Devotion.al

Tag: Kingdom of Heaven

  • Message Over Mammon

    Message Over Mammon

    Luke 10:1–9; 2 Corinthians 12:1–14

    There are many people who attract attention naturally. Some do it with mere charisma. Some do it with . Others do it with the words (positive and negative).

    There are others that do it out of . Whether it is to gain the attention of people or to feel power, or success (all still people-based, really), gaining attraction to puff oneself up isn’t Christ-like.

    When Jesus sent out the 72 disciples he gave an interesting direction: don’t change houses. In other words, if you were invited into a house in a town, stay at that house until you leave the town. As they were representatives of the famous prophet, they would likely be treated well. It might even mean that people would compete for their .

    The concern with this is that the message would lose weight as the disciples would go from house to house. What gravitas would the “ of Heaven” have if its disciples (emissaries, ambassadors) traipsed from one place to another following the food and the sandal-licking (they didn’t have boots, then). If people competed over the fame and flattery of having one of the disciples, would they really care about the message?

    The next concern would be the effect upon the disciples. Being “wined and dined” could have a potentially huge negative effect on their spiritual growth and their witness. It could even lead to some of the same bullying behavior of the Jewish religious leaders. That would have been very bad.

    We see how it did evolve through ‘s letter to the Corinthians. The “super” apostles were, it seems, spiritual abusers. They -tripped people to more money. Based on Paul’s language, the super-apostles used language that implied that the Corinthians were being spiritually blessed by them (the super-apostles) so much money.

    When Paul apologizes that he didn’t for money or to be taken care of, there is a realization that the Corinthians had been hoodwinked. They had bought wholeheartedly into the swindle of the super-apostles. In so doing, they lost the vision of the Gospel.

    By succumbing to the words of these super-apostles, they reattached the chains of bondage. Paul was heartbroken. The of the message of freedom in Christ had been lost.

  • Whose Crown?

    Whose Crown?

    1 Samuel 8:1–22; Mark 10:35–45; 1 Corinthians 1:20–25

    One cannot say the beginning of the fall of Israel was at the point they demanded a king. God pointed this out to disappointed Samuel. Israel’s “desire” for a king showed that Israel’s heart continued to not focus on God.

    Samuel’s sons were a mess. In no way did they honor God or their . Just like many of us, and the world, the Israelites were looking at humanity rather than God.

    The failure of the Israelites wasn’t that they didn’t want Samuel’s sons in charge. That was actually . What they didn’t want, apparently, was a spiritual like Samuel. They wanted a “normal” king.

    When God tells Samuel that the Israelites were against God, God makes it clear that it isn’t Samuel’s fault. The hearts of the Israelites are at fault. What happens, though, is that while they get want, they want, it does eventually become a “be careful what you wish for.”

    The path of king never really ends for the Israelites. Eventually, the kingdom splits into 2. The Northern Kingdom (confusingly also called, Israel) eventually disappears. The Southern Kingdom (called Judah) remains, but over the years of exile and conquest never really stops having a king.

    By the time of Jesus, the “king” (Herod) really is just a governmental flunky of Rome. The and their quests for (a constant theme of the Roman Empire) are what Jesus is likely referring to when he talks to the disciples. His point being who wants to live like that. Jesus had a better way.

    The better way was the way of God’s (not just generic human love) of both and discipline. What need of worldly government and power would such a person have?

    When we focus too much on worldly power, we miss the reality that Jesus turned power upside down. If we focus on the world’s ways, we succumb to the foolishness of the world, rather than living in and through the wisdom of God.

    When we rely on the world, we make the same mistake the Israelites did…we choose a king (even if it’s only for 4 years).

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Jesus, as we try to live out being faithful citizens of this world, help us to our deeper and truer citizenship in the . Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What are some reasons you think the Israelites wanted a king “like the other nations”?

    2) In what ways does the US political scene look at the president as King? What does that teach us about our (and our ‘s) heart?

    3) How might you live out the upside-down kingdom that Jesus brought to us?

  • For and/or In and/or Of

    For and/or In and/or Of

    Matthew 13:44–52

    Translating the Scriptures is hard work. Whether it be the 1611 King James Bible, The Amplified, the New International Version, the Standard Bible, the nuances of multiple languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic) along with cultural overlays, makes it incredibly difficult.

    Then you have the literal translations, the “thought” translations, the “concept” translations, and some that try do it all. What the intent is (i.e., transparent, understandable, etc.) also deeply affects the translation. On top of that, there is the motivation behind the translation that also gets into it.

    It’s not that anyone is being disingenuous or deceptive, or even that the translation is necessarily false. Often times translations are similar to the 4 Gospels. 4 different writers with similarities, and also differences. Translations often work the same way.

    This seems to be a long introduction, but, as you will see, it can make a difference.

    In the NRSV, Matthew 13:52 reads, “And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’”

    In the CEB, Matthew 13:52 reads, “Then he said to them, ‘Therefore, every legal expert who has been trained as a for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings old and new things out of their treasure chest.’”

    In the NIV, Matthew 13:52 reads, “He said to them, ‘Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.’”

    At first glance, and even second, or third, these sound pretty similar. There is a key phrase that needs some focus, for it is different in each translation, and may result in completely different understandings.

    “…every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven…” (NRSV)

    “…every legal expert who has been trained as a disciple for the kingdom of heaven…” (CEB)

    “…every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven…” (NIV)

    Can you see the difference? While it is a nuance, however, it seems to cover the history of the church in the 20th and the 21st Centuries (so far). The translations above are not in chronological order, for the record.

    [NRSV] For generations, people were trained for the Kingdom. They had lots of knowledge. Sunday School really developed into in-depth readings of the Bible (this is a good thing). Lots of head knowledge is great. What is done with it, or not done with it, is something else entirely.

    [CEB] The church, as a whole, did begin to realize something was wrong, for we had lost the concept of . The church began to recover the concept of discipleship but had not quite let loose the reins of knowledge.

    [NIV] Especially in these times of COVID, there are many conversations of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, without the boundaries (some say limitations) of the building that was so central to church . The concept of only pouring knowledge into people doesn’t work. They need to be on the for the Kingdom. They need to be disciples.

    Lastly, the Amplified Bible combines all 3 of the thoughts above into 1 massive verse, “He said to them, ‘Therefore every teacher and interpreter of the Sacred Writings who has been instructed about and trained for the kingdom of heaven and has become a disciple is like a householder who brings forth out of his storehouse treasure that is new and [treasure that is] old [the fresh as well as the familiar].’”

    Before anyone thinks that these are all in conflict, that really isn’t the case. The nuances of Greek are deep. It is definitely an understanding of what the Greek means. This verse, like many, are open to multiple equally valid interpretations. Besides, we have plenty of our own translation issues even when it comes to English-to-English.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, your 12 disciples asked you to teach them to . We ask that you teach us to be your disciples. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is your preferred translation? Why?

    2) In what ways do you see the differences above as concerning or interesting?

    3) How does having different voices (translations) helps us to understand God better?

    For an overview, here is the Church of the Nazarene’s stance on the Scriptures:

    We believe in the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures, by which we understand the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration, inerrantly revealing the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our , so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of .

    Despite the in-joke of the NIV being the Nazarene Institutionalized Version, the denomination does not hold a particular translation as a standard. Being an international denomination, doing so would diminish our brothers and sisters in Christ who do not use an English translation.

  • Planned Disruption

    Planned Disruption

    1 Samuel 16:1–5; Luke 14:28–33; James 4:13–17 (read online ⧉)

    But mouse-friend, you are not alone
    in proving may be vain:
    the best-laid schemes of Mice and Men
    go oft awry,
    and leave us only grief and ,
    for promised joy!

    Still, friend, you’re blessed compared with me!
    Only present dangers make you flee:
    But, ouch!, behind me I can see
    grim prospects drear!
    While forward-looking seers, we
    humans guess and !

    From “To a Mouse”, by Robert Burns
    modern English translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

    The current situation with COVID-19 should put to how fleeting our plans really are. However, while everything is in an uproar and rather chaotic, we are still coming up with plans. What becomes emblematic of human behavior is that we know we are making plans for a target that doesn’t yet exist.

    These are strange times indeed.

    Samuel had a plan. In fact, at one point it seemed a pretty solid plan, since it appeared to be God’s plan. The Israelites decided they wanted a king, “just like the countries around them”. So, while Samuel was upset (along with God), it was done. This king, Saul, seemed to be destined for great things. He was physically imposing. He was successful militarily. He even had a starting bought of prophesying.

    While we cannot say that Samuel loved Saul, there does seem to be some sort of strong emotion that Samuel had for Saul. We see this in God’s words to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul?” Samuel knew that Saul wasn’t dedicated to God, yet Samuel still mourned the fact that Saul would lose his kingship and was not blessed by God.

    The plans for the King of Israel changed. Now, a new path would be before Samuel. In obedience, he followed it to a boy named David. While it might have not been as abrupt as all that has come with COVID-19, for a culture such as this “just” changing the king was a big deal. This is clear when Samuel brings his worry of being killed before God. It shouldn’t be ignored that God gave Samuel a way around a reprisal coming from the king or his minions.

    Plans are worthwhile. It’s not as if they should not be made. Jesus even used the example of construction and war plans to lay out to wannabe disciples that they need to plan for the costs of following him. Jesus makes it clear that if we follow him, we can expect a lot of worldly things to be prioritized at a much lower ranking than the Kingdom of Heaven.

    Often we count the cost…and we lie to ourselves. “God doesn’t really want…” “I can grow by just…” “My is too busy to…” “That’s the way we’ve always done it.” We count the cost, and determine that following Jesus isn’t really worth the price.

    Sometimes, and especially in times of turmoil, our plans need to be laid at the feet of God, and not at our comfort. When James talks about people making plans (in particular speculative plans about enterprising and wealth-building), he’s warning each an everyone of us that all of our plans are worthless if they do not begin with God.

    What should especially concern us is when we hold so tightly to our plans, that we do not respond to God’s prompting to change the plan.

    ※ Prayer ※

    Father God, you know the plans you have for us. May we be to respond. Jesus, help us to follow your example of obedience and submission even unto death. Spirit, guide our hearts into all , , and love. Amen.

    ※ ※

    1) What are your current plans (personal, professional, family, religious)? How does God fit into those plans (even the religious ones)?
    2) How will you know if God wants you to continue your plans, or change them?
    3) How often do you still count the cost of following Jesus, whether it’s your family, your profession, your stuff, your time, or something else?

  • Blowing Smoke Into Our Own Eyes

    Isaiah 30:8–13 (read online ⧉)

    Hearing the truth about ourselves is often uncomfortable. We like to hear good stuff, but do our best to avoid that feels bad, or might cause us to look at ourselves badly. We are not alone. When Isaiah is sent to confront the Israelites with a bad report, you can imagine how well it was received.

    Who wants to be called a rebellious child, except for those who take pride in being rebelling. Rare is the person who wants to be called deceptive. Yet rebellion and deception can often be attributed to ourselves. It never feels good to confront it. The reality is that rebellion and deception often go hand-in-hand. Where we can lose a little bit of the meaning is that sometimes the deceiving is of ourselves, leading us into a or choice of rebellion. That’s where the words in Isaiah go. People didn’t want to hear the truth. They want to be lied to rather than having to deal with the truth.

    In the current separated world that is the “” States of America, there are many voices speaking out with the heart of Christ. However, even they have become blind. Whole swaths of people are challenged for a single point of or policy, while their own politics or policy have their own parts that are not in line with Jesus Christ. In many respects, the Israelites had it easy.

    Christians are called to love, starting with one another. Yet, what is love? How is lived out? In fact, our understanding of love may very well affect the love of Jesus Christ that comes from us. That is potentially the biggest problem of all. People can disagree on the right (and Christian) way to help a person get out of poverty (for example). Their perspectives may be very different. That doesn’t mean that one is right and one is wrong. Our world is very much playing the zero-sum game. In other words, somebody loses. All too often, Jesus Christ gets lost in the mix and noise.
    The and its people must begin to focus on Jesus Christ. That’s obvious, you may say, but it really isn’t. If you love Jesus Christ, you can’t support (some person). That’s the way things are currently going. We no longer show and love to those of different politics. We’ve lost our first love.

    1) Think of your least favorite politician. Can you say, I love you (their name)? Do you think Jesus can?

    2) and love flow through the Scriptures. How should that affect our view of ourselves? How should that affect our views of others?

    3) Why is it important that politics can play a useful role in expanding the of Heaven here on earth? What is the (ongoing) danger with that same thing?

  • Blessed Title

    Luke 1:39–45, Luke 11:27–28

    Mary was indeed blessed to be ‘ mother. In fact, like many mothers, she was blessed. Motherhood is a . It can be a huge blessing. It is also a heavy weight to carry.

    It is a blessing to be a mom. Yet, often the title of mother takes over the person, to where who the person was before being a mom disappears.

    The reality is that this occurs with many positions and roles: president, general, governor, and so on. The person who was gets lost in the position. We can see it on the news with the behavior of many (more than 4 or 5) world leaders. We see it with celebrities and company executives. People forget the person they were.

    Titles are great, but titles are nothing in the .

    “…blessed are those who the of God and keep it…”

    1)Have you have pursued a title or position that you wanted really badly? How did the pursuit go?

    2) Have you ever defined yourself by your roles, career, or titles? Why? Which one means the most to you?