Devotion.al

Tag: expectation

  • Forging Character

    Forging Character

    Psalm 50:1–6; 1 Kings 14:1–18; 1 Timothy 1:12–20

    You probably believe that you have never had a (a “word” from God) spoken “over” you. You might be right. As such, you’ve never had someone say to you, “I thought of you when I read/heard this.” Nor have you heard, “I felt I had to this with you.” Nor have you ever had your spirit “struck” by a sermon, a song, or a moment.

    If you’ve never had any of these happen, it might be time to stop reading this and ask God when it has happened (note, this wasn’t a whether).

    Not all words are positive for a person. Jeroboam, his wife, and their son (Abijah) received a prophetic word. It wasn’t good. There are multiple points that are sad.

    Abijah was probably very young when he died (based on context). As he was young, he hadn’t developed the bad habits of his father and . That he was the only member of the family to be honored in death is telling.

    The other sad part is that Jeroboam and his wife (and by extension their children) heard and witnessed the prophetic word coming true and their hearts were not (it seems) changed. God has relented in punishment (or reduced it) when a person repents. Jeroboam didn’t bother.

    Paul emphasizes God’s relenting tendencies by his own testimony. He reminds Timothy that he (Paul) was the enemy of Christ and Christians before he became the champion he was. In just a few words, Paul shows us the depth of the tragedy of Jeroboam and all those like him throughout history and today.

    Paul’s is also important regarding his instructions to Timothy about “waging war” (the implication being a war of ) and the cast out Hymenaeus and Alexander. It may well be that this passage is about Timothy either mourning or trying to drawback Hymenaeus and Alexander into the church.

    It would make sense as Paul reminds Timothy that the prophetic word that was “over” him was about waging a war of faith. The situation with Hymenaeus and Alexander seemed to require some sort of battle with the two. Paul told Timothy that he (Paul) had let them free. As Paul was Timothy’s mentor, the strong implication is that Paul wanted Timothy to do the same.

    It is Paul’s preceding words that provide the “silver lining” to Hymenaeus and Alexander being handed over to Satan. They can still , for Christ is every and loving. In addition, Paul added a “to be taught” clause, meaning that his is that Hymenaeus and Alexander are likely to return.

    ※Reflection※

    • It can be hard to let someone fall away as Hymenaeus and Alexander. What can we observe about God in these situations? What can we observe about ourselves?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Christ, thank you for your faithfulness toward us and the unending grace you pour into our lives. Help our hearts to see your faithfulness and grace poured out for the world. Amen.

  • Freely

    Freely

    Psalm 147:1–11; 1 Corinthians 9:16–23

    Psalm 147 opens up powerfully. It really is good to sing to God. Every worship hopes that it is the pleasure of everyone who attends church (whether physically or online) finds it a pleasure to praise God through singing.

    Of course, the psalmist is a songwriter/performer, so is obviously a tad biased towards this form of praise. There is indeed something powerful about music. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who find their best time of worship and praise through prayer or stillness.

    The of worship is honoring God. A heart that honors God, worships God. Those people faithfully wait for the next experience of God’s love.

    The of experiencing God’s faithful love produces a response that can seem odd to a person who does not believe the same. has such an expectation. That is part of what motivates his approach to his (Christ directed) mission to the .

    Paul’s response to God’s faithful love? Share the Good News freely. Not only freely in regard to cost, but also freely to whomever, and freely however.

    In many respects, the whomever and however continue to be a problem in regard to sharing the . In some church somewhere, someone is saying, “Let’s not share the Good News with those people.” In another church (or maybe the same one), someone is saying, “We just can’t do it that way.”

    It’s easy to say, “Paul would…,” but the reality is that we don’t know what Paul would have done. We can only at the “heart” of Paul as seen through his words.

    We are often quite ready to put boundaries on many things in our lives. With whom and how (granted, without changing the ) however, the fewer boundaries we place the more likely we are to be where God already is.

    ※Reflection※

    • What surprising/unexpected ways have you seen the Good News shared/spread?
    • How should honoring/praising/worshiping God lead to sharing the Good News of the Gospel?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, may we find ways to share the Gospel that builds bridges of faith and love. Amen.

  • Change of Plans

    Change of Plans

    Judges 2:16–23; Acts 13:16–25

    There is a saying that you are probably familiar with: repeating the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. When it comes to practice, that isn’t the case. When it comes to many other things in , though, it is very true.

    In manufacturing (where I work for pay), there is an that we will always strive for continuous improvement. Continuing the same process, material size, tooling size, program configuration will not result in improvements after the first few runs. It is only when one analyzes and changes things there are improvements (and plenty of failures, too).

    The Israelites, post-Joshua, were not continuously improving their with God. They were a wrecking crew. God’s , however, was significant.

    When things were really bad, God would send a judge. Just as when Joshua was alive, they would be “good” God-followers (somewhat)…until that judge died. The process repeated itself, again and again. Sounds a bit like insanity.

    God changed it up. He let them succumb to the external forces (and internal ones, too). He wasn’t done with them. He just let them be free.

    Then God called Samuel. Samuel was, in many respects, the next judge. However, his was definitely a different kind. There really wasn’t a military side to Samuel.

    This time, the people might have learned something. They seemed to understand that they needed someone. With Samuel’s , they would be right back to where they were.

    God was mad (and hurt). Yet, God used this tiny turn in the hearts of Israelites, to bring, ultimately, the line of David into preeminence. From that line of David, Jesus the Savior came.

    ※Reflection※

    Have you ever had a big struggle trying to solve a problem or a goal, and continued to fight it? And, then, taken a pause (even a nap!) and the solution came?

    The rudder of a ship is small in comparison to the ship. Yet, this small thing guides the ship’s direction. What small thing, that seemed so small in comparison to the big things, changed your life completely? If you can’t think of anything, pray to God for a revelation (it’s amazing what that little prayer can do).

    Is there anything in your life right now that seems to be on an endless loop that’s driving you crazy? Have you asked God for clarity/wisdom in the situation? Have you sought wise and/or different council to ?

    ※Prayer※

    God, you have done big and small miracles in our lives, whether we see them or not. Even some of the smallest have changed our lives. Help us to be responsive to your nudge to be the agents of in the lives of . Amen.

  • Prepare to Prepare

    Prepare to Prepare

    Psalm 80; Zechariah 13:1–9; Revelation 14:6–13

    If you’ve ever watched a professional chef (besides the competition ones), they will often have pre-cut and -measured ingredients so that when a customer orders a dish, most of the time-consuming work is completed. If you’ve ever ordered a sandwich at Subway, the meat and cheese are already pre-portioned. Ingredients have been prepared to better prepare your meal when you want it.

    Today is Thanksgiving (in the US, at least). A holiday that is culturally identified as involving overeating and gatherings. COVID has changed that. Many, if not most, families will not be having extended family gatherings.

    Thanksgiving has also been the “gateway” to the Christmas season. It used to be that mere hours after people recovered from overeating, all the malls would turn everything over, and the Christmas (shopping) season would begin.

    Not every Thanksgiving, but this Thanksgiving is the beginning of the season. In the year, one prepares for the Sunday to come. As this Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent, so it is time to prepare for Advent.

    What is Advent? We often shortcut it to mean the days before Christmas. This is certainly true. It is also incomplete. For the ancient church, Advent wasn’t just about the birth of Jesus; it was about the return of Christ. Depending on the era, there would even be an emphasis on the Return rather than the birth.

    There hasn’t been a year like 2020 in decades. This might be the time to look at Advent as something far more than Christmas.

    Asaph (the Psalmist) wants God to come back (not that God really left). Asaph is looking for a restoration of the relationship between the people and God. Asaph recognizes that it really is that the people turned their backs on God, and yet he has faith in the faithful God. As Asaph was part of David’s retinue, we can imagine what must have still been going on around David, as David chose to follow God, and not the unknown gods.

    Zechariah’s words are strong, too. In them we see that the place of prophets and seers is nothing when it does not honor God. In fact, the implication being that the prophets and seers might even be “” idols, rather than faithful followers of and speakers for God.

    Zechariah’s and Asaph’s words still in God and expect God’s restoration of the people.

    While the Asaph’s and Zechariah’s words are full of trust in God, neither avoid a harsh reality. The people need redemption. They needed to be the people of God again. In Zechariah’s time, the temple was being rebuilt. However, the people whose ancestors had lost their way (with God) were just as lost and needed something greater.

    Regardless of your of who the Beast is, the in Revelation is that the people of God, the church, will go through trying times. The implication is of , being outcast, and even . All because they believe in Jesus.

    Whether you believe that Jesus is coming back tomorrow, or you are just waiting for 2020 to end, expectation is part of that. Advent is the anticipation of something new, whether it is the birth of a child or the return of the King.

    ※Reflection※

    How do you prepare your and heart for Advent? If you knew Jesus would come back on Christmas Day, what would you do?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, as we prepare our hearts for this Advent season, may we look to the innocence of a baby and to the righteousness of the King. Amen.

  • Cross Section

    Cross Section

    Psalm 78; Zechariah 8:1–6; Acts 2:14–21

    Ever had an itch. One of those itches you just can quite reach. Maybe you’ve used a pen (or pencil). Maybe you’ve used one of those bamboo scratchers shaped like a hand. Or perhaps you’ve used a wall corner. Or, if push comes to shove, you for help.

    In many respects, (or the church service) has been a back-scratcher for years. There have been shifts over the years as how the service is done (from “liturgical” to “modern”, for example) to the musical instruments (no instruments, to organs, to brass and wind, to piano, to guitars, to electric guitars, to full ) to the style of music (chant, hymns, country, contemporary, hip-hop, rap).

    Music is one of the biggest backscratchers, as people will determine which church they will attend depending on the music genre (and then the instrumentation, too). Preaching styles, too, also affect church attendance (3-point sermons, topical, expository).

    For the last few decades, though, the bigger one may well be programs, especially programs for youth and children. This isn’t a bad thing, to be clear. It does, however, have some problems. They are the same problems as service styles, music styles, instrumentation, preaching…they scratch an itch.

    It was much easier when there was only one style. Then there would be only one . There is also the reality that the lack or of any of the above (and this is not an exhaustive list) may be a “barrier” for a new person (whether unbeliever, new believer, or seasoned believer).

    It is the whys of it all that matter. There was a quip (a stereotype that is sadly mostly true in the US) that the hour of church on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week. The context of this quip is . However, it applies to so much more.

    In many churches, maybe even yours, you can look around during the church service and see the segregation of . Sometimes the children leave at the beginning or in the middle if they’re there at all. Sometimes the youth leave. Sometimes they all together. Each church can do it completely differently.

    The result, however, is contrary to what the New Testament seems to display…unified across age and people groups.

    Some are beginning to question if we have lost our biggest opportunity to disciple one another by separating to scratch our itch.

    This is not an attack on the way your church “does” church, though it might seem to be. The question we need to be asking ourselves is…how does [youth group, music choice, etc.] affect successful ? How does it inhibit discipleship? How do we scratch our itches and still maintain our fidelity to “telling the next generation” the “great things that God has done”?

  • Join the Feast

    Join the Feast

    Matthew 22:1–14

    When you were a child, perhaps one of your favorite times was when you were invited to a birthday party. For some, an invitation was proof that they were actually “seen”. Even if that person was thought to be a friend, it was a surety that the was true. If your parent(s) said you couldn’t go, oh, the drama!

    As a ruler and public person, culturally, the king would be expected to have a (semi-)public feast, where at least the connected or (at least of) the correct blood would be invited. Also, the cultural would be—barring something truly serious (illness and being about it)—to accept the invitation and attend.

    So, the same people were invited again. Those that went on to their mundane (i.e., not culturally serious enough to not attend) tasks insulted the king in one way. By abusing and even killing the king’s servants, the found a different way to insult the king. Servants were often the “carriers” of the king’s will, so killing them would be similar to declaring war.

    Which helps explain the next part. The king declares war. Some sort of retribution to salvage his honor would be required. Add to that the killing of his representatives…nothing good would come of it. ‘ listeners would understand.

    Those originally invited were, to the hearers and our understanding, the Jews (who were the remnant of Israel). So, why waste the feast? It would be shameful to have an empty feast. So, all the unconnected and non-blood were invited. For those keeping track, this would be the Gentiles (most of us).

    It is here that there is another unexpected twist. Culturally, everyone would be expected to show up dressed appropriately. This is not the tuxedo or suit, but a more common, yet special, overwear that displayed that one was honoring the host.*

    The man dishonored the king. The king had had enough dishonoring, but at least he only tossed the guy out. The commonness of the “overwear” means that this was a deliberate choice. That shows it was more than being poor. It was something more.

    Jesus’ concluding statement, though, tells us something far more. All too often, people believe they are called to God (they are). However, they allow the things of the world to be a priority over God. Others think that God’s magnanimousness is carte blanche to do whatever, as long as they “just” show up.

    While the Jews, at the time, were accused of caring more for the world (and the forefathers) more than God (and God’s prophets), others (in general, could be Samaritans or Romans or other Gentiles) were also being accused of wanting the spoils without even showing the slightest care for the one who gave them.

    Truly, these accusations can be justly put at the feet of all of us at some point in our lives. There is an ebb and flow to each. Yet, the Lord of the Banquet calls us to the Feast, and we have to be at least somewhat prepared.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord of the Feast, help us prepare the ways of heart so that we come to the table hungry for you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Can you think of a time when some wore inappropriate attire to a gathering? What was the gathering? What made it inappropriate?

    2) Have you ever made an excuse to not attend a function that you were otherwise perfectly able to attend? Why? What did it you not to attend?

    3) While it appears the king had an open door invite to the feast, that really wasn’t so. What kind of other situations have you experienced like that?

    *This is more of a guess than anything. Several commentators leave it as a , yet as we look to the for clues, we see garments of white with the implication of them being over the stained (representing ) clothes that we wear. Hence, my conclusion.
  • Heart of Money; Heart of Mercy

    Heart of Money; Heart of Mercy

    2 Corinthians 8:1–15; 1 Timothy 6:17–19

    Generosity is a good thing. A generous heart is a good thing.

    encouraged generosity among the churches. The churches would care for one another as they were going through trials (famines, war, etc.). The graciousness of one gave life to another church.

    The churches did not do this to receive; they did it out of generous hearts.

    The US churches have been known around the world for their generosity. The US churches were so effective, that they deeply affected US culture to also be generous.

    Except, that seems to be waning. Both the US church and the US population is becoming less generous. A lot of that is likely due to . However, much of that seems to also be an of reciprocity. In other words, “what do we get out of it?”

    The other part of the waning aspect may actually be the most concerning. This is the “washing of hands” part. I’ve given my to the cause (church, politics, NGO, etc.). I have done my duty, and I can go on .

    We can be generous with money, but not with our hearts. We can be generous with our hearts, but not our money. However, being generous in one area and not in the other, really means that we are generous at all. It is an all or nothing situation.

    It sounds harsh. It is. It sounds impossible. It just might be. Or, at least impossible without God.

    How generosity actually takes place is not a fixed recipe. The people of Macedonia were generous to the best of their capability. The churches of Corinth may have had a greater capacity to be financially generous.

    The people of Macedonia were not absolved of financial generosity. It was to the best of their means and through generous hearts. They prayed. Pray generously!

    The people of Corinth may have been capable of far more than the people of Macedonia. That didn’t absolve them from praying. It is both/and.

    The church, as a whole, is struggling financially. The patterns of the past are broken. Truly, the church is in (or should be in) a hugely transformative process.

    While you may be giving as you have, just because a building (even the church building) is closed, doesn’t absolve you of the of loving people generously.

    What loving a person does to live generously at this time is a little strange. It could be going “old” school and calling people. It could be texting them. It could be emailing them. It could even be sending a letter.

    Giving financially is part of the Christian life, and so is living generously in ‘ lives. The rhythm of life may mean different forms of generosity at different times. However, a single form of generosity is not living life generously, it is living life monotonously.

    ※Prayer※

    , give us hearts that beat with your generosity. May we live generously through your power. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) How do you give generously? How do you live generously?

    2) Why do you think both financial and life generosity are important?

    3) Which area do you need to live or give more generously? Why do you say that?

  • Clothed in Rags

    Clothed in Rags

    Psalm 94; Luke 6:27–36; 1 Corinthians 4:9–13

    Bless your enemies. Except “bless” means something more than just be nice or even help them. “Bless” means to ask for God’s divine to come on them.

    We all want blessings, but we are being called to ask for God’s blessings for those who make our lives difficult, miserable, or (in some extreme cases) seek to kill us. This is a high bar of expectation. It’s a hard high bar of expectation.

    In many respects, this may be the hardest teaching of . To assuage our own feelings of anger, betrayal, and trespass, we want vengeance! We want victory! We want !

    “For [the Most High] is gracious to the ungrateful and evil.” (Luke 5:35)

    “That is foolish,” proclaims the world. The world is right, from the world’s perspective. From God’s perspective, however, foolish is following the world.

    declared himself a disgraced spectacle that the world spat upon. Yet, Paul was determined to carry on. He chose a path to bless and to be gracious to others.

    This world could use a lot more of this, don’t you think?

    However, the problem is that we want others to do it first. This isn’t the path that Jesus set out.

    The world has taught us that a win-win scenario is false. Or to put it another way, that is a zero-sum game. The world is correct. It is their math that this the problem.

    The world’s math does not include God. The world’s math does not include Jesus (unless he can be used to make money). The world’s math is incapable of including the Spirit.

    So, why, as believers…as children of God…do we assume the world’s math is correct?

    Yet, we do. We say and live as if the world’s math is correct.

    What has also become increasingly clear is that the church has long been dressed-up in the world. Now the world is handing us filthy rags to wear, and we are offended. We took the nice clothes from the world already, if the world is done with us, why would they want to us nice things?

    So, what are we to do with the rags of the world? Realize they are the rags of a world that is passing away. We still have our “clothing of white”. Even in its “not yet” state (i.e., we don’t have it yet), it is still better than the finest clothes of the world.

    ※Prayer※

    God, help us to look at the world as you do…a place that is passing away. Help us recall where we are called to live eternally and to look at the world through your eyes. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is something that you need to surrender to the world?

    2) What is something that you need to surrender to God?

    3) How are these two things the opposite side of the same coin?