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Devotion.al

Tag: holy

  • Dressing the Part

    Matthew 6:25–34, Romans 13:11–14:1, Galatians 3:19–28 (read online)

    Have you ever put on clothes, whether someone else’s or at the store, and say, “that is not me?” There are a number of shows about clothes, and a lot of them are about what the clothes say about the person. The shows state a belief that the clothes say more about what the person thinks of themselves.

    If you wear really baggy clothes (skipping the supposed in fashion part), you could just want to be comfortable, or you are so uncomfortable with yourself that you use the clothes to hide. That’s silly, you might say. However, if you really think about it, what clothes we were do affect how we think about ourselves. You may not wear a tux or a ballgown often, but when you do, it affects you. This is part of the reason we do see so many struggles with clothes.

    One of the first things we judge a person we haven’t met before is their clothes. If you dress casually normally, and they’re dressed up, you may think they are too stiff or formal. If you normally dress up, you may think another person is too casual, and thus lazy or uncaring. These views often show up at church, but they also show up in other social settings.

    “Dress the part,” is often the advice given to people applying for a new job, or seeking to move up in an organization. If, for example, the president wears a suit, you wear a suit. There are, of course, exceptions when it comes to that as certain occupations require certain clothes. Even there, though, if you don’t take care of the clothes you’ll receive a different reaction.

    Jesus tells us not to worry about the clothes we wear. Yet, we do. In Jesus’ time, clothes are often a luxury. By and large, in the US, people can get fairly decent clothes for a relatively cheap price. However, obsessing about the latest fashion is probably not the most Christian thing. On the other hand, lecturing others for their expensive fashion is not our place either (the world does enough judging of its own there).

    While not included in today’s passages, there is a time when Jesus speaks about having food that others do not know about and being the living water. These words can help us reason with Jesus’ words, especially when we read Paul’s words. While Jesus was concerned with people’s well-being on earth, His other concern was the life to come. There the clothes and food we concern ourselves about today, will not even be a whisper of a thought.

    This leads us to Paul’s words. “Put on Jesus.” Is Jesus a coat or a robe that I just put on like clothes? This phrase often strikes people as odd. Unless you’re putting on an Edgar suit (see MIB), you don’t put on a person. If we’re honest with ourselves, putting on a Jesus suit seems pretentious, false, and, well…“not me”.

    Putting on the Jesus suit is awkward. It doesn’t feel like us. It isn’t. In religious/spiritual/psychological circles we talk about changing from the inside-out. In Christian-speak, we would say the Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside-out. However, the Jesus suit puts that into question. It’s where borrowing from a different Christians tradition is helpful. In the Reform circles, there is an emphasis on imputed righteousness. In other words, we’re righteous because God said so. They (and we) know that we still aren’t righteous. God is still working on us from the inside.

    Yet, when we became Christians, we were issued a Jesus suit.

    1) Assuming that your Jesus suit was white when given to you, what color do you think it is now?

    2) Think about a piece of white clothing that gets washed over and over (and especially with other colors of clothing). What color does it turn into? Do you think a Jesus suit would discolor (i.e., no longer be white) after lots of washing?

    3) How does a Jesus suit get washed?

    4) Why a Jesus suit, and not a costume?

  • Humble Knowledge

    1 Samuel 2:1–10, Job 36:1–4, 2 Peter 1:3–8 (read online)

    Knowledge is power, so it is said. One of the great gifts of the Enlightenment was indeed the removal of knowledge from the monopoly of the church. Knowledge, when freed from the shackles of human power and control, can grow.

    Knowledge, by the way, does not mean wisdom. Wisdom is something completely different (though it often looks similar). Societally, we value knowledge. We lift those up with lots of education. We often put them on a pedestal as if they are of greater value than we are. The problem truly comes when one views the knowledge they have as giving some authority, insight, and/or power that is not theirs.

    Hannah’s prayer covers that to some degree as she talks about not boasting, or speaking arrogantly. She notes that God has all the knowledge. As God has all the knowledge, God is able to weigh everyone’s actions. No matter how much knowledge we have, or anyone has, we will never have all the knowledge of God even with all the technology we have now, and will have. Only God has the knowledge of all people and all situations.

    As Elihu speaks, we should all be cringing. How could anyone be so arrogant they have complete knowledge? Sadly, this is exactly how many people speak and act. In fact, such speakers are given accolades. Lest you forget, that is exactly what we are getting in our politics these days, and it will probably be worse next year. That is unless we take a stand. This is not the stand of my way is THE right way, but the stand of I may not be right and should be open to others. This doesn’t mean we will all agree, all of a sudden. Often if we are willing to listen, the heart of our approach may change hearts. However, even if opinions aren’t changed, bridges can still be built instead of walls.

    For Christians, it should be a deepening knowledge of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit that we should seek, both in ourselves and in others. Peter reminds us that this is how we deepen our faith. If we keep increasing our knowledge of God…we won’t be useless. That means if we do keep increasing in our knowledge we are useful to God. Sounds pretty good.

    1) Do you find yourself overly respecting those with knowledge?

    2) How are you deepening your knowledge of God? Is it with purpose, or is it aimless?

    3) How can we gently correct those full of knowledge, who are full of themselves?

  • Seen In Heaven

    Job 19:23–27, 2 Corinthians 12:1–6, Revelation 4:1–11 (read online)

    John Wesley and George Whitfield were once total brothers in the faith and theology. Eventually, however, there were divisions, and the amicably went their separate ways on positive terms. Yet, people still assumed that there was something more serious.

    “One day, after Whitefield’s decease, John Wesley was timidly approached by one of the godly band of Christian sisters who had been brought under his influences and who loved both Whitefield and himself:

    “‘ Dear Mr. Wesley, may I ask you a question?’
    “‘ Yes, of course, madam, by all means

    “‘ But, dear Mr. Wesley, I am very much afraid what the answer will be.’

    “‘ Well, madam, let me hear your question, and then you will know my reply.’

    “At last, after not a little hesitation, the inquirer tremblingly asked, ‘ Dear Mr. Wesley, do you expect to see dear Mr. Whitefield in heaven?’

    “A lengthy pause followed, after which John Wesley replied with great seriousness, ‘No, madam.’ “His inquirer at once exclaimed, ‘Ah, I was afraid you would say so.’

    “To which John Wesley added, with intense earnestness, ‘ Do not misunderstand me, madam; George Whitefield was so bright a star in the firmament of God’s glory, and will stand so near the throne, that one like me, who am less than the least, will never catch a glimpse of him.’”

    What will Heaven be like? There have been many books written and dreams shared. The corporeal reality is that dreams and visions are still a human attempt to understand the divine reality. How can we embodied and finite (corporeal) creatures attempt to understand the infinite and divine. Old cartoons had the dead with wings, halos, and harps. Those that are musically inclined may indeed be playing harps in eternity, but if you know any drummers, you could see that as unlikely. Those that love to speak, preach, and teach will probably be out of a job. Maybe. Perhaps they will be the ones declaring, “Holy, holy, holy.”

    Then there is the question of, “Will I see [someone] in Heaven?” Often we asked this question if we don’t know the salvation status of a person. Sometimes we wonder about ourselves. Take John Wesley. While he and Whitefield parted, he had such esteem for Whitefield (and so little for himself) that he believed that Whitefield would be so much closer to the throne of Heaven that Wesley would not see him due to the brightness of God’s glory. That person we are concerned for may indeed be in Heaven, but we may not know.

    1) For those reading this in a small group setting, let us agree that the answer to the following is spoken and shared in a safe space. What do you think Heaven will be like?

    2) Why do we concern ourselves for what comes after this life? How do you respond to those who don’t “known” what will be in the afterlife? How do you respond to those who believe there is nothing after this life?

  • Service of Response

    2 Kings 6:18–24, Romans 12:3–8, Colossians 2:8–23

    Service can take many forms. The story of Elisha and the Arameans is an interesting form of service. In this roundabout case, it was the service of peace. Elisha prayed for the blindness of the Arameans. Instead of taking advantage of the enemy’s blindness by killing them, he merely led them away. He then served them a feast and let them go. Normally, we would not consider this an act of service, yet that is exactly what it is. Acts of service may occur in many ways.

    Paul lists some of the ways that serving occurs in the church as each person is gifted by the Holy Spirit. This not an exhaustive list. Nor should it be used as a limiting list. In other words, just because you (or someone else) are unable to put an act of service into Paul’s list doesn’t mean it doesn’t fit and isn’t a Holy Spirit blessed act. One could put Paul’s list as a general classification, and be okay, as long as one recognizes that some acts don’t fit neatly into boxes.

    It might seem strange to pull this passage of Colossians into this conversation, however, there is a tendency to elevate acts of service, in particular, to something they are not. Acts of service should be an outpouring of our response to God, rather than an act which is supposed to get us something. Acts of service are not rules, but expressions. We express and connect.

    1) Have you ever had someone question what you “are doing for the kingdom”? How did that feel?

    2) Does what you are doing as an act of service fit into Paul’s list? If not, what “big picture” category would you put it in?

    3) Why is important for us to realize that an act of service is an expression of who we are?

  • Remember the Gone

    Matthew 22:23–33, 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, Romans 8:26–30

    All Saints Day was established to honor the saints of the church. As we talked about yesterday, it is also a good time to reflect upon those that helped shape your faith. By so doing these people were doing the work of saints. Now, let us be clear, over the years, the church (whether it be the church universal, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant) has put saints on a pedestal that the saints themselves knew they didn’t belong. It is normal human behavior to do this. The saints are a “class” of people that when we think about it, we don’t believe we belong to that class. It is only by the grace of God that any could be called saint, for it is the work of the Holy Spirit in them that shaped them.

    One of the biggest common characteristics of saints is that they are dead. We have all lost people we loved to the ultimate consequence (on the finite side of things) of sin…death. Death is a fact of life. The reason to bring in All Saints Day is that some in the church lost the understanding of saint. So, the Saints (especially, those without their own named day) had this day to cover all of the Saints of the church. As a consequence, some traditions have a day for the (dearly) departed after All Saints Day. This day is called All Souls Day or Commemoration of the Faithful Departed. Really, it’s about all those day-to-day Christians that had more to do with your faith journey than the Saints seemed to have.

    We have inherited the legacies of the Saints and the everyday saints. What will we do with it? What is a saint? Well, the way Paul puts it, it seems we are all saints. It seems that Paul perceives all of the children of God as saints.

    1) Whose death do you mourn most at this moment? Were they a believer in Jesus as Lord and Savior?

    2) Why do we mourn those that knew Jesus as Lord and Savior?

    3) What is the difference, if any, between a saint and a perfect Christian?

  • Burning Jealousy

    Genesis 37:3–11, 1 Samuel 16:1–13, 1 Samuel 17:12–29, Proverbs 14:30

    Unrighteous jealousy is very much a human feeling. Joseph’s brothers were, without question, jealous of Joseph. Their father was—in many respects—the initiator of their jealousy, for he treated Joseph differently than them. He even had a special robe made for him. It is not unreasonable to look at the robe as a foreshadowing of the royal station that Joseph would get. It was completely inappropriate for the contest of being the 2nd youngest to be so elevated, yet he was.

    As the Proverb said, the brothers’ jealousy corrupted them down to their bones. Their brother was condemned to slavery (they thought). Yes, they didn’t kill them, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that it was their first thought. Then, in a capstone to their jealousy, they put blood on the “royal” coat and deceived their father. It was an act of respect in regard to their father’s place in their lives. Mostly, however, it was an act of cruelty. They were able to get back at their father, too.

    Unlike Joseph’s dreams, with Joseph sharing them, David’s anointing was external. The holy man and (last) judge of Israel, Samuel, anointed David. David really had nothing to do with it, other than obeying his father (Jesse) and submitting to the anointing. We can see later on, though, that the brothers weren’t responding well to their brother. Eliab, the de facto leader of David’s brothers, spoke poorly to David. We can see by David’s response that this is not a new thing. Yes, in many respects this is the reality of siblings. On the other hand, the Scriptures often highlight the important things, implying that Eliab’s jab was more than sibling rivalry.

    The jealousy that seeks to elevate oneself at the cost of another rots human relationships “to the bone.” Jealousy is the sign of an unbalanced relationship.

    1) Why is focusing on the jealousy within families so important? What lessons can we learn from it?

    2) Unrighteous jealousy usually involves taking from others. When have you seen this? What have you done, if you could, to resolve the situation?

    3) Usually all parties involved in a jealousy situation are affected/harmed. Why do you think the jealous person will often work against their self?

  • Choosing Sabbath

    Nehemiah 13:19–22, Isaiah 56:4–7, Mark 2:27–28, Hebrews 4:9–11

    We really are bad at taking a Sabbath. Even in the “good old days” restaurants would be filled on Sundays with people leaving church and eating. So now we have memes that say, “consciously choosing to slow down and rest is a revolutionary act of self-care.”

    Obviously, this is not a new thing. Nehemiah “defended” the Sabbath by force of arms. Imagine armed guards walking around making sure you rested. It sounds a little strange. Nehemiah understood that the first step to prevent violation of the Sabbath was removing temptation…the merchants.

    God always wanted the Sabbath to be followed. So much so that the Sabbath became a doorway into a relationship with God for those where were previously excluded from the community…eunuchs and foreigners. In many ways, right observance of the Sabbath overrode the other “ritually clean” and “holy exclusionary” practices.

    Sabbath observance was never about the rules, says Jesus, it was for us. Yet, we don’t seem to really get it. One of the biggest pieces of the Sabbath is not rest, or at least not rest in the way we think of it. The writer of Hebrews gives us the insight that really helps us understand the Sabbath. The author of Hebrews tries to get us to the point that we understand that full/true Sabbath rest is when we rest within the embrace and presence of God and are fully present.

    1) On Sunday, the “standard” Christian Sabbath, we often are still busy. Are you finding your rest withing the embrace and presence of God, and are fully present with God?

    2) What ways do you fill your Sundays (or Sabbath day, if not Sunday) with activities? Are they restful in God, or are they mere restful for your body, or are they even restful?

  • Witnessing Falsely

    Jeremiah 5:1–3, Mark 11:12–14, Mark 13:28

    Bearing false witness is a known problem. Isn’t it? Maybe not.

    In Jeremiah, those that bore false witness refused discipline (no matter how loving and grace-filled). In fact, the implication is that they took their behavior and made it a way of life, rather than an incident in life.

    What does that have to do with a fig tree?

    The fig tree was bearing false witness. The implication is that the fig tree had developed leaves indicating that there would be early summer figs. Yet, that couldn’t be, for the season was too early.

    All too often, people try to show off their improvements before they should be. A person learning a sport shouldn’t be showing off their skills for they haven’t gotten the depth of understanding, yet. It is also the same in math and so many other realms of learning.

    In spiritual matters, this is, even more, the case. Human pride, human behavior, plus the Enemy will do their collective best to tear down the gradual improvements of a maturing Christian (no matter where/when they are on the journey). Instead of trying to put out leaves and fruit before we are ready, we need to wait, be patient, and the Holy Spirit will cause the leaves and fruit to come. We just to maintain our connection to the source of life…Jesus.

    1) Have you ever tried to rush things? What? What was the result?

    2) When you watch others try to rush things, what is your response? Why?

  • Long Haul Saving

    Numbers 21:4–9, Galatians 5:22–24, 2 Corinthians 6:3–13

    The story is of the staff is fascinating, and we can see its long-reaching effects even today (look at many ambulances). However, as fun as that might be, we need to talk about one of the underlying causes of the tale…the impatience of the Israelites.

    In many ways, the tale of the Israelites is like a long car ride with children…are we there yet?
    One commentator pointed out that the staff forced the Israelites to stop looking down at the world and their problems, and look up to God for life. Seems pretty poetic when we look at it that way.
    In many respects, the impatience of the Israelites was based upon them looking at their situation, and thinking it has to be better than this. They spoke against God and Moses. Now, in earlier devotionals and during the sermon series on suffering, we talked/read/listened to how God can handle our anger. For those who are parents and have withstood their children’s anger, imagine what it took God to get to this point.

    The Israelites were impatient to get to this great home that they had been promised and had been told about for generations. Knowing the active imaginations of today, what “fairy” tales and legends did they hear or invent. Maybe none. The tale that brought the promise was already pretty impressive.
    If we take a step back, however, from the Israelites, we can see that while the Israelites are on a quest to “go home”, for God this is where they belong to be the (foreshadowed) light in the darkness. Israel was an ancient thoroughfare. By being where they were, they could (if they were faithful) be able to share God with the ancient world. Granted, they did. Imagine, however, what could have happened if they had truly trusted and waited on God. In other words, what if they had been patient (not just in the story from Exodus), and had let God’s (good) plan for them unfold.

    Patience is not a word any of us like, and often don’t like to live. We often are impatient to do something, when patience could have done it better. When Paul speaks of patience as a fruit of the spirit, he is talking about the Holy Spirit. As a child of God, you have the Holy Spirit working inside of you. That means you have patience. That doesn’t mean you like it. However, patience (and long-suffering) are key tools for missions and outreach.

    In today’s world, impatient evangelism will not win as many long-term salvations. It is long-term relationships. Are they quick? Nope. The truth is that we are no longer at a cultural point where quick evangelism will work. The “ground” is hard, rocky, and/or filled with weeds. It will take a very long time to work the ground into what it could (and should) be…fertile ground for the Word of God.

    The fruit the spirit is for the mission, not to say, yay, we made it. The mission is to reach people for Jesus Christ. When it comes to the Gospel, patience isn’t a virtue, it is a necessity.

    1) What is the dark side of patience? What problems for sharing the Gospel can too much patience create?

    2) Who is someone you are being patient with? Why?

    3) Do you think it is true that the fruit of the spirit is for the mission? Why or why not?

    4) What do you think was the mission of the people of Israel?

  • Overwhelming River

    Ezekiel 47:1–12, 2 Corinthians 3:17–4:1, Matthew 28:16–20

    This image of the River of Life spreading out into the world provides us something to reflect upon. The further the river gets from the presence of God, the wider and deeper it gets. Eventually, it takes the Dead Sea and makes it living water, too. In the case of the Dead Sea, there is an echo of baptism and resurrection…from death to life, and not just any life, a Godly life.

    The “four” walls of the church building should be so filled with the Holy Spirit that it should be overflowing into the community in which it sits. These walls are not meant to be containers, keeping the Holy Spirit captive or “preserved”, but enabling each of us to take this concentration of the Holy Spirit out into the world with us.

    If there is to be freedom where the Holy Spirit is moving, why does it often feel as if we are trapped in church? If there is freedom, why do we seem unable (or unwilling) to be able to share it?

    The church (which has been said time and time again) is not the building (though we often act like it). The church is the people. The freedom of the Holy Spirit enables us to freely share the Gospel and the love of Christ. However, we continually put on the chains that weigh us down, whether fear or pride or something else. We certainly don’t act free.

    Therein lies the problem. We have been commissioned to take the Gospel to our families, our neighbors, our communities, our cities, our counties, our state, our nation, our continent, our world. It is not a commission we can decline, for God has already commissioned us. We are plan A–Z.

    1) Do you feel free in the Holy Spirit? What does that mean to you?

    2) What are your thoughts about the River of Life being deeper and wider away from the temple of God? What does that mean in regards to how you live?

    3) You have been commissioned. What is your response to that? How do you fulfill your commission? How do you see others fulfilling their commission?