Devotion.al

Tag: call

  • And Now We Worship

    And Now We Worship

    Psalm 142; Amos 9:11–15; Luke 7:31–35

    As mentioned previously, Amos’ was to the Israelites, the of the 10 tribes that separated from Judah and Benjamin. As part of the “rebellion” the leader of the Israelites, Jeroboam, made 2 golden calves for local to protect his “kingship” from reverting to Judah and Jerusalem should the people of Israel choose to faithfully worship at the in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:26–33). He was quite successful.

    As the Temple had remained in Jerusalem, and the false worship at Bethel (gold calf), it seems strange to mentions the “tent of David”. The original Tent of Meeting was replaced by the Temple. The Temple in Jerusalem wasn’t destroyed. The temple of false worship in Bethel would fall in a few years due to an earthquake. The people of Israel no longer claimed David as one of their own (1 Kings 12:16–17).

    The best way to explain this is to understand the underlying message of Amos: false worship was separating the people of Israel permanently (by their actions, not God’s) from God. True/pure/heartfelt worship would reunite the people of Israel with God. In other words, the false temple won’t help you (and the implication that even the Temple in Jerusalem wouldn’t). Only being someone “after” God’s own heart would restore things as they ought to be. The message to the Israelites was, be David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

    However, no matter how we slice it or define it, we will often worship that which isn’t God, thinking that it will bring us closer to God. Quite often it is behavior. And, while certain behaviors (repentance, love of God, worship of God) will, we all too often confuse which behaviors.

    Take ‘ words as shared by Luke. John the Baptist and Jesus the Prophet (yes, the Messiah, but for this point, we’ll leave it as prophet) didn’t fit into idealized behaviors that were expected. John wore uncomfortable clothing (a type worn by ascetics as a form of penance or self-denial), and ate “cakes” of dried honey and locusts (yum?). They said he had a demon. John the Baptist, for the record, was unique in his ministry, not his “taste” in clothing and food.

    The same people that questioned John the Baptist’s sanity, purity, and , used a completely different measurement tool for Jesus. Jesus dared to drink a lot (whether it was high or not was never the argument of his contemporaries), eat a lot (he was probably a popular guest), and spend time with the less socially advantaged.

    Bluntly, these almost word-for-word statements have been used by far too many Evangelicals (even the demon-one) against Christians of other traditions (and sometimes even within). Far too many worship (yes, worship) forms of worship and obedience far more than they worship God.

    There is, of course, a slippery slope. That, too, is an issue worth pointing out. If everything is allowed, then the holiness and righteousness of God are impinged upon. The freedom to do “whatever” is also often worshiped and causes its own troubles (Romans 5:20–6:14).

    Who, what, how we worship are all critical considerations for our lives of . We just need to be careful that which we call unrighteous (or otherwise inappropriate) worship is not because of the way we see it, rather than how God sees it.

    ※Reflection※

    • What does worshiping as a person after God’s own heart look like? How might it be different than your current practices? How might it be the same?
    • Why do we often overcomplicate the worship of God? What kind of actions have you experienced that have hampered your worship of God? Have those same actions been a vital part of another’s worship experience?
    • How does the worship in our hearts work with or against the worship of our actions (i.e., body)?

    ※Prayer※

    to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen. [Ephesians 3:20–21]

  • Rubble and Ruin

    Rubble and Ruin

    Psalm 142; Amos 9:1–4; Acts 23:12–35

    I don’t know about you, but I’m a little jaundiced about earthquakes. I grew up in Northern California. Earthquakes were…normal isn’t the word…to be expected. So much so, that the first earthquake my wife experiences was in the middle of the night. She woke me up in a panic, “Was that an earthquake!?” “Yes,” I responded sleepily and went back to sleep. The biggest earthquake I experienced was the Loma Prieta one. It was big. Things fell off shelves, but it was just an earthquake. Finally, my mom convinced me to turn on the radio. Then I figured it out. It was big.

    The coming earthquake in Amos was big. Unlike us who have a larger grasp of earthquakes and their reasons, ancient peoples had no such framework. Earthquakes were generational memories (and they didn’t live on the Rim of , either). An earthquake was a momentous, God-sized event. According to scholars, the earthquake predicted in Amos happened around 2 years later and is mentioned in literature elsewhere in the region. The earthquake leveled a dedicated to gods other than God.

    The Israelites by this point were the 10 tribes of Israel that had separated from Judah and Benjamin. They had developed their own worship. While maintaining some concept of their original identity, during this particular era, they were a power of their own. The lowly southern tribes were nothing to them.

    Many years before near Bethel, a man had a dream. He dreamed of a “ladder of angels.” He had received a vision from God and a of descendants. He called the place Bethel. God called the man Israel (granted, that happened later). Where Jacob had the vision and received a promise to become a father of nations, now his descendants turned away from God. The dream was broken.

    The vision (that came true) of the destruction of the temple at Bethel sounds pretty severe. It was. That Amos’ was to this nation showed that God was not truly done with Israel. God still wanted these descendants of Israel and Abraham. Abandoning of the dream, the , and the .

    Paul was no Amos. For the Jews, he was something far worse. He destined change within the confines of their faith. Paul had no plan to be part of some new religion, but to be part of the ultimate fulfillment of the faith in which he was raised and trained. an assassination is the move of people who do not wish to be seen, or fear the of someone stronger (the Roman empire). The sad truth is that, yet again, the religious leaders were knowingly allowing, abetting, and therefore approving the murder of another. They could claim that they did not murder (and be truthful), but they could have stopped it. They chose not to.

    Whether Amos or Paul, speaking the words of God to people who don’t want to hear them (especially those that say they believe in the word of God) can be dangerous. Our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world deal with that very issue on a daily basis. While we dispute the (un)righteousness of a political party, president, or even nation, there are people that truly suffer for Jesus. This is not to say that our woes are minor, it is just a matter of perspective.

    ※Reflection※

    • What “earthquakes” ( shattering events) have you experienced? These can be both good and bad.
    • Why do “bad things” happen to believing people? What makes Amos’ Israelites similar to the (Christians)? What makes them different (besides Jesus)?
    • What actions (or inactions) have you committed (or omitted) that resembles the religious leaders who countenanced Paul’s assassination?

    ※Prayer※

    God, you move mountains. Often it is easier to move mountains than the hearts of humanity. Forgive our hearts of stone. Give us, day by day, new hearts that beat only for you. Amen.

  • Good Fire. Bad Fire.

    Good Fire. Bad Fire.

    Psalm 142; Amos 5:1–9; Acts 21:27–39

    Depending on who you talk to, the ability to make may be the most important invention of humanity. It kept creatures of the night away. It allowed the cooking of food, purification of water, and it kept people warm. Fire was used as a tool to burn forests to encourage grazing lands for food source animals such as bison and deer.

    As time moved along, humanity’s ability to harness fire grew. Humanity learned to melt metal. Then it learned to metal through more fire. Then there were things like glass and steam-powered. All through fire. Even in today’s metal smelting industries, fire is one of the key pieces of refining and purification.

    In the , fire performs primarily two kinds of cleansing. The most destructive is the burning away of everything. We might it “scorched earth”. The other type is purification. This is where high heat is held for a sustained time to draw out the impurities within.

    In the context of Amos, the fire could be either form. Despite the ultimatum nature of Amos’ words, there is still a measure of choice and optimism. “Seek me.” Those simple words and simple actions were what God was looking for. Note that it wasn’t even follow. Just seek.

    Thus, the fire could be different, depending on whether the Israelites sought God, or chose not to. One path would lead to a (proverbial) cleansing fire that burned everything away, both good and bad. In hopes, like the aftereffect of a forest fire, new healthy growth would take its place. Should the Israelites choose to seek God, there would still be a fire, and it would still hurt, but there would be purification.

    Sometimes only purification is needed. Sometimes a clean slate is needed. The same can be said about our lives. The same can be said about our actions.

    Sometimes we think we’re doing one when we’re doing the . Sometimes we just want to watch things burn. Fires of can take many forms. Many people have claimed that we have been seeing exactly that over the last few years.

    Except what is at the ?

    In Jerusalem, people made assumptions about Paul and stirred people up. The Jews of Jerusalem made no thoughtful inquiry. They jumped to conclusions and became the fire. Others joined, probably many ignorantly, and the fire grew.

    So, out came the firefighters. The Roman soldiers were commissioned to deal with out-of-control people. Often they did it through bloodshed. The Romans also made assumptions. An Egyptian? This is madness!

    It doesn’t take a stretch to see “those” people making “those” mistakes and stupid decisions, and starting a proverbial fire. We’ve seen such similar things ourselves. The Jews and Romans couldn’t blame the or social media, though. We try, but history shows that even in the first century the flames of presumption, assumption, and ignorance can still overtake people. It only takes a spark.

    ※Reflection※

    • What “fires” have you experienced, and how were they fires?
    • How might the fires of madness (Acts) resemble refining fires and cleansing fires?
    • Why is present in each of these types of fires?
    • What is the most Christ-like way to deal with each type of fire?

    ※Prayer※

    God, the of Pentecost is in the flames. Lord, may we be on fire for you. Amen.

  • Hear the Roar

    Hear the Roar

    Psalm 85:8–13; Amos 3:1–12; Colossians 4:2–18

    The Psalm speaks of the land of Israel having God’s . It needed it. God’s blessing was both a protection and a source of bounty. The gist is that if Israel’s people were being blessed by the land, including peace from war, bountiful crops, and growing families, then God should be at the forefront of the list of giving thanks.

    The US has long held itself (with some rationale) as a blessed and fertile land. Yes, there were blips (droughts—including the blight that was part of the Great Depression, blights, pests, etc). As a whole, however, the US continues to have bountifully producing lands. Historically, we have been relatively free from war and conflict. Our families could grow large if we wanted.

    Yet, a common refrain, especially during any so-call culture wars/battles, is that things would get better if we returned to God wholeheartedly. The problem with that is that people see all the blessings, so are confused as to why they should be looking to God. That may have well the same issue with the Israelites.

    The refrain of returning to God is rising again. Most of us think only of the political “right” when it comes to that. It is true that many of the religious folks that are calling for a “return to God” are aligned to the “right” politically. However, there are voices on the political “left” that are also speaking prophetic language. Words such as “reckoning” are coming out. That’s a very Biblical concept. Those aligned politically on the “left” don’t use much religious language because the “right” appears to own it (they don’t), and will delegitimize those on the “left” who use religious language. However, for both “sides”, they actually have a similar …things will not work the way they have been.

    The political jostling distracts from the prophetic words coming from both “sides” of the political divide. That both agree (in different words, granted) that this is not as God intended should be something that everyone should be paying attention to…especially in the church. In an era that is becoming more politically rigidly divided, every prophetic bone in every , along with the Spirit present in each one of us is screaming, “LOOK AT THIS!”

    In Amos, we see a picture of Israel that is so by God it had been—up to this point—able to avoid the natural punishment that had come to those around it. God’s love had kept them from the consequences. That protection was on its last legs. This is the roaring lion of Judah in Amos. It isn’t the lion that protects. It is the lion that warns.

    The lion is roaring, church! Are you listening?

    Once we listen, if we choose to, what then?

    Paul tells the church to act wisely and to make the most of every opportunity to about Jesus and the . If you read that passage, verses 5 and 6 almost don’t seem to fit. In my imagination, I see Paul writing this letter from jail, and one of his jailers comes in and it clicks with Paul as he has been sharing with his jailers about Jesus that the Colossians should, too. That Paul seems to interrupt his chain of thought to mention this should wrap this in neon lights and glitter. All our sharp rhetoric and political bludgeoning aren’t how this is supposed to work…not for the church, at least. Sharp rhetoric and political bludgeoning are the way of the world.

    The lion is roaring, and we claim it’s at the culture, the system, etcetera. The lion is roaring at the church to say, “get to the work of the kingdom!”

    ※Reflection※

    • What do you see with your heart when you read the ? Do you take away something different?
    • How can prophetic voices from different political poles still speak prophetically to the church and the world and both be authentic?
    • Is there a particular issue that the lion roars for you? What is the human (not political) person like on the “opposite” side? Is it really opposition rather than perspective? (Advice: don’t let the politics deceive you about people)

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we of your church have lost our prophetic with far more issues than we have retained. Guide our hearts to seek your will, to be your witnesses, and to be the needed prophetic voice to your —the church—and then to the world. Amen.

  • Tossing Diamonds

    Tossing Diamonds

    Psalm 119:81–88; Ezekiel 2:8–3:11; 2 Corinthians 11:16–33

    Don’t be rebellious…eat my words…sweet as honey.

    God’s words to Ezekiel set Ezekiel apart from his people. As a prophet, Ezekiel would indeed be separated from the Israelites. By “eating” the words of God, Ezekiel set himself apart. This obviously wasn’t going to be an easy separation either.

    By “hardening” his face, God was making it clear that Ezekiel’s to the house of Israel will be difficult. The house of Israel (the so-called People of God) would insult, hit, abuse, the prophet of God. Ezekiel couldn’t allow that to his for the mission.

    Ezekiel wasn’t the only one who had to face his own and be called a fool (or worse). ‘s spiritual children (and probably grandchildren and great-grandchildren) were calling Paul a fool, for had convinced them that Paul was indeed a fool and was not a person of God to follow. In these verses, Paul goes right to it. He tells them that they have been taken advantage of. He tells them that they have enslaved themselves. He tells them that it is they who are the true fools

    .It appears that for the next few years and probably decades, we will have significant aspects of Ezekiel’s mission and Paul’s admonitions in our lives. We will be the ones whose faces will need to be like diamonds, and friends and ones enslaved and taken advantaged of. We will be the outcast and despised.

    ※Reflection※

    • What does having a face like diamond mean to you? What would it be like to have a heart of diamond?
    • What similarities do you see from these passages between Ezekiel and Paul? What differences do you see?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, strengthen our hearts that we may bring your to the world. Amen.

  • Give It Up

    Give It Up

    Psalm 123; Jeremiah 7:27–34; Matthew 8:18–22

    There was this guy who loved science. He loved nature. He pursued the academics to take care of the wilds. Except he was stubborn. You see, what he loved wasn’t the science, but Creation. In fact, he wasn’t good at it at all. He stuck with that choice for 4 years. Sadly, no one gave him wise advice (not that he would have listened) to it up. It wasn’t meant for him. 4 years of misery and disappointment vanished into smoke. You might know such a stubborn person.

    The basic gist of God’s words to Jeremiah: give it up. No matter what you do, they won’t listen. No matter what acts of penance and remorse they out…they are acting and their hearts aren’t in it. The people of Judah seemed to revel in their disobedience to God. Blaspheming the Temple of God with idols of false gods. Killing their sons and daughters and giving them to fires.

    Give it up, Jeremiah. They won’t see the errors of theirs ways until the places of these sacrifices are filled with corpses of war, famine, and pestilence, and these so-called sacred places of sacrifice are themselves blasphemed. Oh, and maybe not even then. Give it up.

    We are in a time and place where even conversations with friends and acquaintances are “given up” as there can be no discussion or resolution. The hearts are hard and the ears are closed. Sometimes all we can do is give it up. That is until it comes to us.

    Jesus’ words seem somewhat harsh to our ears. Yet, they hold a profound that much of Western Christianity, especially the US iteration, is in the process of rediscovering. Give it up.

    The legal expert would have had a decent home and security. Jesus told him, basically, give it up. The (since unnamed, probably not one of the 12) says, let me bury my . In other words, let me to follow you until my father wouldn’t disown me or be ashamed of me. Jesus responded, who is your father in comparison to me? Give it up.

    We have become far too comfortable. Whether it is being the majority confessed (rather than followed) religion, or the “majority” skin color (if you are), or the nice buildings, or our ties to political power, or our ties to monied power, or the practices we hold dear, or the ability to speak openly about Jesus, we’ve been comfortable.

    Jesus’ point to these two was that isn’t the call…Jesus is the call.

    In certain traditions that hold only men may be pastors/priests, they are struggling to find men to fill the roles. Often the response is that they should accept women. Those who that way will often point to those denominations (like the Church of the Nazarene) that do ordain women. Yet, the real question, the real deficit, is that people don’t want to give it up. They don’t want to give up their lives.

    None of us do, really. Even those denominations that do ordain women still have a problem, and that is the people themselves who don’t want to give it up for Jesus. It is not a matter of men or women. It is not a matter of politics, money, , or other things. It is that people don’t want to give it up for Jesus.

  • Begging In Faith

    Begging In Faith

    Psalm 88; 2 Kings 20:1–11; Mark 9:14–29

    Regardless of your views on the COVID vaccine, medical science (including vaccines) has been miraculous over the years. How medical practices have been improved is amazing (My grandfather once told me of a vaccine he received as a kid. The process was highly unsanitary.). Medical science continues to improve.

    It is possible that Hezekiah’s illness could have been healed by modern medicine. Many of the illnesses in the are quite possible to be healed. This doesn’t minimize the healing miracle that occurred, especially the manner in which it occurred (a prompt—almost immediate— to ).

    As our modern medicine improves, it becomes even more likely that modern folks will dismiss the stories of the Scriptures as ignorant people, who didn’t understand any science (which is true). Many contemporary people will then also attribute that same ignorance of science to Christians today. If Christians are not wise in their , and in their defense of it, they may contribute to the reduction of faith in those around them.

    It would be interesting to know whether Jesus considers the generation he called faithless to be more or less faithless than today’s. It would be unwise to presume that it must be today’s, as Jesus had to deal with a lot of that.

    The of the asked for faith in the face of his unbelief. The disciples still didn’t get their own disbelief. Disbelief was all around. Disbelief is all around us.

    ※Reflection※

    • In what areas of your is your faith currently be challenged? How are you getting prayer support for this challenge?
    • Do you think there is a difference between unbelief and faithlessness? Why or why not? If there are differences, how do you see them in your life or the lives of ?
    • What is more important for the right now, the faithlessness of the world or the faithlessness of those who themselves Christian? As a Christian, what does it mean to be faithless?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help the ongoing war in our hearts and souls against unbelief and faithlessness. Amen.

  • Aiming to Change

    Aiming to Change

    Psalm 30; Lamentations 2:1–12; 2 Corinthians 8:1–7

    The implication of today’s reading in Lamentations is that this came suddenly, or that all the preparations were annihilated. The sad reality is that sometimes things that came “suddenly” were actually quite predictable. God sent multiple prophets. Before the Israelites even entered the Promised Land, Moses had warned them. It shouldn’t have been a surprise.

    We can look around us and see plenty of people who follow this same pattern. Whether they make bad decisions, decisions, career decisions, education decisions, or something else, they continue to make the same mistake and what went wrong.

    God wasn’t upset with the Israelites for making mistakes or even wandering away, except that they continued to do it until it became the lifestyle.

    God knows that we all will make mistakes. That’s part of the current human condition. That wasn’t supposed to be, but we chose (and choose) to go our own way.

    We are embraced, loved, adopted, and reconciled as we are. We aren’t supposed to stay that way. The world understands this Truth. If you were to actually visit a physical bookstore (yes, they still exist) or look at the slate of newly published books, the biggest movers and often the greatest number of published titles are all “self-help”. The world knows that we are to improve and . We are not to stay the same.

    Despite that, when the Scriptures (or the faithful -following community) us to account to change, we push back. We say, “no” or “God made me this way.” And before you think (too late, I’m sure) that “they” should know that too (“they” being whomever many progressive or conservative Christians oppose), it isn’t about “them” or “they”, it is about us.

    Paul calls on the Corinthians to be “the best” in regard to faith, speech, knowledge, commitment (there’s a really hard one these days), and love (okay, maybe this one’s harder). The best. Not okay. Not good. Not satisfactory. The best.

    We don’t start out as “the best”. As individuals, we may never be “the best” at any or all. Collectively, as the church, we have the potential to be “the best” at them all, but only if we are willing to be changed and work in partnership with the and our fellow believers.

    ※Reflection※

    • What struck you about the passage in Lamentations? Do you see yourself or your circumstances anywhere?
    • What areas of your have you had the greatest struggle surrendering to Jesus? What areas of your life do you think need the greatest amount of change to be in line with the character and nature of Jesus Christ?
    • “The best” is a high mark. Why should we aim at a mark we probably will never hit? How do we keep from being discouraged when we miss?

    ※Prayer※

    As we seek to do your will, may we be transformed. As we pursue , may we not be discouraged. As we fail and err, may we recognized that it is you who picks us back up. Amen.