Devotion.al

Tag: reflection

  • Willing to be Sharpened

    Willing to be Sharpened

    Proverbs 27:17; Acts 15:36–41

    I’m sure you’ve never fought. Ever. With anyone. I’m sure that you’ve never raised your or yelled in anger or frustration. Ever. At anyone.

    was strong-willed and opinionated. Barnabas was a person who seemed to always be the forgiving type. He was known as an encourager.

    Paul and Barnabas had been on mission together. They had been in trouble together. They had seen God’s together. They had seen the Spirit people. By all accounts, they were successful missionary partners.

    From Paul’s letters, we know that he really cared about the people gathered into the churches. There was probably a strong motivation to make sure they were okay and hadn’t fallen prey (again) to non-Christians (both Jew and Gentile).

    Then we come to Mark. It is unclear why Mark had left them in Pamphylia. Based on context, some commentators believe that Mark left Paul (going to Jerusalem) because Mark didn’t believe that should not have ties to Judaism. The thought process was that Paul would not have been so opposed to Mark if it had not been something serious (versus being young and unaccustomed to travel, as other commentators have said).

    Here is where we see the . Barnabas and Paul were not opposing each other regarding the mission (i.e., they were ). One could even say their disagreement proved that they both believed in the mission. What they disagreed on was Mark’s part in the mission.

    They couldn’t agree. They parted ways.

    Paul’s character was sharp and straightforward (one might say similar to an oncoming train). Barnabas was the type who sought to lift up. What is interesting here is that Barnabas chose to “lift up” Mark, despite Paul’s insistence.

    Whether in church, work, or home, there will be times where people do not agree in approach. All too often, the only option seems to be separation. Yet, when two such “opposites” each other, that which comes from it will often be greater than the only one. The trick is how to make it happen.

    We do know this, though. Mark and Paul were reconciled. Mark and Timothy (Paul’s protege) became ministry partners.

    ※Reflection※

    • Have you ever seen two people whose goal is the same, but their methods are different? How did that go?
    • What does it take for two people of significantly different approaches to try to work together?
    • If you’ve found yourself in such a situation, are you more like Paul or like Barnabas?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we can quickly fall apart on our differences. Help us to take these differences to make a symphony for you. Amen.

  • Mixing It Up

    Mixing It Up

    It can seem strange to question and particularly fear the unity of disparate people, but that is what is happening here. Jew and Gentile in a single . The Jew and Gentile outside that faith assaulted it.

    Unity is a great thing. The is supposed to be a place of unity. Yet, the church also remains the most divided. It is divided by culture, nation, skin color, money, location and many other reasons.

    Yet, the “obvious” isn’t all bad. Really. If we didn’t have divisions, well, there would be one pastor…one…for everyone. Already, we know that wouldn’t work.

    Some sociologists state that our effective relational capacity is approximately 100. This “tribal” view of humanity would certainly explain much of what each of us experience in life. It also explains the church.

    In many regards, the divisions that we see in the world are not that surprising. As the ability to connect the whole world in real-time expands and becomes embedded in our lives, we are all experiencing the stress of a “tribal” size beyond our capacity to deal with and understand.

    This does not spare us the responsibility to and understand. The “tribal” concept may be about to be turned upside down.

    The church of Iconium, for example, broke the “tribal” boundaries. The tribal-breaking church remains the world’s greatest hope. It is this that makes the divided church so painful.

    The world needs an . Tribes need enemies. The enemies may not be ones of warfare. They may be economic or cultural or something else.

    The church is called to cross enemy lines not to defeat the enemy, but to reconcile the enemy, so that there are no more enemies.

    ※Reflection※

    • Which “tribal” identities do you identify with?
    • Which “tribal” identities do you struggle most with?
    • How do you think the early church overcame “tribal” identities?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, grant us the and to follow the example of your servant along with the first churches, that we can truly be the witnesses to the world of your great . Amen.

  • Freely

    Freely

    Psalm 147:1–11; 1 Corinthians 9:16–23

    Psalm 147 opens up powerfully. It really is good to sing praise to God. Every hopes that it is the pleasure of everyone who attends (whether physically or online) finds it a pleasure to praise God through singing.

    Of course, the psalmist is a songwriter/performer, so is obviously a tad biased towards this form of praise. There is indeed something powerful about music. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who find their best time of worship and praise through or stillness.

    The heart of worship is honoring God. A heart that honors God, worships God. Those people faithfully for the next experience of God’s faithful love.

    The of experiencing God’s faithful love produces a that can seem odd to a person who does not believe the same. has such an expectation. That is part of what motivates his approach to his (Christ directed) mission to share the .

    Paul’s response to God’s faithful love? Share the Good News freely. Not only freely in regard to cost, but also freely to whomever, and freely however.

    In many respects, the whomever and however continue to be a problem in regard to sharing the gospel. In some church somewhere, someone is saying, “Let’s not share the Good News with those people.” In another church (or maybe the same one), someone is saying, “We just can’t do it that way.”

    It’s easy to say, “Paul would…,” but the reality is that we don’t know what Paul would have done. We can only at the “heart” of Paul as seen through his words.

    We are often quite to put boundaries on many things in our lives. With whom and how (granted, without changing the Truth) however, the fewer boundaries we place the more likely we are to be where God already is.

    ※Reflection※

    • What surprising/unexpected ways have you seen the Good News shared/spread?
    • How should honoring/praising/worshiping God lead to sharing the Good News of the Gospel?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, may we find ways to share the Gospel that builds bridges of faith and love. Amen.

  • Life Giving God

    Life Giving God

    Isaiah 46:1–13

    Much of the tells through visual stories. Sometimes that imagery is disconcerting. It can also be mind-altering.

    Many of us struggle with some of that imagery. Being the of Christ can seem odd. Or there is the thought of being the clay pot.

    Most of us are very familiar with God as Father (in particular, God the Father, God the , God the ). So, when it comes to this passage in Isaiah it could be jarring. If you read this passage in the NIV, it won’t seem so, but most of the other translations have God being pregnant.

    Yes, God is pregnant. Of course, it is an image. Yet, it is an important one.

    One of the great mysteries (and, as a guy, great honors) that women have is the ability to bear children (definitely not saying pregnancy is easy). With God as Creator, perhaps we should be surprised that God isn’t identified more often this way.

    The imagery in the context of this passage is critical. The comparison is between God (-bearer) and idols (no life in them).

    God addresses the reality that the Israelites have “treasured” their idols, and that they put so much value upon them. They put their to escape the surrounding powers. Instead, they are hauling their idols with them to exile. As the idols were often covered or made of precious metals and gems, the likelihood is that idols would be destroyed as part of the exile.

    The idols that the Israelites made and worshiped so that they could maintain the lives they had…did nothing. The God they had abandoned promised to remain with them and to them.

    While carrying their empty, lifeless idols into captivity…God reached out. God said—in effect—I am here to carry you…and you life.

    ※Reflection※

    • What other symbols (i.e., pregnancy) can you associate with the life- aspect of God?
    • What modern idols do people believe “give life”? How do they mimic life?

    ※Prayer※

    God, thank you for your life-giving nature. May we embrace all that it means. Amen.

  • God and Relationships

    God and Relationships

    1 Corinthians 7:25–40

    God and Relationships is a pretty big topic. First of all, we have to set our starting point. God is a relational God. God created humanity in relationship with God.

    The first human was Adam. One thing to keep in mind with Adam is that according to some translators and some Jewish traditions was without gender upon initial creation. It wasn’t until the “rib” was removed from Adam that the of gender came about. This flies in the face of much of the Christian tradition, I understand, but it further emphasizes “two shall become one” and that it occurs (with the realm of Eden, before the fall) between man and woman.

    This seeming aside is also important as God declared that it was not good for humanity to be alone. This is peculiar in that if God is in a relationship with them, then the human wasn’t alone. Even at the point of Eden (again, before the Fall), God understood (even created) the situation that a human would need human fellowship. It’s odd to say that God wasn’t enough, yet human history shows that there is something fundamentally different in human-to-human relationship versus human-to-God relationship.

    Therefore, with all of this before us, there is a tension from the beginning of man and woman, their relationship with God, and their relationship with each other. The inherent need of humanity for relationship also extends, eventually, to fellow humans. God desires a relationship with humanity. Humanity needs relationship with humanity (even we strong introverts).

    This may seem to be a lot of preamble. Human relationships are at the core of ‘s message to the church.

    We primarily focus on marriage because it is culturally (and often personally) significant. There is good reason to focus on it. There is also good reason to ignore it in these verses.

    Paul makes it clear that while he is spiritually led regarding the church and the gospel (more at the of these verses), he also has no clear direction from the (at the beginning of the verses). This means that these verses, in particular, need to be viewed in context. Paul’s is that would be returning shortly (days, weeks, months, maybe a year or so). Paul has an end-times view. Why, from Paul’s perspective, would you confuse the little remaining time in your with that kind of intimate and focused human relationship?

    Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16–17, “All Scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in , 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” When we take context into consideration, we must also keep this passage in mind.

    Paul’s highest concern is the Corinthians’ (and our) relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Paul recognizes that often our human relationships hinder our relationship with God. This can be a result of trauma from childhood to the spouse who has changed (or us who changed). Even healthy relationships may distract or interfere with a relationship with God. An unhealthy relationship will hinder it even more.

    Our relationships with fellow humans really do deeply affect our relationship with God. One could even go so far as to say that if your relationships with humans are broken, so is your relationship with God. Yep, that one stings.

    ※Reflection※

    • What human relationships did you think of as being damaged? How might those relationships inhibit your relationship with God?
    • What human relationships can you think of that are good or great? How might they inhibit your relationship with God?

    ※Prayer※

     God, we often say you are first in our lives, but the human relationships in our lives sometimes say different. Grant us discernment, healing, and to make them be what is best regarding our relationship with you. Amen.

  • What A Sight

    What A Sight

    Numbers 22:1–35

    Moab feared Israel. Israel “just” had a military victory against major forces around Moab. Israel had marched around Moab and yet hadn’t done anything directly against Moab. Moab was deeply concerned that they were next.

    According to Moses (in Deuteronomy 2:9), God had directed him to leave Moab alone.  There is no record of “official” interaction between the Moabites and Israel, so it would seem that Moab’s fears were based on assumptions rather than experience. Which leads us to Balaam.

    The King of Moab called upon Balaam to the Israelites. Accusing the Israelites of being, basically, locusts seems to be a case of hyperbole. Yet, there was unsurety in Moab. It’s safer to wipe out the “other” than to communicate with them.

    At first, it seems that Balaam was a righteous God-follower. As we continue the story, it seems that perhaps it was not quite so. There is an implication that God condescends to Balaam going to prophesy on King Balak’s behalf. The “go” seems to be more along the lines of, “You can go. You’re going to anyway. So, I will use your human desires to bring glory to me (God).”

    And then we come to the famous part of the story, which recently came up in a . The entirety of the conversation was about a talking animal. Which I get it. None of us have had an animal to us in human .

    While human speech is important, our dog communicates just fine: whines, stares, growls, barks, licks, gnaws, pounces on, and so forth. She generally is successful in communicating her needs without human speech. A human baby communicates. It’s usually the parents who get the subtle differences between, “I’m hungry” cry, and “my stomach hurts” cry.

    We could blame children’s Sunday School for the emphasis on a talking beast of burden. The adults are just as nonplussed as the children, though. The talking animal wasn’t the point of the story, not even close.

    The talking animal was more along the lines of, “Yes, you (Balaam) said you heard me (God), but you need to understand how important it is that you actually listen to me!”

    In the church, preachers/pastors/teachers will often say something along the lines of, “Yes, this hard, but the Scriptures say…” Part of this is the reality that preachers/pastors/teachers don’t want to deliver hard . It’s hard, and we all want to be liked. In a community that respects the Word of God, that can work.

    Balaam probably doesn’t have that particular protection. Like many people of , and especially with the gods of that era and place, they thought with the right amount of money or right they could “” gods to do their will. God doesn’t work that way, and Balak would likely have little joy in being thwarted.

    However, that talking donkey and then the vision of the sword-bearing angel? That imagery was probably quite strong in Balaam’s eyes and . Likely, it was that which gave him the strength to deliver the oracles for Israel despite Barak’s insistence on curses.

    A vision/experience like that would give many of us the strength to face the world.

    ※Reflection※

    • When you recall the talking donkey, what else do you recall? Do recall the of the story?
    • Why is important, especially with stories like this, to understand that the Scriptures use imagery?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, may we have the strength of your vision as we navigate the chaotic waters of this 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- , 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 call 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 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 vision (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 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 power, comes great responsibility.” Christians have been given a unique power, that of the Holy . In combination with the Word 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 darkness, while condemning ourselves.

    ※Reflection※

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

    ※Prayer※

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

  • Prophetic Testing

    Prophetic Testing

    Deuteronomy 13:1–5

    words are very common in times of unrest. Much of the Old Testament are prophetic words during times of unrest. The times of unrest were because the people of Israel didn’t follow God. Since their focus was on the world, God became a bit player in their lives.

    This should sound familiar. The last decade or so has had many “prophetic” words spoken. Most of the ones given attention were of the white evangelical variety.

    Whether they were racist diatribes against Obama, misogynistic diatribes against Hillary Clinton, or (really) attempts at character assassinations of any so-called “liberal” , it was out-of-hand. It also shows how much the white evangelical /culture was in “the hands” of a singular political party.

    However, despite the “airplay” of much of this, there was just as much towards whichever “evil” Republican or “conservative” that was the focus of the day. It just wasn’t publicized.

    Perhaps, someone reading this will say, “See, it’s because ‘they’ are biased!” That isn’t the issue for Christians. The real issue is that the church thinks that it is effective by walking hand-in-hand with earthly .

    The prophetic in this passage in Deuteronomy is interesting. One of the biggest tests of a prophet is, do their words come true? Another part of the test, do miracles happen? The church has done okay on the first, and not-so-good on the second.

    It is the third test, however, that is the crucial one, does this draw us away from God?

    By far, it isn’t solely an (US) American issue. It is an earthly powers issue, and the church is tempted around the world to succumb.

    How’s this for a test? Does the person seek to make the “other” the ? Not their struggles, their opinion, even their sins…the person themselves.

    If there really is an Imago Dei (the Image of God) in every being, then is defining the “other” as “the enemy” is defining God as the enemy? This is how earthly politics work.

    The third test, then, becomes does this “prophetic” turn people against the Imago Dei?

    Over the last 4 years, much attention and vitriol have poured out in the US (and then overflowed into the world). Most of it was based upon pain and fear (and here’s another test: did you say to yourself, yes, “their” pain and fear, and not acknowledge yours?).

    Without question, there was a lot of Godly anger. Without question, there was a lot of earthly self-righteous anger. Amid it all, there were Godly prophetic voices and earthly prophetic voices dressed in holy guise.

    ※Reflection※

    What “voices” do you (really) listen to in your ? What is the spiritual background of those voices? What is the spiritual expression (how do they live out their lives, versus words) of these “voices”? Do the voices ever challenge your way(s) of thinking?

    ※Prayer※

    God, forgive us for not actively listen for and to your voice. Forgive us for not testing the words of others against your Word. Amen.