Devotion.al

Tag: prophecy

  • Good Fire. Bad Fire.

    Good Fire. Bad Fire.

    Psalm 142; Amos 5:1–9; Acts 21:27–39

    Depending on who you talk to, the ability to make may be the most important invention of humanity. It kept creatures of the night away. It allowed the cooking of food, purification of water, and it kept people warm. Fire was used as a tool to burn forests to encourage grazing lands for food source animals such as bison and deer.

    As time moved along, humanity’s ability to harness fire grew. Humanity learned to melt metal. Then it learned to metal through more fire. Then there were things like glass and steam-powered. All through fire. Even in today’s metal smelting industries, fire is one of the key pieces of refining and purification.

    In the , fire performs primarily two kinds of cleansing. The most destructive is the burning away of everything. We might it “scorched earth”. The other type is purification. This is where high heat is held for a sustained time to draw out the impurities within.

    In the context of Amos, the fire could be either form. Despite the ultimatum nature of Amos’ words, there is still a measure of choice and optimism. “Seek me.” Those simple words and simple actions were what God was looking for. Note that it wasn’t even follow. Just seek.

    Thus, the fire could be different, depending on whether the Israelites sought God, or chose not to. One path would lead to a (proverbial) cleansing fire that burned everything away, both good and bad. In hopes, like the aftereffect of a forest fire, new healthy growth would take its place. Should the Israelites choose to seek God, there would still be a fire, and it would still hurt, but there would be purification.

    Sometimes only purification is needed. Sometimes a clean slate is needed. The same can be said about our lives. The same can be said about our actions.

    Sometimes we think we’re doing one when we’re doing the . Sometimes we just want to watch things burn. Fires of can take many forms. Many people have claimed that we have been seeing exactly that over the last few years.

    Except what is at the end?

    In Jerusalem, people made assumptions about Paul and stirred people up. The Jews of Jerusalem made no thoughtful inquiry. They jumped to conclusions and became the fire. Others joined, probably many ignorantly, and the fire grew.

    So, out came the firefighters. The Roman soldiers were commissioned to deal with out-of-control people. Often they did it through bloodshed. The Romans also made assumptions. An Egyptian? This is madness!

    It doesn’t take a stretch to see “those” people making “those” mistakes and stupid decisions, and starting a proverbial fire. We’ve seen such similar things ourselves. The Jews and Romans couldn’t blame the or social media, though. We try, but history shows that even in the first century the flames of presumption, , and ignorance can still overtake people. It only takes a spark.

    ※Reflection※

    • What “fires” have you experienced, and how were they fires?
    • How might the fires of madness (Acts) resemble refining fires and cleansing fires?
    • Why is fear present in each of these types of fires?
    • What is the most Christ-like way to deal with each type of fire?

    ※Prayer※

    God, the of is in the flames. Lord, may we be on fire for you. Amen.

  • Beyond Sight/Site

    Beyond Sight/Site

    Psalm 119:9–16; Haggai 2:1–9, 20–23; John 12:34–50

    Haggai and Zechariah were the two prophets that accompanied the Israelites from exile to home. Their primary focus was the restoration of Israel, not so much as a powerhouse, but as a people and nation of God, including both and the Davidic kingly line. Later on down the chronological line (beyond today’s readings), the temple is completed. However, the temple that was completed did not have the glory of the old one in status.

    As Haggai’s words are considered canonical (i.e., verified as the action of God), then the Jews saw something much different than the literal (often our temptation when we are reading). From a Jewish standpoint (especially Haggai’s traditionalist perspective), the temple isn’t so much the point as a people faithfully pursuing God with one of the signs being worship as prescribed in the Old Testament. What does it matter what it looked like today ( the original Temple was David’s plan, inspired by God, but not prescribed) when faithful worship and a God-fearing king were what was required?

    That Haggai was seeing beyond the immediate temple and even beyond the immediate kingly line tells us that ‘ words were not without historical precedence (as some have claimed). As we look beyond Jesus’ time on earth, we can see the fulfillment of Haggai’s words, as faith in Jesus Christ has changed the world. Though, sadly, many of those who cried, “Lord, Lord,” were liars, murderers, and power-grabbers beyond the average struggling .

    Haggai’s understanding of a God-honoring revolved around the temple. That is what tradition and the Scriptures taught. Haggai understood quite well, as he was coming from exile, that empty actions were not what was needed. It was actions that were firmly grounded in who God is, and that the Israelites were God’s chosen people.

    While Jesus’ words may have seemed revolutionary at the time, Jesus did answer the “Christ will be with us forever” in a way unexpected, though by pure reason, it probably should have been an idea. The Christ was with the Children of God forever…in their souls, their temple to God. Thus a relationship through the temple was now very personal, and the Christ was with them.

    Would Haggai have been able to recognize that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of his in only a way that God could make it happen? Perhaps. We can only look at Haggai’s words and see Christ in retrospect.

    ※Reflection※

    • What practices do you fulfill in relationship with God? How about in regards to the temple, both body and church?
    • What do you think is comparable to the Davidic kingly line in regards to lively rightly before God?
    • When was the last time you evaluated your habits through the lens of habit or “because you need to”? Why is it important?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, guide us ever deeper into meaningful and life-changing relationship with you. Amen.

  • Seeing Well

    Seeing Well

    Psalm 50:1–6; 1 Kings 16:1–7; Luke 19:41–44

    “If only I had known…”

    We often will look back on our decisions as if we could have fixed them, or even with the assumption that we are wiser now than we were then. “ is 20/20,” is a pithy saying, but even our hindsight may only be slightly better than our .

    Baasha had hindsight. God’s had come true about Jeroboam’s fall. Baasha, therefore, had foresight of what was expected. Baasha maintained the false worship set up by Jeroboam (and continued by his , Nadab). This was after assassinating Nadab.

    Jehu was sent to announce the consequences. Baasha had a chance and still went his own way, and his died out as consequence. Baasha had foresight and hindsight…and still, he made the decision of false worship.

    While the false worship of idols and such from Jeroboam to Baasha is certainly large and significant, the false worship that confronts is different. Jerusalem, from a Jewish perspective, was the City of God. It had a special place. One would think that the exile would have dealt with some of that, but it is quite likely that the Maccabean revolution restored much of that perspective.

    Along with that was the inability of people to moving among them. We’re not just talking about Jesus, but the entire era. The Jewish world was unsettled, with and without Roman oversight. God was shaking things up.

    Jesus’ words were aimed at two things. The first was the false of Jerusalem. It sounds almost blasphemous. However, transforming, “I will meet you there,” and “I will put my name there,” into only meeting God there is a problem.

    The other issue is being unable to see the Kingdom of God when it is right next to you. The phrasing here in Luke is distinct as it is about peace. This contrasts with the imagery of Jerusalem falling in conquest. Seeing (and accepting) the Kingdom of God (peace) is the opposite of the world (conflict).

    We often view these words in Luke as a kind of end times , especially as Jerusalem did indeed fall a few decades later. God, though, isn’t so concerned about a place (not that God isn’t), as God is concerned about the people. It may be that Jesus was looking for people to see the disruption of God’s Kingdom on earth when in the middle of the corrupt world.

    ※Reflection※

    • What do you have the greatest hindsight regret for? What do you have the greatest hindsight appreciation for?
    • How do you see God moving today in comparison to the story around Baasha, and in comparison, to Jesus going through Jerusalem?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, as you transform us, may we transform the world around us. Help us to look for your hand in the past and look for your grace in the . 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 ask God when it has happened (note, this wasn’t a whether).

    Not all prophetic words are positive for a person. Jeroboam, his wife, and their (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 father and . That he was the only member of the family to be honored in 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.

    emphasizes God’s relenting tendencies by his own testimony. He reminds Timothy that he (Paul) was the enemy 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 church.

    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 return, for Christ is every faithful and loving. In addition, Paul added a “to be taught” clause, meaning that his 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 you pour into our lives. Help our hearts to see your faithfulness and grace poured out for the world. Amen.

  • Heart of God, Speak

    Heart of God, Speak

    Deuteronomy 18:15–20; Mark 1:21–28

    Prophetic speech is not unique to the Judeo-Christian community, not by a long shot. In the current world, there are many forms of prophetic voice.

    A short list (i.e., not exhaustive) of prophetic voices: environmental collapse; sustainability (related, but not the same as environmental collapse); gender identification; minority redress (including, but not limited to, white privilege); economic growth; and so much more.

    From a Judeo-Christian standpoint (and certainly from a number of political points within the ), it might seem dangerous to these “prophetic.” The Global Wesleyan Dictionary of Theology says that prophecy is, “…an urgent message from God to an audience.”

    That being said, the only similar words with the same underlying (i.e., surpassing the human condition) meaning are revelation (firmly culturally tied to Christianity), (mostly having turned into meaning the fall of the modern world), oracle (too new-age-y even for many new-age-ers), and (which has too many meanings to be useful).

    The reason this is important is that for many of these “prophetic” voices they are sharing the urgent message from their “god”. In some of these cases, it should be understood that we are not talking about gods as if they were God. We are talking about a world understanding framework that for Judeo-Christians we would think God. This means that faith is as much a part of their prophetic voice as God is part of ours.

    On the other hand, there are many prophetic voices in these areas that are believers in and followers of Jesus Christ. For them, there is a direct tie between God, their voice, and the issue. As with many important human issues, it’s quite a mess.

    The great sage, Ben Parker, once said, “With great , comes great responsibility.” Christians have been given a unique power, that of the Spirit. In combination with the of God (the Bible), we have the ability to influence others, and thus must be very careful in using what we have. This is especially true when used with other believers.

    What has become also very evident is that people are disregarding prophetic voices that don’t agree with their line of thinking. This is the most dangerous. When we disregard the prophetic voices solely because they do not align themselves with our brand of Christianity (including denomination, political-alignment, lifestyle choices, or national origin), we are in grave danger of repeating the patterns of the Israelites…casting out the voices into the , while condemning ourselves.

    ※Reflection※

    What prophetic voices have you been hearing? What makes them prophetic? What, if any, change in your life have they prompted?

    ※Prayer※

    Holy Spirit, you are living and active in this world right now. Give us the , , and discernment to hear the prophetic promptings of your people called by your name. Amen.

  • We Love Talking About It

    We Love Talking About It

    1 Samuel 15:7–15; Acts 5:1–11

    Every pastor’s favorite sermon topic is tithing/giving. Every pastor absolutely loves talking about you are to freely to God by giving to the and other missional activities.

    In case you’re wondering, that was sarcasm. Most pastor’s hate it. And, most people hate hearing it, because they often feel guilty about it. Hatred of the topic may be a veneer over the fear of Christianly dealing with .

    John Wesley had a famous sermon on money. From it was gained a saying, “… all you can…Save all you can…Give all you can….” Part of the problem with this saying is all the “…” that are part of it. They show that there is far more than just these 12 words. The context of each set of 4 words makes a lot of difference in how one interprets them.

    “All you can” is the real crux of the issue. “All you can” at what cost? John Wesley had a distinct moral code regarding “Gain all you can.” Some of today’s business owners might be okay. Others might not. Still others would not be able to figure it out.

    John Wesley was concerned that people who sought to gain would do it at the expense of others. In many respects, we could call capitalism with a heart. On the other hand, we could view it as capitalism with a long view for the benefit of humanity.

    If the long view of a business, and its profit, is for the benefit of humanity, that’s a good start. Destroying the environment would be harming God’s , so it would fail Wesley’s test, too. Much of our modern profiting, though, is a lot grayer.

    Saving is the next thing. Saving is not hoarding. Saving is more along the lines of protection of the wellbeing of one’s and self. Hoarding is gathering as much as one can and preventing others from gaining.

    In John Wesley’s era, far too many people owed money. It was a way of life. For some, it was the only way to feed their families. Today we think of credit card debt, home mortgages, student loans, and car loans. The amount of most of those loans could have been greatly reduced with good planning and a willingness to delay gratification. This is (for example) one area that the Church could be both a better witness of action and of .

    “Give all you can” can be a trip. Often, even those of us in the Wesley use it or perceive it as more of a guilt scale. Wesley, while big on charity, didn’t seem to be particularly guilt-driven. However, by some accounts, he failed the “save all you can” for his family, for he gave all he could.

    Gain(earn)/save/give is a balancing act.

    Many Christians are like Saul. “Oh, I’ll give the difficult or unwanted stuff to God.” Sounds like many people who give broken stuff to a church. The church then often must pay to dispose of it. Saul turned a commandment from God into we’ll benefit, oh, and maybe God will like a little bit, too.

    The path of Ananias and Sapphira was “look at what we did. We gave everything (oh, except that part we kept back).” They wanted the accolades about the total , rather than just giving freely and joyfully. If they’d given 90% and kept 10% and were honest about it, everything would have been fine.

    Far too many preachers (and non-profit type) folks speak about a person’s checkbook as the litmus test. It isn’t. It would be nice if the 10% rule (from the time of Israel) had been sufficient. It wasn’t. When a person has a rule (10%), the heart doesn’t have to go along.

     It is the motive behind our use of money that is the point of tithing and giving.

    God created the world. God already has the money (as if God needed it). God wants our heart.

    ※Reflection※

    • When a church or non-profit person starts talking about money, what’s your first response? How about an entrepreneur, investor, banker, or politician?
    • What is so captivating about money and stuff?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, may you be the Lord of our heart. May the spirit of mammon in us be overwhelmed and transformed by the sanctification of Holy Spirit. Amen.

  • A Little Prophesying

    A Little Prophesying

    Deuteronomy 13:1–5; Deuteronomy 18:20–22; Jeremiah 28:1–9

    Doomsday prophets are certainly a thing. There are a lot of them, and of varying kinds: epidemiologist (disease), environment, morality, political, sexuality, education, freedom, financial, and so on and on.

    Doom sells. Doomsayers may also be helpful to guide us toward some sort of preparation or . At this point, however, there are so many doomsayers that there are only two logical conclusions: we’re doomed or they’re wrong. That is really the two paths regardless of which or all the “dooms”.

    What is interesting about “prophesying” in the Scriptures is that not all prophesying is alike. Some prophesying is more akin to teaching, lecturing, discipling. That generally would fall under church categories as preaching, pastoring, and groups.

    Other prophesying is more like visions, dreams, and euphoric states. This is what we, as a (versus language), understand as foretelling or forewarning that is spiritually driven, and is our default interpretation when reading the word in the Scriptures.

    The struggle is discerning whether the prophecy or “ word” is from God, from other spiritual forces, or is it of self appearing to be “spiritual”. Especially (but not exclusively) with the , there are plenty of videos, blog posts, web sites all claiming some sort of divine connection.

    Sadly, there is no way to tag “fake ”. That takes wisdom, discernment, and positive Christian .

    ※Prayer※

    , strengthen your discerning in us. Father God, help us to look through your word so that we can see when someone is using your word falsely. Jesus, help us to keep in mind that you told us that there would be many false prophets before your . Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Have you had someone deliver a prophecy or “prophetic word” to/about you? How about as part of a public declaration (with or without you being the focus)?

    2) What are you actively doing to protect yourself from false prophesy or “prophetic word”?

  • Do Black Sheep Stay Black?

    Genesis 49:1–2 and 49:8–12, 2 Samuel 7:12–16, Luke 1:67–79, Revelation 5:2–14 (read online ⧉)

    You might have gathered from all the that this is about the lineage of Judah. The lineage of the same guy from yesterday’s devotion who seem to not particularly care about those of his lineage that followed him. Despite that, his father made a prophetic pronouncement that Judah had the scepter and the staff. The scepter represents the ability and position of rule. In other words, kingship was the domain of Judah. In addition, the same also can be translated as branch or offshoot, which are also words that were applied to the Messiah. The staff probably mentioned in the translation you likely read is troublesome. The KJV is closest with ruler (and that is the way it is often translated elsewhere with Judah). In Hebrew, it also means engraved. Where does this lead us? Combining ruler and engraved is similar to a seal, so going out on a limb…authority. Kings, rulers, presidents have power. Authority is the right to use power.*

    David’s eventual rule over the of Israel seemed to begin the fulfillment of Jacob’s prophesy. Then Nathan delivered the Lord’s message. What a message that was! What an amazing way to fulfill an old prophetic message from Jacob the patriarch of Israel. What seems odd is that there does not appear to be a direct acknowledgment of Jacob’s message. It’s there, but it is more implied than directly stated. It seems a reverse of Judah’s perspective. This also shows that despite Judah’s behavior, good can still come from bad. It all depends on what we do with it when we turn to God.

    During Zechariah’s over his John (the Baptist), Jesus’ lineage is tied to David. This sees a deliberate tie to the message from God about David’s specific line having the authority. This same line is still the line of Judah. The Israelite concept of a Messianic figure comes long after Judah dies (though it is easily argued that there was plenty of foreshadowing). There is no way that Jacob or Judah could have imagined that God would have become man through their lineage. It would have been far beyond their imagining.

    When Jesus walked the earth, his lineage was predominantly tied to David. After his death and resurrection, however, the name of Judah regained some prominence in all that surrounded Jesus the Christ. We see this in Revelation where it all gets tied : Judah, David, Messiah, salvation, eternity. What beautiful symmetry.

    1) Does your family or social circle have a “black ” (i.e., the person all avoid)? What makes that person a black sheep?

    2) Judah was a black sheep insofar as his behavior ( yesterday, plus other things). The Messiah, your savior, came from a line of the black sheep. What does that tell you about the potential of your family’s (again, or social circle’s) black sheep?

    3) Why is understanding God’s redemption of black sheep important for our lives and ?

    Action: Look for a way to begin the restoration of a black sheep.

    *This is not a statement on whether current people in power have authority (that can be argued multiple ways with multiple bases), just to be clear. That there was a perceived need to make this statement should also cause each of us to pause and what is really going on in our hearts.