pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: authority


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Able and Strong

Evil exists in our world in many forms.  It can be in the actions of people who have come to believe all of Satan’s lies.  It can be in the emotions that rise up in us: greed, envy, lust…  It can be in the unkind thoughts we have and in the cutting words we spew.  In many ways Satan is trying to turn us away from God, to divert our attention.

What can we do?  To whom can we turn?

As Jesus taught in the synagogue the people sensed His authority.  The demon in the man called out and acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God.  In our own battles with the forces of evil, do we turn first to Jesus Christ and make the same acknowledgement?  We must, for only He can save.  Our only chance in this battle is to call upon His name and to claim the power and protection that He brings.

Whatever our hurt, whatever battle we are fighting, whatever temptation is pulling at us – it matters not.  Jesus is able.  Jesus is strong.  Jesus is waiting for us to turn to Him and to admit our need because we cannot do it alone.  Then we too can call on the powerful name of Jesus and find healing, comfort, relief.  Step into His presence today and find rest.

Scripture reference: Mark 1: 21-28


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Eye on the Prize

In Matthew 22 the religious leaders come to Jesus with a question about paying taxes.  On one level it is a silly question – of course taxes belong to Caesar.  It is like asking a Christian is they believe in God.  The basic answer to both questions is pretty obvious, but if we dig a little deeper see complexities and more questions arise.

We all have certain people in authority over us.  The government is usually the final authority in civic matters.  To this day we pay taxes and obey the laws.  Unless a law conflicts with our faith.  Most of us are employees and have bosses and managers above us in the work environment and we must follow their decisions and directions.  Unless a policy or directive violates our beliefs.  In our homes many of us have parents or a spouse in whom some authority rests.  We uphold our responsibilities and follow norms here too – unless there is an abuse of power or something else that runs counter to our faith.

God is ultimately in control and we owe our allegiance to Him alone.  Yet our reality is that we live in the here and now and to a limited extent that determines some of our choices.  As a Christian, we live in a delicate balance – living as a good member of society, work, and family while using our faith as the first decision pont in matters of conflict.  We are citizens of two worlds, the earthly and the heavenly.  May we be good members of both groups.  Yet may we ultimately and always keep our eyes on the prize for which we are called heavenly.

Scripture reference: Matthew 22: 15-22


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Defining Jesus

In Matthew 21, the religious leaders want to know where Jesus gets his authority.  He hasn’t been through the hoops, He isn’t one of them.  But is important to know why they are asking the question.

Just the day before Jesus came into Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna!” and the city was full of excitement.  He proceeded to the temple and drove out all the sellers and money changers.  Then the blind and the lame came to Him and He healed them.  Normally to be healed or cleansed of sins – commonly thought to be the reason one was blind, lame and so on – one had to buy sacrifices and bring them to the priests so that they could perform the rituals.  But Jesus had driven out the sellers.  His touch was free.  Not only was Jesus not one of them, He was operating counter to their rules and was disrupting their economic system.  They wanted to trap Him and be rid of Him.

Sometimes we too struggles with these issues.  We question whether or not Jesus leads, for often we want to be the ones in control.  We question whether of not we (or sometimes it is another) are worthy of Jesus’ love or forgiveness or… but we are all worthy because it is a free gift.  We do nothing to earn grace, mercy, love, forgiveness.  Sometimes we try to trap Jesus too, seeking to have our will done instead of His.

May we come to see what the religious leaders could not – that Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth.  And may we come to do what they could not – to truly worship Him as Lord and King.

Scripture reference: Matthew 21: 23-27