pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Christ


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Shine

Reading: Isaiah 60: 1-6

Today is Epiphany!  Just as the wise men appeared to reveal and celebrate the birth of Jesus, so too do we arrive today, celebrating the gift of Jesus in our lives.  Like the wise men, we too are called to reveal Jesus to the world.  The star led the way for the wise men.  Today, the light of the Son of Man leads the way for you and me.  The light of Christ guides our path and illumines our decisions.  We need the light.  So too does a world living in darkness.

Verse one begins, “Arise, shine, for your light has come”.  Yes indeed!  Jesus Christ has come and His light is in our hearts.  Verse two continues, “the Lord rises upon you, and His glory appears over you”.  God is present in us, His glory waiting to be revealed through us.  Our call as disciples of Jesus Christ is to take the light of Christ out into the world with us.  This verse reminds us that God is present with each of us and that His glory will appear over us as we live out our faith in the world.

The world can be a dark place.  Many people struggle with darkness in our world and in all of our communities.  For some, the struggle is with homelessness or poverty or prejudice or abuse or discrimination or injustice or addiction.  For others the struggle is with pride or control or possessions or position or ego or self-centeredness.  The world can be a dark place when we struggle with these issues.  There is great need in our world for the light of Christ.

We are each that light.  We each carry Christ in our hearts.  Can you see that light within you shining out into a dark world?  Can you see yourself being the light for just one person in need of God’s love?  We are called to arise and shine!  This day, this day of Epiphany, may we each shine God’s light into the world, bringing honor to Christ the Lord!


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Preach and Testify

Reading: Acts 10: 34-43

Peter opens today’s passage with an important statement, with one of the significant learning and understanding shifts in the early, early church: “God does not show favoritism”.  It is a shift away from a small, select ‘chosen people’.  Instead, Peter tells us, God is willing to accept all who fear God and who do what is right.  When the church came to understand that God is for all, the whole world became the mission field.  It was not just throughout Judea that they were called to bring the good news, but out into the entire world.  People of all races, ethnicities, cultures, nationalities, religions, ecenomic classes, social classes… must hear the good news.  This philosophy of accepting and welcoming all is the essence of Jesus’ ministry and is foundational to many of our churches today.

Peter then goes on to give a brief summary of Jesus’ ministry: bapitzed by John, anointed with the Holy Spirit, did good and healed, died on a cross, rose from the dead.  After the resurrection, Jesus returned and commanded “us” to preach the good news and to testify that all who call on Jesus as Lord will receive forgiveness of sins.  Again, Peter chooses words like ‘everyone’ and ‘all’ – anyone is welcome to hear the good news, to profess Jesus as Lord of their lives, and to receive forgiveness of their sins.

In the last few verses of chapter eleven, the people Peter was preaching to are overcome by the Holy Spirit, speak in tongues, and are baptized in the name of Jesus.  The power of God entered that situation and welcomed some new members into the family.  The command to preach and Testify is our command as well.  To tell the good news and to share the story of what Jesus has done in our lives is our great commission as well.  We accomplish this call with words, actions, deeds – whatever it takes for others to come to know Jesus Christ.

Today, may all of us who call on Jesus as Lord share the good news of Jesus Christ with any and all we meet.


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Healing, Light, Justice

Reading: Isaiah 42: 1-9

As the new year lays out before us, it beckons us to look forward.  This time of year also causes us to look back, to consider the year that has just ended.  It is often a time of evaluation, of setting goals or realigning our priorities, and of taking stock of our lives.  All of these are good and healthy things to do.  When we take time to reflect on our lives, we live much more beyond ourselves and past the daily grind of life.

Today’s passage speaks of this idea of a life bigger than our own little worlds.  The opening verse begins by declaring, “Here is my servant… my chosen one in whom I delight”.  God speaks this of you and of me.  We each are so much more than this collection of cells.  We are God’s children, chosen by God to live a life of service to God.  This spiritual life calls us beyond ourselves and the day to day of life.  As God’s chosen ones, we are called to others.  The rest of verse one reads, “I will put my Spirit upon him and he will bring justice to the nations”.  As God’s chosen ones we are gifted with the Holy Spirit.  This gift helps us to live into God’s calling.  To me, this means truly living out the second commandment that Jesus gave: love neighbor.  There are, of course, many ways we can love our neighbors – bringing justice is just one of them.

After reminding us the He will take hold of our hand, will keep us, and will make us a covenant and a light for the Gentiles, God goes on to get specific about how we are to bring justice and to love our neighbors.  As a covenant to and a light for the people, God calls us to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison, and to release those in “dungeons of darkness”.  I believe this call is both spiritual and physical.  God wants us each to be a part of the healing of the world.  He wants us to help people through the power of Jesus’ name.  It may be physically restoring someone’s vision or helping someone learn how to make different choices so that they do not end up back in prison.  It may be opening their eyes to the Word of God so that they are freed from the chains and darkness of sin.  And for many, it is both physical and spiritual healing that God desires us, His chosen ones, to bring to the broken of our world.

As we each reflect back on our past year and look forward to the year ahead, may part of our time be spent considering how each of us can specifically bring healing and light and justice to those living in a broken world.


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Everything

Reading: Ecclesiastes 3: 1-13

“There is a time for everything…”. Time – we do not always get to choose and must instead trust into God’s timing.  After all, God alone is in control and God alone truly understands the big picture.  Each of our lives is but a small piece of the larger picture.  So we must trust.

Ecclesiastes 3 covers most of what life brings, from the big to the small.  All life begins with birth and ends in death; all life has periods of laughter and times of tears.  We build and we tear down, we plant and we harvest, we rip and we mend.  Life is full of many experiences.  God is present in them all – celebrating with us at times, crying with us at times, always present.

In verses ten and eleven we gain a glimpse of both our reality and of our promise.  In verse ten, we are reminded that toil is part of life.  We must each work at something to find value in ourselves and to provide for our needs.  Work is simply part of life.  But it is just part of the day to day of life.  We begin to get in trouble when we place too much value in or emphasis on our toil.  When our job represents who we are or when it becomes the focus of our life to the exclusion of faith, family, and friends, then our priorities need realigned.

Life will have its ups and downs.  God is our constant.  In verse eleven, we are reminded that “He has made everything beautiful in its time”.  God is present in all things.  The plans He has for us are for our good.  When we have God as our foundation, there is beauty in all that life brings.  Verse eleven goes on: “he has also set eternity in the hearts of men”.  In eternity, we find hope.  In hope, we walk through both the ups and the downs with a different perspective.  We know, as followers of Jesus Christ, that our eternity rests in His hands.  We know this promise.  We find peace, comfort, strength, and hope in this promise.

There is indeed a time for everything.  And in everything, God is present.  As we go through the day to day of life, may we always trust in God, our all in all, our everything.


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Be and Share

Reading: Ephesians 3: 1-12

Paul writes of the mystery of God.  This mystery is often seen as the wisdom of God.  Paul writes of the mystery being revealed to the prophets and apostles.  When we think back to Isaiah and Daniel and Elijah and to Paul himself, we can certainly see God’s wisdom revealed in and through these men.

Paul also writes of the whole body of Christ.  To Paul, in this writing, part of the mystery was about the Gentiles becoming part of the family.  As the New Testament unfolds, we come to understand ‘Gentiles’ as all people who do not know God.  We come to understand that there is no one God will not welcome into the family.  As the New Testament continues to unfold, we also come to see all people as messangers and bearers of God’s Word.  We look back on the great commission that Jesus gave in Matthew 28:19 and see it as written to not only the disciples but to each of us as well.

For most of us, the mystery, or wisdom, of God is revealed through the scriptures.  As we read the Word of God and as the Holy Spirit works in us, we too come to better understand the wisdom of God.  In part, we apply this wisdom or understanding to how we live our lives.  We work to live lives that are pleasing to God as we seek to follow His ways.  In this manner we are living out the mystery.

We are also called to share the mystery.  As disciples of Jesus Christ living in today’s world, we are called to bear the great mystery of God to others – to make disciples of all nations.  Just as Paul spoke and wrote to the Ephesians so that they would come to understand the mystery of God so that they could live a life of faith, so too are we to bring the Word of God to the Gentiles of today.

Through the power of Jesus Christ, may we both be and share the holy mystery with others, all for the glory of God.


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Arise, Shine

Reading: Isaiah 60: 1-6

At times, things can seem dark.  For individuals, sudden and unexpected loss can make the world heavy and can make it hard to get through the day to day.  And at times, even the normal day to day life can be a bit hard at times.  One only has to spend a little time watching or listening to the news to develop a sense that the world is bleak and gloomy.  Story after story brings more bad news.  This was the feel of the times into which Isaiah writes.  The exiles have been gone so long it seems like they will never return.  Things in Jerusalem have continued to erode – the walls, the food, the hope, …

Isaiah opens this writing with hope – glorious hope – “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you”.  These words contain much hope.  God is returning!  Into all of this darkness comes the Lord Almighty.  It is such good news that Isaiah repeats it again in the next verse.  He goes on to write of the return of sons and daughters from exile.  Then he writes of how other nations will see the glory of God in Israel and will come with camels, gold, and incense.  Lots of good news is on the way!  Praise the Lord!

Within this chapter of joy for Israel, we too can find hope in our day to day.  If we are in the midst of a difficult time, like Israel was, it can feel like God is not there or is distant at best.  The good news is for us too – we too can find strength and hope in God.  If we seek Him, we will know God’s presence, for God is always near.  For those not dealing with a personal trial, may we arise and shine forth the glory of the Lord, for all the world to see.  May the light shine so that all may be drawn to the Lord.


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Praying for Our Leaders

Reading: Psalm 72: 1-7 and 10-14

A good king in Israel would rule with justice and righteousness.  A good king would protect the people and provide for their needs.  A good king was sensitive to the needs and concerns of the poor and needy, giving them voice and meeting their basic needs.  A good king ruled according to God’s will.  The people prayed daily for the King, asking God to bless their reign with justice and righteousness.  Life was simply better when a good king reigned.

Today we do not have kings but have presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, senators, representatives, judges, governors, legislators, mayors, councilmen, and councilwomen.  The titles have changed by the roles should not.  As whatever level one serves, it should still be with righteousness and justice.  All should serve for the good of the people and the prosperity of the nation, state, city, or community.  It should not be a self-serving role.  Our role should not change either.  Our role is still to pray daily for all of our leaders.

As the people of God, we should pray each day for our leaders, at all levels, whether or not we align with their political leanings.  Each day we should pray for our leaders to govern with righteousness and justice, with compassion and understanding.  Each day we should pray for our leaders to be sensitive to the needs of the poor and the outcasts, for those without voice.  Each day we should pray that our leaders would lead according to God’s will.  And each day we should pray for our leaders to know and walk with Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

May we be faithful in our daily prayers for our leaders so that God’s blessings and justice and righteousness may touch the land.  May we ever lift up our leaders so that God’s glory may shine through them.


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Hallelujah

Reading: John 1:1-14

Our Savior is born!  Hallelujah!  The babe lies in a manger, wrapped in swaddling cloths.  Mary and Joseph must have been beaming but tired parents.  Jesus has been born!

The baby we celebrate grew up to be a man.  Jesus was full of wisdom and compassion.  There was power to heal and to give life in His hands and in His voice.  He spoke with authority and amazed all who heard Him; He even confounded a few.  Jesus was God in the flesh, living life fully as one of us.

As a man Jesus spoke words that transformed lives.  Jesus offered grace upon grace, all poured out in God’s love.  It is a love we share.  It is a love that comes to dwell in each of us. As children of God, we become a fellow servant with Jesus Christ.  Through His name we go forth to bring healing to our broken world.  In the power of Jesus’ name we partake in the transformation of the world.

For this wonderful gift of Christ and His continuing presence in the world, we say thanks be to God!  Hallelujah!


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This Most Holy Night

Reading: Luke 2: 1-20

Just as Joseph and Mary made the trek to Bethlehem to be registered for the census, many people will come tonight to worship on this most holy night.  Just as the light of the star signaled the birth of Christ, so too this evening the light of the Christ candle will recall this holy arrival.  As millions and millions hoist candles and sing “Silent Night” we remember the numberless heavenly host who gathered around the shepherds and proclaimed, ” Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests”.

This most holy night is special.  To many, we gather to remember the birth of the divine baby.  Born of a virgin mother, come to dwell amongst humanity, come to die for our sins.  In Jesus we find not only the Savior of the world, but also our Savior.  This night invites us to come, to soak up the holy mystery, to be still and really hear the words of His birth, and to be filled with wonder, awe, and presence of our God most high.

Others come tonight searching, perhaps longing, for all that Christ offers: peace, hope, joy, and love. This night invites those who are lost or hurting or without faith to come in and to be filled.  Christmas Eve is about God giving the gift of Jesus to all people regardless of who they are, what they have done, or where they are from.  In the birth we find our connection to God because in the birth God took on flesh and walked among us.  In the flesh, tonight we are all invited to come and to take on the divine, to experience life lived as a child of God.  Tonight all are invited to become part of God’s family.

On this most holy night, may you and your family be truly blessed by the presence of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.


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Light

Reading: Isaiah 9: 2-7

“On those living in the land of darkness, a light has dawned”.  The light of the world reigns with righteousness and justice.  The good news of Jesus Christ is here.  In our world, where many live in darkness, this is very good news.  The light of Jesus both shows the way and also exposes the things done in the dark.

At times, life can be challenging, it can be hard.  This can be for a short season and often the holidays are a hard time.  For some it is because of loss – loss of a loved one, loss of a job, loss of a relationship.  For some it is the stress of the season – so much to do and buy, so little time and money, such high expectations.  Into these and into all situations, Jesus wants to shine the light that shows the way.  Jesus’ light reveals hope, grace, contentment.  Jesus wants to remove pain and burdens and to give us peace, rest, and joy this season.

Jesus’ light can also shine into our darkness.  In the light, the dark is cast aside.  Nothing can hide.  For some, this illuminating light banishes fears and doubts and brings reassurance and trust.  For some, the light illuminates our sins and makes us aware of our need for repentance and change.  Maybe we realize we are being greedy with our wish list or gluttonous with our spending.  Maybe we are being stingy with our time or withholding of our forgiveness.  The light shines into our darkness and calls us back to the path of following Jesus.

We all need the light.  The light leads to life lived in peace, joy, contentment.  The light reveals what truly matters in our world – love, fellowship, family, presence, time.  This Advent season, may we joyously live in the light, sharing the light of the world with all who cross our path this day.