Tag: questions

Mindset

Ephesians 1:17–19; Philippians 4:1–9

There is a pernicious thought floating around that if Christians really believed what they say they do; they would all think similarly. Sadly, that often comes from Christians who perceive they are not being heard or perceive that someone with whom they disagree is being heard.

In my immediate family, I am the person who hates tomatoes. Yes, they’re fine as ketchup and pizza sauce. Sometimes they’re okay as salsa (very rarely). Otherwise, no thank you. My wife, on the other hand, love tomatoes. Out of 3 of our kids, 2 like tomatoes, 1 not so much. We’re related! How could we not like the same things?

That is the same thought process required for all Christians to think the same.

Not seeing things the same is quite normal. We are all the culmination of our experiences, the experiences of trusted others, our hurts, our fears, our hopes, and our love. No one person is the same when you total all of that together, even identical twins (though they’re probably the closest).

How we disagree, however, is much bigger. If we could all disagree well, groupthink wouldn’t be an issue. When we disagree well, we each “feel” heard. When we disagree well, the decided path may not be ours, but because trust has been built, we are able to accept it.

That would be a wonderful way to live. Instead, the church is divided. It could be political lines. It could be music styles. It could be preaching styles.

The trick often is not responding out of our emotions and trigger-responses. Often, it is thinking, talking, and working it out together over time. Why do we think one path will work better than another? If we don’t have the answer to our own path, we will often dismiss other perspectives out of unconscious fear.

The other side effect is that our bonds are tested because people feel dismissed or ignored when there is no significant conversation. Without significant conversation, misunderstandings occur, feelings are hurt, and the church’s witness is damaged.

One of the great tests of the Christian community is how they love one another. How we argue with one another and discuss deeper things must be an outpouring of that exact same love.

※Questions※

1) What is something that is bugging you regarding a Christian brother or sister? Have you talked about it with that person, why or why not?

2) How do you dismiss the thoughts and perspectives of others (Christian or otherwise)? Think of the last time you disagreed with someone. Did you talk it through, or did you just do or command your way?

3) How do you reconcile with someone you perceive dismisses you? How will you reconcile with someone whom you dismissed.?

※Prayer※

Lord, you want and direct us to love one another. Help us to do that well, especially when we disagree. Amen.

2020-10-10
A Small Project

2 Samuel 12:13–23; Ezra 8:21–23; Mark 2:18–22

Fasting is an age-old spiritual practice that has mostly lost its place in American Evangelical Christianity. Yes, there are some that practice it. Fasting remains strongly part of the Orthodox church and somewhat the Roman Catholic church.

As American Evangelical Christianity has discovered Advent and Lent, fasting has become more prevalent. Fasting was originally fasting from life-giving things like water and food. American fasting is no internet, no Facebook, no chocolate, or other things that are of questionable faith value.

This is not to trivialize what people choose to fast from, but more as a check against our desire to avoid significant self-sacrifice.

You might be wondering why fasting, today? It’s not yet Advent (but it’s coming!), nor is it Lent. We are in a season of fasting right now, and it hasn’t been one of choice.

This all comes to mind as the church as a body struggles with what it means to be the family of God without the building. The building served its purpose and will serve again. It has been like the kitchen of many homes, the focus of family life. The church building has been the focus of church life. Yet, the church “kitchen” is now under serious remodeling.

We are only starting to figure out what exactly the post-remodel might look like, and the plans keep getting revised. First, there was going to be a bar…now there’s not. There was going to be a pantry, but that didn’t work either. The double-sink was coming along…then…

That’s pretty much what it feels like right now.

Most fasts are self-directed, but this one isn’t. That doesn’t mean that it can’t and won’t be used by God to shape us.

One of the biggest take-a-ways is that it really isn’t the building that is the church. It’s been said for a number of years. Yes, the building has been a place at which we have focused on gathering. Now, not only are we being encouraged to be at each other’s homes, we have to have church!

We’re all tired of the “remodeling”. We want it to be over.

※Questions※

1) What is changing about your view of church?

2) How are you living and “doing” church with the kitchen closed?

3) Place is important. How can we make the places we are in now be holy and be church?

※Prayer※

Holy Spirit, guide us through these trying times. May we be stirred to fulfill the mission in whatever new way you call us to. Amen.

2020-10-09
Chained or Unchained

Deuteronomy 27:12–28:1; John 8:31–40; Galatians 3:7–14

There are many wonderful things in life that begin well and then become dead weight. Buying a house is one of those. We are now in an era when people buy houses and pay against a large debt for 15–30 years. It doesn’t take too long for the joy of home “owning” to be faced with the frustrations of maintenance, flaws, age, vision changes, life changes, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a house. It could be a car. It could be student loans. It could be your job.

The Law wasn’t intended to be life-giving. It was intended as God-oriented living protection. If you followed the law, there was a framework that guided one into a righteous life.

Somehow this became twisted, and the Law became life.

“Whoever does not put this law into practice is cursed.” (Deuteronomy 27:26)

This does not say that the Law is life. It says that not following the Law results in bad consequences. Within the Law there were “resets” built in. Sins, errors in judgment could be dealt with. Life could move on.

However, there is a difference when it is a lifestyle. This is not about ignorance. This is not about an unbeliever. This is about those who declare God their God and live in such a way that they have not put God first in their lives.

What becomes the struggle is “proving” that God is first in our lives. Often, we “prove” it by living a more “holy” life. The Church of the Nazarene, for example, was long known for its stances against alcohol, smoking, and dancing. Not doing these things was the mark of “holiness” but is what the areas of broken relationships where these things occurred that was the real issue.

When holiness (or the appearance thereof) become chains rather than freedom, then holiness has become the Law. If that is the case, then that might make a lie out of, “who the Son sets free is free indeed,” because then, it seems, we want to find new chains to live in.

※Questions※

1) What are some Christian “rules” that you can think of? How do you think they became rules?

2) What rules can you think of that were intended to “give” or “preserve” life, but ended up chaining it? Does that make the rule bad?

3) What is a family rule that you wish wasn’t a family rule? Why?

※Prayer※

Jesus, you called us to a life of following you. Help up discern freedom from chains as we try to follow your way. Amen.

2020-10-08
My Rules Not Yours

Mark 10:1–9; Luke 1:69–75; Galatians 3:1–5

The rule of having to wear masks when going out into public (with some exceptions in the US and elsewhere) is grating. Really. Who wants to wear a mask all day? No one wants to.

Many are concerned that we are being conditioned to wear masks and have our freedoms curtailed. That concern is reasonable, up to a point. What’s particularly interesting is the social experiment regarding rules.

The political “right” is generally a law and order type of people. Yet, that group is resisting the mask rule. The political “left” is (theoretically) more of a “no rules” yet practices many rigid rules.

This is not to pick on either, but to show that even in our “crystal clear” political bents, we are often not clear ourselves. Yet, one of the core pieces of Christian theology, especially Protestant theology, is freedom from the Law.

Of course, someone will often respond that the Law is different than rules. Yes, the Law is a series of religious rules that defined appropriate behavior and a penalty for when that behavior was violated.

The “trick” became that the people treated the Law as if it were the relationship that mattered, rather than their relationship to God. That is also a simplification of it. Another way to say may be, they focused on the rules so much that they neglected the relationship.

Jesus gets the rules of divorce question. Is that really the question, though? Is the question more along the lines of, “what can I do that I think makes me happy while still getting to Heaven?” The question of divorce is a question of relationship on one hand and what can be gotten away with. The way Pharisees brought this to Jesus was about the law. It wasn’t about a man looking for a younger wife or a prettier one, or even one the nagged him less. It was about using the Law to break relationship.

When anyone becomes more concerned about the rules (whether to follow them or disobey them) than the relationships that the rules are about, we lose sight of people. Zechariah’s praise (from Luke 1) is all about the relationship. Zechariah would have been one of those concerned about the rules (he was a priest). The relationship with God and God with God’s people mattered more.

The other side of the rules, and a significant focus of the Protestant reformation, was the thought that one could earn their way into Heaven by following rules, rituals, or purchasing one’s way in. The last of these 3 is not Paul’s concern in his letter to the Galatians. What concerned him was that the Galatians seemed to have tossed out grace and relationship and embraced rules.

This is not to say rules are not important. They provide guidance and boundaries, which we seem to need to thrive. Yet, if we adhere to the rules (or oppose the rules) without understanding the why and the who that the rules are about we skip the people that we are called to love.

※Questions※

1) Thinking of relationships regarding authority, how do rules and relationships work with and against each other?

2) What rules that bother you? Why? What relationships might those rules impact?

※Prayer※

Jesus, you came to earth to show us the Way of Life. Help us to find both the freedom and constraints of following you. Amen.

2020-10-07
Can You Relate?

1 Corinthians 3:5–9; Philippians 1:12–21

“It can never happen here.”

“No one respects God here.”

“How could God move in this [horrible] place?”

You can probably think of a number of questions or statements that give an excuse or justification for why you can’t be a missionary where you are. Let’s not devalue those statements. Let’s identify them for what they are…barriers to the Gospel.

Missionaries have gone to foreign countries for generations. The Church of the Nazarene [the “umbrella” denomination for this devotional] has missionaries in “Creative Access” areas. The denomination does not publicly identify them. When they go home, they are not recorded or associated with their missional area. For many of them, martyrdom (killed because of faithfully living the faith) is a real possibility.

In comparison, our hard to reach areas are not so hard.

Paul wrote the letter to the church(es) in Philippi from jail. Through a confluence of circumstances, he was able to share about Jesus, both directly and indirectly. One could think that jail could be a pretty hard place.

Yet, the Gospel is growing (yes, growing) in the prisons even today. Through methods such as Discovery Bible Study, cell groups (pun intended) are growing in the prisons. Some of the hardest prisons where the further separate inmates into pods are establishing groups.

Did Paul start immediately preaching the Gospel to the guards? Probably not. He developed relationships with them over time. Then as the Holy Spirit guided, he shared.

Where you are may be a place where you are called to only plant seeds. Perhaps you are in a place where you are called to water the seeds that others planted. It might even be possible for you to be in a place where you plant and water. Depending on the people, each person may be in a different place.

Relational Evangelism is the new buzz-phrase. It shouldn’t be. This is the most effective way, at this point in history, to reach people for Jesus and deepen their (and our) relationship with Jesus. Even 20 years ago, the most successful churches with the deepest discipleship were built on relationships.

※Questions※

1) What relationship is the hardest for you at the moment? How could/might the Holy Spirit use that to bring Jesus into the picture?

2) What kind of seeds are you planting right now? In whom are you planting them? What are some ways to plant seeds?

3) What seeds/plants are you watering right now? How are you watering them? What are some ways to water the seeds of faith?

4) How’s the weeding going? Are you having to pull some weeds in your or others’ lives? How might weeding work (or not) in the newly planted and/or watered relationships?

※Prayer※

Father, from the beginning you have used the picture of planting and watering to convey deep truths to your Creation. Please guide us into how planting, watering, and weeding needs to be lived out in our lives. Amen.

A quick summary and methodology outline for the Discovery Bible Study can be downloaded here, or you can go to the Discovery Bible Study site (not all views are necessarily the views of this site.)

2020-10-06
Circle Mission

Acts 16:11–15; Acts 16:25–40

Rob Wegner states that a missionary is an ordinary person who’s equipped to make new disciples in a new context, and that mission isn’t first an activity, it’s an identity. How does that apply to Lydia?

She has three circles. The first circle is the (Gentile) God-fearing circle. The second is the weaving/dying circle. The third circle is her household.

Each of us has a few circles. Which one are we most passionate about? If, for example, you were totally into putting lipstick on pigs and you were friends with a bunch of others about putting lipstick on pigs, then there is your circle.

Lydia’s household circle followed her. Much of that was likely cultural and authority (not that it diminishes anyone’s salvation). Lydia’s God-fearing circle became a focal point, it seems, as it later has become a believers’ hub.

That leaves the last circle…the weaver/dying circle. We don’t know what, if anything, she did to evangelize the members of this circle. As her position remained (owning a household as a woman), she likely continued her trade.

She was a missionary to the weaver/dying circle. We all have a missionary circle. We must figure out what ours is. It’s easy to default to home or church, but those are not, by normal definition, missionary circles.

A family can be a missionary circle, especially if you are the only believer, or if there was a walkout from the faith. Church shouldn’t be a missionary circle, yet often the people who need the grace and love and forgiveness of Jesus the most are in the church.

Being a missionary is not optional. God is missional. Being a child of God means being missional, too. The more we reflect and model Jesus (the missional model), the more being on God’s mission means being a missionary.

The pressure is on! However, you cannot be a successful missionary to everyone, nor every circle. You are not God. Which life circle is God calling you to be a missionary to?

※Questions※

1) If circles are better than rows (OOO>|||) what does this tell you about your life circles?

2) Why is having a missionary focus (like a circle) helpful to being a missionary?

3) Why do you think you are not a missionary?

※Prayer※

Jesus, you came to earth on a mission to reconcile Creation to you. Help us see our mission as the extension and continuation of yours. The same mission that brought us into your loving embrace. Amen.

2020-10-05
Mercifully Faithful

Matthew 9:9–13; Luke 10:25–37; James 2:5–13

“For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
— Hosea 6:6 (CSB)

It’s interesting that the same translation, the CSB, translates Hosea 6:6 with faithful love, while in Matthew 9:13 it’s mercy. What makes it even more interesting is that the same word used for “faithful love” in Hebrew is also used for “mercy”.

In the context of Hosea, “faithful love” makes sense for the wayward Israelites. One of the issues, though, for the Israelites was that they did not show mercy to the orphans and widows (or, it seems, anyone else).

One could then conclude (reasonably) that the issue is that one of the ways that the Israelites did not show “faithful love” by not showing “mercy” to those who desperately needed it. It should not be lost on us that faithful love is mercy, and mercy is faithful love.

The world could use a lot more mercy. Imagine being merciful to your enemies…any of your enemies. They could be political, family, religious, national, tribal, even sports teams. Enemies aren’t just those we perceive as being our opposites.

Sports teams are the perfect example. Some you know probably like a sports team that you don’t (if you’re into sports). There can be times when sports fan blends into tribal then into gang behavior. Football (i.e., soccer) had “hooligan” troubles for many years. Team fans would riot at games and after games, trying to harm each other. Troubling or harming a fan based on their team is certainly not merciful.

As we delve into politics, everyone’s favorite topic, being merciful to people who seem to be on the opposite side of you is a Christian response. They love their families, too. What if they love Jesus? Then it’s even more important in many ways.

These days, being merciful means NOT responding to that social media statement, or too snarky comments made in the same tone that it was delivered. If you must respond (which may be necessary), it should be, “While I love you, we don’t see things in this area the same.” One would hope that this would be taken well. However, it’s not your responsibility for how they take a lovingly gentle response.

※Questions※

1) What are your thoughts and feelings regarding faithful love as mercy, and mercy as faithful love?

2) While it sounds strange, how might we show mercy to God?

3) What are ways that you show and can show mercy to others (hint: think beyond “compassion”)?

※Prayer※

Merciful Father, we thank you for your mercy, personified by the life, death, and resurrection of Your Son Jesus. May we show that same spirit of mercy to the world through our faithful love. Amen.

2020-10-04
Graveside Dancing

Psalm 30; Hosea 13:4–14

Yesterday was the birthday of my stepfather. He passed away years ago. For whatever reason, this year his birthday hit me kind of hard. He and I had our good moments. We had our bad moments. Just like any parent-child relationship. I was his only child.

At his burial, the priest spoke about his baptism sealing him to Jesus Christ. This was spoken pastorally to people grieving. However, scripturally it has some weaknesses. His life, and to my knowledge, and beliefs were not of Jesus Christ.

On his death bed, my wife shared the Good News of Jesus Christ. He was in a “non-responsive” state. Yet, she felt a physical response to the invitation to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior. Only in Heaven will I learn if the baptism was “sealing” as the priest said, or whether the physical response truly was an acceptance of Jesus. I can only hope and trust in God.

Why share the angst? “I cried to you for help, and you healed me.” In our pain and sorrow, God is there to “turn [our] lament in dancing”. Joy in Christ in the midst of the pains of life is the life we are called to.

In lament and pain, it is easy for our faith in God to be shaken, while at the same time relying more firmly on God will help us through the pain.

There are many kinds of loss. The verses of Hosea summarize loss. The people lost (walked away from) God. They had experienced blessing, then they lost it. The vision of loss sounds brutal. Think of it though from God’s anguished heart.

“…like a bear robbed of her cubs.” Have you seen a momma bear (or many human mothers) separated from their children, with the feeling that the kids are threatened? I’ve seen a recorded version of one and lived the other. Don’t be the one that separates momma from the cubs. Just don’t.

THAT’S GOD! Something is between momma (God) and the cubs (the children of God)! That is just not going to go well! It could be a kingdom that has the name Israel or Judah attached to it.

THAT is the concept of ransom and redemption. Death and Sheol are not going to be forgiven for taking away the Children of God. The exact mechanism (despite a whole lot of theologians arguing over it for centuries) is unknown. All we know is that heart of God wants to turn our lament into dancing and our sorrow into joy.

※Questions※

1) What’s do you think about dancing at the death of death?

2) As Christians, why does death still frighten us? If we truly believe that a fellow Christian is in Heaven, why do we grieve?

3) “Deathbed Conversions” will continue to decrease, as too many don’t know the basics of Jesus. How will you turn regular conversations into God conversations?

※Prayer※

Father, thank you for redeeming us from death through the death and resurrection of your Son. May the Holy Spirit guide our hearts to speak the words of Christ to the world. Amen.

2020-10-03
Dancing in the Streets

Luke 10:17–24; Revelation 19:6–10

One of the greatest joys a parent can have is the success of their children. This isn’t necessarily financial nor even survival. The best times are watching them succeed when they do not think they are capable.

That’s Jesus’ joy when the 72 disciples return. They recognized that through Jesus they could now do amazing things. They went out with almost nothing. They came back changed.

In his book, Rings of Fire, Leonard Sweet says that, “Jesus celebrated, danced, prayed, and let the Spirit loose.” That’s the kind of rejoicing that Jesus did.

This is the kind of rejoicing that occurs in Heaven when the Bride and the Groom. The same kind. This is the joy that Jesus had upon the return of the 72.

In the days ahead, we will watch and experience friends, family, and much of the US population apparently lose common sense as the US Presidential election looms. No one knows what will happen this year, as both political parties have already gathered their legal forces to challenge the results.

There will be gatherings that mourn the electoral losses. There will be gatherings that celebrate the results. The political talking heads will have their day full of predicting what will happen.

No matter the result of the election, we will still be able to be rejoicing as we are part of the party in Heaven. We cannot let the ways of the world get the party down.

※Questions※

1) What’s your response when you think of Jesus dancing or leaping for joy?

2) How does Jesus’ joy for the 72 impact you? Does it matter?

3) How will you keep your “dancing” joy over the next few months with the tension and animosity that will be building?

※Prayer※

Jesus, thank you for giving us lives that rejoice. May we live in such a way that people see the joy of our hearts. Amen.

2020-10-02
Veritas

Acts 21:34–22:28

Have there ever been times in your life when you knew speaking the truth would, at best, keep things the way they were? And, at worst, make things horribly wrong? Or, have you had the experience that no matter how much you speak the truth, others only hear lies?

These scenarios might seem far-fetched, yet, that was exactly what Paul experienced.

“You speak Greek?”

“Aren’t you the Assassin leader?”

“You speak Aramaic?”

“You’re a Roman citizen?”

Yes, one the first is a literal question. The other 3 are just summarizations of other verses. Yet, the entirety is that Paul was dismissed. He wasn’t worthy.

People could share plenty of false information (that’s what started the riot, after all). Why bother to inspect the truth?

We are in a weird time. Truth is questioned. Truth is questionable.

Before you throw politics into this, understand that the Truth of our faith remains steadfast. It is the only Truth.

Paul spoke the Truth. He did not speak the truth that people wanted to hear. This is the same thing that we are seeing now. It is place (schools, homes, churches, governments) agnostic.

Many of you may have experienced those first questions when you think about spiritual/faith conversations you have had.

Who are you? A child of God

What is Truth? That God loved you so much that he sent his son to die to reconcile God’s lost Creation to himself.

No, the Truth is not comfortable to many, or even most, people. Sharing the Truth will only become harder.

※Prayer※

Father of all Truth, may we have the courage of our faith to share your Truth in love with a world that does and doesn’t want to hear it. Amen.

2020-10-01