Devotion.al

Tag: Son

  • Rusted Jalopy

    Rusted Jalopy

    Rusted Jalopy

    3 September 2020

    Judges 2:11–23; Ezekiel 24:1–14

    Prior to the discovery of titanium (and development of ways to use it), steel was the material of choice for strength, durability, and being shapable. Even now it remains the primary tool material as it is less expensive than titanium. It does have its issues, however.

    We’ve all seen photos of old rusted/rustic cars. The photos are artistically beautiful, but the cars are useless for what they were built to be.

    Rust is a sign that the iron in the steel is being “attacked”. Rust breaks down the bonds in the metal to the point that formerly strong steel turns into when touched.

    Rust can also build onto itself. So, while it is growing “down” into the metal, it can grow thicker. Then it can become like armor to the steel or iron, however, there is the risk that while the “armor” may be strong, the underlying metal is very weak.

    There are several techniques to remove rust. One is to blast it with a combination of sand. Another method is to grind or sand it. Another is to dip it into acid. Interestingly, acid is also used to help steel (specifically, stainless steel) become more corrosion-resistant.

    In metallurgy terms, rust is corrosion. Corrosion is not a good thing. Corrosion is built on the same root (in English) as corruption. Corruption, like rust, can start small and almost unnoticeable. However, unless it is cleansed, it will destroy the “host”.

    In many ways, the People of Israel left Egypt with the seeds of corrosion embedded in them. For 40 years, they were “sandblasted” in the desert to remove the corruption. It didn’t last.

    The “seeds” were still there. They succumbed to temptations and became corrupted. The Book of Judges talks about the ebb and flow, but the people never seem to be able or willing to up the seed of corrosion.

    By the time of Ezekiel, the corruption was to the point that their spiritual hearts would crumble to dust at a touch. The rough presented is along the lines of the corruption of Israel became the pot that was the crucible of their destruction. They willingly jumped into the pot and became nothing at all.

    We, sadly, are not much different. The seeds of corruption remain in us, even after our salvation. Our purification (progressive then entire ) is a result of our willingness to set ourselves at the feet of God, allowing and asking to be cleansed of everything the separates from the of God.

    While it is easy to look at the world and see its corruption and eventual destruction, we must be aware that we will also fall to corruption and destruction if we do not daily ourselves to Christ and for cleansing by the .

    ※ Prayer ※

    , Son, and Holy Spirit, guide us into your perfect will. Help us to follow your will and walk the path that you have laid before us. Amen.

    ※ Questions ※

    1) What’s the first thing you think of with the word “corruption”? Why is that the first thing that comes to mind?

    2) Why is it important to understand the ever- of the “seeds” of corruption?

    3) Do you really think that we need “purification” after our salvation? Why or why not?

  • I Hate You

    I Hate You

    Luke 14:25–35; 1 John 3:14–18

    So, who do YOU hate? Your mom, dad, husband, wife, significant other, , daughter, brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle…Really, who do you hate?

    Trump, Clinton, Bin Laden, and many others have been (or are) hated. It could be because of politics. It could be because they murdered people. It might be something that you think they may have done.

    This passage in Luke is a hard passage for many. Except in cases of abuse or other mistreatment, hating one’s family is out of the question. A that has long considered itself (especially in the West) a “family-centered” religion will struggle that which it says it is based upon. “Family values”, a decades-old purportedly Christian value, are questionable if we are to hate our family.

    Then John, a disciple of writes that we are to love our brothers and sisters, and that anyone who hates their brother or system is a murderer (even if said brother or sister still lives), and because of that they don’t have eternal life. Confused, yet?

    So, how does this work, exactly? Well, we’re back to the -old problem of English versus Greek. Just like there are more words for love in Greek than in English, there’s the same problem with hate. Hate isn’t quite hate, sort of.

    When Jesus talks about hate, it refers more to loyalty that like, dislike, love, or hate. Jesus sought to shock people into an understanding that they may have to choose where their loyalty lay. Was their loyalty with family, or was their loyalty with Jesus?

    Hate may seem overly dramatic, however, in the cultural context, hate was the understanding. Only a hateful child, parent, spouse, and so forth would choose Jesus over family. In that time, the time shortly thereafter, and it appears now, family loyalty is against Jesus.

    Which brings us to John’s words. His hate is more along the lines of what we think of when we hear the word hate. The kind of hate that blindly rages and cares more about hurting another than blessing the enemy. This is the context of John’s hate.

    We are called to pray for the of our adversaries. Even more so are we to seek the benefit of our brothers and sisters in Christ. John’s primary concern is not the family ties of blood and culture that Jesus brought to light. John’s concern was what we at Generations (friends who are like family).

    This framily is found within the body of Christ. Because of its place within the body of Christ, it should not have divided loyalties. Of course, when it comes to frailty, we all know that isn’t the case.

    As we work through our hopes and fears of COVID and elections, we will often be tempted to hate our brothers and sisters in Christ. We must strive against that, for a house divided against itself will not stand, and then what would we say to Jesus?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, you prayed to the Father that we would be one. Help us to be in you, while we yet still remain individuals with different thoughts and experiences. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Is there someone in the body of Christ with whom you are angry? Pray for them. Ask for the of the Spirit to fall upon and fill both them and you.

    2) How can you work to be one with your brothers and sisters in Christ while you have differing opinions?

    3) How does the concept of Jesus before family still cause you and others trials?

  • Lamenting Forward

    Lamenting Forward

    Ezekiel 2:1–3:3; Lamentations 3:17–33; Ecclesiastes 3:1–8

    There are two prevailing feelings currently: and anger. Neither one is productive over time. In the end, they can destroy a person emotionally and spiritually.

    Ezekiel ate words of lament, mourning, and woe. In the , the edible scroll tastes a sweet as honey. At the same time, there was no in the words themselves.

    One of the biggest lessons that the current atmosphere can teach us is that we need to mourn what we have lost. We are even still in the midst of losing our perception of culture(s), country, and even . We fight the loss.

    We don’t want to lose all that we hold dear. At the same time, there is another feeling that is harder to quantify… God is doing something new. We don’t know what that new is, which causes us to be even more emotionally reactive.

    God can (and does) handle our anger and fear. God is greater than that. We, though, need to lament, , and mourn.

    When we lose a loved one, we miss them. We grieve. We mourn. We understand that it is not only acceptable, it is also healthy. We also must—as hard as it is—find a way to .

    That is currently the way many things are right now. One of the great difficulties is to choose what to mourn and move past, and what to struggle for. As the situation around COVID continues, we will continue to have to work and walk together to find a way forward.

    We all must be -filled as people struggle with their grief masked in fear and anger. Only the God of hope can turn the anger and fear into a drive to move forward in . Let us all be people of hope.

    ※Prayer※

    Heavenly , guide us to be people of hope, not just any hope, but the hope of the crucified and risen Son. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is one thing you are angry about right now? How about fearful? What about grieving?

    2) If you were to rank each of these in order, what would they be, and why?

    3) Which of these has the greatest effect upon your Christian walk? How so?

  • Want

    Want

    Exodus 20:1–21; 1 Kings 3:16–28; 1 Corinthians 13:1–13

    The tale of envy and spite in the story relayed in 1 Kings is abominable to most of us. How could any person ever do that, even if it is not their child?

    Yet, there are far too many tragic stories of people treating their children—their —with something beyond contempt. The children don’t meet a “need”, or even worse, the death of the child meets the “need”.

    The amazing depravity of humanity is often overwhelming.

    In the story in 1 Kings, there is probably much more than the visible story. Why it was significant to the writer that the women were prostitutes was significant is a matter of conjecture. With something like that we can only guess what else might have been going on.

    One possibility is that the “wise men” didn’t want to deal with the “dirty” prostitutes on a case with no evidence or witnesses (like those who might have been present at the birth or circumcision). So, they handed it off to the new king to test him. This would be well within the norm even today when new figures come into power, they are tested by ally and enemy alike.

    To our ears, Solomon’s solution is over the top. Kill the child? However, some commentators believe that Solomon had discerned who the real mother was and was looking for a justifiable pretext of her to her.

    The story also shines a on one of the big human issues: envy. There is a reason that this was on the list of Commandments. It can often be one of the most destructive emotions in human relationships.

    Envy drove a grieving woman to grasp for another’s baby and then be open to the child’s death instead of “losing”.  Envy drove a person to a child to hurt another person.

    Envy drives people to do things that are often not rational. Sometimes people will put themselves into so much debt so that they can be just like others. Other times they will hurt themselves, as long as they can hurt others.

    No one is immune to the pull of envy. We often think envy is only for big things, but envy is even more dangerous regarding small things. It is easy to excuse or justify the envy of little things. However, once we succumb, envy gains momentum, and our hearts turn toward , and away from .

    ——

    , guard our hearts against envy. If the shadow of envy had taken hold, we ask for your saving work to preserve your love in our hearts. Amen.

    —questions—

    1) What is the first “don’t” of love, according to ? Why do you think Paul mentioned that first?

    2) What was the strongest feeling of envy you’ve ever had? What happened?

    3) What is the “flip” side of envy? Or, how is one driven to envy? (hint: see Paul’s list)

  • Intimate Purity of Heart

    Intimate Purity of Heart

    Leviticus 18:6–18; Jeremiah 13:1–11; Hosea 1:1–3; Hosea 3:1–5

    Sexual purity has long been a staple of Christian culture, and with good reason. Even as the culture around Christianity has changed and some Christians’ perspectives have changed about what is sexual purity, sexual purity remains important.

    While we could go down the road of what is sexual purity, and how it interacts with general and Christian culture, the why is significantly more important.

    The Law of Leviticus has ties to Genesis. Noah became drunk and was naked. His , Ham, mocked him. Shem and Japeth (Noah’s other sons) covered their without looking at him (see Genesis 9:18–27).

    Noah’s nakedness was shameful, culturally. What had happened was not good. We know that the intimacy and of the parental bed and relationship were marred.

    This flows into the concept of Leviticus, where the intimacy and mystery of sex were to be protected. What makes this even more striking is that this was set in the context of tents and shared spaces. While the mechanics (and perhaps occurrences) were known, the final curtain separated the from , maintaining mystery and intimacy.

    This flows into the concept in Leviticus, where the intimacy and mystery of sex were to be protected. While the mechanics of sex (and even when it occurred) was known in the context of tents and shared spaces, the act was still private. Whether separation was by a curtain or something else, the mystery and intimacy of the act between husband and wife was maintained.

    While “uncovering nakedness” is often translated as “having sexual intercourse with”, the focus on sex often blinds us to the nakedness shame that is intended. Yes, sex was undeniably part of it. The nakedness is as much a part of the intimacy and mystery.

    In fact, focusing on the sex may actually be helping to demystify and depurify sex itself, as nakedness is (usually) a precursor. By raising nakedness to the level that scripture brings it would certainly raise sex, too.

    The raising of nakedness to an appropriate level helps us to contextualize this weird passage in Jeremiah about buried underwear. Through our contemporary lens, we just see it as underwear (i.e., functional).

    As the passage in Jeremiah shows, another’s underwear is uncovering their nakedness. No, this is not a statement on doing your own laundry. This is about God’s “nakedness” being revealed by Judah.

    By uncovering God’s nakedness, Judah destroyed the intimacy and mystery of their special relationship with God. When we get to Hosea, it’s even more apparent at just how intimate God viewed his original relationship with Israel.

    Jeremiah wrote to Judah (post-split of Israel) as their falling away was climaxing with exile. Hosea wrote to Samaria (i.e., the Northern ) who was running away from God almost at the very beginning of the split of Israel.

    Samaria was quite far gone (and this was around a century before Jeremiah). God skipped the underwear and talked about promiscuity. Samaria was sleeping with whatever flavor of god it was that day.

    It is probably quite jarring to talk about God figuratively wearing underwear and having sex. That was God’s point. God viewed the relationship with Israel (and even the divided Judah and Samaria) as something as intimate as the naked and sexual relationship between husband and wife.

    When intimacy with God is talked about, yes, it’s this intimate. This is why the purity of our hearts in regards to our relationship with God (and our spouse or potential spouse) is important to grasp.

    ※Prayer※

    My One and Only God, guide my , soul, mind, and ways to diligently seek intimacy with you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is your concept of sex and intimacy? (this is probably not a group question)

    2) How does the culture’s concept of intimacy your/ours/the ?

    3) How does the culture’s transactional view of sex affect or impact the views of you or the church?

    4) How do you think body-shaming is different from the shame of nakedness? How does body image fit into either/both?

  • Time Alone

    Time Alone

    Matthew 14:1–23

    ‘ cousin and herald was dead. He was murdered. Why was he murdered? He called the powerful to account.

    Herod’s marriage to Herodias had some issues. Herod had visited Herodias while she was still married to Herod’s brother, Philip. They decided they like each other, so they decided to be married.

    However, Herodias didn’t want to share the house with Herod’s current wife who wisely read the writing on the wall and fled to her father’s house. As a historical aside, this created bad feelings and ultimately led to the military defeat of Herod, eventual downfall and exile.

    So, Herod wasn’t really divorced or a widower. His brother was still alive. Yet Herod married his brother’s wife. The only time in Jewish law that was appropriate was when the brother had died with no .

    John the Baptist condemned it. Herod, probably more to please Herodias than anything, put John in jail. Herodias wasn’t satisfied, and we read the rest of the story.

    Jesus’ first wasn’t to Herod to account. Jesus made no public declaration at all. How different than our current age.

    Jesus’ first response was to withdraw. Just like the rest of us at times, Jesus was not going to just on. It is easy to infer that Jesus needed time to grieve and spend time with God the Father, even though the do not give a full explanation.

    Not that it’s bad to step away and grieve. It’s healthy, and there is a Jewish practice that goes with that (something that the needs to approach). 

    Even more so for Jesus, John was his herald, his baptizer, his cousin, and probably the one person that Jesus felt a spiritual kinship due to their tied-together callings.

    What happened next is sad, but we see it today. A famous person has a bad (or good) event, and people clamor around them. Famous people today have PR people deliver a statement that often asks for personal and private space to grieve. How sad that it isn’t given automatically.

    Jesus may have intended such, but then see how he them. Jesus set aside his needs for .

    However, there are a couple of pieces that need to be addressed. First, the amount of time spent was actually minimal. It also had an end. Then once the people were satisfied, he sent the disciples away, the people away, and he had time between himself and God.

    Often the focus is that Jesus set his needs aside for others. He did. Jesus also still made sure his needs were met.

    In times of trial and trouble, such as caring for family that are ill, it is easy to set one’s needs aside. In the end, that breaks us unnecessarily. Not only are we hurt, but often we hurt others as our internal limits are broken.

    We are not machines that can go and go. Honestly, machines can’t either. Machines need maintenance. So do we. Make sure that you are finding time for yourself and finding time for God. This is not a waste of time. It is what makes the rest of the time sustainable.

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, as we live in a high-performance culture, help us to keep the vital rhythm of care for ourselves and fellowship with you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) What practices do you have to “maintain” yourself? Do you have any that involve doing nothing?

    2) Have you ever experience relief of anguish or because you were distracted by other needs? What happened to the anguish or pain?

  • Following Followers

    Following Followers

    Matthew 16:13–20; Acts 11:1–18; 2 Corinthians 11:16–30

    Peter appears to have been the first one to put it all together. He declared that Jesus was the Messiah.

    We often look back at Peter, thinking, “Well, that was obvious!” There were actually a number of people wandering around saying they were the messiah. Jesus wasn’t the only one.

    The other (false) messiah’s had followers, a lot of them. Some of the false messiah’s sought to overthrow the Roman government. They and their followers were killed (crucified) as rebels.

    The religious leaders weren’t any better than the Roman government, as many of them were in league with them. Also, the religious leaders had certain expectations of the messiah (some Scripture-based, many not) that no one could fulfill (and note that Jesus didn’t fulfill all of theirs).

    Peter’s declaration of the Messiah was a big deal. He assembled the “clues” together. Despite the failures and deaths of other messiahs, Peter still declared it. There would be a cost for that.

    It doesn’t matter whether one takes Jesus’ statement about “the rock” as literal (i.e., the Roman Catholic ), a figurative based upon Peter’s declaration (most Protestant traditions), or the fact the Peter was the first of the church. Peter’s place in Church history as both leader and declarer of the Messiah is undeniable.

    Peter is also the one that was first called to reaching the Gentiles (non-Jews) with the saving message of the . Thus, as most of the Church is now “Gentile”, Peter’s place should be unquestioned.

    The second person that was the greatest impact on the Gentiles for the Church was Paul. Paul was almost exclusively a missionary to and a leader of the Gentiles. He, like Peter, was accused of “watering-down” the Word of God by not requiring Jewish practices for the Gentiles.

    Paul, more-so than Peter, could make a “Jew-of-Jew” claim. Paul did this so that his Jewishness would not be questioned, and neither would the grace, love, and of God toward the Gentiles.

    It is hard to imagine how the message of God’s love through Jesus’ on the cross would have been shared and spread without these two. Both had significant flaws. In today’s overly sensitive world (in regards to all streams of politics to morality), both men would likely be attacked.

    When following Jesus, sometimes our best path is to follow the guidance of those such as these two.

    ※※

    Father God, you have called many people to follow your Son. , you have enlightened many to lead people to the Son. Jesus, you have many who are your followers. May we and obey the call, and being the of the world. Amen.

    ※※

    1) What words would you use to describe Peter? How about Paul?

    2) Why is it important to recognize not just their place as “doctors” of the Church, but also their humanity?

    3) What do they teach you about being a follower of Jesus? What does it mean to follow a follower?

  • Seashell Summer

    Seashell Summer

    Matthew 3:1–13; Mark 10:35–40; John 13:1–11; 1 Peter 3:18–22 (read online ⧉)

    What is one thing you think of when it comes to Summer? How about a Summer trip or vacation? Today is the first day of Summer. Today is also National Seashell Day, in honor of trips to the ocean being the summer trip that many people take.

    For those of us more familiar with coastal life, the sea may not represent the most interesting thing. For many, it is a place of recovery and peace. For others, it is a place of power and majesty (there really is nothing like a storm on the Pacific coast). For others still, it is a place of and fun. Then for others, it represents the most dreaded time of all, concentrated time with family.

    The seashell actually has a place in the Christian world, too. If you are familiar with Lutheran, Episcopal/Anglican, and Roman Catholic baptism traditions, it is not uncommon for the priest to pour water over an infant 3 times using a seashell invoking, “In the name of the Father (pour 1), and in the (pour 2), and in the Spirit (pour 3).”

    Where and how the seashell (in particular the Scallop seashell) was tied to baptism is tied to 2 men. The first would be St James the Greater who supposedly used the seashell to beg for alms on his pilgrimage, allowing even the poorest person to feel generous and able to . How this exactly would have gotten tied to baptism is a , so is unlikely.

    The other likely avenue is St. Augustine, who had a vision of a boy trying to empty the sea with a seashell. After suggesting the boy why of this pointless activity, the boy retorted why are you trying to comprehend the entirety of the mystery of the Trinity. This as some greater weight, tying in water, pouring of water, and the Trinity. Still, someone would have had to make a huge leap.

    There is another theory that John the Baptist used such to “aid” in baptism. However, one of our Jewish friends made a valid point that John would not have used an “unclean” (or non-Kosher) item to do such. Of the 3, the tie to Augustine makes the most sense.

    However, there appear to be mosaics and frescos that predate Augustine that still have the seashell. Take your favorite theory and it’s fine. Just note that using a seashell for baptism is not mentioned in the Bible, so it is neither necessary nor forbidden.

    The methods of performing baptism (immersion once, immersion thrice, pouring, drawing the cross, infant, child, confessing, adult) have long been an issue in the church. It is one well worth wrestling over for it is a command of Jesus. Yet, seashells are a weird non-sequitur, and there may be others you can think of. Such traditions and symbols can be valuable, but only if used and explained.

    While denominations have been formed over methods and timing of baptism, none of them deny the significance of baptism. Wesleyans (such as the Church of the Nazarene, of which Generations is a part) believe that baptism is an outward sign (public profession) of inner . Other traditions hold that baptism is the by which a person (particularly a child) is irrevocably sealed to the family of God. There are myriads of understandings.

    What isn’t up for debate is whether one should be baptized. The symbolism of death and resurrection. The public profession of faith. The commandment of Jesus. All are part of the Christian journey and life.

    One thing to leave you with. The (inherited from the Jews) is baptism in “living” water. If you do make a trip to the sea or rivers, take some and your baptism.