Devotion.al

Tag: father

  • Falling Down

    Falling Down

    Numbers 11:24–30; Joel 2:27–29; Acts 2:1–21 (read online ⧉)

    Just in case you didn’t know, today is . Some it the “true” birth of the Church for the Spirit fell upon the people of God, and has not left us yet. It is also called Whitsunday, of which part that is white (for purity) and the other is whit (Old English for wit, or wisdom).

    It is not the case that Jesus left us bare. It is the case that Jesus left us with fire. The of (whether in Numbers or Acts) were representative of the and God’s word/speech being active. It is not coincidental that the tongues of flame seen on Pentecost were previously seen in Moses’ time.

    Think of Moses’ words to Joshua in response to Joshua’s complaint that 2 elders who dishonored God and Moses spoke via the Holy Spirit, “If only all the LORD’s people were prophets and the LORD would place his Spirit on them!” This also goes hand-in-hand with Joel’s words, “I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity.”

    In all likelihood, you have not seen some with tongues of fire over their heads. You may have witnessed—or been part of a tradition—where people spoke “in tongues”. Neither is required as evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift of God, and is God. Through the guidance (wisdom) of the Holy Spirit, we see the Scriptures for what they are…the Word of God.

    This is not to say that the Holy Spirit was never present before, quite the contrary. What this means is that the of the Holy Spirit in the church is distinctly different than what is and was present outside of the church. Theologians still try to discern the whys and wherefores of the difference.

    One of the biggest differences is that while the Holy Spirit was generally present (just as today), the Holy Spirit as expressed through prophets was unique to the calling of the prophets. The Pentecostal gift of the Holy Spirit was that all received the Holy Spirit expressly, not generally.

    This does not mean that all are gifted with foretelling (often called ) or Truth-telling (also called prophesy, or preaching). The Holy Spirit works in and through each person differently. Your gifting may be quite different than another’s, that does not invalidate either.

    ※ ※

    Holy Spirit, we thank you for your ongoing gift of yourself to us. Help us to you, God the Father, and Jesus the Son, as we are the church, the bride of Christ, to the world. Amen.

    ※ Questions ※

    1)How would you evaluate/discern whether someone was gifted by the Holy Spirit or by the natural talents they had? What is the difference?

    2) Why is Moses’ story so important in the context of Pentecost? What about Joshua’s response?

    3) Why do you think people thought the disciples of Jesus were drunk? What might their rationale be for how a drunk person would speak as if a native speaker of their own tongue(s)?

  • Responsible

    Responsible

    Exodus 34:1–7; Numbers 14:26–38; Jeremiah 31:27–34 (read online ⧉)

    For those of us whose American individuality is almost hardwired into us, it seems inconceivable that God would punish us for other’s sins, especially for those who sinned before we were born. In fact, in many respects, we struggle with the result of anyone else’s sins being borne by us.

    If we are honest with ourselves, our personal and national (and even religious) histories carry a lot of baggage, and a lot of that has to do with actions that took, for which we had no knowledge, or participation, or approval of. The purposeful and accidental killing of Native Americans by Europeans due to diseases (such as smallpox) is such a thing. It is unlikely any of us would condone such a thing, but the consequences remain even to this day. The clearances of Native Americans to reservations and all that went along with also remains today. Slavery, war, migration, all had and continue to have consequences.

    We are not unique in this. Much of the conflict in the Middle East is because of something that happened yesterday, but of something that happened generations and even centuries ago. The same can be said in Asia, as well. This is not unique to America or the United States. What is unique, though becoming less so, is our individualistic response to it.

    For the Israelites, a tribal culture, what one’s did or grandfather did have great import for the current generation. The concept of holding the subsequent generations accountable for one’s own actions was actually quite reasonable for them. The blessing, too, made sense to them.

    As harsh as the words in Exodus seem to our modern years, we see the development of it in Numbers. Yes, the children pay the price. On the other hand, those children grew up into a powerful army. This army was needed for the next step. They also developed a rhythm when it came to God. Their food came from God. Their gathering was guided by God (6 days of work; 1 day of ). Their habits revolved around God and God’s mercies.

    Did they receive the result of their parents’ misdeeds? Yes. Were the ultimate results bad? No. This wasn’t the ideal. The ideal would have been obedience and by their parents.

    This punish/reward pattern would remain for generations until God’s declaration to Jeremiah. The whole grapes quip showed that Israel had forgotten exactly what meant and intended. Now, it became everything (which it still was, but God was about sin, not failures).

    We read these verses in Jeremiah and can be immediately be lead to the concept of our individual through Jesus Christ. It’s not that this is invalid, but that it is incomplete.

    As Christians, we are called to bear one another’s burdens. That often includes their failures and even their sins. While the ultimate cost () is paid, the consequences remain. Those consequences remain for lifetimes and even lifetimes to come.

    ※ ※

    Heavenly Father, we read you Word and often wonder if we’re missing something, for we cannot understand the entirety of who you are. We thank you for your Son. Jesus, thank you for your time on Earth, allowing us the to see God’s face. , guide our hearts and actions, not just for the now, but also to heal the hurts of the past that are not our fault, but we, as your children, are called to heal. Amen.

    ※ ※

    1) Have you ever been held responsible for someone else’s action over which you had no influence or control? What was that like?

    2) What is the difference between consequences and punishment? Which path do you see God following?

    3) What if your salvation was dependent upon others? How would you behave differently?

  • Clean Up

    Clean Up

    Zechariah 3:1–10; Matthew 9:1–8; Revelation 22:7–17

    Most parents have to tell their children to clean their rooms. There are those rare exceptional (weird) children who clean up their rooms on their own. There are also those parents who have conditioned their children to behave in a manner contrary to their nature, and the children are very clean. There there is the last group of parents, who don’t bother (for various reasons).

    Part of the walk is a that resembles Christ more and more. There are highs and lows. There are backslidings. There is a lot of hard work, and then there are miraculous leaps .

    Joshua the high priest (not to be confused with Joshua, Moses’ successor) stood before God with dirty clothes. They were reflective of the “dirty” condition of the Israelites. Now the dirty need to be contrasted with the holy part. The Israelites were called to be holy because they were the people God called by name, and God was Holy.

    The Israelites always seemed to struggle with this. Whether it was Moses, or the time of Judges, even during Samuel’s life, the latter part of Solomon’s reign, and all the kings that followed Solomon. The Israelites often left God and pursue other gods and other ways that were not God’s. They were not holy. They were not clean. They were dirty.

    Note that neither Joshua nor Zechariah did anything. In fact, even Satan didn’t have (so it seems) even the opportunity to accuse Joshua. God just commanded…and it was so.

    In Hebrew, often when Satan is presented in English, we should know that “the” accuser is the more literal meaning. This is particularly interesting when we come to the story of the paralytic, the accusers are the scribes.

    While the scribes didn’t say anything, Jesus still knows their hearts well enough to know their accusation. Jesus declares the man clean. Just like that. Oh, and just in case they didn’t get it the first time (they didn’t), he cleansed the man’s clothes (being the body).

    Yet, the reality is that we, and our clothes, still get dirty. Perhaps there is one person that you “know” is a (and they might be). That person, however, probably would see their own stains that you cannot. “Bless those who wash their robes(!)”

    We’re going to get dirty in this life. Usually through our own faults, but undeniably there are times when people will chuck the muck at you to make sure you look dirty. Why that might be is irrelevant to this message. What is relevant is that our clothes are not us. Through the of Jesus Christ, and our submission to his authority and our submission to the work of the Holy , we are made clean!

    ※ Prayer ※

    Merciful , you have declared us clean through the sacrifice of your Son. Lord Jesus, we thank you for your work on Earth and the words that you have given us. Holy Spirit, allow us to see our stains clearly. Help us to understand your conviction of us while knowing that you do not condemn us, but call us to a (w)holy deeper life. Amen.

    ※ Questions ※

    1) Are you an accuser? If someone with “dirty” clothes comes to a small group, a gathering, or even (gasp) , what do you do?

    2) someone who you deeply admire (or, again, think of as a saint), and ask them if they still see their spiritual stains?

    3) How are you working through the stains in your life? Do you have an partner (or better, 2 or 3)?

  • Planned Disruption

    Planned Disruption

    1 Samuel 16:1–5; Luke 14:28–33; James 4:13–17 (read online ⧉)

    But mouse-friend, you are not alone
    in proving foresight may be vain:
    the best-laid schemes of Mice and Men
    go oft awry,
    and leave us only and pain,
    for promised joy!

    Still, friend, you’re blessed compared with me!
    Only present dangers make you flee:
    But, ouch!, behind me I can see
    grim prospects drear!
    While forward-looking seers, we
    humans guess and !

    From “To a Mouse”, by Robert Burns
    modern English translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

    The current situation with COVID-19 should put to rest how fleeting our plans really are. However, while everything is in an uproar and rather chaotic, we are still coming up with plans. What becomes emblematic of human behavior is that we know we are making plans for a target that doesn’t yet exist.

    These are strange times indeed.

    Samuel had a plan. In fact, at one point it seemed a pretty solid plan, since it appeared to be God’s plan. The Israelites decided they wanted a king, “just like the countries around them”. So, while Samuel was upset (along with God), it was done. This king, Saul, seemed to be destined for great things. He was physically imposing. He was successful militarily. He even had a starting bought of prophesying.

    While we cannot say that Samuel loved Saul, there does seem to be some sort of strong emotion that Samuel had for Saul. We see this in God’s words to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul?” Samuel knew that Saul wasn’t dedicated to God, yet Samuel still mourned the fact that Saul would lose his kingship and was not blessed by God.

    The plans for the King of Israel changed. Now, a new path would be before Samuel. In obedience, he followed it to a boy named David. While it might have not been as abrupt as all that has come with COVID-19, for a culture such as this “just” changing the king was a big deal. This is clear when Samuel brings his worry of being killed before God. It shouldn’t be ignored that God gave Samuel a way around a reprisal coming from the king or his minions.

    Plans are worthwhile. It’s not as if they should not be made. even used the example of construction and war plans to lay out to wannabe disciples that they need to plan for the costs of following him. Jesus makes it clear that if we follow him, we can expect a lot of worldly things to be prioritized at a much lower ranking than the of Heaven.

    Often we count the cost…and we lie to ourselves. “God doesn’t really want…” “I can by just…” “My life is too busy to…” “That’s the way we’ve always done it.” We count the cost, and determine that following Jesus isn’t really worth the price.

    Sometimes, and especially in times of turmoil, our plans need to be laid at the feet of God, and not at our comfort. When James talks about people making plans (in particular speculative plans about enterprising and wealth-building), he’s warning each an everyone of us that all of our plans are worthless if they do not begin with God.

    What should especially concern us is when we hold so tightly to our plans, that we do not respond to God’s prompting to the plan.

    ※ Prayer ※

    Father God, you know the plans you have for us. May we be to respond. Jesus, help us to follow your example of obedience and submission even unto death. Spirit, guide our hearts into all Truth, hope, and love. Amen.

    ※ ※

    1) What are your current plans (personal, professional, , religious)? How does God fit into those plans (even the religious ones)?
    2) How will you know if God wants you to continue your plans, or change them?
    3) How often do you still count the cost of following Jesus, whether it’s your family, your profession, your stuff, your time, or something else?

  • Foot Care

    Foot Care

    John 17:1–11; Ephesians 1:17–23 (read online ⧉)

    I thought how ironic it was that I’d dismissed dog meat as a cultural idiosyncrasy in Vietnam; that “who I am to judge?” extended to Islamic laws in Uzbekistan and Buddhist restrictions in Cambodia, but not to Republicans, hunters or gun owners. I’d shaken my head at the prejudices some nations had for their closest neighbors, only to discover that, among my cultural neighbors, I was just as prejudiced.

    Liz Dodd, Welcome to the New World

    Liz Dodd is a self-avowed liberal who, on a spiritual journey, discovered a few things about herself. If we’re honest about ourselves, we all have some serious issues with this. You may the Republican, hunter, and gun-owner who struggles with the Democrat, vegan, pacifist who you think is un-American.

    And? We are called to pray for one another. Often when praying for the other, it is not they who are changed, we are the ones who change.

    When Jesus prayed to the Father for the Father and the , it can seem a little odd. If the Trinity holds true, God is praying for God and, well, God. On top of that God is praying for the of God, which could seem selfish and arrogant.

    In this unique time, Jesus isn’t “just” God. Jesus is human. Jesus isn’t quite on the inside of the Godhead. It’s strange. It’s okay that it’s strange.

    Jesus then prays for others. He specifically prays for those that have accepted him as the Messiah, and in Jesus’ obedience, the will come to them. It should be noted that Jesus does not pray for the world. Later, he commissions them to go into all the world. He is focused, at this time, on those that are (less Judas Iscariot) going to move forward with the Gospel.

    Moving forward with the Gospel often means that we have to let go of a lot of things. In the Newsboys song, “Landslide of ” they say, “Every time we shout our rights out we get all grouchy and gray.” In the USA, letting go of our rights is a hard thing, and we often hold one “right” tightly, while another person calls it a “privilege”.

    tells the Ephesians that he prays that they receive Spirit empowered revelation and knowledge of God. This is so that they have a hope beyond what is going on around us. For this hope to be effective, often the Holy Spirit will nudge us out of our comfort zone of political association, hobbies, work, career. The Holy Spirit will nudge us when we don’t have God in mind.

    However, often we are too immature or blind or deaf to hear the Holy Spirit nudges. If we haven’t felt or heard the Holy Spirit nudging us, then the likelihood is that we have become blind or deaf, or have a new place of spiritual immaturity to be worked on.

    Our prayers for others must exceed our discomfort with others. Our rights are under the feet of God. Our enemies are under the feet of God. We are under the feet of God. In other words, everything is equaling under the feet of God. We are to be One , Under God. Everything else may well be a barrier between us and a full with God.

    ※ Prayer ※
    Father, help us to pray as Jesus did…for your glory. Thank you, Jesus, for your earthly example of what it means to serve the Father. Holy Spirit, bind us to the plan and goals of the Father. Amen.

    ※ ※
    1) Why has what divides us overwhelmed what unites us, whether as Christians or as humans (who bear the image of God)?
    2) What is your immediate “gut” response to the lyrics from the Newsboys? What rights do you hold onto?
    3) What has the Holy Spirit been nudging you regarding breaking the barriers you have placed between yourself and others?

  • Believing Works

    Believing Works

    John 14:6–21; John 21:24–25 (read online ⧉)
    Often, we operate as if following is just the thing to do. If you were raised in the , as a (at least a theoretical) , the “Jesus” and “Christian” thing “sort of” happens. It is a “sort of, as our whole should be each day taking one step closer to being like Jesus.
    The disciples, especially the 12 closest, should have really gotten this themselves, but just as we are often blind with what is right before our eyes, they were too.
    Jesus’ question to Philip, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me?” That is a really amazing condemnation of Philip, and probably the other disciples, as well. They were not getting it.
    Now, the reality is that Jesus was saying that he was equivalent to God the . This was a very bold statement. It is only through the doctrine of the that these words make any sort of sense. The disciples, however, didn’t have a framework to use to understand.
    So, Jesus skips the belief (doctrine) part and says believe the actions. Truly, this is an interesting statement. If you don’t believe the words of Jesus, look at Jesus’ actions. Then the really hard part comes.
    Those who believe in Jesus will do the same works. That list of works includes: helping the mute speak, casting out demons, internal injuries, healing the lame, and raising the dead. John also says that Jesus did a lot more miracles, but John chose to not record them, as the ones of were enough to believe. Were they, though?
    If we are supposed to be able to do the same works? How’s that for high expectations? Raised anyone from the dead recently?
    Now, there are those that say we aren’t all called to do these miraculous things. Partially, it’s trying to explain away the lack of miracles (outside of medical science). There is also the reality that while Jesus did miracles, it wasn’t a constant thing.
    ※ ※
    Jesus, you said that we would do works like yours, if we believed. Help our unbelief! Amen.
    ※ ※
    1) What physical miracles have you seen?
    2) What is the difference between believing in Jesus and loving Jesus?
    3) Why do you think that John chose not to write more on Jesus’ works?
  • Waiting in Trust

    Waiting in Trust

    John 16:5–15; Acts 1:1–8 (read online ⧉)

    Wait for the to be .

    directed his disciples to wait. They couldn’t even wait when Jesus was with them after the Resurrection. “Hey, Jesus, are we going to take over the world, now?”

    Of course, they really didn’t say that. Not even close. However, restoring the of Israel was, from a Jewish , much the same thing. The Kingdom of Israel wasn’t just a . It was a God-blessed nation.

    When they thought of a God-blessed nation, they were thinking that power and wealth would be restored to the Jews. The Romans would no longer be the occupiers. The Jews would once again occupy the place the belonged on the world stage.

    Except, Jesus poked that balloon. “Sorry, the ‘s got something planned, and…you don’t get to know the entirety of the plan.” Can you imagine that? They don’t get to know the whole plan.
    Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Right now we are in the midst of trying to make plans while being undeniably confronted with the reality that all our plans are…fluid. We know that we don’t know what is going to happen. We still plan and dream, however.

    The disciples weren’t even really trying to plan. God was writing a new page, and they didn’t know what to expect. They had to trust.

    In a few weeks (May 31st), the church (the whole church, the of Christ) will have a birthday…. That promised counselor would change everything. In the meantime, they had to wait.

    Sometimes we’re a little hard on them. We see what happened. These people, by and large, were the out-of-the-loop kind of folks. Nothing earth-shattering would happen with them. They were barely educated. They were not from the of Judah. They weren’t tied to the powerful. In fact, the powerful didn’t want much to do with them.

    We do know that there had been a false Messiah from the region prior to Jesus. So, there was also the likely weight of the false Messiah, plus this guy who rose from the dead. Everything was new.

    Just wait. Just trust. Be willing to trust and wait. Our world could use a lot of that now.

    ※ Prayer ※
    Lord, as the world twists itself in an anxious circle, help us to be the unanxious ones. Guide our hearts and minds to not be anxious and trust in your timing and your plan, not of which is ours. Amen.

    ※ Questions ※
    1) What are you waiting for?
    2) Does your waiting require trust? If so, how’s that trust doing?
    3) What are you doing in your wait? Are you preparing and making plans for when the brakes are loosed?

  • Oath Busting

    Oath Busting

    Genesis 13:1–18; Numbers 13:30–14:4; Numbers 14:36–45 (read online ⧉)

    God had made a to Abraham. As God is the make of the promise, following yesterday’s devotion, it was an oath. Abraham’s descendants would flourish in the land that Abraham would walk.

    At the time of Lot’s and Abraham’s separation, the land that Lot had was the better land. The lesser, more difficult land was Abraham’s. Yet, it was on this lesser more difficult land that God would build a nation with God’s name on it.

    After many years, Abraham’s descendants had finally arrived to “take” the land. The tribes that had flourished with the absence of Abraham’s descendants certainly weren’t going to be willing or eager to just hand the land over. As far as they, the current inhabitants, were concerned this was their gods’ land. The Israelites were nothing.

    Even those technically related were just as harsh to the Israelites. Yet, there was an oath made by God. Perhaps the oath was no longer valid. Perhaps God broke the oath.

    This is where it gets interesting for us, too. When God made the oath, there was no promise of easy living or being able to just get the land. The Israelites had to work for it, too.

    This is also the case for us. God calls us to be his people. God made an oath to always be with us. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. In fact, part of being with us was part of telling us that things would be hard.

    The Israelites, just like us, weren’t going to have anything to do with this difficult stuff. They wanted the easy street. At one point, God tells the Israelites about when they will and with produce they didn’t plant, with labor they didn’t spend. They had to value the fulfillment of God’s oath.

    Instead, they decided that they were going to break the oath. It might sound a tad harsh. However, it wasn’t God that decided that the oath wouldn’t be . They decided it.

    So, God “accepted” their decision, and gave the consequences. And they decided to try to break that, too. Moses also makes a point to them, that is also for us. God wasn’t with them. They would fail. If only they hadn’t tried to break the oath (that wasn’t theirs to break) in the first place.

    ※ A Prayer of Billy Graham ※
    …Father, we thank You for the promise and of [the ], and we look to it with expectancy and faith. This [we] in the name of our Lord and Savior, who by His death and resurrection has given us hope both for this world and the world to come. [Amen]

    ※ ※
    1) Have you ever had someone try to break the oath or promise of another person? What was the situation? How did it work out?
    2) Why would a person try to break the oath or promise of another person?
    3) What can the short-, medium-, and long-term consequences of promise- and oath-breaking?