Devotion.al

Tag: cleanse

  • 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 fire 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 call 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 prophecy 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 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, , 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 is in the flames. Lord, may we be on fire for you. Amen.

  • Passed The Gates

    Passed The Gates

    Psalm 88; Leviticus 15:19–31; 2 Corinthians 9:1–5

    I have long felt this passage in Leviticus to be unfair to women. No, not because of certain cultural influences of today. Perhaps it was the era I grew up in, or because my mom worked as a school teacher. Or in conjunction with that, my dad was a single who cleaned and cooked great food. Or, as a child, being one of the few with divorced parents (as I grew up, I was no longer alone in that, sadly). Either way, I’ve tended to view men and women as equal, while we are yet neither wired nor designed the same.

    It still seems reasonable to tie this passage back to the Fall and the difficulties of childbirth as part of the (Genesis 3:16). With menstruation being part of the process of childbirth, along with the “shedding” of blood, or in particular, the consumption of blood (Deuteronomy 12:23–24), as blood is (ancient understanding). It still seems unfair to our modern mind, but this way we can grasp some of the why.

    The last piece of the why is in verse 31, the separation of the Israelites from their uncleanness (part of life after the Fall) from the of being God’s people and the holiness of God’s dwelling (whether Tabernacle or Temple).

    Many people question such a God. The reality though is that if you were ritually clean all the time, would you be in God’s dwelling the entire time? Probably not. So, people who on this, don’t realize what they’re arguing for. They’re arguing to get into God’s dwelling!

    Whether believer or not, we appear to unconsciously recognize that there is something dirty about humanity. We also seem to have an unconscious understanding that this isn’t right (right versus fair). God’s grace that goes before (prevenient grace) gives all of humanity the ability to recognize this.

    So, while we theologically understand that things aren’t right (due to fallen humanity). We also understand that because of that, humanity is “dirty” insofar as being not holy. We also know that is not the end.

    Wesleyan-Holiness theology understands that God’s grace walks the road before us (prevenient grace). This means we (as in all of humanity) are able to know (at least in our souls) that despite our not holiness and despite the mar of , God has made a way for us to be not just at the dwelling place (tabernacle, temple, or for today), but to fully live in the of God all the days of our lives and beyond.

    ※Reflection※

    • Do you ever think that you are too dirty for God? Do you ever think that about others?
    • How do you “” your when you get “dirty”?
    • Do you perform regular spiritual checks with others for both yourself and them?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, thank you for your grace that gives us the standing to be in your presence despite what we may have done.

  • Beyond Confessing

    Beyond Confessing

    Psalm 25:1–10; Daniel 9:1–14; 1 John 1:3–10

    “But if we our sins, he is and just to forgive us our sins and us from everything we’ve done wrong.” —1 John 1:9

    Have you said those words to yourself lately or ever? The and in those simple words are awe-inspiring.

    Daniel understood this. He analyzed Jeremiah’s words and recognized that there was no quick way back to the way things were. Daniel, being the faithful God-follower that he was, likely wasn’t eager to the way things were, as they hadn’t been working, especially in regard to Israel’s relationship with God.

    Daniel recognizes—confesses—that Israel went its own way and purposefully ignored the of God through the and the prophets. Unlike many people, whether Jeremiah’s,  Daniel’s, or our day, Daniel notes that it is not the fault of God that Israel (or anyone) wanders away from God. Especially in the case of Israel, there was no blaming God. The penalties and (ultimately) exile were the result of the path Israel chose to walk in spite of God’s persistent voice calling them to repentance.

    Repentance may be a bigger stumbling block than confession. The Roman Catholic practice of confession could lead to a confession of words without repentance of the heart. Roman Catholicism isn’t the only one. The opening words of 1 John are stated weekly in the Lutheran churches. Other words of confession are spoken in other liturgical traditions (Orthodox, Episcopal, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc.). People say these words, but they may not actually repent of that which they confessed.

    Most Evangelical traditions, like the Church of the Nazarene, don’t have a confessional creed. The confession has moved into specialized small groups (general Bible studies not fitting that mold), where people actually live together. Here repentance has the opportunity to occur in ways other methods often don’t. In these groups, we can be shaped personally and be held accountable.

    Regardless, if we are not willing to confess, repent, and change, we should really question if we are Christ-followers. Being a Christ-follower means being willing to be changed.

    ※Reflection※

    • Thinking about your confessional, repenting, and changing activities, where can you improve?
    • How would you rate the difficulty of each: confessing, repenting, changing? Why in that order?

    ※Prayer※

    , guide our hearts to confess and repent all that we have done against your will for our lives. Work in us and through others in our lives so that we are shaped from the inside out into Christ-shaped people. Amen.

  • Good Gone Bad

    Good Gone Bad

    Mark 12:1–17; Matthew 10:5–7; Matthew 17:24–27

    Within the context of ‘ earthly ministry, the primacy of the remnants of the Israelites cannot be denied. Jesus calls them the “lost ”. Their place is significant to God, for they are even called by God’s (2 Chronicles 7:14).

    The tragedy of it all is that while they are still children of God, Jesus identifies them as strangers (or foreigners) to God. We might use the estranged.

    Gentiles were truly foreigners to God, insofar as God did not choose them to bear the name of God. Due to choices and behaviors, it came to the point that the Jews were such, too.

    What’s interesting is the Temple Tax. It was a tax from Exodus 30:11–16. Every man of the age of 20 or over was obliged to pay it annually. It was also called the “atonement” tax. It was used to take care of the tent of meeting (later the Temple). Its spiritual purpose was to remind the Israelites that their lives needed to be atoned for.

    What is also interesting is the backdoor way Jesus was asked…using Peter. There is also the that Jesus hadn’t paid it, or that they watched Jesus so closely that they knew he hadn’t yet paid it. Either presupposition leads to interesting conclusions. However, it is Jesus’ about strangers and sons that should catch our attention.

    Some commentators infer that Jesus paid the Temple Tax to fulfill all righteousness (tying language to the of Jesus). Jesus, however, doesn’t seem to have that same understanding. He sounds more condescending (“just to not offend”), though it is more likely a battle that is not fighting, and it’s a simple barrier.

    Jesus’ response might imply that the tax was out of date. In Exodus, the tax seems tied specifically to the Tent of Meeting. So, once the Tent of Meeting was done with (i.e., the Temple was built), the tax was done with.

    This reminds me of the Maple Street Bridge in Spokane, WA. When it was built, there was a toll booth. The was that the booth would be removed when the bridge was paid for. It was. In comparison, other public toll bridges that I’m familiar with still have tolls, and those tolls are tossed into the public fund, not the bridge operating fund.

    This is not to pick on them, but to show that we have similar examples in our lives. The tolls, no longer needed for their original purpose, are now moved to other “needs”. The same about the Temple Tax perhaps. The implication is pretty strong, though, as this ties into Jesus’ declaration about the Temple Courts being a den of robbers (Matthew 21:13).

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, us of anything we hold onto as good that has become bad in our lives. Amen.

  • The Sky Is Falling, Right?

    Psalm 27:1–6, Acts 9:1–22 (read online ⧉)

    The psalm may have stirred up a hymn or worship song in your mind. If wired a certain way, maybe you started singing. This psalm is from a person who is very weary. The psalmist feels as if there are neverending battles needing to be fought. The psalmist perceives that as long as God is there it’s okay. Now that doesn’t mean from a perspective that everything will work out fine, just that as God is there it’s okay.

    The psalmist resorts to being in the house of God and in the temple. God is worth it, so thinks the psalmist. Is there and assurance that everything will ultimately work out? Yes. However, God often means not trusting ones’ own plans.

    American Christians, with some justification, are perceiving more and more that the culture (and maybe even the world) is turning against the faith. There has always been some opposition to the faith. It’s not a new thing. Perhaps what we are seeing is a return to true balance, meaning that those that deceived themselves that they were Christians or misunderstood themselves as being Christians have begun to be free of those particular shackles. This in no way implies that Christianity is bad (just to clarify), but that many people misunderstood (and still do) what it means to be a . Instead of mourning or getting defensive or getting angry about all the changes (including in our families) perhaps we ought to look to the psalmist for guidance. We are not called to win on our own, but to work on God’s plan and timetable (honestly, the hardest part). That of course, doesn’t mean we don’t have a part to play. Quite the contrary we each have a part to play.

    Paul (formerly Saul) had a part to play. He was one of those who was slandering and attacking Christians to purify the Jews of this sect. His name became feared. His arrival meant nothing good. Except that God had a plan. It certainly, from the outset, didn’t seem like a great plan. Let’s have this guy harass and even endorse the killing of Christians. Let’s have him go from synagogue-to-synagogue and even town-to-town and cleanse the faith. All seemed lost or at least losing. Until Saul had a fateful encounter with . The event was so profound that Saul chose to go by Paul, meaning that he set aside the old and became new. Remember, he was “the .” Now, his writings are an essential part of the Bible.

    1) Politicians often use fear to motivate. Fear of “losing” Christianity is starting to . What should be the proper motivation regarding working for or expanding the ?

    2) If is the reason for our faith, then why are we allowing fear to drive our decisions regarding our faith?

    Action: Pray the psalm, asking God for insight as to what it means for your faith and your world.

  • Worship Heart-Fully

    2 Kings 23:4–20, Ezekiel 42:13‭-‬14

    King Josiah had a mess to clean up. Over the years, his kingly predecessors and the priestly predecessors had put a lot of stuff that didn’t belong in the . A lot of it was pieces for worshipping gods instead of worshipping God.

    If you really want to be overwhelmed, number the items, and then realize that the list was summarized (e.g., all the high places from Geba to Beer-sheba). It is not an exhaustive list! There was more that didn’t get listed! How far the people had fallen!

    King Josiah went so far as to desecrate graves so as to totally desecrate all the high places dedicated to other gods. Yet, the underlying story is how the religious leaders had added thing after thing to the temple, and the things they added had nothing to do with worshipping God. All the additions were to worship anything other than God.

    It might seem odd to go from this cleansing to a simple statement about proper priestly behavior in the post-exile temple (our passage in Ezekiel). However, there is something that needs to be addressed. Often, in our zeal (much of this inherited by Puritan thinking) to have a “pure” temple, we “” things because of their association with what we think is contaminated worship.

    Take the clothing of the priests mentioned in Ezekiel. The priests are supposed to wear special clothes that are only to be used during their priestly duties in the temple. If you didn’t catch this, in modern terms, that is seen in Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, some Anglican/Episcopal, some Lutheran, and some Presbyterian churches. The priests/pastors in these traditions will often wear special clothes that are only worn in the . They don’t, for example, wear them to the supermarket.

    Yet, we American “Evangelicals” have inherited a Puritan thought process that opposes such clothing, because the Roman Catholics and Anglicans (the Puritan primary opposition) wore them.

    We have two opposite mindsets presented here, which is something we as Christians and as a church need to think through, not just accept everybody else’s thoughts. “Right” worship has been a long-term issue in the church, from to extemporaneous , no music to A Capella to hymns to contemporary music. It is good and reasonable to ponder what “right” worship looks like. We just have to be careful that we don’t throw out (or bring in) good and/or biblical just because. And we have to be careful not to condemn practices that do just because.

    1) Where do you think you see non-God honoring practices entering worship? What makes it not God-honoring? Is your stance Biblical (find it) or is it cultural?

    2) Where do think more God-honoring practices could be introduced? Why do you think they are not being done? How do they build up the body of believers?

    3) Will adding prescribed and described practices in the Bible necessarily help worship? How do you balance so-called Biblical practices with cultural practices? Are you able to perceive the difference?

  • Revealing Unity

    Numbers 16:1–50, Romans 16:17–20, 1 Corinthians 1:10–17

    Most of us have heard John Dalberg-Acton’s quip, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” What is most often missed is Acton’s “tends”.

    David Brin takes a slightly different tack, “It is said that power corrupts, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.”

    Lastly, Robert Caro’s take might be the most significant for us, “We’re taught Lord Acton’s axiom: all power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I believed that when I started these books, but I don’t believe it’s always true anymore. Power doesn’t always corrupt. Power can . What I believe is always true about power is that power always reveals.”

    Korah wanted more than he had. Whether he wanted power, prestige, or influence, is unclear. Who knows, maybe he thought he could earn by being the chief priest. Regardless, his entire family was given a duty in regards to the holy things of the . It was still an , but as some many of us struggle with, it wasn’t the honor he wanted. The undercurrent of this is power. At this point, the religious leader was the people’s leader. It’s not clear whether Korah convinced people to follow, or that they gathered somehow. The reality is that they did gather. Scripture says that they rebelled against Moses, but as the story unfolds into the relation that as they were rebelling against the leader chosen by God, they were rebelling against God. Without question, Moses was chosen supernaturally by God, and there were multiple events that testified to that. It was abundantly clear. However, in our day-and-age is it the same?

    How our leaders are chosen is different than such an obvious outward sign of God’s hand. It is through , wise thinking, discernment, and much counsel that good leaders are chosen. However, we are all human. Leaders make mistakes. Followers make them too. Two of the biggest obstacles to unity are not necessarily tied to the leadership position itself (for who wants the blame), but the influence and power of the leader, then there is jealousy and envy. This is human reality. Human selfishness often hides behind the call of doing the best for others, but truly only serves the self. When talks about divisions in Romans, there are obviously people stirring up trouble. That’s got to be dealt with. Most people expect the leader to do it, yet it is not the leader’s responsibility, it is the responsibility of everyone. There is mutual and responsibility in the community. Yet, people will still be people, and divisions will occur.

    In Corinth, we read of divisions of which person they follow. While most of us would say, “I follow Jesus,” is that true? As the Western World runs away from Christianity (sometimes with good reason), while the Middle East and Eastern Worlds actively oppose Christianity, the Church has to come to a form of unity. The Church for far too long has been separated for good doctrinal reasons, but the reality is that every denomination and unaffiliated congregation will have to come to some sort of agreement with one another. As long as the church eats itself, it cannot feed the world the Bread of .

    1) Where do you see the greatest unity in your personal life? Where do you see the greatest ?

    2) Where do you see the greatest unity in the world around you? Where do you see the greatest division?

    3) For each of the above, what can and will you do to build unity and heal division?

    FD) People usually from others when they are hurt emotionally. What can we do to help?

  • Decisions and Struggles

    Jeremiah 11:15–16, Isaiah 52:1–12, Galatians 4:12–20

    We cannot avoid the reality that the world as it stands opposes the Good News, while at the same time yearning for it. People try to avoid the reality that the gospel is opposed, and try to “be at peace” with the world. On the other hand, there are those who are so obsessed with “the opposition” that they either spend the majority of their efforts and energy opposing, or huddle behind the “four walls” of their church, , and/or larger “tribe”. Part of what makes the walk so difficult and why it requires constant reorientation, is that we are to walk between these two extremes.

    The two verses in Jeremiah recall that the people of Israel have wandered far away from their God, and have turn rituals of life into empty actions. They were set apart and planted to be a symbol. They became spiritually diseased, and the only thing that could cleanse the disease was …a cleansing fire. Yet, instead of changing their ways they kept to the old.

    Isaiah’s call to Zion/Jerusalem is for it to “wake up” out of the and disgrace that it has found itself in. It is time to throw off the old clothes and the contaminated ways. It is time to put on new clothes and new ways. Purify yourselves.

    The old bad non-life-giving ways have a way of coming back. Jeremiah and Isaiah opposed them. Generations later, had to fight them again. Now it was not just the old Jewish ways that he had to confront (like Jeremiah and Isaiah), it was also the ways of the that had to be opposed.

    Paul is makes two very important points. The first is there are people that are trying to put themselves above others (mostly Paul, but they would have also been putting themselves above the elders) to control and try to what is Truth. They also appear to be doing it for personal gain of money or pride. Not good reasons to change who one respects.

    The other important point is that Paul speaks of them being his children, that he is again going through the childbearing pains, trying to restore them to where they were in their beliefs. Christ has to be formed in them (again). This would be what we would call backsliding. Paul was now separated by distance, and was doubly pained that he couldn’t be there in person.

    Christian should always move , but sometimes, due to culture, family, habits, we go backwards. It sometime seems we have to start all over again. If it has been a really hard fight, we could succumb to despair.

    • 1) American individualism, especially prevalent in the Western parts of the United States, almost convinces people to find their own way in a vacuum. What happens when we make decisions in isolation?
    • 2) Spiritual decisions made in isolation along with cultural influences can endanger our spiritual lives. What do you do to help immunize yourself in that area?
    • 3) Most often, our biggest spiritual battles will be in areas that we have always struggled with. What are you doing to strengthen yourself in those areas, and finding ?
    • FD) Do you have, or ever had, a favorite article of clothing, a shirt, or accessory? Have you ever not wanted to wash it, because it might get hurt? What happens when it gets really yucky? Then what? Your spirit sometimes needs some cleaning, too? What do you do to clean it?