pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: comfort


by Leave a comment

New Hope

Reading: Isaiah 65: 17-25

In Isaiah’s words we hear of a future with hope.  For those he lived amongst, they needed to hear words of hope.  At times in our lives, we too need to be reminded of the hope that rests in our faith.  The Israelites had plenty of trials and despair during the fall of Jerusalem and their time of exile.  Isaiah has plenty to say about this.  Life will also bring us times when we feel like we are being crushed and when we feel like we are living out in the wilderness.  In these times, Isaiah’s words speak to us as well.

In our world we certainly have death and hunger and injustice and violence and many other things that bring pain and heartache.  Perhaps you are in the midst of this pain right now.  Into this pain and heartache, God reminds us that all of these things are passing away.  God does not promise to take away the trials and sufferings that are a part of this life.  God instead tells us of the coming of a new heaven and earth.  God tells of the time that draws ever nearer when there will be no more pain or tears or hurt.  God gives us the ultimate hope in life eternal, a life that awaits all who call on God as our only hope.

Our passage today begins with “Behold”.  It is a word full of hope and promise.  Another story begins with this word: “Behold, the Lamb of God”.  This too is a story full of hope and promise.  And this is the story of hope and promise in the here and now.  In Jesus, we find one who walks with us in the midst of all life brings, one who will carry us if that is what we need.  In Jesus, we find comfort and strength in our time of need.  In Jesus, we find the compassion and love to offer comfort to others in their time of need.  In Jesus we also find the grace and forgiveness we need to make us new again when it was we who brought the pain and separation upon ourselves.  Jesus us our present hope that enables us to live towards and into the promise of a new heaven and earth.  May we hold tightly to Jesus Christ as we live with hope filled anticipation for our eternal future that is sure to come.  It is God’s promise.


by Leave a comment

God is There

Reading: Habakkuk 1: 1-4

Habakkuk begins by voicing what many of us have voiced as well: “How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen”?  Sometimes our prayers have been for a loved one, sometimes for a friend, and sometimes they are for a far away someone or a group of people that we do not know personally but are somehow connected to our heart strings.  We see hurt and injustice near and far and we bring it to the Lord.  But is seems to persist anyway.  Like Habakkuk, we cry out, “How long?”

Sometimes we come to a place where we feel we cannot bear the pain or hurt any longer.  Our cries turn to anger and we express our frustration with God’s apparent inactivity.  We hear this cry in Habakkuk’s words.  In our mind it makes no sense why our living God would ‘allow’ it to continue.  In our anger we may even want to turn away, to just forget the situation.  But we cannot.  Deep down we know that God does not ‘allow’ pain…  It is part of the world, just as joy is part of our world.  The Spirit reminds us of Jeremiah’s words, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (29:11).  We may not be able to understand God’s plans, but we still hold onto the promise.  There is comfort in this as we walk through the midst of a time of suffering or pain or injustice.

Even as we cry out, “How long?” we know that God is right there.  Our God of love seeks to bring us peace and strength and comfort and reassurance and whatever else we need right in the midst of our trial.  “I am with you” says the Lord.  In our trials, may we always trust into God and hold tightly to the hope we profess.  God is faithful.  God is love.  May we cling to the Lord our God in the storms.


by Leave a comment

Let It Rain

Reading: Psalm 65: 9-13

In our Psalm, we are reminded of the many ways that God blesses the earth with the rains.  The rains nourish the plants, crops, and animals.  The waters flow over the earth and level out the ridges and furrows.  The rain produces a bounty.  The joy of fields full of cattle and valleys brimming with grain bring praise.  Water is the source of life.  When the rains pour down, it is God’s gift of life.

God also blesses us similarly.  God’s presence rains down upon us too.  God’s Word and Spirit are life-giving.  If we delve into the Bible, we find words of life, hope, love.  If we are receptive to the Holy Spirit’s whispers, we find the way to live a life worthy of God’s calling.  God’s presence is what fills us up so that we can go forth to share these blessings with others.

God’s rains flow down and the waters work to shape and mold us into who God wants us to be.  As God’s life-giving waters wash over us, they smooth out our rough spots as well.  The love and mercy of God’s waters softens our ridges, our prickly and rough areas, softened by God’s grace.  The waters are also present in our valleys.  God’s rain of love washes away our doubts, our fears, our sins.  God makes us clean and new every morning as mercy washes over us.  The rains can also lift us up.  As the waters rise in our lives, God remains present, bringing us peace, comfort, and strength.  Many times God simply carries us along like a mighty river, carrying us when we are unable to walk on our own.

Today, may God’s rain wash over us.  May God’s rain bring us all we need this day so that we too may shout for joy and sing of God’s love and power.  O Lord, let it rain.


by 2 Comments

Be in This Place

Reading: Joel 2: 23-32

Our lives, our situations, our communities sometimes reflect the scenario of Joel’s writing.  Devastation and doom loom large in our lives.  A time of exile pervades our thoughts.  This can be in our personal lives or in our communal lives.  Yet Joel also brings us words of hope.  Joel writes words of hope that speak of God at work to bring healing and restoration.

The small community in which I live has been hit hard recently, losing many individuals.  There was a memorial service yesterday, there are two today, one tomorrow, and one more on Monday.  Each and every one affecting the family and wider circle of friends.  Each bringing pain and tears.  One involved a student and has touched the lives of every student and classmate plus the hearts of all in our community.  The exile we feel is maybe best named as grief.  But we too feel the shadow of loss hanging over our town.

In the midst of our brokenness and grief, we hang onto God.  Like in Joel’s writing today, we too know that God remains present to us, working to bring healing and wholeness.  God’s Spirit weaves among us, reminding us of His goodness and love in the midst of our hurt.  Our faith draws us to each other.  Through that faith we hug each other a little tighter, we tell each other we care a bit more often, and we turn again and again to God for comfort and strength.

Lord God, pour out your Spirit in this place.  Rain down upon us your love and grace.  Surround each with your arms of strength and comfort.  Draw us together as you draw us to you.  Touch each hurting heart with your unending love.  Dry every tear with your breath of love.  Be in this place.  Reassure us that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Be in this place O Lord.  We need you.  Be in this place.


by 1 Comment

To God

Reading: Psalm 137: 1-9

In our lives we all have experienced loss and suffering to some degree.  Sometimes our loss leaves us questioning God and sometimes a tough loss can leave us angry.  This is especially true when our loss seems unjust or when we struggle to find any explanation at all.

The Israelites understood the root cause of their defeat at the hands of the Babylonians.  They knew their sin and disobedience had brought this upon themselves.  Being defeated and carried off into exile was suffering enough.  But to have Jerusalem, their beautiful city and the home of God, destroyed was too much.  Add to this their local adversaries cheering on the destruction and it was simply too much to bear.  Their tears of sorrow turn into tears of rage and vengeance.  We too can relate to times of suffering in our lives when that ‘one more thing’ pushes us beyond what we can bear.

In the midst of our own suffering, our grief and sorrow can also turn to anger and rage.  It is a natural part of the grieving process to be mad at God.  Our lesson from the Israelites is to bring these emotions to God.  Into God’s presence is the right place to bring our anger and rage.  God expects our honesty and can “handle” anything we bring before the throne.  It is only in God that we find the compassion and comfort that can begin to heal what is heavy upon our heart.  May we lay all of our burdens and sufferings at the feet of God and enter into God’s loving embrace.


by Leave a comment

Truly Blessed

Reading: Psalm 14

The psalmist paints a grim image of society.  It speaks of fools who say there is no God and of people who are corrupt.  The writer says all have turned away from God.  We hear of evildoers frustrating the poor and of the masses being overwhelmed with dread.  It is bleak indeed.

As I read this Psalm, I was reminded of the doom and gloom prophets of our day.  One does not have to wait too long into a conversation about politics or the economy to hear something along the lines of: “our country is going to heck in a hand basket”.  If the conversation turns to young adults or teenagers, there is similar doom and gloom spoken.  In both cases, it makes me pause.  I think one of two things: “Do you live in the same place I live?” or, “Boy do you need to spend some time at Youth group” in response to the bleak thoughts.

Yes indeed, it can be all too easy to become self-focused and to lose site of God.  Yes indeed, it can be easy to fall into temptation and sin.  Yes indeed, it can be easy to allow busyness to steal our attention and to then ignore the marginalized of our society.  But our God is greater than all of this and will overcome any sin, apathy, or misstep on our part.

For most of us, life us truly blessed.  We live a life of comfort, of peace, of belonging, of freedom.  Our faith calls us to help all people live this life.  It is a life founded and centered in a relationship with God.  As we live in this place, connected to God, we are led to be other-centered, righteous, and compassionate.  There is much good in the world.  May we bring a little more of it with us today.


by 1 Comment

Relationship

Reading: Psalm 139: 1-6

The Psalm opens with a wonderful truth: “O Lord, you have searched me and know me”.  The God who wove us together in the womb continues to know us inside and out.  There is nothing we can hide from God although we often act as if we can.  Like a trusted friend, the psalmist recognizes that God knows our next words even before they are formed on our tongues.  It is an intimate and deep knowledge of each of us that God possesses.

There can be such comfort and ease in this type of relationship.  As the depth of knowledge between two people grows, the level of trust and confidence rises to new heights.  Think of that best friend that you can tell anything to without fear of judgment or embarrassment or condemnation.  This is the type of relationship that God desires to have with us.

While God may know us inside out, our knowledge of God is often limited.  We often feel there are things and words we cannot bring to God.  We do not treat God like a best friend.  This is mainly due to a shortage of time with God.  Although God is always present, if we do not engage God, then God is like a wallflower, silent in the corner.

To develop and to continue a deep personal relationship with God requires us to get to know God well.  We do so in worship, in prayer, in reading and meditating on God’s Word.  We do so by being open and taking everything to God.  The more we put into our relationship with God, the deeper it becomes.  The deeper our relationship with God becomes, the more we learn about ourselves as well.  God teaches us as we grow and this process reveals and shapes us.  It is a wonderful process.  May we seek to always grow in our relationship with God, being ever blessed.


by 1 Comment

Willing Vessels

Reading: Jeremiah 18: 1-11

Jeremiah 18 opens at the potter’s house.  The potter forms the clay into a desired form.  But if the form is flawed, the clay is reformed and reshaped.  The clay can be remade into what it was intended to be.  And so it is with us.  God has a plan and a purpose for each of us.  We can become flawed but through God’s love and mercy we can be reformed and reshaped.  We can be reshaped over and over and over again into the creation that God intends us to be.

Oh how we can fight this process.  We can turn away from God and we can even run away at times.  We can and often do act as if we were the one in control.  Yet God continues to work on us, to mold us into who we were created to be.  When we take a fork in the road that God did not want us to take, another fork is being prepared to guide us back to God’s path.  God never gives up.

Jeremiah 18:1 says, “the Word came” to Jeremiah.  This is still true for us.  God is always right there, always ready to re-engage us, ready to reshape and reform us, always ready to restore us.  The Word that comes draws us back to God.  The Word that comes will be specific to us and to God’s purposes.  The Word may be one of promise and hope.  It may be one of comfort and peace.  It may be one of direction and discipline.  It may be one of forgiveness and mercy.  It will be what we need.

Unlike the clay that is placed on the wheel and taken into the potter’s hands, we have a role to play.  If we desire to hear the Word that God has for us, we need to seek God out and to be receptive to the Word that God comes with.  This day, may we seek God and may we be willing vessels in God’s hands.  May we be who God created us to be.


by 1 Comment

The Flock

Reading: Luke 12: 32-40

In a world where fear is so prevalent, Jesus’ words of “Do not be afraid little flock” bring us great comfort and reassurance.  In our lives the fear of violence, illness, and death join together with our worries about money, popularity, and appearance.  But in Jesus’ simple words we hear His desire to take us in, to keep us from harm, to protect and guide us.  Metaphorically, we are the sheep and Jesus is the shepherd.

At times in our lives we will feel fear or experience anxiety over money…  We may even begin to feel overwhelmed.  In these moments we must call upon our faith to calm our fears and worries.  God has us.  We are the flock that lives in God’s ever present love and care.  Jesus goes on to remind us of God’s desire to give us the kingdom.  It is a place of love and peace and comfort and rest. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God is constantly st work building up the kingdom here on earth.

As followers of Jesus Christ we are invited both into the kingdom and into the work of building it.  We are invited to live in this place of peace, comfort, rest, and love and away from the things of this world such as fear.  But many do not know of this place.  Many do not have a relationship with Christ.  One of our roles is to help in spreading and building the kingdom here on earth by inviting others in by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.  God desires that all the people of the earth are in the kingdom.  The kingdom is for all people.

With Christ in our lives, we are no longer slaves to fear, to worry, to the things of this world.  We know these things exist and they do creep in from time to time. Because we rest assured in Jesus’ love and care, we can cast all of these things upon Jesus.  This is a wonderful part of being in the ‘little flock’.  It is also a wonderful thing to share.  This day may we work alongside God, striving to add more sheep to the flock.


by 1 Comment

Thanks

Reading: Psalm 50: 1-8 & 22-23

God’s voice booms out in this passage.  It opens with, “The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks”.  One can hear the thunder in God’s voice.  Rightly so, God sounds like an angry parent.  God summons the people Israel to hear what needs to be said.  God reminds them of their covenant and that God is their judge.  In the verses not read from the Psalm, God lays out both why they should offer just thank offerings and also a list of the sins they are committing.  As we pick up in verse 22, God reminds ‘you who forget God’ the consequences and benefits of following God faithfully.

We live in a time where blood sacrifices of animals arr no longer made nor are they necessary.  Christ’s sacrifice on the cross covers all of our sins.  Yet God still desires our sacrifices.  In our passage God calls for thank offerings.  These are what God desires of us as well.  A thank offering expresses our gratitude to God for all we have been blessed with.  This can run the gamut from our tithe that we lay on the altar to the time we give to mentor one new to the faith.  It can be the time we give to teach a class and it can be the time we set aside each day to specifically and gratefully thank God for the specific blessings of each day.

This idea goes beyond simply saying ‘Thank You’ to God for the good things in our life.  Our thanksgiving also keeps us humble by recognizing God’s hand in all of our blessings.  It takes the focus off of us and how good we are.  We are also made more aware of God’s vast love, mercy, grace, … and this lessens the load that we feel we have to carry.  It relieves us of some of our fears and anxieties as we come to trust more in God’s provision, power, and presence in our lives.  We come to know God is in control.

Today may we take some time to thank God for the many ways we are blessed by and experience the divine hand at work in our lives.  May we express our gratitude through our selfless offering of our time, gifts, talents, resources, service, and witness.  And may we welcome the presence and peace of God into our lives.