Devotion.al

Tag: loss

  • Wall Fall

    Wall Fall

    Jeremiah 19:1–15; Revelation 18:11–20

    Whether big or small, the demise of a city is no small thing. It could be because of failing to respect God, or if it’s because of mismanagement, or if it’s because of something out of the city’s control.

    A city is a home to many people, and its demise should never be glossed over. Often, especially in the , the fall of the city is the larger picture of the fall of humanity.

    Imagine Jeremiah prophesying the demise of Jerusalem, a city he if for no other reason it was the place God put God’s name. There is a reason why Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet. He mourned the of Jerusalem.

    The heartbreaking part is that the loss and fall of Jerusalem meant that God was taking God’s name and blessing away. While Jeremiah foretold hope, it wouldn’t be for a long time. It is also quite possible that Jeremiah wondered if Israel would really .

    The fall of Jerusalem was because of the unfaithfulness of the people. That unfaithfulness was in the Promised Land and in the City of God! It is quite possible that he was afraid that they would fall so far when they were in exile, that they would defy God again.

    Babylon could be considered symbolic of that exact scenario. The time for possible had long since passed. Babylon had knowingly and willingly gone against God. It became a place of abandonment. Even those allied to it, and who benefitted from it stayed away as it fell.

    Those around Jerusalem would celebrate its fall as they looked forward to benefiting from its demise. On the other hand, Babylon was mourned as it fell, not because of the people, the depravity, or the lack of God, but because people would no longer benefit (especially make ) from it.

    The “” of both cities was something mourned by God. God wants Creation to seek redemption and . Eventually, Jerusalem (or those who descended from it) did. Babylon is in the last throes of the of times. There is no turnaround for it.

    While time flows, there is always time for redemption and reconciliation. However, at some point, time will end, and redemption and reconciliation are no more.

    ※Reflection※

    • Just as people’s ability to reconcile to God has an end, so does our time on earth (death). Is there some reconciliation and redemption that you need to seek or grant?
    • With the painful throes of politics, economies, lives, and viruses, have perceived the end of time, yet? If so, what has changed in how you approach regarding the Gospel? If not, why do you think you haven’t been impacted?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, may we see the end of things as imminent, no matter how far away they are. Help to feel the urgency and importance of sharing the Gospel. Help us to partner with you to reconcile and redeem the world. Amen.

  • Inconceivable!

    Inconceivable!

    1 Samuel 16:1–13; 1 Timothy 4:11–16

    In the movie, The Princess Bride, Vizzini the Sicilian ( me, it’s part of the plot) faces against the supposed Dread Pirate Roberts. The Dread Pirate Roberts defies Vizzini’s plans and expectations. Each time, the word, “Inconceivable,” escapes Vizzini’s lips. Finally, the “dumb” “brute” (again, a tongue-in-cheek part of the plot) looks at Vizzini and says, “I do not think that word means what you think it means.”

    In stories of God, “inconceivable” is often the underlying . Even to this day, “inconceivable” is that thought that God would become a human being (we all know how bad of an idea that is) and then die for them. It’s, a Vizzini would say, inconceivable.

    That God would promise a mere a place and a massive group of descendants, it’s well…inconceivable. That God would these (now) slave descendants from the most powerful military in the world, walk them through standing water, create a covenant with them and, them God’s people. It’s inconceivable.

    If we Christians, our Jewish predecessors, and even our somewhat related (though tenuous at best) Muslim fellow Monotheists were really honest regarding the that we have been handed, we should be able to sympathize and even empathize with those who do not believe that God would do this. To them it makes no sense! It is inconceivable!

    That’s part of our problem. We are so close to the issue (not, sadly, necessarily God) that we are often unable to see just how inconceivable our faith is. This is especially true for those who claim to only hold onto the “truth” they can see before them.

    For Samuel, it had been inconceivable that people would not choose God. The reality was that the people themselves, had insight that Samuel may have forgotten. People are fallen, and even those bestowed with the duties (e.g., priests, seers, etc) from God can be bad people. Their choice of King was logical (to a point).

    King Saul was, really, a valiant king. He did a few unwise things. He did play “priest”, which was a career (i.e., king) limiting . God called the next one. The next one? Was a shepherd boy sent out to the far fields and not quite forgotten by his . The selection of David was…inconceivable.

    There is a reason why God talks to Samuel about seeing as God sees. Samuel thought it was inconceivable that the sons of Jesse who were present were not satisfactory.

    This is also the underlying message of Paul to Timothy. Paul told Timothy that while it may be culturally and religiously inconceivable that such a young man (scholars put him at around 35-40, at this point) should be the “pastor-in-charge”, it was Timothy’s charge to fulfill.

    While Paul supported the presbyters (we’d say elders, and Paul really did mean AARP elders who were deep in the faith), Timothy’s call was not to be taken lightly. In fact, what we know of Timothy was that he was likely a little sickly, and almost definitely the “quiet as a church mouse” type who avoided conflict. Paul was telling him that these people were his responsibility. He must not hide away from it.

    Think on that. Paul, who was not shy about conflict, had “raised up” a person to fill his shoes who was not like him. Paul who got in the proverbial face of Peter, who had to have dramatic confrontation with to take the right path…Paul “chose” that timid guy? It’s (yep) inconceivable.

    ※Reflection※

    • Why is it important to not only recognize, but to also embrace, the inconceivable-ness of God?
    • You might be offended (or know someone who is) that thinking about God as inconceivable. Why would such be offensive? Why might it help to understand God’s inconceivable-ness when it comes to explaining your faith?
    • If you were to take “the brute’s” words of, “I do not think that word means what you think it means,” and apply it to the inconceivable-ness of God, what happens?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, there is something to be said and to be grateful that we are finite. We cannot understand the depth of your joy or love. We also cannot understand the depth of your sorrow, loss, and mourning that you have experienced. Help us to be grateful for the that is the inconceivable-ness of you. Help us to be grateful for what we do know. That you love us so much that Jesus came to die for us. Amen!

  • Clear the Earth

    Clear the Earth

    Exodus 10:3–15; Joel 1:2–4; Mark 1:4–8

    We read the Little House on the Prairie series to our kids. Ingalls relates how locusts one annihilated their crops. A that barely lived on a shoestring certainly couldn’t afford that . That same swarm swept much of the States, causing horrendous loss of crops and farms.

    When we read the story of the plague of locusts in Exodus, we can be very clinical in our reading of it. We can also be judgmental (they got what they deserved). Most of the Egyptians were probably not as anti-Hebrew as the leadership, certainly Pharaoh. Many innocent people suffered as a result of disobedience to God.

    The story of the plagues was a story of victory to the Israelites for Generations. Even today, for both Jews and Christians, this story is still told as a victory for the glory of God.

    We must , though, that one of the biggest issues for the pharaoh (and the Egyptians) was pride. Pharaoh’s pride (with and without God’s hardening) was a key factor of the whole story. It was a person’s pride against God.

    By the time of Joel, the pride of Israel/Judah was the issue. It was their pride against God. Like other prophets, Joel was warning the descendants of Israel to turn to God. In Christian parlance, we’d say “!”

    The devastation of locusts would directly affect any harvest festivals and worship. It threatens the lives of the people. It might well drive them to go outside of the lands of Israel to survive. It threatened the destruction of Israel by abandonment.

    Through advanced agricultural science (and serendipity, supposedly), locust swarms like that from the late 1800s are no more in the US. It seems, then, that it is pointless to talk about locusts. Except that there are two major things to reflect upon.

    The first thing is that the locusts are no longer six-legged creatures, but two-legged. Some are blatant despoilers of Creation. take advantage of others through perceived needs (politics and corporations both practice this).  The locusts of being like the Jones (or, I guess, the Kardashians) despoil families and futures by over-consuming the , time, and energy of people.

    The second thing, and that which is, even more, the issue, is pride. Humans are full of pride. We are all too full of pride. Often the locusts are just the result of human pride, seeking to consume everything at others’ expense.

    Often, we are unaware of our own pride and so sometimes become the locusts. We are quick to see such behavior in others; we always find it difficult to see in ourselves. As our culture (and the world’s) becomes more of a “throw-away” society, whether for convenience or the ability to reasonably fix something, the locust-effect increases in both potential and actual.

    As convenience and throw-away become a way of thinking, it doesn’t take that long before we start to think that way about people or God.

    ※Questions※

    1) How does pride “clear the earth” similar to locust swarms?

    2) How does this behavior damage or hinder our with God and with others?

    3) How does John’s eating locusts give us an image of God’s actions in the world?

    ※Prayer※

    Creator, you have created all things. Help us to look at all things to more deeply about you and your . Amen.

  • Graveside Dancing

    Graveside Dancing

    Psalm 30; Hosea 13:4–14

    Yesterday was the birthday of my stepfather. He passed away years ago. For whatever reason, this year his birthday hit me kind of hard. He and I had our good moments. We had our bad moments. Just like any parent-child relationship. I was his only child.

    At his burial, the priest spoke about his sealing him to Jesus Christ. This was spoken pastorally to people grieving. However, scripturally it has some weaknesses. His life, and to my knowledge, and beliefs were not of Jesus Christ.

    On his bed, my wife shared the of Jesus Christ. He was in a “non-responsive” state. Yet, she felt a physical response to the invitation to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior. Only in Heaven will I learn if the baptism was “sealing” as the priest said, or whether the physical response truly was an acceptance of Jesus. I can only hope and trust in God.

    Why the angst? “I cried to you for help, and you healed me.” In our pain and sorrow, God is there to “turn [our] lament in dancing”. Joy in Christ in the midst of the pains of life is the life we are called to.

    In lament and pain, it is easy for our faith in God to be shaken, while at the same time relying more firmly on God will help us through the pain.

    There are many kinds of . The verses of Hosea summarize loss. The people lost (walked away from) God. They had experienced , then they lost it. The vision of loss sounds brutal. Think of it though from God’s anguished heart.

    “…like a bear robbed of her cubs.” Have you seen a momma bear (or many human mothers) separated from their children, with the feeling that the kids are threatened? I’ve seen a recorded version of one and lived the other. Don’t be the one that separates momma from the cubs. Just don’t.

    THAT’S GOD! Something is between momma (God) and the cubs (the children of God)! That is just not going to go well! It could be a kingdom that has the Israel or Judah attached to it.

    THAT is the concept of ransom and redemption. Death and Sheol are not going to be forgiven for taking away the Children of God. The exact mechanism (despite a whole lot of theologians arguing over it for centuries) is unknown. All we know is that heart of God wants to turn our lament into dancing and our sorrow into joy.

    ※Questions※

    1) What’s do you think about dancing at the death of death?

    2) As Christians, why does death still frighten us? If we truly believe that a fellow is in Heaven, why do we grieve?

    3) “Deathbed Conversions” will continue to decrease, as too many don’t know the basics of Jesus. How will you turn regular conversations into God conversations?

    ※Prayer※

    Father, thank you for redeeming us from death through the death and resurrection of your Son. May the Holy guide our hearts to the words of Christ to the world. Amen.

  • Solitudinal Gift

    Solitudinal Gift

    Mark 6:30–46

    The story of feeding 5000 people (or more, as many question if this 5000 was only counting the men, or everyone) is very impressive. Feeding the hungry is a good thing and should be celebrated. This story, though, is bookended by something that we often skip over so we can get to “the good stuff”.

    The disciples had come back. They had been sent. They preached. They healed. They shared the about and the . They were probably really excited to .

    Jesus, however, knew they needed something they didn’t recognize they needed…solitude.

    In our day and , solitude is a struggle. Theoretically, the quietest spot in the continental US is in Olympic National Park in Washington. There is a place in the Hoh Min rain forest that one is unable to hear the sounds of humanity. To protect this space there have had to be discussions with the FAA, airlines, and even the Federal Government about keeping it that way. It has been a struggle.

    As humanity’s technology has evolved, it’s effect upon solitude has been significant. Many people will suffer measurable hearing loss earlier than in previous generations due to noise. As hearing is one of our senses, and often the one that senses danger first, our hearing is active. Any noise, therefore, may disrupt our quiet.

    Now, people buy technological devices to quiet the sound around them, so that they can simulate quiet.

    The disciples were probably feeling a “high” of experience. Many of us have had those spiritual highs. We want them. We pursue them. We miss the next step.

    Jesus wanted his disciples to be removed from the excitement. They needed time to (as we say) decompress. It may have been a good time to process with Jesus what they did in his .

    Instead, people clamored and disturbed them. Out of compassion, Jesus fed them.

    Jesus sent off the disciples. Not quite the same as being alone with them, but through that , a separation was made, and the disciples could be “off”. No one knows what they talked about (if anything) on the trip. It was away. Which is what mattered.

    There are ebbs and flow in . Jesus had his own ebbs and flows and wanted the same for his disciples. That applies to us, too.

    In an “age of distraction”, where even can be more full of noise that , we need to each take deliberate actions to seek God and to find our own solitude. Even the extroverts need solitude (maybe less than introverts, granted). You may not be able to go to the Hoh Min rain forest, but you can and should find a place, a way, and a time, to be alone with yourself (no matter how much that might disquiet you), and also find time to be alone with God.

  • Bound Emotion

    Bound Emotion

    Bound Emotion

    4 September 2020

    Ezekiel 24:15–27; Jeremiah 16:5–9

    There is something unusual about marriage. For whatever reason, a man and a woman have a special kind of relationship that transcends logic. There is a deep spiritual aspect to it that is part of the marriage ritual, “what God has joined let man not .”

    While this is the ideal, we are all far from the ideal. As much as there are men and women who are “2-become-1”, there are a great many couples were 1 plus 1 equals neither 1 nor 2. In most such cases, barring miraculous intervention, the couple separates.

    A few decades ago, the concept of “no-fault” divorce was invented. In reality, it mostly seems to have been an “agreement” that the reason for the divorce was something other than infidelity (whether of sexual or other nature) and that it was okay. This was a “thumb the nose” at the church, but it was also a recognition that the church often failed to understand this sacred institution.

    The deep deception of “no-fault” divorce was the perception that “no-fault” meant “no hurt”. Divorce hurts. Sometimes it is the path to divorce. Sometimes it is the event. Sometimes it is the result. Sometimes it’s all of it.

    There is something deep within us that understands marriage is not to be trifled with. This is why younger generations are putting it off, even while cohabitating. This is also why same-gender marriage became a cultural phenomenon.

    Despite powerful and public peoples’ often peculiar and sometimes alliance driven marriages, most normal people see something transcendent in marriage. Even in this day and age where divorce in the church is as high (if not higher) as the culture around. There is still something.

    Imagine then what it would be like to receive the message as Ezekiel did. While you may have received, for example, the news that a loved one was going to die, or even suddenly died, you had the ability to grieve. Ezekiel was commanded to not grieve. Just as he would soon bury his wife, he would bury his feelings.

    Males are, granted, more likely to tuck their feelings away. However, just as we are often tempted or even driven to disobey when commanded to do (or not do) something, imagine Ezekiel being commanded to not grieve, which probably made the of his wife even more pronounced on his .

    While the Scriptures do not say that Ezekiel stands figuratively in the place of God, it does make sense. The precious (Israel) is about to die (conquered and exiled). This is a result of sin and corruption. God, therefore, cannot grieve for God’s holiness was denied. If God were to grieve, God might protect Israel once more, allowing it to fall even more deeply into depravity.

    This gets even darker in Jeremiah’s words. Jeremiah is banned from lamenting with any family who has lost a loved one. In other words, lamentation has become a luxury. The gift of lamentation has been taken away. The gifts of consolation, commiseration, and sympathy have also been taken away. Through their disobedience, the deepest loss is now only a fact. Hearts and feelings must be set aside.

    ※ Prayer ※

    Father God, we are thankful for your never-ending . Give us the wisdom and discernment to be bearers of your , mercy, and for all of those who are grieving in these days. Amen.

    ※ Questions ※

    1) What does it mean to lament, to you? How is that different from being sad or grieving, if anything?

    2) Have you ever repressed really strong emotions? Why? What were the lingering effects?

    3) In Jewish/Israelite society, and lament were semi-public events. How did that work in the church pre-COVID? How does it work now?

  • Lamenting Forward

    Lamenting Forward

    Ezekiel 2:1–3:3; Lamentations 3:17–33; Ecclesiastes 3:1–8

    There are two prevailing feelings currently: and anger. Neither one is productive over time. In the , they can destroy a person emotionally and spiritually.

    Ezekiel ate words of lament, mourning, and woe. In the , the edible scroll tastes a sweet as honey. At the same time, there was no in the words themselves.

    One of the biggest lessons that the current atmosphere can teach us is that we need to mourn what we have lost. We are even still in the midst of losing our perception of culture(s), country, and even church. We fight the .

    We don’t want to lose all that we hold dear. At the same time, there is another feeling that is harder to quantify… God is doing something new. We don’t know what that new is, which causes us to be even more emotionally reactive.

    God can (and does) handle our anger and fear. God is greater than that. We, though, need to lament, , and mourn.

    When we lose a loved one, we miss them. We grieve. We mourn. We understand that it is not only acceptable, it is also healthy. We also must—as hard as it is—find a way to move forward.

    That is currently the way many things are right now. One of the great difficulties is to choose what to mourn and move past, and what to struggle for. As the situation around COVID continues, we will continue to have to work and walk to find a way forward.

    We all must be grace-filled as people struggle with their masked in fear and anger. Only the God of can turn the anger and fear into a drive to move forward in faithfulness. Let us all be people of hope.

    ※Prayer※

    Heavenly Father, guide us to be people of hope, not just any hope, but the hope of the crucified and risen Son. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is one thing you are angry about right now? How about fearful? What about grieving?

    2) If you were to rank each of these in order, what would they be, and why?

    3) Which of these has the greatest effect upon your walk? How so?

  • Drink or Eat

    Drink or Eat

    Judges 6:25–32; Hebrews 5:11–6:3

    Supposedly, the Israelites were the People of God. Their lives after their entrance into the Promised Land was certainly not a testimony to that. The worthless gods and idols of the land became the focus of their lives. God became a second thought, if that.

    Weak Gideon (his own thoughts of himself) was being asked to stand up to his father ( of a weak ), which would then stand up to the tribe around them. That sounds encouraging.

    While we might knock Gideon for doing it at night, it does make sense. Gideon was first approached as he hid in the wine vat squashing grapes. Fear was ingrained in Gideon.

    In the end, Gideon did what God required.

    As we learn, however, Gideon did not have to fear his father. Even though Gideon had sacrificed two bulls (not a small loss) without permission, and incurred the wrath of the tribe, Gideon’s father stood firm. Despite the fact that Joash (Gideon’s father) had an altar to Baal and an Asherah pole, Joash still asked, “who defends Baal?” This implies that Joash may have been outwardly compliant to the culture, but was, in fact, loyal to God. This would explain why Gideon was .

    For whatever reason, the people of Israel became lazy in their faith and followed the easy path of the people that remained. They followed the idols. Despite the forging of the Israelites in the desert, and even their forging in war to take the promised land, the heart of their culture had not yet turned to God.

    The author of the Hebrews is facing a similar situation with the recipients of that letter. The lazy way of the “rules of the ancestors” rather than the harder Way of Christ was still not being overturned.

    The author of Hebrews was, in some ways, mocking the recipients by calling them unweaned children. They weren’t even receiving pre-chewed meat from their “parent”. Of course, the author of Hebrews implied that this was an active choice of will. They chose to the good “meat” of Christ for the milk of the Law.

    This was a cultural momentum that needed to be overturned.

    Whether it was the stories in Judges, to the reforming of the Law into the way of grace and , to today as people are not even interested in God, it all revolves around the same issue/concern: self over the revealed ways of God.

    While we are often quick to point the finger at the culture around us, it must not be denied that “” culture is actually very similar to the culture. In fact, it can be reasonably argued that the culture we see around us is a result of the Christian culture of years past.

    As we experience the disruption of COVID, perhaps we can see where the cultural Christianity, of which we are a part, can and must be changed to we Christians and to bring people into the of God.

    ※Prayer※

    , help us to walk your path and not our own. , nudge, and convict us to put our feet where Jesus walks. Father God, thank you for your mercy and grace as we all too often think of ourselves first, others second, and you third. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What similar scenarios might be happening around the world right now for Christians that are similar to Joash?

    2) What does Joash’s example teach us about what we see about others?

    3) What milk are you seeking rather than meat? What might the meat of today be?