pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Monthly Archives: September 2015


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In All we Say and Do

Words can be so powerful.  Just with simple words one can describe a scene in such great detail that you almost can see a snapshot of it in your mind.  Words can also be chosen and delivered carefully for very specific purposes.  With just the right words we can encourage, uplift, and comfort.  In the same way we can edify, strengthen, and build up one another.  Words are powerful.

Each of us can recall times when someone said just the right thing at just the right time.  In those words we found healing or renewal or a lift in our spirit.  We can still remember those words.  In a similar way we each have used our own words to come alongside another in need.  The Holy Spirit often nudges and leads us to these opportunities.  Our role is to be open to the guidance and to be a willing voice.

On the flip side of all of this, the tongue can also be powerful in negative or harmful ways.  James is well aware of the human condition and rightly warns us to be careful with our tongues.  Commentary writer Patrick Harden puts it well: “Sins of the tongue are the hardest to avoid.”  Just as we’ve all been stung or hurt by words, we too have all stung or hurt others.  And in almost every case we have felt the Spirit’s nudge or heard the voice whispering to us to choose a better way.  In our journey of faith, may we learn to follow as led and to heed as warned so that we my bring honor and glory to God in all we do and say.

Scripture reference: James 3: 1-5a


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Our Rock and Redeemer

God is perfect.  Therefore we find perfection in His laws and in all of His ways.  The psalmist extols the laws’ benefits – it revives the soul, makes the simple wise, and makes the heart rejoice.  Benefits come from living under the law.  The psalmist recognizes his own imperfection and acknowledges that God does not expect perfection from us either.

The ways of God are valuable and important to life.  To the psalmist they are as valuable as pure gold and as sweet as honey.  For us as well there are benefits from following God’s statutes.  They give us both guidance and protection.  Life is smoother and within a peaceful contentment more often when we seek to follow His ways.  Yet we cannot always follow all of His laws and the psalmist admits this as well.

The psalmist goes beyond this admission as he asks God to find his hidden faults too.  The obvious sins are just that.  But we sometimes sin in ways that we do not even realize and he is asking for forgiveness for these as well.  Perhaps these are things like the missed opportunity we did not even see or the words that hurt another unbeknownst to us.  We too need what the psalmist asks for – forgiveness from sins and protection against future sins.

The psalmist closes with a popular and well-known prayer: “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”  Today, may this be our prayer.  May the words in our mouths and in our minds be acceptable to God.  May all of our thoughts and ideas honor God.  And may we find rest, peace, comfort, and love in the Lord, our rock and our redeemer.

Scripture reference: Psalm 19: 7-14


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Amazed by God

The heaven’s declare God’s glory.  The sun and moon and stars reflect His perfect creation and remind us of the vastness of God.  God’s creation reflects a wonderful order and gives us a glimpse of His power.  His fingerprints are all over creation.  His glory is shown from the tiny cells that become a living creature to the beauty and intricacy in a spider’s web.  All that is God created and ordered and breathed life into.

Although none of these things can speak, they each shout forth God’s glory in their own way.  We can hear and see God all around us.  He is present in the sunrise just creeping over the horizon, in the delicate beauty of a new blossom, and in the way a human body functions physiologically.  God is present to us in so many ways.  His divine glory is manifested to us through all that He created and continues to create.

Take time today to be amazed by God.  Sit outside for a bit.  Take a stroll at lunch.  Spend a few minutes out on the deck or porch tonight.  Take some time to hear and see God speak to you through the creation all around you.  Sit in that presence and feel His power and glory within you.  Thank God for the wonderful creation that you are!

Scripture reference: Psalm 19: 1-6


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Wisdom and God

Wisdom calls out to all people in all segments of society from rich to poor.  To live without wisdom is a much easier way to live.  Living a life that is simple, that enjoys life is sometimes seen as more fun and more carefree than a life that seeks and pursues wisdom.

Wisdom in Proverbs is fear of the Lord.  It is often misrepresented, the idea of having fear of the Lord.  To fear the Lord is not the same as a fear of spiders or a fear of heights.  These come across as aversions whereas a fear of the Lord has a certain and palpable draw to it.  To fear the Lord is more to live in reverence of God.  It is to live life in such a way as to have a deep respect for God in all of the decisions we make.

The writer in Proverbs implies that wisdom will turn its back on those who rejected and ignored her words and pleas.  The writer is implying that the path to God will become closed at some point.  But this is not the way of God revealed in Jesus.  Jesus took all comers no matter where they are in life or where they have been.  Fools lost in love with money, prostitutes trapped in that lifestyle, tax collectors skimming off the top, and many more all came and found love and words of wisdom in the words of Jesus.

In the end Proverbs balances the consequences of avoiding God with the rewards of listening to God.  The writer implies that those who choose God choose security and contentment.  The promise is life without dread of disaster.  It is not a promise of a rosy life or life without trials.  It is a life of security and trust in God.  It is a promise with an eternal future and a living presence in life’s trials.

Scripture reference: Proverbs 1: 20-33


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Sharing Faith Through Action

Sometimes it is hard to love our neighbor when we really don’t know them.  Sometimes people who are not like us can intimidate or scare us.  Sometimes the negative stereotypes we hear prevent us from really seeing the person standing before us.

Mission trips and one-day outreach events are great ways to help us overcome these barriers.  It is amazing what happens when we allow ourselves to experience others in new ways.   Youth and adults who sign up and participate in trips and events experience direct contact with ‘neighbors’ they did not know before.  And as with almost all people, once they got to know them they come to realize that they are pretty easy to love and serve.  These experiences open us up to the possibilities that are in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and communities.

Our faith grows as we experience God’s love in action.  This leads us on to action in the everyday places of our lives.  There is a cyclical affect to faith and action.  When we have faith we sense the call to share the love of Christ with others.  When we share the love and see how it changes lives, then our faith grows.  It is a wonderful thing to be doers of the word.

The goal of our Christian walk is to grow in our faith.  If we are living out our faith in service to others, then our faith will grow.  In James we are reminded that faith without action is dead.  We cannot simply wish someone would have food and clothing; we must provide these things as we are able.  When Christ’s love is alive and breathing in us, we must go forth to share that love with others.  It is an amazing gift that we must share with others so they they too can come to know and share the love of Christ.

Scripture reference: James 2: 14-17


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Boundaries

Social boundaries can be hard to cross.  Maybe your first experience with boundaries came on the playground in elementary school.  Maybe it was in the middle school cafeteria or audition room or athletic court.  Maybe it occurred in a different area or at another stage in life.  Being on one side or the other of a social boundary is something most of us have experienced.

As we grow into adulthood, the social boundaries do not get any easier to cross.  The imaginary lines we draw in our minds can be as tough to cross as the Berlin Wall.  Sometimes we treat the boundaries with the same level of fear as spiders or death.  Yet God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, continues to nudge and whisper into our ears and hearts.  And we can ignore, but that voice just does not go away if you are really working to live out your faith.

Maybe the nudge is to invite the new family who does not speak much English over for dinner.  Maybe it is to stop and offer some food to the man with the sign.  Maybe it is to be the first to welcome the couple who is different from everybody else in your congregation.

James encourages us to walk across that boundary, to quit judging others, and to get out of our comfort zones.  If one is really working to grow in one’s faith, they feel the nudges and hear the whispers of the Spirit.  If we can get outside our box and engage those across the boundary, then we begin to fulfill God’s command to truly love our neighbors as ourselves.  That first step can be hard, but go ahead, take it.

Scripture reference: James 2: 1-13


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One Word

“Ephphata!” – be opened.  With a touch and this one word, Jesus restored a man.  The man brought by his friends was both deaf and mute.  One word from Jesus later and he was healed.  With one word his life was forever altered.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to be blind.  It would be very different as I rely so much on what I see.  From reading to observing people to writing to playing music – I am dependant upon my sight.  To not have the ability to talk and sing and shout would be very difficult as well.

Up to this point the man has been dependent on friends and family.  A job would be impossible so he would beg or impose.  To the Jews, he was ceremonially unclean so he could not enter the temple to worship.  Other than those closest to him, many in society would have shunned him or ignored him at best.

Some people in my world need restored and healed.  They need to be connected to a community to care for and guide them.  They need healing and restoring from a wide variety of things.  For some it is addiction, for others a significant loss.  For some it is broken relationships, for others it is a string of poor decisions.  The list goes on.  We all know people who need much.  All need healed and restored.

Friends brought the man to Jesus.  With a word Jesus restored and healed the man.  Faith grew that day – for the man, for his friends and family, and for all who heard the story.  We all know people who need healing and restoration.  May we all be a part of bringing people closer to Jesus so they can hear Him speak the one word they need to hear: “Come.”  Share Jesus so that the restoration and healing can begin.

Mark 7: 31-37


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At the Table

Today’s text is a little troubling.  As a fellow pastor said at the lectionary study yesterday, “It makes me uncomfortable.”  In today’s text Jesus calls the woman who has come to beg for her daughter’s healing a “dog”.  It was not likely a racial insult in Jesus’ day.  We are used to Jesus sparring with the Pharisees and calling them ‘hypocrites’ but this seems different.  The loving Jesus who seems to accept all who come to him is trying to rudely dismiss this woman.  This version of Jesus makes me uncomfortable too.

Perhaps it makes me uncomfortable because at times I have thought less of another as well.  This is often a means to justify not helping them or to rationalize not taking the time to be present with them.  In essence I too am calling them a ‘dog’ in my mind and in my analysis of their worth.

Yet in this story I also find hope.  In my sin I come before God seeking healing and forgiveness much like a dog.  Slinking up to Him, head bowed low, I approach knowing I am unworthy to be in His presence.  Like this woman, I do not and cannot argue with my position because in my sin I am lowly.  So like her I approach humbly.  In her the hope I find, though, is also in her boldness.

This woman is bold in asking for her daughter’s healing.  She just asks for a ‘crumb’.  She knows that just a little bit of Jesus’ power is enough to heal her daughter.  And it does.  I too approach boldly.  Although made low in my sin, I too can boldly ask to be healed, to be made new, to be washed by His blood.  And just like that I too find healing and restoration.  And in God’s great love and mercy, I am no longer under the table.  As a child of God I am restored back to the table.  For this, I say thanks be to God!

Scripture reference: Mark 7: 24-30


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Bring God’s Presence

The psalmist expresses the belief that God has given Israel the land and will assure their possession of it.  He acknowledges that evil will come in from time to time but that God will ultimately restore good to the people.

In America we live in the general belief that our country is secure, almost impenetrable.  We feel like no other country could invade and topple us.  9/11 and events since have brought home the fact that we are vulnerable to attack but I think most see these as isolated events.

In other parts of the world warfare and living in fear are the norm.  In some countries, war or civil war has been almost constant.  Daily children are left as orphans and property is taken or destroyed.  In some countries, parents worry daily about their children being abducted or drafted into the militia.  In some places, religious intolerance and persecution forces Christians to live in secret and to fear exposure.

In our country people live in poverty, many on the streets or in shelters.  Others live with a feeling of insecurity and some segments of our society live with injustice and oppression.  For many here and abroad, the world is a tough place.  For many, they question God or they do not even know His presence.

The psalmist reminds us and the afflicted that God will surround those who trust in Him like mountains.  How reassuring.  But many do not know God.  This day may we pray for all who suffer and for all who do not know God’s love and protection.  And may we be moved to do all we can for those God places before us this day.

Scripture reference: Psalm 125


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Doing Much, Together

Scenario 1 – Load up all of your home into a U-Haul.  Place all of the neighborhoods in your community on a big roulette wheel.  Spin the wheel to find out where your family will now be living.

Scenario 2 – You get paid once a month and it is the 23rd.  You are out of money and the credit cards are maxed.  You are cooking the last food in the house for dinner tonight.  Tomorrow you will take the car title down to the loan place.  Try to figure out how you’ll catch up next month.

In the first scenario, are there places where you really hope the spinner does not stop on?  What makes you not want to live in certain areas of town?  In the second scenario, have you ever had to put something essential on the line just to put food on the table?  Ever had to choose between food for the kids and heat for the house or gas for the car?  These are real choices real people have to make every day.

God pleads the case of the poor.  In Proverbs we are earned not to exploit the poor.  How broad should our definition of ‘exploit’ be?  Should it include ‘ignore’?  In many places in scripture we are instructed on how to care for those in need.  It is our call to do all we can.

When we are able to donate a few cans of food at church, we must because if we don’t then someone will have less.  When we are able to teach a class on budgeting and sound finances, we must because then someone will not have to go to the loan place.  When we are able to advocate for better housing and safer streets, we must because then others start to have a chance.

Individually we cannot do it all.  But we can all do something.  Together we can do much.  What will you do today to help another in need?

Scripture reference: Proverbs 22: 22-23