Devotion.al

Tag: heart

  • Hanging on by a strand

    Hanging on by a strand

    Seth Godin recently posted the following…

    There are three strands, present for most everyone:

    (sometimes seen as status, or the appearance of status)

    Safety (survival and peace of mind)

    Meaning ( and the path forward)

    The changes in our media structure, public health and economy have pushed some people to overdo one or the other and perhaps ignore a third. When a social network finds your button and presses it over and over, it’s hard to resist.

    New cultural forces catch on because they hit on one or more of these. And politics is understood through this lens as well.

    See the braid and it’s a lot easier to figure out why we might be stressed.

    “The Braid Out of Balance”, Seth Godin

    This brought to mind a passage in Ecclesiastes

    Then I turned to re-examine something else that is pointless on earth: Consider someone who is alone, having neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his work, and he is never satisfied with wealth. “So for whom do I work,” he asks, “and deprive myself of pleasure?” This, too, is pointless and a terrible tragedy.

    Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If they stumble, the first will lift up his friend—but woe to anyone who is alone when he falls and there is no one to help him get up. Again, if two lie close together, they will keep warm, but how can only one stay warm? If someone attacks one of them, the two of them together will resist. Furthermore, the tri-braided cord is not soon broken.

    Ecclesiastes 4:7–12 (ISV)

    The long-standing “go it alone” mentality of US cultural history is still very much present, despite much of the US culture going through upheavals. The braid (Godin) or cord (Ecclesiastes) is a good image to use when we think of our lives, and the inputs we have, whether power, safety, and meaning (Godin) or friends and companions (Ecclesiastes).

    Bad Math

    One of the things one learns about ropes (or cords or braids), is that it is possible to use them where one strand breaks as it bears the brunt of the load. The other two strands then have to bear an additional 50% that were not planned or expected.

    We may all understand giving 100%. Yet, most of us understand that we are just not capable of doing that all the time (we do have to rest). When that 1 strand is broken, the load is now 150%. Again, do-able for a short amount of time.

    It is when the last strand is broken that we experience a brutal reality of 300%.

    No one can sustain that.

    Strong Strand

    As I look around me, I see people within and without the faith in Jesus Christ1 who are leaning on something other than Jesus. Within the faith, in particular, the concern is those whose faith appears (for I cannot see their ) to be more on a particular iteration of the Christian faith (not-so-essential theology), rather than Jesus. Even more concerning is when their iteration goes hand-in-hand with a particular political (and this is not only those on the so-called right—or extreme right—of the political spectrum).

    As much as I am trying to elevate Jesus, much of our about Jesus is in the Scriptures (i.e., The Holy Bible). That, too, may result in another extreme, though, and that is only looking at the Scriptures in isolation. If we (as an ) are the only reader, contemplators, and interpreters of the Scriptures, we will likely (as history repeatedly shows) get ourselves in trouble.

    Not that reading it together often seems much better, for the record.

    If you are looking for a faith to join in, or have one, always keep hold loosely. I don’t mean waver. I mean don’t hold so tightly onto your tradition that you are unable to the other branches of Christianity honestly (rather than listening to debate), and even other faith traditions all together (including secularism and atheism).

    Open Hand

    I know someone will read the above and try to say that the other Christian traditions or other faiths will lead people astray. It might be true. However, if we are unable to engage them, then if person gets one strand of their faith (Christian or not) broken, just as the opening quote, everything may well unravel.

    “I have decided to follow Jesus,” is a refrain from an old hymn, and it is my truth. Following Jesus means that I regularly have to wrestle with my faith, my faith tradition (Wesleyan-Holiness-Arminian), my political leanings and tendencies, my experiences. It also means I have to welcome the uncomfortableness of wrestling with the faith, (faith and cultural) traditions, political leanings and tendencies, and experiences of others.

    Growth and Strength

    I have one caveat to the strand/cord/rope illustration. Instead of a rope that breaks and frays over time, I would say that what makes up the rope is more like a muscle. If you work it (in harmony with the other strands), it gets stronger. If you don’t work it, it rots in place.

    1For clarity, faith in Jesus Christ as defined via the Apostles’ Creed, Creed of Nicaea, Creed, Chalcedonian Creed, Athanasian Creed.

  • How to Come Back

    How to Come Back

    1 Corinthians 11:17–33

    It’s almost over it seems. The time of being masked and constrained nears its end. On the other hand, already another strain of COVID is showing up, but the reality is that we, as an entire world, are at our limits.

    It seems great that we’re almost there, except that we really have a lot of things that we need to work through, and many of them may be far harder than COVID, masks, inoculations, and social distancing. The wounds that have opened over the last 2 years are far deeper, far more scarred, and far more gangrenous than many of us were prepared for.

    As we come back, it is far too easy and tempting to attempt to go back to old habits and practices and forget what has just happened and the mirror that we saw ourselves in. We, as Christians…we, as the …cannot just come back.

    Many of us will “come back” to church and be unwilling to be uncomfortable. The world has trained us to be exactly like the Corinthians…divided. And, even worse, we may be more divided than the culture at large, which should terrify and condemn us.

    Paul was speaking on how the rich self-segregated from the poor. Instead of common , it was a separate one. Instead of a “love feast” celebrating unity, Communion (the memorial of Christ’s death and resurrection!) shined the on the , and it was then unworthy of the grace that Jesus had upon them.

    While we may not take Communion separately in the church, there is no question that the church is divided. Whether it is by culture, country, skin color, language, socio-economic class, or even denomination, the church is divided.

    The community that Jesus granted the world the right to judge regarding love (John 13:35), desperately needs to love one another. As we to love each other, looking beyond politics, borders, skin color, language, , weakness, honor, shame, wealth, it will be hard.

    Learning to love beyond ourselves isn’t optional. For those that follow Jesus, it is an act of loving obedience.

    ※Reflection※

    As you prepare to go/come back to , is the “old” normal really what Jesus wants from you?

    What is one thing that you will do different as the situation settles into the new way of things?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, the craziness of these last 2 years may feel like forever, and, yet, in your eyes, it was only a . Grant us the grace and and love to come together as your disciples to show that your love can truly transform the human heart, and from the human heart transform the world. Amen.

  • Blazing a Way

    Blazing a Way

    Nehemiah 9:1-31

    “It’s not our fault!”

    That is proclaimed so much by so many about slavery, racism, poverty, etcetera…and they’re right. Yet, here we have the example of the Jews. It was the fault of their ancestors. However, their ancestors were dead.

    All things new

    Often, you cannot figure out the right way without figuring out the wrong way. Confessing the wrongdoing of one’s predecessors isn’t taking responsibility for it (i.e., guilt and shame for what they did). So what? Now is the time to forge a new path. Granted, the Jews of Nehemiah’s time were the descendants of those who rebelled against God. Yet, at least I can see a recognition that this confession is also a warning to themselves that this could befall them, too.

    This passage in Nehemiah really causes me to pause and think about today in the US with our laser focus on our individuality. Perhaps our personal confession is too much about ourselves and not enough about .

    Ours to Confess

    In the Lutheran tradition (especially during Lent), the following is spoken by the body:

    Most merciful God,
    we confess that we are in bondage to and cannot free ourselves.
    We have sinned against you in thought, , and deed,
       by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
    We have not you with our whole heart;
    we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
    For the sake of your , Christ, have mercy on us.
    Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy .
    Amen.

    Our Forging

    We are being forged. It sounds impressive until you recognized the forging process. Tossed in a hot furnace until you’re so hot that you almost melt. Put onto a hard surface and hit with a hammer, and maybe bent with tongs. If that’s not enough, you might be tossed back into the furnace and brought back out, and hit/bent some more. Then you’re tossed into a vat of oil or water to cool off. If you come out warped, enjoy the next trip through the furnace.

    I’m not sure about you, but somehow that sounds kind of like now (and the previous couple of years).

    Forging Expectations

    As a white, middle-class, middle-aged male, I could be threatened by the riots, the challenges to my faith, the challenges to the church, the challenges to “my” culture. I might even feel threatened (or insulted) that people think that their understanding of each of these things actually represents who I am.

    Or, I follow the example of Nehemiah and the Jews. I could confess that those who went before weren’t perfect, made mistakes, and even did things I believe are wrong. I’m not taking their guilt upon my shoulders, for that is not mine to bear.

    However, leaving the wrongs things wrong just because they’re someone else’s fault is…wrong. And, because we are called to love others…it is often sin.

    Sin, From a Certain Point of View

    As someone from the Wesleyan theological , the Lutheran confession of being in bondage to sin is irksome. It rubs me the wrong way. It superficially violates much of our understanding of being freed through Christ and can be seen to conflict with Entire Sanctification (aka, Perfection).

    We are in bondage to sin. Yes, I said it. Yet, it may not be our sin that we are in bondage to, but the sin of others. I am kind of “wrecked” (in a good way) with this. It transforms (in hopefully a Christ-like way) my thinking in regards to the concept of institutionalized racism and even the gap between wealthy and poor.

    We are the church. Being free to follow and fulfill the love of Christ is our holy calling.

  • Be Our Guest

    Be Our Guest

    Psalm 111; Exodus 24:1–11; Romans 15:22–33

    If you were invited to a US presidential affair, you might be surprised. Unless you roam such circles or are connected to them, usually you won’t have any expectation of being invited to sit at the table with the president, unless, of course, you decide to contribute to their presidential campaign and pay a lot of money to eat mediocre food. It just isn’t going to happen.

    ? ┤If you were invited and accepted that invitation, how would you react to those seated with you? Would you be on “good” behavior? Would you be yourself? Would you be absolutely frozen? What if, the president came to your table and spoke with you? ├ ?

    Most of us think that we would react just fine. Depending on which president or former president, we might even believe that we would correct them and “tell them the way it is.” We might.

    The 70 elders ate with God. They saw the floor of God’s abode. We could just write it off as some religious experience, but that sounds pretty significant to just “write off”. In fact, writing it off is just like writing off because isn’t right there. Yes, people do belittle Communion when they don’t recognize the presence of God. However, based upon how this verse is often overlooked, perhaps we’re writing off the presence of God altogether.

    Yeah, I said “ouch” to myself, too.

    One doesn’t “just” have a meal with God. Culturally, a meal is a safe place; it can even be a place of transparency. Eating with God. What an amazing experience!

    ? ┤Can you imagine eating with God? ├ ?

    If you can’t, then think back to Communion. While our theology doesn’t have us literally eating the body and blood of Jesus, we are still eating with God. You eat a meal with God! Those 70 elders, and even Moses (!), will never experience what you—as a follower of Jesus—get to do regularly.

    ? ┤ Have you ever thought of Communion as eating a meal with God? ├ ?

    At Communion, we will phrases as, “you are welcome” or “a guest at the table” or “God’s feast”, but do we really recognize that means that the master of ceremonies, the Creator of the Universe, the Word through whom all things were made, and for who all things were made, and the of God that gives us a unlike any other…is eating with us?

    ※Prayer※

    Gracious , we give You praise and thanks for Holy Communion of the body and blood of Your , Jesus Christ our Lord, the means of our . We pray that the mercies of God may produce in us a grateful that finds expression through holy living and perfect to God and to people. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [The Eucharistic ending prayer for the Eucharist Under Special Circumstances, The Church Rituals Handbook, 2nd Edition, Jesse Middendorf]

  • Your Contentment

    Your Contentment

    Psalm 111; Genesis 18:1–15; Philippians 4:10–20

    One of the harder things about being a is that God often doesn’t give our ‘s desires. We describe God as good, loving, , and many other positive traits. Yet, the giving (or lack thereof) often gets in the way of our understanding of God’s goodness, loving, and giving nature.

    Abraham and Sarah are the case in point. Do we really think that Abraham and Sarah haven’t been praying and pleading for a child up until now? Of course not! By this point, though, all common sense of being able to have a child has been . Perhaps (though the Bible doesn’t say) Sarah had already completed menopause. What , from a human perspective, could there be?

    Yet, Abraham didn’t stop himself from having God at the center of his (which also doesn’t mean that he stopped making mistakes). We have all known people, perhaps even ourselves, who longed for a child of their own but may have had a long road of sadness and heartbreak. Some may have ended up with children of their own. Some may have adopted. may have to invest in the children of others.

    Contentedness, however, is something altogether different…maybe.

    was content. His heart was focused on something different, and that’s okay. There is often a focus on Paul’s content that is not in line with…Paul’s content. Paul’s focus was his testimony and the Christian communities he left behind. He was content that he had done his best, and content in his place in God’s plan.

    It is possible to be content while striving for something. Even Paul continued to strive for the mission and dealt with the heartache for his distant communities as they struggled.

    There is another way to view “content”, accepting circumstances with an open and loving heart. It includes God. This understanding of content allows recognition that not everything is as it should be, so that there is room for improvement. This could also be understood as not allowing the circumstances to poison your heart against God or others.

    ※Reflection※

    • How have you understood content in the context of a Christian life? How does the world understand content?
    • How do we often allow circumstances to poison our hearts against God?
    • What has been (or is) the biggest issue in your life that caused (or causes) struggles in your content?

    ※Prayer※

    As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. Amen. (Psalm 17:15, NIV)

  • Laying The Bread Down

    Laying The Bread Down

    Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 4:42–44; Ephesians 3:14–21; John 6:1–21

    It is tempting to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We can look at society and even many churches (in particular, their leaders), and just up. There is such a struggle against the and against sin, that it can be overwhelming.

    At the time of Elisha, Israel had a God-worshipping heritage, but it was set up for failure at the beginning with golden calves being placed as the place of . Israel had been the stronghold of Baal and Asherah. God worship had struggled to be strong in the face of royal opposition. It could have been given up. The doesn’t die.

    An unnamed man brings his offering to the prophets of God. There is no place of God to worship in Israel, so the man brought it to the prophets. While it was not “at the Temple” (a no-go place for the Israelites), it was still a matter of the heart. The man couldn’t bring it to the temple, so he brought it to the next best place.

    Then, there wasn’t enough to feed them. That should cause us to conclude that they were not doing particularly well. If there was such great concern that there wasn’t enough bread, bread was probably an issue, showing that giving was an issue.

    Their situation was much like the people who were following . There was not nearly enough food to feed all those people. While we might question Andrew’s , there does seem to be something behind that. Andrew apparently knew Jesus well enough to go search the crowd for food. Then, bringing what was found, he concluded that there wasn’t enough for the crowd.

    In both the stories of Elisha and Jesus, logically there wasn’t enough food. God still did something. God did so much that there were leftovers.

    ※Reflection※

    • What does the bread-making miracle of Elisha have to do with Jesus’? Does it matter about Elisha’s when it comes to Jesus’?
    • What situations can you think of that are similar to the man who doesn’t bring his offering to the “right” place, but to the “best” place for him? Do you think God honors that?

    ※Prayer※

    Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could or imagine by his at work within us; glory to him in the and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20, CEB)

  • Let ‘Em Fight

    Let ‘Em Fight

    Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 3:4–20; Colossians 3:12–17

    It can be hard to be rid of wounds. Many physical ones heal with scars, though the deeper body ones may not heal well. For most of us, the emotional and spiritual wounds are the ones with deep and lasting effects. These are the ones that can hold us back; they can also be the ones that drive us forward. When our loved ones are wounded, often our response is heightened due to our desire to protect them and our subsequent failure to do so. We, then, may react toward them in ways that may seem unwise or over the top.

    Elisha’s response to Joram (or Jehoram) may have been a bit harsh. Elisha was the spiritual son of Elijah as the inheritor of the prophetic position. Joram was the son of Ahab. Elijah and Ahab had a poor . Horrible relationship might be more appropriate. Elijah lived much of his life in fear of Ahab. That likely deeply affected Elisha’s response to Joram. Even prophetic people are human.

    Although it often seems impossible to live beyond our pains or the pains of our loved ones, we are still called to do it. Will we fail? More often than not. Yet, often it is only through the striving to move beyond the pain that we can begin to heal and new perspectives.

    We bring our hurts with us everywhere we go, including church. In fact, one of the biggest reasons people leave a church (or the church or the faith) is because people at church hurt them. The reality is that the church proportionally contains as many hurt people as the world…100%. How we deal with the hurts should be what separates Christian behavior from the world’s behavior.

    We should be honest…Christian behavior in this regard is often worse than the world’s. The world has put systems into place to mitigate some of it. It still misses a lot of it. Across the denominational landscape (i.e., in no way limited to a single tradition or denomination), the church has done a horrible job. Whether it is the burying and hiding of failures or the annihilation of the failed, the church has left a large body count in its wake.

    Paul’s words to the Colossians aren’t just to a “church”, it is to individuals. One of the biggest mistakes we in/of the church make is thinking in institutional terms, rather than individual terms. This is very peculiar as the primary Western expression of Christianity is all about individual salvation, individual (for repentance and salvation). Yet, we are quick to move to an institutional framework when it (even just) might require us to deal with the failures of another.

    There is a huge piece of personal responsibility. There is a huge piece of institutional responsibility. Institutions are made of individuals, so it still comes down to individuals. How we are formed by each other and the will play a significant part of how we deal with things. Though, the hardest part is not running away every time, and yet—after doing the hard work—there is a time to leave.

    The of one body is hard to achieve. Paul commends sing psalms and songs to one another. That “to” is interesting. Our worship songs are “to” God (as they should be as reflections of praise, adoration, and thanksgiving). It would be nice to know which songs and psalms Paul meant. It does mean though that we are to work on one another in the love of Christ. It also means, that we are to allow ourselves to be worked on, which often means our pains and hurts come out. What we do with ours and those of others may well reflect how much we really let the renovate our hearts.

    ※Reflection※

    • What worship songs (of any era) or psalms would you think of to sing to others to help form them in the image of Christ?
    • When it comes to conflict how do you deal with it at home, at work, extended family, socially, at church? How do you when you conflict at each of these places?
    • How do Paul’s words affect your responses, or your future responses, to conflict?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we wrestle with one another, often out of pain. Blessed Healer, heal our hearts so that we do not hurt the hearts of others.

  • Burning Call

    Burning Call

    Psalm 145:10–18; 1 Kings 19:19–21; Colossians 1:9–14

    One of the issues that has come up in the last year in church-ish circles is the ordination of women. Saddleback took a bold step and ordained women which went against the predominant grain of their partner body (SBC). There was an unexpected explosion in certain circles against Beth Moore. Along with misogynistic proclamations and male misconduct issues in the SBC, Moore left that body that she had grown up in.

    One of the claims against women being ordained are some contextually misused verses and the traditions of the Israelites. The Church of the Nazarene has ordained women since its founding, but over the years has struggled to fulfill that promise. It’s on the right track, but there is work to be done, still.

    There is often a wringing of hands in Christian Complementarianism (where only men can be leaders/pastors/elders) circles that there aren’t enough faithful men to fulfill empty roles. The Roman Catholic church, on top of its complementarian issues also requires celibacy, is also experiencing this problem. Some churches in both groups are finding creative ways around their limitations, but the reality is that there aren’t the faithful men needed.

    For me, there were two transformative experiences in this regard. The first was experiencing the preaching of Dr. Nina Gunter. Any person with any spiritual sense and without theological blinders could experience her -led preaching. The second was during my “Discovery” weekend of my pastoral journey, where I had to preach to my peers, senior pastor, and District Superintendent. I preached from Luke 19:38–40, where Jesus was told to rebuke his disciples. He responded, then the rocks will cry out. When I was praying over the words to preach, it came to me; God will not wait for us to proclaim God’s .

    In other words, in the of the Church of the Nazarene (and our sibling Holiness denominations) already assumed there were faithful women (and, yes, there are deeper theological reasons). I came to realize that complementarianism may actually already have its answer. If the men won’t rise, perhaps the women will (see Judges 4:4–9). Not the most Nazarene answer, at the time, but it resonated with my (and its implications went far beyond the ordination of women).

    Faithfully responding to God has long been an issue. It goes beyond gender. It goes beyond status. It goes beyond wealth. It is a of sin.

    To understand, Elisha was, at minimum, plowing in a , where people worked fields together (theirs and each others’). Some commentators believe that Elisha owned (or was the son of the owner of) all the oxen. That would be 24 oxen, so that would have been a lot of wealth (kind of like having 24 Jaguar cars). Elisha (and/or his family) owning 2 seems much more likely. That would still put him (in modern terms) in a very comfortable middle class.

    Then some famous guy comes and puts his mantle (Elijah’s symbol of the prophetic office) on Elisha’s shoulders. Elisha understands that Elijah is declaring him the heir of the prophetic office, which was an unusual example in the . Elisha’s was (basically), “let me show and love to my parents.” Done. Then Elisha burns the equipment required for a yoke of oxen, then kills same oxen for a celebration.

    Elisha opening, publically, severs himself from his old life. That is a lot of money to just be burning. It’s a great party, but there is no financial way of coming back from it easily. It’s similar to “burning the ships”. Hernán Cortés was famously said to have done this (he really just sank them) to keep his men from trying to home or mutiny (there is a lot more to the story, and much of it not so positive). Elisha did it for himself.

    One of the challenges that the Western Church faces is trying to return. This isn’t just buildings (So, let’s not burn them or just sell them). Actually, it’s more of a way of thinking. Looking back for guidance and encouragement? Yes. Looking back for the plan to navigate this new world? No.

    You, too, have a call on your life. You, too, have oxen to burn and ships to sink.

    ※Reflection※

    • What items/events/fears of your past or present are keeping you from living an on fire life for God? (Yes, that is a question worth asking daily)
    • If there was one “thing” in your life that would indicate that your are moving on, what would it be?
    • Why are we so attracted to stories like that of Cortés or Elisaha, but don’t put it into practice? What other cultural icons (generic or specific) are similar to Cortés and Elisha?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, there is no question that we are called to live for you. Let our lives be the bonfires that bring people into your light. Amen.