August | 2014 | pastorjohnb

August 11, 2014
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How Do You Repsond?

Many times in life we are present in a situation where we have been wronged. In each case we can offer mercy and forgiveness or we can be self-righteous or maybe offer an ‘I-told-you-so’ type of response. One response brings healing and another continues the hurt. So… why does the wrong choice often seem so much easier?

I think at times God places us in situations to test and refine our faith. Sometimes another needs to see what this love of Christ really looks like. (Once in a while we are that person too!) Sometimes it is to refine our faith in God. Through prayer and the reading of the word, we come to the place where we are ready to offer forgiveness and reconciliation. It is also through prayer that we can come to love our enemies.

What allows us to make that hard choice? It is the relationship we form and develop with Jesus Christ. Through times with Him in prayer and through reading the stories in the gospel, we come to see our call to love all above self more and more. Through our journey to draw closer to Jesus, we too draw nearer to our fellow man.

Scripture reference: Genesis 45: 1-8

August 10, 2014
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Always By Our Side

Peter was the disciple most likely to talk or act without thinking. We have many examples of this too! Yet Peter was also dubbed “the Rock” by Jesus for it was upon Peter that the church would be built. Peter is also one of the disciples who we see struggle with his faith from time to time – most notably sleeping in the garden and denying Jesus three times in the courtyard.

We, like Peter, often fail in our faith as well. Maybe our failure is to act at all – we stay in the boat or never come back around to that place that we felt called to lead. Maybe it is a lack of faith to see something through once it gets a bit difficult. But often our faith is tested and refined by the things we have no control over – the difficult person at work or the sudden illness or loss we face.

It is when we step out in faith or in the hard situations that we face that our faith often grows. It is when we come to rely more on Jesus that we actually become stronger in our faith. When we are weak, He is strong. Peter’s faith shines brightest in this passage when he takes those few steps on the water. May we also be so bold today to steadfastly step out. We can do so, because like Peter, we have a savior who is right there the whole time. Jesus Christ is always by our side!

Scripture reference: Matthew 14: 22-33

August 9, 2014
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One Step at a Time

“It has been said, an eye for and eye or s tooth for a tooth, but I say…”. What did Jesus say? He said things like love you enemies. Pray for your enemies. Don’t just go one mile, but go two. Forgive seven times? No, seventy times seven. Jesus brought us the idea of radical love. Love not just for those who do or can love us, but for all people. For all people are God’s children.

We can see and read and even understand how Jesus loved and realize our call to go and do likewise. Its even easy to see a situation and ask, WWJD? Knowing the answer is often easy too. But the actual living out of Jesus’ radical love is a bit harder.

At times we stop and ask, ” Really? Love him or her?” Maybe another times its, “Next time, I’m busy now”. This is just one example of how we struggle and one of how we rationalize not loving radically.

Yet if we take the second look into his or her eyes or if we feel the empathy for the one we are about to walk on by, then we begin to take that first step that Jesus took. We don’t always follow through, we don’t always walk in His footsteps. But once we do, then we begin to know the path to radical love a little bit better. And before we know it, our feet fit pretty well in His footprints. And we come to realize that, just like walking, we offer radical love one step at a time!

Scripture reference: New Testament

August 7, 2014
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Sing to God

The Book of Psalms was like Israel’s hymnal. The songs they sang recounted their history and their relationship with God. Both the good and the bad are in there – psalms of praise and psalms of lament. Most of the time they sang songs to remember their past, to seek God’s help in present trouble, or to praise their God.

The songs we now sing on Sundays or in our car or… are also ways that we connect to God. Some of our hymns contain ‘history’ but many hymns and most contemporary songs celebrate our relationship with God and Jesus and what they bring – hope, peace, love, strength, mercy…

Song has a way of uniting us as a people of God or of bringing us to a common place. For example, to some songs offer hope for the future while for others the same song is a call to work for justice and freedom for all. In another way, our songs can be like scripture passages that we memorize. We can have ‘favorites’ to sing as we praise God, as we seek to find strength or comfort in God, or as we try to connect or reconnect to God.

What are your favorite songs to sing to God?

Scripture reference: Psalms 105: 16-22 and 45b

August 6, 2014
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The Ways to Connect

In times of trial or stress, how do you connect to God? In what ways do you draw strength to get through the situation or that season in your life? I think there are a variety of answers to these inquiries. For me, and perhaps for you, the answers are not always the same.

Often it is spending more time in prayer. Through prayer we can become more aware of what God’s will is in our present situation. Through prayer we can come to understand the other person, the situation, or even ourself better or in a different way.

At other times it is finding encouragement or strength is God’s word. Maybe it is a favorite psalm or words of Jesus that you have memorized. Or it could be a passage you open up to or that you search for speaks into your situation.

Or it could be a song or hymn that you sing that brings you the hope, God’s love, or the strength or understanding that you need just then. Song can lift our spirits. For others is may simply be time spent sitting in the sanctuary or chapel. Or it may be a walk in the woods or a bench in the park by the water.

There are so many ways we can connect to God. That is one of the things I love most about our God. It is not only through a book or only one other way. We have a God who always seeks to be connected to us and is open to many ways to do just that. I am thankful for both God’s desire to be present in my life and for the many ways in which I can draw close and spend time in that presence!

Scripture reference: Psalm 105: 1-6

August 5, 2014
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To the Best of Our Ability

All that we have is a gift from God. Our talents and abilities are gifts that we must use with humility, grace, and love. We are not to use what we have been blessed with to lord it over others or to take advantage of people or situations.

As Joseph was riding along that trade route to Egypt, a new slave to Midianite merchants, I wonder if he saw it as God’s work in his life. As they saw Joseph disappearing into the horizon, I doubt the brothers we thinking of how God’s plan was just beginning to take shape. Often in the midst of things we too fail to see God at work in our lives.

When Joseph first exercised his gift to interpret dreams, he angered his family. Yet later in Egypt this ability would allow Joseph to rise up in importance. When used as God intended, Joseph’s gift was used to build up and to do good. And yet even then Joseph probably only saw this as a personal success, not as a part of God’s bigger plan. But Joseph was faithful and continued to do as God led him to do. Because of this, he would eventually he would see God’s big plan.

What gifts and talents has God blessed you with? In what ways are they being used to build God’s kingdom now? Are you using you gift to the best of your ability? May we learn to use what God has blessed us with, trusting Him and the plan He has for our life.

Scripture reference: Genesis 37: 1-4 and 12-28

August 4, 2014
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His Constant Presence

After feeding the 5000, Jesus sends the crowd and the disciples off and takes the time to go up the mountain to pray. As night falls, He walks out to the disciples, who have been struggling against the wind. In faith, Peter even takes a few steps on the water. As they climb into the boat, the winds die down. What they had been struggling against is taken away by Jesus’ presence. In response they say, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

I wonder why we at times recognize Jesus as so much more and at other times fail to even notice His presence. For the disciples, why does Jesus walking on the water and calming the wind draw such a response when feeding 5000 from a couple fish and a few loaves does not? Yet we are the same. Why does seeing someone’s cancer suddenly disappear seem so much more than a simple day blessed by God’s presence? Isn’t God as present in one as in the other?

We are drawn to the big and flashy but God also resides in the day to day as well. It is from His constant presence that we truly draw our strength. Today, may we notice God in all of the little things of life. And at the end of the day, may we sing His praises for this gift.

Scripture reference: Matthew 14: 22-33

August 3, 2014
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All Are Welcome

The feeding of the 5000 in the wilderness is much like the giving of the manna to the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness. In both cases the people of God were in need and He responded by providing their sustenance.

The giving and sharing of the bread has become such an integral part of the church’s life. As the people of God gather to celebrate communion, we are connecting back to the manna and the loaves. Through the bread of communion, God is both providing for our need and also reminding us of Jesus’ sacrifice. Through His broken body and spilled blood we find forgiveness for our sins. Through the bread and cup we are celebrating Jesus’ mighty act that cleanses us of our sins and leads us out of our own personal wilderness and back into relationship with God.

Like the loaves, when we come to the table, all are fed. When we come to the common table to celebrate holy communion, there is no cost. The price has been paid for each of our sins. All are welcome to come and lay it all before the cross. It does not matter what we come with or how many sins we are bearing. All is left at the foot of the cross. And after we take the bread and the cup and confess our sins to God, we walk away fully cleansed, wholly restored.

Scripture reference: Matthew 14: 13-21

August 2, 2014
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Even in the Wilderness

After Jesus hears of the death of John the Baptist, He withdraws by boat to a solitary place. But the people follow Him out into the wilderness. They are seeking. As they come to Him, Jesus is filled with compassion and heals many. At the end of the day, out in the wilderness, some of the people find hope and love.

Out in the wilderness, as night begins to settle in, many are vulnerable. They all have a basic need for food. Once again (but after an interesting exchange with the disciples!), Jesus feels compassion for the people. Again He responds out of love. The people are seated and, from little, 5000 men plus the women and children all eat their fill. In the wilderness the people encounter a loving God who meets their need not just with what satisfied but with abundance.

At times we to are in the wilderness. In these times we often feel alone and vulnerable. And Jesus comes to us too. In His compassion and love we find healing and comfort for our souls. In His presence our strength is renewed. As He walks with us, our wilderness begins to fade. We come to know that no matter where we are, His love and compassion will always help us through. His mercies are new every morning and His love never fails!