Devotion.al

Tag: trust

  • Separating Ourselves

    Separating Ourselves

    Romans 8:31–39, 1 John 4:7-12

    đź“– Read

    ‌Romans 8:31–39 , 1 John 4:7–12

    ‌🔎 Focus

    ‌”…nothing…can separate us from the love of God…”
    Romans 8:39

    ‌‌✟ Devotion

    ‌There is a fundamental , here, that no Christian should ever deny. Yet, if you read the list of “separators” that Paul notes, what do you see as missing? Anything?

    ‌There are many who quote these words from Romans 8:39 that reasonably apply these to non-Christians because, “…God is love.” (1 John 4:8) This is where potential issues may arise. It isn’t only about whatever accommodation is being made, but how we understand and the road to life with God.

    ‌Nothing seems so all encompassing. How could anything, then keep us from the love of God?

    ‌There are a number of things that could be reasonably argued would seem to invoke exclusion: unbelief, hatred of God, a different understanding of God, ongoing and deliberate disobedience of God’s ways.

    ‌The potential issue isn’t that God doesn’t love the unbeliever, hater, different understander, rebellious. God does. It is not false, then, to say that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

    ‌Separation from God’s love has never been the problem, at least from God’s of things. It is our separation from God that is the issue.

    ‌Who is against us? Well, the general ways of the world are. It is our following of the ways of the world that are our separator.

    ‌Are we not given everything? Yes, insofar as we have given ourselves to God through accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior, and doing our best to embody the way of Jesus through our .

    ‌Who will bring charges against us? The world. The . These cannot separate us. Our inner voice/critic can, but only if we allow it to draw us away from God. The Holy can, but the Holy Spirit brings “charges” against us, not to condemn us, but to free us.

    ‌Can affliction, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, rulers, things (events/situations) of today or tomorrow, angels or powers separate us? No, but our response to those things can.

    ‌It is here that we can agree with the Reformed (Calvinist, etc.) tradition, that nothing outside of ourselves can separate us from the love of God. Even if we separate ourselves from God, God’s love does not fade away.

    ‌God’s unfailing love, however, does not guarantee of eternal life, and that is the rub for so many, including many Christians. It isn’t about earning God’s love, but the place that God has in your life and being.

    ‌🤔 Reflection

    • ‌Do you ever feel separated from God or God’s love? How?‌
    • Do Paul’s words comfort you or concern you? Why?

    ‌‌⏏️ Act

    ‌Make a list of ways (including some Scripture) that you can reassure yourself of God’s unceasing love for you. them with another person, and see what ways they come up with.

    ‌🙏 Prayer

    ‌Every loving God, thank you for this reminder from your Apostle Paul that things outside of ourselves can never separate us from your love. Help us to restore our well-being to sense, feel, believe, and in your unceasing love. Amen.

  • Hearts and Ashes

    Hearts and Ashes

    đź“– Read

    ‌Psalm 32; Isaiah 58:1-12; Hebrews 12:1-14

    ‌‌🔎 Focus

    ‌Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

    Psalm 32:1

    ‌The LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail.

    Isaiah 58:11

    In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.‌

    Hebrews 12:4

    ‌‌✟ Devotion

    ‌ Valentine’s was in Christ. He is reported to have said that Jesus Christ brought the only true hope and of a better world. That didn’t earn him any friends with the Roman rulers. It seems that converting to Christianity led to his death. Saint Valentine was martyred on 14 February.‌

    Today is also Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. This is a season of repentance and reflection. It would seem to not mesh with the dominant view of Valentine’s Day with its romantic (almost saccharine and vapid) view of love. Love, especially as lived out by Jesus, often doesn’t match the secular view of it, but our measure is Jesus, not the world.‌

    While you might not be called to be a martyr, the author of Hebrews points out that we often give up in our fight against sin, even though we have not gotten to the point that our blood was shed. And, yet there is a dominant trend in post-Christendom to throw our hands up, because Christendom has fallen.‌

    In many respects, it seems that we are more inclined to anger and defensiveness, rather than resting in the fact that our transgressions are forgiven, our sins covered; as a result of such, we ought to be happy. Can you imagine how we could change the world not just with love, but with the happiness of that love.‌

    We are talking about the love of Jesus Christ for us, and ours of him. We are not talking about the love of the world, its stuff, its powers, its parties, and so on.‌

    When we this and also remember that God’s water of love and never fail, you would think that the world would not shake us. We are , so it does.‌

    There is a lot for us to reflect on: historical issues, our politics, our lifestyles, the wars, the sicknesses. There is so much in the world that causes us not to reflect, but to react. We react out of our humanness.‌

    We are called to reflect upon ourselves and the world through the lens of Christ’s love, then we are better equipped to react in Christ’s love toward a world that desperately needs it.

    ‌🤔 Reflection

    ‌What are current areas discussed in life (politics, lifestyles, war, immigration, and the like) that you have strong feelings about? Do you default to the comfortable and/or your community? When was the last time you measured your reactions to Christ? Do you ever ask yourself, what would Jesus do?

    ‌‌⏏️ Act

    ‌As you reflected, what came to mind? All of us have earthly perspectives that are not Jesus-like, and likely need work and repentance. Think about the issues that you respond the most strongly about (good or bad). Look in the Bible for some possible perspectives that will bring you more in mind like Jesus.

    ‌🙏 Prayer

    ‌Jesus, help me understand how you view the world and me. , please guide my transformation from a person of this world to a person of the Kingdom. Amen.

  • Your Contentment

    Your Contentment

    Psalm 111; Genesis 18:1–15; Philippians 4:10–20

    One of the harder things about being a is that God often doesn’t give our heart’s desires. We describe God as good, loving, , and many other positive traits. Yet, the giving (or lack thereof) often gets in the way of our understanding of God’s goodness, loving, and giving nature.

    Abraham and Sarah are the case in point. Do we really think that Abraham and Sarah haven’t been praying and pleading for a child up until now? Of course not! By this point, though, all common sense of being able to have a child has been . Perhaps (though the Bible doesn’t say) Sarah had already completed menopause. What , from a perspective, could there be?

    Yet, Abraham didn’t stop himself from having God at the center of his life (which also doesn’t mean that he stopped making mistakes). We have all known people, perhaps even ourselves, who longed for a child of their own but may have had a long road of sadness and heartbreak. Some may have ended up with children of their own. Some may have adopted. may have to invest in the children of others.

    Contentedness, however, is something altogether different…maybe.

    was content. His heart was focused on something different, and that’s okay. There is often a focus on Paul’s content that is not in line with…Paul’s content. Paul’s focus was his testimony and the Christian communities he left behind. He was content that he had done his best, and content in his place in God’s plan.

    It is possible to be content while striving for something. Even Paul continued to strive for the and dealt with the heartache for his distant communities as they struggled.

    There is another way to view “content”, accepting circumstances with an open and loving heart. It includes God. This understanding of content allows recognition that not everything is as it should be, so that there is room for improvement. This could also be understood as not allowing the circumstances to poison your heart against God or others.

    ※Reflection※

    • How have you understood content in the context of a Christian life? How does the world understand content?
    • How do we often allow circumstances to poison our hearts against God?
    • What has been (or is) the biggest issue in your life that caused (or causes) struggles in your content?

    ※Prayer※

    As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. Amen. (Psalm 17:15, NIV)

  • Field Placement

    Field Placement

    Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 4:38–41; John 4:31–38

    Flour has become a no-go for many people these days. The fight against gluten and carbohydrates is quite prevalent. Much of this has to do with how much our surroundings have changed. Most of us don’t need many carbohydrates. Those whose bodies are still their primary focus for work, still need them, but the of us…not so much.

    Where Elisha kept and why he kept flour is kind of a . Perhaps that was a thing. If you had oil, flour, water, and , you could make bread (you know, that evil carbohydrate).

    Imagine having enough in God that you would simple flour to turn a poisonous stew into something safe and nutritious (no one said tasty). That is the faith of Elisha. This is the kind of faith that it would be nice to have, but we all are too educated and smart to believe that flour would cure poisonous stew. And, yes, that is something to mourn.

    , on the other hand, wasn’t looking for stew. He wasn’t looking for food at all. At least, that’s the image he gives. Jesus was fully . Jesus needed food. Jesus also used examples that were in front of him.

    It is quite likely that the disciples had brought food. Perhaps even freshly made bread from freshly harvested grain. Or perhaps there was grain harvesting happening around them right now. While watching a single human harvest grain may not be impressive. Which may be the point.

    A harvester would have been in the middle of a field. Over time the harvester makes a difference, but in the beginning, that single person gets lost in a sea of grain. Using that imagery, Jesus was telling his disciples that the work of the is now and tomorrow.

    ※Reflection※

    • Why is the image of a single harvester lost in a sea of grain important for our kingdom work?
    • Thinking of the grain that Jesus used as an example, how might the Elisha’s flour fit into telling something about the ?
    • Do you think of yourself has a harvester, worker, planter, plower in the kingdom of God?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, you bring the harvest. Help us to be the faith- and -filled people that you want for your kingdom. Amen.

  • Not Quite Yet

    Not Quite Yet

    Psalm 100; Jeremiah 50:1–7; Hebrews 13:17–25

    Babylon was the of Jerusalem and Jews at the time of Jeremiah. It makes sense, as Babylon had destroyed much of Jerusalem, and taken a majority of the population into exile. It was the big with the biggest might. For the Jews, there was no bigger enemy.

    While God had allowed Jerusalem to fall as part of the consequence of the Jews’ turning their back on God, this didn’t spare Babylon from the consequences of its own actions. It’s not as if the Jews were the only ones that Babylon conquered. God was not going to leave them be.

    This is where Jeremiah’s oracle comes in. Babylon indeed would receive punishment for its actions. This must have provided some to the Jews, at the same time they were still dealing with their own pains. They heard that God would bring consequences upon Babylon, yet they were still dealing with the consequences of their own actions.

    The are filled with places where people were promised that there would be a deliverer. All too often, the deliverer was in the . So, people still had to deal with oppression, slavery, exile, and other issues. This can be much like our lives. As we are dealing with troubles, pains, losses, it can seem that such a is only a bittersweet wish. Yet, God is and will fulfill all the promises made.

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help us to have the , the , do know that you watch over us and care for us. See us through the trials. Amen.

  • Tabled Enemies

    Tabled Enemies

    Psalm 23; Jeremiah 10:17–25; Acts 17:16–31

    One of the things that will make many Christians fall away from the is a weak foundation when it comes to trials. We say many platitudes, and try not to think about what happens where we actually tested. If you’ve ever read anything on the many martyrs of the (from of old to the present day), you will often come away with, “Thank you, Lord, for that not being me.”

    Psalm 23:5 reads, “You set a table for me right in front of my enemies…” While it is often read and interpreted as a “thumb your nose at your enemies” that is probably not the intent. As this Psalm is one of shepherding, the intent is likely more along the lines of being so confident in God, so reliant on God’s , that even a resting meal (versus standing up or eating hurriedly) is possible in while among one’s enemies.

    Though, many of us are probably not so assured of God’s protection were we to be placed in a so-called relaxing position among our enemies. How bold would we really be? How would we be to deal with the emotional anxiety that it would involve?

    The concept in Jeremiah 10:19 is that there is and a consequence to deal with in these situations. It’s not just deal with it, but not even seeking to escape it. In Jeremiah, the consequences and pains of exile are coming and the God-honoring is to accept it and not try to escape it. The reality of soon having a table in the of one’s enemies really comes into focus for Jeremiah.

    ※Reflection※

    • What does it mean to you to be seated in the presence of your enemies? Who have been your enemies? Who are your enemies?
    • What does it mean to have enemies, and yet be told to them and pray for them? If this is the case, do Christians really have enemies?
    • What battle or pain are you trying to escape right now that God may actually be calling you to lean into?

    ※Prayer※

    , thank you for your presence wherever we are. Guide us through the times we are to embrace our trouble and pain and lead us out of the times when they are not for your benefit or ours. Amen.

  • Know Justice. Know Peace.

    Know Justice. Know Peace.

    Psalm 85:8–13; Amos 2:6–16; Colossians 2:1–5

    Speaking peace to people often seems to be a lost cause. First, many people don’t want peace. Actually, many people don’t want peace. Oh, they want peace from war (most). That often is the most common form of “peace” we use in everyday language. There is another one that is often used in circles, usually used in the context of “being at peace.” Contented may be more accurate, but not always. However, peace is far more than no war.

    In Psalm 85:8 it is the Hebrew word . The above English uses of peace fit into shalom. Shalom is far broader than that. Shalom includes: peace, well, peaceably, welfare, prosperity, safe, health, peaceable, completeness, soundness (in body), quiet, tranquillity, contentment, friendship, of with God especially in , peace (from war). Many of the protests over the last year (and more) there were signs and shouted words of, “no , no peace.” There is in that. Yet, because of the context where these words are spoken peace becomes something far less. The implication is that there will be protests (i.e., disruption, anger, more protests) until justice is done. When justice is done, there will be peace (i.e., no disruption, no anger, no protests).

    Except, for Christians and their Jewish “relatives”, the better phrasing should probably be, “know justice; know peace.” Or in more Godly language, “know justice; know shalom.” This is not a small distinction.

    Shalom implies a community unified around God (and often not our pet issues), where harmony and care for one another prevails. As alluded to in the opening paragraph, people often don’t want it. In particular, this is about getting our way and our stuff. Capitalism, Marxism, (Marxism’s altered sibling) Communism, bartering all involve people. Therefore, any of them have issues. There is no perfect economy.

    Abuse and oppression within an economy and community are definitely in contrast to shalom. It is also contrary to God’s intent.

    Amos’ words are an attack on the rich and powerful. They are on an attack on those who are overly comfortable and reliant upon the desecration of the image of God in the poor. There are varying arguments one could have regarding the differences of today and in Amos’ time and what that means in regard to oppression and abuse. It’s that very argument that is the problem.

    We seek our peace and not Shalom.

    In a weekly group that discusses one of the devotionals over the previous week, one of the big discussion points has been the concept of justice. What justice is…is nebulous. We think we know what justice is (and in some circumstances we do). However, what justice is and how it works changes as the group grows larger. Justice between individuals is relatively simple (not easy). When one increases the number of people justice is no longer that way. Then, especially in the context of seeking justice for past harms, justice may actually be diminished into vengeance.

    Thus, when we seek justice, first we must seek shalom.

    ※Reflection※

    • How does shalom affect justice? Why is shalom the critical missing factor in our modern conversations about justice?
    • How and why is “know” an important part of both shalom and peace?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, let shalom inside us and fill us. May we be instruments of your shalom in the world. Amen.

  • Facing It

    Facing It

    Psalm 119:81–88; Jeremiah 16:1–13; James 5:7–12

    The yearning in Psalm 119:81–88 is almost palpable. The need for relief with a counterbalance of produces a huge amount of tension within a few verses. This tension is often part of our own lives as we desire immediate relief from our trials, the fulfillment of our hopes and dreams, and God. Far too often, however, we have trusting God within that, so up doing it in our own .

    This may be part of the reason why for God’s warning to the residents of Jerusalem through Jeremiah. Don’t try to make up for the exile through childbirth. That dream is more than you can bear. If you try, everything around you will fall apart in ways beyond your ability to bear.

    The reality was that Jerusalem would not be a healthy place to remain. Due to resource issues, it would have difficulties sustaining a significant population. When that happens, disease and famine will come. It’s not a God-caused thing, it is the reality of an overdrawn environment.

    When it comes to our trials and dreams, however, is often not one of our strengths. Often we also begin to bite at and attack one another. In an attempt to appease the tension and , we often turn to things and actions outside of ourselves: , drugs, food, sex, anger, fighting, hatred, insults, ridicule, complaints, discord, control, withdrawal. Various people find ways to deal with their pains.

    Strengthening our resolve in God and following God’s lead is often difficult in the of our dreams and trials, yet that is where God meets us. We just have to have the courage and to face it.

    ※Reflection※

    Where is the tension in your right now? How do you see that tension in your dreams and your pain (trials)

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, build our capability to endure the tension between our dreams and our trials as we rely upon and have faith in you. Amen.