Devotion.al

Tag: wait

  • Wait and See

    Wait and See

    Psalm 110:1–4; Exodus 19:7–25; Hebrews 2:1–4

    God tells the “master” (king) to “”.  It is quite common today for rulers to sit while the armies go forth to wage war or defend the . When the Psalm was , it was normal that kings/rulers went to war with the armies. So, for the ruler/master/king to sit was to say that the war/battle would be won without their presence. As it is God saying it, it’s more along the lines of, “I’ve got this.”

    In our American thinking, we often think we have to do it ourselves. There is a reason why we think of “good” businesspeople having “pulled themselves up by their bootstraps.”  If we analyze that phrase, we can see that it may have not been a positive statement, but a tongue-in-cheek quip that someone was quite arrogant in thinking they did by themselves.

    As we read the , it becomes apparent that often the on God’s people is not to do great things, but to witness and testify to the great things that God has done. When God has done great things, the pressure is often taken off of us, because it is not by our of will. When we testify, often we have to testify to our weakness and testify to God’s strength in the face of our weakness.

    When the people God at Mount Sinai, their actions are minimal. They are to prepare, listen and respond. You might think that “obey” would be part of that, but obedience would be lived out, and obedience would be part of their testimony to the world of what God has done.

    The story of Exodus may have a lot of anecdotal stories of Moses, Aaron, and the people of Israel. However, most of the stories are witnesses of God’s glory and might. Even during the plagues, while Moses had his part, it was God who was the major actor.

    Exodus was, along with the other books of the Pentateuch (Genesis, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) are formational to what it meant to be an Israelite. The books were not only a witness of God, they were also the witness to and for the Israelites.

    As they were formational, they were core to being Israelite.  Yet, it is amazing how people can be formed by something they do not know. We’d say that this couldn’t be, yet even being an “American” is often based upon far too many things we only think we know.

    The author of Hebrews speaks of drifting away. Often, especially in a country as blessed as ours, it is very easy to quickly forget our salvation. Our lives are (despite a bad economy, COVID, and -less politics) blessed. This is not to diminish the hardships that people experience here. In fact, because of the blessedness, it makes such hardships an even greater travesty.

    Drifting away is subtle. It takes time. A quick divergence (or apostasy) is easy to grasp. It is when it happens over time (years, decades, centuries) that it becomes the hardest to recognize.  When it happens over time, it also becomes hard to determine versus fact.

    We are in such a time as this, if we’ve ever left it all. Perhaps this should be our greatest fear as the church…we have lost what should make us different than the world.

    The deepest, darkest, and saddest aspect of this drifting away is that we cease being witnesses of God, and our lives ceasing being witnesses to God. While we are called to wait and see what will do, we are called to say what God has done.

    ※Reflection※

    • What ways have you been tempted to “drift away” from ?
    • What kinds of “drifting away” damages our witness the most?
    • What is the danger in not “waiting and see” what God does? What is the danger in “waiting and see”? How does discern when to be still and when to act?

    ※Prayer※

    God, you have called us to witness what you have done, and to be witnesses. Help us to be faithful to that call. Amen.

  • Freely

    Freely

    Psalm 147:1–11; 1 Corinthians 9:16–23

    Psalm 147 opens up powerfully. It really is good to sing praise to God. Every worship hopes that it is the pleasure of everyone who attends church (whether physically or online) finds it a pleasure to praise God through singing.

    Of course, the psalmist is a songwriter/performer, so is obviously a tad biased towards this form of praise. There is indeed something powerful about music. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who find their best time of worship and praise through prayer or stillness.

    The heart of worship is honoring God. A heart that honors God, worships God. Those people faithfully for the next experience of God’s love.

    The expectation of experiencing God’s faithful love produces a response that can seem odd to a person who does not believe the same. has such an expectation. That is part of what motivates his approach to his (Christ directed) to the Good News.

    Paul’s response to God’s faithful love? Share the Good News freely. Not only freely in regard to cost, but also freely to whomever, and freely however.

    In many respects, the whomever and however continue to be a problem in regard to sharing the . In some church somewhere, someone is saying, “Let’s not share the Good News with those people.” In another church (or maybe the same one), someone is saying, “We just can’t do it that way.”

    It’s easy to say, “Paul would…,” but the reality is that we don’t know what Paul would have done. We can only at the “heart” of Paul as seen through his words.

    We are often quite to put boundaries on many things in our lives. With whom and how (granted, without changing the ) however, the fewer boundaries we place the more likely we are to be where God already is.

    ※Reflection※

    • What surprising/unexpected ways have you seen the Good News shared/spread?
    • How should honoring/praising/worshiping God lead to sharing the Good News of the Gospel?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, may we find ways to share the Gospel that builds bridges of and love. Amen.

  • Flame Bright in the Dark

    Flame Bright in the Dark

    Matthew 25:1–13

    The Nicene Creed (one of the statements of belief that cross all Christian denominations) is as follows (maybe even read it aloud):

     We believe in one God,
        the Father, the Almighty,
        maker of heaven and earth,
        of all that is, seen and unseen.
 We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
        the only  of God,
        eternally begotten of the Father,
        God from God,  from Light,
        true God from true God,
        begotten, not made,
        of one Being with the Father;
        through him all things were made.
        For us and for our salvation
                he came down from heaven,
                was incarnate of the  and the Virgin Mary
                and became truly human.
                For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
                he suffered death and was buried.
                On the third day he rose again
                in accordance with the Scriptures;
                he ascended into heaven
                and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
                He will come again in  to judge the  and the dead,
                and his kingdom will have no end.
 We believe in the  Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
        who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
        who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
        who has spoken through the prophets.
        We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic .
        We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
        We look for the  of the dead,
                and the life of the world to come. Amen.

    In the Church of the Nazarene, we don’t say this creed much. Which really is too bad. It is the basics of the universal Christian .

    In the light of today’s Scripture, it is “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end” that is our focus.

    Today’s Scripture is a warning to be for the return of Jesus. We lose a lot of this story because so much of it is cultural. The bridesmaids are to escort the bride (and essentially the groom) to the groom’s home for the marriage ceremony.

    There would be dancing and singing along the way. Sleeping was wise. However, part of the situation is that there was often last-minute negotiations between the families of the bride and groom.

    So, the announcement of “the groom comes” could be done, and then something else would come up, and the whole thing would begin again. The reality was that “the groom comes” could be said many times without a groom actually coming.

    The coming of Christ has been that way for 2000 years. “He’s coming…oh, wait…He’s coming…oh, wait…” That cycle has been repeated for generations. Many of us recall multiple times in our lives when people have been convinced that Jesus was coming back.

    We are the bridesmaids. We are the bride (the church). It’s weird, I know. We are both bridesmaids and bride and yet still ourselves.

    Christmas wasn’t that long ago. Part of the story is the glory of Heaven that shined down and declared the birth of the Savior. Epiphany (less than 2 weeks ago, and still the church season) is about a star that led unbelievers to venerate the new King.

    Whether a thief in the night, a baby in a manger, a choir from Heaven, somehow Christ will come in glory. We are called to be prepared.

    ※Prayer※

    Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again. May we be continually preparing for his return. Amen.

  • In Love’s Time

    In Love’s Time

    “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His , born of a woman, born under the law.”
    —Galatians 4:4 (NRSV)

    I will never forget finding out we were having our first child. I was still finishing up my masters and an internship at a I had been serving at throughout college. We were so excited when we found out, but the timing wasn’t the best. I was super nervous to tell our pastor, by boss, that we were expecting our first child. Partially because I knew that being pregnant would mean a crazier schedule with doctor visits and partially because I knew I needed advice. My internship was ending when I finished my masters that spring and that made things sticky.

    Johnny, my boss, gave me the best insight that day. “There is never a ‘right’ time to have a baby.” He is right. We could always make excuses or explain why it’s such a terrible time to have a baby. But, we adapt. It made making the decisions to add to our family much easier because we weren’t looking for a magical timing of owning a home or having dream jobs (so long as we could support our family).

    This is what makes ‘ story even more unique than it already is! The timing of Jesus being born was the “right” time. It was the time that God had planned on all along. While there may never be a “right” time for us to have babies…Jesus being born was the right time. It was the exact time that god had laid out knowing what the next 33 years would hold for Jesus and what that would mean for us.

    God’s timing is perfect. It’s not always what we expect, desire, or understand…but God’s timing is perfect. Which is really hard when we have to . God’s people waited and waited for a king to come them. They got a baby. So not only did God’s timing seem off to them because they had waited for so long, but then they were caught of guard. But we know the story. We know how it all plays out. It was perfect. Jesus was perfect and showed us perfect that is now a part of our stories.

  • Firm Hope

    Firm Hope

    “Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the that I will be , says the Lord God.”
    —Ezekiel 12:28 (NRSV)

    How long have we been stuck in phase 2? I mean. By the time you are reading this there is a chance we could be in phase 3. But if you are like me—you probably doubt it.

    How long have your children (if you have kids or teens at home) been doing school from home?

    How long did you have to (at the beginning of all of this) to see your or friends?

    How long did we wait to find out who the next president was? As I am writing this they still haven’t progressed (3 days later).

    It’s been a year of waiting. It’s been a year of promises or words that were spoken about all of these things and more and yet not knowing when it will actually happen. Waiting is the worst. And as a general public…we don’t like to wait. Do you?

    And yet that is what God’s people did. Wait. For a King to come them. A King that came as a tiny baby. Have you ever held a tiny, newborn baby? They are so fragile. My husband won’t hold any newborn (outside of his own and only out of necessity) because of how fragile they are. He doesn’t want to “break” them. And this is how our King came! This is how Israels King came. This was to be their they were waiting on!? Yes!

    I am so thankful we know the full story because if we lived back then – we might have been upset or doubted too! But , our true hope, came. No waiting for us.

    So in this season of uncertainty and waiting. Fix your eyes upon Jesus and the hope that He brings to us not just every Christmas, but every day—every moment.

  • Have and Need

    Have and Need

    “For a child has been born for us, a given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and He is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of .”
    – Isaiah 9:6 (NRSV)

    Okay. Be honest. Did you have your Christmas tree up at the beginning ofNovember? Anyonehave it up before this year? I mean, come on! We need the excitement and magic that Christmas brings. Right? After the yearwe have had?! We need Christmas. Maybe you are one of those who strictly doesn’t do the Christmas thing until after Thanksgiving is over…
    Did you still this year?

    I think we have all been anticipating this season. I know I have! We have been bogged down with COVID, killer bees, racial injustice, politics, and more. We need Christmas. We need . We need .

    As you probably well know – God made a well before Jesus came…that Jesus would come. That Jesus would be and bring the that we needed so desperately. That Gods people needed so desperately. Do you feel like this year you need that light? You need to be reminded of God’s promises in your ? Do you need to be reminded of the hope that Jesus brings to us in all the different seasons of life?

    It’s been a hard year. For so many reasons for so many people. Many of us have had anxiety, frustrations, cried, yelled, laughed, cried some more probably… I am thankful that God is faithful. That God shows us His faithfulness through Jesus Christ. And that through Jesus and the promises that God keeps we can have hope. Because let’s face it. At the end of this year and as we into the next year – we need hope.

    Where do you see hope in your life today? Thank God for those glimmers of hope. Thank God for His continued faithfulness.

  • Desolate

    Desolate

    Micah 2:1–13; Matthew 24:15–31

    Many people attribute motives to leaders, especially political ones, that fit a narrative, rather than the facts. Sometimes they fit both the facts and the narrative. The last few presidents have had a lot of that. Even our current governor has had a lot of that. We may not like their decisions, that doesn’t mean, however, that they are being malicious. Sometimes they are just doing their best to muddle through…just like the of us.

    Micah’s words are for any person who seeks the ill of . Whether it is political, financial, , or something else, those who plan to take from others may well fall under condemnation. There is the motivation that is part of Micah’s words. “Limiting” our ability to worship as we are accustomed can often fall under the trying to do the best for all, rather than just some.

    Micah’s focus is more along the lines of those whose inheritances were taken, and whose people (particularly the women) were “taken” as profit, rather than looking at the best for the whole. This was about the elites who truly controlled everything, and took even more, effectively robbing the Promised Land of the promises of God.

    The strong implication in Micah’s words is that the people cannot break themselves out of the mess they are in. It really is out of their control. Thus, they need God to break their chains and lead them beyond the walls into . They need God to both direct them and protect them, just as a is supposed to do for the .

    It is times of disarray and chaos, just like these, that warns us about (in Matthew). We know we need the shepherd, even when “we” don’t believe that Jesus is the shepherd we need/want.  This is the time when false messiahs and, thus, false arises.

    People in their need will begin to follow others who appear to “know” the way. Those being followed may be religious leaders. They can be political leaders. They can be military leaders. They can even be business leaders.

    Jesus’ words imply that those that truly know Jesus will know when he comes back. There won’t be any as far as the believers are concerned (the world is different).

    ※Reflection※

    Why is it important to understand that Christians will know when Jesus returns? How do you see people following “leaders” (especially those who think as you do)? Why might it be important that all of Jesus’ followers will be gathered from the “four winds” (or four corners) of the world?

    ※Prayer※

    Jesus, we wait. Lord, we wait for you. Grant us to wait for your coming. Grant us endurance as we wait. Amen.v

  • Thieving Glory

    Thieving Glory

    Matthew 24:42–44; 1 Thessalonians 5:2–6; Revelation 16:12–16

    Calling God a thief seems more than just a little ridiculous. Yet, Jesus uses the imagery of a thief to talk about the Day of the Lord.

    The Day of the Lord is an ambiguous phrase. Many (perhaps even most) Christians, think of the “Day of the Lord” as the day that Jesus will return. From a Jewish , this is not the case.

    The Day of the Lord is a phrase used to indicate an occasion where/when the earthly way of things (the status quo) will be shaken. There are two primary uses of this phrase. The first is the impending consequences of unfaithful behavior by the Israelites. The second is when God restores Israel by throwing down those that oppressed them.

    This is not to say that the “Day of the Lord” is not Jesus’ return (for that is the penultimate Day of the Lord). It is better to say that there will be many Days of the Lord.

    The comparison between the dramatic Day of the Lord the Jews were expecting at the time of Jesus and the thief in the night is not incidental. In many respects, the impending Day of the Lord was , followed by Easter, followed by Pentecost.

    To Christians, we don’t view these as “thief in the night” moments. General history, however, only finds them important due to Christianity. The of Jesus was just another day of Roman “justice” and fearmongering. The was only witnessed by a few.

    Pentecost, by far, was the biggest event (people-wise) of the three, and yet it was relatively insignificant to an Empire, and only “another” sect to deal with for the Jews. Yes, this sect became troublesome for the Jews and the Romans, but it didn’t start that way.

    One of the biggest struggles that Christians have about the “Day of the Lord” is that they continue to look for big signs. They want drama. They want action.

    Jesus’ return may indeed be on clouds of (he says it, but is it literal or imagery), but Jesus didn’t say how many would witness it.

    ※Questions※

    1) In the US, we often look to elections or wars as “the Day of the Lord”. What other events come to mind?

    2) Why is it important to keep the “thief” motif in mind when thinking about Jesus’ return?

    3) Why do you think Paul uses dark and sleep to talk about “the thief” (think beyond the obvious)?

    ※Prayer※

    , as we for your ‘s return, let your burn inside of us, and keep the light of your and glory shining, that we are ready for such a time as that. Amen.