Devotion.al

Tag: nation

  • To Grieve and Mourn

    Jeremiah 9:13–21, Job 6:14–30, Matthew 5:4

    Yesterday, when we were talking about misery loving company, we were ultimately talking about people without and generosity in their hearts. Today’s misery is very different.

    For today, misery needs company. We as a and as a culture are pretty awful at mourning. We have clinicized , separating it from our lives, except for entertainment. The reason this is important is by separating ourselves from it, we have also lost the ability to mourn. We don’t even have the “professional” mourners and wailers that Jeremiah speaks of.

    Instead, many of us are like Job, feeling betrayed when our friends avoid or abandon us during our . You may be saying to yourself, “my friends haven’t done that” or “I have not done that to my friends”. If so, you and/or your friends have a ministry: to the church and the world. The church and the world avoid those feelings of and grief. The world and the church teach it differently, but the result is the same, “suck it up, and on.”
    There is also a darker side to this, and that is when death occurs in an estranged . Many of the same responses in an estranged relationship occur in “” relationships, for we are very much estranged from each other. In estranged relationships, there is often an “I don’t care” . The problem is that if there are too many estranged relationships in one’s , there is also a lot of emotional baggage that often doesn’t get dealt with.

    Jesus, however, promises that those who mourn will be comforted.

    1) If you are a follower of Jesus, and Jesus says that those who mourn will be comforted, what do you think that means for you?

    2) When you have grieved or mourned have you pushed people away? If so, why? If people “ran away” from you, how did that make you feel?

    3) When is and what makes grieving or mourning healthy and unhealthy?

  • For the Opposition

    Psalm 11, Deuteronomy 32:35, Ezekiel 18:30–32, Matthew 5:43–48

    If you’ve been on social media any amount of time, you might notice that the longer you’re on it, the less you see from those who think differently. Another way to think of it is that the more you interact (click, “like”, just stare at) with a post that makes you angry or feel persecuted, the more posts of exactly that kind you will see. This is the reality of social media that was visibly part of the 2016 presidential campaign and was part of both the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, but we were all just ignorant.

    This is incredibly important to understand and needs to be used to intellectually and emotionally filter any social media or traditional media interaction you have. Why? Because are also experiencing their own confirmation bias, and it might be in tension with yours. The most disturbing part of social media is how it is reinforcing some of the basest tendency…finding an .

    There is no question that we are in a divided and an increasingly divided world. The lines are coming more rigid, and the walls between seem to be growing larger. It would be nice to be able to blame social media and the . Except that we are the problem.

    In both Psalm 11 and Deuteronomy 32:35, God makes it clear that it is God’s place to punish “the enemy,” yet we often try to take the place of God. God leaves people to their own demise, but we seem to want to hurry them along, often in an attempt to make ourselves feel/look better.
    Ezekiel tells us that God wants repentance and . When God leaves us to our own devices (or the result of our actions) it’s not that God wants that result for us. God never desires our physical or spiritual death. Yet, we often are not the first to aid others, retaining our “us versus them” .

    Jesus calls us to pray for our enemies. Enemies, though, is a very emotionally laden . A better understanding would be those who are in opposition to us. The opposition could be political, differing faiths, differing denominations, differing ideas of whose grass is greener or has more weeds and crabgrass. Persecution definitely is in regards to beliefs, but, still, we are called to pray for them.

    1) changes people. Have you ever had the experience of praying for a person who “opposed” or “persecuted” you and had your heart changed rather than theirs? Do you think that is , or abnormal? Why?

    2) In the context of Jesus’ words and the first question, why does Jesus direct us to pray for opposers and persecutors?

    3) Which opposer or persecutor will you commit to pray for?

  • The Right Signs

    Deuteronomy 10:12–22, Romans 2:25–29, 1 Corinthians 7:17–24

    Circumcision has long been a sign of being Jewish. For many years, it was used to identify Jewish males and hold it against them. In Deuteronomy (Moses’ farewell address), Moses speaks of the circumcision of the . Moses defined circumcision as being fully devoted to God. There is a warning here that could easily be ignored, don’t rely on actions being evidence of your with God.

    Paul’s struggle with the Jewish converts is that they often brought “the Law” with them. As Christianity had come through Judaism, there would be many well-meaning believing (non-Jews) who would look to the Jews for wisdom regarding the right steps to take. The Jews would default to the way they were raised, the Law. Adult Gentile converts were looking to be circumcised so that they would be in the right. Paul wanted them to realized that circumcision was never the point.

    The same thing that Moses was trying to get through the Israelites heads (and hearts) was the same thing that Paul was still fighting, and trying to prevent the Gentiles from following the same path. He was pretty desperate on behalf of his spiritual children and grandchildren.

    Whether it was Rome or Corinth, the “battle” raged on. Minus slavery, we were called to remain as we were (e.g., if Jewish be Jewish, if Gentile remain Gentile) as when God called us. It was not our blood, our skin, our nationality, our wealth that saved us but God.

    1) The often falls into the same pattern of circumcision. The world does, too. Have you judged ‘ or your based upon tattoos, smoking, drinking, or the lack of them, or something else? How about the they came from, or the language they speak?

    2) Why do we have to always be on guard against actions rather than ?

    3) Why do we often trust actions rather than faith?

  • Perfect Perfectionism

    Matthew 5:43–48, 2 Corinthians 12:1–10

    Perfection. There are many well-meaning people that say perfection is the of progress, profit, completion, excellence, or that perfection is the disease of a nation or a disguise of insecurity. Generally, however, it is not perfection that is the issue but perfectionism. This is where all the energy to accomplish something is put into making sure that it is perfect. Sorry, we’re . Perfectionism needs to die. Perfection, on the other hand, needs to be lifted up.

    When talks about being perfect like the our Heavenly is perfect, it is the goal, in the same way that it is the goal to be perfect parent. It is the goal, not that we will ever achieve it on this side of . There is the reality that you cannot hit what you are not aiming at, and balancing that against being too overwhelmed at not hitting the mark.

    Perfectionism, a trap that many people ( and not) fall into. Perfectionism is a performance evaluation, and often not a very good one. Perfectionism can also be the trap (or escape) keeping you from even trying in the first place (i.e., “It won’t be perfect, so why try.”).

    In the context of Jesus’ words, that perfection is lived out in .

    ‘s understanding of perfect seems to be slightly different, and it is. Perfection (God’s power being made perfect in weakness) has more the meaning of being fully expressed. How is God’s power being fully expressed in God’s weakness? Paul’ humbling due to the thorn. What the thorn actually is doesn’t really matter. The thorn forces Paul to be a lot more humble in his behavior (according to him). He brags about someone else and not himself.

    This is an aspect of Jesus’ “be perfect” in that Paul is loving (by building up) this other person, and also loving in his humble yet firm approach with the Corinthians. There isn’t a dictatorial admonishment here, but the loving reproach of a father to his children. Did Paul “perfectly” live out live, probably not. Did he strive to? Absolutely.

    1) What is your “gut” to Jesus’ to be perfect? Why?

    2) What is your “gut” response to God’s power being made perfect through Paul’s affliction? Why?

    3) Do you see a difference between perfection and perfectionism? What are the similarities? Why do you think these two terms get confused?

  • Forgiveness Such As This

    Psalm 38, Leviticus 5:1–19, Luke 17:1–4

    “Already forgotten.”

    “Don’t worry about it.”

    We sometimes these words when trying to apologize or make amends for something we have done wrong to another. Sometimes the person says these words as a veiled acceptance for the apology. Sometimes it was so inconsequential to them that they spent little-to-no time thinking about it after it occurs. Forgiveness is often spoken of in churches, encouraging each of us to forgive wrongs committed against us. Much of the time it is forgiveness towards those we are distant from (physically or by , for example). Not that this isn’t good. The question is, can we accept apologies and repentance when given?

    In this passage in Leviticus, the phrase, “…without being aware of it, but later recognizes it…,” is repeated multiple times. How often have we done something wrong, and only later realized we did it? Sometimes we do something and don’t know that it is wrong, but we do we are to make amends once we realize it. This should be the state of our relationships with one another, if we become aware that we have offended, we make amends. The reciprocal of this is being -filled people. Often people will innocently and/or ignorantly hurt us. Often it is actually the remnant of an old hurt that someone has triggered, yet we hold this new person (and new offense) against the old pain. We then go down the grace-less path of thinking, “they should have known better,” or something like that. Or, if something is so obvious an offense, we are offended both by the offense and their ignorance (or we sometimes say their callousness). God doesn’t operate that way, which this passage in Leviticus shows. If God doesn’t behave that way, why would we?

    Yet, it seems that many people inside and outside of the are unable to forgive and unable to accept apologies and/or repentance. We can look at a lot of media stories where people said what is now viewed as stupid and harmful, yet at the time they said it, it was well within the norm. Take the show Seinfeld (proudly a comedy show about nothing). It has been running in syndication for years, but viewership is dropping. Millennials and Generation Z do not find the humor in much of it (granted, the humor was of limited appeal anyway), as much of the cultural language that was appropriate and even “sensitive” for the time is now inappropriate and horribly insensitive. Before you say, “they’re a bunch of snowflakes,” or “they need to stiffen up,” or “they need some thicker skin,” or “they’re just looking for something to be offended by,” think about your own . Instead of feeling attacked or put on the spot, realize that you are behaving the same way they are…offended.

    There is a huge cultural occurring, and some of it, though painful, is actually good. Ultimately, we are headed toward a kinder and gentler (truly). It’s just that right now we’re using hammers and chisels on each other getting off the high spots, and it hurts. There are some exceptions to the general tendency towards kinder and gentler (and it isn’t just one name, either). The reality is that our cultural and generational language is getting a long-needed overhaul. Really, this is a good thing. What has happened, and many of us are unaware of it, is that offenses, abuses, oppression, suppression have become such a part of our cultural and generational language that we are often unaware what message we convey with the words we use. The reason this is important to truly understand is that while we go through this paradigm shift we are going to offend each other…a lot.

    This is why having a personal understanding and responsibility regarding grace, forgiveness, repentance, and reconciliation is so important. We can keep being offending. We can keep remembering the hurts and offenses, or we can be like Jesus.

    When Jesus is speaking to the disciples (similar words can be found in Matthew 18:6–9, 18:21–22) there is an underlying question of, how much forgiveness is enough? When we ask that question we are speaking from the flesh (or sin) nature, rather than the saved (or sanctified) nature. John Ortberg (Pastor, Menlo Church) proposes that Christians use up more grace than “sinners” because grace is God’s power at work in us. So, use that grace with one another! God’s grace is unending! As long as you keep using it and keep asking for it, God will keep pouring it! Remembering who offended us and how is easy (and natural), it’s what we do afterward that shows whether it is us or Jesus who is the Lord of our lives.

    1) An unspoken part of Jesus’ directive on repetitive forgiveness is directed at the forgiver: accept and forgive wholeheartedly. Have you ever “forgiven” someone, but held back from wholeheartedness by saying (in effect), “ but verify”? If you hold back on forgiveness by even the tiniest portion, have you really forgiven?

    2) There is always a balance of forgiveness versus safety. Is it really “versus”, though? In this context, repentance and forgiveness are tied . How does that work in your life?

    3) What does the passage in Leviticus show about God’s perspective of nature?

    FD) What is the difference between apologizing and repenting?

  • Knowing Whose

    2 Chronicles 6:32–42; Jeremiah 31:7–14

    Solomon was ceremoniously blessing the newly constructed . There is a lot of political pomp and circumstance that is part of the ceremony. It would have been expected, and much of the political dressed up in religious language had the firm foundation of the people and Solomon being very much aware that all of this was possible only underneath the protective wings of God. Solomon had completed a huge number of projects that were large and public. This is the height of national pride. In the midst of this national event, there is a humble recognition that the people will fall away from God (including Solomon), and a request that God be gracious and forgiving to those that repent.

    This wasn’t just a request of God, but a reminder to the people (the political and religious leaders would have had a “front-row” seat to the speech/) to remember whose they were. They were God’s chosen people, and yet, Solomon included the God-following people that weren’t Israelites. He included them in this prayer. In the prayer of national importance, displaying national and tribal glory, Solomon included those outside of “the people.” Solomon, whose ancestors includes a prostitute (citizen of an city), a foreign widow (from the ancestral enemies), and a mother who had a potentially coerced adulterous relationship with his father, who had had his mother’s husband killed. Solomon, as he was praying, very likely had his own family story in mind as he prayed. He was proof that God called and blessed people outside of the traditional boundaries.

    National boundaries will not prevent God from acting, calling, and redeeming. Even in exile, Jeremiah’s words are saying that the Jews will be called back to their ancestral lands, regardless of national boundaries. National boundaries are the works and rules of men. Though far away from home and culturally their identity, God still knew who they were, and was calling them home. The to shout for joy on the heights of Zion would be a public statement of their restoration, and their security in God.

    Cultural and national boundaries still do not prevent God from acting, calling, and redeeming. As Epiphany comes, most of us need to recall that we are God’s children not because of who we were born to or where we born, but because of ‘ on the cross. That sacrifice crossed boundaries of , “race”, age, gender, and even time itself to bring us into God’s family.

    1. Even before Jesus was born, God moved among the . Why do you think that this is important?
    2. If God sets asides human barriers for relationship with him, why do we make so many? What barriers have you put between people and a relationship with God? What barriers have people put between you and your relationship with God?
    3. [KD] Why is it important to you that God ignores barriers between people?

  • Old With New

    Psalm 147:12-20, Proverbs 1:1-7; James 3:13-18

    He declares his word to Jacob,
    his statutes and judgments to Israel.
    He has not done this for every ;
    they do not know his judgments.
    Hallelujah!

    Psalm 147:19-20


    The of the LORD
    is the beginning of ;
    fools despise wisdom and discipline.

    Proverbs 1:7

    Christianity is rooted in Judaism. That must never be ignored or denied. Judaism provides context for the New Testament. The New Testament loses much of its weight and impact when separated from Judaism. That is not to say that Judaism as practiced today is insightful, just that Jesus, the 12 original Apostles, Matthias (the man who replaced Judas Iscariot), and were all Jews. It would be better to say that Christianity is the fullest expression of what Judaism was intended to be.

    The essentiality of this understanding means that we, just as Jews have done, must wrestle with the Old Testament. The Psalmist declares that Israel (the Jews) are blessed as they know (and have experienced) God’s statues and judgments. The Psalmist basically is saying that everyone else has lost out, as they don’t know God. The understanding is that people who don’t know Jesus as the Saving Son of God have lost out. While there is a difference, there is a strong similarity: not being of the family of God is losing out.

    In Proverbs, the introduction ends on a powerful and significant note, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” In this instance, fear is reverence and respect one feels towards one’s God. In other words, God is God, and I am not. Fools are those who do not have God in the right perspective. This takes the “losing out” aspect and adds on foolish. This is the foolishness of the despairing and dying. This foolishness takes on a number of forms, pride, shame, ignorance, fear and even hatred. The words of James guide us in how to answer this. Wisdom.

    In particular, it is God’s wisdom that will guide the willing person away from the foolishness of the world, and toward the wisdom of God. As the bearers of God’s Word, we are to be humble and gentle. It is to come from a that knows God is God, and I am not. This same heart seeks to be like God and those whose hearts are far away and draw them closer.

    1) The world often looks at Jesus’ followers and shakes its head. It sees our , and attacks it. In light of the passages we’ve read, how can we respond?

    2) What do you think worldly wisdom is? Can and Godly wisdom ever be aligned?

    KD) Why do you think it is important to remember that God is God, and you are not?

  • Holy Path of Doing

    Psalm 147:12-20, 1 Chronicles 28:1-10, 1 Corinthians 3:10-17

    “[God] has not this for every ; they do not know his judgments…”
    Psalm 147:20

    “Realize now that the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”
    1 Chronicles 28:10

    “If anyone destroys God’s , God will destroy him; for God’s temple is , and that is what you are.”
    1 Corinthians 3:10-17

    Israel was chosen. From the time of Abraham, its was to bless the world. There was a time when it seemed that all was . Solomon had been chosen as king, and had been chosen to build the Temple. Solomon knew what his tasks and paths were. Yet, he wandered off. Israel, through , ultimately fulfilled God’s to bless the world, but not without many generations failing and paying the price of not following God.

    Each of us has been chosen for a task. If we have been blessed (especially with discernment), we may know what task God has chosen for us. Otherwise, we could be blessed with people who know us, and are able to guide us onto God’s chosen path. Then there is the most frustrating path of all: doing your best, and not knowing if that is God’s path for you.

    does provide some guidance for us, if we are able to accept it. Our path is to be God’s holy temple here on earth. All of us. “Wait,” you may say, “how can I be a holy temple?” Let God build the temple inside of you. “Wait,” you may say, “what am I supposed to do?” That’s the rub, isn’t it. Do? Let God build the temple inside of you. Do? Let God build the temple inside of you, while the world attempts to destroy it from the outside-in.

    Do? Be strong.

    1) Why do we often feel inadequate unless we are “doing”?

    2) In of God building the temple inside of you, how do you now , “be still and know that I am God”?

    3) In what new way can you be strong to allow the building of God’s temple inside of you?

    KD) If God’s temple inside of you was an actual building, what would it look like?