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Devotion.al

Tag: learn

  • So Say The Skies

    So Say The Skies

    Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32; Job 37:1–13; Luke 21:25–28

    One of the most useful tools invented, and also one of the most irritating is the clock. Humanity has long felt the need to measure time. Multiple cultures used some iteration of a sundial to divide the day. The Egyptians invented a “clock” that used water drops to measure time (both day and night). Even in the beginning, God marked the boundary of day and night with the sun and moon (and stars). The Jewish calendar was built around the cycle of the moon, and the sun set the day. The Jews were not unique in that.

    Looking to the skies was also important, since having an idea of weather (even if only a few hours ahead) provide some idea of which tasks needed to be done immediately. Rain, snow, hail, lightning, all come from the skies. The dreaded locusts came by sky, too (granted, by flying). There were dust and sand storms. When everything is subsistence, and even now, watching the skies is important.

    Then, there were the astrological signs. We’re not talking about the “signs of the Zodiac”, per se. We’re talking about comets, eclipses (solar and lunar), the planets (as they appeared and disappeared based upon their respective orbits). We admire eclipses, for example, because they are pretty cool. We also understand them. In ancient days, most people didn’t have the knowledge to understand them, and those that did often used it for their power and advantage.

    Thus, when we read the Scriptures with all their weather and astrological signs, we have to understand this is about human awareness of how much they didn’t know and understanding that there was a bigger picture beyond them (a lesson many more highly “learned” people need to re-learn). We may think it strange that ancient cultures attributed to God (or gods) weather and astrological signs that we “know” are “merely” systems with a structure, rules, and logic.

    For Job, these were signs of God’s majesty and control. They showed that God was in control. This is also Job’s acknowledgment that God has a plan and that he (Job) doesn’t understand it. Job actually points to all the signs as proof of God’s existence, and that he (Job) is merely a finite person in the eyes of the infinite God.

    Even Jesus points to astrological signs. Yes, Jesus also points to more “earthly” signs, which are equally out of the hands of humanity. Jesus then combines the Godly with the earthly to make the point of unification between God and Creation.

    Will Jesus really come back on a cloud, or is this just a figure of speech? Depends on who you ask. The underlying point isn’t how Jesus comes back. The point is that Jesus does come back. Even in the ancient church creeds, the important part was that Jesus was coming back, not how.

    ※Reflection※

    • Do you believe that Jesus is coming back? Why or why not?
    • Do you think that the return to Jesus an important part of being a Christian? Why or why not?
    • Is Jesus’ return an important part of your Christian life? If so, how is that expressed through your life? If not, how do you understand Jesus’ return as being part of your faith, if it is?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Jesus, many of us long for your return to end the pain of the world. Many of us want your return delayed to assure we can bring more into your kingdom. Help us to grasp emotionally, mentally, and spiritually that there is an end that is coming, and that you will be there. Amen.

  • Port Wise

    Port Wise

    Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32; Job 29:1–20; Acts 20:1–16

    “Any port in a storm!”

    From a strictly practical standpoint, that sailor quip makes sense. Yet, the port may have dangers of its own that were unexpected. If, for example, naval ships from opposing sides set anchor in the same bay due to a storm, once the storm abated, a different storm might begin.

    Security is a multi-faceted need. We recognize our need for security in realms like jobs, health, food, protection. We have become so accustomed to increased safety that new “security” items are released into the market every year.

    Security, though, is a double-edged sword, especially if you are not practicing wisdom and spiritual discernment. In certain places in the world, people place themselves under the protection of strong men and gangs. They know that the person or people they are being “protected” by are as bad, or worse, than others, but some protection is better than none.

    People will place their security in the hands of politicians (this is pretty universal across the spectrum, except for anarchists and somewhat libertarians). Much of the political rancor that we are dealing with is how people feel most protected or safe. Even those saying we are protecting your freedom imply that they are protecting your freedom from “them”.

    While this is relatively easy to point to in politics (though often not easy), it may well be a bigger issue in the church and within the faith context of Christianity.

    Of course, there is the easy to identify, “all religions are equal,” safe port that provides zero respect to most religions, as most claim to have some sort of ultimate truth. That ultimate truth is usually not the same as other religions. Thus, all religions are not equal.

    The slightly harder “safe ports” are religions dressed up in Jesus clothes, but have significantly different starting, middle, and ending points. The primary two are the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). At least, in the beginning, the Jehovah’s Witnesses were successful because they pulled at many people’s desires to be like others. The Mormons are often successful because they really help others in ways that we need to learn.

    The harder safe ports are things like prosperity and the health & wealth “gospels” which attribute success in health and/or wealth to one’s faith (and usually one’s giving). This actually has echoes in the Jewish tradition, too (and teachings that Jesus opposed).

    Those were all the easy ones. In reality, the hard ones are beyond the scope of this. They include righteous acts with cold hearts, loving words empty of loving acts, giving financially without giving of oneself, giving of oneself without giving financially (though this one is not so clear cut), calling oneself a Christian or Jesus Follower and not living (or even pursuing) a holy life.

    ※Reflection※

    • What “safe” things or ways of thinking have drawn you away from Jesus?
    • What “safe” things or ways of thinking that were originally good changed to capture you, inhibiting your life with Christ?
    • What are some of the safe things or thoughts that you currently have? Have you looked at them through the lens of Jesus Christ?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, be the Lord of our heart and the keeper of our souls that we be safe from the trials, tribulations, and temptations of the world. Amen.

  • Defining Justice

    Defining Justice

    Psalm 52; Jeremiah 21:11–14; Revelation 21:22–22:5

    “This then is how you should live, begin your morning by administering justice. All those who know and follow the will of God will rescue people from their oppressor, particularly for those whose God promised gift has been stolen from them.” [A paraphrase by Ian]

    There is no question that oppression, justice, and theft are phrases that are repeatedly thrown around right now. How they change from place to place and culture to culture also cannot be ignored. There is also a historical aspect to this as the time of Judah and Israel what was meant by this was pretty clear cut.

    Today, it isn’t so clear-cut. There are several possible reasons: (1) we’ve made it too complicated, (2) our understanding has matured, (3) we are applying worldly concepts and understandings to Biblical ones. There are probably a couple of more.

    In almost all societies in history, there is a gap between those who “have” and those who “have not”. How “having” is just or not is part of the question. For many, medical care is a matter of justice (and they have a lot of unjust things to point to). For others, medical care is a personal matter of responsibility (and they can point to a lot of unjust things, too).

    Matters of justice include (depending on perspective) skin color, national origin, first language, career, order, social standing, economics. From the standpoint of the Law, what was oppression and stealing was very clear cut. That doesn’t mean that the Law was followed, hence Jeremiah’s statement about starting the morning with justice. Where it gets really difficult for many of us is beyond the Law version of justice. A great many Christians from the early church to today believe that Jesus went beyond the Law to Love God and Love Others. Yes, that is the summation of the Law and the Prophets provided by Jesus. Yet, Jesus also commands to not sin, and he expanded (yes, expanded) the concept of sin from actions to relations.

    Administering justice is easy when it is written down and defined sharply, though some of the gymnastics lawyers and judges go to redefine things gets interesting at times. So, what happens when it is relationships? If you want a simple answer, I’m sure someone sells a book on it.

    Justice is not the same across all situations. It would be nice. Different people, different contexts, different histories, create different justice. Yep, there. A different justice.

    ※Reflection※

    • How do you emotionally respond to different justice issues?
    • How do you think through the Law and Jesus when you think about justice issues?
    • Why is it worth, and why is it essential, to wrestle with justice, especially in the light of the City of God from Revelation?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us to live, love, learn, heal, and reconcile all things and peoples justly; where you define just. Amen.

  • Seeing It Coming, Or Not

    Seeing It Coming, Or Not

    Psalm 33:12–22; Exodus 15:6–11; John 7:37–39

    Watching sports commentators is almost as entertaining as watching meteorologists predict the next day’s weather. “Hey, (person), what are the key things the team has to do today.” Then another commentator says something that really every team has to do. If the team does whatever it was well (and wins), then the commentator was “right on”. If the team didn’t do it well and lose, then the commentator was “right on”. The commentator, of course, determines if they were right on.

    The meteorologist has to predict what all the contributing aspects (moisture, wind, cloud, geography) will do for tomorrow’s weather, which is impacted by the weather in other places. They have to be kind of close to keep their jobs, but while we may jest at often they get it wrong, hopefully, most of us understand that there are so many variables that it’s pretty hard to be spot on.

    Jesus told his hearers (not just his disciples) to anticipate the (Holy) Spirit. He might as well been speaking in tongues or English (which didn’t yet exist). They didn’t get it. How can you really understand getting something that has been “gotten” for everyone…ever?

    Jesus had presence. We often dismiss it as, “of course, he’s God.” Yet, one of the prophetic verses applied to the Messiah was that he wasn’t much to look at. He was of average appearance. His words, though, felt like they meant something.

    When you don’t have the framework, however, to understand the words, they may impress you with their seeming importance, but you still don’t get it. You may hear a Nobel prize-winning scientist speak, and you may well understand that whatever it is might be important, but that doesn’t mean you’ll understand it.

    Imagine being foreward that something world-overturning was coming, and having no clue what any of it meant. Imagine looking back and wondering, “why didn’t I understand then?” Sometimes the experience so that we understand is more important than the knowledge one could also have to understand, for experience will often affect us to the depths of our soul.

    ※Reflection※

    • When was the last time you had an “I should have seen that” experience? What did you learn from it? What might you have not learned had you had the knowledge?
    • How do you interact with people you don’t understand, whether you think they are smarter than you, or too different from you? How do you still interact and treat them as equals?
    • What do you expect of the Holy Spirit in your life? Why?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, just as the wind we cannot see, so comes the promised Holy Spirit. Let us be prepared for the flames of faith to purify us for your will. Amen.

  • Enter In

    Enter In

    Psalm 80; Isaiah 65:17–25: John 14:18–31

    I might be a nerd (okay, “might” should be replaced by “am”). When I was young I was fascinated by the stories of elves. In particular, I grew up with the Pinis’ Elf Quest. As I got older, I learned about the “real” elves of The Silmarillion (Tolkien’s Elves). I was fascinated by their mythic slowness. Life, death, marriage, war, and all those things that define much of human life changed in such strange ways.

    This came to mind as I read the passage of Isaiah. A person who dies at a hundred will be as if cursed. These days, we celebrate those who live beyond one hundred, trying to learn their secret (there doesn’t seem to be one).

    As Isaiah continues, he shares how God will provide the life essentials to everyone. God will provide a way where everyone need not fear for their well-being. The implication of no orphans or widows (the weakest and most vulnerable) is there too.

    How these verses end is also interesting. The serpent is definitely an allusion to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, whose food continues to be dust. On the other hand, the life and death (and the taking of life to live) of Creation and its creatures ends, too. It indeed would be a new creation, or perhaps Creation as intended before the Fall.

    The totality of this promise of warmth and belonging won’t be experienced on this side of life. The Father does still love us, however, and that is ours to hold onto.

    Remaining “in” the Father and “in” Jesus though is a little more than just sitting. It is an active pursuit of a relationship with God, through the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that remains to teach and guide us, even today.

    Yet, just because the Holy Spirit is here and present, does not mean that we do nothing. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach us. Teaching, though, requires students. Until we die (and maybe even after), we are all, to be constantly learning about God.

    ※Reflection※

    • How can the finite (us) not continue to learn more about God (infinite) day-by-day?
    • What are you doing to learn more about God?
    • Who are you bringing with you as you learn?
    • Is anyone bring you along with them as they learn?

    ※Prayer※

    Holy Spirit, nudge our hearts and minds to pursue relationship with you that we know God better than we did yesterday. Amen.

  • Go and (p)Reach

    Go and (p)Reach

    Psalm 4; Luke 24:36b-48; Acts 3:12-19; 1 John 3:1-7

    The disciples are still struggling with the Resurrection. You’d think they’d have accustomed themselves to Jesus being alive, but they were obviously still struggling. As part of this last appearance, Jesus explained the Scriptures and His place in them. This is not the first time he did this after the Resurrection.

    This time, though, it comes with a command, to preach the Resurrection and a change of heart and life for the forgiveness of sin. This mission doesn’t start immediately. It has to wait until the heavenly power comes (the Holy Spirit at Pentecost).

    Waiting in Jerusalem, however, does not mean being inactive. Peter’s healing of the lame man (Acts 3:1-10) opened the door (so to speak) to begin the mission. Peter tells his listeners what it is all about, “But this is how God fulfilled what he foretold through all the prophets: that his Christ would suffer. Change your hearts and lives! Turn back to God so that your sins may be wiped away.” (Acts 3:18-19, CEB)Much later, John wrote that we have hope in Jesus as we (progressively) purify ourselves (so as to become more Christ-like). This reflects the changing of hearts that Jesus and Peter made known.

    Jesus’ and Peter’s declarations could also be restated as it is in Matthew 28:19–20, “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you…” [CEB]While the passage in Matthew could be interpreted as only applying to the disciples, the passage from Luke cannot be (without serious contortions). The changed heart is also consistent across the Scriptures.

    We are all called to tell the world about Jesus, sin, redemption, and the place of changed hearts in all of that. In the current culture, we are having to learn how to do this well. Sadly, we are in the midst of getting rid of the baggage that we’ve been carrying, and that is painfully difficult. So much so, that most of us no longer have effective tools or methods to reach (and “preach to”) others.

    In all likelihood, the Western Church will have to relearn how to live in a true and deep community. We have all become accustomed to the shallow community of the Western Church, not the Christian fellowship as described in the Scriptures.

    This does not excuse any of us from looking for opportunities to talk about the grace of Jesus Christ and the change in our hearts. Perhaps, rather than excuse it, it should drive us more.

    ※Reflection※

    • Are you doing anything that resembles telling the world about Jesus in the way Jesus talks about in Luke?
      • If you are, it going?
      • If you aren’t, why not?
    • In regard to telling the world, is it your responsibility or someone else’?

    ※Prayer※

    Almighty God, you gave your only Son to be for us both a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly living: Give us grace thankfully to receive his inestimable benefits, and daily to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. [Third Sunday of Easter Collect, Book of Common Prayer 2019]

  • Serve and Sit

    Serve and Sit

    Psalm 51:1–12; Habakkuk 3:2–13; John 12:1–11

    That household is a problem. That’s pretty much the description for the household of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. One dies, is buried for 3 days, and then lives again (and will die again). Another takes some really expensive stuff and washes feet with it!

    At least one was normal, right? Martha at least understood proper propriety when hosting a guest (even though it was Jesus). Oh, except at the tomb of Lazarus she declared Jesus the Messiah (before Lazarus was raised from the dead). Nevermind. She’s just slightly better. Barely.

    If you had had Jesus at your house, would you have been Lazarus, Mary, or Martha? All of us would have tendencies to be all of them. For most of us, we would not be solely any of them. Even I would be sorely tempted to start cleaning house (and that’s not my thing). Perhaps I would be like Lazarus who would recline almost as an equal (but still with the “this guy raised me from the dead” look). Maybe I would be like Mary who didn’t care about propriety or place and sit at the feet of Jesus.

    Many of us would like to immediately say we should be like Mary, however, is that really the case? Jesus didn’t tell Martha to come sit. Was it Martha’s place to sit at Jesus’ feet? There are a great many people in the church (and in the world) whose particular gifting is service. They feel more connected to Jesus when serving.

    That doesn’t mean that they should never sit at the feet of Jesus, but always sitting at the feet of Jesus is not good either. Sitting and learning only is good when it is applied to life.

    ※Reflection※

    Do you know what your spiritual gift/calling is? How do you use it for Jesus?

  • Cursing Blessings

    Cursing Blessings

    Numbers 21:4–9; Psalm 107:1–3, 17–22; Ephesians 2:1–10; John 3:14–21

    One of the biggest dangers of constant blessings is that we often disdain them. We become so accustomed to them that we become blind to them. Even worse, we then grow to despise them.

    The Israelites were in the middle of the desert. They were being sustained by the hand of God. Instead of looking at the blessing and the miracle that they were experiencing. they instead wanted to go back to slavery. The rejection of the blessing and the rejection of protection.

    The interplay between the Israelites, Moses, and God is interesting. The consequence? Poisonous snakes. The response? We were wrong. The directive? Make a snake statue. The result? Get bit, look at the snake, and live. However, if the Israelites were really sorry, would the snakes have remained?

    One could argue that the snakes were an ongoing consequence. However, as the snakes were a consequence of bad behavior, it also can be concluded that the Israelite really didn’t have a change of heart, but a desire to avoid the consequences. Yes, it is a stretch assumption from the Scriptures, but it certainly isn’t in regard to human behavior.

    Paul’s notes such about how all of us followed the ways of destruction before coming to Jesus, and that all those who do not yet know Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior still have that tendancy (i.e., spirit). We all are better than we were (just being aware puts us in a slightly better position), but we all have struggles and issues that we are dealing with as we strive to be more like Jesus.

    The biggest struggle though for Western Christians are the blessings that they despise. One of the biggest has been Christianity. This applies both with those who despised Christianity by doing ill in its name, and for those who took Christianity for granted and did not put the effort in to pass on the faith (or care to learn it). In addition, there has become the human arrogance of blessing where people begin to assume it’s God’s blessing on their ways, rather than God’s blessings so as to be shared with others.

    The blessings then become cursed, which is certainly not what God wanted it to be for us. We became sucked into the world’s desire for more and more blessing. That pursuit of blessing becomes death-dealing.

    The promise of life, and not just a worldly life, has always been part of the pull to follow God. Paul emphasizes that salvation and new life cannot be earned. Only God can grant it. Only God can gift it.

    Worldly life, such as the the bronze serpant represented, still ends in death. It is the life found in the cross lifted up that is everlasting.

    ※Reflection※

    • Can you, have you, counted your blessings?
    • Have you ever taken any of your blessings for granted?
    • Have you ever looked at a blessing and thought it was actually a curse?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us to remember your blessings and the life you have given us. Amen.

  • Missed A Spot

    Missed A Spot

    Psalm 84; Ezra 6:1–16; Mark 11:15–19

    If you are unaccustomed to the lectionary (again, what is being used this year for the passages), it can seem odd, annoying, and definitely repetitious to see the same Psalm for multiple days. As I, too, am reading it each day, I try to glean something new from it each time. This time I thought of a mess.

    I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. There is a light rail system there (that was supposed to be for Seattle) called BART. As it was close, I could walk to the BART station and get to many places in the area.

    One of the things I didn’t like was all the pigeons. They had found hard to reach (for humans) places to nest and congregate. BART did try to put up barbs to keep them from landing there, but it didn’t really work. So, it could be a hazardous trip to get your ticket or even wait for the train. You had to learn to look on the pavement for the telltale droppings of pigeons so that you could usually avoid being hit.

    Even the sparrow found a place in the Temple. If you’ve seen sparrow colonies, they’re not much better than pigeons. The sparrow lays eggs beside the altar.

    We read about temple purity laws. They were significant and had severe penalties for violation. The laws were almost impossible to bear. Yet the sparrow found rest and security in the Temple of God.

    Jesus cleansed the Temple, not because of sparrow dropping, but because the hearts of humanity had turned from God to gain, and from God’s praise to humanity’s power. Although, if we think about it, if they were selling animals in the temple, it was probably much worse than a few sparrows.

    Of course, the Psalmist might be taking some poetic liberty. On the other hand, if you read the Law, the rules almost all apply to people. This means that there may have not been a “purity” concern regarding sparrows in the Temple.

    Sometimes our house is a mess. It could be your house. It could be God’s house. Truly, all of us recognize that at least something in our life is not as it should be, and it may be something completely out of our control…such as a sparrow in the Temple.

    This shouldn’t discourage us, however. We are called to come to God in good times and bad. We are called to come dirty and clean, with both being relative. Was there something about ritual purity? Yes. However, as Jesus displays through his actions, ritual purity is not necessarily the heart.

    ※Reflection※

    • What things/thoughts/so-called “dirtiness” keep you from approaching God?
    • How does being ritually pure (usually outside performance) differ from purity of heart regarding our relationship with God? How do we confuse them?
    • What “sparrows” are nesting in your house?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, all of Creation praises you. Let us not be distracted from praising you and seeking fellowship with you, no matter what the world throws at us. Amen.

  • Before and After

    Before and After

    Psalm 105:1–11, 37–45; Genesis 21:1–7; Hebrews 1:8–12

    “Remember the wondrous works he has done…”

    It would be nice to say that part of the culture and religious practices of the Jews made them different than others. Christians don’t have that luxury. We are the spiritual descendants of Abraham. The wondrous works of God did not begin with the Cross, or even Jesus’ birth in the manger, they began with, “Let there light.”

    Christianity, or perhaps we should say the Western European iteration of it (including the US and Canada), has broken much of that lineage. As the evangelical church “discovers” church traditions such as Lent, it is starting to learn a little bit about church history.

    Most Western Christians probably know more about their respective country’s history (and other Western European countries’) history than they know of Christian history except for where the two crossed. The history of the church around the world is as varied as the nations and the peoples it has impacted.

    All of history is filled with the “wondrous works he has done.” Too often, however, we think more about human action rather than God. We also forget that so many things (the sun rising, the full moon, the wind, our very breath) are wondrous things, no matter how small and simple they appear to be.

    Isaac was Abraham’s and Sarah’s proof of God’s wondrous works (just as any child is). Sarah was held to account when she laughed when God’s messenger promised that Sarah would be pregnant. Abraham probably laughed when Sarah became pregnant and a son was born. Maybe, just maybe, they named Isaac (he laughed) because they thought God had “the last laugh.”

    How we look to the past influences the future. As the author of Hebrews quoted from Psalms, God is everlasting. The author of Hebrews (I cannot wait to confirm who wrote it) affirms that God is everlasting. Long after our history disappears, God will be there. Yet, that doesn’t absolve us from continually remembering what God has done.

    ※Reflection※

    What has God been doing in your life recently? Are any doors closing? Are any doors opening?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we don’t know the future, and we are far too tied to the past we think we know, keeping the future bound to misunderstanding. Help us to open our eyes and heart to the future that you have for us while helping honor the past. Amen.