Devotion.al

Tag: Son

  • The Tension of Pain and Joy

    Job 4:1-21, Psalm 77, Ephesians 2:1-10 (read online ⧉)

    Job’s friend, Eliphaz, was one of 4 friends that came to visit Job in his time of trouble. While, ultimately, they misspoke of God, at other times they spoke of God and Job. Eliphaz told Job that he was a teacher of God and a faithful believer. Wouldn’t we all want people to say these things of us? Yet, then he lectures Job about Job lamenting his situation. This exact pattern is something we have all experienced, and probably even followed.

    There has been a tendency to lecture people who are in emotional, spiritual, and/or that they need to be more joyful, more trusting, more faithful. When we look at all the woeful, lamenting words of Job, including even his questioning of God (and where God was in all of his troubles), Job did not sin. It is not to say that Job never sinned, but in the words that we have from him, he did not sin. There is something important here. It is okay to mourn, , lament.
    Part of Lent is the aura of mourning, grieving, and lamenting. The overarching theme of Lent is that we know what is coming, . The reason for Good Friday is mourning, grieving, and lamenting. The reason is sin. Sin was so deep and so pervasive only God breaking in could fix it. On the cross, the Son of God died.

    Under it all, it wasn’t that Job stopped trusting God, it was that he was hurting. Despite the anguish of Lent, underlying it there still remains truth and .

    “…God, who is rich in , out of the great with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive with Christ…”

    We must disregard the mourning, grieving, and lamenting of Lent, for when we do, we undermine the truth of Good Friday.

    1) Do you find it difficult to be joyful while grieving, mourning, or while in pain?

    2) At what point, do you think, our lamenting (grieving, mourning or pain) turns into something that dishonors God?

  • Trust and Temptation

    Genesis 3:1–20, James 1:12–16, Hebrews 2:13–18 (read online ⧉)

    The reality is that humanity has a hard time God. The story of Adam and Eve is a great allegory of humanity and . Adam, especially, should have trusted God wholeheartedly. Eve, too, should have trusted God and should have trusted Adam. However, Eve listened to the serpent. Adam, in turn, listened to Eve. They who had access to God as they did still trusted someone else over God. Part of this, it seems, is immediacy. The serpent was in their immediate surroundings. This is why the world can be dangerous to our spiritual well-being. We are in it. It has immediacy in our lives. It can pull us away from God. Even when we fully believe that we trust God, the world can still pull us away. Sometimes it will be little things. Sometimes it will be big things.

    This awareness becomes important as we go through . One of our big temptations, as we saw in the story of Adam and Eve is to blame other people. However, if we do that too much, people begin to avoid us. We, needing affection, will often turn to something else to blame. Sometimes we’ll blame political parties or government (yes, it involves people, but generally people who are disconnected from our daily lives). Sometimes we’ll blame chance. As James points out, however, we also blame God. People have blamed God for the of Adam and Eve. “God should have known and prevented it,” they’ll say. “And, since God didn’t prevent it, God cannot be good, and must be …” Yes, it goes downhill quickly. James is making that exact point. For once it is God’s fault that we are tempted, the slippery slope down to God is evil comes into play. It’s not that you couldn’t stop there, but that many can’t. There are certain Christian traditions that say (in effect) that while God perfectly controls all things, and while God is not evil, there is still evil, so it’s a .

    That doesn’t, let’s be honest, work very well. It also put into doubt as shown by the passage in Hebrews. None of us want to be tempted. So, if (the Son of God, and part of the Triune God) is tempted, that would mean that God wants God to be tempted. If we, who are fallen and sinful, don’t want to be tempted, why would God want to be tempted? It is here that we have to make a turn. God’s holiness isn’t diminished by temptation, it would be diminished if temptation was succumbed to. As Jesus didn’t succumb to temptation, Jesus’ holiness wasn’t diminished. So, what does this have to do with trust? Jesus, as a man, trusted God’s plan, and leaned on that and his love of God and his that God loved him. Jesus was tempted in alignment with God’s plan, not because God wanted the temptation to occur, but to show that Jesus was both God and man, showing people that God loved the Creation and was willing to die for it.

    1) How do your own temptations inhibit your trust of other people? How about your trust of God?

    2) How does temptation and blame go ? Why do you think that is?

    3) Other than the basic, “God is not evil,” why is it a dangerous practice spiritually to blame God?

    : Decide on one (and only one) temptation to place before God. Surrender it. Pray about it and surrender it every day.

  • The Simplest Thing

    Matthew 21:28–32, John 6:28–36 (read online ⧉)

    It’s too easy. What do I have to do? There must be something that has to be done to earn my way. Perhaps I need to be wealthy. Perhaps I have to be powerful. Perhaps I to take a series of convoluted steps, and of course start from zero if I mess up.

    Nope, it doesn’t work that way. Whew! Yet, for some reason, the simplest way oddly seems to be the hardest.

    called on people to believe. He pointed to John the Baptist, first. John the Baptist came with a message of and repentance. That was always part of God’s to those he originally called…the Israelites. The Law effectively revolved around a constant cycle of repentance and to righteousness. The Israelites (now the remnant) didn’t understand and didn’t respond to God’s messenger. It was the people that were not “in” that responded. It was the ones who were “outcasts” who responded to the message.

    When confronted by Jesus, the people asked what they had to do to receive . While Jesus said, “believe,” the parable the accompanied that was about doing the will of God, even when that’s not the desire, and not telling God that it will be done, and then going one’s own way. Belief without ends up being like the who said he would do but didn’t. The son who said no, but did still missed the ‘s .

    Actions louder than words. Actions, however, should be motivated by belief.

    1) What is the hardest thing you’ve had to believe? What made it hard?

    2) What action has been the hardest to do? Why?

    3) Which requires greater commitment, belief or action? Why?

  • 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 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 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 . 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 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 : Judah, David, Messiah, salvation, eternity. What beautiful symmetry.

    1) Does your or social circle have a “black ” (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 ?

    : 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 what is really going on in our hearts.

  • How Desperate Are You?

    Genesis 38:1–26, Ruth 1:3–14, Mark 12:18–27 (read online ⧉)

    Whether it be the situation such as with Judah and Tamar or Ruth or the one proposed by the Sadduccees, most modern American Christians skip over the that come up with these passages, as they make them uncomfortable. They are indeed not the idealized “nuclear” American of husband and wife and 2 kids. It is reasonable that it makes many people uncomfortable, though sometimes (especially with Ruth) we dress it up with similar clothing.

    Initially, Judah’s issue with Tamar was that it seemed his sons would die around her. He didn’t want another son to die. It seems somewhat reasonable. Yet, Judah still knew what was appropriate culturally, and even for his own lineage. It does seem that he planned it. One normally didn’t put a widow back into her father’s house, as it was the father-in-law’s responsibility to assure that children were produced. Something about this was off, for through his actions Judah displayed a cultural disregard for his and his sons’ duties (produce heirs). Culturally, he was highly irresponsible.
    Judah’s behavior also trapped Tamar. She was engaged to a boy who Judah didn’t want to be her husband (regardless of reason). Judah was cruel to her. While her behavior was inappropriate, she was more than Judah, which he acknowledged.* Some Biblical commentators suspect that Judah even started off wrong by “getting” a wife for his son, Er, from someone who was not of his people. If that was the case, Judah would have been an even greater disappointment.

    Ruth is often the one dressed in nuclear family “clothes”. Naomi wanted to send her away (back to her Father’s house, just like Judah did to Tamar). Catch the reasoning. Naomi knew that even were she to remarry and successfully give birth, any sons birthed would not be of age until Ruth was much older. Naomi probably wasn’t optimistic about the remarriage piece either. Naomi, interestingly enough, acted as if she was carrying the burden of her husband and sons to produce heirs. Compare that to Judah who seemed eager to avoid the whole thing.

    While the previous stories have extenuating circumstances, the “test” that the Sadducees bring to is just plain ridiculous. Of course, reasonableness wasn’t the point of the question, it was to test Jesus. It carried the “law” to its extreme. It is an interesting mental exercise to how this would work. The text implies that the seven marriages were consummated, and the text doesn’t provide a marriage timeline. That seven consummated marriages did not result in a child shows either a non-producing male lineage (a pretty severe one at that) or a truly infertile woman. Yes, this was “just” a test, but at the same time is displays how the desperation of lineage worked.

    As a culture, we have only somewhat recently grown out of that (maybe). The desperation that people felt by not have descendants is beginning to fade. It is especially becoming so today as we lose connection to the people before us. As such, it seems we might be losing something that is deeply connected to that…evangelism. Evangelism is, in many respects, reproduction. Instead of being biological, it is spiritual.

    1) What are your views on evangelism? How is that expressed by your ?

    2) Why do you think we are lukewarm about evangelism? Why are we not as desperate to evangelism as people were to have children?

    3) Many people adopt instead of having biological children. What can they teach us about evangelism?

    Action: God to give you a desperate for evangelism.

    *A quick note that Tamar later gave birth to Judah’s twin sons, Zerah and Perez. Perez is in the lineage of Jesus. Yet, another example of how a and unrighteous can be—ultimately—redeemed by Jesus Christ.

  • To Flourish

    Psalm 52, Colossians 1:3–14, 2 Peter 1:3–15 (read online ⧉)

    “But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God…” Psalm 52:8 (CSB)

    Being and becoming a flourishing olive tree should be our goal. We, of course, are not trees. We are, however, treasured creations of God that God helps to nurture into Christ-like beings. There is that tension, though, about what God to us. The Wesleyan holds that God does not force us, yet without the working in us, we are doomed to be the same. How it works is a mystery. The theologians of many traditions (not just the Wesleyan) continue to robustly discuss this. This is not bad. It is often distracting though.

    The tree…

    …is in the house of God.
    …quests for water
    …strains against the wind, and grows stronger.
    …reaches for the sun.
    …produces fruit.

    It seems obvious what the house of God is. It’s . Except that is an incomplete understanding. We often think of house as a building. בַּיִת [bayith /bah·yith/] is also used to describe household, home, family, within, descendants. What if instead of “flourishing in the house of God” we were to read it as “flourishing in the family of God?” If we were to do so, that would mean praying , groups, worship, and other related activities that we do together are covered, as long as that draws us closer to God.

    Water is always life (especially from a wilderness and livestock point of view). With Jesus referring to himself as the Water of Life it takes on an important change, and it is one that we should take very seriously. Pursuing the Water of Life means that we follow Jesus, and do our best to cast off the world to become more like Jesus, and less like the world. Pursuing the Water (another title) would also cover reading the Scriptures and praying.

    The wind aspect is a little different. The wind is both the world trying to knock us down and the Holy Spirit. We couldn’t escape some tension here. That would be too easy. The storms (the wind) of the world seek to uproot us from the solid ground that is God. The Holy Spirit pushes and shapes us to be stronger so that we can stand firmer against the world.

    Reaching for the sun would seem to be automatically related to the Son, yet the sun provides warmth (like ) and nourishment (trees need the sun to breathe and produce energy). The sun and its attributes can be found in things like families and friends.

    Lastly, though, the tree produces fruit which can take many forms (the list is far too long).

    All of this falls under the huge umbrella of spiritual growth. The two passages from Paul’s letter to the Colossians and the second letter Peter are deeply concerned about spiritual growth. Spiritual growth is not optional. In fact, to be a Christ-follower, we are (by definition) seeking to spiritually to be closer and closer to Christ. If you are not pursuing spiritual growth the question of being a Christ-followers rears its head.

    1) Looking at the list in Colossians 1:9–12 of spiritual growth, what pops out for you? Which area are you growing in? Which one are you weakest in?

    2) 2 Peter 1:5–7 is a list often used as a list of spiritual fruit. Where do you fall within the list? Do you think the list is exhaustive? Why do you think Peter ties the “fruit” together?

    3) How important do you view your spiritual growth? How about the spiritual growth of ? Why is that your view?

  • 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 church from its very beginning. The only other 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 spirit 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 Community Church, and its denomination the Church of the Nazarene, is a part) is that we baptize once. This baptism is a of a repentant 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 of Christ made it to them, but not then entirety. How the baptism that Paul performed (granted, in the of Jesus) differed from the so-called “John’s baptism” is another mystery. 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 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 confess 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?

  • Servant and Service

    Isaiah 44:21-23, Matthew 20:22–28, John 12:26 (read online ⧉)

    What is a ? That isn’t a small question. In fact, in our culture, it is a huge thing.

    The cultural implications are generally demeaning (Alfred notwithstanding). That probably has a lot to do with the cultural wound of slavery, when humans claimed ownership of . In addition, servants were often the poor or undereducated or uneducated for whom being a servant was actually an improvement from their previous circumstances. We see much of this in waitstaff or clerks or other “service industry” people. Many young people work in so-called service industries and their parents have been guilty of saying, “so you’ll know why you want a better job.” It sounds harsh, doesn’t it? On the other hand, in other cultures, servants or service industries are not so demeaned. In some European countries, for example, tipping a waiter is an insult. They are professionals and should be treated as such.

    This is incredibly important as we read the verses from Isaiah. Jacob/Israel is God’s servant. This is not intended to be a demeaning title, but one that bestows great honor. Only the Israelites had the gift of being in with God. In our culture, this “gets to be a servant” has serious overtones that damage the God-honoring view of serving God as . Our culture of individuality along with our history of service jobs and slavery looks at this as condescension and power, rather than what it is…a blessed arrangement. This is God’s perspective and it is the long-held view of Israelite and (now) Jewish thought.

    When we read Jesus’ words to his disciples, we can see (especially in the light of Isaiah’s words) just how shocking Jesus’ words actually were. Jesus was switching up the “rules”. Jesus (the of God) surrendered his divinity to serve. Jesus served as teacher, example (for a that honored God), and . In his words to his disciples, he noted the problem had with servants (sounds familiar). It was a power issue. Servants—those that serve others—are not to be dismissed due to their role or position. In fact, it would seem that servants are to actually be honored.

    We get that to some degree. As part of our church life, there are many who serve both as a calling and as an outpouring of worship (worship of God). John gives us some context that ties it all . If we serve God, we follow God. Perhaps the next time you see servant or serve in the , change it to follow or follower and see how your heart responds.

    1) What is your initial response to being a servant? Why? How do you think that response was formed?

    2) We often intellectually (i.e., unemotionally) assent or agree that God calls us to serve. Why, then, does the church lack servants? What can be done to change the culture?

    3) Have you ever been to a restaurant where the waitstaff were professionals? What was it like compared to places where the waitstaff are only in “starting” jobs?