Tag: Jesus

Force or Choice

Matthew 20:20–28; Matthew 22:15–22

The author Robert Heinlein once wrote, “When you vote, you are exercising political authority, you’re using force. And force, my friends, is violence. The supreme authority from which all other authorities are derived.”

There has been a transformation in our society where this seems to be truer now than when Heinlein wrote it. What may be depressing is that it means that democracy is in many ways no better than any political system. Humanity, through politics, shows its selfishness.

During the last presidential election (and probably during this one, as well), there will be people proclaiming that one person or political party is better than the other (especially in regards to the multi-sided political scene that has been forcibly trimmed into 2-sided). They will judge and condemn those that appear to support the other, even if that decision is the perceived lesser of two evils.

There will be those that will choose a different political party (there are more than 2). There will be those that will not vote. It is the latter that provides the greatest insight into ourselves.

They are those that believe that a vote is just as much Caesar’s as was the denarius. This is the darkness of politics and even a republic such as the US. Heinlein’s comments may sound harsh. If one compares it to people’s reaction when the “wrong” party gets power, we can see that we subconsciously understand the reality of power.

Jesus’ concerns regarding power are not small. There is a very valid reason why many over the years have claimed that the church was corrupted when Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and then made it the official religion of the realm.

On the other hand, if you have a glass of water and do not hand it to a person dying of thirst, what kind of Christian are you? This is the debate that is truly at the heart of being a Christian in a democracy or republic.

Voting is power. Sometimes it feels as if it not. However, if all are of one mind it is indeed quite powerful. Power to coerce is the power of violence. This is not what we are called to do.

On the other hand, the power to vote is also a responsibility to care for our fellow citizens, and to put a voice to guide the path the country walks. This is the voice and path that can find justice, compassion, and mercy for the least, the last, and the lost.

※Prayer※

Jesus, as we look to you for guidance in these trying times, may your servant’s heart guide our decisions. Amen.

2020-10-17
Salvation Balance

Matthew 16:13–17; Romans 10:6–14

In the US, individuality is all the rage, and it has been since at least 4 July 1776. Individuality is not a bad thing, automatically. While there are many aspects to our faith that are indeed communal (and must remain that way), there are others that are certainly individual.

The most significant aspect is our salvation. US Evangelistic Christendom created almost a creed out it, “Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal savior?” It certainly isn’t a bad question.

One of things it opposes, however, is a longer running tradition of the church with is infant and child baptism. Infant and child baptism generally falls under the rubric of collective salvation. This is not to say it is invalid, quite the contrary. It is just a perspective that is different. Sadly, though, it was definitely a tactic use to divide certain traditions (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist) from others (Baptist, Pentecostal, and non-denominational).

However, once a person is able to discern right from wrong all traditions recognize that salvation has become individual. Whether by baptism or by confirmation, there is some recognition of the individual’s acceptance of Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

There is a danger, though, in regard to individual salvation. The danger is a mental one. Many people can get to the point of intellectual assent. Others can get to the point of emotional assent.

It is not to say that only having one means that you are not saved, for God works through all aspects of our personalities and can redeem them. It is to say that is only through both intellect and emotional that we “…may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge…” (Ephesians 3:18–19, CSB)

※Questions※

1) Is it easier for you to intellectually understand God, or emotionally? Why do you think that is? Where else in your life do you see that?

2) Why do you think intellect and heart are needed in our relationship with God?

3) How might a person maintain balance between intellect and emotion? What practices do you have to do so?

※Prayer※

Jesus, to know you is to know God. May the knowledge of hearts be equal to the knowledge of our minds when it comes to relationship with you. Amen.

2020-10-16
Rooftop Shenanigans

Jeremiah 17:9–11; Luke 12:1–12

If you have a smartphone, you are probably aware of this little program installed on it, which is supposedly an assistant. “Hello, Google, Siri, Bixby, Alexa.” This program can be helpful.

Yet, there is often weirdness associated with it. There have been plenty of experiences where Facebook suddenly shows stuff in a person’s feed that they were just talking about. There have even been acknowledged failures where the microphones sent sounds to headquarters when the devices were not being interacted with by their “owners”.

This was not the way Jesus likely intended, “whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on housetops.”

People don’t really want their private lives splayed out on anybody’s hard drive, whether it be the government or corporation. This holds true even when they have nothing to hide. There is a feeling of violation.

The implication of Jesus’ words is that those that seek evil and the downfall of others will eventually receive their reward. Whether it is on the tabloids at the supermarket, the internet entertainment blogs, or the roofs of Heaven itself one’s darkest secrets are fair game when in conflict with the Kingdom of Heaven.

It might sound harsh. However, for many proud hearts it was only when their secrets and shames came out did repentant hearts blossom. Others steadfastly continued their ways and made the way for those who followed easier without compensation.

What many people fear is how they look to their fellow humans. They don’t want their secrets out. They don’t want to be belittled. We all have darkness in us, some more than others.

People will sometimes go to stupid extremes to maintain their secrets, for they fear those who can bring death (whether it be death of name, popularity, riches, or life itself). Often, far too often, they do not fear (enough) the one they will see after their time here on earth is done.

A person of integrity, it is said, does the same in the dark as in the light. It’s a good general rule. It’s probably not 100%.

Just like the world, the church is filled with those who lurk in the dark. Sometimes those who have the greatest darkness hide in the places of greatest light, thinking to hid in plain sight. For who would look for them there?

※Prayer※

Father, you know and judge the hearts of all. Holy Spirit, shape and mold us into hearts of light. Amen.

2020-10-15
Monuments to What

Ecclesiastes 1:10–11; Matthew 23:25–32; Luke 11:47–54; Acts 7:44–58

You have probably heard George Santayana’s famous quip, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Perhaps the writer of Ecclesiastes phrased it differently. The reality is that human behavior (especially, selfishness, greed, and hatred) has a tendency to repeat itself.

Jewish history is full of faithful followers of God being mistreated by their blood relatives. Whether it being cast into cisterns, having to hide in caves, being openly killed, it happened. We have the words and/or lives of some of these followers in Scripture.

Based on the general summary of the Old Testament, it is highly likely that there were many, many more that we don’t know about. The people of God were often more the people of the Enemy. Even with Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, it still seems to be the case.

I have read this passage in Luke many times, contemplating it. The harsh truth was that the Jews decorated and maintained the tombs of the people their ancestors had killed. Instead of feeling shame for what their ancestors had done, they applauded themselves for taking care of the tombs. They celebrated that they cared for the tombs of those their blood had murdered as if it was the honor of the dead to be cared for by them.

This comes to mind as there is a reckoning happening in the US. Statues of famous people are being removed. Buildings named “in honor of” famous people are being renamed. Even a whole university was renamed.

These famous people brought light and/or heroics in US history. All of them had parts that most of us today cannot support. They were, without a doubt, the product of their times. Even celebrated religious leaders in various denominations, including our own, had preferences or opinions that we would not today celebrate or endorse.

I was raised in a “Northern” household and a “Southern” household. Needless to say, the Southern household had a lot to say about the “War Between the States” (i.e., the Civil War). Not all of it was accurate, as I would learn. On the other hand, some of the behavior of the “heroes” was equally abhorrent as the defense of slavery, as I also learned.

All were products of their time. They did what they thought was right or did wrong to uphold a “higher” purpose. Sherman’s destructive march through the South comes to mind. Sherman was a military man. He was there to win the war. That was the higher purpose. Later, he was a leader during the Indian Wars (a horrific wiping out of First Nations peoples). This, despite being named after a famous First Nations chief.

The church too, as a whole, has similar shades of darkness in it. As the nation wrestles with its future, it also wrestles with its past. The church has much of the same work to do.

For the church to be what it called by God to be—a light unto the darkness—its people need to be diligent in cleansing, repenting and reconciling its past and current wrongs so that it can be the spreader of hope for a world that desperately needs it.

※Question※

What people and issues come to mind in this? What will/can you do to be Christ’s light in the darkness?

※Prayer※

Father of justice and mercy, be kind and merciful to us as we learn what justice really means, and how to apply it to our lives. Amen.

2020-10-14
Get To Your Seats

Luke 14:7–14

When I was young, my father insisted on making sure I was appropriately experienced in “high” culture. We went to ballet and opera. My dad said that we were sitting in the Grand Tier (still sounds a bit grandiose). This was the tier above the Opera (i.e.,floor) Seats, and below the Upper Tier, and certainly not the box seats. This would be so we had the best seats to see everything.

He was right. We were just high enough that barring a really tall conductor (I remember one), our view of the stage allowed to see everything from the top of the sets to the artists’ feed (really important for ballet, not so much for opera). Oddly, the Opera seats were more expensive, and the crane-your-neck-uncomfortably-for-hours box seats were even more so.

Which seats were the right seats? That depends on why you were there. For those in the box seats, sure there were those for the arts. There were those that were there to be seen. There were those who were there because it was expected of them.

Depending on the individual and event, what seat a person might choose to sit in changes. For some people, going to a party is a high-stress environment, and they’ll gravitate toward a “safe” person (if there is one) or a dark corner or wall to “hide”.

There’s also that person who will jump to the center of the room because they are the life of the party, or they will be.

When Jesus talks about the seating at the banquet, it about a lot of things. What we often don’t talk about in this parable is the parallel to Gentile life. This may have been less about the “honor” seating, but more about how the “pure” “religious” “sanctified” Jews were emulating the behavior of those they despised and feared.

This a jump for sure from the text to the context. However, when we see the behavior of the powerful or popular there is a strong tendency to emulate it. Romans were in charge. This is how the Romans behaved; therefore, it seems reasonable that the oppressed would copy it, not because they wanted to, but because it’s a natural response to avoid gaining the wrong attention of those in power.

If this is indeed the case (again, which is reasonable), then we have a possible case of syncretism, a combining of two different (often competing) worldviews and/or religions.

When a person was given the seat of honor due to their religious position in a non-religious setting or honor due to their secular position in a religious setting there is a mixing of two different worldviews that should be in tension with one another, and not in harmony.

※Questions※

1) Where do you see your political worldview and your religious worldview in harmony? Where do you see them in conflict?

2) Are you comfortable where your politics influence your religion? Does your religion affect your politics?

3) Do you evaluate people’s religious affections based upon their politics? Do you assume a person’s politics based upon their religion?

※Prayer※

Jesus, help us surrender our will to you, that you are the Lord of our religion and our politics. Amen.

2020-10-13
Are You There Yet?

Romans 7:15-20; Philippians 3:12–21; 1 John 1:6–2:6

If you’ve ever been on a long trip, whether as a parent or a child, “Are we there yet,” is a common question. So common that some people can time when the next time the question will be asked. The “are we there yet” question is an event- and time-based question with an answer.

“Are we there yet,” when asked as a spiritual question is something completely different. In a performance-based culture, such as ours, there are often attempts to assess and evaluation the successfulness of our holiness.

If we are not careful, this can become overwhelming, and even deadly to our spiritual growth. If we are so concerned about how we are evaluated and what the measure is, we are often tempted to meet the “requirement” of action without the heart-change that we seek.

When we perform “holiness” through tasks and checkboxes we become as overburdened as the Jews had been for so long with their Law. Thus our “holiness” becomes an act of will. So, when we are tired, discouraged, down, or something else, our holiness house of cards comes tumbling down.

Paul wasn’t there yet. In Romans, he expresses his grief/frustration/reality that he keeps missing the mark of things. He recognizes a conflict between our human nature bent towards its own gratification, and our God-nature desiring to be in God’s grace, mercy, and love.

He also writes to the Philippians much the same way. He knows he is “there” yet. That doesn’t stop him from reaching toward the “goal” with all his might. In many respects, Paul’s “forgetting” is key to moving forward. We are all inclined to remember our failures (especially when they are painful). It is especially important to have someone to confess to and be held accountable by. Oddly, that seems to help us move on.

Then there is the “confession” that has been used for generations in some traditions regarding confession and redemption. The sin is an issue. The unconfessed, unrepented, and unreconciled (can be read as unforgiven, but not entirely accurate) sin is the bigger issue. When John talks about not being in fellowship, it is the unconfessed, unrepented, and unreconciled sin that “shows” we are walking in darkness.

Paul and John (and others) know full well that we have an advocate who is looking to judge us but to forgive us.

※Prayer of Confession from the Book of Common Prayer (2019)※

Almighty and most merciful Father,
     we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.
We have offended against your holy laws
We have left undone those things which we ought to have done,
     and we have done those things which we ought not to have done;
and apart from your grace, there is no health in us.

O Lord, have mercy upon us.
Spare all those who confess their faults.
Restore all those who are penitent,
     according to your promises declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,
     that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
     to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.

2020-10-12
Work-Out Regimen

Luke 7:36–50; Philippians 2:12–16

The scorn of the Pharisees toward Jesus was pretty easy to see. They were effectively declaring that Jesus could not be an actual true prophet, because he dared to accept the anointing by the woman. “If he only knew what she was like,” they said.

Jesus did and loved her anyway. He didn’t love her any less or any more because of her “unclean” state or status. He loved her because she was a person made in the image of God.

A more recent way of that exact same thinking is, “when you get yourself cleaned up, come to church, and get to know Jesus.” Or (even sadder), “I’ll come to church when my act is cleaned up.” That was not Jesus’ attitude. THANKS, BE TO GOD!

The woman came to Jesus. Jesus declared her sins pardoned. She never sinned after that. Oh, wait…

For the vast majority of people, “getting clean” is a lifelong process. For a drug addict, “getting clean” from the drug is only step one. They then need to “get clean” from friend circles, ways of thinking, and sometimes the physical place they are at. It is not an easy road.

Oddly enough, Jesus seems to forgive sins pretty easily. It’s not that the sins are minor. They are acts that separate us from God. The problem isn’t God, it’s us.

We want to keep doing what we did because it is comfortable. Even those who seek and desire change (and are even change-agents) like comfortable.

Paul calls on the Philippians not just to declare Jesus as Lord. Paul calls on the Philippians to be changed. Just like us, they needed to change their habits. They need to change thought processes. None of these things change salvation. They change us.

“…by holding firm to the word of life.” There is a play on words here, for the word is the message (salvation through Jesus), the word is the Scriptures, and Jesus is the word.

The easy answer is to hold onto Jesus for dear life. The life answer is that holding onto Jesus allows us to trust him so that we are free in our hearts and minds to remove all in our life that separates us from wholeness in him.

※Questions※

1) When was the last time you were like the Pharisees? Why is that the issue that causes this response?

2) When was the last time you were like the woman? With what did you anoint Jesus’ feet (this can be a symbol)?

3) How and with whom are you working through your salvation? How can you deepen that?

※Prayer※

Jesus, as you have brought us into the light, help us to release our darkness so that we can draw others to you. Amen.

2020-10-11
Chained or Unchained

Deuteronomy 27:12–28:1; John 8:31–40; Galatians 3:7–14

There are many wonderful things in life that begin well and then become dead weight. Buying a house is one of those. We are now in an era when people buy houses and pay against a large debt for 15–30 years. It doesn’t take too long for the joy of home “owning” to be faced with the frustrations of maintenance, flaws, age, vision changes, life changes, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a house. It could be a car. It could be student loans. It could be your job.

The Law wasn’t intended to be life-giving. It was intended as God-oriented living protection. If you followed the law, there was a framework that guided one into a righteous life.

Somehow this became twisted, and the Law became life.

“Whoever does not put this law into practice is cursed.” (Deuteronomy 27:26)

This does not say that the Law is life. It says that not following the Law results in bad consequences. Within the Law there were “resets” built in. Sins, errors in judgment could be dealt with. Life could move on.

However, there is a difference when it is a lifestyle. This is not about ignorance. This is not about an unbeliever. This is about those who declare God their God and live in such a way that they have not put God first in their lives.

What becomes the struggle is “proving” that God is first in our lives. Often, we “prove” it by living a more “holy” life. The Church of the Nazarene, for example, was long known for its stances against alcohol, smoking, and dancing. Not doing these things was the mark of “holiness” but is what the areas of broken relationships where these things occurred that was the real issue.

When holiness (or the appearance thereof) become chains rather than freedom, then holiness has become the Law. If that is the case, then that might make a lie out of, “who the Son sets free is free indeed,” because then, it seems, we want to find new chains to live in.

※Questions※

1) What are some Christian “rules” that you can think of? How do you think they became rules?

2) What rules can you think of that were intended to “give” or “preserve” life, but ended up chaining it? Does that make the rule bad?

3) What is a family rule that you wish wasn’t a family rule? Why?

※Prayer※

Jesus, you called us to a life of following you. Help up discern freedom from chains as we try to follow your way. Amen.

2020-10-08
My Rules Not Yours

Mark 10:1–9; Luke 1:69–75; Galatians 3:1–5

The rule of having to wear masks when going out into public (with some exceptions in the US and elsewhere) is grating. Really. Who wants to wear a mask all day? No one wants to.

Many are concerned that we are being conditioned to wear masks and have our freedoms curtailed. That concern is reasonable, up to a point. What’s particularly interesting is the social experiment regarding rules.

The political “right” is generally a law and order type of people. Yet, that group is resisting the mask rule. The political “left” is (theoretically) more of a “no rules” yet practices many rigid rules.

This is not to pick on either, but to show that even in our “crystal clear” political bents, we are often not clear ourselves. Yet, one of the core pieces of Christian theology, especially Protestant theology, is freedom from the Law.

Of course, someone will often respond that the Law is different than rules. Yes, the Law is a series of religious rules that defined appropriate behavior and a penalty for when that behavior was violated.

The “trick” became that the people treated the Law as if it were the relationship that mattered, rather than their relationship to God. That is also a simplification of it. Another way to say may be, they focused on the rules so much that they neglected the relationship.

Jesus gets the rules of divorce question. Is that really the question, though? Is the question more along the lines of, “what can I do that I think makes me happy while still getting to Heaven?” The question of divorce is a question of relationship on one hand and what can be gotten away with. The way Pharisees brought this to Jesus was about the law. It wasn’t about a man looking for a younger wife or a prettier one, or even one the nagged him less. It was about using the Law to break relationship.

When anyone becomes more concerned about the rules (whether to follow them or disobey them) than the relationships that the rules are about, we lose sight of people. Zechariah’s praise (from Luke 1) is all about the relationship. Zechariah would have been one of those concerned about the rules (he was a priest). The relationship with God and God with God’s people mattered more.

The other side of the rules, and a significant focus of the Protestant reformation, was the thought that one could earn their way into Heaven by following rules, rituals, or purchasing one’s way in. The last of these 3 is not Paul’s concern in his letter to the Galatians. What concerned him was that the Galatians seemed to have tossed out grace and relationship and embraced rules.

This is not to say rules are not important. They provide guidance and boundaries, which we seem to need to thrive. Yet, if we adhere to the rules (or oppose the rules) without understanding the why and the who that the rules are about we skip the people that we are called to love.

※Questions※

1) Thinking of relationships regarding authority, how do rules and relationships work with and against each other?

2) What rules that bother you? Why? What relationships might those rules impact?

※Prayer※

Jesus, you came to earth to show us the Way of Life. Help us to find both the freedom and constraints of following you. Amen.

2020-10-07
Can You Relate?

1 Corinthians 3:5–9; Philippians 1:12–21

“It can never happen here.”

“No one respects God here.”

“How could God move in this [horrible] place?”

You can probably think of a number of questions or statements that give an excuse or justification for why you can’t be a missionary where you are. Let’s not devalue those statements. Let’s identify them for what they are…barriers to the Gospel.

Missionaries have gone to foreign countries for generations. The Church of the Nazarene [the “umbrella” denomination for this devotional] has missionaries in “Creative Access” areas. The denomination does not publicly identify them. When they go home, they are not recorded or associated with their missional area. For many of them, martyrdom (killed because of faithfully living the faith) is a real possibility.

In comparison, our hard to reach areas are not so hard.

Paul wrote the letter to the church(es) in Philippi from jail. Through a confluence of circumstances, he was able to share about Jesus, both directly and indirectly. One could think that jail could be a pretty hard place.

Yet, the Gospel is growing (yes, growing) in the prisons even today. Through methods such as Discovery Bible Study, cell groups (pun intended) are growing in the prisons. Some of the hardest prisons where the further separate inmates into pods are establishing groups.

Did Paul start immediately preaching the Gospel to the guards? Probably not. He developed relationships with them over time. Then as the Holy Spirit guided, he shared.

Where you are may be a place where you are called to only plant seeds. Perhaps you are in a place where you are called to water the seeds that others planted. It might even be possible for you to be in a place where you plant and water. Depending on the people, each person may be in a different place.

Relational Evangelism is the new buzz-phrase. It shouldn’t be. This is the most effective way, at this point in history, to reach people for Jesus and deepen their (and our) relationship with Jesus. Even 20 years ago, the most successful churches with the deepest discipleship were built on relationships.

※Questions※

1) What relationship is the hardest for you at the moment? How could/might the Holy Spirit use that to bring Jesus into the picture?

2) What kind of seeds are you planting right now? In whom are you planting them? What are some ways to plant seeds?

3) What seeds/plants are you watering right now? How are you watering them? What are some ways to water the seeds of faith?

4) How’s the weeding going? Are you having to pull some weeds in your or others’ lives? How might weeding work (or not) in the newly planted and/or watered relationships?

※Prayer※

Father, from the beginning you have used the picture of planting and watering to convey deep truths to your Creation. Please guide us into how planting, watering, and weeding needs to be lived out in our lives. Amen.

A quick summary and methodology outline for the Discovery Bible Study can be downloaded here, or you can go to the Discovery Bible Study site (not all views are necessarily the views of this site.)

2020-10-06