Devotion.al

Tag: move

  • Perspective and Significance

    Perspective and Significance

    Psalm 144; Ezekiel 19:10–14; 1 Peter 2:4–10 (ISV)

    In the fictional universe housing the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (written by Douglas Adams), there is a machine called the Total Perspective Vortex. Originally built (per the fictional universe) to provide beings a comparison of themselves to the infinity of , it became a torture device to (effectively) destroy a being’s mind.‌

    ‌It sounds a little extreme, except that much of the religions over the years are concerned with is much about finding our place in the universe.‌

    ‌The (Roman Catholic) attacked Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de’ Galilei for proposing that the earth revolved around the sun, rather than the sun (and the other planets) revolving around the earth. While the majority of the (entire ) Church now believes Galileo Galilei, we need to recognize that Galileo Galilei’s hypothesis was, for that era and theological framework, similar in effect to the Total Perspective Vortex.‌

    ‌On the other hand, in contemporary fiction and philosophy, there is a deep concern regarding the Butterfly Effect. This is the theory that if time travel were possible, a person going back in time could catastrophically affect the timeline (including the era from which the time traveler came). Many people have bought into this concept, and yet disparage the one small thing they do today.‌

    ‌Perspective matters deeply to how we function in life and how we treat .‌

    ‌For me one of the most peaceful things is to stare at the night sky at the stars (most effective away from city light pollution). It brings peace to my soul and . It also guides me to have a better perspective of myself. I am tiny compared to the entire of Creation. I am only 1 person among over 8 billion people walking the earth at this moment.‌

    ‌For you, this may be disquieting. We have a need to be significant, but so much around us shows how insignificant we are.‌‌

    Lord, what are beings, that you should care about them, or mortal man, that you should think about him?

    Psalm 144:3 (ISV)

    ‌‌God cares about us. No matter how insignificant we believe or are told we are, God cares for and thinks about we humans. In comparison to the infiniteness of God, we are not even microscopic, yet God loves us.

    ‌‌If we derive our significance from others, we are often emotionally and spiritually doomed. If we derive our significance from God, however, that is a solid foundation on which to place our worth and .

    ‌‌There is, though, the danger of arrogance. “I’m by God, so I can do…” We are all guilty of this to some degree.

    Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land!

    ‌Ezekiel 19:13 (ISV)

    ‌When we get too full of ourselves, or when we look too much to others, we can be in the desert of faith and with God. It’s not that God ceases to care, quite the contrary. We can be chasing after things that we think will water and feed us, but we up in a desert, where receive the bare minimum to live.‌

    ‌The desert experience isn’t necessarily bad, ultimately. It can teach what is really important if we let it. On the other hand, far too many people stubbornly refuse to move from the desert, and so end up dry and withered. That doesn’t have to be the end.‌

    Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

    ‌1 Peter 2:10 (ISV)

    ‌God is merciful. Yes, we’ve done stuff that doesn’t please God. We could even say that because we are fallible and fragile creatures, we will never measure up to God’s holiness and love. God is merciful.

    ‌⁜Reflection⁜‌

    ‌To whom are you significant? Why?‌
    ‌How do you think significance and mercy are related?‌

    ‌⁜Act⁜‌

    ‌Share with someone what makes them significant to you.‌

    ‌⁜Prayer⁜‌

    ‌God, it is often so hard to see my significance to you. Help me to be understand my significance to you, and help me focus on you defining my significance, rather than leaving it to others. Amen.

    ‌

  • Let ‘Em Fight

    Let ‘Em Fight

    Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 3:4–20; Colossians 3:12–17

    It can be hard to be rid of wounds. Many physical ones heal with scars, though the deeper body ones may not heal well. For most of us, the emotional and spiritual wounds are the ones with deep and lasting effects. These are the ones that can hold us back; they can also be the ones that drive us forward. When our loved ones are wounded, often our response is heightened due to our desire to protect them and our subsequent failure to do so. We, then, may react toward them in ways that may seem unwise or over the top.

    Elisha’s response to Joram (or Jehoram) may have been a bit harsh. Elisha was the spiritual son of Elijah as the inheritor of the prophetic position. Joram was the son of Ahab. Elijah and Ahab had a poor relationship. Horrible relationship might be more appropriate. Elijah lived much of his in fear of Ahab. That likely deeply affected Elisha’s response to Joram. Even prophetic people are .

    Although it often seems impossible to live beyond our pains or the pains of our loved ones, we are still called to do it. Will we fail? More often than not. Yet, often it is only through the striving to beyond the pain that we can begin to heal and gain new perspectives.

    We bring our hurts with us everywhere we go, including . In fact, one of the biggest reasons people leave a church (or the church or the ) is because people at church hurt them. The reality is that the church proportionally contains as many hurt people as the world…100%. How we deal with the hurts should be what separates Christian behavior from the world’s behavior.

    We should be honest…Christian behavior in this regard is often worse than the world’s. The world has put systems into place to mitigate some of it. It still misses a lot of it. Across the denominational landscape (i.e., in no way limited to a single tradition or denomination), the church has done a horrible job. Whether it is the burying and hiding of failures or the annihilation of the failed, the church has left a large body count in its wake.

    ‘s words to the Colossians aren’t just to a “church”, it is to individuals. One of the biggest mistakes we in/of the church make is thinking in institutional terms, rather than individual terms. This is very peculiar as the primary Western expression of Christianity is all about individual , individual sin (for repentance and salvation). Yet, we are quick to move to an institutional framework when it (even just) might require us to deal with the failures of another.

    There is a huge piece of personal responsibility. There is a huge piece of institutional responsibility. Institutions are made of individuals, so it still comes down to individuals. How we are formed by each other and the Scriptures will play a significant part of how we deal with things. Though, the hardest part is not running away every time, and yet—after doing the hard work—there is a time to leave.

    The of one body is hard to achieve. Paul commends sing psalms and songs to one another. That “to” is interesting. Our worship songs are “to” God (as they should be as reflections of praise, adoration, and thanksgiving). It would be nice to know which songs and psalms Paul meant. It does mean though that we are to work on one another in the love of Christ. It also means, that we are to allow ourselves to be worked on, which often means our pains and hurts come out. What we do with ours and those of others may well reflect how much we really let the Holy Spirit renovate our hearts.

    ※Reflection※

    • What worship songs (of any era) or psalms would you think of to sing to others to help form them in the image of Christ?
    • When it comes to conflict how do you deal with it at home, at work, extended , socially, at church? How do you respond when you witness conflict at each of these places?
    • How do Paul’s words affect your responses, or your future responses, to conflict?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we wrestle with one another, often out of pain. Blessed Healer, heal our hearts so that we do not hurt the hearts of others.

  • Rubble and Ruin

    Rubble and Ruin

    Psalm 142; Amos 9:1–4; Acts 23:12–35

    I don’t know about you, but I’m a little jaundiced about earthquakes. I grew up in Northern California. Earthquakes were… isn’t the word…to be expected. So much so, that the first earthquake my wife experiences was in the middle of the night. She woke me up in a panic, “Was that an earthquake!?” “Yes,” I responded sleepily and went back to sleep. The biggest earthquake I experienced was the Loma Prieta one. It was big. Things fell off shelves, but it was just an earthquake. Finally, my mom convinced me to turn on the radio. Then I figured it out. It was big.

    The coming earthquake in Amos was big. Unlike us who have a larger grasp of earthquakes and their reasons, ancient peoples had no such framework. Earthquakes were generational memories (and they didn’t live on the Rim of , either). An earthquake was a momentous, God-sized event. According to scholars, the earthquake predicted in Amos happened around 2 years later and is mentioned in literature elsewhere in the region. The earthquake leveled a temple dedicated to gods other than God.

    The Israelites by this point were the 10 tribes of Israel that had separated from Judah and Benjamin. They had developed their own worship. While maintaining some concept of their original , during this particular era, they were a power of their own. The lowly southern tribes were nothing to them.

    Many years before near Bethel, a man had a dream. He dreamed of a “ladder of angels.” He had received a vision from God and a of descendants. He called the place Bethel. God called the man Israel (granted, that happened later). Where Jacob had the vision and received a promise to become a father of nations, now his descendants turned away from God. The dream was broken.

    The vision (that came true) of the destruction of the temple at Bethel sounds pretty severe. It was. That Amos’ was to this showed that God was not truly done with Israel. God still wanted these descendants of Israel and Abraham. Abandoning of the dream, the covenant, and the hope.

    was no Amos. For the Jews, he was something far worse. He destined change within the confines of their . Paul had no plan to be part of some new religion, but to be part of the ultimate fulfillment of the faith in which he was raised and trained. an assassination is the move of people who do not wish to be seen, or fear the strength of someone stronger (the Roman empire). The sad truth is that, yet again, the religious leaders were knowingly allowing, abetting, and therefore approving the murder of another. They could claim that they did not murder (and be truthful), but they could have stopped it. They chose not to.

    Whether Amos or Paul, speaking the words of God to people who don’t want to hear them (especially those that say they believe in the word of God) can be dangerous. Our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world deal with that very issue on a daily basis. While we dispute the (un)righteousness of a political party, president, or even nation, there are people that truly suffer for Jesus. This is not to say that our woes are minor, it is just a matter of perspective.

    ※Reflection※

    • What “earthquakes” (life shattering events) have you experienced? These can be both good and bad.
    • Why do “bad things” happen to believing people? What makes Amos’ Israelites similar to the (Christians)? What makes them different (besides Jesus)?
    • What actions (or inactions) have you committed (or omitted) that resembles the religious leaders who countenanced Paul’s assassination?

    ※Prayer※

    God, you move mountains. Often it is easier to move mountains than the hearts of humanity. Forgive our hearts of stone. Give us, day by day, new hearts that beat only for you. Amen.

  • Moonlight Movement

    Moonlight Movement

    Psalm 65; Joshua 10:1–14; Mark 6:45–52

    Jericho, Ai, and Gibeon had fallen. For comparison’s sake, it would be as if Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, Boston had all fallen to a single foreign . And, not just fallen, but completely destroyed with all their people, creatures, and infrastructures with them. If you’re too modern-day politically oriented to the right, you might be saying, “good. We’d be better off.” It is likely that the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon would have felt similarly with the falls of Jericho, Ai, and Gibeon, as there was a lot of political and military control there. The long view, though, was that if a single could do that to those three mighty cities, then who were they in comparison?

    The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the saying goes. The five kings understood that and brought the might of their combined forces against the Israelites. The consequences of their actions were their demise. Granted, it wasn’t as if they had much to lose.

    Hailstones that killed. A sun and moon whose order was paused for a day. These were mighty acts of God on display for all to see.

    On the other hand, the disciples go (as commanded) via ship to another shore, leaving the one they follow behind. After has some quality (alone) time with the , he strolls along to the boat…on the water…a long way from shore…at night…in the dark with a moon highlight.

    Jesus walking on water is just as miraculous as killer hailstones, and the sun and the moon being still for a day (It would be interesting to know how hot the day was at the ). Except, it was not a public event. It was something for the disciples (and those that followed after).

    We often want God to do miracles in the daylight. For some of us, justification that God does exist. For others of us, a that the world can look to and . For others still, just the healing or the desired through that miracle.

    God works in the day and in the night. As much as we often say, “…for God’s …,” it seems that many times God is not so worried about God’s glory. When we worry about God’s glory, it might be that it is not God’s glory that we are concerned for.

    ※Reflection※

    • Do you ever think about God’s glory? When and why?
    • When we bring up God’s glory, what else might be our real motivation?
    • Do you see God working more in the daylight (visible/public) or more at night (hidden/quiet)? What are some examples?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, as we seek your glory, let us be seeking your glory and not our own. Amen.

  • Moving Pain

    Moving Pain

    Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32; Job 38:1–11; 2 Corinthians 6:1–13; Mark 4:35–41

    The right time. God moved at the right time. God’s timing is perfect.

    From a purely intellectual standpoint, these are easy to say. It is much harder to say this in the midst of trial and be at with that truth. We will often tell ourselves that we God, but that doesn’t mean we are at peace with it.

    Sometimes we aren’t called to be at peace with it.

    , whether , emotional, or spiritual, is God’s gift to us that something is wrong. One of the biggest ones is the pain of , particularly death. Death is the ultimate indicator that something is wrong in .

    Pain also often indicates that you need to do something. Just sitting in your pain, because you trust God’s timing or are “at peace” about, is not always the right or move.

    Pain, oddly enough, can also be disguised in positive events and positive moments, as these moments of transition mean letting go of the past.

    The disciples didn’t just sit in their pain (). They woke Jesus up. That was wise.

    Paul (and Timothy) didn’t just sit in their pain that the Corinthians appeared to be abandoning them or letting their love (of Paul and Timothy and/or God) grow cold. A letter was and delivered. It was said aloud and shared among the Corinthians (and other churches).

    Job didn’t just sit. He carthartically released his pain. We often think of the Book of Job as Job mostly sitting with the others. While he is, Job is also doing what a lot of us try to do when we are in pain (spiritual and emotional, especially)…we process.

    ※Reflection※

    • What pain are you working through right now? What is the biggest obstacle for you in it?
    • How is your pain impacting those around you, particularly those who are closest to you?
    • How is your pain impacting your daily and choices?

    ※Prayer※

    God, you gave us pain to guide us. Help us to look at the pain we are dealing with to see how you can use it to transform us. Amen.

  • Wrong Thing Vision

    Wrong Thing Vision

    Psalm 52; Ezekiel 31:1–12; Galatians 6:11–18

    “When a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?”

    That philosophical question is designed around the presence of a being. “Sound” being a human word, the implication is that the tree wouldn’t make a sound, as there is no one around to . From a purely scientific standpoint, of course, the tree makes a sound. We understand that even when we are not present, there still will be sound waves. The animals will certainly hear it and try to move out of the way.

    Yesterday, when we read about the cedar, it was referring to the David line. In today’s passage, is refers to kings and leaders, just not the Davidic ones. The cultural awareness that the cedar represented royalty helps us understand that the cedar might be used in multiple contexts to represent the kingly leaders.

    The difference here is that the tree representing Assyria goes down and has no . Yesterday, the Davidic cedar had a bough taken off and replanted. Here, there is no legacy. In fact, the land animals resting on it show that it is worth nothing more than dirt.

    The tree, oddly enough, goes down not necessarily for Judah and Israel’s benefit, but to show Egypt who God is. Or perhaps we should say, remind Egypt who God is (reminding Judah and Israel, too).

    Governments, as they are a gathering of people, look to other governments and other people to get an idea of how to succeed, and often how to beat the other guy. Governments too busy looking at the other “guy” aren’t looking to God.

    Often when we are busy looking at the “other” (whether people, governments, and many others), we are not looking at the right things, let alone the things we can control.

    refers to the new . When we look too much to the world we lose of the new creation that is inside of us. It’s not that we corrupt it, but we can avoid it. As we look to others to define us or oppose us—instead of God—we miss out on the new creation. As the “others” look to unGodly things, they are often looking at the unGodly things of others, creating a vicious cycle.

    We need to break the cycle. How we break the cycle will be a very individual thing. We, like Paul, may up bearing marks like Christ on our bodies. We almost definitely will bear them on our souls.

    ※Reflection※

    • How much do you reflect on the new creation inside of you?
    • Do you ever see when the world tries to this new creation?
    • Are you more driven by leaders, governments, or people within your circle? How do you try to influence them for Christ?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, give us the to recognize that we have been freed from the ways of the world. Help us to look to you first, so that we may transform the world through your for us. Amen.

  • Sighting Evil

    Sighting Evil

    Psalm 74; 1 Samuel 16:14–23; Revelation 20:1–6

    Evil spirits or the “ of evil” has a in human culture throughout the ages. Even for those who have no deistic belief, there is an understanding that something is completely evil.

    There was nothing positive about the Holocaust. In fact, most people would state that the men and women (for there were both) who created and perpetuated it were evil. There seems to be no question that there was a “spirit of evil” when it came to the Holocaust. The primary spirit of evil took the form of the other. Jews were the (along with gypsies, we often ignore). Jews were blamed for the punitive consequences of World War I, which destroyed the German economy and culture (in some ways). This allowed a person such as Adolf Hitler to become the .

    However, the take on Hitler, as hard as it is, was that there was a possibility of redemption for him (along with all the others). How one could, on earth, move beyond what he led takes more than I could comprehend. The spirit of evil takes on many forms. Some of them seem benign. Some of them being obviously harmful. Christians over many years have argued over what makes something evil, or if something is indeed evil. A number of changes in American culture and law in the last few decades have certainly been at the fore.

    The spirit of evil that Saul had sounds similar to a split personality. In many places, we read that Saul cared for, respected, and relied upon David. Yet, Saul would try to kill David in many ways, including by chasing him down with an army. The divergence of thinking certainly sounds like modern mental illness. Which leads us back to evil. If someone is mentally ill, is it a spirit of evil or is it something else?

    Whatever guise or seeming, until all is over and we are at the throne of God, we will be dealing with a spirit of evil (or many spirits). While the Book of Revelation tells us the (though God’s victory doesn’t really come as a surprise), what it means that evil is bound for a thousand years, but will have to be released for a time after that is beyond us. We can guess, but it would only be a guess.

    This not a suggestion for fatalism. If we believe that God is good, Jesus died for us, and that we have the in us, then evil’s presence is not pre-determined to lead to evil. It is our own thoughts and actions. Our actions, though, cannot be limited to our circle, but must also be part of our community.

    ※※

    • What do you think the difference is between evil, sin, and mistakes? How might understanding these 3 things adjust our interactions with the world?
    • When was the last time you used “evil” in ? Was the context actually that of evil, or was it something different? If it was evil, what made it so? If it wasn’t truly evil, what might have been a better way to phrase it?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us to guard our hearts against evil. Help us to understand your view of evil and to be those that bring upon it. Amen.

  • All About Me

    All About Me

    Psalm 130: Genesis 3:8–15; 2 Corinthians 4:13–5:1; Mark 3:20–35

    Self-examination is probably one of the hardest practices. It is probably also the one most needed today. When we do our self-examination properly, we are better equipped to recognize some issues we have that inhibit our continued transformation into the likeness of Christ.

    First, the . Paraphrasing the psalmist, God forgives. God forgives a lot. In regard to God’s promise, that promise was ultimately fulfilled by . Through Jesus, we are gifted a way to approach God that those before did not have. Through Jesus, we are graced with being able to approach God in ways that those around us (that don’t know Jesus) cannot understand.

    From the passage of Genesis, we can see a number of issues that we can also see in ourselves. Only the serpent didn’t point at someone else. You might that there was no one else to blame, except that there was. The serpent could have blamed God with blaming God for making the serpent. Humans use that argument all the time.

    While we often use and hear this particular aspect as blaming , there is also the aspect of the stance that the others’ sins being greater than our own. This is something of which we are all guilty and thus all the as a whole. Self- allows us to see this in ourselves, and then bring Christ to the fore of our thoughts and reactions, rather than ourselves.

    The situation surrounding Jesus—where his called him crazy and the legal experts accused him of being possessed by or in league with Satan—seems to be (especially for the legal expert) more of a look at him (Jesus), don’t look at me, but look at me being all and concerned. As we about our daily lives, it is easy to be swept up in the emotions of the moment. Unless those emotions are truly of God, they can sweep us into places that lead us away from God. Often they come from a place of self-preservation. This is why establishing a practice of self-reflection is an important practice for us to develop.

    ※Reflection※

    • When was the last time you reviewed your responses through the lens of Christ?
    • Why do you the practice of self-reflection needs to be regular (even daily)?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us to be shaped by you. Amen.