Devotion.al

Tag: alien

Devotionals tagged with alien.

  • Undivide

    Psalm 23; Jeremiah 23:1–6; Ephesians 2:11–22; Mark 6:30–34, 53–56

    The words from Jeremiah were primarily aimed at the priests and religious leaders. They are hard words for we clergy, as they should be. Yet, they are no longer words solely for the clergy. As a part of the priesthood of believers, they are for you, too. It might seem odd though as you may not be aware of even having a flock.

    First, of course, is your family. However, for Christians, it expands far beyond the family. In fact, focusing too much on the family may blind us to our flock. Our flock may consist of coworkers, neighbors, even the staff of the restaurants you patronage.

    The flock of your care is much like the Ephesians that wrote to. He noted that at one point they were alien to the and alien to God. They were not in relationship with the Creator of the universe. In the current era, we need to break down the barrier of hatred that has been building up between the and the world. This is not to say that we have to crucify Christ once more. It does signify the importance of the sacrifice, and just how important this wall is, along with our responsibility to tear down as far as is in our and capability.

    Our ability to work through this is similar to how Jesus saw the people who surrounded him. They had no . The world is much the same. Hence the tossing to and fro between this idea and that one.

    We cannot be the True Shepherd, but we can lead people to Him.

    One of the biggest ways is to be the healer. The world needs a lot of healing. The division of is a big one. Yet, there is the reckoning with the failures and (yes) sins of those that went before us. There are many things that need to be healed, and many of them are not on the evening news or the 24-hour news channels because they are not dramatically bad.

    It is the little things in everyday lives that build up into large wounds that need healing. We see the big ones, but the reality is that the big ones were usually built on a bunch of little ones. Whether they were wounds in everyday or wounds made in the church, it doesn’t matter. Because of who the husband of the church is (Jesus), we the church have the ability, perspective, and responsibility to heal the world.

    ※Reflection※

    • Why do you think each person of the church is called to be a shepherd?
    • Why is important for us to recognize our responsibility to help to heal the world?
    • What is one wound that you have that you see in the world, too? How might you help the world heal that wound? Would help others through that wound help your own healing?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we the of you, Our Shepherd. May we obediently follow your voice and your will. Amen.

  • Running Towards

    Running Towards

    Psalm 93; Deuteronomy 7:1–11; 1 Timothy 6:11–12

    When we read Deuteronomy, we often evaluate it upon our understanding of , nations, and ancestry. In many respects, Deuteronomy contains thinking that is to Western thinking. Part of this is tied into the relationship between peoples, their gods, and their places of habitation. There was a thought process that tied land to a particular god, and often to a particular bloodline.

    This is portrayed here when Moses talks to the Israelites about the current inhabitants of the Promised Land. We look at Moses’ command as rather harsh, which it is (and will be a question of mine on the other side). Moses takes such a strident tone for the sake of the Israelites themselves. By this point in their journey, an entire generation has died wandering in the desert as a consequence of their sin. During this journey, they questioned, God, Moses, Aaron, the whole Promised Land thing. Moses was likely very concerned that were they to leave the peoples who didn’t worship God, they would be more likely to fall away.

    The purity of blood and land was probably more due to faithful worship of God than anything else. The Israelites had already shown their struggles in that area over the previous 40 years, including allowing themselves to be married into some of these tribes and worshiping other gods. Thus, Moses was deeply concerned. Let’s also acknowledge that God knew the Israelites would turn from God again.

    The corollary to this for Christians is also the world. In our case, it is the entirety of the world that isn’t . This does not mean that we are to live in isolated communities sequestered from the world. It’s hard to be the light unto the world when you put it behind walls or under baskets.

    For Christians, we are called to be in the world, but not of it. This can be a slippery slope. One person wrote that this is like walking along a very narrow path on the top of a mountain with the wind blowing in all directions. It is impossible to stay on top of the mountain by our own . It is only through the strength of God, the guidance of the Spirit, and the counsel of other Christians that we can stay on that trail.

    Sometimes, the right choice (sorry, “I can do it myself”, and “I can do it alone” people) is to run away from whatever it is. ‘s advice to Timothy isn’t cowardice. It is . Often our greatest strength is when we are . Actually, other than with God, our only strength is with fellow believers in Jesus Christ.

    Run away from sin? Yes. Run away from the world? Perhaps. When one runs away, one runs toward something else. To what or to whom will you run?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, you called to be the light unto the world. Help us to keep each other’s light shining as the tries to extinguish the light of your love and . Amen.

  • Alien Calling

    Alien Calling

    Psalm 23; Genesis 46:28–47:6; Acts 4:1–4

    I have moved around 15 times in 25 years. I have told that to even some military families and they look at me in shock. That is, honestly, a stupid number of moves. Some were big. Some were small. All were disruptive. My childhood was somewhat similar. My biological parents had divorced by the time I was 2. I went to my dad’s on weekends and spent the week with my mom. As a child, where home was, well, questionable. Many of us have some part of us that is unsettled. Whether it is dissatisfaction at home (I pray not, but it is reality), work, school, or even , we may not feel welcome or whole or as if we belong. It can be spiritual, emotional, financial, or even something else.

    We shouldn’t be particularly surprised by this. We have the image of God () in us. This world, as the saying goes, is not our home.

    Jacob (Israel) and his settled in Goshen. Goshen became (for all intents and purposes) the home of the Hebrews. Yet, even while there, from beginning to , it was not really their home. The Promised Land was to be their home. The place their children’s children’s…children would be.

    Those that joined the Way (one of the original names for Christians) both joined a new place of belonging and alienated their origin belonging (whether Jew or Greek). They became aliens in their own land.

    Being (or strangers) in one’s own land can seem to be peculiar. That is actually one of the issues that American Christians have (or perhaps should have). American Christians are often that…Americans that happen to be Christians. That isn’t quite as strange as Christians that happen to be American. Seems the same? Except the primacy is different. first; American second.

    And I lost some people right there. None of us want to be strangers in the country in which we were born. Perhaps, though, we are called to be strangers more than familiar.

    ※Reflection※

    • Why might it be more important for a Christian to be a stranger in rather than a citizen of the country in which they live (even if born there)?
    • What can a stranger often see that the comfortable cannot?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we are ambassadors of your . Thus, we are not of this world. Help us to realize this in the depths of our souls. Amen.

  • Yieldingly Strong

    Yieldingly Strong

    Malachi 1:6–14; 1 Peter 2:1–10

    Many years ago, there was a Star Trek show called Voyager. Overall, I don’t much about it, but I do recall this scene between Neelix (guest alien onboard) and Tuvok (i.e., Vulcan, humorless, emotionless, kind of like a robot):

    NEELIX: These are Keela flowers. Beautiful, and remarkably strong. The stem is flexible, impossible to break. But occasionally on the same plant there’s a bloom whose stem is not so flexible. Ah, here’s one. And when the stem is brittle, it breaks.

    TUVOK: You’re saying that the Maquis crew is rigid and inflexible. That they will never adjust to Starfleet rules.

    NEELIX: No, Mister Vulcan, I’m saying that you are rigid and inflexible, but maybe if you’d to bend a little, you might have better luck with your class. Those Maquis aren’t Starfleet cadets. You can’t treat them the same way. Get to know them, try to find out what they’re like inside. You might discover a better teaching method.

    “Learning Curve”, Original Airdate: May 22, 1995 (Stardate -327613). Thanks to www.chakoteya.net for the transcript.

    The Maquis were an insurrection/guerilla group. Their methods of instruction and obedience were not the military-style of Starfleet. Tuvok learned one way. He taught one way. Rigidly.

    However, the Maquis were just as rigid. It was just that they rigidly didn’t want to be like Starfleet

    What on earth (or in space) does this have to do with these passages?

    According to Peter, we are the priesthood of all believers. I may have a certain role within that priesthood (as an ordained person). You have one too.

    The ultimate purpose of the priests is the be the intercessors between “the people” and God. For Christians, “the people” are the world that does not yet believe in Jesus Christ.

    The priests, however, have their own with God. In our case (the collective Christian case), we are called to give of ourselves: , time, talent, and so on. It’s too rigid to say it is “required”. On the other hand, it is a spiritual .

    When we do not give of ourselves, or we do it grudgingly, we are the ones called out by Malachi giving deformed useless for the sake of a check box.

    In regard to our Christian , there is a rigidity in sacrifice. That is one of the aspects of a mature Christian, self-sacrifice. It’s odd to say it is not required; on the other hand, it is essential.

    The flexibility, however, is in how it works out. You could be gifted with teaching, encouragement, prayer, or something else. from the Law is how we are free to to God and to others through love.

    ※Reflection※

     The question for you isn’t, are you gifted? The question is, what are you gifted in? The next question is like it; how will you use that gift for the of believers around you?

    ※Prayer※

    Creator, you have made each of us different so that only together can reflect your infinite love. Amen.

  • 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-death 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 #? Trust in God drives out fear.

    Fear is the mind-killer. Think about mobs both physical 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 storm…a storm of fear.

    This is not to say let’s not abide by the authorities, it is a 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 Holy , guide us to be the brave example of your , Jesus Christ. Blessed Trinity, ignite the spark of our hearts to be the light of hope to the world. Amen.

    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 ) 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 alien 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.