Devotion.al

Tag: reconciliation

  • Who Restores

    Deuteronomy 30:1–5, Jonah 2:2–9, Isaiah 44:24–28

    Have you ever recognized that there is an implied title and of God that gets missed? Restorer.

    We use Healer, often, which is close. Another could be Reconciler. We don’t use Restorer or Reconciler, because in most cases of their use (restore and reconcile), they are action verbs, not nouns.

    Yet, and are at the of . Think of it this way. Through Jesus’ sinless walk on Earth and his sacrificial on the cross, we are to God (relationship). Through baptism and Jesus’ , we are restored (position) to the “place” we would have had prior to the Fall (Adam and Eve).

    It can be easy to fall into the reconciliation way of thinking, because while on Earth that is both our and our experience.

    We get a taste of restoration in baptism, but it really is a poor experience in comparison to the full restoration once we are in Heaven.

    1) What do you think of restoration and reconciliation?

    2) How do you think restoration and reconciliation work with other people?

    3) We can understand how reconciliation works with our interpersonal relationships. How does restoration work? Thinking about restoration as God restores, is it possible for a damaged relationship to be restored? Why or why not?

  • Everyday Morality

    2 Peter 3:8–15, 2 Corinthians 5:16–21

    Being human is not particularly easy. Our ability to think abstractly is a great gift. It is also a curse. With the ability to think abstractly, we also have gained a “higher” form of thinking…morality. From the Old Testament to Greek and Roman philosophers to the New Testament to today, morality is a reality. Many times political rhetoric is framed within a moral argument. Some times business and legal arguments are framed in moral terms. There appears to be an unconscious acknowledgment (for those who don’t consciously acknowledge it) that morals are a sure underpinning of existence.

    Peter is not addressing the philosophical of things, but the day-to-day practical. Morality underlies your very existence. When Peter uses the imagery of the Day of God as a thief in the night, it isn’t that of a criminal, but that of one who will not be announced. If your morality is aligned with God, all is well. Granted, Peter didn’t assume we all lived Godly morality at all times, for if that were the case, he wouldn’t have provided such a warning. In the warning, there is still for all those who do not live out the perfectly (i.e., everyone), “…make every effort…” How is that hopeful? Simple. The effort is the evidence of a turned toward God.

    This would be in contrast to those who live one way on Sunday, and another way the other 6 days of the week (especially, the “work” week). A number of years ago, there was a huge energy company. The board of this energy company would vote to suspend its bylaws and/or code of ethics, vote for something that violated it, then vote to resume the code of ethics. They called themselves ethical. They never “violated” their code of ethics, because they were “suspended” during the unethical votes. That is a small (disgusting and sad) example of not making every effort.

    The underlying reality of morality also directly affects the calling on our lives to be ambassadors for Christ. “Be reconciled to God.” If our morality is suspect, then how could our reconciliation be trusted. One of the first things a negotiator (especially true with police negotiators) is to build rapport with the other person. Then, and only then, do they begin to build . If one’s morality is in question, trust is hard (if not impossible) to build. If we, as Ambassadors, are seen as immoral (or amoral), then why would they trust us when we the of the Gospel?

    Make every effort to be reconciled to God, for then you are able to help be reconciled to God.

    1) Morality and are often used interchangeably. What is the difference? Why does it matter?

    2) Why is understanding the difference between human morality and God’s morality important? Why is understanding the difference between church morality and God’s morality important?

    3) When do you not make every effort to live life for God?

  • Through God’s Mercy

    2 Corinthians 4:1–6

    Ministry. Mercy. Determination. Cleansing. Sharing. Shining.

    Ministry: each and every one of us is a minister of the of Reconciliation. Every one of us. Pastor and preachers they have their roles. That does not excuse anyone from being a minister of the Gospel.

    How are you being a minister of the Gospel? (And you are being one. Even a bad one is still one)

    Mercy: God showed us immeasurable mercy through Christ. We are called to that mercy with . We are called to be merciful to others. Mercy can be shown in many ways.

    How are you showing and giving mercy, especially God’s mercy, to others?

    Determination: the is not a destination. It is a journey. It often takes far more determination (not giving up) to walk the way, than it takes to do something else.

    How is your determination?

    Cleansing: emptying our spiritual closets is scary and healthy. Secrets and sins strengthen in . Open the doors and let the in. Confession and open discussion with one another keeps the doors open, and the light shining in.

    How is the house cleaning going? Do you have help?

    Sharing: if we truly believe the Gospel, we will share it. This is not the “beat them over the head” sharing, it is the that is “strangely warmed” that people are drawn to so that they get to share in the warmth.

    Are you sharing the warmth of Christ?

    Shining: the world is full of shiny stuff. The world is full of pretty lights. We can become too concerned with the holy light being drowned out by the worldly light. We are called to shine. We are like the stars made by the Creator. Always shining. Sometimes their shine is hidden by the sun, the of God. Sometimes it’s hidden by the lights of the city (the world). Regardless, the shining doesn’t stop.

    Are you shining?

  • Just Praying

    1 Samuel 1:1–18, Luke 18:1–8, Matthew 6:5–15

    “…The of a person is very powerful in its effect.”—James 5:16

    As a gift, prayer is probably second only to and . The ability to talk to the Creator of the universe. The God who calls us children.

    Prayer can take many forms. While there may not be as many forms as there are people, there are still many forms which can be done in many combinations. Prayer is also changing. Prayer doesn’t just us, but through our lives, our prayers change and how we pray changes.

    Hannah was thought to be drunk. However, her heartache was so acute that words failed her. In a culture where prayers were spoken aloud (especially in public at the Tabernacle), someone praying quietly (or silently) was abnormal, and (as Eli displayed) not particularly trusted. Hannah’s prayer was effective, however, along with even Eli’s . The boy who came of it, Samuel, was the spiritual leader of Israel for many years.

    Hannah shows the ‘s prayer. Jesu talked about persistent prayer. Regardless, for example, of what you think of him now, Franklin Graham (the of the famous evangelist Billy Graham) ran away from the of his . He was the prodigal son. Ruth Graham (the wife of Billy Graham) was persistent in prayer for her son, Franklin. After many years, Franklin returned to the faith. She, like the widow in Jesus’ story, was persistent. However, unlike the unrighteous judge in the story, our prayers are heard by the righteous God. Ruth Graham incorporated her prayers for her son in her daily devotionals.

    Who says which form (devotionals or a poured out heart at a single annual festival) is better? There are many Christians who look to Jesus’ words and draw huge generalizations that Jesus does not make. For example, the Jesus prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” has been used for years. People condemn it as babble because it is used in repetition. However, these same people often use the Lord’s Prayer (a mere 2 verses later) as memorized prayer without meditating on the actual words and meaning. Which is right?

    1) What are your preferred methods to pray? Why do you think that is?

    2) Have you ever tried to pray a different way? Why? What was the spiritual difference?

    3) How is your prayer life?

  • Seeking Reliably

    Psalm 24, Isaiah 55:1–13, Romans 11:33–36

    Many folks are obsessed with picking apart the Scriptures to find any issues or incongruities. Some do this out honest inquiry, some do it in an attempt to discredit the Scriptures. The reality is that we have to look at the Scriptures as the writers intended (which can be difficult) and literary type. Often people view the Scriptures as something they are not.

    This is an important concept to understand, especially in of the last couple of days discussing the and . The Scriptures are the starting point to understand God and our relationship with God.

    Psalm 24 is a victorious Psalm. Yet, God is no mere victorious general entering the city of Jerusalem. God is so much more. Tucked in the Psalm is “Such is the generation of those who inquire of him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.” This seeking is the next step. We are called to seek God and we start with the Scriptures. As we seek God and read the Scriptures, only then can begin to grasp just what it means to know the “King of Glory.”

    Isaiah’s is the call of God to each and every one to seek Him. In the midst of trials, exile, and destruction, God is still calling people to turn to Him. Will they all escape the judgement? No. That isn’t the point, and never was. The purpose of seeking God—to have our hearts turned to Him—is not to escape the , misery, and fallenness of this world, it is to place it all into the redeeming of God.

    and reconciliation are very much a part of Paul’s message. When Paul speaks about the depth of the riches, it is not—again—to escape, but to put into our experiences in the world. In comparison to God, what we think is small. In comparison to God, we are insignificant; from a perspective, that is. God cares for us all. It is not that God diminishes our troubles or joys. It is that while what revolves around us is hugely important, there is still a larger picture.

    Knowing God means not just the Spirit or Jesus or God the Father, but seeking God fully and doing our best to understand God. We have the tools and gifts: the Scriptures, the church ( and tradition), our minds, our experience.

    1) What is one area of the 4 (Scriptures, church, mind, experience) that you rely or focus most on? Why? How might that be disadvantageous?

    2) What is the one area you are the weakest in? Why? How could you strengthen that area?

    3) As inheritors of the Protestant tradition, we often hold the Scriptures extraordinarily high to the detriment of the other 3. Yes, holding the Scriptures highly is a good thing. However, balance is required, so why is that a bad thing?

  • For the Opposition

    Psalm 11, Deuteronomy 32:35, Ezekiel 18:30–32, Matthew 5:43–48

    If you’ve been on social media any amount of time, you might notice that the longer you’re on it, the less you see from those who think differently. Another way to think of it is that the more you interact (click, “like”, just stare at) with a post that makes you angry or feel persecuted, the more posts of exactly that kind you will see. This is the reality of social media that was visibly part of the 2016 presidential campaign and was part of both the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, but we were all just ignorant.

    This is incredibly important to understand and needs to be used to intellectually and emotionally filter any social media or traditional media interaction you have. Why? Because are also experiencing their own confirmation bias, and it might be in tension with yours. The most disturbing part of social media is how it is reinforcing some of the basest tendency…finding an .

    There is no question that we are in a divided nation and an increasingly divided world. The lines are coming more rigid, and the walls between seem to be growing larger. It would be nice to be able to blame social media and the . Except that we are the problem.

    In both Psalm 11 and Deuteronomy 32:35, God makes it clear that it is God’s place to punish “the enemy,” yet we often try to take the place of God. God leaves people to their own demise, but we seem to want to hurry them along, often in an attempt to make ourselves feel/look better.
    Ezekiel tells us that God wants repentance and reconciliation. When God leaves us to our own devices (or the result of our actions) it’s not that God wants that result for us. God never desires our or spiritual death. Yet, we often are not the first to aid others, retaining our “us versus them” .

    calls us to pray for our enemies. Enemies, though, is a very emotionally laden . A better understanding would be those who are in opposition to us. The opposition could be political, differing faiths, differing denominations, differing ideas of whose grass is greener or has more weeds and crabgrass. Persecution definitely is in regards to beliefs, but, still, we are called to pray for them.

    1) changes people. Have you ever had the experience of praying for a person who “opposed” or “persecuted” you and had your heart changed rather than theirs? Do you think that is , or abnormal? Why?

    2) In the context of Jesus’ words and the first question, why does Jesus direct us to pray for opposers and persecutors?

    3) Which opposer or persecutor will you commit to pray for?

  • Isle Crossing

    2 Corinthians 5:14–21

    There are many things that are worshipped. Most have supplanted God with something man-made or of human origin: science, , , work, . Even the fundamental nature of God——has been corrupted by humanity.

    We are all familiar with 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new ; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” It is often used as an encouraging verse for the new and struggling believer. We are made new in Christ. However, the verse is placed within the context of a larger picture…a larger .

    We are to be messengers of and ambassadors for . If we are honest with ourselves, we have been doing the best we can, but it still hasn’t been very good. We—as the church—have put family first in an unhealthy way. It is not that family is unimportant, but that the church family is our family, too, and we often neglect it.

    The church allowed itself to be drawn into politics, and we need to stop. Politics are human, but they are often of greater priority to “Christians” than . We need to be the ones on the forefront reconciling differences and parties, rather than being on side of the aisle or the other.

    Our world is in desperate need of something different, let us be something different. Let us be new in Christ Jesus.

    1) Have you questioned someone’s or spiritual maturity based upon their political disagreement with you?

    2) Have you done the same if they raise(d) their children differently?

    3) What have you done to help people be reconciled to one another as an ambassador of Christ?

  • Blessing of Enemies

    Psalm 3, Genesis 14:17–24, Exodus 23:20–33, John 16:1–11

    Enemies are a thing. Sometimes the enemies are more in our head than outside in the world. Sometimes enemies are those that do us harm when they are supposed to be striving for our good. Other times, and currently the most seen, the enemies are those not like us. In , they are not our enemies, they are just different, and difference can be perceived as dangerous.

    Abraham’s victory over those who kidnapped his was attributed to God by Melchizedek. The enemies of Abraham may not have even known they were the until Abraham came to Lot. For Abraham’s sake, God gave them to Abraham, who was to God.

    As the Israelites have left Egypt and are headed to the Promised Land, they are told that there are enemies. These are the enemies they will have to defeat to recover the Promised Land. God promises them victory over their enemies…as long as they follow his ways. And there is the rub. They didn’t do a very good job of that. Under only a few leaders, and only for a limited time, did Israel actually follow God’s ways. However, the rest of the time God allowed their enemies to be victorious, and it is directly tied to their orientation toward God.

    So, if things were to continue, one could reasonably draw the conclusion that once we have a heart and with Christ that our enemies would be . Yet, Jesus says the opposite. “You’re mine, and the world hates you because of it. Therefore you are surrounded by enemies.”

    Granted, the enemies that surround us are actually those that have often put themselves against God (whether they are aware of it or not). It still doesn’t make it sound much better.

    1) If indeed we are now surrounded by enemies, how is that the Good ?

    2) There are many kinds of enemies: national, religious, political, general life. Think of those that you know that fall under each of these categories, and what can you do to shine the light of Christ into their lives?

    3) Thinking of others as enemies can be a beneficial starting point because then you can more easily see the barriers that need to be worked on prior to sharing Christ with them. Why is it important to recognize the barriers that ? What should we do with those barriers?