Devotion.al

Tag: identity

  • To Be Called

    Psalm 34, Isaiah 49:1-6, 1 Corinthians 4:1-16 (read online ⧉)

    What does it mean to be called? That is a question many people themselves at various points in their lives. When we were children, the question could be, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Granted, in family businesses there could be an of “” which presents its own dangers. As we enter the teenage years, beings to become a focus (“Who am I?”). This will often take and be shaped by activities and friends. In the last decade, or so, we’ve seen a new trend, and that is “calling” children to more and more activities or to multiple seasonal versions of the same activity (often sports). Young teenagers are now being pushed to decide career paths while figuring out who they are, as certain decisions (such as the fantastic programs of Running Start, College in the Classroom, and AP courses) affect college decisions, and potentially financial-aid decisions, too. As the average lifespan increases, we are beginning to compress the childhoods that many of us treasured to resemble earlier eras. Also, as lifespans increase, career changes (not just jobs) are becoming increasingly common. That is one of the interesting pieces, as our jobs are increasingly less of our identity.

    Isaiah did not have a question of his identity to a great degree. Since he felt that he was called before he was born, it was likely that he followed seers or prophets or sages. He was probably often following priests and scribes, too. It was his identity. It was his calling. It certainly wasn’t an easy one. It might have given him resilience during his prophetic ministry, and it certainly isolated him from others. Paul describes himself as a “manager” of the mysteries of God. It is a strange calling, but it was his.

    Do not judge yourself, or your calling, by Isaiah, Paul, or any others in the . Evaluate your call against them for insight and . Each person in the Scriptures was unique and uniquely called, just like you.

    N.T. Wright (former bishop now educator and researcher) recently said, “…I think a lot of people feel guilty that there are some things which maybe when they were called…they thought they would be doing. And they either didn’t seem to be very good at it or they didn’t get the opportunity to do it. And I really want to say that we all have our particular gifts. And we shouldn’t be ashamed of the fact that there are some gifts that we might have thought we were going to be given in ministry or whatever, which we don’t have…I think of extreme examples of people who served God with everything that they’ve got, in a very what looks like to most of us a very bleak and obscure way. I think of Alexander Cruden, who did the great concordance couple hundred years ago. And, and he was, we would today say he was really far out on a spectrum. He was quite an unbalanced . But he needed to be like that for the very odd job that God had for him, which was producing—by hand—a concordance which served the amazingly well for a very long time. And I possess my grandfather’s copy of cretins, concordance, and it was a great help before all the modern computerized stuff can So I really want to say if somebody has an academic bent or a bent for lexicography, or… if somebody has the real pastoral ability to spend hours working with, say, Children in Need or at risk or families that are in trouble, …that’s fine. God needs those gifts.”

    Sometimes we are blind to our gifts and/or our calling. Other times people will ask for our help and we realize that it isn’t our call, but something connected is. The question isn’t, “are you called?” The question is, “What are you doing with your calling?”

    1) Do you know what your calling is? If not, who are some mature Christians you know that could help you figure it out? If you do, how did you come to that conclusion?

    2) Do you think your calling has or will ever ?

  • 25 November 2019

    Zechariah 12:1–8, Revelation 18:1–10, Matthew 20:20–23, Luke 22:14–20 (read online ⧉)

    A cup is a common thing. You probably have a few in your cupboards. You might even have so many you have to get rid of one to fit another. You might have ones for special times (like china for Thanksgiving). You might have Christmas themed ones. You probably have ones that were given to you as a reminder or an advertisement. There is nothing special really special about cups. However, as we read the , cups star in a number of places.
    Joseph used his cup (his very special one that only he had) to entrap his brothers. Pharoah and Nebuchadnezzar had their cupbearers. These cupbearers had authority within the courts of the leader. Cups, it seems, were not always so common.

    The prophet Zechariah has a of Judah being a cup. Nations would drink of this cup. The consumption part represents well the takeovers, wars, slavery, and exile. The nations around Judah (even their Semitic cousins in Samaria) really did a number on Judah. It’s not that Judah did the right things and was still on the losing . Judah had continually made the wrong decisions. God wasn’t just going to restore his people once they yielded their hearts. God would use Judah as the source of retribution for all the nations that had (by their actions) treated Judah wrongly.

    This imagery is echoed in Revelation. This time, instead of the small underdog nation being the source of retribution, it would now be the leading city (symbolized as Babylon) that would be the source of its own destruction and the nations that followed it. This symbolic Babylon was completely lost in the depths of unGodly practices. The nations that idolized it or followed its practices would end up with the consequences of their choices.

    In Matthew, uses similar imagery to hint to James and John that the contents of Jesus’ cup will do the same to them as it will do to him. Of course, they did not yet understand what that meant. Is some ways, while Jesus did not “” them the seats at his right or left hand, he still symbolically handed his to them when he said they would drink from his cup. They probably felt better about not getting their “seats”, at least until they realized the cup’s contents.

    This really comes to a culmination in the Cup of Salvation. The “blood” of the New Covenant shared by Jesus with his disciples and eventually with us. The cup is Christ’s. When we share the cup, we share in the and identity of Jesus. We also identify ourselves with and by the New Covenant. We also identify ourselves by his death and the we bought. Lastly, though, each of us may have something that needs to be sacrificed to live a life with and for Christ. We have chosen to drink from the cup and by so doing stated that we will accept what it brings.

    1)Do you have a favorite cup? Why is it your favorite? Without knowing the story of if, what could people learn about you from it?

    2) God’s and are often found in “ordinary” things. In what other “ordinary” things do you find God’s grace and love?

    3) Why is it important to look for and see God’s grace and love in ordinary things?

  • Building Myths

    Luke 17:20–37, Acts 7:44–60, Revelation 21:14–27 (read online ⧉)

    Throughout the Old Testament, there are memorial stones. The names of springs have tale-telling names. Altars were built…lots of altars. Places provide . The Promised Land (Israel) was one of identity. That particular land was powerful enough in its name and history that there are still fights involving it among differing “tribes” and religions (and each’s myriad of sects).

    A place will often develop a mythos or multiple ones. Think of the States. There is the American Exceptionalism mythos. There is the American Colonialism mythos. There is the American Slavery/Segregation mythos. There is the American Dream mythos. There are plenty more American mythoi that aren’t listed. Some are held as (or more) firmly than religious beliefs. Some are feared for what they might represent. Regardless, they all revolve around a place.

    Jesus made a radical statement regarding the of God. The Pharisees and many other Jewish groups were looking for something tangible, which mostly revolved around the (in some form) of an independent (and probably wealthy, secure, and powerful) Jewish nation, with some sort of Davidic monarchy. Jesus basically told them that they are looking in the wrong place.

    Some scholars interpret this as Jesus stating he was the Kingdom come, while look at it more along the lines of the kingdom being withing the people. We Christians often call this being the .

    Stephen, who was martyred, reminded those that were about to stone him that God does not truly live in buildings built by hands. The building, it seems, is more for us than God. The passage in Revelation says there will be no . Think of that. There will be no temple, no church, no chapel, no alter. It will not be needed.

    We need to be honest with ourselves. We may say things such as, “the church is its people,” or “the people are the church.” However, when it comes right down to it, we gravitate toward needing a place. That place could be a park, a house, a (gasp) bar, a school, a cafeteria. We think this as obvious, now, but it wasn’t that long ago (truly) that people opposed holding a church service in a school. When the house church movement was reignited in the US over a decade ago, “established” churches said that house church wasn’t real church.

    The next “you can’t have church there,” argument is here. It’s actually almost past now, though people still hold onto it. It’s not possible, it is said, to have church over the , for the internet isn’t “real”. Even die-hard netizens often use IRL (in real ), so it seems even for them there is a struggle. As virtual reality goes mainstream, the concept of the internet as a rectangular screen will disappear. So, what are we to do? How will we treat those who don’t sit in our pews, but worship with us from 1000 miles away? Are they not the church? They don’t have a connection with us? Even those who, for various reasons, have moved or are moving away, but this is still their church home? Does someone stop being your family just because you only see them on Facebook, and haven’t seen them in years?

    1) When we talk about church and place, what are the important things to consider?

    2) What makes “place” more or less real to you? How do you deal with people who have a different idea of place?

    3) What makes a place (such as a church) more “real” than the internet which is a gathering of people at a whole bunch of places? Is that a “real” difference, or is it what we are used to?

  • Pride Versus Repentance

    1 Kings 8:44–53, Zechariah 1:1–17, Acts 3:13–26

    That Solomon included this request for the Israelites who would be in exile while inaugurating the newly built should not be overlooked. It is significant. With so much foreshadowing of the Israelites going into exile, one would think that the Israelites would have figured it out. The great leader, Moses, foreshadowed it. Yet, rebellion (of a number of sorts), confusion, and hardened hearts meant that they were headed to exile eventually.

    When the exile did come, at least, God made it clear that exile wasn’t the . All they had to do was say, “sorry.” Yes, it’s a little more complicated than that. On the other hand, it is still that simple. God remains true to God’s and . There isn’t a free pass for the Israelites out of exile. The way to get back isn’t too onerous, for those who are not too full of pride.

    Even after all of that, pride was still an issue. Peter challenged the pride of the Jews, who built so much of their on their bloodline. Peter used that pride against them, really to make a point. They were so sure of themselves and their leaders that they killed the person they were waiting for.

    Peter makes it clear though…. Yes, it’s that easy.

    1) What do you take pride in? Has it ever interfered with your life?

    2) Do you take pride in certain parts of your (denomination, stance on an issue, etc.)? How could that interfere with your and your following ?

  • Church of Destruction

    Galatians 2:17–21, Ephesians 2:1–10

    There has been a lot of talk in some circles about the increasing percentage of the U.S. population that calls themselves, “nones.” This is used to define categorize people as those having no definitive religious identity. This “none” categorization is awful. It covers a huge range of people.

    The panic, in some circles, is that as the percentage of “nones” increases, the number of self-identified “Christians” decreases. What makes the “none” categorization and the conclusion that follows awful is that there is zero nuance. There are people who are followers (and are saved) that do not identify as . Not that they deny Jesus, but they deny American Christianity. That is an important concept. There is also plenty of Americans who identify as Christian…because they are Americans.

    Among the nones are another group, “spiritual, but not religious.” There is some similarity to the “non-Christian” Jesus followers. However, by being more general in regards to “spiritual”, there is less defining, and that is part of the problem.

    The Common English Bible has an interesting translation of Ephesians 2:2…”You used to live like people of this world. You followed the rule of a destructive spiritual . This is the of disobedience to God’s will that is now at work in persons whose lives are characterized by disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2, CEB)

    The interesting characterization is that of following a destructive spirit. Before we start pointing at the world (which definitely has its of issues), we need to start recognizing the destructive spirit(s) in our churches. There are so many lines that people are drawing within our churches that are separating us. Think of . In the current atmosphere, even the most die-hard political person takes a deep breath when someone else (especially of unknown persuasion) mentions politics, and that’s just Democrat and Republican. What happens when we actually start talking about the issues? And, this is in our churches! Then we have cultural issues, too, and many of those are more deeply and tragically ingrained than politics.

    1. What issues/concerns keep you from connecting with others in the ? Why?
    2. The CEB’s “destructive spirit” sets a different tone than the often implied or demonic spirit. Why is that an important shift? How does that open the discussion? What is the danger in only calling it a destructive spirit?
    3. Any “spirit” that does not bring glory to God and build up Christ’s can be dangerous. Can thing of some “church” spirit that might fall into that realm?

  • Living Beyond

    Matthew 16:24–28, Romans 14:7–9, 2 Corinthians 5:14–15

    “Die to self.” This phrase is often spoken in circles. When it is fully unpacked, it isn’t a bad phrase. However, it is rarely unpacked and instead just left hanging.

    The first, and primary, place in Scripture used to justify this phrase is found in today’s passage in Matthew. Here Jesus speaks about denying oneself. How do we get from denying to dying? That’s a really good question. It would seem that since Jesus is using the cross people automatically tie denying to dying. What if, however, Jesus isn’t talking about but disgrace? The cross was a place of humiliating death. Despite our cultural appropriation of the cross, in Scripture, the cross is a symbol of death, betrayal (specifically toward the government), and disgrace (you were hung up naked). In fact, it wasn’t death that was the primary issue of the cross, but the disgrace. If we take that perspective, picking up one’s cross was tying disgrace to denial of self. That does put an interesting twist on it, doesn’t it?

    provides a framework in Romans and in 2 Corinthians. It sounds similar, but it is different. Not living for oneself, but living for Jesus and .

    A healthy part of a parent/child relationship is that the parent forgoes certain things so that their children can flourish. This does not mean that the parents are to “forget” themselves, for if they do they will hamper or even endanger their children. Not that there are not times, but as a general rule this is the case. Another way to think of it is the oxygen masks on airplanes. You may have gone through the “training”. The crew tells you to take care of yourself (aimed at parents) prior to taking care of your children. It is not because people want the children to suffer, but that the parents will make better judgments (oxygen does that) when masked, and are better capable of taking their children after taking care of themselves.

    The reason “die to self” is dangerous is that it implies (or one can readily infer) that one’s very self//awareness is to die. This absolutely is not the case. We are not clones. Denying oneself is very different. In the concept of progressive sanctification (growing in God’s grace and ), God started and continues to do good work in each of us. We don’t cease being ourselves, but gradually and continually become a better version of ourselves, coming closer and closer to what we would have been had the world (and us) not fallen into sin.

    The last, maybe most important, reason that “die to self” should cease being used is that it misses the point. We are really to live beyond ourselves. That is what we are called to do. In a cultural climate that is showing increasing amounts of nihilism (especially in the younger generations), the way we speak of a transformative with Christ shouldn’t use the image of death. Death is all around us. Many (regardless of political affiliation) our current culture a culture of death (for different reasons, granted). Let’s not be part of the culture. Let us shine the light of LIFE with Christ.

    1) What are ways you can about LIFE with Jesus to others?

    2) In what aspect of your life are you not living for others? Why? Are you sure?

    3) How will you how you talk about living for something greater than yourself?

  • Starting at Home

    Psalm 2, Colossians 3:1–17, Acts 11:19–26

    One of the and one of the curses of being American is the to decide who we are. One of the biggest struggles between immigrants and their children is the of . As much as most immigrants truly seek to join their new country, there are things that just don’t work for them. Their children walk the line between new and old, along with all the stress that goes along with that (think differences over worship music but over everything).

    The church was that second generation, and then some. A way to think of it is the child of a Tibetan immigrant and the child of an Argentinian getting married. The strains of their parents’ cultures, plus their new adopted (American) culture, plus the different culture of their spouse. That was the church.

    The “children” of Judaism, Greece, Asia Minor, Rome were, by-and-large, no longer part of their “native” culture, and could not really be part of a “different” culture. The Followers of the Way (the prior to ) were following a weaving and winding path between multiple cultures, nations, and languages. They lived in between. Even their identity as “Followers of the Way” was still deeply tied to Judaism, so even that was not particularly solid.

    The key to identity was made in Antioch. Only God knows who coined the term Christians. They could have been called Nazarenes, but Christians became the label. Even with a “formal” label, it still took years, and even today it seems that while the label is active, there is not a unified Christian culture. If there were a truly Christian culture, the hour on Sunday would not be the most segregated hour of the week. If there were a truly united Christian culture, Facebook, Twitter, and other places wouldn’t be in the state they are in.

    If the church were united, as Christ calls us to be, we really could be the healer for a culture and country in . Instead, we are just as miserable, angry, bitter, and pained as everyone else. We are not perfect, we just need to be better in how we treat people especially fellow Christians for it starts “at home”.

    1) As people are quick to jump on bandwagons, praying for the hurting (good), questioning violence (good), discussing freedom (good), trying to be the light (good), be even quicker to pray and prior to posting. What are you presenting to your fellow Christian? How about the world?

    2) As the country, and world, seems to be tearing apart, we Christians are still to be Followers of the Way, winding our way between people, cultures, and perspectives. What skills and practices do you need to develop to be better walking on the Way?

    Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
    The kings of the earth take their stand,
    and the rulers conspire together
    against the LORD and his Anointed One,
    Let’s tear off their chains
    and throw their ropes off of us.
    —Psalm 2:1–3

  • Isle Crossing

    2 Corinthians 5:14–21

    There are many things that are worshipped. Most have supplanted God with something man-made or of origin: science, politics, , work, family. Even the fundamental nature of God——has been corrupted by humanity.

    We are all familiar with 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new ; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” It is often used as an encouraging verse for the new and struggling believer. We are made new in Christ. However, the verse is placed within the context of a larger picture…a larger .

    We are to be messengers of and ambassadors for . If we are honest with ourselves, we have been doing the best we can, but it still hasn’t been very good. We—as the church—have put family first in an unhealthy way. It is not that family is unimportant, but that the church family is our family, too, and we often neglect it.

    The church allowed itself to be drawn into politics, and we need to stop. Politics are human, but they are often of greater priority to “Christians” than . We need to be the ones on the forefront reconciling differences and parties, rather than being on side of the aisle or the other.

    Our world is in desperate need of something different, let us be something different. Let us be new in Christ Jesus.

    1) Have you questioned someone’s or spiritual maturity based upon their political disagreement with you?

    2) Have you done the same if they raise(d) their children differently?

    3) What have you done to help people be to one another as an ambassador of Christ?