pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Monthly Archives: March 2025


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A Regular Practice

Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 3-5, 7-8

Isaiah 56:1 – “Act justly and do what is righteous because my salvation is coming soon.”

The opening of Isaiah 56 is about keeping the Sabbath. The idea of Sabbath originates in the creation story. After creating the heavens, the earth, and everything in and on them, God rested. When God began to formalize who and what God’s people would be, the practice of Sabbath was included in the Ten Commandments. During the time in exile and the period that followed, the keeping of the Sabbath was especially important. It set the Jews apart from the rest of the world. To be Sabbath-keepers remains counter-cultural.

In today’s reading Isaiah is reminding Israel that Sabbath is not just for the Jews. The idea of including immigrants and servants has been a part of Sabbath ever since Moses received what we identify as Exodus 20:8-11. Animals and the earth itself are part of Sabbath rest. Isaiah includes the eunuchs and other outcasts in his words that declare that God’s family and home are places of welcome and inclusion for all people who honor the covenant, who live according to God’s will and ways.

As I reflect on these words today I am struck by how wide open God’s heart is for all who seek to walk as a child of God. I’m also becoming aware that Sabbath is aimed at creating a just world. Rest is part of God’s design for all things – people and all of creation. This concept of rest and shalom, of blessing and renewal also reveals the wideness of God’s love for all people and for all of creation. It is in these times of not doing that we can foster our relationships with God and with one another. This investment of time builds connection and it builds community. May Sabbath be a regular practice for you and for me as we seek to build God’s kingdom here and now.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the gift of Sabbath. This time set apart has the power to deepen our love for you and our love for each other. Open us to the wideness of your heart and your love as we practice this discipline. Lead and guide us in this regular practice, O God, so that holiness and justice, and peace and righteousness abound in our lives and in our world. Amen.


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Redeem, Restore, Rescue

Readings: Psalm 137:1-3 and 8, Zechariah 9:9

Zechariah 9:9 – “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion. Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem. Look, your king will come to you. He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and riding on an ass.”

The people of God had already experienced much trauma leading up to their exile in Babylon. The nation had split into Israel and Judah. Both parts experienced good and bad kings – much more of the latter. Israel, and later Judah were conquered and hauled into exile. It is in this foreign land, living under a pagan oppressor, that Israel’s longing for a Messiah really begins to take shape.

Psalm 137 is a song of lament. In the first few verses the writer expresses the people’s collective sadness. Their captors are forcing them to sing songs of joy. These songs are intended to be sung as they ascend to the temple, preparing themselves to worship God. They were forced to sing these songs out of place, to a God whose home – the temple – was destroyed. It is no wonder that they long for destroyer Babylon to be paid back by the one who will come to redeem and restore Israel.

This longing for a rescuer, for a Messiah, is expressed in Zechariah 9:9. These words will be brought to life by a king riding into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt. Psalms will be waving and shouts of “Hosanna!” will fill the air. It’s just the Romans who now oppress, who now need overthrown. This is the king that Israel still longs for. It is just not the kind of king that Jesus will prove himself to be. His rescue, redemption, and restoration is not military but personal and spiritual.

Prayer: Lord God, for many the longing for a Messiah remains very real. Today people long to be redeemed and rescued – from an abusive relationship, from addiction, from financial hardship, from illness, from oppression, from injustice… These real struggles weigh upon their hearts, upon our hearts. Lord Jesus, please ride into our hearts, enter through those gates, bringing a peace to the battles, a calm to the chaos, a strength to the weakness, a wholeness to the brokenness. Rescue, redeem, and restore. Amen.


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Rescuer, Redeemer, Hope

Reading: Habakkuk 2:9-11

Habakkuk 2:11 – “A stone will cry out from a village wall, and a tree branch will respond.”

The book of Habakkuk wrestles with the question, “Why do the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer?” The prophet struggles with the idea that God could use the wicked for God’s own purposes. In the midst of our own suffering we too can wonder how any good can come from our suffering. In these moments, like the prophet, we must trust and lean into our good and loving God.

In our short passage Habakkuk pronounces doom on “the one making evil gain.” Babylon has used power, deceit, and dishonesty to add to their own wealth, at the expense of Israel. The prophet predicts that the ultimate outcome will be shame and death for evil Babylon. In many ways this is a timeless story. Greed and the hunger for power will always be sins that humanity struggles with. Today many people could utter the words of the prophet.

Hope comes in verse 11. The prophets hopes for a rescuer, for a Messiah. He trusts that God will redeem and restore God’s people. Hope will come through the cornerstone, through the root of Jesse. The longing of God’s people will be answered in Jesus Christ. He continues to be our rescuer, our redeemer, our hope. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, this ago-old story feels true yet today. The gap between those with and those without grows. Power becomes more consolidated. May we, your children, be the stones that cry out for justice. May we, created in your image, be the branches that bring righteousness back to the land. God, restore your people, redeem the oppressed. Amen.


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Your Will Must Be Done

Luke 22:39-46 and 67-71

Luke 22:42: – “Father, if it’s your will, take this cup of suffering away from me. However, not my will but your will must be done.”

Before looking at Luke’s account of Jesus before Caiaphas and the council, we begin in the garden, where Jesus prayed. In verses 39-46 Jesus and the disciples are in a familiar place. They are in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. In our text we see that it was Jesus’ custom to pray there regularly. As he prepared to pray he encourages the disciples, saying, “Pray that you won’t give in to temptation.” Going further into the garden, Jesus kneels and prays.

Jesus prays, “Father, if it’s your will, take this cup of suffering away from me. However, not my will but your will must be done.” He is wrestling with what lies ahead. The divine part of Jesus understands that this is God’s plan. So deep is his human anguish, though, that an angel comes and strengthens him. Jesus then prays so hard that he sweats and this appears to be like “drops of blood falling to the ground.” That is some earnest prayer. This contrasts sharply with the disciples’ approach. Faced with anguish and uncertainty and fear, they opt for sleep, being “overcome with grief.” Jesus again encourages them to pray.

Now we turn to Jesus’ encounter with Caiaphas and the council. This is a group chat here, not a one-on-one conversation. In response to queries about being the Christ, Jesus quotes here from Psalm 110, not Joel 7. Yet the general idea is the same. Jesus gives a non-answer to the question: “You say that I am.” They really don’t, just as they didn’t in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus is allowing God’s will to be done here. The story will continue as the council brings this “blasphemous” Jesus to Pilate. The charges change as they enter the political arena. The train rolls on.

Prayer: Lord God, give us the strength of Jesus in our moments of trial and temptation. Open our eyes and hearts to your bigger plans, to your purposes. When we are human, tempted to sleep or otherwise deal with the hard emotions or realities, strengthen us by your Spirit, keeping us from giving into temptation. Empower our faithful obedience to your will and way. Amen.


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Where Your Treasure Is

Reading: Matthew 6:16-21

Matthew 16:21 – “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

As we continue in Matthew 6, Jesus’ focus is the same. Turning to the spiritual discipline of fasting, the advice is the same as it was concerning giving and prayer: don’t make it all about yourself. When you fast, don’t go mope and go around muttering about how hungry you are. Look and act like you normally do. The fast is meant to deepen your relationship with God. Accomplish this and you will have your reward.

Verses 19-21 summarize what Jesus has been talking about so far in chapter 6. Earthly treasures, in this text, is the recognition that we can receive when we practice “showy” religion. These earthly accolades will rust and fade. When we give or pray or fast to strengthen our relationship with and commitment to God, then we are building up an eternal “treasure.” The eventual outcome of a devout faith is eternity in God’s glory, light, love, and presence.

Our passage closes with these words: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If we are seeking to store up recognition or status or power here in earth, then that soon becomes our focus. We seek after the next human approval, the next pat on the back… If our relationship with God is our focus, then we store up hope, joy, peace, love, mercy, grace, encouragement… Doing so we increasingly experience heaven here on earth. It is a choice. As John Wesley once said, whichever we seek first and foremost we “will soon come to seek this only.”

Prayer: Lord God, pull our hearts towards you and the things your heart treasures. Guard our hearts from the temptations of the world. When we do lose our focus on you and lust after recognition or applause or power, whisper our name, call us back to your heart. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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Be Careful…

Matthew 6: 1-6

Matthew 6:1 – “Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention.”

Matthew 6 comes in the middle of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, his longest extended teaching in the gospels. This teaching begins with the Beatitudes, a “good news” list for those who are weak, overlooked… Jesus then encourages his followers to be salt and light – positive influences in the world. He then unpacks several laws, getting down to the heart of God found in each of these commands.

In today’s passage (and tomorrow’s) Jesus addresses “showy religion.” Jesus is speaking here primarily to the religious in the crowd..These words get down to the heart of God too. They speak to having a strong, personal relationship with God. Jesus contrasts this with a public, superficial, showy relationship with God. He begins with a bold statement: “Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention.” To these people, Jesus applies the term “hypocrites.”

Speaking to such as these, Jesus says, “don’t blow your trumpet” and don’t wait for a crowd to gather so that “people will see them.” These attention-drawing practices will be ignored by God. Instead, Jesus advises us to give and to pray “in secret.” God, who is everywhere, including in that “secret place,” will see your good works. That is all that really matters.

Should we then never pray in public? Should we never give in ways that others can see? If we are making it all about us, then, no, never. If we are humble and are bringing all the honor to God, then maybe.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to correctly discern how and when to give, pray, fast, serve, worship… There are times when communal or corporate or public giving, praying… is good and right and honoring and pleasing to you. But our humanity can easily cross the line. So Lord, check out pride, shine a light on our ego, keep our focus on you alone. Align our heart with your heart. Thank you. Amen.


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A Clean Heart, A Faithful Spirit

Reading: Psalm 51:1-17

Psalm 51:10 – “Create a clean heart for me, God; put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!”

Today’s Psalm is believed to be David’s response to Nathan confronting him about his great sins around Bathsheba. When he realized the depth of his sin, David became deeply remorseful. While adultery and murder are serious sins, we must keep in mind that any and all sin separates us from God. There are no levels or degrees of separation from God’s view.

David seeks God’s mercy and cleansing. Only God can offer these means of grace and newness. David longs to be made clean so that he can “hear joy and celebration again.” He wants to be restored. And he wants to be able to teach others – so they can return to God as well.

In the Psalm we see an acknowledgement of our human condition. David admits “my sin is always right in front of me.” Sin is ever knocking at the door of our heart. While our sins can certainly affect others, sin primarily affects our relationship with God. It is God alone that has the power to change our hearts and, in turn, to create the praise that comes from a heart tuned to God.

Because God desires truth and wisdom in “the most hidden places” (in our hearts,) David invites God to “create a clean heart for me, God; put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!” God alone empowers us in our battle with sin. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can our “broken spirit” become a “faithful spirit,” the sacrifice that God desires. Dying to our old self, breaking that worldly pull, we open ourselves to living as a child of the light. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, bring us again and again to the place where David is at in this Psalm. Bring us to the place of honesty with ourselves and with you, to the space where we can lay all of our sin before you, begging to be made new again. Walk forward from there with us, O God, encouraging and empowering us to be Spirit-filled creations, living joy, bringing you glory and praise. Amen.


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Not My Will

Reading: Luke 22:39-46

Luke 22:42 – “Not my will but your will must be done.”

We are on the verge of the season of Lent. The 40 days leading up to Easter begin this week with services on Ash Wednesday. The service focuses on our need to be reconciled to God. The ashes remind us of our mortality. They are imposed in the shape of a cross as a reminder of our commitment to Christ. The season of Lent is one of prayer and repentance, preparing ourselves for Easter.

Intentional preparation is part of our faith. We read, study, and meditate on scripture to prepare ourselves for our day to day living. We pray to prepare ourselves for a meeting, an event, a hard conversation. In our passage today Jesus did as he often did. He went to the garden to spend intentional time in prayer. He sought to prepare himself for what lay just ahead: arrest, trial, rejection, suffering…

Jesus invites the disciples to pray too. He knows that they will soon face testing. As Jesus prays he admits his own human struggle, asking God to “take this cup of suffering away.” The divine Jesus knows full well what’s about to befall the human Jesus. Recognizing the necessity of what is about to unfold, Jesus adds, “Not my will but your will must be done.” Strengthened, Jesus prays even more earnestly.

The disciples have fallen asleep, “overcome by grief.” The crowd is on the way to arrest Jesus. The disciples have not prepared themselves. One disciple will act impulsively. Then all of the disciples will flee the scene. Jesus will move forward, empowered by prayer. As we ready ourselves to enter this season of Lent, may we too be empowered by prayer, frequently praying, “Not my will…”

Prayer: Lord God, lead and guide us to be intentional as we enter this season of Lent. May it be a time of earnest prayer, committed study, honest introspection, and whole-hearted repentance. Day by day, may our walk with you prepare us to celebrate Easter resurrection. Amen.