Devotion.al

Tag: reflection

  • Prayer Signs

    Prayer Signs

    Psalm 65; Exodus 7:14–24; Acts 27:13–38

    Do the right thing! Then, do the next right thing! If there is a question of what the right thing is? You’ll just know. Right? Sounds completely rational. You’ll just know.

    Except it doesn’t always (or even often for many) work that way. Many times awe-inspiring stories are told of how God answered prayers or provided guidance. If it hasn’t worked for you, yes, perhaps your needs some work. On the other hand, perhaps God is expecting you to work it through yourself.

    Moses and Paul are great examples to look at. They are also not.

    Both Moses and Paul are powerfully connected to God. Although the Scriptures tell us all the high and powerful points. They also don’t tell us the times between.

    Were Moses and Paul always deeply and intimately connected to God? No. While we can be sure that Moses learned about the God of the Israelites from his biological mother, his life in the court of the Pharaoh would have definitely tempered some of that (though likely there was some warmth for the of his mother).

    Paul was a strict observer of the Jewish Law. So strictly did he follow the Law, that he vigorously attacked the fledgling faith of the Way (that became later identified as Christian). We could easily say he was an observant Jew. However, his pre-conversion life would not have had the same connection to God based upon his conversion.

    This is not to say that your with God is not significant or deep. It is to say that each of us lives different lives, and how that affects our relationship with God may be significant.

    What we can do is to temper ourselves by reading the Scriptures, prayer, and a group of fellow believers that we can be fully open with all our flaws and failures. As we become more shaped by the Scriptures, prayer, and the lives of , we can begin to expect to understand the guidance that God has been providing to this point, but we were unable to grasp it.

    Lastly, though, is the hardest part…and it’s all ours. It is our free will. We can choose to pursue God and God’s will. We still may choose our own.

    ※Reflection※

    • What is the one thing you are looking for an answer from God about?
    • What about it is something that you cannot determine yourself?
    • What have you done in finding wise Christian counsel to work through this?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we pray and wait for . Yet, while we wait, you still call us to walk forward day by day in you. Guide us into your will, and mold our hearts to to it.

  • Moving Pain

    Moving Pain

    Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32; Job 38:1–11; 2 Corinthians 6:1–13; Mark 4:35–41

    The right time. God moved at the right time. God’s timing is perfect.

    From a purely intellectual standpoint, these are easy to say. It is much harder to say this in the midst of trial and be at peace with that truth. We will often tell ourselves that we God, but that doesn’t mean we are at peace with it.

    Sometimes we aren’t called to be at peace with it.

    , whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, is God’s to us that something is wrong. One of the biggest ones is the pain of , particularly . Death is the ultimate indicator that something is wrong in .

    Pain also often indicates that you need to do something. Just sitting in your pain, because you trust God’s timing or are “at peace” about, is not always the right or move.

    Pain, oddly enough, can also be disguised in positive events and positive moments, as these moments of transition mean letting go of the past.

    The disciples didn’t just sit in their pain (fear). They woke Jesus up. That was wise.

    (and Timothy) didn’t just sit in their pain that the Corinthians appeared to be abandoning them or letting their love (of Paul and Timothy and/or God) cold. A letter was written and delivered. It was said aloud and shared among the Corinthians (and other churches).

    Job didn’t just sit. He carthartically released his pain. We often think of the Book of Job as Job mostly sitting with the others. While he is, Job is also doing what a lot of us try to do when we are in pain (spiritual and emotional, especially)…we process.

    ※Reflection※

    • What pain are you working through right now? What is the biggest obstacle for you in it?
    • How is your pain impacting those around you, particularly those who are closest to you?
    • How is your pain impacting your daily and choices?

    ※Prayer※

    God, you gave us pain to guide us. Help us to look at the pain we are dealing with to see how you can use it to transform us. Amen.

  • So Say The Skies

    So Say The Skies

    Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32; Job 37:1–13; Luke 21:25–28

    One of the most useful tools invented, and also one of the most irritating is the clock. Humanity has long felt the need to measure time. Multiple cultures used some iteration of a sundial to divide the day. The Egyptians invented a “clock” that used water drops to measure time (both day and night). Even in the beginning, God marked the boundary of day and night with the sun and moon (and stars). The Jewish calendar was built around the cycle of the moon, and the sun set the day. The Jews were not unique in that.

    Looking to the skies was also important, since having an idea of weather (even if only a few hours ahead) provide some idea of which tasks needed to be done immediately. Rain, snow, hail, lightning, all come from the skies. The dreaded locusts came by sky, too (granted, by flying). There were and sand storms. When everything is subsistence, and even now, watching the skies is important.

    Then, there were the astrological signs. We’re not talking about the “signs of the Zodiac”, per se. We’re talking about comets, eclipses (solar and lunar), the planets (as they appeared and disappeared based upon their respective orbits). We admire eclipses, for example, because they are pretty cool. We also understand them. In ancient days, most people didn’t have the to understand them, and those that did often used it for their power and advantage.

    Thus, when we read the Scriptures with all their weather and astrological signs, we have to understand this is about awareness of how much they didn’t know and understanding that there was a bigger picture beyond them (a lesson many more highly “learned” people need to re-learn). We may think it strange that ancient cultures attributed to God (or gods) weather and astrological signs that we “know” are “merely” systems with a structure, rules, and logic.

    For Job, these were signs of God’s majesty and control. They showed that God was in control. This is also Job’s acknowledgment that God has a plan and that he (Job) doesn’t understand it. Job actually points to all the signs as proof of God’s existence, and that he (Job) is merely a finite person in the eyes of the infinite God.

    Even points to astrological signs. Yes, Jesus also points to more “earthly” signs, which are equally out of the hands of humanity. Jesus then combines the Godly with the earthly to make the point of unification between God and .

    Will Jesus really come back on a cloud, or is this just a figure of speech? Depends on who you ask. The underlying point isn’t how Jesus comes back. The point is that Jesus does come back. Even in the ancient creeds, the important part was that Jesus was coming back, not how.

    ※Reflection※

    • Do you believe that Jesus is coming back? Why or why not?
    • Do you think that the to Jesus an important part of being a ? Why or why not?
    • Is Jesus’ return an important part of your Christian life? If so, how is that expressed through your life? If not, how do you understand Jesus’ return as being part of your faith, if it is?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Jesus, many of us long for your return to the pain of the world. Many of us want your return delayed to assure we can bring more into your . Help us to grasp emotionally, mentally, and spiritually that there is an end that is coming, and that you will be there. Amen.

  • Light It Up

    Light It Up

    Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32; Job 29:21–30:15; Acts 21:1–16

    is full of ups and downs. Psalm 107 starts with such a positive tone. Then mishaps and adventures and trials occur. Then back to rejoicing in God. It doesn’t seem to really matter your place, station, or nation in life, there are ups and downs. Even in some of the harshest conditions, people will find positive things. Part of that is just how we maintain some sort of sanity (even if it’s by our fingernails).

    This certainly is not to belittle anyone’s trials and tribulations. Even in midst of grieving over the of a one, people might see God’s beautiful . They might laugh at a really bad Dad joke (yes, a dad joke and a bad joke are the same thing). They might have an enjoyable meal or a great time with friends. The pain remains, but something can still be good.

    Job was respected. He cared for . He honored God. He led others.

    Job fell. He was despised. He was rejected. Others sought to lead him. Yet, he honored God.

    All of Acts is a series of ups and downs. While this part of Paul’s journey is really the foreshadowing of his journey to Rome and to his death, it is still filled with stories of love, caring, loyalty, and .

    The world is indeed a dark place. Often, the only thing that can keep us sane and even happy is . Only hope in Jesus Christ will endure through time.

    ※Reflection※

    • Thinking of a dark time in your life, what were high points in the ? What made them that way?
    • Have you ever questioned a joyful or happy moment in the midst of darkness? Did you feel as if you disrespected the time of darkness?
    • What are ways that you have found to invoke light, , and hope in the midst of your darkness and the darkness of others?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, you are the light to the world. Help us to be the smaller lights that bring hope to the world, and to you. Amen.

  • Port Wise

    Port Wise

    Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32; Job 29:1–20; Acts 20:1–16

    “Any port in a storm!”

    From a strictly practical standpoint, that sailor quip makes sense. Yet, the port may have dangers of its own that were unexpected. If, for example, naval ships from opposing sides set anchor in the same bay due to a storm, once the storm abated, a different storm might begin.

    Security is a multi-faceted need. We recognize our need for security in realms like jobs, health, food, protection. We have become so accustomed to increased safety that new “security” items are released into the market every year.

    Security, though, is a double-edged sword, especially if you are not practicing wisdom and spiritual discernment. In certain places in the world, people place themselves under the protection of strong men and gangs. They know that the person or people they are being “protected” by are as bad, or worse, than , but some protection is better than none.

    People will place their security in the hands of politicians (this is pretty universal across the spectrum, except for anarchists and somewhat libertarians). Much of the political rancor that we are dealing with is how people feel most protected or safe. Even those saying we are protecting your imply that they are protecting your freedom from “them”.

    While this is relatively easy to point to in politics (though often not easy), it may well be a bigger issue in the and within the context of Christianity.

    Of course, there is the easy to identify, “all religions are equal,” safe port that provides zero to most religions, as most claim to have some sort of ultimate truth. That ultimate truth is usually not the same as other religions. Thus, all religions are not equal.

    The slightly harder “safe ports” are religions dressed up in clothes, but have significantly different starting, middle, and ending points. The primary two are the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). At least, in the beginning, the Jehovah’s Witnesses were successful because they pulled at many people’s desires to be like others. The Mormons are often successful because they really help others in ways that we need to .

    The harder safe ports are things like prosperity and the health & wealth “gospels” which attribute success in health and/or wealth to one’s faith (and usually one’s ). This actually has echoes in the Jewish tradition, too (and teachings that Jesus opposed).

    Those were all the easy ones. In reality, the hard ones are beyond the scope of this. They include righteous acts with cold hearts, loving words empty of loving acts, giving financially without giving of oneself, giving of oneself without giving financially (though this one is not so clear cut), calling oneself a or Jesus Follower and not living (or even pursuing) a holy life.

    ※Reflection※

    • What “safe” things or ways of thinking have drawn you away from Jesus?
    • What “safe” things or ways of thinking that were originally good changed to capture you, inhibiting your life with Christ?
    • What are some of the safe things or thoughts that you currently have? Have you looked at them through the lens of Jesus Christ?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, be the Lord of our and the keeper of our souls that we be safe from the trials, tribulations, and temptations of the world. Amen.

  • The Fruit We Yield

    The Fruit We Yield

    Psalm 52; Jeremiah 22:1–9; Luke 6:43–45

    Have you ever been somewhere with a beautiful bowl filled with fruit, then picked up a piece of fruit, and realized that it was fake? It looks pretty and improves the ambiance, but beyond that, it is useless for living.

    Christians have a discrepancy (okay, we have many). We understand the “” of following . We also have a general understanding that we cannot earn our way into Heaven (i.e., “works ).

    Yet, here we are stuck in words of actions. There is the reality that actions can form us. This is why the ancient focused so much on disciplines of behavior (bible reading, confession, etc), not because they, in and of themselves, reformed us, but so that the pattern of lives became set. Through that setting, we are more and willing to let the Holy transform us.

    Despite those intentions—we see this in Jewish and Christian traditions—the rules intended to guide the heart became rules to follow. By following the rules, people were able to appear transformed, but their hearts were anything but.

    Jeremiah’s call to live a just life continues from yesterday’s (Jeremiah 21:11–14). The battle being waged upon the hearts of Judah is about living life versus following rules. When we only follow rules, rather than live, we are only going to die unfulfilled (Romans 7:5, Romans 8:2). We also will be no better than the fake fruit in the bowl.

    When Jesus talks about “good” fruit—kalos—there is actually a play on words that our translations miss and thus we do not connect other phrasings. Kalos (the Anglicization of καλός) has a focus on the outward appearance, which is similar to Jesus’ accusation of the teachers and Pharisees about being whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23:27). At the same time, there is also the implied meaning that there is still some use for the fruit despite the focus on outward appearance. A lot of big supermarkets have buyers who view the outside of the fruit, because they know what will sell at the market, and it is pretty fruit. That doesn’t mean that the fruit is necessarily really tasty, nor does that mean that there are not hidden issues. You, too, may have experienced buying a “nice to look at” piece of fruit, and then found something less than appealing after a bite or two.

    We have to be careful when we draw too much on the good/bad dichotomy as (for example) good fruit goes rotten, too (thus becoming bad). The agricultural aspect of the “bad” fruit is more along the lines of being grown from a seedling (or volunteer) rather than controlled grafting.

    The fruit from such trees is often inedible and so good for nothing but fertilizer. These trees will always produce fruit that is not edible. There is nothing to be done about it. A good tree will not always produce good fruit. The bad tree will always produce bad fruit.

    Another way to think of this is ornamental fruit trees. They are beautiful. Their fruit is often beautiful to look at (weeping cherry comes to mind). The fruit, though, is not good, nor is there much fruit to go with the seed and skin. The tree is good as an ornament. It is not good for providing life-giving food.

    ※Reflection※

    • What challenges you regarding good fruit and good trees versus bad fruit and bad trees?
    • How is the appearance of good fruit similar to a whitewashed tomb? How is it different?
    • How does living a strictly law-abiding life lead to “death” (as calls it)? On the other hand, how can it lead to life?

    ※Prayer※

    Holy Spirit, only you can transform us from bad trees to good. We you permission and we for your aid to become good trees producing good fruit beyond measure. Amen.

  • Defining Justice

    Defining Justice

    Psalm 52; Jeremiah 21:11–14; Revelation 21:22–22:5

    “This then is how you should live, begin your morning by administering . All those who know and follow the will of God will rescue people from their oppressor, particularly for those whose God promised gift has been stolen from them.” [A paraphrase by Ian]

    There is no question that oppression, justice, and theft are phrases that are repeatedly thrown around right now. How they from place to place and culture to culture also cannot be ignored. There is also a historical aspect to this as the time of Judah and Israel what was meant by this was pretty clear cut.

    Today, it isn’t so clear-cut. There are several possible reasons: (1) we’ve made it too complicated, (2) our understanding has matured, (3) we are applying worldly concepts and understandings to Biblical ones. There are probably a couple of more.

    In almost all societies in history, there is a gap between those who “have” and those who “have not”. How “having” is just or not is part of the question. For many, medical care is a matter of justice (and they have a lot of unjust things to point to). For , medical care is a personal matter of responsibility (and they can point to a lot of unjust things, too).

    Matters of justice include (depending on perspective) skin color, national origin, first language, career, order, social standing, economics. From the standpoint of the Law, what was oppression and stealing was very clear cut. That doesn’t mean that the Law was followed, hence Jeremiah’s statement about starting the morning with justice. Where it gets really difficult for many of us is beyond the Law version of justice. A great many Christians from the early church to today believe that Jesus went beyond the Law to God and Love Others. Yes, that is the summation of the Law and the Prophets provided by Jesus. Yet, Jesus also commands to not , and he expanded (yes, expanded) the concept of sin from actions to relations.

    Administering justice is easy when it is down and defined sharply, though some of the gymnastics lawyers and judges go to redefine things gets interesting at times. So, what happens when it is ? If you want a simple answer, I’m sure someone sells a book on it.

    Justice is not the same across all situations. It would be nice. Different people, different contexts, different histories, create different justice. Yep, there. A different justice.

    ※Reflection※

    • How do you emotionally to different justice issues?
    • How do you think through the Law and Jesus when you think about justice issues?
    • Why is it worth, and why is it essential, to wrestle with justice, especially in the of the City of God from Revelation?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us to live, love, , heal, and reconcile all things and peoples justly; where you define just. Amen.

  • Wrong Thing Vision

    Wrong Thing Vision

    Psalm 52; Ezekiel 31:1–12; Galatians 6:11–18

    “When a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?”

    That philosophical question is designed around the of a human being. “Sound” being a human , the implication is that the tree wouldn’t make a sound, as there is no one around to hear. From a purely scientific standpoint, of course, the tree makes a sound. We understand that even when we are not present, there still will be sound waves. The animals will certainly hear it and try to out of the way.

    Yesterday, when we read about the cedar, it was referring to the David line. In today’s passage, is refers to kings and leaders, just not the Davidic ones. The cultural awareness that the cedar represented royalty helps us understand that the cedar might be used in multiple contexts to represent the kingly leaders.

    The difference here is that the tree representing Assyria goes down and has no . Yesterday, the Davidic cedar had a bough taken off and replanted. Here, there is no legacy. In fact, the land animals resting on it show that it is worth nothing more than dirt.

    The tree, oddly enough, goes down not necessarily for Judah and Israel’s benefit, but to show Egypt who God is. Or perhaps we should say, remind Egypt who God is (reminding Judah and Israel, too).

    Governments, as they are a gathering of people, look to other governments and other people to get an idea of how to succeed, and often how to beat the other guy. Governments too busy looking at the other “guy” aren’t looking to God.

    Often when we are busy looking at the “other” (whether people, governments, and many ), we are not looking at the right things, let alone the things we can control.

    Paul refers to the new creation. When we look too much to the world we lose sight of the new creation that is inside of us. It’s not that we corrupt it, but we can avoid it. As we look to others to define us or oppose us—instead of God—we miss out on the new creation. As the “others” look to unGodly things, they are often looking at the unGodly things of others, creating a vicious cycle.

    We need to break the cycle. How we break the cycle will be a very thing. We, like Paul, may end up bearing marks like Christ on our bodies. We almost definitely will bear them on our souls.

    ※Reflection※

    • How much do you reflect on the new creation inside of you?
    • Do you ever see when the world tries to this new creation?
    • Are you more driven by leaders, governments, or people within your circle? How do you try to influence them for Christ?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, us the to recognize that we have been freed from the ways of the world. Help us to look to you first, so that we may transform the world through your for us. Amen.