pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Christ


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To All of Creation

Reading: Psalm 147: 12-20

Verse 12: “Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion.”

Psalm 147 is a song of praise for all that the Lord has done. In the first half of the Psalm God is praised for “healing the brokenhearted” and for binding up people’s wounds. God is celebrated for the rains sent to water the earth and for the grasses that the livestock eat. The psalmist continues to lift up praise to the Lord for all that God does for Israel. The Lord strengthens them and grants them peace. The Lord satisfies them with “the finest of wheat,” echoing the words we read from Jeremiah 31.

The psalmist rejoices in God’s continuing provision in verses 15-18. With a word God provides water for the earth and for their crops and animals. Then, in verses 19 and 20, the psalmist reminds the people of their chosen status. God revealed the word to Israel – “to no other nation.” Early in the story of faith this was true. The chosen people were to be set apart, separate from all other peoples. But as the story evolves, the circle grows wider. Jesus himself ministered to the Samaritan woman at the well and to the Canaanite woman’s daughter – because of her great faith. He lifts up the Samaritan traveler as the one who stops to care for the injured man. As the New Testament continues, the circle gets drawn even wider as the resurrected Christ sends the disciples out to all peoples. Since then the word has been brought out to the ends of the earth.

God remains all-powerful. God continues to heal, redeem, restore. God continues to invite those who fear the Lord to partner up, offering our gifts, talents, resources, prayers, and service as we extol and praise the Lord. As faithful followers may we offer all of ourselves as we seek to be a part of the healing and restoration of all of creation. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, your word is no longer confined. It is not for just one group of people. Your chosen people are all people. The circle has been broken wide open. Let my love and faith be limitless too. Help me to see and to love as you see, O chooser of all people. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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Abundant Love

Reading: Jeremiah 31: 10-14

Verse 10: “He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.”

As we continue in Jeremiah 31 today we see the unfolding of God’s plan to bring back those in exile. God will not return them to their old ways of living and being. Instead, “He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.” Taking on the role of shepherd, God will care for, watch over, protect, and provide for the sheep. In this role God will “redeem them from the hand of those stronger than them.” This extends far beyond simply protecting them from the enemies around them. It extends to protecting them from the voices and lies of the evil one and from the temptations and sins that follow. In and through the blood of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, God will one day defeat the power of sin once for all people.

As God provides, the people will “rejoice in the bounty of the Lord.” God will not just provide streams of water and good pasture. A good shepherd would certainly do this. But a good God will bless Israel with grain, oil, wine, flocks, and herds. The great love of God for Israel will be made known in God’s abundant provision. Israel will become like a “well watered garden.” Under God’s care they will “sorrow no more.” Again, this extends God’s care beyond providing for physical needs. God will “turn their mourning into gladness” as they receive God’s comfort and joy.

This God is our God too. God’s love and care is not limited to just one group or place. Indeed, God loves Israel. But that love went our first to the Gentiles and then on to the ends of the earth. God’s watch has extended to all who call on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Walking in relationship with God we too will experience healing and restoration, provision and redemption, gladness, joy, comfort… God’s abundant love rains down upon all who love the Lord. Let us rejoice and praise God. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, your love is manifest in so many ways in my life. You lead and guide, you protect and correct, you forgive and redeem. You fill me up when I am empty; you comfort me when I sorrow. Thank you Lord. Amen.


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To All People

Reading: John 1: 1-14

Verse 14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Our passage for Christmas day is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. In today’s reading John reminds us that Jesus, the Word, has been here since the beginning. He was part of creation; he is the breath of life in all humankind. He is light – a light that shines into the darkness, both into the dark of the world and into the dark in our hearts. Jesus came to save us all from the darkness: “to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”, to be brothers and sisters in Christ.

This powerful passage of love and invitation and welcome concludes with these words: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Our perfect, all-powerful God took on flesh so that he could live for a time among us. The “one and only” became like us, revealing the glory of God. Incarnate in the flesh, Jesus lived a life “full of grace and truth.” Grace and truth were revealed in and through his unconditional love. Grace expressed in unconditional love tells us that there is nothing we can do or say that lessens God’s love for us. Forgiveness restores us again and again when we stumble and sin, telling us that we are still beloved. Truth expressed in unconditional love reminds us that Jesus is for all people. There is no one that God does not want to be in relationship with. Jesus came for all of humankind. He came to give life to all people. He died to offer the forgiveness of sins and the way to life eternal to all people. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for coming and expressing what it means to truly love all people. Your light continues to shine into the darkness of our world and of our hearts, revealing the grace and truth found in unconditional love. Guide me to love as you first loved us. Amen.


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Being the Light

Reading: Isaiah 9: 2-7

Verse 6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given… He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

We begin our Christmas Eve with a word of hope from Isaiah 9. The prophet speaks of a day to come – of a day when war will be no more and when rejoicing will come with the harvest. Later today in many churches we will hear from Luke 2. Angels and shepherds, Mary and Joseph, a manger and a baby – these will be our focus later today.

In verse two Isaiah writes, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.” For those living in captivity during Isaiah’s day, these words give hope. By Jesus’ time the oppressor was different, but the people still longed for a day when Isaiah’s words would come true. John the Baptist had put people on alert. They were ready to return to God and to a holy way of living. Today there are other forms of darkness that people struggle in. Poverty, prejudice, addiction, abuse, favoritism, injustice, and homelessness are just a few of the forms of darkness in our world. Grief, loss, illness, and broken relationships are others. In verse four Isaiah promises that God will “shatter the yoke that burdens them.” God desires a world of love and peace, of hope and joy. In verse six we read of the first step in healing the brokenness and pain and sin of the world.

In verse six we read, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given… He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Today we celebrate this birth, this light coming into the darkness of the world. Each week leading up to today we have lit the candles of peace, hope, joy, and love – reminding ourselves of how Jesus lived in the world. Today we light the Christ candle, reminding ourselves that Jesus was and is the light of the world. As light drives away darkness, the war within each of us ceases and heaven rejoices at the harvest of the righteous. Jesus lived in righteousness, bringing justice as he drove away the evils and hurt of this world. As he prepared to return to heaven, Jesus gave his followers a commission: go and make disciples, go and transform lives. Go and be the light in their darkness, bringing love and peace, hope and joy. This is step two of God’s plan to heal and restore a broken world. It is you and me being the light of Jesus Christ. May we be the light.

Prayer: Lord God, you took on flesh and came to reveal how to live love, peace, hope, and joy out in the world. Use me each day to bring light into the darkness of this world. Amen.


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True Peace

Reading: Colossians 3: 15-17

Verse 17: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Paul begins by encouraging us to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” He goes on to remind us that as part of the body of Jesus Christ – as an extension of Jesus himself – “you were called to peace.” This peace, this peace that Jesus sought and practiced, was not an easy or comfortable peace. It is a peace for everyone. D. L. Mayfield describes true peace as “justice for all and a world where everyone flourishes.” When we see our call to peace as part of accomplishing true peace, then we are beginning to see and understand what it means to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

Pursuing this kind of all encompassing true peace will put us in conflict. This may seem odd but it is a natural outcome when so many in our world live for self and to accumulate more and more. These worldly truths fly in the face of justice for all and a world where all people flourish. When we choose to stand for the marginalized and powerless and when we speak for those experiencing injustice or oppression or abuse, we are stepping where Jesus stepped, challenging the status quo. Conflict will come to us too as we stand against the evils of this world.

Seeking true peace for all people is part of our mission to transform this world, making it more like the kingdom of God. I alone cannot change the world. But I can be the change in a few lives. A church alone cannot change the world. But it can be the change in a neighborhood or community. One person at a time, one community at a time, the light and love and peace of Jesus Christ can change the world. As Paul wrote in verse seventeen, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Prayer: Lord God, just one more, just one more, just one more. May that be my way of walking as Jesus Christ’s follower in the world. Bless the church to be change agents, bringers of true peace. Amen.


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Love and Connection

Reading: 1st Samuel 2: 18-20 and 26

Verse 19: “Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.”

We are in the midst of Advent – the season in which we remember and celebrate the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a season of waiting and expectation. In each consecutive week we focus in on peace, hope, joy, and love. It is appropriate that Christmas comes during the week of love. On this sacred day we rejoice that love came to us.

In the Old Testament story of Samuel, Hannah experiences love being poured out in her life. For many years, though, she waited with pain and sorrow. She was barren for many years. Yearly she went up to the temple and one year she poured out her heart and her tears to God. Eli the priest blessed her and God heard her prayer. Nine months of waiting and expectation ended in the celebration and joy of birth – a baby boy! Keeping her promise to God, as soon as Samuel was weaned she took him and dedicated him to serve in God’s temple. Remembering what it was like to drop our children off at college, I cannot imagine what Hannah’s first walk home was like.

Year after year Elkanah and Hannah continue to go up to the temple to offer the annual sacrifice. In today’s passage we read, “Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.” Although it must have been painful to see each other for such a short time, there was greater joy in the encounter. Not just in the moments actually together but also in each second that Hannah spent making the robe and each time that Samuel put it on as he served daily in the temple. The robe was a sign of their love, of their connection.

I wear a cross each day. It is hand carved and was given to me by a dear friend. Each morning when I put it on I am reminded of my friend. The cross also reminds me of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It too is a tangible sign of love and connection. In four days our waiting and expectation will peak as we gather for Christmas Eve worship. We will celebrate the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. We will rejoice that God took on flesh to walk among us. The life and ministry of Jesus will provide us with the model for living in love and connection with God and with one another. This is part of the Christmas story.

There is also a tinge of sadness to Christmas Eve. Even though it is a day or night of praise centered on peace, hope, joy, and love, it is also the beginning of a life’s journey that ends on a cross. As with Hannah each time left Samuel to return home, there is a sadness to the cross, to the pain and sorrow found there. And yet there is great joy too. Returning home I bet Hannah began to plan and then to work on next year’s robe. In this way she began anew the love and connection with Samuel. Each day as I place that cross around my neck, I am reminded of the love and connection I have with Jesus Christ and of the sacrifice that will be made for you and for me. There is joy in this gift too. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, your story is one of pain and sorrow, of joy and life. As I draw closer to the night on which we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, keep me connected to all parts of his story and to your love for me. Amen.


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This Ruler

Reading: Micah 5: 2-5a

Verses 4-5: “He will stand and shepherd his flock… And he will be their peace.”

Photo credit: Hans Heiner Buhr

Micah writes in chapter five of the promised ruler that will come from Bethlehem. Even though “small among the clans,” one who will rule over Israel will be born here. This will be no ordinary king. No, this ruler will be one “whose origins are from old, from days of eternity.” This ruler will be one who was present before time began and who will reign forever.

Micah also describes this ruler’s reign: “He will stand and shepherd his flock.” This king will be like a shepherd, like one who tends the flock. This will not be a ruler who reigns from the throne in the palace. This ruler will be right there with the people – spending cold nights out in the fields, seeking shelter under trees and in caves when the rains come. This ruler will do anything to protect, to lead, to guide the flock. This ruler will know what it is like to be one of the flock, so personal and intimate will their connection be.

Because of this ruler’s great love, the flock will be secure. This ruler’s greatness will “reach the ends of the earth.” There are parts of the kingdom present all around the world. In every nation are followers who bow at the mention of his great name. In the last verse we read, “And he will be their peace.” No, this ruler does not shield the flock from all of the dangers and difficulties of the world. This ruler does not lock the flock up behind impregnable walls, insulating them from the world. Just the opposite: this ruler sends the flock out into the world to engage it, to interact with it, to live among the pain, the brokenness, the hurting – just as he did when he walked the earth. It is sometimes scary or dangerous or uncomfortable. But this ruler sends the flock our covered in his peace.

The Good Shepherd continues to send us, the flock, out into the world, bringing his peace and great love with us. As we go forth today may we seek to bring the peace and love of Christ to all we meet, connecting them to the one born in a manger in little Bethlehem. May it be so for us all.

Prayer: Lord God, under your gentle guidance and strong protection, lead me out today. Help me to see all people as potential members of the flock. Use my words and actions to draw others inside the circle of your love and peace. Amen.


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God’s Will

Reading: Hebrews 10: 5-10

Verse 7: “Here I am, I have come to do your will, O God.”

Photo credit: Sharon McCutcheon

Today in our reading, the writer of Hebrews shares Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth using Jesus’ own words. We hear today why it became time for Jesus Christ to take on flesh, to walk among us. The system was broken and needed a reboot. The temple offerings did not please God; God did not desire any more of what they were doing. The people and the priests had digressed to simply going through the motions. The unblemished first fruits of the herd or crop had become something imperfect or blemished that one bought on the cheap as they walked through the temple gates. The meaning, the connection, the relationship has been largely lost. All of these things were purposes of the original sacrificial system.

In order to restore these purposes God took on flesh and came into the world as a baby. Our divine, all-powerful God became vulnerable, dependent, limited. Becoming physically present to humanity, God began to restore meaning to faith, to rebuild the connections to and within the body of faith, and to establish a new and forever relationship with all of humanity. As the person of Jesus, he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will, O God.” Jesus came to do what needed done to reboot the system. Ultimately doing God’s will ended on the cross, providing the means to restore our relationship each time we break it with our sin.

Sometimes we struggle with our connection to God and at other times we fight our connection to our own bodies. We don’t always want to do God’s will. Sometimes we just ignore it and at other times we make an intentional choice to go against God’s will, to sin. We can also get lost in the things of the world, neglecting or abusing the connection to our own body. We can skip meals or time with family. We can try and push through an oncoming illness or lack of sleep. Most often these “efforts” are to accomplish some earthly thing – that important project or deal that we must get done or that little bit more to impress enough to Garner that raise or promotion. These things also cause our relationships with God and with one another to suffer. When we ignore who we were created to be and how we are intended to live in this world, then we lessen or diminish all of our relationships and connections.

Even though the human one, Jesus Christ, left this earth almost 2,000 years ago, it did not end the relationship. He left the gift of the Holy Spirit – the ongoing, continual, indwelling presence of God within each believer. Through the Spirit God became “as close as our next breath.” We can walk and talk and hear from God through the Holy Spirit each moment as we live out our life. May we embrace the presence of the Holy Spirit each day, ever drawing closer to always doing God’s will.

Prayer: Lord God, help me today to tune into you and into who I am in you. Attune my ears and heart to your Spirit voice within me and dial my mind into becoming more of who you created me to be – spiritually, emotionally, relationally. Make me wholly yours. Amen.


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Choose Faith

Reading: Luke 3: 15-18

Verse 16: “One more powerful than I will come… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

As we continue in Luke 3 we see that John’s witness to the Messiah is powerful and convicting. People are responding to his call to repentance and want to know what to do to be saved from the coming wrath. John is changing lives. The impact or fruit of his ministry leads people to wonder: Is he the Messiah?

John emphatically denies this idea and continues to point to the one that he is preparing the way for. John says, “One more powerful than I will come… He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” John’s baptism with water is a physical symbol of an inner desire to change, to live a more holy life. It is a step in the right direction. Jesus will come and baptize believers with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Coming to faith we receive or are “baptized” with the Holy Spirit. Just as the Spirit came down and landed upon Jesus at his baptism, so too does the Holy Spirit come into our lives as we are baptized. This constant indwelling presence of Jesus Christ can become the most powerful force in our lives – if we listen to and follow its lead.

John reconnects to the wrath to come as he speaks of a baptism of fire. He follows this up in verse seventeen, reminding them that not choosing Jesus will be a choice with consequences. The faithful Jesus will gather up into heaven. The unfaithful will experience the unquenchable fire. Faith is a choice. Deciding to live for Jesus is a daily if not hour by hour or moment by moment choice. We do not walk this hard road alone. Satan is more than willing to walk alongside us, leading us further and further from saving faith. The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is also willing to walk with us, leading and guiding us to walk always in a saving faith. This day and every day may we choose faith. May we choose eternal life. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, you are clear that faith is a choice. In each moment of decision may the Holy Spirit be loud and clear. Through this power may not always choose love, mercy, grace, compassion, forgiveness, justice, kindness, patience, peace… May it ever be your way and not my way, O Lord. Amen.


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Always

Reading: Philippians 4:4

Verse 4: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Photo credit: Greg Rakozy

What was the hardest thing you went through in the last few weeks? What was your greatest struggle or challenge to your faith during this time? When have you felt the temptation of sin – anger, gossip, jealousy, pride, judging… – recently? How have others wronged or otherwise hurt you during the past few weeks?

Were you able to do as Paul says today? In those times of hardship or trial or suffering were you able to “rejoice in the Lord always?” This is our encouragement today. And “always” Paul says! So, how does one rejoice in the midst of such difficult situations or circumstances? It begins with another “always”: the Lord is always with us. The Lord’s presence never leaves us. In moments of anger or frustration, Christ is there to bring us peace. In moments of temptation, Christ is there to bring us strength. In moments of despair, Christ is there to give us hope. In moments of sadness, Christ is there to comfort us. In all things, Christ is always there with us. Whether by prayer, by turning to the scriptures, or by fellowship with other believers, we can be reminded of how to find all we need in Jesus Christ.

This is reason to rejoice. But there is another reason: it is part of our witness to our faith. When we walk through the trials… in faith, others notice. The world, for example, reacts to anger with anger. When we choose to react to anger with empathy or kindness or by seeking understanding, we provide an alternative way to be in the world. The joy, hope, peace, strength, comfort, grace, assurance… that we live with in the difficult and hard times reveals our faith in the one who is always with us. This day may all see Christ within us.

Prayer: Lord God, you are my all in all. Your presence always walks with me. In those times when others notice your peace, hope… make me ready to share my faith. Amen.