Devotion.al

Tag: Good News

  • 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 , Jesus’ statement/blessing about receiving the was an important thing. Jesus had already told the disciples that they would only fully be what they were called to be when the 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 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 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 to die for them.

    Pentecost is the birthday of the . 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 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 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 ?

  • 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 or anguish is the tearing of their clothes. Yesterday was . 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, . 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 , 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 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 “” (L) to lead you the people (P), think of a congregation saying this in an annual (for it is done annually in honor of those who have died) service.

    L: May His great Name exalted and sanctified…
    P: Amen
    L: …in the world that He created as He willed. May He 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 , mercy, and gifts. Imagine if all of Christ’s followers couldn’t help themselves from sharing this amazing 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 , 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 this awesome guy, Jesus!” Because of our career positions or career locations, we are not free to share our . We now have to become wiser than serpents to share the . 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 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 (and memorize it). Yet, the depth of the Lord’s Prayer from the holiness of God to our place in God’s 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 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 , our hearts are on . A colorful way of saying it is a “fire in the bones” or “fire in the belly”. In other words, we experience a . For , 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 . A new time of distress and discord will come. New nations will rise. God’s people, though, will still be on God’s . 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 to their “first ”, 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) change, as should ours with God. Our relationship with God should always be deepening. 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?

  • Decisions and Struggles

    Jeremiah 11:15–16, Isaiah 52:1–12, Galatians 4:12–20

    We cannot avoid the reality that the world as it stands opposes the , while at the same time yearning for it. People try to avoid the reality that the is opposed, and try to “be at ” with the world. On the other hand, there are those who are so obsessed with “the opposition” that they either spend the majority of their efforts and energy opposing, or huddle behind the “four walls” of their church, family, and/or larger “tribe”. Part of what makes the Christian walk so difficult and why it requires constant reorientation, is that we are to walk between these two extremes.

    The two verses in Jeremiah recall that the people of Israel have wandered far away from their God, and have turn rituals of life into empty actions. They were set apart and planted to be a symbol. They became spiritually diseased, and the only thing that could the disease was …a cleansing fire. Yet, instead of changing their ways they kept to the old.

    Isaiah’s call to Zion/Jerusalem is for it to “wake up” out of the despair and disgrace that it has found itself in. It is time to throw off the old clothes and the contaminated ways. It is time to put on new clothes and new ways. Purify yourselves.

    The old bad non-life-giving ways have a way of coming back. Jeremiah and Isaiah opposed them. Generations later, had to fight them again. Now it was not just the old Jewish ways that he had to confront (like Jeremiah and Isaiah), it was also the ways of the Gentiles that had to be opposed.

    Paul is makes two very important points. The first is there are people that are trying to put themselves above others (mostly Paul, but they would have also been putting themselves above the elders) to control and try to what is . They also appear to be doing it for personal gain of or pride. Not good reasons to change who one respects.

    The other important point is that Paul speaks of them being his children, that he is again going through the childbearing pains, trying to restore them to where they were in their beliefs. Christ has to be formed in them (again). This would be what we would call backsliding. Paul was now separated by distance, and was doubly pained that he couldn’t be there in person.

    Christian formation should always move forward, but sometimes, due to culture, family, habits, we go backwards. It sometime seems we have to start all over again. If it has been a really hard fight, we could succumb to despair.

    • 1) American individualism, especially prevalent in the Western parts of the United States, almost convinces people to find their own way in a vacuum. What happens when we make decisions in isolation?
    • 2) Spiritual decisions made in isolation along with cultural influences can endanger our spiritual lives. What do you do to help immunize yourself in that area?
    • 3) Most often, our biggest spiritual battles will be in areas that we have always struggled with. What are you doing to strengthen yourself in those areas, and finding accountability?
    • FD) Do you have, or ever had, a favorite article of clothing, a shirt, or accessory? Have you ever not wanted to wash it, because it might get hurt? What happens when it gets really yucky? Then what? Your sometimes needs some cleaning, too? What do you do to clean it?