Devotion.al

Tag: discern

  • Chained or Unchained

    Chained or Unchained

    Deuteronomy 27:12–28:1; John 8:31–40; Galatians 3:7–14

    There are many wonderful things in that begin well and then become dead weight. Buying a house is one of those. We are now in an era when people buy houses and pay against a large debt for 15–30 years. It doesn’t take too long for the of home “owning” to be faced with the frustrations of maintenance, flaws, , vision changes, life changes, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a house. It could be a car. It could be student loans. It could be your job.

    The Law wasn’t intended to be life-. It was intended as God-oriented living protection. If you followed the law, there was a framework that guided one into a life.

    Somehow this became twisted, and the Law became life.

    “Whoever does not put this law into practice is cursed.” (Deuteronomy 27:26)

    This does not say that the Law is life. It says that not following the Law results in bad consequences. Within the Law there were “resets” built in. Sins, errors in judgment could be dealt with. Life could on.

    However, there is a difference when it is a lifestyle. This is not about ignorance. This is not about an unbeliever. This is about those who declare God their God and live in such a way that they have not put God first in their lives.

    What becomes the struggle is “proving” that God is first in our lives. Often, we “prove” it by living a more “holy” life. The Church of the Nazarene, for example, was long known for its stances against alcohol, smoking, and dancing. Not doing these things was the mark of “holiness” but is what the areas of broken where these things occurred that was the real issue.

    When holiness (or the appearance thereof) become chains rather than , then holiness has become the Law. If that is the case, then that might make a lie out of, “who the Son sets free is free indeed,” because then, it seems, we want to find new chains to live in.

    ※Questions※

    1) What are some Christian “rules” that you can think of? How do you think they became rules?

    2) What rules can you think of that were intended to “give” or “preserve” life, but ended up chaining it? Does that make the rule bad?

    3) What is a rule that you wish wasn’t a family rule? Why?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, you called us to a life of following you. Help up freedom from chains as we try to follow your way. Amen.

  • Good Bad Stuff

    Good Bad Stuff

    Good Bad Stuff

    30 August 2020

    Jeremiah 20:7–13; Ephesians 1:17–19

    Have you ever felt deceived by God? How so?

    Depending on the translation, Jeremiah opens today’s verses with deception. פָּתָה, פָּתָה [pathah /paw·thaw/] also means entice, persuade, flatter, allure. The non-deceptive understandings of the word better fit God’s , though from Jeremiah’s point of view that may merely be semantics.

    Jeremiah is driven to deliver God’s words. He says that God seized him, and later says that God’s words are like a burning in his heart. No matter how much Jeremiah would prefer that he would deliver God’s word, he doesn’t seem to be able to help himself.

    If there is any sense of deception, it is the common assumption that following God’s words and speaking them means that only good things will occur. Jeremiah’s complaint is that he was and a good steward, and yet nothing good is returned.

    The concept of exchange (I do something faithful; God does something good) is one of those issues that has long been a problem in the church. Some it the “health and wealth gospel.” Jeremiah seemed to have some sense of that as well. Jeremiah is faithful and gets the short of the stick.

    Do you think by doing something “good” you earn something from God? If you don’t believe it, do you ever act like it’s true? If you do believe it’s true, how do explain the bad?

    Being “driven” for God would seem to be a good thing. It doesn’t always work that way. There are plenty of people in the world who are faithful, but are endangered (e.g., persecuted Christians) or are not “blessed” by material things or even good health.

    The early church wondered these same things, too. Paul’s words about wisdom and revelation are not just to the Ephesians, but to all the church. Often it is only through wisdom and revelation do we see that the bad can bring God glory, and (over the long haul) bring us blessings.

    In our culture, we can be blinding be wealth and health blessings, and be unable to the greatest type of …spiritual blessings. Spiritual blessings may be as simple as joy or a deep as (that surpasses all understanding).

    Think of a difficult time in your . What was the spiritual result of that difficult time? Can you imagine a similar result through only positive things?

    ※ Prayer ※

    Holy , help us to look for your wisdom and revelation rather than our own understanding. Amen.

  • Why Speak So?

    Why Speak So?

    Numbers 12:4–9; Matthew 13:10–17; Luke 18:31–34

    There is an ongoing tension between the mysteries of God and the revelations of God. There are many people that struggle with God because it seems so much is hidden.

    In the beginning, the church struggled with people who took the saving of Christ, and then had “secret” revelations that went along with it (usually with a price or other sort of loyalty). The results of some of this, were what are called Gnostic or Heretical “gospels” that are built upon that so-called secret knowledge. To this day, some of these books still cause trouble in the church and mislead those who cannot God’s Word.

    As we read in Numbers, the three siblings (Aaron, Miriam, Moses) went before God. Aaron and Miriam (Moses’ older siblings) thought that they should be just as important as Moses. Whether it was a pursuit of honor, or even the cultural of being older, it didn’t impress God.

    God even differentiated between them (along with later prophets) and Moses by saying that only Moses received straight words. Everyone else would have to deal with riddles, visions, and dreams. In other words, those that received clear answers would be very few, and would have other miraculous acts that accompanied these words.

    Even spoke in parables (riddles). Some scholars have speculated that if Jesus had revealed too much too early, the completion of the (the crucifixion and ) would have not occurred. In other words, people’s immediate understanding would have short-circuited the ultimate plan of God…the plan of .

    We all understand that what we knew as children was simple (barring a few geniuses). It is the same with our . Our faith grows. As it grows, deepens, and matures we begin to truly wrestle with the parables.

    It is this wrestling that helps us stronger.

    Even the 12 that were the closest to Jesus, and even the 3 who were closest, still didn’t get it all the time. And that was without parables. Sometimes, Jesus spoke straightforwardly, and they didn’t get it.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we want to understand. Help us when we just want the answers rather than to learn them. Help us to be grace-filled towards those who are learning your Truths. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What was the hardest question you’ve ever had to answer? What made it hard?

    2) What things can make a question hard?

    3) What do you think of when you , “there is no such thing as a dumb question”? How do you think that applies to the parables of Jesus?

  • Judge? Not Quite

    Judge? Not Quite

    John 3:11–21; John 12:44–50

    There is an ongoing tension in being a follower of Jesus. The first is that Jesus came to save the world so that no one would perish.

    On the other hand, without a doubt, there is some sort of of those who have died into those who will be ushered into the throne room, and those that will not.

    For Christians, we have an understanding that knowing Jesus as our savior is a great thing. Some hard things go along with it. Some of them are hard because our fallen human nature wants to do them.

    Often, though, the harder part is what the world wants us to do.

    The first thing is that the world does not wish to be judged. Even Jesus says that he is not the judge. Yet later in the , he is. How do we that?

    Jesus was not the judge while he walked the earth as the Messiah. Jesus was to bring the good news and the . People would choose the light or the dark.

    It is after it is all over that Jesus, as God, becomes judge. Even that isn’t so much condemnation, but the discernment of the of the person standing there. We may be “waiting” for judgment, yet Jesus is really looking at our hearts and peeling away the layers that we hide even from ourselves.

    It is their own hearts when confronted at the by God’s words, that will judge them. There might be a silver lining in that though.

    We are often our harshest critics. Like those who asked, “when did we you,” there will be those who will be wondering exactly that.

    Of course, there will be those that say, “we did serve you,” and will be condemned by their own hearts that they served for themselves not out of love.

    This is hard. We want the easy way. We want to know that our friends and who don’t know Jesus will be with us.

    This also how we know that God loves us. He gave a way to come to him. He left the way open for us the leave him (no matter how much it breaks his heart).

    ※※

    Lord, help us to not up on those we love that don’t know you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) How does one improve one’s Christian walk without judgment?

    2) How does work in comparison with discernment?

    3) How do you evaluate your Christian walk?

  • Dividing Teaching

    Dividing Teaching

    Galatians 4:12–20; 2 Peter 1:16–2:3; 1 John 4:1–6 (read online ⧉)

    While yesterday’s devotional was about the doctrine (and reality) of the , this isn’t the only issues that face Christians as they try to discern True teaching versus false. While many divisions in the church have been over interpretation and out of certain pieces of the Christian life, most (over time) have been discovered to not be heretical. While there are heretical tendencies in some denominations, by-and-large there are core beliefs that we hold in common.

    While the Trinity certainly is a crucial one, it is a doctrinal one, meaning that for most people it is not part of the rubber-meets-the-road of their daily life. It is usually the daily life parts that will affect a person’s Christian walk more than other things.

    In his letter to the Galatians, Paul is addressing the constant battle going on with people trying to bring into force the Law of the Jews. This is not a fight against teaching and helpful traditions, but the thought that only proper execution of the Law will result in salvation. In other words, the free and grace-filled of ‘ death and was null-and-void. Paul didn’t want the Galatians to fall into that trap.

    Except they did. It was so bad that the Galatians who used to honor (or “bless”) Paul now—according to Paul—viewed Paul as an enemy. What a change! A man they honored was now an adversary in their hearts.

    Peter knew that this was an issue, and not just with the Galatians. He warned the church that there have always been and will continue to be false teachers. Amazingly and similarly to Paul’s concerns, one of the concerns is that Christians would begin to deny Jesus Christ. As Peter continues, I’m sure many of us have seen things that would seem to fall within his list.

    This leads us to John, who urges us to test the spirits. First and foremost, we have God (the Father), Jesus, and the [all 3 being the Trinity]. Then Jesus died for all on the cross and was resurrected, to free us from sin (including the Law). There is also the spirit of and unity. Truly, when we are confronted with someone whose path is in opposition to these (and a few excluded for simplicity and brevity), we are indeed able to discern where the false teachers are.

    We are blessed that those that went before us went through the pain and of false teachers, for we can learn from them. As the church begins to head (very slowly) toward a form of reunification, there will continue to be people that will seek to divide the church further and try to keep it separated. Jesus calls us to be one.

    ※※

    God, you gifted us the Holy Spirit, so that we would not be led astray. Lord, help us to trust your Word over our desires, that we might finish strong to the end. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Why is unity hard? What is your responsibility in maintain and seeking unity?

    2) Why is unity significant in regard to false teachers and prophets?

    3) Have you ever met or dealt with people whose teachings divided the Body over either false doctrine or teachings that are not essential for salvation?

  • Falling Down

    Falling Down

    Numbers 11:24–30; Joel 2:27–29; Acts 2:1–21 (read online ⧉)

    Just in case you didn’t know, today is Pentecost. Some it the “true” birth of the Church for the Holy Spirit fell upon the people of God, and has not left us yet. It is also called Whitsunday, of which part that is white (for purity) and the other is whit (Old English for wit, or wisdom).

    It is not the case that Jesus left us bare. It is the case that Jesus left us with . The tongues of (whether in Numbers or Acts) were representative of the Holy Spirit and God’s /speech being active. It is not coincidental that the tongues of flame seen on Pentecost were previously seen in Moses’ time.

    Think of Moses’ words to Joshua in to Joshua’s complaint that 2 elders who dishonored God and Moses spoke via the Holy Spirit, “If only all the LORD’s people were prophets and the LORD would place his Spirit on them!” This also goes hand-in-hand with Joel’s words, “I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity.”

    In all likelihood, you have not seen some with tongues of fire over their heads. You may have witnessed—or been part of a tradition—where people spoke “in tongues”. Neither is required as evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift of God, and is God. Through the guidance (wisdom) of the Holy Spirit, we see the Scriptures for what they are…the Word of God.

    This is not to say that the Holy Spirit was never present before, quite the contrary. What this means is that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the church is distinctly different than what is and was present outside of the church. Theologians still try to the whys and wherefores of the difference.

    One of the biggest differences is that while the Holy Spirit was generally present (just as today), the Holy Spirit as expressed through prophets was unique to the calling of the prophets. The Pentecostal gift of the Holy Spirit was that all received the Holy Spirit expressly, not generally.

    This does not mean that all are gifted with foretelling (often called prophesy) or -telling (also called prophesy, or preaching). The Holy Spirit works in and through each person differently. Your gifting may be quite different than another’s, that does not invalidate either.

    ※ Prayer ※

    Holy Spirit, we thank you for your ongoing gift of yourself to us. Help us to honor you, God the , and Jesus the , as we are the church, the of Christ, to the world. Amen.

    ※ Questions ※

    1)How would you evaluate/discern whether someone was gifted by the Holy Spirit or by the natural talents they had? What is the difference?

    2) Why is Moses’ story so important in the context of Pentecost? What about Joshua’s response?

    3) Why do you think people thought the disciples of Jesus were drunk? What might their rationale be for how a drunk person would speak as if a native speaker of their own tongue(s)?

  • God’s Temples

    1 Kings 6:1–4, 21–22; Psalm 84; 1 Corinthians 3:10–23 (read online ⧉)

    Can you imagine a huge building on a hill, covered in gold? Imagine as the rays of the rising sun hit it. Or how the violet rays of the setting sun would dance upon the gold, reflecting all around.

    We often condemn those would have gold-plated buildings, offices, or even bathrooms. Our response often is valid, for we know that many who gold plate their buildings, offices, and definitely bathrooms, are doing it to be noticed, to make a statement. Generally, they want everyone else to know how rich and/or powerful they are.

    As God is rich and powerful, might it be right and proper to gold plate his holy ? Imagine the (white) city on the hill that spoke of. Imagine a gold-plated temple in the middle of it. Whew! What a ! God’s city would have a .

    Yet, the temple was for a certain time that is long past. In fact, there are a whole lot more temples around. You are one. You are to be a temple, a dwelling, of God. Your foundation is to be Jesus Christ.

    notes that temples can be built of wood, straw, jewels, gold, silver. He warms that what the temple is made of will be judged by fire. This means, at some level, if we barely put any work into the temple (i.e., straw), when the temple burns, there won’t be much left. The concept is that of a refining fire, burning away the façades and contamination.

    By God’s great , as long as the foundation of our is Jesus Christ, even if the temple is burned down or destroyed, we are still God’s.

    1. Have you ever been tempted to view other’s “temple” in comparison to yours?
    2. Do you compare your walk to that of ? 
    3. If comparing, are you looking on the outside, or trying to the inside?

  • Connectional Motivation

    Mark 8:27–33, Luke 4:1–13

    up to God’s hands can be very hard. It’s interesting that explained (in basic terms) what was going to happen. It wasn’t could happen; it was would happen. Peter, emotional Peter, didn’t want to lose his friend. There also could have been a bit or, “things are going so well for you (and us). Why wreck it now?” We often look at Peter with something less than sympathy, saying, “don’t you know?” No! Peter didn’t know. He didn’t understand at all. Besides, the Messiah was supposed to be a triumphant (some form of it) figure, not a tragic figure.

    Jesus’ calling Peter out as, “…Satan…” it always interesting. Some imagine that Satan possessed Peter or whispered to Peter, and Jesus responded to Satan. Yet, the real issue isn’t so much Satan (though it is an issue), but the worldly that Peter was operating under. This worldly view was present with Jesus’ in the desert.

    When Jesus addressed Peter as “Satanas”, it was likely more a title or appellation, rather than the called Satan. We can draw this from the words that Jesus continued with afterward. Satanas means adversary or someone being in the role of adversary. One could go so far as to say that this was a temptation to worldly things presented by a friend (Peter) rather than an opponent (the Devil who tempted Jesus in the desert); harder to dismiss because of one’s feelings.

    Depending on where one is on their journey with Jesus Christ, choosing to follow God’s path can be a very hard path of suffering and cross-bearing. Depending on what one has to , it could be quite difficult (parents, spouse, children). This is not to say we are to develop some of the Eastern austerity traditions of disassociation or detachment. It does mean we are called to practice releasing to God.

    As long as we live in the world, the world will upon us to put it first, along with what it values. God calls upon us to value God first. If we are properly oriented in that direction, other concerns and cares will take their appropriate place.

    1) In what ways are you currently struggling with what the world wants and what you believe God wants? How do you what God wants?

    2) Where and when have you been guilty of responding like Peter, putting what you think God should want versus what the world expects?

    3) Why would detachment or disassociation from the world be bad from a Godly perspective?