pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: change


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Growing in Faith

Will the year ahead be significantly different than the year that just ended?  Or will it be much of the same?  Depending on where you are at in life, the answers to these questions can be very different.  But for almost everyone, we begin the new year with the hope that 2016 will be better than 2015.

For some, there will be changes that are big – some will graduate from high school or college; some will get married or have a child; some will lose a parent or a spouse; some will start or change careers; and some will move to a new home or community.  For others, the changes will be less significant but could still be impactful.

For all people of faith, our 2016 hope should be to see growth in our relationship with God.  As we enter the new year, no one hopes to see their relationship with God be stagnant or to diminish.  Growth and development should be the goal of all of our relationships.  To see growth, however, requires some work on our part.  Some of this ‘work’ can be thrust upon us by one of the life changes listed above, but our growth often comes as a result of choices we make.

One area that can see growth is our personal ministries.  For example, I can come alongside a couple of the Youth who are struggling with their faith or with life in general to mentor and encourage them just a little bit extra.  Or at the place I volunteer I could develop a deeper connection with a few of the clients.  In each of these areas it is putting just a little more effort in to positively impact another’s life.  Yet in the offering of self in the name of Christ, our own relationship with God will grow as well.  In the coming year, may we all bear a little more fruit as we grow in our faith and in our relationship with God.

Scripture reference: Revelation 21: 1-6a


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Right There for Us

Paul is so thankful for the relationship he has with the Philippians.  It is a mutually beneficial relationship.  The Philippians pray for and support Paul and are coworkers of his in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.  Paul pours his love and knowledge of God nto the Philippains to help them grow in their faith.

Some messengers, like Malachi and John the Baptist, bring a message of change and challenge.  They call for the people to repent of their sins and to be transformed into th epeson God is calling them to be.  Paul’s message, on the other hand, is all about God’s love.

In our world today I think we need both kinds of messengers.  We need to hear the tough love message at times.  We are prone to wander and pron to sin.  Sometimes we need those harsh but true words.  At other times we need to be reminded of God’s absolute and pure love for us.  We need to hear that this love is not dependant on us or on our actions.  God just loves us.

When we are willing to take that hard look in the mirror, God is ready to transform our lives.  And when we cannot bear to look in the mirror because our sin is heavy upon us, God’s love is right there for us, undeserving as we may be.  For both of these things, we say thanks be to God.

Scripture reference: Philippians 1: 3-8


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Hold Onto God

A famine at home forced the family of four to move to a foreign land.  They left behind their kin, the culture they knew, their faith base, and all else that mattered to find food.  The family made the move to survive, to be in a better situation.

In smaller ways we do this all the time.  We make a little change here or there seeking to be happier, healthier, or somehow better off.  Sometimes we too make larger changes.  Maybe you have moved to a new city or state or even country to have a better ‘opportunity’.  If you have done this, you can relate to this family – strangers in a foreign land.

Just as they were getting settled, the father dies. The mother at least has her two sons.  They each eventually marry a foreign woman.  The sons are happy and the possibility of grandchildren may some day bless her life.  Slowly the foreign land becomes les foreign as they learn the ways and begin to put down roots.  Ten years later, no grandkids.  Both boys die.  She is left with just two daughters-in-law.  And more pain and loss.

Perhaps a change you have made did not work out either.  Maybe the job wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.  Maybe something outside of your control changed your situation too.  Maybe like you, this woman found herself in a tight spot.  Virtually alone in a foreign land, she turned to her foundation, to God.  In Him she laid her trust.  In Him she laid her future.  Although tragic to this point, it is just the beginning of her story.  In the end it is a story of God’s blessings.  Hold onto God.  He wants to bless you too.

Scripture reference: Ruth 1: 1-5


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Engaging Systems

Our sins are not always the things we do.  Sometimes they are the things we fail to do.  Our sins are not always personal; sometimes they are communal or corporate.

About once a month we have a homeless person come to church on  Sunday.  Sometimes it is some other individual who is noticeable because they are different from the regular worshiper.  As the people of God we are called to love all people and as a whole we really do well at this.  But not always.  Some days we are only as loving or good or welcoming as our weakest or lowest part.  So it is our task as fellow believers to notice these weaker parts and to build them up in love for all people.  We cannot and should not accept less.

As a society there are ills and things that are not ‘right’ in all of our communities.  These are things that certainly cause a tear to roll down God’s cheek.  As the people of God we are called to address the issues in our communities.  This does not mean simply jumping on the latest Facebook bandwagon and adding your ‘like’.  It means being on the streets and in the shelters and in the jails.  It means going to the places where the least, the lost, and the broken are and entering into relationships with them.

To truly be the people of God and to really love all of our neighbors, we must roll up our sleeves and get a little dirty.  We must truly walk alongside those in need to begin to see things at a systemic level.  It is at this level that we must begin change.  To end prejudice, injustice, and hate we must begin with fixing the systems that cause these evils.  As Christians we must engage the evils of the world.  We are called to be the light in the darkness.  Our light needs to shine into these dark places to begin real change at the base level.

Scripture reference: Psalm 51: 1-12


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Making Change

Change can be hard.  Sometimes we are forced to make a change due to circumstances and often those circumstances are beyond our control.  Usually, though, change must be made in order to continue on.  And almost always, change is for the better, even when it is hard to go through or when it is painful.  Once in a while we don’t see the change is good until some time has passed.

As we sense change is needed a common reaction is to long for the ‘good old days.’  We pine for a time when all was well in our institution or relationship.  But that time has passed.  Yet some may still staunchly want to hold onto something that once was but is no longer.  In these cases, the dying process that has begun simply continues along.

In many churches we find ourselves here.  The place isn’t quite what it used to be.  There is much great ministry that still goes on, but it is not quite what it once was.  People remember when things seemed much ‘better’ but are resistant to seeking God’s new direction and guidance.  It is Biblically clear that God directs us to share the good news and to help people grow in their faith.  These things occur in and through the church.  Our churches need to be alive and energetic places of welcome and love.  Yes, they may look different than they did yesterday, but as long as Christ is the center, the unquestioned reason for a church’s existence, then all will be well if we trust God and His leading.  Change is scary.  Change is hard.  But sometimes it is also necessary.

Scripture reference: Numbers 21: 4-9


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Seeking to Continue

When Peter, James, and John see Jesus transfigured and Moses and Elijah appear, they are frightened.  This experience is far beyond anything they have been through or that they could imagine.  Almost without thinking, Peter offers to build three shelters, perhaps seeking to make this experience last.

One cannot blame him.  In our own God moments – those special times when we experience His presence in our lives – it is a little frightening but it is also something that we want to make last.  We want that moment and that experience to continue.

To add to it all, a cloud descends and God actually speaks to them.  In a reaffirmation of Jesus’ baptism and as a sending forth proclamation, God again declares who Jesus is and what that entails for the disciples.

Just like Peter, James, and John, we too are to acknowledge Jesus’ divinity and we are to listen to Him.  As the transfiguration experience comes to an end, they head back down the mountain and back to real life.  We do the same when our God moments end.  We are thankful and blessed and forever changed, but the world is still there and it still awaits us.

Like the disciples, we too must deny ourselves and take up our cross, seeking to continue the work of Jesus in building the kingdom here.  Being changed ourselves, may we go forth seeking to bring change and hope to our very real worlds.

Scripture reference: Mark 9: 2-9


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A Voice Calling

Job description: challenge the status quo, push people to grow and stretch themselves, be directly accountable to God

Any applicants?

Many jobs can be thankless.  Among them the job ‘prophet’ could be pretty high on a lot of people’s lists.  For most that were called in the Bible,”Yes!” was not their first reaction.

Prophets of old and prophets today have pretty much the same role.  A prophet has two primary job functions.  The first is to keep people oriented towards God.  A prophet calls us to live our lives with God at the center, following His ways and commands.  This runs counter to what the world so often tries to tell us and is therefore difficult.  A prophet tells us that ‘me’ does not come first.

The second role is to call for justice and equality for those whose voices are not heard by the those in power and in positions that can affect change.  A prophet calls for the care of the weak, for fair treatment of all, and for the stranger to be welcomed into our midst.  These calls too run counter to society’s norms.  A prophet tells us to give of ourselves and to become less so that others can become more.

Today most of us like to be comfortable, to maintain the status quo.  Change can be hard.  No wonder being a prophet is difficult.  But a faith that is not active and growing, bringing light into darkness, is dead.  That is not a good place to be.

May we learn to hear and welcome the prophet’s voice, both for what it calls us to spiritually and for the words spoken on behalf of the poor and powerless, words that bring hope, healing, justice, and love.

Scripture reference: Deuteronomy 18: 15-20


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Change

Change is hard and forced change is even harder.  In times of change we feel uncertain and emotions can rule the day.  Sometimes we wish we could just go back to the way thing were or we wish we could just disappear.  When it gets bad and we realize that we cannot handle it anymore on our own, we turn to God.

Change feels threatening and makes our world feel unstable.  We like routine and to feel secure.  All of us like someone by our side in times of stress and God fits the bill perfectly.  He wants to bring us peace, comfort, strength, presence.

In the midst of change we often seek someone else to blame.  (It is like this when we sin too!)  When our situation doesn’t improve, we can really blame God and others.  It is hard to point the finger in the mirror.  Yet when we can manage to step away for a moment and to draw a breath in, then we can begin to trust into our God who so desires to be in relationship, who so desires to pour love and guidance into our lives.  Change can be big and scary, but God is bigger and stronger.

Scripture reference: Isaiah 64: 1-9


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Living into Reality

Do you remember a radical life change?  Maybe it was after your first job or after your first child.  Maybe it was after s divorce or the loss of a loved one.  For all of us change is inevitable.  It is also hard to change.

When change cones we can embrace it or we can resist it.  When we resist our new identity or reality, it is a struggle.  The resistance takes a toll physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

If we choose instead to embrace our new life, we begin to live into it.  Our new way of life becomes our new DNA.  We begin to become the person God intended us to be.

As we practice our new identity as Christians, we must embrace it.  Our call is 24/7.  Through the practices of prayer, worship, study, and service we grow into who God created us to be.

Scripture reference: Romans 6: 12-23