pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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The Lord Is Near

Reading: Philippians 4: 1-9

Verse Five: Let your gladness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.

Paul has just finished writing about pressing on towards the prize for which God calls us heavenward.  He has spoken about those who believe in Jesus having a citizenship in heaven.  Paul has written of the glorious transformation that will come – the one that He and other believers eagerly await.  Our passage today begins with Paul’s encouragement to “stand firm in the faith”.

Paul quickly shifts gears to plead with two people who appear to be fighting.  Paul asks others in the faith community to help them solve their differences and to “agree with each other in the Lord”.  Paul then again shifts gesrs, maybe giving evidence if why we should be of one mind.  In verse five he writes, “Let your gladness be evident to all.  The Lord is near”.  As we rejoice in the Lord, it really should be evident to all.  And when we feel anxious or begin to worry or doubt, Paul reminds us to take it to the Lord in prayer.  He is near so we should quickly go to Jesus in prayer.  When we do, we will find that peace which passes all understanding.  To summarize: stand firm, be of one mind, rejoice in the Lord, pray often, live in His peace.

Sounds like simple steps.  They can be.  But at times these simple steps can be so hard.  My mind easily returns to that pile of to-do on my desk, to that person I need to visit, to that uncomfortable conversation that needs to happen…  At the core of it all is trust.  Do I trust God to lead, to give me guidance, to give strength, to give all that is needed for what is at hand?  Paul’s advice is good advice: pray.  In all things, turn it over in prayer.  When I do, I find His peace.

Paul concludes today’s Word with things to fill our minds with that remind us that He is near.  These are things that keep us close to God and that keep our gladness evident.  Paul calls upon us to think of whatever is true… noble… right… pure… lovely… admirable…  He is calling us to think of God in Jesus Christ.  When we choose to keep our minds on Jesus, we are ever reminded that “the Lord is near”.  When Jesus Christ is near, peace and joy are close as well.  This day, may we rejoice in the Lord!


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Human Yet All-Powerful

Reading: John 11: 1-45

Verses 25a and 26 – I am the resurrection and the life… whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

Today’s passage reveals many aspects of who Jesus is.  In each stage of the story, our understanding of Jesus deepens.

In the beginning of the story, we see a Jesus who is intimately connected to human beings.  He did not just dwell here but was connected in human relationships as well.  He is in ministry doing God’s will far away yet these two sisters send for Jesus to come attend to a personal need – their brother and one of Jesus’ close friends is very sick.  These ladies are good friends of Jesus and think nothing of asking Him to drop whatever He is doing to respond to their plea for help.  This connection is again reinforced in verses 35 and 36, where Jesus weeps and those there note how He loved these friends.  Jesus was intimately connected to His good personal friends.

What happens next may at first appear to contradict this.  Jesus does not go right to Bethany.  He stays where He is.  He even reveals after two days that now they can go because Lazarus has died.  Jesus plainly tells the disciples that Lazarus had to die so that all can see Jesus’ glory and can come to believe.  Jesus is acutely aware of the end game.  It must have been hard for the human side of Jesus to allow the grief and pain to come upon His dear friends.  After all, He could have healed Lazarus from afar, from right where He was.  Yet Jesus knew God’s plan and was obedient to it.  Jesus knew that in the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, God’s glory would be revealed and the faith of many would be strengthened and others would come to believe too.  In case this part of the story, we see how Jesus sometimes allows those He loves to walk through the valleys for the purposes of strengthening one’s faith or to help one find faith.  He loves us that much.

As the story unfolds, we see the Jesus who can do anything.  He raises Lazarus from the grave even though he has been dead for four days.  He tells Martha (and us) why: “I am the resurrection and the life… whoever lives and believes in me will never die”.  He is this for us too.  As our journey of faith unfolds, Jesus comes to live more and more in our hearts as our belief in Him grows.  Our human yet all-powerful friend, Jesus, leads us to eternal life as well.  For this great gift of God that we have in Jesus, we say thanks be to God!


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Draw Near

Reading: 1 Kings 19: 1-15a

Noise seems an almost constant.  We are always “on” – connected through our cell phones, computers, and tablets.  Media is an ever present companion.  At points we come to long for a little silence, for a break from all the noise.  Even as I sit here in the relative quiet of the early morning, I can hear birds chirping.  It is nice noise.  And I can also hear vehicle after vehicle driving on the highway.

Elijah’s life had been a whirlwind of activity.  His dealings with Ahab and Jezebel had been loud and confrontational.  Elijah has just defeated the prophets of Baal and has had them all killed.  Word of this has brought threat to his life from Jezebel.  In the midst of this, Elijah flees to the wilderness.  He is seeking solitude and safety.  But in the desert his fear and worry become the noise he hears.  He is exhausted physically and emotionally and is prepared to die.

How often does our busyness consume us?  How often does it seem like life is just one thing after another?  With work, family, social, and other responsibilities it seems like sleep is our only respite.  Then that is restless too as our mind is filled with all we need to get done tomorrow.  Even if we manage a little quiet time, the noise of our minds – stress, worry, anxiety, … – seizes our focus and draws us away from our prayer or Bible focus.

God too Elijah out into the wilderness.  He did not find God in the wind, fire, or earthquake.  Elijah found God in the still, small voice, in the whisper.  Today, may we too find God in the quiet.  May we slow down and draw near to God today.


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Love with All

Reading: John 14: 23-24

When asked by the teacher of the Law what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded with two and they both had to do with love.  The first was to love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  This is a tall order.  In my mind the Word ‘all’ means 100% of the time with 100% of my being.  I can certainly love God a lot most of the time, but all?  The second was to love your neighbor as self but soon became love neighbor as I first loved you.  In the first form the love was a human love.  When Jesus added “as I first loved you”, it took it up a notch.  Jesus loved all people all of the time.  There is that ‘all’ word again.

In today’s passage, Jesus reveals one of the reasons we are to love God.  When we love God, we obey God.  If this is the choice we make and the path we try to walk daily, then the second command becomes easier.  Jesus promises that when we obey and follow Him out of love, then He will come and dwell in our hearts.  It is a much deeper connection to God when all we do is done out of that love that now dwells in our heart as the Spirit leads and guides us in living love out.  It is miles beyond trying to love God and neighbor because that’s what the Law or other parts of the Bible says we are supposed to do.

And in reality we struggle at times to love God with all that we are.  We drift, we doubt, things don’t go our way, we get too busy.  We also have a hard time loving that guy or a girl like that.  We are unique people and sometimes another’s uniqueness is hard for us to understand or to be around.  The goods news, though, is that when we fall short of ‘all’, it is not the end.  Not even close.  Part of “as I first loved you” is His never-ending promise of love.  It is a love that wipes away our failure and covers it with grace, mercy, and forgiveness.  Whether through prayer, time in the Word, in worship, or any other means that reconnects us to God, we can again walk in His love, feel His Spirit dwelling in our hearts, and again begin to walk seeking to love God with all that we are and to love others as He first and still loves us. 🙂


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In This Moment

Reading: Joshua 5: 9-12

For the Hebrew people, the time in the desert is over and they have crossed the Jordan River into the promised land.  One can almost hear the audible sigh that comes at the end of a long journey.  The people will no longer eat manna but will eat the produce of Canaan.  But first they acknowledge God and His provision.  As all things are in God’s time, they cross over and are right on time to celebrate the Passover – the feast to remember God’s saving hand in Egypt.  They connect to God in the moment instead of allowing it to pass by.  God has led them to this time and place.  They stop to worship Him.

This example of being in the moment with God is a great one for us.  We know that the glory of Easter morning us coming soon.  We know there will be stops in Holy Week where we acknowledge and live with the events and emotions that led to the cross and grave.  Each day between now and then is a day of preparation and looking within.  Let us not skip right past these days in a rush to arrive on the brink of Easter, but let us be present to each day.

Living in the moment each day of Lent could be either rewarding or trying, either joyful or painful.  Maybe we find ourselves experiencing God’s presence in our lives.  We have the taste of His blessings on our lips and we celebrate His presence and look forward to the next steps on our journey.  If so, may we be sure to stop and celebrate our thanksgivings for His presence.

Maybe we find ourselves in the period of testing or trial.  We feel not quite connected to God.  We cannot sense a first or maybe next step to take.  Maybe the unknown is keeping us from stepping forward.  In this moment may we seek God.  His desire is to connect to us and be on the journey together.  May we reach out in this moment and take hold of His hand.  May we walk this day with our Lord.


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Lenten Journey

Lent begins today!!  Lent is a season when we prepare ourselves for celebrating Easter, the day of Christ’s resurrection and victory over sin and death.  It is a season when we go to work so that we are ready to celebrate His victory.  Lent is a season when we look within more often.  We spend time in self-reflection to evaluate our faith.  In this process we repent of all that separates us from or keeps us from being closer to God.  We make sacrifices to draw closer to God.  Some fast to draw closer to God.  All of our practices in Lent must serve to draw us closer to God and to create in us that clean heart that will be acceptable in His sight.

The model we follow for Lent was established by Jesus.  At the beginning of His ministry, after being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus went into the wilderness for a period of forty days.  In this time He fasted and prayed in order to prepare Himself for the testing that Satan would bring.  This period of prayer and fasting strengthened His faith and relationship with God so that He could withstand the temptations of the devil.  In our forty day journey to the cross, we too will be tempted.

In Isaiah 58 it speaks of fasting for the wrong reasons and lays out the correct reasons.  In Lent, each practice can be done for impure reasons.  All must be done to better connect to God and to prepare ourselves.  At the start of Lent we must examine our inner being to determine if there are things in our lives we need to repent of and let go.  In this period of self-reflection, sometimes we see that there is something we need to attend to more often as well.  Maybe this entails taking on a special Lenten devotional or prayer study.  Perhaps this means finding one more time to pray during each day.  Maybe it means fasting once a week during Lent.  Whether it is setting something aside or adding a new discipline, this sacrifice must draw us closer to God.

In Lent, as we go to work to draw closer to God, we must also draw closer to our fellow man.  It is an inevitable consequence of drawing closer to God.  As we grow in our love of God, our love of all He loves grows as well.  Isaiah 58 speaks much of loving those in need.  May our light too break forth as we seek to love those in need and to break the chains of oppression.  May we too be pleasing in His sight on our Lenten journeys.

Scripture reference: Isaiah 58: 1-12


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Presence

Psalm 99 opens with, “The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble.”  This line evokes a powerful God.  goes on to speak of how God is holy and mighty and that we should worship at His footstool.  These words and images indicate a God that is far above mankind in status and place.  The psalmist almost makes God so far above us that we can barely connect to Him.  At times, particularly when I have sinned, it can be easy to see God in this manner.

But beginning in verse six, we are reminded that God connects with mankind in personal ways.  We are reminded of how Moses, Aaron, and Samuel all called on God and of how He answered them as He spoke directly with them.  Our mighty and holy and powerful God desires the same intimacy with us.  He longs for this on a daily, moment-by-moment basis, not just once a week or once in a while.

Often when we gather for worship, we begin by inviting God’s presence to be among us.  The words of the prayers, liturgies, sermon, and songs are all meant to help us connect to God and to feel His presence in our time of worship.  Our praise builds out of this sense of connection and relationship.  Our mighty and holy and powerful God desires a one-on-one connection with each of us.

As in the psalm, God desires to be our defender, our redeemer, and our champion of justice.  This desire is for all of the time, not just on a Sunday morning.  May we begin each day by inviting God to be present in our lives that day.  Throughout the day may we reach out and connect to Him, continually inviting Him into our lives.  And at the end of the day, may we thank God for His constant presence with us throughout that day.  May the Lord God be with you!

Scripture reference: Psalm 99


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Praise the Creator

Yesterday we celebrated the gift of Jesus Christ to us and to our world.  The psalm today celebrates all of God’s other gifts that we find in our world.  God clothed creation in amazing beauty – from the stars, sun, and moon to the snow, frost, and rain.  He also created much that is also beautiful.  From the birds and animals to the mountains, trees, and flowers, we find much beauty in our world.

God created much with an amazing amount of diversity and creativity.  We do not see just roses, but tulips and daffodils, and morning glories.  We don’t just see red roses, but white and pink and…  There is not just one type of mountainscape.  Some are beautiful in their rugged splendor and others are pine-covered and inviting.

Today at my house it is very cold and windy and snowy.  In a few months the grass and plants will burst forth with beautiful green and young birds will chirp.  In just a few more months the hot sun will bring forth growth and the occasional thunderstorm to remind me of God’s power and might.  And soon thereafter the leaves will turn a variety of yellows, reds, and oranges and cool evenings will return.

Today may we connect to the many incredible ways that God has created the earth and all that is in and on it.  As we consider and marvel at the work of His hands, may we praise and thank our loving and amazing Creator God.

Scripture reference: Psalm 148


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Drawing Near to Rest

Many people today still do not think they can approach God.  For some, they feel they need a “middle man”, a priest to intercede on their behalf.  For some, they feel too unworthy to approach God.  For some, they feel God is too mighty and is therefore simply unapproachable.  All of these come out of the Old Testament and the rules and ways in which the Israelites interacted with God.

As time moved along, though, God saw the need for a new way, for a new covenant.  In order to draw us close to Himself, there needed to be a new way based upon a personal, direct relationship.  The old way could not be changed.  God had to make a totally new way.  This new covenant was established through Jesus, who opened a ” new and living way” for us to connect directly with God.

As the one perfect sacrifice, Jesus opened the curtain that had separated Jews from the Most Holy Place – the space in the temple where the presence of God dwelt.  Through Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross, the curtain was torn and, once and for all, He made a way for us to draw near to God.  Through Jesus all can be in relationship with and can draw near to God.

In Hebrews we are promised that through Jesus we can draw very near to God.  At times we can feel His presence surrounding us.  In this presence, Jesus calls us to rest.  Just as Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father to rest, we too can draw near to God and rest.  For this, thanks be to God.

Scripture reference: Hebrews 10: 11-22


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Through Prayer

Jesus went to God in prayer.  Sometime He went in “reverent submission”, seeking to align the will of His human mind and body with the will of God.  In the garden, as He faced torture and death on the cross, Jesus came before God with His human concerns but ultimately said, “Not my will but Yours.”  At other times Jesus prayed to reconnect to His Father.  In times up on the mountain or out in the wilderness, He drew near to God to be renewed and refreshed.  And some of the time Jesus prayed for others.  Even on the cross, Jesus interceded for those who were crucifying Him.

Our great high priest invites us to live a life of prayer that is obedient to the will of the Father, that connects to God, and that lifts up one another – even those who persecute us. For Jesus, prayer was always the first step.  It was never the last result.  At times we have this backwards.

Through prayer Jesus stayed connected to God and remained unblemished.  In this perfectly obedient state, Jesus went to the cross, bore our sins, and became the source of our eternal salvation.  We too connect to our God through prayer.  although we too come in all the ways Jesus came to the Father, we are no perfect.  We are blemished; we are sinners.  But because of Jesus, we also can come before God seeking to be washed clean, to be made new.  In those moments we are made new, unblemished and pure.  Jesus prayed often and set for us the example.  May we too take all to the Lord in prayer.

Scripture reference: Hebrews 5: 7-10