pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Invitation to Love

Reading: Luke 19:1-6

Verse 5: “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

Today and tomorrow we look at the story of Zacchaeus. This is a very familiar story. It even has its own song! In the story, Jesus is passing through Jericho, Zacchaeus’ home town. But it is not like home. Zacchaeus is a tax collector. He is in partnership with the Romans. The heavy taxes that they demand are collected by people like Zacchaeus. And a perk of the job was the power to collect a little extra for oneself. This double strike against him is what led Zacchaeus to climb the tree. Besides being short, being in a crowd might not have been good for him. Tax collectors were that hated.

As Jesus comes along, he paused at the tree. He looks up and calls Zacchaeus by name. To one who was probably disliked by even his own family, Jesus says, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” The one who was hated and despised by many is loved by Jesus. Isn’t that just like Jesus? It was the same with all from the margins – the woman at the well, the lepers, the one caught in adultery, the demon-possessed. If this is Jesus’ way of being in the world, shouldn’t we too model this kind of behavior?

To that point, who do you know that is out on a limb, that is down in the gutter, that is struggling with poverty, or that is otherwise existing on the fringes of society? And more importantly, how will you invite them into your love and into Jesus’ love?

Prayer: Lord, who is it that you want me to see today as I pass by? Open my eyes and my heart today to really see, to really love. Use me today to show someone that they too are loved. Amen.


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Glorified

Reading: 2nd Thessalonians 1:1-4 and 11-12

Verse 11: “We constantly pray for you… so that by God’s power God may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.”

Photo credit: Uta Scholl

In our Epistle reading Paul expresses his gratitude for the faith shown by the church in Thessalonica. He gives thanks for their growing faith and for the love that they show for one another. Paul even adds that he boasts about their steadfast faith in the midst of trial and suffering. It is easy to have faith when life is great. Paul recognizes and gives thanks for their faith when things are hard. I can praise God on good days and question or doubt God when bad things happen. To have the constant and steady faith that Paul sees the today’s text remains a goal for me and maybe for you too.

In the second part of today’s passage Paul offer up this prayer: “We constantly pray for you… so that by God’s power God may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.” The prayers are constant because the battle is ever present. There are ample opportunities to choose ease over discomfort, status quo over change, power over service. The world works to hard wire us to think of self first. So we need the presence and strength of God to live faithfully each day. We need help to fulfill the “good purposes” that God has for us. We need encouragement from the Holy Spirit to respond in faith each time we are prompted or nudged to act or speak on behalf of another. To stand against an injustice, to step into the gap to prevent abuse, to act and speak against racism, prejudice, sexism, inequality… – all of these place us face to face with those who have power and authority and privilege. To do these things, to walk this walk, it is to follow Christ.

Paul ends today’s passage with the “why” of his prayers: “So that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified.” As the Spirit stirs and as our faith leads, may we speak and act in ways that glorify the Lord.

Prayer: Lord God, in those moments when I teeter, when I’m tempted to be quiet or to try to preserve self, inspire me to speak or act in ways that elevate the powerless, the marginalized, the weak. Fill me with your power and presence, shining a light to the love and grace and glory of your son. Amen.


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Here Am I

Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

Verse 8: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?'”

Photo credit: Daniel Hooper

Imagine being in Isaiah’s place as chapter 6 opens! He has a vision or experience of heaven. He sees God on the throne, “high and exalted.” There are magnificent creatures, called “seraphs,” hovering above the throne. These beings with 6 wings sang in powerful voices, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is filled with God’s glory.” Their song shakes the doorposts and thresholds of heaven. What an amazing and powerful experience!

Suddenly, right in the middle of this splendor and might, Isaiah has a realization. He does not really “fit” in this perfect place. Discomfort riding, he blurts out, “Woe is me! I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips.” Have you ever felt really out of place before? As the realization sunk in perhaps you too thought, “Oh no…” Isaiah also extends this thought to the people that God has sent him to. They are “a people of unclean lips.” Double trouble!

Yet God, our God of compassion and mercy and grace, recognizes Isaiah’s distress. One of the seraphs takes a live coal and touches Isaiah’s lips – those unclean lips – and says, “Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” He is made right, able to stand holy and pure before God in that moment. It is like the moment when we’ve confessed and repented and take in the juice and the bread. Then too we stand for a moment perfect in God’s site.

Into this moment God asks, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” God needs a servant. God needs someone to minister to these people of unclean lips. This same needs exists today. Isaiah responds to God’s plea, saying, “Here am I. Send me.” May our response be the same.

Prayer: Lord God, use me today to draw someone closer to you. By the power of the Holy Spirit living in me, send me to the one in need. There, give me the words that they need to hear. Amen.


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From This Place

Reading: Psalm 119:137-144

Verse 142: “Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.”

Photo credit: Aaron Burden

This week’s Psalm reading is a small piece of Psalm 119, the longest of all the Psalms. This Psalm is an acrostic – each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet is the anchor to each stanza. Today’s letter is “tsadhe.” The letter forms the shape of a fish hook and is a combination of 3 other letters in the alphabet. Translated it means “righteous person.” That is the focus of today’s passage.

The psalmist begins by first acknowledging God’s righteousness. Both God and God’s laws are “trustworthy” and are “thoroughly tested.” The psalmist loves both God and the law. But not everyone does. In verses 139, 141, and 143 we see that some “ignore your words,” others treat the psalmist as “lowly and despised,” and still others bring “trouble and distress” upon the author. Not everyone is eager to receive God’s word. Sharing it, at times, brings persecution and hardship to our lives. Yet God remains righteous and faithful. Our call continues to be to share the good news with others.

Because of the psalmist’s long walk with God, he or she knows that God is always faithful and righteous. We too must walk with God, slowly and steadily and consistently, to come to this same place of faith and love. The way and will of God must grow to become who we are in body, mind, soul, and strength. There we too will declare, “Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.” It is from this place that we too will seek to teach others of God’s love, faithfulness, and righteousness. May it become so for you and for me as we continue to walk daily with the Lord our God.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the journey so far. I beg that you continue to lead and guide my life and my ways, becoming daily more of who and what I am. As you fill my all, may it overflow into others’ lives. Amen.


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What We Can

Reading: Habakkuk 2:1-4

Verse 1: “I will stand at my watch… I will look to see what God will say to me.”

Photo credit: Tyler Milligan

Moving into chapter 2 of Habakkuk the prophet has registered his complaint with God: there is much evil in the world and it is destroying the nation. Before pressing on, let us admit that this is a 2,600-year-old complaint that remains relevant today. Habakkuk wants to know what God is going to do about it.

Habakkuk does not ask God like we ask God with most of our prayers and petitions. He doesn’t pray about this and then forget about it until the next time his morning or evening prayer time rolls around. No, he declares, “I will stand at my watch.” Habakkuk will wait faithfully upon the Lord. He will take up his post on the ramparts and will wait patiently for God to answer. In faith and hope and trust he states, “I will look to see what God will say to me.” He is sure that God will answer his complaint.

And God does answer. God says, “Though it linger, wait for him.” It will not be a short wait. But hold onto your faith and hope and trust. Wait patiently. For Habakkuk and his generation, it will be a 600 year wait for the Messiah to come. For those of us reading this response post-resurrection, the wait is almost 2,000 years and counting. We await Christ’s second coming.

The evils that drew Habakkuk’s complaint remain present today. Personifying evil, God says, “See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright.” Even so, God says to wait, to be patient, to keep the faith. Calling for our trust, God says, “The righteous will live faithfully.” Doing what we can to resist evil, to fight for justice, to do good in the world, may we live faithfully day by day, shining light into the darkness of the world.

Prayer: Lord God, while evil abounds in this world, your love is greater. While evil plots destruction and ruin, your love and grace triumphs in good. Use me day by day to bring light into the darkness, offering the healing and wholeness that Jesus brings to those who are lost and hurting and broken. May it be so today and every day. Amen.


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Cry Out, Trust, Act

Reading: Habakkuk 1:1-4

Verse 3: “Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?”

Photo credit: Mukund Nair

We begin the week with the prophet Habakkuk. He wrote in about 600 BC, in the years just after the Babylonians destroyed Israel and took many away into exile. The leaders of Israel had wandered from God, taking the people with them. Living in sin and ignoring God’s laws had a devastating impact. It led to a time of great suffering – both for those led away and for the remnant left behind. Most of the people were adrift and disconnected from God. It is into this situation that Habakkuk asks God, “How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?” How long God must I ask for help turning these lost souls back to you? This is a great question we too ask when we look at our world today.

In verse 3 the prophet laments, asking, “Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?” This is an extension of the ‘how long?’ question. Habakkuk asks God how long must they suffer. How long must we pay the price for our sin? These are questions that reveal deep faith in God. They are in the situation they are in because God is just. The prophet questions and cries out as a witness to his faith. Habakkuk seeks God because he believes that only God can move the people from faithless to faithful. The prophet knows that God alone has the power to save them.

As we look at our world today we can identify areas of injustice and of suffering. We too can cry out to God, asking ‘how long?’ As we cry out to God, may we, like Habakkuk, do so trusting that God is mighty and powerful and just. In faith may we trust in God’s good purposes. And, like the prophet, may we too come to see that God has a role for us to play in bringing healing and wholeness to the pain and brokenness of our world.

Prayer: Lord God, open my eyes to see the places in need of your love and healing. Fill my heart with compassion and empathy. And then move me to action, to a part to play in helping others to experience your power to save and to restore and to redeem. Amen.


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Live Humbly

Reading: Luke 18:13-14

Verse 13: “But the tax collector stood at a distance… beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'”

Today we focus on the second of the two men who “went up to the temple to pray.” In the opening verse we read that the tax collector “stood at a distance” and that he “would not even look up to heaven.” We learn also that he “beat his breast.” All of these are signs of one who knows that he needs God. He is one who is humble before the Lord God. The tax collector recognizes that he is far short of the glory of God. He enters the temple knowing that God can grant him mercy, but not quite sure that God will.

Have you ever come before God in this way? At times I’ve known in my head that God is love and mercy, grace and forgiveness. But, because of what I’ve done or failed to do, in my heart I’ve wondered if God can forgive even this. Maybe this is what it is for the tax collector or maybe it has been a long time since he has come to God. Whatever the case, he cries out to God: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” What a humble and sincere heart.

The parable finishes with these words from Jesus: “I tell you that this man went home justified before God.” The tax collector was made right by God through his honest and humble confession. Continuing Jesus drives home his point to those who were “confident in their own righteousness” saying, “For everyone who exalts themselves will be humbled, but they who humble themselves will be exalted.” May we come humbly before God and may we live humbly with all of our neighbors.

Prayer: Lord God, have mercy on me too, a sinner. Restore me to wholeness once again. Lead and guide me to think less of self so that I can love you and neighbor more and more. Amen.


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Heed the Warning

Reading: Luke 18:9-12

Verse 11: “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself.”

Today we will look at the first part of Luke’s telling of Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector. Let us begin with the audience. Luke shares that Jesus tells this story to those who were “confident in their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else.” Jesus is not talking with some Pharisees or other religious leaders here. He is talking to a group of his followers. This tendency towards feeling superior and towards judging others remains strong today. These words very much apply to our lives, to our churches, to our world.

As Jesus begins we learn that two men go to the temple to pray. Going to pray – an personal and private time with God. Prayer is a good thing – like going to church or serving on a mission project. Two men go to pray. One is a Pharisee and one is a tax collector. Jesus is intentional with these characters. These two men represent the opposite ends of the spectrum. One was highly respected. One was deeply despised. In Jesus’ day these men were seen as the most and least connected to God and to faith.

In the parable Jesus offers the Pharisee’s prayer first. He begins by standing up, praying aloud to be heard. It is not a conversation between him and God. He first thanks God that he “is not like other men” and then goes on to name them. They are the bottom rung, the lowest of low. He gestures over and adds the tax collector to the list. The Pharisee clearly thinks that he is on the top rung. As proof he shares that he fasts twice a week and that he tithes. Like prayer, these two spiritual disciplines are good things. They are practices that express our gratitude to God. But, like almost all things, these too can be twisted and turned, used for personal glory instead of to bring God the glory.

For the Pharisee, it is all about him and how holy and righteous he is. In his life and in his prayer, there is no humility, no compassion or kindness, no faith that moves a heart closer to God. We can fall into thinking we’re high and mighty. So may we heed Jesus’ warning today. When we are tempted to compare ourselves to others, when we are tempted to think about how religious we are, may this Pharisee remind us of the dangers of elevating self over others and over our relationship with God.

Prayer: Lord God, is it so easy to slip into feeling superior, judgy, critical. When self and ego rise up, draw me back down. Knock me down if necessary! Focus me back to the call to love as you first loved us. Amen.


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Faithfulness

Reading: 2nd Timothy 4:16-18

Verse 17: “The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the gospel might be fully proclaimed.”

Photo credit: Jean Wimnerlin

As we join Paul again today in 2nd Timothy 4, this section begins with a story of abandonment. Much as it was with Jesus when he stood before Pilate, no one is there to support Paul. In the verses between yesterday’s and today’s passages, Paul comments on those who have abandoned him and he asks Timothy to come visit. Paul, like all of us, values company and support in difficult times. Graciously, Paul asks that the fear that held them away not be held against them.

In the next verse, Paul boldly identifies who was present, who strengthened and supported him as he stood before the emperor. In verse 17 we read, “The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the gospel might be fully proclaimed.” Paul felt Jesus right there by his side. He drew on a strength that was not his own. Now, standing before the emperor – one who was well known for his violent responses to any and all who opposed him – Paul could have quietly offered “yes sir” and “no sir” responses. Not Paul. We read that he fully proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ right then and there. And instead of being whisked away for a quick and sudden death, he was “rescued from the lion’s mouth.” Paul survived to preach another sermon, to live another day.

This boosts Paul’s faith and his trust in the Lord. This is what allows him to write with confidence that “the Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.” What a great example of both God’s faithfulness and of Paul’s faith that trusts fully in the Lord! May we strive to live out such trust and faith this day and every day.

Prayer: Lord God, when I find myself in unfavorable times and places, may my faith not waiver. May I be as bold and courageous as Paul, trusting fully in you and standing surely on my faith. Bring me too through the trials. Amen.


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In Store

Reading: 2nd Timothy 4:6-8

Verse 8: “There is in store for me the crown of righteousness.”

Today and tomorrow we look at the closing of Paul’s letters to Timothy. These are words Paul writes as he prepares himself to face death. Verses 6-8 are deeply personal. Paul shares them with Timothy as words of encouragement and hope. We are blessed to have these words shared with us too.

Verse 6 acknowledges a reality that we all face. The “time for our departure” will come. Currently this is true for 100% of us. Paul, reflecting back on his life, writes, “As for me, I am being poured out like a drink offering.” Other translations read, “as a libation.” Here Paul is connecting back to his Jewish roots. A drink offering or libation was a liquid offering added to a grain or animal sacrifice. It enhanced the gift. Paul is connecting the sacrifice he has made and is about to make to the sacrifice Jesus gave for you and me and for all of humanity.

In verse 7 we find words of great faith. They are words any of us would be pleased to hear at our funeral. There is no hint of pride or bragging in Paul’s words. They are an honest assessment and they are great words of inspiration and encouragement. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” A life well-lived is rooted in the faith. It is a great testimony and witness that we can all claim and live out as our own.

Moving to the last verse for today, we read, “There is in store for me the crown of righteousness.” Because of verse 7, Paul can write these words with absolute assurance. Oh to have such rock solid faith! With confidence Paul looks forward to the day when Christ Jesus will crown him in glory. And then Paul closes this thought with great hope for you and for me: “not only me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” Paul writes not only to Timothy but to you and me too. The crown is in store. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, as I journey, help me, strengthen me, encourage me, guide me. Empower me to fight the good fight of faith each day. Enable me to finish the race you’ve planned out for me. Walk daily with me, Lord Jesus, helping me to keep the faith. And one day welcome me into your eternal glory. May it be so in and through Jesus Christ. Amen.