Devotion.al

Tag: tongues

  • Pridefully Divine

    Pridefully Divine

    Psalm 29; Isaiah 5:15–24; John 15:18–20, 15:26–27

    When we read about “divine beings” we, understandably, think about angels. What, however, makes a divine being…divine? Apart from God, there is no divine being that isn’t of God. Which becomes a little daunting theologically when we recognize we have the in us.

    To be clear, we are not gods (except, perhaps in our deluded fallen minds). We a created beings with the spark of divinity inside of us. It may be a fine line to some. It is a line as large as itself to . Yet, part of the divine spark responds to God, and God completes us. So, it’s not wrong (totally) to think in terms of the divine beings in Psalm 29:1. Just like those divine beings, we are called and made to glorify God.

    This seems contrary, in some ways, to the initial verses of Isaiah. Humanity will be brought low. Yet, it is often the arrogance of humanity that results in wars, animosity, and the general inability of getting along. It is also that particular thing, that when brought low, places humanity in the position of accepting God. One cannot truly accept God through arrogance.

    Even as we read further, the arrogance continues with demanding that God hurry up and accomplish God’s work. This all merely so humanity can understand it. Perhaps arrogance is the wrong word. Self-absorbed is probably closer, while arrogance remains part of it.

    There there is a lot of doom.

    The last of today’s verses in Isaiah though starts with purifying. If you catch the wording, “ of ”, might it remind you of when tongues of fire appeared? In this case, the tongues of fire are more of purification rather than empowerment. But that God and the “ one” are tied into the same verse as “tongues of fire” really do seem to be somehow tied to Pentecost. Then again, that very well be reading too much into it (but it’s fun).

    And, while it doesn’t seem to be related when we understand the pride and arrogance of humanity as observed in Isaiah, ‘ words to his disciples (and thus to us) make more sense. The fallen nature of humanity has striven against God. For far too many, it evolved into hate. To be, once again, more along the lines of a divine being rather than fallen creation would indeed cause striving fallen humanity to hate and lash out at those who have been touched by God in such a way.

    If we take all of today’s into the picture, it makes perfect sense why Jesus warns the disciples that no matter how much they now have (or will have after Pentecost), they are still not greater than God. A good warning, as not too long after Pentecost, Peter performed his first miracle. The Companion (Comforter, Counselor) would come, and they would be tempted to think more of themselves, and even be called gods (Paul and Barnabas).

    ※Reflection※

    • When has your pride hampered your relationships with others?
    • When has your pride hampered your relationship with God?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, guard our hearts against the pride of the world. Let our pride be that you save us and that you work through us recognizing that it is for you and for ourselves that we about the world. Amen.

  • Seeing It Coming, Or Not

    Seeing It Coming, Or Not

    Psalm 33:12–22; Exodus 15:6–11; John 7:37–39

    Watching sports commentators is almost as entertaining as watching meteorologists predict the next day’s weather. “Hey, (person), what are the key things the team has to do today.” Then another commentator says something that really every team has to do. If the team does whatever it was well (and wins), then the commentator was “right on”. If the team didn’t do it well and lose, then the commentator was “right on”. The commentator, of course, determines if they were right on.

    The meteorologist has to predict what all the contributing aspects (moisture, wind, cloud, geography) will do for tomorrow’s weather, which is impacted by the weather in other places. They have to be kind of close to keep their jobs, but while we may jest at often they get it wrong, hopefully, most of us understand that there are so many variables that it’s pretty hard to be spot on.

    told his hearers (not just his disciples) to anticipate the (Holy) . He might as well been speaking in or English (which didn’t yet exist). They didn’t get it. How can you really understand getting something that has been “gotten” for everyone…ever?

    Jesus had . We often dismiss it as, “of course, he’s God.” Yet, one of the verses applied to the Messiah was that he wasn’t much to look at. He was of average appearance. His words, though, felt like they meant something.

    When you don’t have the framework, however, to understand the words, they may impress you with their seeming importance, but you still don’t get it. You may hear a Nobel prize-winning scientist , and you may well understand that whatever it is might be important, but that doesn’t mean you’ll understand it.

    Imagine being foreward that something world-overturning was coming, and having no clue what any of it meant. Imagine looking back and wondering, “why didn’t I understand then?” Sometimes the experience so that we understand is more important than the knowledge one could also have to understand, for experience will often affect us to the depths of our soul.

    ※Reflection※

    • When was the last time you had an “I should have seen that” experience? What did you learn from it? What might you have not learned had you had the knowledge?
    • How do you interact with people you don’t understand, whether you think they are smarter than you, or too different from you? How do you still interact and treat them as equals?
    • What do you expect of the in your life? Why?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, just as the wind we cannot see, so comes the promised Holy Spirit. Let us for the flames of to us for your will. Amen.

  • Examples and Warnings

    Examples and Warnings

    Psalm 107:1–16; Numbers 20:1–13; 1 Corinthians 10:6–13

    Imagine saying, “ thanks to the Lord because he is good, because his lasts forever,” to the Israelites at Kadesh. Those words would have been grating (at best) the ears of all the lashing against Moses and Aaron.

    The Psalmist also wrote, “So they cried out to the Lord in their distress, and God delivered them from their desperate circumstances.” Except that is not the story in Numbers. Instead of crying out to God, the condemned, blamed, and judged Aaron and Moses. Instead of crying out to their and Rescuer, they passed around blame and bemoaned their from slavery.
    The are full of stories. Many of them include the failings and failures of families. We witness the bad choices that people make, including followers of God, that are nowhere near the intent or desire of God.
    There have been many people that have claimed that God endorses many things (slavery, abuse, polygamy, etc.) that appear in the Scriptures, solely because they appear in the Scriptures. This has been the case with Christians and non-Christians alike. It also is a really bad idea.
    Just because it shows up in the Scriptures certainly does not mean endorsement by God. comments on this. Paul notes that the intent of the descriptions of failures is intended to be descriptive and instructive. They are not to be prescriptive.
    Paul reminds and encourages us to remember that we are not alone in any temptation or failure. We are in quite the company, in fact. The lie we tell ourselves and others that others couldn’t possibly be tempted like us, or that have succumbed as we have is put on display by Paul.
    Paul, while displaying the lie, also encourages us to recall that God did not tempt us, just as God did not endorse or encourage the sins of those in the Scriptures. Ultimately, it is the of our fallen condition. Which is not unique to an individual, but is part of the state of all of humanity.

    ※Reflection※

    Why is it important to understand that we are all tempted? How does that mean we should treat others who have succumbed? What should we do when we succumb? Why and how are these related both in our interactions with fellow Christians and those who are not Christian?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, you set us free from the ultimate consequence of sin…death. Help us in our lives to be free of sin and help others to break their chains and to heal their wounds from sin. Amen.

  • Power Granted

    Power Granted

    Isaiah 41:14–20; John 1:29–34

    ♫ Nobody likes me; everybody hates; just because I eat wo-oorms ♫

    I don’t know if you remember that song from your childhood. I recall it as some weird camp song. Really, who would eat worms?

    At the same time, I did that other cultures ate maggots, caterpillars, and even worms. They would fry them up or even eat them raw.

    Still, though, as being raised in the US, we’re not really into worms as part of our diet. One of our biggest things about worms is, “the early bird gets the worm,” and the first robins of spring eating worms.

    With that in mind, let’s be happy we’re worms!

    Isaiah’s words are odd to us. Which is understandable. Why would someone want to be a worm? I remember kids saying they’d like to be an eagle, or a horse, or a wolf. I don’t recall someone saying they wanted to be a worm.

    For us, it is strange to be called a worm or an insect. Yet, in comparison to the and power of God…we are. That is point of Isaiah’s words. Today we might say something like, “we know everything is crazy. We know the world is not making any sense right now. We know that you are hurting or have been hurting. We want you to know that God is bigger than all of that.”

    Worms and insects may not be attractive to you. However, it sums up a far larger number of words. All of it to say, God’s got this.

    That was God’s message to Israel. God is their hope. God is their . If they are looking elsewhere…failure!

    The language God uses is fascinating. The Israelites would flatten and shape mountains! For us that is solved by explosives and earth movers. In fact, it’s not all that impressive to us. To the Israelites, this was a huge indicator of power! God wouldn’t just redeem them (though that was good), God would them the power to shape the world!T

    he promise wasn’t just . This is key, especially as we look at Jesus’ coming, along with the story of Jesus’ . Being baptised into the death and of Jesus is not only about redemption. That’s still great! That’s just not all.

    In fact, one of the greatest weakness of the modern is redemption and forgiveness has been the evangelistic focus. The power was kind of missed. Some of the charismatic churches displayed “power” through being “slain in the spirit” or “speaking in tongues”.

    It might sound dismissive, but…that’s it?

    In Isaiah, God ties redemption to power, and not just any power, the power to change the world. Of course, just because one has the power, doesn’t mean you should use indiscriminately. We are called to first, and the power should be motivated by the sacrificial love for others.

    ※Reflection※

    • What’s your power? (Note that the question wasn’t, do you have power?)
    • Why do you think the church (as a whole) surrendered the power, and was satisfied only with redemption?
    • Why is it so important to know, believe, and act with the understanding that redemption is only the beginning?

    ※Prayer※

    God, you gave us the power to physical mountains, emotional mountains, and spiritual mountains. Help us remember that you also gave us the responsibility to use it wisely and with love, and leave it withering away. Amen.

  • Now’s The Time

    Now’s The Time

    Matthew 16:1–4; Matthew 13:1–9; Matthew 13:18–23; Titus 2:11–14

    Humanity has smashed the atom. Humanity has gone to the moon. Humanity can splice the fabric of life (DNA). Humanity sill hates. Humanity still wars. Humanity still fears.

    A generation goes and a generation comes,
    but the earth remains forever.

    What has been is what will be,
    and what has been done is what will be done;
    there is nothing new under the sun

    Ecclesiastes 1:4,9 (CSB)

    When talks about the sower, we can look around us and see plenty of people who are in rocky ground and amongst thorns. The reality is that it may be that far too many so-called Christians are exactly those. In seemingly crazy and desperate times such as this, it is very easy to be .

    Whether it is political change, racial tensions, economic chaos, world tension, changes in how the body of Christ (the church) gathers, there are so many things that cause people to uproot their own faith. They also become easy victims to those who oppose the faith.

    The writer of Ecclesiastes didn’t see the internet coming. Really, though, the internet is just a faster form of communication. In other words, the mode changed, but that’s it. Ultimately, from the view of Ecclesiastes, the condition doesn’t change.

    Our fellow Christians, maybe even you, are struggling right now. The church is as divided as the US. The church, sadly, reflects the world. The (left, right, and everything from the middle to the extremes) of the world are not the church and should have no place there.

    This is hard for most of us, currently. Some are feeling persecuted for their faith. Others are wagging their tongues and figures regardless of whether “their” “side” won or lost the recent election (or have been perceived to). It is nothing new under the sun.

    ‘s words to Titus provide some guidance. While the “present ” was Paul’s and Titus’ time, the Christians of the “present age” should be aggressively taking Paul’s words to .

    ※Questions※

    1) What do you think it means to “live in a sensible, , and Godly way”? (Titus 2:12)

    2) How have you been living like that in the current cultural/political environment?

    3) How were your more worldly than Godly?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, help us to walk in your footsteps. Amen.

  • AntiPyros

    AntiPyros

    Proverbs 16:28; Philippians 2:1–13; James 3:1–13

    A pyromaniac is a person who continually fails to resist the to start fires, often as a sort of method to relieve tension or for instant gratification. Pyromania (the term for the condition) is an impulse control disorder. What should we call those whose tongues (or keyboard strokes) cause firestorms of angst, hatred, , sorrow, etcetera?

    As Christians, perhaps one of the biggest acts of serving love we can do in these days is to be firefighters. This is not about “fake news”, “doctored news”, “spin”, or any other term being flung about these days to discredit those perceived to be from the so-called opposition.

    It wasn’t that long ago that the entire West Coast of the US was blanketed with smoke from many wildland fires. Millions of acres burned. Some categorize the amount of acreage burned as record-breaking. If we were to estimate the number of firefighters working to knock out the fires at 350 thousand (which is probably a quite high estimate), that would be around 1/10 of 1% (0.001) of the US population.

    Why do those numbers matter? A relatively small proportion of the US population put out so many fires over a large amount of acreage. That’s the way we should be.

    In the context of the , is a symbol of the Holy and a purifier/cleanser. However, the other side of fire is utter destruction. A purifying fire can be good, however, the church (and society, and history, and the world) has had too many instances when a purifying fire becomes corrupted, and all it does is destroy.

    There are far too many people like those in Proverbs 16:28 who seek to sow discord and conflict, and who spread gossip to tear down their intellectual opponents. The certainly do not celebrate such individuals. Nor should we.

    Gossip and conflict-starting put oneself above others. When we look to ourselves and not others, there is a huge potential to sow hatred and derision rather than the love of Christ. When we speak in love and with the intent to build others up, the fire-starting tongue becomes a blesser rather than a curser.

    ※Questions※

    1) Where are you seeing Christian brothers and sisters being unholy fire-starters and spreaders, rather than holy firefighters?

    2) What are some ways and words that you can use to help quench the unholy fires of words that are shared around you?

    3) What, if any, experiences have you had where what was (or was intended to be) a purifying fire turned into a destructive one?

    ※Prayer※

    , we you to us up as beacons of your grace and love. Guide us to be the ones that share holy fire and extinguish unholy fire. 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 tradition—traitors and murderers, all of you. You had God’s Law handed to you by angels—-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 Holy Spirit, hardly noticed—he only had eyes for God, whom he saw in all his glory with standing at his side. He said, “Oh! I see heaven wide open and the Son 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 .” Then he knelt down, praying loud enough for everyone to , “Master, don’t blame them for this ”—his last words. Then he died.

    Saul was right there, congratulating the killers.

    That set off a terrific persecution of the 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 word. 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 Scriptures, 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’ living 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 grow 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 ?

    ※Prayer※

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

  • Where You Go

    Where You Go

    Numbers 17:1—11; 1 Corinthians 12:24–28 (read online ⧉)

    Follow the is not just a game for children. It is the life of adults. Each of us has at least one leader in our lives, and usually more. Leaders can take on many roles and places. For example, a pastor may be your spiritual leader. You might have another person that also provides you spiritual leadership.

    In your home, there is usually a leader. Sometimes it seems to be the pet and not a person. In our work lives, there is usually a leader. Then politically we have leaders, and there are leaders, too.

    Each leader has a place and a purpose. The leaders that overreach or the people who push their leaders to overreach can often sow discord and confusion.

    In Numbers, we read what is really the conclusion to a long struggle for who really is the leader of the people. Along “the road”, people regularly challenged Moses’ leadership (including his siblings, Aaron and Miriam). The leaders tried to say they were the leaders of the entire community. They weren’t satisfied leading their tribe. They wanted all of Israel.

    When it came to Aaron’s priestly assignment, some leaders tried to do their own and suffered the consequences. They could not accept that one person “got the ”.

    This not to say that Moses and Aaron were perfect, not by a long shot. They made mistakes. It is quite possible that part of the constant struggle wasn’t just the pride of the other family leaders, but Moses’ and Aaron’s failures, too.

    In the specific case of Moses and Aaron, however, there was a unique circumstance. God had appointed them their roles directly. How the family leaders gained their authority is by accident of birth. God called Moses and Aaron directly.

    Each leader has a sphere of responsibility, authority, and influence. We often confuse the 3, however, which can lead to failures. Over time each of those can change, too.

    Paul lists outs apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle-workers, healers, helpers, leaders, tongues. It’s an interesting mix of roles. Oddly enough, one would think (especially the way the world thinks) that apostles, prophets, and teachers would be (by definition) leaders. Yet, Paul separates leaders. What this tells us that certain roles that we believe are automatically leaders aren’t necessarily so. This doesn’t fit into our mental boxes.

    We understand that someone can be a “thought” leader, but the idea that someone in supposed authority is not a leader can be hard to grasp. Yet, if you think about it, if you were a carpenter, you wouldn’t necessarily follow the horseman as he built a house.

    ※※

    Lord, help us to have as lord in our lives. us with to see the small quiet leaders in our lives, that we might follow you better. Grant us the eyes to see those you have called us to lead, that we fulfill your calling on our lives in regards to the lives of . Amen.

    ※※

    1) For you, what are the top 3 characteristics of a leader? What are 2 of the worst characteristics you’ve seen in a leader?

    2) Why does leadership matter to God?

    3) Where are you a leader in your life?