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Devotion.al

Tag: promise

  • Plan Pushing

    Psalm 22:23-31; Genesis 16:1-6; Romans 4:1-12 (read online ⧉)

    The story of Sarai and Hagar is strange. Did Abram not trust God to give him a son through Sarai? Or did they (Abram and Sarai) assume that as Sarai was not conceiving that this would be fulfilled through Hagar? It wasn’t, from their perspective, unreasonable. Yet, as we know by reading further along in Genesis, that this really wasn’t God’s intent for Abram and Sarai.

    Abram and Sarai rushed God’s plan. That is not to say that Abram was not being faithful or not trusting God, but that his limited understanding caused him to follow a path that was not God’s intent. Paul suggests that the union of Abram and Haggar was an event of human works. It is only the union of Abram and Sarai that truly fulfills the promises of God to Abram.

    Another way to say this is that God blessed Abram’s union with Hagar, because Abram was still in relationship with God. However, the fulfillment of God’s promise and blessing was fulfilled through Abram and Sarai.

    1. Have you ever rushed God’s plan?
    2. Has God ever honored a decision you made, despite it not being what God revealed to you? If so, once you got back on the path God laid out for you, what happened?
    3. Why do we tend to trust that we “know” in the physical world (such as Abram and Hagar having a child), rather than trusting in God’s promises (such as Abram and Sarai having a child)?

  • Otherly Holiness

    Psalm 22:23-31; Genesis 15:1-21; Romans 3:21-31 (read online ⧉)

    In Genesis, we read of the covenant God made with Abram. When we look at the blood and sacrifices from a modern perspective, it is easy to be repulsed or disgusted by the concept. In Abram’s time, this was a normal way to seal a covenant.

    A covenant is a promise. When making a covenant such as this, there were two parties, the strong party and the weak party. If was often an agreement where the strong party would agree to defend and/or take care of the weak party, and the weak party would submit—both in authority and tribute (i.e., think taxes)—to the strong party.

    If we think of this logically, then, God would take the role of the strong party, and Abram would take the role of the weak party. However, in this instance God takes the place of both parties. Abram is more of a witness to the making of the treaty, rather than a party to it. How can God take the place of both roles? This is a foretelling of what is to come.

    For generations, God protected and watched over Abram’s descendants. Even when they wandered or ran away from God, God still was watching and caring.

    In Romans, Paul writes: “…since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood…”

    This is where we can see the submitting party of the covenant. Jesus Christ’s perfect submission to God’s authority, and sacrifice of himself, fulfills the weak party’s role. It is, of course, just an analogy, yet there is a huge truth in this. God created the universe, yet because we are unable to save ourselves, or able to fulfill the entirety of God’s holiness, Jesus took our place, and fulfilled the requirements of submission and tribute.

    We, like Abram, are often more witnesses to God’s holiness and fulfillment of his righteousness than actual participants of either. Yet, we are called to be holy.

    1) What do you think the responsibilities are of a witness? Are fulfilling them?

    2) When you think of God being both the strong and weak party, what comes to mind?

    3) How does it make you feel to understand that God took your place as the weak party?

  • What Promise?

    Psalm 146, Mark 13:14–27, Mark 13:32–33, Hebrews 11:13–22 (read online ⧉)

    The New Year is no longer new. By now many New Year’s Resolutions are broken. People have already surrendered to their loss. Often people telegraph or expect their loss, and behave as if they have already lost. By God’s grace, many of those who went before, especially those that are revered in some aspect, didn’t behave the same way.

    The Founding Fathers (of the United States) were human beings. They were marred by sin and imperfection…just like us. The system they developed, a hybrid of multiple governmental ways of thinking, was an experiment. The Founding Fathers had many fears about this system they created. Oddly enough, on both sides of the political spectrum is a growing belief that it has failed. That it failed (or hasn’t yet, or won’t, or…) is not the question or issue, nor has it ever been. The amazing thing is that it was tried at all. That a bunch of (granted) well-educated “aristocratic” men were able to motivate others not as fortunate to take on the ruling empire of the world (at that time) is amazing. It actually means, a cynical point of view, means that nothing has changed. Still to take on the British Empire was insane. These same men feared that democracy would fail, no matter what fail-safes they put into the system. They did anyway. Were they going against the flow? Would failure be catastrophic? Yes to both. Again, they did it anyway.

    When the U.S. system was designed it really had no trust in princes nor did it really have trust in people. It’s odd, wouldn’t you say, to put the fate of your legacy in the hands of people you don’t really trust? Much of the angst of the current “feeling”* really boils down to putting our faith and trust in princes (and people) who haven’t really earned it. The ones that earned it are the ones we know, not usually someone on a website or a TV screen (though in this day and age that may no longer be so).

    While it is wise to not trust humankind without some serious testing and discernment, people still do it. We have to. We cannot survive being paranoid. However, during his prophetic statements, Jesus still advises people that there will be false messiahs and false prophets. Jesus advises that the end will come with God the Father decides, and that is not for anyone else to know. Despite these words, men and women for ages have declared “special” knowledge of the end. People then feel betrayed when the end doesn’t come.

    Those that know the end date, or those who will give us power or stuff or safety, we put a lot of trust in them. Then we become upset because they failed us. When it comes to politicians and leaders we really treat them like New Year’s Resolutions…something will go wrong. We have no real hope in them, yet we still feel disappointed. Yet, we should actually be relieved when they disappoint us. Whew! They’re human just like us. That is the point of the author of Hebrews, God is not human like us. God is far more. God is faithful. God fulfills his promises.

    1) What promise(s) of God do you hold onto?

    2) What promises of people do you hold onto?

    3) Why do you think we hold onto people’s promises, yet often turn away from God’s promises?

    Action: As you read the Scriptures this week, write down the verses that seem to be promises.

  • Drift Away

    Isaiah 49:8–13, John 4:3–14, Hebrews 2:1–4

    Has the so-called Christmas euphoria finally died down for you? If this was more of a “blue” (i.e., one of mourning, loss, or depression), are you relieved that you don’t feel the pressure of “keeping up” appearances?

    Christmas, as with many other family occasions (weddings, baptisms, birthdays, funerals, etc.), always comes with a mixture of emotions. No single emotion could ever completely cover our experiences for Christmas. This is not to deny that it is God’s love that is the overarching ultimate emotion, but that we human beings experience more than just love.

    The promise conveyed in Isaiah is that God’s coming and salvation is so much more than just the immediate. This is why accepting and embracing (not necessarily enjoying) all the emotions that come with this time of year is important. For without all the emotions—especially the negative ones—the grace and magnificence of God’s grace misses much of the transformative power.

    Isaiah’s words do lead to some questions, though. How are pastures possible on barren heights? How do people not starve or thirst under scorching sun? As in the case with much of the Scriptures, it can be easy to over-spiritualize the Scriptures, especially when we don’t understand them. Yet, when taken in the context with salvation and covenant, the spiritual aspects seem to be the focus, rather than our physical needs.

    It is not a great stretch, especially when we take into account Jesus’ words to the woman at the Well of Jacob. In fact, it is Jesus’ words that guide us to equate not being hungry and not thirsting to the spiritual gift of the Living Water. Never thirsting? At the well that gave water for generations of Israelites the physical has been and is being fulfilled, only the spiritual remains. We all understand that the immediate, “earthly”, “worldly”, “physical” impact us significantly. It is the spiritual that outlasts, but we often overlook or neglect it.

    The writer of Hebrews wants to make sure that people do forget or “drift away”. The imagery is that of things that were originally floating next to (or with) each other, but just sort of drifted away. In other words, the author of Hebrews is here more concerned about the incidental, accidental, careless, negligent and other “not deliberate” actions away from the faith and the Christian life.

    Regardless of our emotional state or the emotional states of those around us, we are not to allow ourselves to drift away from the life-giving nature and our understanding of God, no matter how far the world and our emotions want to pull us away from God.

    1) What recently has “encouraged” you to drift away from God?

    2) What are areas that regularly lead you to drift away?

    3) Life can throw a lot of things at you, and many of them unpleasant (at best). How do you keep yourself focused on God, on not on other things?

  • Stars of Hope

    Genesis 22:15–18, Deuteronomy 1:10, Isaiah 54:1–10, Romans 4:13–25 (read online ⧉)

    Twice God promised Abraham (and once for Jacob) that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. Imagine all the stars without our modern lights drowning them out. For Abraham that was a promise beyond expectation, and certainly beyond anything that God needed to promise for Abraham’s obedience. God made this promise of God’s own free will.

    As inheritor’s of God’s promise, Moses reminded the Israelites of God’s fulfilled promise prior to their entry into the Promised Land. The Israelites were the result of Abraham’s faithfulness. That God was faithful gave them hope as they entered the promised land, as long as they listened to God.

    Often keeping the flame of hope going is a challenge while everyone else’s life seems to be a huge successful bonfire. The promise of uncountable descendants is extraordinarily painful when one is childless. Isaiah speaks of Israel that has no children. This symbolic Israel is God’s faithful bride. She has no children of faith, for they have all left the faith. The enemies of and in the world have drawn her offspring away from the Water of Life. God, however, promises the now barren Israel will have innumerable children.

    This is what Paul is referring to as the Promise of Faith. Being the Father of Nations (Abraham) is no longer an issue of blood, but the fulfillment of the faith that Abraham showed to God and those that put their hope in Jesus. Through Jesus, we all become part of “the blood” of Abraham, and part of the “nations” that he fathered.

    1) Why do you think Isaiah used barren as a sign of hope?

    2) Why is important to recall the fulfilled promises of God? What does it do for us?

    FD) Why do you think hope often symbolized by a flame?

  • Deepest Hope

    1 Samuel 1:12–20, 2 Kings 4:8–17, Hebrews 11:32–40 (read online ⧉)

    For many people having a child is the deepest yearning that they have. Not everyone is able to have children. Some have gone through miscarriages. Many more have gone through stillbirths. Still more lose their children when they were young. When dreams of our deepest longings are destroyed, hope often soon follows.

    Hannah was not able to conceive. This created a trial for her. Her fellow wife made her miserable and used her own children as emotional weapons against Hannah. Hannah’s husband probably felt as lost as Hannah did. While he did have children with his other wife, his heart hurt for Hannah. It would seem, on its surface, to not have been the best experience between Hannah and Eli. In fact, Eli did not seem to be much of a spiritual counselor, but more like a grumpy old man. Regardless, Hannah took something away from that encounter, and the weight in her heart was cast off. She had hope.

    The Shunammite woman (oddly, never named), too, wish for a child. In an echo of Abraham and Sarah, apparently he (at least) was old. A child seemed out of reach. In the case of Hannah, age wasn’t mentioned, implying that she would be unable to explain the situation. The Shunammite woman, on the other hand, had a rationale for her lack of hope. She “knew” that things had passed a point of no return. Elisha was able to restore that hope with a promise. What she had experienced with Elisha is open for thought. Whatever her experience with him allowed her to trust his words, and to have hope.

    The author of Hebrews is trying to instill this same kind of trusting hope into believers who are feeling under pressure and persecution. The writer, through the examples given, shows that God is worthy of having hope in. Not the weak hope of a wish, but the firm hope of knowing that God is there, and working in and through all things, even when we don’t understand, and especially when it is scary and it hurts.

    1) Have you ever had a hard time you had to have hope in God to make it through? What was it like to have that hope?

    2) What do you think the key to having hope and trust in the darkest parts of life?

    3) Why do you think “death to life” is important concept in hope?

    FD) What do you do to have hope when you are struggling?

  • A Covenant Of Life and Peace

    Micah 5:1-5 ,Haggai 2:5–9, Malachi 2:4–7 (read online ⧉)

    One of the biggest problems with peace…is us. Peace often does not reside well in our souls. We bear the world’s concerns as if they were our own. It is not that we are not to care about the world, but only God is capable of caring for all the concerns of the world. Our “peace” on the other hand is usually pre-occupied with what we think we give us peace: whether it is food, clothing, riches, power, things, “friends” or whatever else. Somehow having the burden for caring for all these things is supposed to give us peace.

    In Micah’s time, Israel perceives that the world is against it. It (as Micah says) is cutting itself in grief. It is an odd time for an origin prophecy. Yet, here we are with the promise that God’s proxy ruler (the Messiah) will come from Bethlehem. This Messiah will be a shepherd. The shepherd is a caretaker who loves the sheep. The shepherd will not control or direct by force, but by love. This shepherd will be their peace. The language is peculiar. The shepherd will be their peace, not the shepherd will bring peace or enforce peace. Be peace.

    Be peace. God promised that Israel would have God, granted as long as they wanted God. As they wandered further and further away from God in their hearts, while still fulfilling the trappings of faithfulness, peace in their hearts and in their lands ceased. God wasn’t done with them though. Despite all the troubles they brought upon themselves in the world, God would provide peace.

    We can look at the archetypal Levi in Malachi to understand. Those who are called to worship God directly (Levites in Israelite culture, all Christians) received a covenant of life and peace. All that was required was reverence, which often seems to be sadly lost even among those who say they “fear” God. Out of the reverence words of Truth were to come, and turn those living in sin away from it.

    1) What is reverence?

    2) Do you think reverence and peace go together? Why or why not?

    3) Why do you think the shepherd being peace is important? What does that mean to you?

  • Trust But Verify

    Luke 19:1–10, 1 John 4:10, Romans 8:22–28 (read online ⧉)

    You may or may not have heard that a famous person has publicly proclaimed that he has “found” Jesus Christ. Many Christians have not accepted this person’s conversion. It’s not as if this is a new thing. Not really. Over the years there have been many conversions that have been questioned. Many of them have been questioned because they were “death-bed” conversions.

    It’s not so much that these conversions are questioned, for conversions should be questioned, but it was the attitude that often goes along with it. The assumption that such-and-such a person’s conversion could not possibly be real, or that it is questionable should raise our internal flags. Who are we to determine that?

    Let’s take the tale of Zacchaeus. In it we see Zacchaeus promise to return what of his gains were ill-gotten. Jesus says salvation has come. Great! If we were to look at the tale of Zacchaeus with the same amount of skepticism as we look at death-bed or famous people conversions, well, we wouldn’t just “see it” with Zacchaeus. The guy has been a thief (say many today about taxes) and colludes with the government (which people don’t trust). How could such a person’s conversion ever be trusted?

    Yet, one of the first responses to questioning Zacchaeus’ conversion is, but the Bible says so! Well, it tells that Jesus said salvation came but were you there to see that Zacchaeus actually did what he told Jesus? Really, what about all those other people that you know about that said it’s all for Jesus, but didn’t change?

    Sounds really cynical, doesn’t it? Jesus said salvation came. One would think God would know, as only God knows the heart. Yet, people are as cynical (or even more so) today about conversions. Sadly, we’ve had plenty of examples of false conversions. We have plenty of examples of Christians doing appalling things. Why so cynical? We know humanity for we see it in ourselves.

    So, what are we to do? We do have a pretty simple way to evaluation conversions…the fruit. There are the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control). There is also the fruit of discipleship. Are there people being discipled by the converted? The fruit of discipleship and the fruit of the spirit, however, can be a long time coming.

    1) How would “trust but verify” work in this situation? Does this concept help or hurt?

    2) Many of those we would call fathers and mothers of the faith questioned their own salvation. Why do we think we would know somebody else’s conversion?

    3) What are the ways that we can encourage recent conversions and help to maintain them?

  • Long Haul Saving

    Numbers 21:4–9, Galatians 5:22–24, 2 Corinthians 6:3–13

    The story is of the staff is fascinating, and we can see its long-reaching effects even today (look at many ambulances). However, as fun as that might be, we need to talk about one of the underlying causes of the tale…the impatience of the Israelites.

    In many ways, the tale of the Israelites is like a long car ride with children…are we there yet?
    One commentator pointed out that the staff forced the Israelites to stop looking down at the world and their problems, and look up to God for life. Seems pretty poetic when we look at it that way.
    In many respects, the impatience of the Israelites was based upon them looking at their situation, and thinking it has to be better than this. They spoke against God and Moses. Now, in earlier devotionals and during the sermon series on suffering, we talked/read/listened to how God can handle our anger. For those who are parents and have withstood their children’s anger, imagine what it took God to get to this point.

    The Israelites were impatient to get to this great home that they had been promised and had been told about for generations. Knowing the active imaginations of today, what “fairy” tales and legends did they hear or invent. Maybe none. The tale that brought the promise was already pretty impressive.
    If we take a step back, however, from the Israelites, we can see that while the Israelites are on a quest to “go home”, for God this is where they belong to be the (foreshadowed) light in the darkness. Israel was an ancient thoroughfare. By being where they were, they could (if they were faithful) be able to share God with the ancient world. Granted, they did. Imagine, however, what could have happened if they had truly trusted and waited on God. In other words, what if they had been patient (not just in the story from Exodus), and had let God’s (good) plan for them unfold.

    Patience is not a word any of us like, and often don’t like to live. We often are impatient to do something, when patience could have done it better. When Paul speaks of patience as a fruit of the spirit, he is talking about the Holy Spirit. As a child of God, you have the Holy Spirit working inside of you. That means you have patience. That doesn’t mean you like it. However, patience (and long-suffering) are key tools for missions and outreach.

    In today’s world, impatient evangelism will not win as many long-term salvations. It is long-term relationships. Are they quick? Nope. The truth is that we are no longer at a cultural point where quick evangelism will work. The “ground” is hard, rocky, and/or filled with weeds. It will take a very long time to work the ground into what it could (and should) be…fertile ground for the Word of God.

    The fruit the spirit is for the mission, not to say, yay, we made it. The mission is to reach people for Jesus Christ. When it comes to the Gospel, patience isn’t a virtue, it is a necessity.

    1) What is the dark side of patience? What problems for sharing the Gospel can too much patience create?

    2) Who is someone you are being patient with? Why?

    3) Do you think it is true that the fruit of the spirit is for the mission? Why or why not?

    4) What do you think was the mission of the people of Israel?

  • Grumbling and Arguing

    Philippians 2:12–18

    The Philippians may be slacking off in Paul’s absence. At least that seems to be Paul’s concern. When Paul speaks about “working out” salvation, a better way to phrase it may be, do the Christian life in all that you do. Don’t just sit there. He notes that God works through them, but that doesn’t spare them from doing something.

    Step 1 (left): Don’t grumble

    Step 2 (right): Don’t argue

    Step 1 (left): Don’t grumble

    Step 2 (right): Don’t argue

    How are you doing? We all need to grumble and argue less. That’s us “working out” our faith.

    It’s Paul’s small promise tucked in the midst of this which should provide some drive. “…You shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life…”

    We are all overwhelmed by the barrage of negativity. We are all overwhelmed by strident voices that are more about making a point, rather than a difference. When we look to the kingdom, we are called to make a difference, not a point. That’s really hard though.

    When talking about slacking off, it means that we are arguing and we are grumbling.

    1) When you have argued recently, was the Kingdom at the forefront of your mind, or was it you?

    2) When you last grumbled, how was the Kingdom affected?

    3) A star of the world, what effect do grumbling and arguing have on your light?