Devotion.al

Tag: Paul

  • Trust, Truth and Restoration

    Daniel 9:16-19, Psalm 25:1-10, 2 Timothy 4:1-5

    Daniel knows that God is and . Daniel knows that the people of Israel are in exile and hopeless because they chose to ignore God and the many prophets that He sent. They chose to follow their leaders who looking to earthly things to gain personal value and . Daniel understood that the current situation was a consequence of unfaithful behavior.

    Yet, Daniel had enough trust in God to know that God would listen and that God, ultimately, wanted Israel restored, not just as a nation or people, but as a people of God. Daniel understood that it would only by God’s mercy that Israel would be restored. He was confessing on behalf of an entire people that they had missed the mark, yet he still asked.

    1) In Psalm 25:6-7 (NIV), the psalmist writes, “, LORD, your great mercy and , for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, LORD, are good.”
    Just like Daniel, the psalmist was appealing the consequences based upon God’s mercy and love, knowing that both preexisted the errors of the psalmist. Daniel, too, that God’s mercy and love existed long before he did, or the tribe and nation of Israel existed. The underlying thought here is that there was something that needed to be forgiven; there was something that needed to be repented of. Is there something that you think could be a problem, but aren’t certain that it is a problem that God is concern about? Bring it to God, anyways! That small thing could very well help you heal in other areas in your , or God may use it to show you what is really hampering your with Him.

    2) In 2 Timothy 4:1-5, is warning Timothy that people will get to a point where they will not listen because they don’t want to. It is no different than what the people of Israel had done for generations prior to their exile. The very things Daniel was repenting of. We are often quick to say that there is false teaching all around us, even in our !

    Have you thought there was false teaching? What did you do?

    Do we ever something false teaching that does not conflict with scripture, but appears to conflict with our understanding or traditions?

  • Who Gets In?

    2 Kings 21: 1–18, Luke 13:31–35, Romans 11:1–12 (read online ⧉)

    Scripture leaves no question as to Manasseh. He was not a man after God’s own . While the image of God was in him, he in no way honored it. He led his people even further away from God. He is not alone in his . While he may have led the people away from God, they chose to follow. We could excuse their behavior by saying that they were afraid to oppose Manasseh, however, God does not excuse them. There is a lot to unpack there, but not for today.

    God does say that the people of Israel (and Judah) have done since they left Egypt. The time has come, it seems, for something to happen, and happen it did. The people of Judah were eventually sent into exile.

    By the time of , Israel was again in the clutches of a foreign authority. Just as during the exile, that did not mean that God stopped working, it just wasn’t as expected or often as desired. Jesus is quite blunt about the whole thing when he states that a true prophet of Israel (with some exceptions) will die in Jerusalem, by the hand of Jerusalem. That’s a pretty dark statement.

    A people who disregarded God and kill God’s prophets in the very city God “placed” his . What kind of redemption could they possibly have?

    An amazing kind.

    had the unenviable task of sharing the with Jews and Gentiles and placating the long-standing cultural frictions between the groups. Add into this the addition of Gentiles to God’s redemptive plan (despite it being in the Old Testament), and the tensions to cast out the “other” group(s) from the redemptive story was probably pretty strong. Paul had to well to the Gentiles who (at least some) seemed to think that now that they had received redemption, the Jews had lost it. Some Jews probably felt that Paul was saying that, too.

    Redemption is available to all.

    1) Have you ever thought or said that someone is beyond redemption?

    2) Reread Romans 11:12. Compare that to the behavior that Jesus noted. What does that tell you about God’s and ?

    3) Have you ever had to walk between 2 competing groups like Paul had to? What was it about? How was it resolved?

  • Chained

    Romans 5:12–21, Philippians 2:5–11, Hebrews 5:1–10 (read online ⧉)

    Obedience is hard. God knows that it is hard for us. That doesn’t excuse us from it, however.

    It seems perfectly reasonable to draw from the Scriptures that part of Jesus’ unspoken was to show obedience and that obedience is possible. There were points in Jesus’ earthly ministry that he could have not obeyed and had a completely different result. Obedience was hard. Jesus did it anyway.

    It is amazing (and depressing) that the first disobedience led to a very long line of disobedience. points out that Adam was the first man, and through Adam death came. This is, for the record, more of a story, as it does exclude Eve’s contribution. Paul was trying to tie all the prophets together, even Moses, into a big line of and death. This chain of sin and death was a result of disobedience. The Jewish by this point was not an overwhelmingly positive one. Sin and death were very much a part of their concepts. To some degree, First Century Jews had an almost dystopian view of the world (as do many people today). Finding the positive was hard.

    Paul states that while the sin that brought sin and death to the world may be overwhelming, the grace and wrought through the of Jesus Christ was greater still. So much greater was this that it didn’t stop merely with canceling sin and death, it brought abundant .

    This gift of grace and mercy is given through obedience. It is not an obedience of . It is an obedience of for the sacrifice made that we couldn’t make and acceptance of it.

    1) As a child, what was the hardest rule of your parents to obey? Why?

    2) Why is it important to understand that sin and death are chains? Whose chains are they?

    3) What is your understanding of Jesus’ obedience? What does that mean right now for your life?

  • Relating Relationally

    Genesis 24:1–27, Ruth 2:1–16, 1 Corinthians 7:1–9, Hebrews 11:13–22 (read online ⧉)

    Arranged marriages are nothing new. Many arranged marriages were and are political, financial, or just friends “knowing” their children should be together. The story of Isaac and Rebekah doesn’t quite fall into those lines, but it is still an arranged marriage. Just like any marriage, there were ups and downs, good days and bad. From a generational and legacy standpoint, marriage was a core component. The in this story was the one who had to and rely on God for the journey to be a , and to be able to go to his master (Abraham) with his task .

    The story of Ruth is considered a success as she was …and landed a husband. By landing a husband, she obtained personal security. She also obtained a legacy for her husband (and by extension, her deceased father-in-law) and her mother-in-law, Naomi. That he was honorable and rich didn’t hurt, of course. In a culture where women were not highly valued, this was a significant win for Ruth and Naomi. For the women, marriage was not just success, it was safety and identity. In the story, too, was God. In this case, it was Ruth (the Moabite foreigner) who trusted and relied on God. Naomi (the Israelite) has lost her trust in God. God’s faithfulness to Ruth, however, did seem to have restored Naomi’s trust.

    In this day and and culture, we have been spared (generally) the arranged marriages of old, though they still happen. Marriage has long been a mainstay and cultural and societal bedrock for generations, and not just in American or even Western culture, but in most cultures and ages. Yes, there are exceptions. They are few. Whether you view the current changes regarding marriage in the United States as good or bad, it has changed. There is an important reason to understand that, Americans deeply value marriage. That should give , but it should also make us cautious. When we raise marriage to such a high level (which we have), people quest and ache for it. Then they will pursue it. Then they will fail. This is not to say that we should not view marriage highly, but that our view of it should not be over that of widows, widowers, and singles. In fact, it is not unreasonable to conclude that much of the failure of marriages are not just unpreparedness, it is also suitableness.

    There often comes a judgemental tendency regarding this in Evangelical Christian circles. This is certainly not exclusive of Evangelical Christianity, as there is a religion that teaches (or at least use to) that a single man over the age of 25 to be a danger to society. Holding up relationships, especially romantic ones, as the panacea of all things is setting up relationships to not be able to bear the weight of expectations. Once relationships become gods, not only does God have no place, but relationships try to make up the lack of God by putting it all into the relationships.

    The other struggle is the one Paul is concerned about, and that is sexual morality. In other words, if you can’t handle your “needs”, then get married. Paul seems to put marriage as below singleness. Think about that for a moment. Paul, often elevated (rightfully) as a “doctor” of the , did not necessarily view marriage as anything more than a way to avoid sexual immorality. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for earthly marriage. On the other hand, Paul did say that Christ and the Church were Groom and Bride, so it’s not as if marriage wasn’t useful. Still, it wasn’t a ringing endorsement. Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches developed monasteries and convents for those called to it. This was an elevation of singleness to the of God.

    Those who a single, widowed, or married are to love and value each other equally, not based upon marital status. All statuses have to rely on God for fulfillment, and none are completely fulfilling for anyone, at least not without God. It is trusting God, when we cannot see the path before us, and trusting God when our relational desires are not fulfilled. Relationships fill holes inside each and every one of us.

    1) How do you view people who are in a different relational status than you are? Why? How does that fit into being framily together?

    2) How do you incorporate into your everyday life (i.e., not just at church) those who are in a different relational state than you?

    3) How do Paul’s words (in this passage) feel to you regarding your relational status?

  • Discerning Differences and Spirits

    2 Timothy 3:1–9, Hebrews 12:11–15 (read online ⧉)

    Every generation (so far) says of the one to follow has said at least one of the lists in 2 Timothy about the generation that follows. It’s not that there isn’t truth to it, yet it is not necessarily the same truth. Especially the transition from the last decade of the 20th Century to these first 2 decades of the 21st Century there is a cultural shift that is occurring simultaneously as, and even at a quicker rate than, the generational differences. This is an important concept to wrestle with. First, the generation and culture that follows are, in many respects, built upon the generation/culture that is complaining. Another way to say it, is instead of blaming them, look in the mirror and recognize our contribution. It is not that the list that Paul gives is wrong, it’s just that often we attribute to the responses of something they aren’t actually doing because we don’t understand our differences. The differences between Western generations are similar to the foreignness of other nations.

    While we compare generational culture to this list of Paul’s, Paul really isn’t talking about the wider culture. He’s talking about Christians in particular. Many of these phrases were used by the Protestants against the Roman Catholic at the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, and some still parrot this today. Sadly, most of these same phrases can be used against Protestant Christianity and (perhaps, even especially) Evangelical Christianity. Hence the necessity to be very careful in how we apply these phrases, for the first people who should be tested by them are ourselves. Being committed to is often not even tried, because deep down we recognize that we need to be tested, and that is uncomfortable.

    The author of Hebrews acknowledges that. Discipline and being disciplined is hard. When we test ourselves, it is the that disciplines us. And, just to be clear, we are susceptible here to the voices of the antichrists. They will try to tear us down. The builds up. Often the is the same, but the difference is that one wants to keep us down, and one wants to free us. The author of Hebrews speaks of the peaceful fruit that will result from the Holy Spirit doing the disciplining. The author of Hebrews then encourages our efforts to continue to pursue righteousness.

    The author of Hebrews then tells us the consequences of not pursuing righteousness, lameness or dislocation. The implication that we are not able to do our work. That is to be our goal, being fully (Holy Spirit) empowered followers of Christ.

    1) How do you see Paul’s list tied to the concept of lameness/dislocation as noted by the author of Hebrews?

    2) Have you ever been guilty of accusing another generation (before or after yours) of not understanding? What does that tell you about those that passed “culture” to you or the “culture” you passed on to others?

    3) A Jesus Christ-centered commitment to “test” others is hard. Have you ever made such a commitment? If so, how have you broken it? If not, what is holding you back?

  • Look at Me! Or Not…

    Luke 18:10–14, 1 Corinthians 1:26–31 (read online ⧉)

    This passage in Luke, rightfully, is often used in the to admonish the people about how they view other Christians. This passage speaks truth to the world, no matter their beliefs. Almost every person is a Pharisee. It is part of the fallen condition. We compare ourselves to others. All too often we look to others to evaluate ourselves, whether we are looking at or failure.

    In the case of the Pharisee in the passage, he is looking at the “sinful” state of the tax collector. To the Pharisee, the tax collector was “contaminated” by being a tax collector. The Pharisee condemned the tax collector by an earthly state, not a spiritual one.

    The world will often judge us (and we judge the world) by careers, location, origin, and many other things. The list is long. The issue is, as it was for the Pharisee, is that this mentality is a barrier to our repentance and . If we constantly, compare our ways to others (whether good or bad), we are focused on ourselves and others, and not God.

    Often we are blind to our ignorance. reminds us that worldly is not all that wise in comparison to God’s wisdom. What we choose to look at in another person, may not be what God is looking at, and God is the judge.

    When we focus on God’s wisdom we get something to the world, God’s , , and redemption.

    1) Do you ever compare yourself to others? If so, what areas in particular? If no, are you really sure?

    2) How does comparing ourselves to others hamper our spiritual growth?

    3) How do you boast in God? How have you heard others boast in God?

    : Ask God to forgive you when you think too much of yourself, and when you think too little of yourself, and to give you wisdom with both.

  • Sinning Fear

    Hebrews 10:26–11:1, 1 Corinthians 10:1–14 (read online ⧉)

    When we read verse 26 many people will become consumed by fear. There are a lot of people who were taught (and are being taught) that if you confess your sins (usually at church) then commit one immediately after, and then die, it’s as if the confession never existed. That is an incredibly hard place to live. There have been many Christians who have been worn down by this belief and it is heartbreaking, for it is not what the author of Hebrews intended.

    The concept of deliberately sinning is something that needs careful unpacking, and it is (in many respects) far beyond today’s devotional to dig into it. When we look at it with John Wesley’s understanding of sin (Sin is a willful transgression of a revealed and known law of God.) it not only helps, it ties in much better. The reality is that we will sin. However, it’s whether it is a lifestyle, or not. We can always try to convince ourselves that we are not making it a lifestyle. That is likely a tell that we are indeed a lifestyle of sin. What helps us to not continue walking down the slippery slope (for it is one), is the expectation of judgment and fury.

    This is where a real balancing act has to occur. We don’t want to live in a life of fear, nor should we. Yet, we need to be aware that without Christ we are in that danger of judgment and fury. In other words, we ought to seek to not sin not because we fear, but out of and that we do not have to fear.

    On the other hand, self-justification is what the author of Hebrews wants us to avoid. The understands (or should) that Jesus Christ died on the cross, and any temptations we have ought to be tempered by the thought of crucifying Jesus. While this sounds severe and even brutal, this is what keeps us from losing our way. When we stop being horrified at crucifying Jesus Christ, then are we a Christian any longer? As the writer continues, he recalls to his readers/hearers that they have already suffered and persevered through abuse and persecutions. The author is telling them that by continuing in sinful behavior they are spitting on their own sacrifices. As the writer reminds us, it is that leads us through temptations and even our sins. We are ever reliant upon the grace and mercy of God!

    Of course, what constitutes sin is always asked in these situations. That’s pretty . Paul reminds us that the Israelites all ate the same food and drank the same water as Moses. A portion died as a result of their behavior. Special food or drink didn’t them ( as a means of grace is something different). They were drawn and tempted into old patterns, just as we are today.

    1) What is your initial response to 1 Corinthians 10:13? How do you think it applies to our passage in Hebrews?

    2) Are you fearful of the consequence of your sin? Why or why not? If so, how do you move beyond the fear?

    3) Do you really trust that a way out is provided (1 Corinthians 10:13)?

    Action: Write out a to God using 1 Corinthians 10:13 as a starting point; perhaps a prayer of thanksgiving.

  • What Kind of Light is That?

    Psalm 89:4–37, Matthew 5:13–16, Philippians 4:4–9 (read online ⧉)

    Psalm 89 talks about people who walk in the light of the face of God. This is somewhat associated with both Moses having to wear a (Exodus 34:29–35 ⧉) and the Levitical (Numbers 6:22–27 ⧉). The light of the face of God is transformative for those who seek to honor, value and glorify God. The psalm talks about the particular people rejoicing in God’s name and being “lifted up” due to God’s righteousness (not their own). God also becomes their and protection.

    The thinking that goes along with light, especially when we read the passage in Matthew, is often sloppy. Perhaps it comes from simple, joyous, and fun songs such as, “This Little Light of Mine.” It is partially the individualistic salvation story that we are familiar and comfortable with as Westerners (especially, Americans). It is also this generic term that is often said without really thinking about exactly what “light” means. The use light in many ways, so if we are going to be using such a generic “light”, we’d better define it. Yet, we often leave it to, “oh, you know what I mean.” And that, dear , is exactly the problem. In the Western world, religious familiarity (of the useful kind, not antagonism) is fading. We can’t say, “oh, you know what I mean,” anymore, because most people don’t know what you mean!

    ‘ City on a Hill parable is based on a historical white stone city on a hill. It shined brightly when it reflected the sun. It couldn’t be hidden. Something so white and on a hill could only hide at night when the moon was covered (clouds, cycle, or orbit). If it has been a long time since you’ve been (or if you have never been) away from city lights, the light of the moon shines on many things. A white city on a hill would shine even in the night, as long as the moon itself was shining. Jesus then commands us to “shine our light” before all humanity! The light we are to shine is not “the light of Jesus”. It is the light of lives transformed by Jesus.

    How does someone show that their was transformed by Jesus? The passage from ‘s letter to the Philippians provides some ideas. Some of them might even be counter-Christian-cultural! Rejoice in God always, even when society appears to be going against you. Be gracious to others (just as God was gracious to you). Don’t worry about anything. When you bring requests to God, first be thankful. Oh, and God will give you peace that makes no sense. Then think about and dwell upon good things: truth, honor, just, pure, lovely, commendable. Having a life with these characteristics would definitely make you counter-cultural, often even in the .

    1) What would be your definition of “being the light,” if you had to explain it to an unbeliever who has never heard from Jesus? Now, think about what you said. Would somebody even listen to it?

    2) What are some other habits/characteristics that you think “shine the light”? Are they your characteristics?

    3) Paul’s list about what to dwell on is often missed by the church. Why do you think that is?

    Action: Add a daily practice to find something positive to dwell on particularly in your family or church.