Devotion.al

Tag: separate

  • Wisdom Bulk Up

    Wisdom Bulk Up

    ‌‌📖 Read

    ‌Psalm 147:12–20; Proverbs 1:1–7; James 3:13–18

    ‌🔎 Focus

    ‌The reverence of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise knowledge and instruction.

    Proverbs 1:7 Lamsa Version

    ‌… the from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.

    James 3:17 NRSVue

    ‌‌✟ Devotion

    ‌George Lamsa’s “reverence of the LORD” is unique among translations, as it seems every other English translation uses . Yet, the underlying understanding of fear in Proverbs 1:7 is fear based upon reverence of God, rather than other types of fear.

    ‌Why one pursues knowledge seems to becoming more critical as time goes on. People are pursuing knowledge for and . Yes, there many pursuing their dreams, but how much of that dream is about money and power, rather than a fulfillment of oneself?

    ‌In ancient times, wisdom and knowledge were often intertwined. In our modern days, we have started to understand (wisdom) that all the facts and data points do not mean that we make wise (or God honoring) decisions.

    ‌James notes that Godly wisdom has characteristics that modern knowledge does not. It is not that knowledge is bad, by no means. It is that we are seeing the consequences of what happens when knowledge is separated from Godly wisdom.

    ‌How do we bulk up our wisdom? Reading the is a big one. We are blessed to have access to the Scriptures with nearly 900 English translations (not to mention all the targeted versions of each).

    ‌What reading the Scriptures often don’t give us are prescriptions for how to do what, and that is okay. James 3:17 (see Focus) gives us descriptions for what Godly wisdom looks like. How that is lived out is up to us as we wrestle with reading the Scriptures and living among people who believe differently than we do.

    ‌🤔 Reflection

    ‌Do you see differences between wisdom of the world and Godly wisdom? How do you navigate the differences?

    ‌‌⏏️ Act

    ‌Find a Bible reading plan (if you don’t have one), even one that just covers a book (like James or Proverbs) and start it.

    ‌🙏 Prayer

    ‌Gracious God, we thank you that you have provided the Scriptures so that we might understand you better, and be better of God-honoring lives. As John called the Word, may we recall that the Word presented in the Scriptures is not to be left on a shelf, or isolated from the world outside of the pages. Help us to improve our wisdom in navigating the world in of your Word. Amen.

  • Of Flesh and Heart

    ‌📖 Read

    ‌

    Genesis 17:1-14; Leviticus 12:2-8; Jeremiah 4:3-4; Jeremiah 9:25-26; Luke 2:22-38;

    ‌🔎 Focus

    ‌

    “Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer.”—Deuteronomy 10:16 (NRSVue)

    ‌‌✟ Devotion

    ‌

    Circumcision is a core Jewish ritual. As such, we must that even was circumcised.

    ‌

    It might seem a minor thing to us, but it is far beyond a mere manifestation of the between the Jews (formerly the Tribes of Israel) and God (though, that’s pretty significant).

    ‌There are Jews who believe that Abraham was “circumcised in the heart” prior to his actual physical circumcision. The Focus Scripture was Moses’ words to the Jewish people who were circumcised. Jeremiah’s words struck the same chord.

    Circumcision is certainly more than a physical . As an act, is a separation of skin, and a symbol that is a usually hidden, but is very obvious when revealed. It is a symbol carried upon a man, that he can never just .‌‌

    In Jesus’ day (and even today), non-Jews viewed circumcision as barbaric, disgraceful, unnecessary, or any mix of these and more.

    ‌Circumcision, though (as Moses, Jeremiah, and even modern Rabbis with their take on Abraham’s circumcision of the heart note), is so much more than that.

    ‌Circumcision of the heart is a symbolic way of saying that one has separated the cares, concerns, and ways of the world from oneself. In other words, cutting off the world to be dedicated to God. It sounds severe. It is.

    ‌In , it is seems and feels more aspirational than fully achievable.

    ‌Holiness, Entire , Perfection, are three words/phrases that try to convey Circumcision of the Heart. They may actually be inadequate.

    ‌🤔 Reflection

    ‌The New Year is here. What do you need to from? What do you need to leave behind?

  • Separating Ourselves

    Separating Ourselves

    Romans 8:31–39, 1 John 4:7-12

    📖 Read

    ‌Romans 8:31–39 , 1 John 4:7–12

    ‌🔎 Focus

    ‌”…nothing…can separate us from the of God…”
    Romans 8:39

    ‌‌✟ Devotion

    ‌There is a fundamental , here, that no should ever deny. Yet, if you read the list of “separators” that Paul notes, what do you see as missing? Anything?

    ‌There are many who quote these words from Romans 8:39 that reasonably apply these to non-Christians because, “…God is love.” (1 John 4:8) This is where potential issues may arise. It isn’t only about whatever accommodation is being made, but how we understand salvation and the road to life with God.

    ‌Nothing seems so all encompassing. How could anything, then keep us from the love of God?

    ‌There are a number of things that could be reasonably argued would seem to invoke exclusion: unbelief, hatred of God, a different understanding of God, ongoing and deliberate disobedience of God’s ways.

    ‌The potential issue isn’t that God doesn’t love the unbeliever, hater, different understander, rebellious. God does. It is not false, then, to say that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

    ‌Separation from God’s love has never been the problem, at least from God’s end of things. It is our separation from God that is the issue.

    ‌Who is against us? Well, the general ways of the world are. It is our following of the ways of the world that are our separator.

    ‌Are we not given everything? Yes, insofar as we have given ourselves to God through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and doing our best to embody the way of Jesus through our living.

    ‌Who will bring charges against us? The world. The enemy. These cannot separate us. Our inner /critic can, but only if we allow it to draw us away from God. The can, but the Holy Spirit brings “charges” against us, not to condemn us, but to free us.

    ‌Can affliction, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, rulers, things (events/situations) of today or tomorrow, angels or powers separate us? No, but our to those things can.

    ‌It is here that we can agree with the Reformed (Calvinist, etc.) , that nothing outside of ourselves can separate us from the love of God. Even if we separate ourselves from God, God’s love does not fade away.

    ‌God’s unfailing love, however, does not guarantee of eternal life, and that is the rub for so many, including many Christians. It isn’t about earning God’s love, but the place that God has in your life and being.

    ‌🤔 Reflection

    • ‌Do you ever feel separated from God or God’s love? How?‌
    • Do Paul’s words you or concern you? Why?

    ‌‌⏏️ Act

    ‌Make a list of ways (including some Scripture) that you can reassure yourself of God’s unceasing love for you. Share them with another person, and see what ways they come up with.

    ‌🙏 Prayer

    ‌Every loving God, thank you for this reminder from your Apostle Paul that things outside of ourselves can never separate us from your love. Help us to restore our well-being to sense, feel, believe, and in your unceasing love. Amen.

  • How to Come Back

    How to Come Back

    1 Corinthians 11:17–33

    It’s almost over it seems. The time of being masked and constrained nears its end. On the other hand, already another strain of COVID is showing up, but the reality is that we, as an entire world, are at our limits.

    It seems great that we’re almost there, except that we really have a lot of things that we need to work through, and many of them may be far harder than COVID, masks, inoculations, and social distancing. The wounds that have opened over the last 2 years are far deeper, far more scarred, and far more gangrenous than many of us were prepared for.

    As we come back, it is far too easy and tempting to attempt to go back to old habits and practices and forget what has just happened and the mirror that we saw ourselves in. We, as Christians…we, as the church…cannot just come back.

    Many of us will “come back” to church and be unwilling to be uncomfortable. The world has trained us to be exactly like the Corinthians…divided. And, even worse, we may be more divided than the culture at large, which should terrify and condemn us.

    was speaking on how the rich self-segregated from the poor. Instead of common , it was a one. Instead of a “love feast” celebrating unity, Communion (the memorial of Christ’s death and !) shined the light on the , and it was then unworthy of the grace that Jesus had bestowed upon them.

    While we may not take Communion separately in the church, there is no question that the church is divided. Whether it is by culture, country, skin color, language, socio-economic class, or even denomination, the church is divided.

    The community that Jesus granted the world the right to judge regarding love (John 13:35), desperately needs to love one another. As we to love each other, looking beyond politics, borders, skin color, language, power, weakness, , shame, wealth, it will be hard.

    Learning to love beyond ourselves isn’t optional. For those that follow Jesus, it is an of loving obedience.

    ※Reflection※

    As you prepare to go/come back to normal, is the “old” normal really what Jesus wants from you?

    What is one thing that you will do different as the situation settles into the new way of things?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, the craziness of these last 2 years may feel like forever, and, yet, in your eyes, it was only a breath. Grant us the grace and and love to come as your disciples to show that your love can truly transform the human heart, and from the human heart transform the world. Amen.

  • Loving Presence

    Loving Presence

    Psalm 20; Exodus 25:1–22; 1 Corinthians 2:1–10

    “…so that I am present among them.” (Exodus 25:8)

    It seems like a strange statement to us as Christians. Our theology talks about God’s omnipresence (God is everywhere), so a tent doesn’t really that. The tent was, however, the place for meeting God. As part of the rhythm of the post-Egypt for the Israelites, the Tent of Meeting was the center of movement of the entire for 40 years.

    After the clearing of the Promised Land, the Tent had a semi-permanent place, and still remained the primary place of worship. The aspect of being present may have been more along the lines of the focal point. Many years later, there were seers and prophets that didn’t necessarily reside near the Tent. They met with God in their own way. Ultimately, they too had to go to the Tent of Meeting for the annual worship events.

    It reflects the reality that humanity needs that kind of physical center. As our lives become more digital, it is still to be determined whether humanity can really separate its psyche from the physical reality of existence.

    The , its digital relatives, its predecessors (TV, radio, telegraph) were not the first extended form of communication. ‘s letter to the Corinthians was also extended communication. From the ancient perspective, the letter was considered representative of the person themselves. The barriers in the ancient world (education, distance, cost) actually increased the “presence” of a mere letter. Not quite an ancient Zoom meeting.

    Diplomatic letters didn’t always have a physical meeting before. A personal letter, such as Paul’s, usually did, and we can see that it certainly did. Paul’s words to the Corinthians would be treated more seriously and intimately than an email, tweet, or Facebook post.

    Paul doesn’t shy away from his insecurities in this letter. We Christians often think of Paul as some great person (he was), but avoid his statements regarding his weaknesses. Without question, Paul would have been a champion blogger and writer of our day. He would not have likely been a convention speaker or YouTuber. Based upon his own declarations of his weaknesses, regardless of his writings, he may have never qualified to be a lead pastor of a church.

    Lead Pastor doesn’t seem to have been his gifting, so this is not a bad thing. Through his presence, though, churches and communities were launched. Through his letters, churches were built up, disciplined, and discipled. Through his life, he brought up the next generation (Timothy) to lead. We often evaluate our ministry and giftings through the lives and gifts of . Perhaps we ought to just evaluate them on whether we were present in others’ times of trouble when we had the opportunity to love them.

    ※Reflection※

    • Who is one that you wish your ministry or Christian life resembled? Why? How does your life resemble theirs? Are your spiritual giftings the same as theirs?
    • Who has made the biggest difference in your life? A famous Christian, or someone who you through your darkest times?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Christ, helps our lives to be one of presence to others that they can sense your love coming from us and pouring into them. Amen.

  • Divided Unity

    Divided Unity

    Psalm 33:12–22; Job 37:1–13; 1 Corinthians 15:50–57

    God’s might and cannot be denied. God’s is present in . A majority of people surveyed stated that they are closest (or most aware of) God when they are in “nature” (or non-humanity altered environments). As Elihu says (the person speaking in Job), God’s power is everywhere. God’s handiwork is present in all things. God has set the world in motion, while we try to keep our balance.

    In some Eastern traditions, there is a concept that this world being a training ground for the next one. In some ways, we can see truth in that, but not the whole Truth.

    This is a training ground of sorts, or perhaps a sifting place, or (to pull from the Old Testament) a threshing floor. There is a way of separating that this world is very good at.

    We can see separation in regards to skin color, nationality, “”, language, state, political-leaning, , computer operating system, game console, truck brand, and so many other things. In fact, sometimes we can be so overwhelmed by separation that any similarity is completely and utterly lost.

    Before we say, as some would, that God would never divide, that also isn’t true. The very story of Creation separates night from day, land from water, and waters from waters. The multitude of creatures and plants are created. Multitudes of kinds (even of life) is . The last one though maybe the greatest division of them all…humanity.

    A number of commentators interpret that the original Adam was not male, per se. Adam, to their understanding, was without gender. Genderless is often used to describe this Adam, yet even that is misleading, for this Adam existed prior to gender existing. It’s a nuance, but it makes the division of humanity into male and female even more divisive, for it is a form of re-creation. And that is the point.

    Division is not merely a form of destruction or alienation, as we are being confronted with daily, it is also an of Creation. You find that at the genetic level, through division new creations and new beings are formed.

    There is, from a human perspective, an ultimate division…those that know Christ as Lord and Savior…and those that don’t. Those that do known will be unified with God, each other, and in some not fully understood but divine body. Those that do not know will be forever separated, one way or the other.

    ※Reflection※

    • What are some other areas where you see division that helps?
    • What are some areas where you see helpful ?• Where might unity be unhelpful?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, guide us to what you want us to divide and what you want us unite. Amen.

  • Writings Valued

    Writings Valued

    Psalm 47; Exodus 24:15–18; Revelation 1:9–18

    Holy scriptures have always been important. Note that the “s” wasn’t capitalized. This isn’t just the Holy Scriptures we define as the Bible (the 66 books of the Old and New Testament). This could include many things.

    The Apocrypha, for example, is a collection of books of Jewish origin that are significant but are not held at the same revealed stature as the other books. Certain traditions (both Jewish and ) look a the books as wisdom and guidance, but not something one bases one’s theology on. There is the Qur’an (Islam), the Kangyur (Tibetan Buddhists), and the Vidas (Hindu).

    Then there are the other holy scriptures, the secular ones. They are “holy” insofar as people seem to venerate them as if they were truly inspired by God. This list may be off-putting, but bear with me: the Communist Manifesto, Mein Kampf, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution.

    Before you think of tar-and-feathering me, think about how many people (from fully atheist to devout religious followers) put many of the so-called secular “scriptures” in the place, it seems, of idols. Often when we of “holy” things, we what we think of as holy (religious) things from non-holy (secular) things. However, many secular texts are elevated to a point of religious fervor. So, it behooves us to recognize that there are Holy and not-so holy scriptures and they can be held in a fervent way.

    Moses and John wrote stuff down as directed. Their words became part of what we recognize and the Holy Scriptures (the Bible). They, along with other writers, contributed to the Bible under the auspices (or under the spiritual influence/directive) of God. We often this God-breathed or plenary inspiration.

    This means that, to us, the Bible is not just a collection of stories, poems, visions, or rules. It is so much more than that. It is, as some would say, the letter of God to his people, or the story of God for his people.

    To many people, though, Moses’ time in the clouds on the mountain and John’s -inspired trance are just empty stories. They put more weight in the Communist Manifesto or the US Constitution than the Bible.

    As we interact with the world around us, it is critically important to understand that there are writings that people hold as holy scriptures that are not the Bible. Our first step to sharing Christ is to understand that, for this begins to tell us what they value. If our first is to dismiss their holy scriptures, their response is that they (the people in question) are not valued.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, as we your , for you are the Word of Life, help us to honor so that we can bring your light of love and grace into their lives. Amen.

  • Open Invite

    Open Invite

    Acts 8:26–40; Psalm 22:25–31; 1 John 4:7–21; John 15:1–8

    In many respects, the story of the Ethiopian is one of my favorites. It, along with the Samaritan woman, reflects the love and of God.

    Yesterday, in Amos 9:7, Cushite was used as a disparaging term toward the Israelites infidelity to God. A Cushite is what the Old Testament calls…an Ethiopian. So, the people group used to disparage the Israelites…can have a saving relationship with Christ.

    Then there is another issue. The Ethiopian was a eunuch. Per the Law, a eunuch was not permitted in the . Granted, had redefined things a bit.

    One thing often disappears in this is the reality that one cannot reproduce biologically when one is a eunuch. However, as a one still produces children…spiritual ones (think Paul and Timothy).

    The Ethiopian was already on the spiritual journey, for he was going to at the Temple. It means that he was a worshiping as a Jew. He was, then, almost there.

    The Ethiopian is symbolic of just how outside of God’s “” a person can be, and still be called into relationship. We could dismiss the so-called minor issues of the Ethiopian, however, the Law helped to define what was holy for the Jews.

    So, this isn’t a minor thing. Instead, it shows that while God is holy and , God still makes a way for those whose hearts are open to the movement of the . That’s pretty open. God’s grace is wide open.

    ※Reflection※

    • Have you ever felt so separated from God, that God would never take you back?
    • How would you explain this grace to a person who does not understand ?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, you are the reason for this grace that we have been given. Thank you for what you did for us on the cross. Amen.