Devotion.al

Tag: Paul

  • So Bright

    So Bright

    Psalm 50:1–6; 2 Kings 2:1–12; 2 Corinthians 4:3–6; Mark 9:2–9

    “From the rising of the sun to where it sets,
    God, the Lord God, speaks,
    calling out to the earth.”
    —Psalm 50:1 [CEB]

    God has never stopped calling out to the earth. Even after humanity’s exile from Eden, God has continually sought humanity.

    There are unique stories in the for certain unique people. Elijah was one of them. He had done many miraculous things under God’s auspices. Even his exit from this mortal coil was a miraculous event.

    While we often get “caught up” with Elijah’s being whisked away, it is all that is happening with Elisha that should, perhaps, catch our attention. If you read the story well, you can see that God had let Elijah and Elisha know that “today” was the day.

    Then to make it undeniable, some other prophets were also told (based upon the phrasing, separately from Elijah and Elisha), and they told Elisha. This story may really be less about Elijah than about Elisha. Despite the miraculous, Elijah seems more of the forefather , rather than the main character.

    When Elisha asks for a double portion of the , he is requesting to become Elijah’s inheritor. As Elijah’s “inheritance” is God-imbued and not that of man, it’s hard for Elijah to make that decision. As the story progresses, it becomes abundantly clear that this story is about Elisha’s inheritance from Elijah.

    It may seem that God is not calling out or seeking, yet there is plenty of God moving both from telling Elijah and Elisha that the day is here, to a number of other prophets who also hear the same thing.  We are often blind to God moving because we have expectations of how God is to . We can see this in our Sunday Services with the varying traditions from to church, from Pentecostal to Eastern Orthodox. We -in the movement of God…God will break out.

    Much of ‘ ministry was God breaking out of the box that Jewish had turned into. The trip up the mountain turned into another “break out” moment.

    For the 3 disciples, they had their own “Moses” moment. Instead of a burning bush, they were next to a cloud filled with God’s glory. It might have even reminded them of the story of God’s glory filling the Tent of Meeting in the time between leaving Egypt and entering the Promised Land. It might have reminded them of the story of God’s glory filling the (at the time, newly consecrated) Temple after Solomon’s opening prayer.

    The 3 disciples had plenty that they could associate with this experience. While we might consider them naive in their response, at the same time, they understood that this was not the “same old” experience. They were blessed to “pierce through” the veil, as Paul calls the “gap” between God and humanity’s perception of God.

    “…He is the same one who shone in our hearts to us the light of the of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.” — 2 Corinthians 4:6 [CEB]

    ※Reflection※

    • When are you guilty of “putting God in a box”?
    • What is (or would be) your response were someone to say to you, “God does not move that way”? Have you ever said something similar to someone else?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, may we be ready and willing to meet you where you choose to meet us. Amen.

  • Forging Character

    Forging Character

    Psalm 50:1–6; 1 Kings 14:1–18; 1 Timothy 1:12–20

    You probably believe that you have never had a (a “word” from God) spoken “over” you. You might be right. As such, you’ve never had someone say to you, “I thought of you when I read/heard this.” Nor have you heard, “I felt I had to share this with you.” Nor have you ever had your spirit “struck” by a sermon, a song, or a moment.

    If you’ve never had any of these happen, it might be time to stop reading this and God when it has happened (note, this wasn’t a whether).

    Not all words are positive for a person. Jeroboam, his wife, and their son (Abijah) received a prophetic word. It wasn’t good. There are multiple points that are sad.

    Abijah was probably very young when he died (based on context). As he was young, he hadn’t developed the bad habits of his and . That he was the only member of the family to be honored in death is telling.

    The other sad part is that Jeroboam and his wife (and by extension their children) heard and witnessed the prophetic word coming true and their hearts were not (it seems) changed. God has relented in punishment (or reduced it) when a person repents. Jeroboam didn’t bother.

    Paul emphasizes God’s relenting tendencies by his own testimony. He reminds Timothy that he (Paul) was the of Christ and Christians before he became the champion he was. In just a few words, Paul shows us the depth of the tragedy of Jeroboam and all those like him throughout history and today.

    Paul’s is also important regarding his instructions to Timothy about “waging war” (the implication being a war of faith) and the cast out Hymenaeus and Alexander. It may well be that this passage is about Timothy either mourning or trying to drawback Hymenaeus and Alexander into the .

    It would make sense as Paul reminds Timothy that the prophetic word that was “over” him was about waging a war of faith. The situation with Hymenaeus and Alexander seemed to require some sort of battle with the two. Paul told Timothy that he (Paul) had let them free. As Paul was Timothy’s mentor, the strong implication is that Paul wanted Timothy to do the same.

    It is Paul’s preceding words that provide the “silver lining” to Hymenaeus and Alexander being handed over to Satan. They can still , for Jesus Christ is every faithful and loving. In addition, Paul added a “to be taught” clause, meaning that his expectation is that Hymenaeus and Alexander are likely to return.

    ※Reflection※

    • It can be hard to let someone fall away as Hymenaeus and Alexander. What can we observe about God in these situations? What can we observe about ourselves?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Christ, thank you for your toward us and the unending grace you pour into our lives. Help our hearts to see your faithfulness and grace poured out for the world. Amen.

  • You Stink!

    You Stink!

    Psalm 50:1–6; 1 Kings 11:26–40; 2 Corinthians 2:12–17

    “You stink,” is not a compliment. In an era when most people bathe daily, human body odor has become almost offensive (exceptions being hard labor and workouts).

    It is quite probable that you have smelled a skunk long before you saw it (if you saw it). The burning sensation is…unique. You could also have driven behind an older car that is burning too much gas or oil, or behind a diesel with its distinctive smell. You know what is coming (or what you’re following) by the smell.

    Paul’s evocative imagery was meant to remind all of those in the Corinthian Church of incense. Whether they were Gentile or Jew, incense was used in religious observances. Such a smell was always intended to incite religious fervor. The smell was to “remind” people that God is (or gods were) near.

    • As we think of ourselves as the incense of Christ, what might/should happen around us as we walk in the world?

    Asking that question is important, as Paul then leaps to someplace uncomfortable. We want to be the “pleasing” incense that humanity finds enjoyable, and wants to partake in. Paul reminds us that the greatest smell to us may smell like death to others.

    It is startling to think that if we truly are the incense of Christ (the One, the Living Water, the Light of the World), we smell like…death. We should smell like life! We do…just not to the .

    Paul isn’t talking about our corporeal death. He’s talking about spiritual death. In other words, to those whose current path is aimed toward Hell, we smell like death. To those whose current path is aimed toward Heaven, we smell like life.

    Where this gets interesting (and raises ) is when we get to passages such as this one in 1 Kings. Solomon was following other gods (granted, at the behest of his too many wives/concubines). Jeroboam was going down the insurrection road. While Jeroboam was by God, it seems, on the other hand, Jeroboam followed God just long enough to take control of “his” 10 tribes, and then did worse than Solomon or Rehoboam (Solomon’s ).

    While Solomon is still revered as a wise man, he didn’t follow God wholeheartedly. We don’t if God smelled of death or life to Solomon. We can say the same about Jeroboam and Rehoboam.

    On a slightly darker train of thought is whether God smells like death or life to us. This may seem to be an easy answer but look at Solomon. Look also at the Corinthian church. They had lots of troubles. We don’t know which people “smelled” God as life or death.

    ※Further Reflection※

    • How does one know (versus ) one “smells” God as life?
    • How might a man whose wisdom was supernaturally gifted by God get so confused? What does that teach (or warn) us?

    ※Prayer※

    God, you are the very of our lives. Let us breathe in your and breathe out your . Amen.

  • Willing to be Sharpened

    Willing to be Sharpened

    Proverbs 27:17; Acts 15:36–41

    I’m sure you’ve never fought. Ever. With anyone. I’m sure that you’ve never raised your or yelled in anger or frustration. Ever. At anyone.

    Paul was strong-willed and opinionated. Barnabas was a person who seemed to always be the forgiving type. He was known as an encourager.

    Paul and Barnabas had been on . They had been in trouble together. They had seen God’s together. They had seen the Holy Spirit people. By all accounts, they were successful missionary partners.

    From Paul’s letters, we know that he really cared about the people gathered into the churches. There was probably a strong motivation to make sure they were okay and hadn’t fallen prey (again) to non-Christians (both Jew and Gentile).

    Then we come to Mark. It is unclear why Mark had left them in Pamphylia. Based on context, some commentators believe that Mark left Paul (going to Jerusalem) because Mark didn’t believe that should not have ties to Judaism. The thought process was that Paul would not have been so opposed to Mark if it had not been something serious (versus being young and unaccustomed to travel, as other commentators have said).

    Here is where we see the division. Barnabas and Paul were not opposing each other regarding the mission (i.e., they were ). One could even say their disagreement proved that they both believed in the mission. What they disagreed on was Mark’s part in the mission.

    They couldn’t agree. They parted ways.

    Paul’s was sharp and straightforward (one might say similar to an oncoming train). Barnabas was the type who sought to lift up. What is interesting here is that Barnabas chose to “lift up” Mark, despite Paul’s insistence.

    Whether in , work, or home, there will be times where people do not agree in approach. All too often, the only option seems to be separation. Yet, when two such “opposites” sharpen each other, that which comes from it will often be greater than the only one. The trick is how to make it happen.

    We do know this, though. Mark and Paul were reconciled. Mark and Timothy (Paul’s protege) became ministry partners.

    ※Reflection※

    • Have you ever seen two people whose goal is the same, but their methods are different? How did that go?
    • What does it take for two people of significantly different approaches to try to work together?
    • If you’ve found yourself in such a situation, are you more like Paul or like Barnabas?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we can quickly fall apart on our differences. Help us to take these differences to make a symphony for you. Amen.

  • Mixing It Up

    Mixing It Up

    It can seem strange to question and particularly the unity of disparate people, but that is what is happening here. Jew and Gentile in a single . The Jew and Gentile outside that faith assaulted it.

    Unity is a great thing. The is supposed to be a place of unity. Yet, the church also remains the most divided. It is divided by culture, nation, skin color, , location and many other reasons.

    Yet, the “obvious” division isn’t all bad. Really. If we didn’t have divisions, well, there would be one pastor…one…for everyone. Already, we know that wouldn’t work.

    Some sociologists state that our effective relational capacity is approximately 100. This “tribal” view of humanity would certainly explain much of what each of us experience in . It also explains the church.

    In many regards, the divisions that we see in the world are not that surprising. As the ability to connect the whole world in real-time expands and becomes embedded in our lives, we are all experiencing the stress of a “tribal” size beyond our capacity to deal with and understand.

    This does not spare us the responsibility to learn and understand. The “tribal” concept may be about to be turned upside down.

    The church of Iconium, for example, broke the “tribal” boundaries. The tribal-breaking church remains the world’s greatest . It is this that makes the divided church so painful.

    The world needs an enemy. Tribes need enemies. The enemies may not be ones of warfare. They may be economic or cultural or something else.

    The church is called to cross enemy lines not to defeat the enemy, but to reconcile the enemy, so that there are no more enemies.

    ※Reflection※

    • Which “tribal” identities do you identify with?
    • Which “tribal” identities do you struggle most with?
    • How do you think the early church overcame “tribal” identities?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, grant us the wisdom and to follow the example of your Paul along with the first churches, that we can truly be the witnesses to the world of your great . Amen.

  • Freely

    Freely

    Psalm 147:1–11; 1 Corinthians 9:16–23

    Psalm 147 opens up powerfully. It really is good to sing to God. Every worship leader hopes that it is the pleasure of everyone who attends church (whether physically or online) finds it a pleasure to praise God through singing.

    Of course, the psalmist is a songwriter/performer, so is obviously a tad biased towards this form of praise. There is indeed something powerful about music. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who find their best time of worship and praise through or stillness.

    The of worship is honoring God. A heart that honors God, worships God. Those people faithfully for the next experience of God’s faithful .

    The of experiencing God’s faithful love produces a response that can seem odd to a person who does not believe the same. has such an expectation. That is part of what motivates his approach to his (Christ directed) mission to share the .

    Paul’s response to God’s faithful love? Share the Good News freely. Not only freely in regard to cost, but also freely to whomever, and freely however.

    In many respects, the whomever and however continue to be a problem in regard to sharing the gospel. In some church somewhere, someone is saying, “Let’s not share the Good News with those people.” In another church (or maybe the same one), someone is saying, “We just can’t do it that way.”

    It’s easy to say, “Paul would…,” but the reality is that we don’t know what Paul would have done. We can only at the “heart” of Paul as seen through his words.

    We are often quite to put boundaries on many things in our lives. With whom and how (granted, without changing the Truth) however, the fewer boundaries we place the more likely we are to be where God already is.

    ※Reflection※

    • What surprising/unexpected ways have you seen the Good News shared/spread?
    • How should honoring/praising/worshiping God lead to sharing the Good News of the Gospel?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, may we find ways to share the Gospel that builds bridges of and love. Amen.

  • Wages of Worth

    Wages of Worth

    1 Corinthians 9:1–16

    are not a small thing. There have been a number of studies that for the same position and experience women make less than men, and minorities make less than whites. The results of such studies can be quite disheartening.

    Numbers can be deliberately misinterpreted or mishandled or presented in a deceiving fashion. Numbers don’t lie. People do.

    If numbers were to portray the value of people, many of the remuneration studies would “say”: “white man” > “white woman” > “minority man” > “minority woman”. This is even the case in technical organizations that function in numbers and where skills and experience supposedly guide the way.

    I have been in a position to know the pay of . Some were paid more than others due to experience, skillset, and talent. Others were paid more than others because they came at a time where their skillset (even if normally inadequate) was needed (premium pay). To my , no one was paid differently because of their or gender, but that part was never part of my purview.

    Paul chided the Corinthians about their tight-fisted-ness. Based on previous verses, it is likely that people are maligning Paul either because he doesn’t take payment or because others were getting paid. As a bi-vocational pastor, I have been told I was (and have been treated as) not a “real” pastor because I wasn’t paid. I was also told that a “real” pastor wouldn’t be working a second job (even though that’s the one feeding my ).

    To protect the innocent, I will say there once was a with a pastor and his family (and this isn’t about me). They paid their pastor so poorly (and the church was in a wealthy ) that their pastor was on food stamps. In outrage, one of the board members successfully pushed a pay increase, putting the pastor over the food stamp eligibility. The only problem is that because of that, the pastor and his family went into a higher tax bracket, and he made less. The family was worse off. The board was fine with it, as the optics of their pastor on food stamps was removed.

    These differences in the treatment of pastors (my experience and the innocent pastor) me a good reason to look at Paul. This weird dichotomy of it’s bad that Paul isn’t paid to it’s bad these leaders are paid makes a person’s head hurt.

    Paul’s biblically grounded of, “Yes, I have earned the right to be paid; you have the obligation to pay me,” and then saying, “but I choose not to be paid so that I am not a burden to you,” is amazing. His defense of his fellow leaders, who were getting paid, displays a lack of or a sense of being where he belongs.

    The whole situation might seem strange. However, as we look at our own society and culture, we can recognize similarities. “You get what you pay for,” would put Paul in question as he was “free”. “I can get a better orator or cheaper speaker here,” would put the other leaders’ wages in question. If we’re honest with ourselves, many businesses (we should that churches wouldn’t do this) can look at an employee and see which one costs more. If they have a family, they will naturally require a higher wage. A young unmarried person has nothing to tie them down (they might work more), so they can accept a lower wage.

    We say that people are equal, but we often don’t treat them that way. Wages should not define a person, but we often treat them as the test of their worthiness. God forgive us.

  • Walk Out Your Faith

    Galatians 5:2–15

    I’ve probably shared this before; forgive me. A number of years ago, I was in a bible study. In it was a woman who said, “I don’t believe in the God of the Old Testament, only the New One. Only the God of the New Testament is a God of Love.”

    Our study leaders were not the most theologically conservative. Even so, they quickly (and gently) corrected her. Yet, I know many people like her who were raised with the “hellfire and brimstone” type of sermons and teachings which predominately used the Old Testament to cause people to be terrified of God.

    The Jews of ‘s time weren’t so much afraid of God as they were not following the rules. The rules were the source of alongside the religious leaders who instilled fear.

    This same affliction has been part of the for generations. People followed rules because they could “safely” belong following the rules. Of course, that does not mean they understood the rationale behind the rules, or believed it.

    Rules can be good and beneficial. Having an understanding of consequences of decisions is also good. When they become the religion or “proof”, they will often defy our with God.

    The biggest victim in that situation is . People like the woman in the story, or those who experienced hellfire & brimstone sermons often become unable to see God’s grace. That inability to see God’s grace then becomes the inability to see God’s love.

    Paul’s words to the Galatians were to remind them that they had God’s grace. To put an exaggerated point on it, he was telling them that they traded a city of gold for a rotten turnip. They embraced the rotten turnip, and dumped the city of gold.

    There is, of course, the danger of developing in such a way of needing grace that the way of living leads you to slavery. However, willfully (or ignorantly) skipping out on grace may be far worse.

    Being grace-filled is counter-cultural. It has been for quite some time. Being grace-filled is not being a doormat, it is giving people what they don’t deserve…God’s love.

    Read the for this devotional on BibleGateway.com
    • If you were asked to live out your in grace, what would that look like?
    • How does living out grace work with those with whom you ?
    • If you were to choose grace or rules, which would it be? Which does your life display?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, let your grace flow in, through, and out of us more and more. Amen.