Devotion.al

Tag: disciple

  • Ready! Set!

    Ready! Set!

    Luke 5:1–11; Luke 6:12–16; Luke 9:1–6; Luke 9:28–36; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 2:14 (read online ⧉)

    What’s your 6-month plan? What’s your 12-month plan? What’s your 3-year plan? What’s your 10-year plan?

    Some variation of this question is often asked of high school students, college students, recent graduates, job interviewees. In this particular time of COVID-19, it seems a little far-fetched to even make a plan.

    Depending on your personality and training/learning, you may have a plan laid out for even 10- or 20-years. Others look at their past and the , and say why bother? Who knows what the next monkey-wrench will be.

    Businesses have begun to learn, thanks to the start-up culture, that rigid plans are deadly. There is a term for it, agile. Businesses are now called to be agile by their stockholders. It’s a necessity as the next technological disruption is just around the corner. Other disruptions, like COVID-19, are much harder to be agile toward, however, companies that already had some agility were better able to respond.

    If you look at the verses from Luke in sequence and ending with Acts, you see a in plans. Peter is a major focal point as he moves from fisherman, to acquaintance, to follower (i.e., disciple), to inner-circle follower, to faith healer and herald, to an even smaller inner-circle, to transformed (by the ), to preacher and . This was not part of Peter’s plan.

    At the point we Peter, his lifetime plan is fisherman. Three years later he’s the leader (of leaders) of a religious movement! Peter met Jesus, and the plan…it was gone.

    It’s not that plans are bad. Jesus even praised (Luke 14:28-32). However, we have to be ready and willing to toss out our plans when Jesus calls.

    Plans are our way to control our circumstances. This is why we have planning departments. This is even how we have modern agriculture. Planning is good.

    Planning still has to yield to Jesus’ . That’s where we often fail.

    There will be many churches, businesses, cities, and even families that will not recover from COVID-19. In many cases, no amount of planning will prevent that. On the other hand, churches (especially) chose to not be agile, because that is not the way we’ve done it before.

    Churches chose to die, rather than respond to Jesus Christ’s call for them to be agile in how they performed their . It could be, sadly, that they forgot the only mission that they had, “Go and make disciples…baptizing them…teaching them…”

    On a personal level, just like an organizational level, we need to be agile. Our plans (as much as we want them to be) cannot be rigid and inflexible.

    Whether it was the leaders (it was) or the people (it was) forgoing the mission for the sake of “the plan”, it means that “the plan” became the mission, and Jesus became a mascot.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, us your plans. Help us to release our plans. May we be the salt of the earth that you have called us to be. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What would be your response if God were to turn your plans upside down? What in your current life would you be willing to give up to follow God’s plan?

    2) What are your plans right now? If you have none, why not? Should you? If you do have plans when was your last time to renew/refresh it?

    3) Why do you think churches have a hard time changing plans?

  • That’s a Christian?

    Psalm 26; Matthew 23:11–15; Titus 1:5–16 (read online ⧉)

    “One of their very own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. For this reason, rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith and may not pay attention to Jewish myths and the commands of people who reject the truth.”

    Titus 1:12-14

    This is oddly comforting. That there were such people that Paul recognized as Christians is astounding in our current . People are quick to call Christians hypocrites (including other Christians). Yet, it would seem that there were some lying, evil beast-like, and lazy gluttonous Christians in Paul’s day. It’s not really as if it’s new today. It’s also not as if Paul didn’t have “constructive criticism” for the Cretan Christians. The implication from Paul is that the Cretan Christians should not be identified with the Cretan stereotype. They need to mature in their Christian walk.

    Hypocrisy is often a term cast at Christians, for we are not perfect. There was a time where Christians were very much like the religious leaders that castigates, “You travel over land and sea to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as fit for hell as you are!” There has been a sea change in American Christianity. There has been a willingness to confront the uncomfortableness of being held to a Biblical standard that the world sometimes seems to understand better than we do.

    On the other hand, there is a fundamental misunderstanding, too. Most honest and humble Christians that they have a long way to go. In comparison, the hypocrites were those that acted as if they were perfect. It’s not as if Christians don’t have this problem. Most humans do, as they do not wish to appear weak before . Often the “we have it together” appears when we don’t say, “I know I have issues.” The other time is when we say “we’re fine” when we’re about to fall apart inside. These, however, are common to humanity. So, Christian hypocrisy (which definitely exists) applies when it refers to a Christian ideal.

    An easy one is reading the Bible. If you tell people they ought to be reading their Bible daily, you’d better be doing it yourself. On the other hand, were you to say, “We all should seek to read the Bible and connect with God at least daily,” that indicates that you don’t measure up to the standard/expectation and that you know others don’t either, yet still acknowledging that there is a standard to strive to achieve.

    And this is where it gets interesting. There are those that will call you a hypocrite for you don’t live up to the standards you call for and acknowledge that you don’t meet. Christians are called to live up to a standard (Jesus Christ) that they can never meet and will spend their lifetimes pursuing. That is not hypocrisy, that is being a .

    , you send us Jesus as are the source of our . Jesus, you are the one we seek to resemble. Only by the are we being transformed into your likeness. Holy , as the world seeks to keep us from being transformed encourage our souls to pursue Christlikeness. Amen.

    Questions

    1) Have you ever feel like an “impostor” Christian, never measuring up? If so, how so?

    2) What is your definition of a hypocritical Christian? Is that any different than a non-Christian hypocrite?

    3) What is an area that you call others to a better Christian walk? How are you doing in that area? If you were to broaden that area to a larger or more general application, how are you doing?

  • Resurrecting Hope

    Psalm 39; Luke 24:8–35; Acts 26:1–8 (read online ⧉)

    Brian Sanders (Executive Director of Tampa Underground) shared some very interesting thoughts regarding the Emmaus Road story.

    Cleopas and the unnamed disciple hadn’t yet seen the Resurrected . Like any of the “outer circle” disciples, they didn’t see Jesus immediately, and many of the inner circle missed him too. So, they were “stuck” on the outside. They knew of the wrongful conviction, abuse, and . They’d heard this impossible to belief story—from people they trusted—that Jesus had died, but was now risen!

    Sanders suggests that our 2 Emmaus Road disciples were running away from the confusing situation in Jerusalem. They were feeling overwhelmed. They were probably hurting. They were probably confused. Sanders also suggests that they were “packing” their “escape route”. The day we just celebrated, possibly people were trying to escape it.

    Sanders’ suggestion just seems wrong in so many ways. How could these disciples be so confused and hope destroyed that they were trying to escape? Yet, Sanders makes a good point in that they were leaving Jerusalem. Leaving. They weren’t joining the other disciples. They were leaving.

    They didn’t understand, not really. How many of us ourselves have been at the point where there was an internal disconnect between what we thought we knew/believed, and what we think we should have known? That point in our lives that we started to run away in some small way: , drugs, partying, gambling, videos, gaming, even reading.

    Then Jesus shows up. That’s a pretty common story in the Christian world. It’s a pretty common story in the world outside of Christians, but far too many people are self-blinding and cannot (or will not) see Jesus. Sometimes that is us, too. Then Jesus shows up and life is changed.

    went from accuser and abuser of Christians to defender of the faith. He stood before people who could, at their whim, cause him to live or die. Instead of renouncing Christianity, he wouldn’t just defend, he tried to convert! Unlike the Emmaus Road disciples, Paul wasn’t hopeless or lost when he met Jesus. Quite the contrary. Paul was a rising star in the Jewish world. He was going to fix this minor annoying Nazarene sect, and get them back on the right path of the Law. Paul’s conversion story is the opposite of many’s conversion stories. He is in . He has had—to our knowledge—no qualms seeking to fix the wrong-thinking of this new sect. It on his way with even more power in his hand, that Jesus turns the script. While many convert on their knees and in desperation with nothing to lose, Paul converted when he only had something to lose, a lot of something.

    It really is the question Paul asks in Acts 26:8 that is Resurrection of hope that the Jewish people, and the world, really needed. “Why is it thought incredible by you people that God raises the dead?” Today we are told that this Resurrection is a fairy tale. In Paul’s day, it may have been far fetched, but it wasn’t unbelievable. In a time when people believed that gods could raise the dead, Paul still had to defend Jesus’ Resurrection. This should tell us something. Jesus’ Resurrection was something far greater than just a dead person coming to life! A dead person “just” coming to life wasn’t the greatest concern. It was Jesus’ Resurrection that was. The Jewish leaders knew and understood (no matter how much they opposed it), that this was no come-back-to-life tale.

    This means that this Resurrection is something greater. Perhaps its the kind of thing that causes those who have lost hope or who have run away from their confusion, become empowered and full of hope and faith. When those who have a Resurrection hope and faith not only turn toward what almost destroyed them; they walk (or even run) to it with the ability to it with a power that comes through the restoring power of God.

    God of all mercies, grant us the power, faith, and hope to look at all the troubles of the world, whether they be distant or near, and know that through you the world can have the hope it seeks. us the eyes and hearts to see where we are called to be the agents of restoration, so that the hopes of the world may find true hope through the Resurrection of Jesus. This we pray in the of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.

    1) Was your conversion at a height or at a low? Why do you think it was there, rather than the opposite? If you’ve known no other life than life with Jesus (i.e., from childhood), what cemented your faith in Jesus Christ?

    2) What are some characteristics of “Resurrection” hope versus “normal” hope? What could be the difference between Resurrection hope and Saving hope?

    3) Often we look at the weaknesses of people in the Scriptures and respond with, “glad that’s not me.” Except it is. When were you like the Emmaus Road disciples? When were you like Paul?

  • Peace and Blessings

    Numbers 6:22–27, Luke 10:3–12, John 14:25–30, John 20:19–28 (read online ⧉)

    The Levitical or priestly blessing has been a mainstay for the Jews and Christians for millennia. The pronouncement of blessing, protection, acknowledgment, , , and pretty much sums up what a life with God should result in. What makes this tiny passage even more strange, yet intimate and comforting is that God states that this is God’s name. Perhaps not a name in the proper sense, but God’s name nonetheless. God’s name would then be Blessing Protecting Shining (i.e., “I see and acknowledge you”) Gracious Favoring Peace- God.

    When Jesus, therefore, sends out the disciples, they are being sent out on his (God’s) behalf to bestow peace upon . So, think about this…they are to withdraw their peace from houses that do not respond. If peace is there…if God is there. If peace is not there…God is not there. There there is how peace is lived out. The disciples were to go to the first house that welcomed and accepted them. They were to go from house to house to get a better deal (certainly not the way our culture functions). Were they to do this, they would be contaminating God’s peace that they were sent with.

    This becomes even more apparent in Jesus’ bestowing of peace on his 11 disciples on his final night with them (Judas had left at this point of the evening). They were no longer just sent with his peace (as they were before), but now they were bearers of his peace. It sounds similar, granted, but it is different. Similar to baby birds, they went out (previously) and came back. However, now it was time to leave the nest, and they had to carry forth on their own.

    Yet, even on their own, Jesus still has to restore their peace, just as it is with us. They had just witnessed something horrible, , and unjust. Then they experience the unimaginable. Now they were, they felt, like without their . This time, peace is the tranquility in the storm. Only Jesus can it so deeply. Only when we embrace it do we receive it.

    1) What does it mean to embrace the peace of God? What might it mean to us and the way we live our lives to embrace the peace of God?

    2) is a significant part of God’s peace. What needs to be surrendered for God’s peace?

    3) What has to be surrendered for the world’s peace? What is the difference in surrendering to God and to the world for peace?

  • Consequential Freedom

    Psalm 75, Amos 1:3–2:8, Ezekiel 18:25–32

    While Israel is being foretold of its doom, it is probable that a great many people were responding to the prophets (and therefore, God) that God just wasn’t being fair. Why shouldn’t they be able to be “free” as the other nations?

    While the focus is on them, their sins, and their need for repentance, God tells them that the other nations that they want to be like will also be receiving consequences. The interesting part about this passage in Amos is that God repeatedly says that those nations also had a choice. Their choice was how they would fulfill their part of the of Israel. They overdid it.

    How exactly it works is a . God released the surrounding nations to Israel and Judah. However, these nations, instead of just (for example) invading, they destroyed and annihilated.

    Definitely not the intent. So, while Judah and Israel can expect some misery ahead, so can the countries around them.

    1) What does this tell us about the of God?

    2) Why is important to understand that both the “” and “not-chosen” will receive discipline from God?

    3) What is discipline when it comes from God?

  • Denial and Grace

    Luke 23:50–24:12, John 19:38–42, Matthew 10:32–33

    Joseph of Arimathea is described differently by Luke and John. Luke describes him as good, , and looking to the . John describes him as a secret of . On the surface, these appear to be different. And, depending on the audience, they can be very different indeed. However, Joseph’s attitude toward Jesus was fairly clear. Joseph greatly admired Jesus. He also did (to a point) follow Jesus as “the women” from Galilee were with him, indicating that he did have a place in the larger circle of disciples.

    Joseph of Arimathea was part of the Sanhedrin. The religious and civil ruling council of the Jews is the “body” that pushed for Jesus’ crucifixion. Earlier in the Gospels, it seemed that the Sanhedrin was unanimous in its thinking. Joseph of Arimathea shows that there wasn’t unanimity in Sanhedrin. Joseph was concerned, however, with his place in the Sanhedrin. John calls it out as of “the Jews”. Luke doesn’t specify that, but as Luke does only note that Joseph went to Pilate, Joseph definitely did it cautiously and did try to avoid making a scene.

    John even pulls Nicodemus into the conversation. Nicodemus is first seen at night meeting Jesus (John 3:1–21). Next Nicodemus is seen defending (in a roundabout way) Jesus. Then we see him now bringing an amount of myrrh and aloe that was excessive (culturally). Nicodemus is still not declaring anything in the name of Jesus, but his actions show a heart turned toward Jesus.

    The actions of both men could seem to be contrary to Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:32–33. In fact, many of us might well be guilty of this. It all depends on how one defines “deny”. It could be like Peter, who denied Jesus 3 times. That’s pretty blatant, yet God’s carried Peter forward to be the first of the Church. Peter, like Joseph and Nicodemus, was afraid.

    In the world, fear drives many of our actions. Around the world, Christians are hated and hunted. Muslims that have converted to Jesus (and often in mysterious ways) hide their conversion in fear, as they are (justifiably in many cases) afraid of being killed for the family’s . In India, Hindu extremists target Christians regularly. There have been a number of bombings of churches recently. Are these Christians denying Christ by not proclaiming Jesus from the rooftops, street corners, family gatherings, their homes?

    Many preachers, who are living in and are accustomed to religious and speech freedom, have said exactly that over the years.

    1) If you are not declaring Jesus to everyone you meet, especially to every family member who is not a , why not? In light of Jesus words, then, what is failing to acknowledge Jesus?

    2) What is the difference, if any, between denying Jesus, and not acknowledging Jesus?

    3) When was the last time you acted like Peter, Joseph of Arimathea, or Nicodemus out of fear?

  • Blindly Seeing

    Luke 24:13–35, John 20:1–18, John 21:2–14

    Poor Cleopas. Literally walking with and he didn’t have a clue. Luke’s choice of words makes it pretty clear. Cleopas couldn’t have been that oblivious. He had to have been prevented from recognizing Jesus. That makes perfect sense from Luke’s .

    What is it about this resurrected Jesus that is so hard to see?

    Was Jesus hanging around at the tomb, and only Mary Magdalene saw him? And she saw him as a gardener? If Jesus really was there the whole time, the disciples were painfully oblivious. Mary, probably hanging back away from the other disciples, sees a gardener. She was distraught. She almost missed it.

    John tells another story about the resurrected Jesus. It echoes the original calling at the Sea of Galilee. This time though it is a calling beyond the grave to a truly new . You would think that the setting would trigger their collective memories, but it was only John with whom it clicked. Only John. Yet, in many ways, Peter is the star (second to Jesus) of the story. Peter didn’t get it.

    Why bring this up? Yesterday, we talked about identifying when the is us some sort of nudge (whether go or stop) and we miss it. Here we have a case in point of people who knew Jesus really well and they missed it. They missed Jesus!

    “When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’ “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:38–40)

    1) What decisions have you made based on how you see Jesus? As you look back, were they good/bad/valid ways to look at Jesus?

    2) Why is it important to acknowledged that we don’t always see Jesus?

    3) We could fall back on Luke’s reasoning for them not seeing Jesus (they were made to). However, that is only Luke’s take regarding Cleopas and his accompanying . What are other possible reasons why didn’t see Jesus in front of them? What insight does that us about our lives?

  • 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 , “…God saw that it was very good.” The 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. 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 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 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 ‘ 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 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 ?

    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 as 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 .