Devotion.al

Tag: fulfilled

  • Good Friday

    Psalm 22; John 18:1-19:42; Philippians 2:8–9 (read online ⧉)

    This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.
    Psalm 118:24

    It seems strange to rejoice. It seems strange to today Good Friday. Yet, we do rejoice that went through horrible shaming, abuse, disgrace, and agony…then was crucified. We do not rejoice what Jesus went through. We rejoice that he went through it.

    As Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 on the cross, many have claimed that God could not bear to look upon the and shame that Jesus bore, so God turned away. Yet, Mary, Jesus’ mother, did not turn away. She stayed to the end. That being the case, can we really think that God would turn away?

    We try to avoid the cross. We wear little cross necklaces. We decorate the walls of our homes and churches with them. Some of us even have tattoos of crosses. We soften the cross with our familiarity with it. As much as in our daily lives we surround ourselves with crosses, nothing, absolutely nothing, can erase the brutality of the cross.

    Yes, we rejoice on Good Friday.

    Christmas and Sunday () are nice joyful days. They are easy to make warm and -friendly. Good Friday, not so much.

    Yet, we rejoice on Good Friday.

    Christmas was the proof that God was moving, and that God’s was being .

    Easter is often the “candy” that initially attracts people to think about, “what’s next?”

    Good Friday is what holds it : the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

    1. Have you ever thought about rejoicing on Good Friday?

    2. Have you ever hammered a nail? Think about that noise echoing in your mind.

  • Promises, Promises

    Genesis 21:1-7; Psalm 105:1-11, Psalm 102:12-28; Hebrews 1:8-12 (read online ⧉)

    God is a promise-maker. God is a promise keeper. He promised Abraham and Sarah that there would be a child of theirs. Fulfillment was a long time coming, and at a time they thought it couldn’t. God took shame and turned it into laughter. God took and turned it into .

    Is Psalm 105, the psalmist echoes the hearts of Abraham and Sarah regarding wonderful works and miracles. The rejoicing they must have made. The psalmist reminds the Israelites that they are children of a promise by God, as offspring of Abraham.

    The last verse of Psalm 102 (verse 28) says, “The children of your servants shall live secure; their offspring shall be established in your .” The promise Abraham is fulfilled with his children who live in God’s presence.

    Just as God’s promises reliable based on God’s very character, we also know that God is reliable for He is “…enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations…”. We also know that God still has a for the descendants (via bloodline) of Abraham, and Zion is their—and our—ultimate home. The Israelites and we cling to the “stones” of the promised Zion.

    The promise is that God will come back and rebuild Zion. The promise is that we will all be part of that glorious day.

    1)Do you struggle to believe that God will come back?

    2)If you knew when God would come back, how would that your life?

    3) Christians have been waiting for ‘ since the time of . How is the Christian similar to the faith of Abraham?

  • Restart and Reset

    Genesis 17:1–7, 15–16; Romans 4:13–25; Mark 8:31–38 (read online ⧉)

    We celebrate people who reach the 100-year mark (or more). Reporters will ask how they’ve lived so long, and the person will say that they never did such-and-such, or always did such-and-such, or that it is all about . We are amazed at their . Of course, we are always seeing the once who are out-and-about and doing pretty well.

    If you asked any of them if they would like to have a child at their age, I’m sure they would look you as if you were crazy. Start all over again as a parent?

    Yet, here God is telling Abram, now Abraham, that he was going to be a dad…again. And 90-year old Sarai, now Sarah, will bear her first child.

    To top it all off, Abraham and Sarah would be the ancestors of nations! To see the proof of being ancestors to nations, Abraham and Sarah would either have to live a very long time, or they could God. They did live a long time, but neither saw a grandchild from their . They could only trust God.

    Trust and . By trusting God, God called Abraham . Abraham trusted God, as God trustworthy, thus Abraham had faith that God’s promise would be . While Abraham had a long walk in faith, there were probably many things he questioned as to God’s plan.

    Peter opened up with his doubts. He “knew” that God’s plan was wrong. corrects him swiftly and with brutal honesty. Jesus then takes that and expands upon it. Jesus tells his disciples that there is a “cross” for each of us to bear. Yet it is by carrying our cross that we step in concert with God…a walk.

    1) writes about Abraham’s faithful walk with God. Why was Paul so adamant that faith was the driving force, rather than acts? How does this inform your walk with God?

    2) When you read about “picking up your cross”, what does that mean to you?

    3) As we “walk to the cross” through the time of Lent, is it time for you to lay down the cross you carry now, and pick up a new one?

  • Plan Pushing

    Psalm 22:23-31; Genesis 16:1-6; Romans 4:1-12 (read online ⧉)

    The story of Sarai and Hagar is strange. Did Abram not God to give him a through Sarai? Or did they (Abram and Sarai) that as Sarai was not conceiving that this would be through Hagar? It wasn’t, from their , unreasonable. Yet, as we know by reading further along in Genesis, that this really wasn’t God’s intent for Abram and Sarai.

    Abram and Sarai rushed God’s plan. That is not to say that Abram was not being or not God, but that his limited understanding caused him to follow a path that was not God’s intent. suggests that the union of Abram and Haggar was an event of human works. It is only the union of Abram and Sarai that truly fulfills the promises of God to Abram.

    Another way to say this is that God blessed Abram’s union with Hagar, because Abram was still in relationship with God. However, the fulfillment of God’s promise and was fulfilled through Abram and Sarai.

    1. Have you ever rushed God’s plan?
    2. Has God ever honored a decision you made, despite it not being what God revealed to you? If so, once you got back on the path God laid out for you, what happened?
    3. Why do we tend to trust that we “know” in the world (such as Abram and Hagar having a child), rather than trusting in God’s promises (such as Abram and Sarai having a child)?

  • Otherly Holiness

    Psalm 22:23-31; Genesis 15:1-21; Romans 3:21-31 (read online ⧉)

    In Genesis, we read of the covenant God made with Abram. When we look at the blood and sacrifices from a modern , it is easy to be repulsed or disgusted by the concept. In Abram’s time, this was a way to seal a covenant.

    A covenant is a . When making a covenant such as this, there were two parties, the strong party and the weak party. If was often an agreement where the strong party would agree to defend and/or take care of the weak party, and the weak party would submit—both in authority and tribute (i.e., think taxes)—to the strong party.

    If we think of this logically, then, God would take the role of the strong party, and Abram would take the role of the weak party. However, in this instance God takes the place of both parties. Abram is more of a to the making of the treaty, rather than a party to it. How can God take the place of both roles? This is a foretelling of what is to come.

    For generations, God protected and watched over Abram’s descendants. Even when they wandered or ran away from God, God still was watching and caring.

    In Romans, Paul writes: “…since all have sinned and fall short of the of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the that is in Christ , whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood…”

    This is where we can see the submitting party of the covenant. Jesus Christ’s perfect submission to God’s authority, and sacrifice of himself, fulfills the weak party’s role. It is, of course, just an analogy, yet there is a huge in this. God created the universe, yet because we are unable to save ourselves, or able to fulfill the entirety of God’s , Jesus took our place, and fulfilled the requirements of submission and tribute.

    We, like Abram, are often more witnesses to God’s holiness and fulfillment of his righteousness than actual participants of either. Yet, we are called to be .

    1) What do you think the responsibilities are of a witness? Are fulfilling them?

    2) When you think of God being both the strong and weak party, what comes to mind?

    3) How does it make you feel to understand that God took your place as the weak party?

  • Relating Relationally

    Genesis 24:1–27, Ruth 2:1–16, 1 Corinthians 7:1–9, Hebrews 11:13–22 (read online ⧉)

    Arranged marriages are nothing new. Many arranged marriages were and are political, financial, or just friends “knowing” their children should be together. The story of Isaac and Rebekah doesn’t quite fall into those lines, but it is still an arranged marriage. Just like any marriage, there were ups and downs, good days and bad. From a generational and standpoint, marriage was a core component. The servant in this story was the one who had to trust and rely on God for the journey to be a , and to be able to go to his master (Abraham) with his task .

    The story of Ruth is considered a success as she was …and landed a husband. By landing a husband, she obtained personal security. She also obtained a legacy for her husband (and by extension, her deceased father-in-law) and her mother-in-law, Naomi. That he was honorable and rich didn’t hurt, of course. In a culture where women were not highly valued, this was a significant win for Ruth and Naomi. For the women, marriage was not just success, it was safety and identity. In the story, too, was God. In this case, it was Ruth (the Moabite foreigner) who trusted and relied on God. Naomi (the Israelite) has lost her trust in God. God’s to Ruth, however, did seem to have restored Naomi’s trust.

    In this day and age and culture, we have been spared (generally) the arranged marriages of old, though they still happen. Marriage has long been a mainstay and cultural and societal bedrock for generations, and not just in American or even Western culture, but in most cultures and ages. Yes, there are exceptions. They are few. Whether you view the current changes regarding marriage in the United States as good or bad, it has changed. There is an important reason to understand that, Americans deeply value marriage. That should give hope, but it should also make us cautious. When we raise marriage to such a high level (which we have), people quest and ache for it. Then they will pursue it. Then they will fail. This is not to say that we should not view marriage highly, but that our view of it should not be over that of widows, widowers, and singles. In fact, it is not unreasonable to conclude that much of the failure of marriages are not just unpreparedness, it is also suitableness.

    There often comes a judgemental tendency regarding this in Evangelical circles. This is certainly not exclusive of Evangelical Christianity, as there is a religion that teaches (or at least use to) that a single man over the age of 25 to be a danger to society. Holding up relationships, especially romantic ones, as the panacea of all things is setting up relationships to not be able to bear the weight of expectations. Once relationships become gods, not only does God have no place, but relationships try to make up the lack of God by putting it all into the relationships.

    The other struggle is the one Paul is concerned about, and that is sexual morality. In other words, if you can’t handle your “needs”, then get married. Paul seems to put marriage as below singleness. Think about that for a moment. Paul, often elevated (rightfully) as a “doctor” of the , did not necessarily view marriage as anything more than a way to avoid sexual immorality. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for earthly marriage. On the other hand, Paul did say that Christ and the Church were and , so it’s not as if marriage wasn’t useful. Still, it wasn’t a ringing endorsement. Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches developed monasteries and convents for those called to it. This was an elevation of singleness to the glory of God.

    Those who a single, widowed, or married are to love and value each other equally, not based upon marital status. All statuses have to rely on God for fulfillment, and none are completely fulfilling for anyone, at least not without God. It is trusting God, when we cannot see the path before us, and trusting God when our relational desires are not fulfilled. Relationships fill holes inside each and every one of us.

    1) How do you view people who are in a different relational status than you are? Why? How does that fit into being framily together?

    2) How do you incorporate into your everyday life (i.e., not just at church) those who are in a different relational state than you?

    3) How do Paul’s words (in this passage) feel to you regarding your relational status?

  • Pull Me Up

    Exodus 17:1–7, Numbers 20:1–13, John 7:37–39 (read online ⧉)

    By and large, Americans do not understand the gift of clean and readily available water. Even during droughts, currently, people in places like California still can turn on the water in their homes, and get a drink. In places like Rome, artesian wells are all over the city, and one can get clean water from public fountains.

    The travels of the Israelites involved the logistics of water. There didn’t just have to be water for the humans. There had to be water for the livestock. Water was . When the water dried up, or the waterskins were empty, it wouldn’t take long for concern then desperation to kick in.

    We often ill of the Israelites when they challenged Moses. How dare they admonish the great prophet?! Later Jewish commentators would also respond the same. The reality is, though, would we really be all that different when things aren’t going well?

    No one ever promised the Israelites that the journey would be easy. They seemed to have made the . Then they placed the responsibility of their assumption onto someone else…Moses. Often Moses was really in conflict with their assumptions, rather than them, per se. Moses dealt with the ongoing disappointment of the Israelites that the world would just be handed to them.

    There is often a pervading view that we have no responsibility in regards to our and salvation working out in our lives. True, God provided us unmerited and provided the way. Our small part is to accept it. Yet, that is really only the start.

    Think of it this way, if you were at the bottom of a cliff and the only way to escape was up, and the cliff wall was too smooth to climb and you didn’t have any rope, pitons, or other climbing gear…someone is going to have to throw you a rope. You still need to grab the rope and (preferably) tie it around yourself. If there is only a person (rather than a winch or other mechanical device), they will struggle to pull you up. They might still accomplish it (and if it’s God, God will), but for your own sake, you need to help, even if it’s “walking” up the cliff so you don’t bang yourself around.
    The Israelites (and often ourselves) just wanted to be pulled up quickly and cleanly, with no need to put any effort into it. Was it still primarily God’s efforts? Yes. Did they still have a part? Yes!

    Moses didn’t help in the second instance. He actually turned this life-giving event into a curse. His words were not life-giving to the people. The water was, but that was God’s work, not Moses’. Moses lashed out in (understandable) anger and probably some hurt. In so doing, though, he damaged his and God’s . Again, it wasn’t as if the Israelites didn’t have their part (like above). Moses, though, had his part, too, and lashing out wasn’t supposed to be it.

    By the time came, for many God’s words were life-giving water “covered” in curses. Religious people and rules “gave” out God’s words (water) but in such a way as to make it a burden, and not life-giving. No one, really, had a good grasp of what Jesus really meant. The flowing into and through people was not understood, and it couldn’t be understood until all was fulfilled through the cross, the , and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

    1) What is the longest a human being can be without water? What is the longest you have been without water? Does the difference between the two help your of the Israelites?

    2) Water as the source of life makes sense from an ancient (and even modern) perspective. John says that Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit when talking about water. What does this mean for the Holy Spirit and people?

    3) Thinking of cursing the water (of life), in what ways is the Water of Life (the Holy Spirit) being cursed by humanity today?

  • Prayer Fighting

    Exodus 3:1–10, Psalm 4, Isaiah 56:7, 1 Timothy 2:1–4 (read online ⧉)

    Phrases such as“fight your battles on your knees” and “win your battles on your knees”, along with terms such as warrior, along with movies such as “War Room” all have an underlying assumption…prayer is a battle.

    There is far too much in it. First, the battle is against the powers of . Now, to be blunt, we often give those same powers too much credence. Yet, from our limited and weak perspective, the darkness seems powerful.

    Battle is also applicable when it comes to ourselves. Sometimes it is weariness. Sometimes it is despair. We fight our desire to do something more. We get distracted (even before phones that was a problem). We fight ourselves when we pray.

    This leads to the next part of this battle…never go it alone. The greatest we have is when we pray . We can lift one another up when we fall. Together (as we are called to be, anyway) we can bring each other when we’re tired, encouragement when we tend toward despair. We can even hold each other accountable regarding transactions.

    The biggest struggle when it comes to prayer is the length of time to receive and the answers themselves. Think of the Israelites. Their prayer wasn’t answered for generations, and by a guy who was (effectively) cast out of his Egyptian and Israelite relations. Their prayer was answered…eventually. How many prayed for liberation, and died not seeing it.
    Whether we are praying for , spiritual healing, or relational healing, it can be demoralizing to receive an answer we didn’t actually want. There are so many reasons why prayer may or may not be answered, but remaining in our prayers is what we are called to be.

    1) What is the biggest prayer you remember making and being fulfilled?

    2) What is the biggest prayer you remember making and not being fulfilled?

    3) What is currently the biggest item on your prayer list?