Devotional « Journeyman Journal

Light Bulb Moment

Sunday, October 12th, 2008

During my devotional reading this morning I had a “light bulb moment”..two actually…

Here was the first:

We see a strange phenomenon in our culture: Jesus is almost universally respected as a “good teacher,” yet His actual teachings—many of them, anyway—are almost universally reviled.

There is a lot of truth in that statement, and I had not noticed the oxymoron before. How can people say Jesus was a great teacher and then throw out everything he taught? Here is number two:

Much of Christian life is tension between two impulses: the desire to be liked and respected by the world, and the desire to know God and be like Jesus.

That’s toe-stepping stuff right there. I must admit to being guilty of this fighting this tension often in my own life and spiritual journey. I wish I could even say I think I am usually on the right side of the tension. Once again, more to work on in my walk with God.

In case you’re interested, the passage that these two quotes are in reference to is Matthew 10:17-25. And the devotional itself is At His Feet. I highly recommend this devotional if you are looking for one.

12.10.2008 Devotional, Spiritual Development, Spiritual Musings No Comments

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

It’s probably just me (I am a little slow), but God keeps repeating the same two themes in my walk with Him over the past few weeks. Life has been busy and stressful. School is out for a week and I am getting back on track (whatever that means).

So what has God been repeating? Two themes…

Theme #1: Turn to Him When Things Get Rough

I have said it before, but I have had the tendency in the past to turn to unhealthy things instead of God when the chips were down. This is a lesson that has taken, and is taking, time to really learn. God is undoing old, bad habits and teaching me how to turn to Him. Here’s the latest passage He has given me on the topic:

Dear children, keep away from anything
that might take God’s place in your hearts.
1 John 5:21, NLT

Theme #2: It’s All About Relationship

This one has been repeated in many different venues: Church, Men’s Group, School, Devotions, et al. And it’s the most exciting. Life is about relationships…it’s how God made us…it’s WHY God made us. And God wants to have a personal relationship with me and with you. That’s exciting! And it changes everything when I think about living my life with God as my friend…in relationship with Him. It came up last night in Men’s Group:

So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God
because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Romans 5:11, NLT

So those are my lessons. How about you? What has God, or is God, continually teaching you? Are the repetitive themes in your life?

10.09.2008 Devotional, Spiritual Development, Spiritual Musings No Comments

Cling to Him

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

Time for a little confession. This past week has been especially busy (no, that’s not the confession). What has paid the price? Mostly my time with God (there it is). I have been spending “time” with Him, but not the kind of focused attention that He deserves…my mind has been on other things.

This weekend we took our usual Labor Day camping weekend trip up to Como. As usual, it was good time with family and friends. And it was relaxing…something I needed, but that I am paying for now since I still have a big paper due in my class. During the one good time I spent with God this weekend I was confessing how I have been neglecting my relationship with Him. And as usual, He gave me something to chew on in return. Here it is:

As a loincloth clings to a man’s waist,
so I created Judah and Israel [and David] to cling to me, says the Lord.
They were to be my people, my pride, my glory—an honor to my name.
But they would not listen to me.
Jeremiah 13:11, NLT

Yes, I made a little personal addition there…but that is how God spoke to me. I was made to cling to Him.

Do I always do it? No.
Do I often? Guilty again.
Am I learning? Yes.

So today, in the midst of the busyness and craziness of life I am trying to cling to Him and turn to Him more and more. How about you? Do you cling to God when life gets crazy? Or do you cling to something else?

03.09.2008 Devotional, Spiritual Development, Spiritual Musings No Comments

Not Sure What I Think About This…

Friday, May 16th, 2008

As I have stated previously, I am working my way through the minor prophet books in the Old Testament in my morning devotional time. For the past few days I have been in the book of Jonah. A story many of us have heard since Sunday School as little kids. It’s a short book (four small chapters) and there is a lot packed in there. This morning, something jumped off the page at me:

When God saw what that [the Ninevites] had done
and how they had put a stop to their eveil ways,
he changed his mind and did not carry out
the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah 3:10, NLT

So what jumped out at me? Seems like a fairly innocuous passage right? God had planned on destroying Nineveh because of their evil ways. Most of the book is about Jonah wrestling with God about going to Nineveh (the whole swallowed by a fish thing). But that’s not what struck me this morning.

It was this phrase: “…he changed his mind…”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t typically think of God changing His mind. It doesn’t fit neatly into my theology. God knows everything right? God knows exactly what He’s going to do, right? So, did God really intend to destroy Nineveh or was He “playing a game” with them? Of course, my issue isn’t with Nineveh specifically (although it torqued Jonah off pretty good, read Chapter 4 for that story).

My issue is with you and me. Does God have a plan for you and me? Is it set in stone? I know that we have free will and all…but I don’t always act like it. There is contention in my ind and spirit around God’s sovereignty and our free will. I have swung back and forth between these two ends of the spectrum. This morning? Like I said, I’m just not sure what I think about it…your thoughts??