our own understanding, which is likely missing crucial pieces of information. As we get to the story Luke provides us, it is important to see the different spiritual stories going on.

    For Mary and Joseph, who knew the prophecies about their son, their from the temple was part of their spiritual practice and were comfortable in their return home. Young , on the other hand, wasn’t done yet. Here was a young boy among elders, who themselves were astonished by Jesus’ insights. It is quite easy for us to be disappointed with Mary and Joseph not understanding. Just like Jesus, we can find ourselves saying, “of course, that’s where he is!” A new Christian or even an unbeliever(!) can provide spiritual insights that cause others to be shocked with a new insight and closer to God! Who are we to spiritual insights provided by God through others?

    When our foundation is firm, we trust God, and are humble toward one another, we are open to receiving spiritual insights from whomever God puts in our path.

    1) What spiritual insight did you receive from the person you were least expecting?

    2) Why do you think praise might be essential to spiritual insights?

    KD) Why do you think it was huge that Jesus asked his mom and dad that question?

  • Holy Path of Doing

    Psalm 147:12-20, 1 Chronicles 28:1-10, 1 Corinthians 3:10-17

    “[God] has not this for every ; they do not know his judgments…”
    Psalm 147:20

    “Realize now that the LORD has you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”
    1 Chronicles 28:10

    “If anyone destroys God’s , God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.”
    1 Corinthians 3:10-17

    Israel was chosen. From the time of Abraham, its was to bless the world. There was a time when it seemed that all was . Solomon had been chosen as king, and had been chosen to build the Temple. Solomon knew what his tasks and paths were. Yet, he wandered off. Israel, through , ultimately fulfilled God’s to bless the world, but not without many generations failing and paying the price of not following God.

    Each of us has been chosen for a task. If we have been blessed (especially with discernment), we may know what task God has chosen for us. Otherwise, we could be blessed with people who know us, and are able to guide us onto God’s chosen path. Then there is the most frustrating path of all: doing your best, and not knowing if that is God’s path for you.

    Paul does provide some guidance for us, if we are able to accept it. Our path is to be God’s holy temple here on earth. All of us. “,” you may say, “how can I be a holy temple?” Let God build the temple inside of you. “Wait,” you may say, “what am I supposed to do?” That’s the rub, isn’t it. Do? Let God build the temple inside of you. Do? Let God build the temple inside of you, while the world attempts to destroy it from the outside-in.

    Do? Be strong.

    1) Why do we often feel inadequate unless we are “doing”?

    2) In of God building the temple inside of you, how do you now , “be still and know that I am God”?

    3) In what new way can you be strong to allow the building of God’s temple inside of you?

    KD) If God’s temple inside of you was an actual building, what would it look like?

  • A Child-Like Gift

    Psalm 26, Matthew 18:1-4, James 4:7-12

    A child-like . That is the greatest an adult could for. All too often, however, we get caught up in our own heads, hearts and hurts. A child can look to God in faith and .

    We are not talking naiveite or ignorance. We are talking about innocence.

    Think of a baby. A parent tosses them up in play, smiling at this bundle of . The baby smiles, too, imitating the parent. Yet, for the first few times they are tossed up, they instinctively understand that this sensation is wrong. Despite that, their parent, their trusted person, is smiling. Trust overrides. A child-like faith.

    We actually have more child-like faith than we think, but it’s : engineers, mechanics, military and first responders. Even with other we have child-like faith that those around us know what they are doing, even though the traffic and accidents should teach us otherwise.

    James takes the “adult” approach. He’s working with those adults. He has to unwind the ways of the world from their minds and hearts. Cast aside your worldly ways, he says. When he talks about mourning and weeping, it is to recognize what we are in the world. Mourning and weeping are signs of grieving; grieving for our worldly selves; grieving for the world.

    So much of what we have to unwind is ourselves. Some have claimed that it was pride that led to the Fall of Adam and Eve (and thus mankind). All of what James writes of comes from our pride. A child of faith has pride…pride in God, not self. This is not to diminish self, for we are made in God’s image. We are not to see ourselves as better than others, for all are equal before God.

    An untrained (or untainted) child will treat others equally, no matter how different they are. Only when adults condition them to judge those different than themselves that children become cruel, and then we all have to deal with the of that cruelty.

    1) What does child-like faith mean to you? How do you live that out in a world that is “adult”?

    2) Why do we often put ourselves in the role of lawgiver and judge?

    3) Why do we judge when we ourselves don’t want to be judged?

    KD) What do you do when kids treat others differently then they would want to be treated?

  • 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 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 prayer 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) speak 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 .

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

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

Devotion.al

It’s Forever

Psalm 68, Genesis 28:10-22, Hebrews 11:13-22

How often do we look at the world asking, “what’s wrong with the world today?” How often do we look around ourselves asking, “what’s wrong with everyone?” How often do we look at ourselves in the mirror asking, “what’s wrong with me?” Often this question comes when we feel as if we have no control, even over ourselves.

How do we then respond to the of the psalmist? I have no doubts that the psalmist saw many things that were wrong in the world. Whether it was foreign nations, the powerful around him, the struggles within his , or even the struggles inside himself. Despite all of this, the psalmist still trusted God. The concepts of good and , positive and negative, right and wrong, just or unjust are going through dramatic changes and challenges in our current culture. Many Christians are searching for solid ground to put their feet upon in the midst of this turmoil. All are seeking to be true to Jesus Christ, to their community, and to their framily.

Jacob was in disarray himself, at the time of his . Regardless of how you perceive of Jacob at this point, from a practical point of view, he was an exile from everything he knew. He was on his way to his uncle, who he didn’t know. In between the past and the future, Jacob had a vision. In this vision, Jacob received a that was the continuation of the promise God gave his grandfather.

While the psalmist may not have seen the Godly he anticipated, for sure Jacob (and his father and Grandfather) did not see the fulfillment of the promise. Yet, they held onto God. The author of Hebrews emphasizes their trust and faith. The author noted that they viewed themselves as foreigners and temporary residents. This should also be our perspective of things. When we have the long-seeing and long-reaching understanding that this is temporary, it gives us some relief from our responses to everything around us, and to instead develop a Godly to the world.

1) Why is it important to understand in your head and your that forefathers (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) didn’t see the fulfillment of the promise that God made to them?

2) Why might long-seeing and long-reaching be important to developing your Godly response to the world?

KD) Has someone made a promise to you that it took forever to be completed? How does that feel?