Devotion.al

Tag: spirit

  • Prayer Filled

    Prayer Filled

    Psalm 19; Matthew 6:7–15; Romans 8:18–27

    We decided to get “weight management” dog food for our dog. She is a little overweight. Strangely (and this should have been a big clue), she got a greater volume of food with the “diet” food than with her normal food. Instead of a cup-and-a-half per meal, she got 2 cups per meal.

    Anyone who understands basic physiology would understand that the more food one eats, the stomach “learns” and expands. Our dog has become accustomed to the larger amount of food and had made it quite clear that she is hungrier than she used to be. Not a real help for losing weight.

    It is, however, why the “diet” food requires more volume than the regular food that is of importance…filler. The manufacturer puts more “filler” into the food, so that the dog is “deceived” into thinking they’re getting enough food. At least in our dog’s case, that trick doesn’t seem to work.

    Often, we fill our prayers to God with filler. We deceive ourselves that the amount of words mean that we are praying better. Sometimes, it’s with the standard speaking filler words such as: uh, um, like, okay, and. Other times it’s filled with: Father, God, , Holy , Father God.

    It seems strange to consider God’s names as filler. If we were to speak to people in front of us using their in every sentence, it would get awkward quickly. When it comes to prayer, specifically public prayer, filler has become the norm.

    The prayer filler, in this case, isn’t automatically bad. It does indicate, however, that we may need to re- lessons from the .

    The Psalms are short and long. The longest, Psalm 119, is a poem using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet as a starting point. Don’t use that as your determiner of prayer length. Psalm 19 isn’t really a prayer yet verses 12–14 summarize what a prayer could contain. It has breadth. It also has limits.

    The words, in many respects, are less important than “the meditation of the .” The groanings of our innermost being (Romans 8:26) gets to God. We don’t need to use lots of words, for the is with us.

    However, often this becomes, spew it out, let God sort it out. When it comes to the “groanings”, we seem to operate this way, but ‘s groanings were wordless (or there are no words to say it), not lots of words.

    Perhaps the greatest gift of the Lord’s Prayer is organization. We have a pattern. As we publicly or privately pray, let’s look to the Lord’s Prayer as our map. The Lord’s Prayer is simple. It is deep and profound. Yet, it is simple. Jesus’ preamble about the many words use gives us some boundaries for our prayers. We get what to pray for and how not to pray.

    ※Questions※

    1) In keeping with “the meditation of the heart”, what is the state of your heart when you pray?

    2) Do you organize your prayers and petitions, or do you just speak? What is the difference between rote and organized prayer?

    3) Is silent prayer ineffective? Why do we seem to judge the worth of our prayers by the number of the words we speak, rather than by the heart with which we speak?

    ※Prayer※

    Holy Spirit, guide the meditations of hearts and the words from our mouths to be holy and sanctified prayers that bring you, the Holy Trinity, glory and . Amen.

  • Weak Win

    Weak Win

    1 Corinthians 9:19–23

    Kevin holds several Guinness World Records. One record is pulling three firetrucks weighing in at 109 tons across 100 feet in just 34 seconds. Another is pulling 15 cars at once. He made the record for the heaviest plane pulled.

    Kevin is immensely strong. In his normal job, he doesn’t talk much about his feats of . However, in powerlifting circles, people will come to him for advice. Why Kevin? Kevin is a Lutheran pastor.

    Kevin is strong. We admire the strong. Every four years people watch the strongest athletes in their field compete at the Olympics. Generally, every year there are professional athletes who compete for the Lombardi trophy (American Football), Lord Stanley’s Cup (Ice Hockey), the Commissioner’s Trophy (Baseball). We watch their feats with amazement and enjoy watching people at the peak of their field compete.

    If, however, we were asked to watch the weakest people on earth compete, would we bother? Sadly, the only ones who would are often those who seek to mock others. If, on the other hand, we watch the weak improve themselves (whether it’s the Biggest Loser or The Worst Cook in America), we can celebrate their victories with them.

    Paul chose to be weak. We often skip over that one on the list. We like “all things” or “under the law” or “without the law”. We don’t like weak.

    The weakness Paul speaks of is not weakness (granted, in comparison with Kevin Fast, all of us are weak). Paul is referring less about physical weakness more about those whose or in God is weak.

    We often look at others and see their strength, comparing ourselves to them. That isn’t particularly healthy. Paul took the self-less route and chose to appear to be like the weak. He suppressed his strengths so that the weak could be encouraged and not depressed.

    Being weak is not a strength, so the thinking goes. Yet, through weakness, Jesus is glorified. Through weakness, more people are brought into fellowship with God. Through weakness, none of us are alone.

    We all are weak in something, without exception. Others balance out our weaknesses. With one another in companionship, we are forever stronger than when we are alone, no matter how strong we think we are when we stand in solitude.

    ※Questions※

    1) What is your weakest skill? Where are you weak spiritually?

    2) What is your when someone says to you, “you’re weak”?

    3) How does recognizing and embracing your weaknesses help to expand God’s ?

    ※Prayer※

    , guide our hearts to be -filled towards those we perceive as weak, and may they be grace-filled toward us in our weakness. Amen.

  • Sorté

    Sorté

    “And you continue, so bullheaded! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the Holy , you’re just like your ancestors. Was there ever a prophet who didn’t get the same treatment? Your ancestors killed anyone who dared talk about the coming of the Just One. And you’ve kept up the family tradition—traitors and murderers, all of you. You had God’s Law handed to you by angels—gift-wrapped!—and you squandered it!”

    At that point they went wild, a rioting mob of catcalls and whistles and invective. But Stephen, full of the , hardly noticed—he only had eyes for God, whom he saw in all his with standing at his side. He said, “Oh! I see heaven wide open and the of Man standing at God’s side!”

    Yelling and hissing, the mob drowned him out. Now in full stampede, they dragged him out of town and pelted him with rocks. The ringleaders took off their coats and asked a young man named Saul to watch them.

    As the rocks rained down, Stephen prayed, “Master Jesus, take my life.” Then he knelt down, praying loud enough for everyone to hear, “Master, don’t blame them for this sin”—his last words. Then he died.

    Saul was right there, congratulating the killers.

    That set off a terrific persecution of the church in Jerusalem. The believers were all scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. All, that is, but the apostles. Good and brave men buried Stephen, giving him a solemn funeral—not many dry eyes that day!

    And Saul just went wild, devastating the church, entering house after house after house, dragging men and women off to jail. Forced to leave home base, the followers of Jesus all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, they preached the Message about Jesus. Going down to a Samaritan city, Philip proclaimed the Message of the Messiah. When the people heard what he had to say and saw the miracles, the clear signs of God’s action, they hung on his every . Many who could neither stand nor walk were healed that day. The evil spirits protested loudly as they were sent on their way. And what joy in the city!” —Acts 7:54–8:8 (The Message)

    Normally, I would quote a longer piece of the , but the way The Message conveys this is too important to leave it to our preferred translations, for it speaks in our everyday language. Two sentences in particular:

    “Forced to leave home base, the followers of Jesus all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, they preached the Message about Jesus.”

    This whole COVID/Corona season we’ve had “home base” completely disrupted. Whether it’s working from home, not working, or other “homes”, such as the church building, and the friends’ rooms being prohibited, it has been quite a time.

    As things have progressed, working from home for many became a prison rather than an escape. Not being able to go places became its own struggle. Even those who consider themselves homebodies want to get out.

    The reality is that we all seek a “base”. We want a place to feel safe. We want a place to be “home”. We want a place to be “”.

    In this case, however, perhaps “base” is actually what we don’t want. A better way to say it might be that for us to in gifts and graces we need to step off (or out of) the “base”.

    Notice that it was after being cast out from Jerusalem (home base), Jesus was being preached. After leaving the safe confines of “home” they began to preach. Something about being out of their comfort zone caused them to share about Jesus.

    ※Questions※

    1) What might the lesson be for us regarding “home base” and the world in this time we find ourselves in?

    2) Why did losing “home” seem to loosen tongues and hearts for Jesus?

    3) How does comfort or normal inhibit sharing the Gospel?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Jesus, we offer our comfort to you that we might use it, or lose it, to fulfill your will. Amen.

  • Kinda Stuck

    Kinda Stuck

    Kinda Stuck

    7 September 2020

    Leviticus 4:27–31; Leviticus 5:14–16; 1 John 1:6–10

    When we talk about , we often operate with the presumption of commission of sin. In other words, we did something. There is also the sin of omission. In other words, what we didn’t do.

    The morning confession in the Book of Common Prayer reads
    Most merciful God,
    we that we have sinned against you
    in thought, word, and deed,
    by what we have done,
    and by what we have left undone.
    We have not loved you with our whole heart;
    we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
    We are truly sorry and we humbly .
    For the sake of your Jesus Christ,
    have on us and forgive us;
    that we may delight in your will,
    and walk in your ways,
    to the glory of your Name. Amen.

    In many respects, this confession is hard, because in it we confess that we are not loving God and others as God has called us to do. On the other hand, this confession is freeing, as we aren’t required to go down all the items we messed up on (and some days that can be quite a lot).

    When we read Leviticus, we can often get bogged down in all the rules. Yet, if you read the rules in today’s verses, there is in them. In them, while the rules regarding are stringent, at the same time there is the recognition that someone may not recognize the act while in the middle of committing it.

    We all make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are sins. Sometimes they aren’t sins, per se, but still hurt others. We aren’t supposed to beat ourselves up about it. We are supposed to confess, repent, and move on.

    Even in Leviticus, barring a few acts, there isn’t a “no repeat” rule. This means that God will gracefully accept our confession and repentance. While we will often continue to sin (sometimes even the same thing), if we are truly repentant in our hearts and confess, God moves on, and so should we.

    Yes, we are called to be better than we were yesterday. Being better than we were yesterday also means better to ourselves than we were yesterday. People will often continually condemn themselves about their failures. When we condemn ourselves, we are often closer to the enemy than God.

    Through the Holy , God convicts. The purpose of that conviction is to free us from the guilt and reconcile us to God. The enemy condemns. That condemnation will often tear our hearts and souls into pieces, leading us to further separate ourselves from God.

    This is not God’s intent. Yes, we are to be aware of what separates us from God. We are to confess and work on what separates us from God. It’s hard enough to improve our walk with God, let us not help the enemy take us further away from the reconciling heart of God.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us be true to you through our confessions and our reconciliation to you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Is there a sin or struggle in your life that you can’t seem to get a handle on, and are concerned that God just won’t let it go? Is it God, or is it you that won’t let it go?

    2) Why do we often let our mistakes and errors bind us?

    3) One aspect of the of the Gospel is from chains. How will you with others the chains you have been freed from?

  • Protected

    Protected

    Protected

    6 September 2020

    Amos 7:10–17; Habakkuk 2:2–17

    Critique and criticism sound very similar. They are often confused and misused. That they have the same root certainly doesn’t help. Critique and criticism, however, have different intents.

    Critique is a thoughtful analysis of something with pointers provided for improvement. The pointers are intended to perfect one’s craft and are meant for self-improvement by the recipient.

    Criticism is often less thoughtful and often a more emotional commentary of something. Unlike critique, the starting point is negative and is less about improving the other and more about lifting up the self.

    The harsh words of the prophets were often viewed as criticism. Though there was anger and in the words (for God was angry and grieving), the intent was never the destruction of the Israelites or Jews. The intent was always to have them improve by throwing away their false and disregard of God.

    The harshness came from the constant ignoring that occurred. The Israelites and Jews never seemed to be convinced by gentle and loving words. Before we criticize them, however, we need to critique ourselves.

    One of the traits of humanity is the automatic that critique is criticism. This is more a reflection of our own tendencies to criticize rather than critique. This is an important thing to recognize, for this also means we are often not open to improvement.

    Our walk is significantly impacted by this, as it means we are not open to even the Holy Spirit guiding us into all Truth, let alone feedback from our faith community. Our progressive sanctification (becoming more holy, or more like God) hinges on the surrendering of our will, and, perhaps more importantly, our ego and super-ego (to use Freud’s terms).

    The human tendency is to protect our ego and super-ego. We don’t want to . We want to change, but not us. Any change we experience, we want to be without .

    We all understand intellectually that this is unreasonable while we still seek to protect ourselves. In egotistical self-defense, we will assume that any critique is actually criticism and an attempt to harm us. We can look at social media, media, and see that exact behavior played out.

    The Israelites were no different. They wanted to grab onto a dream the Jerusalem and the Promised Land were protected spaces and that they would come to no harm. They held onto this despite the surrounding threats.

    By sending the prophets, he sought to help them see the error of their ways. Instead, they tell Amos to not prophesy against Israel. Habakkuk announced their egotistical ways and they opposed him.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord Jesus, as we read about the lives of others in the , help us to see our own failures in a brighter light than theirs, and guide us into the life with you. Amen.

    ※Questions※

    1) Think of the cultural issues currently surrounding us. Are we really all that different than the Israelites?

    2) If the things around are being allowed by God, how should we be viewing them?

    3) Thinking of critique and criticism, how can you improve your ability to receive and deliver critique, especially concerning spiritual matters?

  • 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 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 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 vision 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 sanctification) 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 holiness 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 ask for cleansing by the .

    ※ Prayer ※

    , , and 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 “corruption”? Why is that the first thing that comes to mind?

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

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

  • Getting Out

    Getting Out

    Getting Out

    1 September 2020

    Acts 12:1–12:19; Acts 16:23–34

    The story of Peter being freed from prison is often used when talking about the power of praying for others. Even scientific studies have shown a correlation between a person being prayed for and improvements in health. There is power in .

    There is also power in being freed from prison, especially the prison of our own minds and hearts. I’ve been thinking these last few days about my time with Celebrate Recovery (CR). CR is a re-Christianized version of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which was originally .

    In CR, I met wonderfully broken people. Yes, they were wonderfully broken. They had come to the end of themselves and found . Through Jesus, the Spirit, and a loving (CR) they began the long road of recovery.

    Prayer was part of every story of recovery. From the beginning to the now, prayer was there. The prisons of chemical addiction, emotional addictions, and sexual addictions were being identified and broken.

    Did people fall again? Of course. God, though, is pretty strong in the area of lost causes, and many in CR only ever viewed themselves as lost causes. God, therefore, had a lot to work with.

    Does CR just automatically “flip-the-switch”? Of course not. It does, however, take a person’s and life experiences and mold it into a follower of Jesus Christ who has true empathy for the struggles of others.

    One of the “features” of CR is the recovery story. Here, a person shares their story from all the hard, painful, and even humiliating things that became an addiction, to the breakdown of pride that lead them to Christ, which led them on a lifelong journey of recovery.

    Sometimes it’s those stories that break through the ego of others. The chains fell off and Silas, and the jail doors came open. Instead of just escaping, they used this example to lead another person and his to Jesus Christ. Their prison freed another man from his.

    The world is full of prisons: politics, racism, prejudice, , anger, hatred. We are called to show people that we are no longer bound by the prisons of the world. Of course, the means we need to see that we are in prison and that we need to get out.

    ※ Prayer ※

    Holy Spirit, sharpen our spirit and will that we can leave our prisons through the and power of Jesus. Amen.

    ※ Questions ※

    1) What was the first thing you think of when you see “prison”? Why? What has shaped that in your life?

    2) Have you ever seen someone leave their “prison”? What was your reaction?

    3) Leaving our prison can be instantaneous or it can take a lifetime. What prison are you looking to be free from?

  • Good Bad Stuff

    Good Bad Stuff

    Good Bad Stuff

    30 August 2020

    Jeremiah 20:7–13; Ephesians 1:17–19

    Have you ever felt deceived by God? How so?

    Depending on the translation, Jeremiah opens today’s verses with deception. פָּתָה, פָּתָה [pathah /paw·thaw/] also means entice, persuade, flatter, allure. The non-deceptive understandings of the word better fit God’s character, though from Jeremiah’s point of view that may merely be semantics.

    Jeremiah is driven to deliver God’s words. He says that God seized him, and later says that God’s words are like a burning in his heart. No matter how much Jeremiah would prefer that he would deliver God’s word, he doesn’t seem to be able to help himself.

    If there is any sense of deception, it is the common that following God’s words and speaking them means that only good things will occur. Jeremiah’s complaint is that he was faithful and a good steward, and yet nothing good is returned.

    The concept of exchange (I do something faithful; God does something good) is one of those issues that has long been a problem in the church. Some call it the “health and wealth gospel.” Jeremiah seemed to have some sense of that as well. Jeremiah is faithful and gets the short end of the stick.

    Do you think by doing something “good” you earn something from God? If you don’t believe it, do you ever like it’s true? If you do believe it’s true, how do explain the bad?

    Being “driven” for God would seem to be a good thing. It doesn’t always work that way. There are plenty of people in the world who are faithful, but are endangered (e.g., persecuted Christians) or are not “blessed” by material things or even good health.

    The early church wondered these same things, too. ‘s words about and revelation are not just to the Ephesians, but to all the church. Often it is only through wisdom and revelation do we see that the bad can bring God , and (over the long haul) bring us .

    In our culture, we can be blinding be wealth and health blessings, and be unable to discern the greatest type of blessing…spiritual blessings. Spiritual blessings may be as simple as joy or a deep as peace (that surpasses all understanding).

    Think of a difficult time in your . What was the spiritual result of that difficult time? Can you imagine a similar result through only positive things?

    ※ Prayer ※

    , help us to look for your wisdom and revelation rather than our own understanding. Amen.