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Devotion.al

Tag: Jesus

  • Right Words Right Choice

    2 Chronicles 18:12-22, Mark 15:1–15 (read online ⧉)

    Ahab was an interesting king. He set himself up against God and the prophets multiple times. His greatest prophetic adversary was Elijah. However, Elijah was by no means his only one. Micaiah was apparently well known to Ahab. As Ahab told Jehoshaphat that Micaiah never says anything good to him (Ahab), we can infer the Micaiah was known to visit Ahab, probably often to chastise him for continue to worship Baal (and encouraging the people too).

    Knowing that Ahab could behave in a weak fashion (see the story about Naboth’s vineyard), it is interesting to reflect on him bringing a known adversary to his court for consultation, especially in the presence of another king. This is not the behavior of a weak king. On top of it, Ahab is apparently smart enough to recognize that all his other “seers” are blowing hot air, for when Micaiah echoes their words, Ahab challenges that. He’s pretty certain that Micaiah is following the crowd and not his calling.

    Why Micaiah succumbed to echoing the others is never answered, but there could be a number of answers. The likeliest answer of all was that Ahab wouldn’t respond to the truth, so why bother with it. People in power might ask people of influence or morals for advice (such as in this case). However, that can be merely a checkbox to show open-mindedness and wisdom, when in fact it is just a show. While Ahab took a risk calling in Micaiah, because he sought Jehoshaphat’s military aid, he probably felt that he needed to put on an appropriate show for the God-following Jehoshaphat.

    In Jesus’ time, Pilate was the theoretical ruler of Jerusalem. He was under and sent with the authority of the Roman Empire. Only by his command could death be imposed. As the Jewish religious leaders needed his approval, they set him up. In many respects, Pilate knew it. He knew that the real issue was that Jesus challenged the influence of the Sanhedrin. Pilate, though, needed the Sanhedrin to control the people without always having to resort to arms. He and the Sanhedrin played a political game of chess, and Pilate gave up. He actually had a winning hand but succumbed to the pressure of the crowd. The Sanhedrin knew the political pitfalls that Pilate had to walk and took advantage of them.

    Ahab and Pilate faced hard choices. For us, we don’t see them as too hard, but both were “political animals”. We see much the same today; people who cannot not be in politics. Every person has decisions to make. What matters is which direction each one of those steps leads.

    1) Have you ever had to make a political choice that did not feel like it was the correct (e.g., righteous, moral) choice? Why did you make the choice you did? What were the results politically and spiritually?

    2) For “political animals” (no disrespect intended), often the political game blinds them to good or wise decisions. Where do you see that occurring? Is it only that person or people?

    3) People’s wiring for decisions is often different than our own. We may even come to the same decision via a completely different route. How do we work with others whose thought processes (again, not the conclusions) are so different from our own?

  • Are You Blind?

    Matthew 23:16–22, Luke 18:31–43 (read
    online ⧉    )

    Jesus uses the concept of blindness as a teaching point. In the ancient world, blindness was a severe handicap. Over the years we have developed tools and practices to help blind people navigate a world of sight. This was not the way of things in Jesus’ day. All the blind were good for was consuming food, space, and getting alms. This is not to dismiss their value as human beings, but in that age, there was little they could do. Today, with help, blind people can read. Blind people can operation manufacturing machines. The blinds can navigate the world, and the world works to help that. That wasn’t so.

    Jesus wasn’t being nice. He was being brutal. He was telling the world that the teachers that people looked up to were useless, at best. In Matthew, he implies that anyone that follows these teachers will not end up anyplace good. However, they vaunted religious teachers aren’t the only blind ones. His disciples were often blind too. The prediction of his death was “hidden” from them. In many ways, thought Jesus’ future death wasn’t so much hidden as denied. Why would the disciples want to think about Jesus’ death? Have you ever had a “hilltop” experience? Imagine having them for 3 years. It is likely that it got to a point that they couldn’t see beyond that. Sadly, in at least Judas’ case when he did see beyond it, he likely felt betrayed and thus betrayed Jesus.

    That the future was hidden from them per the Scriptures, and then we immediately get to a story about a blind man receiving sight does not appear coincidental. In fact, according to Jesus the man’s faith had both saved him and led to his being able to see. In some ways, the 11 disciples that remained (after Judas’s betrayal and death) did not see either until they had faith. It’s not to say that they didn’t have faith in God, or even in Jesus, but that their faith matured and transformed so that they were able to look back and look forward and see God in action.

    1) Have you ever lost any sense (taste, smell, sight, touch) for a time? What was it like? Did it have far-reaching effects?

    2) Blindness of the heart can lead anyone down a false path. What areas of blindness have you had to deal with? How did you deal with them?

    3) The world is often spiritually blind. If the world cannot see without faith, how do we get them to “see”?

  • Trust But Verify

    Luke 19:1–10, 1 John 4:10, Romans 8:22–28 (read online ⧉)

    You may or may not have heard that a famous person has publicly proclaimed that he has “found” Jesus Christ. Many Christians have not accepted this person’s conversion. It’s not as if this is a new thing. Not really. Over the years there have been many conversions that have been questioned. Many of them have been questioned because they were “death-bed” conversions.

    It’s not so much that these conversions are questioned, for conversions should be questioned, but it was the attitude that often goes along with it. The assumption that such-and-such a person’s conversion could not possibly be real, or that it is questionable should raise our internal flags. Who are we to determine that?

    Let’s take the tale of Zacchaeus. In it we see Zacchaeus promise to return what of his gains were ill-gotten. Jesus says salvation has come. Great! If we were to look at the tale of Zacchaeus with the same amount of skepticism as we look at death-bed or famous people conversions, well, we wouldn’t just “see it” with Zacchaeus. The guy has been a thief (say many today about taxes) and colludes with the government (which people don’t trust). How could such a person’s conversion ever be trusted?

    Yet, one of the first responses to questioning Zacchaeus’ conversion is, but the Bible says so! Well, it tells that Jesus said salvation came but were you there to see that Zacchaeus actually did what he told Jesus? Really, what about all those other people that you know about that said it’s all for Jesus, but didn’t change?

    Sounds really cynical, doesn’t it? Jesus said salvation came. One would think God would know, as only God knows the heart. Yet, people are as cynical (or even more so) today about conversions. Sadly, we’ve had plenty of examples of false conversions. We have plenty of examples of Christians doing appalling things. Why so cynical? We know humanity for we see it in ourselves.

    So, what are we to do? We do have a pretty simple way to evaluation conversions…the fruit. There are the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control). There is also the fruit of discipleship. Are there people being discipled by the converted? The fruit of discipleship and the fruit of the spirit, however, can be a long time coming.

    1) How would “trust but verify” work in this situation? Does this concept help or hurt?

    2) Many of those we would call fathers and mothers of the faith questioned their own salvation. Why do we think we would know somebody else’s conversion?

    3) What are the ways that we can encourage recent conversions and help to maintain them?

  • Stand Alone

    Lamentations 1:1–2, Matthew 5:13–16, Ephesians 6:10–17 (read online ⧉)

    One of the biggest traps in politics currently is the “going it alone mentality.” This is not just a US phenomenon. We are seeing this all over the world. At the same time, there is this competing feeling that we really are all in this together and that we can only get it done together (whatever it is). Is it truly just human pride? Is there something else going on?

    In Lamentations, Jerusalem stands empty on her hill. Her people are gone. Her purpose for being has been removed. Her leaders in their pride point at Jerusalem and said here sits the house of God. Pride was expressed and take in inappropriate ways. It was just a city. It was just a hill. Really, it was just a people. What made it the jewel it was? Nothing. It was a who. God made Jerusalem and its people into a jewel…his jewel. It sparkled, and the people became deceived by the sparkle as if that was the point.

    When Jesus talked about the city on the hill, he was pointing out that the reason you could see it from far away was that people made it so you could. But why? Again, it was pride. The problem that goes along with it is that when we take pride in the appearance we lose the reason why. Politicians starting calling the US the city on the hill, appearing to align with Christian thinking. However, what they really ended doing was aligning with human thinking. US pride (with all of our recent presidents), even when dressed in humility, was still pride. Jesus when talking about the city on the hill he intended us to connect it to God, and that we should be sharing and “shining” God. The hill was an allegory, it wasn’t the point.

    We Christians need to be especially discerning in this upcoming election (not that we aren’t called to be discerning every time). We can see the powers of principalities and this world setting up their standards to fight. The enemies (whether recognized or not) of God are present in all political parties at this point, none are free of this. How many of us will navigate this is anyone’s guess. If you already have your answer, then perhaps you are tied to a worldly power more than to God. It can be said that sometimes those we need the greatest protection from our those who pretend they are our friends.

    1) Why do people often look to politicians and/or leaders before looking to God?

    2) What the first few words you would use to describe politicians? What are the first few words you would use to describe God? What are the differences you see?

    3) If Christians truly trust in God, why are we so quick to argue (or fight) with one another about those we don’t trust, the politicians?

  • Season’s Traditions

    Mark 7:1–13, Galatians 1:13–17, 2 Thessalonians 3:3–15 (read online ⧉)

    We are rapidly coming (or for some already entered) into some of the heaviest time of tradition in the calendar year. For many, it starts with October observations. For others, it starts with Thanksgiving. For others still, there is Christmas. The list of Christian and non-Christian observations is pretty long. A “high-altitude list”: Yom Kippur, All Hallow’s Eve, Halloween, All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, Day of the Dead, Reformation Day, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, sometimes Ramadan, and many others. Oh, then New Year’s.

    Sometimes observing one of these out of sequence (i.e., starting Christmas decorating and music on November 1st) creates a little bit of tension. This is actually a good thing. One of the problems that Jesus was confronting was how traditions had become disconnected from intent. Sometimes the tradition, such as washing 7 times, is a minor issue. Other times, such as when “dedicating” one’s wealth to the temple (corban) rather than taking care of one’s family, tradition becomes a problem.

    For many centuries, the “mainstream” church has had a church year. The church year begins with the 1st Sunday of Advent. Advent ends with Christmas. Christmas (the “season”) ends with Epiphany (The visit of the Magi). Then we have some Ordinary (i.e., numbered weeks) time. Then Lent, Holy Week, Good Friday, Easter, the Easter season, which ends in with Pentecost. Anyway, each of these is intended to provide some Christian and spiritual formation, which is why much of the church has maintained it. The more Evangelical molded church has begun adopting some of these “seasonal” periods. This is a good thing, for these are good traditions…as long as they are not disconnected from the why.

    Traditions do not have to be bad. In fact, we hope they are not. Yet, the tension of introducing, maintaining, and even abandoning traditions needs to always be there so that we don’t lose touch with the why.

    Paul notes that he was heavily invested in traditions. All of his traditions were an attempt to honor God, but God was often lost among the rules. Yet, that does not mean all the traditions were bad. In fact, many of the traditions (and rules) give us guidance as to how to appropriately walk with God and others. Many of these traditions also teach us theology and about what God has revealed to us about God.

    As you begin your seasonal traditions (even the food choices for Thanksgiving), give some deeper thoughts as to the “whys” of your traditions. You may discover something far deeper than you expected.

    1) How do you keep the “whys” of your traditions alive?

    2) What are important aspects of traditions for and to you?

    3) Is it unreasonable to seek God in all our traditions?

  • 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 identity. 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 United 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 Kingdom of God. The Pharisees and many other Jewish groups were looking for something tangible, which mostly revolved around the restoration (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 others look at it more along the lines of the kingdom being withing the people. We Christians often call this being the church.

    Stephen, who was martyred, reminded those that were about to stone him that God does not truly live in buildings built by human hands. The building, it seems, is more for us than God. The passage in Revelation says there will be no temple. 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 internet, for the internet isn’t “real”. Even die-hard netizens often use IRL (in real life), 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?

  • Dressing the Part

    Matthew 6:25–34, Romans 13:11–14:1, Galatians 3:19–28 (read online)

    Have you ever put on clothes, whether someone else’s or at the store, and say, “that is not me?” There are a number of shows about clothes, and a lot of them are about what the clothes say about the person. The shows state a belief that the clothes say more about what the person thinks of themselves.

    If you wear really baggy clothes (skipping the supposed in fashion part), you could just want to be comfortable, or you are so uncomfortable with yourself that you use the clothes to hide. That’s silly, you might say. However, if you really think about it, what clothes we were do affect how we think about ourselves. You may not wear a tux or a ballgown often, but when you do, it affects you. This is part of the reason we do see so many struggles with clothes.

    One of the first things we judge a person we haven’t met before is their clothes. If you dress casually normally, and they’re dressed up, you may think they are too stiff or formal. If you normally dress up, you may think another person is too casual, and thus lazy or uncaring. These views often show up at church, but they also show up in other social settings.

    “Dress the part,” is often the advice given to people applying for a new job, or seeking to move up in an organization. If, for example, the president wears a suit, you wear a suit. There are, of course, exceptions when it comes to that as certain occupations require certain clothes. Even there, though, if you don’t take care of the clothes you’ll receive a different reaction.

    Jesus tells us not to worry about the clothes we wear. Yet, we do. In Jesus’ time, clothes are often a luxury. By and large, in the US, people can get fairly decent clothes for a relatively cheap price. However, obsessing about the latest fashion is probably not the most Christian thing. On the other hand, lecturing others for their expensive fashion is not our place either (the world does enough judging of its own there).

    While not included in today’s passages, there is a time when Jesus speaks about having food that others do not know about and being the living water. These words can help us reason with Jesus’ words, especially when we read Paul’s words. While Jesus was concerned with people’s well-being on earth, His other concern was the life to come. There the clothes and food we concern ourselves about today, will not even be a whisper of a thought.

    This leads us to Paul’s words. “Put on Jesus.” Is Jesus a coat or a robe that I just put on like clothes? This phrase often strikes people as odd. Unless you’re putting on an Edgar suit (see MIB), you don’t put on a person. If we’re honest with ourselves, putting on a Jesus suit seems pretentious, false, and, well…“not me”.

    Putting on the Jesus suit is awkward. It doesn’t feel like us. It isn’t. In religious/spiritual/psychological circles we talk about changing from the inside-out. In Christian-speak, we would say the Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside-out. However, the Jesus suit puts that into question. It’s where borrowing from a different Christians tradition is helpful. In the Reform circles, there is an emphasis on imputed righteousness. In other words, we’re righteous because God said so. They (and we) know that we still aren’t righteous. God is still working on us from the inside.

    Yet, when we became Christians, we were issued a Jesus suit.

    1) Assuming that your Jesus suit was white when given to you, what color do you think it is now?

    2) Think about a piece of white clothing that gets washed over and over (and especially with other colors of clothing). What color does it turn into? Do you think a Jesus suit would discolor (i.e., no longer be white) after lots of washing?

    3) How does a Jesus suit get washed?

    4) Why a Jesus suit, and not a costume?

  • Obedience of Faith

    Nehemiah 9:26–38, John 5:19–29 (read online)

    We struggle with obedience. We struggle with rules.

    We often don’t like the rules created by others, especially if we are to live by them.

    The reality is that rules do govern our lives. Sometimes the “rules” are not truly rules but are written descriptions of reality. The laws of gravity, entropy, magnetism and so on follow this.

    Using the word “law” can be deceptive as they are a description of behavior that is perceived that all things follow. Yet, in many respects, these are the only laws that everyone obeys. These laws of physics aren’t something we think about. They are just part of our lives.

    By and large, all the legal laws we have, we don’t really think about, either, other than some of the driving ones.

    We don’t think, generally, about laws of incorporation, franchises, utilities, building codes, commerce, in fact, all sorts of things.

    Sometimes, we might have to deal with some of them, but not always. When we do we recognize it, it is as a societal hoop we jump through if we want to move forward.

    What ties all of these rules and laws together is that there is no faith component in them. There might be some sort of different faith in regards to the underlying system (e.g., capitalism, democracy), but the laws themselves require no faith.

    Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe.
    — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

    The Israelites didn’t have enough faith to obey, apparently. Or was it something else. What is Dietrich Bonhoeffer getting at? It appears to be a catch-22. The Israelites didn’t have faith, because they didn’t believe, because they didn’t obey? Does faith have anything to do with belief? Time and time again, the Israelites did not obey.

    Disobedience became a way of life, and so did unbelief. The ultimate consequence was being slaves in their own land, that they had been given by God. By the time Jesus came, while the Jews (the descendant of the Israelites) were oppressed, they weren’t (by in large) slaves. Their position within the Roman structure wasn’t freedom by our standards, granted. However, their religious leaders created new and enforced old laws that enslaved their hearts. What about obedience? And, that, is where we get to the rub of things.

    Jesus put his obedience out there in a way that was different than the religious leaders. Jesus could not do anything on his own. He bound himself to God the Father. This is the kind of obedience that Bonhoeffer is getting at. It’s not rules for rules’ sake (which is what the Jewish law had devolved to), but for the heart of God. Obedience for obedience’s sake, or to get something, is not Godly obedience. Godly obedience is doing as we are called to do by God because we were called to it by God.

    1)What do think when you think of obedience?

    2) Which is easier, obeying human laws, or God’s laws? Are you sure?

  • Humble Knowledge

    1 Samuel 2:1–10, Job 36:1–4, 2 Peter 1:3–8 (read online)

    Knowledge is power, so it is said. One of the great gifts of the Enlightenment was indeed the removal of knowledge from the monopoly of the church. Knowledge, when freed from the shackles of human power and control, can grow.

    Knowledge, by the way, does not mean wisdom. Wisdom is something completely different (though it often looks similar). Societally, we value knowledge. We lift those up with lots of education. We often put them on a pedestal as if they are of greater value than we are. The problem truly comes when one views the knowledge they have as giving some authority, insight, and/or power that is not theirs.

    Hannah’s prayer covers that to some degree as she talks about not boasting, or speaking arrogantly. She notes that God has all the knowledge. As God has all the knowledge, God is able to weigh everyone’s actions. No matter how much knowledge we have, or anyone has, we will never have all the knowledge of God even with all the technology we have now, and will have. Only God has the knowledge of all people and all situations.

    As Elihu speaks, we should all be cringing. How could anyone be so arrogant they have complete knowledge? Sadly, this is exactly how many people speak and act. In fact, such speakers are given accolades. Lest you forget, that is exactly what we are getting in our politics these days, and it will probably be worse next year. That is unless we take a stand. This is not the stand of my way is THE right way, but the stand of I may not be right and should be open to others. This doesn’t mean we will all agree, all of a sudden. Often if we are willing to listen, the heart of our approach may change hearts. However, even if opinions aren’t changed, bridges can still be built instead of walls.

    For Christians, it should be a deepening knowledge of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit that we should seek, both in ourselves and in others. Peter reminds us that this is how we deepen our faith. If we keep increasing our knowledge of God…we won’t be useless. That means if we do keep increasing in our knowledge we are useful to God. Sounds pretty good.

    1) Do you find yourself overly respecting those with knowledge?

    2) How are you deepening your knowledge of God? Is it with purpose, or is it aimless?

    3) How can we gently correct those full of knowledge, who are full of themselves?

  • Fields of God

    Matthew 9:35–38, John 4:34–38, 1 Corinthians 3:5–11

    For a culture that is generally separated from the people and land that provide its food, the imagery of harvest can be hard to grasp. Many of us drive by hay, alfalfa, and cornfields. We have no idea when the crop is ready, but the farmers do. One thing that could be a similar situation would be investments.

    Through our retirement plans or other investments (such as homes), we “grow” our money. However, in reality, the growth of those investments largely relies on the work of others. Homes can be the only exception, yet the value of the home is often deeply affected by the surrounding area (location, location, location). So, even with all the remodels, you are reliant on others.

    All the money managers are outweighed by the number of their customers. In other words, there are few working to grow the investments that many of our retirement and dreams for our children (and grandchildren) are based. The laborers are few. The interesting part of this is that many (with reason) perceive that these money managers are not actually “earning” value, yet we all yet still look to them to grow what we have entrusted them with.

    The underlying reality is that God is constantly seeding the world with the Word. God uses people to do so. Relatively, there are very few that know Jesus and the Word. In other words, not much has changed. Even in the “great” American-Christian Era, those that truly know Jesus were outnumbered. The harvest (the world) is huge, and there are relatively few workers.

    We are all called to labor in the harvest. We may gather little, for where we have gathered few have sown. Or we may gather much because where we are was well-tended by those before us. We truly do not know who was before us, or what they did to labor for God. We are to do our best. The harvest was happening before we were born, is happening now, and will continue to happen after we are gone (depending on when Jesus returns, of course).

    We are both workers and the harvest. This is the symmetry of the reproduction of faith.

    1) Who are you working within their faith journey? Who is working with you?

    2) Why is the discussion regarding Apollos and Paul important? What are your takeaways?

    3) Jesus says we know when to harvest. Have you ever harvested too early? What happened?