We'd appreciate you allowing the use of cookies. They are anonymized while allowing us to see how the site is used.

Devotion.al

Tag: restoration

  • Do Black Sheep Stay Black?

    Genesis 49:1–2 and 49:8–12, 2 Samuel 7:12–16, Luke 1:67–79, Revelation 5:2–14 (read online ⧉)

    You might have gathered from all the scriptures that this is about the lineage of Judah. The lineage of the same guy from yesterday’s devotion who seem to not particularly care about those of his lineage that followed him. Despite that, his father made a prophetic pronouncement that Judah had the scepter and the staff. The scepter represents the ability and position of rule. In other words, kingship was the domain of Judah. In addition, the same word also can be translated as branch or offshoot, which are also words that were applied to the Messiah. The staff probably mentioned in the translation you likely read is troublesome. The KJV is closest with ruler (and that is the way it is often translated elsewhere with Judah). In Hebrew, it also means engraved. Where does this lead us? Combining ruler and engraved is similar to a seal, so going out on a limb…authority. Kings, rulers, presidents have power. Authority is the right to use power.*

    David’s eventual rule over the Kingdom of Israel seemed to begin the fulfillment of Jacob’s prophesy. Then Nathan delivered the Lord’s message. What a message that was! What an amazing way to fulfill an old prophetic message from Jacob the patriarch of Israel. What seems odd is that there does not appear to be a direct acknowledgment of Jacob’s message. It’s there, but it is more implied than directly stated. It seems a reverse of Judah’s perspective. This also shows that despite Judah’s behavior, good can still come from bad. It all depends on what we do with it when we turn to God.

    During Zechariah’s prophecy over his son John (the Baptist), Jesus’ lineage is tied to David. This sees a deliberate tie to the message from God about David’s specific line having the authority. This same line is still the line of Judah. The Israelite concept of a Messianic figure comes long after Judah dies (though it is easily argued that there was plenty of foreshadowing). There is no way that Jacob or Judah could have imagined that God would have become man through their lineage. It would have been far beyond their imagining.

    When Jesus walked the earth, his lineage was predominantly tied to David. After his death and resurrection, however, the name of Judah regained some prominence in all that surrounded Jesus the Christ. We see this in Revelation where it all gets tied together: Judah, David, Messiah, salvation, eternity. What beautiful symmetry.

    1) Does your family or social circle have a “black sheep” (i.e., the person all avoid)? What makes that person a black sheep?

    2) Judah was a black sheep insofar as his behavior (remember yesterday, plus other things). The Messiah, your savior, came from a line of the black sheep. What does that tell you about the potential of your family’s (again, or social circle’s) black sheep?

    3) Why is understanding God’s redemption of black sheep important for our lives and others?

    Action: Look for a way to begin the restoration of a black sheep.

    *This is not a statement on whether current people in power have authority (that can be argued multiple ways with multiple bases), just to be clear. That there was a perceived need to make this statement should also cause each of us to pause and wonder what is really going on in our hearts.

  • Bridal Restoration

    Psalm 51, John 3:27–29 (read online ⧉)

    This Psalm is the result of a person’s sin. This is not to say that the Psalm is about the sin per se, but about a person standing before God after being confronted about the sin. While there is a lot of symbolism in the Psalm the symbols reflect a heart that recognizes the wrong done. Note there are no excuses. It is what it is. How many times have you confessed a sin and then surrounded it with excuses? What is interesting here is that a request to hear joy is made. This is not a request to be able to make a joyful noise. This is a request—a plea—to hear God’s joy in life, and the joy of those who surround God. The Psalm makes a turn from repentance and sorrow to, basically, asking to not be cast away from God’s presence.

    While there is a penalty that goes along with what was done, restoration was still completed. There was joy again. Often we cannot find joy because there is something in our hearts that keeps out of the presence of God. Whether that something resulted in shame or sin or what have you, something may indeed be keeping you from even going toward the presence of God.

    John the Baptist alludes to Jesus and his bride in this short passage from the Gospel of John. Who is Jesus’ bride? The church. Who is the church? We all are. John is filled with joy that the groom (whom John calls his friend) gets the bride! Jesus’ marriage as the joyful culmination of his ministry. What makes this interesting, too, is that the marriage is a “not yet” scenario. That means that while John the Baptist is speaking in the present, John (the writer of the Gospel) is looking toward the future, when Jesus returns.

    1) Why does John the Baptist tie joy to the marriage of the groom (Jesus)?

    2) How can we say that joy is fulfilled or complete in marriage in the light of the tensions in our own marriages, and the divorces that ravage the church and the world?

    3) How could being or not being in God’s presence affect your joy?

  • 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?

  • Anticipatory Expectation

    Romans 8:18–25, Revelation 5:1–10 (read online ⧉)

    What are we expecting? What are we anticipating? Expectation and anticipation are not always positive, as we often “wait” for the other shoe to drop. It is in this mindset that anxiety can step in and take over us.

    Creation is personified in Paul’s text. This anthropomorphic thinking of Creation puts a different spin on things. We could then get in line with those that say things link, “Mother Nature is angry at humanity.” Almost. Environmental degradation was not a strong concern in Paul’s era. However, people did experience hurricanes, cyclones, severe storms, ice, hail, volcanoes, earthquakes, etcetera. When we think of these severe events, we can sympathize with Paul’s thinking.

    What is more interesting is the implication of Paul’s words. You see, it is not just about us. We finite creations are not all that are affected by sin. All of creation was affected. The Fall of humanity was not just about humanity, but the consequence that was then delivered to all of creation. In the carol, Joy to the World, we sing:
       No more let sins and sorrows grow,
         Nor thorns infest the ground;
    He comes to make his blessings flow
    Far as the curse is found.

    The infestation of thorns (and weeds), plus the sweat now required of humanity to farm, and even the fact that creatures eat one another, are all signs of fallen creation. All of Creation waits to be restored, too.

    That restoration is at the core of John’s vision of Heaven. The Seven-Sealed Scroll was the fulfillment of all hope from Heaven to Earth. We can understand that in John’s vision, the scroll not being opened meant that God’s plan wouldn’t/couldn’t be fulfilled for just the brief moment. That brief moment is all that it takes to get that “drop in the stomach” feeling of loss. If all were truly based on a scroll, then hope would be pointless. True hope relies not on the scroll, but on Jesus. Heaven and Earth rejoice, indeed.

    1) Are you constantly waiting for the “other shoe to drop”? If no, how do you plan for and thrive beyond things to go bad? If yes, how do you move forward under all that emotional weight?

    2) Do you think it is important that Creation is waiting, too? Why or why not?

  • Building Myths

    Luke 17:20–37, Acts 7:44–60, Revelation 21:14–27 (read online ⧉)

    Throughout the Old Testament, there are memorial stones. The names of springs have tale-telling names. Altars were built…lots of altars. Places provide identity. The Promised Land (Israel) was one of identity. That particular land was powerful enough in its name and history that there are still fights involving it among differing “tribes” and religions (and each’s myriad of sects).

    A place will often develop a mythos or multiple ones. Think of the United States. There is the American Exceptionalism mythos. There is the American Colonialism mythos. There is the American Slavery/Segregation mythos. There is the American Dream mythos. There are plenty more American mythoi that aren’t listed. Some are held as (or more) firmly than religious beliefs. Some are feared for what they might represent. Regardless, they all revolve around a place.

    Jesus made a radical statement regarding the Kingdom of God. The Pharisees and many other Jewish groups were looking for something tangible, which mostly revolved around the restoration (in some form) of an independent (and probably wealthy, secure, and powerful) Jewish nation, with some sort of Davidic monarchy. Jesus basically told them that they are looking in the wrong place.

    Some scholars interpret this as Jesus stating he was the Kingdom come, while others look at it more along the lines of the kingdom being withing the people. We Christians often call this being the church.

    Stephen, who was martyred, reminded those that were about to stone him that God does not truly live in buildings built by human hands. The building, it seems, is more for us than God. The passage in Revelation says there will be no temple. Think of that. There will be no temple, no church, no chapel, no alter. It will not be needed.

    We need to be honest with ourselves. We may say things such as, “the church is its people,” or “the people are the church.” However, when it comes right down to it, we gravitate toward needing a place. That place could be a park, a house, a (gasp) bar, a school, a cafeteria. We think this as obvious, now, but it wasn’t that long ago (truly) that people opposed holding a church service in a school. When the house church movement was reignited in the US over a decade ago, “established” churches said that house church wasn’t real church.

    The next “you can’t have church there,” argument is here. It’s actually almost past now, though people still hold onto it. It’s not possible, it is said, to have church over the internet, for the internet isn’t “real”. Even die-hard netizens often use IRL (in real life), so it seems even for them there is a struggle. As virtual reality goes mainstream, the concept of the internet as a rectangular screen will disappear. So, what are we to do? How will we treat those who don’t sit in our pews, but worship with us from 1000 miles away? Are they not the church? They don’t have a connection with us? Even those who, for various reasons, have moved or are moving away, but this is still their church home? Does someone stop being your family just because you only see them on Facebook, and haven’t seen them in years?

    1) When we talk about church and place, what are the important things to consider?

    2) What makes “place” more or less real to you? How do you deal with people who have a different idea of place?

    3) What makes a place (such as a church) more “real” than the internet which is a gathering of people at a whole bunch of places? Is that a “real” difference, or is it what we are used to?

  • Broken Family; Broken Community

    Genesis 38:1–30, Deuteronomy 25:5–10, Ruth 4:1–10, Mark 12:18–27

    Migration has long been the story of humankind. People would move from place to place. The United States mythos includes a strong migratory component, from the theorized migration of First Nations peoples over the Bearing Land Bridge to the European migration to the Western Expansion, along with 2 Gold Rushes and the huge population shifts with the Great Depression and World War II. This creates a strong cultural influence on family dynamics and in the wider society. The Census Bureau estimates that from 2013-2017, 41.5% of the US population did not live in the same state (or country for foreign-born) as they were born in. How can this not impact our relationships with people, family, and place?

    Until the last 70 years, or so, when people moved from a different country to the US or even state-to-state, the family ties were broken or became perfunctory rather than profound. If you are one of those that have remained in the same state you were born in, it is still likely that your parents, or grandparents came from. Advances in transportation have allowed for some restoration of these familial ties, but this is more likely for middle- and upper-class people. With the advent of more and more connective technologies, there is greater potential to maintain these connections. It is too soon to tell if that will actually happen, though based on current evidence it doesn’t look likely.

    What does all of this have to do with our passages? They show a huge difference between ancient cultures and our own. That is part of the problem. In the first 3 passages from the Old Testament, the significance of the “kinsman redeemer” (an epithet we get from the book of Ruth) is lost in today’s culture. Put your siblings or your children into these stories as either kinsman redeemer or needing such, and gauge your responses. Most people have a negative response to it. We generally don’t get it. Many centuries later, this is still a question, as we can see with Sadducees’ question of Jesus.

    Connections. Community. Obligation. Sense of place. This should help us understand why we have such a problem with ekklēsia (ἐκκλησία). This Greek word is often translated as “church”. It originally meant a public gathering. Through the resilience of God’s Word, church as a gathered community became the dominant definition. Community.

    In many respects, the church became more of the ekklēsia during the Westward Expansion, as it was the only common gathering place. However, as transportation “improved” and the suburbs became a reality, community began to fade. Now, in the Pacific Northwest, even the ekklēsia isn’t really a community. In many churches, and some say ours, many people do not feel that they are part of the community. For some, the ekklēsia is a fancy word for an hour-long meeting on Sunday, that doesn’t really feed into the other 6 days of the week.

    1. What do you do to build community? To build community, do you think you should look to yourself, first? Or do you need to look to others?
    2. If you were to describe your ideal church community, what words would you use? If you were to describe your ideal community where you live, what words would you use? How are the words and intent both the same and different?

  • Power of Service

    Mark 10:42–45, John 21:15–17, 1 Peter 4:7–11

    Power to control. That’s what Jesus is talking about in the passage in Mark. The Gentile “rulers” (though the same applied to many of the Pharisees and scribes, as well) lorded their power, influence, and wealth over others, and controlled them. When this passage is used, often we get “stuck” on our servant part, rather than seeing the underlying relational truth. Those with power, influence, and wealth are held at a distance (even by those with power, influence, and wealth themselves). Servants are close at hand. In a place of trust, servants are able to influence and nurture others. One really can’t say that about those with power, influence, and wealth.

    Service is strongly implied in Jesus’ words of the restoration of Peter: Feed (twice) and shepherd. Used twice, βόσκω (boskō) can mean feed, take to pasture, or take care of. Used only once, ποιμαίνω (poimainō) means shepherd, take care of, and guide. Feed appears to be more of the immediate physical concern, while shepherd is more along the line of long-term thriving. This is a great picture for pastors to concern themselves with. It is also the picture every one of us should be using as a lens to look at others with. We are called to “feed” their immediate need twice as much as their thriving. Many of us concern ourselves with the thriving, and neglect the immediate.

    Service isn’t an option. How you serve is your individual expression of service as worship. Peter passed along the call to serve, “…as good stewards of the varied grace of God.” That is an interesting concept. Often we talk about stewardship in regards to money. Peter talks about being stewards of God’s grace. God’s grace is poured out on the just and unjust, just as it is poured out on the saved and unsaved. Just because there’s plenty, does not mean we are not responsible to steward it.

    1) Our culture claims to value servants. It doesn’t. The church seems to reflect the culture. How can we improve how we value the servants of the church? Who are the servants of the church? Who aren’t the servants of the church?

    2) Why do you think there is that 2-to-1 ratio between feeding and shepherding? How should that inform your life?

    3) How will you serve tomorrow? How will you serve today? How will you serve next month? Does the service always have to be the same?

  • Who Restores

    Deuteronomy 30:1–5, Jonah 2:2–9, Isaiah 44:24–28

    Have you ever recognized that there is an implied title and character of God that gets missed? Restorer.

    We use Healer, often, which is close. Another word could be Reconciler. We don’t use Restorer or Reconciler, because in most cases of their use (restore and reconcile), they are action verbs, not nouns.

    Yet, restoration and reconciliation are at the heart of Jesus. Think of it this way. Through Jesus’ sinless walk on Earth and his sacrificial death on the cross, we are reconciled to God (relationship). Through baptism and Jesus’ resurrection, we are restored (position) to the “place” we would have had prior to the Fall (Adam and Eve).

    It can be easy to fall into the reconciliation way of thinking, because while on Earth that is both our expectation and our experience.

    We get a taste of restoration in baptism, but it really is a poor experience in comparison to the full restoration once we are in Heaven.

    1) What do you think of restoration and reconciliation?

    2) How do you think restoration and reconciliation work with other people?

    3) We can understand how reconciliation works with our interpersonal relationships. How does restoration work? Thinking about restoration as God restores, is it possible for a damaged relationship to be restored? Why or why not?

  • 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, prophecy 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, human) forces of the world.

    The rest 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 restoration. 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 heart 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 enemy) and the Arameans. They, the Israelites, are on the same level. From an Israelite perspective, 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 chosen, 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?

  • Countercultural Love

    2 Samuel 1:17–27, Romans 12:9–21, Romans 13:1-10

    David had been pursued by the House of Saul for many years. Even after Saul acknowledged that David had been acting more righteous than he, there wasn’t restoration. David was cut off from his friends (like Saul’s son, Jonathan), his first wife, his nation. He was in exile. David had been anointed to be king but was kept from the throne by an unrighteous man.

    In the political climate of today, we can easily imagine the celebrations of the other “side” (whichever one that is) celebrating the death of the king and his family. In fact, it seems to have become a tradition for the last few presidents to have people asking and praying for their deaths. David was not like that with Saul.

    David could have been angry and arrogant. Instead, he mourned. He wrote a song to mourn the passing of the House of Saul. He insisted others learn it and share it. He was not happy that the throne was his. He was miserable for the loss of the leading family. In the current political climate, do you see that happening for any politician?

    When Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, we have to remember that they were lower than the Jews in Roman eyes. Paul still charged them to love. Bless the persecutors? No eye for an eye? Be at peace? With them? Talk about countercultural!

    “Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.”
    —Romans 12:21

    While the Roman government was certainly no friend of Christians, Paul still told them to submit. While there is an ongoing distrust of government today (been there since the founding of the country), the odd thing is, in the US the citizens choose their leaders. We are still called to pray for them as much as we may not agree with their decisions.

    This also leads back to love. If we view people with whom we disagree as anything other than people for whom Jesus Christ died, we have a problem. When we behave or believe that we cannot be wrong, we have removed God from the throne of our heart and put ourselves back on it. Back to the way our hearts were before we found salvation in and through Jesus Christ.

    1) There is a strong human need for an enemy…an other. When have you been tempted (or succumbed) to treat another with whom you disagree as an enemy? What if they are family or framily?

    2) We are called to be of one mind with Christ. How does treating a Christian as an enemy make a person of one mind with Christ?

    3) One of the greatest tools of the enemy is division. How can you oppose this tool with the heart of Jesus?