pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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The Relationship

In Exodus 33 God decides to take a little break from the Israelites.  He tells Moses that an angel will accompany them instead.  But Moses does not like the plan.  Its kinda like having Michael Jordan on your team and him telling you he’s sending his four-year-old niece instead next game.

For Moses, it is about that personal relationship he has with God and also about the corporate relationship the people have with God.  The relationship is with God, not an angel.  To Moses, no substitute will do.  An angel instead?  No thanks.

Put in the same situation, we should react the same way.  Today we view God as three ‘parts’ of one person – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Our personal faith is tied to God.  This relationship is the one thing that determines how we live our life.  Jesus told us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Our faith grows as our relationships with God deepens and we in turn become a greater part of the community as well.

As a community of faith, we are also bound up in this same relationship.  How we live as a community of faith is determined by our relationship with God as well.  And in the community of faith we find support, encouragements, correction, and learning.   We honor Jesus’ second command most often as a community – to love neighbor as self.  As a body of believers we are intertwined and interconnected not only with each other, but also with the greater world outside our church walls.

Scripture reference: Exodus 33: 12-23


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Come Here!

Whenever we enter into a relationship, we assume the expectations and requirements of that particular relationship.  If it is a work relationship we know to show up on time, to work hard, to be productive.  If it is a marriage relationship we know we should love, honor, cherish, and serve our spouse.  If it is a friendship we know to be honest, supportive , encouraging, and so on.

When we choose to enter into discipleship and that covenant relationship with Jesus Christ, we go in knowing the expectations and requirements.  And like all relationships there is a growth component to our relationship with Christ.  And also like all relationships there are days and times when we stumble, when we fail.

Maybe at work we occasionally check our Facebook page.  Maybe at home we offer an unkind word.  Maybe we ignore a friend because we think our own situation deserves more attention.

Yet our relationship with Jesus is different than these others too.  At some point the boss, our spouse, or our friend may say they are done with us.  Christ never does.  Having walked this earth He knows our struggles.  His compassion and mercy never fail.  He is the one person who will never say “I am done with you”.  Each and every time we stumble and fail, when we get back up and look to Jesus, He says “Come here “.  Always.

Scripture reference: Matthew 22: 1-14


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Invited and Chosen

In Matthew 22 the king has some difficulty gathering some guests for his son’s wedding banquet.  He finally gathers up some folks off the street to fill the hall,  But he finds one guest without wedding clothes.  In the culture of the time, by wearing a wedding robe you were agreeing to the responsibilities to uphold and care for the new couple.  So the guest that is saying ‘no’ is bound up and cast out into the darkness.

When we take on the mantle of ‘Christian’ we too are, in essence, agreeing to some things.  First, we are agreeing to uphold the teachings of Jesus.  The two primary ones are to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength and the second is to love neighbor as self.  On a personal level w are committing to a growing relationship with Christ.  We cultivate and grow our relationship with Jesus through prayer, study of His word, worship, and so on.

But, sadly, Jesus’ words at the end of the parable will apply to some sitting in the pews on Sunday – “For many are invited, but few are chosen”.  May we each live beyond ‘invited’.  May we live as the chosen.

Scripture reference: Matthew 22: 1-14


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Focus in on God and Good

Paul encourages us to stand firm in the Lord and to rejoice in the Lord.  He directs us to go to God with our prayers and petitions.  This brings the peace of God upon us.  Paul also reminds us to do our part – to think about what is true, noble, right, pure, admirable, and praiseworthy.  Simply put, he calls us to focus in on the good.

How we look at the world really affects how we live our life.  For example, if one spends a lot of time complaining, then life is generally unhappy and what they focus on is dominated by bad thoughts.  Loving God and neighbor is a difficult task when all are against you.  On the other hand, when one focused on God and all the good in the world, then life is generally happy and content.  “Life” still happens but the issues and situations carry less weight because God carries the bulk when we focus on Him.

Also, as we fill our minds with what is true, noble, right, … then there is less time for evil or impure thoughts.  As we focus in on the good and God, then He guards our hearts and minds so that our energy and efforts dwell on God and His plans for us in the world.  And the God of peace will be with us.

Scripture reference: Philippians 4: 1-9


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Home Again

It is a little amusing how God and Moses play the game we play as parents.  Sometimes, when a child does something especially good (or wrong), we often recognize them as MY son or daughter (or as YOUR son or daughter when it is something wrong).  In Exodus 32, the Israelites are Moses’ children because they have sinned and created an idol.  God is intent on destroying them.  It is easier when they are someone else’s children!

But Moses draws God back, reminds Him that they are His children.  He connects them to God through Abraham, Isaac, and Israel and the promises and covenant made with them.  And God remembers, softens, and relents.

Do you think God and Jesus do this with us?  When we sin or create distance between God and ourselves, does God look toward Jesus and say, “Look what you brother/sister is doing”?  When we repent and draw near to God again, does Jesus look to God and point out what good children God has?  In reality they are like good parents – sad when we do wrong and proud when we do right.  Like good parents, they love us unfailingly through it all, always pleased when we return home again.

Scripture reference: Exodus 32: 7-14


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Mercy’s Promise

God promises to always be with us, to never leave us.  Yet at times we can question this as we feel all alone and seem to have lost touch with our creator.  But we must remember His promise as it is always us that creates the separation or the distance.

It can happen in big things and in little things.  In Exodus 32 Moses has been gone up the mountain just long enough for Aaron and the people to start worrying.  Moses is their connection to God.  The solution?  Gather up all the gold and make a new god to worship and be led by.  Seems crazy now but at the time I’m sure it make perfect sense.

It can happen in our lives too.  We can easily allow ourselves to be drawn into conversations and activities that have God nowhere in sight.  When we suddenly realize where we’ve wandered to we ask, “How’d we get here?!”  Thankfully we serve a merciful God.  He says, “Yup, I’m still here” and “Welcome back my child”.  And just like that we are back in a right relationship with our creator.  Praise be to God!!

Scripture reference: Exodus 32: 1-6


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Open and Willing

Ah, Monday morning.  Welcome to the new week!  Some people face Monday full of expectation, hope, and wonder at what God has in store for them in the week ahead.  The rest of the people… well, they should wish for the same thing.

For most of us, our week ahead will be much like last week in the sense that our ‘job’ is probably the same.  The structure of our week and the tasks ahead remain mostly the same, but the details and the interactions will be a little different.  For most of us, it is in the small things that we encounter God and the possibilities He lays before us in the coming week.

In Psalm 106 we read, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever.”  We worship and know a mighty God.  He has big plans for us this week.  Who in your day today or in the week ahead can you share this wonderful truth with?  May our eyes be open and our hearts willing to meet God when and where He provides those opportunities in the day and days ahead.

Scripture reference: Psalm 106: 1-6

 


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Day by Day

Have you ever faced a task that seemed monumental or so large that you didn’t even  know where to begin?  Maybe it was a huge pile of dirt or rock or wood that needed to be moved.  Maybe it was 30 years worth of pictures that needed sorting and organizing.  Sometimes it is hard to get started and sometimes we even want to give up in the middle.  Yet when we step back and look, we can see that the pile is smaller or that things are starting to take shape.

In our faith journey, that perfection in Christ that we are called to can seem monumental or huge.  At times we feel lost in the race, unsure of our footing, not quite able to see around the next curve.  Sometimes we feel that there are more questions than answers.  But we do not lose hope.

Paul knew the goal and the call of God heavenward through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Paul also knew the journey was made day by day, step by step.  Our journey is the same – day by day and step by step.  On this journey too, we can step back and see progress and growth.  In this we find the encouragement to continue to fight the good fight, to pursue the prize of our own call heavenward.  And day by day we draw ever nearer.

Scripture reference: Philippians 3: 12-14


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Life is a Choice

Right up to today we each have a story of our life.  For some, Christ has been a part of the story for as long as they can remember.  For other, Jesus entered their story at some later point.  Our story has been shaped by our family, friends, and the events of our lifetimes.

Each day we continue to be shaped and influenced as we ‘write’ the story of our lives.  We have, to a large degree, some choice about how it is written.  If we make or continue to make the choice to include Christ, then He will shape and influence the story of our lives.

Jesus is a choice. If we choose to be in the Word, to spend time in prayer, to worship regularly… then Jesus will be a large part of our story.  But if we choose to allow the world to influence and shape our story, then it will read much differently.  Life is always a choice.

Joshua 24: 15b reads, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Scripture reference: Philippians 3: 4b-11


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Pleasing the Owner

In the parable of the tenants (Matthew 21) the bad tenants reject those sent by the owner.  At first they reject the servants and then they reject the heir, the owner’s son.  Some they beat and abuse, others they kill.  They kill the son for his inheritance, thinking then they will own the vineyard.

On the hidden level the scribes and Pharisees are the bad tenants.  They have ignored and beaten and even killed some of the prophets that God has sent.  They now are choosing to reject the heir, God’s own son.  They will even go so far as to kill the heir because he threatens what they have.  They rejected the cornerstone.

Jesus is still the firm foundation upon which we are called to build the church and to build our own faith.  Although much of the time we ‘get it’, sometimes we don’t.  Our churches can creep into country club territory, where the walls become the vineyard walls. We don’t like anyone that is not ‘us’ to come inside.  We just want to exist for each other and to be comfortable in our exclusive, private Sunday worship.  But I fear that if this is the norm, the stone will fall and crush us too.

Jesus calls us to leave our walls and share the fruit of the vine with others.  We are to share Christ’s good news with others and to invite others inside the walls, into the community of faith.  As we share our fruit, the gifts and talents that each of us have, the kingdom grows.  The walls are spread wider as more are welcomed into the kingdom of God.  Then the owner is pleased because we are learning to act like the heir, His Son.

Scripture reference: Matthew 21: 33-46