pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: bless


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Mary

Reading: Luke 1: 46-55

Verse 46: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”.

Shortly after Mary received the news that she will carry the Holy One in her womb, she has gone to see Elizabeth, her cousin.  The angel told Mary that Elizabeth was also with child.  So Mary goes to see this thing for herself – old and barren Elizabeth with child.  Mary also goes because perhaps she senses that Elizabeth is someone she can share her news with as well.  After all, Mary’s news is not exactly news that she could go tell all her friends about.  When Mary and Elizabeth greet each other, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps at the sound of Mary’s voice and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit.  Elizabeth knows that Mary has been blessed and she herself feels blessed at being in the presence of the unborn Lord.  She also recognizes Mary’s faith, saying, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished”.

There is a deep understanding in these two women that God is at work in them and is about to accomplish the impossible in both of them.  It is from this place of understanding that Mary spontaneously offers her song.  It is a beautiful telling of both God’s deeds with and for Israel and of God’s work in her in particular.  Weaving these two together shows Mary’s understanding of how closely connected these two are – Israel and the birth of he child.  She begins by exclaiming, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”.  Mary is joyful and exuberantly praises what God is doing in her.  Mary also recognizes the forever impact of what is happening, saying, “All generations will call me blessed”.  She is aware of what is happening and speaks with a wisdom and insight well beyond her years.  The Spirit is indeed at work in Mary.

The same Spirit desires to be at work in each of us.  The same God is capable of doing great and amazing things in and through us as well.  May we be as joyful and faithful as Mary when the Lord begins a good work in us!


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Say It Well

Reading: Psalm 105: 37-45

Verse 45: …that they might keep His precepts and observe His laws.

This last section of Psalm 105 recounts the exodus from Egypt.  The Israelites left Egypt “laden with silver and gold” and headed out into the desert with a cloud for shade in the day and a pillar of fire for light at night.  God provided for their physical needs with quail and manna and He brought water from a rock.  God led them into a land that other nations had toiled over and developed and built up.  God blessed the chosen people on their exit from slavery in Egypt right up to their entrance into the Promised Land.

It is good for a people to tell their story.  This Psalm that would have been sung in worship reminds the people of what God has done for them out of His great love for them.  We too sing songs that remind us of our faith story.  Whether it is a classic like “The Old Rugged Cross” or “Amazing Grace” or if it is a more modern song like “Trading My Sorrows” or “Come As You Are”, we sing songs of praise to remember His love and His actions in our bigger faith story.  We may know, for example, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins but songs that remind us also remind us of His great love for us.

To be reminded encourages us and strengthens our faith.  It helps us to grow in and to deepen our relationship with God.  It is why we hug and kiss our spouse and children each morning and night, saying “I love you” each time.  They know it but it sure does us good to say it and to hear it.  It is the same when we sing praises to the Lord.  God may know we love Him and we may know God loves us, but it sure does us good to sing it.

There is also a second benefit.  After listing how God gave, God brought, God provided, … the psalmist writes, “…that they might keep His precepts and observe His laws”.  This is also why we must sing of His mighty acts and of His love for us.  It reminds us to say “I love you” back with how we live our lives.  May we say it well today.


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Hard Pressed

Reading: Exodus 1: 8-14

Verse 12: But the more they were oppressed, the more they flourished.

Life has been good for the Israelites.  God had sent Joseph ahead many years before as a slave.  God blessed Joseph’s life.  He did not live as a typical slave.  God blessed him over and over and eventually he rose to second in command under Pharaoh.  Famine had struck the land but Joseph had prepared the country well.  Joseph’s family came to Egypt looking for food.  Because of his position, Joseph was able to bring his whole family to the region of Goshen, where they grew and prospered.  God blessed the Israelites and they grew in number, in livestock, …

Over time Joseph and his generation died off.  God continued to bless the Israelites and they continued to grow in number.  Enter a new king.  This new Pharaoh did not know Joseph or their history with the Israelites.  But he knew his country needed the labor of the Israelites.  They had become the backbone of the economy.  Then he came to fear them.  He saw how numerous they were and he feared them.  He feared they would one day be numerous enough to leave so he began to deal very harshly with them.  He inflicts oppression and hard labor on the Israelites.  “But the more they were oppressed, the more they flourished”.  Even in the midst of the hard times, God continues to bless His people.

At times we too find ourselves hard pressed and we may even feel like we are being oppressed.  At times our good life becomes difficult.  In these times, do we cling to God or do we question God?  Do we hold fast to our faith and trust our difficulties to the Lord?  The Word tells us that God is always at work for the good of those who love Him.  Where in our lives do we need to live into this today?  When we find ourselves hard pressed, may the God of the peace that passes all understanding lead and guide us through.


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Love and God

Reading: Psalm 116:15

Verse 15: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

Most translations of this verse use the word “precious”.  It is a unique word choice in an odd little verse stuck in the middle of a Psalm that otherwise rejoices over God’s presence to us and His hand at work in blessing our lives.  A better word might be “weighty” – as in, death is weighty.  This word better conveys how the death of His saints must feel to God.  After all, God gives us life – He breathes physical life into us at birth and then later God breathes the Holy Spirit into us when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  When God pours so much into us, then maybe death would be a little weighty for God.

This little line is also a good reminder for us.  Yes, God is always present to us.  Yes, God rescued us from our sins.  Yes, God loves us dearly.  All are reasons to rejoice.  But death is also a reality of life.  In a way, this line reminds us that we need to be aware that in the midst of our rejoicing there are always others mourning.  It calls us to be congnizant of and attentive to them.  It also tempers our joy with a dash of reality.

This little line also reminds us that God’s love never fails.  God’s love for us is always there.  We are His dear children, both in life and in death.  In turn, this reminds us to be steadfast in our love of God.  We certainly find it easy to love God in the joyous times when all seems blessed by God.  It can be harder to love God when we feel beset or when we are suffering.  But we are called to love God despite the bad too.  We are called to love God through the trials and suffering.  God does not love us more sometimes and less other times.  May our love of God reflect this as well.


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Whole Heart

Reading: Psalm 119: 1-8

The ‘heart’ is mentioned a couple of times in the opening stanza to Psalm 119.  For the psalmist and for the people of Israel, the heart was what guided life.  For them, the heart contained all emotions, all thought, all intellect, all desires…  All of who one was and ever would be was thought to be in their heart.  When one reads this passage, with its emphasis on the heart, it expands our understanding of what it means to “seek Him with all of our heart”.  For the Israelites and for us, it means pursuing God with all you’ve got.

This passage emphasizes blessings when we learn to live according to God’s laws.  There is this idea of first learning God’s ways, precepts, and decrees.  Then the writer uses the word ‘obey’ several times.  This is because it is one thing to know the law and a whole other thing to obey it.  But this is not a rote process like memorizing state capitals for a test.  It is not boring or forced learning.  The psalmist writes, “I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws”.  There is joy and happiness in praise.

When we seek God with our whole hearts, obeying His ways as we live, then we find peace, contentment, assurance, and joy.  It is when we seek God and find these qualities defining our lives, it is then that we are truly blessed.  Living according to God’s ways and allowing God to be at the center of who we are – in our heart – transforms us into who God created us to be.  Living in God’s image and following Christ’s example brings a peace and joy in our lives that not only blesses us but also blesses those in our lives.

May we seek God with all of our heart, living lives overflowing with the blessings of our loving Father.  In this way, we live as light and love in the world.  Thanks be to God for this gift.


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Faithful

Reading: Micah 6: 1-5

Micah opens this section by letting the people know that they have sinned against God.  In their hearts it is something they surely already know.  Just as at times we have sinned and quickly felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit, so too must the people living in Micah’s time.  God calls all of creation to hear the case He has against Israel.  The grand audience would indicate that this is a pretty serious charge that God is going to level against His chosen people.

Then there is a shift.  It begins in verse three, where God asks, “My people, what have I done to you”?  It is like asking, ‘How could you’?  God then asks how He has burdened the people.  In this question God is preparing them for what comes next.  In the next few verses, God explains things that are just the opposite of burdens.  God reminds the people of the many ways in which He has blessed them and cared for them and protected them.  Perhaps the ‘How could you’ question begins to ring in their minds.  By helping them to remember the ways in which God has been there for them, God is reminding them of the relationship they have and of the covenant on which that relationship is founded.

We too have had many times in our lives where God has looked in and wondered, “How could you”?  And God treats us the same as He did the Israelites.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God reaches out to us, shines light on our sin, calls us to repent and return to our covenant relationship with God.  God remains true and faithful to His part of the covenant – always loving and caring for us, always calling us back to a righteous relationship.  God faithfully and patiently calls us back over and over, calling us to walk faithfully with our God.

May we recall the many ways that God has blessed, cared for, protected, and loved us to this day.  Then may we go forth to walk this day and all days as a faithful servant of the Lord our God.


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The Lord’s Prayer

Reading: Luke 11: 1-4

Today’s passage is oh so familiar.  In most every church, in all times of worship, this prayer is prayed.  The words are in the hymnal or bulletin or on the screen, but most really do not need the words.  The Lord’s Prayer is such a familiar prayer.  One must be careful to not simply go through the motions or to recite the prayer.  It must be prayed.

As the prayer begins with “Our father” it establishes our relationship with God.  We are God’s children.  In the role of parent, God seeks to provide for us, to protect us, to help us mature in our faith, to keep us on the path to life.  But most of all, God seeks to love us in a close personal relationship.

“Who art in heaven” reminds us of God’s authority and position.  God is above all and over all.  God dwells in that place of perfection with the saints and angels.  Yet God is not limited to just heaven.  God’s presence is everywhere all of the time.  We sense it in close personal ways at times and in large, powerful ways at other times.  Through the presence of the Holy Spirit we have a deep personal connection to the presence of God in our lives.  The Spirit dwells in each believer and the presence of God is active and alive in the world.

The prayer fittingly ends with requests.  Reflecting on what is established with the opening lines of the prayer, it does seem fitting that the prayer ends with requests of God.  After all, isn’t that what children do with their parent?  It concludes with requests for our daily bread, for forgiveness of our sins, for help forgiving others, and to be kept away from temptation.  The first request acknowledges our dependence on God for all of our daily needs.  Then it turns to relationship.  Forgive us when we mess up.  In this it admits that we will mess up.  It also deals with our need to offer forgiveness.  In these two requests we are asking to be kept in right relationship with God and with our neighbors.  The Lord’s Prayer concludes with our request to be kept from temptation.  This is one of the roles the Holy Spirit plays in our lives.

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, may it be slowly and with attention to detail.  Sit with each phrase, allow it to resonate deep within.  Allow it to bless you this day.


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God’s Economy

Reading: 1 Kings 21: 1-21a

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  The wealthy strive to attain more and more while the marginalized cling to what little they have.  The powerful use the system to add to their position and possessions; the downtrodden feel trapped and isolated.  This is part of the world’s economy.

The last shall be first.  When you do this for one of the least of these…  Love your neighbor as yourself.  Love one another as I first loved you.  Do not go over your field a second time and do not harvest all the way to the edges.  These things are part of God’s economy.

In Elijah’s time the precedent was set for the king to care for and protect the people.  The king’s role had been established in the desert when God gave t he covenant.  The king was to be the champion of the oppressed, the poor, the widow.  But King Ahab strayed far from this idea of benevolent king.  Queen Jezebel, who was not an Israelite, certainly helped this departure from God’s covenant.

Today many stray from the commands of God.  Today many, like Ahab and Jezebel, seek to place themselves and their desires far above God’s.  The forces that drive the world’s economy are powerful.  The pull on individuals to be successful in the world’s eyes is strong.  Injustice and oppression often occur as the costs of the world’s economy.

God stand opposed to these things and calls on His children to do the same.  We are called to be servants to one another and to share His blessings with those in need.  God desires for our hearts to grow to become His heart, loving and caring for those with less.  May we bring God into the world, being a people who give freely and love deeply.  May we lay aside self and seek to care for the needs of all of His children.


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Work for God

Do you work for God or for yourself?  In the reading of this psalm, if you work for yourself, you are working in vain.  Since the beginning of humanity, it has been God’s intent for us to work.  Right away He set Adam to work caring for the garden.  As ones created in the image of God, we are made as creators and laborers.  Our work is for a purpose and that purpose is greater than ourselves.

When we do our work apart from or without God, it is in vain.  When our work becomes addictive or compulsive or all-consuming, it is far from God.  On the other extreme, when our work is lazy or shoddy or resentful, this too is far from God.  When our labor is all about us and cares nothing for God or those around us, then it is easy for it to become these bad things.

Instead our work must be done for God.  The purpose of our labor needs to be aligned with God.  On a basic level our work must provide for ourselves and for our loved ones.  But it must also bless those around us.  Part of this idea again goes back to how we work.  When we are joyful, hard-working, honest, encouraging, supportive, and so on, we bless those we work with.  The other part is that the fruits of our work become the tangible ways in which we bless those in need.

For some, our ‘work’ is school or what one does in retirement.  The goal is still the same: to honor and bring glory to God through how we ‘work’.  Each day may God and His purposes be the focus of our labor.  Each day may we bless others through our labor and the fruit of our hands.

Scripture reference: Psalm 127


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Much to Give

The story of the rich young man.  In it we can hear his desire to follow Jesus.  In it we can sense how torn he is when challenged to give away all his possessions.  In it we can sense Jesus’ sadness over the man’s condition.  In it we can feel great conviction ourselves.  The general principle Jesus is teaching is to give away all you can.  He tells the man to sell his possessions – those things he more we must trust in God.he owns that he really doesn’t need.

We live in a society that teaches us to be consumers.  Society even tries to tell us that it is OK to live in debt, maybe even that it is normal.  Our culture values signs of wealth – big paychecks, impressive titles, grand mansions, fancy cars…  It is easy to say we are doing ‘well’ simply because of the country we were born in or because God is blessing us.  We easily become comfortable with our nice lifestyle.  All of this makes Jesus’ words so hard to hear.

Jesus does not say wealth makes it impossible to enter the kingdom, he just says it makes it hard.  He says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.  But don’t miss the key phrase, “impossible with man.”  He reminds us that anything, though, is possible with God.  “With God” is the key.

God blesses us in so many ways.  He blesses us not so that we can accumulate great wealth but so that we can bless others.  We are not blessed so that we can live in excess.  It is hard to look at our lives and to decide to prioritize differently so that we can give more away.  But it is not impossible.  The further we want to push that line, the more we must trust in God.  With our trust fully in God, we all will have much to give away.  In doing so we bless others and we bring glory to God.

Scripture reference: Mark 10: 17-27