Tag: meet

Summary Path

Malachi 4:5–6; Matthew 17:10–13; John 1:19–28

Jesus said that John was Elijah. John said he wasn’t Elijah. Who was right?

The question is, who is Elijah? The other question is, who’s asking?

First of all, let’s talk about Malachi’s words. Malachi prophesied that Elijah would come back to Judah heralding a massive change. Malachi spoke to the Jews post-exile.

Despite the restoration of the temple, the people were overcome with despair and ennui. God didn’t meet their expectation of restoring everything to the way they perceived it having been before (even if its perfection was figurative). They were walking on the downward slope away from God, again.

Malachi didn’t let them off the hook. God was coming, in God’s timing. People would come to God, or they wouldn’t, but something momentous would happen. The Day of the Lord was often synonymous with the end of the world. It was also used to indicate a God-driven cataclysmic change.

Malachi’s words had transformed as the precursor to the Messiah. Elijah would come before the Messiah. This not a literal thing, as reincarnation was not part of Jewish thought. This “Elijah” would be “in the spirit of Elijah” meaning a prophet of God, but with a particular focus on restoring the relationship between the people and God.

So, why did John deny being Elijah? Probably because he didn’t see himself that way. The problem with being compared to a legendary figure is that you know you’re not the legendary figure. There was a lot of weight and expectation, and John probably didn’t want to bear that burden.

Also, as there was so much build-up regarding the Messiah, there was likely just as much build-up around Elijah, and much of it was probably wrong. Why would John want to be a part of that?

There is also the last part of it, which is who Elijah was really couldn’t be evaluated until the Messiah completed the return. John was dead before the fulfillment, and without himself seeing the fulfillment, he certainly would have questioned being “Elijah”.

Jesus, on the other hand, knew what was coming, and knew what had gone before. He had the perspective to be able to call John “Elijah”. In the spirit of Elijah, the Messiah (Jesus) did indeed reset the Day of the Lord. It was only through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that John could fully be called “Elijah.”

Often, our own perspective of our lives is twisted and/or minimized, for we (like John) cannot really see what came before and what will come after. We do not know the hearts we’ve changed, the paths we’ve diverted. Only at the end will God let us see it all from an eternal perspective.

That we are faithful to God. That we pursue God. That we follow God. That we try to help others follow God. This is what God will let us see at the end. For now, we can only put one step in front of the other.

※Prayer※

Father God, help us to accept that we cannot see the eternal effect of our lives. Lord Jesus, help us to follow you that the eternal effect brings you glory. Holy Spirit, guard and strengthen our hearts for those times when we are discouraged because we don’t see that we’ve made a difference. Amen.

※Questions※

1) There are 2 kinds of eulogies. One that is written by the deceased for reading at the funeral, and the ones that are written in the hearts of others. Which one matters most? In what ways does the eulogy matter for both?

2) What concepts and feelings come to mind when you hear the phrase, “The Day of the Lord”? Why might that be?

2020-08-03
Want

Exodus 20:1–21; 1 Kings 3:16–28; 1 Corinthians 13:1–13

The tale of envy and spite in the story relayed in 1 Kings is abominable to most of us. How could any person ever do that, even if it is not their child?

Yet, there are far too many tragic stories of people treating their children—their legacy—with something beyond contempt. The children don’t meet a “need”, or even worse, the death of the child meets the “need”.

The amazing depravity of humanity is often overwhelming.

In the story in 1 Kings, there is probably much more than the visible story. Why it was significant to the writer that the women were prostitutes was significant is a matter of conjecture. With something like that we can only guess what else might have been going on.

One possibility is that the “wise men” didn’t want to deal with the “dirty” prostitutes on a case with no evidence or witnesses (like those who might have been present at the birth or circumcision). So, they handed it off to the new king to test him. This would be well within the norm even today when new figures come into power, they are tested by ally and enemy alike.

To our ears, Solomon’s solution is over the top. Kill the child? However, some commentators believe that Solomon had discerned who the real mother was and was looking for a justifiable pretext of giving her son to her.

The story also shines a light on one of the big human issues: envy. There is a reason that this was on the list of Commandments. It can often be one of the most destructive emotions in human relationships.

Envy drove a grieving woman to grasp for another’s baby and then be open to the child’s death instead of “losing”. Envy drove a person to sacrifice a child to hurt another person.

Envy drives people to do things that are often not rational. Sometimes people will put themselves into so much debt so that they can be just like others. Other times they will hurt themselves, as long as they can hurt others.

No one is immune to the pull of envy. We often think envy is only for big things, but envy is even more dangerous regarding small things. It is easy to excuse or justify the envy of little things. However, once we succumb, envy gains momentum, and our hearts turn toward darkness, and away from love.

—prayer—

Holy Spirit, guard our hearts against envy. If the shadow of envy had taken hold, we ask for your saving work to preserve your love in our hearts. Amen.

—questions—

1) What is the first “don’t” of love, according to Paul? Why do you think Paul mentioned that first?

2) What was the strongest feeling of envy you’ve ever had? What happened?

3) What is the “flip” side of envy? Or, how is one driven to envy? (hint: see Paul’s list)

2020-07-27
Passionate Rightful Love

Luke 11:14–28; Romans 12:9–21

Can you think of a house that is divided? It shouldn’t be hard at this point. It is displayed for the whole world to see.

The United States has a motto: E pluribus unum. It means, “Out of many, one.” Yet it seems that instead, it ought to be, “E pluribus chaos”.

There is little that appears orderly at this time. While the US looks first to itself, and other countries, too. Even the countries that ridicule the current US situation have their own divisions to deal with.

Within our states, cities, and even homes, the division has increased. Unity seems further away and harder to grasp. Regardless of which person wins the presidency in 2020, they will have the unenviable (and likely impossible) task of trying to reunite a divided nation.

The church is not any better at this point. The church is divided, too. An even harder task will be the church trying to be united after it is over.

What will happen? Only God knows. What will the church do to reunite?

The church has forgotten, in many ways, what it means to be the church. Jesus is first. Earth (and its powers) are maybe second. Perhaps second is rating it too high.

Romans 12:9 starts out with “love unhypocritically” or “love without dissimulation”. At this point, the people of the church are not doing this very well. Political allegiances or motives come before loving one’s brothers and sisters in Christ.

So-called “Christian” Republicans and Democrats espouse love of fellow man and yet castigate one another in hatred. Perhaps it’s not “real” hate, but the hardening of hearts is undeniable.

Let us call on one another to have a Romans 12:9–21 political season. Imagine what would happen if the world saw that.

※Prayer※

Lord, your follower Paul gave us wisdom from long ago. Help us to apply to all we meet and especially all with whom we disagree. May your love flow more strongly from us than our worldly beliefs. Amen.

※Questions※

1) If you don’t know the word, look up dissimulation. How might dissimulated love be different than hypocritical love? How are they the same?

2) How does following the guidance in Romans change how you will interact with others?

3) How does following the guidance in Romans show the world Jesus? Is that important to you?

2020-07-16
Ready! Set!

Luke 5:1–11; Luke 6:12–16; Luke 9:1–6; Luke 9:28–36; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 2:14 (read online ⧉)

What’s your 6-month plan? What’s your 12-month plan? What’s your 3-year plan? What’s your 10-year plan?

Some variation of this question is often asked of high school students, college students, recent graduates, job interviewees. In this particular time of COVID-19, it seems a little far-fetched to even make a plan.

Depending on your personality and training/learning, you may have a plan laid out for even 10- or 20-years. Others look at their past life and the future, and say why bother? Who knows what the next monkey-wrench will be.

Businesses have begun to learn, thanks to the start-up culture, that rigid plans are deadly. There is a term for it, agile. Businesses are now called to be agile by their stockholders. It’s a necessity as the next technological disruption is just around the corner. Other disruptions, like COVID-19, are much harder to be agile toward, however, companies that already had some agility were better able to respond.

If you look at the verses from Luke in sequence and ending with Acts, you see a change in plans. Peter is a major focal point as he moves from fisherman, to acquaintance, to follower (i.e., disciple), to inner-circle follower, to faith healer and herald, to an even smaller inner-circle, to transformed (by the Holy Spirit), to preacher and leader. This was not part of Peter’s plan.

At the point we meet Peter, his lifetime plan is fisherman. Three years later he’s the leader (of leaders) of a religious movement! Peter met Jesus, and the plan…it was gone.

It’s not that plans are bad. Jesus even praised planning (Luke 14:28-32). However, we have to be ready and willing to toss out our plans when Jesus calls.

Plans are our way to control our circumstances. This is why we have planning departments. This is even how we have modern agriculture. Planning is good.

Planning still has to yield to Jesus’ call. That’s where we often fail.

There will be many churches, businesses, cities, and even families that will not recover from COVID-19. In many cases, no amount of planning will prevent that. On the other hand, churches (especially) chose to not be agile, because that is not the way we’ve done it before.

Churches chose to die, rather than respond to Jesus Christ’s call for them to be agile in how they performed their mission. It could be, sadly, that they forgot the only mission that they had, “Go and make disciples…baptizing them…teaching them…”

On a personal level, just like an organizational level, we need to be agile. Our plans (as much as we want them to be) cannot be rigid and inflexible.

Whether it was the leaders (it was) or the people (it was) forgoing the mission for the sake of “the plan”, it means that “the plan” became the mission, and Jesus became a mascot.

※Prayer※

Lord, give us your plans. Help us to release our plans. May we be the salt of the earth that you have called us to be. Amen.

※Questions※

1) What would be your response if God were to turn your plans upside down? What in your current life would you be willing to give up to follow God’s plan?

2) What are your plans right now? If you have none, why not? Should you? If you do have plans when was your last time to renew/refresh it?

3) Why do you think churches have a hard time changing plans?

2020-06-17
Worship Space

Exodus 35:21–36:7; 1 Chronicles 28:9–21; 2 Kings 12:4–16 (read online ⧉)

When things return to normal, well, they probably won’t return to the past normal. In fact, who knows what the new normal will look like. Will places such as churches have to remodel to meet the new “physical separation” expectation? Really. While we may return to the building this year, there will likely be an extended expectation of physical separation. There are some people who already have a 6-foot bubble of separation (or larger) and are looking forward to everyone being like them (truly).

The rest of us will also need to adapt. Grocery stores that currently have aisles designed (on purpose) to keep as much of the product in your eyesight as possible may have a cultural impetus to remodel. How this will affect tight spaces such as the arena in Everett (where one gets to watch hockey, for example) or the baseball fields or the football fields, or the gyms of schools, and so on. All these spaces originally designed to fit the maximum number of people in the smallest amount of space may very well find themselves having to change their maximized seating to fit the new reality (our knees will be grateful).

The church will have to adapt, too. Not just Generations, but the whole concept of church, too. The facility we have, for example, was going to start to get some major work done. Some of it has moved forward. Most of it (obviously) stopped. Now what? Do we remove every other pew? Do we hand 6-foot rulers? Does it matter anymore?

Here’s the harsh reality, the churches will likely be empty for a long time. It isn’t that everyone got used to meeting online (though it will that for some). It won’t be because people got used to having a mostly free Sunday (though that will be the case for some). It will because people will have become trained through fear (back to that, again) to avoid public places and tight gatherings. The culture may well have trained many of our people to stay away.

There is no doubt that renewal and remodeling often revitalize and grow a church. People are attracted (understandably) to something that is obviously growing (why numbers are often more important than spiritual growth). When the building is changed to reduce the number of people who can participate at a time, rather than increase, what then?

Now, the church is not a/the building. However, a sense of place creates a sense of identity. The Israelites gave large amounts until it was no longer needed. In Exodus, it almost seems, “Stop! No more! We have no place to put it!” The Israelites laid claim to “their” temple. Yes, it was God’s. It was also core to their identity.

Like many of us, we don’t recognize how a physical building becomes part of who we are. It may actually explain why people connect to certain places (including church buildings) and not others. What also is of concern is what happens to spaces when they are changed (for no matter the reason), and how people will respond.

Space deeply affects our worship and fellowship, too. How people fill a space affects behaviors and responses, too. All of the outpouring of support to our churches would be great, and the plans that are made will be the best we are able. In the end, it is the people…it is you…that will make the difference in the new church in the new space…that was the old church in the old space. Be ready!

Prayer

God, you have gifted us the ability to not fear in the face of such uncertainty. Strengthen our faith and resolve to face the world as it is and to present your love and grace to the world. Amen.

Questions

1) When you imagine the “perfect” church space, what is it like?

2) Before all of this, did you sit in the middle, the back, or even (dare we say) the front of a church? Do you think where you sit and with whom you might sit (other than your immediate family) might change?

3) How does a church building shape you? If you think it doesn’t, go back to question 1.

2020-05-01
That’s a Christian?

Psalm 26; Matthew 23:11–15; Titus 1:5–16 (read online ⧉)

“One of their very own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. For this reason, rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith and may not pay attention to Jewish myths and the commands of people who reject the truth.”
Titus 1:12-14

This is oddly comforting. That there were such people that Paul recognized as Christians is astounding in our current age. People are quick to call Christians hypocrites (including other Christians). Yet, it would seem that there were some lying, evil beast-like, and lazy gluttonous Christians in Paul’s day. It’s not really as if it’s new today. It’s also not as if Paul didn’t have “constructive criticism” for the Cretan Christians. The implication from Paul is that the Cretan Christians should not be identified with the Cretan stereotype. They need to mature in their Christian walk.

Hypocrisy is often a term cast at Christians, for we are not perfect. There was a time where Christians were very much like the religious leaders that Jesus castigates, “You travel over land and sea to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as fit for hell as you are!” There has been a sea change in American Christianity. There has been a willingness to confront the uncomfortableness of being held to a Biblical standard that the world sometimes seems to understand better than we do.

On the other hand, there is a fundamental misunderstanding, too. Most honest and humble Christians that they have a long way to go. In comparison, the hypocrites were those that acted as if they were perfect. It’s not as if Christians don’t have this problem. Most humans do, as they do not wish to appear weak before others. Often the “we have it together” appears when we don’t say, “I know I have issues.” The other time is when we say “we’re fine” when we’re about to fall apart inside. These, however, are common to humanity. So, Christian hypocrisy (which definitely exists) applies when it refers to a Christian ideal.

An easy one is reading the Bible. If you tell people they ought to be reading their Bible daily, you’d better be doing it yourself. On the other hand, were you to say, “We all should seek to read the Bible and connect with God at least daily,” that indicates that you don’t measure up to the standard/expectation and that you know others don’t either, yet still acknowledging that there is a standard to strive to achieve.

And this is where it gets interesting. There are those that will call you a hypocrite for you don’t live up to the standards you call for and acknowledge that you don’t meet. Christians are called to live up to a standard (Jesus Christ) that they can never meet and will spend their lifetimes pursuing. That is not hypocrisy, that is being a disciple.

Prayer

Father, you send us Jesus as are the source of our eternal life. Jesus, you are the one we seek to resemble. Only by the Holy Spirit are we being transformed into your likeness. Holy Spirit, as the world seeks to keep us from being transformed encourage our souls to pursue Christlikeness. Amen.

Questions

1) Have you ever feel like an “impostor” Christian, never measuring up? If so, how so?

2) What is your definition of a hypocritical Christian? Is that any different than a non-Christian hypocrite?

3) What is an area that you call others to a better Christian walk? How are you doing in that area? If you were to broaden that area to a larger or more general application, how are you doing?

2020-04-26
New, not Renewed
Jeremiah 31:31–34; Psalm 51:1–12; John 12:20–33 (read online ⧉)

The promise of a new covenant was good news! A people who were lost and broken, many of whom knew that they had fallen away from God received the positive and hopeful news that there would be a new covenant. The problem was when and how would this happen? The people of Jeremiah’s time would be looking for it now.

The people of Jesus’ time were also expectantly waiting, but it would seem far too many were more concerned with the how rather than the when. By Jesus’ time, some insisted that everyone would know the law as revealed by Moses would be in everyone’s heart. The law, as revealed by Moses, would be perfectly understood and lived out by every Jew.

By Jesus’ day, the “new” covenant became more of a renewed covenant of old. The hope of a new covenant was being dashed against the rocks of the old one. With Jesus’ ongoing shake-up of tradition, he continued to draw attention. Previously, Jesus had told his disciples to not go to the Gentiles or Samaritans, though he did have personal interactions with them.

Now, however, Greeks wanted to meet Jesus. Being called Greeks, it is quite likely that they weren’t from nearby, but had come to the Temple to worship (probably being converts to Judaism). In other words, Jesus was no longer just locally known. From a strictly logical standpoint, we know that the religious leaders were trying to get rid of Jesus, how much more so when the “tourists” start asking for Jesus.
1. What do we do when “the tourists” start asking us about Jesus?
2. Do we celebrate a new member of the new covenant?
3. Do we start asking them about how they are following the law?
4. Are we honest about how we are not following the law ourselves?
2020-03-28
Evangelizing the Body

Proverbs 15:1, Proverbs 25:15, Isaiah 40:10–14, Matthew 12:11–21 (read online ⧉)

The mission statement of the Church of the Nazarene is, “to make Christ-like disciples in all nations.” In case you’ve forgotten, though you probably haven’t, one of the tasks of Christians is to make disciples. The mission statement of the Church of the Nazarene is really the call upon all Christians. For many years, the culture of the United States appeared to have a deep understanding of Christianity and had embraced it. The formulation of evangelism has been firmly rooted in that. Techniques such as the Romans Road and 4 Spiritual Laws were developed for that culture. If these techniques were so effective, the religious landscape of our country would be very different. It is not that they were not effective, it was just that the presentation of their effectiveness is questionable.

The reality is that techniques that rely on a particular time, place, and culture will only be effective for a short time. The time that many were effective was relatively short. There are many, however, that still cling to these ways. Much of the reason is that they were simple and straight forward. On the front end, they also appeared effective in the short term as people “came to Christ.” Yet, over time a large proportion didn’t “stick.” This actually why evangelism in today’s world has far greater potential.

In today’s world, the fact that we can no longer rely on techniques and “quick-strike” techniques is actually a good thing. It’s a hard thing. It’s a very hard thing. It’s still a good thing. In today’s culture, relationship is the single biggest “technique”. If we are honest with ourselves, we can look back even at the evangelism techniques and recognize that when it “stuck” a relationship was involved.

Our two verses from Proverbs address speaking with others. Contrary to Proverb 15:1, the church (generally) has been characterized (with reason) as speaking with harsh words. In our worthwhile attempt to guide/direct people to live a God-honoring life, we instead scarred and hurt them with our words. Proverbs 25:15 shows us that gentleness will win for more people over, and if our goal is to win people over to Christ, then we should follow the wisdom of Proverbs. Here is the struggle point, however, with this wisdom; there is no guarantee and it will take time. In a quick-fix world like ours, the dedication of time becomes a stumbling block to Christians living out their mission.

Gentleness and guiding are part of the image that Isaiah is trying to portray. Isaiah shows God’s heart for people. Who are we to not follow this guidance? Carrying lambs and guiding those nursing is not quick. It requires patience and love. This guidance and care is placed in the middle of verses talking about God’s glory and power. This tells us that power and glory go hand-in-hand with guidance and care. Of course, there is a human tendency towards condescension, of which we must all be cautious.

This view of God is then applied to Jesus by Matthew (who was quoting Isaiah). It carries on the view of God above. There is the preceding story of a “sinful” healing on the Sabbath. Where was the gentleness and guidance in this? There was only condemnation and condescension. The key for our thoughts on gentleness and guidance are really in Matthew 12:20. A bruised reed means the plant is already injured and hurting. One can easily break a bruised reed, rather than bandage and work to heal it. A smoldering wick means that the fire was blown out or the oil extinguished. One can more easily fully extinguish a smoldering wick rather than reigniting the flame or filling the lamp with oil.

1) Due to many issues (both past and ongoing), evangelism needs to occur in the church, as much as outside of the church. Who is someone struggling with their faith or beliefs? Who can you stand next to and lift up?

2) Many of the people that we meet outside of the church have been hurt by it. This can be by words or spoken actions taken. It can also be by stories told of the church. How can you work to build a bridge to those that have been hurt by us?

3) When being confronted with a challenge to your views, especially your world view, how do you respond?

2020-01-13
Fearing or Embracing the End

Joel 2:1–11, Mark 13:1–8, Mark 13:32–33 (read online ⧉)

“We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again; that we who are alive at His coming shall not precede them that are asleep in Christ Jesus; but that, if we are abiding in Him, we shall be caught up with the risen saints to meet the Lord in the air, so that we shall ever be with the Lord.” Article of Faith 15, 2017—2021 Manual of the Church of the Nazarene

With the coming of a New Year, and with any year that has a strong potential for being tumultuous, there will be plenty of people who will loudly and proudly proclaim that the end is coming. They are right. The end is coming. They are wrong, however, when declaring when.

If Jesus Christ, the Son of God doesn’t know when, then why would anyone dare to suggest they do?

It’s not a new thing. Prophets such as Joel foretold a “Day of the Lord.” Generally, while it was often interpreted as some form of judgment, it was really a foretelling that God was coming in a supernatural way, and that the way of things would be changed.

So, why do people focus on dates? The primary pieces appear to be fear and control. Generally, those that focus on the impending Day of the Lord also appear to be concerned about being rule-followers and obeyers of the Law. This is definitely part of the fear that many have been taught regarding God. Those that have been trained to think far more about God as judge and punisher than about God’s grace, love, and mercy.

The other piece, control, is a little trickier, but overall, by putting a date on it, it seems to lose that “lack” of control, and maybe even some fear goes away. There is the constant human desire to quantify, qualify, and define everything, even that which God says is not for humankind to know.

There will be those, especially in this election year, that will declare the end of the world if such-and-such is (re-)elected. There are those declaring the end of the world due to environmental catastrophes, economic breakdown, or many other things. We are not called to merely react, we are called to listen to and read God’s word. We are called to be more like Christ every day. We are called to wisely act with Godly discernment.

1) When “your” side (regardless of issues/person) is “attacked” what is your initial response? What is your follow-up response?

2) What is something you fear? Why? How do you deal with that fear?

3) What is something you want to control? Can you? If you can’t, how do you deal with that desire to control?

2020-01-03
Valuing the Heart

Psalm 6, Mark 5:24–34, Luke 7:36–50 (read online ⧉)

We greatly honor our doctors and nurses who nurse ourselves and our loved ones to health. However, what we do today is different than it used to be. Science and medicine have provided us information that is beyond ancient knowledge. Even we untrained people have a far greater knowledge of healing than was available to the normal person many years ago. Thus when the scriptures ask for healing, and when healing occurs it is a miracle. This is not to diminish the healing received then or now. However, there is something here in Scripture that is only recently coming into mainstream thinking…peace.

The woman who touched Jesus’ cloak was both desperate and had faith. An interesting combination to say the least. Suffering from an injury/illness for 12 years and bankrupt because of it. We’ve heard stories of or known people who may have not suffered as long but certainly lost everything. Healing was great. Peace was needed too with all that she had gone through.

Then there was the woman who poured perfume on and washed Jesus’ feet. Obviously infamous among the “clean” and “appropriate” people, she was probably a societal outcast in some form or another. Her entire life was not likely to be a gentle one. She needed peace.

Neither woman, at the point we meet them, are doing well in life. Based on context, we can reasonably say that they were the downtrodden of the downtrodden, and they were women. All of this piled together in that time meant that even being healed or being defended by Jesus would not necessarily make their lives easier.

What Jesus did is justify their existence. He saw them for what they were…children of God. He valued them. By valuing them, and publically doing so no less, he gave them an opportunity to have something they may have never had, or hadn’t had in a very long time…peace.

Our medicine and science are great. We are doing so well on the “mechanical” side of healing. We aren’t, however, doing as well in healing hearts. In cases of severe health issues, just being healed is only the beginning. There are some forms of emotional trauma that go along with that. Those that have suffered need peace.

1) The “mechanical” nature of medicine resembles other “mechanical” areas of our society. Why do we avoid dealing with emotions? What does it mean to you that Jesus brings peace in those situations?

2) Societal healing is painful. Currently, there are a lot of scabs being peeled off and oozing sores finally being treated. Thinking of the above stories, what does that tell us about how Jesus would respond today?

3) Christians regularly pray for physical healing. Why? What do we miss when we pray for physical healing alone?

2019-12-06