Tag Archives: wholeness

Devotional

Unlabeled

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Read James 4

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NLT)

It seems like labels make the world go around, right? We label everything, do we not? Labels seemed to get attached to just about everything that exists in our society and in our world. Of course, we label objects so that we can distinguish them from other objects. We label food so that we can tell what is in the food before we purchase and consume it. These types of labels are good and useful.

Unfortunately, our labeling doesn’t stop there. We also label people as well. I know this all too well as someone who has been labeled more times that I can probably remember. What I am about to share may be uncomfortable for some who read it; however, if so you are not alone, because they were more than uncomfortable for me. Throughout my life, I have been labeled in ways that were very hurtful and scarring.

For instance, I have been labeled a “fag”, a “homo”, a “queer”, and a “queerbate”. I have also been labeled “slowpoke”, “turtle”, “unteachable”, “spaced out”, “retarded”, “aloof”, “dunce”, and “dumb.” Beyond those labels, I have been labeled “ugly”, “fat,” “freak,” “extreme”, “odd ball”, “loser”, “unfit”, “weakling”, “Satanic” (I still laugh at that one), “false prophet”, “unchristian”, “naïve”, and a whole host of other things. This is totally NOT an exhaustive list.

I list these not to evoke a pity party, I have survived all of the labels that have come my way and, thankfully, have grown to be a stronger person as a result of them; however, that is not to say that they did not leave their mark. They did. Since I first started being labeled as child in school, I have had to struggle with a lack of self-confidence, low self-esteem, poor body image (yes, guys can have this too), depression and even, at times, misanthropy.

What’s more, they didn’t just leave their mark on me in those ways. As is often the case, I sometimes turned to labeling others and treating others the way I was treated. I make no excuses for that. It is not uncommon for victims to become the victimizer, and I occasionally did. I didn’t do that often, because it is NOT fundamentally who I am; however, when I did participate in that in order to be accepted or to lash out, I was wrong.

One of the current ways that we are labeling others can be seen in the immigration and refugee situation going in in the United States. We label people as “threats”, as “illegals”, as “aliens”, as “criminals”, as “job thieves”, as “potential terrorists”, as “gangbangers”, as “them”, as “they”, and a whole host of other labels. These labels are established to distinguish “us” against “them”. They are established to rank one as more “superior” and/or “deserving” than the other.

Yet, time and time again God has called us to become unlabeled. God has pleaded with us, commanded us even, to stop labeling ourselves and others. Human beings are not illegal, they are not alien, they are not dumb, they are not queer, they are not oddballs, they are not ugly, they are not unteachable, and they most certainly aren’t less worthy than anyone else is. Rather, human beings are God’s creation and are created in the very image of God. To denigrate another human is to denigrate the One who created God. The challenge for us is to begin to remember how we’ve been labeled and how that felt when we went through it. If we remember that, we will be more likely to begin to break the chains of the labeling we find ourselves doing. It’s time to become unlabeled.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“I try to look for the good in everybody, regardless of the way they’re labeled.” – Richard Thompson

PRAYER
Lord, help me to shake the labels I have been given, as well as to stop participating in labeling others. Help me to see your divine image in all people. Amen.

Devotional

The Inner Skeptic

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Read Psalm 14

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.” (Jude 1:22)

Everyone knows that I am a HUGE fan of Star Wars. Recently, the latest film in the Star Wars Universe was released, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”. The film follows a series of mostly new characters who are on a mission to get the blueprint plans of “The Death Star” from the evil Galactic Empire. If they succeed, it is possible that they can find a weakness that will help them destroy a weapon so powerful that it can eliminate entire planets in a matter of seconds.

Without spoiling the story for you (as I run a strict, no spoiler, ship), the characters of Jyn and Cassian are the unlikely leaders of a slim-to-none chance to infiltrate the enemy base and steal the plans of the dreaded battle station, “The Death Star.” All throughout the film, the characters are constantly being tested in their abilities, in their trust of one another, and in their faith.

In fact, wrestling with faith is a MAJOR theme in this film. Each of the characters, in their own way, find themselves wrestling with their faith in the existence of the force. One of the characters, Chirrut Îmwe, is a member of the Guardian of the Whills, which is a religious order that at one time were protectors of the Temple. Following the Temple being raided by the Galactic Empire, the Guardians remained true to their beliefs and sat out in the streets preaching about the Force.

What’s important to note is that thought the age of the Jedi and their use of the force, are not far removed from the time period that this takes place, many question the existence of such a “Force”. The Jedi themselves are quickly fading into mythological obscurity. How quickly hope fades, how quickly people fall from faith into the hopless state of despair. This is, honestly, the human condition.

When Jyn runs into Chirrut, he asked her if she knew what she was wearing around her neck. The crystals she was wearing were what the Empire had come to the Temple to raid, they were what powered the lightsabers. Chirrut sees it as a sign that the Force was alive and well. In fact, throughout the film, this monk kept reciting a powerful mantra, “I am one with the Force,  the Force is with me.”

Throughout the film, there are many skeptics who question this monk’s devotion to what they see as nothing more than a fairytale. Yet, his unwavering faith to the Force witnesses to these people and causes them to see beyond the inner skeptic within them. One by one, each of them is confronted with the choice between placing their faith in the Force or in continuing to deny the Force that is within them and all around them.

What I want to make clear is this, today’s Scripture is NOT calling the one who wrestles with his/her faith a fool. Everyone should be wrestling with their faith in God. It is was makes that faith real and it is how one grows in faith; however, the Scripture is stating that the one who concludes, absolutely and definitively that THERE IS NO GOD is foolish. Such an absolute proclamation leads nowhere but placing oneself in the place of God.

To make that proclamation is to shut oneself off from the discovery of the divine. There is not a single human being that can definitively know Ultimate Reality and, therefore, it is ultimately foolish for them to shut themselves off to the possibility of God based off of whatever limited “evidence” they may think they have. Not one of us can possibly have ALL of the evidence to make any conclusive and definitive proclamation.

We all operate on faith. We operate on the faith that there is a God or we operate on the faith that there is no God. Skepticism is good and healthy; however, it only gets us so far. The question for us is this, can we silence the  inner skeptic? Can we get to the place where we move beyond skepticism and acknowledge the faith that we are already operating on? If so, we can continue to wrestle with our faith and grow in it. I pray that, if you are struggling with your faith, this devotion may be your inner Chirrut Îmwe, reminding you that you are one with the Force (aka God) and that the Force/God is with you. I pray that you choose to move beyond faith in “no God” to faith in the God who is wanting to work miracles in you and through you.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

PRAYER
Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief. Amen.

Devotional

Believed

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Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“I will comfort you there in Jerusalem as a mother comforts her child.” (Isaiah 66:13)

I used to faithfully watch the show, “Ghost Adventures.” The show aired on the Travel Channel, and it followed these three independent paranormal investigators who would lock themselves into a supposedly haunted building and try to agitate any spirits who might be there and waiting. I always found it fascinating because they were exploring the unknown and some of the evidence they would find, so far as I could tell, was quite compelling.

I just recently watched “The Conjuring 2”, which follows Ed and Loraine Warren as they investigate the Enfield House. For those of you not already aware, the Enfield House is one of the most documented “hauntings” ever. Located in the London area, Enfield was called “the Amittyville of England”, because of some similarities between the two cases and also the fact that the two hauntings happened in the late ‘70s, around the same time as each other.

Needless to say, tales about hauntings and possessions have always intrigued me because they seem so out there, and fanciful, that one is left wondering if they are ACTUALLY true. On the other hand, so many people throughout history have had some sort of paranormal experience that there must be some nugget of truth, right? Whether that is right or wrong, these films certainly capture the imaginiation and cause one’s skin to crawl when watching them.

As I was watching the Conjuring 2, I also picked up on something equally as intriguing. The story is about a girl and her family who live in a house that increasingly becomes an inhospitable place to live. To start out, we find out that the dad has bailed on the family and left them to fend for themselves. We don’t ever find out why; however, we see the results of his decision to abandon his family. The mother is left to figure out how to support her children and pay the bills. The daughters are each struggling to deal with the loss of their father.

The youngest daughter, Janet, is being bullied by other kids, who are calling her vulgar names and tormenting her. To add insult to injury, when the haunting begins to take place the mom calls the police come to investigate as she believes someone could be in the house. After witnessing paranormal activity, they report the “haunting” to the media who then interview the family and put it all over the tele (aka TV). Fojllowing that, all of Janet’s remaining friends abandon her, join in making fun of her and/or totally avoid her.

In other words, Janet’s life was HELL! The Catholic Church ended up sending Ed and Lorraine Warren to investigate because they did not want to risk their reputation on a potential hoax. While that is both understandable and a theological travesty at the same time, Ed and Lorraine do show up and they DO believe this girl and her family. That’s enough of the back story without giving anything else away.

The point of this is that, what ultimately ended up bringing healing to this girl and her family was the fact that someone ACTUALLY believed them. Someone took the time to listen to them, empathize with them, and not dismiss what they were going through. There is nothing worse than suffering through something and no one truly caring enough to understand or believe.

The challenge for us all is to be more empathetic and compassionate with others. We should believe them when they say their struggling. Even if it becomes discerned that they are not struggling in the ways they have expressed, it does not mean they are not struggling at all. We never truly know what they are going through and Christ calls us to witness to the compassionate, healing presence of God in the lives of others. We are not their judges, we are their servants. We should be open and willing to be present in the lives of those who are down and out.  We would want no less for ourselves and we should be willing to do to others as we would have them do to us.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.”  – Albert Schweitzer

PRAYER
Lord, guide to those who need help and grow a more compassionate and empathetic spirit within me. Amen.

Devotional

A LOOK BACK: Running in the Rain

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Writing the Life-Giving Water devotionals is not only an important ministry, but is a deeply rewarding spiritual discipline for me as well. This is the month of retreats for me, so as I am busy leading them, here is a LOOK BACK to a devotion I wrote in the past. Read it, reflect on it, be challenged by it. Who knows how God will speak to you through it and how it will bear relevance in your life today? May the Holy Spirit guide you as you read the suggested Scripture and subsequent devotion.

Devotional

A LOOK BACK: All Authority

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Writing the Life-Giving Water devotionals is not only an important ministry, but is a deeply rewarding spiritual discipline for me as well. This is the month of retreats for me, so as I am busy leading them, here is a LOOK BACK to a devotion I wrote in the past. Read it, reflect on it, be challenged by it. Who knows how God will speak to you through it and how it will bear relevance in your life today? May the Holy Spirit guide you as you read the suggested Scripture and subsequent devotion.

Devotional

A LOOK BACK: Denial and the Cross

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Writing the Life-Giving Water devotionals is not only an important ministry, but is a deeply rewarding spiritual discipline for me as well. This is the month of retreats for me, so as I am busy leading them, here is a LOOK BACK to a devotion I wrote in the past. Read it, reflect on it, be challenged by it. Who knows how God will speak to you through it and how it will bear relevance in your life today? May the Holy Spirit guide you as you read the suggested Scripture and subsequent devotion.

Devotional

A LOOK BACK: A Time to Reflect, part 2

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Due to retreats and other commitments I have over the next couple of weeks, I have decided to repost what I did (for the same reasons) last year. I am sure this will be just as relevant now as it was then.

So, today and next Wednesday, I am publishing two scriptures and a couple of reflective questions. Read the Scripture, more than once even, and ponder the questions that are asked in regard it. If you are reading this on lifegivingwaterdevo.org, feel free to comment with your answers and/or reflective thoughts. If you are reading this in print somewhere, or on some other site that is publishing it, then perhaps write your answers and/or reflective thoughts on paper and save them to look back upon.

Next week, I will post the two devotions that I wrote based off of the two Scripture passages and the reflective questions being asked.

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 9:1-5

Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money–not even an extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

  1. What does Jesus mean that he’s given his disciples power and authority?
  2. What does it meant to be “sent out” to proclaim the Kingdom of God? What is the Kingdom of God?
  3. Why does Jesus tell his disciples to “take nothing”, including food, for their journey?
  4. Why would people not accept the disciples? What does Jesus mean when he says to “shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them”?
  5. What do you find challenging about this passage? Why do you find it challenging?

Look for next Wednesday’s devotion in order to see the full devotion on Luke 9:1-5.

Devotional

A LOOK BACK: Time to Reflect, part 1

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Due to retreats and other commitments I have over the next couple of weeks, I have decided to repost what I did (for the same reasons) last year. I am sure this will be just as relevant now as it was then.

So, today and next Wednesday, I am publishing two scriptures and a couple of reflective questions. Read the Scripture, more than once even, and ponder the questions that are asked in regard it. If you are reading this on lifegivingwaterdevo.org, feel free to comment with your answers and/or reflective thoughts. If you are reading this in print somewhere, or on some other site that is publishing it, then perhaps write your answers and/or reflective thoughts on paper and save them to look back upon.

Next week, I will post the two devotions that I wrote based off of the two Scripture passages and the reflective questions being asked.

Today’s Scripture:

Mark 8:34-38

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

  1. What does Jesus mean when he says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves…”?
  2. What did it mean for people in Jesus’ day to pick up their crosses? What does it mean for you to pick up your cross?
  3. What does Jesus mean by “those who are ashamed of me and my words” and why does Jesus call his generation “adulterous and sinful”?
  4. Do you feel uneasy by Jesus’ words in this passage? If so, why does it challenge you? If not, why doesn’t it?

Look for next Friday’s devotion in order to see the full devotion on Mark 8:34-38.

Devotional

The Sermon, part 29: Beyond Amazed

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Read Matthew 7:28-29

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15 NLT)

Here we are at the tail end of the great Sermon on the Mount and it says that the people were “amazed” at Jesus, for he taught with “real authority”. The text also throws in an added slight against the scribes, who evidently didn’t teach with “real” authority. Before we get into the amazement the people were experiencing, it is important to understand what is meant by Jesus teaching with “real authority”

The Greek word used here for “authority” is ἐξουσία (pronounced ex-oo-see’-ah) and it can mean one who has privilege, one who has the capacity, one who is competent, one who demonstrates mastery, one who has command (such as a magistrate, a superhuman, or a sovereign ruler), as well as one who has the power to delegate influence, authority, jurisdiction, liberty, right, and strength. I believe that the author here intends a little bit of all of these meanings when writing of Jesus’ authority.

In other words, Jesus taught as one who was given the privilege from God to teach. He taught as one who had the capacity and competency to teach, expound and expand upon the Torah. He demonstrated that he was a master, and that he was in command of the stuff he was teaching. Not only that, he was in a place to make his teachings divine commands. In Christ, God’s sovereignty resided and Jesus’ teachings displayed that sovereignty.

So, when the author writes that Jesus taught with the kind of authority that the Scribes and religious leaders didn’t have, it’s kind of a “no duh” moment. Of course, the author is purposefully slighting the leaders who opposed Jesus as a literary device that all the more shows the gap between where God was calling the people (as seen through Jesus) and where the current leaders where taiking the people.

With that said, the author was doing more than that as well. He is also showing that Jesus taught with the full and sovereign authority of God, as opposed that was passed down from Moses to the priests throughout the generations. Even if the leadership was in line with Jesus’ teachings, and there’s evidence in Scripture that some of them were, none of them could teach with the kind of authority that Jesus taught with, because none of them were God’s divine Son.

What’s more important, though, is the fact that the author wrote that the people were amazed at Jesus’ teachings. We often read this as, people were excited, or were in awe, or were totally elated by Jesus’ teachings; however, those words do not do justice to what the author is trying to convey here. The word “amazed” can also be translated as stunned, aghast, shocked, flabbergasted, dumbfounded, and struck with astonishment.

The people could not believe what they had just witnessed and were standing there with their mouths agape, wondering what they had just heard. Some were, no doubt, aghast or horrified by what they just witnessed. Some were dumbfounded and left wondering what had just happened, Others were flabbergasted and/or bewildered by Jesus’ teachings.

In all senses of the word “amazed”, people were not quite sure what to do with this Jesus. Some wanted to kill him, others wanted to hail him king. Others still wanted to follow him, and others were just confused as to what it all meant. Regardless, all were left completely paralyzed in this moment of “amazement.” The question for us, now that we’ve reached the end of this great sermon, is this: are you amazed? Are you struck with astonishment at what he has taught? Did it invoke anger and outrage? Did it invoke confusion and bewilderment? Did it invoke a desire to dive deeper into Christ’s teachigngs?

Perhaps it did all of the above. The key for us, as surely as it was key for the crowd following the sermon, is that we need to move beyond amazement into action. There comes a point when the astonishment wears off and we are left with a simple but monumental choice: how will we respond to Christ’s authority. Will we accept it, or will we reject it. Will we choose to follow it, or will we seek to undermine and destroy it. The time is long overdue that we make the choice before us. Paralysis and dumbfounded amazement is not God’s plan for us. Choose this day, and all days, whom you are going to serve.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Hate is not the opposite of love; apathy is.” – Rollo May

PRAYER
Lord, move me beyond amazement, paralysis, and apathy to a life that LOVES and MOVES IN LOVE. Amen.

Devotional

The Sermon, Part 28: God’s Will

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Read Matthew 7:24-27

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“And God said to Noah, ‘I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.’” (Genesis 6:13-14, NRSV)

I can only imagine that what you are thinking right now is the following question: “What kind of fool builds a house in such a vulnerable place?” I mean, even a moron would know to pick rock over sand to build a house upon. This parable itself almost seems so outrageous that one has to wonder why Jesus told it in the first place. To whom could be likened to the fool of this parable? The Pharisees? The Sadducees? Jesus’ followers? We know it could not be the Herodians, so named because they were supporters and court members of King Herod Antipas, whose father built marvelous and enduring structures. Heck, even the common peasant would know better than to build their house on sand.

So, who would be so foolish as to pick a vulnerable spot to build their home? While the parable itself might seem foolish, when one thinks about it, people build their homes in vulnerable places all the time. Look at the city of Pompeii at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius? Or how about all the lovely beach homes down in Florida. Or the city of New Orleans built in a bowl-shaped depression that sits below the sea level? Or those living in the Mid-West, also known as Tornado Alley. Of course, one cannot forget Californian cities, such as Los Angeles, which lie upon (or above) two humungous, shifting rocks (known as tectonic plates).

Though I think this should be obvious, I feel compelled to point out that the purpose of this building analogy is not to give instruction on the best practices. Nor is to state that building on “the rock” is without its faults (pun intended); however, the point transcends all of that. The point that Jesus is making has little to do with construction and more to do with foresight and discernment. The question is this: do you have enough foresight to see the signs of the times and build your life appropriately?

Before we go further, I would like to pull in one of my favorite film series into this: Star Wars. There is a scene in the original film (now titled, Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope) where Luke is being trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi to use the Force. In it, a Jedi training device is floating around a blind-folded Luke Skywalker’s head and it is shooting small blaster beams at him. They are not powerful enough to do any real damage, but Luke can feel them every time he gets zapped.

The idea of this is that Luke is supposed to use his light saber to deflect the blaster rays and avoid getting zapped, but he isn’t succeeding. How can he deflect something he cannot see. For Master Obi-Wan, the answer is simple: “Use the Force”. In other words, if Luke could just tap into the force and feel what stirs with in it, he would have the foresight to know where those blaster beams are about to strike.

Eventually, Luke does master that training and is able to use the force. I use this scene in the film as an analogy for what Jesus is trying to teach. The builders aren’t smart or foolish based off of their skills, but based off of their foresight, or lack thereof. In ancient Palestine, if one built a house in the dry season, the hard, sandy ground would not seem like a bad place to build a home; however, anyone with foresight would know that when the rain comes…it really comes…and that hard sandy floor turns to a torrent of mud and grit that would wipe the home right out of existence. If the builder had enough foresight to see the potential of what could lie ahead, then he or she would build that house on solid rock, raised above the hard, dried, sandy land. Or, sometimes, like Noah one needs the foresight to forego building a house and start building a rather large boat!

The question for us is this, do we have the foresight to see and understand the will of God? Can we, to use the Star Wars terminology, sense and feel the force within us? Can we see its direction and understand what path it is guiding us down? Can we feel the Creator of the universe, the Lord of all Creation, with in us and do we have a sense of what God wills for us? If so, our faith is founded on the rock and we will have the foresight to do what God is willing for us. If not, our faith is founded on the sand and when the times meet up with the signs, we will not survive the flood. Like Luke, like Noah, like Abraham, and all of the people guided by their faith, we too can have such foresight and be a part of what God is doing in the world.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future…the past. Old friends long gone.” – Jedi Master Yoda

PRAYER
Lord, I open myself up to your will. Give me the foresight to sense it and act upon it. Amen.