Devotion.al

Tag: rest

  • Maturing Change

    Psalm 55:1-19, Romans 7:18-25

    It’s likely you’ve heard this bad joke, but…
    How many psychologists (or psychiatrists or counselors) does it take to change a lightbulb? None, because the bulb has to want to change. (yes, it’s a bad joke)

    The reality is that there are those that seek to change and there are those that don’t. Among those who seek to change are those who do it for , do it for self, or do it for God, or any mix of those 3. Those who seek to change may not always be successful. If one of those areas a person is seeking change is a strong habit, addiction, or physiological issue (including mental health), there will probably be a big struggle to go along with that change.

    If you’ve ever gone on a diet or changed the content of your diet (like low-carb, gluten-free, etc.) you know it can be hard to change. Starting and maintaining an exercise plan can be difficult. Not overworking (i.e., workaholics) can be difficult. There are a lot of things that are hard to change. Often, as we struggle with those hard-to-change things, we beat ourselves up and sometimes we ourselves .

    However, with the more spiritual things, we seem to fall into 2 severe camps: either we don’t try to change at all, or we try so hard that we discourage ourselves. Now, there are different reasons why we fall into those 2 camps, but those are neither here nor there.

    Between David and , though, we see the real struggle. David calls out those who will not change. Paul aligns himself (actually, calls himself) with those who want to change (to be more like ), but keeps messing up. Unless you’re Jesus, you’re one or the other.

    As you are reading this, it’s probably safe to say that you “fall” into the “camp” of Paul and any honest (with their self) . You are trying to mature in your . You could be doing it to be a better example for someone. You could have been one of those that hit rock bottom, and God gave you the hand out of it. You could “just” be trying to please God by “improving”.

    It does matter why, and ultimately God must be at the of it for it to be good change. However, even with God at the heart of you, the of you may not be up to it. There are two pieces of advice: don’t give up, and don’t defeat yourself by acting like the condemner. God convicts, yes, but that is to acknowledge that you fell short. God loves so that you continue to strive. The condemner, on the other hand, does everything possible to keep you from getting up and trying again. That is not God.

    1) Do you have a particular issue that you are struggling with right now? Are you happy or frustrated by your progress?

    2) As we pursue Christian maturity, why is it critical to understand the difference between conviction and condemnation?

    3) Do you find Paul’s words helpful or not? Why?

  • Choosing Sabbath

    Nehemiah 13:19–22, Isaiah 56:4–7, Mark 2:27–28, Hebrews 4:9–11

    We really are bad at taking a . Even in the “good old days” restaurants would be filled on Sundays with people leaving church and eating. So now we have memes that say, “consciously choosing to slow down and is a revolutionary of self-care.”

    Obviously, this is not a new thing. Nehemiah “defended” the Sabbath by force of arms. Imagine armed guards walking around making sure you rested. It sounds a little strange. Nehemiah understood that the first step to prevent violation of the Sabbath was removing …the merchants.

    God always wanted the Sabbath to be followed. So much so that the Sabbath became a doorway into a with God for those where were previously excluded from the …eunuchs and foreigners. In many ways, right observance of the Sabbath overrode the other “ritually clean” and “ exclusionary” practices.

    Sabbath observance was never about the rules, says , it was for us. Yet, we don’t seem to really get it. One of the biggest pieces of the Sabbath is not rest, or at least not rest in the way we think of it. The writer of Hebrews gives us the insight that really helps us understand the Sabbath. The author of Hebrews tries to get us to the point that we understand that full/true Sabbath rest is when we rest within the embrace and of God and are fully present.

    1) On Sunday, the “standard” Sabbath, we often are still busy. Are you finding your rest withing the embrace and presence of God, and are fully present with God?

    2) What ways do you fill your Sundays (or Sabbath day, if not Sunday) with activities? Are they restful in God, or are they mere restful for your body, or are they even restful?

  • Sheltering Wings

    Exodus 37:1–9, Ruth 2:10–3:9, Psalm 61, Luke 13:34–35

    The wings of God are an interesting image, and it is well considering. While God may not have literal wings, wings being part of the comprehension of God cannot and should not be ignored.

    The Ark of the was a reminder of God’s among the people of Israel. The lid of the Ark of the Covenant was called the Seat. Think about that. Beneath the seat were the stones of the Commandments, a container of mana, and (later) a blossoming branch. Mercy was the capstone of it all. Surrounding the Mercy Seat were wings. Were they God’s wings? No, but as they were directed by God to be there, they were indeed a manifestation of God’s will.

    In the story of Ruth, wings come up twice in actually a short time, and both have the same concept surrounding their appearance. In the first, Boaz declares that Ruth has placed herself underneath the wings of God as a refuge. As the story progresses, she then places herself under the wings of Boaz for refuge.

    Wings and refuge often go hand-in-hand in the . We see it yet again in Psalm 61 (and it is also in other Psalms). God has wings of refuge.

    ‘ sad cry against and on behalf of Jerusalem (representing the past and present Israelites and Jews) shows a refusal to be underneath the wings of God, a refusal to be in the refuge of God. Jesus’ words of how a mother hen guards her chicks with her wings, how her wings are the chicks’ refuge from the world…they are nothing short of amazing.

    God wants to shelter us underneath his wings.

    1) Shelter and refuge are things we often seek in things, , and even people. How are you doing seeking shelter under God’s wings?

    2) What do you feel in your , knowing that God wants to gather YOU underneath his wings?

    3) Why would people NOT want to be under God’s refuge? How do you think that might affect how they view, feel, and interact with the world around them?

  • Consequent Restoration

    Amos 9:1–4, Amos 9:7–10

    The open verses of Amos 9 are anything but comforting. It would seem that God is actively and minutely seeking the destruction of Israel. And it’s true, from a certain point of view. However, is a fickle thing, and the visions that Amos saw were the best that he could understand.

    The reality is that the Israelites did bring this upon themselves by their actions and attitudes. Instead of being blessed and protected (especially the protected part), God removed the “hedge” of protection from them, and the world came in. If it helps, you can think of Israel as Ebey Island in the between the Snohomish River and Puget Sound. During the rainy season, much of the land is more swamp. In addition, there are dikes protecting much of it too. God removing the hand of protection is like removing the dikes during the rainy season. A land already sodden in misery becomes overwhelmed by the natural (or in this case, ) forces of the world.

    The of the imagery is to put a point on it that there is no escape. No matter what they do, they will not be able to escape the consequences of their generations of behavior. The desire was not destruction, it was repentance and . Earlier in Amos, God and Amos went back and forth about destruction, and God would quickly back-off of total destruction. It was as if God’s just wasn’t in it.

    Ultimately, Israel’s pride was its downfall. Verses 7–10 show that Israel’s pride was still an issue. God ties Israel to the Cushites (Ethiopians), the Philistines (long-time ) and the Arameans. They, the Israelites, are on the same level. From an Israelite , that would have likely been insulting. Israel was far above any of them, so they thought. God was not treating them right! God was letting them know that while they were , that did not make them more important.

    1) Do you recall when your pride got you in trouble? What was it? What part of your pride was the issue? How did you resolve it?

    2) Do you know your areas of pride? If you think you don’t have one, then think about your accomplishments or hard work or projects. How about now?

    3) It is important to understand our areas of pride, for that is often where we are weakest. How does understanding our pride keep us from falling into the traps of the enemy?

  • Blaming God

    2 Chronicles 12:1–8, James 1:12–15
    When we read the Old Testament, the phrasing is often such that we could say God caused most suffering. In fact, there are many who truly believe that despite the balance of scriptures.

    Let’s take the story of Rehoboam and Shishak. Rehoboam was the of Solomon, son of David. David was the man that God promised would have a descendant on the throne of Israel, as long as they were . For 3 years, Rehoboam was faithful. Rehoboam used the Law to establish his and authority. Once that was done, he was done with the Law. Rehoboam’s reign didn’t exactly start well, but he could have done alright had he (and Israel alongside him) stayed faithful to God.

    This is the same with each and every one of us. We may about the innocents (like children) who, through no fault of their own, are pulled into the brokenness of the of humanity, and up suffering because of it. We may not even be aware of it.

    God does Rehoboam to account. Rehoboam—and Judah with him—will be abandoned to the ravages of the latest military dominator, Shishak. Abandoned. There is a lot that can be pulled from this. The primary one is that Judah has been under God’s protection, guarding them against Shishak. God wasn’t going to make Shishak attack Judah. Shishak would have naturally gone against Judah. It would have been God’s protection that kept Shishak from attacking.
    Rehoboam’s and Judah’s humbled themselves (kind of surprising for Rehoboam), God relented…somewhat. The gist of it was that God would still let Shishak attack, but that the result would not be desolation, but becoming a subordinated people. Was it great? No. It was intended to be a learning lesson, but the hearts of Rehoboam and Judah were to set in their own ways (already!) to fully to God.
    The sad reality is that in situations like this, we ourselves can often become this type of hardhearted person. In certain instances, God may have kept the worst consequences of our behavior from affecting us, while still allowing some so that we would be disciplined. Instead, we can often see the lesser consequence of God not doing something and complain.
    James was obviously dealing with something similar but in the realm of . The lack of personal responsibility drew strong rebuke from James. He did not want people to blame God for their choices (and the consequences of those choices). Rehoboam succumbed to temptation (of not following God). He had a choice. God did not make him choose to succumb, nor did God try to tempt Rehoboam.
    1) Have you ever blamed God for temptation (or more specifically falling for it), or making you too weak?
    2) Have you ever heard someone else blame God for their succumbing to temptation? How did you ?

  • Very Much Active

    Numbers 11:16–17+Numbers 11:24–30, 1 Samuel 10:1–13, Mark 9:35–41

    The —the third person of the —often does not act in a way we understand or can predict. That makes us frustrated. For example, there are Christians who believe the Holy Spirit has ceased miraculous activity. For some, that means no miraculous healings. For that means no “tongues”. For others that even includes the gifts of the Spirit.

    Many tie the movement of the Holy Spirit to the 12 Apostles and . However, as we read in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was active without them. So, where does this us? Well, there can be no question, really, that the Holy Spirit is in . Hearts are still called to Jesus. Hearts are still changed. Lives are still transformed.
    To believe that 1/3 (the Holy Spirit) of the Trinity is inactive while the other 2/3 (God the Father, Jesus the ) are active seems to be problematic. The Holy Spirit is God. So, if the of God is active, it seems illogical for the Holy Spirit to not be.

    The struggle is, again, that the Holy Spirit does not necessarily move in the ways we want or predict. Thus the conclusion is drawn that the Holy Spirit stopped moving. However, miraculous healings do occur. Tongues still occur (and not just the charismatic type). The gifts of the Spirit, including , still occur. It is often that our hearts and minds are too dull and hard to see them for what they are.

    1) Have you ever seen or experienced a miracle that could only be performed by God?

    2) If you haven’t, or haven’t a long while, why do you think (or do you think) the Holy Spirit is still active?

    3) Why do think it is important that the Holy Spirit is or isn’t active? How does your belief impact the way you live your ?

  • Rest and Recharge

    Exodus 35:2–3, Leviticus 25:2–5, Matthew 12:1–9

    What recharges you? An extrovert will be charged up by being with people. An introvert charges by being alone. Both, in many respects, are forms of . Part of the problem with , as it is practiced, and as the rules seem to state, there can be no work on the Sabbath.

    Let’s also deal with when is the Sabbath…it’s the day of rest, not a day of a week. There are those that insist only Saturday or Sunday are the day of the Sabbath. There is kind of a round-robin on this. God rested on the 7th day, whichever day that was. If you look and a US calendar, technically the Sabbath should be a Saturday (the last day of the week). If you look at Western European calendars, the Sabbath is Sunday (the last day of their week). Just comparing calendars should put some on this.

    In the days of the of Jerusalem, the priests, the gatekeepers, the guards, the merchants (who sold “sacred” goods on the Temple grounds), the workers were all very busy…working on the Sabbath. Were they an exception? Yes. However, as we are all now part of the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9), do we all work on Sundays? No, but we always want and need more volunteers! (Had to be said)

    Rest is at the core. Not just rest, though. It is to be sacred rest. What is that? That probably is a discussion between you and God. Some people find gardening to be restful (despite being “work”). If it is not what you do for a (which is really where the “no work” concept comes from), then it very well could be rest, while it is not rest to someone else (for example, someone who doesn’t like gardening).

    Some find their rest watching sports. Some find their rest reading. Some find their rest cooking. Who are we to judge someone else’s rest? However, there is that “sacred rest” part. How does one get there?

    1) How do you deliberately focus on God in your Sabbath day activities?

    2) What activities do you find restful? What activities of do you think are not restful? Why?

    3) Do you feel that Sabbath rest should be “productive” or “non-productive”? What does that mean to you?

  • Frameworks

    Genesis 35:9–15, Genesis 37:1–2

    While the “ of the story” appears to mostly be about Joseph, it is incredibly important to understand that from a familial , this is the continuing story (in comic book terms, the “origin” story) of Israel, both the man (born as Jacob) and the people (the 12 male descendant lines of Israel).

    Laying the groundwork is very important to understand the framework of the story. In many respects, the story of Joseph and his brothers is told within the larger framework of Israel, which is part of the larger framework of Abraham, and God’s to Abraham and his line.

    In fact, we can look at the of Abraham as a single line (which it was), until the sons of Israel. With the sons of Israel, the line branched and become a fuller, more complete version of itself. What it also bears a testament to is God’s faithfulness in the midst of brokenness.

    This was a heritage that was anything but healthy. It was, by any account, a complete and utter mess. God did something beautiful with it.

    1) Have you ever thought that your was too messy for God to fix? Do you have friends or family who think that?

    2) Imagine if God waited for the Israelite family to get it “all ”. Why do you think people believe that God will only accept them after they have it all together? What can we do to the that says, “come as you are”?