Devotion.al

Tag: name

  • 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 good news 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 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 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 name.

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

    Jesus sent off the disciples. Not quite the same as being alone with them, but through that act, 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.

  • Discipl…

    Discipl…

    Psalm 94; Proverbs 13:18; Matthew 18:15–17; 2 Corinthians 13:1–4

    Discipleship is a buzzword these days. In circles, digital and physical, there are regular (and worthwhile) conversations about discipleship. There are fancy names such as “discipleship pathway” or “growth tracks” or any number of . All of them are one of many ways to think about and to name the daily work of becoming more like Jesus.

    Sunday School was quite the thing at many points in church history. John Wesley, the “grandfather” of the Church of the Nazarene denomination, was a great proponent of it. Some would claim that John Wesley’s desire to serve and educate the poor led to the opportunity (with failures and success) of public schools to educate all the children, not just the rich and powerful ones.

    As the cultural seasons have changed, however, the weakness of the imparted has become apparent. In following the Enlightenment’s path, knowledge of facts began to override with Jesus. This led to intellectual assent of the Savior with hearts that were cold.

    The Holiness tradition has long held that the true path of the Christian life is to become more like Christ. Yes, that is a high standard. One doesn’t do much if one aims low. The focus on discipleship would seem to fix the missing pieces. Except…

    Discipline comes from the same root as disciple. This is not coincidental. To be a disciple requires discipline. We often think Jesus’ 12 Disciples weren’t that disciplined (impetuous Peter and corrupt Judas Iscariot often come to mind). They walk with Jesus for as long as 3 years. That simple action is one of discipline.

    Often, we “soften” discipline by saying “spiritual disciplines”, being , reading scripture, , fasting, fellowship, giving, and other depending on whose list you read. The spiritual disciplines are good and helpful to build up your Christian walk. They should not be ignored or dismissed. However, there is one aspect of being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ that we, especially we individualistic Americans, don’t like…the other discipline.

    This is a hard topic in many churches. Pastors don’t really want to talk about it. Most people don’t want to hear about it. Individualistic tendencies have created a monster that the people of the church will have to fight. Of course, they/we are the monster we have to fight.

    Church discipline, that of correcting a member, is not something ever done lightly or without love and discernment. We have all heard horror stories of church discipline gone wrong, emotionally harming and spiritually devastating people. None of us want that.

    The true depth of discipline is among fellow believers who hold one another accountable, not to shame or guilt them, but to be the tools by which a person is transformed into the likeness of Christ.

    ※Questions※

    1) What disciplines are you following to become more like Jesus?

    2) Who is involved in your sharpening and discipline? Whose walk are you involved in to and be a tool of discipline?

    3) Why do you think discipline and disciplines (i.e., “spiritual”) have been separated from being a disciple?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, let your guide us and to be followers and do-ers of your will. Amen.

  • Right and Just

    Right and Just

    Matthew 1:18–21; Romans 5:6–11; Romans 14:1–23

    For whom will you die? Your child? Your parent? Your next door neighbor? A murderer? Your nation? Your state?

    At some point in history, someone responded “yes” to at least one of these. A number of these are conscious choices. Others were forced upon people. Others were an unthought response from the .

    Most people will not die for someone they do not know. Many soldiers have died for their country, and many have died to protect their fellow soldier. Some soldiers have died to protect innocent people about to be harmed by those irreparably changed by war.

    Whether a person is “”, “just”, or “good” often isn’t part of the equation, at least not consciously. Many righteous or just people have died at the hands of “good” people. Righteousness and just-ness are often not appreciated when unrighteous and unjust actions and behaviors are confronted.

    Yet, there is this strange point at which we appreciate the just and righteous. Take Joseph, husband of Mary, (earthly) of Jesus. δίκαιος [dikaios] is used to describe Joseph. It also is the same word that says is the kind of person no one would die for.

    Joseph—long revered for his just, obedient, and merciful behavior toward Mary—would not be a person that others would die for. That just doesn’t seem like that could be true. On the other hand, if we had to choose between a person who confronted us with our unrighteous behavior versus someone who never said a bad thing about us (and all other things being the same)…who would we choose?

    behavior being what it is, we’d likely not choose the righteous person. If we were to draw the parallels, we wouldn’t die for the father of Jesus. That could also mean that we wouldn’t die for Jesus, were Jesus only a man.

    This is not to condemn or judge anyone. This is where we need to reflect. According to the Old Testament, prophets were often not treated well. Some were killed. There is a strong implication that the number of prophets that were killed is much higher than surface texts provide for.

    When we are honest with ourselves, we often see our lives and history as following many of the same steps as Israel. This is not just our back-and-forth wanderings regarding a faithful relationship with God, it is also how we treat the righteous.

    We often think of ourselves as righteous or just. Intellectually, we may very well be. When it comes to our emotions and cultural upbringing, though, our actions are often contrary to our intellectual assents. This is where we often need to ask for guidance.

    ※Questions※

    1) What tools/skills/information do you use to determine the righteous or just action?

    2) How often does culturally righteous/just action conflict with Godly righteous/just action?

    3) How do you respond after the fact upon realizing that an was unrighteous/unjust?

    ※Prayer※

    Father God, please let your guide us into your righteousness and , that we may bring honor to your . Amen.

  • Prayer Filled

    Prayer Filled

    Psalm 19; Matthew 6:7–15; Romans 8:18–27

    We decided to get “weight management” dog food for our dog. She is a little overweight. Strangely (and this should have been a big clue), she got a greater volume of food with the “diet” food than with her food. Instead of a cup-and-a-half per meal, she got 2 cups per meal.

    Anyone who understands basic physiology would understand that the more food one eats, the stomach “learns” and expands. Our dog has become accustomed to the larger amount of food and had made it quite clear that she is hungrier than she used to be. Not a real help for losing weight.

    It is, however, why the “diet” food requires more volume than the regular food that is of importance…filler. The manufacturer puts more “filler” into the food, so that the dog is “deceived” into thinking they’re getting enough food. At least in our dog’s case, that trick doesn’t seem to work.

    Often, we fill our prayers to God with filler. We deceive ourselves that the amount of words mean that we are praying better. Sometimes, it’s with the standard speaking filler words such as: uh, um, like, okay, and. Other times it’s filled with: , God, Jesus, , Father God.

    It seems strange to consider God’s names as filler. If we were to speak to people in front of us using their name in every sentence, it would get awkward quickly. When it comes to , specifically public prayer, filler has become the norm.

    The prayer filler, in this case, isn’t automatically bad. It does indicate, however, that we may need to re- lessons from the .

    The Psalms are short and long. The longest, Psalm 119, is a poem using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet as a starting point. Don’t use that as your determiner of prayer length. Psalm 19 isn’t really a prayer yet verses 12–14 summarize what a prayer could contain. It has breadth. It also has limits.

    The words, in many respects, are less important than “the meditation of the heart.” The groanings of our innermost being (Romans 8:26) gets to God. We don’t need to use lots of words, for the Holy Spirit is with us.

    However, often this becomes, spew it out, let God sort it out. When it comes to the “groanings”, we seem to operate this way, but Paul’s groanings were wordless (or there are no words to say it), not lots of words.

    Perhaps the greatest gift of the Lord’s Prayer is organization. We have a pattern. As we publicly or privately pray, let’s look to the Lord’s Prayer as our map. The Lord’s Prayer is simple. It is deep and profound. Yet, it is simple. Jesus’ preamble about the many words use gives us some boundaries for our prayers. We get what to pray for and how not to pray.

    ※Questions※

    1) In keeping with “the meditation of the heart”, what is the state of your heart when you pray?

    2) Do you organize your prayers and petitions, or do you just speak? What is the difference between rote and organized prayer?

    3) Is silent prayer ineffective? Why do we seem to judge the worth of our prayers by the number of the words we speak, rather than by the heart with which we speak?

    ※Prayer※

    Holy Spirit, guide the meditations of hearts and the words from our mouths to be holy and sanctified prayers that bring you, the Holy Trinity, and . Amen.

  • Kinda Stuck

    Kinda Stuck

    Kinda Stuck

    7 September 2020

    Leviticus 4:27–31; Leviticus 5:14–16; 1 John 1:6–10

    When we talk about , we often operate with the presumption of commission of sin. In other words, we did something. There is also the sin of omission. In other words, what we didn’t do.

    The morning confession in the Book of Common reads
    Most merciful God,
    we that we have sinned against you
    in thought, word, and deed,
    by what we have done,
    and by what we have left undone.
    We have not you with our whole ;
    we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
    We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
    For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
    have mercy on us and forgive us;
    that we may delight in your will,
    and walk in your ways,
    to the of your Name. Amen.

    In many respects, this confession is hard, because in it we confess that we are not loving God and others as God has called us to do. On the other hand, this confession is freeing, as we aren’t required to go down all the items we messed up on (and some days that can be quite a lot).

    When we read Leviticus, we can often get bogged down in all the rules. Yet, if you read the rules in today’s verses, there is grace in them. In them, while the rules regarding are stringent, at the same time there is the recognition that someone may not recognize the while in the middle of committing it.

    We all make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are sins. Sometimes they aren’t sins, per se, but still hurt others. We aren’t supposed to beat ourselves up about it. We are supposed to confess, repent, and move on.

    Even in Leviticus, barring a few acts, there isn’t a “no repeat” rule. This means that God will gracefully accept our confession and repentance. While we will often continue to sin (sometimes even the same thing), if we are truly repentant in our hearts and confess, God moves on, and so should we.

    Yes, we are called to be better than we were yesterday. Being better than we were yesterday also means better to ourselves than we were yesterday. People will often continually condemn themselves about their failures. When we condemn ourselves, we are often closer to the enemy than God.

    Through the Holy , God convicts. The purpose of that conviction is to free us from the guilt and reconcile us to God. The enemy condemns. That condemnation will often tear our hearts and souls into pieces, leading us to further separate ourselves from God.

    This is not God’s intent. Yes, we are to be aware of what separates us from God. We are to confess and work on what separates us from God. It’s hard enough to improve our walk with God, let us not help the enemy take us further away from the reconciling heart of God.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us be true to you through our confessions and our reconciliation to you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Is there a sin or struggle in your that you can’t seem to get a handle on, and are concerned that God just won’t let it go? Is it God, or is it you that won’t let it go?

    2) Why do we often let our mistakes and errors bind us?

    3) One aspect of the Good News of the Gospel is from chains. How will you share with others the chains you have been freed from?

  • Criminal Christian

    Criminal Christian

    Luke 23:32–43; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11

    A criminal is saved on the cross. Talk about a “bedside” or “execution” salvation! He was on the cross when he was saved.

    Look at the words the criminal stated. Look at the words that Jesus spoke. We often have longer phrases and understandings (even from Jesus’ own words) of what it takes to be saved. There probably is no quicker salvation story.

    That being said, it could be that the rumors and news about Jesus was so strong and flowing, that the criminal even from prison knew about Jesus. We don’t know what seeds had already be sown when the man sought salvation.

    However, we can say that by all appearances the criminal didn’t meet even the lowest standards of salvation as we often understand it. Does this diminish his salvation? No. It does show the amazing and of God.

    Do you want to be the criminal? All done. All saved. All good. Nothing more to do.

    The criminal is not the ideal follower of Jesus. Truly, to a select group the criminal is a beacon of hope. For the rest of us, though, the criminal is a criminal for something completely unrelated to the cross.

    He doesn’t live out his . He does, for a few hours, but it’s really not the same. Faith and salvation are tested and refined through the long and many trials of .

    It can be reasonably argued, and has been by many, that salvation is only the beginning. Yes, in our salvation, we walk through the door to kingdom of God. It’s a big kingdom, though. Do you really only want to stay at the entrance?

    The fuller life, the rich life of God, is the full and complete promise of life with Jesus. We are often satisfied with so much less. Even more disturbing is that so many want salvation, but they don’t want the transformative live with Jesus.

    Some people this being “on fire” for Jesus, except that it can devolve to being obnoxious in the name of Jesus. We don’t really want to be “on fire” for Jesus. We should want to be “on fire” by Jesus.

    For Jesus usually comes from our strength and emotion. By Jesus means that it is fully (and lovingly and..and…and…) reliant upon Jesus to do the work in us through the .

    Is this merely semantics? Perhaps. However, there are a lot of people out in the world trumpeting the (the Body of Christ), but aren’t fully within it. Some show up on Sunday. Or, maybe they’ll show up digitally.

    Living the (truly) rich Christian live means living it together in community. We must seek, foster, and grow that community. It won’t just come.

    Or we can just be a criminal on a cross.

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, help us to want a full and complete life with you. Help us everything to the Holy Spirit to form and us for your will. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) How’s your faith community? Not just church (though that too), but your daily faith community?

    2) How does one know whether one is living the Christian life of the criminal on the cross, or the fullness of the Kingdom come?

  • Even to…

    Even to…

    Acts 11:1–18; Galatians 3:27–29

    Depending on the translation, Acts 11:18 is phrased something akin to, “even the Gentiles got the .” It’s not exactly the most positive . It shows us that at the beginning of the church the new reality of a that transcended Gentile and Jew still had to be learned.

    We are still confronting this today. As of right now, the current cultural memes of concern are women and minorities (specifically, African-Americans). While there are understandable scriptural interpretations in other denominations and traditions not allowing women as leaders in the church, it often has gone hand-in-hand with demeaning women.

    Even in the Church of the Nazarene (the denominational from which I attempt to write), there has been the theological acceptance of women as leaders, but the cultural acceptance of such has been a significant issue.

    While the Church of the Nazarene has been effective in other nations and cultures, within the confines of the US, the denomination has been predominately white. Both situations leave the Church of the Nazarene in conflict with itself.

    The of the cultural memes that have been disrupting our society is that the Church of the Nazarene just might be confronting the incongruities with a plan to fix it. Just as in society-at-large, the fix will be slow and hard.

    The denomination is trying to fully live out what it does believe but has been mired in the culture from which it came.

    What does this have to do with, “even them”? One of the founding churches of the Church of the Nazarene (it was a number of churches that decided to band together) was in the “skid row” area of Los Angeles. Alcoholism, drunkenness, prostitution all had a prominent and visible place there.

    “The least, the last, the lost” were those served by that church, and who the church sought to bring into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

    This comes from the older “Wesleyan” , where John Wesley preached outdoors to the miners who were often banned from church as the coal dust would follow them. They were a new kind of “unclean.”

    Even they were called into relationship with Jesus Christ. Even to them was the message sent.

    “Even” sounds so belittling, yet we use similar language and constructs when we talk about “Democrats” or “Republicans” or “Trump-ers” or “Never Trump-ers” or immigrants (documented or not) or Muslims or Hindus or…you them.

    Why do we try to limit the Gospel? What is it we hope to achieve?

    We often think we don’t limit the gospel, but what about that different person who walks through the door at church (if you’re worshiping there)? How about that person walking down the street talking to themselves?

    To even them…

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, thank you for your Gospel. , guide to those you have for us to share the message of Jesus with. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Can you think of a people group that you are inclined to think of as “even them”? Why do think that is?

    2) Why do we often think in terms of us and them?

  • Self of Nothing

    Self of Nothing

    Judges 4:1–24; 2 Samuel 6:12–22; Psalm 18:20–29

    Many have often condemned Barak as a coward who hides behind a woman’s skirt (so to ). What if there is something else at play?

    If you read the Book of Joshua and 1 & 2 Samuel, the Ark of the Covenant was part of the army’s . It went out into battle with the people. It was a symbol for the people of Israel that God was with them.

    However, in the time of the Book of Judges, a lot was lost (and so very quickly, too). Perhaps, as a matter of morale and tactics, Barak wanted Deborah there as the symbol. Barak could have been doubtful of his military success, so wanted backup (God).

    Regardless, it is Barak’s lack of a response to Deborah’s “penalty” that is our focus. Basically, Deborah told Barak that he would not get the of dealing with Sisera (the ) and that it would be given to a woman (a dig in a patriarchal society).

    Whether it was acceptance or tolerance, Barak’s lack of response shows a greater concern for the success of the battle, rather than the resulting glory. Some it cowardice. Some call it degrading. Some call it humility.

    Humility does not just take one form. Whether you believe the Barak was weak, scared, or lacking faith, how many people hide those exact things behind a façade of bravado? Not hiding it, is often a of humility.

    Sometimes humility is what you are willing to do and be in public. David’s dancing in public to display in front of the people must have been something to watch. Was it because of how he was dressed? Was it because he didn’t act refined?

    His goal wasn’t the eyes of humanity, it was the eyes and heart of God. Yet, his first wife either tried to shame him or was ashamed of him.

    David would not accept that. He understood that whatever her issues were, they were nothing in comparison to bringing glory to God.

    It is interesting to realize that David didn’t say, “that wasn’t embarrassing!” He said that his personal honor and pride are not important when compared to the glory of God.

    Two different men, with two different forms of humility. These are not the only forms of humility. It can play out in many ways in our lives. One person’s humility may seem like nothing to another. This is why true humility is between a person and God.

    Humility is something we should all seek. As the person we call Lord and Savior was humble enough to touch the outcast, broken, dirty, and then die for all, humility is a characteristic of a disciple of Jesus.

    ※Prayer※

    Spirit, guide our hearts and souls to greater depths of humility, even while knowing that the humility of Jesus is deeper still. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Who is the humblest person you know? What makes them humble?

    2) Name the ways Barak and David were humble. What are other means of humility?

    3) Why is humility so important to growing the of God?