Tag: speech

Storms of Dust

Psalm 19; Exodus 19:16–25; Mark 9:2–8

Heaven is declaring God’s glory;
the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.
One day gushes the news to the next,
and one night informs another what needs to be known.
Of course, there’s no speech, no words—
their voices can’t be heard—
but their sound extends throughout the world;
their words reach the ends of the earth.

Whether the story of God meeting the Israelites or the Transfiguration of Jesus, all of Creation proclaims the handiwork of God. While we look at Psalm 19 (or Psalm 148) and see the work of God celebrating God, there is quite a dark side to it. The bittersweet truth is that all the Creation that praises God today will die.

Part of Ash Wednesday includes, “From dust you came and to dust you return,” from Genesis 3:19. It also includes a small phrase spoken during many graveside funerals, “Ashes to ashes; dust to dust.” Our mortality is central to Lent, because sin is what led to death, and sin was what Jesus’ death on the cross was to absolve.

Sin leads to the death of Creation. Yes, Revelation expresses the concept of a new Heaven and a new Earth. New, however, indicates that the old is gone. The “old” Creation (the one in which we live) will go away.

From an absolute sense, this isn’t a bad thing. No one in their right mind would want to bring into something new all the tattered, worn out, bloody, hateful stuff into something beautifully new. It’s good that the old will be gone.

This long view of hope is unusual for the world. It is needed by the world. It is easy to conclude that much of the angst and anxiety of the world is that it does not have the hope that looks beyond the now and dying. The world knows it’s dying.

※Reflection※

Scripture has humanity starting as dust. Why is it important to humanity’s humility to understand that, regardless of what science might say different?

※Prayer※

You are the Lord of Life, Jesus. Help us to keep that in mind while we recall that we are dust. Amen.

2021-03-06
What A Sight
Numbers 22:1–35

Moab feared Israel. Israel “just” had a military victory against major forces around Moab. Israel had marched around Moab and yet hadn’t done anything directly against Moab. Moab was deeply concerned that they were next.

According to Moses (in Deuteronomy 2:9), God had directed him to leave Moab alone. There is no record of “official” interaction between the Moabites and Israel, so it would seem that Moab’s fears were based on assumptions rather than experience. Which leads us to Balaam.

The King of Moab called upon Balaam to curse the Israelites. Accusing the Israelites of being, basically, locusts seems to be a case of hyperbole. Yet, there was unsurety in Moab. It’s safer to wipe out the “other” than to communicate with them.

At first, it seems that Balaam was a righteous God-follower. As we continue the story, it seems that perhaps it was not quite so. There is an implication that God condescends to Balaam going to prophesy on King Balak’s behalf. The “go” seems to be more along the lines of, “You can go. You’re going to anyway. So, I will use your human desires to bring glory to me (God).”

And then we come to the famous part of the story, which recently came up in a conversation. The entirety of the conversation was about a talking animal. Which I get it. None of us have had an animal speak to us in human speech.

While human speech is important, our dog communicates just fine: whines, stares, growls, barks, licks, gnaws, pounces on, and so forth. She generally is successful in communicating her needs without human speech. A human baby communicates. It’s usually the parents who get the subtle differences between, “I’m hungry” cry, and “my stomach hurts” cry.

We could blame children’s Sunday School for the emphasis on a talking beast of burden. The adults are just as nonplussed as the children, though. The talking animal wasn’t the point of the story, not even close.

The talking animal was more along the lines of, “Yes, you (Balaam) said you heard me (God), but you need to understand how important it is that you actually listen to me!”

In the church, preachers/pastors/teachers will often say something along the lines of, “Yes, this hard, but the Scriptures say…” Part of this is the reality that preachers/pastors/teachers don’t want to deliver hard truth. It’s hard, and we all want to be liked. In a community that respects the Word of God, that can work.

Balaam probably doesn’t have that particular protection. Like many people of power, and especially with the gods of that era and place, they thought with the right amount of money or right sacrifice they could “move” gods to do their will. God doesn’t work that way, and Balak would likely have little joy in being thwarted.

However, that talking donkey and then the vision of the sword-bearing angel? That imagery was probably quite strong in Balaam’s eyes and heart. Likely, it was that which gave him the strength to deliver the oracles for Israel despite Barak’s insistence on curses.

A vision/experience like that would give many of us the strength to face the world.

※Reflection※
- When you recall the talking donkey, what else do you recall? Do recall the rest of the story?
- Why is important, especially with stories like this, to understand that the Scriptures use imagery?
※Prayer※

Lord, may we have the strength of your vision as we navigate the chaotic waters of this world. Amen.
2021-01-31
Heart of God, Speak

Deuteronomy 18:15–20; Mark 1:21–28

Prophetic speech is not unique to the Judeo-Christian community, not by a long shot. In the current world, there are many forms of prophetic voice.

A short list (i.e., not exhaustive) of prophetic voices: environmental collapse; sustainability (related, but not the same as environmental collapse); gender identification; minority redress (including, but not limited to, white privilege); economic growth; and so much more.

From a Judeo-Christian standpoint (and certainly from a number of political points within the church), it might seem dangerous to call these “prophetic.” The Global Wesleyan Dictionary of Theology says that prophecy is, “…an urgent message from God to an audience.”

That being said, the only similar words with the same underlying (i.e., surpassing the human condition) meaning are revelation (firmly culturally tied to Christianity), apocalypse (mostly having turned into meaning the fall of the modern world), oracle (too new-age-y even for many new-age-ers), and vision (which has too many meanings to be useful).

The reason this is important is that for many of these “prophetic” voices they are sharing the urgent message from their “god”. In some of these cases, it should be understood that we are not talking about gods as if they were God. We are talking about a world understanding framework that for Judeo-Christians we would think God. This means that faith is as much a part of their prophetic voice as God is part of ours.

On the other hand, there are many prophetic voices in these areas that are believers in and followers of Jesus Christ. For them, there is a direct tie between God, their voice, and the issue. As with many important human issues, it’s quite a mess.

The great sage, Ben Parker, once said, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Christians have been given a unique power, that of the Holy Spirit. In combination with the Word of God (the Bible), we have the ability to influence others, and thus must be very careful in using what we have. This is especially true when used with other believers.

What has become also very evident is that people are disregarding prophetic voices that don’t agree with their line of thinking. This is the most dangerous. When we disregard the prophetic voices solely because they do not align themselves with our brand of Christianity (including denomination, political-alignment, lifestyle choices, or national origin), we are in grave danger of repeating the patterns of the Israelites…casting out the voices into the darkness, while condemning ourselves.

※Reflection※

What prophetic voices have you been hearing? What makes them prophetic? What, if any, change in your life have they prompted?

※Prayer※

Holy Spirit, you are living and active in this world right now. Give us the heart, wisdom, and discernment to hear the prophetic promptings of your people called by your name. Amen.

2021-01-30
Live Freely
1 Corinthians 6:12–20; John 1:43–51

In the US, freedom is a significant cultural word. Often, we use language such as “free country”. The Declaration of Independence is quoted most often with, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The problem with such an ideology has been shown in the context of individual liberty. We are currently watching political extremes play out in the public “square” where one person’s pursuit of happiness in in direct conflict with another’s.

The US Constitution is an imperfect document. It cannot deal with the myriad of people who want to rewrite it in their own image (equally an issue in the 2 primary political parties).

The US Constitution is, in many respects, a contract. Far too many people read it just like the read the terms and conditions on credit cards, mobile phones, internet agreements, account usages, etc.. In other words, there are too many people (politicians, media hosts, regular people) who haven’t read the constitution.

Yet, many people believe they have “rights” based on the tendency to misunderstand that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are not the same document and have completely different intents.

So, what do “rights” and “freedom” have to do with Jesus Christ? A whole lot and very little.

As a Roman citizen, Paul had rights and privileges that many people didn’t. Since he was born a citizen (see Acts 22:28) and was a Jew (a Benjaminite), at a minimum his father had bought rights or was granted them. Thus, at birth, Paul was a citizen.

Paul’s privilege may have well put him in a place of societal and political superiority of the Jewish world. He was an official part of Roman society and had special legal protection. From a legal standpoint, Paul’s privilege was not “white privilege” (as we hear today). From a functional viewpoint, however, it may not be far off.

When Paul talks about freedom, therefore, we must understand that he knew quite well what his freedom was in comparison to many (even most) Christians. He could do things, own things, influence things in ways others could not.

Recently, an acquaintance—George Holleway—wrote, “Christians, you may have freedom of speech constitutionally, but you don’t have it biblically.”

The immediate response was an argument that combined scripture with US culture and politics (and the constitution fits into both). It showed an ignorance of scripture and a presumption of culture that should deeply concern the church.

Paul’s words are slightly different than George’s, but both Paul and George have the same presumption…Christ comes first. Even the secular constitution has something with Paul’s words, others are important to our freedom.

For the constitution, it was to protect the people from the overreach of government (remember, we elected them). For the church, and Christ, it is to protect people from Hell.

Christians, we aren’t free to do whatever we want. We are free to do the will of Jesus Christ who came to earth to live and die, that we might be children of God.

※Reflection※
- Why is it important to understand the difference between constitutional freedom and freedom in Jesus Christ?
- To you, what does “freedom in Jesus Christ” allow you to do? What does it—if anything—prevent you from doing?
- What is the difference between “freedom of” and “freedom in”?
※Prayer※

Jesus, we call you Lord and Savior. In our world, Lord doesn’t have the impact it should. Help us to truly understand what it means that you are the Lord of our lives. Amen.
2021-01-16
Purple Vision

Numbers 27:15–23; 2 Timothy 2:8–13

Having worked for family-owned and -run businesses, I know that one of the business’ concerns is, who’s next? Perhaps it might be better to say that the success of a family-owned and -run business is who will successfully lead it with vision and tenacity once the current leadership steps down.

I have seen it work well. I have seen it work not-so-well. One business had a plan, and the other business made laissez-faire assumptions.

Moses had spent a lot of time getting the Israelites to the Promised Land. He had been frustrated, belittled, and probably cursed by the same Israelites. He still wanted them to succeed in the Promised Land. So, Moses asked God for the next leader.

God selected Joshua. Now, it could be said that this was obvious, as other than Aaron, only Joshua is noted as Moses’ aide, and even accompanied Moses when he received the Ten Commandments. Joshua, as Moses’ aide, indeed saw the dark side of leading the Israelites.

I think it is appropriate to presume that God had guided Moses’ selection of Joshua, thus make Joshua the “obvious” choice. On the other hand, we could also presume that Moses’ experience in Pharaoh’s house would have taught Moses how to choose a leader, and then God used that.

Who was next to lead would set the Israelites for success or failure in the Promised Land.

In some respects, that is the same view many people have of the incoming Presidential administration and the Congressional seating. Success or failure. In a republic, it’s a little harder to really hit that success or failure button (though pundits try).

As we look at the days, months, and years to follow this election, we all need to ask ourselves about a few things. For the last few election cycles, the country has been color-coded with red and blue. The animosity between red and blue is approaching that of the Bloods and Crypts from decades ago, who differentiate themselves by red or blue.

Wearing the wrong colors in the wrong neighborhood was a recipe for being harmed by the other gang’s members. Now people are being assaulted by the “opposing” group just for wearing t-shirts, hats, or participating in their constitutionally protected right to protest.

There has been a centrist movement calling itself “purple”. However, there is something ironic in that. This mix of red and blue representation of republic political alignment has a completely different meaning…royalty.

Theoretically, the War of Independence was intended to “free” the American colonies from the oppression of British royalty. Instead, we developed an elected aristocracy.

There is one good thing, though, about the purple. Who we recognize as royalty, who we recognize as king makes all the difference. When we recognize and believe the Jesus Christ is King, we can gladly declare ourselves purple, for we seek to follow the True King.

※Reflection※

What will it take, do you think, for Christian conversations on politics to be purple first, rather than last? What is one behavior or conversation of yours was not purple during this recent political season? How can you develop a practice of purple thoughts and speech, rather than red or blue?

※Prayer※

Lord, you are the King of the Universe. Through you, Creation came into being. Only you are worthy of our worship and praise. Thank you for giving us the freedom to choose. Thank you for loving us enough so that through the Holy Spirit, we can become wise. Amen.

2020-11-22
Evangel

Evangel

28 September 2020

Luke 1:68–80; Ephesians 4:7–16

Many years ago, there was campaign against man-caused forest fires. The campaign “starred” a little bear cub that, while burned, survived a man-caused forest fire. The tagline for the campaign was, “Only YOU can prevent forest fires.”

From a strict understanding, of course, it’s not just you that can prevent forest fires. It’s you and everyone else around whose behavior contributes to the amount of man-caused forest fires. Of course, you can only prevent forest fires when you are the contributor of the originating fire.

That was the beauty of the campaign. Ultimately, it was just you that can prevent forest fires, it was you and your friends and everyone else working together to prevent man-caused forest fires.

What, you may be asking yourself, have to do with Zechariah’s Holy Spirit-driven prophetic speech over an infant John the Baptist? Re-read it, and where it says, “you, child…” say, “me, [your name]…”

Just like the campaign starring Smokey the Bear, it wasn’t just John the Baptist who was called to go before Jesus. Each and every one of us is called to “go before” Jesus in our daily lives.

How that works in each person’s life will, for most, remain a mystery. However, when we live out a faithful life that witnesses to the power, grace, and love of Jesus Christ, we go before Jesus. Once we are asked a why or how question about our lives, then we get to announce Jesus.

You probably never thought of yourself as John the Baptist. That’s probably a good thing, for none of us can be another person, nor did God call us to be that way. We are not called to be John the Baptist.

You are probably not called to eat wild locusts and honey. Nor are you probably called to wear a hairy coat. We are called to follow in the “spirit of” John the Baptist by proclaiming salvation through Jesus Christ.

When we think of evangelism, we generally think about sharing Jesus with people who don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Perhaps, however, we are just as called to share Jesus with those in the Body of Christ (the church).

Paul wrote to the Ephesians about the varying roles within the body. The overarching goal is, “…unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son…” He wrote that to Christians.

Our (good) desire to reach people who don’t know Jesus may well have obscured something essential. We need to continue to evangelize (i.e., tell the Good News about Jesus) each other.

※Questions※

1) Where and how do you see yourself evangelizing those that do not yet know Jesus? How about those who already declare they know Jesus?

2) What scares you most evangelizing? Does that fear change depending on whether they are already or not yet believers?

3) What are some ways evangelizing is (or should be) performed within the body of believers?

※Prayer※

Holy Spirit, guide our hearts to always be evangelizing one another. Amen.

2020-09-27
I Said, You Say

Exodus 4:10–17; Matthew 25:14–30

Moses is highly regarded in Jewish circles. As the bringer of the Law, his place in their history is unassailable. The first 5 books of the Bible also being attributed to him also helps.

Moses was (and is) viewed as the greatest prophet from a Jewish perspective. Yet, Moses was human. Moses did human things. Moses had human failings.

In today’s passage, we see that Moses really was trying to avoid his calling. Was he trying to avoid the Pharaoh? Maybe. Was he afraid? Probably. Was he “poor” of speech? Probably.

Moses pleads to escape God’s call on him. He didn’t want to be the one. “Please send someone else.”

How many times have you said that about helping others? How about speaking Christ into the lives of others? We often say to ourselves; God will send someone better than me.

God calls us for a time and place, and the call may change as the times and places change. Not only are there times we avoid the call, there are also times we hold onto a call whose time has passed.

There is something to notice. “Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses…” That is not the most comforting thing to hear. Making God angry is generally an unwise move.

Even though God is angry with Moses, God still condescends to him by assigning his brother Aaron as the mouthpiece. The co-mission goes forward.

Even Moses allowed his fear and apprehension to turn him from God’s mission. No one is immune to fear. We just have to find in our hearts the strength the trust God.

※ Prayer ※

Lord, help us to embrace the unique mission and ministry that you have given us. Amen

※ Questions ※

1) What is your current commission from God? If you are not aware of it, set aside some time today to prayerfully ask God what the commission is…and give God the space to answer it.

2) Why do you think that God allows Aaron to speak for Moses even though it was Moses’ commission?

3) Think about what you know about Moses. Put times in Moses’ life against each of the servants noted in the Parable of the Talents. Which life event of Moses to you apply to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd servant?

2020-08-30
Crossing the Line

2 Chronicles 7:12–22; 2 Kings 21:1–17; 2 Corinthians 4:7–17

A great tragedy occurs every day, babies and children are abandoned. In all grace and truth, many of the parents are truly afraid of the responsibility and their inability to fulfill it. Some of these are abandoned at hospitals in the same way as babies used to be left at the doors of orphanages.

If you are a parent, you probably can only imagine the heartache and life circumstances that a parent could ever abandon their child.

Society is at a point where adult children are remaining in their parents’ home longer, whether it is due to jobs, education, lack of opportunity, or lack of romance. The attitude of people is changing as this is becoming too common for it to be solely an individual issue. Parents are looking at their children, wanting the best, but not desiring to abandon them to the world.

No matter how much a parent loves their child (or children) however, there can be limits to a peaceful home. There are always rules and boundaries. At some point, violating the rules and crossing the boundaries becomes too much.

Think of God. His children (of Israel) had abandoned God by actions and by heart. They willingly walked away from their “parent”. They knowingly and willingly violated the rules and crossed boundaries that God had set in place to protect them.

From Moses’ speech in Deuteronomy to God’s admonition to Solomon, God was quite clear that there were consequences. In the admonition to Manasseh, we get the feeling though…abandonment. In the CSB version, “I will abandon the remnant of my inheritance and hand them over to their enemies.”

Yes, God was angry. Yet, abandon is not a small word. It is also not as if God was going to leave them there. However, for a time, it would be as if God were not with them.

Would God’s heart be breaking? Yes. Would the Israelites be in misery? Yes. Would the Israelites learn from this? Yes. Did the lessons stay with them? Not so much. The lessons, however, remain with us.

The Great Commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; love your neighbor as yourself.

This is the boundary that we must not cross, for wouldn’t we want people to love us, too?

※Prayer※

Jesus, let your light of love shine in us so that we may shine your light into the darkness. Amen.

2020-08-23
What’s in the back?

Matthew 6:5–9; Mark 9:43–50; 1 Corinthians 5:9–13 (read online ⧉)

Prayer closets are a thing for some people. They have taken Jesus’ words in such a way to step into a private and personal space to pray to God. This is not a bad thing. Most do not pray solely in a prayer closet. If they do, that means it is quite difficult to pray with and over others, which we are called to do.

Jesus’ words were primarily a counterpoint to the ritualistic attention gathering prayer performed by so-called pious people. Their piety was merely a mask for the selfish desire for human acclaim. By providing a very private alternative to the public activities, Jesus was making the point that prayer is a relational activity between a person and God, rather than an act to be seen. One thing to keep in mind though is that in First Century housing a private room was unlikely for poorer people, who primarily shared communal spaces, so Jesus’ words aren’t inherently what we often interpret them to mean.

The other aspect of this is the other stuff we keep in that “prayer” closet. The prayer closet we should be using to bring requests, needs, praises, gratitude and so on is often contaminated by the darkness of our hearts.

Jesus’ harsh words about cutting off your hand or plucking out your eye or cutting off your foot aren’t really about the hand, the eye, or the foot. It is about the heart. What is in our hearts that we try to hide in our closets?

Another way to think of this is our “Christian” walk. We look good on the outside, but perhaps we are merely whitewashed tombs who look clean and fresh but are filled with death and decay. This may seem harsh. However, each of us has certain things that we try to contain that come out of the darkness and wounds of our lives.

Perhaps, if we used the closet for prayer rather than unmentionables, and put our unmentionables out on the streets, we might not have to cut off our hands or feet or pluck out our eyes.

The real question is what are the things that are in our closets. Paul’s list seems pretty straightforward, yet it is a list with a spirit, rather than a list of crimes. The list is more about the heart of the sinner, rather than the act itself. Yes, the act is bad. It comes from the heart.

We are not immune to any of these crimes. How they are expressed may be different in each of our lives. It could be the manner of speech we have with our interested gender. It could be how we treat and interact with others. It could be just how we look at another as a step toward our goal, rather than a child of God.

※Prayer※

Lord, break our hearts for what breaks yours. Break our hearts for the darkness in them. Heal our hearts from the wounds the bind. Let us be your free and holy children. Amen.

※Questions※

1) [This is a private and personal question] What has God brought to mind about yourself in this? How will we confront and redeem it?

2) How does hiding the bad stuff in our prayer closet affect our relationship with God, especially our prayer life? How might this affect our lives with others?

3) Submission to Jesus Christ (yesterday’s, 11 June 2020, devotional) includes the stuff in the closet. Why do we often not want to submit it to Jesus Christ?

2020-06-13
Falling Down

Numbers 11:24–30; Joel 2:27–29; Acts 2:1–21 (read online ⧉)

Just in case you didn’t know, today is Pentecost. Some call it the “true” birth of the Church for the Holy Spirit fell upon the people of God, and has not left us yet. It is also called Whitsunday, of which part that is white (for purity) and the other is whit (Old English for wit, or wisdom).

It is not the case that Jesus left us bare. It is the case that Jesus left us with fire. The tongues of flame (whether in Numbers or Acts) were representative of the Holy Spirit and God’s word/speech being active. It is not coincidental that the tongues of flame seen on Pentecost were previously seen in Moses’ time.

Think of Moses’ words to Joshua in response to Joshua’s complaint that 2 elders who dishonored God and Moses spoke via the Holy Spirit, “If only all the LORD’s people were prophets and the LORD would place his Spirit on them!” This also goes hand-in-hand with Joel’s words, “I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity.”

In all likelihood, you have not seen some with tongues of fire over their heads. You may have witnessed—or been part of a tradition—where people spoke “in tongues”. Neither is required as evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift of God, and is God. Through the guidance (wisdom) of the Holy Spirit, we see the Scriptures for what they are…the Word of God.

This is not to say that the Holy Spirit was never present before, quite the contrary. What this means is that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the church is distinctly different than what is and was present outside of the church. Theologians still try to discern the whys and wherefores of the difference.

One of the biggest differences is that while the Holy Spirit was generally present (just as today), the Holy Spirit as expressed through prophets was unique to the calling of the prophets. The Pentecostal gift of the Holy Spirit was that all received the Holy Spirit expressly, not generally.

This does not mean that all are gifted with foretelling (often called prophesy) or Truth-telling (also called prophesy, or preaching). The Holy Spirit works in and through each person differently. Your gifting may be quite different than another’s, that does not invalidate either.

※ Prayer ※

Holy Spirit, we thank you for your ongoing gift of yourself to us. Help us to honor you, God the Father, and Jesus the Son, as we are the church, the bride of Christ, to the world. Amen.

※ Questions ※

1)How would you evaluate/discern whether someone was gifted by the Holy Spirit or by the natural talents they had? What is the difference?

2) Why is Moses’ story so important in the context of Pentecost? What about Joshua’s response?

3) Why do you think people thought the disciples of Jesus were drunk? What might their rationale be for how a drunk person would speak as if a native speaker of their own tongue(s)?

2020-05-31