pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Heart, Mind, and Soul

Reading: Romans 10: 8b-13

Verse 9: “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”.

Paul writes this letter to the church in Rome longing to visit Rome. It is a trip that he will eventually make. But for this present letter, he is writing to help them understand the core of the faith and how to live as a community of believers in a pagan world. As chapter ten opens Paul is explaining that one cannot live a Christian life simply by obeying the Law. The law is only a knowledge of what is right or wrong. Following the rules is good, but this alone does not make one righteous. In verse 8 Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 30. He reminds the Romans that the word of God is in their hearts and in their mouths. In this chapter Moses is encouraging the people to “choose life” – to love God and to walk in His ways. For Moses it is the same as for Paul: live out your faith in love. Allow God to dwell in your heart, in your mind, and in your soul. Yes, follow the law, but even more than that, let God’s love flow from all you do and say and think. Allow God’s love to be the core of who you are.

Paul then goes on to the next step in verse 9. In our hearts we believe. Then our voice joins in, professing faith in Christ. In this verse Paul shares the essence of the gospel, writing, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. To confess this with our mouth, we must believe it in our heart. We cannot know that Jesus is Lord, we must believe that Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the Lord in our lives because we believe that He is the Lord over sin and death.

Jesus defeated the two greatest weapons that the world has when He went to the cross and when He walked out of the grave. Sin has no power over us because Jesus has already paid the price for atonement. Yes, we do sin but because the price has been paid, because the sacrifice was given. When we confess and repent, Jesus says, ‘You are forgiven’. We move forward as a new creation in Christ, holy and pure, leaving behind any guilt or shame. Jesus also defeated the power of death. There is no fear or unknown or thinking this is the end. Jesus said because He lives, we too shall live. If we put our faith in Jesus as Lord, then He is the way to eternal life. We are saved when we profess, “Jesus is Lord”!

This day and each day, may Christ dwell in our heart and in our mouth and in our soul. May all we see, think, do, say, and feel reflect the love of Christ that is in us. In doing so, we proclaim Jesus is Lord with all of our heart, mind, and soul. May it be so.

Prayer: God of all of creation, be my all in all. This day and every day fill me with your love so that my life is that love lived out. Fill me so much that this is all there is in me. May I be fully yours. Amen.


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The Resurrection

Reading: 1st Corinthians 15: 1-11

Verse 1: “I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you… on which you have taken your stand”.

In today’s passage, Paul is reminding the church in Corinth of the core beliefs of their faith. His opening line is spoken to us as well. In verse 1 Paul writes, “I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you… on which you have taken your stand”. Paul is calling them and us to remember our foundation, the rock upon which we stand in faith: Jesus Christ. Paul goes on to share just what these facts are: Christ died for our sins, was buried, rose on the third day, and appeared to many people, including Paul himself. These facts form the core of our Christian faith.

The resurrection of Jesus is something that we as the church remember often. In the creeds of the church we recite words that remind us of these facts. In the sacrament of Holy Communion we remember that Jesus died for us. We remember this by using the words “the body that was broken” and “the blood that was shed”. In the sacrament of baptism we remember God’s mighty acts and include Jesus as one of these. As a community of faith, the resurrection is a fact that we celebrate and remember often.

To accept that Jesus came and lived, that He died and rose again, that Jesus is once again eternal in the heavens, is also a confession that we make personally. When we confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are processing that Jesus is not only the Lord of our life, but is also the Lord over sin and death. As Savior, Jesus is the One who washes away our sins, freeing us from our guilt and shame. As Savior, Jesus is our salvation, making us new creations with an eternal home in heaven.

When we profess Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are made one in the body of Christ. Faith is not meant to be lived out alone. Yes, we do fight battles within once in a while and, yes, there is a time when we read this our Bibles, pray… on our own. But our faith is lived out together, giving and receiving support and encouragement and accountability to and from our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is also hope for the lost and the broken. It is a message that Jesus Himself commissioned all of His followers to share with all nations and with all people. Today, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart and the actions of my hands and feet proclaim to all that Jesus is Lord!

Prayer: God of all eternity, thank you for coming and dwelling among us, for living as one of us. In this we find our example of how to love you and of how to love one another. Thank you even more for the gift you gave on the cross and the power over sin and death that you demonstrated there. In this you gave us hope and a way to live free of these chains. Thank you God! 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”.

Much of the Old Testament covers the when, what, how, and why of the sacrificial system that atoned for sin. Chapter after chapter details this system. In many ways temple sacrifice was a core element of the Jewish faith. Yet, sprinkled here and there in the Old Testament are verses like the one that Jesus quoted from Psalm 40. When an offering or sacrifice became just a motion they were going through, it displeased God. When the same sacrifice was given over and over because the sin was repeated too, it displeased God. The act of atonement had to include repentance in the heart.

At times I have been guilty of this too. I have asked for forgiveness without a full commitment to repent of that sin. I felt guilty enough to confess but not enough to change. I have gone to church or MYF or men’s group because I was supposed to, had a poor attitude the whole time, and left just as empty as when I came. I have helped my neighbor or the stranger I met not because I wanted to or was led to but because it was my “job”. We have all been there (or close to there).

In verse 7 Jesus quotes Psalm 40, saying, “Here I am… I have come to do your will, O God”. This is reminiscent of Samuel and others who responded faithfully when God called. Samuel and many like him had a heart willing to follow God and His ways. This too was the heart of Jesus. His purpose was to do the will of God. All day, every day. Jesus lived with a heart ever centered on God’s will. It showed in all He did and said. Jesus exemplified obedience and this allowed Him to be God’s love and mercy lived out to the fullest. May we go and be like Jesus, doing God’s will always.

Prayer: Lord, prepare me to be your servant each and every day. Mold me, shape me, refine me to follow Jesus’ way. Help me to become less each day so that my life glorifies you more and more. Amen.


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This Cycle

Reading: Hebrews 9: 11-14

Verse 14: “The blood of Christ… cleanse our conscience from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God”.

The writer of Hebrews references “the blood of goats and calves” that were used to be made right again with God. The Israelites had the same understanding of sin that we do as Christians – sin is wrong, it leads to death, it must be atoned for. To restore our relationship with God we must confess our sins and repent of that behavior or attitude. The offering of a sacrifice would represent a “cost” for the sin. Who or what “pays” the cost is where our understanding splits from the Jewish understanding of atonement.

In our modern culture we continue to do the same thing as we seek to deal with our sins and the guilt that comes along with them. If I say or do something to hurt my wife, for example, I might bring her flowers or chocolate. If I say or do something to injure a relationship at work, I would feel like I should do something to make up for my “sin”. We still feel a need to atone for our sins.

Jesus was the atonement for the sins of the world. It is through His own blood that He attained “eternal redemption”. It is through the same blood that Jesus can “cleanse our conscience from acts that lead to death”. Instead of being stuck and dead in our sin, His blood washes it away. Instead of remaining separated from God because of our sin, Jesus removed our sin and the guilt and shame, allowing us to re-enter our relationship with God “so that we may serve the living God”. Through our earthly redemption we can again live out our faith daily, loving God and loving others.

Praise be to God – our redemption is not just earthly. Just as Jesus entered heaven, His eternal redemption, we too may one day join Jesus in eternity. Our earthly journey draws us ever closer to the image in which we are created – God’s image. As we mature in the faith, we become more and more like our Creator. Through the continuing cycle of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and redemption we are being sanctified. We are being made more and more like Christ. As this cycle continues, it works in us to grow our love of God and neighbor. Thanks be to God.

Holy One, thank you for being the atonement for all of my sins. Thank you for being my way, my truth, and my life. Amen.


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Simple Relationships

Reading: Mark 7: 1-8

Verse 6: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me”.

Today’s passage deals with who we are as opposed to who we want to appear to be. This passage applies to us as individuals and to our churches as well.

The Pharisees and religious leaders notice Jesus’ disciples doing something that they think shouldn’t be done. They are eating with unclean hands. The disciples did not wash their hands before eating. Yes, there is a practical side to this. But the religious folk aren’t concerned with this aspect. They are concerned with the spiritual implications of eating with unclean hands. By simply being in the world, one can possibly touch something that itself is unclean. If you then eat without ceremonially washing, then the sin or impurity enters you. So they ask, “Jesus, why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders”?

Jesus does not really answer their question. He turns the subject back on them. Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13, saying, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me”. The religious folks know what to say. They also ought to know why they are saying it. They have lost their connection with the source of the Law. Over the years the Torah or law has grown to the point of being cumbersome. Many of the traditions or rules are things that man has added over time. The intent was to help people follow the law, but it has become a long list of things to do or to check off the list. It has moved far away from worshipping God. Jesus reflects, “You have let go of the commandments of God and are holding onto the traditions of men”.

We too can fall into following man-made traditions or rules and can allow these to drag us far from God. If we go to church on Sunday morning but it becomes a burden or hardship, is it really worshipful to God? If we go up and eat the bread and drink the juice but do not confess and repent of our sins, is it really holy communion? If we say we are a welcoming church but do not engage the stranger who enters our midst, are we really loving all people? If we read our Bibles each day but do not apply the Word to our lives, is it really a meaningful discipline? Yes, this is just the beginning of a long list of questions.

O Lord, give us faith and not religion. Give us relationships and not lists of rules. May our faith be about simple relationships – loving you and loving neighbor. And may all we say and do and think flow from these two central commands. May it be so. Amen.


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Immense Love

Reading: Mark 6: 14-29

Verse 20: “Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man”.

Sometimes we get ourselves into a situation we regret. We say or do something without giving it much thought. Then in an instant we know we are in a pickle. Jesus’ miracles prompt some chatting at a little party that Herod is hosting. Comparisons with Jesus eventually get around to John the Baptist. This sparks a memory in Herod of a pickle he got himself into.

Herod had an interesting relationship with John. On the one hand, John was enjoyable to listen to and to talk with. On the other hand, John kept pointing out Herod’s sin concerning his brother’s wife, Herodias. It was a love-hate relationship. It was a bit more love, as we read in verse 20: “Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man”. Overall, Herod preferred to keep John around.

Well, we all know how parties can get. Add to that the fact that Herod liked to impress his guests. His wife’s daughter danced and was just awesome. In a moment he forever regrets, Herod promises her almost anything – up to half the kingdom. His boastful offers leads to John losing his life. Herodias had long nursed that grudge against John. Now Herod nurses his guilt.

At times the pickle we get ourselves into involves our relationship with God. We do or say something and we regret it as soon as the Holy Spirit conviction settles in. We know it was a sin. Sometimes the guilt or shame keeps us from confessing it right away. Sometimes we enjoyed it enough to tell ourselves we can hide it from God. Or worse yet, the sin latches on and we tell ourselves ‘just one more time’ as we maybe offer a hollow confession, knowing we will return to that sin. In these cases, our sin creates a guilty conscience that causes a season of separation from God.

Thanks be to God that God is not a God of guilt or a Good that holds onto grudges. Whether we confess and repent right away or after a long season of sin, God’s response is the same: welcome back. Whether the sin was a small unkind thought or something we deem ‘bigger’ that causes us more guilt or shame, God’s response is the same: welcome back. We do not ever need to carry guilt or shame. As soon as we confess and repent, our sin is gone. It is remembered no more by God. It is gone. Thanks be to God for this immense love. A love for even sinners like you and me. Thanks be to God.


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Cry Out

Reading: Psalm 130: 1-4

Verse One: “Out of the depths I cry out to you, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice”.

The psalmist writes of something familiar to us. At places in life we find ourselves in the depths of despair. Life wrings us out and we feel no other choice but to cry out to God. Yes, at times we arrive there quickly and unexpectedly. But more often than not, we cry out only after a time of trying to cope or solve or dealing with it on our own. We cry out only when we have done all we can do and see no other option. I think sometimes we find ourselves in the depths because we did not cry out on the downhill. We waited until we were at the bottom.

This is odd because we trust that God hears us when we cry out. We do trust that God is attentive to the needs of His children. And when we have cried out we have experienced God’s presence, guidance, peace, comfort, … So we cry out with some history that allows or helps us to have confidence in God’s response. Yet often we wait.

The psalmist shifts gears a bit in verse three. To us, it is also a recognition that we are all sinners saved by grace. To the psalmist though, they would have understood a connection between illness or suffering or trial to sin in their life. Sin brings with it punishment. The system of sacrifice that made atonement for sin was the mechanism to receive forgiveness. It cleared the record with God.

When we read these verses with our New Testament eyes, we think of Jesus our Lord, the one who died to pay the price of our sins. In our understanding, our sins are wiped away as soon as we confess and repent. At our best, we too know that without the forgiveness that comes through the blood of Jesus that we could not stand before God either. Verse four closes with “therefore you are feared”. In translation, some meaning is lost. The fear that the psalmist speaks of is not a fear of snakes or a fear of the dark. This fear is a healthy respect, a holy reverence for God. It is the reminder or acknowledgement that God is God.

As we journey through today, may we be quick to cry out to God, coming to the Lord before the depths entangle us. May we seek God’s presence and know His great love that makes us pure and holy in His sight.


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Here I Am

Reading: Isaiah 6: 1-8

Verse Eight: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us’? And I said, ‘Here I am. Send me’!”

Isaiah is blessed by his vision of God on the throne. It is an awesome sight to behold. Yet he is also reminded of his own life and that it falls short of the glory of God. He knows he is unclean. As soon as he utters this confession, one of the seraphs takes a coal from the altar. It is brought to Isaiah and the coal is put to his lips. As this is done, the seraph says, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for”. Isaiah is made pure and holy once again in God’s sight.

For Christians today, we have a similar experience. In the house of the Lord, we sense God’s glory as His presence is with us in worship. As we approach the altar, we confess that we too are unclean, living with sin in our lives. Just as the coal is brought to Isaiah, the fruit of the vine and the bread is brought to us. When we take the elements that represent Christ’s atoning sacrifice upon our lips, our guilt is removed and our sins are no more. They have been atoned for by Jesus. Through the sacrament of communion we are each made holy and perfect in God’s sight.

Once Isaiah is made clean, he hears God asking, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us”? in response, Isaiah says, “Here I am. Send me’!”. Isaiah has been blessed and cleansed by God and now he is prepared to go out to serve the Lord as one sent by God. Today we receive the same call. This very day may we each respond as Isaiah did, saying, “Here I am. Send me!”


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Covenant Relationship

Reading: Psalm 25: 1-10

Verse Ten: “All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of the covenant”.

Our relationship with God is based in covenant. We each have our roles to play. In today’s Psalm, the two sides of the covenant are pretty well spelled out. While it is good to be reminded of our responsibilities, it is equally important to remember that a covenant says, “I will love you no matter what”. The ‘no matter what’ includes what I do, what you do, and what the world does as well.

The psalmist begins by lifting up his soul to God. In offering confession there is a trust that God will continue to love us – no matter what. It is through this trust that we can share anything with God. We can bring our sins, our doubts, our temptations, our joys, our anything. As covenant is about relationship, the psalmist next asks for God to show him God’s ways, to teach him God’s paths. To be in relationship means that we know and understand one another. In knowing God, the psalmist names God as Savior and as his hope.

In verse six the Psalm shifts to God’s responsibility. The psalmist reminds God of His great mercy and love and goodness. As the admission of sin is again acknowledged, so too is God’s greater love and mercy. It is really the love and mercy that holds the covenant together. The psalmist returns to our imperfect nature, asking God again to teach us sinners His ways. The Psalm reminds us that when we humbly seek God, He will guide us and teach us to walk in His ways.

Verse ten sums it up well: “All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of the covenant”. Above all God is loving and faithful. He guides and instructs us when we are humble enough to admit our need. He forgives and redeems us when we are honest enough to admit our faults and failures. For our part, we seek to grow closer to God, to become more like Him, as we walk in His ways. Our covenant relationship is one of love. May all we do and say this day reflect our love of God and God’s love for us.


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Empty… Fill

Readings: Psalm 106: 1-6 and Philippians 4: 7-9

Keys verses: We have sinned… we have done wrong and acted wickedly (Psalm 106:6).  Whatever is true… right… pure… lovely… admirable… think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

Pairing today’s readings together yields a wonderful truth for our lives.  The Psalm leads us to seek a repentant heart, to admit our sins to God, to begin again to walk in step with His ways.  We are all sinful creatures, living in a world that is full of temptations and that glorifies many sins.  Satan is always at work in our lives, trying to pry his way into our hearts and minds, working on our bodily passions as well as our human frailties and weaknesses.  It is no wonder we occasionally sin.  However, it cannot stop there.  We cannot live with or in our sin.  Each day we must come before God to be honest with God and ourselves, to name our sins, to repent and seek His forgiveness for this time and God’s strength for the next time.  To do all this is essential because it makes space for God in our lives as it clears away all the gets in the way of our relationship with Him.

Paul speaks of what can fill this space created by confessing our sins.  Into that space created by releasing our sins and inviting God into our lives, Paul suggests we think about the things of God.  He writes, “Whatever is true… right… pure… lovely… admirable… think about such things”.  When we train our minds to focus on these things, then we begin to see the world, ourselves, and others as God sees them.  This will help us to walk as Jesus walked – loving God and loving neighbor.  Walking this way will not only strengthen us in our battle with Satan, it will also lead us to have a thankful and grateful heart within us.  Once we are emptied, then He can fill us up.

When we honestly confess our sins and empty ourselves of these burdens, then we are opening ourselves up for God’s participation in our lives.  This is my prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right Spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).  May it be so today.