Devotion.al

Tag: Lent

  • Grateful In Ashes

    Joel 2:12-17, Psalm 51:1-17, 2 Corinthians 4:21-6:10 (read online ⧉)

    Through the prophet Joel, God sought to realign the life of the Israelites to Him. God was calling them to live a life oriented to Him. God didn’t want them to miss out on the life they were meant for. As we begin the Lenten season, it is a time for each of us to reflect upon what in our life is keeping us from being oriented on Him.

    From the early days of our faith, Christians have observed the remembrance of Christ’s passion () and resurrection (Easter) with great reverence. It became the custom to prepare for that observance by a season of and fasting, and the of those who had been separated from the of faith. When keeping the season of , we take to heart God’s call to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the , and practice in our daily lives the work of reconciliation. You are invited to the observance of Lent through self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s .

    On Ash Wednesday, many people to receive the mark of , which is a reminder of our mortal nature and of God’s invitation to receive Christ’s redeeming work. The ashes are a of repentance, that one’s life is not as God-focused as it ought to be. It is a declaration that all is not well, that something needs to change.

    As we walk together through Lent, through our paths of reflection, self-denial, and repentance, this is all part of our response of gratitude to God who sent Jesus Christ, the ultimate love letter, to us that we can see that God wants us as His Children.

    1) Giving up something (self-denial and/or fasting) is often practiced during Lent. The purpose is to grow closer to God. If you choose to do this, what will you give up? We challenge you to share whatever this is with someone who will hold you accountable.

    2) Other practices for Lent are focused prayer, self-examination, deeper scripture reading, all of which are intended to draw us deeper and to slow us down. What will you focus on this Lent to grow your Christian walk?

    3) One of the newer trends is to give up something you know you need to give up already. Do you think that could be effective as a spiritual discipline? Why or why not?

  • 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 , 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, , 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 , tradition becomes a problem.

    For many centuries, the “mainstream” 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 ). Then we have some Ordinary (i.e., numbered weeks) time. Then , 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 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.

    notes that he was heavily invested in traditions. All of his traditions were an attempt to 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) 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?

  • Bringing Gifts

    Matthew 2:1–12, John 12:1–11

    The ‘s visiting presented 3 gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh. Often they are respectively tied to Jesus’ roles as king, prophet/priest, /savior. How accurate that is may be questioned. That they were costly and significant gifts is not questionable. Gold is gold. We all have a pretty good idea about it. Frankincense is an aromatic plant often used in incense, including Jewish temple incense (Exodus 30:34-38). It is also used in perfumes. The fact that it was a key component of the temple incense is what leads many to conclude that its gifting is symbolic of Jesus’ priestly and prophetic role. Myrrh is another plant. It was used as a perfume and incense (too), stimulant, anointing oil, and embalming. The last two uses are where the sacrifice/savior symbology is assumed. Whether this was intended symbology is not the issue at hand. These magi would have had important positions at home. They would have not brought a small amount of any of these things. these gifts was expected, and being stingy in those gifts was not culturally or politically practiced. We should think of the magi as representatives (or ambassadors). Put on a good show to increase the prestige of your home country.

    Why the focus on the magi and their gifts? To show just how significant Mary’s was. We don’t know a lot about Lazarus and his sisters, other than Jesus was likely a more common visitor than the scriptures convey. We also know that Lazarus—due to his rising from the dead—was a person of concern (John 12:9–11) for the religious leaders, as his continued presence was apparently adding to Jesus’ stature as prophet and Messiah.

    Let’s look at Judas, too. John gives him a good poke, but let’s be honest with ourselves, we have a bit of Judas in us, especially when it comes to “church” money. The expectation that the church does not spend frivolously is a strong tendency in us all, with the Puritan expectation ingrained in us of financially barebones ministry. The “wastefulness” of Mary’s “” would definitely cause some trouble in today’s churches.

    Mary wasn’t worried about the wastefulness. What motivated her is her of Jesus. Her love was reflected in Jesus’ . Jesus’ followers made sure that her story is still told after almost 2000 years. Maybe that gift wasn’t a waste?

    1) Thinking about what is to come ( Week), what aspects in this story do you see played out?

    2) Poking the bear…what are your thoughts of Judas versus Mary (taking Judas’ out of it) and how churches and ministries spend money?

    3) We often don’t think of the ongoing presence of those touched by Jesus’ miracles (e.g., Lazarus) as adding to the validation of his ministry, and what the impact was on their lives. What do you think their lives were like during Jesus’ ministry and after his death/resurrection?

  • Communal Sacrifice

    Exodus 12:1–20, Nehemiah 8:1–18, Psalm 133

    The Exodus story, specifically the first Passover, always comes up around . Which makes perfect sense, as Holy Week revolves around Passover, along with the seemingly obvious linking of being the ultimate Passover lamb (i.e., the sacrifice needed for Passover). All the Israelites were going to sacrifice a lamb for a household. This was a large communal thing. One could (and did) ignore it at their peril.

    Communal is something done or shared in a community, such as a church. An done by everyone creates a powerful effect. In the US, we’ve forgotten a lot of communal activities, much of this having to do with our culture of independence. We miss a lot. It is why communal celebrations such as and are so important to the of the church. There is something also very powerful—and community building—in sharing a meal together.

    “If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each will eat.” (Exodus 12:4)

    There are 2 important observations in this verse. The first is how important and sacred this sacrifice is. Sacrifices mentioned later do not have this built-in focus on not wasting the sacrifice; just properly disposing of it. This one mentions not wasting it as part of the sacrifice itself. It is to be part of the consideration when choosing the lamb to be sacrificed. There is a shared burden for neighbors to make sure that each other has enough, but not too much.

    The second observation is that by setting this boundary, extra emphasis is added to the communal nature of this specific sacrifice. This sacrifice and celebratory observation of Passover is not to be done in isolation.
    Isolation—the internet notwithstanding—allows us to not from others, not to be in community with others, and not others. When the Israelites from exile, we read (Nehemiah 8:1-18) that the Israelites learned, mourned, and celebrated in community. Upon learning that there was supposed to be another festival—the Festival of Booths—they gather together (community) and celebrated it. Our celebrations, our learning, our mourning are (generally) more powerful in community, rather than in isolation. Fellowship and unity grow. Yet, we still tend toward isolation.

    Psalm 133 sums it up:

    How good and pleasant it is
    when brothers live together in harmony!
    It is like fine oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
    running down Aaron’s beard
    onto his robes.
    It is like the dew of Hermon
    falling on the mountains of Zion.
    For there the Lord has appointed the blessing—
    life forevermore.

    1) Do you find yourself tending more toward isolation rather than community? Why?

    2) If you are an introvert, how will you allow yourself to be drawn and actively seek community? If you are an extrovert, how can allow and encourage people to join the community without overwhelming them?

    3) What other communal rituals (including secular ones) can you think of? What do they have in people’s lives, and why?

  • Blessings of the Vine

    Isaiah 65:8–16, Luke 5:33–39

    In Old Testament and ‘ time, wine was considered a sign of God’s blessing.* In this Isaiah , the new wine will be the remnant that faithfully returns to God, and then to the Promised Land. The interesting play on this means that because of the old wine (Israel) that the vines (the to Abraham) yielded, they should be destroyed. However, “one says” that there is hope in the new fruit. This new potential is followed by a reclaimed swamp (Sharon) for pasture, and “cursed”/barren land (Valley of Achor) as a place of .

    Isaiah’s speech continues down a course of punishment for those who don’t (and/or continue to not) follow God. At the same time there is a promise of blessing for those who will follow God. The new wine indeed came and people returned to the Promised Land.

    Yet, the new wine can become old, and it did. It wasn’t aging well, according to Jesus. The modern process of winemaking is both art and science. Vintners are pretty confident with their wines that they will get better with . There are wines that don’t get better with age, too. In older days, however, the precision wasn’t there, especially as part of the fermenting process. BAD wine and vinegar were common results. Was Jesus saying that the wine (the Pharisees and scribes, scions of the Jewish Law and religions) was bad? Maybe, but it is more likely that Jesus was saying that the aging process was no longer effective (just like real wine), and it was time for something new.

    This parable is often used to “prove” that Christianity was the new replacement for Judaism. It is used regularly to encourage churches to not hold too tightly to the old ways. Which is valid. However, the beauty of this version of the parable (see Matthew 9:14-17 for the other version) is the added line about the old wine. One must remember that the old wine was once new, too. The old wine has value.

    If Jesus is the vine (or root), and we are the branches (John 15:1-8), we should all be producing new fruit, which makes new wine. Let us not keep focusing on old wine already made.

    1) When you look at “the ” (all the claimants to Christianity), where do you see “new wine” and where do you see “old wine”?

    2) Your “old wine” used to be the “new wine”, even if you think you’re young, that’s so. Why is important to see the value in old and new?

    3) The wine and wineskins age , how does that mirror our growth in and grace?

    *As a denomination in the temperance (abstaining from ) camp, the Church of the Nazarene (and other similar denominations) often struggle to call wine a sign of God’s blessing. By God’s grace, Thomas Welch invented (or perfected) the process by which grape juice fermentation would cease, and no longer produce an alcoholic beverage. This did allow temperance folks to have a “fruit of the vine” that met the theological needs of and the theological/pastoral needs of ministering to those affected by alcohol or had another philosophical opposition to alcoholic beverages.

  • Do You and Can You

    Psalm 119:145–160

    This morning’s devotion is more of contemplation on these verses of Psalm 119.

    The psalmist is under pressure. He seeks .

    Thinking about your ‘s circumstances, especially those when in trouble or hurting:

    Do you…
    …put your in his ?
    …meditate on his promises?
    … that he is your champion?
    …believe in his ?

    Can you…
    … your affliction and look at God?
    …not compare your situation against those far away from God?

  • Bargain Making

    Genesis 22:15–18, Isaiah 48:17–49:4

    Promises. Promises.

    God is faithful and true and fulfills his Word. If someone who does not God nor believe that God fulfills his Word were to compare the passage in Genesis to Isaiah 48:17–19, would they come to the same conclusion? We would like to think so. From a of logic, one can see that Abraham’s descendants didn’t fulfill their of things. We see that from a spiritual side, too.

    It the relational difference between these two passages. Abraham has shown his faithfulness. The Israelites have shown their faithlessness.

    This is where God’s faithfulness, and God’s fulfilling of his Word comes in. It is, in many ways, where God’s to Abraham outweighs the failures of Abraham’s descendants.

    The Israelites are condemned to rot in bondage. That could be the message. After all, they did abandon Abraham’s God for godless idols of wood and metal. Their with God was transactional at best, and more along the lines of reluctant.

    Sadly, not much has changed. We hear stories about people making transactional bargains with God, and lives transformed. We also hear about bargains that God did not fulfill and people are mad at God as a result. If one makes a bargain with God, that doesn’t make it a relationship. In many cases, it is less relational than handing to the cashier and getting your back. In the case of bargains made, whether or not, the true relationship is when we allow God to transform us, and we partner with God in that transformation.

    1) Have you ever tried to bargain with God? What about? What was the result?

    2) Have you ever prayed to God about a need or desire? What about? What was the result?

    3) What is the difference between a bargain and a prayer? Which sounds more like the Water of Christ, and which one sounds more like burdens and chains?

  • Good At The End

    Proverbs 19:16-25, Jeremiah 24:1-10

    is all around us. It’s on our phones. Just Google. True wisdom starts with God. That is the premise of Proverbs. How is such wisdom gained? There are a number of ways.

    The best (and easiest) is to from others (Proverbs 19:20). Proverbs is one of the wisdom storehouses in Scripture. One of the thing that puzzles and frustrates people when trying to read Proverbs straight through is that it seems to contradict itself. Often as we read Proverbs, we can find to riddles we didn’t know we had. Yet, too often we ignore this valuable book.

    However, sadly, wisdom is often learned another way…the hard way. You could never apply that to anyone you know, right? Certainly not yourself? Let’s be honest with ourselves, often we learn through pain (Proverbs 19:25).

    The Israelites were in pain. They were in trouble. Jeremiah’s is very interesting. There were a lot of good figs! Those good figs got stuck in a mess with the bad figs, that the bad figs started! Or did the bad figs really start it alone? Often, all it takes is a good person to allow the bad person to have their way, and all is lost. At least that is the perspective. It is not God’s.

    There is good at the . God uses the trouble to clean up some of the bad fruit so that the people who will be less inclined to turn their hearts away.

    1) When has God used your mistakes to teach you? How have you tried to those lessons with others?

    2) Often wisdom comes from unusual or even uncomfortable sources. Can you think of a time recently when you dismissed the wisdom of others because they weren’t like you?

    3) God’s redemptive plan is always at work. There is no time too late to turn to God on this side of the of death. Whose salvation are you praying for? If no one, then it’s time to add at least one to the list.