pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!


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Holy Spirit, Lead Me

Reading: John 3: 1-15

Verse Five: “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of the water and the Spirit'”.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. Coming to see Jesus is a dangerous move that involves risk for Nicodemus. The Pharisees are the religious leaders and often do not see eye to eye with Jesus. In John 2, Jesus has just cleared the temple, telling the leaders that they have made it into “a market”. Yet Nicodemus comes to Jesus. He has seen Jesus’ works, the miracles, and knows He is from God. Jesus gives Nicodemus an answer even though he does not ask a question. Jesus says, “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again'”.

Nicodemus is, of course, confused. You and I would be too. He has come to Jesus with some purpose – surely with some questions or a need. This may have eventually led back around to the topic Jesus brings up, but certainly not this directly. Jesus cuts to it straight away and begins to share about what is ultimately important: eternal life. But for now, Nicodemus is earthly and practical. It also demonstrates how far apart in the conversation these two are. Jesus goes on to explain, saying more fully, “born of the water and the Spirit”. Jesus then gives an analogy of how the wind blows “wherever it pleases”. He concludes with, “So it is with everyone born of the Spirit”.

Nicodemus does not really understand this either. He comes from a place of religion where it is all about following the Law. Being faithful for him is accomplished by following the rules. They are clear and defined. This idea of being born of the Spirit and being led here and there, almost at random, is a foreign concept to Nicodemus. To consider it and to begin to live it out would have been a scary thought for Nicodemus. It is for us.

To sincerely pray, “God use me today…” is placing our faith and trust fully in God. To be open to and to be willing to be led by the Holy Spirit wherever it may lead takes surrender of self. This is what it means to be “born again” – it requires that we are willing to die to self and to be made into a new self that lives by faith, loving God and neighbor more than self.

Lord God, use me today. Use me for thy purposes and for your work in this world. Holy Spirit, lead and guide me today. Amen.


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Ever Abiding Presence

Reading: Romans 8: 15-17

Verse Sixteen: “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God”.

One thing that life surely brings is change. Some if it is welcomed and looked forward to and some change is unwanted and brings feelings of anxiety or fear. Some change we bring upon ourselves and other change happens outside of our control. Change can be good or bad, depending on the circumstances or our place in life. For example, a job change can be from a promotion or because a great new opportunity presented itself. Or it can be because of a layoff or termination or because the company was forced to go out of business.

Amidst the change that is sure to come in life, we need a foundation that is solid and unchanging. That foundation is our faith. Our relationship with our Savior gives us a peace in this life and a hope and promise for the life to come. Faith brings contentment in the day to day life and strength in the storms of life and a blessed assurance in the trials. All of this comes through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Paul reminds us that through Jesus we do “not receive a spirit that makes us a slave to fear”. Instead we are made God’s children. Verse sixteen reads, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God”. Not only does the Spirit testify but we do too – in our core we sense that we belong to God’s family too.

Since we belong we are “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ”. Yes, we will share in His sufferings. That is a good thing. We are blessed when we are willing to sacrifice for others, when we are willing to play others and their needs ahead of our own. Because we are heirs we also have a future promise. One day we will share in His glory. One day we will see Him face to face and we will walk forever in His light and love. It will be glorious indeed.

Amidst the change that life brings and amidst the trials and sufferings that also come with life we have the ever abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Thank you God for this blessed gift.


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Walk the Path in Trust

Reading: Romans 8: 12-14

Verse Fourteen: “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons [and daughters] of God”.

Paul writes of the choice we have in life: follow the sinful nature and die or follow the Spirit of God and live. It sounds simple. It sounds black and white. It sounds like either/or. In reality, it is difficult, it is grey, it is both/and. This battle of good and evil is a perpetual battle. But take hope, Jesus has overcome the world.

If you were to find the straighest, longest road in your town or city and were to attempt to drive right down the middle, you would ultimately fail. You see the path before you and you may begin exactly in the middle, but soon enough you steer a little to the left and a bit later a little to the right. You might even cross over the line on the side and hit those little vrrp-vrrp strips that remind you that you are drifting.

Such is our walk of faith. We can see the path set out before us by Jesus. We can see that the way is hard and narrow. Our intent is to fully walk right down the middle – right in Jesus’ footsteps. But at times we find His stride outpaces ours or that His footprints are just too big for us in that moment. Other times we are looking around and our focus drifts to other things. We look back to the narrow way and it is over there. Whether we fall behind or can’t quite bring ourselves to what the Spirit is calling us to or whether we get off track, when we look back to the path there is Jesus, holding out His hand, beckoning us back.

If you are seeking the path, Jesus calls out, saying, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden”. If you are trying to walk the path, but the road is hard, take hope. You do not walk alone, trust in the Holy Spirit. From experience, it does get easier but it never becomess easy. But with God all things are possible. Trust in the Lord, seek to walk in His ways, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead. You will come to walk in God’s love and grace and peace. May it be so today. Amen.


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Worship

Reading: Psalm 29

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

Psalm 29 evokes images we read about in Isaiah 6 – the power and splendor and Majesty of God. God’s voice is central to this Psalm. By telling of the ways God uses His voice seven times the psalmist is evoking thoughts of wholeness and perfection. The use of seven also implies that God is in total and complete control of the earth and all that is in and on it.

It is within this all-encompassing power of God that we live our day to day lives in this earth. For me this brings emotions of attraction and awe to our God. In a way it reminds me of the power one can feel in a good thunder storm. I like to sit outside as the big storms draw near – seeing the bright lightning flashing and hearing and feeling the powerful rolls of thunder. It connects me to God.

The Psalm closes with a picture of God enthroned. God sits on the throne as king forever. This evokes ideas of worship in me. Imagining this scene, I am led to visualize bowing low before the throne, bringing my praise and adoration to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I too want to shout, “Glory”!

The psalmist closes with this line: “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace”. It is a great reminder. As all-powerful and almighty as our God is, He still desires to be in an intimate and personal relationship with each of us. It is through this relationship that God blesses us. The God of all is also my God and your God. Amazing. Praise be to God!


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Here I Am

Reading: Isaiah 6: 1-8

Verse Eight: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us’? And I said, ‘Here I am. Send me’!”

Isaiah is blessed by his vision of God on the throne. It is an awesome sight to behold. Yet he is also reminded of his own life and that it falls short of the glory of God. He knows he is unclean. As soon as he utters this confession, one of the seraphs takes a coal from the altar. It is brought to Isaiah and the coal is put to his lips. As this is done, the seraph says, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for”. Isaiah is made pure and holy once again in God’s sight.

For Christians today, we have a similar experience. In the house of the Lord, we sense God’s glory as His presence is with us in worship. As we approach the altar, we confess that we too are unclean, living with sin in our lives. Just as the coal is brought to Isaiah, the fruit of the vine and the bread is brought to us. When we take the elements that represent Christ’s atoning sacrifice upon our lips, our guilt is removed and our sins are no more. They have been atoned for by Jesus. Through the sacrament of communion we are each made holy and perfect in God’s sight.

Once Isaiah is made clean, he hears God asking, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us”? in response, Isaiah says, “Here I am. Send me’!”. Isaiah has been blessed and cleansed by God and now he is prepared to go out to serve the Lord as one sent by God. Today we receive the same call. This very day may we each respond as Isaiah did, saying, “Here I am. Send me!”


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Come into Grace

Reading: Isaiah 6: 1-8

Verse Five: “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips”.

In our passage today Isaiah finds himself in the presence of the Lord. He sees God seated in the throne, high and exalted. Around the throne are beautiful and powerful seraphs – six-winged angels. These angelic creatures are singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty”. In the Bible things are repeated three times to show importance and for emphasis. Much as it would probably be for you or I, Isaiah is taken aback by the scene and where he finds himself.

In this passage Isaiah reminds me of the tax collector we find in Luke 18. This man stands off in the corner of the temple and will not even look towards heaven. He beats his chest and confesses to God, begging, “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner”. He senses his unworthiness in God’s presence. Isaiah comes to a similar realization, saying, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips”. Standing in the presence of the holy, holy, holy God, Isaiah feels his sin.

We all feel this way at points in our lives. Sin wins the day and we feel unworthy of being in God’s presence. We think our sin too great to be forgiven, never mind even bringing it into God’s presence. We may even feel like we need to sit in this place of guilt and shame for a period of time. Even though a part of us knows that God loves us, we feel like we must remain a bit distant. Like the tax collector standing in the corner and like Isaiah declaring “Woe to me!”, we hover on the edge of our relationship with God – not quite good enough to stand before God.

Some find this barrier at the foot of the cross or at the communion table, the places of grace. They see the sacrifice of Hesus or the cup and bread on the table and they may even hear the words of grace and love, but cannot quite approach. Maybe this is in a place of worship, maybe this is in their minds. God says the same to one and all: “Come, come to me. Find grace and love”. If you feel stuck in your sin or in the guilt and shame of sins past, know that you are invited to come into God’s grace and love. Know that you are loved and welcome.


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Pentecost People

Reading: Acts 2: 1-11

Verse Four: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit enabled them”.

The holy day of Pentecost has gathered Jews from all over the known world into Jerusalem. Jerusalem is also home to the newly formed church that follows Jesus. God uses a very loud sound, something that sounded “like the blowing of a violent wind”, to bring these God-fearing Jews and Jesus-loving Christians together in one place.

As the Jews hear the sound, they are drawn to find the source of this strange phenomenon. At the same time, the Christians are anointed with what appears to be “tongues of fire” that come to rest on each of them. The fire represents the Holy Spirit. It is a physical sign of a spiritual gift. The Holy Spirit is the gift that Jesus promised in Acts One. With the promise of the gift came a responsibility: “you will be my witnesses”. As the crowd of Jews arrives, the believers “began to speak in tongues as the Spirit enabled them”. The believers are witnessing to their faith in the languages of the crowd that is now arriving. People from all over the world hear the good news of Jesus Christ in their native tongues. They were “utterly amazed”.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we too have been blessed with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and have received the same charge to be witnesses. The same power that the original Pentecost believers had is also in us. The Holy Spirit will help us to speak to the non-believers that are all around us as well. If we are willing to allow the Spirit to be at work in our lives, to lead and guide us, we too will have opportunity to witness to those who do not know Jesus Christ. We may not speak in exotic or foreign languages, but the Holy Spirit will enable us, giving us the words of life that a non-believer needs to hear to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This action of the Holy Spirit is just as amazing as the work done that first Pentecost long ago.

To this day we remain Pentecost people. We are people filled with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. May we faithfully use the gift that God has given each of us to speak words of love and words of hope to our world in need. Holy Spirit, lead us each and every day. Amen.


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Creation

Reading: Psalm 104: 24-34 & 35b

Verse 24: “How many are your works, O Lord! In your wisdom you made them all”.

Here in south central South Dakota it looks a little gloomy this morning. It is overcast and breezy and a little cool. Outside my window I can hear the chorus of many birds filling the morning air. Along the front and side of the house flowers are blooming, bursting forth with color. The leaves on the trees are vibrant colors of green and the lush grass sways rhythmically in the gentle breeze. The world outside testifies to today’s opening verse: “How many are your works, O Lord! In your wisdom you made them all”. Thanks be to God!

If one steps outside my little corner of the world, the diversity of God’s creation grows exponentially. God’s creativity and wisdom brought us thousands of kinds of birds and thousands of kinds of fish and animals and trees and crops and flowers and… and… and… God designed a world that nourishes itself with rains and floods and cleanses itself with fires. He created the seasons not just to bring us variety but also to guide patterns of life. Our world is really an amazing place, all under God’s loving care. As verse 30 says, “You send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth”.

As creatures if this creation, as stewards, we play a role in helping to love our earth and all its creatures. Verse 31 reads, “May the glory of the Lord endure forever”. May it indeed! To this end, may we each play our role well, caring for all that God has blessed us with this day. May our praises to God give thanks for this gift of life all around us and may we rejoice in God’s creation today!


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Spirit Led

Reading: John 16: 26-27

Verse 26: “When the Counselor comes… the Spirit of truth… He will testify about me”.

Jesus’ departure from life on earth brought down the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, to dwell in all believers. His physical presence was replaced by the spiritual presence. Instead of one man teaching and leading, now the Holy Spirit dwells simultaneously in millions and millions of Christians.

Verse 26 tells us, “When the Counselor comes… the Spirit of truth… He will testify about me”. This is a key role that the Holy Spirit plays in each of our faith journeys. Over and over and over the Spirit reminds us or testifies about who and what Jesus was and is and about the ways we can help others to know Jesus. Not all people could hear and accept Jesus’ teachings then and some struggle today. At times we also struggle to follow the testimony of the Holy Spirit. On occasion we will miss an opportunity to share Jesus or we will refuse to listen or to follow the guide of the Holy Spirit.

While verse 26 contains an essential of the Christian faith, verse 27 contains an equally important practice of the faith. Verse 27 begins with, “and you also must testify”. We too must testify about Jesus Christ. We do this in many ways. Some are easier and some are harder. Our most basic testimony is the way we live our lives. The words we speak, the way we conduct ourselves, the way we treat others – these all are testimonies. We also offer testimony in the ways we serve and give of ourselves – in our families, in our churches, in our neighborhoods, in the community. Generally all of this is done in love and as a witness to Jesus’ love. Sometimes we must also engage the “truth” and while hard words can be difficult to speak, at times they too are a part of our testimony.

The Holy Spirit will always testify to Jesus and will always lead and guide us to the truth we find in Jesus and in our faith in Him. May we have open ears, willing hearts, and obedient hands today and every day. Amen.


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Wait Patiently

Reading: Romans 8: 22-27

Verse 25: “If we hope for that we do not yet know, we wait for it patiently”.

Paul writes in today’s passage of the anticipation of things to come. He writes of creation itself “groaning in the pains of childbirth”. Paul is not writing of the physical pain that comes with childbirth but of groaning in anticipation of the new life that is to be born. Creation will one day be restored too.

Paul goes on to write of our “groaning inwardly”. We too wait eagerly for our time of “adoption as sons” when we will experience the “redemption of our bodies”. Whether we meet Jesus in heaven or when He returns, it will be a glorious meeting. While no one wants to die today, there is an eagerness and a longing for being with Jesus in paradise.

In the meantime we live as His children here on this earth. In our day to day lives we seek to love as Jesus loved and to help others know a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We want others to know the hope we have. It is a hope not yet realized, for we are still in these earthly bodies, yet it is a hope we eagerly await. Paul writes, “If we hope for that we do not yet know, we wait for it patiently”. We wait patiently because we trust in God’s plans for us and for the world and because we have souls to help save in the here and now.

As we wait patiently for our gathering together with Jesus we faithfully live lives that actively lead others to Jesus, the hope of the world. We try and plant seeds of faith in others by doing the things Jesus did – helping those in need, touching the untouchable, welcoming the outcast, living the least. In and through all of this is the power of the Holy Spirit at work. Paul reminds us that we have the “first fruits of the Spirit”. These allow and help us to impact others for Christ. The Spirit leads and guides and informs us as we seek to build the kingdom here on earth. As we wait patiently with hope, may our words and our lives help others to do so as well.