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Devotion.al

Tag: respond

  • Palm Sunday

    Psalm 31:9-16; Isaiah 40:4-8; John 12:12-16 (read online ⧉)

    Jesus the wandering teacher comes to Jerusalem. The crowds are building around Jerusalem with Passover coming. Foreigners, wanderers, believers, and scoffers make for a very busy time in Jerusalem. What’s one more?

    This one more has a crowd following him. This one more has a crowd in front of him. The crowd in front makes a scene and a mess. Palm branches thrown on the ground. Clothes tossed on the ground (a precious thing to those who had few).

    Hosanna!

    Hosanna is a word used for praise. Yet its Aramaic root was, “save us”! While this is praise and adoration, it is also the call for the descendent of David to take his rightful place.

    Restore us!

    The Jesus crowd talked about Lazarus. I’m sure the blind man told his story. Stories and gossip were flowing! Maybe this really is the Messiah! The Pharisees even seemed to have become fatalistic (momentarily), knowing there was nothing they could do.

    Yet, Jesus still had teaching to do. Setting his face like flint? In other words, he would teach as the Father told him regardless of the conditions, whether the praise and adoration of now or the scorn soon to come.

    1. When the flush/rush of first being saved went away, how did you respond? Did you set your face like flint?
    2. Do you think there is a difference between, “save us,” and “restore us”? Which describes your Christian life/walk better?

  • What’s At The End?

    Mark 8:27–38; Mark 9:30–34; Mark 10:32–40 (read online ⧉)

    There were 3 ages that I looked to: 13, 18, 25. Prior to achieving each of these birthdays, I expected to die before each of them. That’s a pretty morbid thought, isn’t it? This wasn’t only my depression or suicidal thoughts that brought me there, but an almost fatalistic anticipation of my end.

    I don’t know how much my friends during those times understood my thoughts or expectations. I wasn’t open to sharing it. They may (or not) have noticed an underlying darkness that was part of my existence. We (including me) can look back on these thoughts and think…oh, what drama! And it possibly was.

    So, imagine what Jesus’ disciples thought? There were plenty of charismatic people leading people astray. Some seemed like death cults. Others pursued aims (overthrowing the Roman Empire) that were suicidal. Did they really mean to follow this guy? They were in deep already (hey, Peter declared him the Messiah, of all things). Were they sure about this?What made the difference between my fatalism of youth, and Jesus’ expectation and looking toward (not looking forward to) death? The end.

    What was the end? For me, I don’t know that I thought about it. For Jesus? Glorifying God and salvation for everyone. While the end does make the dying easier, it does make it easier to walk toward.

    In all three declarations of his expectations of death, there were very human responses within verses of the Scriptures. The first declaration resolves with each person who follows Christ having to bear the cross (a symbol of torture, humiliation, and death). The second declaration resolves with being a servant of others. The third declaration resolves with both the cross and service. Jesus resolved each declaration in a way that doesn’t necessarily encourage the hearer…unless the end is kept in mind.

    1) Death is the end of this life. What is your view of death? How would you respond if a friend or family member told you they expected to die (not due to health or reasons of conflict)?

    2) The cross has lost much of its horror. What can you think of in modern times that might approach the cruelty of the cross?

    3) In the 3 times that Jesus spoke of his death, the world’s agenda was not the same as God’s agenda. There are plenty of horrors around us. How can we embrace those horrors and point to Jesus?

  • Who Gets In?

    2 Kings 21: 1–18, Luke 13:31–35, Romans 11:1–12 (read online ⧉)

    Scripture leaves no question as to Manasseh. He was not a man after God’s own heart. While the image of God was in him, he in no way honored it. He led his people even further away from God. He is not alone in his guilt. While he may have led the people away from God, they chose to follow. We could excuse their behavior by saying that they were afraid to oppose Manasseh, however, God does not excuse them. There is a lot to unpack there, but not for today.

    God does say that the people of Israel (and Judah) have done evil since they left Egypt. The time has come, it seems, for something to happen, and happen it did. The people of Judah were eventually sent into exile.

    By the time of Jesus, Israel was again in the clutches of a foreign authority. Just as during the exile, that did not mean that God stopped working, it just wasn’t as expected or often as desired. Jesus is quite blunt about the whole thing when he states that a true prophet of Israel (with some exceptions) will die in Jerusalem, by the hand of Jerusalem. That’s a pretty dark statement.

    A people who disregarded God and kill God’s prophets in the very city God “placed” his name. What kind of redemption could they possibly have?

    An amazing kind.

    Paul had the unenviable task of sharing the Gospel with Jews and Gentiles and placating the long-standing cultural frictions between the groups. Add into this the addition of Gentiles to God’s redemptive plan (despite it being in the Old Testament), and the tensions to cast out the “other” group(s) from the redemptive story was probably pretty strong. Paul had to respond well to the Gentiles who (at least some) seemed to think that now that they had received redemption, the Jews had lost it. Some Jews probably felt that Paul was saying that, too.

    Redemption is available to all.

    1) Have you ever thought or said that someone is beyond redemption?

    2) Reread Romans 11:12. Compare that to the behavior that Jesus noted. What does that tell you about God’s grace and love?

    3) Have you ever had to walk between 2 competing groups like Paul had to? What was it about? How was it resolved?

  • Full Sanctuary, Empty Hearts

    Ezekiel 33:30–33, Matthew 15:1–9 (read online ⧉)

    Let’s be honest with ourselves. Let’s look at ourselves. Let’s look at the lives we lead, the lives we live. Is it us that God is talking to Ezekiel about?

    Reading only the surface of the Scriptures, of course not. The Israelites had turned prophets into spectacles. Perhaps the merchants and peddlers followed the prophets hawking their wares. Perhaps the people’s hearts were so calloused that even the words of God—sharper than any sword—could not carve the hardness away. Pastors, preachers, teachers, prophets, evangelists, apostles all speaking the Word of God, and no one listens. Truly listens.

    When hearing the word of God, do the people respond even with a heartbeat, or does it just go in one ear and out the other? God’s word never returns void, but the human heart often wants nothing to do with feeling the Creator of the universe actually love them. Sound crazy when said that way, yet we look at the world and come to no other conclusion. The sad part is much of that same lack of response occurs in the pews on Sundays. Yes, it’s true. People are concerned about others falling asleep or being on their devices, but the truth is that sometimes sitting there “listening” is a more deceptive behavior than anything else.

    The words in Ezekiel continue with empty and pointless worship. Jesus’ words in Matthew while echoing Isaiah also echoing Ezekiel. How many people don’t worship God when singing the songs? How many even listen to the songs?

    As Jesus continues on about traditions, are Sundays or Saturdays the “right” tradition for a day set aside for God and rest (Sabbath)? Is it which songs are song, or which words of God are repeated?

    1) If you are concerned about other people worshiping or listening to the word when you should be, what might be the problem?

    2) How do worship traditions strengthen your faith? How could they weaken it?

    3) How are the essentials for worship defined? Who defines them?

  • The Simplest Thing

    Matthew 21:28–32, John 6:28–36 (read online ⧉)

    It’s too easy. What do I have to do? There must be something that has to be done to earn my way. Perhaps I need to be wealthy. Perhaps I have to be powerful. Perhaps I to take a series of convoluted steps, and of course start from zero if I mess up.

    Nope, it doesn’t work that way. Whew! Yet, for some reason, the simplest way oddly seems to be the hardest.

    Jesus called on people to believe. He pointed to John the Baptist, first. John the Baptist came with a message of righteousness and repentance. That was always part of God’s call to those he originally called…the Israelites. The Law effectively revolved around a constant cycle of repentance and restoration to righteousness. The Israelites (now the remnant) didn’t understand and didn’t respond to God’s messenger. It was the people that were not “in” that responded. It was the ones who were “outcasts” who responded to the message.

    When confronted by Jesus, the people asked what they had to do to receive salvation. While Jesus said, “believe,” the parable the accompanied that was about doing the will of God, even when that’s not the desire, and not telling God that it will be done, and then going one’s own way. Belief without action ends up being like the son who said he would do but didn’t. The son who said no, but did still missed the father’s heart.

    Actions speak louder than words. Actions, however, should be motivated by belief.

    1) What is the hardest thing you’ve had to believe? What made it hard?

    2) What action has been the hardest to do? Why?

    3) Which requires greater commitment, belief or action? Why?

  • Evangelizing the Body

    Proverbs 15:1, Proverbs 25:15, Isaiah 40:10–14, Matthew 12:11–21 (read online ⧉)

    The mission statement of the Church of the Nazarene is, “to make Christ-like disciples in all nations.” In case you’ve forgotten, though you probably haven’t, one of the tasks of Christians is to make disciples. The mission statement of the Church of the Nazarene is really the call upon all Christians. For many years, the culture of the United States appeared to have a deep understanding of Christianity and had embraced it. The formulation of evangelism has been firmly rooted in that. Techniques such as the Romans Road and 4 Spiritual Laws were developed for that culture. If these techniques were so effective, the religious landscape of our country would be very different. It is not that they were not effective, it was just that the presentation of their effectiveness is questionable.

    The reality is that techniques that rely on a particular time, place, and culture will only be effective for a short time. The time that many were effective was relatively short. There are many, however, that still cling to these ways. Much of the reason is that they were simple and straight forward. On the front end, they also appeared effective in the short term as people “came to Christ.” Yet, over time a large proportion didn’t “stick.” This actually why evangelism in today’s world has far greater potential.

    In today’s world, the fact that we can no longer rely on techniques and “quick-strike” techniques is actually a good thing. It’s a hard thing. It’s a very hard thing. It’s still a good thing. In today’s culture, relationship is the single biggest “technique”. If we are honest with ourselves, we can look back even at the evangelism techniques and recognize that when it “stuck” a relationship was involved.

    Our two verses from Proverbs address speaking with others. Contrary to Proverb 15:1, the church (generally) has been characterized (with reason) as speaking with harsh words. In our worthwhile attempt to guide/direct people to live a God-honoring life, we instead scarred and hurt them with our words. Proverbs 25:15 shows us that gentleness will win for more people over, and if our goal is to win people over to Christ, then we should follow the wisdom of Proverbs. Here is the struggle point, however, with this wisdom; there is no guarantee and it will take time. In a quick-fix world like ours, the dedication of time becomes a stumbling block to Christians living out their mission.

    Gentleness and guiding are part of the image that Isaiah is trying to portray. Isaiah shows God’s heart for people. Who are we to not follow this guidance? Carrying lambs and guiding those nursing is not quick. It requires patience and love. This guidance and care is placed in the middle of verses talking about God’s glory and power. This tells us that power and glory go hand-in-hand with guidance and care. Of course, there is a human tendency towards condescension, of which we must all be cautious.

    This view of God is then applied to Jesus by Matthew (who was quoting Isaiah). It carries on the view of God above. There is the preceding story of a “sinful” healing on the Sabbath. Where was the gentleness and guidance in this? There was only condemnation and condescension. The key for our thoughts on gentleness and guidance are really in Matthew 12:20. A bruised reed means the plant is already injured and hurting. One can easily break a bruised reed, rather than bandage and work to heal it. A smoldering wick means that the fire was blown out or the oil extinguished. One can more easily fully extinguish a smoldering wick rather than reigniting the flame or filling the lamp with oil.

    1) Due to many issues (both past and ongoing), evangelism needs to occur in the church, as much as outside of the church. Who is someone struggling with their faith or beliefs? Who can you stand next to and lift up?

    2) Many of the people that we meet outside of the church have been hurt by it. This can be by words or spoken actions taken. It can also be by stories told of the church. How can you work to build a bridge to those that have been hurt by us?

    3) When being confronted with a challenge to your views, especially your world view, how do you respond?

  • Pull Me Up

    Exodus 17:1–7, Numbers 20:1–13, John 7:37–39 (read online ⧉)

    By and large, Americans do not understand the gift of clean and readily available water. Even during droughts, currently, people in places like California still can turn on the water in their homes, and get a drink. In places like Rome, artesian wells are all over the city, and one can get clean water from public fountains.

    The travels of the Israelites involved the logistics of water. There didn’t just have to be water for the humans. There had to be water for the livestock. Water was life. When the water dried up, or the waterskins were empty, it wouldn’t take long for concern then desperation to kick in.

    We often speak ill of the Israelites when they challenged Moses. How dare they admonish the great prophet?! Later Jewish commentators would also respond the same. The reality is, though, would we really be all that different when things aren’t going well?

    No one ever promised the Israelites that the journey would be easy. They seemed to have made the assumption. Then they placed the responsibility of their assumption onto someone else…Moses. Often Moses was really in conflict with their assumptions, rather than them, per se. Moses dealt with the ongoing disappointment of the Israelites that the world would just be handed to them.

    There is often a pervading view that we have no responsibility in regards to our faith and salvation working out in our lives. True, God provided us unmerited grace and provided the way. Our small part is to accept it. Yet, that is really only the start.

    Think of it this way, if you were at the bottom of a cliff and the only way to escape was up, and the cliff wall was too smooth to climb and you didn’t have any rope, pitons, or other climbing gear…someone is going to have to throw you a rope. You still need to grab the rope and (preferably) tie it around yourself. If there is only a person (rather than a winch or other mechanical device), they will struggle to pull you up. They might still accomplish it (and if it’s God, God will), but for your own sake, you need to help, even if it’s “walking” up the cliff so you don’t bang yourself around.
    The Israelites (and often ourselves) just wanted to be pulled up quickly and cleanly, with no need to put any effort into it. Was it still primarily God’s efforts? Yes. Did they still have a part? Yes!

    Moses didn’t help in the second instance. He actually turned this life-giving event into a curse. His words were not life-giving to the people. The water was, but that was God’s work, not Moses’. Moses lashed out in (understandable) anger and probably some hurt. In so doing, though, he damaged his and God’s witness. Again, it wasn’t as if the Israelites didn’t have their part (like above). Moses, though, had his part, too, and lashing out wasn’t supposed to be it.

    By the time Jesus came, for many God’s words were life-giving water “covered” in curses. Religious people and rules “gave” out God’s words (water) but in such a way as to make it a burden, and not life-giving. No one, really, had a good grasp of what Jesus really meant. The Holy Spirit flowing into and through people was not understood, and it couldn’t be understood until all was fulfilled through the cross, the resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

    1) What is the longest a human being can be without water? What is the longest you have been without water? Does the difference between the two help your perspective of the Israelites?

    2) Water as the source of life makes sense from an ancient (and even modern) perspective. John says that Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit when talking about water. What does this mean for the Holy Spirit and people?

    3) Thinking of cursing the water (of life), in what ways is the Water of Life (the Holy Spirit) being cursed by humanity today?

  • God Seeks Everyone

    Job 33:14–30, Nehemiah 12:31–43, Luke 15:3–7 (read online ⧉)

    Elihu (from Job) is probably the most enigmatic person in the Book of Job. He just appears and disappears. It is almost as if there is something more going on than just a tirade. Now, Elihu definitely said things that were wrong, but many of his words are the truth. Just like any of us, we cannot take all of his words and reject or accept, we must take his words wisely. Most of the words we read today are not, ultimately, in line with God’s heart. However, the underlying Truth is that God seeks to keep everyone from eternal separation from God (or Hell). God will sometimes use extreme measures that we can see this, while we often willingly maintain our blindness.

    Restoration of our right relationship with God is pictured in Nehemiah. Finally, the Jews get it (even if only for a time). Thanksgiving processions of hearts and tears, plus praise and offerings. The people had rediscovered joy, and their neighbors heard it. God had never given up on the Jews…ever. God just understood that they didn’t understand where real joy was. He had to, as much as it pained him, give them space to learn it.

    This is part of Jesus’ constant frustration with many people. They categorized people into the redeemed and unredeemable categories. There wasn’t a “not yet” in their thinking. They forgot that God is in the redemption business, and never stops redeeming. So many stories that the Jews shared (and gifted to Christianity) are about God’s redemptive work in the world, specifically in the Israelite (now Jewish) people. Yet it was forgotten.
    We should always be aligning ourselves with the ways of Heaven. Rejoicing in the redemption of others is an essential practice. In fact, even if we are the 99, we should be just as loud as Heaven for the 1, for we, at one point, were the 1, too.

    1) How are your redemption categories? Do they need to be realigned with Jesus’?

    2) Redemption results in rejoicing. The church, full of humans, often struggles with rejoicing for the redemption of “certain” people. Why do you think that is? How should the church respond to redemption in comparison to the world?

    3) Why is it important to realize that to God no one is unredeemable?

  • Peace and Blessings

    Numbers 6:22–27, Luke 10:3–12, John 14:25–30, John 20:19–28 (read online ⧉)

    The Levitical or priestly blessing has been a mainstay for the Jews and Christians for millennia. The pronouncement of blessing, protection, acknowledgment, grace, favor, and peace pretty much sums up what a life with God should result in. What makes this tiny passage even more strange, yet intimate and comforting is that God states that this is God’s name. Perhaps not a name in the proper sense, but God’s name nonetheless. God’s name would then be Blessing Protecting Shining (i.e., “I see and acknowledge you”) Gracious Favoring Peace-Giving God.

    When Jesus, therefore, sends out the disciples, they are being sent out on his (God’s) behalf to bestow peace upon others. So, think about this…they are to withdraw their peace from houses that do not respond. If peace is there…if God is there. If peace is not there…God is not there. There there is how peace is lived out. The disciples were to go to the first house that welcomed and accepted them. They were to go from house to house to get a better deal (certainly not the way our culture functions). Were they to do this, they would be contaminating God’s peace that they were sent with.

    This becomes even more apparent in Jesus’ bestowing of peace on his 11 disciples on his final night with them (Judas had left at this point of the evening). They were no longer just sent with his peace (as they were before), but now they were bearers of his peace. It sounds similar, granted, but it is different. Similar to baby birds, they went out (previously) and came back. However, now it was time to leave the nest, and they had to carry forth on their own.

    Yet, even on their own, Jesus still has to restore their peace, just as it is with us. They had just witnessed something horrible, evil, and unjust. Then they experience the unimaginable. Now they were, they felt, like sheep without their shepherd. This time, peace is the tranquility in the storm. Only Jesus can give it so deeply. Only when we embrace it do we receive it.

    1) What does it mean to embrace the peace of God? What might it mean to us and the way we live our lives to embrace the peace of God?

    2) Surrender is a significant part of God’s peace. What needs to be surrendered for God’s peace?

    3) What has to be surrendered for the world’s peace? What is the difference in surrendering to God and to the world for peace?

  • Valuing the Heart

    Psalm 6, Mark 5:24–34, Luke 7:36–50 (read online ⧉)

    We greatly honor our doctors and nurses who nurse ourselves and our loved ones to health. However, what we do today is different than it used to be. Science and medicine have provided us information that is beyond ancient knowledge. Even we untrained people have a far greater knowledge of healing than was available to the normal person many years ago. Thus when the scriptures ask for healing, and when healing occurs it is a miracle. This is not to diminish the healing received then or now. However, there is something here in Scripture that is only recently coming into mainstream thinking…peace.

    The woman who touched Jesus’ cloak was both desperate and had faith. An interesting combination to say the least. Suffering from an injury/illness for 12 years and bankrupt because of it. We’ve heard stories of or known people who may have not suffered as long but certainly lost everything. Healing was great. Peace was needed too with all that she had gone through.

    Then there was the woman who poured perfume on and washed Jesus’ feet. Obviously infamous among the “clean” and “appropriate” people, she was probably a societal outcast in some form or another. Her entire life was not likely to be a gentle one. She needed peace.

    Neither woman, at the point we meet them, are doing well in life. Based on context, we can reasonably say that they were the downtrodden of the downtrodden, and they were women. All of this piled together in that time meant that even being healed or being defended by Jesus would not necessarily make their lives easier.

    What Jesus did is justify their existence. He saw them for what they were…children of God. He valued them. By valuing them, and publically doing so no less, he gave them an opportunity to have something they may have never had, or hadn’t had in a very long time…peace.

    Our medicine and science are great. We are doing so well on the “mechanical” side of healing. We aren’t, however, doing as well in healing hearts. In cases of severe health issues, just being healed is only the beginning. There are some forms of emotional trauma that go along with that. Those that have suffered need peace.

    1) The “mechanical” nature of medicine resembles other “mechanical” areas of our society. Why do we avoid dealing with emotions? What does it mean to you that Jesus brings peace in those situations?

    2) Societal healing is painful. Currently, there are a lot of scabs being peeled off and oozing sores finally being treated. Thinking of the above stories, what does that tell us about how Jesus would respond today?

    3) Christians regularly pray for physical healing. Why? What do we miss when we pray for physical healing alone?