pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Monthly Archives: August 2016


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Tomorrow 

Reading: Luke 12: 54-56

Jesus opens today’s passage with some praise of the crowd’s ability to read the weather correctly.  It is praise to draw them in, to pique their interest and attention.  Then in a sudden twist He calls them hypocrites.  Many a mind gathered there must have wondered at what could be hypocritical about predicting the weather.  If only that was where Jesus was going.  Instead Jesus shifts to interpreting who He is and to reading the signs of God’s presence in their midst.  But the masses miss these signs.  They seem oblivious to the coming judgment.

Unfortunately believers and non-believers alike live in the mindset.  Death or the day of judgment is far away, not right here at hand.  Many are aware of God but have not dedicated their lives to following Christ.  After school, after marriage, after kids, after … then I’ll go to church.  Some day.  For others life is good and they have no need for God.  Perhaps in the back of their minds they know that in a big crisis they can seek God, but God is not needed now.  Life is good.

Many Christians live with a similar mindset.  They rationalize a sin they continue to practice and vow in their minds to give it up one day.  Others vow to start reading their Bible and to pray every day, starting tomorrow.  Or it may be joining that small group or helping out with VBA or…  Yet too often tomorrow always remains a day away.  Making a total commitment to Jesus is hard.

In the last few verses of chapter twelve Jesus uses another illustration to show that judgment will come.  His point of emphasis is that one cannot wait until they are standing before the judge to start making things right.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  It is for us as well.  Are we aware of it?  Are we choosing to live now for the King?  Is there an urgency to be ready for the kingdom because tomorrow may be at hand?


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Cast Love

Reading: Luke 12: 49-53

Love is patient, love is kind.  Love is not rude, love is not easily angered.  Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.  These words from 1 Corinthians 13 seem so appropriate when we consider today’s passage.  Jesus’ words today seem harsh and challenging.  “I have come to bring fire to the earth” sounds ominous and destructive at first.  He states He came not to bring peace but to bring division.  The passage ends telling of the hardest division: the division of families.

I come not to be served but to be served.  Let me wash your feet.  Love thine enemies.  How can Jesus speak these words elsewhere in the Bible and then say He came to divide families?  While all Jesus did and said was based on love, He knew that not all would choose to follow Him.  Jesus knew that many would reject Him.  He also knew the choice to declare Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior was a personal and individual choice.  Because of all this, Jesus knew division would come as we each make our own decision concerning following Him.

The dividing line between follower and nonfollower is sharp.  As followers of Christ we are called to a radical life of love, self-sacrifice, and absolute dedication to our faith.  One cannot be half way dedicated to following Jesus – lukewarm is not following.  So Jesus knew this decision would cut across family lines, through friendships, and would come to define where we stand and who we are.

Over this reality we cast love.  The great commission calls us to go forth to make disciples of all peoples.  Our faith calls us to go forth in love, as Jesus went forth.  Just as He loved the outcast, the sinner, the anyone, so too are we to love all we meet.  In doing so we become the conduit through which Christ’s love reaches others.  It is a love that conquers all fear, doubt, hate, mistrust.  It is a love for all people.  Perhaps this is the fire Jesus wants to bring – His love spreading like wildfire across the communities in which we live.  Today may we cast out love.


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Inside

Reading: Isaiah 5: 5-7

God loves and cares for all humanity.  It is God’s desire to be in a loving relationship with each and every one of us.  God blesses us with all we need and more as an expression of that love and care.  God watches over us and through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit guides and protects us.  God is the ultimate example of a loving parent.

In today’s passage the people of Israel are the children.  Apparently they are not being good children.  The frustrated parent looks back over all that has been done for Israel and recalls all the love and blessings poured out upon them.  In response to their disobedience and lack of faithfulness to the covenant, God will step back from being their provider and protector.  God will not stop loving them.  But God will love them from afar.

At times in life I have made similar choices.  I can relate to the Israelites.  I have allowed earthly pursuits to push my relationship with God way to the back burner.  I have been enamored with the things of this world from time to time, leaving very little or no time for God.  At some point though I come to a place where I realize that the hedges and walls are not there.  My soul is dry as God’s rain has not fallen in a while.  When I stop here and look at how I have been living my life, I see that I have stepped outside of my relationship with God.  The walls and hedged are still there. I had just stepped outside of them for a season.

Perhaps you can relate.  Perhaps you know someone in your life who is struggling along outside the walls of God’s love.  Step back inside.  Lead that friend into a relationship with God.  In relationship with God is where and when life is best.  May we all dwell inside the bounds of a loving, committed relationship with God.


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Pruning

Reading: Isaiah 5: 1-4

In our passage today God laments, “What more could I have done for my vineyard”?  God thinks back to the fertile land flowing with milk and honey that was handed over to Israel.  God recalls the cities they did not built that were offered as dwelling places.  God remembers how a shield was kept about them, protecting them from their enemies.  God’s people, the vineyard so carefully tended, is now producing bad fruit.  The people had all they needed to produce good fruit but have instead turned away from God.  God looks and sees bloodshed instead of justice, heard cries of distress instead of righteousness.

The passage calls us to look at and reflect on our own lives.  God has also richly blessed us in so many ways.  God has built hedges of protection around us.  God has poured into our lives the example of Jesus found in the scriptures and has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.  God has given us all we need to go forth and produce a good crop.  So we must honestly ask ourselves if we are doing so.  Are we using all of God’s rich blessings to go out and produce a crop of justice and righteousness and love?

Too often we can be like the crop God finds in Israel.  The soil is good and the leaves are healthy.  But the fruit underneath is sour.  We go to church and maybe even read our Bibles every day.  Then we go to work and exploit those with less power or cut a corner or bend a law for our own gain.  Or maybe we say and do all the right things out in public but harbor an addiction within the secret places of our lives.  We somehow think God does not know, but the pruning shears are ready to go to work.

Maybe instead we are holding onto a sin we can’t quite give to God or we are nursing a grudge or hurt from long ago and we can’t quite offer forgiveness to another.  God calls aloud for us to give up all that holds us back, to release anything that separates us from God, and to lay it at the cross.  God invites us to do this so that we can walk in a right relationship with our Lord and Savior.  God desires to prune away all that keeps us from being all God intends us to be.  Pruning can be hard but the results are a healthier plant that produced a better crop.  May we be willing to lay down all that hinders and separates us from God so that we may walk humbly and faithfully with our Lord.


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Unending Service

Reading: Luke 12:35

Jesus instructs the disciples to sell their possessions and to give to the poor.  He does so because when we trust Him and follow the call to love others, then we store up treasures in our hearts and in heaven.  These treasures are treasures that cannot ever be taken.  The feeling of helping another in need out of the love of Christ is a treasure we will always have.  In addition, doing so places our focus on heaven and on our relationship with God.

Jesus goes on to say that we must always be dressed and ready for service.  He is speaking of both our spiritual and physical readiness.  We stay spiritually ready by staying connected to God.  By spending time daily with God we keep our focus on the things of God.  This helps us to see as God sees, to feel as God feels, and to love as God loves.  We must also be physically ready.  This means we structure our priorities, our resources, our time in such a way that we can meet a need when God brings it before us.  It means we are always ready to give of our time, talents, gifts, and service when God places an opportunity before us.

The third area Jesus addresses in this passage is to keep our lamps burning.  There are two meanings or implications to this.  First, the light shines on our own path.  The light of Christ leads us on our own faith journey.  The Holy Spirit also leads and guided us in the living out of our faith.  The light allows us to keep on our journey of faith and to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ.  The second implication is for others.  When the light of Christ shines out from us, it helps others to see Him and to sense Christ calling out to them.  We are called to bring Christ to others by being His hands and feet so that “they might see your good works and give glory to God”.  The light draws others to Christ.

This day may we be willing to offer of ourselves and our things.  This day may we be ready to meet the needs of all God brings before us.  This day may our light shine into the darkness.  May this day be the beginning of unending Service to our King.


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The Flock

Reading: Luke 12: 32-40

In a world where fear is so prevalent, Jesus’ words of “Do not be afraid little flock” bring us great comfort and reassurance.  In our lives the fear of violence, illness, and death join together with our worries about money, popularity, and appearance.  But in Jesus’ simple words we hear His desire to take us in, to keep us from harm, to protect and guide us.  Metaphorically, we are the sheep and Jesus is the shepherd.

At times in our lives we will feel fear or experience anxiety over money…  We may even begin to feel overwhelmed.  In these moments we must call upon our faith to calm our fears and worries.  God has us.  We are the flock that lives in God’s ever present love and care.  Jesus goes on to remind us of God’s desire to give us the kingdom.  It is a place of love and peace and comfort and rest. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God is constantly st work building up the kingdom here on earth.

As followers of Jesus Christ we are invited both into the kingdom and into the work of building it.  We are invited to live in this place of peace, comfort, rest, and love and away from the things of this world such as fear.  But many do not know of this place.  Many do not have a relationship with Christ.  One of our roles is to help in spreading and building the kingdom here on earth by inviting others in by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.  God desires that all the people of the earth are in the kingdom.  The kingdom is for all people.

With Christ in our lives, we are no longer slaves to fear, to worry, to the things of this world.  We know these things exist and they do creep in from time to time. Because we rest assured in Jesus’ love and care, we can cast all of these things upon Jesus.  This is a wonderful part of being in the ‘little flock’.  It is also a wonderful thing to share.  This day may we work alongside God, striving to add more sheep to the flock.


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Assurance 

Reading: Hebrews 11: 1-3

Anselm, a Benedictine monk, once said, “I believe in order that I may understand”.  This seems so backwards in the world of logic.  But in the world of faith it makes perfect sense.  God acts and is present in so many amazing ways.  We cannot deny this because of our own personal experience.  Yet we cannot always understand how or why.  A part of faith is always mystery.  Our faith is something we cannot prove scientifically, but one cannot deny that God exists.  We live with a conviction that God is all around us.

At times we have personal experiences with God’s presence.  These moments of divine presence in our own lives brings assurance to our belief.  In the Bible we find many accounts of God’s interaction with humanity.  In our lives we continue to hear and read testimonies of people who experienced God in their lives.  All of this builds our assurance and then our belief.

Our faith rests upon who God is.  Throughout the pages of scripture, in the lives and witness of all the saints who have gone before, and in our own lives we see a God who is always present, is always faithful, and is always just.  God does not slumber or sleep.  God does not go on vacation.  No matter when we call or where we are at, when we seek God or call on God’s presence, God is right there.  The promises God made to Adam, Abraham, Moses, … remain true to this day.  Because of who God is, we rest assured in our faith.  For this we say thanks be to God.


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Like Abraham 

Reading: Hebrews 11: 8-16

Too often we are deaf to God’s voice.  Like with Abraham, God is seeking to bless us and to do great things in our lives.  Throughout our day God seeks to connect to us, to draw us into relationship, to allow us to experience the presence of the Spirit in our life.  Too often we miss these chances.

Most of us have had significant encounters with God.  Maybe they were during a retreat or when we were at camp.  Maybe they were in a deep valley where our sense of God’s presence became very real at the low point of a trial or struggle.  Maybe it was during a special worship service or when we were on a mission project.  At certain times we are particularly open to hearing God’s voice or experiencing God in our midst.  But God desires this to be our frequent experience throughout our day.

The ‘God moments’ we have experienced are powerful and meaningful.  So this leads us to seek out why we do not have these times more often in our day to day living.  In Abraham’s story we find some clues.  First, he was open to hearing God.  At times God’s voice will boom into our lives.  But Abraham had his ear ever tuned to God and had his spirit focused on God.  We too can do this by being intentional in inviting God into our daily lives and by being cognizant of the opportunities God places in our lives.  These may come in the wise words of a friend, in the face of the one in need we encounter on the sidewalk, or in the still small voice of the Holy Spirit whispering into our heart.  Second, when Abraham felt God’s presence or heard the voice, he listened and was honest.  If he did not understand or felt doubt or fear, he was honest with God about these things.  God did not walk away, but responded.  Through faith Abraham heard and obeyed God and was credited as righteous.

Life can consume us.  Life can swirl around us.  The noise and busyness can obscure God’s voice and the encounters sent our way.  When we allow these things to occur, our relationship with God suffers.  Our soul is poorer for having missed out.  Our faith is not as strong as it could have been had we experienced God’s presence.  We, like Abraham, can hear God’s voice often.  We, like Abraham, can become attuned to that voice, lifting it above the daily hum.  The more we hear the voice, the better we listen. And we, like Abraham, can and will experience God’s presence and blessings when we slow down and focus on our faith.  May we learn to be like Abraham so that we can receive the promises, blessings, and power of God in our lives, daily and often. 


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Thanks

Reading: Psalm 50: 1-8 & 22-23

God’s voice booms out in this passage.  It opens with, “The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks”.  One can hear the thunder in God’s voice.  Rightly so, God sounds like an angry parent.  God summons the people Israel to hear what needs to be said.  God reminds them of their covenant and that God is their judge.  In the verses not read from the Psalm, God lays out both why they should offer just thank offerings and also a list of the sins they are committing.  As we pick up in verse 22, God reminds ‘you who forget God’ the consequences and benefits of following God faithfully.

We live in a time where blood sacrifices of animals arr no longer made nor are they necessary.  Christ’s sacrifice on the cross covers all of our sins.  Yet God still desires our sacrifices.  In our passage God calls for thank offerings.  These are what God desires of us as well.  A thank offering expresses our gratitude to God for all we have been blessed with.  This can run the gamut from our tithe that we lay on the altar to the time we give to mentor one new to the faith.  It can be the time we give to teach a class and it can be the time we set aside each day to specifically and gratefully thank God for the specific blessings of each day.

This idea goes beyond simply saying ‘Thank You’ to God for the good things in our life.  Our thanksgiving also keeps us humble by recognizing God’s hand in all of our blessings.  It takes the focus off of us and how good we are.  We are also made more aware of God’s vast love, mercy, grace, … and this lessens the load that we feel we have to carry.  It relieves us of some of our fears and anxieties as we come to trust more in God’s provision, power, and presence in our lives.  We come to know God is in control.

Today may we take some time to thank God for the many ways we are blessed by and experience the divine hand at work in our lives.  May we express our gratitude through our selfless offering of our time, gifts, talents, resources, service, and witness.  And may we welcome the presence and peace of God into our lives.


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In Spirit and Truth

Reading: Isaiah 1: 11-15

Isaiah writes to a people who are simply going through the motions with God.  They may be offering sacrifices and saying the corporate prayers but their hearts are far from God.  They may be doing all the ‘right’ things according to the Law, but they are far from the intent and reason for worship.  Their worship is not connecting them to God.  Since they are not connecting to God, they are not experiencing God’s presence in their lives.  They leave worship and leave God in the synagogue or temple.

In the New Testament, Jesus echoes Isaiah’s call.  Jesus calls on us to worship God in spirit and in truth.  Worshipping God in spirit involves us in connecting to God’s spirit in worship.  In worship we can connect to God in an intimate and personal way.  In doing so we come to know the Creator’s will and purpose for our lives.  We too often come to worship expecting to ‘get’ something.  Worship is about offering ourselves to God and allowing God to transform us into who we were created to be as a child of God.

When we worship in spirit then God’s truth will shape and form how we live.  When we worship in truth we are honest and open to what God speaks into our hearts and are willing to go where God leads.  The fruit of authentic and real worship is revealed in how God transforms us.  When we worship in truth we are led to repentance, to seeking to bring God’s love into the world, to do good in our world.  Through God’s transforming power we are conformed more and more into living as Christ lived in the world, bringing glory and honor to God in all we do.

When we worship in spirit and truth, we worship in a way that is open to God working in our lives.  We come to God with the desire to be transformed, filled up, and sent out into the world to live for God.  May we offer all we have and all we are to God in worship this day, allowing God’s spirit and truth to transform us into the likeness of Christ, bringing His light and love to the world in need.