Devotion.al

Tag: humility

  • A Seeking Heart

    Psalm 105:1–15, 2 Chronicles 20:1–22, Luke 13:22–31

    We often feel powerless in comparison to the world around us. The current pervasive feeling is that normal people do not have a in the government that is supposed to be theirs. Many people feel powerless in the face of medical issues, general health issue, job issues, issues, and so on. It is easy to become overwhelmed by what we cannot do. Embrace the powerlessness.

    Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Yet, the story of Jehoshaphat is a story of a people, and their king, who recognized their powerlessness in the face of enemies far beyond their ability to deal with. Jehoshaphat embraced his powerlessness. He acknowledged it. He put it before God. God doesn’t always do something miraculous like what happened here. The miraculous is God. The powerlessness is ours. What do we do with our powerlessness? Do we study harder? Work harder? Pray harder?

    The multitude of Judah (entire families) publically placed their before God. True humility is often the greatest gift parents and grandparents can to their children and grandchildren. It wasn’t that long ago that men and women were to hide their paid either behind plastic smiles or stoic faces. Pain, toil, , depression, mourning, were all to be hidden, for they were a weakness. The families of Judah had no shame in sharing this. God saved them.

    Theirs was collective . When we come to , there is both collective and personal salvation at stake. In particular, the narrow road and gate are more personal than collective, but the separation between the two is not as clear as we like to think. Think about the opening question regarding the number of people to be saved. That’s the wrong question! In another place in scripture, there is a similar question regarding the requirements to be saved. Again, that’s the wrong question! Actually, that’s the wrong orientation.

    Jesus’ intent is orientation. If we are always trying to figure out the limits, we aren’t aiming for the heart. Think about marriage. If one marries another, saying what can I get away with and still be married, it doesn’t sound right, does it? Marriage isn’t about our , but what we do to make the other happy. A relationship with Jesus is very similar in that regard. While Jesus’ words sound harsh, “get away from me evildoers,” it is that heart orientation: a heart seeking to do (what can I get away with), versus a heart seeking to make Jesus happy.

    1) Have you ever thought, what can I get away with and still be saved?

    2) If you said, “no,” has your behavior matched, “no”, or has your behavior really matched, “yes”?

    3) How do powerlessness and the narrow road go together (they do)? What does that tell you about the Christian life/walk?

    FD) Why do you think Jesus talks about the door being narrow? Why narrow? Why a door?

  • How Do We Look?

    Psalm 120, Mark 13:9-13, 2 Peter 1:20-2:9

    Psalm 120 is a lament. The psalmist is among those who live a life of lies. These same people are warmongers, seeking strife and conflict. The psalmist is living in foreign lands that seek no , but the cry of the psalmist’s heart is for peace. The psalm begins with the end. God answered him, the rest of the psalm is about what the problem was. The is that while the psalmist was referring to a specific people, we all know the type. There are those that do not seem happy unless there is conflict. There are those who do not trust peace. When one does not have peace, one resorts to force fairly quickly. We are all guilty of this to some degree. Sometimes the response is yelling, crying, ambivalence, disregard. These all are violent to the heart and soul of , and often to ourselves. We quickly think that all violence is . The truth is that violence is the outward of an inward pain.

    Jesus’ words in Mark are certainly not comforting. They can be terrifying. The internal strife of families torn apart. Neighbors calling out neighbors. Remember the Second Great Commandment? Love your neighbor as yourself. This is the outward sign of it not being so. Jesus is warning that his peace is not the peace of this world. All too often, the peace of this world is bought and paid for by blood and death. The peace of God is not so. The psalmist understood this. The response of the psalmist to those around him was, “God me!” It wasn’t a slap to the face, or something more. It was prayer. As Jesus continues, he refers to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the source of the peace of God. When the Holy Spirit resides in us, we can to those around us with a grace and wisdom that is not ours.

    The God-ly wisdom of the Holy Spirit requires our humility. Peter has to confront people already who say that they have a new revelation from God. Peter is quick to point out that the prophets themselves did not understand their prophecies (unless granted so by God). It was only after the fact that it was proven that their prophecies were true. This is an important thing as the , and groups that masquerade as the church, often have those that themselves prophets or revealers or divine actors of some sort that are bringing a new truth from God. Often these new truths are then used in ways that are violent to the hearts and souls of the innocent (and even not-so innocent). These people use the of media, guilt, society, anything at all to crush the hearts of the people of God. We too can be guilty of using God in this same way. God’s ways are the ways of peace. God’s ways are the ways that sooth and heal.

    1) Has some “religious” person ever said something to you that was hurtful? How did that make you feel toward the religious they claimed to follow?

    2) Often (and rightly) people are told that if they are abandoning religion because of people, then they are looking at the people not God. What does that mean, then, when we also say, “we may be the only Jesus they every see?”

    3/FD) Being a peace-lover or peace-maker does not mean being a pushover. How does one make peace without violence?

  • Foundations and Firmaments

    Psalm 148, Colossians 3:12-17, Luke 2:41-52

    What are your thoughts when reading Psalm 149? Do you ever think of all of Creation praising God, the Creator? If you haven’t seen Louie Giglio’s Stars and Whales (link below), I strongly recommend it. To think that it is not just us ( beings) that are called and made to God. It is important to understand that praise is a core piece of our very existence. If we are not praising, the foundation of our Christian life is in question. It might even be in jeopardy.

    A firm foundation is important, especially in light of our passage in Colossians. Verses 12-14 are not easy. When we live out our lives with , our compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience are often put to the test. As we bear with others’ weaknesses (and as they bear with ours), letting go of offenses can seem impossible, and even unfair or unrighteous. This is why the of Christ (v 15) is essential to lay down upon the foundation of praise. With praise and peace, comes thankfulness. This is where we need to pause and remind ourselves that there are acts of thankfulness (which is a spiritual practice), and then there is a of thankfulness, which is an outpouring of trusting God.

    It is from all of this, that then (the author of Colossians) gets to correction. He notes that it is through God’s , psalms, hymns and spiritual songs that we correct the excesses of others, and others correct our excesses. It is important to look to Scripture as to what might be (emphasis on might) going on in the spiritual lives of others, rather than depending on our own understanding, which is likely missing crucial pieces of information. As we get to the story Luke provides us, it is important to see the different spiritual stories going on.

    For Mary and Joseph, who knew the prophecies about their , their return from the was part of their spiritual practice and were comfortable in their return home. Young Jesus, on the other hand, wasn’t done yet. Here was a young boy among elders, who themselves were astonished by Jesus’ insights. It is quite easy for us to be disappointed with Mary and Joseph not understanding. Just like Jesus, we can find ourselves saying, “of course, that’s where he is!” A new Christian or even an unbeliever(!) can provide spiritual insights that cause others to be shocked with a new insight and grow closer to God! Who are we to set aside spiritual insights provided by God through others?

    When our foundation is firm, we God, and are humble toward one another, we are open to receiving spiritual insights from whomever God puts in our path.

    1) What spiritual insight did you receive from the person you were least expecting?

    2) Why do you think praise might be essential to spiritual insights?

    KD) Why do you think it was huge that Jesus asked his mom and dad that question?