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Devotion.al

Tag: speak

  • Fatalism Antivenom

    Job 5:8-27, 1 Peter 3:8–18a, Psalm 77 (read online ⧉)

    When we talk about the underlying joy of Lent (see yesterday’s devotion), we must have an understanding that this underlying joy fully rests on God, and who God is. This foundation of joy is not shaken or disturbed by the world and all its troubles, because (and only because) it is built on God.

    In our passage from Job, Eliphaz is still lecturing Job. Job 5:8 is a legal appeal. Eliphaz is telling Job that all Job has to do is make an appeal to God. If Job is as innocent as he claims, then God will spare Job. Eliphaz continues to speak, and it seems that his words are accurate, that is until we get to verse 19 (and on through 27). Eliphaz sums up his legal argument from verse 8. God will keep Job from everything bad, if Job is indeed innocent, and continues to appease God. This is essential to understand. Eliphaz had fallen victim to the culture around him regarding God. Eliphaz’s understanding was that God was transactional in nature. You give God what he wants, you’ll get good (not necessarily what you want, but still good). The conclusion that Eliphaz made was that Job didn’t fulfill his end of the transaction.

    This the perspective that many people have of God, including many Christians. This view, however, does not have the joyful foundation that is essential to a Christian life. This view is fatalistic. In other words, the world is full of bad, and there is nothing we can do about it.

    Peter has a significantly different view. Peter, having spent time with Jesus, and life being transformed by Jesus through the Holy Spirit, know we can do something about it.

    Peter gives us direction on how to be life giving to fellow believers, and even to those who do not believe. Peter knows that bad will happen. Yet, he encourages his readers (and us) to rely on Jesus Christ. This reliance is the power of the joyful life that does not laugh in the face of danger, or dance in the midst of trial, but understands that God is there beside us in and through it all.

    1) How have you been fatalistic (i.e., “there’s nothing I can do”) in your lift?

    2) How are Peter’s words an antidote to fatalism?

  • 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.

    Jesus called on people to believe. He pointed to John the Baptist, first. John the Baptist came with a message of righteousness and repentance. That was always part of God’s call to those he originally called…the Israelites. The Law effectively revolved around a constant cycle of repentance and restoration 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 salvation. 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 action ends up being like the son who said he would do but didn’t. The son who said no, but did still missed the father’s heart.

    Actions speak 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?

  • Healing Purpose

    Mark 5:1–20, Mark 7:31–36, Luke 17:11–19 (read online ⧉)

    Jesus produced miracle after miracle. Usually, people are pretty grateful when miraculous healing has occurred. The first healing we read today is a man who is not right in the head. Whether we stick with the surface Biblical understanding of possession or go with the postmodern view of schizophrenia it doesn’t really matter. Either way, we see that Jesus performed a miracle. The man was healed and he wanted everyone to know. Jesus directed him to return home. He went to the place he was likely cast-out from and talked about and displayed his healing. He wanted to let people know what Jesus had done for him.

    The next story of healing is the deaf man, whose poor hearing had also affected his ability to speak. Jesus healed him, he could now hear and speak normally. What’s interesting here is that while only one person appeared to have been healed, there were either more people that were healed that Mark doesn’t talk about here, or the people were so excited for the man’s healing that they all couldn’t keep quiet about Jesus, and this was after he directed them to remain quiet. They couldn’t help themselves.

    The last story is probably the saddest. Jesus healed 10 men of their skin disease. 9 of them did not return to honor Jesus, nor (we can infer) did they do anything that honored God (perhaps not even seeing the priests?) in return. Only 1 man did, and he was an unclean awful Samaritan (Jewish perspective). While the gratitude of 1 out 10 is depressing, there is something else here worth looking at. Nowhere do the Scriptures tell us that the 9 men who appeared to not be thankful regained their skin diseases. Yet, only the 1 man who was thankful (or at least returned to glorify God) was told by Jesus that his faith had saved him.

    This last story shows us an important fact about the nature of God. Even when we are ungrateful, God is still loving and faithful. This also shows something else, just because we received miraculous healing, it does not mean we’re saved. That requires something else from us.

    1) What is the difference between saving faith, being saved, and being healed?

    2) What do you think God’s purpose(s) is(are) for miraculous healings?

    3) Where do you see Christians acting like the 9? Where do you see Christians acting like those healed? Where do you see Christians acting like the witnesses of the healings?

    Action: Figure out a miracle God has done in your life that you haven’t given him glory for, and share it.

  • Really Seeing. Really Caring

    John 1:29–42, Luke 4:16–30, 1 Corinthians 15:1–11 (read online ⧉)

    “Sunday Christians” may be a term you are familiar with. It is a term that conveys that a person who looks all clean on the outside on Sunday, is filthy inside the rest of the week. Often “Sunday Christians” is equated to hypocrisy, which is mostly true (not always). “Sunday Christians” is also often equated to wearing masks. This too is true, yet it should not be viewed as negatively as we portray it.

    The prevailing theme of the wider culture is “authenticity”. The truth is that none of us are 100% authentic all the time. Of course, what does authentic mean? Well, the thought appears to be that we don’t wear masks. Yet, what if we are always wearing masks? What if the mask we’re wearing isn’t one we’ve put on?

    John the Baptist—Jesus’ cousin—says “…I don’t know him…”. Well, that’s how it’s usually translated. It doesn’t make sense that way. While they may not have been in close proximity often, it is highly unlikely that they didn’t know each other. However, what does make more sense, and still matched the gist of the Greek, is that John knew him as his cousin Jesus. He didn’t recognize him, until that moment, as the Messiah…the one that he was sent to baptize then testify about. Imagine the feeling knowing that there were all the tales about yourself and your cousin…and then realizing the pieces were already there, and you never put it together.

    It’s not as if John was alone in his blindness. Look at the people of Jesus’ home town. Once he stepped into his role as Messiah, they no longer “knew” him. They denied him. Again, it is probable that they knew some of the stories about young Jesus. Yet, like many small towns, it probably entered into the realm of myth or legend. In other words, Jesus was no prophet, and certainly no Messiah. He was only a carpenter.

    The truth is that for many of us, we will always judged by the masks that people place on us that are not our own. It could be your background. It could be the color of your skin. It could be the language or dialect you speak. It could be the country you’re from. It could be the church you attend. It could be the place you live.

    Paul had a certain idea about the Messiah. He certainly had an idea about the “lost” Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. He put the mask of the “traditional” Messiah on and stepped onto his pedestal. Paul then launched his persecution fo the church. Then he was met by Jesus. The scales that were on his eyes symbolized the mask he put on about the Messiah. Along with his awareness and belief, the scales came off, and Paul understood who the Messiah truly was.

    We must be careful of the “masks” we put on others. What if we’re wrong? We also must do our best (we won’t always succeed) to understand the masks people put on us, as they make assumptions about what we believe. As the wider culture changes around us, we must be especially careful, as the masks people have regarding Christianity, the church, and (most importantly) about Jesus will inhibit our ability to spread the Kingdom of God.

    1) How does Jesus’ family and friends being blind to Jesus being the Messiah inform how we are to interact with the world when it comes to Jesus?

    2) What do you think your biggest issue is when dealing with people who make assumptions about you? What are peoples’ assumptions about you that you have had to deal with?

    3) How do people learn false things about others? What does this tell you regarding your responsibility when talking about and to others?

  • Pull Me Up

    Exodus 17:1–7, Numbers 20:1–13, John 7:37–39 (read online ⧉)

    By and large, Americans do not understand the gift of clean and readily available water. Even during droughts, currently, people in places like California still can turn on the water in their homes, and get a drink. In places like Rome, artesian wells are all over the city, and one can get clean water from public fountains.

    The travels of the Israelites involved the logistics of water. There didn’t just have to be water for the humans. There had to be water for the livestock. Water was life. When the water dried up, or the waterskins were empty, it wouldn’t take long for concern then desperation to kick in.

    We often speak ill of the Israelites when they challenged Moses. How dare they admonish the great prophet?! Later Jewish commentators would also respond the same. The reality is, though, would we really be all that different when things aren’t going well?

    No one ever promised the Israelites that the journey would be easy. They seemed to have made the assumption. Then they placed the responsibility of their assumption onto someone else…Moses. Often Moses was really in conflict with their assumptions, rather than them, per se. Moses dealt with the ongoing disappointment of the Israelites that the world would just be handed to them.

    There is often a pervading view that we have no responsibility in regards to our faith and salvation working out in our lives. True, God provided us unmerited grace and provided the way. Our small part is to accept it. Yet, that is really only the start.

    Think of it this way, if you were at the bottom of a cliff and the only way to escape was up, and the cliff wall was too smooth to climb and you didn’t have any rope, pitons, or other climbing gear…someone is going to have to throw you a rope. You still need to grab the rope and (preferably) tie it around yourself. If there is only a person (rather than a winch or other mechanical device), they will struggle to pull you up. They might still accomplish it (and if it’s God, God will), but for your own sake, you need to help, even if it’s “walking” up the cliff so you don’t bang yourself around.
    The Israelites (and often ourselves) just wanted to be pulled up quickly and cleanly, with no need to put any effort into it. Was it still primarily God’s efforts? Yes. Did they still have a part? Yes!

    Moses didn’t help in the second instance. He actually turned this life-giving event into a curse. His words were not life-giving to the people. The water was, but that was God’s work, not Moses’. Moses lashed out in (understandable) anger and probably some hurt. In so doing, though, he damaged his and God’s witness. Again, it wasn’t as if the Israelites didn’t have their part (like above). Moses, though, had his part, too, and lashing out wasn’t supposed to be it.

    By the time Jesus came, for many God’s words were life-giving water “covered” in curses. Religious people and rules “gave” out God’s words (water) but in such a way as to make it a burden, and not life-giving. No one, really, had a good grasp of what Jesus really meant. The Holy Spirit flowing into and through people was not understood, and it couldn’t be understood until all was fulfilled through the cross, the resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

    1) What is the longest a human being can be without water? What is the longest you have been without water? Does the difference between the two help your perspective of the Israelites?

    2) Water as the source of life makes sense from an ancient (and even modern) perspective. John says that Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit when talking about water. What does this mean for the Holy Spirit and people?

    3) Thinking of cursing the water (of life), in what ways is the Water of Life (the Holy Spirit) being cursed by humanity today?

  • Love Between

    John 13:31–35, John 15:12–17, Ephesians 4:25–5:2, James 3:13–4:6 (read online ⧉)

    Love like Jesus. That’s a pretty tall order, so it seems. Part of the problem is that we are often so focused on the big things. We become overwhelmed. There are those that think they need to die like Jesus to love like Jesus. Some people believe that they have to heal like Jesus to love like Jesus. Some people believe they have to speak like Jesus to love like Jesus. Some people believe they have to feed others like Jesus to love like Jesus. Some people believe they have to act or sound like anything but Jesus to love like Jesus. Some people believe they have the lecture or condemn or condone to love like Jesus.
    We are each guilty of some of that (unless you’re very rare).

    The reality is that love came down from Heaven as an infant boy. As the boy grew up, he loved. He loved his parents. He loved his brothers (an aside: do you think he always liked and liked being around his brothers?). He loved each where he was in life. We have a skewed version of Jesus’ love because we only get 3 years of Jesus. Jesus didn’t love for only 3 years.

    We get so caught up in sweet baby Jesus, then awesome Messiah Jesus. We miss the in-between. That’s where love happens. It is between the highs and the lows that love becomes firmly established. When the highs and the lows happen, we have love to keep us together.

    When Paul and James talk about love and loving each other, it is really living life together (the in-between) that creates the bonds of love. Barring most parental love, love doesn’t just happen. It grows. Sometimes it grows fast, sometimes it grows slow. We cannot rush love. When we rush love, it often isn’t love.

    1) Have you ever rushed “love” or a relationship? What happened?

    2) Why are the in-betweens almost more important than the highs and lows when it comes to love?

    3) How can you love like Jesus in-between?

  • Receiving Peace

    Luke 12:49–53, Luke 14:31–35, Luke 19:32–38 (read online ⧉)

    Jesus has the title of Prince of Peace, yet our first passage today from Luke certainly causes one to question that. Some scholars align this with the Jewish zealot party, which sought the overthrow of the Roman Empire in Israel by (primarily) violent methods. However, it is prefaced by fire. Again, it sounds strange, unless we recognize that this is a cleansing and purifying fire. The sad truth is that many will be confronted with Jesus’ words and make a decision that has the potential to destroy relationships. This is the division that Jesus brings. Some will follow Jesus, the rest will follow the world.

    The title of Prince of Peace should probably be written more properly, the Prince (of the people who live by and call on and believe in the name of the Lord) of Peace (knowing that the Creator of the Universe is overall). It’s a lot wordier, but it helps us understand the seeming conflict between Jesus’ title and the first words we read.

    Certainly, war would not be the function of the Prince of Peace, would it? Yet, here Jesus uses that analogy. It’s not because Jesus desires war, but because the people were surrounded by war and its legends, meaning that this was an effective way to speak to people. On the other hand, we could look at it as the weaker party (us) seeking peace with the stronger party (God), and, oddly enough, the negotiation and sealing of that agreement is through Jesus Christ.

    The reality is that the ultimate culmination of peace will not happen here. Peace is in Heaven. However, when we spend time meditating on God’s word about peace, and meditating on who Jesus is (the Prince of Peace), we receive God’s peace here on earth.

    1) What are your thoughts about flame being a purifying image? What concept, if any, in Christianity is symbolized by a flame? How do they work together?

    2) Does it bother you that Jesus uses war imagery to make a point? Why or why not?

    3) If the ultimate peace only happens in Heaven, why pursue it here on earth?

  • Peace is in Heaven

    Luke 12:49–53, Luke 14:31–35, Luke 19:32–38

    ‌Jesus has the title of Prince of Peace, yet our first passage today from Luke certainly causes one to question that. Some scholars align this with the Jewish zealot party, which sought the overthrow of the Roman Empire in Israel by (primarily) violent methods. However, it is prefaced by fire. Again, it sounds strange, unless we recognize that this is a cleansing and purifying fire. The sad truth is that many will be confronted with Jesus’ words and make a decision that has the potential to destroy relationships. This is the division that Jesus brings. Some will follow Jesus, the rest will follow the world.

    ‌The title of Prince of Peace should probably be written more properly, the Prince (of the people who live by and call on and believe in the name of the Lord) of Peace (knowing that the Creator of the Universe is over all). It’s a lot wordier, but it helps us understand the seeming conflict between Jesus’ title and these first words we read.

    ‌Certainly war would not be the function of the Prince of Peace, would it? Yet, here Jesus uses that analogy. It’s not because Jesus desires war, but because the people were surrounded by war and its legends, meaning that this was an effective way to speak to people. On the other hand, we could look at it as the weaker party (us) seeking peace with the stronger party (God), and, oddly enough, the negotiation and sealing of that agreement is through Jesus Christ.

    ‌The reality is that the ultimate culmination of peace will not happen here. Peace is in Heaven. However, when we spend time meditating on God’s word about peace, and meditating on who Jesus is (the Prince of Peace), we receive God’s peace here on earth.

    1) What are your thoughts about flame being a purifying image? What concept, if any, in Christianity is symbolized by a flame? How do they work together?

    2) Does it bother you that Jesus uses war imagery to make a point? Why or why not?

    3) If the ultimate peace only happens in Heaven, why pursue it here on earth?

  • Dressing the Part

    Matthew 6:25–34, Romans 13:11–14:1, Galatians 3:19–28 (read online)

    Have you ever put on clothes, whether someone else’s or at the store, and say, “that is not me?” There are a number of shows about clothes, and a lot of them are about what the clothes say about the person. The shows state a belief that the clothes say more about what the person thinks of themselves.

    If you wear really baggy clothes (skipping the supposed in fashion part), you could just want to be comfortable, or you are so uncomfortable with yourself that you use the clothes to hide. That’s silly, you might say. However, if you really think about it, what clothes we were do affect how we think about ourselves. You may not wear a tux or a ballgown often, but when you do, it affects you. This is part of the reason we do see so many struggles with clothes.

    One of the first things we judge a person we haven’t met before is their clothes. If you dress casually normally, and they’re dressed up, you may think they are too stiff or formal. If you normally dress up, you may think another person is too casual, and thus lazy or uncaring. These views often show up at church, but they also show up in other social settings.

    “Dress the part,” is often the advice given to people applying for a new job, or seeking to move up in an organization. If, for example, the president wears a suit, you wear a suit. There are, of course, exceptions when it comes to that as certain occupations require certain clothes. Even there, though, if you don’t take care of the clothes you’ll receive a different reaction.

    Jesus tells us not to worry about the clothes we wear. Yet, we do. In Jesus’ time, clothes are often a luxury. By and large, in the US, people can get fairly decent clothes for a relatively cheap price. However, obsessing about the latest fashion is probably not the most Christian thing. On the other hand, lecturing others for their expensive fashion is not our place either (the world does enough judging of its own there).

    While not included in today’s passages, there is a time when Jesus speaks about having food that others do not know about and being the living water. These words can help us reason with Jesus’ words, especially when we read Paul’s words. While Jesus was concerned with people’s well-being on earth, His other concern was the life to come. There the clothes and food we concern ourselves about today, will not even be a whisper of a thought.

    This leads us to Paul’s words. “Put on Jesus.” Is Jesus a coat or a robe that I just put on like clothes? This phrase often strikes people as odd. Unless you’re putting on an Edgar suit (see MIB), you don’t put on a person. If we’re honest with ourselves, putting on a Jesus suit seems pretentious, false, and, well…“not me”.

    Putting on the Jesus suit is awkward. It doesn’t feel like us. It isn’t. In religious/spiritual/psychological circles we talk about changing from the inside-out. In Christian-speak, we would say the Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside-out. However, the Jesus suit puts that into question. It’s where borrowing from a different Christians tradition is helpful. In the Reform circles, there is an emphasis on imputed righteousness. In other words, we’re righteous because God said so. They (and we) know that we still aren’t righteous. God is still working on us from the inside.

    Yet, when we became Christians, we were issued a Jesus suit.

    1) Assuming that your Jesus suit was white when given to you, what color do you think it is now?

    2) Think about a piece of white clothing that gets washed over and over (and especially with other colors of clothing). What color does it turn into? Do you think a Jesus suit would discolor (i.e., no longer be white) after lots of washing?

    3) How does a Jesus suit get washed?

    4) Why a Jesus suit, and not a costume?

  • Humble Knowledge

    1 Samuel 2:1–10, Job 36:1–4, 2 Peter 1:3–8 (read online)

    Knowledge is power, so it is said. One of the great gifts of the Enlightenment was indeed the removal of knowledge from the monopoly of the church. Knowledge, when freed from the shackles of human power and control, can grow.

    Knowledge, by the way, does not mean wisdom. Wisdom is something completely different (though it often looks similar). Societally, we value knowledge. We lift those up with lots of education. We often put them on a pedestal as if they are of greater value than we are. The problem truly comes when one views the knowledge they have as giving some authority, insight, and/or power that is not theirs.

    Hannah’s prayer covers that to some degree as she talks about not boasting, or speaking arrogantly. She notes that God has all the knowledge. As God has all the knowledge, God is able to weigh everyone’s actions. No matter how much knowledge we have, or anyone has, we will never have all the knowledge of God even with all the technology we have now, and will have. Only God has the knowledge of all people and all situations.

    As Elihu speaks, we should all be cringing. How could anyone be so arrogant they have complete knowledge? Sadly, this is exactly how many people speak and act. In fact, such speakers are given accolades. Lest you forget, that is exactly what we are getting in our politics these days, and it will probably be worse next year. That is unless we take a stand. This is not the stand of my way is THE right way, but the stand of I may not be right and should be open to others. This doesn’t mean we will all agree, all of a sudden. Often if we are willing to listen, the heart of our approach may change hearts. However, even if opinions aren’t changed, bridges can still be built instead of walls.

    For Christians, it should be a deepening knowledge of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit that we should seek, both in ourselves and in others. Peter reminds us that this is how we deepen our faith. If we keep increasing our knowledge of God…we won’t be useless. That means if we do keep increasing in our knowledge we are useful to God. Sounds pretty good.

    1) Do you find yourself overly respecting those with knowledge?

    2) How are you deepening your knowledge of God? Is it with purpose, or is it aimless?

    3) How can we gently correct those full of knowledge, who are full of themselves?