Devotion.al

Tag: respond

  • Right and Just

    Right and Just

    Matthew 1:18–21; Romans 5:6–11; Romans 14:1–23

    For whom will you die? Your child? Your parent? Your next door neighbor? A murderer? Your nation? Your state?

    At some point in history, someone responded “yes” to at least one of these. A number of these are conscious choices. Others were forced upon people. Others were an unthought from the .

    Most people will not die for someone they do not know. Many soldiers have died for their country, and many have died to protect their fellow soldier. Some soldiers have died to protect innocent people about to be harmed by those irreparably changed by war.

    Whether a person is “”, “just”, or “good” often isn’t part of the equation, at least not consciously. Many righteous or just people have died at the hands of “good” people. and just-ness are often not appreciated when unrighteous and unjust actions and behaviors are confronted.

    Yet, there is this strange point at which we appreciate the just and righteous. Take Joseph, husband of Mary, (earthly) of . δίκαιος [dikaios] is used to describe Joseph. It also is the same word that Paul says is the kind of person no one would die for.

    Joseph—long revered for his just, obedient, and merciful behavior toward Mary—would not be a person that others would die for. That just doesn’t seem like that could be true. On the other hand, if we had to choose between a person who confronted us with our unrighteous behavior versus someone who never said a bad thing about us (and all other things being the same)…who would we choose?

    Human behavior being what it is, we’d likely not choose the righteous person. If we were to draw the parallels, we wouldn’t die for the father of Jesus. That could also mean that we wouldn’t die for Jesus, were Jesus only a man.

    This is not to condemn or judge anyone. This is where we need to reflect. According to the Old Testament, prophets were often not treated well. Some were killed. There is a strong implication that the number of prophets that were killed is much higher than surface texts provide for.

    When we are honest with ourselves, we often see our lives and history as following many of the same steps as Israel. This is not just our back-and-forth wanderings regarding a relationship with God, it is also how we treat the righteous.

    We often think of ourselves as righteous or just. Intellectually, we may very well be. When it comes to our emotions and cultural upbringing, though, our actions are often contrary to our intellectual assents. This is where we often need to ask for guidance.

    ※Questions※

    1) What tools/skills/information do you use to determine the righteous or just action?

    2) How often does culturally righteous/just action conflict with Godly righteous/just action?

    3) How do you respond after the fact upon realizing that an act was unrighteous/unjust?

    ※Prayer※

    Father God, please let your Spirit guide us into your righteousness and , that we may bring to your name. Amen.

  • What a Feast!

    What a Feast!

    Matthew 22:1–14; John 6:53–58

    When you’ve been invited to a party or some sort of celebration, have you ever received a little card that had you select from entree and/or other options? Or have you been to a buffet and been overwhelmed by the selection (or underwhelmed)?

    Over the years there have been many tales of what the feasts in Heaven would look like. Some have used it to recruit people to their or . For many, a gathering of family barbecues every day would be fantastic. So, of course, that’s would be what Heaven would be like (all the social introverts just shuddered)!

    Making assumptions about things like that is often unwise, as it can lead to weird thoughts and even bad theology. The more serious part of that is that the primacy of feasts in the Scriptures is not to be diminished. This is especially true when we the feast that left to fill the gap while we wait for his return.

    The feast that we have, though, is peculiar. Those who have been long in the church have been inured to the strangeness that is the . As we read in John…eating flesh and drinking human blood? If someone came to you and said that…how would you respond?

    We read this and we immediately translate it into Christian language and thinking. If someone like Jeffrey Dahmer (real- cannibal) or Hannibal Lecter (fictional cannibal) said something like this, we would not have such a Christianized . That is the horror and revulsion that his hearers and likely even his disciples felt when they heard these words.

    The Christian side of it is that we see the “spiritual” side of this as perfectly reasonable. We do have to keep in mind that for years Christians were accused of cannibalism because of the words of Jesus, and the regular Feast.

    The Christian side of it also continues in two ways. First, by associated with blood, Jesus was associating with the Jewish belief of life was in the blood (from Levitical law). Second, by associating with the bread, Jesus was tying himself to the daily necessity (and often only food) of bread.

    Lastly, though not often talked about, is the Jewish concept of eating the word of God. This was the Jewish practice of licking (literally) off a slate upon which Scripture was written (the Shema would make the most sense) with honey poured on it. There is some historical question if this was a 1st Century thing or if it developed later. However, there is some precedence from Ezekiel 3:3 who ate the word of God on a scroll.

    Also, we understand that Jesus was the incarnate word of God (John 1:1–4). Thus, eating the word of God takes on a completely different understanding.

    Especially now, when we are not taking (Eucharist/Love Feast) in the communal way we have in the recent past, it is even more important to understand the gravitas of it. It isn’t just a little juice and a wafer (or bread)…it is the Word of God.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, John Wesley taught us that your feast is a means by which you deliver your grace to us. Let us not take it for granted and approach your banquet table with thanksgiving [eucharistia]. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) How would you explain the why of Communion to a non-believer? How do you explain “eating flesh and drinking blood” without it sounding weirder than it already does?

    2) Thinking of the king’s feast (Matthew 22:1–14), what does this tell you about coming to “the table” for communion?

  • Whatcha Doing?

    Whatcha Doing?

    Psalm 46; Luke 10:38–42

    It’s a crazy world. There is so much going on. If you live in the States, you know the next election is just around the corner. Although, it seems all of 2020 has been an election year.

    If you are on social media, your “stream” may be flooded with this and that. People arguing over things worth discussing, just not worth hating. The amount of content created by the of this year will likely be quadruple the amount of the previous five years.

    There isn’t much that is settled at the moment. In fact, as far as the world around us goes, it seems to get more unsettled every day.

    “God is our refuge…Stop fighting (be still).” Psalm 46 may well be the mantra for 2020. God is our refuge. We just have to stop fighting in our own .

    We also cannot allow the world to distract us. It isn’t the government that’s the problem (which everyone, or ones, you don’t like). It isn’t the rioters that are the problem (though many are destructive, while others are not). It isn’t even COVID or terrorism or (insert some “global” issue here).

    It’s the . In the story of Mary and Martha, we see the struggle firsthand. Martha is busy. It’s not even that she is busy with bad or wrong things. It’s that Mary chose to be busy with the better “thing”.

    We’re all busy with things. Right now, it would seem that we are best situated to be like Mary. It doesn’t seem to be the case for far too many.

    They are distracted by the bad news, filled with anxiety, filled with anger, feeling the need to (just to do something). They are busy.

    However, many are busy not because they are doing good/right things at the wrong time. They are busy doing non--following things right now.

    ※Prayer※

    As we watch the world seem to spin further into chaos, remind us, God, that you are God, and we are not. Help us to work on being still in your presence. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What struck you about you in this? Why are “you” more important in this than others?

    2) How will you help be the of Christ’s in a time of anxiety, anger, and ?

  • Always the Same

    Always the Same

    Jeremiah 16:10–15; Malachi 3:1–7

    Many years ago, in a bible study, an older woman said to the study leaders, “I do not believe in the God of the Old Testament. That God is cruel and unjust. I only believe in the loving God of the New Testament.”

    Many people walked away from the and/or were deeply scarred and hurt by the church by the incessant drumming of hellfire and brimstone. Far too often, judgmentalism, legalism, and ostracism came with it.

    In response to this, and to such people like the woman in the beginning, there has been an overreaction, perhaps even over-emphasis on the of God. Instead of good theology and analysis, it continues (even to this day) to be an overreaction to a time when the church Hell and condemnation at every turn.

    What can become frustrating and also deceiving is that God is only love. God is love. The love of God is a good thing to think about and focus on.

    However, God doesn’t let a good crisis go to waste. Sounds kind of harsh, doesn’t it? As many parents and teachers can tell you, sometimes you can only explain something so many times until teaches a child.

    Most lifelong lessons are gained through pain of some sort. It is, sadly, the way we are. This is also why confronting a false view of the God of the Old Testament is crucial to our walk and to our ability to .

    As the impending doom approaches Jerusalem, and the people why, God in many more words says, “because you didn’t listen the first thousand times I told you!” Yet, that isn’t the !

    God tells Jerusalem that this exile will be as (or more) defining for them than the Exodus was for all of Israel. That’s a big order! It just so happens to have occurred that way, too.

    Some would call this the carrot and stick method, yet it really isn’t. The opportunity for the carrot is gone. In many respects, this is no longer a stick. For the donkey (or mule) that this method is supposedly used on, there is required to be a hostler doing it.

    The hostler (God) left the animal (Jerusalem) on its own to fend for itself in the wilderness. The time for carrots and sticks was passed.

    This does not mean God didn’t love them. Quite the contrary! God knew that they had to learn on their own.

    For God’s own sake, God put in front of them. For God’s own sake, Judah would not be lost forever. For God’s own sake, he would bring a tempered people home.

    From the opening story, the study leaders stopped the study and gently taught her, “God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament.”

    God has not changed.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us to recognize your as love, as much as we don’t like it. Help us to look at our pains and trials as something through which you are teaching us and others. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Do you tend more toward the “God of Punishment” or the “God of Love”? Why do you think that is?

    2) Do you really learn better or for longer-term through pain or pleasure?

    3) How would you to someone like the woman in the story? How would you guide her through thinking about God being unchanging?

  • Storied Reflections

    Storied Reflections

    Jeremiah 2:1–13; Matthew 9:35–38; John 7:37–39

    Jerusalem was heading at full speed away from God and toward destruction. In many respects, this passage is God’s lament for Jerusalem. It is also, in many regards, the lament for the entire heritage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

    When we read, “Israel was to the LORD, the first fruits of his harvest (Jeremiah 2:3),” we can readily see that this was indeed not only about Jerusalem. Then when we read about the Lord of the Harvest, it’s easy to tie ‘ words to the concept in Jeremiah.

    There are two important aspects to this. First, is that from a Law standpoint (and even to the offerings of today) God is the Lord of our . This means that we recognize that we are God’s beneficiary and in .

    The second aspect is the implication that Israel was not the only harvest. Yes, they were the first fruits. That leaves the rest of the harvest, which is the rest of the world. In other words, it’s us.

    Something that needed to be addressed was Jerusalem’s arrogance about God. The overwhelming opinion was that they didn’t need God, and all these other gods were good enough or even better.

    Some will be quick to point at a particular country, and say, “yes, that is why the country is…” The reality is that Israel is the country called. The rest are a people called.

    Jerusalem (and the world) had long fallen into the lifeless hands of useless idols. People were eager to do so. They do so today.

    Thus, it becomes a critical point regarding water. It shouldn’t be lost on us that “ Water” is used here. For Christians, it is easy to tie “Living Water” to Jesus. This also shows that Jesus was tying himself to/as God when he used that language.

    In many respects, the objection is that Jerusalem acts as if it is independent and pulled itself up by the bootstraps (using a more modern phrase). Jerusalem, as part of its story, should know the .

    The same could be said of us. Even we Christians, especially American ones, can tend toward so-called self-reliance, which is like building our own cracked cistern. It holds water, for a time. It ages. It leaks. And the water is stagnate.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us to wisely look at the story of Jerusalem and Israel, applying your Truths to our lives. Help us to put all things in , that we may live fully under your wings. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What does harvest look like in your life? How do you apply first fruits—not just —to your life?

    2) What in your life has been more like the cistern than Living Water?

    3) Why is it important to keep in mind that we are called as a people, and not as a nation? Does that mean how/where the nation goes is not important?

  • Wicks Asmoldering

    Wicks Asmoldering

    Isaiah 7:1–9; Philippians 4:4–9

    Ahaz received encouraging words from God through Jeremiah. Jeremiah, often called the weeping prophet, was not exactly known for positive words. Ahaz, not altogether , received a positive message.

    In many respects, Christians in the United States are like Ahaz. Far too many are lukewarm. They think they do “enough”.

    Ahaz wanted enough of God to be safe, at the moment. Over the long-haul, however, Ahaz wasn’t so faithful, and in fact, destroyed much of the to worship another God.

    In the passage from Isaiah, the two powers fighting over Jerusalem (the ones that terrified Ahaz and the of Jerusalem) were called smoldering wicks. This was not a phrase of . There was plenty of smoke (blustering) from the two, but no fire (power).

    Ahaz took it for the moment, but he, like the rest of us, was overwhelmed by his immediate surroundings. His was not based on the sureness of God’s faithful love. His faith was rocked to and fro by the strongest winds.

    Whether it is political parties, the media, social networks, rumors, the latest social fad, Christians are just as likely as to listen and follow the blowing smoke. In times like these, looking to Christ FIRST before a particular thought stream must be our first response.

    The fractures in US society in particular, but even the rest of the world, has come into focus with simultaneous events. There, sadly, has often been an immediate response based on our political beliefs or any other biases that we each have. And we all have them.

    The most saddening part is how this affects our Christian witness. When we respond to the social waves rather than to Christ, we diminish Christ. Even worse, by our actions, we say that Christ is less than a smoldering wick.

    ※※

    Lord, help us keep the peace that surpasses all understanding. As the powers of the world try to influence us to follow them, rather than you, may you, Spirit, keep us firmly grounded in the faithful love of God. Amen.

    ※※

    1) Who (more than one) are the smoldering wicks of today?

    2) When we follow people as they want, who are we showing the world (and ourselves) who we really have forefront in our hearts and thoughts?

    3) How does being lukewarm allow for listening to the “smoking wicks” rather than Jesus?

  • Ready! Set!

    Ready! Set!

    Luke 5:1–11; Luke 6:12–16; Luke 9:1–6; Luke 9:28–36; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 2:14 (read online ⧉)

    What’s your 6-month plan? What’s your 12-month plan? What’s your 3-year plan? What’s your 10-year plan?

    Some variation of this question is often asked of high school students, college students, recent graduates, job interviewees. In this particular time of COVID-19, it seems a little far-fetched to even make a plan.

    Depending on your personality and training/learning, you may have a plan laid out for even 10- or 20-years. Others look at their past life and the , and say why bother? Who knows what the next monkey-wrench will be.

    Businesses have begun to , thanks to the start-up culture, that rigid plans are deadly. There is a term for it, agile. Businesses are now called to be agile by their stockholders. It’s a necessity as the next technological disruption is just around the corner. Other disruptions, like COVID-19, are much harder to be agile toward, however, companies that already had some agility were better able to respond.

    If you look at the verses from Luke in sequence and ending with Acts, you see a change in plans. Peter is a major focal point as he moves from fisherman, to acquaintance, to follower (i.e., ), to inner-circle follower, to faith healer and herald, to an even smaller inner-circle, to transformed (by the ), to preacher and leader. This was not part of Peter’s plan.

    At the point we Peter, his lifetime plan is fisherman. Three years later he’s the leader (of leaders) of a religious movement! Peter met Jesus, and the plan…it was gone.

    It’s not that plans are bad. Jesus even praised (Luke 14:28-32). However, we have to be ready and willing to toss out our plans when Jesus calls.

    Plans are our way to control our circumstances. This is why we have planning departments. This is even how we have modern agriculture. Planning is good.

    Planning still has to yield to Jesus’ call. That’s where we often fail.

    There will be many churches, businesses, cities, and even families that will not recover from COVID-19. In many cases, no amount of planning will prevent that. On the other hand, churches (especially) chose to not be agile, because that is not the way we’ve done it before.

    Churches chose to die, rather than respond to Jesus Christ’s call for them to be agile in how they performed their . It could be, sadly, that they forgot the only mission that they had, “Go and make disciples…baptizing them…teaching them…”

    On a personal level, just like an organizational level, we need to be agile. Our plans (as much as we want them to be) cannot be rigid and inflexible.

    Whether it was the leaders (it was) or the people (it was) forgoing the mission for the sake of “the plan”, it means that “the plan” became the mission, and Jesus became a mascot.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, us your plans. Help us to release our plans. May we be the salt of the earth that you have called us to be. Amen.

    ※※

    1) What would be your if God were to turn your plans upside down? What in your current life would you be willing to give up to follow God’s plan?

    2) What are your plans right now? If you have none, why not? Should you? If you do have plans when was your last time to renew/refresh it?

    3) Why do you think churches have a hard time changing plans?

  • The Universal Call

    The Universal Call

    Matthew 4:18–22; Matthew 9:35–10:1 (read online ⧉)

    Are you working for Jesus? Yes. As a , you are called to.

    The real question is, how well are you working for Jesus?

    The calling of the fishermen to be disciples is a great example of how to to Jesus’ on our lives. You, however, might be looking at that calling as if it doesn’t apply to you. You’re not one of the great Apostles.

    Sometimes we see the prompt as a conviction. We believe that we are supposed to drop whatever we’re doing and follow Jesus. We are. That does not mean—unlike the disciples—we are supposed to stop our career, stop our , stop our schooling. What it does mean is that we are to now dedicate whatever it is to Jesus. Our goal is that whatever we do, we do it for Jesus.

    As Christianity continues to decline in Western Civilizations, it continues to grow elsewhere. The estimate is that almost 1-in-3 people are Christians worldwide. It doesn’t feel that way here.

    Jesus called on his disciples to be laborers in the harvest of the world. The responds to that call usually via missionaries. We are all missionaries. We are all laborers. We are often blind to it.

    The Global South (where Christianity is growing) is looking at the Western World to the favor of being led to Jesus. Yes. The Global South is sending missionaries to the States and Europe.

    This doesn’t excuse us from sending and supporting missionaries. This should actually encourage us to do so. Missionaries provide us a better lens to view our biases and cultural blindness. This teaches us how to better missionaries to our own cultures, and to be better laborers.

    Whether we are water-carriers, swinging the scythe, bundling the sheathes, carrying the sheathes, threshing the wheat, or gathering the final wheat, each of us has a task and purpose. We cannot leave it to others.

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, as the Lord of the Harvest, guide our actions to make sure that the entire harvest is brought to Heaven. Help to not look at ourselves as unqualified on not required. You have called us to your harvest. Amen.

    ※※

    1) What are your thoughts about being a missionary? Did you ever confuse the field with “someplace else”?

    2) What is one of the hardest parts of being a laborer? What is one of the easiest?

    3) Of the list of task orientations in the last paragraph, which one is yours? Why do you say that? Do you think there is a task missing?