Devotion.al

Tag: surrender

  • Peace and Blessings

    Numbers 6:22–27, Luke 10:3–12, John 14:25–30, John 20:19–28 (read online ⧉)

    The Levitical or priestly has been a mainstay for the Jews and Christians for millennia. The pronouncement of blessing, protection, acknowledgment, grace, favor, and pretty much sums up what a with God should result in. What makes this tiny passage even more strange, yet intimate and comforting is that God states that this is God’s . Perhaps not a name in the proper sense, but God’s name nonetheless. God’s name would then be Blessing Protecting Shining (i.e., “I see and acknowledge you”) Gracious Favoring Peace-Giving God.

    When , therefore, sends out the disciples, they are being sent out on his (God’s) behalf to bestow peace upon . So, think about this…they are to withdraw their peace from houses that do not respond. If peace is there…if God is there. If peace is not there…God is not there. There there is how peace is lived out. The disciples were to go to the first house that welcomed and accepted them. They were to go from house to house to get a better deal (certainly not the way our culture functions). Were they to do this, they would be contaminating God’s peace that they were sent with.

    This becomes even more apparent in Jesus’ bestowing of peace on his 11 disciples on his final night with them (Judas had left at this point of the evening). They were no longer just sent with his peace (as they were before), but now they were bearers of his peace. It sounds similar, granted, but it is different. Similar to baby birds, they went out (previously) and came back. However, now it was time to leave the nest, and they had to carry forth on their own.

    Yet, even on their own, Jesus still has to restore their peace, just as it is with us. They had just witnessed something horrible, , and unjust. Then they experience the unimaginable. Now they were, they felt, like sheep without their . This time, peace is the tranquility in the storm. Only Jesus can it so deeply. Only when we embrace it do we receive it.

    1) What does it mean to embrace the peace of God? What might it mean to us and the way we live our lives to embrace the peace of God?

    2) is a significant part of God’s peace. What needs to be surrendered for God’s peace?

    3) What has to be surrendered for the world’s peace? What is the difference in surrendering to God and to the world for peace?

  • Not Anything; Something

    Ruth 1:2–18, 2 Samuel 15:19–37, Matthew 19:16–30

    Something more. Something greater than ourselves. That kind of thing calls to us very deeply. In this modern world, we have a greater amount of to find that “something”. There is an argument that the only reason that we have that “freedom” is that we have so much more free time and wealth. The sad is that as a whole people work far longer hours with less vacation than other places in the world (even many “non-free” countries).

    A recent comparison came out, showing that Americans work far more and fill their lives with far more than serfs did centuries ago. Serfs weren’t known to live easy lives, have much wealth, or much freedom, but they did have time.

    What did they do with that time? Many of them belonged to (not just lived in) their . They had places of connection and . There were definitely downsides, but that people that were barely above indentured servitude had more time than we do says a lot about our technology and “labor-saving” devices.

    We are often called to something greater than ourselves, but we seem almost afraid of it. The increase of loneliness, anxiety, and depression are all psychologically, emotionally and spiritually connected to the lack of the “something”.

    Ruth, Ittai of Gath, ‘ disciples all made a decision to up what they knew and had, even at great cost. All were facing the unknown. They chose to follow and anyways.

    1) The rich young ruler/man was given a choice and made a different one than our other examples. How often are we the rich young ruler, rather that one of the ?

    2) What can you do to help others connect to something greater than themselves? What can we do as to help others connect to something greater than themselves?

    3) Because we belong to “the ” we often think that we belong to something greater than ourselves (we do). However, we often still behave as if we don’t belong to that “something” and that it is at best inconvenient to be reminded that we do. Why do you think that is?

  • Surrender the Pain

    Isaiah 52:13-53:11, Luke 22:39–23:56

    You might wear a cross. You might have one on a wall in your home. You probably have one on your bible. Today the cross has lost much of its brutality and disgrace. Movies like the “ of the Christ” attempt to convey the brutality, but it is so very hard to convey and understand the disgrace of the cross. Especially on this day, you need to see the cross not as what it became, but see it as the people of 2000 years ago saw it. The day they saw it on Good Friday. It was disgraceful. It was ugly. It was the ruling powers’ symbol of might, conquest, and oppression. There was nothing, absolutely nothing that could be remotely good or positive about, and there could be nothing good or positive about the one on it. We are often tempted to diminish the cross, lightly saying we have a cross to bear. The cross is no light burden.

    The disciples had a light burden. Accompany Jesus to the garden. And the succumbed to temptation. The world is full of temptation. There are many things which seem good, and are, but become bad, as we follow them away from God. Especially in the United States, we have a, “I can do it myself” mentality. There is also the ladder, of ever-increasing hours spent working. There are all the things that we are told we just have to have. Sometimes the temptation is to simply sleep, when God has told us to be praying, as what happened here with the disciples. Jesus wasn’t chiding the disciples for falling asleep, but for not praying when he asked. Temptation takes on many guises. Judas and Peter were tempted.

    Judas Iscariot will forever be known as the traitor. Peter will be ever known as one of Jesus’ closest followers. Yet, Peter denied Jesus to . One of the biggest differences between Judas Iscariot and Peter is not their respective , for they both betrayed Christ, but that Peter’s was open to correction. Judas Iscariot took things, including his self-condemnation, without grace. Peter understood and accepted the unmerited grace of Jesus, but Judas Iscariot did not believe it applied to him. Instead of being forever the traitor, he could have repented, and been redeemed. Betrayal is not just turning Jesus over, or denying Jesus, but saying that Jesus offer of unmerited grace does not apply to you or others. Grace is the key to healing the world and reconciling it to God. However, the fallen heart turns to violence instead.

    Violence is a cruel part of this world. Wars, robbery, school violence, abuse, bullying, anger, disrespect are all acts of violence. When we the violence, we generally think of physical acts. However, Jesus tells us that violence is as much against the soul and well-being of the (both the perpetrator and the recipient), as it is the body. In fact, much, if not all of the violence that is physical done, at the root, is caused by the violence done to the soul and mind.

    Jesus spoke while on the cross, in the midst of pain, and the climax of abuse, “, forgive them. They know not what they do.” The victim of violence, while being violated, asked for them to be forgiven.

    We hold our griefs, our pains, our anguish often so close to our hearts that God doesn’t come near. Not because God can’t, for nothing is impossible for God, but because God doesn’t want to be violent toward us. When we release these things, God steps in, joyfully, desiring to help us surrender the pain that we hold onto keeping God away from us.

    1) What are your temptations that pull you away from God and God’s mission of reconciliation? Can you be honest with yourself and God that those temptations have been nailed to the cross, and that you will leave them there?

    2) Who has shown you grace? If you can’t think of anyone, then you have work to do. At some point in your life, someone gave you a lot of grace. What does God’s grace mean to you? What could God’s grace lived out in the world actually do?

    3) What pain keeps your heart from being fully yielded to God, and being God’s willing aide? Will you look at the nails of the cross, and leave that pain nailed there?

    May Jesus Christ, who for our sake became obedient unto death, even death on a cross, keep you and strengthen you, now and forever.

  • Great Expectations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • The Hope Beyond Us

    Psalm 38, Isaiah 32:10-20, Joel 2:12-13

    In regards to their , many people struggle with two particular areas. The first is pride. Realizing that one’s salvation involves the surrendering of self, a person can stop right at the . Holding onto one’s self (one’s pride) can keep a person from taking the final step of surrender into God’s salvation.

    The other area is . Often the struggle with sin goes hand-in-hand with pride. If we look around us at the world, however, we can see that the world’s definition of a “good” person might not meet God’s definition of “good.” You may have heard a phrase similar to, “good enough is the enemy of great,” usually used in the business world. Let’s take that with sin. Good enough could be “better than the other person” or “everybody’s doing it” or “no one else is getting hurt by it.” Great is God. If we’re “good enough” are we the enemy of God?

    It sounds harsh. David, according to the world, was “good enough.” He committed sins, just like other leaders. He killed people in war, just like . He was, it seems, a weak parent. While he wasn’t an enemy of God, per se, at the , his greatest project of building God’s was handed over to his because of the blood he had shed.

    There are consequences of doing wrong. Our legal system takes care of some things. Our social circles take care of other things. At the end of our lives, God takes care of the heart things, as we stand before the throne.

    The passage in Isaiah takes us through the good enough, through the consequences, and to the hope. The passage in Joel calls on us to be honest with ourselves, and what we have done, all in the context of God’s , , and .

    To get to the best part of the story of ourselves, we need to dig into the ugly part of ourselves, hearts conflicted with pride and sin.

    1) Why do you think it is important to know the starting point of a journey?

    2) Does the starting point of a journey determine the end of the journey?

    3) Why do you think people judge/condemn others (or themselves) for the starting point of their journey, rather than focusing on getting to the right end?

    KD) What does it mean to you to be good enough? Why would you want to be better?

  • Where Peace Resides

    Where Peace Resides

    Psalm 94, 2 Kings 11:6-23, 1 Peter 5:6-10

    “When I am filled with cares, your brings me .”
    Psalm 94:19

    “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.”
    2 Kings 6:16

    “…casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.”
    1 Peter 5:7

    While when we discuss or think of , we often look to the outside. Really, true peace starts on the inside, specifically the inside that is being transformed by the and of Christ. Often when we do not feel at peace, it is because we are allowing something to shake us up. I know I find that hard to accept that I am allowing something to upset me. It may be hard for you to accept, too. However, when we look at the peace promised by Jesus Christ, versus the worries we try to bear on our own, it seems that we often don’t chose Christ’s peace.

    True peace begins with a surrendered will. Not a surrendered will to politicians or , but to Jesus. The King Sennacheribs of the world (see yesterday’s reading) what is already ours, or act as if it is generous to let us live, and that it is their continued generosity for us to continue . Jesus takes our surrendered life, gives us a greater one on this earth then gives us an eternal one.

    1) Why do you think we have to surrender our will to have peace?

    2) Does surrendering our will mean that we are no longer ourselves? Are we no longer an ?

    3) How does being surrendered to Christ and still be yourself work? How does it conflict?

    KD) Put your hands up! Give it up! How is that feeling different than it should be when we surrender to Jesus?

  • Listening for Peace

    Listening for Peace

    Psalm 7, Isaiah 36:13-20, Luke 14:31-33

    is fleeting. We look around the world and cannot help but recognize that a lack of conflict only lasts for a short time. World leaders are speaking well of one another, then the next day attacking one another. People at work or school say positive or encouraging things to us, then say horrible and damaging things to others about us.

    As editors and news-writers know, bad news, wars and bad behavior sells. It seems that we are conditioned to seek out the bad stuff. Good or -warming stories often don’t get the eyeballs or the clicks, at least in comparison to the bad.

    When trying to convince the people of Jerusalem to , King Sennacherib has his messenger make huge promises that after taking a moment, one realizes is impossible for the King to do without devastating the other countries he has already dominated (and probably made similar promises to). This is similar to politicians and leaders who make wild promises to those already in their camp, and then even more to those outside their camp in an attempt to draw them in. This is often the promised peace of the world.

    King Sennacherib promises peace, his peace. His peace is the surrendering of self, property and even national to be pulled into his sphere of influence, and be controlled. Even in the States we have people who express themselves in the same way as King Sennacherib.

    All too often, we allow ourselves to believe that everything will be alright (we’ll be “at peace”) when have an item, prosperity, land, or health. We can deceive ourselves and put too much emphasis on what will pass away, rather than what is .

    1) If you listen to a person, such as a politician, talk in a peaceful way or in a warlike way, which are you more likely to ? Is one perspective more realistic than the other?

    2) How do you think that is different than how speaks of peace?

    KD) How do you talk about peace with your friends? How can you help adults in your (or re-learn) about peace?