Devotion.al

Tag: family

  • House Building

    House Building

    Psalm 127; Matthew 24:1–2; 1 Corinthians 3:1–11

    Unless the Lord is in it, it will fail. This is a common adage heard in the , and it is based on Psalm 127:1. Yet, the interpretation often is, if it is successful, God is in it. This spiritualizes (or over-spiritualizes) far too many things.

    The sun also rises on and good. The rain falls on the and unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45)

    The vanity spoken of in Psalm 127:1 isn’t earthly or failure necessarily. It’s about what it means for the of God. Striving to be the CEO at the age of 25 (or even 65) is all well and good, but what’s the point?

    Is God in Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, IBM, Apple, etc.? Yes, insofar as God is everywhere. Are they blessed by God? Insofar as they are made by people made in the image of God, yes.

    That isn’t the point, though. How do each of these affect one’s relationship with God? That is the question. Whether it was the or it is the States of America, in the infinite eyes of God it all falls down.

    We are all called to be coworkers and laborers in God’s fields. We are called to be builders, maintainers, repairers, and even remodelers of God’s buildings. People are God’s fields. People are God’s buildings.

    The is for people, not stuff or titles. People are to fill the Kingdom of God for only eternal souls can fill an eternal kingdom.

    ※Prayer※

    Eternal God, help us to grasp even a little more of what it means to be part of your eternal kingdom, , and . Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) How can we be both laborers/builders and fields/buildings? What does this tell you about God?

    2) Why is it important to acknowledge that while all success is God allowed, all success is not God blessed?

  • Too Small

    Too Small

    Deuteronomy 7:7–11; Judges 6:13–16; Matthew 13:31–33

    One of the best scenes in the movie, The Princess Bride is when Princess Buttercup and (the Dread Pirate Roberts) Wesley are about to enter the Swamp. Buttercup looks at Wesley and asks, “what about the R.O.U.S.s?” “The Rodents of Unusual Size? I’m sure they don’t exist.” He says the as an R.O.U.S. makes an appearance, and Buttercup’s back is to it and is oblivious.

    Size makes a difference. Often, we are overwhelmed by a problem. As a child, we could have been overwhelmed by something being so much bigger than we were.

    When we hear about the monumental amount of some people have, and compare our meager bank accounts, size makes an impact. If you’ve ever been in a small car with a big semi coming up quickly behind you, size can be terrifying.

    On the other hand, ants can carry 10–50 times (depending on species and gender) their weight. Humans can indeed lift such weight, but not actually walk and carry over long distances. Grasshoppers can jump 20 times their length from standing. The world record for human running long jump is not even 5 times.

    Size does matter, but just not always in the way we think.

    The people of Israel were not a powerful people. They had no place to provide them . Yet, this weak people God would take and overturn the ways of the world.

    After years of oppression, God took the weakest man of the weakest family of the weakest tribe to remove the oppressors from the land.

    uses a mustard seed to show the power of the of God but notice that it is not a power of domination. It is a place a habitation and a place of new life. Yet this place of life and birth starts very small.

    The Kingdom of God starts small in each of us. We often look at the tiny thing in us and how we can make it through.

    Yet, we must always keep in mind that it is God’s seed in us. The smallest thing of God is larger than the largest thing of humanity.

    Oh, and the R.O.U.S.’s were defeated by using the power of the mind, not strength.

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, thank you for the seed of . Holy Spirit, thank you for the nurturing of the seed in our souls. Heavenly , thank you for being the tree that gives us home and life. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is one of the first memories you have of your size in comparison to another’s? What was the feeling like? Did it cause you to focus or intent?

    2) Why is it important to understand the imagery of the Kingdom of God in the image of the mustard seed?

  • Wholly New or Newly Whole

    Wholly New or Newly Whole

    2 Corinthians 5:14–21; Titus 1:1–3

    The “new creation” is an often-quoted phrase. Like many verses in the , it can stand on its own. However (you knew that was coming), in context its meaning is so much more important than a mere new creation. It is a creation with a purpose.

    While it is accurate to say that we are new creations through Jesus Christ, it also leaves too much interpretation to the speaker and the hearer as to what exactly that means. The common first is (along the lines of), no longer a sinner, or, reconciled to God, or a child of God.

    All of these are theologically accurate. The problem is they are also very selfish and self-centered. These statements are about us. Being a new creation is about us. It also about God.

    In particular, what is our purpose? Why are we a new creation? Why does being a new creation even matter?

    The answer comes earlier, “…so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.”

    Let’s be honest with ourselves, we still live for ourselves. We often make decisions based on our desires or through seemingly logical decisions. Sometimes we’ll even “pray” about them. Are the results really about Jesus Christ?

    Now, this really could go down a road that Paul did not intend. Paul didn’t mean for a blacksmith (for example) to stop being a blacksmith and stop making blacksmith decisions. Nor did Paul mean that one stops being a parent (adopted or biological). Yes, both of those are possibilities, but that isn’t the point.

    Really, the new creation is more along the lines of thinking of for their benefit because Jesus Christ thought of your benefit, even while you were estranged from God.

    In this comes the question, is the new creation a completely (wholly) new thing or is it the old thing made whole. Either answer still ultimately results in something new, it’s just the emphasis that has changed.

    Once the “new” has come into its fullness, then this new creation seeks to draw people to Christ by loving them, thinking well of, and for them, even if it gains no worldly benefit. The new creation is to bring the not-yet-made-new to a point in their lives to be made new.

    Bringing along the not-yet-made-new may take a while. Even God, as Paul tells Titus, took time to reveal the fullness of God’s saving message. It will take time for us to reveal it to others, too.

    We are called, as new creations, to be in bringing more people into the fold of God’s , no matter how long it may take and how many setbacks there are.

    We are called to all in their hate, their , their , their ignorance. We also do this knowing that we still have hate, fear, jealousy, and ignorance in us, too.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, make us new every day. Help us to put yesterday in its place, and step into today in the fullness of your , mercy, and love. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) If you have saving faith in Jesus Christ, what was your first “symptom” of being made new? If you do not yet have such a saving faith, what might (or should) someone look like who has given their to Jesus Christ? Why?

    2) Why does it matter if we are wholly new or newly whole? What is the difference?

    3) What was the last decision you prayed about? What makes you think the answer was the Jesus answer?

  • One of the Fam

    One of the Fam

    Matthew 12:46–50; John 14:18–26

    The passage from John would have created a rather large stir in the culture. publicly equated non-blood relations as equal to familial relations.

    The family was first in the culture. A good way to think of it is how a person is called in many Asian countries. The family name comes before the personal/ name. One only calls another by their individual name by permission (accepted into a close relational circle) or by blood.

    Americans and other Western cultures might tend to equate this with Mr., Mrs., and Ms. However, that is not the same, nor are they intended to be. Modern Western cultures (except for the remaining nobility, perhaps) do not hold the family in the same way. That is not a knock against Western Culture, just merely a of differences.

    It should was highly likely that mom and brothers had one of two responses, 1) there goes the crazy kid again, 2) WE are his family, not THESE people.

    It’s not that Jesus was disrespecting his family, and certainly not his mother. Jesus was redefining what it meant to be a member of his family, which was not exclusive to his mother (and ) and brothers. This new family included them; it just included a bunch of (like you and me).

    As Jesus was completing his final discourse with his disciples, he told them that they were not orphans, nor were they abandoned. This is, again, family language. How severe their separation was from their families at that point or later is conjecture.

    The use of the family language tells us that something was happening there. The concept of what is family was changing. The boundaries of familial blood were replaced with the boundaries of God’s saving work on the cross.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we thank you that you have called us into a family larger than we can imagine. Help us that we are indeed family, despite our many differences. May our lives be ones of that draw more into your family. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Have you ever been party to the breaking of family bonds (either by you or others)? What were the various reactions?

    2) If you were Mary or Jesus’ brothers, what would your have been, especially as Jesus’ response was so public?

    3) Why is the concept of family (not the stereotypical “nuclear” family) so critical to the and its people?

  • Owed

    Owed

    Luke 4:14–30; John 7:1–9; Romans 13:8–10

    Love is a powerful force. , envy, and are also powerful forces.

    Over time, love does win over jealousy and envy, but it often takes a lot of time, and the hurt and can take a long time to heal (if it ever does). It’s the short term where the effects are quick and brutal.

    When returns to Galilee, he’s home. Like all homecomings, it was full of joy-filled laughs, parties. You know, the new prophet preaching the coming would be welcome to town. Except, as we know (and as we read), that wasn’t the case at all.

    And it didn’t get any better. His brothers piled on. For those with siblings (or are parents of them), they probably understand. Brothers are brothers.

    wounds or wounds of friends that are like family can be awful.

    However, this is where ‘s words come in. We don’t owe anything (including vengeance) except love. Sounds kind of strange.

    We often operate in life as we owe people something. That may be true. That is what Paul wants to reset in our hearts.

    If we do things for others because we love them—truly, selflessly—that is revolutionary.

    What about owing them? That seems rather odd. Why would we “owe” them? Perhaps it is because of whose we are.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Jesus, help us be people of love, because you first us. Amen.

    ※Question※

    Love as owed. What is your immediate to that?

  • 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 the world so that no one would perish.

    On the other hand, without a doubt, there is some sort of division 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 discern 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 serve 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 .

    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 give up on those we love that don’t know you. Amen.

    ※※

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

    2) How does work in comparison with discernment?

    3) How do you evaluate your Christian walk?

  • An Abomination

    An Abomination

    2 Kings 25:8–21; Matthew 24:1–22

    The fall of the First had far-reaching consequences. It was the end of the glory of Jerusalem. Granted, the Temple had long been stripped of its gold, yet the Temple was still central to Jerusalem

    With the burning of the Temple, the cultural center was gone. The religious center was gone. Even though they were unfaithful the Temple was still the religious center; it was just used to other gods.

    While the King’s palace was administratively important, and the homes were individually important, the of the temple was a loss of identity, even if they did not faithfully follow God. This is a conqueror mentality. Break down their identity, and build them a new one (military basic or boot camp has the same principle).

    As the Jews came back, they established a God-honoring life. No, it didn’t last long. It did, for a time, re-form them around God in a good way. However, over time power and authority threw their earthly weight around, and there were a lot of overthrowing and wars.

    Eventually, the drama surrounding the Maccabean “revolt” and recovery of “right” worship in the Temple occurred. However, all the interplay amongst various Jewish actors and other parties (i.e., Romans, Syrians, etc.) eventually led to Roman rule.

    Finally, predicts another fall, with the implication of it being more permanent (though that could easily be being read into it). When Jesus talks about the abomination of the desolation, there was one before the Maccabean “revolt”, and there was one after the death of Jesus.

    Some Christians and Jews believe that the “true” desolation was when the Dome of the Rock (as Muslim mosque) was built on the site. It could be a third or fourth desolation or none at all.

    Regardless, after each desolation a significant change occurred. Historians and theologians may whether these changes were good or bad or just were.

    The “hidden” reality is that the desolations were merely signs of a preexisting problem…an ineffective or nonexistent with God. This might seem overreach, especially to modern ears and hearts. Yet, both the Old Testament and Jesus (at least for the two desolations of which they speak) tie that in.

    If any subsequent “desolations” were that, we don’t have a revelation about that, but it seems to fit.

    Perhaps we should also draw parallels between this temple history and the church. The church—especially in the US, yet also in early 20th Century Europe—has been comfortable for too long.

    Familiarity, as the saying goes, breeds contempt. Contempt toward and in the church is running rampant. It’s not new. The tipping point is coming, it seems.

    Yet familiarity can also breed safety, security, and . These are not something the church and Christians are stereotyped as. Right or wrong, this is the reality of the church.

    The abomination of the desolation is not (yet) the buildings. It is that the world does not know the church by its love.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, you have called us to be known by our love. Lord, help us love as you love. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Besides the snow one, what do you think of regarding “abominable”? How about “desolation”?

    2) How else might an “abomination of the desolation” look today? Would it be country, state, church?

    3) How do familiarity and comfort play out in our lives: , professionally, , church? What are the positive and negative results of familiarity?

  • I Swear On My Oath to Vow

    I Swear On My Oath to Vow

    Judges 13:2–25; Jeremiah 35:2–14; Acts 21:15–25

    People make vows every day. In the church, when a couple gets married, they say their vows. In older traditions, priests/pastors are said to “take their vows” when they are ordained.

    What about vows and your yes is yes and your no in no (see Matthew 5:36)? Swearing and vowing are different things. They have similarities. Part of it is our own language use.

    We swear oaths (i.e., oaths of office or service). Yet, in a number of cases (military and police oaths of service for example), it might actually be better to say vows. They are making a structured and defined commitment.

    A dictionary difference is that an oath is a personal affirmation of a statement; a vow is the commitment made in words. Sounds pretty similar, doesn’t it? If the dictionary standard holds true than many wedding vows are oaths. The English language is fun, isn’t it?

    A Nazirite was supposed to be a person who willingly took a vow of consecration to God (Numbers 6:1–21). However, the first Biblical example is that the Nazirite lifestyle choice was made for someone who wasn’t even born! A vow was supposed to be part of the lifestyle choice, but Samson didn’t have that choice to start with.

    Which, in many respects, was the situation with the Rechabites. They followed a commandment of a ancestor, and none of them were alive at the time, either! It should be noted that the Rechabites obedience to Jonadab may not have included obedience to God. It isn’t mentioned either way, yet God uses their obedience to Jonadab as the example, not their obedience to him.

    made “Jewish” vows himself. Based on the head shaving, there was a least some similarity between this and the Nazirite ritual. This is not the first time that Paul has done this. It also appears that this was maintained (at least at the beginning) in early Christian circles.

    There is certainly something to vows and oaths. We may not entirely get it. We still do it.

    ※※

    , you gave us guidance on our yes and no. Help us in our , as we still try to cover for the failings of ourselves and in keeping our , and being people of our word. Amen.

    ※※

    1) Yes, no, oath, or vow? What’s the difference? When would you use each of these?

    2) What are some oath’s you can think of? How about vows?

    3) How does obedience fit into vows and/or oaths?