Devotion.al

Tag: righteous

  • And Now We Worship

    And Now We Worship

    Psalm 142; Amos 9:11–15; Luke 7:31–35

    As mentioned previously, Amos’ mission was to the Israelites, the nation of the 10 tribes that separated from Judah and Benjamin. As part of the “rebellion” the leader of the Israelites, Jeroboam, made 2 golden calves for local to protect his “kingship” from reverting to Judah and Jerusalem should the people of Israel choose to faithfully worship at the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:26–33). He was quite successful.

    As the Temple had remained in Jerusalem, and the false worship at Bethel (gold calf), it seems strange to mentions the “tent of David”. The original Tent of Meeting was replaced by the Temple. The Temple in Jerusalem wasn’t destroyed. The temple of false worship in Bethel would fall in a few years due to an earthquake. The people of Israel no longer claimed David as one of their own (1 Kings 12:16–17).

    The best way to explain this is to understand the underlying message of Amos: false worship was separating the people of Israel permanently (by their actions, not God’s) from God. True/pure/heartfelt worship would reunite the people of Israel with God. In other words, the false temple won’t help you (and the implication that even the Temple in Jerusalem wouldn’t). Only being someone “after” God’s own would restore things as they ought to be. The message to the Israelites was, be David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

    However, no matter how we slice it or define it, we will often worship that which isn’t God, thinking that it will bring us closer to God. Quite often it is behavior. And, while certain behaviors (repentance, love of God, worship of God) will, we all too often confuse which behaviors.

    Take ‘ words as shared by Luke. John the Baptist and Jesus the Prophet (yes, the Messiah, but for this point, we’ll leave it as prophet) didn’t fit into idealized behaviors that were expected. John wore uncomfortable clothing (a type worn by ascetics as a form of penance or self-denial), and ate “cakes” of dried honey and locusts (yum?). They said he had a demon. John the Baptist, for the record, was unique in his ministry, not his “taste” in clothing and food.

    The same people that questioned John the Baptist’s sanity, purity, and , used a completely different measurement tool for Jesus. Jesus dared to drink a lot (whether it was high alcohol or not was never the argument of his contemporaries), eat a lot (he was probably a popular guest), and spend time with the less socially advantaged.

    Bluntly, these almost -for-word statements have been used by far too many Evangelicals (even the demon-one) against Christians of other traditions (and sometimes even within). Far too many worship (yes, worship) forms of worship and obedience far more than they worship God.

    There is, of course, a slippery slope. That, too, is an issue worth pointing out. If everything is allowed, then the holiness and of God are impinged upon. The to do “whatever” is also often worshiped and causes its own troubles (Romans 5:20–6:14).

    Who, what, how we worship are all critical considerations for our lives of faith. We just need to be careful that which we unrighteous (or otherwise inappropriate) worship is not because of the way we see it, rather than how God sees it.

    ※Reflection※

    • What does worshiping as a person after God’s own heart look like? How might it be different than your current practices? How might it be the same?
    • Why do we often overcomplicate the worship of God? What kind of actions have you experienced that have hampered your worship of God? Have those same actions been a vital part of another’s worship experience?
    • How does the worship in our hearts work with or against the worship of our actions (i.e., body)?

    ※Prayer※

    Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen. [Ephesians 3:20–21]

  • Moving Pain

    Moving Pain

    Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32; Job 38:1–11; 2 Corinthians 6:1–13; Mark 4:35–41

    The right time. God moved at the right time. God’s timing is perfect.

    From a purely intellectual standpoint, these are easy to say. It is much harder to say this in the midst of trial and be at peace with that . We will often tell ourselves that we God, but that doesn’t mean we are at peace with it.

    Sometimes we aren’t called to be at peace with it.

    Pain, whether , emotional, or spiritual, is God’s gift to us that something is wrong. One of the biggest ones is the pain of loss, particularly . Death is the ultimate indicator that something is wrong in .

    Pain also often indicates that you need to do something. Just sitting in your pain, because you trust God’s timing or are “at peace” about, is not always the right or righteous .

    Pain, oddly enough, can also be disguised in positive events and positive moments, as these moments of transition mean letting go of the past.

    The disciples didn’t just sit in their pain (). They woke Jesus up. That was wise.

    (and Timothy) didn’t just sit in their pain that the Corinthians appeared to be abandoning them or letting their love (of Paul and Timothy and/or God) cold. A letter was and delivered. It was said aloud and shared among the Corinthians (and other churches).

    Job didn’t just sit. He carthartically released his pain. We often think of the Book of Job as Job mostly sitting with the others. While he is, Job is also doing what a lot of us try to do when we are in pain (spiritual and emotional, especially)…we process.

    ※Reflection※

    • What pain are you working through right now? What is the biggest obstacle for you in it?
    • How is your pain impacting those around you, particularly those who are closest to you?
    • How is your pain impacting your daily life and choices?

    ※Prayer※

    God, you gave us pain to guide us. Help us to look at the pain we are dealing with to see how you can use it to transform us. Amen.

  • Port Wise

    Port Wise

    Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32; Job 29:1–20; Acts 20:1–16

    “Any port in a storm!”

    From a strictly practical standpoint, that sailor quip makes sense. Yet, the port may have dangers of its own that were unexpected. If, for example, naval ships from opposing sides set anchor in the same bay due to a storm, once the storm abated, a different storm might begin.

    Security is a multi-faceted need. We recognize our need for security in realms like jobs, health, food, protection. We have become so accustomed to increased safety that new “security” items are released into the market every year.

    Security, though, is a double-edged sword, especially if you are not practicing and spiritual discernment. In certain places in the world, people place themselves under the protection of strong men and gangs. They know that the person or people they are being “protected” by are as bad, or worse, than , but some protection is better than none.

    People will place their security in the hands of politicians (this is pretty universal across the spectrum, except for anarchists and somewhat libertarians). Much of the political rancor that we are dealing with is how people feel most protected or safe. Even those saying we are protecting your freedom imply that they are protecting your freedom from “them”.

    While this is relatively easy to point to in politics (though often not easy), it may well be a bigger issue in the church and within the faith context of Christianity.

    Of course, there is the easy to identify, “all religions are equal,” safe port that provides zero to most religions, as most claim to have some sort of ultimate . That ultimate truth is usually not the same as other religions. Thus, all religions are not equal.

    The slightly harder “safe ports” are religions dressed up in clothes, but have significantly different starting, middle, and ending points. The primary two are the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Latter-Day (Mormons). At least, in the beginning, the Jehovah’s Witnesses were successful because they pulled at many people’s desires to be like others. The Mormons are often successful because they really help others in ways that we need to learn.

    The harder safe ports are things like prosperity and the health & wealth “gospels” which attribute in health and/or wealth to one’s faith (and usually one’s giving). This actually has echoes in the Jewish tradition, too (and teachings that Jesus opposed).

    Those were all the easy ones. In reality, the hard ones are beyond the scope of this. They include acts with cold hearts, loving words empty of loving acts, giving financially without giving of oneself, giving of oneself without giving financially (though this one is not so clear cut), calling oneself a or Jesus Follower and not (or even pursuing) a holy life.

    ※Reflection※

    • What “safe” things or ways of thinking have drawn you away from Jesus?
    • What “safe” things or ways of thinking that were originally good changed to capture you, inhibiting your life with Christ?
    • What are some of the safe things or thoughts that you currently have? Have you looked at them through the lens of Jesus Christ?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, be the Lord of our heart and the keeper of our souls that we be safe from the trials, tribulations, and temptations of the world. Amen.

  • All About Me

    All About Me

    Psalm 130: Genesis 3:8–15; 2 Corinthians 4:13–5:1; Mark 3:20–35

    Self-examination is probably one of the hardest Christian practices. It is probably also the one most needed today. When we do our self-examination properly, we are better equipped to recognize some issues we have that inhibit our continued transformation into the likeness of Christ.

    First, the . Paraphrasing the psalmist, God forgives. God forgives a lot. In regard to God’s , that promise was ultimately fulfilled by . Through Jesus, we are gifted a way to approach God that those before did not have. Through Jesus, we are graced with being able to approach God in ways that those around us (that don’t know Jesus) cannot understand.

    From the passage of Genesis, we can see a number of issues that we can also see in ourselves. Only the serpent didn’t point at someone else. You might that there was no one else to blame, except that there was. The serpent could have blamed God with blaming God for making the serpent. Humans use that argument all the time.

    While we often use and this particular aspect as blaming , there is also the aspect of the stance that the others’ sins being greater than our own. This is something of which we are all guilty and thus all the as a whole. Self- allows us to see this in ourselves, and then bring Christ to the fore of our thoughts and reactions, rather than ourselves.

    The situation surrounding Jesus—where his called him crazy and the legal experts accused him of being possessed by or in league with Satan—seems to be (especially for the legal expert) more of a look at him (Jesus), don’t look at me, but look at me being all righteous and concerned. As we about our daily lives, it is easy to be swept up in the emotions of the moment. Unless those emotions are truly of God, they can sweep us into places that lead us away from God. Often they come from a place of self-preservation. This is why establishing a practice of self-reflection is an important practice for us to develop.

    ※Reflection※

    • When was the last time you reviewed your responses through the lens of Christ?
    • Why do you the practice of self-reflection needs to be regular (even daily)?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us to be shaped by you. Amen.

  • The Right Food

    The Right Food

    Psalm 130; Isaiah 28:9–13; 1 Peter 4:7–19

    The Psalm is a cry to people to hold onto God. Not the “opiate of the masses” that Karl Marx spoke of, but an active holding on that requires us to intimately with God, and pay attention to what God says to us. Our whole being is to hope on and in God. That is certainly no opiate (dulling of the senses or thought processes) that Karl Marx alluded to.

    The opiate that Karl Marx alluded to was more along the lines of “the people” dulling their through the “opium” of , dulling the senses and dulling the pain of . Within the context of his writings, it made sense (and was in many ways correct) insofar as often the aristocracy (though now just as much elected leaders) used religion to suppress . Hence many progressive Christians declaration that Jesus was a revolutionary that intended to overthrow organized religion.

    In many respects, Marx was correct. Religion “dulls” the pain of a senseless world. Religion provides a framework from which to view the world. Where Marx fell short, from a Christian view, is that he still looked to people to solve the issue. For someone of Jewish descent who converted to Christianity, we might be able to grasp that perhaps Marx’s perspective of religion might not be as insightful as many would like it to be.

    Truly, though, as we read in Isaiah, it’s not as if the Israelites were much better. Basically, Isaiah was calling the Israelites unweaned babies who couldn’t even speak coherently. “Tsav letsav, tsav letsav; qav leqav, qav leqav” is idiomatic wording for baby talk. Even by the time of Isaiah, from God’s point of view, it seems the Israelites hadn’t even gotten onto solid food (also see 1 Corinthians 3:1–23).

    God’s seems more to be, “okay, if you want to throw your childish temper tantrum because you don’t want to grow up in your faith and trust; so be it.”

    Right now, in the current age, it seems we are surrounded by people throwing temper tantrums…and some of them bear Christ’s ! Peter’s words that judgment is upon God’s own household…that’s us! You may feel that God’s choosing the issue on your heart. You may be right. You may feel that God is not choosing the issue that someone else sees. You may be wrong.

    The words from Peter that should catch us, “…if the are barely rescued…” Those words should take your away. Maybe they should cause you to fall on your knees in prayer.

    ※Reflection※

    • What do you think is religious baby food or milk? What makes it that?
    • What do you think is religious solid (“adult”) food? What makes it that?
    • Reading Peter’s and Isaiah’s words, what are signs of spiritual adulthood? Which ones are you displaying in your life?

    ※Prayer※

    God, sometimes we succumb to our human frailties. Sometimes we just want to be kids again, and give up all responsibility. Help us to lead those around us, and those that follow us to be weaned followers of Christ. Amen.

  • Is It Yours?

    Is It Yours?

    Genesis 16:1–6; Romans 4:1–12

    Abraham (Abram) did as his wife asked of him (the Hebrew translates to “beseech” or “pray”) and went to Hagar. Unlike Sarah (Sarai), Hagar becomes pregnant. As Sarah was focused on Abraham having children (perhaps more so than Abraham, it seems), you would think she would be satisfied. Of course, with a being the focus of the entire arrangement, it altered the relational structures. Now Sarah’s desires became in conflict with the implicit of Hagar and the son.

    Abraham would, of course, treat Hagar differently. He’d had intimate contact with her, and she was the mother of his son. Based on Abraham’s to Sarah, though, there was still a recognition that this was still not alright.

    In many respects, Abraham (even though he was honoring his wife’s plea) was unrighteous in what he did, at least from our perspective. It was common at the time, though the do say, one man and one woman.

    Yet, Genesis records God considering Abraham as . brings it up, too. The key is that Abraham is credited as righteous (or as Paul states, made righteous). That doesn’t make Abraham righteous in one sense. God “made” or “considered” Abraham righteous, so Abraham was now righteous.

    Paul’s point is that we, like Abraham, are now righteous not because we are, but because we believe in Christ. It’s humbling—or it should be—that the that we (should) cling to is not ours. It is a of grace.

    ※Reflection※

    What is YOUR definition of righteousness? Is your definition of righteousness different for worldly “things” than it is for “Heavenly” things?

    ※Prayer※

    God, thank you for calling us righteous while we are still unrighteous. Thank you, Holy , for working in us to make us more like we ought to be like…Jesus Christ. Amen.

  • What A Sight

    What A Sight

    Numbers 22:1–35

    Moab feared Israel. Israel “just” had a military victory against major forces around Moab. Israel had marched around Moab and yet hadn’t done anything directly against Moab. Moab was deeply concerned that they were next.

    According to Moses (in Deuteronomy 2:9), God had directed him to leave Moab alone.  There is no record of “official” interaction between the Moabites and Israel, so it would seem that Moab’s fears were based on assumptions rather than experience. Which leads us to Balaam.

    The King of Moab called upon Balaam to the Israelites. Accusing the Israelites of being, basically, locusts seems to be a case of hyperbole. Yet, there was unsurety in Moab. It’s safer to wipe out the “other” than to communicate with them.

    At first, it seems that Balaam was a righteous God-follower. As we continue the story, it seems that perhaps it was not quite so. There is an implication that God condescends to Balaam going to prophesy on King Balak’s behalf. The “go” seems to be more along the lines of, “You can go. You’re going to anyway. So, I will use your desires to bring glory to me (God).”

    And then we come to the famous part of the story, which recently came up in a conversation. The entirety of the conversation was about a talking animal. Which I get it. None of us have had an animal speak to us in human .

    While human speech is important, our dog communicates just fine: whines, stares, growls, barks, licks, gnaws, pounces on, and so forth. She generally is successful in communicating her needs without human speech. A human baby communicates. It’s usually the parents who get the subtle differences between, “I’m hungry” cry, and “my stomach hurts” cry.

    We could blame children’s Sunday School for the emphasis on a talking beast of burden. The adults are just as nonplussed as the children, though. The talking animal wasn’t the point of the story, not even close.

    The talking animal was more along the lines of, “Yes, you (Balaam) said you heard me (God), but you need to understand how important it is that you actually listen to me!”

    In the , preachers/pastors/teachers will often say something along the lines of, “Yes, this hard, but the Scriptures say…” Part of this is the reality that preachers/pastors/teachers don’t want to deliver hard truth. It’s hard, and we all want to be liked. In a that respects the Word of God, that can work.

    Balaam probably doesn’t have that particular protection. Like many people of , and especially with the gods of that era and place, they thought with the right amount of money or right sacrifice they could “move” gods to do their will. God doesn’t work that way, and Balak would likely have little joy in being thwarted.

    However, that talking donkey and then the vision of the sword-bearing angel? That imagery was probably quite strong in Balaam’s eyes and . Likely, it was that which gave him the to deliver the oracles for Israel despite Barak’s insistence on curses.

    A vision/experience like that would many of us the strength to face the world.

    ※Reflection※

    • When you recall the talking donkey, what else do you recall? Do recall the of the story?
    • Why is important, especially with stories like this, to understand that the Scriptures use imagery?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, may we have the strength of your vision as we navigate the chaotic waters of this world. Amen.

  • Prophetic Testing

    Prophetic Testing

    Deuteronomy 13:1–5

    Prophetic words are very common in times of unrest. Much of the Old Testament are prophetic words during times of unrest. The times of unrest were because the people of Israel didn’t follow God. Since their focus was on the world, God became a bit player in their lives.

    This should sound familiar. The last decade or so has had many “prophetic” words spoken. Most of the ones given attention were of the white evangelical variety.

    Whether they were racist diatribes against Obama, misogynistic diatribes against Hillary Clinton, or (really) attempts at assassinations of any so-called “liberal” leader, it was out-of-hand. It also shows how much the white evangelical /culture was in “the hands” of a singular political party.

    However, despite the “airplay” of much of this, there was just as much towards whichever “evil” Republican or “conservative” that was the focus of the day. It just wasn’t publicized.

    Perhaps, someone reading this will say, “See, it’s because ‘they’ are biased!” That isn’t the issue for Christians. The real issue is that the church thinks that it is effective by walking hand-in-hand with earthly .

    The prophetic testing in this passage in Deuteronomy is interesting. One of the biggest tests of a prophet is, do their words come true? Another part of the test, do miracles happen? The church has done okay on the first, and not-so-good on the second.

    It is the third test, however, that is the crucial one, does this draw us away from God?

    By far, it isn’t solely an (US) American issue. It is an earthly powers issue, and the church is tempted around the world to succumb.

    How’s this for a test? Does the person seek to make the “other” the ? Not their struggles, their opinion, even their sins…the person themselves.

    If there really is an Imago Dei (the Image of God) in every human being, then is defining the “other” as “the enemy” is defining God as the enemy? This is how earthly politics work.

    The third test, then, becomes does this “prophetic” word turn people against the Imago Dei?

    Over the last 4 years, much attention and vitriol have poured out in the US (and then overflowed into the world). Most of it was based upon and (and here’s another test: did you say to yourself, yes, “their” pain and fear, and not acknowledge yours?).

    Without question, there was a lot of Godly anger. Without question, there was a lot of earthly self-righteous anger. Amid it all, there were Godly prophetic voices and earthly prophetic voices dressed in holy guise.

    ※Reflection※

    What “voices” do you (really) listen to in your ? What is the spiritual background of those voices? What is the spiritual expression (how do they live out their lives, versus words) of these “voices”? Do the voices ever challenge your way(s) of thinking?

    ※Prayer※

    God, forgive us for not actively listen for and to your . Forgive us for not testing the words of against your Word. Amen.