pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Salt and Light

Reading: Matthew 5: 13-20

As follower of Christ, we are called to be both salt and light. Both are essential roles in our Christian witness.  If we fail to be either, we are only partly carrying out our role.

Traditionally, salt served two purposes – salt preserved and salt flavored.  In a world without refrigeration, preserving food was an essential practice.  Food is crucial to life and is a prescious commodity, so preserving what you did not eat when you killed an animal would later sustain life.  In much the same way, our faith preserves us.  Through prayer, study, and worhsip we coat our hearts and minds with the things of God.  Then both in the day to day and in the trials, our faith preserves who we are at our core, keeping us grounded in Christ.

Sal is also a flavoring.  Many foods are bland or dull without salt.  Our faith is the salt that flavors our life.  It is also our faith that flavors the lives of those around us.  Who we are, what we do, the words we choose, how we treat others – all are flavored by our faith.  The ‘flavors’ our faith adds to all these things is love, truth, compassion, honesty, understanding…

Traditionally, light was held up to illuminate or show the way to things around the source of the light.  For example, a city was built upon a hilltop or a lamp was placed upon a stand.  The analogies of lighting the way or of casting aside the darkness are what Jesus refers to as He calls on us to be light.  Our faith should shine out from us, into the world.  Our faith should radiate out from within, bringing hope and promise and vision to a world living in darkness.  Our faith must not be private – hidden under a bowl – but public and out there for all to see.  It is through seeing our faith lived out that others see the true light and are guided towards a relationship with Jesus Christ.

We are called to be salt and light.  We each have opportunities each day to be these things to a world in need.  May we make the most of what God sends out way, seeking to bear witness to the faith we hold dear.


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Be and Share

Reading: Ephesians 3: 1-12

Paul writes of the mystery of God.  This mystery is often seen as the wisdom of God.  Paul writes of the mystery being revealed to the prophets and apostles.  When we think back to Isaiah and Daniel and Elijah and to Paul himself, we can certainly see God’s wisdom revealed in and through these men.

Paul also writes of the whole body of Christ.  To Paul, in this writing, part of the mystery was about the Gentiles becoming part of the family.  As the New Testament unfolds, we come to understand ‘Gentiles’ as all people who do not know God.  We come to understand that there is no one God will not welcome into the family.  As the New Testament continues to unfold, we also come to see all people as messangers and bearers of God’s Word.  We look back on the great commission that Jesus gave in Matthew 28:19 and see it as written to not only the disciples but to each of us as well.

For most of us, the mystery, or wisdom, of God is revealed through the scriptures.  As we read the Word of God and as the Holy Spirit works in us, we too come to better understand the wisdom of God.  In part, we apply this wisdom or understanding to how we live our lives.  We work to live lives that are pleasing to God as we seek to follow His ways.  In this manner we are living out the mystery.

We are also called to share the mystery.  As disciples of Jesus Christ living in today’s world, we are called to bear the great mystery of God to others – to make disciples of all nations.  Just as Paul spoke and wrote to the Ephesians so that they would come to understand the mystery of God so that they could live a life of faith, so too are we to bring the Word of God to the Gentiles of today.

Through the power of Jesus Christ, may we both be and share the holy mystery with others, all for the glory of God.


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Fruit

Reading: Matthew 3: 5-12

John challenges the Pharisees and Sadducees who come out to see just what is going on in the desert.  He welcomes them with, “You brood of vipers!”. What a welcome!  John goes on to ask, “Who warned you of the coming wrath”?  It is almost to say, ‘who woke you up’?  John is implying that they have been lost or in a daze.

John goes on to tell these religious leaders that they need to produce fruit in keeping with repentance.  John is implying that they need to repent first, then to begin producing good fruit.  He warns them about complacency and the status quo, warning them that the axe is at the root of the tree.  I wonder if they realize they are the tree.  John wraps up this exchange by telling of Jesus, the one who is coming to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

We can read these words from John and smirk as we think about how those pompous religious folks have gotten a good talking to.  Or we can realize that maybe John is talking to us too.  To determine this, we must ask ourselves what fruit we are producing for the kingdom of God.  How are our lives planting seeds and bringing others into God’s presence?

One step beyond, especially true in this season of Advent, is to ask, ‘How are we preparing ourselves for the coming of the Christ child’?  What do you and I each need to repent of to be a worthy home for the babe to dwell in?  May we each step into our own place of solitude today to search our souls for the answers to these questions.  And may we emerge, ready to bear good fruit for God’s kingdom.


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Listen Well, Go Forth

Jesus was the Word made flesh that lived among us and gives us new life.  As we read and meditate on the Word found in the Bible, as we hear and ponder the Word proclaimed in sermons, devotionals, and books, and as we take in the nudges and whispers of the Holy Spirit, God is planting the Word deep within us.  He plants for one purpose: to bear fruit.

James advises us to be quick to listen.  When our ears are seeking to hear the Word of life, we hear a lot better than when we are focusing on the things the world tells us.  Listening takes practice and focus, so not only must we focus on the Word of God, but we also must practice on hearing the Word of God.  Practice makes perfect!   In our active practice of listening, we come to define and refine what we believe and how to best live out our faith.

James is clear that we cannot stop at the listening phase.  We must go on and do what the Word says.  We must take in the Word of God, allow it to sink deep roots that nourish our soul, and then go forth to live out its teachings.  James mentions looking after the orphans and widows, but this is just one of many areas that we can share God’s love with others.

James 1 closes with this tidbit: “keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”  Polluted is an excellent choice of words because that is exactly what happens.  The more we focus on the world, the less we are able to focus on the word.  Only one letter separates ‘word’ from ‘world’.  It is easy to blur the lines and end up living in the world instead of in the Word.  Each day may we look to God, spend time in the Word nourishing our souls, and go forth to bear fruit in His world.

Scripture reference: James 1: 17-27


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Pruning for Fruit

In the spring it is natural to clean, to prepare for a season of growth, to unclutter.  This week I uncovered and set out the patio furniture and rototilled the garden.  The lawn was mowed for the first time and I noticed that the rhubarb is almost ready to be picked.  Other plants are springing to life as well.

Down by the shed my grape vines are a mess.  An early storm last Fall toppled over the poles and wired that had supported the vines due to all the weight of the snow on the thick leaves.  I attempted a ‘fix’ last Spring, but it was largely unsuccessful.  I’ve come to realize hat I must tear out all the support and wires and really trim back the vines to be able to rebuild and start over.  It will mean that the grape crop this summer may be pretty minimal.

In today’s passage Jesus speaks of God pruning the fruitful branches and cutting off those bearing no fruit.  All this is done so that the whole plant can bear more fruit.  Energy goes more fully into what is fruitful.  With my grapes, I know this is true in the long run as well.

As I think about what I must do with my grape vines next week, I also come to realize that maybe I need to look at my life as well.  Are there things in my busy schedule that are not as fruitful and should go?  If I purge this or that, will newly available energy go into more fruitful pursuits?  This analysis may be a bit hard and maybe painful too, but God calls for my best.  Today’s question is where is God calling me to be invested.

Scripture reference: John 15: 1-8


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Waiting on Glory

In this life is joy and sorrow, elation and suffering.  All of us go through the ups and downs of life.  At times our choices and decisions bring sorrow and suffering upon us.  Suffering can take the form of caring for a family member dying from an illness.  Suffering can come in how people treat us because of our faith.  Suffering can come from the decision we make based upon our faith in Jesus Christ.  All of these things are part of the cost of following.  All of these things also test us.  Despite the testing being difficult, it will help us grow in our faith.

Peter tells us that we should rejoice in our suffering for Christ because that will bring us a greater joy when His glory is revealed.  By accepting and embracing the sufferings, we can draw closer to Christ, the source of our strength.  In times when we rely on Him, we become less and He becomes more.  In this we begin to see His glory revealed.  It is only a glimpse now, but we begin to see what it may be.  And, in the end, He will make our joy complete.