Devotion.al

  • Free to Feel

    Free to Feel

    Psalm 42, 2 Samuel 7:18-29, Romans 15:7-13

    “…Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.”
    Psalm 42:5

    “…Do as you have promised, so that your will be exalted forever…”
    2 Samuel 7:25-26

    The Psalmist and David have different emotions in their words. The Psalmist seems exhausted mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It would be reasonable to say that the Psalmist was very depressed. David on the other hand was -filled for God had made a promise to him that his (his house) would forever have a place before God. In a culture where family was of greater importance than the individual, this was a big deal.

    Both Psalmist and David, regardless of circumstances, put their hope in God. Both understood that they were insignificant in comparison to God, but that they were not insignificant to God. That is hope built on solid ground. An individual’s daily struggles may be small in comparison to the big picture, but the God who continues to draw the big picture knows that every person has their right place in the picture, and because of that, they are significant to God.

    The social and cultural events that occur around Christmas (company parties, family get togethers, even church activities) can often exhaust and overwhelm us. Many of these activities can feel more like obligations, rather than times of joy and warm-heartedness. The times around Christmas can find feeling like both the Psalmist (exhausted/depressed) and David (joy-filled and thanks-filled). Sometimes the in moods can catch us by surprise, and we might even feel guilty for our feelings. As long as our hope rests on/in God, we are free to feel. We are free in Christ.

    1) How can you strengthen other people’s hope in ? How will you?

    2) The best “tool” we have to feel hope is the Holy . How can you “use” the Holy Spirit to strengthen your hope?

    3/KD) Christmas is a time to and receive gifts. Not everyone gets presents. How can you show and that the best is Jesus?

    “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
    Romans 15:13

  • Secured Hope

    Secured Hope

    Job 8:13-18, Psalm 62:5-8, 2 Peter 3:1-18

    “…the of the godless will perish.”
    Job 8:13

    “Rest in God alone…for my hope comes from him.”
    Psalm 62:5

    “The Lord does not delay his , as some understand delay, but is with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.”
    2 Peter 3:9

    While many might consider me patient, I know my own impatience. While I for something, I still want it now. Yet, I wait.

    1) Do you think of yourself as impatient? Do others think of you as impatient?

    2) Can you think of someone you feel is impatient?

    Yesterday, hope was the focus, just as it is today. In fact, hope is part of the foundation of the faith. Faith is . Hope and faith are tied together. They really cannot be separated. While Job’s friends had questionable motives and an unclear understanding of God, there is still in them. Bildad reminds Job that hope not founded on God is useless. In the Psalm, David reminds himself and us that unshakable hope can only come from God. In other words, true hope is based upon faith (trust) in God.

    The birth, , death and resurrection of , the Son of God, was (and remains) fulfilled hope. Peter reminds the that this is not the end of hope. Jesus will come again. In Peter’s day, people were already losing hope because God had not yet come back. Around 2000 years later, Jesus has still not returned! If our hope is based on our understanding, how easy it is to lose hope. When our hope is based upon God, trusting God, and relying on God’s nature, our hope remains secure!

    3) Do you lose hope quickly? Why?

    4) If you trust God today, why would you not trust God with tomorrow?

    5) How does being impatient undermine trusting God?

  • Hope Fulfilled and Hope to Come

    Hope Fulfilled and Hope to Come

    Psalm 25:1-10, Jeremiah 33:14-16, Luke 21:25-36

    “…for you are the God of my …” Psalm 51:5

    “In those days and at that time, I will cause a Righteous Branch to sprout up for David, and he will administer and in the land.
    Jeremiah 33:15

    “…they will see the of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
    Luke 21:27

    Hope. It’s a big for how small it looks. The Psalmist knows God is the source of his salvation, despite current circumstances. God’s words to Jeremiah provide for a hope that Jeremiah can guess he will not see, but they are still hope for the Israelites.

    Christmas is about hope. It is about Emmanuel, which means God with us. It is about God sending the Son down to us. , however, is not just about Christmas, and the singular time that God became man. Advent also looks to the next time God returns…at the end of the story.

    Advent, therefore, is about both the hope fulfilled for both Israelites and the of the world, and it is about the hope to come when returns. Hope is to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment. Hope was fulfilled when Jesus was born in a manger. We obtained hope through his death on the cross and his . Then there is the expectation of the return of Jesus…more hope!

    1/KD) Why is hope important?

    2) Why do we easily think of the hope of Christmas, but not of the hope of Jesus’ return?

    3/KD) What is your hope this Christmas?

    4/KD) What is your hope a year from now?

  • The Family Story

    The Family Story

    Psalm 25:1-10, Nehemiah 9:26-31, Luke 21:20-24

    “All the Lord’s ways show and truth to those who keep his and decrees.” (Psalm 25:10)

    “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They flung your law behind their backs and killed your prophets who warned them.” (Nehemiah 9:26)

    “…Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)

    It not a new thing that people praise God and then turn their backs on God later.
    Nehemiah recalls that people were inconsistent, following a Godly-ish leader, then falling away, falling to sin and oppression, then being restored. Could Nehemiah be wondering if the Israelites—finally returning home from Babylonian captivity—will last in their , or if they will fall away…again. Throughout the bible there is an optimism that God is gracious and compassionate, and as bad as things get, God is still there.

    God also never intended the story to be just about the Israelites. Through , the whole world (the Gentiles) has the opportunity to be part of God’s and part of God’s redemptive story. So much of the story of God is about God seeking to restore right between him and his chosen people, including us today.

    1) Christmas is culturally a family time of celebration. Who are some people who don’t have family around, that you could invite to be part of your family this Christmas season? Or, do you need a family, just for a short time this season? Do we need ?

    2) God’s story is and family. Is there a family relationship that needs to be restored? Is there a friendship than needs restoration?

    3/KD) We are called to be like Christ. How can we show others, especially during Advent, what a redeemed and a life with family (or framily) looks like?

  • Learn and Apply

    Learn and Apply

    Psalm 25:1-10, Nehemiah 9:16-25, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

    “Make your ways known to me, Lord; teach me your paths.” (Psalm 25:4)

    “You sent your good Spirit to instruct them…” (Nehemiah 9:20)

    “…test all things. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)

    Psalm 25 is viewed by many scholars as a solid instruction in the life. Many also view this as by King David toward the of his life. If we take these two views together, we can see a man who, though very flawed, pursued God and did his best to understand God, and who continued to seek guidance to know God’s plan and fulfill it faithfully.

    Nehemiah reflects on the Israelite exodus from Egypt as part of his upon the of the remnants of Israel from exile. Nehemiah acknowledges that God never stopped trying to guide the Israelites from their bad habits taken from Egypt. Those that he leads after their exile have brought habits from Babylon that are not of God.

    writes to the Thessalonians, people who were deeply embedded in a culture that did not know God. He calls on them to bear the struggles they are currently going through and to not abandon the . Indeed, he calls on them to live it even more deeply, using the faith to filter the world around them and their lives.

    Advent counts down until God comes down. Advent is not just about a child in a manger; it is also about God coming back at the end of the story. Christmas is about the never-ending that changes lives, given to us by someone who came and lived just like us.

    When the culture around us counts down the days until Christmas, the culture is really counting down until the time when material things triumph. It is so easy to succumb to the pressures of fitting in. It is so easy to follow the habits and traditions of our culture, which drowns out the hope and light of God with stuff, or shares light-hearted stories without the God of the Universe whose love shines through. Often our biggest challenge during Christmas and Advent is for us to keep Christ in Christmas.

    1) What family traditions do you have in this season?

    2) How do you use those family traditions to bring God in?

    KD) What is your favorite family Christmas tradition? How do you in it?

  • Advental Breathing

    Advental Breathing

    Psalm 25:1-10, Nehemiah 9:6-15, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

    , LORD, your compassion
    and your love,
    for they have existed from antiquity.
    (Psalm 25:6)

    As we enter the Season this Sunday, we will be drawn to worry about and other social gatherings. The culture around us has begun its annual whirlwind of consumption and revelry. As Christmas approaches, the gets pulled into the culture’s orbit, and it seems so good, because it has to do with Christmas.

    Take a breath. Breathe in. Breath out.

    While breathing in deeply, say, “Remember, Lord, your compassion.”

    While breathing out, say, “Be compassionate to your servant.”

    While breathing in deeply (again), say, “Remember, Lord, your faithful love.”

    While breathing out, say, “Remind your servant of your faithful love.”

    The psalmist is all but throwing himself onto the grace of God. Nehemiah is seeing the grace of God in through restoration. Paul is reminding the Thessalonians of the grace they have experienced, and the grace-filled life they are called to live out.

    As the world enters a time of material craziness, we are called to enter a time of grace, a time to invite God incarnate, Emmanuel, to abide with us. Let us enter into His grace-filled presence and transform the space around us.

    1) It is often hard to be grace-filled in this season, and especially to it. What can you do to share the grace that God has placed in your life?
    2) Can you see yourself throwing yourself into the lap of God? If, yes, how do you balance the awe of God with that openness? If, no, how do you balance this “reckless” love that God expressed in birth and death with the awe that you feel, or the “” that you must/should have?
    KD) Are you excited about Christmas? Presents? Do you think about the best present of all, , and how to give Him to your friends?

    Devotion.al

    Free to Feel

    Psalm 42, 2 Samuel 7:18-29, Romans 15:7-13

    “…Put your in God, for I will still him, my Savior and my God.”
    Psalm 42:5

    “…Do as you have promised, so that your will be exalted forever…”
    2 Samuel 7:25-26

    The Psalmist and David have different emotions in their words. The Psalmist seems exhausted mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It would be reasonable to say that the Psalmist was very depressed. David on the other hand was joy-filled for God had made a promise to him that his family (his house) would forever have a place before God. In a culture where family was of greater importance than the individual, this was a big deal.

    Both Psalmist and David, regardless of circumstances, put their hope in God. Both understood that they were insignificant in comparison to God, but that they were not insignificant to God. That is hope built on solid ground. An individual’s daily struggles may be small in comparison to the big picture, but the God who continues to draw the big picture knows that every person has their right place in the picture, and because of that, they are significant to God.

    The social and cultural events that occur around Christmas (company parties, family get togethers, even activities) can often exhaust and overwhelm us. Many of these activities can feel more like obligations, rather than times of joy and warm-heartedness. The times around Christmas can find feeling like both the Psalmist (exhausted/depressed) and David (joy-filled and thanks-filled). Sometimes the in moods can catch us by surprise, and we might even feel guilty for our feelings. As long as our hope rests on/in God, we are free to feel. We are free in Christ.

    1) How can you strengthen other people’s hope in Jesus? How will you?

    2) The best “tool” we have to feel hope is the . How can you “use” the Holy Spirit to strengthen your hope?

    3/KD) Christmas is a time to and receive gifts. Not everyone gets presents. How can you show and that the best is Jesus?

    “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
    Romans 15:13