Devotion.al

Tag: healing

  • Happiness and Joy…or Not

    Happiness and Joy…or Not

    Psalm 44; Isaiah 22:8b–14; James 4:4–10

    ‌‌🔎 Focus

    ‌Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?

    James 4:4 NRSVue

    ‌…you did not look at the One who did it, nor did you see the One who planned it…

    Isaiah 22:11 NRSVue

    We don’t like or suffering. We often do anything to avoid it. We can also do anything in an attempt to make it feel better, when we’re suffering from it.

    ‌It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the of everyone, and the will lay it to heart.

    Ecclesiastes 7:2 NRSVue

    Often sitting in our mourning and pain is more honest and healing than living and striving for revelry and happiness. When we do not confront and deal well with our pain, our wrongs, our being wronged, we react in ways that can be unhealthy for us and for others.

    ‌‌✟ Devotion

    ‌The full passage in Isaiah talks about how Jerusalem’s vulnerabilities were uncovered (or unhidden) by God. Why? Because of iniquity. What does iniquity have to do with pain and suffering? Well, by this point, the people of Jerusalem (and by extension Judah), had ignored the testing of prophets by the words, and of God by many means.

    ‌Instead, they chose to tear down homes (and likely the homes of the poor and powerless) to fill the holes in their walls. Were they literal holes in the walls, or is this a more figurative imagery indicating that there was a wrong focus? Probably both.

    ‌It would be completely within expectations for Isaiah (as inspired by God) to use a practical and example to examine the spiritual life of the People of God. Instead of doing the hard (and sometimes painful) work of self-reflection, they chose to do the easier, more worldly thing, find something to dull the pain.

    ‌They forgot the One.

    ‌This is James’ starting point with his tirade against Christians who have forgotten whose they are and have reverted to the ways of the world. Instead of putting cooperative and mutually humble care for one another—the called for characteristics of Christians—first, they chose to be no different than behavior in the world. Instead of being God’s and reflecting God’s , they were reflecting the world’s darkness.

    ‌What ought to catch our attention is that James equates worldly behavior among Christians to adultery. The ultimate betrayal of marital union is equated to worldly behavior.

    ‌We, as Christians, aren’t paragons of what we are supposed to be. Per James, we are adulterers. Perhaps not individually (but how do we contribute), but collectively we are. This is something we need to do the hard work on and not skip it. This covers , theology, even pastors and leaders.

    ‌We forget the One.

    ‌‌🤔 Reflection

    ‌What do you think of non-Christian behavior as adultery? Does it change your view of non-Christian behavior? How do you work through disagreements on things, even what defines non-Christian behavior, with other Christians?

    ‌‌⏏️ Act

    ‌Choose a light topic that you know a fellow Christian disagrees with you on. Discuss it with and love. The goal is not to change minds, but to understand the other.

    ‌🙏 Prayer

    ‌Gracious God, while we might know intellectually that you are gracious, help us to believe it to the depths of our souls, so that we are gracious to one another. Help us to see our faults, failures, even our love affair with the ways of the world, in light of your gracious love. Guide us to see where we have placed the world and its ways ahead of you and your ways. Amen.

  • Movie About a Christian

    Movie About a Christian

    Read: Luke 9:18–50

    One of the reasons I and appreciate the concept of the “ year” is that we are often confronted by the hard passages, especially those that often make no sense to our post-enlightenment (i.e., science- and data-driven) minds. This is, as you probably inferred, one of those days.

    Today is Transfiguration Sunday. It is this strange day that we “” a strange experience that defies our everyday experience.

    Luke’s “bookends” of the Transfiguration are: before, Peter’s declaration of Jesus as Messiah, Jesus’s subsequent command to be silent, and Jesus’ of his suffering road, and his prophesy of sacrifice for and by those that follow him; after, a and Jesus’ rhetorical question of the unbelieving of the Jews (and, honestly, most of humanity). With what most of us believe about God (God has a plan) and the Scriptures (the Scriptures help us interpret the Scriptures), these seemingly unrelated events before and after the Transfiguration should affect how we view the Transfiguration.

    If we view the Transfiguration and its bookends as a “movie” of the Christian life, it disturbingly makes sense. “Who do YOU say I am,” Jesus asks. Peter responds, “the Messiah.” Sounds like a person accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior ().

    Jesus then says, “deny yourself. Daily sacrifice yourself. The world will demand you deny me and be ashamed of me.” One of the first struggles of a new believer (and long-time believers, too) is the realization that accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior is only the beginning. Life- hardship is the Christian life.

    The Transfiguration is (in the context of our “movie”), then, like the Holiness Movement concept of the Second Work of Grace (i.e., Entire Sanctification in Church of the Nazarene verbiage). We are “transfigured”—not by our will (other than a will to self-sacrifice and submission to the will of God)—by the will and work of God to be “transfigured” into the likeness of our holy God, and particularly in the likeness of Jesus Christ.

    In A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, John Wesley (who “codified” the conception of Entire Sanctification) noted, we are to rarely, if ever, to of our experience of this “transfiguration”. This is similar to the actions of Peter, James, and John who kept silent about their experience. They shared it later, at the right time and to the right people, to reinforce the place of Jesus Christ in their experience of and with God.

    After this life-changing experience, then we come back to the real world (coming down the mountain) and face demands for miracles, healings, along with the unbelief of the world, and often even our own disbelief at the miracles of God. This disbelief is often not merely about “miracles”, but our transformation by God that we didn’t “earn”. We could even go so far as to say that the “unbelieving” performers of miracles (Luke 9:49–50) are like our scientists and doctors who perform “miracles” that could not possibly be imagined in the days of Jesus.

    We also have the sad, but real, argument between those who claim to follow Jesus about who is better (Luke 9:46–48). Those arguments can follow theological lines, church formation lines (ecclesiology), spiritual formation lines (holiness), political lines, gifting lines, and so on. This is the object lesson for denominations (even the earliest split resulting in Orthodox and Roman Catholic, long before Protestants), church splits, and church departures.

    When we read the Scriptures and find passages that we feel conflict with other Scriptures, or our experiences and understandings, perhaps it is times like that when we can best view ourselves through the lens of God.

    May God who Transfigures us poor and needy people into those that glow and reflect the glorious and holy of Jesus Christ. Amen.

  • A Movement: Of Priest and Temple

    A Movement: Of Priest and Temple

    1 Peter 2:1–12

    We, self-included, often focus on “…But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood…” (1 Peter 2:9). This is a very Protestant focus. However, it is not solely one, as both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox also focus on it.

    Much of the focus is from the “pulpit”. In other words, the pastor/priest is talking to the believers listening that they, too, are part of the priesthood of all believers. Hence, why the second half of verse 9 is as important as the first half, “…that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous …”

    There is a reason for the “priesthood of all believers.” It is to be the priesthood for the world. In a number of traditions, the pastor/priest has a certain role, and that is to equip the priesthood of all believers to “…proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

    What is helpful here is to go back a few verses to “…you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5, NKJV)

    In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, tells the Corinthians that they are a temple to God. With Peter’s words, too, we come away with this strange duality. We are both temple and priest. Yes, it is symbolism.

    On the other hand, for a people far more reverent and religious than ours, this is significant.

    As a temple, first, we are to be clean. Unless your house, for example, is miraculous, you have to clean it regularly. We “track” the world into our house. Whether it’s sweeping, vacuuming, scrubbing, or something more, we must clean our homes.

    How much more so do we track the world into ourselves, a temple of God? So, therefore, we must clean ourselves as befitting a temple of God. There are plenty of ways that clean the temple. Personally, I have found the practice of Bible reading, prayer, and small group (in my case, 3 other guys spread across the country) to be the best cleansing (doesn’t make it easy). You may find other practices to be better. Just make sure the cleaning gets done regularly.

    This isn’t just an “inside” job, either. The outside aspect of the temple is important, too. The world sees the outside of the temple. The peculiarity of being the temple is that we are very aware of the crevices that aren’t clean on the inside. If we focus too much on the inside, however, the outside is a mess. However, if we (like so many of us do) focus too much on the outside, the temple comes crumbling down, for the internal structure cannot hold up the facade (or false front) shown to the world, and we then dishonor God by our fallen temple.

    This is not about tattoos, piercings, dyed hair, or something like that. This is about how we treat , care for others, or even others. This is about the behaviors we allow ourselves to do, and allow others to do. As the culture has made us all too aware, we have not done a particularly good job regarding the behaviors of others.

    Nor can we forget about being “the priest”. You may have experienced this, too, where someone says that all they need to do is worship God in their car or online or even at church and that’s all that matters. It’s as if the priestly aspect of worshipping God with song is the “goal” of being a priest.

    If we were to look at one of the tasks of priests (the ones in the temple), we could draw that conclusion. Except…they weren’t the only priests. The majority of priests (from an Old Testament point of view) didn’t work at the temple. They were among the people.

    Much of the Christian view has been twisted (with significant reason) to view that the entirety of the priestly class was the leadership that as described in the New Testament that followed and harassed and challenged Jesus. Yet, while the Scribes and the Pharisees were the loud obnoxious ones we read about, we know that they weren’t the only ones out there (think of John the Baptist’s dad).

    The priestly act isn’t only the roles and tasks at temple that need doing. It is the and guiding of the world. With even a little bit of introspection, we know that we need the power of, and to be changed by, God to do either of those well.

    ※Reflection※

    • What does it mean for you to be a priest?
    • What are some of the ways that you are a temple to and of God?
    • How does you being a priest affect your understanding of also being a temple?

    ※Prayer※

    God, grant us the lamp of love that never grows dim,
    that it may shine in us and warm our hearts,
    giving light to others through our love for them,
    by its brightness provide a of the holy city where the true and inextinguishable light of Jesus Christ our Lord shines. Amen.
    — a modified prayer of Columbanus

  • Undivide

    Psalm 23; Jeremiah 23:1–6; Ephesians 2:11–22; Mark 6:30–34, 53–56

    The words from Jeremiah were primarily aimed at the priests and religious leaders. They are hard words for we clergy, as they should be. Yet, they are no longer words solely for the clergy. As a part of the priesthood of believers, they are for you, too. It might seem odd though as you may not be aware of even having a flock.

    First, of course, is your . However, for Christians, it expands far beyond the family. In fact, focusing too much on the family may blind us to our flock. Our flock may consist of coworkers, neighbors, even the staff of the restaurants you patronage.

    The flock of your care is much like the Ephesians that Paul wrote to. He noted that at one point they were to the and alien to God. They were not in relationship with the Creator of the universe. In the current era, we need Jesus to break down the barrier of hatred that has been building up between the and the world. This is not to say that we have to crucify Christ once more. It does signify the importance of the sacrifice, and just how important this wall is, along with our responsibility to tear down as far as is in our power and capability.

    Our ability to work through this is similar to how Jesus saw the people who surrounded him. They had no shepherd. The world is much the same. Hence the tossing to and fro between this idea and that one.

    We cannot be the True Shepherd, but we can lead people to Him.

    One of the biggest ways is to be the healer. The world needs a lot of . The of is a big one. Yet, there is the reckoning with the failures and (yes) sins of those that went before us. There are many things that need to be healed, and many of them are not on the evening news or the 24-hour news channels because they are not dramatically bad.

    It is the little things in everyday lives that build up into large wounds that need healing. We see the big ones, but the reality is that the big ones were usually built on a bunch of little ones. Whether they were wounds in everyday or wounds made in the church, it doesn’t matter. Because of who the husband of the church is (Jesus), we the church have the ability, , and responsibility to heal the world.

    ※Reflection※

    • Why do you think each person of the church is called to be a shepherd?
    • Why is important for us to recognize our responsibility to help to heal the world?
    • What is one wound that you have that you see in the world, too? How might you help the world heal that wound? Would help through that wound help your own healing?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we hear the voice of you, Our Shepherd. May we obediently follow your voice and your will. Amen.

  • Kick or Lift

    Kick or Lift

    Psalm 23; Jeremiah 12:1–13; Luke 18:35–43

    Understanding that we don’t know the whys and wherefores of life is one step. Accepting it is another. Then the biggest step is not blaming God. Often blaming God is the easiest as it means we have no responsibility. It also means we have no control, so we are “spared”.Yet, deep down inside we feel the disconnect. That’s why we, even in our modern enlightened era are constantly trying to find the next “right” (and leaders). We strive against our hopes and fears that the next one will be the “right” one.

    Jeremiah summarizes all of these emotions with his anguished words to God. Jeremiah acknowledges that he (just like us) has no place to judge God. That doesn’t mean that Jeremiah doesn’t want to understand (just like us).

    Although it is not stated, God seems to respond starting with verse 5, asking Jeremiah how long he will strive against all that is coming. Then the verses continue about an inheritance that has been abandoned because of the it had committed. There is no in God’s words. There is heartbreak.

    A decision was made to turn against God; to go their own way.If they had been the blind man, calling for the of God and meaning it. All things would have changed. The blind man was persistent in the face of contrary opinion. He asked for mercy. He received mercy. said it was his .

    If the inheritors had begged in faith for such mercy, they, too, could have been healed.

    ※Reflection※

    • Where in your life do you identify with Jeremiah?
    • Have you had any experience in your life similar to God’s in Jeremiah?
    • Have you experienced or witnessed a similar movement of faith, , and healing as the blind man?

    ※Prayer※

    God, we don’t see all the pieces. We know by faith that you are moving in the world. Help us to see your moving and the ability to it with . Amen.

  • God of Boxes

    God of Boxes

    Psalm 85:8–13; Amos 4:6–13; Luke 1:57–80

    God speaks shalom to his people [who follow him] and to his faithful [where he is the core] ones (a very loose paraphrase of Psalm 85:8)

    Salvation is close to those that honor God (Psalm 85:9).

    Then…we get Amos. When we first read Amos, we are tempted to think, “This is a loving God?” As with most prophetic speech, being too literal can be problematic. This is more of the arc of the story of Israel. In other words, it wasn’t one thing after another. It was one thing…time passed (even generations)…they didn’t return…another thing, and so forth. When it’s all tied seemingly in a short time span as we read it, it can leave us breathless and/or anxious.

    Which…it should.

    The symmetry of these issues goes along with Egypt, who would not “see” the of God as listening to until the of the firstborn (see Exodus 4:8–12:33). Then there is the addition of Sodom and Gomorrah (still used today as a prophetic whip). This also builds on Moses’ warnings which promised that the curses on Egypt would be inflicted on Israel if they did not choose God (see Deuteronomy 28:15–61).

    This is where we who focus heavily on the love of God and the nature of God loving all need to pay attention ourselves. God is love. That doesn’t mean permissiveness. It often means .

    “Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so the LORD your God disciplines you.” —Deuteronomy 8:5

    We don’t like this. The fact that our emotional to discipline is, “you don’t love me,” is one of the greatest struggles for our modern sensitivities. We struggle (and that’s fine) with the concept that God would discipline through pestilence, famine, war, etcetera. We will often use the language of “God allows”, or explain things as “an ‘old world’ understanding”. While this is understandable, there is a fundamental soteriological (theology dealing with the nature and means of salvation) flaw in it. When we diminish God’s acts to solely “natural” consequences, we remove God’s movement (including that of the Spirit) in our lives, even the concept of prevenient grace (the grace that goes before us).

    Removing Godly discipline is removing God.

    Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist) was muted (disciplined) by God (through an angel) when he questioned how he and Elizabeth in their advanced years could have a child. Want to see a preaching/teaching pastor freak out? Mute them. Zechariah’s duties may not have been preaching as we understand it, but in an oral culture (most people couldn’t read) not being able to speak was a severe handicap. Instead, when Zechariah confirmed that his son’s name was John and he was no longer mute, he praised God. After his discipline, he praised God. Being that was Zechariah’s first response (and praise not being, “thank you for me.”), it is quite probable that Zechariah was praising God even while mute. Praising God while being disciplined; that is hard.

    It isn’t impossible. Yet we want to put God in a . The box of the God of love is often the one where God doesn’t punish or discipline. God doesn’t fit into our boxes.

    ※Reflection※

    • In your life, what boxes have you put God into? How do these boxes deal with punishment, discipline, and/or love?
    • Why might a God of discipline also be a God of love? How do we often confuse these?
    • What do we lose when we remove discipline form the nature and/or character of God? Is that important?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, there are things in life and in the Scriptures we just don’t understand. Grant us your grace to see you in and through it all. Amen.

  • Begging In Faith

    Begging In Faith

    Psalm 88; 2 Kings 20:1–11; Mark 9:14–29

    Regardless of your views on the COVID vaccine, medical science (including vaccines) has been miraculous over the years. How medical practices have been improved is amazing (My grandfather once told me of a vaccine he received as a kid. The process was highly unsanitary.). Medical science continues to improve.

    It is possible that Hezekiah’s illness could have been healed by modern medicine. Many of the illnesses in the are quite possible to be healed. This doesn’t minimize the miracle that occurred, especially the manner in which it occurred (a prompt—almost immediate— to ).

    As our modern medicine improves, it becomes even more likely that modern folks will dismiss the stories of the Scriptures as ignorant people, who didn’t understand any science (which is true). Many contemporary people will then also attribute that same ignorance of science to Christians today. If Christians are not wise in their , and in their defense of it, they may contribute to the reduction of faith in those around them.

    It would be interesting to know whether considers the generation he called faithless to be more or less faithless than today’s. It would be unwise to presume that it must be today’s, as Jesus had to deal with a lot of that.

    The father of the son asked for faith in the face of his unbelief. The disciples still didn’t get their own disbelief. Disbelief was all around. Disbelief is all around us.

    ※Reflection※

    • In what areas of your is your faith currently be challenged? How are you getting prayer support for this challenge?
    • Do you think there is a difference between unbelief and faithlessness? Why or why not? If there are differences, how do you see them in your life or the lives of ?
    • What is more important for the church right now, the faithlessness of the world or the faithlessness of those who themselves ? As a Christian, what does it mean to be faithless?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help the ongoing war in our hearts and souls against unbelief and faithlessness. Amen.

  • Moonlight Movement

    Moonlight Movement

    Psalm 65; Joshua 10:1–14; Mark 6:45–52

    Jericho, Ai, and Gibeon had fallen. For comparison’s sake, it would be as if Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, Boston had all fallen to a single foreign . And, not just fallen, but completely destroyed with all their people, creatures, and infrastructures with them. If you’re too modern-day politically oriented to the right, you might be saying, “good. We’d be better off.” It is likely that the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon would have felt similarly with the falls of Jericho, Ai, and Gibeon, as there was a lot of political and military control there. The long view, though, was that if a single could do that to those three mighty cities, then who were they in comparison?

    The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the saying goes. The five kings understood that and brought the might of their combined forces against the Israelites. The consequences of their actions were their demise. Granted, it wasn’t as if they had much to lose.

    Hailstones that killed. A sun and moon whose order was paused for a day. These were mighty acts of God on display for all to see.

    On the other hand, the disciples go (as commanded) via ship to another shore, leaving the one they follow behind. After has some quality (alone) time with the , he strolls along to the boat…on the water…a long way from shore…at night…in the dark with a moon highlight.

    Jesus walking on water is just as miraculous as killer hailstones, and the sun and the moon being still for a day (It would be interesting to know how hot the day was at the end). Except, it was not a public event. It was something for the disciples (and those that followed after).

    We often want God to do miracles in the daylight. For some of us, justification that God does exist. For of us, a that the world can look to and . For others still, just the or the life desired through that miracle.

    God works in the day and in the night. As much as we often say, “…for God’s …,” it seems that many times God is not so worried about God’s glory. When we worry about God’s glory, it might be that it is not God’s glory that we are concerned for.

    ※Reflection※

    • Do you ever think about God’s glory? When and why?
    • When we bring up God’s glory, what else might be our real motivation?
    • Do you see God working more in the daylight (visible/public) or more at night (hidden/quiet)? What are some examples?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, as we seek your glory, let us be seeking your glory and not our own. Amen.