Devotion.al

Tag: perspective

  • Welcomed To The Table

    Genesis 12:1-7, Ruth 2:13–19, Job 31:24–32

    For many of us (if not most), the call of Abram (who would become Abraham) doesn’t seem that significant from a strictly perspective. Yes, any of us would find being called by God significant, but the calling away from relatives and land is not so strange. This is not the case here. There is a with the land. The land of one’s ancestors. There is also the concept of leaving one’s family.

    American culture, especially Western American culture, has some significant breaks with the culture of Abram. The settler and/or explorer mentality which underlies much of American founding is not conducive to family roots, or least always staying near home. America celebrates individuality and individual to culturally understand what God is having Abram do. The only exception to this break had been agricultural families, but with the increasing transformation from family to corporate farms, even that is going away.

    Abram was separated from his family and land by choice. Yes, it was God’s direction, but in his culture, leaving was a big break. While he had his household, he was now a household of wanderers. Where is home for such wandering group? By leaving the ties of the land, Abram would now effectively be a guest wherever he went.

    Ruth was the same. Yes, she had married an Israelite, but he was dead. She didn’t have to leave her homeland. However, in her she had made a decision that her husband’s family was truly her own, breaking her family ties. What made her decision even more significant was that all that was left of her husband’s immediate family was his widowed mother. Not much of a family structure for support. Now that Ruth and Naomi were back in Israelite land, Ruth was now responsible for both. By the of God, she fell into the care of Boaz, a distant relative. Boaz welcomed her above and beyond a . He truly welcomed her to his table to eat. She had no functional value to him, yet he welcomed her.

    And welcoming others to the table is what Job did, too. He was in this. It wasn’t that he had a long line of people that would take advantage of this ( strong cultural taboo against it), so turning people away likely didn’t happen. He welcomed people to the table.

    1) Abram was a guest. Why would other landowners welcome him to their table? Why might they not?

    2) Culturally, much of American culture has turned away from welcoming strangers (hospitality). Why do you think that is? When do you think it started to change?

    3) Generations (along with the Church of the Nazarene) practices “Open .” How does that apply to Abram, Ruth, and Job? How do Abram, Ruth, and Job apply to “Open Communion?”

  • The Proper Guest

    Psalm 104:1–15, John 6:53–58, 1 Corinthians 11:17–11:27

    From the perspective, God breathed life into us. We’re not just talking about the lungs, but the spiritual life, too. God is the great sustainer. While there are those whose perspective of God is the Clockwork God (the concept that God started the whole thing and “walked away”) and others for whom it is only biological life and no , most people seem to be between. The two “extremes” operate within the framework that God is not active, and God does not interact with creation. Again, because one perspective has God off who knows where, and the other perspective has no God (or other “force” for that matter). There is an odd in-between version of the as a non-personal “force”, but that is even harder to comprehend.
    From an orthodox Christian perspective, without God’s spirit, we would truly be nothing more than mere biological machines. When we look at humanity, despite its often horrible state, we cannot help perceiving that there is something far more significant than just being a machine.

    What happens, though, when someone takes things and makes them anything but normal? Jesus.

    When Jesus calls on people to eat his flesh and drink his blood, let’s be honest, it isn’t normal. The church has long held the view that there is definitely something going on here. On one hand, there are those that believe that when we take communion, we are literally (not just spiritually) eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus (called transubstantiation, if you want to know). There are those that believe that it is merely (and only) a memorial, we do it solely because Jesus (and ) told us to (which are good reasons), and because the church has done it for centuries ( is not a bad reason either). There are two other major perspectives. Consubstantiation is a belief that it is both body and bread, and blood and wine. The last belief is that while it is “just” bread and wine (in the Nazarene and other denominations, grape juice), it is far more than “just” that. There is an understanding that Jesus is present at the table presiding over communion, in the same spirit as the Last Supper.

    Think of that. You’re eating in the of Jesus, as a guest.

    Regardless of your perspective on communion, the church (Orthodox to Roman Catholic to Protestant) calls it a sacrament. What is a sacrament? It is something instituted by an act of Jesus. Within the larger Protestant grouping, it is one of two sacraments, the other being . Other traditions count additional acts as sacraments, but communion and baptism are universal.

    There is another aspect that is crucial to the sacraments…ourselves. Sacraments are instituted by God, so we don’t make them holy. However, Paul warns everyone to take them seriously. This is why an understanding of at whose table you are eating is so important. Not only are you eating and drinking with your local church family, there is the larger denomination, the church as a whole (again, across denominations), and with the church universal (both before and after us). It should never be something approached flippantly. This does not you cannot be joyful. In fact, joyful and thankful should be the exact perspective we bring to the table.

    1) For some communion should be done rarely; at most, once a month. For others, communion is weekly. For others still, it is every (which can be many times in a week). What is your perspective? Why? Can you see why others might have a different perspective?

    2) Do you ever think of Jesus hosting your table during communion? Does that impact how you view communion, and your participation in it?

    3) Why do you think Jesus and Paul emphasize the body and blood? What is the significance of those two words?

  • Rock Stories

    Rock Stories

    Joshua 4:1–13, Jeremiah 10:11-13

    A pile of rocks. What is this supposed to mean, exactly? Thanks for the field trip to the river. It’s a pile of rocks. I can make my own at home.

    How we connect the past to today is essential to passing history. If we make it boring and dry, some of it might stick, but most won’t. An enthusiastic teacher might be slightly more successful than the boring teacher, but it is still connecting it that matters. If the dry or enthusiastic sharing of facts doesn’t connect, should we just be quiet? Probably not. Only by sharing is there any at all of passing it on.

    So, then what? Story. Even the stories that make a person roll their eyes. Some have probably heard (or even said), “I used to walk 2 (or more) miles to school uphill (uphill is important) both ways in knee-deep (or deeper) snow.” There might be some wind in there, too. Some of you probably smiled or groaned. Sounds familiar? As a child it might indeed have seemed forever to walk, the snow too deep, and the wind too cold. A re-walk of those exact steps as an adult is a completely different . It’s the story that connects.

    At some point, it seems the pile of rocks pulled from the middle of a raging river, during flood stage, yet walking on dry ground, lost its magic. Did the Israelites during the time of Judges forget? Did somebody the stones? How could the symbol of God’s amazing act turn into something boring? Easy. We can take a mirror and reflect our culture. History (except for a few) has become part of the dusty books on the back shelf. We’re not talking knowing all the amazing, angering, distressing, -wrenching stories, for who can know them all? We are talking about a common understanding of the way of things. Instead of common culture, we now have facts. And before one tears down the media or education, this is a long-germinating issue. It’s over a century, at this point.

    Christianity, with its own and longer history, has the same issue. We have to start sharing our God-encounter stories with each other. Whether the story is large or small, it is our story with God at the center that needs to be shared. When we all develop a culture of sharing our God encounter stories, they stop being strange or odd. It becomes no longer uncomfortable to . There is a caveat, however. The stories have to be shared in . If you walk up to another person, even someone at church, without a developed relationship, the story will seem awkward, and will likely fall flat.

    1) What story from American (or your country of origin) history do you ? What about that story connects with you?

    2) What God-centered story from a fellow do you remember? What about that story connects with you?

    3) Have you ever shared a God-centered story with a non-Christian? Why? What was the occasion? Did it connect with them? Why or why not?

  • Yet We Live

    Psalm 22, Genesis 28:10–22, Luke 20:27-39

    Jacob’s vision encouraged and assured him that God was real, and God had something planned for him. What the vision didn’t do was say everything was going to be easy, and that he (and his ) would always be safe. Even when God says, “…I will bring you back…” certain assurances are missing, such as how long or when. While the vision has aspects of , there really is a lot left completely open.

    While the is made to Jacob, by extension the promise is also to his descendants. God promises to Jacob that his offspring will have the land and that God would not leave until that occurred. In other words, while the promise was immediate, the fulfillment and God’s was far in the .

    This now and future aspect is very important when we come to Jesus’ words. Jesus is strongly implying that the concept of past, present, and future aren’t quite as we think. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob were all buried. Scripture even tells of them specifically being buried. They were dead! Jesus turns that upside down and says that everybody (even those who have died) are from God’s . We measure our days. When we think of , our legacy is what outlives us. According to Jesus, our legacy cannot outlive us!

    It seems to be contradictory. We know we die, yet God says we live. We know people in our lives who have died, yet for God, they live!

    1) We all leave a legacy. Will the legacy you leave give , or is it something else?

    2) Throughout scripture, there is a tension of now and not yet. Why is that important in regards to legacy?

    3) There is a tendency in many Christian circles that a good with God means that we will always be healthy, wealthy, long-lived, and safe. Scripture never delivers that message. Why, then, do you think that so many Christians hold on to this belief?

  • Heartful Rest

    Psalm 23, Deuteronomy 10:12–22, Hebrews 4:4–13

    Sleep is good. is good. Too much of either is bad. Too little of either is bad. Sleep and activity must be balanced. All too often, however, neither of these are correctly balanced in our lives. The lazy or lonely or depressed often get too much rest, and movement begins to cease. Those who are too active, rarely resting, usually become less themselves and even begin to lose their grasp on things, trying to keep it all . Does any of this sound like you?

    While Psalm 23 may be the most famous psalm, and many take solace in it. In the King James Version, Verse 2 says, “…maketh me to lie down…” The NIV says, “…he makes me lie down…” Some translations do say, “…lets me…”, but most don’t. The Hebrew “rabats” (רָבַץ) has more emphasis than just “lets”. David was a shepherd as a boy, during his most formative years, so shepherding would always be near to his and understanding. (like people) sometimes have to be made to rest. Are you being made to rest? Resting is not everything, though.

    As Moses speaks to the people at the edge of the Promised Land, he calls them to Holy activity. They are instructed to walk in God’s ways. They are to love God. They are to God (with their whole hearts and souls). They are to do something. They must be in with God. Yes, there were rules. Before you are quick to judge the Israelites on the law, look at our own law books, and understand that we have far more rules than they did. This perspective is important as we Christians are often too quick to say how bad “all” their laws were. The center of it all was heart and soul directed toward and in relationship with God. As they entered the Promised Land, they were to take this understanding with them. If they had taken it truly to heart and practiced it, the story would have turned out different.

    In some ways, the author of Hebrews is trying to drive home the same point. Hearts aligned with God achieve true rest. However, note that the author of Hebrews did not there. The author of Hebrews notes that Joshua did fully realize the goal, but does not blame Joshua. It was a pattern of disobedience that led to a lack of rest in the Promised Land. The author of Hebrews is warning his readers that we cannot just “rest” on God’s and love. We must to it. God’s grace and love don’t “require” a , but only a response of following, love, and worship (from heart and soul) is a true relationship with God.

    1) Have you ever found yourself checking-off the “God to-do” list? What emotions come to mind when you think of that?

    2) Why do you think Moses emphasizes “heart and soul”? Shouldn’t one be enough? Aren’t they the same? What about the mind?

    3) We are often busy doing “stuff”. How much of this “stuff” is Holy activity?

    FD) Do think it odd that the writer of Hebrews says, “make every effort to enter the rest?” Effort to rest? What does that mean?

  • People Dynamics

    Exodus 6:1–13, Psalm 37:1–24, 1 Corinthians 3:18–4:5

    “I want you to walk up to your estranged family (who just so happens to be the world power at the moment) and tell them to release their biggest labor force.” Hmm. We are so accustomed to Moses’ story that we often will miss pieces of the story. Everyone in your family gets along, right? Even the distant cousins, right? Of course not! Sometimes the biggest and longest lasting fights and painful relationships are within families. When the family is a family of power and influence (such as Egypt was), the significance of family relationships or battles becomes much larger than just interpersonal relationships. On top of that, Moses was only an adopted child, and he was adopted from the Hebrews he’s being sent to lead out of Egypt. No pressure. What crazy person would dare oppose one of the most (if not the most) powerful militaries in the world? Who’d (basically) walk up to the to basically thumb his nose at him? No one. It’s just not !

    Moses’ reality was that he would have to oppose his powerful adoptive family who wouldn’t be happy with him. He’d also have the tension within his extended biological family, many of whom wouldn’t him because he was from Pharaoh’s house and he had run away years ago. This just wasn’t a good place to be. When in the middle of these two tensions, we have to give Moses credit, he kept a balanced head, no matter much either “side” would have driven him crazy.

    When we deal with opposing tensions we can all have a tendency to lose it a bit. We can lose our temper, our positivity, our humor. We often up fighting ourselves first. While we may not be currently upset or caught between evildoers, as the psalmist is concerned about, the agitation is often the same. We can be caught between two “goods”, two “bads”, and even between a good and a bad. Where we turn when in a place of tension, tells us where our heart is focused. If we turn to work, , , drugs, and such, we can soften the tension for time, but only put it off. Our families often receive the brunt of our tension, but they generally cannot deal with it either. That leaves us with God, who can handle it all. Or, at least that is how it should be. Instead, we often try to hand off our decisions, responsibilities, or consequences to others, especially those we perceive as smarter, wiser, or more powerful than ourselves. That is the wisdom of the world.

    We are often reminded of the craziness, futility, and just plain wrongness that pervades humanity, yet for some reason, we insist on its wisdom. We look around the world wondering what’s wrong. The world around us is the expression of human wisdom. It is not that God’s wisdom is not there, but human “wisdom” is so common it seems as if God’s wisdom is not there. This is why says the (worldly) wise should become fools. For when they see their human wisdom as foolishness, they can finally become aware of God’s wisdom. And this brings us back to Moses. According to the world, he was a fool. He was in awe of (often “feared” is used) God, which is the beginning of true wisdom.

    1) is often viewed as foolishness by many. Why give up the good stuff? What is the Godly wisdom of giving up the “good” stuff?

    2) It is often easy to “know” the story of Bible characters. What happens if you put yourself in their place? Does that change your perspective of them and their story?

    3) Wisdom and knowledge can be passed on. We focus a lot on wordly wisdom, as we want our (children, grandchildren, etc.) to be successful in this world. However, worldly wisdom is often at odds with God’s wisdom. How have you dealt with that? How can you help others deal with it?

    FD) Who do you for guidance when you have 2 good (or bad) decisions to choose from?

  • Hearts In Worship

    Psalm 50, Isaiah 58, Matthew 6:1–18

    Humankind is always trying to figure God out. Humankind will often take a human role/position and apply it to God. It is not wrong to do this, in scripture we see, “Lord of lords.” There is an explicit understanding that no matter how great or powerful any person of influence or is, God is more so. As the culture and governments change, so did the way God was viewed. For example, in the Roman Empire and well after the fall of the Roman Empire, God was viewed as an emperor. In the Reformation, God was viewed as more of a judge. John Wesley and others viewed God as Father, which is odd, as God the Father was a phrase used while God was viewed as emperor. Yet, God the Father, as the Wesleys understood God the Father, was a loving, caring, and self-sacrificing father. Despite this change, much of the church’s (and thus the people’s) interaction with God is still God as Emperor and God as Judge. This really comes into play when we read things such as Psalm 50, God as Judge.

    The intro (vv. 1-6) set the stage for who God is, some symbolism to correctly identify God, and his command. The tendency is to see devouring fire and judge as bad. The devouring fire, though, is good and purifying (burns away the surface layer), and also reflects the context of this psalm regarding , where the sacrifice was burned to make amends to, covenant with, and God. When it comes to judge, it is the same that is also used to contend, plead the cause, vindicate, govern. The best translation is still judge, however, as we dig deeper, it isn’t to condemn. Lastly, God calls heaven and earth. From a legal viewpoint (back to judge), heaven and earth are witnesses regarding the People of God. So, what is causing the issue?

    Wrongly worshipping God. The implication of the verses is that the purpose of the sacrifices is to feed God. This is a logical leap, as the cultures around the Israelites believed exactly that about their sacrifices to their gods. God tells the Israelites that he could eat whatever he wanted if he needed to. First, they are all his (as he made them). Second, because he knows them all and where they are. Then we move on to the Thank Offering. Why? That God tells them to do a thank offering tells us that they missed this vital sacrifice that was part of the Law, but more importantly, should have been part of their hearts. Thanking God had disappeared. While not mentioned in this psalm at all, it probably meant that the Israelites weren’t performing Fellowship Offerings either. What does this tell us? That the Israelites had indeed turned God into judge and did the “right” things to appease God. This, again, takes from the cultures and religious practices from those around them.

    God then goes and addresses those whose hearts don’t even get the whole God thing at all. These are the people that do all the “right” things, but unlike the ones previously addressed, don’t really care whether they do right or wrong. They do wrong and all they care about is avoiding punishment. We’ve all known people like this, who will say the right things to avoid the consequences of their behavior. These are those people. Doing the doesn’t avoid the punishment, it actually adds to it.

    Lastly, in this psalm, at the end of these two sections, there is promise. People in right with God (which still doesn’t mean they are perfect) will be saved. Not to belabor the point, Isaiah 58 and Matthew 6:1–18 is all about our hearts in worship, and what God does in and for people in right relationship. In his song, “The of Worship,” Matt Redman says/sings:
    When the music fades

    All is stripped away
    And I simply come
    Longing just to bring
    Something that’s of
    That will bless Your heart

    Much of our life is filled with adding more and more. Our schedules are full. Our lives are busy. Church services go from one thing to another in a flow. We consume more and more food, drink, energy, data, but in so doing shove God out of our lives. calls upon us to remove things from our lives, not to punish ourselves (as some people claim), but to remind us that God is truly all we need, and all God wants is all of us.

    1) Have you ever been overwhelmed or underwhelmed by a church service? Can you figure out why?

    2) Do you strive to do more things to please people? How about God? Does today’s scripture change your perspective?

    3) There were 3 primary sacrifices in Levitical Law/life: remediation of , Thanksgiving, Free Will/Fellowship. What seems to be the primary goal of sacrifice? Which of the 3 do most people focus on? Why?

    FD) What’s the simplest thing you can do to worship God today? What’s the simplest thing you can do to give thanks to God? What’s the simplest thing you can do to be in fellowship with God?

  • Circle of Life and Death

    Genesis 2:4–19, Isaiah 2:11–22, Proverbs 3:1–18

    “… to Ashes; to Dust…”—Book of Common Prayer, Burial Liturgy

    The Circle of was (and remains) a powerful song. Just the title itself reminds us that life is a circle. Adam (i.e., mankind) came from dust. That dirt swept off the floor or vacuumed out of the carpet is just a large amount of dust. We look around our homes and can see dust on books, or tables, or bookshelves, or other places. Dust. If being compared to dust thrown in the trash can bothers you, you can think of yourself being made from stardust (like Carl Sagan wrote/spoke, and musician Moby sang). It may not be much better. It’s still dust. It is (and should be) humbling that we are of dust.

    revolves a lot around repentance. The greatest of repentance is pride. Understanding that we are but dust and ashes helps us keep ourselves in the proper . Hopefully, it helps us put aside our sinful pride. As Isaiah warns, God is not pleased with those who think too much of themselves. Humanity’s ongoing struggle is the warring of its own pride, both as a species and as individuals. The litany of items (cedars, oaks, mountains towers, walls, ships) were all things that people bragged and took pride in. Certainly, mankind had everything to do with the cedars, oaks, and mountains (that was sarcasm). People take pride in things that are not their own, and will often use that same pride against . Everything will come crashing down around pride-filled humanity, and they will be reduced to dwelling in caves and holes. The passage in Isaiah ends with humankind only having the breath in his nostrils…the breath that God put there (Genesis 2:7).

    God’s breath in us…we who are made of dust. “ in the LORD with all your , and do not rely on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). We often trust the dust and not the breath. We trust the filth and not the life that we have been given. In our pride, we rely on our own and others’ dust. When we trust God, and not our worldly knowledge and “,” we relinquish our pride. When we accept that we do not and can not understand it all, God is the only reliable answer. Once we arrive at that destination, true repentance can occur. With our repentance, we open ourselves to be formed and re-formed by the one through whom all things were made…Jesus Christ.

    One of the traditions of Lent is to give something up. It is not a rule or must do, it is a tradition. It is a good spiritual practice.
    1) If you have decided to give something up, what is it? Why that? How will it draw you closer to God?
    2) If you haven’t decided to do this practice, why not? Again, not that it is a requirement