Devotion.al

Tag: father

  • 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 was first in the culture. A good way to think of it is how a person is called in many Asian countries. The family 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 together 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 church and its people?

  • Red or White?

    Red or White?

    Genesis 18:16–33; Jeremiah 5:1–9; Romans 3:5–24

    God hates me. God would/could never love me. God doesn’t care about me. No one can measure up to that standard.

    Any of those sound familiar?

    When we read stories such as Sodom and Gomorrah it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of destruction. Yet, there in the story there something important to read.

    Abraham’s about the 50, 45,40, 30, 20, 10 and the response to the question gives us some insight. From all appearances, there was one righteous man…Lot. Even Lot’s “” might have more to do with Abraham’s and not Lot’s (see Genesis 19:29).

    From our human , what happened seems out of proportion. The ways of Sodom and Gomorrah were obviously long wrong.  God did not do this on a whim. Yet, in the middle of all the wrong, 10 righteous people would have prevented disaster.

    As the of the glory of Judah approached, there, too, was an opportunity to change everything. All it would have taken is one righteous person. As the Scriptures show, however, that was not to be.

    What does this say about us? tells us that it is the very unrighteousness of humanity that displays the righteousness of God. Even in that, there is .

    There is a long list that is part of Paul’s words. It is a list (Romans 3:10–18) condemning humanity for its response to God. Why would God want such creatures?

    If you had someone who constantly said bad things to you, tossed your gifts at your feet (or the garbage), and gave credit everyone but you about the good things you’d done for them, what your response be?

    God’s answer was through the cross. Truth? We aren’t by any measure of that sacrifice. Truth? God did it out of love.

    ※Prayer※

    , thank you for the cross. Father God, thank you for your mercy on us. Spirit, thank you for drawing us to you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) When you read Paul’s list, how does it feel? To you feel condemned or judged? Or, do you feel something else?

    2) How does grace and feel in the face of that list?

    3) What do you think your ongoing response should be as a result?

  • Fruit Basket

    Fruit Basket

    Daniel 3:8–30; Matthew 7:15–20; Revelation 20:11–15

    Thinking about is often not comfortable. Homes burn. Forests burn.

    On the other hand, metal is purified through fire. Through that fire, many beautiful and amazing things are made.

    Just like in our own lives, fire serves different purposes in the . The number of times it is mentioned is numerous.

    Most of us are familiar with the story of the three companions of Daniel tossed into the fiery “pit”. Nebuchadnezzar (though really those around him) used it to kill the three. Instead, God used it to show God’s and might, and the protection of those loyal.

    This is not to say that we should all jump into fiery pits. On the other hand, the world is full of many other kinds of fiery pits.

    There is a thin line between a fire of refinement, and a fire of destruction. Without God’s saving hand Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would have died. That is often the case with us.

    Yet, Jesus drew a different picture. Jesus’ picture was that of fruitless lives. For those who view themselves harshly, these words of Jesus are hard. They can even be -destroying.

    What is good fruit? Is it only the fruits of the ? Is it only disciples? Is it only baptisms? Is it only water to the thirsty? Is it only loving the unloved?

    The hard question for too many Christians is not what good fruit is, but what is enough good fruit. If a parent has five children, and only 2 follow the Lord, is that enough good fruit?

    If one is joy-filled and generous of heart but doesn’t “see” a single person come to Christ through them, are they still producing good fruit?

    If you are one of the blessed that doesn’t view life through the how much is good enough lens, be grateful that you aren’t, and be grace-filled toward those who are.

    In a performance-based culture, such as in the States, how much fruit is not a small question. For many, this may indeed be why they shy away from faith and faith . If you will be judge by how much fruit, why walk into a judgmental situation?

    The flip side of this is also bad. Not counting the fruit has other issues, such as not equipping, discipling, and holding one another accountable. This flip side has also become an issue in the church. In not counting the fruit, it’s hard to evaluate (including, but not only, self-evaluation) one’s spiritual life.

    The fact of fruit (or lack thereof), the quality of fruit, and the quantity of fruit are all valid questions that Christians should ask of themselves and others. must be balanced in love and grace; that way we are all willing to hear and confront the truth.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Jesus, if our hearts our weighed by the thought of fruit, lighten our load. Holy Spirit, guide and prune us that we produce fruit for God’s . Father God, we put our very being into your hands, trusting you with your creation. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1)Do you ever count your fruit? Why or why not?

    2) Evaluate your fruit right now. After “evaluating” your fruit, what is your conclusion?

    3) How does the fire of refinement and destruction apply to producing fruit?

  • Intimate Purity of Heart

    Intimate Purity of Heart

    Leviticus 18:6–18; Jeremiah 13:1–11; Hosea 1:1–3; Hosea 3:1–5

    Sexual purity has long been a staple of culture, and with good reason. Even as the culture around Christianity has changed and some Christians’ perspectives have changed about what is sexual purity, sexual purity remains important.

    While we could go down the road of what is sexual purity, and how it interacts with general and Christian culture, the why is significantly more important.

    The Law of Leviticus has ties to Genesis. Noah became drunk and was naked. His , Ham, mocked him. Shem and Japeth (Noah’s other sons) covered their without looking at him (see Genesis 9:18–27).

    Noah’s nakedness was shameful, culturally. What had happened was not good. We know that the intimacy and of the parental bed and were marred.

    This flows into the concept of Leviticus, where the intimacy and mystery of sex were to be protected. What makes this even more striking is that this was set in the context of tents and shared spaces. While the mechanics (and perhaps occurrences) were known, the final curtain separated the from others, maintaining mystery and intimacy.

    This flows into the concept in Leviticus, where the intimacy and mystery of sex were to be protected. While the mechanics of sex (and even when it occurred) was known in the context of tents and shared spaces, the act was still private. Whether separation was by a physical curtain or something else, the mystery and intimacy of the act between husband and wife was maintained.

    While “uncovering nakedness” is often translated as “having sexual intercourse with”, the focus on sex often blinds us to the nakedness shame that is intended. Yes, sex was undeniably part of it. The nakedness is as much a part of the intimacy and mystery.

    In fact, focusing on the sex may actually be helping to demystify and depurify sex itself, as nakedness is (usually) a precursor. By raising nakedness to the level that scripture brings it would certainly raise sex, too.

    The raising of nakedness to an appropriate level helps us to contextualize this weird passage in Jeremiah about buried underwear. Through our contemporary lens, we just see it as underwear (i.e., functional).

    As the passage in Jeremiah shows, another’s underwear is uncovering their nakedness. No, this is not a statement on doing your own laundry. This is about God’s “nakedness” being revealed by Judah.

    By uncovering God’s nakedness, Judah destroyed the intimacy and mystery of their special relationship with God. When we get to Hosea, it’s even more apparent at just how intimate God viewed his original relationship with Israel.

    Jeremiah wrote to Judah (post-split of Israel) as their falling away was climaxing with exile. Hosea wrote to Samaria (i.e., the Northern Kingdom) who was running away from God almost at the very beginning of the split of Israel.

    Samaria was quite far gone (and this was around a century before Jeremiah). God skipped the underwear and talked about promiscuity. Samaria was sleeping with whatever flavor of god it was that day.

    It is probably quite jarring to talk about God figuratively wearing underwear and having sex. That was God’s point. God viewed the relationship with Israel (and even the divided Judah and Samaria) as something as intimate as the naked and sexual relationship between husband and wife.

    When intimacy with God is talked about, yes, it’s this intimate. This is why the purity of our hearts in regards to our relationship with God (and our spouse or potential spouse) is important to grasp.

    ※※

    My One and Only God, guide my , soul, mind, and ways to diligently seek intimacy with you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is your concept of sex and intimacy? (this is probably not a group question)

    2) How does the culture’s concept of intimacy your/ours/the ?

    3) How does the culture’s transactional view of sex affect or impact the views of you or the church?

    4) How do you think body-shaming is different from the shame of nakedness? How does body image fit into either/both?

  • Time Alone

    Time Alone

    Matthew 14:1–23

    Jesus’ cousin and herald was dead. He was murdered. Why was he murdered? He called the powerful to account.

    Herod’s marriage to Herodias had some issues. Herod had visited Herodias while she was still married to Herod’s brother, Philip. They decided they like each other, so they decided to be married.

    However, Herodias didn’t want to the house with Herod’s current wife who wisely read the writing on the wall and fled to her father’s house. As a historical aside, this created bad feelings and ultimately led to the military defeat of Herod, eventual downfall and exile.

    So, Herod wasn’t really divorced or a widower. His brother was still alive. Yet Herod married his brother’s wife. The only time in Jewish law that was appropriate was when the brother had died with no son.

    John the Baptist condemned it. Herod, probably more to please Herodias than anything, put John in jail. Herodias wasn’t satisfied, and we read the rest of the story.

    Jesus’ first response wasn’t to call Herod to account. Jesus made no public declaration at all. How different than our current .

    Jesus’ first response was to withdraw. Just like the rest of us at times, Jesus was not going to just on. It is easy to infer that Jesus needed time to grieve and spend time with God the Father, even though the do not a full explanation.

    Not that it’s bad to step away and grieve. It’s healthy, and there is a Jewish practice that goes with that (something that the needs to approach). 

    Even more so for Jesus, John was his herald, his baptizer, his cousin, and probably the one person that Jesus felt a spiritual kinship due to their tied-together callings.

    What happened next is sad, but we see it today. A famous person has a bad (or good) event, and people clamor around them. Famous people today have PR people deliver a statement that often asks for personal and private space to grieve. How sad that it isn’t given automatically.

    Jesus may have intended such, but then see how he them. Jesus set aside his needs for .

    However, there are a couple of pieces that need to be addressed. First, the amount of time spent was actually minimal. It also had an end. Then once the people were satisfied, he sent the disciples away, the people away, and he had time between himself and God.

    Often the focus is that Jesus set his needs aside for others. He did. Jesus also still made sure his needs were met.

    In times of trial and trouble, such as caring for that are ill, it is easy to set one’s needs aside. In the end, that breaks us unnecessarily. Not only are we hurt, but often we hurt others as our internal limits are broken.

    We are not machines that can go and go. Honestly, machines can’t either. Machines need maintenance. So do we. Make sure that you are finding time for yourself and finding time for God. This is not a waste of time. It is what makes the rest of the time sustainable.

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, as we live in a high-performance culture, help us to keep the vital rhythm of care for ourselves and fellowship with you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What practices do you have to “maintain” yourself? Do you have any that involve doing nothing?

    2) Have you ever experience relief of anguish or because you were distracted by other needs? What happened to the anguish or pain?

  • Following Followers

    Following Followers

    Matthew 16:13–20; Acts 11:1–18; 2 Corinthians 11:16–30

    Peter appears to have been the first one to put it all . He declared that Jesus was the Messiah.

    We often look back at Peter, thinking, “Well, that was obvious!” There were actually a number of people wandering around saying they were the messiah. Jesus wasn’t the only one.

    The other (false) messiah’s had followers, a lot of them. Some of the false messiah’s sought to overthrow the Roman government. They and their followers were killed (crucified) as rebels.

    The religious leaders weren’t any better than the Roman government, as many of them were in league with them. Also, the religious leaders had certain expectations of the messiah (some Scripture-based, many not) that no one could fulfill (and note that Jesus didn’t fulfill all of theirs).

    Peter’s declaration of the Messiah was a big deal. He assembled the “clues” together. Despite the failures and deaths of other messiahs, Peter still declared it. There would be a cost for that.

    It doesn’t matter whether one takes Jesus’ statement about “the rock” as literal (i.e., the Roman Catholic ), a figurative based upon Peter’s declaration (most Protestant traditions), or the fact the Peter was the first leader of the church. Peter’s place in Church history as both leader and declarer of the Messiah is undeniable.

    Peter is also the one that was first called to reaching the Gentiles (non-Jews) with the saving message of the Gospel. Thus, as most of the Church is now “Gentile”, Peter’s place should be unquestioned.

    The second person that was the greatest impact on the Gentiles for the Church was . Paul was almost exclusively a missionary to and a leader of the Gentiles. He, like Peter, was accused of “watering-down” the Word of God by not requiring Jewish practices for the Gentiles.

    Paul, more-so than Peter, could make a “Jew-of-Jew” claim. Paul did this so that his Jewishness would not be questioned, and neither would the , , and mercy of God toward the Gentiles.

    It is hard to imagine how the message of God’s love through Jesus’ death on the cross would have been shared and spread without these two. Both had significant flaws. In today’s overly sensitive world (in regards to all streams of politics to morality), both men would likely be attacked.

    When following Jesus, sometimes our best path is to follow the guidance of those such as these two.

    ※※

    Father God, you have called many people to follow your Son. Spirit, you have enlightened many to lead people to the Son. Jesus, you have many who are your followers. May we and obey the call, and being the of the world. Amen.

    ※※

    1) What words would you use to describe Peter? How about Paul?

    2) Why is it important to recognize not just their place as “doctors” of the Church, but also their humanity?

    3) What do they teach you about being a follower of Jesus? What does it mean to follow a follower?

  • A Little Prophesying

    A Little Prophesying

    Deuteronomy 13:1–5; Deuteronomy 18:20–22; Jeremiah 28:1–9

    Doomsday prophets are certainly a thing. There are a lot of them, and of varying kinds: epidemiologist (disease), environment, morality, political, sexuality, education, freedom, financial, and so on and on.

    Doom sells. Doomsayers may also be helpful to guide us toward some sort of preparation or . At this point, however, there are so many doomsayers that there are only two logical conclusions: we’re doomed or they’re wrong. That is really the two paths regardless of which or all the “dooms”.

    What is interesting about “prophesying” in the Scriptures is that not all prophesying is alike. Some prophesying is more akin to teaching, lecturing, discipling. That generally would fall under church categories as preaching, pastoring, and life groups.

    Other prophesying is more like visions, dreams, and euphoric states. This is what we, as a tradition (versus language), understand as foretelling or forewarning that is spiritually driven, and is our default interpretation when reading the word in the Scriptures.

    The struggle is discerning whether the or “ word” is from God, from other spiritual forces, or is it of self appearing to be “spiritual”. Especially (but not exclusively) with the , there are plenty of videos, blog posts, web sites all claiming some sort of divine connection.

    Sadly, there is no way to tag “fake ”. That takes wisdom, discernment, and positive relationships.

    ※Prayer※

    Holy , strengthen your discerning gift in us. Father God, help us to look through your word so that we can see when someone is using your word falsely. , help us to keep in mind that you told us that there would be many false prophets before your . Amen.

    ※※

    1) Have you had someone deliver a prophecy or “prophetic word” to/about you? How about as part of a public declaration (with or without you being the focus)?

    2) What are you actively doing to protect yourself from false prophesy or “prophetic word”?

  • Releasing Darkness

    Releasing Darkness

    2 Kings 25:1–12; Ezekiel 33:21–33 (read online ⧉)

    The fall of God’s City. The first taking of people had happened 9 years prior to the verses in 2 Kings. Then almost 1-1/2 years of a siege. The so-called People of God were people in misery.

    The warriors fled. Let that sink in. This is not COVID-19. This is war. Those that fight the wars and defend the people…they fled. It is likely some of them were paid, foreign soldiers. However, the army was still mostly Israelite. They fled their own blood. They left their own blood behind. Abandoned.

    King Zedekiah then compounded the problem and tried to flee with his soldiers that remained. They abandoned him. The King abandoned his people and was abandoned in turn. As a result, all but a very few were taken away.

    The very poor remained. These were the people that were likely oppressed by the other Israelites. They could have well been the remnants of the non-Israelite tribes (Anakites and Gibeonites, for example) who were the ones who stayed. Likely the thought process would be that they would grateful for the departure of the Israelites and be loyal.

    Poor Ezekiel then had to deliver the news to the exiles. Jerusalem had fallen.

    Ezekiel delivered the message. The people heard but didn’t really listen. Then the messenger came (note that the timeline of this passage is not straight) and affirmed Ezekiel’s words.

    Sadly, despite the confirmation of Ezekiel’s ministry, he was still ignored. Despite all the prophetic words spoken to them (those of Ezekiel and ), they still would not believe.

    A number of modern music artists (and it really is nothing new) have songs of and (sometimes theirs, sometimes that of the writer). These songs often have a cathartic effect, and it would seem that the exiles took Ezekiel’s words that way. What is also interesting is that Ezekiel is compared to a great singer/musician. It is known that many prophets did prophesy to music, and that could be the context.

    Even when faced with all of this, Ezekiel remained , and the Israelites remained faithless. God wasn’t done with redemption. The Israelites were done with God.

    ※※

    Father God, help us be the to those that are done with you. Help us be your ambassadors that draw them to your . Amen.

    ※※

    1) Have you ever listened to a sad or dark song, and felt release after it? What was it like?

    2) Ezekiel was popular. He was attended to. He wasn’t listened to. Can you think of anything similar in your ?