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Devotion.al

Tag: God

  • Living After

    John 21:1–19, Isaiah 43:1–12

    We often stop with the Resurrection of Easter. That’s the big event. It’s understandable. It wasn’t the end of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Often when we are stressed or unsure of ourselves, we return to old habits. Peter’s old habit was fishing (it was his occupation, too). It was quite simple, and probably even automatic, to go back to fishing. It was something solid, earthly. It was also something to do. Scripture implies that Peter wasn’t the calmest and patient person. It doesn’t take much imagination to hear Peter’s frustration and restlessness coming to a boil…, “I’m going fishing.”

    Next, we read a very similar encounter with too many fish being pulled up. You can easily imagine someone smacking their head when they make the connection.

    Then Jesus asks Peter 3 times about feeding his (Jesus’) sheep. The context of taking care of those that followed Jesus was obviously important to Jesus. Jesus was important to Peter. The 3 times was both admonishment and intimate. Peter was, it seemed, the new servant-leader. Peter just wanted Jesus. Not that many days ago in Peter’s journey, he denied Jesus 3 times, fell asleep while called to pray with Jesus, left Jesus to die. There is something about this particular encounter that was much more than “just” the resurrection. This was restoration.

    Restoration is a common theme in scripture. Isaiah called on the people. Announcing that God would restore and reconcile. Granted, maybe not in the way they wanted. It is unlikely that Peter would have chosen to be reconciled to Jesus the way he was. Reconciliation can truly be extraordinarily painful. Peter experienced it. Israel experienced it. Yet, when we come to reconciliation we often flee the pain. Beyond the pain is a new life.

    1) Peter ran away (and other stuff). The people of Israel were almost destroyed. Reconciliation was on the other side. What is different, and what is the same in these two different times?

    2) Theologians have vigorously discussed the 3 admonishments by Jesus to Peter. What do you think they mean, and why are they important?

    3) Sometimes people need space and practices to process what has happened to them. Do you ever need that? Do you know people who need that? How do you process events?

  • All To Be Reconciled

    Genesis 4:1–17, Ezekiel 33:10–20

    Cain is often portrayed as the human embodiment of evil. In popular media, he’s the ultimate bad guy. Which makes sense. Cain invented murder. Yet, Cain lived. Later, the rules would be set, he would be dead according to the penalties, but for this time and age, he lived. What about the “mark” of Cain? Some people have drawn from Revelation what that symbol could look like. It must have been pretty significant for it to be instantly recognized. We focus on a lot of that, but perhaps we ought to focus on something slightly different. God’s grace.

    Where is God’s grace in this? Cain’s protection. Cain being able to, in some way, move on with his life. Cain was able to have a family, and even began to be settled. This not the story of a man on the run, but the story of a man who did a horrible wrong, but was yet a recipient of God’s grace and protection.
    We don’t know the story behind the story. Was Cain’s relationship with God reconciled? The Bible doesn’t say. John, Jude, and the author of Hebrews don’t have much confidence in Cain’s rehabilitation, but nothing is impossible with God.

    The reason this matters is summed up in the words of Ezekiel. God doesn’t want anyone to not be reconciled. Bad men become righteous. Just like Adam and Eve, however, good can become bad because of a choice made. We forever are stuck with the consequences of the choices we have made. However, those choices do no prevent us from approaching God.

    1) What are some of the worst choices you ever made? How did they affect your relationships with others and your relationship with God?

    2) Do you think it is possible (regardless of likely) that God showed Cain grace? Why or why note?

    3) Thinking of Ezekiel’s words, what is the flip (or possibly negative) side of God’s grace?

  • Wednesday after Easter

    Genesis 1:24–2:1, Genesis 3:6–13, Psalm 11, Matthew 6:22–23

    Up through verse 25, God’s creative acts end with the epithet, “…God saw that it was good.” Then God made mankind. With the completion of that act, “…God saw that it was very good.” The word very can also be translated as exceedingly. Look around. Do we look exceedingly good? Our wars, our violence, our hatred, our favoritism, our biases, our brokenness. Exceedingly good? It is indeed true that our issues are not as God intended. Creation with the advent of humankind was very good. Then humanity lost it all.

    “Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them.” -Obi-Wan Kenobi*

    Eve saw. Adam witnessed. Their eyes “were opened.” Obi-Wan Kenobi was very wise in sharing with his young disciple about how our eyes do indeed deceive us. Illusionists and magicians are very much aware of this. If you’ve ever had motion sickness, it is often a result of a disconnect between your eyes and your inner-ear (or your stomach). Your eyes give your body a signal, and the rest of your body disagrees.

    Yet, we have many phrases (like Thomas) such as, “I’ll believe it with my own eyes.” It’s as if we think our eyes are more “honest” or “true” than another’s. There is also the reality that often what we see is not the whole story. Most people now believe that the Earth revolves around the Sun. It wasn’t that long ago that people believed that a chariot pulled the Sun through the sky or some other similar mythology. They based their conclusions upon what they saw.

    Now, this could easily end up being a wild goose trip, if we let it. This is where both Psalm 11 and Jesus’ words in Matthew come in. The physical aspect of our eyes is one thing. Our eyes “lead” to our soul. While the serpent’s deceit and Eve’s (along with Adam’s) pride to “be like God,” definitely are part of the picture, Eve “saw” the apple. If we look at the 10 Commandments, much of it involves vision to some degree.

    God sees all we do. Our eyes deceive us in that we don’t see God, so he must not see us (the sinner’s version of peek-a-boo). When Jesus warns us about the relationship between our eyes and our souls, it is because of how our eyes will often draw us away from the True desire of our souls…a deep and abiding relationship with God.

    1) We often look to others and compare ourselves to them. How does that lead us away from the Very Good Life?

    2) Our culture is very visual. Advertisers and media companies are aggressively pursuing our eyeballs. How should Jesus’ words influence our response? How does that reinforce Jesus’ words?

    3) The original sin has a symbol…an apple and a snake. Our salvation has a symbol…the cross. The church as #framily has a symbol…the cup and bread. What other symbols can you think of that evoke a powerful response?

    *GEEK ALERT! Just in case you don’t know the reference, this is from the movie Star Wars: A New Hope.

  • God’s Good Life

    John 14:15–21, John 15:26–16:11

    There are two types of “good life.” There is the world’s version of the good life. There is God’s version of the good life. In some ways, they overlap, but let’s be honest with ourselves, we want them to overlap far more than they do. Some believe that being in a post-Christian world is actually harder than the pre-Christian world that the disciples and early church were in. Much of that is the culture’s assumptions about churches, church people, and Christians. Sadly, some of their assumptions are correct, especially superficially. The world’s good life is full of good (even great) people. Everyone can be good, except Christians, and an ever increasing list of people. Now, that seems a bit harsh. However, the list of new “sins” of the world grows increasingly long. People who were on top of the righteous have now found themselves at the bottom, for the “sins” have changed. We can see more than a few people who have experienced this looking around wondering what has happened. Yet, there is a claim for a good life. Happiness is the key.

    Happiness. A fleeting feeling is proof of the good life. As anxiety and depression soar, and people buy the latest greatest thing (that other not-so-new thing was last week) leading to a greater amount of waste. In fact, the world’s good life doesn’t lead to true good life, but a treadmill that goes nowhere.

    This is why Jesus made the promise he did to his disciples (and thus to us). Jesus understood that the world would constantly pull his disciples away from him, tempting them with “the good life.” The Counselor. The Spirit of Truth. That Jesus understood what we needed, should give us hope that God does indeed understand us. He also understood that emotionally we often feel alone and separated from not just God, but from others, too. Thus, Jesus reminds us that we are not orphans.

    The Spirit—the Counselor—while not leaving us orphans, also testifies to the Truth. This is not the world’s truth. It is God’s Truth. This is where the good life begins.

    1) If we know that God has the True good life, why we do we often chase after the world’s good life?
    2) Why is happiness confused with the good life?

    3) Knowing that you are not an orphan, no matter what the world tells us, would seem to be a key feature of the good life. When was the last time you share this key?

  • Resurrecting Perspective

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

    HE IS RISEN!

    “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy, 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 life and the Kingdom 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 salvation) 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 return 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 power 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 call 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 church 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?

  • Sacred Mourning

    Psalm 25, Lamentations 3:22–27, Matthew 27:62–66

    Are your clothes in 1 piece? One of the traditional Jewish responses of extreme grief or anguish is the tearing of their clothes. Yesterday was Good Friday. Jesus died on the cross. Are your clothes torn?
    While they were able to put Jesus’ body in the tomb in time, nothing else happened. Everything just stopped. On top of their world being disrupted by Jesus’ death, now they had to wait to honor the body of their friend, master, brother, son. In our day and age, we don’t have this waiting period. We just get it done.

    Today, people will have Easter egg hunts, parties, family gatherings, trips, and so on. This is not to knock such, after all, often they are a way we (as Christians) get to share the good news.

    However, perhaps it is time for us to come up with a new tradition, a Sabbath unlike any other that we hold (if we actually observe any). It is probably too late for you this year but put this as something to think about. Perhaps we too busy preparing for Resurrection Sunday that we stop waiting. Why is this important, you may ask? It is a symptom of our lives and even our religious practices. Hurry up and get it done. When this is how we live our lives, how do we ever have the ability to wait for and on God?

    In the movie, the Passion of the Christ, there is a raindrop from the sky, implying that God the Father mourns. Let us mourn with God the Father, and with all those who lived beside Jesus. Below is the Mourner’s Kaddish, a Jewish prayer usually spoken in Aramaic (not Hebrew, interestingly). While there may be no “leader” (L) to lead you the people (P), think of a congregation together saying this in an annual (for it is done annually in honor of those who have died) service.

    L: May His great Name grow exalted and sanctified…
    P: Amen
    L: …in the world that He created as He willed. May He give reign to His kingship in your lifetimes and in your days, and in the lifetimes of the entire Family of Israel, swiftly and soon. Now say:
    P: Amen. May His great Name be blessed forever and ever.
    L: Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, mighty, upraised, and lauded be the Name of the Holy One.
    P: Blessed is He…
    L: …praise and consolation that are uttered in the world. Now say:
    P: Amen
    L: May there be abundant peace from Heaven and life upon us and upon all Israel. Now say:
    P: Amen
    L: He Who makes peace in His heights, may He make peace, upon us and upon all Israel. Now say:
    P: Amen

  • Surrender the Pain

    Isaiah 52:13-53:11, Luke 22:39–23:56

    You might wear a cross. You might have one on a wall in your home. You probably have one on your bible. Today the cross has lost much of its brutality and disgrace. Movies like the “Passion of the Christ” attempt to convey the brutality, but it is so very hard to convey and understand the disgrace of the cross. Especially on this day, you need to see the cross not as what it became, but see it as the people of 2000 years ago saw it. The day they saw it on Good Friday. It was disgraceful. It was ugly. It was the ruling powers’ symbol of might, conquest, and oppression. There was nothing, absolutely nothing that could be remotely good or positive about, and there could be nothing good or positive about the one on it. We are often tempted to diminish the cross, lightly saying we have a cross to bear. The cross is no light burden.

    The disciples had a light burden. Accompany Jesus to the garden. And the succumbed to temptation. The world is full of temptation. There are many things which seem good, and are, but become bad, as we follow them away from God. Especially in the United States, we have a, “I can do it myself” mentality. There is also the success ladder, of ever-increasing hours spent working. There are all the things that we are told we just have to have. Sometimes the temptation is to simply sleep, when God has told us to be praying, as what happened here with the disciples. Jesus wasn’t chiding the disciples for falling asleep, but for not praying when he asked. Temptation takes on many guises. Judas and Peter were tempted.

    Judas Iscariot will forever be known as the traitor. Peter will be ever known as one of Jesus’ closest followers. Yet, Peter denied Jesus to others. One of the biggest differences between Judas Iscariot and Peter is not their respective betrayal, for they both betrayed Christ, but that Peter’s heart was open to correction. Judas Iscariot took things, including his self-condemnation, without grace. Peter understood and accepted the unmerited grace of Jesus, but Judas Iscariot did not believe it applied to him. Instead of being forever the traitor, he could have repented, and been redeemed. Betrayal is not just turning Jesus over, or denying Jesus, but saying that Jesus offer of unmerited grace does not apply to you or others. Grace is the key to healing the world and reconciling it to God. However, the fallen human heart turns to violence instead.

    Violence is a cruel part of this world. Wars, robbery, school violence, abuse, bullying, anger, disrespect are all acts of violence. When we hear the word violence, we generally think of physical acts. However, Jesus tells us that violence is as much against the soul and well-being of the individual (both the perpetrator and the recipient), as it is the body. In fact, much, if not all of the violence that is physical done, at the root, is caused by the violence done to the soul and mind.

    Jesus spoke while on the cross, in the midst of pain, and the climax of abuse, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.” The victim of violence, while being violated, asked for them to be forgiven.

    We hold our griefs, our pains, our anguish often so close to our hearts that God doesn’t come near. Not because God can’t, for nothing is impossible for God, but because God doesn’t want to be violent toward us. When we release these things, God steps in, joyfully, desiring to help us surrender the pain that we hold onto keeping God away from us.

    1) What are your temptations that pull you away from God and God’s mission of reconciliation? Can you be honest with yourself and God that those temptations have been nailed to the cross, and that you will leave them there?

    2) Who has shown you grace? If you can’t think of anyone, then you have work to do. At some point in your life, someone gave you a lot of grace. What does God’s grace mean to you? What could God’s grace lived out in the world actually do?

    3) What pain keeps your heart from being fully yielded to God, and being God’s willing aide? Will you look at the nails of the cross, and leave that pain nailed there?

    May Jesus Christ, who for our sake became obedient unto death, even death on a cross, keep you and strengthen you, now and forever.

  • Maundy Thursday

    Psalm 116, Psalm 117, Mark 14:12–52, Ephesians 5:15–21

    Many churches observe Maundy Thursday through a communal recreation of the Last Supper (or the First Communion). It is an especially poignant time to do it, as the shadow of Good Friday sits right there…waiting.

    John 13–18:27 is a much longer version of Maundy Thursday, and well worth reading. Luke and Matthew have their pieces of the story to tell, as well. The differing pieces are always an interesting thing to ponder.

    Instead of the usual Last Supper and foot washing, there is a piece that is often—but not always—overlooked: the singing of hymns. Matthew and John both mention singing of hymns (like Mark). It was part of the ritual. The tradition that evolved was that Psalms 115-118 (sometimes Psalm 114, too) were sung during Passover. These are songs of triumph and God’s glory. Psalm 117 even talks about the “cup of salvation,” which makes it quite appropriate for Maundy Thursday (or any communion service).

    Do you sing at meals? Most people probably don’t. If you have teenagers or young children, the thought of having any meal be longer feels like a headache. Yet, there is something to this that we should think on. It isn’t customary to sing at every meal, but how about symbolically important ones? While Passover does not have the same weight for most Christians as those of Jewish descent, it still should be very significant in our religious observances.

    The power of Passover and Maundy Thursday is that as much as humanity had a part in it, God was the star. There are huge and powerful things that happen on Passover and Maundy Thursday, the response of the faithful should be awe, amazement, and a whole lot of singing.

    1) Have you ever been to a Maundy Thursday service? If so, what were your takeaways from the experience? If not, why might it be powerful to wash the feet of others, have your feet washed, and to experience communion?

    2) Singing is often part of many worship services. Why do you think that is? Have you have been to a service where there is no singing? If so, do you know why, and what was your reaction?

    3) It is not coincidental that Maundy Thursday is a Passover meal. Why do you think it’s important? What is different between the two?

  • Whys of Betrayal

    Psalm 55, 2 Samuel 16:15–17:10, John 13:21-32

    Betrayal. It’s not that we expect our enemies or adversaries to “play” fair, but our friends? Co-workers? Family?

    It’s hard. It hurts. We often feel absolutely powerless in the midst of it. Then we feel angry. All very human.

    The psalmist (probably not David, but maybe) goes through the woes of life. Things are not going well for the psalmist. The dark pit of despair, sorrow, and anguish. Those who have lost a very dear loved one and those that suffer with severe depression (or other similar conditions) know this place far too well. The human part of us flees for shelter. For many it is anger. For others it can be many other things, with many of them being unhealthy. Sadly, when caught in the pit, and feeling powerless, these hurting people hurt those they can, not because they want to, but because of a perverse need to. This is not to call them evil, but to call it what it is, a sign of a fallen world, filled with sin.

    When Absalom overthrow’s his father, David, two of his father’s counselors come to him. Hushai deceitfully tells Absalom that he (Hushai) serves the king, whoever the king is. This is interesting as this should be exactly the words of Ahithophel, for this is the heart of Ahithophel. He seeks to advise the king, whoever the king is. Both are betrayers on the surface. One betrays the son to help the father (the rightful ruler) regain the throne. The other cares little, it seems, for who is on the throne, as long as he has power and influence over the one who sits on the throne. Sometimes, when there is a role reversal (like being de-throned), it can seem betrayal when a person keeps their position in the new power structure (like Ahithophel). To that person it may not seem betrayal, but the right thing, such as supporting the organization, and not the person. Often, betrayal is not straightforward.

    Judas’ betrayal of Jesus was not straightforward. From a Wesleyan perspective, Judas always had a choice. He made the wrong wrong one. Is this where we say, “thank you, God, for Judas’ betrayal?” Sounds wrong, doesn’t it? Yet, Judas’ betrayal seemed to be a key ingredient to the cross. Half a year’s wages to betray a friend? If asked, how many of you would look at your paycheck and say, “sure, I’ll betray a friend for half of a year’s pay.” None of us (hopefully). Yet, sadly, we betray each other for far less.

    Rumors, pride, envy, greed can all lead to betrayal, if they are not outright betrayal. What about that lie (white or not)? Is that betrayal? How about that thing you did that nobody knows about? Is that betrayal? When we look at Judas, we had better be sure we don’t say, “I would have never betrayed my friend like that.” Sure. Maybe. Take out the “…like that,” and rethink your response.

    1) Judas’ betrayal seems so easy to see, yet we won’t see our betrayal’s of others. Is this another case of judging others?

    2) We often justify betrayal based on, “the bigger picture” or “protecting” someone. Does that really make it okay to betray others?

    3) If we evaluate our behaviors, betrayal is something we try to avoid acknowledging. Why do you think that is?

  • Holy Tuesday

    Psalm 89:19–37, Isaiah 52:13–53:3, John 12:20-43

    Imagine all the rumors you were hearing about Jesus, who had dared to ride into Jerusalem as a king. There were Greeks that were ever looking for Jesus. For some that just proved Jesus was not really the Messiah or a righteous man. To others, it added something else to the mystery that was this Jesus. Many years later, some people took the Gentile (e.g., the Greeks) interest in Jesus as a symbol that now it was time because even non-Jews were now interested in the Messiah. The way John approached it, however, the Greek interest does seem to be some sort of trigger. In general terms, Jesus talks about death and how that leads to new life. That new life would not be just for one, but for many. Jesus then says words that prefigure the words in the Garden of Gethsemane regarding the coming cross.

    That God speaks from the clouds in response to Jesus, as Jesus noted, was not for his sake, but for the sake of the people around him. This would have included his disciples. The cross was both torture and humiliation, plus death. From a Jewish or even Roman perspective, there is no way that there was any glory—or could possibly any glory—with the cross. It was inconceivable.

    In response, his listeners quote Psalm 89 to Jesus regarding the eternal Messiah. Are they asking for scriptural proof, or are they looking for the scriptural veto? Jesus gives a quick encouragement about staying in the light and then disappears. The Light of the World disappeared. Another action that prefigured an event (the tomb) that was to come. John quotes Isaiah to then show the hardness of heart of the people who surrounded Jesus. As much as we can carry the light into the world, we should. We just need to keep in mind that we are not Jesus. People who could put their hand out and touch Jesus did not believe in him and even many of those that did chose this life over the promise.

    1) Every day we often have to choose between the promise and this life. In what areas of your life are you struggling with this?

    2) Many times we can shake our heads at those who could see Jesus, but still denied him. We think ourselves unable to do that. However, do you really see the image of God in everyone you meet?

    3) Why is Jesus’ parable of the wheat important? What does it tell you about your legacy?