pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Monthly Archives: January 2019


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Pleasing

Reading: Psalm 19:14

Verse 14: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer”.

These words are familiar words. The sermon or message in many churches, mine included, begins with these words. These words ask God to be present in and through the Word proclaimed and to guide our thoughts and responses to the message given. It is a prayer for both the pastor and the congregation. I love how this prayer closes with the dual reminder that the Lord is our foundation and our mercy – our guide through life and our help when we get astray.

Many of us walk out the doors of worship on Sunday morning and return to the world and its ways almost immediately – cussing the one who cut us off in traffic or being rude to the waiter. Some if us might manage to make it to Monday morning before the world creeps back in. At work or school we gossip about the weekend or we resume the shady, worldly business or study practices that we felt convicted of just the day before. We find there is no shortage of ways that we can be displeasing to the Lord. The world is always providing opportunities or encouragement to do so. The battle is constant.

But so is God’s love. And His mercies are new every morning. And His grace is unending. The world is where we now dwell, so the lures of this world will be there. But Jesus had overcome the world. Through faith in Him, we too can walk in the light. Just as Sunday morning is that little boost to our faith and walk, so too can be our own daily time with God. When we read and study and meditate on God’s Word daily, He becomes more a part of our lives. When we spend time each day talking with God, our prayers strengthen our faith. When we open ourselves to the guide and direction of the Holy Spirit, our faith grows stronger still. When we choose to be faithful to our daily disciplines – time in the Word, time in prayer, time connected to the Holy Spirit – our walk with the Lord is closer. We find that we grow more and more into today’s verse. More and more often our words of our mouth and the thoughts of our hearts are pleasing to God. More and more the Lord is our Rock and Redeemer. May we each stay deeply in love with God, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second. Amen.

Prayer: Lord, this moment and every moment, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.


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Signs

Reading: John 2:11

Verse 11: “This, the first of His miraculous signs, revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him”.

At the wedding in Cana, Jesus offers the first sign. The miracle of changing ordinary water into extraordinary wine is an amazing event. Yet, the the book of John, he chooses the word “sign”, not miracle. John’s gospel focuses on revealing the divinity of Christ, using several signs to point people to Jesus as the Son of God, as the Messiah, as the light of the world.

There are only seven signs or miracles in John’s gospel. Each is chosen from the more prolific ministry of Jesus because of the way they point to or reveal Jesus as the Son, the light… The signs demonstrate Jesus’ power over substances and nature, His power over illness, His power over hunger and need, and, lastly, His power over death. With each sign there is a growing awareness of Jesus’ true identity. There is also a growing fear of Him that will lead to His death and resurrection.

Today’s passage is the first sign in John’s gospel that begins to reveal who Jesus is. If we were to reflect upon our lives, we too have a first sign – that moment when we first began to see Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It was that first tug at the heart. Maybe it happened in Sunday school or at youth group. Maybe it happened at church one morning or at VBS. Maybe it was at church camp or maybe it was one day when you were alone with your Bible. When it happened for them, “His disciples put their faith in Him”. That first sign in our lives started us down that road as well. Each ensuing sign that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the light, our hope and promise, builds up our faith and our relationship with our Lord and Savior. May we continue to see the signs, continuing to grow in our faith, always awed by the ways that God is revealed to us and through us.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for that first inkling of who you are. Thank you for every sign and every gentle nudge and whisper. Continue to reveal yourself to me, drawing me ever closer to you. Amen.


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Extraordinary

Reading: John 2: 1-11

Verse 7: “Fill the jars with water”.

At His mother’s request, Jesus takes action. The six empty jars – the ones used for religious rituals – are standing nearby. Jesus tells the servants, “Fill the jars with water”. I do not sense any hesitation on their part. In fact, our Bibles tell us that “they filled them to the brim”. They do not just put some water in the jars. There is an expectation of something here. Maybe they could sense it in Mary and Jesus’ conversation.

The water that was placed in the jars was just ordinary water. It was probably drawn from the local well – from the well that all the people and animals living in and around Cana drink from every day. But once inside the jars the water becomes something extraordinary. Not just wine, but really good wine. The master of the wedding banquet notes, “you have saved the best until last”.

On one level, in the here and now, this story tells us to look for and to expect God’s abundance in extraordinary ways. The jars are filled to the brim. This is how God wants to fill us. God does not want us to experience some of His love, grace, mercy,… He wants to fill us so full that it even overflows! What is inside the jars is extraordinary because of Jesus. This too is God’s desire for all who follow Christ. When Jesus is in us, we are ‘in the world but not of the world’. We belong to heaven. In this world, we stand out and we are called to be a glorious witness to God and His coming kingdom.

This is the second level of our extraordinary abundance. The passage points to the eternal. Like the wine at the banquet, our best is yet to come. We begin to experience what is to come in our earthly life. God is ever at work in us, sanctifying us – making us more and more like Jesus, living more and more in His image. Through this process we grow in our faith and life is better. Yet this life is just a small glimpse of heaven – not even a little peek. It is just the beginning of a taste. We await a far more exceeding time in glory. This too will be extraordinary!

Prayer: God, thank you for walking with me through this life. In the blessings and in the trials, I know you are there. You have so much more for me than I can even imagine. Help me to trust, to step where you lead, allowing me to spread your love and to help build the kingdom here on earth. Amen.


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There

Reading: John 2: 1-11

Verse 3: “They gave no more wine”.

Today’s interaction is sometimes played out in our own families. I have said to my sons or daughter some version of “your room is a disaster”. There is an implication in my statement. I have said things to my wife like,”Boy am I hungry” – again, there is an implication in my statement.

In today’s passage Mary says to Jesus, “They have no more wine”. It too was probably accompanied by a slightly long-lasting look. There is the same “do something” about this situation implied. Jesus, like most kids so, offers up a protest to the parent. But Mary knows that Jesus knows that she expects something to be done about the situation. Jesus obliges, turning the water to wine.

Sometimes God is expected to be like this. We throw a similar complaint God’s way and expect Him to remove the thorn or the stress in our life. And sometimes God does. But other times there is a purpose to our trial or testing – it is something to refine us or to reshape us or to help us grow in our faith.

And every once in a while we find ourselves so deep in grief or pain or distress when we cannot even mumble a prayer to God. We do not even know where to begin. Yet God is there. God responds when we do not or cannot ask. Exodus 14:14 says, “The Lord will fight for you, you only need to be still”. Rest in God. Trust in God. God is there.

Prayer: God, be with those who are hurting, who are broken, who need your presence. Amen.


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Gifts

Reading: 2 Corinthians 12: 1-11

Verse 7: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good”.

Our youth group decided to have a pot luck dinner before we met. Everyone was to bring their favorite dish. The kids were excited and talked about what they were going to bring. I got busy that day at church so I grabbed a bag of chips. All kids like chips, right? Stacy, our adult volunteer, had to visit a sick friend that afternoon, so she just stopped on the way to church and grabbed a bag of chips. One youth was in wrestling, a few were in basketball, a couple were in the play, some had a lit of homework to do – and they all brought chips. Would you like to come to our pot luck?

I make a really good scalloped potatoes and ham. Stacy, she makes the best chocolate cake ever. Tom works part-time at the Greek restaurant and make a great antipasto salad. The twins, Ann and Stan, are competitive and have each developed their own unique but awesome spins on carrot dishes. Been loves to bake with his mom and makes these buttery and flaky croissants that melt in your mouth. In fact, all of our youth have dishes that they can each make that are pretty outstanding. Would you rather come to this pot luck? I would!

We can play this scenario out in our churches. We can say we are too busy to offer our gifts to God. We can even deny having a gift. Paul writes about gifts or manifestations in our passage today. Paul begins by reminding us that although we are each different in our gifts, service, and works, we all belong to the same God, Lord, and Spirit. Our common faith is what connects us together. In verse 7 Paul writes, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good”. We all have gifts that have been given to us. These gifts – wisdom, knowledge, healing, prophecy, … – are given for a purpose. We are each gifted for the common good. Our churches are better pot lucks when we each bring and use our gift that the Spirit has given us. What is your gift? How are you using your gift to make your church and world a better place?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gifts your Spirit had given me. May I be faithful in using them to bless my church and those I meet out in the world. Amen.


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Light

Reading: Psalm 36: 5-10

Verses 7 and 9: “Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings… in your light we see light”.

Where I live and in many parts of the world we are about half way through the season of darkness that comes every winter. The darkness builds to December 21 and then slowly recedes. We often go to work in the dark and come home from work in the dark. The dark affects us all – rich and poor, black and white, male and female. We long for more light.

We experience darkness in other ways too. Some of the time it is spiritual – sin has gotten ahold of us or we have become lazy in our spiritual disciplines and we feel as if the source of light and love in our lives is distant. Sometimes it is caused by life – the loss of a loved one puts us in a funk or illness runs us down and we pull into ourselves. In all these cases, we sense the darkness and we long for light.

The psalmist reminds us where to turn. He writes, “Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings”. Because we all experience seasons of darkness, both spiritually and physically, we all have times when we need the refuge found in God. It is offered to all – high and low, rich and poor, black and white, male and female. We are all God’s children and God loves us all deeply. God desires to be our refuge and more. God wants to be our peace, our hope, our strength, our comfort, our all.

When we reach out to God our darkness fades. In our Psalm today we also read, “in your light we see light”. God relieves our darkness with His light. God’s light and love shines into our dark places. God’s light lifts us up and we begin to be the light, sharing the light with others. May we call and wait upon the source of light every day. May we then be filled by the light so that we can be the light for those struggling with or living in darkness. May it be so. Amen!

Prayer: Lord of light, may I walk in the light. You are the light. Draw me in as a moth to a flame. Draw me in with your love. May the light in me shine out, lighting the way for others. Amen.


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Love, Righteousness, Justice

Reading: Psalm 36: 5-10

Verse 5: “Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies”.

Today’s passage is a song of praise. If you did not catch that – read it again. David is praising God for His presence, for His love, for His blessings. Verse 5 reads, “Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies”. Perhaps you too can hear Mac Powell’s deep voice singing this verse and the next. They are the opening lines to the song, “Your Love, O Lord”.

When we consider the imagery that David used we begin to get an understanding of the size or quantity of God’s love… It is not an XL or even XXL kind of love… It is a love that stretched all the way up to the heavens. That is a long way. There are some stars that we can see at night that are really far away. The distance that we can see increases greatly with a huge telescope. Yet even with the biggest telescope ever built, there will still be heavens beyond what we can see. Think about that in thinking about how far God’s love reaches. Then we are just beginning to comprehend how big God’s love really is.

David compares God’s righteousness to the mighty mountains and God’s justice to the depths of the sea. The mountains are majestic and strong and beautiful and seem to stand forever. Such is the start of understanding God’s righteousness. The depth of the sea is in fact greater than the highest mountain on earth. To me this says that justice matters to God. A lot. Yet even then I can only start to comprehend God’s desire for justice.

I am awed by the power and might of God illustrated in these comparisons with the natural world. They are good visuals to begin to think about how wide and high and deep are God’s love, righteousness, and justice. It is a love, righteousness, and justice for you and for me. Wow.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for humbling me this morning. This day may I praise your name for your love, righteousness, and justice. Amen.


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God Rejoices

Reading: Isaiah 62: 1-5

Verse 5: “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you”.

Zion is the city of God in the Old Testament – Jerusalem. In the opening verse Isaiah desires for the city’s righteousness to shine out and for salvation to be a blazing torch. To modernize this verse, we would say the light of Christ shines forth from our church and the beacon of salvation draws people in. To personalize it, we would say that the light of Jesus shines out in our lives through our words and deeds and we proclaim the message of salvation through faith in Christ alone to all we meet. This is the role of the church today and the call of all Christians today.

As our passage unfolds we read, “the Lord will take delight in you”. Since the creation of Adam and Eve God has created each person – knit them together in the womb (Psalm 139). We are all unique creations of God’s mighty hand, all children of the Creator. Because all that God does is good, God delights in us. This does not mean that we are perfect. Most of us are far from it. It is not about perfection. God delights in us as we are. It is not because of what we do or do not do. God loves us simply because we are God’s children.

Our passage today closes with, “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you”. When I first got married, I was head over heels in love. My new wife could do no wrong, she always looked beautiful, all I wanted to do was please her. They were heady days. We are still deeply in love, but those first few months were different. That head over heels love is the love God had for each of us all the time. It is a “no matter what” love. God rejoices over us. God delights in us. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayer: Loving God, thank you for your love and delighting in even me. Being human, I often fail, often come up short. But you love me just the same. On my best day, on my worst day, you love me just the same. Thank you God. Amen.


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God Claims Us

Reading: Luke 3: 15-17 & 21-22

Verses 21-22: “Jesus was baptized too… the Holy Spirit descended… a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son'”.

Jesus comes to John the Baptist to be baptized. It is what John does. John calls people to repent of their sins to prepare their lives for the coming of the Messiah. In our text today we have Jesus, the only one to live a life without sin, coming to be baptized. His baptism is also a preparation. Earlier in our text today John indicated that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. You have to have what you want to give away. After His baptism, the Spirit descends upon Jesus and God pronounces, “You are my Son”.

These are important words for Jesus to hear. From the Jordan River Jesus will go out into the wilderness for forty days. Jesus will need these words and the presence of the Holy Spirit as He is tested over and over by the devil. The echoes of “You are my Son” we’re important reminders for Jesus during these forty days. Over and over Satan will ask, “If you are the Son of God…”. Satan tested Jesus to see if He really was ready to be the Son of God.

In Jesus’ baptism and in our baptism, there is a closeness to God that we begin to experience. We too receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when we enter into the family of God at our baptism. In baptism, we are marked as a son or daughter of God. Based on that, it should come as no surprise that we too are tempted and tested with our own times in the wilderness. We face trial and temptation in our lives. It is Satan’s way of asking us the same question:. If you are a son of God… If you are a daughter of God… When we hear the voice of the great deceiver, may we too quickly the voice of God, claiming us as a daughter or as a son. God loves us. Over and over God says, “You are my daughter”, “You are my son”. May we claim this always. Draw near to God. Satan will flee.

Prayer: Precious God, thank you for claiming me as your child at my baptism. Daily remind me of my personal connection through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


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Creation Care

Reading: Psalm 29

Verse 11: “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace”.

In our Psalm today we see God’s action in the heavens and on the earth. God remains present in all of creation – not just in us. Both the universe and the earth are alive with birth and death. Stars are no more and new ones are created. The same is true here – plants, animals, fish, birds, insects, and human beings are no more and new ones are created. The hand of God is present in each death, in all new life, and at every point in between. This is as true of the grass of the field as it is of our very dearest loved one. God’s hand touches all of creation.

When we think of our interconnection with all of creation in this sense, then our understanding of stewardship is a bit different. We see the image of God in our fellow humanity; therefore we strive to treat them well and with kindness and love. If we saw all of creation – all of it – as being touched and held by the hand of God and therefore as sacred, then our treatment of the earth and all that is upon and in the earth would be better. More thought and care would go into how we care for and interact with the land, plants, animals, water, fish, birds…

Verse 10 reminds us that God “sits enthroned over the flood”. We can extend this idea – God sits enthroned over all of creation. Over you and me and over all the earth. In verse 11 we read, “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace”. In turn may we give strength and blessing to all that we share and inhabit the earth with – our brothers and sisters as well as all of creation.

Prayer: Father God, help me to care well for all I meet – for the stranger on the street, for the cat by the curb, for my friends and family, for the earth upon which I walk. Amen.