pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Monthly Archives: June 2015


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God > world

Sometimes God picks people we least expect.  God sees in a way that we usually do not.  His vision for all that could be far exceeds our limited vision for the future and for the possibilities that could be.  His practice is also to develop those He selects.  He did not choose David and make him king immediately.  Over time God slowly developed this young shepherd.

Although God does not call you or me to be a great king, He calls us as surely as He called David, Moses, Abraham, Noah, Saul, Peter…  And He will continue to call us.  He will call as many times as it takes.  God has a purpose for our lives.  It may just to affect and witness to one person or it my be to many.  Maybe it is just to our family and a few friends.  We will never know until we faithfully respond to the call and step out in a faith that shows we know God is in control.  In a willing servant, the Holy Spirit can and will do a mighty work.

God also calls groups of people.  This could be a family, a small group, or a church.  The promise is that where two or more are gathered in His name, He will be present.  God has visions and plans for each of the groups we are in and especially for our churches.  While God desires our praise and worship, that is certainly not all that He calls the church to.  If it ends there our churches are just a shell of what they could be.  A faithful response is all the God seeks.  It is all He needs.  Like with David and many others, God will lay the groundwork, raise up and develop the right leaders, and will take us to great new ministries.  Holy Spirit come.  Lead us and our churches.  Come!

Scripture reference: 1 Samuel 16: 8-13


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See Like God

Have you ever stopped short of giving someone a chance because you could not get past their appearance?  Have you ever made a decision about someone before you exchanged conversation?  Have you ever…

The sad answer to these types of questions is all too often ‘yes’.  We tend to be quick to judge and slow to give those who we see as different from us much of a chance.  Part of this is because we are more comfortable around what we know.  Part of it is also fear of the unknown.

The sad reality though is that once we move past ou comfort and extend God’s love, we usually find that we are more alike than different.  God created each person to be in relationship with others and with God.  For those we do not have these relationships in their lives, it is ou call to share the good news of Jesus Christ and to extend a hand in love.

All of Jesse’s handsome, strong sons passed before Samuel except one.  With each Samuel thought ‘this is the Lord’s choice’ but he wasn’t.  Finally they waited while David was fetched from the fields and he too passed by Samuel.  God declared that David was the chosen one and instructed Samuel to anoint him with oil.  Samuel was reminded that God does not look at the things that man sees, but He looks at the heart.  This is how we are to see as well.

Answer the call to look past the surface.  Find that child of God in each you meet today.  Extend that hand.

Scripture reference: 1 Samuel 15:34 to 16:13


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Yes, No, Maybe

Yes, no, and maybe.  Like all those questions we asked our parents, these too are the answers to the prayers we lift up to God.  The ‘yes’ answers tend to make us happy and draw us closer to God.  Often God is referred to as a loving father.  Jesus speaks often of how God the Father loves to give his children good things.

The ‘no’ answers have a finality much in the same way a solid no from our parents was usually the end of the discussion.  Sometimes we do not like to hear or be told ‘no’.  It can feel like we are not being loved or are being held back in some way.  Yet loving parents weigh the situation and the possible consequences and often choose to say no out of genuine love and care for us.  God operates much the same way.  He has a bigger picture in mind than our limited understanding can sometimes grapple with.

And then there are the ‘maybe’ answers.  Receiving no answer can be the hardest answer of them all.  To be left in limbo is hard.  Often we would rather have a ‘no’ than to be left hanging.  When we receive a maybe from our earthly parents, we ramp up the pleading of our case.  With our heavenly Father we do the same with our prayers.  We do not sit and wait well.

No matter what the answer, we must remember a few things.  First, God loves each of us deeply and unconditionally.  Second, God has a plan for our life and that plan is for our good, for us to prosper.  Third, God can be a mystery at times.  When we believe and live into the first two, we can more easily live with the third.  Through faith we come to trust our Father.

Scripture reference: Psalm 20


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Here, But…

It is not always easy to keep an eye on the eternal promises of God.  In the big picture we ‘get it’ – our real eternity rests with God and all the saints.  Yet at times we too get bogged down and lost in the day to day struggles we all face.

Sometimes though, it can feel like a millstone has been tied around our neck.  The uphill battle against a disease or illness, the sudden loss of a job or spouse or friend, another life change you never saw coming…  When it is more that the day to day troubles, which can be hard and very real too, it can be hard to remember God’s eternal promises.

All is not forever lost.  God suddenly pokes into our hard time and we are reminded of His great love.  Maybe it is through a friend or in a time of prayer or study or in a moment of solitude where He makes His presence known.  Like Paul we are reminded that these hardships are just temporary.  God’s plans will far outlive all of these earthly trials. What Christ offered on the cross has an eternal purpose and we are a part of that.

When we spend time daily with God, we experience the promise of being renewed day by day.  When we fix our eyes on the unseen, on our faith, we gain a sense of the eternal. When we remember that our earthly bodies are just temporary and we live for our eternal home built by God, we come to know our true reality.  We are here but not of this world.  Thanks be to God.

Scripture reference: 2 Corinthians 4:16 to 5:1


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Through These Eyes

The believers in Corinth were the exceptions in  the very early church.  They were not persecuted.  Their lives were blessed and good.  They had a lot of trouble relating to Paul’s suffering.  The Corinthians even wondered is Paul were truly an apostle.  Suffering and being faithful to God did not go together in their minds because it did not match their situation or their circumstances.

Sometimes we as Christians do the same thing.  If another’s experience or appearance of their faith is different that ours, we can discount it.  This happens in a lot of ways.  Some do it denominationally – we can see other denominations as lacking or inferior.  Some do it with other people within their own church – we can set up a scale in our own minds that judges how good or bad another’s faith is relative to our own.  Some do it by circumstances – we can look at someone and think we can determine if they are a Christian or not.

Of course we cannot really judge the heart or soul of another.  Only God sees the heart and soul.  God sees with eyes of love, mercy, and compassion.  God sees with eyes of inclusivity.  If more of us saw with God’s eyes, our churches would be more open, more welcoming, more diverse.  People who look at themselves and then at us would be less likely to feel they do not fit in.  They would be more willing to venture into our midst if they found us being God’s love, mercy, and compassion.  To be the true Church of God is to reflect the true nature of God – love, mercy, and compassion.  These things are the essence of God.

Scripture reference: 2 Corinthians 4: 13-15


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The New Family

Jesus claims all followers as His family.  Ina sense, our church family is often a second family for some people.  For a few, it can be their only family.  In Jesus’ day, choosing to follow Him would mean leaving your family roots.  Your Jewish family would not understand or would maybe shun you in extreme cases.

This could happen today but it is much less likely.  The choice of distancing is usually ours.  Becoming a follower sometimes forces these choices as we set aside relationships that are not healthy or conducive to our new life.  It can be a hard choice at times.

As Jesus claims us into this new family, we gain a new sense of hope, love, belonging.  The troubles of life are easier to deal with.  The love seems more genuine.  Many times it feels like we are truly home.  May His presence in our lives and our presence in the lives of His family be strong in our life.

Scripture reference: Mark 3: 20-21 and 31-35


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Deep, Wide, and Full

A song I like has these lyrics: “Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more; Where grace is found, is where You are.”  Sin is a constant battle in our lives.  But our reality as children of God is that His love is deeper than our sin could ever be.  When we allow sin to separate us from God, it is always us that keeps that separation.

We choose to be in a time of separation from God when we refuse to acknowledge or repent of our sins.  Sometimes we truly do not know we are sinning, especially when our faith is immature.  But as we grow, we come to see things as sin that we never did before.  In these times, the refiner’s fire is at work in our lives.

At other times our earthly side will rise up and will lead us into sin.  Usually we know we are headed down a road we should not be on, but turn away on our own.  If we call out to Jesus, He will turn us.  But sometimes we don’t call out.  Even then, forgiveness is still available when we turn, repent, and seek His grace.

There are times too when we just do not seek forgiveness.  Either we justify our own sin or we deem another is unworthy of our forgiveness.  Particularly in these times we need to remember that we will be judged according to how we judge others.  Forgiveness is a matter of the heart.  May our hearts be like God’s – deep, wide, and full of love!

Scripture reference: Mark 3: 22-30


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Amazing Love

The psalmist cries out to God and He strengthens him.  The psalmist’s reaction?  Praise.  He is delivered from a time of trial and he exalts God’s love and care for him.  There is an element in the psalm of the writer feeling unworthy of God’s love and attention.

I can relate.  At times God is present and active in my life and it amazes me.  Even at times when I drifted a bit, I can look back and see God’s presence in my life.  He was still right there with me.  As I look back on my seasons of not following Jesus closely, it amazes me that He was faithful then too.

At those times and points I certainly did not deserve His love.  There must have been someone more worthy of it.  Yet God certainly was faithful and steadfast.  For this I too lift up a shout of praise.  For this I am grateful.  For this I am amazed.

This stumbling block of not feeling worthy is not all that uncommon.  I think a good number of people look at themselves and think some version of “not a sinner like me.”  Many can relate to this at point sin their life.  But God’s love and faithfulness are not contingent upon us.  Thank God!  If not, we would all be on the outside looking in.  Yet we are not.  This day may we find one on the outside.  May we share our love and God’s love unconditionally.  Radically.  In a way that makes them stop and think.  May we be a part of another experiencing God’s amazing love this day.

Scripture reference: Psalm 138


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Pure Love

Only God loves us purely.  Only God meets all our needs joyfully.  Only God wants the very best for us.  Only in His promises do we find forgiveness, peace, hope, and contentment.  Only through God’s selfless love.

For us, this should be the love we return and share with others.  But we lose focus on our true love.  Our eyes and our heart drift.  Soon we look to the world instead.  Our wants draw us to work more for the newer thing or the greater want.  Our pursuit of worldly pleasures leaves us hungry for more.  Our new position only drives us to seek a higher one with more power.  Back to work!

Like the Israelites we think this new ‘king’ is just what we need.  Sometimes we lose sight of our true King.  Often, those ‘kings’ we pursue don’t turn our so royal or altruistic.  What we see as a king can enslave us and trap us and make us see life and our priorities from an ungodly perspective.  We find ourselves always on the treadmill, always saying “just a little more”, but it never is enough.

Only God loves us purely.  One significant or tragic event or life change and we wonder how we got to where we are.  We question why the world seemed do important when all the really matters is God and His love.  But we don’t need to get there.  We can stop and anytime and focus back in on God.  Focus in on the only one whole loves us purely.  We are God’s priority; may He be ours as well.

Scripture reference: 1 Samuel 8: 10-20


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All in All

When the Israelites ask the prophet Samuel to appoint them a king, they are living fully in the world.  How quickly they have forgotten God’s defeat of Pharaoh and His leadership of them into the Promised Land.  How quickly they have forgotten the leadership of God’s agents – Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Samuel.  They want to be like the rest of the nations around them, so they say, “Give us a king!”

At times I walk a similar path with God as I live fully in the world.  My life does not always fully reflect my pledge that “Jesus is Lord.”  In the little daily struggles it is not always to Jesus that I first turn.  Often I try to rely on myself or turn to others to deal with the day to day issues.  Maybe in the ‘big’ stuff I am a little better.  Maybe just a little though.  It is in the larger crisis that I realize sooner that I am less in control and I tend to turn to Him quicker.  This is especially true when I have hit bottom or feel as if I am at the end of my rope.  Yet Jesus is not who I always turn to.

When I say and claim “Jesus is Lord” my thought process and my heart need to reflect this.  It is just not turning to Him in times of trial either.  It is in choosing to give to another without hesitation and without questioning.  It is to offer the best of my day to Jesus and not what I have left at the end.  It is really about giving Jesus every area and little corner of my life.  May I be willing for Jesus to be by all in all, my everything.  Strengthen me Lord Jesus.  Bend me to Your will.  Make me yours.

Scripture reference: 1 Samuel 8: 4-9