Devotion.al

  • Thankful Reset

    Psalm 147, Deuteronomy 26:1–11 (read online ⧉)

    There are plenty of tales around Thanksgiving. While historians try to break out the supposed truth of what “really” happened, people are still adding pieces of their own making to the legend and story that surround the “first” Thanksgiving. There will be people that will try to paint the Puritans (and other colonists) with a wide disparaging brush (not without some justification). There will be people that will paint the First Nations Peoples with an overly generous brush. Regardless, there were people involved that, for whatever their reasons, gathered to gather to give thanks.

    When Lincoln called for a national observation of Thanksgiving, it was during the Civil War. Some viewed it as a calculated political , and it probably was. However, there was also the beginning of exhaustion with the whole thing. This was around the time when the Union realized that the war was not going to be quick. In the midst of such turmoil, a time of thanksgiving helped the people to set aside, even temporarily a horrible situation. Also, this is a way of resetting the mind and to look at a picture bigger than oneself.

    Thanksgiving in helps to lighten our hearts, especially when we carry the heavy burdens of , trial, finances, and so forth. How it works is somewhat of a , yet science is confirming that and help to rewire our brains. These re-wired brains are more resilient to trials and tribulations. In other words, we are able to withstand the emotional turmoil of trouble when thankfulness and gratitude are foundational elements of our regular practices.

    Take Psalm 147, for example. Say it out loud. Does something happen inside? If yes, great! If no, then it’s time to meditate on this Psalm. Recognize who God is and what God has done. These should not be empty words. If they are empty words for you, then you will likely struggle deeply with developing gratitude and thanksgiving.

    Moses’ direction to the Israelites prior to the entry into the Promised Land was to set a tone. They hadn’t yet worked for the fruit of the land. They were not to make assumptions. They were not to be arrogant. With the land promised to be fruitful, they were to be thankful that it was. Their hearts were to be full of gratitude toward God for it. If we follow along with the story of the Israelites, their focus on themselves and their own ways quickly lead them away from God.

    1) Why might ingratitude lead a person away from God?

    2) Why do you think gratitude changes your and improve your resilience?

    3) Do you think it is important that we have a national observance of thanksgiving? Why?

  • Different Not Defeated

    Obadiah 11–17, Joel 2:12–19, Luke 21:12–19 (read online ⧉)

    The problem with being a follower of is, well, being a follower of Jesus. First, it makes you different. There’s step one. Being different. We all want to fit in, but as a follower of Jesus Christ, we aren’t supposed to just “fit in” to the world. Sometimes that may mean we don’t fit into the or even our family. We don’t like that. It is uncomfortable.

    The next problem, or at least something that should be a problem, is that we aren’t liked for being followers of Christ. This doesn’t mean that we are to be unpleasant or cruel. We are to display , which we ourselves struggle with and against. There will be trials and tribulations, or there should be. That has been one of the biggest pitfalls of being in the States. We have lost most of the tension that our faith has with the world. We have become comfortable with the world, especially as expressed in the United States. This is why we should embrace our growing discomfort in the current culture. We are beginning to rediscover the cost of being a . We certainly are not at the place where Christians are being targeted programmatically. While many of our beliefs are being challenged in the culture and government, we are still free to practice our faith without .

    What gets interesting is how much of the non- and anti-religious people are beginning to gloat with their apparent victories against the faith. History doesn’t support their victory laps. The faith was practiced behind closed doors for years and flourished. We are seeing it now in other countries. The greater the oppression, it seems, the greater the growth. Obadiah’s warning to the gloaters is that they ought to be careful in their gloating. They confused and training for destruction and defeat. Sadly, so do many Christians.

    We are called to be in a healthy state of continuing repentance. It’s not as if God doesn’t already know that we messed something up. God is God. A state of ongoing repentance means that we do not think too much of ourselves and too little of . This is how we keep ourselves from surrendering to defeat and allowing ourselves to embrace God’s discipline.

    The part that often confuses Christians and non-Christians alike is that if Jesus Christ is King, then why does all this bad stuff happen to anyone, let alone Christians? That is a great question, and if asked honestly, it is working through. That doesn’t mean we will have all the answers, nor does it mean we will have the right answers for everyone. We need to have the right answer to that question for ourselves. When we are confident in the and strength and wisdom of the King of Kings the power of our answers is not the facts they convey but the Truth that is God.

    1) What do you think of the current culture compared to so-called church culture?

    2) Where do you see yourself not fitting into wider culture? Where do you see yourself not fitting into church culture? How does following Jesus affect either?

    3) What is your emotional response to apparent cultural victories over Christianity and even faith in general? What does that response tell you about yourself?

  • Rules of Mercy

    Exodus 25:16–22, Isaiah 33:17–22, Psalm 118 (read online ⧉)

    So much of the Levitical law was about the dos and don’ts. Israelites and (later) Christians became overly concerned about the blood being shed, and all the sins committed requiring it. Yet, God set out an that was right there for anyone to see, if they were able.

    God talks about the Ark of the in this passage. The that carried the 10 Commandments, a sample of mana, and later Aaron’s sprouted staff was capped with the seat. The mercy seat. All of this was covered by mercy. God’s mercy. Then God goes and states that the mercy seat is where God will the people.

    Why is this significant? Perhaps if people had focused on mercy, rather than the rules, God’s great commandments ( the Lord your God with all your , soul, mind, and . Love your neighbor as yourself.) would not have been so lost in rules that were lived out in a way that made God into a horrible vicious creature that so many people feared (the bad kind of ) and didn’t love.

    When you can “see” God as sitting on the mercy seat, you can better understand Isaiah’s words about the beauty of God. Isaiah continues on about the majesty of God. This passage ends with God being judge (with mercy), lawgiver (in mercy), and king (of mercy).

    1) Having a right understanding of God is essential to having a good with God. Can you have a good relationship with someone seemingly always angry, bitter, belittling, dismissive, judgemental, unforgiving, or harsh?

    2) If we do not start with God seated on the mercy seat, how would we relate to God?

    3) When we read Psalm 118 we read about God being the source of true salvation. How does this fit into the narrative of God being seated on the mercy seat?

  • 25 November 2019

    Zechariah 12:1–8, Revelation 18:1–10, Matthew 20:20–23, Luke 22:14–20 (read online ⧉)

    A cup is a common thing. You probably have a few in your cupboards. You might even have so many you have to get rid of one to fit another. You might have ones for special times (like china for Thanksgiving). You might have Christmas themed ones. You probably have ones that were given to you as a reminder or an advertisement. There is nothing special really special about cups. However, as we read the , cups star in a number of places.
    Joseph used his cup (his very special one that only he had) to entrap his brothers. Pharoah and Nebuchadnezzar had their cupbearers. These cupbearers had authority within the courts of the leader. Cups, it seems, were not always so common.

    The prophet Zechariah has a vision of Judah being a cup. Nations would drink of this cup. The consumption part represents well the takeovers, wars, slavery, and exile. The nations around Judah (even their Semitic cousins in Samaria) really did a number on Judah. It’s not that Judah did the right things and was still on the losing . Judah had continually made the wrong decisions. God wasn’t just going to restore his people once they yielded their hearts. God would use Judah as the source of retribution for all the nations that had (by their actions) treated Judah wrongly.

    This imagery is echoed in Revelation. This time, instead of the small underdog being the source of retribution, it would now be the leading city (symbolized as Babylon) that would be the source of its own destruction and the nations that followed it. This symbolic Babylon was completely lost in the depths of unGodly practices. The nations that idolized it or followed its practices would end up with the consequences of their choices.

    In Matthew, uses similar imagery to hint to James and John that the contents of Jesus’ cup will do the same to them as it will do to him. Of course, they did not yet understand what that meant. Is some ways, while Jesus did not “” them the seats at his right or left hand, he still symbolically handed his identity to them when he said they would drink from his cup. They probably felt better about not getting their “seats”, at least until they realized the cup’s contents.

    This really comes to a culmination in the Cup of Salvation. The “blood” of the New Covenant shared by Jesus with his disciples and eventually with us. The cup is Christ’s. When we share the cup, we share in the name and identity of Jesus. We also identify ourselves with and by the New Covenant. We also identify ourselves by his death and the we bought. Lastly, though, each of us may have something that needs to be sacrificed to live a life with and for Christ. We have to drink from the cup and by so doing stated that we will accept what it brings.

    1)Do you have a favorite cup? Why is it your favorite? Without knowing the story of if, what could people learn about you from it?

    2) God’s and are often found in “ordinary” things. In what other “ordinary” things do you find God’s grace and love?

    3) Why is it important to look for and ‘s grace and love in ordinary things?

  • Kingly Control

    1 Samuel 8:4–9, Psalm 24, Jeremiah 23:1–6, Matthew 21:1–9, 1 Timothy 6:12–16 (read online ⧉)

    One of ‘ titles is King of Kings. In our day and kings are more of a symbolic position, so it has become difficult for us to understand the significance of this title. We can only intellectually understand the that many kings had over their people. If you were to read beyond the outlined passage in 1 Samuel, he (Samuel) outlines the power the kings have over the people. If we go back to Joseph in the story of Genesis, by the time Joseph was done, the Pharaoh had everything, including the people.

    What is interesting is that there seems to be a strong desire to put itself under a strong person…even a commanding one. If that were not the case, we would not continually see dictators and totalitarian regimes. We can regularly look at history and see people turning towards it. Even with the last two presidents of the US, we all heard language that puts them in a salvific role, one that isn’t theirs.

    Much of this desire is a feeling (right or wrong) of security, or at least that this would be more secure than the current circumstances. People turn to that appear to have the power to control (not necessarily ) things, in hopes that these people can control bad circumstances.

    The struggle that many people had with Jesus was that he didn’t take control. His triumphant entry or the time the people wanted to crown him, he never took up the scepter of power. Instead, he took a path of . When he entered Jerusalem on a donkey, he entered as a king of peace. Had he come riding a warhorse, he would have been coming in power to take power. Many people wanted this. Their own tyrant was better, so they thought, than a tyrant of Rome. It’s not to say that Jesus would have been a tyrant, but that the people would have preferred one of their blood on a bloody throne, then keep the Romans.

    Today, one of the common arguments against believing that there is a God, especially a loving one, is that this God hasn’t taken control, just like God hadn’t taken control in Samuel’s day.

    1) Have you ever witnessed someone submitting to another person who was in power? Why? Did you support or did you question?

    2) How does Jesus use power differently than “earthly” powers? How does this inform you of how to use power? How does this inform you how you should how others use power?

    3) What does Jesus being King of kings mean to you? What does being a king mean to you?

  • 23 November 2019

    Jeremiah 22:18-30, 2 John 4–11 (read online ⧉)

    It is always a parent’s that something of them will be passed on and carried by their children, and even their grandchildren. If it is a company or wealth, people generally make detailed preparations to make sure that all goes as planned. There are wills, contracts, foundations, trusts and so on that exist to do this. Are they always successful? No. The same is, sadly, also the truth about . Sometimes the parents don’t have the tools or support. Sometimes the children don’t connect. Sometimes circumstances occur that drive the child (or the parents) away from the faith. Then the next generation falls, too.

    King Jehoiakim was the of Josiah. Josiah was a (to God) king. Johoiakim’s brother, Jehoahaz, was king 3 months before being deposed by Egypt. Jehoiakim’s original was Eliakim, meaning “God will establish.” The Pharaoh of Egypt renamed him to Jehoiakim, which means “Yahweh will establish.” Why does this matter? Josiah named his son in faith that he would carry on. He didn’t. Neither of these brothers did. Did Josiah mess up? Possibly. Were there lots of people pressuring the men to stray from God’s path? Most definitely. The Pharaoh probably renamed Eliakim/Jehoiakim as a matter of dishonor, dismissal, or a statement that their God established him (Pharaoh) as their ruler.

    Do we hold Josiah accountable for his sons? Biblical commentators nor pastors preaching on passing on the faith seem to. Yet, when a child or grandchild turns from the faith, we often feel and as if the parent is solely responsible for that choice, or mostly responsible for the choice. There are plenty of individuals in the that are held up today as examples whose children walked away from the faith. Rarely do people recognize the disconnect.

    John’s letter to the “lady” is oddly phrased. Some commentators believe that John was referring to a house as the lady, but with the variables of singular and plural words, it is more likely that there are singular “you”’s and plural “you”’s that are intentional. Regardless, John celebrating that some (note, not all) of her children are following the faith reinforces that this is nothing new. Perhaps we are putting too much pressure on people to be “perfect” in passing on the faith. Should we all try hard? Yes! Should we still try when it seems impossible? Yes!

    Ultimately, though, we have to recognize our responsibility to do our best as we are able. We are not God. God calls them. They must choose to .

    1) Is there anyone you feel called to bring into fellowship with Jesus?

    2) Why do you think they don’t know Jesus, or may not want to know Jesus?

    3) What the part in their to Jesus are you responsible for?

  • Bridal Party

    Matthew 25:1–13 (read online ⧉)

    This is an odd parable. It makes some sense on the surface, but even then, not much. One of the surface tensions is that refers here to the . Jesus often refers to the Kingdom having already come, but here it is in the . Some scholars struggle with the tension of now and not yet, however, that tension is quite common in the New Testament, and it shouldn’t be any surprise here.
    Jesus immediately turns to a common tactic in such parables, dividing the subjects into wise and . This, of course, sets the stage for the unfolding of the parable. Sadly, antisemitic tendencies have often divided the foolish as Jews and the wise as Christians. That wasn’t Jesus’ intent based on the Scriptures. He’s usually a little more obvious, and the writers are usually quick to tell us when he’s talking about certain people when Jesus doesn’t say it. As we don’t have that, let’s agree to not read that into this.

    This really is straightforward, right? Be , for the Day of the Lord will be coming, and you don’t know when! That’s the point, it seems, of the story. However, (you knew this was coming, didn’t you?), we seem to be missing someone.

    We have the . It’s pretty safe, based on the Scriptures, that this could be considered Jesus himself. We have the wise and foolish virgins. Now, Jesus is not having multiple wives. That isn’t it at all. The allusion is to a bridal march, where the virgin (or young unmarried women) would escort the to the groom’s home, where the ceremony would be done, and things would become official. If it happened at night, as in the parable, the bride’s escorts (i.e., bridesmaids) would the way. So, have you guessed who is missing?

    The bride. We talk so much about the bridesmaids (granted, they are the “stars” of the story) that we forget about the bride. Even as we talk about who was foolish or wise and why we missed the bride! So, who is the bride? Well, if Jesus is the groom, then the is the bride.

    1) If the church is the bride, who are the wise and foolish bridesmaids (keeping in mind our agreement above)?

    2) If Jesus is the Groom and the Church is the Bride, where is the marriage ceremony held?

    3) If Jesus is the Groom and the Church is the Bride, who announces the approaching groom?

  • Right Words Right Choice

    2 Chronicles 18:12-22, Mark 15:1–15 (read online ⧉)

    Ahab was an interesting king. He set himself up against God and the prophets multiple times. His greatest adversary was Elijah. However, Elijah was by no means his only one. Micaiah was apparently well known to Ahab. As Ahab told Jehoshaphat that Micaiah never says anything good to him (Ahab), we can infer the Micaiah was known to visit Ahab, probably often to chastise him for continue to worship Baal (and encouraging the people too).

    Knowing that Ahab could behave in a weak fashion (see the story about Naboth’s vineyard), it is interesting to reflect on him bringing a known adversary to his court for consultation, especially in the of another king. This is not the behavior of a weak king. On top of it, Ahab is apparently smart enough to recognize that all his other “seers” are blowing hot air, for when Micaiah echoes their words, Ahab challenges that. He’s pretty certain that Micaiah is following the crowd and not his calling.

    Why Micaiah succumbed to echoing the is never answered, but there could be a number of . The likeliest answer of all was that Ahab wouldn’t to the , so why bother with it. People in power might ask people of influence or morals for advice (such as in this case). However, that can be merely a checkbox to show open-mindedness and wisdom, when in fact it is just a show. While Ahab took a risk calling in Micaiah, because he sought Jehoshaphat’s military aid, he probably felt that he needed to put on an appropriate show for the God-following Jehoshaphat.

    In ‘ time, Pilate was the theoretical ruler of Jerusalem. He was under and sent with the authority of the Roman Empire. Only by his command could be imposed. As the Jewish religious leaders needed his approval, they set him up. In many respects, Pilate knew it. He knew that the real issue was that Jesus challenged the influence of the Sanhedrin. Pilate, though, needed the Sanhedrin to control the people without always having to resort to arms. He and the Sanhedrin played a political game of chess, and Pilate gave up. He actually had a winning hand but succumbed to the pressure of the crowd. The Sanhedrin knew the political pitfalls that Pilate had to walk and took advantage of them.

    Ahab and Pilate faced hard choices. For us, we don’t see them as too hard, but both were “political animals”. We see much the same today; people who cannot not be in . Every person has decisions to make. What matters is which direction each one of those steps leads.

    1) Have you ever had to make a political choice that did not feel like it was the correct (e.g., , moral) choice? Why did you make the choice you did? What were the results politically and spiritually?

    2) For “political animals” (no disrespect intended), often the political game blinds them to good or wise decisions. Where do you see that occurring? Is it only that person or people?

    3) People’s wiring for decisions is often different than our own. We may even come to the same decision via a completely different route. How do we work with others whose thought processes (again, not the conclusions) are so different from our own?

Devotion.al

Thankful Reset

Psalm 147, Deuteronomy 26:1–11 (read online ⧉)

There are plenty of tales around Thanksgiving. While historians try to break out the supposed of what “really” happened, people are still adding pieces of their own making to the legend and story that surround the “first” Thanksgiving. There will be people that will try to paint the Puritans (and other colonists) with a wide disparaging brush (not without some justification). There will be people that will paint the First Nations Peoples with an overly generous brush. Regardless, there were people involved that, for whatever their reasons, gathered to gather to thanks.

When Lincoln called for a national observation of Thanksgiving, it was during the Civil War. Some viewed it as a calculated political , and it probably was. However, there was also the beginning of exhaustion with the whole thing. This was around the time when the Union realized that the war was not going to be quick. In the midst of such turmoil, a time of thanksgiving helped the people to , even temporarily a horrible situation. Also, this is a way of resetting the mind and to look at a picture bigger than oneself.

Thanksgiving in praise helps to lighten our hearts, especially when we carry the heavy burdens of , trial, finances, and so forth. How it works is somewhat of a , yet science is confirming that thankfulness and help to rewire our brains. These re-wired brains are more resilient to trials and tribulations. In other words, we are able to withstand the emotional turmoil of trouble when thankfulness and gratitude are foundational elements of our regular practices.

Take Psalm 147, for example. Say it out loud. Does something happen inside? If yes, great! If no, then it’s time to meditate on this Psalm. Recognize who God is and what God has done. These should not be empty words. If they are empty words for you, then you will likely struggle deeply with developing gratitude and thanksgiving.

Moses’ direction to the Israelites prior to the entry into the Promised Land was to set a tone. They hadn’t yet worked for the fruit of the land. They were not to make assumptions. They were not to be arrogant. With the land promised to be fruitful, they were to be thankful that it was. Their hearts were to be full of gratitude toward God for providing it. If we follow along with the story of the Israelites, their focus on themselves and their own ways quickly lead them away from God.

1) Why might ingratitude lead a person away from God?

2) Why do you think gratitude changes your and improve your resilience?

3) Do you think it is important that we have a national observance of thanksgiving? Why?