Tag: relationship

You Want Me to do What?

1 Samuel 3:1–21; Acts 9:10–19a

One of the biggest memes currently floating around is basically “forget 2020”. The gist of it is that it was such an upsetting year (politically, culturally, environmentally, health-wise, etc.) that we should just put it behind us. Is that, though, what we should do?

Eli was not the head priest that he was called to be. Earlier in 1 Samuel 2, we read that his sons took their place as priests as a license to do as they wished. Their practices regarding the sacrifices and toward the women serving in the temple are noted. We can safely assume that if they were willing to do that, the undocumented part of the lives wasn’t any better.

Eli’s admonishment of his sons was weak at best. He did not utilize his authority nor exercise his responsibility to “de-frock” (as we would call it today). Eli wasn’t evaluated based upon his sons’ behavior, but based upon how he practiced his role as head priest. There is a strong inference to make that it was the combination of Eli’s lack of effective action and his sons’ ongoing behavior that the family would be doomed going forward, as they were mentioned together (in 1 Samuel 2) in the resulting consequence.

To be clear, the character of God, and the Scriptures bear out, that God would have restored Eli’s family had they repented (concluded with action, not just words). Instead, as Eli’s response to Samuel shows, they (as a family) took a fatalistic view. “The Lord wills it.”

The relationship between Eli and God (and probably Eli’s sons and God) seems less of a friend and more of a taskmaster. What is even more telling is something we read in 1 Samuel 1; Eli is more than will to correct the perceived behaviors of others (Samuel’s mother). Eli’s sons, as priests, are left alone without consequences.

Ananias also received bad news from God. He was to go to the man who lead the uprooting, exiling, and even killing of other followers of The Way (the name of the sect prior to being called Christian). Ananias viewed it as a death sentence.

Ananias’ response was quite different to Eli’s. Ananias was scared. While we could interpret it as a “fatalistic” (i.e., if I die, it’s God’s will), that does not really appear to be Ananias’ heart. Ananias was obedient and trusting that God had a plan. Ananias trusted that he would survive the “enemy” encounter, for God did not send him to die (he believed). That’s not fatalism.

Ananias chose to face reality. Ananias chose to walk ahead in faith, trust, and love. He made this decision while knowing the past.

Looking back at 2020 and looking toward 2021, we can either be Eli or Ananias.

※Reflection※

The “Joy of the Lord” is part of the mature Christian walk. How could those be expressed through Eli and Ananias?

Why is “facing reality” as much a part of looking back and looking forward, as faith, hope, and love are?

Facing reality often includes facing change. What changes are you facing in 2021, and how will you live them out faithfully before God?

※Prayer※

God, as we look to the future, while not forgetting the past, help us to be faithful and trusting people. Deepen our understanding of what it means to live out your will in our lives. Amen.

2021-01-06
Saving Love

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”
—John 3:17 (NRSV)

Have you ever started disciplining a kid (whether your own, relative, or perhaps you were bold and disciplined a complete stranger’s kid) and you caught yourself wagging your finger in their face?! I catch myself doing this quite often with my own kids – I must admit. I am not proud of it. When I realize I am doing it; I try to stop myself because I don’t want to get in their face of make them feel condemned. I just want to correct them and lovingly guide them.

This is what I think of when I think of this passage. God didn’t come to wag His finger in our faces. We weren’t made to feel badly about the brokenness that entered the world with Adam and Eve—we are also not meant to be made out to feel bad for our personal sin. Should we repent—you bet! But God doesn’t want us to feel shameful or bad about our sin. God desires right relationship with each of us. That’s you!

God desires to fix the separation that was so that we might be whole again with God. God desires for us, in turn, to love others to that they might find and follow Jesus so they will not live in brokenness but live free in Jesus Christ. As you enter into the final day(s) leading up to the celebration of Christmas – be reminded of the “why” of Jesus coming. Because God loves us and so that we could be saved through Him and be made whole. Amen.

2020-12-22
Joy Decision

“The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.”
—Psalms 33:11 (NRSV)

Have you ever had to make a big decision in your life? It’s hard! Especially when it affects lots of different other areas of our lives. Maybe it was a big move, a job shift, adding to your family, etc. These types of decisions are big and take lots of prayer and consideration. When I have to make a big decision I seek out counsel. I hope you do too! Maybe you have specific people in mind you go to before you make a big decision. Your spouse, other family members, friends, and even pastors.

I hope you also seek out counsel from God. Because God has a plan and a purpose for us all. I believe that counsel from God is displayed in various areas. Scripture, worship music, listening to Him, and other people. God speaks to us in all of these avenues. God desires for us to seek out counsel when we make big decisions because God has a plan for us. God wants to be intimately involved in our lives. It’s why Jesus was sent to live among us – so that we could be in direct and right relationship with Him.

In this advent season – if you are facing a large decision that might affect multiple areas of your life – I hope you find joy in the fact that God sent His Son, Jesus, so that you might have the counsel you need from God. You are never far from God’s heart. You are always on God’s mind. God has a plan for you. Live into that plan and always seek after God.

2020-12-16
Joy in the Questions

“Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.”
—Luke 1:38 (NRSV)

When it comes time for the Advent season and thinking about the story of Christmas—Jesus coming to earth for all humankind…I often think of Mary and Joseph. I think about what it must have been like to be these young teenage kids seeing an angel and getting this crazy, but amazing news. I think about Mary. She had to have known that by saying yes to this plan that God had for her was going to make Joseph question everything in their relationship. She had to have known that this would have ostracized them both from their community and there would be whispers. All the whispers.

She had to have known the repercussions and probably had so many questions for the angel. I mean—wouldn’t you? And yet. She said yes. She said that she would serve the Lord in this way. In this crazy unforeseen way she would follow through with what the angel was proposing to her. She could have said no. She could have! But, she knew (somehow) that God had a bigger plan and purpose here and for her. So she said yes. Yes to serving the Lord in this amazing way. She said yes in the face of potentially losing her fiance, dealing with all the whispers and questions, to caring for the Son of God.

God asks us all to serve. God asks us to serve those around us for the Kingdom so that all might know Jesus. Ultimately this is what I think of when I think of Mary saying yes. When we invite Jesus into our lives we say yes to Him, but also to serving Him. We are to make disciples of all nations.

This Christmas may not look normal. We won’t be in the building like we typically would be for the candlelight Christmas Eve service. But! You can still invite someone to church and to experience the love and light of Jesus. You can invite them to your home to do circle church or you could invite them to watch with their own families. Tell someone about Jesus this year. Bring joy to someone else the way that God has brought joy to you.

2020-12-14
In Peace We Trust

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
—John 14:27 (NRSV)

Okay. I am just going to say it. This has been a very hard year. A year filled with heartache, uncertainty, fear, and more. All the emotions have hit and have hit very hard. There have been moments where I didn’t know what to think and had no words. There have been moments where I have been frustrated and unsettled. Maybe you feel the same?

The world has given us, this year, a lot of crud. The world has not been kind to us this year. This has not been our year.

But. Thankfully Jesus does not give to us as the world gives. Jesus gives us so much more. We don’t have to be afraid or troubled because God sent Jesus to make it so we can have right relationship with Him. God sent Jesus to give us peace. I have not felt much peace this last year. Reading the news every day was hard and did not give me peace. Being a parent and making very hard decisions about my kids did not give me peace. Being a pastor—I have not felt peace.

But lately. I have been praying for peace. I know that because of Jesus I can have peace. And you know what? I have been starting to feel it! Slowly. But it’s there. The more I let Jesus in and pray for peace the more I am able to be at peace. And you know what else? I have been praying for peace for you too! Because peace was our gift from Jesus. He desires for us to have peace especially in the moments where it seems impossible to have it.

Do not let your heart be troubled, dear friend. Don’t be fearful of the things to come. Put your trust in Jesus knowing that He gives you the peace that you need.

2020-12-09
Have Hope; Give Hope

“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”
—Jeremiah 23:5 (NRSV)

Let’s be honest. This hasn’t been a very hope-filled year. No normal graduations, weddings, births, family vacations, holidays, etc. Probably the last word you would use to describe this last year was a year of hope. There didn’t seem to be much to hope for.

And yet. God still brings hope. Through Jesus Christ – God brings hope. This advent season as we anticipate the magical time with our families and the birth of our Branch – and in every season even when we have a hard time seeing that hope.

Sometime this week or in the coming week I am going to ask you to do two things:

Write down a list of things you hope for in the coming year. What do you hope in your relationship with God? What do you hope for your family? What do you hope for in your friendships? What do you hope for in work or in your personal life? What are the things you hope for in this coming year? Write that list down and hang it up somewhere you will see it often. Pray about those things. Allow God to be a part of it all because ultimately God brings the hope we desire and seek out in all areas of our life.

Figure out a way this advent season to bring someone hope. Maybe you know someone who needs a meal. Maybe you know someone who could use a bending ear and are lonely. Give them a call and just chat with them and pray with them. Maybe you know someone who is in desperate need of the hope of Jesus Christ. Invite them to church whether in person or to watch online with you in your home. Extend the same hope that God gives to you to someone else this month.

2020-12-04
Prepare to Prepare

Psalm 80; Zechariah 13:1–9; Revelation 14:6–13

If you’ve ever watched a professional chef (besides the competition ones), they will often have pre-cut and -measured ingredients so that when a customer orders a dish, most of the time-consuming work is completed. If you’ve ever ordered a sandwich at Subway, the meat and cheese are already pre-portioned. Ingredients have been prepared to better prepare your meal when you want it.

Today is Thanksgiving (in the US, at least). A holiday that is culturally identified as involving overeating and family gatherings. COVID has changed that. Many, if not most, families will not be having extended family gatherings.

Thanksgiving has also been the “gateway” to the Christmas season. It used to be that mere hours after people recovered from overeating, all the malls would turn everything over, and the Christmas (shopping) season would begin.

Not every Thanksgiving, but this Thanksgiving is the beginning of the Advent season. In the church year, one prepares for the Sunday to come. As this Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent, so it is time to prepare for Advent.

What is Advent? We often shortcut it to mean the days before Christmas. This is certainly true. It is also incomplete. For the ancient church, Advent wasn’t just about the birth of Jesus; it was about the return of Christ. Depending on the era, there would even be an emphasis on the Return rather than the birth.

There hasn’t been a year like 2020 in decades. This might be the time to look at Advent as something far more than Christmas.

Asaph (the Psalmist) wants God to come back (not that God really left). Asaph is looking for a restoration of the relationship between the people and God. Asaph recognizes that it really is that the people turned their backs on God, and yet he has faith in the faithful God. As Asaph was part of David’s retinue, we can imagine what must have still been going on around David, as David chose to follow God, and not the unknown gods.

Zechariah’s words are strong, too. In them we see that the place of prophets and seers is nothing when it does not honor God. In fact, the implication being that the prophets and seers might even be “living” idols, rather than faithful followers of and speakers for God.

Zechariah’s and Asaph’s words still trust in God and expect God’s restoration of the people.

While the Asaph’s and Zechariah’s words are full of trust in God, neither avoid a harsh reality. The people need redemption. They needed to be the people of God again. In Zechariah’s time, the temple was being rebuilt. However, the people whose ancestors had lost their way (with God) were just as lost and needed something greater.

Regardless of your perspective of who the Beast is, the vision in Revelation is that the people of God, the church, will go through trying times. The implication is of pain, being outcast, and even dying. All because they believe in Jesus.

Whether you believe that Jesus is coming back tomorrow, or you are just waiting for 2020 to end, expectation is part of that. Advent is the anticipation of something new, whether it is the birth of a child or the return of the King.

※Reflection※

How do you prepare your life and heart for Advent? If you knew Jesus would come back on Christmas Day, what would you do?

※Prayer※

Jesus, as we prepare our hearts for this Advent season, may we look to the innocence of a baby and to the righteousness of the King. Amen.

2020-11-25
A Promise

Isaiah 44:21–28; Ezekiel 34:25–31; Mark 14:22–26

Remember. We are called on to remember things every day. Some have become so ingrained (putting undergarments, I hope) that we don’t actually remember them; we just do them.

Like many things that are ingrained, relationships aren’t. We might take them for granted, but that doesn’t make them ingrained.

Isaiah’s call to the descendants of Jacob was REMEMBER! Remember God, who formed them, called them and redeemed them. They needed to be reminded…again.

This time, they are called to celebrate. Celebrate freedom. Celebrate redemption. Celebrate a relationship with God.

The unfolding of their redemption, eventually, results in a new covenant of peace. This new covenant was to change the very face of the Promised Land.

The promise of this covenant was delivered while talking about their return from captivity and exile. This makes the promise sure, as they were indeed delivered. So, where was the fulfillment of this new covenant?

We Christians say that of course, it is Jesus. Jesus’ life and death personified the concepts of relationship and redemption. The Resurrection is the exclamation point of the promise in Ezekiel.

In the Kingdom of God, the lion and the lamb lie down together.

※Reflection※

For you, what is the most important fact about God’s promises? Why?

※Prayer※

God, you have been faithful to us, even when we wander. We give you praise, glory, and thanks for your grace-filled love. Amen.

2020-11-20
Thankfulness as Discipleship

2 Timothy 1:1–9

Thankfulness is often for that which benefits us. We are thankful for homes, jobs, food, family, Jesus. Paul is thankful for Timothy.

Paul’s simple gratefulness for Timothy’s enduring faith is plain to see. Paul does view Timothy as a son, but not as the biological son of a father, but more of the ultimate disciple. Timothy, it seems, represents the ultimate expression and thus inheritor of Paul and Paul’s legacy.

In modern terms, we might use the term mentor or coach. Except on rare occasions, however, neither mentor nor coach adequately explains Paul’s feelings for Timothy.

It is unusual for us to be thankful for those like Timothy in our lives. Some teachers are truly grateful for a few of their students (often outweighed by the others). By and large, though, people who “bring up” others are often only grateful or thankful if those who were “brought up” bring them credit, honor, or glory.

However, often what we don’t realize is how much we learn about ourselves and our knowledge when we “bring up” others. For many years, apprenticeship was the way a person learned. The “master” would be challenged by the apprentice as the apprentice would seek to exceed the master.

In a discipleship relationship, the “elder” will often learn as much as the “young”. If the “elder” is not learning and changing, too, then discipleship has become a system and not the Way of Life. This is how one becomes grateful for those “bought up”, for one learns that with them, one would not have grown as well.

※Reflection※

Do you have a person that “walked” alongside you as an “elder”? Do you have someone you are walking alongside?

※Prayer※

Lord, help us be grateful for those you have brought to us, and make us mindful of the mission you have for us. Amen.

2020-11-17
Yieldingly Strong

Malachi 1:6–14; 1 Peter 2:1–10

Many years ago, there was a Star Trek show called Voyager. Overall, I don’t remember much about it, but I do recall this scene between Neelix (guest alien onboard) and Tuvok (i.e., Vulcan, humorless, emotionless, kind of like a robot):

NEELIX: These are Keela flowers. Beautiful, and remarkably strong. The stem is flexible, impossible to break. But occasionally on the same plant there’s a bloom whose stem is not so flexible. Ah, here’s one. And when the stem is brittle, it breaks.

TUVOK: You’re saying that the Maquis crew is rigid and inflexible. That they will never adjust to Starfleet rules.

NEELIX: No, Mister Vulcan, I’m saying that you are rigid and inflexible, but maybe if you’d learn to bend a little, you might have better luck with your class. Those Maquis aren’t Starfleet cadets. You can’t treat them the same way. Get to know them, try to find out what they’re like inside. You might discover a better teaching method.
“Learning Curve”, Original Airdate: May 22, 1995 (Stardate -327613). Thanks to www.chakoteya.net for the transcript.

The Maquis were an insurrection/guerilla group. Their methods of instruction and obedience were not the military-style of Starfleet. Tuvok learned one way. He taught one way. Rigidly.

However, the Maquis were just as rigid. It was just that they rigidly didn’t want to be like Starfleet

What on earth (or in space) does this have to do with these passages?

According to Peter, we are the priesthood of all believers. I may have a certain role within that priesthood (as an ordained person). You have one too.

The ultimate purpose of the priests is the be the intercessors between “the people” and God. For Christians, “the people” are the world that does not yet believe in Jesus Christ.

The priests, however, have their own relationship with God. In our case (the collective Christian case), we are called to give of ourselves: money, time, talent, and so on. It’s too rigid to say it is “required”. On the other hand, it is a spiritual discipline.

When we do not give of ourselves, or we do it grudgingly, we are the ones called out by Malachi giving deformed useless sacrifice for the sake of a check box.

In regard to our Christian life, there is a rigidity in sacrifice. That is one of the aspects of a mature Christian, self-sacrifice. It’s odd to say it is not required; on the other hand, it is essential.

The flexibility, however, is in how it works out. You could be gifted with teaching, encouragement, prayer, or something else. Freedom from the Law is how we are free to respond to God and to others through love.

※Reflection※

The question for you isn’t, are you gifted? The question is, what are you gifted in? The next question is like it; how will you use that gift for the community of believers around you?

※Prayer※

Creator, you have made each of us different so that only together can reflect your infinite love. Amen.

2020-11-10