Devotion.al

Tag: remember

  • Get Lifted

    Get Lifted

    Psalm 25:1–10; Psalm 32; Matthew 9:2–13

    Have you ever carried something really heavy for a while and then put down? Do you that moment when you put it down? That feeling of ?
    That is should be just a taste of the feeling that the Psalmist brings out:

    The one whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
    whose is covered over,
    is truly happy!

    The one the LORD
    doesn’t consider guilty—
    in whose there is no dishonesty—
    that one is truly happy!

    For many Christians, they actually don’t have that release. Those who grew up in the church may have never had the kind of they perceived as such a gap between themselves and God. Others came to through intellectual decisions. As such, they often cannot grasp that feeling either. Another group is the one that cannot forgive itself and so struggles to accept the forgiveness that God has given.

    Lent is a definitely a time to process our mortality and sin which brought into the world. However, the intent is not to be morbid, it is meant to free us. While we focus on this during Lent, we all (I think) know what ends Lent. At the of Lent is the freeing from the burdens of sin and death.

    The end is what makes the Lent-ing do-able, worthwhile, and not-so morbid.

    Perhaps the invalid was like so many of us in our hearts, to and of God, but something was missing to connect. Maybe it wasn’t just to the legal experts he was speaking to. Perhaps the invalid needed to understand what exactly was meant. His burden was lifted. He was lifted. His sins were forgiven.

    ※Reflection※

    Does being free of you sins really feel (or did it feel) as if a burden was lifted? If not, why not?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us to be weighed down by our sins and our mortality so that we experience (or experience again) the freedom of our burdens lifted by you. Amen.

  • Wolves Invisible

    Wolves Invisible

    Psalm 62:5–12; Jeremiah 20:14–18; Luke 10:13–16

    Do you know the story of “The Boy Who Cried, Wolf”? The shepherd boy who falsely cried “wolf” so many times that after some time no one would come to his aid. Of course, as the case with moral tales, the real wolves came, he cried “wolf”, and no one came. He died.

    This could be a tale of bearing false witness (the 9th Commandment). It also could be because not everyone has the same vision.

    We see that all the time from politics, to businesses, to churches, to families. Each person has a slightly different “vision” of the future. Often, we criticize, minimize, denigrate, and insult those that have a different vision. It can be hard, especially if they’re family, yet those differences are the “spice” and “flavor” of life.

     The 11 Apostles (, one of the original 12 died) received their commission, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the and of the and of the Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the of this present .” [Matthew 28:18–20, CEB]

    Go into the [whole] world. Such a small thing. It’s kind of like a commencement address, full of a huge concept that sounds awesome and inspiring, then (just like commencement) on the other side, reality hits.

    It is what is on the other side that reveals the foundation of our life.

    The Psalmist that God is “rock and salvation”, a “stronghold”. If indeed humans are nothing but a breath, nothing but lies, and don’t even register on a scale (all from an “absolutist” infinite deity perspective), what little remains of a human’s worth is based upon their foundation.

    Jeremiah mourned the event of his birth. His was based on a couple of things. First, he was a “messenger of doom” for Israel. That was pretty rough.

    Second, he mourned the hardness of of the Israelites. He couldn’t understand how the Israelites could be so heart- and faith-less toward God. The entirety of the story of Israel revolved around what God did!

    Jesus’ reprimands to Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum echo what Jeremiah said. “Doom is coming. The consequences of your decision to harden your hearts and reveling in that hardness is coming.” (Ian’s summation)

    The reprimand is a result of cities not welcoming the harbingers of the (it’s more of an advance warning for when it happens). The disciples of Jesus were to be completely dependent upon the towns and people they would come to.

    They were not sent with massive amounts of money, food, clothing, or protection (no weapons). They were sent as they were. They might have had a drachma or denarius or a few. They had a pair of sandals (which they were wearing). They had the clothes (again, that they were wearing). That’s it.

    And off they went, the commencement of the first missionary event.

    Most of us are uncomfortable with being missionaries. Regardless, the Great Commission is still our mission. You are a missionary right where and when you are now.

    If you think there is no one that you are and are to be a missionary to, pray that God gives you the spiritual eyes to see who is before you. Perhaps why the church is so weak right now isn’t because we are “set aside” or are “unimportant”. Perhaps we have long forgotten that we are to not just be missionaries to the world; we are also to be missionaries to each other (the “bible-ish” word is edify).

    Many of us are looking for that special answer or that perfect argument. of us want to be an example yet realize that compared to Jesus we are not much to look at.

    We are called to cry, “wolf”, and the world doesn’t believe us. It’s hard to explain the wolves coming that they cannot see.

    ※Reflection※

    • When we looking for the special answer, perfect argument, or being the example, what is the real foundation of that?
    • Why is it necessary to be missionaries to one another (to edify)?
    • The example of the disciples’ first missionary journey is not burdened with “stuff”. How can that be an example of our journey? What could be a wrong application of this lesson?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Jesus, you have called us to go into the world. Help us be the encouragers of others, that all your church—your bride—will reach the world for your name’s sake. Amen.

  • Why So Serious?

    Why So Serious?

    Luke 18:15–17

    is a serious business. It’s true. From an orthodox , it has an eternal impact. So, it is serious.

    Serious, though, doesn’t mean solemn.

    A few years ago, I experienced a -changing question: what is your first experience of God? I was flummoxed. I had no idea. I knew my (relatively) more recent experiences, but my first?

    I was grateful that I would be answering the question last. I sat and prayed. “God, when was it the first time I encountered you?”

    God responded (to my /mind), “ the scar?”

    The scar is right below my right eyebrow. After so many years, it wasn’t important.

    God reintroduced me to the memory of a hike with my father and some of his acquaintances.   I was 4 or 5, I think, and the only kid. We were walking up a hill on a trail/road. I had looked out to the valley below and “it” hit me. I then tripped and fell. I now had a bleeding gash. My dad cleaned me up, put a butterfly bandage on it, and off we went.

    The people in my group were a little puzzled. How could that possibly be a God encounter? Part of my spiritual wiring is trees and mountains. For me that’s almost an automatic response…God is here.

    That feeling of awe and wonder isn’t so solemn. Thanks be to God!

    Awe and wonder are indeed a from God. The blessing of children is that they can still have simple awe and wonder.

    If we cannot wonder, then what kind of relationship do we have with God? If we have no awe, we are often only filled with . That isn’t a good relationship either.

    This passage is often brought up as an encouragement to raise children in the faith. I wonder (I had to), though, if this was the first or only time this happened.

    Children often know a person who authentically loves them. They like hanging around such a person. Often, they are louder, more -filled, and just want to have fun!

    What if the adults were so solemn, they saw a prophet and were afraid? What if the children saw a friend, and were full of joy?

    ※Reflection※

    When was the last time you just wondered at, with, and about God?

    ※Prayer※

    God, may we wonder in your presence and see all of through your eyes. Amen.

  • Live Freely

    Live Freely

    1 Corinthians 6:12–20; John 1:43–51

    In the US, freedom is a significant cultural . Often, we use language such as “free country”. The Declaration of Independence is quoted most often with, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are , Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

    The problem with such an ideology has been shown in the context of liberty. We are currently watching political extremes play out in the public “square” where one person’s pursuit of happiness in in direct conflict with another’s.

    The US Constitution is an imperfect document. It cannot deal with the myriad of people who want to rewrite it in their own image (equally an issue in the 2 primary political parties).

    The US Constitution is, in many respects, a contract. Far too many people read it just like the read the terms and conditions on credit cards, mobile phones, agreements, account usages, etc.. In other words, there are too many people (politicians, media hosts, regular people) who haven’t read the constitution.

    Yet, many people believe they have “rights” based on the tendency to misunderstand that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are not the same document and have completely different intents.

    So, what do “rights” and “freedom” have to do with Christ? A whole lot and very little.

    As a Roman citizen, had rights and privileges that many people didn’t. Since he was born a citizen (see Acts 22:28) and was a Jew (a Benjaminite), at a minimum his had bought rights or was granted them. Thus, at birth, Paul was a citizen.

    Paul’s privilege may have well put him in a place of societal and political superiority of the Jewish world. He was an official part of Roman society and had special legal protection. From a legal standpoint, Paul’s privilege was not “white privilege” (as we hear today). From a functional viewpoint, however, it may not be far off.

    When Paul talks about freedom, therefore, we must understand that he knew quite well what his freedom was in comparison to many (even most) Christians. He could do things, own things, influence things in ways could not.

    Recently, an acquaintance—George Holleway—wrote, “Christians, you may have freedom of constitutionally, but you don’t have it biblically.”

    The immediate was an argument that combined scripture with US culture and politics (and the constitution fits into both). It showed an ignorance of scripture and a presumption of culture that should deeply concern the church.

    Paul’s words are slightly different than George’s, but both Paul and George have the same presumption…Christ comes first. Even the secular constitution has something with Paul’s words, others are important to our freedom.

    For the constitution, it was to protect the people from the overreach of government (remember, we elected them). For the church, and Christ, it is to protect people from Hell.

    Christians, we aren’t free to do whatever we want. We are free to do the will of Jesus Christ who came to earth to live and die, that we might be children of God.

    ※Reflection※

    • Why is it important to understand the difference between constitutional freedom and freedom in Jesus Christ?
    • To you, what does “freedom in Jesus Christ” allow you to do? What does it—if anything—prevent you from doing?
    • What is the difference between “freedom of” and “freedom in”?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, we call you Lord and Savior. In our world, Lord doesn’t have the impact it should. Help us to truly understand what it means that you are the Lord of our lives. Amen.

  • Power Granted

    Power Granted

    Isaiah 41:14–20; John 1:29–34

    ♫ Nobody likes me; everybody hates; just because I eat wo-oorms ♫

    I don’t know if you that song from your childhood. I recall it as some weird camp song. Really, who would eat worms?

    At the same time, I did learn that other cultures ate maggots, caterpillars, and even worms. They would fry them up or even eat them raw.

    Still, though, as being raised in the US, we’re not really into worms as part of our diet. One of our biggest things about worms is, “the early bird gets the worm,” and the first robins of spring eating worms.

    With that in mind, let’s be happy we’re worms!

    Isaiah’s words are odd to us. Which is understandable. Why would someone want to be a worm? I remember kids saying they’d like to be an eagle, or a horse, or a wolf. I don’t recall someone saying they wanted to be a worm.

    For us, it is strange to be called a worm or an insect. Yet, in comparison to the Glory and of God…we are. That is point of Isaiah’s words. Today we might say something like, “we know everything is crazy. We know the world is not making any sense right now. We know that you are hurting or have been hurting. We want you to know that God is bigger than all of that.”

    Worms and insects may not be attractive to you. However, it sums up a far larger number of words. All of it to say, God’s got this.

    That was God’s message to Israel. God is their . God is their redeemer. If they are looking elsewhere…failure!

    The language God uses is fascinating. The Israelites would flatten and shape mountains! For us that is solved by explosives and earth movers. In fact, it’s not all that impressive to us. To the Israelites, this was a huge indicator of power! God wouldn’t just redeem them (though that was good), God would give them the power to shape the world!T

    he promise wasn’t just . This is key, especially as we look at ‘ coming, along with the story of Jesus’ baptism. Being baptised into the death and of Jesus is not only about redemption. That’s still great! That’s just not all.

    In fact, one of the greatest weakness of the modern church is redemption and forgiveness has been the evangelistic focus. The power was kind of missed. Some of the charismatic churches displayed “power” through being “slain in the ” or “speaking in tongues”.

    It might sound dismissive, but…that’s it?

    In Isaiah, God ties redemption to power, and not just any power, the power to change the world. Of course, just because one has the power, doesn’t mean you should use indiscriminately. We are called to love first, and the power should be motivated by the sacrificial love for .

    ※Reflection※

    • What’s your power? (Note that the question wasn’t, do you have power?)
    • Why do you think the church (as a whole) surrendered the power, and was satisfied only with redemption?
    • Why is it so important to know, believe, and with the understanding that redemption is only the beginning?

    ※Prayer※

    God, you gave us the power to physical mountains, emotional mountains, and spiritual mountains. Help us remember that you also gave us the responsibility to use it wisely and with love, and leave it withering away. Amen.

  • Remembrance of Change

    Remembrance of Change

    SermonTemplate400 words (3 minutes)Auto-publish to Faithlife SermonsAboutSeriesTopicsPassages

    Genesis 1:1–5; Acts 19:1–7; Mark 1:4–1

    Approximately 70% of the earth is covered by water. Around 3% of that is readily drinkable. On average, a is 60% water. Depending on weather and health, a human can survive 2–7 days without additional liquid.

    We all know water is important. Even those of us whose water only habits are lackluster understand that we need liquids to keep our bodies going. There are those that are so concerned about their water habits that they have apps that remind them to drink water.

    Other than a few desert cultures, people bathe using water.

    From an ancient , water (deep waters, like oceans, especially) also represented death. When we think about it (even today), the depths of the ocean have the air of death and often because we are unable to see below the surface.

    As a of repentance and/or the fulfillment of a vow or for other requirements of the purity laws, a bath (or mikveh) was (and still is) performed to fulfill ritual cleanliness.

    Part of the path of a is being baptized. This is to show, in symphony with the mikveh cleanliness, that what was unclean (the old person, the person separated from God) is now clean and reconciled.

    Yet, the most mysterious is Jesus’. The Perfect One didn’t need cleansing. The Son of God didn’t need to be reconciled to the Father (God). The water of baptism brings . Jesus didn’t change, though it could be argued that Jesus’ ministry truly did not begin until after he was baptized.

    The other change is a “handing-off”. John the Baptist could be (and probably should be) viewed as the last Old (or First) Testament prophet. This “old school” prophet “passes the torch” from the way of the Law to the revealed way, which is Jesus.

    ※Reflection※

    • It is not “evangelical” or “Church of the Nazarene” to (i.e., observe the anniversary of) our baptisms. For such a significant event, why do you think that is?
    • Other than your own, what is the most significant baptism story that you remember? What made it powerful?
    • Why do you think it is important to and for “the church” (thus, all believers) to remember Jesus’ baptism?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, as your testimony of your , you were baptised by your own creation. May your humility guide us into your , and away from the truth of the world. Amen.

  • Burning Light

    Burning Light

    As the more reclusive type (i.e., sitting alone, or with my wife, quietly in a space without other people), it is easy to fall into a rhythm of not interacting with people. In fact, it’s too easy. These times of non-interaction, however, can produce new thoughts.

    Joni, my wife, baked springerle this Christmas. Springerle is a traditional anise-flavored German cookie that has, for generations, been made by rolling dough into intricate hand-carved molds. She only found a “rolling-pin” style, but it got the job done.

    Springerle molds often served the same purpose as stained-glass windows: telling the story of God through pictures to people who could not read. In preparation for next year (maybe I’ll help do something other than eat the cookies), I started looking for springerle molds.

    One of the websites I found was in German (which makes sense). They had many molds. One of the ones I found was for a lighthouse. In German, lighthouse is “leuchtturm”. Look at that for a moment.

    Perhaps it is just my mind. I saw lectern. According to learned people, lectern’s root is the Latin word “lectus”. However, as the term lectern was (supposedly) only used for the reading of the , perhaps leuchtturm is the true origin of our lectern.

    Just as “Star of Bethlehem” drew (the “wise” men or magi) from afar, so does the speaking and reading of the Scriptures bring light into the world that is in pain and dying. Similarly, a lighthouse casts its light into the dark seas, guidance and the promise of security to ships.

    While writing devotionals can be difficult, I’ve now spent enough time with God’s word burning that I cannot help but write.

    I will never be that “great” pastor/writer that people talk about. I am only beginning to understand God’s call on my , knowing that it is still growing and changing. I’m okay to not be okay with not knowing, yet still .

    Those magi “trusted” that something amazing was going to happen. “trusted” that God’s call on his life was to the Gentiles (people he himself once viewed hostilely). I “trust” that God is using me through these devotionals.

    ※Reflection※

    What is God calling you to do more of? If you already have a ministry, what is God calling on you to to fulfill His commission for you?

    What new thing might God be calling you to this year?

    ※Prayer※

    God, calls upon us to remember that even (a star) will draw people to you. Help us to remember that the Gospel is for all people, and that you desire that all people come to know you. Help us to be your faithful, trusting, and open servants. May we be ready and responsive to your call on our lives. Amen.

  • Believing Love

    Believing Love

    “For God so the world that He gave His only , so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have .”
    —John 3:16 (NRSV)

    God loves you! Did you know that? Okay – if you are reading this…chances are that you did know that. But do you believe it? There is a possibility that at some point, or another, you have questioned if a certain person in your life loves you. A parent, your spouse, a grandparent, your kid, etc. Personally – I have questioned this a handful of times in all four of those areas mentioned. It’s not a good feeling to question if someone loves you. Maybe we logically know they love us, but we don’t feel it or see it very often – which leads to the questioning. We can also have a hard time loving ourselves even.

    This can lead to questioning God’s love for us at times. But. I want you to really know, and believe that God has a deep love for you. It’s the reason that He sent – His one and only Son – to come to the earth as a helpless baby only to up and us all. So if you believe in Jesus you should also believe the love that comes from God. If you believe you have eternal life because of the you have in Jesus, then you should believe in the love that comes from God.

    God loves you! God’s love is the never failing kind of love. When earthly love can fail us – God’s love never fails. When you fall short as a grandparent, parent, sibling, parent, child – God’s love never fails. When you feel unlovable – God’s love never fails and He demonstrates that love through Jesus. Remember that this Christmas season. You are loved. And because you are loved you can love .

    Maybe you are like me and have given yourself a hard time or two about how you have showed your love to your kids, spouse, parents, grandparents, friends, or people you don’t even know very well. yourself a break and then remind yourself that you can love others because you are first loved by God. Then go out and try to show that love again and again and again. Love others the way that Jesus loves you.