pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Call


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God Really Loves Us

Reading: Psalm 116:1-4

Psalm 116:2 – “I’ll call out to him as long as I live, because he listens closely to me.”

Today and tomorrow we turn to Psalm 116. In the opening verse, the psalmist declares love for God. This love is founded on God listening to prayer requests. The psalmist then declares, “I’ll call out to him as long as I live, because he listens closely to me.” Walking in faith, we too can feel this way. As the days go by and we study our Bibles and spend time in prayer, we feel like God is close and that God is listening to our prayers. Our relationship with God feels solid. Our human relationships develop this way too. Time and effort invested in these relationships builds depth, trust, and, yes, love.

Turning to verse 3, we see that the psalmist came to a difficult time in life. Death felt close at hand. Trouble and grief rose up. We have had these moments. Either we were ill or someone we loved was ill. In these times, prayer is our natural go-to. As we cry out to God, we pray as the psalmist did: “Lord, please save me!” (Or my Mom or…) In our walks of faith, we trust God to answer. At times, God answers as we hoped. And faith grows, our relationship deepens, our love of God increases.

But some of the time, our prayers are not answered as we had prayed. The illness or whatever persists. Death wins. The unwanted change happens. We question and we doubt. We maybe even reconsider our relationship with God. Over time, though, we come to see or understand God’s answer. Our relationship grows as love and trust deepen. We realize, yes, God is faithful and good. We come to know, yes, God really loves us. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, you are always present, always faithful. You are steadfast and true. Even when we are not all these things, still you are. Still you are. Thank you, Lord. Strengthen and encourage us for the daily walk of faith. We love you, Lord. Amen.


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The Call Remains

Reading: Matthew 28:1-10

Matthew 28:10 – “Go and tell my brothers that I am going into Galilee. They will see me there.”

On the first Easter long ago, the two Mary’s went to the tomb at sunrise. This moment marked the end of the Sabbath. Now they could properly care for Jesus’ body. It was one last act of love for their Lord. It was one last thanks for how he had changed their lives. But as they arrived to serve Jesus one last time, an angel descended from heaven. The earth quaked and the stone was rolled away. The angel’s and Jesus’ first words are the same: “Don’t be afraid.” Fear would be my first reaction if I saw an angel or someone who rose from the dead. Fear can paralyze. Reassurance is necessary for this encounter to continue.

The two messages continue to mirror one another. The risen Christ will go to Galilee. He will see his disciples there. Mary and Mary, go tell the disciples. The movement is shifting gears. The head, the leader, will remain so in Spirit. The physical presence will now be the responsibility of Jesus’ disciples and followers. They will carry on the basic work. They will bear Christ’s love to the world. They will teach others about Jesus’ love in word and by deed. The eleven will begin and will soon be joined by others – Stephen, Aquila, Paul, Timothy, Lydia… These will be followed by more and more as the movement grows and spreads, the line of disciples ever lengthening. Now we stand in this line as bearers of the good news, seeking to transform our world today. The call remains the same: love others as Jesus first loved you. O Lord, may it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, almost 2,000 years have passed since Jesus walked out of that grave. Ever since then, that love has called us out of our own graves of selfishness, pride, addiction… Set free – loved free – we are called to love others into freedom in Jesus Christ. Use us each day, O God, to bear your love into the world. Amen.


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Called, Guided, Protected

Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9

Isaiah 50:9a – “Look! The Lord God will help me.”

Turning to Isaiah 50, the prophet describes his work. This section is subtitled “The faithful servant.” As we read these words they are both a description of Isaiah’s ministry and a reminder of who and what we are called to do and be as disciples. This passage is known as the “Third Servant Song.” These three songs all connect to Jesus in the Christian tradition, adding to our call to live out and to share God’s word.

In our passage today the faithful servant begins the day with God. During what we might call “quiet time with God,” the prophet receives God’s word and guidance on how to apply and share it. While this early morning option is my preference too, God is present and available 24/7, ready and willing to “open our ear” anytime and anyplace.

Verses 6-8 reveal the “cost of discipleship.” The prophet experiences attackers and those who insult him and even spit in his face. The word of God is not always well-received. With trust in God – “Look! The Lord God will help me” – Isaiah remained true to his calling. He was determined and unafraid. He knew that the one who “will declare me innocent” was right by his side. This belief and trust allowed and empowered him to walk forward in faith.

If we are being faithful to God’s call upon our lives, we too will likely face rejection and perhaps abuse. It can be tempting to be quiet or to turn from our task. In those moments of temptation, may we first remember that God calls us to witness to our faith. Second, may we remember that God goes with us too, our ever-present guide and protector. May we go forward in faith this day and every day, proclaiming God’s kingdom here on earth.

Prayer: Lord God, each day, as we come to you, fill us with your word, your wisdom, your guidance and direction. As we seek to minister to the world, encourage and strengthen us, especially when we are attacked and rejected. Lead and guide us to joyfully and willingly count the cost of discipleship, knowing that we are serving and glorifying you. Amen.


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The Flawed and the Faulty

Reading: Romans 4:1-5

Romans 4:5 – “Faith is credited as righteousness… because they have faith in God who makes the ungodly righteous.”

Paul ends chapter 3 stating that through faith we “confirm the Law.” Here Paul is referring not to following the exact letter of the Law but to understanding the Law’s deeper purpose and meaning. We get a practical application of this in the Beatitudes, where Jesus dives deep and unpacks a handful of Laws. Moving into chapter 4, Paul centers in on the faith of Abraham, the founding father of the Jewish faith and the nation of Israel.

Paul reminds his readers that Abraham was declared righteous because of his faith. When Abram obeyed God’s open-ended call to “go,” he did so through a radical faith. God’s promises guided and empowered his decision to be obedient to the call of God. As Paul develops his line of thinking later in this chapter, he reminds his audience that Abram lived long before the Law was ever given to Moses and Israel. Therefore, Abram was declared righteous because of God’s grace, not because he kept the Law – just as the followers of Jesus are declared righteous through God’s grace.

We often think of those “pedestal people” as being perfect. A cursory glance reveals that Abram was anything but perfect. He doubted God and he took matters into his own hands. Remember Hagar and Ishmael? Remember sending them out into the desert to die? God isn’t looking for perfect people to work through. That’s because God didn’t make us that way. Instead, God uses imperfect people to accomplish God’s perfect plans and purposes. And like Abram, we are each called by God, flaws and all. God works in and through our flaws, responding to our faith with a grace that “makes the ungodly righteous.” For this transforming grace, we say, thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for choosing us, the flawed and the faulty. Through your love and mercy and grace you redeem us, refining us for your purposes. Through your guidance and direction you help us to fulfill your call upon our lives. With great patience and steadfastness, you redirect, forgive, and transform us to be your vessels of faith. Thank you for these many gifts. Amen.


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Go Where God Calls

Reading: Genesis 12:3-4

Genesis 12:3b – “All the families of the earth will be blessed because of you.”

Before entering vocational ministry I was a middle school teacher. For most of my teaching years I helped with or led the youth group at my church. At school I would host a Bible study for students one morning a week. By extension, this group would organize and lead the annual “See You at the Pole” (SYATP) event each Fall. We’d gather, sing, read scriptures, and pray for our school. One year I was at a Promise Keepers event the weekend before SYATP. The message boards in the arena were streaming all sorts of messages. God moved me to see if the event organizers would stream info for SYATP so all these fathers could attend the prayer gathering with their children. I was told no – it was not a Promise Keepers affiliated event. But I was asked to come to the prayer room so they could pray for me and the SYATP event. More than upset, I followed the man to the room. They laid hands on me and offered many prayers of blessing. As I was leaving, a young woman asked if she could share something with me. She shared that during the prayer she had a vision. She saw me in heaven wearing a really full charm bracelet. She shared that each charm was a youth impacted by my ministry. Very humbled and deeply blessed I made my way back to my seat.

In the second half of verse 3, God declares to Abram, “All the families of the earth will be blessed because of you.” Not just your family. Not just the families of the nation that God will make you into. All of the families of the earth. This blessing is predicated upon Abram being obedient to God’s call to “go.” God’s intent for our lives is also to be a blessing to others. So we must ask ourselves: where or to whom is God calling me to go? It might just be to lead a Bible study in your classroom or at work or at your church. It might be to gather food for a food bank or free pantry. It might be to visit folks at a local care facility. It might be to volunteer or to lead a program at your church or in your community. There are many ways that we can be a blessing (and will be greatly blessed in return) if we will but go where or to whom God calls us. GO!

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for those words of blessing and promise spoken into my heart many years ago. Thank you for the fire that it lit within me. Lord, as we each respond to your call to be in ministry to others, I pray for your words of blessing and promise to fall on all who obediently and faithfully respond to your call to go. Light a fire in each heart, Holy Spirit. May we each hear, respond, and minister to others, all for the transformation of our world. May it be so as we go forth in faith. Amen.


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Stepping Out

Reading: Genesis 12:1-2

Genesis 12:1 – “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you.”

Moving someplace new can be exciting, but is often scary and disorienting. Sometimes when someone else moves, it can raise our anxiety and fears. Several years ago, our son and daughter-in-law decided to move to “a city” after finishing college. No, they didn’t have jobs. As they considered Seattle, Atlanta, and Fort Worth, we were greatly relieved when they chose Fort Worth. Alex’s Dad lived there. Family would be nearby. Phew.

Turning to Genesis 12:1-4 today and tomorrow, we can imagine that Abram and Sarai and even Terah, Abram’s father, felt some of what we felt and more. In verse 1 God says to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you.” God is asking Abram to leave everything he knows: homeland, security, family, support, place of worship, guidance. This in and of itself is a BIG ask. Add in the kicker – “for the land that I WILL show you” – and it requires radical obedience for Abram to pack up and go. As John Wesley wrote, Abram was wrestling with “whether he could trust God further than he saw God.” How true!

This challenging invitation does come with some promises from God. God will make Abram into a great nation and will bless him. Childless yet at age 75, to step into these promises also required great faith and trust – and a willingness to enter into a place of vulnerability. While God could call us to do what Abram was called to do, our callings and invitations are relatively “smaller.” Yet whether it is to step into a new role or career or to reach out to reconcile that broken relationship or whatever God asks if us, the divine call asks for faith, trust, obedience, and often for vulnerability. As God calls, may we too step out in faith, believing in what we cannot yet see.

Prayer: Lord God, your Spirit calls and invites us to step out frequently, if not daily, asking us to go where you need us to go. Sometimes it is to stretch or grow our own faith and trust. Other times it is to share our faith and your love, grace, provision, presence… with others. In all cases, strengthen and encourage us to faithfully obey you as we walk in faith. Amen.


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7th Day Practices

Reading: Exodus 24:15-18

Exodus 24:16b – “On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from the cloud.”

Photo credit: Carolina Jacomin

As we draw near to the day of the Lord, we return to where we began the week, in Exodus 24. God’s “glorious presence” covers the mountain for six days. From down below, the presence of God looks like a “blazing fire.” Perhaps this was above the clouds. Maybe it looked like a lightning storm can when it is moving within the clouds in the sky. Moses spends these six days waiting for God.

In the last part of verse 16 we read, “On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from the cloud.” On the seventh day God speaks. Moses is then in communion with God for forty days and forty nights. In addition to receiving the Ten Commandments, Moses will receive instructions on the worship of God – on everything from how to build and equip the tabernacle to how to keep and honor the Sabbath.

For Israel, the Sabbath was and is a day set aside to worship the Lord and to rest. For Christians, this seventh day practice falls on Sunday. It is the day we set aside to commune with God, to worship God, and to be renewed in body, mind, and spirit. As we gather tomorrow in worship, may the Lord our God call out to each of us, giving us the words of life. And as we fellowship and spend time in renewing rest, may the Lord our God prepare us to walk as light and love in the world until we gather again on the next day of the Lord.

Prayer: Lord God, draw us into your presence. Help us to hear your call and to respond. Open our ears and hearts to all that you have for us. Guide us to understand your will and way for our lives and for our world. Pour out your blessings on our worship, on our renewal, on our fellowship,and on our daily living. Amen.


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Answer the Call

Reading: Matthew 5:17-20

Matthew 5:19b – “But whoever keeps these commands and teaches others to keep them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Turning to verses 17-20 today, Jesus connects being salt and light to fulfilling the words of the Law and the prophets. Jesus came as God in the flesh, as one who would model God’s heart being lived out in the world. In Jesus’ words and actions, we see the depth and breadth of God’s love, mercy, and grace. To get an idea of how Jesus teaches us to fulfill the Law, read the rest of chapter 5.

Returning to today’s reading, Jesus then declares that those who ignore God’s heart and who teach others to do the same, they will be “the lowest in the kingdom of heaven.” Later in our passage, we see that Jesus is speaking of the overtly religious of his day. The Pharisees and legal experts knew the letter of the Law inside out. The living out of the heart of the Law was where they struggled. In the context of yesterday’s reading, they knew what it meant to be salt and light, but they were not being salt and light.

Jesus then proclaims, “But whoever keeps these commands and teaches others to keep them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” To keep the heart of God as one’s guide in all of life, this is our call. We teach best by example. That was Jesus’ model. The Law is centered on love – God’s love for all of us, our love for God, our love for neighbor. It is love that guides us and leads us to be people of mercy, grace, forgiveness, hope, repentance, generosity, justice, humility… This is the righteousness that Jesus describes. It is the righteousness that God calls us to. May we answer the call every day.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to not just be hearers but also doers. Yes, we know we are to love you and to love neighbor. Move us beyond our head knowledge, out into the world. Shape and form us to be people who love practically and tangibly, who practice grace and forgiveness in every opportunity. Use us to restore broken relationships and to redeem unjust practices and systems. In these ways, may your righteousness and glory be revealed to the world. Amen.


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Called Yet Today

Reading: 1st Corinthians 1:26-31

1st Corinthians 1:27-28 – “God chose what the world considers foolish… weak… low-class and low-life…”

Turning to our Epistle again this week, Paul invites the believers in Corinth to remember their old selves. This is a good exercise to practice every once in a while. Take a few moments right now to think back to significant events in your faith journey. This might be a conversion moment, a light bulb experience, a time of support or comfort or strength in a difficult time or season in your life… Take a moment to remember and give thanks to God…

In today’s passage, Paul reminds these believers that they did not generally come from the ranks of the “wise… powerful… upper-class.” This reality began in the incarnation and continued in the call of the disciples – and continues yet today. In verses 27-28 we read, “God chose what the world considers foolish… weak… low-class and low-life…” Through such people, God took what the world saw and sees as wise, strong, important… and reduced all of this to nothing. These worldly titles, accolades, desires – they are really nothing in the kingdom of God. That is why fishermen and tax collectors and prostitutes were called. And it is why mothers and emergency room nurses and pastors and shop keepers and… are called yet today to bring peace and healing to our divided and broken world. It is why God calls you and me.

This work of making earth “as it is in heaven” began with Christ. Then through death, God raised Jesus up, defying the two things that all the power in the world cannot defeat: sin and death. Since then, God has called the faithful to defeat the present evils of this world: hate, violence, division, injustice, poverty, power over… God doesn’t just call. God also equips and prepares. Those moments we recalled at the start of this time, the roiling that you feel in your gut right now – all ways God is equipping and preparing us. God makes us “righteous and holy” and God will “deliver us,” some to bring peace and justice, some to pray and love, and, yes, some even unto death.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to hear your call. Open our ears and eyes to the ways that you call every single one of us to resist evil and to fight for justice. Empower our prayers, our words, our actions – whatever we have to offer to bring about peace and wholeness in our world. Grant us the courage and strength to do your will. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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Using Our Voice

Reading: John 1:29-42

John 1:30 – “He who comes after me is really greater than me because he existed before me.”

In John 1, John the Baptist is out in the wilderness baptizing and proclaiming the coming Messiah. Lots and lots of people were coming out to see John. It would’ve been easy to look at the large crowds and to think pretty highly of himself. John the Baptist does not do what most of us would do. Instead he remains humble and serves as God has called him to serve: as the “voice crying out in the wilderness.” John knew that he was not the Messiah (or Elijah or…) He knew he was the voice calling people to Jesus.

In verse 29 John the Baptist identifies Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” These descriptors fit with part of who the Jews expected the Messiah to be. John can name Jesus this way because he saw God’s word come true as the Spirit descended upon Jesus after he was baptized by John. This presence empowers Jesus to be the one who “baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” With these words, with his voice, John the Baptist clearly identifies Jesus Christ as the Messiah come into the world.

Today our world is filled with many voices. Some are clearly of this earthly kingdom. Some are clearly followers of Jesus who seek to share the good news. Many voices are a mix of these two. They try and sound like Jesus – even using a snippet of his words as a sound bite. Their lives and actions, however , do not look like Jesus at all. And where do our voices fit in this mix? We are called to be like John the Baptist, pointing to Jesus the Messiah, using our voices to carry his message of love to the world, using our hands and feet in humble service to our God. May it be so for all who seek to follow Jesus.

Prayer: Lord God, make our hearts as sure and steady as John’s was. Make our words as true and our actions as pure. In all things and in all ways, use us to point others to Jesus. Amen.