Devotion.al

Tag: age

Devotionals tagged with age.

  • I Hate You

    I Hate You

    Luke 14:25–35; 1 John 3:14–18

    So, who do YOU hate? Your mom, dad, husband, wife, significant other, son, daughter, brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle…Really, who do you hate?

    Trump, Clinton, Bin Laden, and many others have been (or are) hated. It could be because of . It could be because they murdered people. It might be something that you think they may have done.

    This passage in Luke is a hard passage for many. Except in cases of abuse or other mistreatment, hating one’s family is out of the question. A that has long considered itself (especially in the West) a “family-centered” religion will struggle that which it says it is based upon. “Family values”, a decades-old purportedly value, are questionable if we are to hate our family.

    Then John, a disciple of writes that we are to our brothers and sisters, and that anyone who hates their brother or system is a murderer (even if said brother or sister still lives), and because of that they don’t have eternal life. Confused, yet?

    So, how does this work, exactly? Well, we’re back to the age-old problem of English versus Greek. Just like there are more words for love in Greek than in English, there’s the same problem with hate. Hate isn’t quite hate, sort of.

    When talks about hate, it refers more to loyalty that like, dislike, love, or hate. Jesus sought to shock people into an understanding that they may have to choose where their loyalty lay. Was their loyalty with family, or was their loyalty with Jesus?

    Hate may seem overly dramatic, however, in the cultural context, hate was the understanding. Only a hateful child, parent, spouse, and so forth would choose Jesus over family. In that time, the time shortly thereafter, and it appears now, family loyalty is against Jesus.

    Which brings us to John’s words. His hate is more along the lines of what we think of when we hear the hate. The kind of hate that blindly rages and cares more about hurting another than the enemy. This is the context of John’s hate.

    We are called to pray for the blessings of our adversaries. Even more so are we to seek the benefit of our brothers and sisters in Christ. John’s primary concern is not the family ties of blood and culture that Jesus brought to . John’s concern was what we at Generations call framily (friends who are like family).

    This framily is found within the body of Christ. Because of its place within the body of Christ, it should not have divided loyalties. Of course, when it comes to human frailty, we all know that isn’t the case.

    As we work through our hopes and fears of COVID and elections, we will often be tempted to hate our brothers and sisters in Christ. We must strive against that, for a house divided against itself will not stand, and then what would we say to Jesus?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, you prayed to the that we would be one. Help us to be united in you, while we yet still remain individuals with different thoughts and experiences. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Is there someone in the body of Christ with whom you are angry? Pray for them. Ask for the peace of the Spirit to fall upon and fill both them and you.

    2) How can you work to be one with your brothers and sisters in Christ while you have differing opinions?

    3) How does the concept of Jesus before family still cause you and others trials?

  • House Building

    House Building

    Psalm 127; Matthew 24:1–2; 1 Corinthians 3:1–11

    Unless the Lord is in it, it will fail. This is a common adage heard in the church, and it is based on Psalm 127:1. Yet, the interpretation often is, if it is successful, God is in it. This spiritualizes (or over-spiritualizes) far too many things.

    The sun also rises on and good. The rain falls on the and unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45)

    The vanity spoken of in Psalm 127:1 isn’t earthly success or failure necessarily. It’s about what it means for the . Striving to be the CEO at the of 25 (or even 65) is all well and good, but what’s the point?

    Is God in Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, IBM, Apple, etc.? Yes, insofar as God is everywhere. Are they blessed by God? Insofar as they are made by people made in the image of God, yes.

    That isn’t the point, though. How do each of these affect one’s relationship with God? That is the question. Whether it was the or it is the States of America, in the infinite eyes of God it all falls down.

    We are all called to be coworkers and laborers in God’s fields. We are called to be builders, maintainers, repairers, and even remodelers of God’s buildings. People are God’s fields. People are God’s buildings.

    The of God is for people, not stuff or titles. People are to fill the Kingdom of God for only souls can fill an eternal kingdom.

    ※Prayer※

    Eternal God, help us to grasp even a little more of what it means to be part of your eternal kingdom, , and . Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) How can we be both laborers/builders and fields/buildings? What does this tell you about God?

    2) Why is it important to acknowledge that while all success is God allowed, all success is not God blessed?

  • Time Alone

    Time Alone

    Matthew 14:1–23

    Jesus’ cousin and herald was dead. He was murdered. Why was he murdered? He called the powerful to account.

    Herod’s marriage to Herodias had some issues. Herod had visited Herodias while she was still married to Herod’s brother, Philip. They decided they like each other, so they decided to be married.

    However, Herodias didn’t want to the house with Herod’s current wife who wisely read the writing on the wall and fled to her ‘s house. As a historical aside, this created bad feelings and ultimately led to the military defeat of Herod, eventual downfall and exile.

    So, Herod wasn’t really divorced or a widower. His brother was still alive. Yet Herod married his brother’s wife. The only time in Jewish law that was appropriate was when the brother had died with no son.

    John the Baptist condemned it. Herod, probably more to please Herodias than anything, put John in jail. Herodias wasn’t satisfied, and we read the rest of the story.

    Jesus’ first wasn’t to Herod to account. Jesus made no public declaration at all. How different than our current age.

    Jesus’ first response was to withdraw. Just like the rest of us at times, Jesus was not going to just move on. It is easy to infer that Jesus needed time to grieve and spend the Father, even though the Scriptures do not give a full explanation.

    Not that it’s bad to step away and grieve. It’s healthy, and there is a Jewish practice that goes with that (something that the needs to approach). 

    Even more so for Jesus, John was his herald, his baptizer, his cousin, and probably the one person that Jesus felt a spiritual kinship due to their tied-together callings.

    What happened next is sad, but we see it today. A famous person has a bad (or good) event, and people clamor around them. Famous people today have PR people deliver a statement that often asks for personal and private space to grieve. How sad that it isn’t given automatically.

    Jesus may have intended such, but then see how he loved them. Jesus his needs for others.

    However, there are a couple of pieces that need to be addressed. First, the amount of time spent was actually minimal. It also had an end. Then once the people were satisfied, he sent the disciples away, the people away, and he had time between himself and God.

    Often the focus is that Jesus set his needs aside for others. He did. Jesus also still made sure his needs were met.

    In times of trial and trouble, such as caring for family that are ill, it is easy to set one’s needs aside. In the end, that breaks us unnecessarily. Not only are we hurt, but often we hurt others as our internal limits are broken.

    We are not machines that can go and go. Honestly, machines can’t either. Machines need maintenance. So do we. Make sure that you are finding time for yourself and finding time for God. This is not a waste of time. It is what makes the rest of the time sustainable.

    ※※

    Jesus, as we live in a high-performance culture, help us to keep the vital rhythm of care for ourselves and fellowship with you. Amen.

    ※※

    1) What practices do you have to “maintain” yourself? Do you have any that involve doing nothing?

    2) Have you ever experience relief of anguish or because you were distracted by other needs? What happened to the anguish or pain?

  • Only the Beginning

    Only the Beginning

    Psalm 104:24–35; Joel 2:18–29; Romans 8:18–24 (read online ⧉)

    We have lost a lot in the modern age. One of the things is awareness of the land. In the current COVID-19 situation, we may be regaining some of that, as prices go up with agricultural workers being unavailable due to illness.

    The health of the land was deeply tied to the health of its people. We’ve seen some strange perspectives of that with both environmental activists and blind corporate juggernauts.

    For many the environmental ties to a flourishing people are obvious. To others, not so much. In the era of Jesus and even today, when nature has severe weather, agriculture often takes the brunt of it. In ‘s age, they were very much aware of that, especially as there were a series of famines. Thus the land needing healing was quite obvious to any person.

    The land was tied to prosperity. An unhealthy land made for unhealthy people. It was also the case, which was Joel’s point, that an unhealthy people made for an unhealthy land. Paul noted that it was just humanity that longed for a Savior…the of longed for it, too.

    wouldn’t seem to have much to do with that, yet, it is the empowerment by the Holy of the people of God, that would be the new shepherds to heal the land. Justice and were not just to be attributes of God, they were to be attributes of his people.

    The land isn’t just the physical land and the animals, it is the heart of the people in it, too. The land, our land, is very sick. It is not just COVID-19, it is something far deeper and even more ill. There is an illness that is infecting the souls of the people of our and even the people of the Body of Christ.

    We may not be able to fix it all, and we certainly cannot heal it all. We can be the messengers of love, grace, and mercy. In so doing, as we guard our words and actions, we will be different than the world that seeks to attack and destroy others.

    The love of Jesus Christ cannot back down, and the Body of Christ cannot just let the vileness that pervades continue to build and lash out. We are not called to lash out as the world. We are to say that Christ died for them to heal their . We can only walk them on the journey.

    ※ Prayer [BCPOnline] ※

    O God, who on Pentecost taught the hearts of your people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

    ※ Afterward ※

    Questions seem superfluous. The recent death of George Floyd has taken an anxiety-ridden world and launched chaos. The rise of mayhem and violence will not heal or reconcile. It will only harden hearts. We are called to be the for such times as this. How we can and will respond in this and in all such, we can only pray that we bring honor and glory to God.

  • Glorious

    Glorious

    Psalm 109:1–7; John 5:41–47; Acts 18:9–18 (read online ⧉)

    Tar and feathering is a few hundred years old. They did not really use tar (usually), but other sticky substances. It also was not just feathers, but other garbage that people tossed at those being cast out.

    Today we use this phrase to convey a sense of a person who is overreaching, exaggerating, dangerous, annoying, or simply wrong (we think). “Tar and feather ‘em” is usually applied to politicians and salespeople (definitely from the era of traveling door-to-door salesmen). Oddly, in the , it seems to have grown in popularity as a phrase, and certainly has been fulfilled with social media.

    In the current culture and environment (and whether it is deserved or not), sharing the may incur the tar-and-feathering visceral reaction to a significant. was goaded and encouraged by God to continue to preach the Gospel. So, Paul was obedient and did so.

    The Jews were riled up. They brought Paul to the Roman Tribunal. They likely brought Paul to the tribunal with the excuse that Paul was riling them up (i.e., encouraging a riot, a big Roman no-no). However, the proconsul did not buy it, and apparently was not impressed with whatever eloquence (if any) the Jews had.

    After being “defeated”, the Jews turned their rage and/or embarrassment against the man that likely lead them. They beat him. Tar and feathering him might have been kinder. They were so upset that they likely did something they would not have normally done, especially to their religious leader.

    When a mob mentality strikes, people who are normally rational and considerate toward other people behave in ways that are not . Some excuse this as “herd” mentality. Others believe that it is more a form of “permission” to behave in an anti-social way with minimal consequences or to be anonymous in one’s bad behavior.

    The internet can be seen as an instigator of mob mentality. It really is more of a tool to make it somewhat easier. However, with the of the social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) the anonymity of the internet is beginning to fade. Through social media, we can see who is part of another’s social network. In other words, escaping the consequences of bad behavior may begin to fade.

    However, the biggest attractions of the internet and social media is the . That may well have been Gallio’s fault, too. He wanted to “get” Paul and stirred up the people to do so. We can fall prey to this, too, and try to get people to pay attention to us for our glory. Instead we ought to take the internet as a tool to point people to God, so that God gets the glory.

    ※ Prayer ※
    Jesus, teach us to follow your example to point people to God, and to give God the glory. , us and guide us to greater humility, letting ourselves be only the ones that point the way. Amen.

    ※ Questions ※
    1) What are instances you can think of where people sought their own glory, especially to their detriment?
    2) Have you ever succumbed to a mob mentality, whether in person, on the internet, or even within your social circles?
    3) What are ways you have seen Christians succumb to mob mentality to non-Christians? How about Christians?

  • Living Out Love

    Living Out Love

    1 Thessalonians 4:13–14; 1 Corinthians 13:4–13; James 1:22–25 (read online ⧉)

    The well-known atheist, Christopher Hitchens, had many debates (philosophical, scientific) with Christians. During at least one (and probably many) of the debates, he was asked what his hope was or what hope his view delivered, and he answered honestly…none.

    The world always needs hope. Sermons and devotionals are only to be the groundwork for Christians living out their hope. How one lives out hope is therefore very important. Hope is not just a state of mind or state of being. If we state we have hope and yet live as if we have none, then our hope is a lie and we are hypocrites.

    states that love is the greatest of the great three: , hope, love. However, love cannot just be said; it must be done. James’ concern was that people said a lot of things, but did little in response. Today is not that different. Christians say love a lot.

    One could say, especially in this day and age, that hope is love lived out. Without love, hope is blind optimism for the future. In love, hope finds its ultimate fulfillment in knowing and trusting God.

    How this often will work out is helping another person not out of obligation or expectation (especially of reciprocation), but out of hope that they will see Christ in and through you.

    This means that people who are different than us (especially in regards to motivations and situations) will still receive hope through the love we show them when we aid or even simply listen to their story.

    Through hope, honest and true hope in the Living God, we are able to be non-judgmental, not because we actually are, but because we in the loving and merciful judgment of God. This is also why phrases such as, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” are often so dangerous, for people live out a hope-LESS response for they only know or of God’s anger, and never learn about the motivation of God’s anger…love.

    As we watch a slower than desired “ to normal”, and as friends, family, and some of us are experiencing financial struggles due to a weakening economy, being overcome by , hopelessness, pessimism, and cynicism is easy. Being the hope-filled people that God has made us to be is counter-cultural. This is a good thing.

    ※※ A Prayer of Augustine ※※
    Now it is you alone that I love,
    you alone that I follow,
    you alone that I seek,
    you alone that I feel to ,
    because you alone rule justly.
    It is to your authority alone that I want to submit.
    Command me, I pray, to do whatever you will,
    but heal and open my ears
    that I may hear your voice.
    Heal and open my eyes
    that I may see your will.
    Drive out from me
    all fickleness,
    that I may acknowledge you alone.
    Tell me where to look
    that I may see you,
    and I will place my hope in doing your will. Amen

    ※※ ※※
    1) What can you point to in your living (rather than your words) that show you have hope?
    2) Is there a difference between optimism and living in hope? How do you tell the difference in a person’s life?
    3) How is hope counter-cultural?

  • Unyielding Prayer

    Psalm 39; 2 Samuel 12:13–23; Luke 18:1-8 (read online ⧉)

    It’s hard to grasp why God would appear to condemn an innocent child to die. How it occurs is a mystery. We can infer that David understood that the child would die and that God would not save it. This would be in contrast to God sentencing a healthy child to death. In other words, what if the child had a definite birth defect and would die shortly after birth. God had the capability to save the child, yet the child died of natural causes, rather than supernatural causes. Yes, this isn’t much of a help. However, there are other circumstances around the child that ought to be considered, too.

    David’s fathering left a lot to be desired. The drama surrounding his family (and his ) would do a soap opera proud. The poor child, a product of adultery and murder, would have had a horrible childhood, and probably an awful adulthood. Again, it doesn’t help much, but perhaps God was wise.

    While this isn’t the focus of this devotional, it does lead into David’s . David prayed, and prayed, and fasted, and prayed, and so on. He didn’t give up. The prophet Nathan had given David no . David still prayed. God (through Nathan) had made the pronouncement. David still prayed.

    The lesson isn’t solely that David prayed for something he “knew” wasn’t going to happen. After not getting what he prayed for, David returned to “normal” life and worshiped God. His child died and he worshiped God. It’s not to say he didn’t mourn. We are long past the of high infant mortality rates (though some still experience such momentous losses). Yet, any person that has lost a child understands the that David felt. It’s not that David was happy the child died. David knew that worshiping God was also important.

    The persistent widow never gave up. This seemed a matter she would not give up until she died. That is persistent prayer. How long was she pursuing it? Jesus doesn’t say. It isn’t Jesus’ point. This was a woman who did not give up until she either received what she sought or death (hers or her adversary’s). Note that Jesus did not say she was right in what she was pursuing, though it is implied as the judge was unrighteous. This is important, too, as it helps us to think that God is righteous and we are not, so what would God do?

    How many people, however, are not like David? They pray for something (whether minor or major) and it doesn’t happen. They do not (as the song goes) thank God for unanswered prayers. They get angry with God. It’s not that anger at God is a sin. It’s when that anger at God draws you out of fellowship with God or to a place of doubting God that problems come. In and misdirected anger, people make themselves an of God.

    Prayer

    Heavenly Father, as you are patient with us, grant us mercy to be patient and enduring in our prayers. Jesus, may your words guide our hearts and prayers. Holy Spirit, live and breathe in us, that we may pray in ways and for things that bring and to God. Amen.

    1) What is the longest you have prayed for something (or are praying for something)? If you have stopped praying for it, why? If you haven’t stopped praying for it, why?

    2) Do you see yourself more like David, the widow, or something/one else?

    3) What do you do say to those who are frustrated with their prayers not being answered?

  • Mind Killer

    Psalm 23; 2 Chronicles 6:28–33 (read online ⧉)

    Of the devotionals so far, this the 54th one around fear. That is greater than 10%. Fear is a monster. It is a consuming monster, and the world is being consumed by it.

    In the great science fiction saga, Dune, Frank Herbert (the author) had his primary religiousesque order, the Bene Gesserit, recite the following in times of fear:

    “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little- that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

    Now, this is certainly not to extol Herbert’s religious perspectives, and there are many Christians who object to the Litany Against Fear. The biggest objection involves reading into it something which isn’t there. Herbert’s blending of Catholicism and Islam, plus Stoic and Arabic cultures (plus, Spartan) makes for a mosaic that is valuable when not taken to an extreme.

    I must not fear. How about ? in God drives out fear.

    Fear is the mind-killer. Think about mobs both and social. Fear drives out rational thought.

    Fear is the little-death…a coward dies a thousand deaths, a brave man only one.

    …that brings total obliteration. Fear can often override our very identities. When driven by fear, we are more prone to do things (horde) that would not normally do.

    I will face my fear. People will often deny their fears. Fears are often hidden pains. Chemical dependency, people dependency, depression, anxiety, anger, fight-or-flight all can come from fear. However, facing it means not be brave, it means understanding it.

    I will permit it to pass over me and through me. We must choose to not identify ourselves by our fear. Fear is an emotion. It is our emotion. It, in and of itself, isn’t us.

    And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Back to facing our fears. Once we know the source and cause of our fear, it is no longer unknown. It becomes…less scary. We become less afraid, and less likely to be triggered into fear.*

    Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. This ties back to the beginning. If we allow fear to control us, we become the fear bearers. However, once we acknowledge and identify the fear, we remain and the light that is Christ remains in us, lighting our souls against the fears of the world.

    Psalm 23 could well be the “Christian” version of the Litany Against Fear if we allow it to be. The in Psalm 23 is that . It is only when we truly operated from a place of trust in God that fear has no .

    When Solomon said his public prayer to God, pestilence and starvation and many other horrible things were “common”. Solomon’s prayer was against the common deadly things of the world. Let us be glad that these are not so common for us. On the other hand, while there are other illnesses just as deadly (or more so) than COVID-19 in the world, for some strange reason (and there are plenty of—fear-filled—conspiracy theories) this one has taken the world by …a storm of fear.

    This is not to say let’s not abide by the authorities, it is a call for us to be bringers of hope. However, for us to be bringers of hope, we need to abolish the fear inside of us.

    Prayer

    Dear Heavenly , you call upon us to trust you and not fear. Through the power of the , guide us to be the brave example of your Son, Jesus Christ. Blessed Trinity, ignite the spark of our hearts to be the light of hope to the world. Amen.

    Questions

    1) What do you fear right now? Why? Is it anything you can really do anything about?

    2) Why does COVID-19 seem to outweigh the fears of cancer and the flu?

    3) Why does knowing who you are (your identity) help you stand firm in the face of fear?

    *Now, the inner eye concept is one of the big objections from Western Christians (Eastern Christians much less so). There is an aura of New Age cultism and other non-Christian religions that use the “inner eye” wording. However, the mysticism aspect isn’t that to Christianity (not by a long shot). What you do with it, and where you go with it is something else entirely. This is not to condone the wording, but to look beyond it.