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Devotion.al

Tag: Good News

  • Under Yoke

    Under Yoke

    Jeremiah 27:1–11; Jeremiah 28:1–17; Matthew 11:28–30

    One of the ongoing themes of contemporary Christianity is to look at stories such as Jeremiah, and say, “of course he’s God’s prophet!” Looking back it is obvious to us. We’ve had a lot of history since then.

    We know that Jeremiah was one of the 66 books of the Bible that was affirmed. We know that Jewish tradition also upholds Jeremiah. It’s obvious to us.

    For the Jews, it wasn’t so clear. Sure, the “real” prophets usually were not full of good news. However, the thought of submitting to Babylon felt like a bad joke. God wouldn’t allow that, would he?

    The cultural concept of American Exceptionalism and founding documents invoking God (honestly, though, more in a Deistic fashion, rather than a Christian one) and individuality, a yoke is an awful thing to contemplate.

    A yoke means that one is not choosing the way. Another is choosing the way for you.

    A yoke is usually pairing two or more together. So, not only is the way not of your choosing, but neither is your companion.

    If a yoke is born by a single person, they are carrying a very heavy load, and often the load would not be their own.

    This doesn’t fit into the thinking of many Americans raised and taught a particular “brand” of individual freedom. While contemporary American thinking and Jewish thinking have differing perspectives of the yoke (individual freedom versus Babylon), the end conclusion is the same.

    The yoke must be broken!

    The “prophet” Hananiah admonished Jeremiah. Hananiah, just like everyone else (even Jeremiah), didn’t want the yoke of Babylon.

    What they wanted, however, wasn’t what was necessary. Why was the yoke of Babylon necessary? Pride.

    Israel was quite prideful. Americans are quite prideful. Often that is what really hurts when we are confronted by yokes…our pride.

    Hananiah responded to Jeremiah (and God) in pride (and blind hope). He broke the symbol of shame, and received a different yoke (death), and gave (through the example Israel followed) a heavier yoke for Israel.

    Jesus promises a lighter yoke. The heaviness of Jeremiah’s yoke (and subsequently Hananiah’s) is ultimately based upon our pride. Jesus’ yoke is his pride.

    This means that the yoke that Jesus offers us allows us to cast aside our concerns of our pride, for Jesus will take care of his own pride. Jesus’ pride was so humble and faithful, that it lead to his death on the cross.

    Another way to think of it is that if Jesus is paired with us, Jesus bears his and our weight. That is a very light yoke indeed.

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, may we look for the lighter burden you seek to give us. Help us to relinquish the yoke of our pride, so that we are paired with you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) In what areas do you feel pride? What might the “yokes” be in those areas?

    2) Why is it often easier to bear our burdens and not the burdens of others? How does Jesus turn that upside down?

    3) Can a burden be so light that it doesn’t weigh you down? Does a burden always need to be compared to another burden?

  • Animate Clay

    Animate Clay

    Jeremiah 18:1–13

    The story of Jeremiah visiting the potter’s house is probably quite familiar to you.

    In many respects, it is an odd sort of comfort story. That is the way it is often used. We are in the hands of God. It sounds good, but that’s not really the point.

    Like most of the prophets of whom we have record, Jeremiah wasn’t exactly delivering good news to the people of Israel. Much of his message was dark and about impending doom.

    Like people today who hear impending doom and disregard the message so too were the people of Israel. They didn’t really want to hear the message. They didn’t really want to pay attention to the world-changing around them.

    The greatest deceit and greatest cruelty of the false prophets were that they told the people what they wanted to hear, not what they needed to hear. They became a “drug” of a sort, dulling the senses to both the Israelite relationship to God and the significant changes (world-conquering kinds) around.

    These false prophets fed the desires of false hearts. They told lies that because they were God’s people, nothing bad would happen. They told lies that God really doesn’t care that they worship pagan gods.

    They believed because they wanted to. God tried a different method.

    When God talks about treating Israel as a potter treats clay, it is an ultimate question. What is the purpose of Israel in regards to God?

    God’s purpose was not to make Israel equal to clay, but to point out that God is…God. God was and is capable of doing so. God is Creator. God is capable of destroying Creation.

    God doesn’t. God won’t. Some would say, dangerously, that God can’t because to do so would mean that God denies God’s own love (self-giving and -sacrificing love).

    When God brings Jeremiah to the potter’s house, it is not to say that God can and will, but that God can and doesn’t want to.

    What was going on around Israel would eventually cause Israel to fall. Israel was spared, for the moment, due to God’s saving hand. Israel could make a different choice.

    We know their choice. Our choice is before us.

    ※Prayer※

    Holy Spirit, may our hearts, minds, spirit and habits be open to your molding work of us. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Do you tend toward the complete potter (destroy/reshape/mold/control) thinking, or more toward the “could, but won’t” understanding of God? What shaped that thinking of yours?

    2) Clay does not reach it’s final form (pottery) until it is fired in the kiln. How might the fire of the kiln provide insight into the Holy Spirit?

    3) If (big if) the potter were to destroy his craftwork, how might the pottery be reused to make something beautiful? How might (big might) this provide insight into God

  • Shear Time

    Shear Time

    Psalm 122; Isaiah 61:1–9; John 15:1–8 (read online ⧉)

    The year of the Lord’s favor is probably not this year. The ever-changing nature of this year, and all the odd and bad things that are going on would in no way seem to be the harbinger of the Lord’s favor.

    What if, however, we are looking at it wrong? Perhaps instead of looking at the disasters and troubles, we should be looking for God. Who or what is God stirring around us? If we become too obsessed with the world, we could miss God.

    This is not to say don’t pay attention to the world. In fact, part of the words of Isaiah is exactly why we should be looking for God in action: good news, heal, liberty, freedom, (even) vengeance, comfort, crown, festive.

    This is not to say that God desires bad things. God will use the bad things (whether natural or human depravity) to mold and shape if we seek God. If we are not seeking God in these things and through these things, we are far more likely to have hearts that become harder and more resistant to love, whether it is being loved or loving others.

    Isaiah’s words aren’t necessarily comfortable, either, especially to those who are in power or who have advantages (even if they are unaware). God doesn’t seek, necessarily, to make us comfortable (though God will comfort us). God seeks to change us from the inside out. Often, though, we only change (or seek change) under stress. Well, there’s plenty of stress now.

    Rejoice in suffering because God is with us. Not because it’s fun.

    When we are part of the vine (Jesus Christ), we’re going to be pruned. Whether it’s our biases, our fears, our (non-Godly) allegiances, God will prune them. We will often try to graft them back on, and in so doing we are susceptible to diseases of the soul. A diseased branch will be tossed into the fire.

    It is beyond our capabilities to see what fruit we could bear once God is done pruning us. God, though, is the great vinedresser and will seek the maximization of fruit, not our destruction. We just feel that way sometimes.

    There is a running joke out there…what was the worst purchase in 2019? A 2020 planner. There is so much going on that is unexpected, and for which we are unprepared. Instead of groaning or burying our head in the sand, let us embrace the opportunity to be formed by God into his image of us (our unique expression of the Imago Dei).

    ※Prayer [Billy Graham]※

    Lord, whatever I have to face, through it let me learn more of Your love and compassion. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Is anything new being added to God’s pruning list for you? If not, why do you think that is?

    2) What is the best side-effect when looking for God’s movement in times of suffering and trial?

    3) How does suffering lead to a “Year of the Lord’s Favor”?

  • A Time of Distress

    A Time of Distress

    Deuteronomy 4:25–31; Jonah 2:1–10; Matthew 9:35–38 (read online ⧉)

    Moses is not all that optimistic about the future spiritual health of the people of Israel. He’s downright pessimistic about what paths they will follow away from God. There is something in today’s opening verse that is important, “When you…have been in the land a long time….” We often focus on the acting corruptly piece. It is the underlying comfort piece that we should be aware of. Being in a place for a long time breeds comfort. Comfort often produces contempt (which is seems to be the thrust of Moses’ concern). Moses continues with how their descendants would, instead of worshiping the God that rescued them from Egypt, worship lifeless idols of wood and metal. What a mess!

    And then…DISTRESS! Honestly, as we understand reading the story of the fall of Israel, we understand just how much distress they experienced. Reading the prophets we understand just how much contempt they had, as well. Yet, the distress was a refiners fire for the Israelites, and that was a good thing.

    Jonah’s distress was also self-inflicted. He ran away from his call from God. When he finally acknowledged his responsibility to the call, he was tossed into the sea and swallowed by a fish. Not quite a refiner’s fire, but perhaps the gastric juices of the fish served the same effect. Jonah, in his distress, approached the throne of God. DISTRESS! It was a good thing.

    After all the Israelites and then the Jews (the last known identifiable remnants of Israel) had been through, they were still in distress at the time of Jesus. The crowds that followed Jesus were adrift on a spiritual storm-tossed sea. They were abandoned (without a shepherd). When Jesus had compassion on them, it was (in many respects) no different than God’s compassion on the lost Israelites. These people were in distress. The good news? That drew them to Jesus.

    Distress is not an uncommon thing. Sadly, it’s not uncommon at all. It is part of the human condition. It is what we do in and with the distress that is important. Distress can refine us. The refiner’s fire can often be an uncomfortable thing. We are now at a time when we all need to embrace the distress and the fire. For some, it the endless activities that have ceased. For others, it could be the shape of the church that was, is, and is to come. Then there are the economic and stability questions that desperately need answers.

    For all of these things, and more, there are assumptions that need to be questioned. Some will be retained (and that’s okay). Others we may change. There is a snarky comment directed at politicians…a good politician will never let a crisis go to waste. We shouldn’t either. In the case of a politician, it will usually be for power. For us, it needs to be so that we are made, re-made, and continually re-made into the image of Jesus Christ.

    Almighty God, we surrender our desire to control this crisis. We surrender our fears and anxieties. Help us to, most of all, surrender ourselves to your will and way. We know that you will to take our bad and turn it into good for us. Help, Lord, to embrace, accept and pursue your loving hammer and chisel that shapes our hearts of stone. Give us new life that takes any part of us that is stone and unyielding to you, and turn it into living flesh that brings you glory and honor. Amen.

    1) What is the biggest “obstacle” for you right now in the current situation? Is it an obstacle that is between you and God?

    2) How do you see the current COVID-19 situation being a “refiner’s fire”? How is it not a “refiner’s fire”?

    3) What other distress points are on your heart right now? What might God be using those to draw you to him?

  • New, not Renewed

    Jeremiah 31:31–34; Psalm 51:1–12; John 12:20–33 (read online ⧉)

    The promise of a new covenant was good news! A people who were lost and broken, many of whom knew that they had fallen away from God received the positive and hopeful news that there would be a new covenant. The problem was when and how would this happen? The people of Jeremiah’s time would be looking for it now.

    The people of Jesus’ time were also expectantly waiting, but it would seem far too many were more concerned with the how rather than the when. By Jesus’ time, some insisted that everyone would know the law as revealed by Moses would be in everyone’s heart. The law, as revealed by Moses, would be perfectly understood and lived out by every Jew.

    By Jesus’ day, the “new” covenant became more of a renewed covenant of old. The hope of a new covenant was being dashed against the rocks of the old one. With Jesus’ ongoing shake-up of tradition, he continued to draw attention. Previously, Jesus had told his disciples to not go to the Gentiles or Samaritans, though he did have personal interactions with them.

    Now, however, Greeks wanted to meet Jesus. Being called Greeks, it is quite likely that they weren’t from nearby, but had come to the Temple to worship (probably being converts to Judaism). In other words, Jesus was no longer just locally known. From a strictly logical standpoint, we know that the religious leaders were trying to get rid of Jesus, how much more so when the “tourists” start asking for Jesus.

    1. What do we do when “the tourists” start asking us about Jesus?
    2. Do we celebrate a new member of the new covenant?
    3. Do we start asking them about how they are following the law?
    4. Are we honest about how we are not following the law ourselves?

  • Gospel Politics

    John 8:31–59, Acts 13:46–52 (read online ⧉)

    One of the biggest struggles we—as Christians in America—continue to face, and will face even more deeply, is the hardness of heart to the Gospel. This will include people who identify themselves as Christians. As it becomes harder to be a cultural Christian, the pressure to not be a Christian at all will continue to grow. Yes, it is sad. We became complacent and comfortable, which rarely produces a life-giving Gospel. We ought to really read the Gospel accounts, and even Acts and the Epistles where we are the Jews (including Pharisees and Sadducees) and the Judaizers.

    Currently, Jesus’ family is growing most quickly in places where Christianity is often opposed or co-opted by the government (becoming a false Gospel and church in the process). People not part of “the West” are the Gentiles of which we read. We, “the West”, have become what we thought we overcame. You might immediately protest this. It’s not bad to protest this. However, as we look at how the church family has been split between 2 political parties, we can see that our understanding of following Jesus Christ has become twisted.

    Most politicians are practical with their politics. They will commit (or at least pretend) to what will get them votes. Theirs is not, by practice, a Gospel of love. There are “planks” in both political parties that Christians should support. However, if it were an all-or-none supporting the entirety of a political party’s platform (and this would even include those outside the normal two), all Christians would probably—if they remained true to the teachings of Jesus Christ—have to stop voting. This isn’t solely an American thing either. This is the reality in most democracies/republics. No one political party will agree with all the teachings of Jesus. Yet, we have people focusing on political parties and politicians, and not on Jesus Christ.

    We are the Jews. We have become partners with the State. We have even gone so far as to demonize others that call themselves Christians as if our own house is clean, as if we are God, being able to judge (more like condemn) the heart of another person.

    John tells us that the Jews, not being able to stand against Jesus, called him a Samaritan (in other words, he wasn’t a “real” Jew) and demon-possessed! Wow! What chuztpah! We are hearing that from Christians that person is not a “real” American, “real” Christian, “evil”, “deluded”, and so on. THE WORLD JUDGES US BY THE WORDS WE USE. Look at the words we are using against each other. These are the same tongues that sing, “blessed be the name of the Lord!”

    As Western “civilization” walks and runs away from Christianity, there are still plenty of people waiting to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Many of them are far away. Many of them are right next door.

    1) What ways can you think of to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world? Look at each of those ways. Will the world actually listen to them? Why or why not?

    2) One of the tendencies of the Jewish leaders was to say, “come to us.” In what ways do modern Christians do the same? In what ways are modern Christians different?

    3) Politics is a very sore and volatile subject these days. How can we still use politics to share the hope and grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

  • Barriers to Sharing

    John 20:19–23, Acts 1:4, Acts 2:1–36

    The short vignette in the locked upper room after the Resurrection seems as if was a snippet of a memory that was lacking something. Yet, John felt it was important. As a precursor to Pentecost, Jesus’ statement/blessing about receiving the Holy Spirit was an important thing. Jesus had already told the disciples that they would only fully be what they were called to be when the Holy Spirit came and that Jesus would have to not be present. Jesus directed them to wait.
    They waited, prayed, worshipped.
    The Festival of First Fruits (Pentecost) was a Jewish major festival to celebrate the first of the harvest and to praise and worship God. Probably not as full as it was during Passover, Jerusalem was still a significantly full. In addition, there were likely many people who lived far away but remained for both. Was it as packed? Probably not. Were the spectacle of Jesus and his story still floating around? Probably. They, the disciples and the people of Jerusalem, were not ready for what came next.

    The spontaneous sermon by Peter probably shocked him and the other disciples. While his sermon fell on fertile ground, it is probably not just the words. Any charlatan or false teacher or false prophet can preach a good sermon. The miracle of people of different countries hearing the sermon in their native tongue showed God’s supernatural approval and participation in this.

    We often get tied up in methods and modes of communicating. There are longtime disagreements about modes and methods. Far too many confuse mode and methods with the message. God made no distinction between languages. It was the message that mattered. On the other hand, we could be so concerned about the language (“did they miss the nuance?”) that we forget the effectiveness of mode and message.

    What matters is that the message was heard. The people didn’t hear God’s message in some tongue that they were not native to, they heard it in the tongue where they knew the nuances. God did not do a poor translation, God did a great one. More than that, hearts were transformed, and those transformed hearts went back home. Of what value is a Jew whose first language isn’t Hebrew? They took home the message that God loves them so much, that he sent his son to die for them.

    Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. The whole church. While it took Peter and the other disciples time to recognize what the first sermon was saying (all nations and people can come to God), it was the heart of the Church at birth. The Jewish Pentecost was a celeb.ration of the first fruits of the harvest. The Church Pentecost is about the first fruits of the Kingdom of God

    1) The initial response to the supernatural act of hearing things in one’s own language was met with skepticism. Why do you think that is?

    2) Speaking in Tongues is considered a gift of the Holy Spirit. What is very unique about this specific display of Speaking in Tongues? If you need a hint, who is missing?

    3) Even today people hold on to methods and modes as essentials to sharing the Good News, rather than the Good News itself. Why do people hold onto such things, often to the detriment of sharing the Gospel?

  • 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

  • Sharing Where The Food Is

    Isaiah 55:1-9, Matthew 6:1-15

    When one works with the homeless, one learns that the homeless have an amazing network of information. This network includes which ministry provides food on which day. It can include which ministry provides sundries and clothes. Then there are the ministries that provide free clothes cleaning. They are quick to share what will aid one another. Regardless of your perception or feelings regarding ministry to the homeless, their connection to one another cannot be denied. When we set aside our pride and our stuff, Christians more than anyone else ought to be aware that we are truly homeless. This world is not our home.

    Just like the homeless who share about the sustaining things around, Isaiah announces God’s mighty grace, mercy, and gifts. Imagine if all of Christ’s followers couldn’t help themselves from sharing this amazing gift that God has given them. We talk about so much that is present in Isaiah’s words: the value (or lack thereof) of money, God’s great food, new covenant, not of this world. Yet, more and more, Christians are really nothing special. Now, that isn’t to say that they aren’t, but that they no longer know that they are. By and large, most people view them as political blocks or hate-filled people. Christians have allowed themselves to become this. We are no longer (by-and-large) Isaiah (or the homeless) saying, “come meet this awesome guy, Jesus!” Because of our career positions or career locations, we are not free to share our faith. We now have to become wiser than serpents to share the Gospel. However, we have to become like Isaiah and believe we have good news to actually share.

    The church has come up with many schemes and methods to share the good news.

    It is good news, right? Is it, perhaps, time to return to simpler words and ways?

    When Jesus provides the template for prayer, it is intended to be an antidote to the excessive prayers of those who made a show of their false piety. Later, it would also serve as a counterpoint to the Roman tendency for long-winded oratories that were so prized by the intellectual culture. The Lord’s Prayer (as we call it now) is so simple that a child can learn (and memorize it). Yet, the depth of the Lord’s Prayer from the holiness of God to our place in God’s kingdom here on earth. The Lord’s Prayer really is the tension between the ideal and our reality. We are often uncomfortable with the tension between the two, yet that is where the energy and ability to call those struggling in this life to the new life offered by new creation in Jesus Christ.

    1) Is your life with Christ still an important part of your life that you want and seek to share with others?

    2) When was the last time you prayed the Lord’s Prayer? What do you see as its positives and negatives?

    3) We talk about inviting people to church. When was the last time you invited a person to a new life with Jesus?

  • Divine Encounters

    Psalm 63:1-8, Daniel 12:1-4, Revelation 2:1-7

    Often when we first come to know Jesus, our hearts are on fire. A colorful way of saying it is a “fire in the bones” or “fire in the belly”. In other words, we experience a change. For others, it is not a fire, but a germinating plant slowing breaking through the shell of the seed, then bursting forth from the ground. There are many ways to describe that change. There are probably as many as there are people. Those new in their relationship with Jesus will often seek more and more of Jesus. They will (like the psalmist) think of God as being more satisfying than rich food. They will think about God while just lying on their bed. In the middle of the night, they will think about God. Keeping that going, however, is always a task. Especially in times of trouble, trial, or just plain confusion.

    Daniel’s vision is not that literal, but it does convey truth. A new time of distress and discord will come. New nations will rise. God’s people, though, will still be on God’s heart. God will carry his people. However, even though they are “his” people, there will be a separation. What could be the separating point? Active relationship with God.

    As the Letter to Ephesus calls on the Ephesians to return to their “first love”, so, too, are we called. We are called to return to the ways of the psalmist, always thinking about God. Within the letter is yet another reminder that there will be a separation between those who have an active relationship with God, and those who don’t. Just like any relationship, a relationship with God does not just happen. We have to work to maintain it. It’s not that God “walks” away from us, but that we walk away from him.

    1) Do you recall your first encounter with Jesus? What was it like?

    2) Relationships change, as should ours with God. Our relationship with God should always be deepening. Give yourself a moment to reflect and be honest with yourself. Is your relationship with God deepening? If not, good news! Let’s start now! God is always waiting for you to have a deeper relationship with him. If you have a deepening relationship with God, what will you do to help others deepen their relationship with God?

    3) Daniel’s and John’s (Revelation) visions talk about a separation between those who have an active relationship with God, and those who don’t. Does that scare you, or does that motivate you? Why?