Devotion.al

Tag: Idol

Idolatry, idols, etc.

  • Believing Dress-Up

    2 Corinthians 6:3–18, 2 Corinthians 11:12–15, 1 John 4:1–6

    is not a happy camper. The Corinthians appear to be pulling away from him for 2 reasons. The first is that he sent a letter that hurt (or offended) them. It seems likely that it wasn’t the letter we 1 Corinthians, but a different one that we don’t have. The other reason was they were being drawn in by “super” apostles or other charismatic leaders that guided them away from Paul and likely the other elders of the .

    While many people have concluded Paul’s statements about being unequally yoked with unbelievers as being focused on worshippers and Judaizers, in the context of this letter it isn’t about the obvious unbelievers. It’s about the unbelievers “dressed-up” as Christians! When we think about it, it is those unbelievers “dressed-up” as Christians that can pull people away from church, , , God.

    The world around us often uses the old Satan imagery to offend and desensitize us. The so-called Satanist tries to present itself as . Pagan folklore and witchcraft (druidic and other types) have also become more common. These are relatively easy things to see. That is what makes them scary. What if they are no different than they were in Paul’s day (?)…a distraction.

    As John admonishes us, test the angels. Paul says that Satan dresses up as an angel in white. This is not to say, kick out everyone that doesn’t believe exactly what we (or the Church of the Nazarene) believe. It is to say that all angels (maybe especially angels?) and prophets and pastors and elders and teachers and everybody else are to be tested against scripture.

    1) What are your thoughts about the dangers of “dressed-as” Christians versus believers in other religions?

    2) How do you train yourself to test angels?

    3) Angels are culturally popular. They are also often misunderstood. What do you think of being charged to test angels?

  • Paths To Choose

    1 Samuel 5:1–6:12, Jeremiah 42:1–43:7

    Asking God what to do can be a “dangerous” . It may lead to something that puts you outside of your zone. It can also be the most fulfilling thing you ever do.

    Fulfilling God’s plans sometimes means that you don’t know you’re doing it. Let’s take the story of the Ark in the land of the Philistines. The precursor to this story is that the Israelites acted more like the Ark was a lucky rabbit’s foot, rather than a very symbol (and place of interaction) with God. The Ark, and by extension with God, was not taken seriously. So, the Israelites didn’t keep it.

    The Philistines took it as a war trophy, displaying it before the of their god (Dagon). It went downhill from there. The consequence of their behavior was unpleasant. The war trophy became a symbol of a contagion to be avoided. The Philistines no longer wanted the war trophy. The priests of Dagon and the diviners (i.e., established non-friends of God) came up with a offering and a test.

    The cows took the Ark back to the Israelites. After all of that, God’s plan and God’s was revealed. Yet, the Philistines, with all of that, went back to their old ways. How often are we just like them?

    The leaders seeking to escape the coming conquest asked for guidance and provided assurance that they would follow it. They heard it and got angry. They asked for guidance and did what was contrary to it. To add insult to injury, one infers that Jeremiah didn’t exactly go happily with them to Egypt. He went in obedience. What a mess.

    The story of the Philistines and the exiles has a similarity…God’s plan and was right in front of them…they chose their own path.

    1) Have you ever asked God for guidance/plan? What happened?

    2) While it’s easy to judge the Philistines and the Israelites for their decisions, what reasons can you think of for their decisions? Have you used similar though processes for your own decisions?

  • Ruling Tradition

    Psalm 79, Romans 15:1–13, 1 Corinthians 8:1–13, Galatians 2:11–15

    Yesterday we talked about rules. Today we’re going to talk about rules.
    One of the first rules of is to build up one another. We have all done this well. We have all done this horribly. Another rule is to live in harmony with each other. Yet another is to accept one another. These rules are incredibly important when we (see Thursday’s, 23 May, devotional). Doing all of these well is hard, and it is well worth doing.

    One thing that always ends up with some kind of tension is and misunderstanding. When discusses food offered to idols, his perspective is it’s fine, since they aren’t real idols anyways. The meat was sold at a discount since it was “used” at pagan temples to “feed” their gods. Paul was saying it was food. He was supporting the practice, except that there were new or struggling or misunderstanding members of the who saw the buying and eating of this meat as participating in and agreeing with . Paul didn’t agree with them, yet still instructed the more mature believers to avoid the cheap food so that those struggling wouldn’t succumb to the old ways.

    Paul is not shy in taking on fellow leaders, like Peter, who quickly yield to tribal (i.e., Jewish) pressure to not be contaminated by . What makes this even more interesting in regards to tradition, it was Peter who led the charge against it. Even the leaders fall back into old habits.

    1) What is the difference between traditions and rules?

    2) How do they function differently in your ? How about your life?

    3) How do we confuse rules and traditions with our faith?

  • Passing On Legacy

    Psalm 78, Judges 17:1–13

    “We will not hide [the miracles of the past], but will tell a future generation…” Except what are we telling?

    This is a very personal question for anyone. There have been generations of self-defined Christians whose entire families have walked away from the faith. It may be because the is full of broken people. That certainly is the case. However, that cannot be the only cause. Many of the families “grew up” in church. Many “met ” at a young age. That is the “fire insurance” tendency of people.

    Verses 7 and 8 are the crux of it. We the legacy of God’s story so that they know (information) and live out (relation). The American church has done a great job of information, but often only stops at a surface relation with Jesus. So much of church was keeping up appearances. It had to wear out eventually. Once the pretty shell wore off, the ugliness showed through, and people left. The church struggles to this day with the ugliness that often shows through, and strange things happen.

    The story in Judges itself is strange. A mother curses the person (we infer) who took her . When her son confesses, she blesses (?) him. Then in an already confused situation, they use “church” language, which apparently makes it better (?), and make an . So, Micah (the son) builds a family “” and assigns his son as priest. This is in the context of Israel. The idol is bad. Only one family is supposed to be priests, and Micah’s family is not part of it. Then a person from the right bloodline (Levite) walks by and is hired to be the priest. As there is no mention that this Levite is a descendant of Aaron (the “true” priests), it just gets better and better. Then, oddly, Micah (a with apparently adult sons) tells the Levite that he (the Levite) will be his spiritual father.

    During the time of the book of Judges, there was definitely a soul of independence that believed the “other” was not family (even if of Israel, too), and people could do as they wished. It was controlled anarchy. In the US, we have well over 1200 denominations (not counting all the non-denominational—which have some sort of affiliation—churches). Sounds vaguely like controlled anarchy, too. As we watch big churches and even bigger denominations struggle with leaders who do bad things, we should be able to sympathize with people who wonder if we Christians really do have a single . Based on some behaviors, we could even wonder if the church has a bunch of people like this Levite, who has the credentials but is all about the money (or ).

    1) Why is it important to sympathize with the perception of the church by those outside of the church? How can such perceptions hinder sharing about Jesus? More importantly, how can they help to share about Jesus?

    2) This story (which actually has a second part) is very much about people not being under the authority of a king? Can you think of the Jewish/Israelite reason for this? How can this inform how we interact with each other inside and outside of the church?

    3) Denominations pass on legacies of beauty and dedication. Denominations can also pass on legacies of pride and power. How are denominations used by God? How can denominations be dangerous to the mission of God?

  • For Glory!

    Psalm 115, Judges 5:1-11, 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1

    Much of the modern world is obsessed with the self. Individualism (rugged or otherwise) is a key feature of (U.S.) American culture. It then becomes ironic when non-believers question why everything should be for God’s glory. They attribute to God a selfish conceit that has no consideration for others. This is one of the reasons why the doctrine of the Trinity is important to understanding God. God lives in . There is a perpetual and integral consideration of another. We created beings are blessed because God considers us of being related to. This is not a vain conceit of God. It is a reality of a and wholly other being who has created us.

    When it comes to God’s glory versus our glory it is important to not just say it’s God’s glory. God’s glory is eternal. Our glory is temporary. It is that perspective of an abiding glory that remains forever. When we are aware and take this into account, it should affect our decisions and responses.

    The psalmist compares the eternal God to man-made idols that are destroyable. The psalmist then compares the makers and worshippers of idols to the very idols they make. They are the same in that trusting in them is trusting in nothing (or possibly alluding to ). In comparison to the living God whose people are living and plentiful. The is of children, grandchildren, and so on. The legacy is of the living and who live in relationship with God. The legacy needs to be remembered.

    Deborah and Barak were the leaders of Israel, seeking to restore a lost legacy. Even in the midst of celebrating victory over their oppressors, Deborah and Barak gave God for the leaders who lead, and the volunteers who stepped up. While they (leaders and volunteers) did as they were called, it was still to God’s glory that they responded and succeeded. Their actions live on in the story of God that God laid out for us to receive. While in this case, it is something that was done that brought God glory, it can also be things not done that brings God glory.

    In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is confronting the struggles of people trying to conform their lives to a new way of thinking. In their culture, sacrifices to idols are done. It is prevalent. The idols are dead, so why worry about the meat? For the follower of Christ—who knows the freedom in/of Christ—this is just a silly question. However, for those who are not followers of the Way (i.e., Christians) this is an important question, for their perspective is that the believers are worshipping idols when they eat the sacrifices! Thus, not eating it brings glory to God by showing that they do not the idols or feel they are paying attention to. It may seem silly to us, but to a culture for whom idol worship was cultural and religious, this was a huge thing.

    1) What things could the culture view us (i.e., Christians, Christ-Followers) as worshipping, just like the culture?

    2) How can you know when you are doing something for God’s glory rather than your own?

    3) Why do leaders leading and volunteers stepping up God glory?

    FD) What can you not do and give God glory?