pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Monthly Archives: March 2014


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God’s Great Patience

Sometimes it is a wonder that God chooses to stick with us and continues to be patient.  As a parent I can recall painful waitings as one of my children worked their way through figuring out something for themselves.  It would have been so much simpler (and less painful) for me to just jump in and tell them what to do or to fix their problem.  Just as God chose to let Abram grow into Abraham, we too must not rush in so that our children can grow into who God intends them to be.

And just as it was important for Abram or for our child to go through the process of growth, so too is it important for us in our faith journeys.  How many times God must have said, “Aaarrrggghhhh!!!”  over Abram’s choices.  How often he must do the same with me!  Yet, just as His love for us exceeds our love for Him, so too his faith in us exceeds our faith in Him.  And thank God!

From His eyes our growth must seem so painfully slow.  Remember the gospels and ponder this – how often Jesus must have looked at the disciples and wondered when they would get it?  In both God’s divine form and in His human form, He was and is oh so patient with us.  In His great love, He waits patiently for us to grow into the follower that He designed us to be.  I don’t really think God ever says ‘aarrgghh” about us.  I believe that God looks down upon us with great big loving eyes and a knowing smile on His face as we slowly grow into His plans for us.  How great is the Father’s love for us.  Oh how He loves you and me!!


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Hear Him Calling?

Abraham, Israel’s founding father, is a great example of faith.  He is counted as ‘righteous’ by God.  But in Genesis 12 we encounter a young Abraham.  He was only 75 years old when God called him to pack up and move to a foreign land.  Comfortably living with his father in Haran, Abram hears God’s call to move.  So Abram packs up his wife Sarai and Lot and hits the road.  He seems pretty faithful, pretty trusting in God.  As he leaves, he leaves with God’s words on his mind – you will be blessed, made into a great nation.  God will curse people who curse Abram.

But soon after they leave, Abram falters.  A famine forces them to Egypt and here, in the midst of a powerful people he fears for his life – Sarai’s beauty will attract them and Abram fears they will kill him to have Sarai.  So he tells the Egyptians that she is his sister.  Not exactly honoring his wife.  But God intervenes and sends plagues that force out the truth and they are sent on their way.  I wonder why God intervened. I wonder why He just didn’t move on to finding someone else to found the nation.  But perhaps He saw the potential in Abram.  Perhaps God knew that one day Abraham would be willing to sacrifice his only son Isaac on the altar.  Seems God knew what He was doing!

In reality we too are like Abram – full of potential but needing a little polish and elbow grease.  Ready to serve but stumbling now and then.  And Abram’s God is our God too.  He is always calling us along, loving on us as we grow.  God can see in each of us what we can become.  He can see in each of us just where we will best fit into His kingdom.   And we, like Abram, need to be willing to step out in faith, knowing that He will be there right beside us, helping us to do His will in our worlds.  Can you hear Him calling?


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Standing on the Word

Jesus faced much temptation – food when he was very hungry, comfort when he must have been hurting, and power when he was at his weakest.  Satan was persistent.

But Jesus was consistent.  Each and every time that Satan tempted him, Jesus responded with God’s word.  Within the words of the Old Testament Jesus found strength.  Through the word of God, Jesus found a unity and strength that helped him stand again evil.  This unity with his father is what brought him through.

It is what will bring us through as well.  Whether tempted by lust, greed, power, envy, want, fame, desire, anger, talent… there is a word that will speak to us.  God waits in His word to step into our life when we need him most.  In God’s word we can find strength to face down all that the enemy throws at us.  God is faithful.  His word tells us that he will not tempt us beyond what we can bear.  In Matthew 11:28, we hear his love: “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Rest from our battles, strength for the next fight.  May we rest and trust into God for all of our needs – and especially those where we must stand against temptation!


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In Every High and Every Low

The times that Satan chooses to tempt us are often like when he chose to tempt Jesus.  Jesus had just fasted in the wilderness for forty days.  He was tired and hungry – that is when Satan came.  Evil plies him when he is at his weakest.

Isn’t that when Satan usually tempts us too?  Evil doesn’t come knocking in the middle of a good day at work or while we are enjoying a nice dinner with the family.  Evil comes after a long day at work when we come home feeling a bit grumpy.  Evil comes just after we have been scolded for something we ought to have don (or not done).  We are angry, tired, offended, grumpy – whatever.  It is then that temptation can win.

But Satan is good – he can also enter when we are feeling great.  That sermon or presentation or game that we thought went really well?  Didn’t “I” do well?!  Here too we can be caught.  It is so easy to think that the things done well are the result of something we did instead of something God blessed us with.  Here too we can be caught.

Just as Satan’s attacks are constant, so too must be the attention we give to our walk with Christ.  Just as Jesus answered every temptation from the Devil with scripture from God, so too must we know the Word.  When we call on the mighty name of the Lord, Satan will indeed flee.  When we pray out to God, He is faithful.  He will answer.  In Ephesians 6: 11 and 14 we read: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”


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He Is Strong

Sin is in our world.  One does not have to look too far to see or find it.  In Romans 5 Paul was writing to a newly formed church that lived in dangerous times.  The Romans and the Jews were both openly against the church.  There could be a cost to saying you were a follower of the Way.  We too live in dangerous times.  We too could be asked to pay a cost for following Jesus.  While it is true that in many places around the world the cost is much higher, we now live in a culture that is not always friendly towards Christianity and is at times decidedly against our faith.

It is for these reasons that we must keep Christ’s redeeming act on the cross in the forefront of our minds.  Since Adam ate of the fruit, sin has been in the world.  It is an ever-present thing in our lives.  Satan comes at us from so many angles and in so many ways.  But praise be to God because He pursues us even more.  God was willing to become Christ incarnate, to walk amongst us, and to face death upon the cross so that He could bear the sins of the world and claim victory over sin and death through His resurrection.  Through Jesus’ obedience we are given the way to be restored into righteousness, so that we ae once again part of the good humanity that God first created.  We are set free from the burdens and chains of sin and death.

As we walk through Lent, we are called to be emptied and to be freed from what weighs us down.  As we look within ourselves may we find what God calls us to be as His child.  Through His strength may we strip away that which is of this world.  In our weakness may we reach out to Him, for He is strong.  May we daily be renewed in Christ as we walk through this holiest of seasons.


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Taking Notice

Sin can be a lot like bad food you ate at a restaurant.  When you partook, you certainly enjoyed it!  Yet later, as much as you try to keep it down, it just gurgles away and makes you take notice.  In a fit of kindness, you may even think it is not the restaurant’s fault.  As we gaze in the mirror of our souls, we may even think it is the other driver’s fault they didn’t sense we wanted to change lanes or that our spouse didn’t know we were upset with something that happened at work or maybe it was the overly sensitive person at the meeting that should’ve known you were only joking.  But when we lean in and take a closer look…

The sin in our lives doesn’t go away either if we just try and pretend it is not there.  It festers away and begins to sap our strength and energy.  It wedges the guilt right in there – between us and God or between you and a friend, co-worker, or spouse.  As with bad food, it is often only later that we realize, “Uh-oh…”

Yet there is great news!!  When we confess our sins before God we can find love, and mercy, and forgiveness.  He draws us back to Himself and teaches us a better way.  He wants to guide us to a new and better way – His way of love.  God desires for us to love others as He loves us.  And when we go to our friend, co-worker, or spouse and humbly confess our sin and seek their forgiveness, they too will welcome us back into relationship with them.  And then we rejoice, for the lost has been found, the broken has been fixed.  We rejoice in our mighty savior as He pours out His love upon us each and every day.  Thanks be to God!


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Piety – Inward and Outward

In Matthew 6 Jesus offers some tips on how we should and shouldn’t do a few things.  He advises that when we give to the needy, that we don’t make a big show of it.  He suggests that we even go so far as to give with one hand without the other even knowing about it.  He advises that when we pray we go into a quiet room.  He advises that when we fast we wash our face and make ourselves appear healthy so that others do not know we are fasting.  Jesus tells us that God knows all we do in secret and will reward us.  He is cautioning the religious leaders who like to stand before men when they pray or give.  Jesus says they have received their reward – just recognition from men.  Jesus concludes by summarizing why we should give, pray and fast as he advises – because then we are storing up treasures in heaven.

At first I thought this an odd reading on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  Lent is traditionally a season of self-examination and reflection, a season where we give something up or choose to do something ‘extra’ for others.   But then I realized the cautions of Matthew 6 are for us too.  Today is a day when many will wear the mark of the ashen cross on the forehead as a reminder of our faith.  If the cross on our forehead is simply a mark of religious piety, then we have already received our reward in full too.  If it is a personal reminder of the inner transformation taking place then it is between us and God, not as a show for the world.  If our inner change is leading to greater worship and praise of God and into humble acts of kindness to our  fellow man, then we are beginning to store up those treasures in heaven.  Now it is not about keeping score on a secret scorecard.  It is about living as a child of God.  As with Abraham, it is through right living that we too are counted righteous.

The ashen cross on our forehead can also be a conversation starter.  If a non-believer asks about it, we can explain the meaning.  In our church we use Psalm 51:10 as we administer ashes: “Create in your child a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within him/her.”  Lent is a season of giving to God and of sacrifice to remind ourselves of the repentance we must offer.   The ashen cross is also a mark of ownership – to say that we belong to Christ.  Ashes are used to remind us that we are mortal and also that Jesus chose to die for our sins.  As we go through our day today, may we allow that inner light of Christ to shine forth.  May the cross we bear in our heart (and maybe the one we bear on our forehead too) be a sign of our inward piety and may it also be a reminder that we are called to be spent in faithful service to our God and to our fellow man.


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It’s Great Outside of the Garden

As Adam and Eve eyed the fruit of the forbidden tree I wonder what was battling in their minds.  Did they go back and between the idea of all the other foods that God provided for them each day versus eating this one that He said they couldn’t have?  To me it is almost like telling a small child not to touch the burner on the stove because it is hot – what do they do?  Touch the burner!  And the child gains wisdom, just like Adam and Eve did when they ate that fruit.  They saw they were naked and covered themselves up.

This event plunged Adam and Eve, and really all of us, into the rough and tumble world.  As the knowledge of good and evil filled their minds, hearts, and eyes they were forever changed.  There was no going back.

I wonder if we would really be better off if we were still in the Garden.  Wouldn’t it be a little like being in heaven?  God walks with them daily, provides for their food and shelter…  Now don’t get me wrong – heaven will be greater than the greatest thing one cold ever imagine – but I like this world.  I like being able to see and decide between good and evil.  I like being able to pursue God and a relationship with Him.

In the world outside the Garden we all need each other.  Adam and Eve clothed each other.  As we look at our imperfect world, are there others that we can clothe, feed, …?  The responsibility to care for the world and for others has shifted to us.  The question now is: what am I ready to do for God and for others?  What are YOU willing to do?


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And so they ate…

In the Garden Adam and Eve had all they really needed – food, each other, God’s daily presence.  Yet there was one thing that they did not have.  It wasn’t that they needed it – they just did not have it.  And so they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  It is not that they needed to know about good and evil.  But their desire to have more got the best of them.  Eating the fruit gave them the one thing they knew they did not have.

Aren’t we often the same?  We so often want to have more than we have. We are so blessed in so many ways yet we see a better position, better pay, more recognition, a newer car, a bigger house, a more beautiful spouse, … and we “want” it.  The want has nothing to do with need or necessity.  It is much like the fruit of the forbidden tree.  We think, ‘wouldn’t it be nice to…’ and off we go!  And God looks down and says ‘All you need is right here.”  Yet we can be so busy in chasing after the next ‘x’ that we don’t even hear Him.

We treat the control over our lives the same way.  God will do a fantastic job of leading our life.  Yet we are constantly wrestling with him over the steering wheel.  If we can only see that life is always best when God is driving the bus.  We want to set the course and call the shots.  We are blessed in so many ways yet how often Satan whispers, “Hey, look over here” and he instantly has our attention.  Satan doesn’t much tempt us with fruit but his offerings are vast and shiny and make us take notice.

As we prepare to enter into this holy season of Lent, may we do so fully acknowledging God as the provider of all good things.  I’ve heard that He is an excellent driver too.  May we come to trust in Him and to be content in the rich blessings that He so graciously gives.  May our thanks to Him flow out of us abundantly so that we may see God for who He truly is: a loving father who wants to give His children all they need.  When we do, He is faithful and will fill us with joy, peace, and contentment.  May we eat fully of His abundance.

 


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Blessed by His Glory

In the account of Jesus’ transfiguration we find an obvious example of the revelation of Chirst’s glory.  At other times in the New Testament we see His glory revealed as the lame walk, the deaf hear, the mute speak, the dead live, and as thousands are fed.  We also see His glory as we see Jesus hanging on the cross for you and me and as Stephen prays for those who are stoning him.  As we spend time in the Word, we see these examples and come to better know where, how, and to whom we are being called.

In our daily lives we can see the glory too.  We witness it in the sunrise and in the thunderstorm, in the majestic waterfall and in the beautiful flower.  We see it as God takes away our breath as the newborn baby draws its first breath of life.  We can see so much of God’s glory in the created world around us – if we simply slowdown long enough to seek Him out.

We can also catch a glimpse of the glory in the unexpected.  It can be in something said in a conversation with a friend or a neighbor.  It can be in an encounter with a stranger.  God’s glory can be found in so many little acts of kindness and devotion that we witness each day.  Acts that we can be a part of.  Conversations and encounters that we can enter into.  As we seek to live out our call to be clothed in Him, may we both be blessed and bless others by His glory in us.