pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: check


by Leave a comment

Rooted in Belief

Reading: John 6:25-35

John 6:29 – “Jesus replied, ‘This is what God requires, that you believe in him who God sent.'”

Photo credit: Marek Piwnicki

In today’s gospel reading Jesus redirects the peoples’ focus. The day before, this crowd had been part of the miracle known as “the feeding of the 5,000.” They have followed the disciples to Capernaum, hoping to find Jesus there, hoping for more bread. He quickly points out that they missed the work of the divine within the feeding miracle. All they “saw” was the food. Jesus tells them to quit working for that temporal “food” and instead to seek “the food that endures for eternal life.”

We too need to hear these words of Jesus because we often strive after temporal things. Even in our lives of faith, our striving can become like checking boxes. Yup, went to church on Sunday. Read my Bible this week. Check. Prayed for my neighbor in need. Check that one too! Hearing the call to the eternal, the crowd asks Jesus what we can ask: “What must we do?” Jesus’ response is a redirect. It’s not about doing at all. Jesus says to the crowd and to us: “This is what God requires, that you believe in him who God sent.” Faith starts with belief in Jesus and it grows from this foundational place.

Even though Jesus’ direction seems clear to us, the crowd again asks, “What sign will you do…” A million miracles in themselves will not lead to faith. The choice for faith, again, begins with belief in Jesus as the one who is “the bread of life,” the one who satisfies our eternal hungers and thirsts. In time, yes, faith through belief will lead to experiencing God’s power and presence in ways that feel miraculous and will lead to service in the kingdom of God. But faith must always be rooted in our belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, we can do easily get caught up in striving after things, in checking boxes to assure ourselves of our progress. Help us to understand that it is not in the doing that “things” happen. Instead, lead us to trust that you alone are the one “doing” the work, even when we are serving you and others. Grounded in our belief in you alone, may our faith in you witness to your powerful presence in our lives and in the world. Amen.


by Leave a comment

A Heart Tuned

Reading: Micah 6:6-8

Micah 6:7 – “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with many torrents of oil?”

“What does the Lord require?” That is the title for the section of scripture that we read today. We learned yesterday, from Luke 10, that a good answer is to love your neighbor. It becomes a great answer when we understand that our “neighbor” is anyone in need. Loving God with all that we are was the other part of the legal expert’s “correct” answer to the same basic question. Today we read Micah’s thoughts on this question. The prophet focuses on both sides of the love God, love neighbor concept.

Micah begins with the “religiously correct” answer. Sacrificial offerings were the culturally acceptable response to your God/god, whether you were Hebrew or Moabite or Canaanite. Although Israel’s understanding was not quite as transactional as this process was with pagan gods, there was certainly an element of checking the box at this point in Israel’s history. Their going through the motions disgusted God. That is why Micah, tongue-in-cheek, asks, “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with many torrents of oil?” Speaking to the pagan practices and to the point he is making, he next asks, “Well, then, how about my oldest child instead?”

The real answer to the title question comes in verse 8. It is a heart tuned fully to God. That is what is “good.” That is what God “requires.” This is because a heart tuned to God will naturally be a heart tuned to our neighbors. In the last part of verse 8 the prophet reveals what this heart looks like: “to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God.” To work to make things right, to be faithful in our relationships with God and with one another, to humbly allow God to transform us, day by day, more fully into God’s image. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, we are much like the people of Micah’s day. Just tell me when I have to show up for church, just take my offering, just let me check the box. We want the easy. That leaves more for us. Yet you want so much more. Yes, worship and giving are important. But you want our heart, not our things. You want our unconditional love, not our passing attention. Lord, tune our hearts to yours. Lord, teach us what humility and justice and faithful love truly look like. Remind us of Jesus. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Not Far?

Reading: Mark 12:28-34

Mark 12:34 – “You aren’t far from the kingdom of heaven.”

Today’s interaction between Jesus and the legal expert comes amidst clashes between Jesus and the temple leaders, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. These various religious groups are trying to test and trap Jesus with their questions. The legal expert has been present for at least the last interaction with the Sadducees.

Our reading today is a good, practical reminder: not all religious leaders were against Jesus. We tend to cast out the blanket statement that ALL religions leaders were opposed to Jesus. Impressed with Jesus’ answer to the Sadducees, the legal expert asks Jesus’ opinion on the most important commandment. Jesus gives the “correct” answer. Any nominal Jew would give this answer. These commands from Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19 form the core belief in the Jewish faith. Simply put: love God, love neighbor.

The legal expert compliments Jesus’ answer then rephrases these commands using his own words. The words “a full understanding” are an interesting choice. Perhaps this reflects his openness to Jesus and his teachings. Most of the religious leaders rejected the idea that Jesus was God’s son. Perhaps the legal expert is considering if Jesus is indeed the fuller revelation, the deeper understanding, of who and what God is.

This openness continues as the legal expert adds a thought to his paraphrase. He elevates these two commands far above all the sacrifices and offerings required by the Jewish system. Today we might say, “If you check all the boxes but do not love…” Jesus responds beautifully to the legal expert: “You aren’t far from the kingdom of heaven.” May love also be our only guide in all we say, do, and think.

Prayer: Lord God, when we pass by that hungry person and tell ourselves that we went to church on Sunday or when we ignore that nudge to reach out to that elderly neighbor and tell ourselves that we read our Bible that morning or when we harshly judge that struggling single parent and tell ourselves that we’ve been praying for them, Lord have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Faithful Activity

Reading: James 1-2

James 2:14 – “My brothers and sisters, what good is it if people say they have faith but do nothing to show it?”

Today we begin the book of James. James advocates an active, world-engaging, lived out faith. To live this way, while “scattered” to the world, is indeed a great challenge. These words from James that we read today and tomorrow very much apply to our lives and world right now. As “resident aliens” it is easier to write a check than it is to show up. It eases one’s conscience to say, “It’s the pastor’s job.” Yes, a time comes in life when it is not possible to physically show up. And, yes, some “jobs” are the pastor’s. But to shelter one’s faith from the world and vice versa, well, better read and study James.

Chapter 1 from James deals with standing firm in our faith. James begins by encouraging us to think of moments of testing as “occasions for joy.” These moments produce endurance, which yields a mature faith. In times of trial, we are invited to turn to God for wisdom. Trusting in God, we will receive. This is because God is good and faithful. Such a God will not tempt us. No, James says, that comes from within ourselves. God only gives good things. The pinnacle of this is the word of God. The word has the power to make us slow to anger, slow to speak, and quick to listen. It gives us power over our tongues. (More on that in chapter 3.)

In chapter 2 James encourages us to show faith, not favoritism. Favoritism is “evil-minded.” It is judgmental. It denies mercy. Instead, James advises, put your faith into action, like Abraham and Rahab. James asks, “My brothers and sisters, what good is it if people say they have faith but do nothing to show it?” That is a great question. Yes, belief in God is good. But, we are reminded, “Even the demons believe this.” To wish well for a brother or sister who is naked or hungry without actually meeting their needs? James: “Faith is dead when it doesn’t result in faithful activity.”

Prayer: Lord God, it is so much easier to just fly under the radar, to just think someone else will do it. It is so much harder to stand firm, to stand up, to show up. Faith isn’t supposed to be easy or convenient, is it God? Empower, equip, and encourage us, O Lord, to be doers of the word and not merely hearers. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Our Whole Life

Reading: Matthew 22:41-46

Verse 42: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

In yesterday’s first half of our gospel reading the religious leaders asked Jesus a question to test him. The Pharisees were experts in the Law. They knew the scriptures inside-out. Keeping the letter of the Law and honoring all of the traditions was their focus. They were great practitioners of religion. So when they asked Jesus a letter of the Law question, they were likely surprised when he gave them a spirit of the Law answer. The idea of summing up all of the Law into just two commands had to have gotten their heads spinning. If one’s life has been dedicated to keeping each and every of the 600+ laws, what would it be like to consider really keeping and living out just two?

In today’s text, Jesus pushes the conversation further, deepening their new state of unease. It is his turn to ask a question. For the Pharisees, answering “Whose son is he?” should be as easy for them as answering 2+2=? is for us. Yet they have no answer. The answer is not explicitly found in their scriptures. It is there if one digs and goes deeper: the Messiah is Christ, the son of God. But the religious leaders cannot see or even fathom God coming in the form of a baby now grown into this man standing before them. This did not fit their strict and narrow reading and interpretation of the scriptures. Jesus’ question left them with an even great feeling of unease.

We too can find ourselves in this place at times. We can fall into being experts at following the rules or checking the boxes. We can be really good at practicing our religion yet fail to live out our faith. Both are important. Both should answer the question of who Christ is to us. We too can find unease when these two cross paths. Our religion, for example, calls us to love our neighbors. It tells us to give the hungry person $10 to buy lunch. Our faith tells us to buy our lunches and then to sit down at the table with our neighbor. Unease.

As we ponder Christ’s total call on our lives, may we, like David, understand the Lord to be the Lord of our whole life. And, from there, may we live it out with all that we are and all that we have to offer.

Prayer: Lord God, guide me to not only know the word, but to be the word lived out. Guide me to not only help others to know Christ, but to experience Christ in me. Guide me to be not just faithful and obedient, but also to be compassionate and generous. As I seem to grow into you, Lord, grow in me. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Righteous

Reading: 1st John 3: 4-7

Verse 5: “You know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin”.

Photo credit: Emily Crawford

John begins our passage for today reminding us that sin breaks the law and that sin is lawlessness. For the Jews of Jesus’ day, a life of faith entailed following the Law. Breaking a law required confession and the offering of a sacrifice to God. The Jewish faith had become very legalistic at this point. Keeping the law had in many ways superceded the practice of living in a relationship with God.

Jesus came in the flesh not to abolish the law but to reveal God’s love in and through the law. Almost everything Jesus taught and lived out came from the Old Testament. The ways of God were lived out in Jesus’ life through the lens of God’s love. There was no legalism in the ways and teachings of Jesus. The acts of confession and repentance and forgiveness had become boxes that check, parts of the law to keep, motions to go through. This had already been evident by the time of the last prophets, 400 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Through Amos, God tells the people he won’t even look at their “offerings of well-fed animals” (5:22) any longer. God desires justice and righteousness instead, for peace to “roll down like a river”. This is the broken system that the sacrifice of Jesus replaced.

In our passage today we read, “You know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin”. Jesus came to be the sacrifice, to pay the price once for all, to open the curtain that separates. As Jesus gave up his life, the temple curtain separating the people from God’s presence was torn in two. Through Jesus, God became accessible, more present. God’s love had been fully revealed. No longer was it necessary to go to the priest with an animal to sacrifice. Jesus gave direct access to God’s mercy and grace and forgiveness – not through a burnt offering but through a humble and repentant heart.

With Jesus Christ in our heart we are no longer slaves to sin. In John’s words, “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning”. The Holy Spirit works within us, helping us to walk a more holy and devout life. Sin is not absent from our lives; in and with the Holy Spirit we recognize it and repent. Through the power and presence of the Spirit, Jesus within us, may we ever seek to be righteous “as he is righteous”.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the gifts of your love: Jesus Christ my example and the Holy Spirit my guide. Thank you for loving me beyond my sin and then back into right relationship with you. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Audience of 1

Reading: Matthew 23: 1-12

Verse 5: “Everything they do is done for me to see”.

Yesterday we looked at the warning to do as the scribes and Pharisees teach, not as they do. There is a disconnect between what they preach to the people and how they themselves are living their lives. The middle section in our reading today begins with verse five. Here we read, “Everything they do is done for me to see”. This can be a trap we too fall into. Being human, we like recognition. When we do something “good” and no one notices, we feel hurt or let down or we can even question why we did it. Some of the time, we can also be like these religious leaders, waiting for an audience before we do our good deed, insuring publicity or recognition for our actions.

The scribes and Pharisees loved to be seen and recognized. It reinforced both their authority and their ego. They wore large phylacteries and long tassels – two symbols of their deep connection to God. Today, one may give a large donation, thinking the size of the gift will reflect the depth of their faith for others. Some will want it announced in church or published in the bulletin or will want a plaque placed on the item so that all will know of their good and generous gift. The scribes and Pharisees wanted the best seats or places at events or in worship. This prime real estate is where others will notice they are there. In a similar way, they loved to be called ‘rabbi’ – a title that was revered, respected, honored. It pumped up the ego to see all bow a bit as the people acknowledged the religious leaders. The title separated them from the rest of society. It also insulated them from those outside of their religious circles.

Today, some still like to have a title connected to their name – doctor, professor, reverend, pastor, officer… Titles convey power and authority. These titles can be used to gain admittance and to avoid consequences. It is a good thing, for example, when the pastor title gains entry to pray with a dying person during these pandemic restrictions. Yet it would be a bad thing, for example, to pull out my pastor ID card first, instead of my driver’s license, if pulled over for speeding. Titles can be abused, they can separate, they can be used to manipulate, they can be used for personal gain. Jesus is warning us against such things, to check our egos, and to be aware of our motives and intentions.

When we practice our faith, when we offer acts of kindness, may it always be for an audience of one – for the Lord our God.

Prayer: Lord, when I am tempted to shine the light on me, remind me of the call to humble service. When I want others to notice or see what I’m doing, check my pride and remind me of humble service. When I’m drawn to playing the pastor card, remind me of the call to humble service. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Both New and Old

Reading: Acts 2: 1-21

Verse 4: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them”.

As we continue to look at Acts 2 we focus in today on communication. A small group of Jesus followers is gathered together and the Holy Spirit bursts in and settles on each one. At that moment, “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them”. The languages that they spoke matched up with the native tongues of the Jews that were drawn there and this helped them to connect to the story of Jesus Christ. As I shared yesterday, we each have our own unique “language” or experience that can speak into another person’s life, drawing them to our source of new life.

In this pandemic time we have had to learn and relearn how to communicate when we cannot be face to face. Many people became familiar with apps like Zoom and FaceTime and Google chat. Some of us even became somewhat proficient at using these platforms to gather for Bible studies and meetings and family birthdays… In many churches the leap was made to provide online worship as YouTube and Facebook Live and other platforms were quickly learned and used. Folks at home also had to adjust to how they heard and participated in online worship – honing their new communication skills.

We have also relearned some skills that we practiced back in the days without social media and cell phones. We call and talk on the phone, catching up and checking in on one another. We send actual notes and cards in the mail. Some have even had conversations with folks from afar – talking through windows and screen doors. It has been good to be reminded that the “old-fashioned” ways to communicate are every bit as good as texting, messaging, … It has been good for me, for us, to be reminded of the value of simply checking in, of reaching out, of connecting in more personal ways.

As we begin to work our way back to whatever our new normal is, may we continue to learn and use the technology when beneficial and necessary. But let us also hold fast to all of these “old” modes of communication as well because they are often more personal, more real, more valued to many. May all these things be so as we seek to share our faith each day.

Prayer: Lord God, sharing your love and hope and grace can happen in many forms. In this season you have reminded me of the value of personal communication in new and old ways. Thank you. Help me to discern how to best communicate these means of faith to others today and every day. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Justice, Mercy, Humility

Reading: Micah 6: 4-8

Verse 6: “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God”?

Our passage today begins with God reminding the people of all that God has recently done for them. God gave them leaders and brought them out of slavery. God guided them to the promised land, performing righteous act after righteous act all along the way. How could the people be so disconnected from a God that has shown them so much love? Yet if we took a few minutes to reflect on how God has led us, guided us, blessed us, forgiven us, rescued us… we too might be a bit ashamed of how disconnected we can be from God for periods or even seasons in our lives.

Micah then asks an important, self-reflective question. In verse six he asks, “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God”? If we more frequently asked this question, we would be connected to God more of our lives. Micah goes on to ask if God really desires burnt offerings of calves or rams or if God really needs thank offerings equivalent to rivers of oil. Micah even wonders if the sacrifice of the firstborn child would cleanse the sin of his soul. Our questions are a little different but come from the same place. Is it not enough God that I’ve been to church two out of four Sundays most months? Is it not enough that I gave to the church some of what I had left at the end of the month? Didn’t I check off enough boxes to be blessed by you, O God?! The people of Micah’s day were going through the motions of being God’s people. They were all about doing.

In verse eight Micah reminds them and us of what God desires: “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God”. These are ways of being. These are ways of the heart. When we are people of justice, mercy, and humility, we are closely connected to the core of who God is. May we be people who act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God and with our fellow humans. May it always be so.

Prayer: Father God, in all I do and say and think, help me to do it justly. In all I do and say and think, help me to lead with mercy. In all I do and say and think, help me to walk humbly, elevating you and others far above self. Draw me to you, O God. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Tell of His Love

Reading: Luke 15: 1-10

Verse 4: “Does he not leave the 99 in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it”?

As we read these two stories, we begin to understand how important it is for God to find the lost. It has been almost 2,000 years since Jesus told these stories. The first disciples thought Jesus’ return was going to be soon – certainly during their lifetime. I believe this expanse of time shows both God’s love for humanity and God’s love for the lost. There are still souls to be saved.

We were once one of these lost souls. We were the sheep or the coin (or the prodigal son in the next story). During the first part of my college experience I was the lost sheep. I was raised in the church and was active in youth group through high school. In college, my faith took a back seat for a few years until God found me again in a pile of grief. A few years later I was like the lost coin – still somewhere in the house but not really connected or engaged. We went to a church most Sundays but it wasn’t ever our church. It was more like checking the box than being a part of a faith family. God was present in my life, but was mostly hidden. We all have experiences or seasons where we wander a little bit from the faith we once knew and lived. Like the shepherd and like the woman, God searches for us. “Does he not leave the 99 in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it”?

I am so very grateful that God sought me out when I was lost. Once it was a trial, a suffering, that drew me back. Other times it was a gentle whisper, a soft nudge. All of these are a part of my faith story, a part of who I am today as a child of God. I rejoice that God loves me so much that he never gives up on me. Is that your response too? If so, may we tell others of Jesus’ love for them.

Prayer: Loving Father God, when I think about your love, I both marvel at it and am humbled by it. My response: thank you for your love. May my witness today help others to know that love too. Amen.