pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Christ


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Witness to the Light

Reading: John 1:6-8

Verse 7: “He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.”

The first half of this week’s gospel lesson focuses on John the Baptist’s ministry. We’ve been walking with John the Baptist these past two weeks. These readings have been primarily about the bigger picture and implications of his ministry. Today’s passage feels more personal and more relatable to our lives and ministry. Proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins out in the Judean wilderness feels like a lot for me and my life. Maybe the same is true for you.

We first read today that John was sent by God. This average person was called to fill a role, to play a part in God’s plan. While from the big picture perspective John’s ministry was amazing and powerful, in verse 7 we read, “He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.” To witness to the light so that others can come to know Jesus, to believe in him – this sounds and feels like a role that we could all live out.

John the Baptist was not the light. That is Jesus. John wasn’t pointing to himself. He was pointing to Jesus. John always kept the focus on Jesus and on helping others to be ready to receive Jesus. This feels like something that we can do day in and day out. Also being sent by God may you and I witness to the light of the world through the words we speak and through the actions of our hands and feet.

Prayer: Lord God, in this version and in this way, it feels possible to live out our faith in ways that point others to Jesus. Empower us to be witnesses to the light of Christ so that those living outside of a relationship with Jesus may be drawn towards him. Amen.


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A People the Lord Has Blessed

Reading: Isaiah 61:8-11

Verse 11: “The LORD God will grow righteousness and praise before all the nations.”

In the second half of this week’s Isaiah 61 passage God declares a love for justice and a corresponding hate of robbery and iniquity. In all things God loves good and hated evil. This is because God is good and in God there is no evil whatsoever. Created in God’s image, God’s intent is for us to mirror the character of God. In verse 8 God promises an everlasting covenant. Through this covenant the people of the Lord will be blessed.

Beginning in verse 10, Isaiah responds. The promises of God bring delight and joy to his soul. The prophet noted that God has “clothed me with garments of salvation… in a robe of righteousness.” Covered in these figurative garments, Isaiah is empowered to practice and to reflect the character of God. The living out of a deeply rooted faith will be a witness to the people of God and to the world. This connects back to verse 9b, where we read, “‭All who see them will recognize that they are a people blessed by the LORD.”

Our passage also connects with an analogy that I’ve touched on the last two Sundays. In these words of hope and of a promise of new life, Isaiah draws on the image of a garden. The soil and the seed are essential. Good tending is necessary. And then God gets involved as the seed sprouts, grows, and eventually bears a crop. The same concepts are true in our faith. Time in the Bible tolls the soil of our hearts. Worship and study and prayer plant seeds that we must tend to and nourish. Then God’s Holy Spirit gets involved, leading and guiding our growth, causing our faith to grow deeper, allowing it to be witnessed by all, leading others to seek out the One in whom we delight and find joy, the One who leads us in righteousness and into salvation. May this be so for you and for me today and every day.

Prayer: Lord God, your covenant remains true today – you are our God and we are your people. Clothe us in righteousness, fill us with the joy and delight of salvation through Jesus Christ. Then set us out into the world, Lord, drawing others into a saving faith. Amen.


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Change IS Necessary

Reading: Mark 1:1-8

Verse 3: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

Returning to Mark 1 today we delve a little deeper into the “repent” part of John’s message. Although we tend to place the practices of introspection, confession, and repentance in the season of Lent, these practices also have a place in Advent. They are the focus of our Lenten preparation. They are part of our Advent preparation.

By our nature we are prone to sin. We are naturally selfish and this leads us to be greedy or controlling or lustful or prideful or… These emotions are enablers on our path to sin. So we need to hear the call to repent, even now in this season of hope and peace and love and joy. The call to repent makes us a bit uncomfortable. First, no one likes change, especially when it is forced. And that is what repentance is really about – forcing our naturally selfish nature to be unselfish. And, second, no one likes to hear that they are living wrong, that they are living unfaithfully. To hear this implies a need for a change. And change is necessary.

In Advent we prepare the way in our hearts for the coming of Jesus. In his birth we celebrate the light coming into the world. It is the light of Christ that shines into the darkness of injustice and inequality, poverty and want, isolation and loneliness, grief and anger, violence and war, and so much more. It is the light that beckons us into these places and spaces. This too is part of the call to repent – to help our world and one another to repent of these maladies. In these places and spaces change is also necessary. As we allow the light of Christ to shine brighter in our own hearts, may we also take that light out into the world, bringing healing and wholeness to our broken and dark world.

Prayer: Lord God, may our journey be both inward and outward. As we grow in our love for you, may that love overflow out into the world. As we seek to change within, may we also seek change in our world. In and through us may your light shine brightly, bringing healing within and without. Amen.


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Revelations of Christ

Reading: 1st Corinthians 1:3-9

Verse 7: “You are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

As we return to 1st Corinthians today we look at how God’s grace is worked out in our lives. God’s grace guides us into relationships. The first relationship is with God. This comes as God’s graces woos us and draws us towards God’s love. As this prevenient grace brings us into a personal relationship, God’s grace then justifies us, making us right with God. This justifying grace enables imperfect us to continue to be in a relationship with our perfect God. Our relationship with God is then reflected outward by Christ’s Spirit, which resides in us, giving us grace and strength and guidance. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us these “spiritual gifts” and that prompts us to use these gifts to live in community with one another.

As we “eagerly wait” for Jesus to be revealed, we do so in a two-fold manner. In Paul’s context he is expressing the common hope and belief of his day that Jesus’ return (or revelation) was imminent. This is true for us too. So we also seek to live “blameless” lives before our God. While we wait, however, we are also the revelation of Christ in the world. As we live into and respond to God’s love we begin to sense a call to “live in fellowship” with Jesus and with those Jesus loves. Our response is to share and to witness to Christ’s love, grace, forgiveness, and hope in the world, making Jesus real to that world. Trusting that God “will keep you strong to the end,” may we live daily as Christ’s hands, feet, heart, and words.

Prayer: Lord God, you call us into a deep, personal, intimate relationship with you. It is so close and so important that you send the Holy Spirit to live within each of our hearts. Lead and guide us, use us each day as we seek to live out all that you are for the world. Amen.


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The Presence of Grace

Reading: 1st Corinthians 1:3-5 and 8

Verse 5: “For in every way you have been enriched in God, in speech and knowledge of every kind.”

In this week’s Epistle text Paul writes about grace. Most simply put, grace is God’s presence in our lives. Paul begins by asking for God’s grace and peace to be with the Corinthian church. These two things often go hand in hand. God’s presence often brings a sense of peace to our lives. This peace is one of the marks of a Christian.

Paul then offers words of thanksgiving. He begins by offering thanks for the grace that is clearly evident in the lives of the people who make up this community of faith. This presence of God is what makes them stand out. It is that “there’s something different about you” that people notice when they’re around a person of faith.

As the church lives out its witness in Corinth, filled by and guided by the Holy Spirit (that’s God’s constant, indwelling presence), their lives are “enriched.” Paul notes that this enrichment is “in every way.” That’s the thing about grace – it doesn’t come and go. It is with us all of the time. This grace is evident in the ways that the church members speak and think. It is in their words and in the ways that they live out these words. It is in the strength that they exhibit in their lives. People around them notice this presence of God that permeates their lives.

If we too open ourselves up to the grace of God that is always present and is always available to us, we too will be blessed as we are filled with grace. It will fill us with strength and with guidance, empowering us to witness to our faith in Jesus Christ. Filled we too will live in such a way that others notice the grace and peace in us. May it be so today and every day.

Prayer: Lord God, pour out your presence into my heart and into my mind. Fill me with a grace and peace that overflows into the lives of all that I meet today. Equip me to witness well to your love today. Use me to be a connection point to you. Amen.


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More and More

Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23

Verses 22-23: “God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body.”

Photo credit: Shane Rounce

After opening his letter to the church in Ephasus with a reminder of their spiritual blessings, Paul offers words of prayer that they would live into these blessings. He has heard of their faith and love and he has prayed each day for them. This is not just a prayer of thanksgiving but it is also for growth and greater understanding. Paul wants to see their faith mature and deepen.

To this end, Paul prays for “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.” These abilities, enhanced by the Holy Spirit, will enable them to “know him better.” The “him” and the “he” that Paul keeps referring to is Jesus. Adding to head knowledge, Paul prays that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.” Here Paul connects to the spiritual blessings that he wrote about in verses 3-14. With hearts open to fully receive, Paul prays for them to know the hope of their salvation, the glorious inheritance that is guaranteed by their adoption into the family of God, and the power that is theirs through Jesus Christ – the one who came to “bring all things in heaven and in earth together.”

Paul then reminds the Ephesians and us that God raised Jesus up and placed him “at his right hand,” giving Jesus full authority over all things. In verses 22-23 we read, “God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body.” There is a totality to Jesus’ reign. While this has not yet been fully realized, it will be a complete reality one day. In the interim, for the church in Ephasus and for the church today, our task is to live in such a way that makes this more and more of a reality day by day. May it be so for us all.

Prayer: Lord God, your desire is to be in all and over all and through all. You want to sit squarely on the throne of our hearts. You want us to give ourselves to you and to this world more and more each day. Yes, may it be so, O Lord. Amen.


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Generously and Graciously

Reading: 2nd Corinthians 9:6-15

Verse 13: “Men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ.”

On this Thanksgiving Day we read Paul’s words about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ “generously.” I wonder, is that how others would describe the way you and I live out the great commission to make disciples of all peoples?

Paul used a farming analogy to encourage how we answer that question about how we share the good news. He begins by telling us that if we sow sparingly, we will reap sparingly. A seed here and a seed there may produce a few plants. But we’re looking for a crop. A seedling here and there soon withers and dies. A crop grows to produce a harvest. Half-hearted or lukewarm or reluctant sharing of the good news will not result in a bumper crop. Non-believers must feel the intensity of our Jesus relationship. They must come to know that Jesus is the source of the love and grace and hope and peace and… that they feel and see when they encounter you and me.

We’re also reminded that we do not work alone. God supplies all that we need to sow seeds of faith generously in the world. Equipped by God, our task is to “abound in every good work.” When we live out our faith in this way, then “Men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ.” This can be our truth every day.

May we generously and graciously share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all that we meet. Doing so we will draw others to Christ. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, as we respond to your call to be sharers of the gospel, may your hand nurture the seeds we plant. As we bear witness to your love and grace with our lives, may your power produce an abundant crop for the transformation of the world. Amen.


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Hear the Invitation

Reading: Ezekiel 34:20-24

Verse 22: “I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.”

Continuing with the prophet Ezekiel today he first addresses those who are harming the flock. In verse 20 God declares that there will be judgment of “the fat sheep and the lean sheep.” The fat sheep are bullying the lean sheep. They shove and goad those with less power, less voice, less everything. In New Testament terms, the fat sheep are not loving their neighbors. They are, in fact, doing just the opposite. The rich and powerful are plundering the weak. God promises, though, to save the whole flock – the fat and lean alike.

Yes, God’s promise is to all the sheep. God promises both salvation and rescue. God foretells a time of judgment to come. These gifts from God are for all people. Some have accepted God’s grace and have entered into a personal, saving relationship with the Lord. Others sense God’s presence and can feel God reaching out to them but haven’t yet accepted the invitation. The open invitation remains there today. Our question is this: Who do we know that needs to once again hear the Invitation that Christ offers to all people?

Our Old Testament passage closes with the promise of a new king, of one from the line of David. Ezekiel isn’t speaking of the actual King David – he lived about 400 years before Ezekiel. He is speaking of one who will come from David’s line, from the root of Jesse. Ezekiel is speaking of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is speaking of the hope of all the world, the Messiah.

Prayer: Lord God, you are ever reaching out, ever seeking to walk in relationship with your creation. Thank you for the connection we have, for the relationship that daily guides our living. Use us to help others to know you as Lord and Savior, coming to know the power of salvation and the gift of grace. Amen.


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Living Together with Christ

Reading: 1st Thessalonians 5:6-11

Verse 10: “Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.”

Photo credit: Sophie Walker

Thessalonica was a city under Roman control. The political leaders and many of the religious leaders were trying to curry favor with the Romans. This upstart church refused to play this game. The tension created by this eventually sept into the church, creating division there too. They began looking at one another, questioning the other’s faith. The polarization of the world was beginning to creep into the church. The “us” and “them” mentality was negatively affecting the church and its witness, both from the outside and from the inside.

Paul begins to address this by encouraging the church to not be like those who are asleep – those without faith in Jesus Christ. Instead, he encourages them to “be alert and self-controlled.” Notice when the world is creeping in, keep the focus on Jesus. Make the choice to control your tongues and your bodies. To help these efforts, Paul invites them to put on “faith… love… and the hope of salvation.” Putting on and living out faith, hope, and love will allow them to be light in the dark world and peace in a world of division. These actions, of course, must begin within and then spread outside the church. We must first practice and model what we believe before we can preach or share these things with the world.

Paul closes with a reminder and then with an encouragement. First, in verse 10, he writes, “Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” Christ died for all – for those inside the church and for those still outside the church. The mission remains to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Second, Paul invites the church to “encourage one another and to build each other up.” Support and love one another, lift each other up. Being hope, love, and faith in the world is not often easy. We need one another. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, draw us together. Make us one in you and one with each other. Let love and hope and faith guide all that we do and say, especially within the family of God. After we’ve learned to do this well, send us out to share these blessings with the world. Amen.


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Alert and Ready

Reading: 1st Thessalonians 5:1-6

Verse 2: “You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”

Photo credit: Nadine Shaabana

This week’s Epistle reading continues with the themes of holy living and being ready for Christ’s return. Chapter 5 in 1st Thessalonians begins with Paul reminding the faithful in Thessalonica that they don’t need to know “dates and times” because they are ready. He also reminds them, “You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” If you are not ready already, Paul says to us, then it will be too late. The thief will take you unaware.

Paul continues, telling the church that those who are saying and living in what they think is “peace and safety” will suddenly experience “destruction.” Many people in Thessalonica, including some of the religious leaders, were cozying up to the Romans. Because of this relationship, these folks did enjoy a certain level of privilege and prosperity. In these things of the world they felt a sense of peace and safety. There are many in our world today and even some in the arena of religion who feel a sense of security and safety in their wealth and status and in their connections to those with political power. Paul is warning against the entanglements of such relationships.

Instead Paul encourages the believers to be “alert and self-controlled.” Be aware of the dangers of these entanglements. Live as children of the light and as “sons of the day” so that the coming of the Lord will not surprise them. Live out your trust and faith in the Lord Jesus. Do not trust in the things and ways of the world. This focus and trust in Christ leads to holy living and to a daily readiness to stand face to face with the king of kings and lord of lords. May we too choose to walk daily in faith, always ready for the day of the Lord.

Prayer: Lord God, there are so many voices that tell us to put our lives in the hands of other things – popularity, success, wealth, status… All of these voices are one form or another of darkness. This path leads to destruction. Lead us to trust in you alone and to invest time and energy into our relationship with you. Guide us to walk and live as children of the light. Amen.