You are here: Home / Archives for J.T. Mercer

Week 8: July 26-August 1

July 24, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Joshua

Ask.

  • What are the distractions around you that you struggle with keeping in the right perspective?
  • What are some things that are way more important to your friends than to you?
  • What are some things that win out in your life when the choice is between doing them OR going to worship or youth group or spending personal time with God?

Listen.

Joshua gave the command and the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the land that God had promised their ancestors four hundred years before. They were no longer the fearful, complaining rabble that had followed Moses out of Egypt. All those who had questioned God’s plan or worshiped the golden calf had passed away in the wilderness. Years of life on the move in the wilderness had hardened them. These were the survivors, ready to claim the land before them as their own.

Yet there were still great challenges stacked against them. Their enemies were numerous, living in cities behind high walls and guard towers, and ready to defend their territory against the poorly armed invaders coming out of the desert. Joshua sent his officers throughout the Israelite camp, repeating the instructions he had received from God, “Be strong and courageous.” They conquered the city of Jericho and from there went on through a series of victories, each time gaining more of the land promised to them. But at the same time, becoming more tempted by the trappings of the people they had conquered.

At the end of the campaign, Joshua gathered all of the people together at a place called Shechem and reminded them of all that they had endured and gained because of their faithfulness to God. Through Joshua, God told the Israelites, “I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and olive yards that you did not plant.”

Joshua urged all the people to make a choice that day as to who they would serve now that they had received all that they had ever dreamed of. They had heard stories of the riches of the Pharaoh and the enormity of the pyramids. They had come into possession of homes and villages with statues of strange gods worshiped in the region they now called their home. Their own God had no great temple or statues. They carried a container called an ark with them and inside were the tablets of the law that Moses had given them. When they were traveling, priests carried this ark before the people and when they stopped they would put them in a special tent called a tabernacle. The ark and the tabernacle were nothing like the statues and temples that they saw of the gods in the cities they conquered, which were much more impressive. Yet they had experienced God’s very real presence and power in their lives time and time again. Would they forget that now that they could finally stop wandering?

Joshua stood on the hillside and called out to all the people of Israel. The choice was theirs.

Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)

The people answered back that they would never forsake God and Joshua assured them that they would be held to their promise. He erected a stone to stand witness to their vows and sent each tribe away to the lands they had been given. When he died, his bones were laid to rest on the hillside where their people had made the promise to God. That first generation that entered the land kept the promise.

Think.

Every day we make a choice. Parents and adults are our church can tell us over and over again about how we need to love and serve God because he loves us so much. But it still ends up being our choice, doesn’t it? God wants us to be his people. He has chosen us. Yet in the end, we have to choose him. It’s ultimately up to us.

Remember.

You can remember what you’ve learned about God’s character and you can hold on to what you’ve experienced in his presence at events like Discovery Weekend or on mission trips or retreats. You can take those things and then make a commitment to God. But you can also choose to follow other paths in your life. The world is full of distractions and alternatives to our faith that seem great at the time but ultimately fall short of fulfillment. The choice is yours. Think about something that you can do to symbolize your choice to follow God. Maybe it’s baptism or a remembrance of your baptism. Maybe it’s a necklace or something on your phone that you’ll always see.

Pray.

Tell God about the very real struggles between your desire to serve him versus all there is out there that gets your attention. Ask God to help you make your commitment real.

More.

What Are You Reaching For?

Filed Under: Summer 2015 Devos, Youth Ministry Blog Tagged With: , ,

Week 7: July 19-25

July 24, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Deuteronomy – Freedom

Ask.

  • Ever had a really strict teacher who then had to be out for a few days?
  • How did the class act when there was an easygoing substitute in the room?
  • Did you take advantage of the situation or act as you would had the strict teacher still been there?

Listen.

The wandering was almost done. It had been thirty-nine years, eleven months and one day since they had begun their march through the wilderness. Moses was now an ancient man and his assistants helped him to a place from which he could address the people. He cleared his throat and began his last great message to them, reminding them of all that they had endured because of their lack of faith in God’s protection and plan for them.

He reminded them that they were a chosen people, that they would be blessed if they obeyed God’s commands, that they would be tempted to abandon God once they were comfortable and that the penalty for this would be severe. He explained to them the fulfillment they would experience in life if they did choose to stay faithful to God.

Moses gave the people ten great commandments by which to order their relationships with God and with each other. He went on to explain how to do almost everything that they would have to do once he was no longer there to guide them — like how to set property boundaries, how to prepare food, how to bear witness in a dispute, how to care for women and children, how to worship. Worship was extremely important to Moses. They were to have a class of priests among them, yes. But unlike other people in their region, God’s expectation was that all of them would live priestly lives. All of their personal decisions, all of their relationships, all of their communities would be a reflection of God.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and why you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them down on the doorstops of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Moses did not free the Israelites from Pharaoh in order to become their king. When he knew he was close to death, he turned over leadership to a capable successor, not to someone simply because they were a member of his family. To the end, he did everything he could to make sure the people knew that he was simply a humble servant of the same God.

But ultimately, it would not be up to Moses whether or not each of the Israelites would stay faithful to God. It would be up to each of them.

Think.

Parents screw up. Sometimes they even act like the children in a family. Youth directors get us all excited be part of the group and then leave for another church. Friends who were once so inspiring and on fire for God get thrown for a loop in their own lives and begin doing all kinds of reckless things we could have never imagined them doing. People, even godly people, are only a part of your journey towards God. They may not always be around. Or they may let us down. In the end, it is your responsibly to stay focused on God.

Remember.

Never confuse your relationship with God with your relationship with a parent, a friend, a significant other, a pastor or a youth director.

Pray.

Find a way for you to keep the Great Commandment of Deuteronomy 6:5 with you at all times. You don’t have to literally see the words to remember it. Maybe it’s a symbol next to your bed or on your bathroom mirror. Or maybe it is something you can carry with you to school. Pray a prayer of obedience. Explain to God why you think you need to be reminded of his love for you. Explain to God why it’s easy to get distracted. Explain to God why you think your life would be changed by keeping this commandment. Make sure that this isn’t about you and anyone else but God.

More.

Guilty Dogs Compilation Video

Filed Under: Summer 2015 Devos, Youth Ministry Blog Tagged With: ,

Week 6: July 12-18

July 24, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Numbers – Community

Ask.

  • What kind of person just really drives you crazy?
  • What have you been told is something that you do that drives a friend or family member crazy?
  • Do you actively try to stop doing it or have they just had to learn to deal with it?

Listen.

During their wandering years in the wilderness, living so close to each other in such difficult conditions created a great deal of tension between the people of Israel. Family and neighbors complained, accused each other of theft or unfaithfulness and gossiped about each other. Many often threatened to turn around and go back to Egypt, claiming that slavery was even better than this. Tempers ran high. There were arguments and even physical violence in the camp of the Israelites. To combat this, God gave Moses and the Israelites very specific rules for how to live in holy community with one another. Some people were put in charge, but not to rule over the others like Egyptians had with the crack of the whip. And other men and women could take special vows to live holy lives of clean living that was even higher than those of their neighbors. They didn’t do this to build themselves up, but to serve as an example for those around them of what was possible if they lived for God and in peace with each other. The priests had to pray for those they guided.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them,

The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

The Lord life up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.

(Numbers 6:22-27)

There were rules, tough rules, for the Israelites. They often seem arbitrary and even cruel by our standards. But they existed to make sure that everyone was living a holy life, not just for themselves and for God, but for the people around them. God would travel with the people. They would see his presence in a great cloud that hovered above their camp. When the cloud moved, they would pack up and follow it. But following God’s command to trust him and love each other would prove more difficult than traveling through an actual desert.

Think.

In our youth group, we repeat the above scripture every week as our benediction on Wednesday nights. We stand in a circle, with right hand over left, holding the hands of those on either side. We look into each others’ eyes and say these words that were first spoken thousands of years ago. Do we say it with the same zeal? Sometimes it is easy because things are going great between us and those around us. And sometimes it’s hard. We may have very good reasons to be upset with those around us. God really expects us to look into the eyes of an ex or a frenemy and say that we hope that God makes their life awesome.

Remember.

The toughest prayers that we lift up are usually not the ones where we are asking for God’s blessing or forgiveness for ourselves. They are the ones when we pray for other people, especially if those people are difficult for us to get along with. These are powerful prayers and they reflect God’s will for our world. Living in community with God and with each other means high expectations. Everyone counts. Everyone matters.

Pray.

In your mind’s eye, see the face of the person who you most cannot stand or who makes your skin crawl. See the face of the person who has really done or said something bad about you. Now pray for them — not for God to knock them down a bit from their high horse, but pray that God blesses them like the blessing in Numbers 6:22-27 says to do.

More.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl2_knlv_xw

If We Could See Inside of Others’ Hearts –  Everyone Matters

Filed Under: Summer 2015 Devos, Youth Ministry Blog Tagged With: ,

Week 5: July 5-11

July 3, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Leviticus – Law

Ask.
Why is it that we see Christians all the time who think they are better than others?
Why do we hear people say that they can’t be a Christian because they are so screwed up?
Why is it that over and over again we find people in the Bible being used by God even though they are huge screw-ups?!

Listen.
In Egypt, it had been easy to know what and what not to do. If you were an Israelite and you did something wrong then an Egyptian overseer beat you, then you stopped doing it. But the only concern of the Pharaoh and the overseers he appointed was the production of his building projects. They had no concern for how the people lived as long as they go their work done and didn’t threaten his power.
But God wanted his people to do every thing in a very holy manner. He didn’t care just about how they worshiped him. He cared about how they did everything. And he cared about everyone. Once God got his people out of captivity under the Pharaoh’s rule in Egypt, he set about to change them through freedom under Moses’ guidance in the wilderness. They weren’t special because God had pulled them out of captivity. They would be special because they would become a whole nation of people living holy lives. To do that, they would have to abide by God’s laws.

Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
(Leviticus 19:2)

I will place my dwelling in your midst, and I shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be their slaves no more; I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
(Leviticus 26:11-13)

There were rules for every part of their day to day lives. And then there were laws to make sure that the poor, the elderly, the widowed, the orphaned and the alien (or foreigner among them) was treated justly and not left out from either God’s love or the protection of their community. There are rules to ensure that even if someone lost all of their wealth and possessions and had to serve others, they could still not be sold into slavery again. In fact, God made a law that every seventh year would be called Jubilee when all debts between Israelites would be canceled and any who had become servants were allowed to go back to their own homes. God was not going to let his people just use his blessings and favor for just themselves. They might find themselves living among other peoples who had very different ideas about how to live. But God would expect them to live a certain way no matter where they went or who they came into contact with.

Think.
When left to our own devices, us humans can come up with all kids of rules for living or for laws that benefit ourselves at the expense of others. And we are really good at justifying our actions. God knows this and so he sets a high standard for our behavior that goes far beyond just how we worship or interact with him. He extends this high standard into all of our relationships — from those inside of a family to among neighbors to strangers and even natives of other lands or those who don’t worship the same God. He doesn’t expect a high standard of living for us because we’re perfect — quite the opposite. He expects it because he is. If we follow his rules for our daily lives and not our own desires, things will work out much better for everyone, not just ourselves.

Remember.
Holy living doesn’t end after we have attended worship, said our prayers and read our Bibles. It must permeate everything we do because if it doesn’t we are very vulnerable to our pride or selfishness seeping into our words and actions.

Pray.
Think about one hour of a typical day for you when you are least likely to be thinking about God or how to be a good Christian (and no, it can’t be an hour when you’re asleep!) Is it when you’re getting up in the morning and getting ready for the day? Is it right after school? Is it that hour after homework when you are messaging with friends and someone says something mean about someone and you laugh along with them? Consider how to do even those very basic things in a more holy way. What would that look or sound like? Ask God to be with you the next time you’re in your most ‘godless’ hour of the day.

More.
The Lunch Date
a short film

Filed Under: Summer 2015 Devos, Youth Ministry Blog Tagged With: ,

June 28-July 4

June 28, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Exodus – Moses

Ask.

  • How can you describe a God that you cannot see?
  • How can you describe his character to someone who does not believe in him?
  • How can you explain to someone why you serve such a God, especially if that person has seen you at your worst or weakest self?

Listen.

The man who led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness was one of them. Like them, he traced his family back to the sons of Jacob who had escaped a famine in Canaan by traveling to Egypt where years later their descendants were forced to keep working as slaves. He had been born in the same slums as the other Israelites — those of the slaves who served the Pharaoh.

And yet he was different. He had been raised as an Egyptian. His sister had put him in a basket as an infant and floated him down the river toward a bathing Egyptian princess so that he might have a better life. He grew up knowing he was an Israelite through his sister who then went to work as a servant in the palace. But he talked, dressed and acted like an Egyptian, learning the secrets of their culture which made them the most advanced in the world at that time.

And he was also a murderer. His blood had boiled as he watched a slave being beaten by an overseer. And when the time was right, he killed the Egyptian in cold blood before escaping into the eastern desert to begin a new life as a shepherd among the Midianite nomads.

He was a reluctant leader. When God came to him through a burning bush and told him that he would return to Egypt to free his people, Moses was sure that God had made a mistake. He didn’t think the Israelites would believe that God had really sent him. He had a speech impediment which made him stutter when he was stressed. He tried repeatedly to talk God out of believing that he was the man for the job.

But God knew that he was just the man he was looking for. Moses had a passion for the people he had left behind. Why else would he have gotten so angry that he committed murder to stop a man from being beaten, losing the life of status that he had in the court of the Egyptians? God had a plan to free the Israelites so that they would do something great in the world. And he would use Moses’ passion to put his plan in motion.

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I AM has sent you.” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ’The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.”

Moses did answer God’s call. He defied the Pharaoh and freed his people. The man who led the Israelites through the wilderness didn’t much resemble the one who had once tried to convince God that he wasn’t capable of greatness. But he was the same man. The difference was that he had given himself over completely to being used by God. And it was because of this that he had become a powerful and respected leader of a nation on the move to freedom.

Think.

You have a passion. God has a plan. And he wants your passion to intersect with his plan. But your passion isn’t that series on Netflix that you binge watch and it isn’t your favorite college football team. You have a passion for something important. It’s something that really means a lot to you and that also means a lot to God. Maybe it is helping people with depression or providing clean water for thirsty people on another continent. Whatever you think your personal shortcomings may be, God isn’t asking you to go it alone. Let God guide your efforts and together you will overcome your shortcomings or any challenges that you face.

Remember.

God keeps his promises. Our God is known through his actions in the world. His hope is that you will answer the call to be part of his plan. Your life can serve as a testimony to the faithfulness of our God, not just in your life, but in the lives of everyone you know.

Pray.

Tell God something that you care about. Make sure that it is something big. Really big. Bigger than you’re capable of fixing by yourself. Tell God all the reasons why you’re not capable of fixing it. Now ask God to show you how you can help him fix it. Resolve to do your part to fix it. Then after you pray, go get started actually doing it!

Filed Under: Summer 2015 Devos Tagged With: , , ,

Week Three: June 21-27

June 3, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Genesis – Jacob becomes Israel

Ask.

  • Have you ever felt like you’ve screwed up a friendship so bad that it will never be the same?
  • Have you ever felt that you’ve messed up so bad that you are too ashamed to even pray to God?

Listen.

Eventually Abram and Sarai settled with his family in the land of Canaan. It was here that God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah and blessed them with a son named Isaac. He in turn had two sons named Esau and Jacob. They were twins, even Esau was considered the first born, and it was said that they struggled against each other as far back as anyone could remember.

Years later, an adult Jacob stood alone facing the horizon. He was afraid. In the morning, he would see his Esau for the first time in years. And there was a very real possibility that his brother would kill him on the spot. Years ago, as their father Isaac lay dying, Jacob had cheated Esau out of his inheritance because in their culture the eldest son stood to inherit the father’s wealth and Jacob wanted to make sure he wasn’t left with nothing. When Esau realized he had been tricked, he was filled with rage. Isaac was forced to flee and make a new life for himself among people who were not his family.

In their world, this was extremely difficult and dangerous. Family connections were all that one had for protection. No one person was equipped to survive alone. In his travels, Jacob found himself being cheated by those he came into contact with – even by his future father-in-law. He married and became a father but always wondered how things might have been had he not lied to Isaac and betrayed Esau. Eventually he came to need his brother to survive. Times were hard and his family would not survive on their own. He was forced to go home and ask to be taken back into his brother’s care. But even as he hoped that he’d be welcomed home, he was still fearful that his brother might kill him and finally get revenge.

The day before Jacob was to meet Esau again after all these years, he crossed a river ford by himself and camped out alone, leaving the rest of his family and servants behind him on the other side of the river. If Esau did decide to kill him, at least they would be able to get to safety. That night, he tossed and turned, worried about the next day’s meeting. As he wrestled with his worries in the early hours of that morning, he began to wrestle with another man, a stranger, whom he’d never seen before. Neither could force the other to give up and as day started to break, the strange man struck Jacob in the hip, throwing it out of socket. And still, Jacob would not let go. Finally the stranger agreed to give him a blessing but also told him that from now on he would be called Israel which means “wrestles with God.”

The next day when this newly blessed Jacob met his brother Esau, he bowed very low as a servant would to his master. This was also a very vulnerable position — with his neck down his brother could easily draw his sword and cut off his head with one blow. But instead of being killed or treated harshly, Esau lifted him up, grabbed him in a deep embrace and forgave him. All of Jacob’s worries had been for nothing. He was welcomed back into the Promised Land, into relationship with God and back into his own family. He was so overwhelmed by this love that he tried to give most of his possessions to his brother to show how sorry he was for what he had cheated him out of all those years before.

But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” Jacob said, “No, please; if I find favor with you, then accept my present from my hand; for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God — since you have received me with such favor. Please accept my gift that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have everything I want.” (Genesis 33:9-11a)

Think.

We all wrestle with God or have conflicts with those close to us at some point. But life is almost never a zero-sum game where we get to play once and then if we lose we’re done forever. Isaac thought that cheating his brother out of what he deserved from their father or by running away from his responsibilities would keep him out of God’s grace forever. But he was so wrong.

If you think that you’ve burned a bridge in your life, maybe you are wrong too. Our God is a God of second chances for screw-ups.

Remember.

You are good enough. You may wrestle with God’s presence in your life. And he’s okay with that. A whole nation, Israel, is named for a man who struggled against God.

You are good enough. You may screw up your relationships with your friends and family. You may let them down and be embarrassed by what you’ve done. Don’t let that stop you from asking from forgiveness because you need each other.

You are good enough. You may have been let down by someone close to you. And you may have every reason in the world to hate them. Don’t hold onto that hate. Forgive them and know that when you do, they will see the face of God in you.

You are good enough.

Pray.

Nobody’s perfect. God knows this. Go to him now in prayer. Let go of your feelings of inadequacy. Let go of your past failures and regrets. Let go of your anxieties about the future. Give and seek forgiveness. And then move on.

More.

Family – A Short Film by Ransom TeeVee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvMK6OHyumU

Filed Under: Summer 2015 Devos Tagged With: , , , ,

Week Two: June 14-20

June 3, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Job

Ask.

  • Why do bad things happen to good people?
  • And especially why do bad things happen to us when God says that he loves us?

Listen.

Sometime after Noah and the Great Flood but long before Moses, a married couple named Abram and Sarai and their servants left their home in a very civilized place called Ur and set off for a faraway wilderness that God had promised to give to them and their descendants. Their journey led them through many strange lands and into interactions with many different kinds of people. Along the way they learned about others who had encountered the same God as them. The experience of one of these men was something that none of them would ever forget and they made sure to pass his story down through the generations of their family.

His name was Job.

He was a wealthy man with a large family, a great fortune, good health and all of his neighbors held him in high regard. He lived in peace with everyone around him and he went out of his way to live a righteous life. He even made extra sacrifices to God just in case he or his children had done something wrong and hadn’t realized it. Everyone assumed that he had it so good because he was God’s favorite.

Then he lost it all. Bandits killed all his servants and stole all his livestock. A building collapsed and killed all his children. He became sick and sores covered his body. He tore his clothes and shaved his head and when his friends came to offer him their condolences they found him sitting in the dust scraping the sores of his body with broken shards of pottery. His own wife questioned how he could have faith in God in a time like this and encouraged him to give up, to curse God and accept death as the end to his suffering. His friends who at first seemed so sympathetic began to accuse him of some secret sin that must have been so bad that he was receiving these awful punishments from God for his misdeeds. But he maintained both his own innocence and his faith in God.

But that didn’t mean that he didn’t question God. He could not pretend that this was right or that it all made sense or that it was all for some great plan. He repeatedly and angrily demanded that God explain himself. At last, God answered Job’s pleas and gave him a glimpse into just how big and mysterious the world is. God showed him the expanses of the land and the oceans and even the universe beyond his view of the sky above. Job was taken aback. While he now realized just how small he was in the greater universe, he also now knew that he truly mattered to God. He realized that God did not hate him and that God was not a monster. Instead he came to understand that while some things would never make sense, like the tragedies in his own life, he could always take comfort and strength from God being in control of the overall world and that he was never going to be far from God’s love in those tragedies.

After this very personal and powerful experience with God, Job said…

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

(Job 19:25-27)

His understanding of God was transformed and could never be the same. He now realized that God was not a distant person who must be bribed into giving good favor through offerings or good behavior. He had come to see that the author of all creation was at the same time always close by and available through all circumstances.

Think.

Where is your God now?

How could a loving God let this happen?

Maybe I deserve these awful things that are happening to me.

You’ve either heard someone say something like this or have said them yourself at some point. Pain is hard, especially when we suffer for no reason. But it isn’t some sort of cosmic punishment thrown down on us from God for any past wrongs that we’ve done. It is simply part of this human experience. There is so much about this world that we do not understand. And some things will never make sense. Be wary of people who tell you that someone deserves it when a terrible thing happens to them or that it is all just part of God’s plan.

Remember.

Suffering is mysterious. Friends may abandon us, give us bad advice or little comfort. But in all of our suffering, God is with us. We are not alone.

Pray.

Remember a time when you were suffering and there seemed no end in sight. Or maybe you are suffering through something right now and are struggling to feel God’s presence. Tell God how this feels. It’s okay to be upset, to even be angry at God. He can take it. There’s nothing you can tell God that will make God stop loving you or cause God to abandon you.

Watch.

Why I Love the Book of Job by AntOnAWebb

Filed Under: Summer 2015 Devos Tagged With: ,

Week One: June 7-13

June 3, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Genesis – Promises

Ask.

  • Do you ever wonder if life has a point?
  • Do you ever wonder if you’re a part of a bigger plan for the world?
  • Or do ever wonder if there even is a God?
  • And if there is, does God even care about us enough to be part of our lives?

Listen.

A family sat by a campfire. A mother and father, their three children and an ancient, stooped-over grandmother looked up at the night sky. It was full of stars, many more than could be counted. In fact, there was not even a number large enough in their language for just how many stars they could see. They had built the fire just outside of their tent, which was a little ways off from the tents of their neighbors, who were also sitting outside of their own tents by their own fires.

This temporary camp of thousands and tents and campfires was their home, where all the members of their nation slept each night, as they had every night since Moses had taken them out of Egypt and slavery to this place, this unforgiving wilderness of jagged rocks and dry ground.

The youngest child in the family was a boy of six years. He had been an infant when they had left Egypt. His father had held him close in his arms as the Angel of Death passed through the land, killing the first-born of all the Egyptians and finally breaking the will of the Pharaoh who had then released the people from their enslavement. This life in the wilderness was all the boy had ever known — breaking down camp every morning, marching all day with only what they could carry or put on the back of their donkey, and then making camp again each night. He had only ever tasted manna, the strange food that dropped from the sky so that they would not starve as they made their way to the land that God had promised their ancestors.

“How did we get to be here?” asked the boy. He didn’t mean how did they get to be in this desert. What he wanted to hear were the stories of his people and their God. He knew them all by heart but there was nothing like hearing them out loud from his elders. And as he looked up to the heavens he was overcome by the desire to hear them again.

His older sisters leaned in close to hear as their grandmother told the stories of the first people, a man named Adam and a woman named Eve, their perfect garden, the temptation to disobey God’s rules for their lives. The wicked people who began to fill the land. The few good people who listened to God and how even those good people struggled to trust that God would see them through. The promises that God made over and over to give them their own land, to make them a great nation. She finished telling them the stories just as the children’s eyes became heavy and they drifted into sleep.

Father carried them into the tent one at a time and laid each of them down one next to the other on the blanket that they shared. As he walked back outside to put out the fire for the night, he looked up at the stars for himself and wondered what part he would play in the story of God’s chosen people. He knew that he was not a perfect man. He had often questioned God’s wisdom in his heart. He had grumbled about Moses’ leadership. He had struggled to overcome his own fears that God would abandon his family in this wilderness and leave his children to die of the elements. Even as he had seen the power of God in the plagues that had brought the Egyptians to their knees, the waters that had parted for his family to cross to safety and then crashed back upon the army on their heels, seen the great cloud that every day led their family through their wandering, even still he had doubts in his hear that this God was that faithful and that he himself was a good enough man to be worthy of such a God’s love. And as he thought of these things, he quietly repeated to himself the promises that God had made to his ancestors.

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the LORD smelled the pleasing odor, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. (Genesis 8:20-21 NRSV)

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you, I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3 NRSV)

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:18-21)

Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God. (Genesis 17:3-8)

Repeating these promises of God brought peace to his heart and he slept deeply that night. He knew that the path ahead was a dangerous one. He knew that it was likely that only his children would live to see the promised land. But he rested in the knowledge that their God always kept his promises.

Think.

Why are we here? What’s the point?

As long as there have been people, there have been questions about the meaning of life. The Egyptians had multiple explanations for the role of humans in the world, each account was based on a different god but all of them saw humans as of not much importance to the gods except for the pharoahs. The ancient Sumerians, the Hebrews’ neighbors to the east, believed that humans were created by the gods because they were tired of doing all the work. Others believed that their gods looked down upon humans as weak or dangerous threats to the order of the universe.

But our spiritual ancestors, the Hebrews, knew that God had created them as an essential part of the world and had a deep care for them. Yes, God had created a perfect world for us and we had screwed it up. But he had not given up on us. Even as we disobeyed God and got ourselves into all kinds of trouble, God would not totally abandon us to our own self-destructive actions. He would stand by us. He would work around us and in us. He would make this known to us through his promises, or covenants. And one day all would be made perfect again.

Remember.

You’re not alone if you’ve ever asked these questions. Our faith ancestors struggled with these questions too, especially during rough times, like when they were enslaved or wandering through a brutal landscape surrounded by their enemies. If you’re enslaved by your own doubts or shortcomings or past sins or an addiction….if you feel like you are moving along with no purpose or are going through a difficult time in your life, know this: God loves you and wants to be part of your journey. In fact, God has made a promise to never let you go through anything alone. Not everything will be perfect along the way. But you will have the perfect companion.

Pray.

Tell God where you are right now, physically, whether you’re in Sunday school, at the beach or in the back of your family’s minivan, wherever. Describe to God what your physical environment is like. Now tell God where you are right now, spiritually. Tell God if you are in a good place or a bad place. Be honest with God if you’re having a hard time trusting him to get you through life. Invite God to be a bigger part of your journey.

More.

The Creation narrated by H.L Parker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fQbBk8GOEs

The words to this video are an excerpt from “God’s Trombone” by James Weldon Johnson.

Filed Under: Summer 2015 Devos Tagged With: , ,
« Previous Page