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Devotion.al

Tag: Son

  • Worthy Legacy

    Psalm 84, 1 Chronicles 28:1–29:9

    When we speak of legacy, it is usually about what we leave behind. In Shakespeare’s play Julias Caesar, Anthony says, “The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.” That sad truth is that often the bad that people do (even if simple, stupid mistakes) outlast the good. Even the awareness of the good (even good that outweighs the bad) fades, as we seem to be attracted to the bad.

    Planning your legacy is important. If you are a parent of younger children, start thinking about it now. If your children are middle- or high-school, it takes a different kind of planning. If your children are out of the house, yet a different. If you have no children, pour into those younger than you. Legacy isn’t a future thing, it is an action for the now.

    David wanted to act now to build a temple for God. He made the building plans. He probably started storing supplies for the building. He was ready to go! Then he was stopped by God. Was his legacy to be stopped by God? In a way. There is definitely Godly wisdom separating the warrior king and his warrior ways from God’s holy temple. One can infer that while God (because of humanity’s fallen nature) tolerated and used war to preserve the Israelites, it really wasn’t the goal or intention. Despite being stopped, however, David’s plans still came to fruition.

    When David’s son, Solomon, became king, the temple project went from plans to fruition. The temple is still referred to as Solomon’s Temple, yet David designed (with Godly inspiration) and provided for its construction. While it was “Solomon’s Temple”, it was still David’s legacy. Through David’s legacy, people worshiped God. David just didn’t get all the credit.

    1) Our best legacy can often be what could have had our name attached but doesn’t. What legacies can you think of that would still be worthwhile even if you are forgotten as part of it?

    2) It’s never too late to start a legacy. Even if your family is broken, or you are broke. You choose your legacy. What legacy will you choose?

    3) We all leave a legacy. It may only last a generation in a form we recognize. How can a legacy transform and grow beyond what we ourselves did?

  • Buildings and Foundations

    Psalm 74, Ezra 3:1-11, 1 Corinthians 3:10-17

    In Seattle, building after building is going up with those huge cranes on top. The population of Snohomish County is projected to grow by 10,000 people per year for nearly the next 20 years, and the first couple of years of that projection (already having passed) have exceeded that growth. As we look around the area, there is a lot of building going on. Around Generations Community Church, there are multi-house developments being completed at an amazing pace. As those homes are built, a lot of effort goes into them. The community (the City of Marysville) has requirements for the development, roads, and houses. The developer has to meet all those requirements. In addition to meeting those requirements, the builder has to meet the expectations of people they’ve never met…the buyers. There really is a lot that goes into building a house.

    The first is the ground itself. The ground has to be prepared. Everything goes from there. The next is the foundation. The interplay of ground and foundation are critical to the durability and lifespan of the house. If both are not prepared well, and in harmony, there will be trouble.

    Through Creation God created the ground. All of us, believer and nonbeliever, walk upon it. It is the foundation that is the dividing point. When the foundation is Jesus Christ, it should be different than the “foundation” of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, even Judaism (though there will be similarities there). The biggest difference is the understanding of who Jesus is. Jesus is the one and only begotten Son of God. Jesus is God. Instantly, the foundation of Christianity is different. However, the problem in the church (and has been for centuries) is the concern about what is on top of the foundation.

    When the Israelites returned to Jerusalem from exile, the temple was no more. It still held its preeminence in Israelite religious culture, but its magnificence was long gone. However, the foundation was still there. Instead of being stuck with the outward appearance, the exiles celebrated the next feast. The feast they celebrated was the Feast of Booths, intended to annually remind the Israelites of their ancestors’ wandering in the desert. They celebrated wandering on a firm foundation. When we wander through life (or just take the next right) and remain on the foundation of Christ, all will (eventually, at least) be well.

    As Paul writes about foundations, he acknowledges that people will build the “temple of their hearts” with what they can. Some people, through no fault of their own, only have twigs, rocks, and mud to make one with. Some people, through wrong decisions, will have fire-scarred wood to build with. Others, through the grace and mercy of God, will build with gold and jewels. Now, we aren’t talking about literal gold, jewels, or mud, or twigs. We’re talking about the spiritual condition of the heart. What makes it even more interesting is that we may be deceive ourselves with what we are thinking are building. We may think we are building with gold, but we are building with mud. Or, we may thing we’re building with twigs, but we are building with jewels. In many ways, though, it doesn’t really matter what our spiritual temples are built with, but that they are built. The refiner’s fire will burn away all the pain and misery, and all that remains between us and God.

    1) Foundation as the starting point. How do you view Jesus as your foundation?

    2) Can you see the foundations others might have? What is the weakness and/or strength of their foundation?

    3) Why do people look past the foundation, even of their own homes, let alone their spiritual life?

    FD) Only before God’s creative grace and love can mud, stick, jewel, gold, stone be viewed as the same. What does that tell you about how God looks at people?

  • Legacy of Enemies

    Psalm 35:11–28, Exodus 35:1–29, Acts 10:9–23

    Sometimes the greatest evidence that we are doing well is those that oppose us. Another way of perhaps saying that is that the measure of one’s success is the quality of one’s enemies. Some scholars have claimed that part of the reason why David had so many power struggles was the jealousy of others that we don’t read about.

    Whether it was the counselors of Saul or (later) David’s son Absalom, some scholars believe that there must have been more than Saul and Absalom in the picture. Many times there are those that we are no looking at that are truly the ones guiding things…the power behind the throne, so to speak. We could think of such people positively, as there were and are many counselors who believe their greatest success is the successful leader. On the other hand, there are those who hide behind the leader, using the leader as a distraction from themselves, so as to hide their deeds in the shadows.

    These last ones are in the same spirit as those about whom David laments. David has cared for them. Lamented for them. Prayed for them. How did they repay the care? By piling on when David was down. Not only did they mock him, but they also made it worse by saying bad things about him. They celebrated his misery and misfortune, they who had benefitted from his love and care. As David looked forward, he relied on God to see him through it all. David’s legacy was at stake, and his response was to turn to God. David, like all people, wanted personal success, yet understood that his true legacy relied upon the faithfulness of God.

    Moses understood that everything relied upon God. While in the desert, God called upon the Israelites to give to something greater than themselves. Through Moses, God called upon the Israelites to give from their hearts so as to make a temple to their God, a symbolic reminder that their God was among them. If you’ve ever read the list of items required to make the tabernacle, it’s easy to see how monumental that list was. It also speaks to where the hearts of the Israelites were at that moment. They had escaped slavery with much of the Egyptian wealth. For the most part (there are always exceptions) they freely gave of this newfound wealth to the creation of this temple, rather than hoarding it. Instead of holding on to what would make them individually rich, they gave to something that made them collectively richer than material goods. Yet, if they had just piled all of that stuff at Moses’ feet, nothing would have happened. Instead, people of skill (particular skills of varying types) were required. God just so happened to have blessed some people with those very skills. Out of the collective goodwill, in addition to skills of certain people, and through the faithful leadership of Moses, something greater than they could have imagined came into being. How could a bunch of slaves tasked only to make bricks make something as intricate and amazing as the tabernacle? Through God.

    This amazing event that helped to define a people for generations also captured the hearts of the people, and not in a good way. They had become so ingrained with the outward appearance that when God did a new thing, they were still blind. People important to the seemingly insignificant were so blinded by the wrong legacy that they could not see the truth that was never hidden by God. It had been wrapped so tightly and so much by human will and tradition, that God’s love could not be seen through it all. When Peter had his vision, he too was still captured by the traditions passed down. It was not that God’s law was wrong or ever invalid it was just that the deeper (and Truer) truth could not be seen. God is love. Peter had to have an experience that challenged the legacy he had been handed that God was a God of (rigid) Law. Peter had to have an experience that showed God meant what he said to Abraham, “you will be a father to the nations.”

    1) Legacy is important and must be part of how we frame our lives. However, we must be careful to hand off a good legacy. How can we work to make sure we leave a good legacy?

    2) What makes a legacy good or bad? What makes a legacy live-giving or not?

    3) What are your thoughts about what legacy you will leave behind?

    FD) What family traditions were (or are being) passed down to you?

  • Remembrance, Power and Identity

    Genesis 9:8–17, Psalm 8

    Remembering is an essential part of the human condition. The philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Through technology, humanity is creating nearly 50 billion GB of data a day. At most, the Bible as written is 10 megabytes. This means that if the bible is rewritten everyday, it is only .00001 of the data made in a day. It is quite easy to see that it takes effort to keep the Bible from drowning in the mass amount of data created everyday.

    ‌In the early days, when humankind was still relatively simple there was still a barrier between humanity and God. Through poor judgement and pride, humanity had separated itself from God.

    ‌As a result, humankind received punishment…the flood. While there are many arguments regarding the depth and extent of the flood, the truth that a majority of religions around the world have a flood story. There is something there that cannot be ignored. A story that is almost universal even today, and yet to many it is exactly that. A story.

    ‌Story is what binds humanity together. Story helps humanity know who it is, where it has been, and were it is going. So, why does God need to remember? After Noah, God set the rainbow to remember, or did he? Sometimes a parent has to say something like, “I’m doing this for me,” so that their children will remember. That is what God is doing here.

    ‌Think of the rain as sin. As it continues, it soaks us to the bone. It gets inside of us. Then the sun comes out and dries the rain. In the midst of change from soaked with sin the Son comes to warmth us. The beauty/sign of that change is the rainbow.

    ‌Another way to tell the same story. The flood was the result of the mass of sin that humanity had committed. The rescue of Noah and the promise of the rainbow are the salvation and restoration of us all.

    ‌Remembrance is power. Remembrance is identity.‌‌

    • 1) What family stories do you tell, share, or repeat? What do they tell you about your family and your identity?
    • ‌2) Our salvation stories can differ from person to person. Each is unique. Do you remember your story? Tell it to someone.
    • ‌3) In an attempt to share the story, we sometimes focus on the wrong parts. What elements of the story do you think of? How do they expand or limit the story?
    • ‌FD) What is/was you favorite bedtime story? Why?

    ‌

    ‌

  • Working It

    Ecclesiastes 2:18–3:8, Matthew 20:1–16, 1 Peter 1:17–2:1

    There is a movement afoot for people to enjoy their work. Younger people are throwing off the chains of previous generations that did work they did not enjoy so that they could support their families.

    This is not to say that previous generations were wrong, but that many younger people are now blessed to be able to do what they love. There are those that still labor in thankless, joyless jobs to support their families.

    There are those that are/were blessed to truly enjoy what they do/did. Everyone in that position, regardless of age, lift your voice in praise and gratefulness.

    In the time when Ecclesiastes was written, most people labored and didn’t enjoy what they labored at. Much later, American Puritanism took the duty of labor to provide for the family and added religious obligations to it. Later still, American consumerism has twisted this even further to where people work on their “vacations” or put off family and social connections for the sake of work. Many companies are now as much consumers of workers as their workers are of products.

    While the labor of Ecclesiastes was hard and often thankless, it was accepted as the way things were. This is in comparison today when many company work cultures have come to a place where the expectation is that people ought to be thankful that the work is hard, thankless, and 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

    That’s not what Jesus taught about the Father.

    In the parable of the laborers, the landowner went out 5 times to gather workers. The eager, ambitious (and probably starving) ones were there bright and early. Then, as the day goes by, there are still more laborers who either didn’t respond the first time, or didn’t even bother to show up any earlier. And the ones called last may have well already worked another job before getting a second one. We don’t know the state of any of these workers.

    We do know who called them. Who are we to judge who worked the hardest or longest for the kingdom? How many baskets of grapes did each pick? It doesn’t matter. The landlord, like God, cared that they showed up and that they worked.

    That they showed up and worked is important when reading Peter’s letter. Peter starts out with the Father judging impartially according to their work. That sounds ominous.

    What if you look at another person who seems to be working harder than you, and is certainly more successful than you are working for the kingdom? What if, instead, you are looking at someone who seems to be working less hard than you, and producing less fruit for the kingdom? The landlord paid the workers the same.

    God “paid” each of us the same. He “paid” with his Son. Through the sacrificial act of Jesus in his life and death, the penalty of our sins is gone. No matter when we gave ourselves to Jesus, we all get “paid” the same. Now what?

    1) In this context, obedience and work are equivalent. So, then what does Peter say our behavioral response should be?

    2) The drive to work, consume, and sustain is good. Yet, when contaminated by sin it is bad. How does Peter define this sin contamination? How are you doing in ridding yourself of it all?

    3) The work we do on earth can be exhausting. The work we do for the Kingdom shouldn’t be but often is. What can we do to not be tired?

    FD) Is it fair that the laborers were paid the same amount even though they didn’t work the same amount of time? Why or why not?

  • Freely Walking

    1 Samuel 2:1–10, John 8:31–36

    Hannah’s joy-filled prayer of praise for her son Samuel is the wonderful response of a woman who had been denied the (cultural) gift children…and then was gifted Samuel. In her case, it was the rival wife (Peninnah) who continually taunted her. Hannah’s (and Peninnah’s) husband, Elkanah, loved her despite her childlessness, and during the special festivals, gave her a double portion, giving her honor above Peninnah. Elkanah did his best to make Hannah feel worthy and loved, but her heart wasn’t on the same page. She went to the Lord in prayer, and the Lord answered her.

    Samuel was born, and Hannah’s shame was done away with. This prayer is amazing. There is joy, praise, thanksgiving…and bittersweetness.

    In faith and faithfulness, Hannah gave her son to the Lord. There is an echo here of the firstborn belonging to God. Hannah did not perform an animal sacrifice. She gave her son. While her heart was full of finally being a mother, her heart was hurting.

    However, just as she was faithful to God, God was gracious to her. She had more children and was now the mother she longed to be. She had been freed to be who she wanted to be.

    One of the greatest promises of Jesus is to be free of the chains that bind us. We can be like Hannah, bound by both societal/cultural chains, by the chains we set upon ourselves, or by the chains that our mistakes become.

    The Jews, for example, had chains of blood. They believed their salvation was tied to their bloodline. By that understanding, they had chained themselves to rigors that God had not intended. Instead of being children of God, they had become “slaves” of the rules in the house of God.

    Jesus wanted to break them free of their chains. The sad truth is that we often become so comfortable in our chains that we do not want them to go away. The weight, while still weighing us down, is comfortable.

    Transformation of our relationship with God is the fulfillment of the Christian life. When we follow our understanding of God’s desires for us, it is not about rules. It is about a loving response to God the Father who loved us before we knew him.

    When we cannot step beyond the rules to relationship, we do not get the true power of living free in Jesus Christ. When we don’t invest in our relationship with God, we are just statues in the house of God that cannot sing the praise and glory of God.

    • 1) What thoughts and habits are still keeping your walk with Christ empty or shallow?
    • 2) Can you relate to Hannah’s freedom? How is it different than we often think of freedom?
    • 3) We often tie our self-worth to others’ perceptions and values of us. How does looking at the freedom that Jesus offers challenge that?
    • FD) How do rules create and limit relationships?

  • Salvation of Becoming

    Psalm 2; Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah 56:1-8; Luke 2:41-52

    Many people have taught and believed that once a person prays the Sinner’s Prayer that they are safe from Hell. The most famous one was used by Billy Graham to lead people to Christ. It is:

    Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name.

    Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) has a slightly different version, which is:

    Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.

    And there are plenty more. While Billy Graham led people to Christ through this prayer, something is missing. The Cru version both simplifies and expands on the famous Billy Graham version. Do you see the biggest difference? Look to the end. The Billy Graham version goes, “…I want to…” The Cru version says, “…Take control…Make me…” Billy Graham firmly believed that relationship with Jesus was not, “say the prayer, and you are done.” Yet, many Christians, using Billy Graham’s prayer, believed exactly that. Many responded (related) to Jesus and lived (or live) a life of daily transformation. Others, sadly, said the prayer, did not change (nor submit to being changed), went on the way they already lived, but assumed they were saved.

    The Cru version is better in that there is an identification that God will be doing the work, and the person will be doing the submission/inviting/surrendering. The Cru version gets closer to the heart of the matter. Salvation isn’t just a series of words, it is a relationship with Jesus Christ.

    In Psalm 2 we read, “You are my son; today I have become your Father.” This a relational transformation. This is the next step of salvation. Both passages of Isaiah consist of relational transformation, you were this, you are now this. Relational transformation is not new to Christ. Through the prophets, God was saying it constantly. It is not the rules, it is the living.

    This past Sunday, we heard about Jesus having difficulties of being a 12-year old boy, and doing things as a 12-year old boy would do. Part of the teaching was how after the event of being lost (okay, left behind) and found (at the Temple), Jesus was obedient, and increased in wisdom and stature. This too is relational transformation. There is a tidbit that wasn’t discussed, as it would have distracted from the message: the question of Jesus’ response.

    There are 2 common translations of Jesus’ words, “…being about my Father’s business…,” and “…be in my Father’s house…” There is a continuity in Jesus’ words, and that is the relationship to God the Father. While we might take it for granted (especially, since it’s Jesus), in the context of the day, Jesus was connecting his identity (and his inheritance) to God the Father, not Joseph his father. Culturally, this is similar to saying, “you’re dead to me,” to Joseph. While this, of course, wasn’t Jesus’ intent, we can take a lesson from it.

    When we pray the sinner’s prayer, make the commitment to allow ourselves to be transformed, and choose to be in relationship with God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), we are telling the death, the powers of darkness, the world, and our sin, “you are dead to me.” We then take on the mantle of a child of God.

    1. If Jesus is the Savior, the Lord, why is the temptation so strong to just “get it done” with a prayer? How should the knowledge of that temptation inform your life with Jesus?
    2. Regarding your spiritual life (church, life groups, devotional reading, bible reading, prayer), are you tempted to just, “get it done,” so that you can check it off the list?
    3. Why does “get it done” work against a relationship?
    4. [FD] Why do you want a relationship with Jesus? What is a relationship?

  • Transformational Inheritance

    In the Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (11th Ed), (1) a legacy is a gift of personal money or personal property, (2) something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor.

    What a dry way to kill a legacy.

    Abraham had plenty of personal property and wealth. He was successful from a material point of view. As we say today, though, you can’t take it with you. Stuff can only be given to or taken by others. Abraham was old and was looking at who would get his stuff. As he had no children, It was going to be a servant. While we often overlook this brief mention of Eliezer, this is a good example of someone preparing for the future without him in it. The small business owner that is a wise steward, will make preparations for the company after they are gone, especially for their employees and family members who are dependent upon the business. Abraham was looking out for his people and their families.

    God then makes a promise to Abraham that Abraham will have a son to inherit Abraham’s wealth. Well, that’s the way Abraham took it. Then God took it up a notch and said that Abraham’s descendants would number like the stars in the sky. Then God said that there was this huge swath of land that Abraham’s descendants would get, too. While the wealth, property, and land were all good, it was Abraham’s faith (counted as righteousness) that was the true legacy. Faith was the true inheritance.

    Through the wealth, property, and land, Abraham and his descendants prospered, fell into ruin, returned, prospered, fell, returned…and so on. Throughout it all, Abraham’s faith is what made it through all of it. Abraham’s faith was the legacy that he passed on, that he didn’t even ask for.

    Generations later, an infant boy was born in the City of David. This infant boy had 2 parents who were out of their element (so to speak) before he was born. These 2 parents were inheritors of Abraham’s legacy, and they experienced its fulfillment in a way unimaginable at that point.

    In his letter, Paul tells the Galatians (non-Jewish people, like most of us) that they (thus, us) are also inheritors to this legacy of Abraham. To play off of Paul’s words, the original inheritance that Abraham was concerned for was in regards to stuff, land, and the family “name”. This is more along the lines of the child (or slave) who is in bondage to their immediate gratification (the stuff). The true inheritance is one of faith and relationship with God, the Father, that we receive through the gift of the Son, Jesus Christ. It is through the power and working of the Holy Spirit that we are transformed from child (bound by the world) to inheritor (free in faith).

    1. Elsewhere, Paul writes about childish things. What are some “childish” things that preoccupy your mind, heart, and soul?
    2. The “world” is often concerned about the stuff, and we, too, may fall into that trap. It is good stewardship (according to Scripture) to have an inheritance for your grandchildren. What kind of inheritance do you want to leave?
    3. What is the difference, if any, between inheritance and legacy?

    KD) What is one thing that you want people to remember about you?

  • Great Expectations

    Psalm 55:1–7; Luke 2:21–38; 2 Corinthians 11:18–30

    Families are often quick to share their expectations of a newborn (or coming) baby. The pressure can be on pretty quickly. The parents, too, have expectations of their children. They are often called “dreams” or “maybe someday.” As much as this can put pressure on the child, it can also put as much (or even more) pressure on the parents. Children are, through no fault of their own, the extension and legacy of their parents. Social media puts pressure on both, for the child to be a star performer, and the parent to be the parent of the star.

    Pressure can take on many forms, but there are only 2 types: inside and outside. In the Psalm, we can almost feel the stress and strain that David is under. Many scholars think that this was written while Absalom was in the midst of the overthrow of David (2 Samuel 15–19). That being the case, it makes sense that David is feeling betrayed, and feels very much under pressure. He’s supposed to be the leader of the country and leader of his family, and now he is neither.

    In the days of Jesus, the firstborn son would receive the majority of the family property, take over the occupation of their father, lead the family, and strengthen the family legacy. There was no expectation that the son would change occupation (more like pressure to retain the occupation of their father). Joseph and Mary would have this cultural expectation of their son. Yet, on top of it, there is this awareness that this son is not normal, and something unusual is foretold to happen with them. In honor of the Law and tradition, they go to the Temple to have Jesus circumcised. If they had any expectation of this being just a normal thing, the words of Simeon and Anna remind them that all is not normal with Jesus.

    We can only imagine the interesting dynamic this created in the immediate family, but also the extended family. The extended family would have the expectation that Jesus would be the leader of his immediate family and follow in his father’s trade, and repeatedly reinforce that expectation. Joseph and Mary would have to be both soft and firm toward the extended family. They probably also lived with an underlying tension that the earthly expectation of Jesus was not the heavenly expectation they had been repeatedly told.

    Based on the gap in Scripture regarding Jesus’ life, we are pretty certain that Jesus did follow his father’s, Joseph, trade prior to commencing his ministry. For the family, this would have put off the inevitable, yet it was still coming. The longer Jesus did everyday things, it would be understandable for Mary and Jesus’ siblings to anxiously await for Jesus to up and leave. If we re-read the scriptures, it is quite understandable for the family to be concerned that their entire legacy would be lost, as the powerful don’t like to be taken down. With the example of the Roman power around them, they could have been very afraid that Jesus’ call would negatively affect them, if not cause them to die.

    In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul mentions all the troubles he has gone through as he has traveled. There are natural, criminal, and cultural troubles. Then are troubles of hunger and clothing. While it seems to be almost a tag-on of troubles, we read about Paul’s “pressure” regarding the church. Other than following Jesus, Paul’s biggest concern, his biggest pressure, is regarding the churches. He loves them. He is concerned about and for them. While this phrase seems to be just tossed in there, Paul’s heart shows up in the 13 books of the New Testament that he wrote, THIRTEEN! His heart is for the churches and the people he loves that are in them. He feels responsible for them as leader, shepherd, teacher…and parent.

    Jesus came to earth as one of us. He took responsibility for us. As an infant, there wouldn’t be any pressure purposely put on him, but it would still be there.

    1. What puts the most “pressure” on you? Job performance? Child performance? Financial success? Material success?
    2. When you are under a high amount of pressure, what is your normal response? Do you “just deal” with the pressure? Do you work through to resolve the pressure? Do you surrender it?
    3. Jesus bore the “weight” of the world, yet said that his burden was light. How do you think that works?
    4. [KD] Did someone ever tell you that you had to do something that you felt you should not do? What did that feel like? What did you do?

  • God Uncontained

    Psalm 72; Isaiah 6:1–5; Acts 7:44–53

    The opening verse of Psalm 72 is a passionate plea to God regarding the transition from David (the king) to Solomon (the king’s son). The plea consists of a having a wise, compassionate, righteous, and feared earthly king of Israel, whose backing is the King of Creation. Up through verse 17, it is about humankind. Verses 18 and 19 show all that precedes is based upon God’s wondrous deeds and glory.

    The glory of God takes center stage in Isaiah’s vision. Confronted with God’s glory, Isaiah gives in to despair, knowing that he is unworthy of being there, and on top of it, he lives among people who have forgotten by whose name they are called. These people proclaim God’s name, praise him and offer sacrifices to him. Yet, as Isaiah knows the words that come from their mouths are far from their hearts. Isaiah feels guilt of association, and likely the feeling of having failed to change their hearts.

    The people had exchanged the God of the Living for the god that was the temple and rules. The people had exchanged relationship with God for empty phrases and actions. In the midst of his response to the Sanhedrin, Stephen (Acts 7:44-53) recalls that God made it all and that the Tabernacle (the tent of worship) and the Temple (built by Solomon to replace the Tabernacle) were just human places. Whether Tabernacle, Temple, or church building, nothing can contain the glory of God.

    1) Scripture is filled with specific places where God met with people. If God is everywhere, why are places still important?

    2) Why is limiting God to specific places a problem? Why can it be a problem when there are not places set aside to meet with God?

    3/KD) Can you think of a specific place where you have met or experienced God? Have you ever gone back to that place? How did it feel?