Devotion.al

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  • Discipline of Joy

    Discipline of Joy

    “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
    —Psalms 32:8 (NRSV)

    My boys hate to be disciplined. I guess, probably, most kids don’t like to be disciplined. But we do it as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc…because we the kid we are disciplining. Right? We do it because we want them to live the best and to make the wisest decisions. So we lovingly guide them, but not only when they need . Especially when they are younger – but even as they get older we lovingly guide them. When they need help, when they need love, when they need to make decisions, when they are learning, and more. We do this when they are young, but we also do this as they get older.

    I will never forget being a full fledged adult in college my freshman year. I was standing in the laundry detergent aisle because I had ran out of clean clothes and needed to do laundry. I called my mom to her what kind of detergent we are supposed to use, ha! My mom lovingly told me what she uses, but that I could use whatever I chose to use.

    Often in life we need God to guide us. Okay. All the time we need God to guide us. All the time we should be in with God and be seeking instruction from Him because He desires amazing things for us. I love the ending of this passage in this version, “with my eye upon you.” God is always looking after us. God is always with us even when we don’t think He is or feel Him. My favorite quote in life: “When nothing appears to be happening; something is happening. Because in the waiting; God is working.” How true!

  • Have Hope; Give Hope

    Have Hope; Give Hope

    “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute and in the land.”
    —Jeremiah 23:5 (NRSV)

    Let’s be honest. This hasn’t been a very -filled year. No normal graduations, weddings, births, family vacations, holidays, etc. Probably the last word you would use to describe this last year was a year of hope. There didn’t seem to be much to hope for.

    And yet. God still brings hope. Through Christ – God brings hope. This season as we anticipate the magical time with our families and the birth of our Branch – and in every season even when we have a hard time seeing that hope.

    Sometime this week or in the coming week I am going to you to do two things:

    Write down a list of things you hope for in the coming year. What do you hope in your with God? What do you hope for your family? What do you hope for in your friendships? What do you hope for in work or in your personal life? What are the things you hope for in this coming year? Write that list down and hang it up somewhere you will see it often. Pray about those things. Allow God to be a part of it all because ultimately God brings the hope we desire and seek out in all areas of our life.

    Figure out a way this advent season to bring someone hope. Maybe you know someone who needs a meal. Maybe you know someone who could use a bending ear and are lonely. them a and just chat with them and pray with them. Maybe you know someone who is in desperate need of the hope of Jesus Christ. Invite them to whether in person or to watch online with you in your home. Extend the same hope that God gives to you to someone else this month.

  • Purple Vision

    Purple Vision

    Numbers 27:15–23; 2 Timothy 2:8–13

    Having worked for -owned and -run businesses, I know that one of the business’ concerns is, who’s next? Perhaps it might be better to say that the success of a family-owned and -run business is who will successfully lead it with vision and tenacity once the current leadership steps down.

    I have seen it work well. I have seen it work not-so-well. One business had a plan, and the other business made laissez-faire assumptions.

    Moses had spent a lot of time getting the Israelites to the Promised Land. He had been frustrated, belittled, and probably cursed by the same Israelites. He still wanted them to succeed in the Promised Land. So, Moses asked God for the next .

    God selected Joshua. Now, it could be said that this was obvious, as other than Aaron, only Joshua is noted as Moses’ aide, and even accompanied Moses when he received the Ten Commandments. Joshua, as Moses’ aide, indeed saw the dark side of leading the Israelites.

    I think it is appropriate to presume that God had guided Moses’ selection of Joshua, thus make Joshua the “obvious” choice. On the other hand, we could also presume that Moses’ experience in Pharaoh’s house would have taught Moses how to choose a leader, and then God used that.

    Who was next to lead would set the Israelites for success or failure in the Promised Land.

    In some respects, that is the same view many people have of the incoming Presidential administration and the Congressional seating. Success or failure. In a republic, it’s a little harder to really hit that success or failure button (though pundits try).

    As we look at the days, months, and years to follow this election, we all need to ask ourselves about a few things. For the last few election cycles, the country has been color-coded with red and blue. The animosity between red and blue is approaching that of the Bloods and Crypts from decades ago, who differentiate themselves by red or blue.

    Wearing the wrong colors in the wrong neighborhood was a recipe for being harmed by the other gang’s members. Now people are being assaulted by the “opposing” group just for wearing t-shirts, hats, or participating in their constitutionally protected right to protest.

    There has been a centrist movement calling itself “purple”. However, there is something ironic in that. This mix of red and blue representation of republic political alignment has a completely different meaning…royalty.

    Theoretically, the War of Independence was intended to “free” the American colonies from the oppression of British royalty. Instead, we developed an elected aristocracy.

    There is one good thing, though, about the purple. Who we recognize as royalty, who we recognize as king makes all the difference. When we recognize and believe the Christ is King, we can gladly declare ourselves purple, for we seek to follow the True King.

    ※Reflection※

    What will it take, do you think, for Christian conversations on politics to be purple first, rather than last? What is one behavior or of yours was not purple during this recent political season? How can you develop a practice of purple thoughts and speech, rather than red or blue?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, you are the King of the Universe. Through you, came into being. Only you are of our and . Thank you for giving us the to choose. Thank you for loving us enough so that through the , we can become wise. Amen.

  • Whose King

    Whose King

    Psalm 95:1–7a; Ezekiel 34:11–24; Matthew 25:31–46; Ephesians 1:15–23

    Christ is King. We often say that to ourselves and to others. The real question that we need to is, do we believe it?

    As the 2020 US political season wraps up, the victors and the losers each have their speeches to give, and much to reflect upon. We, too, have much to reflect upon. This isn’t just a need for the US. The entire world was watching this election.

    The harsh is political parties are not . This is by definition. Political parties’ very nature is that of the of earth. Too many people have tried to put the Heavenly mission into the earthly basket and are disappointed when it fails.

    When Ezekiel talks about God rescuing the flock from the , it certainly seems politics is part of the darkness. Despite often wedding ourselves to a political party, God still talks about bringing us back, us, and strengthening us.

    “Isn’t it enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Or isn’t it enough that you drink the clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?” (Ezekiel 34:18, CSB)

    How much of that sounds like Christians have been treating each other? Far too much.

    Probably the biggest reason why politics don’t mesh with the is what motivates each of them. Politics are about power (yes, it should be more). The Kingdom of Heaven is about .

    One cannot bring about the Kingdom of Heaven through politics. One either loves and has power of influence, or one has power and loves little. It would be nice if the two could work together, but humanity seems incapable. Humanity certainly is incapable of any cohesion of the two without the indwelling of the Holy .

    The Kingdom of Heaven and , the King of Heaven, should overwhelm our human earthly politics with love.

    ※Reflection※

    What does it say about the depth of our faith when politics often overrides our faith? How does your faith inform your politics? Have you ever had the experience of choosing a candidate from “the wrong party” because they appeared more closely aligned with your faith than the candidate from “the right party”? If not, can you imagine what it would be like, and what might drive that?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we declare you our king. Help us live it out. Amen.

  • Path Lighting

    Path Lighting

    Joshua 4:1–7; Joshua 8:30–35; Proverbs 27:17

    What do you remember? What “traditions” or practices do you remember from your childhood? What did that teach you?

    Over the years, the universal developed many practices to teach the to its people. It often had a hard journey, as it had to teach people from varying walks of to be one with each other. It often had to surmount the lack of general education for centuries.

    Many of these practices are no longer used. Many have lost the intent, and even the instruction that went with them. They became empty words. Valuable Truth was lost because people failed to teach well.

    As we each go to church, whether online or in person, or whether we only listen to sermons or we add life groups, we each have a responsibility to learn and to teach. Often, we look to experts to train us. However, the experts are, well, experts. Experts often get lost in their expertise and then they can no longer translate their expertise to the non-expert.

    In many respects, from a personal perspective, that may be part of the current state of the church. Perhaps we have left too much to the experts and not sharpened ourselves.

    Of course, there is danger in such . There is a balance of some sort between expert and non. We may well be in a place and time where we need to discover what that balance is.

    The passages from Joshua are just 2 passages where something was done to teach. The first was the pile of stones from the middle of the Jordan river. Yes, 12 stones pulled from the bottom of spring flood raging river. This pile of stones became a place of teaching.

    “Look at that river! God made it so our ancestors could cross it on dry land.” Imagine a young child with the of the waters being told the story of the stones while seeing that river. That would certainly be formative. This is the kind of thing ideal in the informal settings of Life Groups.

    The second passage is Joshua repeating the Law that they had been given. It was a reminder of who they were. The Law wasn’t just rules and regulations, it was their . In many respects, this is the more formal aspect of preaching and Sunday School.

    The question that we each need to ourselves: is our faith important enough to us to learn?

  • Incomplete Armor

    Incomplete Armor

    Psalm 27; Zechariah 10:12; Ephesians 6:10–18

    This passage from Ephesians is one of those common favorites. Building and putting on the armor of God is still a popular activity for children. As a tool, it was and remains powerful.

    From the point of the Ephesians, they were very familiar with the attire of the Roman soldiers. Ephesus was an important city in the region. The Roman soldiers would be stationed there. With its importance, many military excursions would start and in Ephesus.

    However, while grasped a powerful visual (and, for modern children, a reinforcing activity), it wasn’t complete. As far as Paul was concerned, he delivered what he needed for conveying deep truths to the Ephesians.

    Yet, there is still something missing. When I was younger, people often thought I was an “Army brat”. Even to this day, some I’m ex-military. Most of this is a childhood affection (with, yes, a lot of military tradition in the family). So, when I look at Paul’s list, I’m a bit bothered.

    There are 2 significant pieces that are missing from Paul’s list: the javelin (or bow, depending on the unit) and the kilt. Also, certain Roman ensembles had shin guards, too (that makes 3).

    What does that matter, you might ask? The javelin (again, or bow) was used for long-ranged attack; the javelin could also be used as a defensive tool against cavalry. We could use the long-range aspect as a “look ahead” and “” for what is coming. In other words, don’t just react to the world; be prepared to confront it.

    Regarding defense, the javelin would need to be set against the ground to be effective. Again, be for what is coming toward you.

    The kilt? Other than cultural Scottish attire, it protected the lower area of the body. It may not seem like a kilt could protect much, but much of the strength of the lower body is centered in that area. Wounds would deeply affect effectiveness. From a modesty sense, well, that’s probably obvious. That could represent purity.

    Purity in this day and is hard. Putting on the armor of purity may be more essential than we realize.

    The shin guards are a little harder. They do keep you from getting kicked, and they would protect you from ramming your leg into a coffee table (you winced, didn’t you?). So, perhaps we could look at the shin guards at that which protects us (somewhat) from our own stumbling.

    There is a fun addition to the helmet. Normally, the helmet was unadorned. However, during parades, the higher one’s rank the crest on the helmet would be brightly colored. Kind of similar to the flames of Pentecost, perhaps?

    ※Questions※

    1) Which armor piece is most significant for you? Why?

    2) If you were to choose aspects of the spiritual that the 3 additional pieces would represent, what would they be? Why?

    ※Prayer※

    God, thank you for the and of your servant Paul whose words, inspired by you, guide us today. Amen.

  • Foundational

    Foundational

    Matthew 19:16–26; Hebrews 9:1–14; Romans 10:8–13

    The story of the rich young ruler, in my experience, has always been presented in one way…he cared too much for his stuff. This is true…to a point. Is the conclusion that we have often been led to actually correct? Or perhaps we, too, are missing which point Jesus was trying to make.

    The opening question by the man was about life. Jesus gives the Great Commandments as the , plus a few ones that had been problematic with the religious elite. We could question the truth of the man’s statement but note that Jesus didn’t.

    Yes, Jesus could have just been condescending, however, Jesus’ words were not particularly sharp, which tells us that he accepted the man’s words. There was likely a have-been/continue-to-do-so tension, meaning that it was an ongoing practice, not just a past one.

    This is significant as by straight reading the man had lived in such a way as to have eternal life. We who follow Jesus might question that, but that Jesus gave such a response is critical. For those who might conclude that this is a universalist response, the man was still a Jews, and thus one of the chosen.

    However, was eternal life really the question? The man believed that despite the seemingly positive response he still lacked something. Jesus let him have it. Yet was that really the answer? We conclude so because the man walked away. It could be truly a matter of the .

    Our earthly responses often seem to affect our response to the security of our salvation. The writer of Hebrews noted that much had to be done on a regular basis by the priests to keep things “okay” between God and man (this is by the Law, not relationship). The writer of Hebrews goes on to explain that Jesus is the perfection of restorative relationship. Jesus’ mere in Heaven (and as part of the Trinity) is a perpetual “offering” on our behalf.

    In the heart of the man is a question I from many people, and in my darker moments, I ask myself. “How do I (really) know that I am saved?”

    It is through the author of Hebrews and the words of Paul that we get this answer. These words are first laid upon the solid foundation that is Jesus Christ, whose , mercy, , and are truer than we are capable of understanding.

    ※Questions※

    1) What do you understand from our passage in Hebrews that applies to the sureness of (y)our salvation?

    2) What do you understand from our passage in Romans that applies to the sureness of (y)our salvation?

    3) Why do you think it is so hard for us to accept the truth revealed by the Scriptures regarding our salvation?

    ※Prayer※

    Triune God, you created us. You gave us life. You gifted us salvation. You graced us with eternal life. Help us to seek that it is not our works that us, but you alone. Amen.

  • Message Over Mammon

    Message Over Mammon

    Luke 10:1–9; 2 Corinthians 12:1–14

    There are many people who attract attention naturally. Some do it with mere charisma. Some do it with . do it with the words (positive and negative).

    There are others that do it out of gain. Whether it is to gain the attention of people or to feel , or success (all still people-based, really), gaining attraction to puff oneself up isn’t Christ-like.

    When sent out the 72 disciples he gave an interesting direction: don’t change houses. In other words, if you were invited into a house in a town, stay at that house until you leave the town. As they were representatives of the famous prophet, they would likely be treated well. It might even mean that people would compete for their .

    The concern with this is that the message would lose weight as the disciples would go from house to house. What gravitas would the “ of Heaven” have if its disciples (emissaries, ambassadors) traipsed from one place to another following the food and the sandal-licking (they didn’t have boots, then). If people competed over the fame and flattery of having one of the disciples, would they really care about the message?

    The next concern would be the effect upon the disciples. Being “wined and dined” could have a potentially huge negative effect on their spiritual growth and their . It could even lead to some of the same bullying behavior of the Jewish religious leaders. That would have been very bad.

    We see how it did evolve through Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. The “super” apostles were, it seems, spiritual abusers. They -tripped people to give more money. Based on Paul’s language, the super-apostles used language that implied that the Corinthians were being spiritually blessed by giving them (the super-apostles) so much money.

    When Paul apologizes that he didn’t for money or to be taken care of, there is a realization that the Corinthians had been hoodwinked. They had bought wholeheartedly into the swindle of the super-apostles. In so doing, they lost the vision of the Gospel.

    By succumbing to the words of these super-apostles, they reattached the chains of bondage. Paul was heartbroken. The heart of the message of in Christ had been lost.