Devotion.al

Tag: ask

  • Indulge Me

    Indulge Me

    Matthew 23:23–36

    Narcissus was a hunter in Greek mythology. He was the most beautiful person. He was so dissatisfied with those who claimed they him that he expected them to kill themselves to prove their love of him. It wasn’t until he passed a smooth pool of water and saw his own that he fell in love. Ultimately, he was so in love with his own reflection that he didn’t leave the pool and died.

    The term narcissism obviously comes from this story. Narcissism is a personality disorder (according to the “official” diagnosis) where a person has an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled , and a lack of empathy for .

    Only troubled relationships cannot be (fully) concluded from our understanding of the scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees. As we look at the list of issues that are symptomatic of narcissism, we can see echoes of them in these verses.  Yet, while it really would be hard to accuse them of having traits to the depth necessary to be narcissistic, they definitely had issues.

    We all have issues. Any of these should be an issue for a as they are not in line with a Christian walk. One of the other issues that isn’t covered under the list of narcissism is self-indulgence. This may be the razor’s edge of many decisions.

    Self-indulgence can take many forms. Currently, though, it seems to take more the form of self-righteousness. Of course, it really is hard to define self-righteousness, as we are all self- to a degree.

    How does one then evaluate an through the lens of self-righteousness? One must look outside oneself. What is the litmus test being used?

    That should be the question we ask ourselves as we through these troubled times.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Jesus, help us to look to you to define and guide our actions that we bring and to you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is the litmus test for what makes an action or thought self-righteous or not? How about self-indulgence?

    2) What might be the best way to work through self-righteous and self-indulgent actions and thoughts with fellow Christians?

  • 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, , daughter, brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle…Really, who do you hate?

    Trump, Clinton, Bin Laden, and many have been (or are) hated. It could be because of politics. 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 religion 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 love 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 the word 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 light. 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 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 Father that we would be one. Help us to be 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 of the Holy 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?

  • Clothed in Rags

    Clothed in Rags

    Psalm 94; Luke 6:27–36; 1 Corinthians 4:9–13

    Bless your enemies. Except “bless” means something more than just be nice or even help them. “Bless” means to ask for God’s divine to come on them.

    We all want blessings, but we are being called to ask for God’s blessings for those who make our lives difficult, miserable, or (in some extreme cases) seek to kill us. This is a high bar of expectation. It’s a hard high bar of expectation.

    In many respects, this may be the hardest teaching of Jesus. To assuage our own feelings of anger, , and trespass, we want vengeance! We want victory! We want justice!

    “For [the Most High] is gracious to the ungrateful and .” (Luke 5:35)

    “That is foolish,” proclaims the world. The world is right, from the world’s perspective. From God’s perspective, however, foolish is following the world.

    declared himself a disgraced spectacle that the world spat upon. Yet, Paul was determined to carry on. He chose a path to bless and to be gracious to others.

    This world could use a lot more of this, don’t you think?

    However, the problem is that we want others to do it first. This isn’t the path that Jesus set out.

    The world has taught us that a win-win scenario is false. Or to put it another way, that life is a zero-sum game. The world is correct. It is their math that this the problem.

    The world’s math does not include God. The world’s math does not include Jesus (unless he can be used to make money). The world’s math is incapable of including the Spirit.

    So, why, as believers…as children of God…do we assume the world’s math is correct?

    Yet, we do. We say # and live as if the world’s math is correct.

    What has also become increasingly clear is that the church has long been dressed-up in the world. Now the world is handing us filthy rags to wear, and we are offended. We took the nice clothes from the world already, if the world is done with us, why would they want to us nice things?

    So, what are we to do with the rags of the world? Realize they are the rags of a world that is passing away. We still have our “clothing of white”. Even in its “not yet” state (i.e., we don’t have it yet), it is still better than the finest clothes of the world.

    ※Prayer※

    Father God, help us to look at the world as you do…a place that is passing away. Help us recall where we are called to live eternally and to look at the world through your eyes. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is something that you need to to the world?

    2) What is something that you need to surrender to God?

    3) How are these two things the opposite side of the same coin?

  • For and/or In and/or Of

    For and/or In and/or Of

    Matthew 13:44–52

    Translating the is hard work. Whether it be the 1611 King James Bible, The Amplified, the New International Version, the Standard Bible, the nuances of multiple languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic) along with cultural overlays, makes it incredibly difficult.

    Then you have the literal translations, the “thought” translations, the “concept” translations, and some that try do it all. What the intent is (i.e., transparent, understandable, etc.) also deeply affects the translation. On top of that, there is the motivation behind the translation that also gets into it.

    It’s not that anyone is being disingenuous or deceptive, or even that the translation is necessarily false. Often times translations are similar to the 4 Gospels. 4 different writers with similarities, and also differences. Translations often work the same way.

    This seems to be a long introduction, but, as you will see, it can make a difference.

    In the NRSV, Matthew 13:52 reads, “And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’”

    In the CEB, Matthew 13:52 reads, “Then he said to them, ‘Therefore, every legal expert who has been trained as a for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings old and new things out of their treasure chest.’”

    In the NIV, Matthew 13:52 reads, “He said to them, ‘Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.’”

    At first glance, and even second, or third, these sound pretty similar. There is a key phrase that needs some focus, for it is different in each translation, and may result in completely different understandings.

    “…every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven…” (NRSV)

    “…every legal expert who has been trained as a disciple for the kingdom of heaven…” (CEB)

    “…every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven…” (NIV)

    Can you see the difference? While it is a nuance, however, it seems to cover the history of the in the 20th and the 21st Centuries (so far). The translations above are not in chronological order, for the record.

    [NRSV] For generations, people were trained for the Kingdom. They had lots of knowledge. Sunday School really developed into in-depth readings of the Bible (this is a good thing). Lots of head knowledge is great. What is done with it, or not done with it, is something else entirely.

    [CEB] The church, as a whole, did begin to realize something was wrong, for we had lost the concept of . The church began to recover the concept of discipleship but had not quite let loose the reins of knowledge.

    [NIV] Especially in these times of COVID, there are many conversations of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, without the boundaries (some say limitations) of the building that was so central to church . The concept of only pouring knowledge into people doesn’t work. They need to be on the for the Kingdom. They need to be disciples.

    Lastly, the Amplified Bible combines all 3 of the thoughts above into 1 massive verse, “He said to them, ‘Therefore every teacher and interpreter of the Sacred Writings who has been instructed about and trained for the kingdom of heaven and has become a disciple is like a householder who brings forth out of his storehouse treasure that is new and [treasure that is] old [the fresh as well as the familiar].’”

    Before anyone thinks that these are all in conflict, that really isn’t the case. The nuances of Greek are deep. It is definitely an understanding of what the Greek means. This verse, like many, are open to multiple equally valid interpretations. Besides, we have plenty of our own translation issues even when it comes to English-to-English.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, your 12 disciples asked you to teach them to prayer. We that you teach us to be your disciples. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is your preferred translation? Why?

    2) In what ways do you see the differences above as concerning or interesting?

    3) How does having different voices (translations) helps us to understand God better?

    For an overview, here is the Church of the Nazarene’s stance on the Scriptures:

    We believe in the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, by which we understand the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration, inerrantly revealing the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our , so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of .

    Despite the in-joke of the NIV being the Nazarene Institutionalized Version, the denomination does not hold a particular translation as a standard. Being an international denomination, doing so would diminish our brothers and sisters in Christ who do not use an English translation.

  • Want

    Want

    Exodus 20:1–21; 1 Kings 3:16–28; 1 Corinthians 13:1–13

    The tale of envy and spite in the story relayed in 1 Kings is abominable to most of us. How could any person ever do that, even if it is not their child?

    Yet, there are far too many tragic stories of people treating their children—their legacy—with something beyond contempt. The children don’t a “need”, or even worse, the death of the child meets the “need”.

    The amazing depravity of humanity is often overwhelming.

    In the story in 1 Kings, there is probably much more than the visible story. Why it was significant to the writer that the women were prostitutes was significant is a matter of conjecture. With something like that we can only guess what else might have been going on.

    One possibility is that the “wise men” didn’t want to deal with the “dirty” prostitutes on a case with no evidence or witnesses (like those who might have been present at the birth or circumcision). So, they handed it off to the new king to test him. This would be well within the norm even today when new figures come into , they are tested by ally and alike.

    To our ears, Solomon’s solution is over the top. Kill the child? However, some commentators believe that Solomon had discerned who the real mother was and was looking for a justifiable pretext of her son to her.

    The story also shines a light on one of the big human issues: envy. There is a reason that this was on the list of Commandments. It can often be one of the most destructive emotions in human .

    Envy drove a grieving woman to grasp for another’s baby and then be open to the child’s death instead of “losing”.  Envy drove a person to sacrifice a child to hurt another person.

    Envy drives people to do things that are often not rational. Sometimes people will put themselves into so much debt so that they can be just like . Other times they will hurt themselves, as long as they can hurt others.

    No one is immune to the pull of envy. We often think envy is only for big things, but envy is even more dangerous regarding small things. It is easy to excuse or justify the envy of little things. However, once we succumb, envy gains momentum, and our hearts turn toward , and away from .

    —prayer—

    Spirit, guard our hearts against envy. If the shadow of envy had taken hold, we ask for your saving work to preserve your love in our hearts. Amen.

    —questions—

    1) What is the first “don’t” of love, according to ? Why do you think Paul mentioned that first?

    2) What was the strongest feeling of envy you’ve ever had? What happened?

    3) What is the “flip” side of envy? Or, how is one driven to envy? (hint: see Paul’s list)

  • Always the Same

    Always the Same

    Jeremiah 16:10–15; Malachi 3:1–7

    Many years ago, in a bible study, an older woman said to the study leaders, “I do not believe in the God of the Old Testament. That God is cruel and unjust. I only believe in the loving God of the New Testament.”

    Many people walked away from the church and/or were deeply scarred and hurt by the church by the incessant drumming of hellfire and brimstone. Far too often, judgmentalism, legalism, and ostracism came with it.

    In to this, and to such people like the woman in the beginning, there has been an overreaction, perhaps even over-emphasis on the love of God. Instead of good theology and analysis, it continues (even to this day) to be an overreaction to a time when the church Hell and condemnation at every turn.

    What can become frustrating and also deceiving is that God is only love. God is love. The love of God is a good thing to think about and focus on.

    However, God doesn’t let a good crisis go to waste. Sounds kind of harsh, doesn’t it? As many parents and teachers can tell you, sometimes you can only explain something so many times until teaches a child.

    Most lifelong lessons are gained through pain of some sort. It is, sadly, the way we are. This is also why confronting a false view of the God of the Old Testament is crucial to our walk and to our ability to .

    As the impending doom approaches Jerusalem, and the people why, God in many more words says, “because you didn’t listen the first thousand times I told you!” Yet, that isn’t the end!

    God tells Jerusalem that this exile will be as (or more) defining for them than the Exodus was for all of Israel. That’s a big order! It just so happens to have occurred that way, too.

    Some would this the carrot and stick method, yet it really isn’t. The opportunity for the carrot is gone. In many respects, this is no longer a stick. For the donkey (or mule) that this method is supposedly used on, there is required to be a hostler doing it.

    The hostler (God) left the animal (Jerusalem) on its own to fend for itself in the wilderness. The time for carrots and sticks was passed.

    This does not mean God didn’t love them. Quite the contrary! God knew that they had to on their own.

    For God’s own sake, God put in front of them. For God’s own sake, Judah would not be lost forever. For God’s own sake, he would bring a tempered people home.

    From the opening story, the study leaders stopped the study and gently taught her, “God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament.”

    God has not changed.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us to recognize your as love, as much as we don’t like it. Help us to look at our pains and trials as something through which you are teaching us and others. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Do you tend more toward the “God of Punishment” or the “God of Love”? Why do you think that is?

    2) Do you really learn better or for longer-term through pain or pleasure?

    3) How would you to someone like the woman in the story? How would you guide her through thinking about God being unchanging?

  • Here’s Looking At…

    Here’s Looking At…

    Matthew 27:1–11; John 21:12–23

    What’s that to me?

    Sounds like you have a problem.

    These and similar phrases/ are quite prevalent in our society. The first issue that they shine a on is pride. This may not only be the pride of the responder, but it may also be the pride of the asker.

    In Judah’s case, there was definitely a desire to restore some pride. He was ashamed of what he’d done, although it might be more accurate to say that he regretted what was happening to .

    Had the priests willingly taken the silver, would that really have absolved Judas of his ? No. Would it have made him feel better? A little perhaps. The result of Judas’ , however, was going to happen.

    The priests’ , however, is even more to the point. What did this problem of Judas have to do with them? They really had to ?

    Yes, Judas came to them to offer up Jesus. From their , it seems, this absolved them of any crimes. In our day, that would still fall under a conspiracy to commit murder.

    The are full of references of the leaders “looking for” ways to “take care” of Jesus. While Judas was the easy route, it still seems clear that the leaders were going to have their way. In other words, they were still guilty.

    What did Judas’ guilt over the silver and betrayal have to with the leaders? Nothing, and yet everything!

    When Peter asks the resurrected Jesus, what about him (John)? Like many of us, he looked around and saw someone not “experiencing” the same thing, and went, what about him?

    Jesus roundaboutly tells Peter that it is not his concern. Peter was just asked some heart wrenching questions (long explanation about the Greek). His anguish was probably still pretty strong.

    Jesus, however, was telling Peter to focus on the right thing. In other words, Jesus’ response was, “you’re looking at the wrong person, Peter. Keep looking at (following) me.”

    When we look to Jesus, a lot the “what about” questions go away, or at least they should. We are all working on that. We all still have a lot of those questions, so let’s look to Jesus.

    Judas was looking to Jesus as Jesus, but something (or someone) Jesus wasn’t. Judas’ plans for Jesus weren’t Jesus’ plans for Jesus. There are still people like that.

    We know the priests didn’t look to Jesus. They wanted to be rid of him. There are people like that.

    Peter looked to Jesus, but he got distracted a lot. There are people like that.

    ※Prayer※

    , guide our hearts to keep looking to Jesus. Prompt us to reset ourselves, daily, hourly, minute-by-minute to look to Jesus. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Have you ever asked, “what about me?” How about, “what have you done for me lately?”

    2) If you haven’t (see question 1), have you done or thought something that could be similar?

    3) How does pride affect how, when, and why people look at Jesus?

  • Fruit Basket

    Fruit Basket

    Daniel 3:8–30; Matthew 7:15–20; Revelation 20:11–15

    Thinking about is often not comfortable. Homes burn. Forests burn.

    On the other hand, metal is purified through fire. Through that fire, many beautiful and amazing things are made.

    Just like in our own lives, fire serves different purposes in the . The number of times it is mentioned is numerous.

    Most of us are familiar with the story of the three companions of Daniel tossed into the fiery “pit”. Nebuchadnezzar (though really those around him) used it to kill the three. Instead, God used it to show God’s power and might, and the protection of those loyal.

    This is not to say that we should all jump into fiery pits. On the other hand, the world is full of many other kinds of fiery pits.

    There is a thin line between a fire of refinement, and a fire of destruction. Without God’s saving hand Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would have died. That is often the case with us.

    Yet, Jesus drew a different picture. Jesus’ picture was that of fruitless lives. For those who view themselves harshly, these words of Jesus are hard. They can even be -destroying.

    What is good fruit? Is it only the fruits of the ? Is it only disciples? Is it only baptisms? Is it only giving water to the thirsty? Is it only loving the unloved?

    The hard question for too many Christians is not what good fruit is, but what is enough good fruit. If a parent has five children, and only 2 follow the Lord, is that enough good fruit?

    If one is joy-filled and generous of heart but doesn’t “see” a single person come to Christ through them, are they still producing good fruit?

    If you are one of the blessed that doesn’t view life through the how much is good enough lens, be grateful that you aren’t, and be grace-filled toward those who are.

    In a performance-based culture, such as in the United States, how much fruit is not a small question. For many, this may indeed be why they shy away from faith and faith questions. If you will be judge by how much fruit, why walk into a judgmental situation?

    The flip side of this is also bad. Not counting the fruit has other issues, such as not equipping, discipling, and holding one another accountable. This flip side has also become an issue in the . In not counting the fruit, it’s hard to evaluate (including, but not only, self-evaluation) one’s spiritual life.

    The fact of fruit (or lack thereof), the quality of fruit, and the quantity of fruit are all valid questions that Christians should of themselves and . Truth must be balanced in love and grace; that way we are all willing to hear and confront the truth.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Jesus, if our hearts our weighed by the thought of fruit, lighten our load. , guide and prune us that we produce fruit for God’s glory. God, we put our very being into your hands, you with your creation. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1)Do you ever count your fruit? Why or why not?

    2) Evaluate your fruit right now. After “evaluating” your fruit, what is your conclusion?

    3) How does the fire of refinement and destruction apply to producing fruit?