pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Rest

Reading: Genesis 1:31 – 2:4a

Verse Three: God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it He rested.

As human beings and as children of God, we are created in the image of God.  We are to model the patterns that God sets in the Bible.  We try to follow the examples that Jesus, God in the flesh, set for us in the Gospels.  In our day to day lives we try to love as Jesus loved as we seek to follow His example of ministry.  Hard as it may be to live as Jesus lived, often times we are better at this than we are at following today’s model for our lives.

After spending six days creating the world, God looks over His “very good” work.  He is pleased with what He has created.  We are pretty good at modeling these two parts of today’s passage.  We are good at working and producing and making.  At times we can even be pleased with our labors and can take pride in what we have accomplished.  Clearly we can see in this passage, and throughout the Bible, that we are created to work, to use our bodies and minds in labor.  We are also called throughout Scripture to give our very best in all we do, so our labors should produce things, ideas, … that are also “very good”.

“God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it He rested”.  The Sabbath, or seventh day, is holy because on this day God rested.  This is the model we find hard to follow.  We often are just as bad at taking rest as we are good at always working.  To work and work and work some more is how we respond to our culture of ‘more’ and how we try to attain ‘success’ as defined by the secular world.  It is a sad treadmill that​ we too easily climb onto.  The treadmill never leads to a destination but simply keeps on churning.  The world is happy to allow us to work and work and work.  But we are created in God’s image.  On the seventh day God made it holy and He rested.  In rest we are renewed and refreshed and recharged.  In rest we are drawn closer to God.  May we each find our Sabbath this week – our time and place of rest where God can minister to us.


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By This…

Reading: John 13: 1-17 and 31-35

Verse 34: A new command I give you: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Jesus has gathered the disciples together – one last time.  Judas has already agreed to betray Jesus.  In fact, Jesus will be arrested later that same night.  This is Jesus’ last time with the disciples.  He knows it.  It is interesting what and how Jesus reaches in these last hours together.

This night, Jesus chooses to wash the disciples’ feet.  In this time, bathing was occasional.  It was the feet that were often the dirtiest.  The roads were dirt, animals used the same roads, the sewer was the gutter, the common footwear was sandals.  You get the picture.  Jesus could have blessed some water and had a “remember your baptism” moment.  But He chose to wash their feet.  Jesus knelt on the ground and washed off all the dust and dung and whatever else they had walked through that day.

After He is done and returns to the table as an equal, Jesus asks them this question: “Do you understand what I have done for you”?  Without waiting for an answer, Jesus goes on to explain.  He plainly states, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you”.  The Son of God, the Savior of the world, the Messiah, has stopped down and washed your disgusting feet willingly and tenderly and lovingly.  Jesus then tells them that they will be blessed if they do these things too.

Our passage concludes with an exclamation point of why Jesus chose to wash their feet.  The disciples already know the two great commandments: ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength’, and ‘love your neighbor as yourself’.  This night Jesus extends the second one, saying, “A new command I give you: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another”.  He loved all.  Those with stinky feet, those who persecuted Him, those who were in sin, those who only wanted and never gave, those who no one loved.  Yup, all.  Jesus says to us what He said to the disciples: go and do as I have done.  Be a servant, be a witness, set the example, love one another.  “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”.


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Hosanna!

Reading: Matthew 21: 2-11

Verse 9: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

In our passage today, Jesus enters Jerusalem to the praises of a large crowd.  His entry is like a victory parade in some ways.  Jesus comes riding into the city amongst happy and excited people.  They are praising Jesus, much as they would a victorious king returning from battle.  But Jesus is riding in on a donkey, not a powerful and majestic war horse.  The prophet Zechariah had written that the king of peace would enter the holy city riding on a donkey.  Jesus fulfills this prophecy as He enters the city.

Many line the way and lay down cut branches and even their cloaks as Jesus comes along.  There is growing excitement in the crowd.  Certainly some here are Jesus’disciples and followers.  Most of the others have probably heard of Jesus.  But there are probably a few in the crowd waving Palm branches and shouting out, “Hosanna…” who turn to their neighbor and ask, “Who is this”?  They may be in the crowd and may even be cheering, but they do not know who this Jesus is.  Our passage reports, “The whole city was stirred”.  There is excitement and a buzz that can be easy to get caught up in.

Just as there are some there that see all that is going on and get caught up in the buzz, there are some in our lives that sense a pull towards Jesus, but still ask, “Who is this”?  Maybe they see Jesus in our lives or they have had a brush with His presence.  Maybe they are hurting or are curious.  Something is drawing them to know about this Jesus.  Hopefully they see Jesus in us and in how we live our lives.  This may lead them to ask us, “Who is this”?

May we be ready to answer, to testify to who Jesus is to us and to share the good news of what Jesus has done in our lives.  May we be ready and willing to proclaim His name and to shout, “Hosanna in the highest!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”!


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Blessed Are…

Reading: Matthew 5: 1-12

The Beatitudes are a wonderful teaching that Jesus shared with His followers.  The list of “blessed are…” statements offer hope and encouragement, promise and strength.  Jesus is proclaiming the work of God in the current time and place as well as pointing to the future glory that faithful followers will inherit.  Rather that a “to-do” list or requirements to check off, Jesus lists these blessings as a way to cast vision for what the kingdom on earth will look like when we live out these blessings every day.

We are blessed.  We are blessed when we are poor in spirit because when we are ‘poor’ in something we work to get more of it.  We are blessed when we search for righteousness because God wants to fill us up.  We are blessed when we are pure in heart because then we are in a connected, personal relationship with God.  We are blessed when we are humble and merciful and when we seek peace because then we are bearing witness to the love and example of Jesus.  When we mourn, we are blessed with God’s comfort.  And when we are persecuted and insulted, we are blessed not only because of what we will inherit, but for being the light and truth of Jesus Christ amidst the darkness of the world.

The Beatitudes are part of Jesus’ vision of what the kingdom here on earth will look like.  The blessings of living a life in Christ are not protection against all harms and trials, but are the blessings of His presence in all of life.  When we live as witness to all of these ‘blessed are…’ statements, we are blessings to all we meet as we live as faithful disciples of the Savior of the world.  May it be how we live each day.


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Faithful

Reading: Isaiah 49: 5-7

The servant realizes that God has called him to a role.  Although initially unsure of himself, the servant has come to understand that if God has called him, then God will insure success.  The servant says, “I am honored in the eyes of my Lord”.  In essence, if God has chosen me, then I am up to the task.  Then he goes on to acknowledge that God is his strength.  He recognizes that God has carried him through before and will certainly do so again and again.  The servant is embracing his role as a child of God.

God’s response to the servant’s faith?  Oh no – it is “too small a thing” to just bring salvation and restoration to Israel.  Oh no, the faithful servant will bring salvation and restoration to all people.  The servant will not only be a light to the Jews but to the Gentiles as well.  God’s response to the faithful servant?  God rewards the faith with expanded blessings and an expanded role.  This idea of he who does much with what he has been given will be given more is also found in the parable of the talents.  The servant who works five into ten talents is given even more by his master in turn for his faithful service.  God blesses those who are faithful servants.

So it is with the servant in Isaiah and so it is with us.  It is only when we are willing to trust God that God can and will reward our trust.  When we do trust and step out in faith, we are blessed to see God at work in our lives and in the world.  This allows us to step out quicker and further the next time.  The passage today ends with, “the Lord is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who had chosen you”.  May we be strong in our faith, trusting the Holy One who had chosen each of us.  God is faithful.  May we be so as well.


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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