pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: blessed


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Constant

Reading: Psalm 118: 21-29

The passage for today opens with thanks for answered prayers and for the gift of salvation.  A couple of verses later the author writes, “This is the dsy the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”.  When we are in a personal relationship with the Lord, we know we are saved for eternity and our view of the world and life is much different than the view held by those living without God.

Once we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God is a constant presence to us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  On good days we can joyously lift our praises to God.  The light and love of God easily flows out of us and into the lives of those around us.  We live with a constant sense of verse 27: “The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us”.  We daily enter his gates with praise.

Then we have times that are a struggle.  We feel as if nothing is going our way.  In these times we may not feel like joyfully singing praises, but we do have a definite sense that God is still near, always remaining present.  We know our salvation is still secure because nothing in the world can take that away.  It is a different way to walk through a trial.  Without God it is indeed a hard road to travel through the storms of life.

God’s constant presence throughout all of life, in both the good and the bad, is a gift worth sharing.  In verse 26 we are reminded that those who come in the name of the Lord are blessed.  God goes with us, blessing us as we go.  A bit later in the passage we read, “I will exalt you”.  In our day to day lives we exalt God by living like Jesus lived, loving others as a humble servant.  When we live this way, we live as a witness to the true cornerstone.  In this way others see the light too and begin to see a life for themselves is possible, one built upon the Rock.  Christ to all, Christ in all!


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Truly Blessed

Reading: Psalm 14

The psalmist paints a grim image of society.  It speaks of fools who say there is no God and of people who are corrupt.  The writer says all have turned away from God.  We hear of evildoers frustrating the poor and of the masses being overwhelmed with dread.  It is bleak indeed.

As I read this Psalm, I was reminded of the doom and gloom prophets of our day.  One does not have to wait too long into a conversation about politics or the economy to hear something along the lines of: “our country is going to heck in a hand basket”.  If the conversation turns to young adults or teenagers, there is similar doom and gloom spoken.  In both cases, it makes me pause.  I think one of two things: “Do you live in the same place I live?” or, “Boy do you need to spend some time at Youth group” in response to the bleak thoughts.

Yes indeed, it can be all too easy to become self-focused and to lose site of God.  Yes indeed, it can be easy to fall into temptation and sin.  Yes indeed, it can be easy to allow busyness to steal our attention and to then ignore the marginalized of our society.  But our God is greater than all of this and will overcome any sin, apathy, or misstep on our part.

For most of us, life us truly blessed.  We live a life of comfort, of peace, of belonging, of freedom.  Our faith calls us to help all people live this life.  It is a life founded and centered in a relationship with God.  As we live in this place, connected to God, we are led to be other-centered, righteous, and compassionate.  There is much good in the world.  May we bring a little more of it with us today.


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Expanding Welcome

Reading: Luke 14:1 and 7-14

Too often we help another person because we foresee repayment.  I’ll come help you move because I know we’re moving in a couple months.  I’ll come help you brand cattle because, well, I own cattle and they’ll need to be branded soon.  I’ll buy a car from you because when you are ready to buy that boat, I know you’ll come to me.  I’ll help you with your event at church because I know the event I lead is just around the corner.

In today’s passage Jesus is saying ‘no’ to think kind of thinking.  It was all too common (and still is today) to think ‘What’s in it for me?’ instead of simply being a good neighbor or following where the Holy Spirit is leading.  When we do things with these attitudes and are only willing to spend time with those just like us, God’s kingdom does not grow very much.  When we rub elbows only with people just like us, then we are keeping the circle small and the walls high.

Jesus came to reverse this.  He ate with the sinners, healed the outcast and poor, talked with the tax collectors, and worked on the Sabbath.  Jesus acknowledges that if we invite only our friends, yes, they will repay us.  He also says that then our reward will be done.  Instead, Jesus says to invite the poor, lame, crippled, and blind.  They cannot repay us but God’s reward will be there in heaven for us.  This is wonderful.  But we are also rewarded here on esrth.

When we serve and live life alongsidethe poor, lame, crippled, blind, and other social outcasts if our day, then we experience true giving.  It is giving without strings attached.  It is pure and free and feels so good.  We also experience true gratitude.  We do so within ourselves when we realize how blessed we are.  We experience it in the thankful and grateful hearts of those we come alongside.  Loving those on the margins and the outcasts aligns us with God’s ways and purposes.  It is here that we are closest to God.  It is here we are truly blessed.


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In God’s Presence

God is really big.  He is the creator of all that is in the world.  God continues to create new life, new experiences, and new discoveries.  God has a hand on and in all life, in nature, and in the physical world.  In spite of how vast God and His reach are, at times we think we can control or dictate to God.  We cannot.

Perhaps it is because God allows us to have free will that we feel this authority and power.  Perhaps it is because God placed humankind as stewards over all creation that we feel in charge.  Perhaps it is because God enabled us with the ability to reason and make decisions that we feel we should.  Yet it is through a relationship with God that we should exercise our free will, our stewardship, and our decision-making.  It is within this relationship with God that we were intended to live.

Despite the omnipotence and omnipresence of God, at times we pretend He is not there.  We ignore a temptation or give in to sin or we compartmentalize an area of our life and live as if God did  not exist.  But God is not just in our churches, He is everywhere.  He is a constant presence in our lives and in our world.

It is natural for us to acknowledge and live within God’s presence all of the time.  A close relationship is what God most desires from each of us.  Just as we are intimately known, God wants us to grow to know Him intimately as well.  When our efforts focus on His presence in our lives and in the world, we live a life that is truly blessed.  We see God is so many people, places, and experiences.  We are made to live in step with our creator.  This day may we all choose to walk closely with our God.

Scripture reference: 2 Samuel 7: 1-14a


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In the Name

The scripture “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” comes in Psalm 118.  At the time it was written it surely represented an actual person.  In the Gospels, this person was seen as Jesus.  This interpretation fits with the psalm as Jesus was delivered from death by God and He certainly brought and brings the good news through His resurrection.

The “one” can also mean another.  It can be you or me.  The language of the psalm is open enough that it anyone who has survived a trial via God’s mercy and strength could find their own story in the psalm.  It is so true that we are blessed when we come in the name of the Lord and lay our burdens at His feet.

We can also be the ‘one’ in another manner.  It can be us who bring the good news brought in the psalm.  Through us, His light can shine.  We can bring the story of Christ and his righteousness to others through our witness.  We can praise His name and declare all the ways we are thankful for His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

Verse 29 declares, “You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.”  We can do this on Sunday as we worship and offer our thanksgiving for our blessings and for His presence in our lives.  We can also do this on Thursdays, Mondays, Saturdays, Wednesdays, … as we live out our lives as an example of one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Scripture reference: Psalm 118: 1-2 and 25-29