Devotion.al

Tag: individual

  • One of the Fam

    One of the Fam

    Matthew 12:46–50; John 14:18–26

    The passage from John would have created a rather large stir in the culture. publicly equated non-blood relations as equal to familial relations.

    The was first in the culture. A good way to think of it is how a person is called in many Asian countries. The family comes before the personal/ name. One only calls another by their individual name by permission (accepted into a close relational circle) or by blood.

    Americans and other Western cultures might tend to equate this with Mr., Mrs., and Ms. However, that is not the same, nor are they intended to be. Modern Western cultures (except for the remaining nobility, perhaps) do not hold the family in the same way. That is not a knock against Western Culture, just merely a reflection of differences.

    It should was highly likely that mom and brothers had one of two responses, 1) there goes the crazy kid again, 2) WE are his family, not THESE people.

    It’s not that Jesus was disrespecting his family, and certainly not his mother. Jesus was redefining what it meant to be a member of his family, which was not exclusive to his mother (and father) and brothers. This new family included them; it just included a bunch of (like you and me).

    As Jesus was completing his final discourse with his disciples, he told them that they were not orphans, nor were they abandoned. This is, again, family language. How severe their separation was from their families at that point or later is conjecture.

    The use of the family language tells us that something was happening there. The concept of what is family was changing. The boundaries of familial blood were replaced with the boundaries of God’s saving work on the cross.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we thank you that you have called us into a family larger than we can imagine. Help us that we are indeed family, despite our many differences. May our lives be ones of that draw more into your family. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Have you ever been party to the breaking of family bonds (either by you or others)? What were the various reactions?

    2) If you were Mary or Jesus’ brothers, what would your have been, especially as Jesus’ response was so public?

    3) Why is the concept of family (not the stereotypical “nuclear” family) so critical to the and its people?

  • Under Yoke

    Under Yoke

    Jeremiah 27:1–11; Jeremiah 28:1–17; Matthew 11:28–30

    One of the ongoing themes of contemporary Christianity is to look at stories such as Jeremiah, and say, “of course he’s God’s prophet!” Looking back it is obvious to us. We’ve had a lot of history since then.

    We know that Jeremiah was one of the 66 books of the Bible that was affirmed. We know that Jewish tradition also upholds Jeremiah. It’s obvious to us.

    For the Jews, it wasn’t so clear. Sure, the “real” prophets usually were not full of good news. However, the thought of submitting to Babylon felt like a bad joke. God wouldn’t allow that, would he?

    The cultural concept of American Exceptionalism and founding documents invoking God (honestly, though, more in a Deistic fashion, rather than a Christian one) and individuality, a yoke is an awful thing to contemplate.

    A yoke means that one is not choosing the way. Another is choosing the way for you.

    A yoke is usually pairing two or more . So, not only is the way not of your choosing, but neither is your companion.

    If a yoke is born by a single person, they are carrying a very heavy load, and often the load would not be their own.

    This doesn’t fit into the thinking of many Americans raised and taught a particular “brand” of . While contemporary American thinking and Jewish thinking have differing perspectives of the yoke (individual freedom versus Babylon), the end conclusion is the same.

    The yoke must be broken!

    The “prophet” Hananiah admonished Jeremiah. Hananiah, just like everyone else (even Jeremiah), didn’t want the yoke of Babylon.

    What they wanted, however, wasn’t what was necessary. Why was the yoke of Babylon necessary? Pride.

    Israel was quite prideful. Americans are quite prideful. Often that is what really hurts when we are confronted by yokes…our pride.

    Hananiah responded to Jeremiah (and God) in pride (and blind hope). He broke the symbol of shame, and received a different yoke (), and gave (through the example Israel followed) a heavier yoke for Israel.

    promises a lighter yoke. The heaviness of Jeremiah’s yoke (and subsequently Hananiah’s) is ultimately based upon our pride. Jesus’ yoke is his pride.

    This means that the yoke that Jesus offers us allows us to cast aside our concerns of our pride, for Jesus will take care of his own pride. Jesus’ pride was so humble and , that it lead to his death on the cross.

    Another way to think of it is that if Jesus is paired with us, Jesus bears his and our weight. That is a very yoke indeed.

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, may we look for the lighter burden you seek to us. Help us to relinquish the yoke of our pride, so that we are paired with you. Amen.

    ※※

    1) In what areas do you feel pride? What might the “yokes” be in those areas?

    2) Why is it often easier to bear our burdens and not the burdens of ? How does Jesus turn that upside down?

    3) Can a burden be so light that it doesn’t weigh you down? Does a burden always need to be compared to another burden?

  • On the Other Side of This

    On the Other Side of This

    Matthew 18:15–20; 1 Peter 1:13–24 (read online ⧉)

    Once, an old warrior told a young man that the young man’s was killed by a certain individual. The young man later confronted the certain individual and learned that the certain individual was actually his father. The young man then confronted the old warrior said that it wasn’t a lie, it was the told from a certain point of view.

    There are many perspectives floating around at the moment. Most are carried with verve and vigor. Many are carried with . Many are carried with anger. Many are carried with . Many are carried in vengeance.

    In the midst of chaos and strife, it is easy to get caught up in the emotions, especially the negative ones. People will often watch or other otherwise consume media that reinforces their viewpoint. This further entrenches the hearts of people, making the divides wider.

    Right now, there are many paths being laid, and the sad truth is that each will walk a path, and there is little likelihood of reconciliation. It is not just our country, it is our cities, our state, our world. The saddest place of division is in our churches.

    While we are going through the COVID-19 situation, to have the additional stress and strain of societal disruption (regardless of right or wrong) will result in hearts that harder then they were already.

    There are cultural and societal sins at play. Individuals are not guilty of these sins, but they are responsible for them. We as ambassadors of the Heavenly Kingdom—where our citizenship rests—are called to be of one mind.

    Being of one mind is hard, especially when we focus on all that separates us. If we were, for example, to focus on Christ, what Jesus has done for us, the that he has given us, our ability to beyond our earthly desires should improve.

    This does not mean that sorrow, grieving, repentance, and reconciliation don’t need to happen. They, in fact, do need to happen. It is through these that the human walls between us are broken down and we can truly be .

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, as our hearts ache and our tempers flare, grant us peace. As we look to the world in disarray and fear, us peace. As the world seeks answers and healing, make us peace. Amen.

    ※※

    1) What do you plan to do to heal the rifts between fellow Christians?

    2) As barriers grow, how will you lovingly break them down?

  • Kneel

    Kneel

    Matthew 16:21–28; Mark 14:32–42 (read online ⧉)

    Peter was concerned about the kingdom here on earth, not the kingdom that Jesus was ushering in. Jesus would have nothing to do with that thinking. Jesus chose the will of God the over his earthly will. It’s not as if the side of Jesus wasn’t tempted. Remember, Jesus was tempted in all ways.

    It is not accidental that a few short verses later that Jesus spoke about his disciples (e.g., Peter) having to deny themselves for the cross. By invoking the cross, it isn’t the pretty crosses many of us wear. It was the ugly cross. You died in misery, publicly, naked, and it started with you carrying the very thing upon which you died. It was shameful and for rebels. That was merely the Roman side. For the Jews, a person who died on a tree was cursed by God (Deuteronomy 21:22–23).

    Therefore, Jesus tying the cross to must have come as quite a shock. Jesus was all but promising that his “true” followers would have to willingly pick up their own means of execution and shame, and be cursed. The disciples found that encouraging…right?

    When we gloss over the cross when we read about losing lives then gaining, we can miss the significance of what it means. It isn’t just about the cross. It isn’t just about the humiliation. It isn’t just about the .

    It’s about submission.

    Submission is a hard , especially for many Americans who value their liberties. Submission, or the lack thereof, may be why we are seeing what we are seeing right now. This is not about the submission of one skin color to another. This is not about the submission of one culture to another (though there is a bit of that). This is certainly not about submission to the government (though there is a response to that).

    This is about submission to Jesus Christ and then mutual loving submission to fellow believers in and followers of Jesus Christ.

    How this is to be practiced is hard. It’s really hard to figure out, especially with the focus on individuality and individual liberty that the States (and Western Culture as a whole) is so obsessed with. We often view our submission as if the “other” person wins and we lose. That isn’t Jesus’ way.

    When we lose, we win. When we submit in Christian love and mutual Christian submission, we submit to Jesus Christ, who submitted to us, by for our sin.

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, as we look to you as our example, help us to surrender ourselves to your authority. As we submit, help our hearts know that the person we submit to already died for us that we might be whole. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) As a Christian, who might you have to submit to in Christian love and humility?

    2) Can a “worldly” Christian submit to ?

    3) While submitting to Christians should be (relatively) easy, why is it so hard? What about submitting to people of the world?

  • Gifts or Curses

    Gifts or Curses

    1 Corinthians 12:1–14 (read online ⧉)

    You have probably read this passage many times, and probably heard a few sermons on it. You might have even delved into it during your investigations of your spiritual gifts. And we will get to that. However, there is a warning in these verses that we often miss.

    “…you used to be enticed and led astray by mute idols.” We often immediately dismiss this or skip over it partially because of its past tense language, and our belief that we are good to go. However, the Greek is in imperfect tense. In other words, is really saying they were (past tense) and are now being enticed by the mute idols.

    How could they still be being enticed? For so long, the pagan speaking in with the interpreters controlled the culture. Habits are hard to break.

    One of the other interesting things is about being cursed. There are a number of interpretations. One of the easiest is the Jewish that a man who dies on a tree is cursed. Other commentators observe that the Greek though doesn’t have “is”. “Anathema” may also be interpreted as curses. In other words, these Christians were using Jesus’ name to curse others, and in the context of the verses that follow, the implication is that Christians were using Jesus to curse…Christians.

    This sounds appalling, doesn’t it? There were definitely some not good things going on in Corinth!

    We miss so much being separated in time, space, and culture from our brothers and sisters in Christ.

    Divisions had been built up. Instead of supporting and bolstering one another, they were daring to curse one another in Jesus’ name. In the name of the one who came to break the chains, they sought to bind others.

    The Body of Christ is not to be divided. The spiritual things (often called the Gifts of the Spirit) are for the Body, not for the individual. While Paul addresses these, in our context we need to look at the purpose of these gifts and look at the opening of this group of verses.

    The deceit of the pagan world is the so-called mute idols that the “empowered” and “enlightened” share with those with the appropriate monetary compensation. We are so advanced over the benighted Corinthians…the stock market, houses, stuff, buildings, collections, , and even data. We have our own voiceless idols. Just like in the day of the Corinthians, the “wise” put a voice to the mute.

    Sadly, we have also seen false gifts of the spirit used. The false idols and their followers can seem to be full of the gifts of the spirit, which ties onto Paul’s point because these “gifts” are used to divide, rather than unite. This is an indicator of the source of the “spirit” used.

    On the other hand, we have many brothers and sisters in Christ that are truly mute. We have others that are hurting. We have others who are angry. We have others that are so lost in the current disarray. The gifts and graces that we have been granted by the are intended to build up one another, encourage one another, and unite us .

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we see the world divided around us, and even division in your body. Help us to be unifiers, so that your body is one, and so that the world may be one. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Have you have been told you have a particular gift or form the Spirit? If not, will you commit to prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in discovering it?

    2) If you are aware of your gift or grace, how have you used it to build up the body and unite it?

    3) Other than , what are other signs that a “gift” or “grace” is of a worldly “spirit” or of the Holy Spirit?

  • Forward

    Forward

    Job 1:1–5; 2 Corinthians 1:8–14 (read online ⧉)

    The story of Job is a famous story. It seems to be a story of a man going through unjust trials and misery. Job is often used in times of trial as a sort of encouragement, as if to say, if it could happen to Job, it can happen to you.

    Job, depending on translation, was a person of complete or blameless and upright. Either one is hard for us to measure up to. How many of us, truly, would think of ourselves as being of complete integrity?

    During an interview, the question was asked of the interviewee, “are you honest?” The interviewee said, “yes.” The interviewer then asked, “have you ever lied or stolen?” The interviewee answered, “yes.” The interviewer then asked, “are you honest?” The interviewee again answered, “yes.”

    The test was not whether the person was honest, per se. Rather, it was if they had the integrity to answer the “ever lied or stolen” question with a “yes.” If they had answered, “no” to that question, the interview would have been over, for no one (other than Jesus, and perhaps Job) was that good of a person.

    When we read the story of Job, the story isn’t about Job’s “greatness” or “righteousness”. The story is about Job’s to God. Despite all his troubles, he never gave up on God, even when his wife told him to.

    While God is always , we often are not. It is our faithfulness, though, that intimately affects our life. When and Timothy were going through a period of affliction, Paul noted that they received from God. Note the language that Paul used; overwhelmed beyond their own strength. By whose strength, then, could they succeed? God’s, of course.

    Paul’s faithfulness to God was rewarded with the strength to carry on. Except, reward is not exactly correct. We all have this exact strength available to us, too. Through our trials and tribulations, through COVID-19 and riots, we have the strength to persevere.

    However, many Christians do not believe they have that . That is the work of the adversary. The adversary isn’t necessarily the Devil either. The world, in this instance, can be the adversary, too. As the world (all of Creation) languishes in the results of broken (sin), it cannot understand how to overcome. It is lost in .

    Christians often succumb to that despair. Instead of faithfulness to God, they attribute to themselves (and often to God) the faithlessness of broken relationships.

    ※Prayer※

    As a mother bird gathers her young in her wings, so you do for us, oh, God. May we trust the warmth and of your wings, as they gather us together, and help us to trust that you are for us. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What are symptoms of despair that you see in the world? How about yourself?

    2) What are ways that we can help others strengthen their hearts against despair?

    3) How does despair affect things like hatred, discord, and the like?

  • Responsible

    Responsible

    Exodus 34:1–7; Numbers 14:26–38; Jeremiah 31:27–34 (read online ⧉)

    For those of us whose American individuality is almost hardwired into us, it seems inconceivable that God would punish us for other’s sins, especially for those who sinned before we were born. In fact, in many respects, we struggle with the result of anyone else’s sins being borne by us.

    If we are honest with ourselves, our personal and national (and even religious) histories carry a lot of baggage, and a lot of that has to do with actions that others took, for which we had no , or participation, or approval of. The purposeful and accidental killing of Native Americans by Europeans due to diseases (such as smallpox) is such a thing. It is unlikely any of us would condone such a thing, but the consequences remain even to this day. The clearances of Native Americans to reservations and all that went along with also remains today. Slavery, war, migration, all had and continue to have consequences.

    We are not unique in this. Much of the conflict in the Middle East is because of something that happened yesterday, but of something that happened generations and even centuries ago. The same can be said in Asia, as well. This is not unique to America or the States. What is unique, though becoming less so, is our individualistic response to it.

    For the Israelites, a tribal culture, what one’s did or grandfather did have great import for the current generation. The concept of holding the subsequent generations accountable for one’s own actions was actually quite reasonable for them. The blessing, too, made sense to them.

    As harsh as the words in Exodus seem to our modern years, we see the development of it in Numbers. Yes, the children pay the price. On the other hand, those children grew up into a powerful army. This army was needed for the next step. They also developed a rhythm when it came to God. Their food came from God. Their gathering was guided by God (6 days of work; 1 day of ). Their habits revolved around God and God’s mercies.

    Did they receive the result of their parents’ misdeeds? Yes. Were the ultimate results bad? No. This wasn’t the ideal. The ideal would have been obedience and trust by their parents.

    This punish/reward pattern would remain for generations until God’s declaration to Jeremiah. The whole grapes quip showed that Israel had forgotten exactly what meant and intended. Now, it became everything (which it still was, but God was about , not failures).

    We read these verses in Jeremiah and can be immediately be lead to the concept of our individual salvation through Jesus Christ. It’s not that this is invalid, but that it is incomplete.

    As Christians, we are called to bear one another’s burdens. That often includes their failures and even their sins. While the ultimate cost (death) is paid, the consequences remain. Those consequences remain for lifetimes and even lifetimes to come.

    ※ ※

    Heavenly Father, we read you Word and often if we’re missing something, for we cannot understand the entirety of who you are. We thank you for your Son. Jesus, thank you for your time on Earth, allowing us the grace to ‘s face. , guide our hearts and actions, not just for the now, but also to heal the hurts of the past that are not our fault, but we, as your children, are called to heal. Amen.

    ※ Questions ※

    1) Have you ever been held responsible for someone else’s action over which you had no influence or control? What was that like?

    2) What is the difference between consequences and punishment? Which path do you see God following?

    3) What if your salvation was dependent upon others? How would you behave differently?

  • Salvation Praise

    Psalm 107:1–3, 17–22; Genesis 9:8–17; Ephesians 1:3–6 (read online ⧉)

    Destined to be a child of God. This is such a comforting phrase. As in all comfortable things, there is a danger. This comforting phrase is often, and understandably, taken as being directed toward individuals. Yet, if we use both Old Testament and New Testament phrasing, it is better (and more safely) understood as a corporate destiny.

    As part of Noah’s , we are corporately covered insofar as God will never flood the entirety of the earth again. Just as the 12 Tribes of Israel were the Chosen of God, corporately, so too is the . How an individual behaved and responded toward God was, and remains, from the corporate selection.

    We are all part of the corporate destiny, and we have our place in it (accepting the gift of and ). To be clear, accepting the gift does not mean that the required (Christ’s on the cross) for salvation was anything but God’s.

    There is a tension here. Salvation is also quite personal and individual. Salvation is best expressed and the saved life best lived within the community of believers. There is a balance, and we don’t want to be overly weighted to individual or corporate salvation.

    We testify and thanks through our worship and praise of God. As part of both our corporate and personal activity (our “liturgy”) is to praise “… his glorious that he freely on us….”

    The psalmist declared…

    1O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
     for his steadfast love endures forever.
2Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
     those he redeemed from trouble
21Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
     for his wonderful works to humankind.
22And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
     and tell of his deeds with songs of joy

    1) When thinking of your salvation do you tend to think of yourself as an individual?

    2) Have you ever thought of your salvation as being part of the Body of Christ (the Church)?

    3) Why do you think there is a difference? What difference does it make to you?