Devotion.al

Tag: sign

  • Redemption in the Darkness

    Psalm 107:1–16; Isaiah 60:15-22; John 8:12-20 (read online ⧉)

    Psalm 107:2–3
    Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    those he redeemed from trouble
    and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

    Isaiah’s stirring vision for Jerusalem is that not only of but also claiming a prominent and dominant role in the world. The nations that dominated Jerusalem would then nourish and protect it. This revitalized and restored Jerusalem would have the lost and exiled returning. A city full of woe and misery would become full of and joy.

    Isaiah’s vision continued where the basics, bronze, and iron, would be replaced by gold and silver. This is not just a of wealth, but where what was once the sign of wealth would be commonplace. In the midst of all of this is God. This new vision of Jerusalem has God at the center, and not just as the center of , but the center of all life, replacing the sun and the moon. The ebb and flow of life would be fully guided by God. The ultimate crown of , children, would be so numerous that even the smallest family group would become a clan. This is to a people lost. This is hope to a people who feel that they have nothing left.”I am the of the world,” Jesus said.Often we can find ourselves stuck in darkness. The of darkness is being able to see the smallest light. The spark of , in the darkness, can feel as if the sun is there.

    1) Have you ever experienced an inescapable (real/) darkness? What happened when you saw a light?

    2) How does Christ fit into your idea and/or experience of darkness?

  • Confessing in Trust

    Daniel 9:3-10, Psalm 25:1-10, 1 John 1:5-10

    The that many had on their foreheads yesterday are gone, either rubbed or washed off. As we read yesterday, ashes are a sign of repentance. Daniel sought God through , supplication, fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Daniel uses these 5 things not to get a reward, nor in expectation that he would get an answer because he did them. Daniel did them to put aside himself, so that he be more aware of God, and less concerned for himself.

    Prayer is a conversation. Especially during , we can be deliberate in speaking less, and listening more. Supplications are not the list of things we want, think we need, health, wealth, and so on, but it is in the spirit of saying, “God, please use me. God, please me to fulfill your purpose.” Fasting is often food, as it is essential to live. In our of plenty, fasting can be a powerful spiritual tool, as it reminds us of our , and the blessor, God our Father.

    Sackcloth was what people wore to show that they were repenting or mourning. It was very uncomfortable. This cloth rubbing against one’s bare skin was another reminder that things were not as they ought to be. Daniel, a man of importance, wearing sackcloth would have been very unusual, and would have likely caused a stir, and would have likely been humiliating for a person whose focus was on himself, rather than God.

    1) In Psalm 25:1-10, the psalms writes, “…in You I …”. How is your trust of/in God doing?

    2) In 1 John 1:5-10, confession is cornerstone of our release from sin. Confession is hard when we have to to , because it requires trust. When you confess to God, is it easy because you trust God, or is it easy because you think God is distant or not listening?

    3) What practices of confession do you follow? Are they enough?

  • Grateful In Ashes

    Joel 2:12-17, Psalm 51:1-17, 2 Corinthians 4:21-6:10 (read online ⧉)

    Through the prophet Joel, God sought to realign the life of the Israelites to Him. God was calling them to live a life oriented to Him. God didn’t want them to miss out on the life they were meant for. As we begin the Lenten season, it is a time for each of us to reflect upon what in our life is keeping us from being oriented on Him.

    From the early days of our , Christians have observed the remembrance of Christ’s passion (Good Friday) and (Easter) with great reverence. It became the custom to prepare for that observance by a season of prayer and fasting, and the reconciliation of those who had been separated from the of faith. When keeping the season of Lent, we take to heart God’s call to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel, and practice in our daily lives the work of reconciliation. You are invited to the observance of Lent through self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word.

    On Ash Wednesday, many people to receive the mark of ashes, which is a reminder of our mortal nature and of God’s invitation to receive Christ’s redeeming work. The ashes are a sign of repentance, that one’s life is not as God-focused as it ought to be. It is a declaration that all is not well, that something needs to change.

    As we walk through Lent, through our paths of reflection, self-denial, and repentance, this is all part of our of gratitude to God who sent Jesus Christ, the ultimate letter, to us that we can see that God wants us as His Children.

    1) up something (self-denial and/or fasting) is often practiced during Lent. The purpose is to closer to God. If you choose to do this, what will you give up? We challenge you to whatever this is with someone who will hold you accountable.

    2) Other practices for Lent are focused prayer, self-examination, deeper scripture reading, all of which are intended to draw us deeper and to slow us down. What will you focus on this Lent to grow your Christian walk?

    3) One of the newer trends is to give up something you know you need to give up already. Do you think that could be effective as a spiritual ? Why or why not?

  • Follow the Call

    1 Samuel 2:27–3:18, 1 Samuel 16:1–13, Matthew 7:15–27 (read online ⧉)

    Often we are oblivious to God’s . We succumb to the world’s perspective that things “just happen” and we “earned” it all. While in some regards there is in the world’s words, there is a conflict between the underlying great Truth that undergirds many of the world, and Christians. Much of the world believes that there is no God or (at best) God “set and forgot” the world and walk away. Christians, on the other hand, believe that God is active and moving in the world, especially through the work of the Spirit who works through each of us.

    Eli was aware of God. Yet, he chose to disregard God’s blessings by allowing his sons and servants to ignore the Law about the sacrifices. What Eli was thinking is not in the . His was either fatalistic or more along the lines of disbelief. One would think that disbelief was far from Eli’s thought process, especially with the morning’s revelations from Samuel. There is no or mention of repentance. Yes, Eli was upset with his sons, just not upset enough to place God before them.

    The story of Saul follows a somewhat similar line as Saul’s behavior was a lack of in God. That lack of faith removed the kingdom of Israel from Saul’s (and his descendants’) hands before it was even firmly established. Saul’s efforts were vapor in the wind. Still, he strived and strived. Despite having had God-directed encounters, unbelief still ended up sending him down a path that wasn’t what he wanted.

    Sometimes God calls us to great things. Sometimes God calls us to small things. From small to large, God calls us. Sometimes what we think are great things (that are beyond our abilities or gifts) are really only a collection of a lot of small (even tiny) little steps of following God’s on our lives. Sometimes it is only when we look back and see the little things stack up that we realize how large and great God’s call was on our lives.

    No matter what stage of life we are in, we are always called to follow God into new things.

    1) What do you think Eli’s s struggles were based on? Pride? Unfaithfulness? Tiredness?

    2) Have you had a refreshing of God’s call on your life? If so, what it is? If not, will you pursue it?

  • Give Us More to Bear

    Psalm 119:9–16, Proverbs 2:1–22, Ephesians 1:17–19 (read online ⧉)

    There is an old editorial cartoon…2 people come up to a fence with a . On the sign it reads, “do not cross over fence.” One person says to the other, “ rules are meant to keep you under control,” and the person jumps over the fence. The fence? Well, it was to keep a person from going over the cliff…

    On the opposite of the spectrum is the sheer number of choices people have regarding food, toiletries, college majors, college , cars, homes, and so on. In fact, since Barry Swartz wrote The Paradox of Choice in 2004, psychologists and anthropologies have started to document what happens when we have too much choice…we actually become paralyzed in our thinking: analysis paralysis. There have also some business studies that show when there are boundaries, people make more creative and even out-of-the- solutions to solve problems.

    The rules that Adam and Eve…correction, the single rule that Adam and Eve had to follow…they didn’t. apologists and theologians have for centuries knocked the rules set out in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy as overly onerous. Yet, the civic code for many cities far outweighs the 613 rules (both positive and negative ones) that were a result. There are around 200 basic rules for American Football. If you add the permutations/variables, some counts put it close to 400. Think about that for a moment. People declare that the rules were too hard in ‘ time, but scream at the television during a football because the referee got the wrong (maybe).

    A report from 1982 (the last time this was attempted) put the number of federal crimes as around 3000. First, that was 1982. While some offenses have definitely been eliminated, have been created. Even the U.S. Federal Government cannot count how many laws, regulations, and even criminal offenses there are. This also doesn’t account for other rules regarding international behavior, nor does it cover states, nor does it cover counties, nor does it cover cities. Any organization you are a member of (including businesses, schools, churches) have their own sets of rules, too. Just setting aside speeding, most people break laws every day, and a lot of them we may not even know (if the monitors of the laws don’t even know what the laws are).

    We don’t seem to mind the laws of man. In fact, in pretty much every election cycle there is some call for some new regulation/law/crime…but God better not tell us what to do! There is something…bothersome…that just bugs us that God tells us, “no”. Part of it, so it seems, is that we think we understand other humans. So, we regulate them to protect ourselves. We push for laws for “them”, but don’t think of ourselves as “them”. Of course, “they” want to regulate us, so they pass their laws, too.

    God, on the other hand, really is not the God of regulations. That’s a thing. God gives us free will. God did us boundaries. As the Creator, God might just happen to know what is best for us. Still, we seem to struggle.

    1) What is the one “don’t” from God that you struggle with? Are sure that is a God don’t, and not a human don’t?

    2) Human don’ts can be good, too. What human don’t (or don’ts) can you think of that align with God’s?

    3) Why do you think it appears to be easier to obey 3000+ human laws, but harder to obey 613 of God’s laws?*

    *Note that the 613 laws are being used as an example and to make a point. They are not automatically rules for life. Jesus Christ transformed the Law into something completely different.

  • Bacon Obedience

    Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Deuteronomy 11:13–21, Numbers 15:37–41 (read online ⧉)

    According to some people, bacon deserves its own food group. There is a somewhat true adage, cook bacon and the men will come. Sad, but true. A mercifully short culinary path was bacon everything: bacon mints, bacon gum, bacon ice cream, bacon shaped bandages, bacon jelly beans. Pretty much the bacon theme was done. And some of it was just disgusting. In Israelite (and subsequent Jewish) culture/, pigs were unclean animals. They weren’t to be eaten. There is a lot of speculation as to why pigs were prohibited. One of the theories revolves around a particular parisite that was common in pigs (and is still an issue today to a far lesser degree). Another theory is that pigs are, effectively, scavengers. They eat pretty much anything. That has its own health issues. Scavengers and bottom feeders (think shellfish) were also prohibited food. A slightly off-the-beaten-path theory is that pigs are so easy to raise for food, that (and other clean animals) were a manifestation of God’s blessings of the Israelites.

    The Shema Yisrael (this collection of today’s passages) isn’t about bacon or pork, or even food. It is about a with God. The tassels (Numbers 15:27) were another physical manifestation of a person declaring their loyalty to God. By their food (or lack of particular kinds) and clothing, they displayed that they were in relationship and fellowship with God. We focus a lot on the “rules” in the Old Testament. Yet, the rules were never the point. The rules were actually the that the Israelites loved God more than other gods, cultures, nations, or tribes. They were to show that God was more important to them than anything or anyone else.

    The world is a mixed bag when it comes to obeying the food laws of the Old Testament. Certain traditions hold to some of them. Some hold to a “Garden of Eden” level. Most of the Christian world, however, does not view the Old Testament dietary laws as binding. Of course, while perhaps not viewing them as binding, they look at them as guidelines and will try to follow them to some degree. So, no bacon for you.

    If you don’t like bacon, that’s easy for you. However, it isn’t about the bacon. It’s about the relationship. In the Christian circle, even among those the food adherents, that is the recognized reality. Even in the Roman Catholic church (often being accused about being more about law than ) acknowledges and teaches that relationship is primary. It’s not as if rules and practices are bad, quite the contrary. It is the reason between the practices and rules that is important: love of God.

    1) How do rules affect and influence between people?

    2) If, through prayer, God revealed that you had to never eat your favorite food again (even bacon), what would you do? Why? Would you struggle?

    3) Bacon can also provide an allegory to our spiritual . Something that God forbade one, may have not forbidden another. How do you interact with people whose forbidden thing (, pot, smoking, pork, movies, etc.) is different than yours? What is your forbidding thing or things?

  • Anointed, Ordained, and Consecrated

    Exodus 28:39–43, 1 Peter 2:4–5, 1 Corinthians 12:27–30, Revelation 5:9–10 (read online ⧉)

    In the Protestant tradition, of which we are a part*, there has long been a stance about the Priesthood of All Believers. The primary principle is that Jesus is the ultimate and eternal priest, so there is no longer a need for a mediator between humanity and God. In theology and on paper it sounds great, but in general, we don’t seem to do well with it. There are some traditions that have managed it through the years, but they are few and far between.

    Most of this has to do with the need for organization and administration. Contrary to many people’s thinking, that isn’t a bad thing. If you were to read the account in Genesis, you would see an organized and hierarchal pattern (and that isn’t just humanity’s place).

    Despite a long-standing tradition of the Priesthood of All Believers in almost all Protestant traditions (yes, there is an exception), theologically and organizationally we don’t believe or function wholly that way. We read in 1 Corinthians that organizational roles were essentially spiritualized, so we certainly are not outside of the .

    Without question, there is a tension, and it is a tension well worth thinking on. We call on pastors to teach and guide us. The role of elder in our is more part of a decision-making body than spiritual leadership (Note: this is observation, not a commentary. They do hard work.). These aren’t the only roles in the church. Each of us has a role to play. The big issue is when we pawn our role onto another since they have a “role” and we don’t. Except we do.

    There is a lot of creative liberty in the following, yet sometimes it’s necessary to breakdown our thought processes.
    Moses is the “true” mediator in this story, yet he will leave (die) and the practice will remain.

    Step 1: Anoint
    We generally practice this in times of . However, if we look at it in more general terms, baptism could be a form of anointing. Yes, it’s different. On the other hand, it too is a physical of something that a person is participating in and allowing. You have been baptized (if not, talk to someone about that) into the of God.

    Step 2: Ordain
    This is a little trickier, as we have a certain traditional understanding of “ordain”. In Hebrew, מָלֵא (maleʾ, malaʾ /maw·lay/) is more often translated as fill or fulfill. Sounds a bit like the Holy filling up the disciples on Pentecost, and what is supposed to be inside every person who claims Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

    Step 3: Consecrate
    This is the easiest, as it means set apart. Sounds similar to the list in 1 Corinthians. We each have been set apart for our role to fulfill the Great Commission as a member of the body of Christ, the Church.

    1) Everyone has a role in the Priesthood of All Believers. What is yours? If you believe you don’t have one, seek the guidance of other believers, friends, and family. Everyone has a role, and spectator isn’t one of them.

    2) People often believe they have no place to belong (whether at home, church, work, school, etc.). When we fulfill our roles, we often find our place to belong. Why do people, then, seem to want to put their role onto others?

    3) Why might it be important to think of yourself as anointed, ordained, and consecrated?

    *as Generations Church, part of the Church of the Nazarene

  • Why of Baptism

    John 1:19–28, John 3:22–28, Acts 19:1–7 (read online ⧉)

    Baptism holds a central place in the Christian from its very beginning. The only other act that is of equal or perhaps greater importance is the (i.e., ). Today, it is the ceremony/event by which people are welcomed into the church universal. Over the generations, when and how it is performed changes. The underlying of it, however, has not changed.

    John’s “Baptism of Repentance” was in the of what was already occurring. Baptism (in different forms) was performed after a vow was completed or could be seen in ritual cleansing that the Jews practiced. The general practice and theology of the larger Christian church (of which Generations Church, and its denomination the Church of the Nazarene, is a part) is that we baptize once. This baptism is a sign of a repentant heart and that the person seeks to join (and does so by being baptized) the Body of Christ. The transformation from cleansing and repentance (John the Baptist’s baptism and Jewish practice) to re-birth and a new family was probably unexpected. We cannot forget we know “the end of the story,” meaning we cannot put our understanding on those that came before.

    The interesting thing is that what John’s baptism meant was even in question when he was alive. Apparently, there was an argument over John’s baptism and purification (probably related to the vows and ritual cleansing already mentioned). John wasn’t worried about any of that. His concern was making way for the Messiah. His disciples were the ones having a (perhaps pointless) argument with a fellow Jew. Even as we look at this part of the story in wonder, how baptism works (and doesn’t) and changes people (and doesn’t) is still a point of contention for some. Like many things of God, we wonder (and develop complicated theology) about how it works. The point is that it works because God said so.

    It does make it more curious as we get to Paul and the people of Ephesus. Somehow the story and redemption of Christ made it to them, but not then entirety. How the baptism that Paul performed (granted, in the name of ) differed from the so-called “John’s baptism” is another . Many great answers could be given. However, it is the result of this baptism that can cause a little heartburn in many of today’s Christians, and that is the gifts of the Holy Spirit that manifested (tongues and prophesying). There are certain traditions that state that a baptism is only valid if some sort of manifestation occurs. If so, that means there are many baptisms that are invalid (which is their point).

    The true evidence of baptism is the act itself. If a person is willing to publicly that Jesus is their Lord and Savior, saving them from their sin and that Jesus is the Son of God, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit as God, then the church confesses that this baptism is true.

    The one thing that perhaps the church at large has lost is the remembrance of baptism. Something that is pivotal in the life of a believer (even if, perhaps especially, it happened as an infant). While a person may only be baptized once, we are all called to ours.

    1) Who “created” baptism? Why is that important?

    2) Do you do anything to remember your baptism? Why or why not?

    3) When you have witnessed a baptism of another, which one was the most powerful to you? Why?