Devotion.al

Tag: human

  • Christmas Poured Out

    Exodus 33:12–27, John 6:35–40, John 17:6–24, John 18:8 (read online ⧉)

    Judas Iscariot—‘ betrayer—is often one of those characters that we just “go with the flow.” It is easier to just see him as the betrayer, rather than see him as what he was, . When we wrestle with the person that was Judas Iscariot, we often have to wrestle with the aspects of ourselves which may seem similar. Behaving in such a way that seems best and is ultimately still is something we have all struggled with. If you believe that you have never betrayed someone, think again. Betrayal often is our selfishness conflicting with the selfishness of another. Betrayal can seem to be opposing the dominant social theme (whether personal, tribal, or something larger).

    In the midst of the Christmas season (which it still is), it is easy to get caught up in the warm “fuzziness” of “good cheer”, fun, and gatherings. Sometimes, we get caught up in behaving that way because it is easier (or less painful) than being caught up in our own and trials. Going with the flow often seems the best (or at least easiest), yet the strains and trials are often what cause us to actually grown and strengthen in our lives. When we don’t behave in such a manner, some perceive us as “betraying” the “ of the season.” On the other hand, if we blindly follow the cultural flow we may be “betraying” ourselves.

    This all comes into play when we reflect on Jesus’ words about not losing one. He lost Judas, didn’t he? Or, did he? If one takes the predestination , Judas was “predestined” to Jesus. This, of course, denies Judas’ free will in making a choice. And, this is also why wrestling with our concept of Judas is so important. In the midst of being betrayed, or betraying , we have a choice. Jesus gave Judas a choice, and that is the real tragedy. Judas took a different path. Even knowing this, do you think Jesus mourned? Did Jesus feel betrayed? Despite all of this, Jesus still poured into Judas.

    1) What does Jesus pouring into Judas tell us about how we are to pour into others?

    2) What does betrayal mean to you? What “counts” as betrayal to you? Do others define betrayal differently?

    3) How do betrayal, forgiveness, and the go (or not) with each other?

  • Strength and Joy

    Deuteronomy 28:45–48, Isaiah 29:17–21, John 15:11 (read online ⧉)

    “The of the Lord is my ”
    Nehemiah 8:10
    Why is it God’s joy, and not our own this our strength? First, we are finite. Even the physically strongest person alive is not stronger than God. Second, our joy as much as it can be Godly is still . Our perception of joy is so flawed because we are so flawed as a result of the Fall, and our ongoing battle with the worst of our thoughts and behaviors, plus all of the ungodly stuff that the throws at and on top of us.

    Oddly enough, sometimes joy is a duty. Sounds odd, doesn’t it? Yet, often we do as we ought because we ought because God is who we have to follow. Joy does come out of that, just not always immediately. This is another aspect of ourselves, we always want to feel the joy, not just have it.

    Joy does come in obedience, not necessarily blind obedience, but obedience that trusts in the one who is obeyed. Those that God even when obedience costs something, are those who put God first, and themselves second. This is where we can find Godly joy. God is our Creator, why would we not find joy in following?

    wants us to be part of Godly joy. He told his disciples that their joy would be complete if his joy was in them. Who wouldn’t want that in them? Well, Judas had left the gathering at that point. That’s pretty telling. While we don’t know what Jesus said every day for 3 years, this couldn’t have been the only time he had said something similar. Judas just didn’t get it. Sadly, most people don’t. It would be nice if the ratio of believers in the world matched the ratio of believers of the disciples. However, it’s almost the opposite.

    1) How can joy the world? How can your joy change the world?

    2) What do you think about feeling joy versus having joy?

    3) Are obedience and joy truly tied ? Why or why not?

  • Childless Futurism

    Genesis 18:1–11, Luke 1:5–25, Luke 1:36–56 (read online ⧉)

    We are now in a time where having children is no longer an assumed item on the checkboxes of life. As people, especially women, become more educated the birth rate drops. The practical reality is that because women are educated they too can provide for the family in ways other than housework and childbearing. This is a cultural (actually across many cultures) reality. It does not mean it should be, only that it is. As women are increasingly joining the workforce, having children becomes less of a priority (for both husband and wife), for careers prominence.

    There is something else that is occurring, and that is the rise of anti-natalists. These are people who believe that having children is immoral, because of ecological reasons or because of the condition of suffering. In many respects, they have a point. What’s interesting is that this is not an abortion thing, so the pro-live versus abortion debate doesn’t really have a place (generally) with anti-natalists.

    These reasons, along with advances in medical science, start to affect how we look at the stories of Sarah and Elizabeth. In our , either there is no excuse to not have children (other than ), or there is no good reason to have children.

    This is not to disparage anyone’s choices, but to help peel back the layers of yet another thing that the world no longer understands: the of a woman who had lost to have children, but now God would gift her with one.
    Mary’s visit to Elizabeth ties the messenger and the message . God has come! God is here! While it is called Mary’s Magnificat, how could Elizabeth have not worshiped and rejoiced with Mary in this wonderful redemptive movement of God. Through old and barren Elizabeth’s pregnancy to Mary’s impossible -made pregnancy, God was doing something new! REJOICE!

    1) Why is tied to joy? How are they different?

    2) If you were to decide to not have children, what is another way you might express or show an example of that kind of joy?

    3) Whose joy was better/greater, Elizabeth’s or Mary’s? Why?

  • Humble Joy

    Proverbs 15:29–33, Zephaniah 2:1–4, Luke 1:26–38

    Yesterday, it was hinted that is a requirement to experience true (Godly) . If you didn’t catch that (or didn’t read yesterday’s devotional), that’s perfectly fine. Humility as part of Godly joy is front and center today.

    In Proverbs, we read two things to focus on today. First, that God is far from the wicked. This is one of those strangely worded passages that doesn’t mesh well with how we actually view God. God is always present, even among the most wicket of all. It is the wicked whose hearts, souls, and minds are far away from God, and in typical pride, it must mean that God is far away from us. This is why the (as is understanding truly who God is compared to who we are) of God and humility are so important. If we are so arrogant so as to believe something of God that is really about us, then we have a lot to .

    Humility seeks God before self, which makes things much easier for us when asked by God to do hard things. It also makes it easier when we have to decide between the world and God. As Zephaniah says, when we submit to God in humility, recognizing who is God and who is not, we to God so that God will do great things.
    Mary is a symbol of that humility. She didn’t understand what was happening. Let’s be honest with ourselves, we wouldn’t be any better than she was. However, her humility meant that God moved into the world in a new way through her. While we should not elevate Mary too much, she is still a example to follow when it comes to aligning ourselves with God’s plans.

    Ultimately, Mary’s humility gave her a Godly joy that none of us could ever truly understand. Mothers get a large portion of it, but not even they can say that they were the mother of God or the Messiah.

    1) Have you ever been asked by God to do something that required submission of your will in deep humility? Did you follow it? Why or why not? What was the result of that decision?

    2) We look back on Mary’s and read what we’ve learned and believed into it. Why does that often minimize Mary’s actions and ?

    3) What is the difference between humiliation and humility? Why do we often confuse the two in regards to our decisions?

  • Thankful Reset

    Psalm 147, Deuteronomy 26:1–11 (read online ⧉)

    There are plenty of tales around Thanksgiving. While historians try to break out the supposed of what “really” happened, people are still adding pieces of their own making to the legend and story that surround the “first” Thanksgiving. There will be people that will try to paint the Puritans (and other colonists) with a wide disparaging brush (not without some justification). There will be people that will paint the First Nations Peoples with an overly generous brush. Regardless, there were human people involved that, for whatever their reasons, gathered to gather to give thanks.

    When Lincoln called for a national observation of Thanksgiving, it was during the Civil War. Some viewed it as a calculated political move, and it probably was. However, there was also the beginning of exhaustion with the whole thing. This was around the time when the Union realized that the war was not going to be quick. In the midst of such turmoil, a time of thanksgiving helped the people to , even temporarily a horrible situation. Also, this is a way of resetting the mind and to look at a picture bigger than oneself.

    Thanksgiving in helps to lighten our hearts, especially when we carry the heavy burdens of , trial, finances, and so forth. How it works is somewhat of a , yet science is confirming that and help to rewire our brains. These re-wired brains are more resilient to trials and tribulations. In other words, we are able to withstand the emotional turmoil of trouble when thankfulness and gratitude are foundational elements of our regular practices.

    Take Psalm 147, for example. Say it out loud. Does something happen inside? If yes, great! If no, then it’s time to meditate on this Psalm. Recognize who God is and what God has done. These should not be empty words. If they are empty words for you, then you will likely struggle deeply with developing gratitude and thanksgiving.

    Moses’ direction to the Israelites prior to the entry into the Promised Land was to set a tone. They hadn’t yet worked for the fruit of the land. They were not to make assumptions. They were not to be arrogant. With the land promised to be fruitful, they were to be thankful that it was. Their hearts were to be full of gratitude toward God for it. If we follow along with the story of the Israelites, their focus on themselves and their own ways quickly lead them away from God.

    1) Why might ingratitude lead a person away from God?

    2) Why do you think gratitude changes your and improve your resilience?

    3) Do you think it is important that we have a national observance of thanksgiving? Why?

  • Kingly Control

    1 Samuel 8:4–9, Psalm 24, Jeremiah 23:1–6, Matthew 21:1–9, 1 Timothy 6:12–16 (read online ⧉)

    One of ‘ titles is King of Kings. In our day and kings are more of a symbolic position, so it has become difficult for us to understand the significance of this title. We can only intellectually understand the that many kings had over their people. If you were to read beyond the outlined passage in 1 Samuel, he (Samuel) outlines the power the kings have over the people. If we go back to Joseph in the story of Genesis, by the time Joseph was done, the Pharaoh had everything, including the people.

    What is interesting is that there seems to be a strong desire to put itself under a strong person…even a commanding one. If that were not the case, we would not continually see dictators and totalitarian regimes. We can regularly look at history and see people turning towards it. Even with the last two presidents of the US, we all heard language that puts them in a salvific role, one that isn’t theirs.

    Much of this desire is a feeling (right or wrong) of security, or at least that this would be more secure than the current circumstances. People turn to that appear to have the power to control (not necessarily ) things, in hopes that these people can control bad circumstances.

    The struggle that many people had with Jesus was that he didn’t take control. His triumphant entry or the time the people wanted to crown him, he never took up the scepter of power. Instead, he took a path of . When he entered Jerusalem on a donkey, he entered as a king of peace. Had he come riding a warhorse, he would have been coming in power to take power. Many people wanted this. Their own tyrant was better, so they thought, than a tyrant of Rome. It’s not to say that Jesus would have been a tyrant, but that the people would have preferred one of their blood on a bloody throne, then keep the Romans.

    Today, one of the common arguments against believing that there is a God, especially a loving one, is that this God hasn’t taken control, just like God hadn’t taken control in Samuel’s day.

    1) Have you ever witnessed someone submitting to another person who was in power? Why? Did you support or did you question?

    2) How does Jesus use power differently than “earthly” powers? How does this inform you of how to use power? How does this inform you how you should how others use power?

    3) What does Jesus being King of kings mean to you? What does being a king mean to you?

  • Are You Blind?

    Matthew 23:16–22, Luke 18:31–43 (read
    online ⧉    )

    uses the concept of blindness as a teaching point. In the ancient world, blindness was a severe handicap. Over the years we have developed tools and practices to help blind people navigate a world of . This was not the way of things in Jesus’ day. All the blind were good for was consuming food, space, and getting alms. This is not to dismiss their value as beings, but in that , there was little they could do. Today, with help, blind people can read. Blind people can operation manufacturing machines. The blinds can navigate the world, and the world works to help that. That wasn’t so.

    Jesus wasn’t being nice. He was being brutal. He was telling the world that the teachers that people looked up to were useless, at best. In Matthew, he implies that anyone that follows these teachers will not up anyplace good. However, they vaunted religious teachers aren’t the only blind ones. His disciples were often blind too. The prediction of his death was “hidden” from them. In many ways, thought Jesus’ death wasn’t so much hidden as denied. Why would the disciples want to think about Jesus’ death? Have you ever had a “hilltop” experience? Imagine having them for 3 years. It is likely that it got to a point that they couldn’t see beyond that. Sadly, in at least Judas’ case when he did see beyond it, he likely felt betrayed and thus betrayed Jesus.

    That the future was hidden from them per the , and then we immediately get to a story about a blind man receiving sight does not appear coincidental. In fact, according to Jesus the man’s faith had both saved him and led to his being able to see. In some ways, the 11 disciples that remained (after Judas’s and death) did not see either until they had faith. It’s not to say that they didn’t have faith in God, or even in Jesus, but that their faith matured and transformed so that they were able to look back and look and see God in .

    1) Have you ever lost any sense (taste, smell, sight, touch) for a time? What was it like? Did it have far-reaching effects?

    2) Blindness of the heart can lead anyone down a false path. What areas of blindness have you had to deal with? How did you deal with them?

    3) The world is often spiritually blind. If the world cannot see without faith, how do we get them to “see”?

  • Stand Alone

    Lamentations 1:1–2, Matthew 5:13–16, Ephesians 6:10–17 (read online ⧉)

    One of the biggest traps in currently is the “going it alone mentality.” This is not just a US phenomenon. We are seeing this all over the world. At the same time, there is this competing feeling that we really are all in this and that we can only get it done together (whatever it is). Is it truly just pride? Is there something else going on?

    In Lamentations, Jerusalem stands empty on her hill. Her people are gone. Her purpose for being has been removed. Her leaders in their pride point at Jerusalem and said here sits the house of God. Pride was expressed and take in inappropriate ways. It was just a city. It was just a hill. Really, it was just a people. What made it the jewel it was? Nothing. It was a who. God made Jerusalem and its people into a jewel…his jewel. It sparkled, and the people became deceived by the sparkle as if that was the point.

    When talked about the city on the hill, he was pointing out that the reason you could see it from far away was that people made it so you could. But why? Again, it was pride. The problem that goes along with it is that when we take pride in the appearance we lose the reason why. Politicians starting calling the US the city on the hill, appearing to align with thinking. However, what they really ended doing was aligning with human thinking. US pride (with all of our recent presidents), even when dressed in , was still pride. Jesus when talking about the city on the hill he intended us to connect it to God, and that we should be sharing and “shining” God. The hill was an allegory, it wasn’t the point.

    We Christians need to be especially discerning in this upcoming election (not that we aren’t called to be discerning every time). We can see the powers of principalities and this world setting up their standards to fight. The enemies (whether recognized or not) of God are present in all political parties at this point, none are free of this. How many of us will navigate this is anyone’s guess. If you already have your answer, then perhaps you are tied to a worldly more than to God. It can be said that sometimes those we need the greatest protection from our those who pretend they are our friends.

    1) Why do people often look to politicians and/or leaders before looking to God?

    2) What the first few words you would use to describe politicians? What are the first few words you would use to describe God? What are the differences you see?

    3) If Christians truly in God, why are we so quick to (or fight) with one another about those we don’t trust, the politicians?