Devotion.al

Tag: hear

  • Living After

    John 21:1–19, Isaiah 43:1–12

    We often stop with the of Easter. That’s the big event. It’s understandable. It wasn’t the end of the bodily resurrection of . Often when we are stressed or unsure of ourselves, we 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 person. It doesn’t take much imagination to 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 -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 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 to Jesus the way he was. can truly be extraordinarily painful. Peter experienced it. Israel experienced it. Yet, when we come to reconciliation we often flee the . 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?

  • 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 . 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 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 . One of the biggest differences between Judas Iscariot and Peter is not their respective , for they both betrayed Christ, but that Peter’s heart was open to correction. Judas Iscariot took things, including his self-condemnation, without . 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 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, “, 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 ? 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 , 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 , even death on a cross, keep you and strengthen you, now and forever.

  • Bargain Making

    Genesis 22:15–18, Isaiah 48:17–49:4

    Promises. Promises.

    God is and true and fulfills his . If someone who does not God nor believe that God fulfills his Word were to compare the passage in Genesis to Isaiah 48:17–19, would they come to the same conclusion? We would like to think so. From a perspective of logic, one can see that Abraham’s descendants didn’t fulfill their end of things. We see that from a spiritual side, too.

    It the relational difference between these two passages. Abraham has shown his . The Israelites have shown their faithlessness.

    This is where God’s faithfulness, and God’s fulfilling of his Word comes in. It is, in many ways, where God’s promise to Abraham outweighs the failures of Abraham’s descendants.

    The Israelites are condemned to rot in bondage. That could be the message. After all, they did abandon Abraham’s God for godless idols of wood and metal. Their with God was transactional at best, and more along the lines of reluctant.

    Sadly, not much has changed. We stories about people making transactional bargains with God, and lives transformed. We also hear about bargains that God did not fulfill and people are mad at God as a result. If one makes a bargain with God, that doesn’t make it a relationship. In many cases, it is less relational than handing money to the cashier and getting your back. In the case of bargains made, whether or not, the true relationship is when we allow God to transform us, and we partner with God in that transformation.

    1) Have you ever tried to bargain with God? What about? What was the result?

    2) Have you ever prayed to God about a need or desire? What about? What was the result?

    3) What is the difference between a bargain and a prayer? Which sounds more like the Water of Christ, and which one sounds more like burdens and chains?

  • Communional Mystery

    John 6:54–66, Zechariah 3:1–4, Romans 8:31–39

    The how of has been a mystery of and for the . How it works has been (and continues to be) a strong discussion point between traditions and denominations. What hasn’t been a discussion point is that it does work. The long practice of Communion ties generations to the past, communities together, connects hearts and minds to the . At the beginning, even before Jesus’ on the cross, it was a dividing point. People took a very literal view of Jesus’ wording, which turned them away from him. Those that knew him—the 12 disciples—didn’t walk away. They seemed to have some understanding that Jesus wasn’t being as literal as had assumed. That does not mean they completely understood. They did, however, know Jesus, so instead of insisting to understand, they accepted. Jesus did make accepting blood and flesh crucial to being his follower, and receiving life. Thus Communion is not just something we do lightly.

    Communion is part of the transformed/transforming/being-transformed life of being a Christian. It is part of our adoption into God’s . As we become, and continue to be, a part of God’s family, we can rely and in ‘s words about those who accuse us. The accusations of being nonredeemable and unredeemed are the same accusations that Zechariah saw Satan throw at Joshua (a high priest, not the prophet who followed Moses). The same filthy rags that were removed from Joshua (and by extensions, the Jews), are those removed from us when we accept Jesus Christ.

    The Accuser (whether Satan or people who seek to pull us down) is a constant threat to a Christian (or anyone). However, when we have Jesus Christ and are in fellowship with him, the accusations are merely empty words. The words and spirit behind them hurt, but we turn to Jesus who wipes away our tears and hurt. Communion is that constant reminder that God is the host of the banquet. He has clothed us in white, even though we cannot see it.

    1) Have you ever come across a time or place where Communion separated, rather than joined, people to Christ and the greater body? What was it like?

    2) Have you ever thought about the importance of Communion in regards to your ? How do you think that works?

    3) Accusations can often keep us away from the table. When you “hear” accusations, how do you deal with them? Do you bring them to others, or do you bear them alone?

  • Practice Feasting

    Deuteronomy 14:22–26, Acts 2:36–42

    Feasting in the of the Lord is a strong theme in all the Jewish feast times. Feasting in God’s presence provides a reminder that it is by God’s grace and that there is something to feast with. It also reminds us that God is God. It keeps us balanced so that we do not think that the feast is because of ourselves or our works.

    That something so basic and essential to living (food) is considered a vital part of righteous worship, should help us to not dismiss it. While we may joke about potlucks, in many respects such gatherings are feasting in the presence of the Lord. While overeating is not good, eating is.

    When the early “church” of Acts eats together, we’re talking about all sorts of people. While they all were Jews (at this point, with some Gentile converts), that doesn’t mean they all got along. There were fishermen, tax collectors, Levites, merchants, soldiers, guardsmen. In other words, there was a cross-section of Jewish society. They made it a practice of breaking bread together. There is a context to this breaking of bread. These people listened to the Apostles’ (we’d say the New Testament) Teaching (sermons and preaching), to fellowship (more than and greet at the door), and prayer. It is all four elements together that were practiced.

    1) Have you ever made the decision to avoid the sermon or other teachings? How about fellowship? How about breaking bread together? How about prayer?

    2) This is not to be a trip, but a time of reflection. Why did you avoid 1 or more of these practices? Is it a regular thing? If so, what can you do to restore this 4-fold practice into your ?

    3) In Acts 3:41, Luke notes that about 3000 people were added to the church. Just like today, a place where 3000 people could gather to /, fellowship, break bread, and pray is pretty hard to find. How do you think the early church did it? How can that inform the practices in your life?

  • Forgiveness Such As This

    Psalm 38, Leviticus 5:1–19, Luke 17:1–4

    “Already forgotten.”

    “Don’t worry about it.”

    We sometimes these words when trying to apologize or make amends for something we have done wrong to another. Sometimes the person says these words as a veiled acceptance for the apology. Sometimes it was so inconsequential to them that they spent little-to-no time thinking about it after it occurs. Forgiveness is often spoken of in churches, encouraging each of us to forgive wrongs committed against us. Much of the time it is forgiveness towards those we are distant from (physically or by , for example). Not that this isn’t good. The question is, can we accept apologies and repentance when given?

    In this passage in Leviticus, the phrase, “…without being aware of it, but later recognizes it…,” is repeated multiple times. How often have we done something wrong, and only later realized we did it? Sometimes we do something and don’t know that it is wrong, but we do we are to make amends once we realize it. This should be the state of our with one another, if we become aware that we have offended, we make amends. The reciprocal of this is being grace-filled people. Often people will innocently and/or ignorantly hurt us. Often it is actually the remnant of an old hurt that someone has triggered, yet we hold this new person (and new offense) against the old pain. We then go down the grace-less path of thinking, “they should have known better,” or something like that. Or, if something is so obvious an offense, we are offended both by the offense and their ignorance (or we sometimes say their callousness). God doesn’t operate that way, which this passage in Leviticus shows. If God doesn’t behave that way, why would we?

    Yet, it seems that many people inside and outside of the are unable to forgive and unable to accept apologies and/or repentance. We can look at a lot of media stories where people said what is now viewed as stupid and harmful, yet at the time they said it, it was well within the norm. Take the show Seinfeld (proudly a comedy show about nothing). It has been running in syndication for years, but viewership is dropping. Millennials and Generation Z do not find the humor in much of it (granted, the humor was of limited appeal anyway), as much of the cultural language that was appropriate and even “sensitive” for the time is now inappropriate and horribly insensitive. Before you say, “they’re a bunch of snowflakes,” or “they need to stiffen up,” or “they need some thicker skin,” or “they’re just looking for something to be offended by,” think about your own . Instead of feeling attacked or put on the spot, realize that you are behaving the same way they are…offended.

    There is a huge cultural change occurring, and some of it, though painful, is actually good. Ultimately, we are headed toward a kinder and gentler nation (truly). It’s just that right now we’re using hammers and chisels on each other getting off the high spots, and it hurts. There are some exceptions to the general tendency towards kinder and gentler (and it isn’t just one name, either). The reality is that our cultural and generational language is getting a long-needed overhaul. Really, this is a good thing. What has happened, and many of us are unaware of it, is that offenses, abuses, oppression, suppression have become such a part of our cultural and generational language that we are often unaware what message we convey with the words we use. The reason this is important to truly understand is that while we go through this paradigm shift we are going to offend each other…a lot.

    This is why having a personal understanding and responsibility regarding grace, forgiveness, repentance, and reconciliation is so important. We can keep being offending. We can keep remembering the hurts and offenses, or we can be like .

    When Jesus is speaking to the disciples (similar words can be found in Matthew 18:6–9, 18:21–22) there is an underlying question of, how much forgiveness is enough? When we ask that question we are speaking from the flesh (or ) nature, rather than the saved (or sanctified) nature. John Ortberg (Pastor, Menlo Church) proposes that Christians use up more grace than “sinners” because grace is God’s power at work in us. So, use that grace with one another! God’s grace is unending! As long as you keep using it and keep asking for it, God will keep pouring it! Remembering who offended us and how is easy (and natural), it’s what we do afterward that shows whether it is us or Jesus who is the Lord of our lives.

    1) An unspoken part of Jesus’ directive on repetitive forgiveness is directed at the forgiver: accept and forgive wholeheartedly. Have you ever “forgiven” someone, but held back from wholeheartedness by saying (in effect), “ but verify”? If you hold back on forgiveness by even the tiniest portion, have you really forgiven?

    2) There is always a balance of forgiveness versus safety. Is it really “versus”, though? In this context, repentance and forgiveness are tied . How does that work in your life?

    3) What does the passage in Leviticus show about God’s perspective of nature?

    FD) What is the difference between apologizing and repenting?

  • Be Being Prepared

    Psalm 54, Acts 20:16–32

    Be gracious. How many times did you hear someone say, “If I were God…,” or have you said that yourself? Most of the time, those four words do not result in a gracious . In fact, they are usually the introduction to something vengeful or self-.

    Sometimes we do hear a gracious response after those four words, but then how often is our response to that grace…grace-filled. It’s sad, but often grace is not the initial human response.

    Despite our own orientation to grace-less-ness, we still look to God for grace-full-ness. Why is it that we expect more out God’s response than we deliver on our own?

    Deep down, beyond our conscious thoughts, we have an understanding that grace should be the way of things. As we all know, and as the psalmist states, we are among people whose “…teeth are spears and arrows, whose are sharp swords…” Sadly, we are often those same people to others.

    Even sadder, sometimes we are that way to those we hold closest in our hearts. The psalmist takes a …and then… GOD! God is ! Trusting that God is faithful often allows us to be grace-filled, even when highly distraught or distressed, as Paul was on his way to Jerusalem.

    As Paul gives his farewell address to those he loves personally and deeply, he summarizes his time in Ephesus. There are some things we should be taking from Paul’s address. First, he sought to be humble. We know that Paul was smart.

    Often smart people act as though they are better than others, just because of their intelligence. Paul made the case that wasn’t this way with him. He did not shy away from telling what needed to be told (profitable). It also tells us that others said many things that were not “profitable” to the Ephesians. This was one of Paul’s deep concerns.

    He warned the Ephesian elders to be aware of those that would tear the innocent apart and lead them astray. He is telling them to grow up. They will no longer be able to rely on Paul to be the leader, but they are now responsible. Paul reminded them of the tears he shed as he spoke the Truth, not just of God’s grace and kingdom, but that people will come (who might even be friends) that will try to destroy the faith of the Ephesians.

    He is doing those last minute reminders. He believes that this journey to Jerusalem will be the of his journey, and wants them to be prepared both for grief and to wear the mantle of leadership.

    • 1) In his address to the Ephesians, Paul mentions the “…the of God’s grace…” Why is that especially important for Paul as he looks to the end of his journey?
    • 2) When we look at the psalmist’s words about the “speech” of humanity, how can the gospel of God’s grace respond?
    • 3) Paul’s history with Ephesians, and his effectiveness with them was built over years. What does that tell about the of faith?
    • FD) Why does Paul use the imagery of sheep for the people of the and wolves for the people outside of the faith (not necessarily outside of the church)?

  • Transitioning

    Psalm 29; Isaiah 43:1–13; Matthew 3:13–17

    Many people claim to have heard from God. Often in church culture, we about Elijah and the “still, small, voice of God” (1 Kings 19). In Psalm 29, however, the voice of the Lord is anything but quiet. Massive trees break, the earth shakes, deer premature birth, the woodlands stripped bare, all due to the voice of the Lord. The voice of the Lord can be quiet or loud, depending on what we need.

    Through Isaiah, God calls out to the Israelites. The Israelites are in exile, and in . God reminds them that it is God who made them. It is God who formed not just humankind, but the people of Israel, reminding them of the promise made to Abraham.

    After the reminder—which is also a statement of reassurance—comes the challenge. As the Israelites walk through the waters, rivers, and . God will be with them. It is not insignificant that God says, “…when you pass/walk through….” God is not talking about avoiding trials (waters, rivers, fire). God accompanies in the midst of trouble. It is not just the accompanying, though. The figure of of “through the waters/floods” is one of into new life: Jacob became Israel; Israel leaves Egypt; Israel enters the promised land; Elijah’s last walk; Elijah’s prophetic beginning.

    Walking “through the fire “is a symbol of purification. This is similar to the burned sacrifices, which were performed for the cleansing of . Through fire, metals are refined, and the impurities removed. In these times, fire was also a of life and security.

    One can say when we perceive that God is with us and for us, we will walk through our trials and be transformed.

    Even for Jesus, (i.e., walk through waters) is a transition from life to death to life. When Jesus is baptized, he goes from the life he had (probably that of a carpenter) to the life of mission, the Gospel of the of God. Just like us, Jesus “walks” through the waters. Jesus knows the things of our lives, for he walked them, too.

    1. Can you think when God has walked with you through times of refinement? What did you hear from God during this?
    2. When did you “walk” through a time of death into a new life (or way of living)? How did God walk beside them?
    3. What is similar between times of refinement, and times of death-to-life? What is different between them?
    4. [FD] What does baptism mean to you?