Devotion.al

  • Attending Well

    Deuteronomy 30:15–20, Acts 4:5–22

    If someone were to give us a about being given the way to or death, there would likely be an automatic naysayer response. This is the case when the “way” is exercise, healthy eating (including the latest fads), life philosophy. In the Christian context, we understand the is that “way”. To many of us who have heard and believed, this is obvious.

    Yet, there are many in the and the world that when they something along the lines of, “See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity,” they turn off. You, too, might have that exact same response. It’s an understandable response because we see the saying it, and we know humans. They don’t really understand the “way”. How can they, they’re only human.

    The way of life and prosperity is empowered by the faithful attention to the . Man cannot do it alone. Man needs to be in humble partnership with God, letting God lead. The importance of cannot be overstated. If we were to take, for example. prosperity to its extreme, we all understand that it is an issue. Really, the that was given was that Israel would have enough.

    Yet, to have even enough, they would have to walk in harmony with God. That is often the hard part. The leaders of the Jews were so strongly focused on the right checkboxes that they could no longer see the way. With the disciples, we also see a transformation of the promise. The prosperity was not of this world (except, one hopes, in framily).

    The other darker transformation of the promise is that the way often leads to adversity and death. The disciples experienced both, as do many Christians around the world today.

    1) What do you think about the promise changing? Do you agree, or disagree? Why?

    2) Financial prosperity has often been used to judge God’s blessing and a person’s . What is your take on that?

  • Faithful Servanthood

    Psalm 127, Matthew 25:14–30, Luke 22:35–38

    The question is often asked, “when you get to Heaven, what do you want to ?”

    The common answer is, “well done, good and .”

    It is a feel-good statement. Truthfully, we would all like to hear that from God.

    In the parable, the servants were given to build up the master’s coffers. The interesting part about the parable is that 2 servants did well, and 1 servant did (basically) nothing. The reality is that in investing, you lose money, too. That is part of the risk. A person who launches a small business is putting their money at risk to be successful, with no guarantees. In the parable, we don’t have a servant that tried and failed. There is either trying and succeeding, or there is nothing ().

    This seems significant. Though perhaps it is not. It could be argued that the 2 successful servants were blessed (Psalm 17:1) and the other servant just missed out. This is often the interpretation, as it is seen as applying to Israel for not up to its potential. In fact, burying the money was (culturally) from liability, for if buried money is stolen, there was no responsibility.

    In Matthew’s version of the parable (or a different contextual telling of the parable), Matthew used “faithful” to describe the servant, while Luke did not. For Matthew, this was a matter of faith. The master trusted the servant to do the right thing (with what the Master gave), and be successful with it.

    When it comes to real , however, it is not so clear-cut. In his last hours with his disciples, alludes to the disciples being taken care of when sent out by him earlier in the ministry. Yet, now they are to be self-prepared (instead of being taken care of) and even armed (though the weapon-like nature of the sword is questionable).

    1) Why do you think there is such a difference between the servants in the parable and the disciples with Jesus?

    2) What is your to faithful in this context? What do you think it means? Do you think you are being faithful?

    3) If one takes the parable too literally, one can conclude that a person is an unfaithful servant if they fail. What do you think about that?

  • Empathize and Build

    Philippians 2:19–30, Romans 15:1–7

    empathy: the of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner [Merriam-Webster.com]

    Imprisoned is concerned about the Philippians. More correctly, he is deeply concerned for the Philippians. Paul’s empathy is such that he appears to viscerally feel the emotional distress of the Philippians for their emissary/friend/missionary Epaphroditus. The Philippians’ distress for Epaphroditus’ health tells us how significant Epaphroditus was to the Philippians. It also shows Paul’s importance to them for them to send such a significant person.

    In the Roman era, if you did not have or friends to take care of you, you were not going to last long. The primary care of a prisoner would be performed by those same family and friends. Epaphroditus was one of Paul’s care-givers. He was a key part of Paul’s survival. Yet, Paul viewed the Philippians’ worries of higher importance than his own. So much so, that he put their emotional welfare ahead of his own and emotional welfare. He also, therefore, took on their coming as his own.

    Paul echoes much of this in his earlier letter to the Romans. He talks about bearing the weaknesses of so as to not please oneself. He talks about pleasing our neighbor, especially to build them up. He also says that this also means that when these people are insulted, he (or we) are also insulted.

    This is not the way of the world. The way of the world is to . Even as Christians, the world tries to separate us from each other, and we let the world do it.

    1) How can you build-up your empathy muscle? Why should you?

    2) How do you think empathy helps build the ?

    3) Why do you think we avoid feeling empathy toward others?

  • Magic Targets

    2 Peter 1:16–21, 2 Timothy 4:1–8

    Yesterday, we read about mediums, sorcerers, et al., and that they were bad mostly because of the tendency toward the self. The problem with the way this is portrayed is what seems to be an apparent conflict between scriptural admonitions and the world.

    One of the easiest targets for this over the years has been the Harry Potter series. The story about an outcast becoming a hero is very attractive to many people. Yet, many well-meaning Christians warned (and continue to warn) others that the series was steeped in occult and black magic.

    On the other hand, those same people would insist that everyone see/read Narnia series and The Lord of the Rings series. The Narnia series was by Anglican C.S. Lewis, and he was deliberate in developing the series through a Christological lens. Roman Catholic J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings series. Both series written by devout (and vaunted) Christians were steeped on otherworldly lore…and magic.

    What are we to take away from this, then? Be discerning about both what you read/watch, including Christians. Legends and myths are useful to teach and Biblical lessons from a different . J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and even J.K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter series) tell wonderful, inventive, and disturbing (i.e., looking in the mirror) books about humanity.

    Can people take them too far? Absolutely! This is where we tie back to ‘s and Peter’s words. If the myths pull us away from Christ and the of the , then they are to be avoided. The primary myths that Paul and Peter were dealing with were Roman pagan gods (now studied by even conservative Christian colleges as part of their liberal arts programs) and the Jewish Laws that opposed. Yes, Narnia, Middle-Earth, and even Hogwarts can be used to teach about Jesus. Again, one must be careful in doing so.

    1) What do you think is an American (or your home national) myth? Why is it a myth? What is its ?

    2) What do you think is a family myth? Why is it a myth? What is its power?

    3) What do you think is a myth? Why is it a myth? What is its power?

  • Separating Works

    Deuteronomy 18:9–14, 1 Samuel 28:3–25, Galatians 5:16–26

    The list of people not to listen to is interesting. As part of the Israelites’ preparation to enter the Promised Land, these people were to not be sought out. From a cultural standpoint, this is not a small thing. These people were the ones that were sought for wisdom and guidance. For many leaders, they were (so-to-) the behind the throne. In our modern-day, we tie these practices to Satan, yet there is much more than that in this. If one gets rid of the diviners, fortune tellers, omen interpreters, sorcerers, magicians, mediums, spiritualists, and dead relatives, who do you listen to? God.

    The of these practices is more about selfishness, pride, sin, and disobedience than it is about the Adversary. This is not to say that the Enemy does not use these to deceive, it’s just that it is human behavior and choices that make it these things effective in separating humanity from God.

    Saul’s own pride (and disobedience) resulted in God pulling favor from him. Saul mostly appeared to follow the visible laws, but it seems that his heart wasn’t there. When Saul finally seeks God (in desperation, not adoration), God does not . Saul decides to invoke the practices that God said were detestable. Saul, who had gotten rid of mediums and spiritualists (exile or death), goes to one to talk to…Samuel? That Saul would knowingly break the Law, go against his own actions, and want to talk to Samuel (a God-fearing prophet, , and deliverer of the news regarding the loss of God’s favor) all shows that Saul was not thinking well.

    Saul could have probably avoided the resulting disaster by abdicating to his sons or to David (God’s one). Saul’s pride resulted in a disastrous defeat of Israel, and the beginning of the of his family line. Saul had a number of paths he could have taken after being told of the loss of God’s favor. He probably chose the worst.

    When we get to ‘s list of “works of the flesh”, idolatry and sorcery appear to be the only things in common with the Old Testament prohibitions. That isn’t so. The Old Testament prohibitions are, again, expressions of humanity’s desire to wrest control and authority from God. While the signs of what that is had changed, the underlying was still there. Today with New Age (which isn’t new anymore), (neo-)paganism, and occult practices on the rise in both practice and acceptance we now have both Old Testament and New Testament.

    1) Instead of wringing our hands and saying empty words, what can we do?

    2) Thinking of why people turn to such things, how can we show the better way (in love, without lectures)?

  • Church Love

    1 Thessalonians 4:9–11

    Imagine being told that we don’t need encouragement or training or discipling to show brotherly . That would be wonderful. tells the Thessalonians that their love is displayed far outside of their home (es) to the greater region. In other words, their fellow believers in the region know that these Thessalonians love them.

    Does the around Generations Community Church know it?

    The hardest thing to think about is the following question. If your church (Generations Community Church) closed today, would anyone notice tomorrow, or even care? We all would care, of course! Would the community care?

    Fellow churches would care. However, they are part of the extended . All churches (should) care when another church—inside or outside their denomination—closes.

    When the church says, “come in,” it may be welcoming and warm, but the church is still saying (effectively), “our turf.” The community recognizes that. The church says, “We love you,” but doesn’t live with them.

    It’s not to say that you or aren’t out in the community as individuals. It’s whether the community knows that the church loves them.

    1) What are ways the church can show love outside of the four walls?

  • Blaming God

    2 Chronicles 12:1–8, James 1:12–15
    When we read the Old Testament, the phrasing is often such that we could say God caused most suffering. In fact, there are many who truly believe that despite the balance of .

    Let’s take the story of Rehoboam and Shishak. Rehoboam was the of Solomon, son of David. David was the man that God promised would have a descendant on the throne of Israel, as long as they were . For 3 years, Rehoboam was faithful. Rehoboam used the Law to establish his and authority. Once that was done, he was done with the Law. Rehoboam’s reign didn’t exactly start well, but he could have done alright had he (and Israel alongside him) stayed faithful to God.

    This is the same with each and every one of us. We may about the innocents (like children) who, through no fault of their own, are pulled into the brokenness of the of humanity, and up suffering because of it. We may not even be aware of it.

    God does call Rehoboam to account. Rehoboam—and Judah with him—will be abandoned to the ravages of the latest military dominator, Shishak. Abandoned. There is a lot that can be pulled from this. The primary one is that Judah has been under God’s protection, guarding them against Shishak. God wasn’t going to make Shishak attack Judah. Shishak would have naturally gone against Judah. It would have been God’s protection that kept Shishak from attacking.
    Rehoboam’s and Judah’s humbled themselves (kind of surprising for Rehoboam), God relented…somewhat. The gist of it was that God would still let Shishak attack, but that the result would not be desolation, but becoming a subordinated people. Was it great? No. It was intended to be a learning lesson, but the hearts of Rehoboam and Judah were to set in their own ways (already!) to fully to God.
    The sad reality is that in situations like this, we ourselves can often become this type of hardhearted person. In certain instances, God may have kept the worst consequences of our behavior from affecting us, while still allowing some so that we would be disciplined. Instead, we can often see the lesser consequence of God not doing something and complain.
    James was obviously dealing with something similar but in the realm of . The lack of personal responsibility drew strong rebuke from James. He did not want people to blame God for their choices (and the consequences of those choices). Rehoboam succumbed to temptation (of not following God). He had a choice. God did not make him choose to succumb, nor did God try to tempt Rehoboam.
    1) Have you ever blamed God for temptation (or more specifically falling for it), or making you too weak?
    2) Have you ever heard someone else blame God for their succumbing to temptation? How did you ?

  • Faithfully Blind Together

    Leviticus 21:16–24, Matthew 20:29–34, 1 Corinthians 1:26–29

    Even today people struggle with blindness. Granted, today those who are blind have legal protections, braille, technology, and acceptance that wasn’t part of other cultures. In the New Testament era, the only “job” the blind could get was begging. Doesn’t sound very fulfilling or enjoyable.

    Our story in Matthew takes place on ‘ last journey to Jerusalem. Whether the large crowd was only because of Jesus or also because of the approaching Holy Days is somewhat up for discussion. Regardless, though, the blind men were probably looking forward to having a more successful attempt at begging, due to the emotional high that people would have had, and the affiliation of almsgiving with Holy Days.

    Instead, they hear Jesus is coming. They probably had already heard the stories of the miracles he performed. That Jesus would be near them would be exciting and would be -filled. They cried out, but the crowd tried to silence them. Some commentators take a symbolic view of this. The crowd is the world (and Satan) trying to drown out the coming salvation of Jesus. The blind men, like Christians, have to the world to Jesus. It might be taking a few too many liberties, but the reality is these men overcame the crowd.

    In all likelihood, this was not behavior for them. They would generally be meek so as to not be bullied. Yet, they went for it. They took the risk. Opposed the crowd. They could now see.

    The weak. desires. The despised. Yet, Jesus heard their cries and healed them. notes that the world has a different form of evaluation and valuing people than the .

    1) What have your thoughts been (whether now or in the past) of people who were not fully as capable ( or mental) as you?

    2) People are quick to value people based upon their physical bodies. Why do you think that is?

    3) Why do you think Paul concludes with, “…so that no one may boast in his …”?

Devotion.al

Attending Well

Deuteronomy 30:15–20, Acts 4:5–22

If someone were to us a speech about being given the way to or death, there would likely be an automatic naysayer . This is the case when the “way” is exercise, healthy eating (including the latest fads), life philosophy. In the Christian context, we understand the Jesus is that “way”. To many of us who have heard and believed, this is obvious.

Yet, there are many in the and the world that when they something along the lines of, “See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity,” they turn off. You, too, might have that exact same response. It’s an understandable response because we see the saying it, and we know humans. They don’t really understand the “way”. How can they, they’re only human.

The way of life and prosperity is empowered by the attention to the . Man cannot do it alone. Man needs to be in humble partnership with God, letting God lead. The importance of cannot be overstated. If we were to take, for example. prosperity to its extreme, we all understand that it is an issue. Really, the that was given was that Israel would have enough.

Yet, to have even enough, they would have to walk in harmony with God. That is often the hard part. The leaders of the Jews were so strongly focused on the right checkboxes that they could no longer see the way. With the disciples, we also see a transformation of the promise. The prosperity was not of this world (except, one hopes, in framily).

The other darker transformation of the promise is that the way often leads to adversity and death. The disciples experienced both, as do many Christians around the world today.

1) What do you think about the promise changing? Do you agree, or disagree? Why?

2) Financial prosperity has often been used to judge God’s blessing and a person’s faithfulness. What is your take on that?