Devotion.al

Tag: together

  • Lamentable Change

    Psalm 30; Lamentations 1:16–22; 2 Corinthians 7:2–16

    The might of God both obvious and not-so should provide for all who follow God. We should also be aware of it such that we do not wander far away. We read the triumphant story of Joshua yesterday, and today we read lament.

    This lament is that of a person (in fact, a people) who has lost everything. They’ve lost their mooring to self, identity, nation, security. All that was had is now gone.

    This rhythm of victory of God to leaving God and back again is pretty consistent in the history of Israel. It is also part of our lives.

    It may not be as dramatic, yet the littlest steps that Israel followed away from God eventually led to their walking fully away from God. It can be the same for us.

    We can also walk away for a short time or a long time. Whatever it is that drew us away from God may keep us away longer than other things.

    Often, though, we get lost in our heads and hearts, and the one and evil thoughts keep us isolated from God. We allow the evil one and these thoughts between us and God. God’s still there.

    Let’s read 2 Corinthians 7:2–6 as if God (striking the problems) were writing the letter to you…“Make room in your hearts for me. I didn’t do anything wrong to anyone. I didn’t ruin anyone. I didn’t take advantage of anyone. I’m not saying this to make you feel guilty. I’ve already said that you are in my so that we die and live together with you. I have every confidence in you. I’m terribly proud of you. I’m filled with encouragement. I’m overwhelmed with happiness while in the middle of all your cares in the world. When I arrived in Bethlehem, I couldn’t physically. I was surrounded by problems. There were problems with foreigners, and there were problems in my extended . However, I want to comfort you who are discouraged…I know about your desire to see me, how you were sorry, and about your concern for me, so that I was even happier. Even though my letter hurt you, I don’t regret it. Well—I did regret it just a bit because I see that letter made you sad, though only for a short time. Now I’m glad—not because you were sad but because you were made sad enough to your hearts and lives. You felt holy sadness so that no one was harmed by me in any way. Holy sadness produces a changed heart and that leads to salvation and leaves no regrets, but sorrow under the influence of the world produces death. Look at what this very experience of holy sadness has produced in you: such enthusiasm, what a desire to clear yourselves of blame, such indignation, what , what purpose, such concern, what justice! In everything, you have shown yourselves to be innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it wasn’t for the sake of the one who did wrong, or for the sake of the one who was wronged, but to show you your own enthusiasm …my bragging has also been proven to be true, just like everything I said to you was true… I’m happy because I can completely depend on you.”

    Okay. It’s a stretch. The underlying isn’t a stretch. There is nothing that keeps God from wanting a with you. Not a thing. Everything you’ve done…irrelevant. Everything you’ve thought…wiped away. Everything you’ve felt…embraced.

    You are a child of God.

  • Field Work

    Field Work

    Psalm 130; Genesis 2:4b–14; Luke 8:4–15

    Regardless of where you are concerning the continuum of evolution to creationism, humanity is unique. Many of those who look at humanity from the evolutionary standpoint are less than impressed with the result of evolution. Many of those who look at humanity from the creationism standpoint are less than impressed with that result, too. Humanity with all its beauty, difference, and creativity, is a complete mess. If you need any convincing (doubtful), there is the news (from any source), the , and even basic interactions with people in the neighborhood that will likely convince you. If you read the , they’ll convince you, too.

    The Scriptures, whether First/Old or Second/New, also revolve around the acts of agriculture. The Israelites come from livestock handlers. Part of the of Joseph was the area of Goshen, which was ideal for livestock. While we often focus on the bricks and straw of Exodus, we cannot exclude the previous generations and their animal husbandry. Most of us a fairly removed from the practice of agriculture. Some of us have gardens that some vegetables (and even fruit). go hunting (to eat not for sport). Others get on a whole cow and among families. Still, these are all really shadows of a way of .

    Thus when we read the story of the seeds being sown, we can miss a lot of the context. A farmer doesn’t just toss seed anywhere, but the sower did. It is symbolic of the of God, sowing the seed of the to the entire world.

    The Garden of Eden, according to Genesis 2, had not yet had crops when God created humanity. As a fertile land, though, the implication is that humanity didn’t exactly need to farm crops. The wild abundance was enough.

    Even later in Genesis 2, humanity was to work the crops. We are made to work. It is what we work at that makes all the difference to God.

    All of us cast seeds. That really isn’t the question. It is the kind of seed that matters. All of us work the fields. It is the kind of fields that we work in that matters.

  • Divided Beauty Multiplied

    Divided Beauty Multiplied

    Psalm 104:24–34; Genesis 11:1–9; 1 Corinthians 12:12–27

    The US is not the biggest country in the world, not by landmass, not by population. Just like other countries our size and bigger, there are some weird things that happen as you change states, regions, and sometimes even counties. There is a certain section of Washington that adds an “r” so that Washington becomes Warshington or washing becomes warshing. It’s an oddity that has even of those born and raised in Washington confused.

    There are certain things one can say in the Western states that one avoids saying in the Eastern states. There is definitely a divide between the Northern states and the Southern states in regards to language. Sometimes the differences are functional, sometimes they are just some differences that bubbled up as languages and peoples came together or divided.

    Sometimes, even more strangely, is that when a number of people come together and form a new language, that becomes even more confused and nuanced. The internet, and all things connected through it, is like that now. New ways of communicating (emojis and abbreviations) are being used and often very misunderstood. There are even manufactured languages (Esperanto, Klingon, for example). We are constantly looking for new ways to communicate.

    The fall of the Tower of Babel echoes this need but in reverse. Humanity had this universal language. Humanity could communicate apparently quite well. Humanity, however, had lost its praising of God and now wanted to become God. Perhaps, even more than the story of the Fall in the Garden of Eden, this short story of the Tower of Babel illuminates the fallen heart.

    As with many things in the , though, redemption still breaks through. Paul comments that the (the Body and of Christ) is made of many parts. Humanity is made of many parts and many languages. God is not limited by “the many”.

    Arguably, God is actually more glorified by the many differences that make up humanity and its languages. There are a few (sadly, too few) Christian worship songs that can cross language barriers, where one can translate the original language into a different one, and still keep the meter and rhythm. Hearing a song you know sung in a different language and still being able to sing along is a beautiful of what God can do.

    It is humanity that is divided by language, people, skin color, , or ideology. The speaks through all of God’s people that they can sing praises to God from the depths of their hearts the best way they know how.

    ※Reflection※

    • Where are places you have seen the division of humanity bring glory to God?
    • How do you see divided humanity overcome its divisions?
    • Do you think artistic activities are better able to overcome the differences than non-artistic? Why are why not?

    ※※

    Lord, we recognize that we are divided. Through the Holy Spirit we are not called to be , we are united through. Transform our lives so that they match what the Spirit has done. Amen.

  • Little Pieces Together

    Little Pieces Together

    Psalm 104:24–35; Joel 2:18–29; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11

    Before churches had stained glass, there were two ways the church would decorate and—more importantly—tell the stories of the Bible (and the church) in pictures. The first was primarily on the wall and ceilings, and that was paintings. The second was primarily on the floor, but also sometimes on walls, and was mosaics.

    Many ancient sites were discovered to be churches often because of the mosaics. As they were made of stone and/or ceramic, they would withstand dirt, mud, and being buried. If you have the chance to check out YouTube, you should be able to find videos where you can watch archaeologists unbury and then restore the beautiful mosaics to their former (in time-lapse, of course). Symbolic of we humans restored by the blood of Christ from messy and dirty (and buried in death and ) to the beauty of God’s child.

    As an art form, mosaics are often made from broken pottery and put into a larger picture. Whether it is the church, humanity as a whole, or Creation as a whole, they are made up of smaller pieces that are often broken or damaged and are a beautiful bigger picture. One could even say that each is greater than the sum of its pieces.

    Within the respective circles of church, humanity, and Creation, there is a cycle of death, birth, and growth. The psalmist says that God makes the face of the earth new again (Psalm 104:30). The cycle of is both renewal and change. Nothing is ever quite the same.

    Through Joel, God tells the people that things will be good again in regard to land, crops, security. Even so, underlying that is the reality that things will never be exactly the same. Things certainly won’t be as they were in David’s and Solomon’s time (especially as David and Solomon’s time would have grown into mythic proportions).

    The between the people and God would be restored. The Promised Land would be restored. The people’s place in the Promised Land would be restored. Still, things would not be exactly the same. Other prophets also told the people that they would be restored, but it would be different and in a good way.

    ‘ was even more so a new way of things that the world needed to adjust to (and is still adjusting to). With Jesus’ departure, the coming Holy would change things all the more. People had had their roles to play. Some were moved by the . This new coming, however, was different. Roles were one thing (still are), but gifts were a new thing.

    Now everyone had a gift. Each of those gifts had a purpose and place in the here on earth. All the gifts together (the mosaic) make Jesus’ beautiful bride, the church.

    ※Reflection※

    What makes a gift “spiritual” versus “natural” or “trained”? Do you know which spiritual gifts you have? If so, what are they, and what are they doing? If not, ask God to guide you in searching, that you may have a greater effect for the (Don’t worry. It can take time.)

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, may we be renewed and empowered to do your will. Amen.

  • Nice Dirt

    Nice Dirt

    Psalm 33:12–22; Genesis 2:4b–7; 1 Corinthians 15:42–49

    It is doubtful that many (if any) people think humanity has it all together. There is the cynical quip that the greatest proof of intelligent in the universe is that they haven’t contacted us. Regardless of your political orientation and whether US or world, there is no question that humanity is a complete and utter mess, and you may think that is generous.

    What is amazing about the conclusion is that it crosses political, religious, ethnic, national lines. Even more amazing is that most of us seem to operate in a world where we primarily function trusting the work of other people that we don’t even know. Think about that. We know how messed up we are. We’re pretty sure that there are as messed up (or more) than we are. And we’re pretty sure that the messed up people outnumber the not messed up ones.

    Yet, there is something that still draws us to rely on (dare we say, ) others that we do not know. Perhaps it is our recognition that despite all our differences, we are all beings.

    This Genesis describes humanity as made from dirt and after being molded by God, the breath of life was put into it, and humanity was made. Dirt, just like the dirt we walk on. Genesis says we are that dirt.

    While the dirt was the beginning, it is not (quite) the . For having the spirit of God inside of us, giving us life, tells us that the dirt is not all.

    Dirt isn’t all bad. Have you seen the mountains? The stuff much of our food grows from is dirt. The rest of our food eats from what grows from dirt, too. How goes the little kids’ saying go? “God made dirt and dirt don’t hurt.” Not quite true (having been hit with hardened clods of it), but dirt still is of God and by God.

    On the other hand, dirt is not quite the ideal. notes that “flesh” will decay. Basically, the earthly stuff goes away. Dirt will go away.

    Except, that upon our resurrection, the body that was dirt and placed in dirt becomes transformed. It is “transfigured” beyond what dirt is capable of doing in our limited experience. Through the resurrection, dirt becomes both completely different and yet becomes its most self.

    Yes, it’s hard to grasp. We do, however, have an example to look at, and that is Jesus Christ. Jesus is God and human. What exactly our resurrected-body-transformation will be? It’s a philosophical and even theological argument that will have no resolution on this side of life.

    On this side of life, though, Paul’s along with Genesis can tell us why we have managed to not destroy each other, God’s breath is in us. It is not us. It is God.

    ※Reflection※

    • Why do think that it is important to that we will be transformed, as we interact with the world?
    • Who are people you rely on? Why? What places them in a place of trust?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, we see many things wrong in the world. However, your goes before us all. Help us to see, find, and share your grace with others. Amen.

  • Running Towards

    Running Towards

    Psalm 93; Deuteronomy 7:1–11; 1 Timothy 6:11–12

    When we read Deuteronomy, we often evaluate it upon our understanding of , nations, and ancestry. In many respects, Deuteronomy contains thinking that is to Western thinking. Part of this is tied into the relationship between peoples, their gods, and their places of habitation. There was a thought process that tied land to a particular god, and often to a particular bloodline.

    This is portrayed here when Moses talks to the Israelites about the current inhabitants of the Promised Land. We look at Moses’ command as rather harsh, which it is (and will be a question of mine on the other side). Moses takes such a strident tone for the sake of the Israelites themselves. By this point in their journey, an entire generation has died wandering in the desert as a consequence of their . During this journey, they questioned, God, Moses, Aaron, the whole Promised Land thing. Moses was likely very concerned that were they to leave the peoples who didn’t worship God, they would be more likely to fall away.

    The purity of blood and land was probably more due to worship of God than anything else. The Israelites had already shown their struggles in that area over the previous 40 years, including allowing themselves to be married into some of these tribes and worshiping other gods. Thus, Moses was deeply concerned. Let’s also acknowledge that God knew the Israelites would turn from God again.

    The corollary to this for Christians is also the world. In our case, it is the entirety of the world that isn’t . This does not mean that we are to live in isolated communities sequestered from the world. It’s hard to be the unto the world when you put it behind walls or under baskets.

    For Christians, we are called to be in the world, but not of it. This can be a slippery slope. One person wrote that this is like walking along a very narrow path on the top of a mountain with the wind blowing in all directions. It is impossible to stay on top of the mountain by our own strength. It is only through the strength of God, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the counsel of other Christians that we can stay on that trail.

    Sometimes, the right choice (sorry, “I can do it myself”, and “I can do it alone” people) is to run away from whatever it is. ‘s advice to Timothy isn’t cowardice. It is wisdom. Often our greatest strength is when we are . Actually, other than with God, our only strength is with fellow believers in Christ.

    Run away from sin? Yes. Run away from the world? Perhaps. When one runs away, one runs toward something else. To what or to whom will you run?

    ※※

    Lord, you called to be the light unto the world. Help us to keep each other’s light shining as the enemy tries to extinguish the light of your love and hope. Amen.

  • Messianic or Messiah

    Messianic or Messiah

    Psalm 98; 1 John 5:1–6; John 15:9–17

    When we read the Scriptures, as has been often in these devotions, we bring in our understanding of things. Those who have been indoctrinated (in a good way) into the and theology of orthodox Christianity will read into the Scriptures that which they have been taught. The opening verse in today’s reading from 1 John is a good example.

    As we read it, we have a particular understanding of what the “Christ” means. Theologians and Biblical scholars will often differentiate between messianic and Messiah for this very reason. It is important for us to understand, too, because it gives us insights into the perspectives of the other 2 Abrahamic religions (Judaism and Islam) and also remind us of how revolutionary the resulting orthodox stance was.

    Prior to the birth of , Judaism had evolved its understanding of messiah. Within messianic narratives, one person may not fulfill all the aspects of a messiah. A messianic figure could be solely for social reform or religious reform or solely for governmental reform. Christian scholars and theologians will often simplify it to Prophet, Priest, King. The evolution of messianic (any combination of the 3) to Messiah (all 3) is one of those changes that occurred between the time of the book of Malachi to the of John the Baptist (around 400 years).In Luke’s birth narrative, we read about where “the” Messiah would be born. This is the written acknowledgment that Judaism had become Messiah-oriented, more than messianic-oriented. Of course, Judaism (as a whole) does not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

    Islam (and even some in Judaism) looks at Jesus as a messianic figure. It gets a little messy from there as the 3 main branches of Islam have different outlooks from there and the 2 recognizable branches (Shia and Sunni) have their own interpretations within them, too.

    Even in the modern era, the messianic figure exists. Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, FD Roosevelt, Mao Zedong, Castro, Reagan, Putin, Obama, Trump, Biden all had (have) messianic attributes associated with them. It’s jarring to see these names tied together, especially for so-called Christian countries (and only one of these countries didn’t have Christian cultural roots). It is arguable that John’s statement about the Messiah is even more true today than it has ever been before!

    Where we “hold” Jesus in our lives is critical to our Christian walk, or whether we are a Christian at all! How we view Jesus, as Messiah or merely messianic, critically feeds into this as well.

    If Jesus is merely messianic, then while his words hold significance, they aren’t particularly life-changing. If Jesus is Messiah, his words are life- and orientation-changing.

    One of the primary orientation changes is how we love. We often talk about a God of love, but that is so very much removed from us. If he is the Messiah, Jesus’ words telling us to love each other (and the context is within ), then we really ought to be doing that.

    There is, so it seems, a division between the love within the community (sacrifice), and the love of neighbor (). It may all be a hairbreadth’s difference, it may be a mile. Regardless, there should be a in us.

    ※Reflection※

    • Where have you looked at people or things as messianic? What makes something or someone messianic?
    • What are other reasons that we need to differentiate between the Messiah and messianic?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, you are the Christ, Messiah, Savior. As such you upon us to live changed lives. Empower us, , to do exactly that. Amen.

  • Sharpening Together

    Sharpening Together

    Psalm 98; Deuteronomy 32:44–47; Mark 10:42–45

    What are your two pet sins? Or, what of sets you off (lying, adultery, etc.)? And, what sin of yours do you just try to brush off as not being that significant?

    Most of us have these. It may be severe, and it may be mild. Regardless, we rarely appreciate either our to others’ sins or our own sins being confronted.

    The end of Moses’ (the entire book of Deuteronomy) is all about a disciplined relationship with God. Yes, disciplined. All of our relationships have some sort of . Moses helped provide the guidelines of the discipline.

    Discipline, in this sense, means to control oneself. Control oneself so that one doesn’t walk away from God and toward all the things of the world that can pull us away.

    As hard as the law was to fulfill, it was also filled with grace and forgiveness when people failed. There were ways out.

    Yet, in Moses’ words, there is a foreboding sense that he knows that his words (and God’s) will be tested. From Moses’ and experience, following God is life. For him, the Israelites choosing to follow God or not would determine whether all the trials were worth it.

    Moses didn’t have much in the discipline of the Israelites.

    In the life, discipline is not a solo initiative. We need people around us, while they too need us. The real struggle, of course, is being willing to put ourselves in both the place of being held accountable and truly holding others accountable. Both places are uncomfortable.

    Jesus’ words to his disciples provide some limits—discipline—to what this relationship is supposed to look like. We are not to hold things over one another, for that is a relationship of . When we hold one another accountable, it is as a , meaning we look to the improvement or betterment of the other. Of course, there is a trick to this, which is also what Moses was addressing. The improvement and betterment is toward God not automatically “improving” ourselves. Theoretically, they should be the same, yet much of the world’s self-improvement is not toward becoming more Christ-like, but becoming what Jesus warned his disciples against.

    ※Reflection※

    Who are you helping to be disciplined, and who is helping you do be disciplined?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help our hearts to follow your words that we can build each other up. Amen.