Devotion.al

Tag: faith

  • Journey and Direction

    1 Kings 8:41–53, Ruth 1:7–17, Luke 9:57–10:16

    Where are you going?

    It’s a pretty basic question until we apply it to our lives. It wasn’t long ago, the question was followed with, “…to Heaven or Hell.” However, where are you going isn’t just about the destination, it is also about the journey. In fact, who we and how we live on the journey are what makes (or breaks) the Very Good Life.

    Solomon’s Inaugural prayer talks about the Very Good Live in general terms and one specific one. The general terms are those that are to everyday people. The specific term is focusing on God. The prayer basically revolves around people turning from God (and/or sinning), and people turning to God. Regardless of direction, God is the center.

    When Ruth makes this massive commitment to Naomi, we miss all that she gives up in her attempt to be to her (which now only consists of her mother-in-law). She also willingly surrenders her entire belief structure (and blood family and culture) to God. She turned toward God.

    There were many people who followed Jesus. Many of them were unwilling to make a full commitment. Jesus’ rebuke to 3 of them sounds harsh (it is). However, each of us has that same daily decision to make…Jesus, or not. Jesus sent 72 committed disciples out. He did not send them alone. He sent them in pairs. An example of taking the journey with , for we can never truly walk this journey alone. We aren’t meant to.
    The disciples weren’t directed to make converts, they were sent to build . Staying as a guest in someone’s house for the duration of their time in a village meant they had to get along with their hosts. It also meant they could build relationships—build the Kingdom—at a more natural pace, and not the “gospel” that was presented (e.g., “Heaven or Hell”) years ago. If the towns were hospitable, stay. Otherwise, leave. Do your best to be at with others, insofar as it depends on you.

    1) Where has your journey taken you? Have you been so focused on the destination that you didn’t experience the journey?

    2) How do you know where you are going, and how do you know when to direction?

    3) How does Solomon’s prayer tie into the task that the disciples were given?

  • Ruling Tradition

    Psalm 79, Romans 15:1–13, 1 Corinthians 8:1–13, Galatians 2:11–15

    Yesterday we talked about rules. Today we’re going to talk about rules.
    One of the first rules of is to build up one another. We have all done this well. We have all done this horribly. Another rule is to live in harmony with each other. Yet another is to accept one another. These rules are incredibly important when we (see Thursday’s, 23 May, devotional). Doing all of these well is hard, and it is well worth doing.

    One thing that always ends up with some kind of tension is and misunderstanding. When discusses food offered to idols, his is it’s fine, since they aren’t real idols anyways. The meat was sold at a discount since it was “used” at pagan temples to “feed” their gods. Paul was saying it was food. He was supporting the practice, except that there were new or struggling or misunderstanding members of the who saw the buying and eating of this meat as participating in and agreeing with . Paul didn’t agree with them, yet still instructed the more mature believers to avoid the cheap food so that those struggling wouldn’t succumb to the old ways.

    Paul is not shy in taking on fellow leaders, like Peter, who quickly yield to tribal (i.e., Jewish) pressure to not be contaminated by Gentiles. What makes this even more interesting in regards to tradition, it was Peter who led the charge against it. Even the leaders fall back into old habits.

    1) What is the difference between traditions and rules?

    2) How do they function differently in your ? How about your life?

    3) How do we confuse rules and traditions with our faith?

  • Unknowing Knowledge

    Psalm 118, Romans 5:1–5, Hebrews 12:7–13

    . The old quip, “don’t pray for patience, for then God will provide circumstances that require it.”
    Endurance and patience. One is primarily a verb in scripture (Endure), while the other is a noun. In other words, they are different (scripturally) only in so far as how they are used in language.

    In English, endurance if often associated with training and stamina. Patience is more often associated with a state of mind. When we endure, however, we are actively withstanding and holding firm.

    Both Paul and the author of Hebrews associate enduring with suffering. Paul states that endurance promotes , while the author of Hebrews views suffering and .

    It often when we endure that we are toned, whether it be physical, mental, or spiritual. Physical endurance may be because one is an athlete, or because one has a physical ailment that makes physical activity harder. Mental endurance can be school tests, task focus, or project focus. Spiritual endurance, however, is a little harder to explain, and even harder to live.

    For many, spiritual endurance is when the world attacks your , or your own inner voice attacks your faith. Spiritual endurance may be praying for years for the of a one that appears to be bearing no . Spiritual endurance may be that you feel disconnected from God, and cannot figure out how to restore things.

    Regardless, endurance only shows its on the other side of the work.

    1) There are many kinds of suffering. What kinds of suffering have you endured? Did it strengthen or weaken your faith? Why?

    2) Hope often seems to be the opposite of enduring suffering. Why do you think hope is the spiritual fruit of suffering?

    3) How does enduring suffering help build the Very Good ?

  • Not Regardless

    Psalm 116:12–17, John 6:54–69, Acts 9:31–43

    Yesterday, we briefly touched on the reality that the world doesn’t like the entirety of the message of . It struggles with nice and submission. Add on the whole eternal piece and the world casts it off. Other beliefs that the church has wrestled with and argued over often confuse people (believers and non-believers alike), an additional excuse to ignore the message. This is not to say that having an excuse means that everything is just fine. On the contrary, it often means that the is hard toward the .
    When Peter asks to whom will they go, Peter could be really asking a number of things. First, he’s (they’re) all in. Second, no one else speaks/convinces like Jesus. We about the hard sayings of Jesus. It is that Jesus declares himself the True Bread of Life that his disciples (both intimate and extended) hard. Peter doesn’t say that it isn’t hard. He isn’t saying he understands. He is saying (effectively), “I you, Jesus, regardless of what I understand.”
    Regardless. As inheritors of the Enlightenment, we don’t function well with “regardless.” Add onto the Enlightenment inheritance our “hard” science outlook, “regardless” is even harder. This is not to say that the Enlightenment or science is all bad. It is to say that neither is all knowing.
    “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy.” —Hamlet (from the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare)
    Hamlet, speaking to his friend, Horatio, is referring to all the knowledge and learning that he (Horatio) has gained through his education (which was significant for the time). The world hangs its hat (so to speak) solely on the philosophies of the Enlightenment and science. The irony is that the Enlightenment and science came out of and a desire to understand, and yet many claim that religion has nothing to do with either.
    We will always struggle with reaching the world. How could Jesus be the only way to eternal life? The world does not understand.
    Peter, on the other hand, understood the best he was able. He was knee deep in theology or philosophy. He was neck deep in following Jesus the best way he knew how. Peter was, through faith, able to heal the paralyzed. Peter was, through faith, able to raise the dead to life. Was it his ? No, and he knew it. Did he ask, how does this work? No. He just accepts. That is one of the secrets of the Very Good Life, trusting God despite one’s own lack of understanding.

    1) Why is Jesus being the Bread of Life a hard saying? If we don’t think it is, what are we missing?

    2) How do you work through the tension between science and religion? What do you think of the choice being science or religion?

  • Not-So Great Expectations

    Psalm 43, Jeremiah 38:1-28, John 15:17-16:2

    is not always easy. There are those that just seem determined to oppose you even if it is to their advantage to support you. Pride, , greed, and envy can lead anyone to make poor decisions regarding .

    King Zedekiah was not a particularly strong king. His advisors pushed him to punish Jeremiah’s words (from God) because they feared (reasonably) that if the soldiers and people heard the words, their resolve would weaken or collapse. Truly, we should be able to understand their point. Nations that do not understand a democratic republic see the political posturing of our political parties as (mostly because they are all of an authoritarian mindset). The officials of Jeremiah’s day were of the same authoritarian mindset. In addition, Jeremiah’s role as prophet meant that his words had significant weight. In other words, they had a point.

    It is how they dealt with the point that was the issue that is the issue. There was a general distaste, distrust, and disrespect from these men towards Jeremiah, and thus God. It is a sample of their attitude that got the people of Israel in this situation in the first place. The words from Ebed-Melech to the king (they do “”) show us that perhaps their hearts weren’t as heartfelt for the people as it seems. This easily leads one to conclude that they—and those like them—were at least a source of Israel’s downfall. That God would offer King Zedekiah a way out, without power, and not these leaders, shows that God was also still honoring his to David.

    While Jeremiah wasn’t killed, much of his life was not all that comfortable. Imagine being the doomsayer that was right. Often the doomsayer who is wrong is mocked, but the one who is right? Jeremiah was probably not everyone’s favorite, and obviously many of those in power were less than pleased. Often power doesn’t like , and often God’s Truth speaks to power in ways it doesn’t like.

    When Jesus speaks about the world hating us, there is (sadly) truth in that. We should be clear, though, that there are plenty of Christians (on either side of the political spectrum) that take great pride in being persecuted “for the ,” when it is really their approach (most often) or politics (theirs or others’) that is the problem. Compare “persecution” here in the US with true persecution in places like China, North Korea, Iran, then adding on non-systematic persecution such as the bombings that happened in Sri Lanka on this recent . Not that we don’t feel put upon living out our faith, it’s just that we still have power, even if it is equal to the non-believer next door (the ballot box).

    The reality is that there is something about the message of Jesus that both attracts and repels those of the world. It’s easy to say love everyone. It’s hard to do it. The world is mired in , and the concept of victory over it offends many. Granted, Christians are often not the best messengers of Jesus. However, even those who are great messengers still have to deal with animosity and persecution. It is a dark—yet, still hopeful—truth, if the world killed Jesus, can we really expect anything less?

    1) Have you ever felt persecuted? If so, how? When you look around the world, what is the difference between your experience, and that of others?

    2) Do you feel as if you are more often having to apologize for other Christians just so you can talk about Jesus?

    3) God and earthly power exist in tension, with earthly power often pretending to be Godly. Where do you see that at work in the US, and in the world?

  • Pedestals

    Daniel 4:28–37, John 6:25-35

    Nebuchadnezzar is an interesting study in , belief, unbelief, wrong belief, and pride. Nebuchadnezzar had been confronted by God’s might, majesty, and multiple times during his reign. One would have thought that he might have learned something. However, Nebuchadnezzar seemed to have to multiple times. As Nebuchadnezzar’s story ends at the of chapter 4, it would be nice to conclude that Nebuchadnezzar learned. However, the Bible doesn’t say, and history (including even the history in Daniel) would imply that he didn’t.
    Nebuchadnezzar was in the middle of a culture with many Gods. As much as he was in power, he would have still had to consider the faith of the populace. Turning over their would not have gone well, and would have likely caused unrest. Other jealous and powerful people would have leveraged the unrest and potentially created a rebellion.

    We can see similar tensions in our own . It has only been in the last few years that politicians feel that it is culturally acceptable to not say they are a . While there is a balance of power in our system, it wasn’t that long ago that politicians either toed the “Christian” line (of at least saying they were Christian) or did not succeed (by and large).

    Often in Nebuchadnezzar’s era, kings were what were perceived has making the country flourish, be bountiful, and be powerful. They were put on pedestals they hadn’t earned. Often they become proud. God made sure that Nebuchadnezzar’s pride took a hit.

    Sometimes God-fearing people get put on a pedestal, too. In this passage in John, has to correct the people that it was God the Father who gave the manna, not Moses. Imagine that! People had become confused enough that they thought a man completed and of God (and for 40 years, at that).

    From what we know about Moses, he would not have accepted any part of God’s . He often took a reconciling role between God and the people. By the time of Jesus, Moses had become a great mythical godlike super-man. Moses would not have been pleased.

    1) Why do we have a tendency to esteem people beyond their roles and capabilities (i.e., put on a pedestal)?

    2) How does putting a person on a pedestal endanger that person?

    3) How does putting a person on a pedestal endanger our personal and spiritual growth?

  • Checkmarks and Tasks

    Galatians 2:15–3:6, Philippians 1:20–26,

    The church in Galatia was struggling. Someone was pouring bad ideas and thoughts into them, causing them to walk away from the faith that Paul had taught them. The funny thing is that many of them probably didn’t know that they were being drawn away. It is easy, step-by-step, to be drawn away. The Galatians were being influenced to follow the path of works righteousness. In other words, it was by their (righteous, performed in compliance with the law) actions that saved them. It was no longer Christ.

    Often that is the trap of holiness. Somehow, people changed good suggestions, then turned them into rules, then made them an article of salvation. In other words, they had escaped the bondage of the world, then went right back to it.
    How many people that heard this letter (the letters were usually read publicly) and shook in anger? How DARE Paul to us in that way? How many others shook in disbelief, amazed and saddened that they had surrendered their .

    Last week, Rachel Held Evans died at the of 37. She was a progressive that challenged many evangelicals. She made many very angry, so angry one could say they cursed her. Others thought on her words, trusted her heart, and listened. That doesn’t mean she changed many minds. While that may have been her intent, it was the fact that she caused evangelicals to question and converse that made the biggest difference. Of course, there will always be those who become more rigid when challenged. There will also be those who become more filled when challenged, as they hear the heart and pain of others. Evans like many other progressives find their calling in challenging their perception of the status quo, and the church should be grateful.

    Not that Evans is Paul, but that we are challenged to think. Our faith isn’t one of checkmarks and tasks (salvation by works), it is one of and love. Paul was happy to be alive on Earth because he saw it as his duty to challenge and encourage the church to be the church. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul wants to remain (rather than go home to Jesus) because he is watching them in their faith.

    1) Growth and challenge. Why is it that when we are challenged, we grow? How how you see in work, life, and faith?

    2) The church often resists being challenged, yet hindsight of history shows us that is where growth occurs. Why do we fight being challenged, especially if we know we will likely grow as a result?

    3) Progressive and Conservative Christianity both need to from each other. In so doing, they can show the world that opposites can work together for the common good. Thinking of your friends and , how can you be one that learns from others and show that as the way to live?

  • 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 how could any one of these fallen beings be holy. When we look in the mirror and think even more so. Holiness has often been twisted to be 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’ 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 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 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 to be. This body was corrupted by the 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 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 , 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?