We'd appreciate you allowing the use of cookies. They are anonymized while allowing us to see how the site is used.

Devotion.al

Tag: creation

  • Against Captivity

    Isaiah 49:25–26, Deuteronomy 16:11–12, Galatians 3:23–26

    Captivity.

    When we go to a zoo, we see animals in captivity. In an attempt to keep the animals healthier, zoos invest more and more money to improve the “habitats” of the animals. It feels good to us for this to be. We have an understanding that while the captivity may be good for the species (to keep it from going extinct and to encourage people to embrace creation), we also understand that this still is not all that good.

    If you have been to one of our national parks, especially one like Yellowstone, you see animals protected (mostly) and thriving. It is thrilling to see the animals relatively well, and certainly free. The animals are left (mostly) to their own devices.

    We are often unaware of our own captivity. Especially in the United States, the concept of captivity (let alone slavery) is anathema to our culture and psyches. We rail against our captivity. We oppose anything that is against “us”. Sadly, that means we oppose others because we perceive (as they are not us) they are against us.

    Much of the path of holiness is breaking free of our captivity.

    1) What in your life has held you captive from God?

    2) What in your life keeps you captive now from living the Very Good Life (yes, this still needs to be revisited)?

    3) Why is it important to understand that we and others may be (and often are) blind to our own captivity?

  • Isle Crossing

    2 Corinthians 5:14–21

    There are many things that are worshipped. Most have supplanted God with something man-made or of human origin: science, politics, identity, work, family. Even the fundamental nature of God—love—has been corrupted by humanity.

    We are all familiar with 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” It is often used as an encouraging verse for the new and struggling believer. We are made new in Christ. However, the verse is placed within the context of a larger picture…a larger mission.

    We are to be messengers of reconciliation and ambassadors for restoration. If we are honest with ourselves, we have been doing the best we can, but it still hasn’t been very good. We—as the church—have put family first in an unhealthy way. It is not that family is unimportant, but that the church family is our family, too, and we often neglect it.

    The church allowed itself to be drawn into politics, and we need to stop. Politics are human, but they are often of greater priority to “Christians” than Jesus. We need to be the ones on the forefront reconciling differences and parties, rather than being on side of the aisle or the other.

    Our world is in desperate need of something different, let us be something different. Let us be new in Christ Jesus.

    1) Have you questioned someone’s faith or spiritual maturity based upon their political disagreement with you?

    2) Have you done the same if they raise(d) their children differently?

    3) What have you done to help people be reconciled to one another as an ambassador of Christ?

  • Land of Blessing

    Isaiah 24:4–13, Zechariah 14:8–11, Revelation 22:1–5

    The curse. As we read about the curse in Isaiah, we can easily read into it the current fears, concerns, and observations regarding our environment. Truth be told, if we are called to be stewards—rather than dominators—of Creation, we can see our responsibility regarding Creation. The context of this passage is indeed the damage done to Creation as a result of humankind’s behavior. It is not the “fouling the nest” concept that is the origin, but that hearts were resolutely turned away from God. The land, ultimately, was a symbol of God’s blessing (the “land of milk and honey”) or the removal of it. While it is cursed land, it is not God’s desire that it occurred, but the natural result of human hearts’ desires for something wholly other than God.

    As the social/religious/political center of Israelite and Jewish life, Jerusalem was the most cursed of all. Yet, Zechariah provides a vision of a healed city whose healing waters will flow into the world. Jerusalem would be transformed from a place of desolation and death to a place of wholeness and life.

    In Revelation, the image takes on greater depth as the water imagery of the Water of Life that flows from God the Father and Jesus the Son. It also revolves around the opposite of the curse…God is the center of their lives.

    1) If “the land” is still a symbol of God’s blessing, what does that mean for us?

    2) How do you see God as the center of your life? How does that differ from the vision of Zechariah and John’s Revelation?

    3) What is it about the Water of Life flowing from the throne of the Father and the throne of the Lamb that is important? What is the “hidden” image?

  • Hearing Truth

    Psalm 25, Jeremiah 7:21–34, John 16:7–15, Ephesians 4:15–16

    The wounds of a friend are trustworthy,
    but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.
    Proverbs 27:6

    Truth can be a painful thing. If delivered in the context of true friendship, the pain of the truth is shared by both. One of the hardest things to do is to be honest with truth, and to be humble and trusting to accept it.
    Jeremiah delivered God’s message to the Israelites. It was Truth. In their pride and arrogance, they disregarded it. Instead of properly viewing Jeremiah as God’s prophet—the messenger of God’s seeking of their redemption—they viewed him as an irritant, and someone not to be listened to. Of course, they really chose to not listen to God. It’s not as if God hadn’t already tried. It wasn’t as if God hadn’t already set the expectations. It is not as if God didn’t, even now, continue to try convincing them to return. Raise a sad song of mourning (a dirge). God wasn’t happy. God was mourning. The Truth delivered caused at least as much pain to God, as to God’s people.

    We have been called to Truth. We have to unwind ourselves from the lies, however, and the number of lies are overwhelming. Perhaps we shouldn’t call them lies. Many are truth and facts. However, throwing truths and facts out in an attempt to bury the Truth, makes them all lies. While Christianity feels as if it is against the world (and it is to some degree), the world instinctively understands that it opposes the Truth. As the Holy Spirit fills all of Creation, one cannot help but wonder if the struggles of the world are not sin, per se, but that the Holy Spirit has been very successful in convicting hearts.

    We are called to speak Truth, not just truth. We are to use love to convey Truth. The concept of God as gentleman fits here. God isn’t beating on them to change their ways. The Holy Spirit is alive in them quickening their hearts to the truth, but as humans often do, when confronted by a look in the mirror, they break the mirror, hide the mirror, cover the mirror, anything but look into the mirror. One of the hardest parts about framily is the Truth. We need to be in the kind of relationships where truth can be shared in love, and accepted in humility. Sadly, far too many of our relationships—parental, child, sibling, spouse, friend—do not allow for that kind of truth.

    1) What are some reasons, you think, that sharing truth is so hard?

    2) What are some reasons—other than pride—why people don’t want to hear or hurt when hearing truth? What are God-related reasons? What are human-related reasons?

    3) When sharing what we think is the truth, why is it so important to use Ephesians 4:15 as a litmus test for your words?

  • The Right Ground

    1 Corinthians 15:35–49, Mark 4:1-20, John 12:12-28
    A life of holiness is a hard pill to swallow in many respects. We look around us and wonder how could any one of these fallen human beings be holy. When we look in the mirror and think even more so. Holiness has often been twisted to be living a certain way (with or without something, usually) or doing (or not doing) certain things. It has often been twisted to mean that anything that is outside of our so-called Christian culture is bad without analysis. In other words, a life of holiness has often about fulfilling certain rites, rules, and regulations.

    Now, truth be told, following God’s ways is holiness. However, it is our hearts’ response to following those ways that is a life of holiness rather than rules that makes all the difference. There have been many people who have followed the “holiness” rules of men and driven people further from Jesus Christ. There are probably people who have practiced behaviors contrary to so-called holiness rules of men that have brought more people to Jesus Christ that all of us reading this combined. Are there ways that God calls us to live? Yes. We just often have to be careful that it is not our cultural biases, prejudices, or family traditions that are imposing our way of seeing world onto God’s ways.

    Holiness starts with death. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Yet, it is death that invites us into a life with Jesus Christ. The first death, of course, was Jesus’ own on the cross. The second is our own. When Paul is talking about death, he really is speaking about the death of this body that you have. He understands that this body went through things that God never intended for his creation to be. This body was corrupted by the sin that preceded its birth, and by the sin that has corrupted its very life. Its death, therefore, is a good thing. Paul says that this death will lead to a body that is as God intended. This is the good death. Yes, that sounds strange. Death as good.

    Jesus would seem to be calling us to a brand new life. In fact, in our current sermon series, the Very Good Life. Sometimes, however, the Very Good Life isn’t exactly what we expected. Sometimes our familiarity with certain Bible stories leads us to lazy thinking. This is one of those parables that Jesus actually explained to his disciples. This is a significant event. So, we should pay particular attention to it. Based on Jesus’ explanation, we are quick to read through it and move on.
    Reread Mark 4 verses 6 and 16—17. What if we are the stony ground? Pushing on new believes (or new church people) so hard without developing their roots in faith that we destroy what roots grew and become the reason someone fell away from the church and Jesus.

    Reread Mark 4 verses 7 and 18–19. What if we are the thorns? What if our understanding of church, holiness (or “right” living), society, or politics rip and tear at people that church or we become such that we cause more pain than they can bear?

    We have all been trained to see the seeds and what ground they fell on as a parable of Jesus’ words and our readiness and willingness to listen. However, many of Jesus’ parables were not about those who were not yet followers, but about the people that claimed to follow and obey God.

    Tying both of Paul’s letter and Jesus parable of sowing are Jesus’ words in John. This becomes another what if, sort of. For a seed to truly bear fruit, it “dies”. The seed ceases to be a seed and becomes something more. Often we become so obsessed with the seed and its potential that we protect the seed—keeping it a seed—so that the seed does absolutely nothing. The potential becomes trapped. Many of us have found ourselves in that exact state. Stuck. Often times, however, we are so excited for the potential that actually developing the potential scares us. What if we do it wrong? We ask. At what point, do we take risks to develop seeds with deep roots, so that the land is expanded.

    One thing to keep in mind with the sower parable is that we are talking about wheat. This is important for a different reason. If you’ve ever been up to a mountain you have probably seen trees grow in really strange places. A tree seed lands in a crack in a rock with some dirt. Against what seems to be all odds (except that it happens a lot), the tree takes root. Over time, the tree’s roots dig deep into the rock. Eventually the rock gives and breaks. One of two things then happens. Either the tree developed enough roots to stand on its own, or it falls over and dies. However, because of its effort, another tree may grown there, where none could grow before.

    1) How have you been stony ground to others, whether in faith or in life?

    2) How have you been the thorns to others?

    3) Dying takes on many forms. Death of dreams, solitude, partnership, and other things. Scripture, however, teaches that death has been redeemed. What deaths (not just bodily) deaths can you seen in your life that have transformed you or others?

  • Wednesday after Easter

    Genesis 1:24–2:1, Genesis 3:6–13, Psalm 11, Matthew 6:22–23

    Up through verse 25, God’s creative acts end with the epithet, “…God saw that it was good.” Then God made mankind. With the completion of that act, “…God saw that it was very good.” The word very can also be translated as exceedingly. Look around. Do we look exceedingly good? Our wars, our violence, our hatred, our favoritism, our biases, our brokenness. Exceedingly good? It is indeed true that our issues are not as God intended. Creation with the advent of humankind was very good. Then humanity lost it all.

    “Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them.” -Obi-Wan Kenobi*

    Eve saw. Adam witnessed. Their eyes “were opened.” Obi-Wan Kenobi was very wise in sharing with his young disciple about how our eyes do indeed deceive us. Illusionists and magicians are very much aware of this. If you’ve ever had motion sickness, it is often a result of a disconnect between your eyes and your inner-ear (or your stomach). Your eyes give your body a signal, and the rest of your body disagrees.

    Yet, we have many phrases (like Thomas) such as, “I’ll believe it with my own eyes.” It’s as if we think our eyes are more “honest” or “true” than another’s. There is also the reality that often what we see is not the whole story. Most people now believe that the Earth revolves around the Sun. It wasn’t that long ago that people believed that a chariot pulled the Sun through the sky or some other similar mythology. They based their conclusions upon what they saw.

    Now, this could easily end up being a wild goose trip, if we let it. This is where both Psalm 11 and Jesus’ words in Matthew come in. The physical aspect of our eyes is one thing. Our eyes “lead” to our soul. While the serpent’s deceit and Eve’s (along with Adam’s) pride to “be like God,” definitely are part of the picture, Eve “saw” the apple. If we look at the 10 Commandments, much of it involves vision to some degree.

    God sees all we do. Our eyes deceive us in that we don’t see God, so he must not see us (the sinner’s version of peek-a-boo). When Jesus warns us about the relationship between our eyes and our souls, it is because of how our eyes will often draw us away from the True desire of our souls…a deep and abiding relationship with God.

    1) We often look to others and compare ourselves to them. How does that lead us away from the Very Good Life?

    2) Our culture is very visual. Advertisers and media companies are aggressively pursuing our eyeballs. How should Jesus’ words influence our response? How does that reinforce Jesus’ words?

    3) The original sin has a symbol…an apple and a snake. Our salvation has a symbol…the cross. The church as #framily has a symbol…the cup and bread. What other symbols can you think of that evoke a powerful response?

    *GEEK ALERT! Just in case you don’t know the reference, this is from the movie Star Wars: A New Hope.

  • The Proper Guest

    Psalm 104:1–15, John 6:53–58, 1 Corinthians 11:17–11:27

    From the Christian perspective, God breathed life into us. We’re not just talking about the lungs, but the spiritual life, too. God is the great sustainer. While there are those whose perspective of God is the Clockwork God (the concept that God started the whole thing and “walked away”) and others for whom it is only biological life and no spirit, most people seem to be between. The two “extremes” operate within the framework that God is not active, and God does not interact with creation. Again, because one perspective has God off who knows where, and the other perspective has no God (or other “force” for that matter). There is an odd in-between version of the Holy Spirit as a non-personal “force”, but that is even harder to comprehend.
    From an orthodox Christian perspective, without God’s spirit, we would truly be nothing more than mere biological machines. When we look at humanity, despite its often horrible state, we cannot help perceiving that there is something far more significant than just being a machine.

    What happens, though, when someone takes normal things and makes them anything but normal? Ask Jesus.

    When Jesus calls on people to eat his flesh and drink his blood, let’s be honest, it isn’t normal. The church has long held the view that there is definitely something going on here. On one hand, there are those that believe that when we take communion, we are literally (not just spiritually) eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus (called transubstantiation, if you want to know). There are those that believe that it is merely (and only) a memorial, we do it solely because Jesus (and Paul) told us to (which are good reasons), and because the church has done it for centuries (tradition is not a bad reason either). There are two other major perspectives. Consubstantiation is a belief that it is both body and bread, and blood and wine. The last belief is that while it is “just” bread and wine (in the Nazarene and other denominations, grape juice), it is far more than “just” that. There is an understanding that Jesus is present at the table presiding over communion, in the same spirit as the Last Supper.

    Think of that. You’re eating in the presence of Jesus, as a guest.

    Regardless of your perspective on communion, the church (Orthodox to Roman Catholic to Protestant) calls it a sacrament. What is a sacrament? It is something instituted by an act of Jesus. Within the larger Protestant grouping, it is one of two sacraments, the other being baptism. Other traditions count additional acts as sacraments, but communion and baptism are universal.

    There is another aspect that is crucial to the sacraments…ourselves. Sacraments are instituted by God, so we don’t make them holy. However, Paul warns everyone to take them seriously. This is why an understanding of at whose table you are eating is so important. Not only are you eating and drinking with your local church family, there is the larger denomination, the church as a whole (again, across denominations), and with the church universal (both before and after us). It should never be something approached flippantly. This does not you cannot be joyful. In fact, joyful and thankful should be the exact perspective we bring to the table.

    1) For some communion should be done rarely; at most, once a month. For others, communion is weekly. For others still, it is every worship (which can be many times in a week). What is your perspective? Why? Can you see why others might have a different perspective?

    2) Do you ever think of Jesus hosting your table during communion? Does that impact how you view communion, and your participation in it?

    3) Why do you think Jesus and Paul emphasize the body and blood? What is the significance of those two words?

  • Sharing Where The Food Is

    Isaiah 55:1-9, Matthew 6:1-15

    When one works with the homeless, one learns that the homeless have an amazing network of information. This network includes which ministry provides food on which day. It can include which ministry provides sundries and clothes. Then there are the ministries that provide free clothes cleaning. They are quick to share what will aid one another. Regardless of your perception or feelings regarding ministry to the homeless, their connection to one another cannot be denied. When we set aside our pride and our stuff, Christians more than anyone else ought to be aware that we are truly homeless. This world is not our home.

    Just like the homeless who share about the sustaining things around, Isaiah announces God’s mighty grace, mercy, and gifts. Imagine if all of Christ’s followers couldn’t help themselves from sharing this amazing gift that God has given them. We talk about so much that is present in Isaiah’s words: the value (or lack thereof) of money, God’s great food, new covenant, not of this world. Yet, more and more, Christians are really nothing special. Now, that isn’t to say that they aren’t, but that they no longer know that they are. By and large, most people view them as political blocks or hate-filled people. Christians have allowed themselves to become this. We are no longer (by-and-large) Isaiah (or the homeless) saying, “come meet this awesome guy, Jesus!” Because of our career positions or career locations, we are not free to share our faith. We now have to become wiser than serpents to share the Gospel. However, we have to become like Isaiah and believe we have good news to actually share.

    The church has come up with many schemes and methods to share the good news.

    It is good news, right? Is it, perhaps, time to return to simpler words and ways?

    When Jesus provides the template for prayer, it is intended to be an antidote to the excessive prayers of those who made a show of their false piety. Later, it would also serve as a counterpoint to the Roman tendency for long-winded oratories that were so prized by the intellectual culture. The Lord’s Prayer (as we call it now) is so simple that a child can learn (and memorize it). Yet, the depth of the Lord’s Prayer from the holiness of God to our place in God’s kingdom here on earth. The Lord’s Prayer really is the tension between the ideal and our reality. We are often uncomfortable with the tension between the two, yet that is where the energy and ability to call those struggling in this life to the new life offered by new creation in Jesus Christ.

    1) Is your life with Christ still an important part of your life that you want and seek to share with others?

    2) When was the last time you prayed the Lord’s Prayer? What do you see as its positives and negatives?

    3) We talk about inviting people to church. When was the last time you invited a person to a new life with Jesus?

  • Buildings and Foundations

    Psalm 74, Ezra 3:1-11, 1 Corinthians 3:10-17

    In Seattle, building after building is going up with those huge cranes on top. The population of Snohomish County is projected to grow by 10,000 people per year for nearly the next 20 years, and the first couple of years of that projection (already having passed) have exceeded that growth. As we look around the area, there is a lot of building going on. Around Generations Community Church, there are multi-house developments being completed at an amazing pace. As those homes are built, a lot of effort goes into them. The community (the City of Marysville) has requirements for the development, roads, and houses. The developer has to meet all those requirements. In addition to meeting those requirements, the builder has to meet the expectations of people they’ve never met…the buyers. There really is a lot that goes into building a house.

    The first is the ground itself. The ground has to be prepared. Everything goes from there. The next is the foundation. The interplay of ground and foundation are critical to the durability and lifespan of the house. If both are not prepared well, and in harmony, there will be trouble.

    Through Creation God created the ground. All of us, believer and nonbeliever, walk upon it. It is the foundation that is the dividing point. When the foundation is Jesus Christ, it should be different than the “foundation” of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, even Judaism (though there will be similarities there). The biggest difference is the understanding of who Jesus is. Jesus is the one and only begotten Son of God. Jesus is God. Instantly, the foundation of Christianity is different. However, the problem in the church (and has been for centuries) is the concern about what is on top of the foundation.

    When the Israelites returned to Jerusalem from exile, the temple was no more. It still held its preeminence in Israelite religious culture, but its magnificence was long gone. However, the foundation was still there. Instead of being stuck with the outward appearance, the exiles celebrated the next feast. The feast they celebrated was the Feast of Booths, intended to annually remind the Israelites of their ancestors’ wandering in the desert. They celebrated wandering on a firm foundation. When we wander through life (or just take the next right) and remain on the foundation of Christ, all will (eventually, at least) be well.

    As Paul writes about foundations, he acknowledges that people will build the “temple of their hearts” with what they can. Some people, through no fault of their own, only have twigs, rocks, and mud to make one with. Some people, through wrong decisions, will have fire-scarred wood to build with. Others, through the grace and mercy of God, will build with gold and jewels. Now, we aren’t talking about literal gold, jewels, or mud, or twigs. We’re talking about the spiritual condition of the heart. What makes it even more interesting is that we may be deceive ourselves with what we are thinking are building. We may think we are building with gold, but we are building with mud. Or, we may thing we’re building with twigs, but we are building with jewels. In many ways, though, it doesn’t really matter what our spiritual temples are built with, but that they are built. The refiner’s fire will burn away all the pain and misery, and all that remains between us and God.

    1) Foundation as the starting point. How do you view Jesus as your foundation?

    2) Can you see the foundations others might have? What is the weakness and/or strength of their foundation?

    3) Why do people look past the foundation, even of their own homes, let alone their spiritual life?

    FD) Only before God’s creative grace and love can mud, stick, jewel, gold, stone be viewed as the same. What does that tell you about how God looks at people?

  • Relating Loss

    Genesis 2:20–3:20, Proverbs 3:19–35, Isaiah 3:1–14

    When telling a story it is often best to start at the beginning. Sometimes authors don’t for they feel it might ruin the tension of the story. Other times, the story does start at the beginning for the main character, but that main character is in the middle of a much bigger story which affects the main character. All of us are in the midst of our life story. Our life story takes place among the myriad of life stories of others. Genesis isn’t that way. It’s the beginning. We often become overly concerned of things beyond, “God made it.” We become concerned with how, when, how long, etc. God did make it. That’s the answer. Genesis is and yet isn’t about Creation and God’s making of it. Really it’s about God’s story of God and humankind. The first part of Genesis is more like setting the stage for what is to come…humankind.

    God’s story of humankind is one of relationship. Even the naming of the creatures is relational (if you question that, think of how labeling words spoken can damage relationships). However, God only made one human. God made Adam out of dust, yet chose to make Eve out of Adam. This reinforces not just an emotional relationship, but one to the depths of their bones.

    God didn’t just leave it at that. Based on Genesis 3:8, we can infer that God regularly walked in the garden. Whether that was a poetic license or not, it means that there was an active and ongoing relationship between God and humankind. God didn’t just create and go. God stayed in relationship. And yet, humankind allowed an individual other than God to enter into their relationship with God, and humankind stepped away from relationship with God.

    God “founded the earth by wisdom,” and yet here is humankind walking (sometimes running away) from it. Sadly, there are many who call themselves Christians who are doing it faster than those who don’t. And before you think it is over certain issues of the day, it is so much more than that, and so much deeper. Humankind cannot get along with itself. When we rely on human understanding and wisdom, we will always end up short. In Proverbs, we read about maintaining sound wisdom and discretion. The soundness is based upon God and a relationship with God. Imagine if all of humankind, including us, followed these well. What an amazing place we would live in.

    The consequences of ignoring this God-filled wisdom is loss. Isaiah talks about what is about to happen to Judah’s leaders, but read the list of those to be removed. In all likelihood, you can quickly start tying names and positions to the leaders called out. While Isaiah quotes God as saying, “I will,” if we are honest with ourselves, and about ourselves, cultures and country, we have done a pretty good job at placing unstable and immature people as leaders at many levels (local, county, state, national). Are we at the point where people don’t want to be leaders? Not yet, but at the rate we are turning on each other, it won’t be long.

    1) Relationship is a core piece of Christian thought. In particular relationship with God. Many things can damage our relationship with God, especially habits which were once good, but are no longer. Can you think of anything that has been hampering or damaging your relationship with God?

    2) Why are we so quick to allow others to interfere with our relationship with God?

    3) We are often quick to cast our political, religious, cultural, national rivals as fools or unstable. What does that tell us about ourselves?
    FD) Have you ever wanted to create your own place? Would you create that place to be like a god, or for a different reason?