Devotion.al

Tag: community

  • Blessings and Returnings

    Blessings and Returnings

    Jeremiah 29:4–9; Daniel 2:24–30; 1 Peter 2:11–17 (read online ⧉)

    The American experiment has certainly had its interesting times. During extreme times there have been many attempts to do something dramatic to “fix” things. The Civil War was an extreme that appeared to be a moral response to a injustice. The FDR administration attempted grandiose programs in an attempt to recover an economy in shambles. Today we have Federal, State, County, and City governments doing all sorts of things in an attempt to protect the populace from COVID-19.

    As people become frustrated, whether being stuck at home, not going to work, watching things not succeeding or improving (or the perception thereof), or politicians making () missteps, we are seeing, hearing, and even experiencing strong reactions against a lot actions taken. In a healthy democratic republic, people speaking out in an informed way is helpful and can help build up and improve the country. However, it would seem that our democratic republic is not all that healthy. Certainly, people of most of the political parties (not just the top 2) are saying something to that effect. Your social media stream might even be filled with them, too.

    As Christians, we are to put aside our “rights”. Or, perhaps, it is better said, we ought to look to the Scriptures before we declare our “rights” as Americans. Of course, they don’t necessarily conflict, at least not always.

    As the Israelites went into exile, God did not say oppose your (oppressive) government. God said to work for its success. That doesn’t mean don’t seek , but that their responsibility was to everyone else, too, not just this oppressive regime. There is also the truth that it was only after they “did their time” in captivity would the way back to the Promised Land be available to them. Their ability to go back was based on their ability to survive now. Their ability to thrive (not just survive) in their new circumstances was based upon their pursuit of the well-being of Babylon.

    Daniel was another case. He too was captive. He too was taken away. He was trained and educated to be an advisor to the ruler, and become a lower-tier ruler himself (along with his 3 companions). He was put into a place where he could have influenced the downfall of leaders. It’s not as if didn’t have those plans. He chose not to. He followed the plan God had called him to, and it probably wasn’t easy. Did he try to lessen the load of his fellow Israelites, get this…the Bible doesn’t say. Perhaps that wasn’t Daniel’s purpose. Perhaps his purpose was to be a of and to God, and in so doing pursuing the best for Babylon and its people.

    Peter’s words to the Christians in the diaspora weren’t much different. The Roman government was much the same as the Babylonian one, especially from a Jewish standpoint. What did he tell them? Submit to them! Peter’s words might even be harder than then ones from Jeremiah. Submit! Not all the people that Peter wrote to were outside Roman circles, some of them were true Roman citizens, which was no small thing. The message was the same, though.

    When we accepted as our Lord and Savior, we accepted that any citizenship we had on earth was superseded by the one in Heaven. As such, our concerns are to be first of Heaven, then of earth. That is not to say, however, that we are not to seek the success of the kingdoms of earth, it’s just that our standing on earth is secondary. There is an implied issue in Jeremiah’s words, if you become too comfortable in the place you are, you will not to the Promised Land. The story of the return was indeed part of that. Only some retained their citizenship as the People of God. They returned. Those that surrendered their citizenship remained in Babylon.

    God, as we walk through these times, help keep our eyes on you and our citizenship in Heaven. Help that motivate our actions and responses to the world. Amen.

    1) What are you doing to help your community thrive in the midst of COVID-19?

    2) What does it mean for you to work for the success of earthly kingdoms while keeping your eye and on your citizenship in Heaven?

    3) How do we balance the submission to earthly authorities with the to be salt and light? How is it different in a democratic republic (like the USA) versus an authoritarian regime?

  • Community for Others

    Psalm 118:19–29; Deuteronomy 16:1–8; Philippians 2:1–11 (read online ⧉)

    The brief summary of Passover reminds the Israelites of how, as a , they are to celebrate it. When Passover was established (Exodus 12) there was a strong community aspect to it insofar as sharing the sacrificial lamb. If a was too small, they were to with other households. Not partaking wasn’t an option. Sharing the lamb (and wasting less) was a communal support for Passover. Passover was not a single observer, but a community that observed.

    The kind of community that shared a lamb (looking out for one another for the shared observation) is the kind of community that loves one another and is of (at least in this) one mind. The kind of community where a lamb would be shared would be the kind of community where one would not feel superior to , but treat others in and , looking out for their interests.

    This looking out for the interests of others is not the way of the world. Someone willing to share their lamb with another was sacrificial, and probably (sadly) was not done often, except in those very small communities where they shared the same poor circumstances.

    encourages Christians to be like Jesus insofar as looking for the welfare of others, knowing that Jesus looked to other’s welfare while some hated him, some ignored him, some didn’t know they needed him.

    1. How does this kind of community (sacrificing self for others) work when they with each other?

    2. It is important to understand that it is the in us that empowers us. Knowing that to be the case, how can you look to the interests of others?

    3. What are a number of ways that can look when dealing with life and routines, and in extreme situations such as natural disasters and pandemics?

  • Salvation Praise

    Psalm 107:1–3, 17–22; Genesis 9:8–17; Ephesians 1:3–6 (read online ⧉)

    Destined to be a child of God. This is such a comforting phrase. As in all comfortable things, there is a danger. This comforting phrase is often, and understandably, taken as being directed toward individuals. Yet, if we use both Old Testament and New Testament phrasing, it is better (and more safely) understood as a corporate destiny.

    As part of Noah’s covenant, we are corporately covered insofar as God will never flood the entirety of the earth again. Just as the 12 Tribes of Israel were the Chosen of God, corporately, so too is the . How an behaved and responded toward God was, and remains, from the corporate selection.

    We are all part of the corporate destiny, and we have our place in it (accepting the of redemption and salvation). To be clear, accepting the gift does not mean that the required (Christ’s on the cross) for salvation was anything but God’s.

    There is a tension here. Salvation is also quite personal and individual. Salvation is best expressed and the saved life best lived within the of believers. There is a balance, and we don’t want to be overly weighted to individual or corporate salvation.

    We testify and thanks through our and praise of God. As part of both our corporate and personal activity (our “liturgy”) is to praise “… his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us….”

    The psalmist declared…

    1O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
     for his steadfast love endures forever.
2Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
     those he redeemed from trouble
21Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
     for his wonderful works to humankind.
22And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
     and tell of his deeds with songs of

    1) When thinking of your salvation do you tend to think of yourself as an individual?

    2) Have you ever thought of your salvation as being part of the Body of Christ (the Church)?

    3) Why do you think there is a difference? What difference does it make to you?

  • Community of Friends

    Psalm 25:1-10, Psalm 32, Matthew 9:2-13 (read online ⧉)

    The story of the healed paralytic has been many times, mostly it seems, to point the finger at the scribes for their lack of . Let us look with upon the scribes, to their understanding and traditions, sins could not be forgiven without blood sacrifice. It was not that their faith was weak (or non-existent), but that their traditions and scriptural understanding did not match ‘ simple words.

    For many of the Jewish religious leaders, part of their understanding was that the paralytic was bearing the curse of his sins, his parents’ sins, and/or some ancestor’s sins. In Psalm 32, the psalmist speaks of acknowledging his sins, but what if the sins the paralytic was bearing were not his own? What could he ? What if it was some hidden sin of which he wasn’t aware? What could be his hope? His friends.

    His friends mirror the great trust in God that we read in both of the Psalms. Their faith was the key. Did you catch that? The faith noted in Matthew 9:2-13 was that of the paralytic’s friends. In a shame-based culture, they could have been despised because they dared to be publicly seen with this…sinner. They were declaring their of their friend to their village and to their religious leaders. They bravely, faithfully, and lovingly brought their friend to the prophet in of a miracle.

    They received two miracles, a spiritual cleansing, and the healing of their friend. The paralytic learned who his true friends were, and the power and love of God that changed his !

    We can reasonably expect God’s grace and , not because we deserve it, but because that is a of God being love.

    We have to be humble and reflective as we approach the throne of God. When we do so we become ready to be guided and lead by the Creator.

    1) Why do you think Matthew, Mark, and Luke made it a point that it was the faith of the paralytic’s friends that Jesus praised?

    2) How does this recognition of their faith affect or challenge your perception or beliefs of what it means to be in a faith ?

    3) How does our perception of our faith community affect our interactions within it, and how we welcome new people into it?

  • Grateful In Ashes

    Joel 2:12-17, Psalm 51:1-17, 2 Corinthians 4:21-6:10 (read online ⧉)

    Through the prophet Joel, God sought to realign the life of the Israelites to Him. God was calling them to live a life oriented to Him. God didn’t want them to miss out on the life they were meant for. As we begin the Lenten season, it is a time for each of us to reflect upon what in our life is keeping us from being oriented on Him.

    From the early days of our faith, Christians have observed the remembrance of Christ’s passion (Good Friday) and (Easter) with great reverence. It became the custom to prepare for that observance by a season of and fasting, and the of those who had been separated from the of faith. When keeping the season of Lent, we take to God’s to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the , and practice in our daily lives the work of reconciliation. You are invited to the observance of Lent through self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s Holy .

    On Ash Wednesday, many people to receive the mark of ashes, which is a reminder of our mortal nature and of God’s invitation to receive Christ’s redeeming work. The ashes are a of repentance, that one’s life is not as God-focused as it ought to be. It is a declaration that all is not well, that something needs to change.

    As we walk together through Lent, through our paths of reflection, self-denial, and repentance, this is all part of our response of gratitude to God who sent Jesus Christ, the ultimate love letter, to us that we can see that God wants us as His Children.

    1) Giving up something (self-denial and/or fasting) is often practiced during Lent. The purpose is to grow closer to God. If you choose to do this, what will you give up? We challenge you to share whatever this is with someone who will hold you accountable.

    2) Other practices for Lent are focused prayer, self-examination, deeper scripture reading, all of which are intended to draw us deeper and to slow us down. What will you focus on this Lent to grow your walk?

    3) One of the newer trends is to give up something you know you need to give up already. Do you think that could be effective as a spiritual discipline? Why or why not?

  • Wisdom Somewhere

    Proverbs 1:20–33, Proverbs 9:10, Matthew 7:7–12, James 1:5–8 (read online ⧉)

    Choose a side is the overwhelming discourse in politics and social issues these days. Without question, social media and the , in general, have made the ability to blare one’s opinion throughout the world. Regardless of one’s politics, newspapers (or news companies) seem to feel a need to make their opinion known on which candidate is the “best” choice. For example, the New York Times is currently working on its review of and interviews with all the current candidates from the Democrat Party, so that they can editorially endorse a particular candidate. For some reason, the New York Times (and other “news” organizations, regardless of apparent ideology) feels the need to declare its allegiance to a particular candidate speaks to a of neutrality.

    This all speaks to a long-standing culture that “leaders” or leading organizations must declare a right and wrong side. The universal (i.e., not just Generations Church) is struggling with this very thing. So, too, are many people within the church. We have become so polarized that everyone expects to have people declare their stance. This is understandable. This falls well within the right/wrong rules that we all need to have. It also fits our general behavior of who is “in” and who is “out”.

    F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” Regardless of “intelligence” (which is subjective in many respects), this is an uncomfortable statement. By holding contradictory ideas, it makes it harder to be put into a box, which makes it harder for people to relate to us, doesn’t it? It didn’t use to be this way (or at least to this level); now we have to put ourselves in a box to make it easier for to deal with us.

    People have been “wise” for years. True comes from God, yet (sadly) most people are more satisfied by wisdom, and therein lies the problem.

    It is not that worldly wisdom is automatically bad. It is automatically deficient, as it is human not God. The passage in Matthew and James talk about Godly wisdom insofar as asking for it. Jesus’ focus (in this passage) is more on the wisdom to see and enter the Kingdom of God. James is more concerned with maintaining the walk with Jesus (arguably the same thing as Jesus’ concerns). The “problem” with Godly wisdom is that it isn’t worldly wisdom. wisdom (currently) wants us to be in worldly wisdom boxes. Godly wisdom doesn’t fit in worldly wisdom boxes.

    As we interact with the world, we will often be confronted with the obvious contrasts between worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom. However, there will be times where worldly wisdom appears to be in line with Godly wisdom. This is actually when it is the most dangerous for us as followers of Christ. When worldly wisdom appears to be in line with Godly wisdom, it becomes easier to nudge us to continue to follow worldly wisdom and away from Godly wisdom. First, it seems okay, but after a while, we can find ourselves far enough from Godly wisdom that we have to reset. When we reset ourselves, we become discouraged. That is why we must continually God for God’s wisdom. We won’t, unlike Solomon, get it all at once. It is the pursuit of it that will change and form us into the people of Godly wisdom.

    1) What is wisdom? Do the verses from Proverbs help or hinder your understanding of wisdom?

    2) Why is wisdom important? How does, or does it, affect intelligence and knowledge?

    3) How does James’ “double-minded” apply to intelligence and wisdom?

  • Anointed, Ordained, and Consecrated

    Exodus 28:39–43, 1 Peter 2:4–5, 1 Corinthians 12:27–30, Revelation 5:9–10 (read online ⧉)

    In the Protestant tradition, of which we are a part*, there has long been a stance about the Priesthood of All Believers. The primary principle is that is the ultimate and eternal priest, so there is no longer a need for a mediator between humanity and God. In theology and on paper it sounds great, but in general, we don’t seem to do well with it. There are some traditions that have managed it through the years, but they are few and far between.

    Most of this has to do with the human need for organization and administration. Contrary to many people’s thinking, that isn’t a bad thing. If you were to read the account in Genesis, you would see an organized and hierarchal pattern (and that isn’t just humanity’s place).

    Despite a long-standing tradition of the Priesthood of All Believers in almost all Protestant traditions (yes, there is an exception), theologically and organizationally we don’t believe or function wholly that way. We read in 1 Corinthians that organizational roles were essentially spiritualized, so we certainly are not outside of the Scriptures.

    Without question, there is a tension, and it is a tension well worth thinking on. We on pastors to teach and guide us. The role of elder in our church is more part of a decision-making body than spiritual leadership (Note: this is observation, not a commentary. They do hard work.). These aren’t the only roles in the church. Each of us has a role to play. The big issue is when we pawn our role onto another since they have a “role” and we don’t. Except we do.

    There is a lot of creative liberty in the following, yet sometimes it’s necessary to breakdown our thought processes.
    Moses is the “true” mediator in this story, yet he will leave (die) and the practice will remain.

    Step 1: Anoint
    We generally practice this in times of . However, if we look at it in more general terms, could be a form of anointing. Yes, it’s different. On the other hand, it too is a sign of something that a person is participating in and allowing. You have been baptized (if not, talk to someone about that) into the of God.

    Step 2: Ordain
    This is a little trickier, as we have a certain traditional understanding of “ordain”. In Hebrew, מָלֵא (maleʾ, malaʾ /maw·lay/) is more often translated as fill or fulfill. Sounds a bit like the filling up the disciples on Pentecost, and what is supposed to be inside every person who claims Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

    Step 3: Consecrate
    This is the easiest, as it means set apart. Sounds similar to the list in 1 Corinthians. We each have been set apart for our role to fulfill the Great Commission as a member of the body of Christ, the Church.

    1) Everyone has a role in the Priesthood of All Believers. What is yours? If you believe you don’t have one, seek the guidance of other believers, friends, and family. Everyone has a role, and spectator isn’t one of them.

    2) People often believe they have no place to belong (whether at home, church, work, school, etc.). When we fulfill our roles, we often find our place to belong. Why do people, then, seem to want to put their role onto ?

    3) Why might it be important to think of yourself as anointed, ordained, and consecrated?

    *as Generations Community Church, part of the Church of the Nazarene

  • Why of Baptism

    John 1:19–28, John 3:22–28, Acts 19:1–7 (read online ⧉)

    holds a central place in the Christian church from its very beginning. The only other that is of equal or perhaps greater importance is the Eucharist (i.e., Communion). Today, it is the ceremony/event by which people are welcomed into the church universal. Over the generations, when and how it is performed changes. The underlying of it, however, has not changed.

    John’s “Baptism of Repentance” was in the spirit of what was already occurring. Baptism (in different forms) was performed after a vow was completed or could be seen in ritual cleansing that the Jews practiced. The general practice and theology of the larger Christian church (of which Generations Community Church, and its denomination the Church of the Nazarene, is a part) is that we baptize once. This baptism is a of a repentant and that the person seeks to join (and does so by being baptized) the Body of Christ. The transformation from cleansing and repentance (John the Baptist’s baptism and Jewish practice) to re-birth and a new family was probably unexpected. We cannot forget we know “the end of the story,” meaning we cannot put our understanding on those that came before.

    The interesting thing is that what John’s baptism meant was even in question when he was alive. Apparently, there was an argument over John’s baptism and purification (probably related to the vows and ritual cleansing already mentioned). John wasn’t worried about any of that. His concern was making way for the Messiah. His disciples were the ones having a (perhaps pointless) argument with a fellow Jew. Even as we look at this part of the story in wonder, how baptism works (and doesn’t) and changes people (and doesn’t) is still a point of contention for some. Like many things of God, we wonder (and develop complicated theology) about how it works. The point is that it works because God said so.

    It does make it more curious as we get to Paul and the people of Ephesus. Somehow the story and redemption of Christ made it to them, but not then entirety. How the baptism that Paul performed (granted, in the name of ) differed from the so-called “John’s baptism” is another . Many great answers could be given. However, it is the result of this baptism that can cause a little heartburn in many of today’s Christians, and that is the gifts of the Spirit that manifested ( and prophesying). There are certain traditions that state that a baptism is only valid if some sort of manifestation occurs. If so, that means there are many baptisms that are invalid (which is their point).

    The true evidence of baptism is the act itself. If a person is willing to publicly confess that Jesus is their Lord and Savior, saving them from their sin and that Jesus is the Son of God, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit as God, then the church confesses that this baptism is true.

    The one thing that perhaps the church at large has lost is the remembrance of baptism. Something that is pivotal in the life of a believer (even if, perhaps especially, it happened as an infant). While a person may only be baptized once, we are all called to ours.

    1) Who “created” baptism? Why is that important?

    2) Do you do anything to remember your baptism? Why or why not?

    3) When you have witnessed a baptism of another, which one was the most powerful to you? Why?