Devotion.al

  • Get To Your Seats

    Get To Your Seats

    Luke 14:7–14

    When I was young, my insisted on making sure I was appropriately experienced in “high” culture. We went to ballet and opera. My dad said that we were sitting in the Grand Tier (still sounds a bit grandiose). This was the tier above the Opera (i.e.,floor) Seats, and below the Upper Tier, and certainly not the seats. This would be so we had the best seats to see everything.

    He was right. We were just high enough that barring a really tall conductor (I one), our view of the stage allowed to see everything from the top of the sets to the artists’ feed (really important for ballet, not so much for opera). Oddly, the Opera seats were more expensive, and the crane-your-neck-uncomfortably-for-hours box seats were even more so.

    Which seats were the right seats? That depends on why you were there. For those in the box seats, sure there were those for the arts. There were those that were there to be seen. There were those who were there because it was expected of them.

    Depending on the and event, what seat a person might choose to in changes. For some people, going to a party is a high-stress environment, and they’ll gravitate toward a “safe” person (if there is one) or a dark corner or wall to “hide”.

    There’s also that person who will jump to the center of the room because they are the life of the party, or they will be.

    When Jesus talks about the seating at the banquet, it about a lot of things. What we often don’t talk about in this parable is the parallel to Gentile life. This may have been less about the “” seating, but more about how the “pure” “religious” “sanctified” Jews were emulating the behavior of those they despised and feared.

    This a jump for sure from the text to the context. However, when we see the behavior of the powerful or popular there is a strong tendency to emulate it. Romans were in charge. This is how the Romans behaved; therefore, it seems reasonable that the oppressed would copy it, not because they wanted to, but because it’s a natural to avoid gaining the wrong attention of those in power.

    If this is indeed the case (again, which is reasonable), then we have a possible case of syncretism, a combining of two different (often competing) worldviews and/or religions.

    When a person was given the seat of honor due to their religious position in a non-religious setting or honor due to their secular position in a religious setting there is a mixing of two different worldviews that should be in tension with one another, and not in harmony.

    ※Questions※

    1) Where do you see your political worldview and your religious worldview in harmony? Where do you see them in conflict?

    2) Are you comfortable where your politics influence your ? Does your religion affect your politics?

    3) Do you evaluate people’s religious affections based upon their politics? Do you a person’s politics based upon their religion?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, help us our will to you, that you are the Lord of our religion and our politics. Amen.

  • Are You There Yet?

    Are You There Yet?

    Romans 7:15-20; Philippians 3:12–21; 1 John 1:6–2:6

    If you’ve ever been on a long trip, whether as a parent or a child, “Are we there yet,” is a common question. So common that some people can time when the next time the question will be asked. The “are we there yet” question is an event- and time-based question with an answer.

    “Are we there yet,” when asked as a spiritual question is something completely different. In a performance-based culture, such as ours, there are often attempts to assess and evaluation the successfulness of our .

    If we are not careful, this can become overwhelming, and even deadly to our spiritual growth. If we are so concerned about how we are evaluated and what the measure is, we are often tempted to meet the “requirement” of action without the heart-change that we seek.

    When we perform “holiness” through tasks and checkboxes we become as overburdened as the Jews had been for so long with their Law. Thus our “holiness” becomes an of will. So, when we are tired, discouraged, down, or something else, our holiness house of cards comes tumbling down.

    wasn’t there yet. In Romans, he expresses his grief/frustration/reality that he keeps missing the mark of things. He recognizes a conflict between our human nature bent towards its own gratification, and our God-nature desiring to be in God’s grace, mercy, and .

    He also writes to the Philippians much the same way. He knows he is “there” yet. That doesn’t stop him from reaching toward the “goal” with all his might. In many respects, Paul’s “forgetting” is key to moving . We are all inclined to our failures (especially when they are painful). It is especially important to have someone to to and be held accountable by. Oddly, that seems to help us on.

    Then there is the “confession” that has been used for generations in some traditions regarding confession and redemption. The sin is an issue. The unconfessed, unrepented, and unreconciled (can be read as unforgiven, but not entirely accurate) sin is the bigger issue. When John talks about not being in fellowship, it is the unconfessed, unrepented, and unreconciled sin that “shows” we are walking in darkness.

    Paul and John (and others) know full well that we have an advocate who is looking to judge us but to forgive us.

    ※Prayer of Confession from the Book of Common Prayer (2019)※

    Almighty and most merciful Father,
         we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep.
    We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.
    We have offended against your holy laws
    We have left undone those things which we ought to have done,
         and we have done those things which we ought not to have done;
    and apart from your grace, there is no health in us.

    O Lord, have mercy upon us.
    Spare all those who confess their faults.
    Restore all those who are penitent,
         according to your promises declared to all people in Christ our Lord.
    And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,
         that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
         to the glory of your holy . Amen.

  • Work-Out Regimen

    Work-Out Regimen

    Luke 7:36–50; Philippians 2:12–16

    The scorn of the Pharisees toward Jesus was pretty easy to see. They were effectively declaring that Jesus could not be an actual true prophet, because he dared to accept the anointing by the woman. “If he only knew what she was like,” they said.

    Jesus did and loved her anyway. He didn’t her any less or any more because of her “unclean” state or status. He loved her because she was a person made in the image of God.

    A more recent way of that exact same thinking is, “when you get yourself cleaned up, come to church, and get to know Jesus.” Or (even sadder), “I’ll come to church when my is cleaned up.” That was not Jesus’ attitude. THANKS, BE TO GOD!

    The woman came to Jesus. Jesus declared her sins pardoned. She never sinned after that. Oh, wait…

    For the vast majority of people, “getting clean” is a lifelong process. For a drug addict, “getting clean” from the drug is only step one. They then need to “get clean” from friend circles, ways of thinking, and sometimes the place they are at. It is not an easy road.

    Oddly enough, Jesus seems to forgive sins pretty easily. It’s not that the sins are minor. They are acts that separate us from God. The problem isn’t God, it’s us.

    We want to keep doing what we did because it is comfortable. Even those who seek and desire (and are even change-agents) like comfortable.

    calls on the Philippians not just to declare Jesus as Lord. Paul calls on the Philippians to be changed. Just like us, they needed to change their habits. They need to change thought processes. None of these things change . They change us.

    “…by holding firm to the word of life.” There is a play on words here, for the word is the message (salvation through Jesus), the word is the Scriptures, and Jesus is the word.

    The easy answer is to hold onto Jesus for dear life. The life answer is that holding onto Jesus allows us to him so that we are free in our hearts and minds to remove all in our life that separates us from in him.

    ※Questions※

    1) When was the last time you were like the Pharisees? Why is that the issue that causes this ?

    2) When was the last time you were like the woman? With what did you anoint Jesus’ feet (this can be a symbol)?

    3) How and with whom are you working through your salvation? How can you deepen that?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, as you have brought us into the light, help us to release our so that we can draw others to you. Amen.

  • Mindset

    Mindset

    Ephesians 1:17–19; Philippians 4:1–9

    There is a pernicious thought floating around that if Christians really believed what they say they do; they would all think similarly. Sadly, that often comes from Christians who perceive they are not being heard or perceive that someone with whom they disagree is being heard.

    In my immediate family, I am the person who hates tomatoes. Yes, they’re fine as ketchup and pizza sauce. Sometimes they’re okay as salsa (very rarely). Otherwise, no thank you. My wife, on the other hand, tomatoes. Out of 3 of our kids, 2 like tomatoes, 1 not so much. We’re related! How could we not like the same things?

    That is the same thought process required for all Christians to think the same.

    Not seeing things the same is quite . We are all the culmination of our experiences, the experiences of trusted , our hurts, our fears, our hopes, and our love. No one person is the same when you total all of that , even identical twins (though they’re probably the closest).

    How we disagree, however, is much bigger. If we could all disagree well, groupthink wouldn’t be an issue. When we disagree well, we each “feel” heard. When we disagree well, the decided path may not be ours, but because trust has been built, we are able to accept it.

    That would be a wonderful way to live. Instead, the church is divided. It could be political lines. It could be music styles. It could be preaching styles.

    The trick often is not responding out of our emotions and trigger-responses. Often, it is thinking, talking, and working it out together over time. Why do we think one path will work better than another? If we don’t have the answer to our own path, we will often dismiss other perspectives out of unconscious .

    The other side effect is that our bonds are tested because people feel dismissed or ignored when there is no significant . Without significant conversation, misunderstandings occur, feelings are hurt, and the church’s is damaged.

    One of the great tests of the is how they love one another. How we with one another and discuss deeper things must be an outpouring of that exact same love.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is something that is bugging you regarding a Christian brother or sister? Have you talked about it with that person, why or why not?

    2) How do you dismiss the thoughts and perspectives of others (Christian or otherwise)? Think of the last time you disagreed with someone. Did you talk it through, or did you just do or command your way?

    3) How do you reconcile with someone you perceive dismisses you? How will you reconcile with someone whom you dismissed.?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, you want and direct us to love one another. Help us to do that well, especially when we disagree. Amen.

  • A Small Project

    A Small Project

    2 Samuel 12:13–23; Ezra 8:21–23; Mark 2:18–22

    Fasting is an age-old spiritual practice that has mostly lost its place in American Evangelical Christianity. Yes, there are some that practice it. Fasting remains strongly part of the Orthodox and somewhat the Roman Catholic church.

    As American Evangelical Christianity has discovered Advent and , fasting has become more prevalent. Fasting was originally fasting from – things like water and food. American fasting is no , no Facebook, no chocolate, or other things that are of questionable faith value.

    This is not to trivialize what people choose to fast from, but more as a check against our desire to avoid significant self-.

    You might be wondering why fasting, today? It’s not yet Advent (but it’s coming!), nor is it Lent. We are in a season of fasting right now, and it hasn’t been one of choice.

    This all comes to mind as the church as a body struggles with what it means to be the family of God without the building. The building served its purpose and will again. It has been like the kitchen of many homes, the focus of family life. The church building has been the focus of church life. Yet, the church “kitchen” is now under serious remodeling.

    We are only starting to figure out what exactly the post-remodel might look like, and the plans keep getting revised. First, there was going to be a bar…now there’s not. There was going to be a pantry, but that didn’t work either. The double-sink was coming along…then…

    That’s pretty much what it feels like right now.

    Most fasts are self-directed, but this one isn’t. That doesn’t mean that it can’t and won’t be used by God to shape us.

    One of the biggest take-a-ways is that it really isn’t the building that is the church. It’s been said for a number of years. Yes, the building has been a place at which we have focused on gathering. Now, not only are we being encouraged to be at each other’s homes, we have to have church!

    We’re all tired of the “remodeling”. We want it to be over.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is changing about your view of church?

    2) How are you living and “doing” church with the kitchen closed?

    3) Place is important. How can we make the places we are in now be and be church?

    ※Prayer※

    Holy , guide us through these trying times. May we be stirred to fulfill the in whatever new way you call us to. Amen.

  • Chained or Unchained

    Chained or Unchained

    Deuteronomy 27:12–28:1; John 8:31–40; Galatians 3:7–14

    There are many wonderful things in that begin well and then become dead weight. Buying a house is one of those. We are now in an era when people buy houses and pay against a large debt for 15–30 years. It doesn’t take too long for the joy of home “owning” to be faced with the frustrations of maintenance, flaws, , changes, life changes, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a house. It could be a car. It could be student loans. It could be your job.

    The Law wasn’t intended to be life-giving. It was intended as God-oriented protection. If you followed the law, there was a framework that guided one into a righteous life.

    Somehow this became twisted, and the Law became life.

    “Whoever does not put this law into practice is cursed.” (Deuteronomy 27:26)

    This does not say that the Law is life. It says that not following the Law results in bad consequences. Within the Law there were “resets” built in. Sins, errors in judgment could be dealt with. Life could move on.

    However, there is a difference when it is a lifestyle. This is not about ignorance. This is not about an unbeliever. This is about those who declare God their God and live in such a way that they have not put God first in their lives.

    What becomes the struggle is “proving” that God is first in our lives. Often, we “prove” it by living a more “holy” life. The Church of the Nazarene, for example, was long known for its stances against alcohol, smoking, and dancing. Not doing these things was the mark of “” but is what the areas of broken where these things occurred that was the real issue.

    When holiness (or the appearance thereof) become chains rather than freedom, then holiness has become the Law. If that is the case, then that might make a lie out of, “who the sets free is free indeed,” because then, it seems, we want to find new chains to live in.

    ※Questions※

    1) What are some Christian “rules” that you can think of? How do you think they became rules?

    2) What rules can you think of that were intended to “” or “preserve” life, but ended up chaining it? Does that make the rule bad?

    3) What is a rule that you wish wasn’t a family rule? Why?

    ※Prayer※

    , you called us to a life of following you. Help up discern freedom from chains as we try to follow your way. Amen.

  • My Rules Not Yours

    My Rules Not Yours

    Mark 10:1–9; Luke 1:69–75; Galatians 3:1–5

    The rule of having to wear masks when going out into public (with some exceptions in the US and elsewhere) is grating. Really. Who wants to wear a mask all day? No one wants to.

    Many are concerned that we are being conditioned to wear masks and have our freedoms curtailed. That concern is reasonable, up to a point. What’s particularly interesting is the social experiment regarding rules.

    The political “right” is generally a law and order type of people. Yet, that group is resisting the mask rule. The political “left” is (theoretically) more of a “no rules” yet practices many rigid rules.

    This is not to pick on either, but to show that even in our “crystal clear” political bents, we are often not clear ourselves. Yet, one of the core pieces of theology, especially Protestant theology, is from the Law.

    Of course, someone will often that the Law is different than rules. Yes, the Law is a series of religious rules that defined appropriate behavior and a penalty for when that behavior was violated.

    The “trick” became that the people treated the Law as if it were the relationship that mattered, rather than their relationship to God. That is also a simplification of it. Another way to say may be, they focused on the rules so much that they neglected the relationship.

    gets the rules of divorce question. Is that really the question, though? Is the question more along the lines of, “what can I do that I think makes me happy while still getting to Heaven?” The question of divorce is a question of relationship on one hand and what can be gotten away with. The way Pharisees brought this to Jesus was about the law. It wasn’t about a man looking for a younger wife or a prettier one, or even one the nagged him less. It was about using the Law to break relationship.

    When anyone becomes more concerned about the rules (whether to follow them or disobey them) than the that the rules are about, we lose of people. Zechariah’s (from Luke 1) is all about the relationship. Zechariah would have been one of those concerned about the rules (he was a priest). The relationship with God and God with God’s people mattered more.

    The other side of the rules, and a significant focus of the Protestant reformation, was the thought that one could earn their way into Heaven by following rules, rituals, or purchasing one’s way in. The last of these 3 is not ‘s concern in his letter to the Galatians. What concerned him was that the Galatians seemed to have tossed out and relationship and embraced rules.

    This is not to say rules are not important. They provide guidance and boundaries, which we seem to need to thrive. Yet, if we adhere to the rules (or oppose the rules) without understanding the why and the who that the rules are about we skip the people that we are called to love.

    ※Questions※

    1) Thinking of relationships regarding authority, how do rules and relationships work with and against each other?

    2) What rules that bother you? Why? What relationships might those rules impact?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, you came to earth to show us the Way of . Help us to find both the freedom and constraints of following you. Amen.

  • Can You Relate?

    Can You Relate?

    1 Corinthians 3:5–9; Philippians 1:12–21

    “It can never happen here.”

    “No one respects God here.”

    “How could God in this [horrible] place?”

    You can probably think of a number of questions or statements that an excuse or justification for why you can’t be a missionary where you are. Let’s not devalue those statements. Let’s identify them for what they are…barriers to the .

    Missionaries have gone to foreign countries for generations. The Church of the Nazarene [the “umbrella” denomination for this devotional] has missionaries in “Creative Access” areas. The denomination does not publicly identify them. When they go home, they are not recorded or associated with their missional area. For many of them, martyrdom (killed because of faithfully the ) is a real possibility.

    In comparison, our hard to reach areas are not so hard.

    wrote the letter to the church(es) in Philippi from jail. Through a confluence of circumstances, he was able to about Jesus, both directly and indirectly. One could think that jail could be a pretty hard place.

    Yet, the Gospel is growing (yes, growing) in the prisons even today. Through methods such as Discovery Bible Study, cell groups (pun intended) are growing in the prisons. Some of the hardest prisons where the further separate inmates into pods are establishing groups.

    Did Paul start immediately preaching the Gospel to the guards? Probably not. He developed relationships with them over time. Then as the guided, he shared.

    Where you are may be a place where you are called to only plant seeds. Perhaps you are in a place where you are called to water the seeds that planted. It might even be possible for you to be in a place where you plant and water. Depending on the people, each person may be in a different place.

    Relational Evangelism is the new buzz-phrase. It shouldn’t be. This is the most effective way, at this point in history, to reach people for Jesus and deepen their (and our) relationship with Jesus. Even 20 years ago, the most successful churches with the deepest discipleship were built on relationships.

    ※Questions※

    1) What relationship is the hardest for you at the moment? How could/might the Holy Spirit use that to bring Jesus into the picture?

    2) What kind of seeds are you planting right now? In whom are you planting them? What are some ways to plant seeds?

    3) What seeds/plants are you watering right now? How are you watering them? What are some ways to water the seeds of faith?

    4) How’s the weeding going? Are you having to pull some weeds in your or others’ lives? How might weeding work (or not) in the newly planted and/or watered relationships?

    ※Prayer※

    , from the beginning you have used the picture of planting and watering to convey deep truths to your Creation. Please guide us into how planting, watering, and weeding needs to be lived out in our lives. Amen.

    A quick summary and methodology outline for the Discovery Bible Study can be downloaded here, or you can go to the Discovery Bible Study site (not all views are necessarily the views of this site.)

Devotion.al

Get To Your Seats

Luke 14:7–14

When I was young, my father insisted on making sure I was appropriately experienced in “high” culture. We went to ballet and opera. My dad said that we were sitting in the Grand Tier (still sounds a bit grandiose). This was the tier above the Opera (i.e.,floor) Seats, and below the Upper Tier, and certainly not the seats. This would be so we had the best seats to see everything.

He was right. We were just high enough that barring a really tall conductor (I one), our view of the stage allowed to see everything from the top of the sets to the artists’ feed (really important for ballet, not so much for opera). Oddly, the Opera seats were more expensive, and the crane-your-neck-uncomfortably-for-hours box seats were even more so.

Which seats were the right seats? That depends on why you were there. For those in the box seats, sure there were those for the arts. There were those that were there to be seen. There were those who were there because it was expected of them.

Depending on the and event, what seat a person might choose to in changes. For some people, going to a party is a high-stress environment, and they’ll gravitate toward a “safe” person (if there is one) or a dark corner or wall to “hide”.

There’s also that person who will jump to the center of the room because they are the life of the party, or they will be.

When talks about the seating at the banquet, it about a lot of things. What we often don’t talk about in this parable is the parallel to Gentile life. This may have been less about the “” seating, but more about how the “pure” “religious” “sanctified” Jews were emulating the behavior of those they despised and feared.

This a jump for sure from the text to the context. However, when we see the behavior of the powerful or popular there is a strong tendency to emulate it. Romans were in charge. This is how the Romans behaved; therefore, it seems reasonable that the oppressed would copy it, not because they wanted to, but because it’s a natural response to avoid gaining the wrong attention of those in power.

If this is indeed the case (again, which is reasonable), then we have a possible case of syncretism, a combining of two different (often competing) worldviews and/or religions.

When a person was given the seat of honor due to their religious position in a non-religious setting or honor due to their secular position in a religious setting there is a mixing of two different worldviews that should be in tension with one another, and not in harmony.

※Questions※

1) Where do you see your political and your religious worldview in harmony? Where do you see them in conflict?

2) Are you comfortable where your influence your ? Does your religion affect your politics?

3) Do you evaluate people’s religious affections based upon their politics? Do you a person’s politics based upon their religion?

※Prayer※

Jesus, help us surrender our will to you, that you are the Lord of our religion and our politics. Amen.