Devotion.al

Tag: future

  • Whose Plans to Follow

    Jeremiah 29:4–19, Jeremiah 40:1–6, Jeremiah 45:1–5

    Jeremiah 29:12 is an oft-quoted verse:
    “For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the LORD’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to you a and a .”

    That verse is very comforting, and it should be. However, surrounding that verse is a whole lot of uncomfortable stuff: slavery, exile, 70 years away from home, to live in exile and seek the benefit (?!) of their captors. We often don’t think about these things when quoting Jeremiah 29:12. Who does really want to , “yes, I’ve got the plan, and it involves losing everything you hold dear and supporting your oppressors?”

    Jeremiah was offered a place in Babylon where he would be taken care of. He could be a prophet to his people and at least have some protection (often needed from his own people and the Babylonians) and decent accommodations with food. Instead, Jeremiah chose to stay with those that remained in the land. Instead of choosing and security, he chose hardship.

    The words given the Baruch may not seem to have a place here, yet the words spoken to Baruch are along the same line as those spoken to those going into exile. “Don’t seek your own ends.”

    1) We can easily justify our goals and decisions by saying it was, “the right thing.” Have you ever experienced the right thing not being the “God thing?”

    2) Why is the passage in Jeremiah 24 just as appropriate today as it was prior to the exile? How can we misuse it?

    3) We often look to the big, new, bright, and shiny things. What do God’s words to Baruch (both verses 4 and 5) have to say about that?

  • Lead In Love

    Mark 9:33–37, Acts 15:36-41, 1 Timothy 6:3–11

    It is an amazing fact that you might have learned yourself: people are different, and don’t always agree.
    There are various kinds of disagreements, and it is not necessarily bad to . In fact, it is often through disagreements that better solutions, not just compromise, can be found. In our current political environment, compromise is now a bad thing, as members of both Republican and Democrat parties entrench themselves. While the President may be the focal point, the reality is people seem to have lost the ability to discuss hard things without devolving to calling and pointless posturing.

    The disciples argued with each other regarding who was first among ‘ disciples. Two of them, Peter and John, probably had the strongest claim (from what scripture tells), but that this argument appeared to be amongst all of them indicates that Peter and John’s “ranking” was not as prominent as we think. This would be a pointless argument. While figuring out who is the is often a good discussion at other times, their little group had a leader…Jesus.

    The “sharp disagreement” between and Barnabas is one of the biggest examples that not everything went perfectly well and peaceful all the time in the church. John Mark was the point of contention. What the exact issue was, both past and possible , we can guess. Neither leader (for both were leaders) felt they could compromise regarding John Mark. They separated after being together so long. They had some sort of reconciliation later. This shows us that we can disagree well, and part ways. It doesn’t seem that either held it against the other for long.

    Paul understands that there will be conflict and arguments. In his letter to his protégé, Timothy, Paul doesn’t say don’t , but that people who seek argument are to be corrected. We all want to be right (and viewed that way), but most of us are aware of our limitations. We are able to be humble when wrong.
    As the world starts to stop talking and only yell, the church (with its many failings) should show the way. As the church deals with uncomfortable topics, it should lead in . This starts right here with our framily.

    1) Have you ever had an argument which has been left unresolved, and thus straining or destroying a relationship? Was it friends, immediate , or was it framily? What can you do to resolve things?

    2) Why is it so important to understand that we don’t always agree and that it is okay?

  • Inherting Legacy

    Genesis 47:18–26, Acts 4:34–5:11

    In the States, land has long represented freedom, self-reliance, , and self-determination (on one hand), slavery, clearances, eviction, theft, and deceit (on the other hand. How can such divergent perspectives be? Well, for many Native Americans the initial immigration of Europeans may have not been a disaster, but what occurred especially after the Civil War (or the War Between the States) was often cruel and morally questionable (at best). For those trying to escape the crowded East Coast and the memories of the recent war and slavery, it was something to seek.

    Even today land is essential. While in the United States the land and the buildings (for example) are part of the value, in places like Japan, the land is the only thing that matter (for cultural reasons). Land has long been a symbol of power. It also is a symbol of life. It can also represent roots.

    When the people of Egypt sell their land and themselves to Pharoah, they are surrendering their lives and that which allowed them to live. They had surrendered their , their children’s future, and even their grandchildren’s future. In all likelihood, they sold themselves into bonded servitude to pay off the debt they took on to survive. It isn’t clear how long this servitude was to last. Theoretically, it was until the debt was paid off, however, as both the land and the people were sold, we can assume that it would take a while to pay off the debt. How the land would have been purchased back is something else. It would have been a process and a slow one. One’s only hope would be the dim one that one’s children would be free of the debt.

    With all the comes to mind in these situations, how people viewed themselves, their (lack of) freedom, or their hope (if any), is anyone’s guess. We can conclude that in desperate times that people surrendered their freedom and the one thing (land) that would allow them to continue to be free.

    Land is still pretty important. As we watch property values skyrocket, we are all very much aware of it. As more people in, rural areas that were once affordable are no longer so. If someone were to just sell their property and it to the framily (i.e., the friends and family of Generations Community Church), we would all be grateful, but we would also be a bit confused. If that same person were to sell that property and only give the proceeds to those in need in the church, we would be a bit more understanding, but it would be unusual. This is not a moral judgment, but a recognition of just how strange the First Century Church was. It broke all the traditions.

    Tie this back to culture. The land was the family’s and inheritance. Selling it was done only in desperation. Yet, here we are talking about exactly that. While Barnabas is called out in Acts (yes, Ananias and Sapphira are too), the implication is not that Barnabas’ was unique, but it does imply that it was a significant sale. One of the differences that we can infer (easily) is that Barnabas did it to take care of his church family, while Ananias and Sapphira did it for acclaim. Both land sales took care of the church family, but the hearts of the sales were completely different.

    1) What relationship, reflections, and feelings do you have in regards to owning land (not necessarily buildings)?

    2) How desperate would you be to sell yourself, your property, and your foreseeable future to someone? How desperate must the Egyptians have been?

    3) What does Barnabas’ tell you about who he viewed as family? What does that tell you about the First Century Church?

  • Resurrecting Perspective

    Matthew 28:1–8, 1 Corinthians 15:12–23

    HE IS RISEN!

    “Blessed be the God and of our Lord Christ. Because of his great , he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:3–4

    The cross is the threshold between the fallen and the life. Once we have accepted all that comes with the cross, we step across the threshold. In many ways, we are now in a long state of waiting, yet…He is Risen!

    We have the ending. We know the ending. Yet, we wait.

    The wait between crossing the threshold and our own resurrection experience can be mere moments (e.g., deathbed ) or a really long time (e.g., a child’s salvation until they die). It is not just this day and age that looks at this wait as a very long time. When Paul was writing, they were expecting the end to come soon. Much of what Paul wrote was with the (short) end in mind. There was soon a need to revise their expectations.

    Today we still have people who claim the end of the world and Christ’s is imminent. To God, it is imminent. It is just that God’s time frame is a bit longer than ours. Just like in simpler things (jobs, children, saving), we can get a bit impatient. Many people’s bodies and hearts hurt to such a degree that they would accelerate Christ’s return. Yet, to do so is to deny our responsibility in the waiting.

    We are called to walk with the world. They are waiting, too. They are just not aware of what they are waiting for. Just as we get impatient with waiting, so do they. The difference is the of Christ in us. The power and hope of the resurrection may often be the only things that differentiate us from others. The power and hope of the resurrection may be the only thing that can keep us patient and maintain a positive outlook in this life. The power and hope of the resurrection to those who wait, but know not what they are waiting for.

    1) Does the resurrection really affect how you view this life and the lives of others? If so, how? If not, should it?

    2) For the last few generations, the has used the stick of Hell and the carrot of eternal life to call people into a life with Christ. How does this work with and against the power and hope of the Resurrection?

    3) Why is it important to understand that Kingdom life is now, rather than past or future? How does the Resurrection empower the Kingdom life?

  • Being and Becoming the Bridge

    Isaiah 30:18–26, Isaiah 61:10–11, 1 Corinthians 3:5–11, 1 Corinthians 11:23–26

    We are the bridge between the past and the future, with one foot in the past and one foot in the future.

    The past of was gone, a faded memory. Perhaps to some it was just an old tale that was from the crazy aunt. David and Solomon? Sure. Whatever you say, Auntie.

    Into hearts that resided in , Isaiah spoke light and life. People who felt oppressed were promised the freedom of planting crops and harvesting them on their own behalf, not under the rule of foreigners. Not only that, Isaiah told them that they would turn their backs on their treasured idols. They were being told that the little gods that had protected them would be thrown away. That’s crazy!

    Isaiah later talks about the earth and garden producing as they should, because God has provided salvation and blessed them. Not their idols. The of God’s blossoming righteousness in the hearts of people who had abandoned their God who had chosen them to bear his .

    Death to life. During this series of devotions, we haven’t spoken much on , but with this last devotion for the series it seems appropriate. Lent comes from Old English and German, meaning spring. Spring comes at the end of Winter (the land almost “dead”, but waiting to come alive). Just like the Jews, who were in their “Winter”, so are we before our salvation.

    Paul and Apollos worked on ground that wasn’t yet “alive”. Yet, they planted the and watered it. Eventually, new growth in dead ground came alive and blossomed. While others were fighting over who they followed (Paul, Apollos, or others), these coworkers in Christ looked ahead to see a crop that God empowered them to see, even if they did not see it now.

    Our bridge from death to life and from past to future is the legacy of our faith. Paul proclaims it best, “…as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” The past and future. While we remember and the past, we must look to the future of ourselves, our family, our , our faith, and the world.

    1) What do you think the future of this church should look like? What can you do to help that come to pass?

    2) Often, we are blinded to our vision of the future, and thus tear down the future visions of others. What can you and we do to embrace the visions of others for the future?

    3) Paul’s concluding statement covers both past and future. How can Paul’s conclusion empower and educate your vision and how to make it come to pass?

  • Drawing Waters of Salvation

    Isaiah 12:2–6, Jeremiah 31:31–34, Luke 22:14–20

    Isaiah is often not filled with much encouragement. This particular “song”, however, is a pronouncement of the saved telling the unsaved that they can be saved.

    Isaiah starts out with his , and that his relationship with God is sound. He then tells the wayward hearer that they will joyfully (note they are miserable) draw water of their salvation. Then they will sing praises to God. Springs of salvation, or could we say Living Water? What do you think?

    Water is life. This is a special truth in the desert, where water is scarce. From a scriptural standpoint, blood is the life of a creature. Thus when we come to communion, we are to consider both the aspect of blood as life (‘ blood) and water as life (Jesus is the living water). When Isaiah speaks about the spring of salvation, it is reasonable to see a foreshadowing of communion.

    With its darker tone (the blood of Jesus), it is also easy to see that this is not quite what had happened before, yet had similar attributes to the sacrificial practices of the Israelites. When Jeremiah speaks of a new , there is little chance that the Israelites would have expected how that covenant would come to be. That this new covenant also changes how the “law” worked would also be beyond expectation. How would the Israelites “know” God’s law? It is not until the is fully expressed that an understanding of this new way of the law fully revealed. There is also a special in Jeremiah’s New Covenant . If we all know God’s law, and have to be neither taught nor teach (admonish) others. Looking at the world around us, and our own lives, the only way that happens is if we fully yield ourselves to God. Yielding ourselves to God often starts with the simple acknowledgment that we cannot fully understand God.

    The disciples didn’t fully understand God, and they spent 3 years with Jesus! Have you heard, if only Jesus were here, we’d get the real/whole story, and we’d understand (or even believe). If his disciples who were with him (even one going so far as to him) for years didn’t get it, would we be any more likely? With our post-Enlightenment and scientific tendencies, we might be even less likely to understand! Even Judas Iscariot (the betrayer) up to this point didn’t get what this specific night meant for the future. They were just celebrating Passover with Jesus.

    When we celebrate communion (a sacrament), we become participants in this last meal.

    Instead of the usual questions at the end (besides, there were plenty of questions already), we will end with Book of Common Prayer, Contemporary Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Lent:

    Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world:
    Evermore us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him;
    who lives and reigns with you and the ,
    one God, now and for ever. Amen.

    US Book of Common Prayer, 2007

  • Passing On Legacy

    Psalm 78, Judges 17:1–13

    “We will not hide [the miracles of the past], but will tell a future generation…” Except what are we telling?

    This is a very personal question for anyone. There have been generations of self-defined Christians whose entire families have walked away from the . It may be because the church is full of broken people. That certainly is the case. However, that cannot be the only cause. Many of the families “grew up” in church. Many “met ” at a young . That is the “fire insurance” tendency of people.

    Verses 7 and 8 are the crux of it. We the legacy of God’s story so that they know (information) and live out (relation). The American church has done a great job of information, but often only stops at a surface relation with Jesus. So much of church life was keeping up appearances. It had to wear out eventually. Once the pretty shell wore off, the ugliness showed through, and people left. The church struggles to this day with the ugliness that often shows through, and strange things happen.

    The story in Judges itself is strange. A mother curses the person (we infer) who took her . When her son confesses, she blesses (?) him. Then in an already confused situation, they use “church” language, which apparently makes it better (?), and make an . So, Micah (the son) builds a “temple” and assigns his son as priest. This is in the context of Israel. The idol is bad. Only one family is supposed to be priests, and Micah’s family is not part of it. Then a person from the right bloodline (Levite) walks by and is hired to be the priest. As there is no mention that this Levite is a descendant of Aaron (the “true” priests), it just gets better and better. Then, oddly, Micah (a with apparently adult sons) tells the Levite that he (the Levite) will be his spiritual father.

    During the time of the book of Judges, there was definitely a soul of independence that believed the “other” was not family (even if of Israel, too), and people could do as they wished. It was controlled anarchy. In the US, we have well over 1200 denominations (not counting all the non-denominational—which have some sort of affiliation—churches). Sounds vaguely like controlled anarchy, too. As we watch big churches and even bigger denominations struggle with leaders who do bad things, we should be able to sympathize with people who if we Christians really do have a single religion. Based on some behaviors, we could even wonder if the church has a bunch of people like this Levite, who has the credentials but is all about the money (or power).

    1) Why is it important to sympathize with the perception of the church by those outside of the church? How can such perceptions hinder sharing about Jesus? More importantly, how can they help to share about Jesus?

    2) This story (which actually has a second part) is very much about people not being under the authority of a king? Can you think of the Jewish/Israelite reason for this? How can this inform how we interact with each other inside and outside of the church?

    3) Denominations pass on legacies of beauty and dedication. Denominations can also pass on legacies of pride and power. How are denominations used by God? How can denominations be dangerous to the of God?

  • Worthy Legacy

    Psalm 84, 1 Chronicles 28:1–29:9

    When we of legacy, it is usually about what we leave behind. In Shakespeare’s play Julias Caesar, Anthony says, “The that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.” That sad truth is that often the bad that people do (even if simple, stupid mistakes) outlast the good. Even the awareness of the good (even good that outweighs the bad) fades, as we seem to be attracted to the bad.

    your legacy is important. If you are a parent of younger children, start thinking about it now. If your children are middle- or high-school, it takes a different kind of planning. If your children are out of the house, yet a different. If you have no children, pour into those younger than you. Legacy isn’t a future thing, it is an for the now.

    David wanted to act now to build a for God. He made the building plans. He probably started storing supplies for the building. He was ready to go! Then he was stopped by God. Was his legacy to be stopped by God? In a way. There is definitely Godly separating the warrior king and his warrior ways from God’s temple. One can infer that while God (because of humanity’s fallen nature) tolerated and used war to preserve the Israelites, it really wasn’t the goal or intention. Despite being stopped, however, David’s plans still came to fruition.

    When David’s son, Solomon, became king, the temple project went from plans to fruition. The temple is still referred to as Solomon’s Temple, yet David designed (with Godly inspiration) and provided for its construction. While it was “Solomon’s Temple”, it was still David’s legacy. Through David’s legacy, people worshiped God. David just didn’t get all the credit.

    1) Our best legacy can often be what could have had our attached but doesn’t. What legacies can you think of that would still be worthwhile even if you are forgotten as part of it?

    2) It’s never too late to start a legacy. Even if your is broken, or you are broke. You choose your legacy. What legacy will you choose?

    3) We all leave a legacy. It may only last a generation in a form we recognize. How can a legacy transform and beyond what we ourselves did?