pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: cross


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Good, Heaven, Life

Reading: Colossians 1: 15-23

“Christ is the firstborn over all creation… He was before all things… All things were created by Him and for Him… And He is the head of the body, so that in everything He might have supremacy…”  These are powerful words that remind us of who Christ is and God’s intent for Him.

To bow to Christ, to give one’s life to follow Him, to declare Him the Lord and Savior of one’s life, all require a choice on our part.  That choice is part of the free will that God gave mankind.  From the time that sin and evil entered the Garden, making has had the free will to choose good or evil, to choose heaven or earth, to choose life or death.

One does not have to surf a media source for too long to find evil rearing its head in the world.  Warfare here, persecution of someone there, violence in the streets here, the shooting of police officers there.  These acts of violence and hatred, plus the evil that we deal with ourselves, are not God’s intent for His children.  He did not create us to be sinful but evil and sin and temptation are a part of this world, so we encounter these things.  For each of these acts of violence and evil, and for the temptation we face personally, there is a remedy.  But to find the remedy we must be willing to look at the root causes that lead to these acts and to sin and then to address these causes and triggers.

“God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things”.  All things.  God desires to reconcile all to Himself.  God desires to draw all people to Him.  “…and making peace by His blood, shed on the cross”.  The key to helping the lost choose good, heaven, and life is to share the love of the cross with them.  It is what allows us to daily choose Christ.  May we be love in our homes, at our jobs, in our whole life, so that all around us may come to know the love of the cross.


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Each Day

Reading: Revelation 1: 4-8

Part of our experience of Holy Week was the grief of knowing that Jesus had to die for our sins.  There is a personal connection for each of us to Jesus’ act on the cross.  He not only died for the people’s sins who were living in His time, but for all sin of all people in all time.  We are included, we have a share in the cross.  Through the cross, we also have hope.

In the book of Revelation, John again reminds us that Jesus will come again.  He writes, “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”.  There is not a doubt that one day Jesus will return.  The day is known only to God.  So in the interim God brings us peace.  He removes the guilt of our sin so that we may ever be kneeling at the foot of the cross with our eyes turned to Jesus, the light and love of the world.

John also reminds us that Jesus too offers us grace and peace each day.  Because if His love for us, He frees us from our captivity to sin.  Jesus calls us out of this life to a life lived in His grace and peace.  He calls us into living an abundant life now, serving as priests working to build His kingdom here on earth.

To do so we must cast aside the disobedience that is within and strive to live the true life of faith that brings purpose to our days.  Jesus said, ” I am the alpha and the omega, who was, and is, and is to come “.  He is the beginning and the end and He is everlasting.  For each of us to find God’s renewing grace each day and for us to have true life now, we must live with Jesus as Lord and Savior at the beginning of each day, at the end of each day, and at all times in between.  May it be so.


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Bold as Nicodemus

Reading: John 19: 38-42

Jesus has died and His body hung on the cross.  The other two who had been crucified with Jesus have also died.  The excitement of the crucifixions is over so the jeering crowds, the curious onlookers, and the followers who loved Jesus have all drifted away.  The three bodies hang on the crosses.  It is a desolate image.  It is a hard reality to envision this image.  It seems a time without hope.

It is at this point that Nicodemus steps once again into the story.  He goes to Pilate and asks for Jesus’ body.  This seems an odd choice for a Pharisee and a member of the ruling council.  But it is evidence of Nicodemus’ growing faith and belief in Jesus.  We recall first meeting Nicodemus in John 3 when he went under cover of night to talk with Jesus.  Here he hears the message that he must be born again.  A few chapters later Nicodemus utters a brief and almost half-hearted defense of Jesus as the chief priests and Pharisees debate what to do with this Jesus.  Perhaps Nicodemus was one of those cheering on the parade route a few days earlier and then was among the crowd a few days later that shouted, “Crucify Him”! Through all of this we see Nicodemus’ faith growing, his love deepening, to the point he is willing to go to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body.

But perhaps Nicodemus’ story is not so unfamiliar to us.  We can all think back to the first times we really wondered who this Jesus was.  Was He more than the Bible stories?  Could I really have a personal relationship with Jesus?  So we began to question and to seek answers.  As we learned more and came to love Him more, we too came to a point of timidly defending Jesus and our faith in Him.  It may have seemed unimportant at the time, but upon reflection we are it as another turning point on our journey of faith.  And then we get to the point in our faith where we find Nicodemus at in today’s story: willing to stand and be counted as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  This day may we be as bold as Nicodemus, declaring our faith in Jesus Christ to any and all.


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Christ Bearerd

Reading: 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view.”

The cross changes everything.  Once we come to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, our world view changes.  Once we come to see that on the cross Jesus died for all, we come to see everyone from a new place.  While it is true that one has either entered into a relationship with Jesus and is saved or they have not, it is also true that Jesus calls all people to be reconciled to God.  As Christians we must look at everyone from this point of reference: either they are our fellow brother or sister in Christ or we should be doing all we can to make them our brother or sister in Christ.  All are called to the cross.  All need to come to know Jesus.

It can be easy to not answer the bell.  It can be easy to not engage a lost soul.  If we choose to simply not meet someone, to not extend ourselves to them, then it is possible to withhold Christ from them.  This is especially easy if the person or people are outside of our normal circle of contact.  People that live over “there” are much easier to dismiss than the person standing right in front of us, in the next cubicle over, or sitting next to us at the game or concert.

Alone we cannot reach everyone.  But we can each reach those that God has placed in our worlds.  The cross is for all people.  All people are God’s children.  All who we cross paths with are our neighbors.  Jesus instructed us to love our neighbor as He first loved us.  It is a tough task yet on we are each called to.  We are all commissioned to bring Jesus to the ends of the earth.  May we each begin in our little corner of the world.  May we each be Christ-bearers to those we share life with, to those we are each being called to love as Jesus loved.


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Obedience on the Journey

The obedience that Jesus the man demonstrated is amazing.  Jesus made the choice to obey God over and over and over.  The major example we think of is the cross – the place where Jesus paid for all of our sins with His life.  At the end of a life and ministry build upon loving people, Jesus demonstrated the depth of His love by obeying God’s will on the cross.

Sometimes I find it easier to be faithful on the big things.  For example, cheating on my taxes or stealing from the store bear big consequences that I am not willing to risk, so I do what is right instead.  But the little things can catch me so easily.  The unkind thought crosses my mind or the hurtful words slip out so effortlessly.  Often they are followed quickly by remorse or an aplogy, but sometimes there is a delay.  It is a struggle to always be obedient.

Jesus lived a life without sin until that momet when He took our sin upon Himself on the cross. A life without sin.  Just think for a moment about being that obedient to following God’s will.  For Jesus, obedience extended beyond simply not sinning.  It also meant being obedient to going where God called Him to go and to doing what God led Him to do.  What a depth of love for the Father that Jesus had!

The reality for us is that Jesus is our example to follow.  I am far from being without sin and have a long way to go to be fully obedient.  But God does not expect perfection or for me to ever reach perfection.  He only expects my love and my continuing on the journey to grow to be more and more and more like Christ.  Lord God, bless this journey.

Scripture reference: Hebrews 10: 5-10


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How Far?

Servant leadership is difficult.  It is pretty easy to serve, to go out and do for others.  There are lots of needs that can be met and many people who would appreciate a group of volunteers showing up to help them out.  If one is gifted with certain characteristics, then leadership can also be pretty easy.  As people rise into higher positions, we usually recognize these characteristics in the person.  Almost all leadership positions come with some level of power and authority.  Jesus warns against using this to lord one’s position over others.

Great leaders do not dominate but include others.  Great leaders do not dictate but they participate.  Great leaders have vision and drive and purpose and they spread this to those on their team.  Great leaders build up their team and keep it moving towards its goals and purposes.  If one is able to lead in this manner, power and authority tend to find them.  To be a servant as well can be difficult.

As servants we must sometimes do things we do not want to do.  As servant leaders we may have to lead others in doing these things.  Great servant leaders have a gift for bringing others along on these difficult journeys.  Jesus gave us many great examples of the leader serving and He calls us to do the same.  How far are we willing to go?  On the cross the Most High suffered and died for the lowly and sinful, for the sake of saving us.  How far will we go to save the least and the lost, the sinful and the broken?  Leaders go as far as needed.  May we go where He sends us.

Scripture reference: Mark 10: 42-45


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The Only Way

Peter’s reaction to Jesus’ grim news is understandable.  If we had been training under and serving alongside someone like Jesus for three years, the news that he was going to have to die would be hard to take.  Perhaps we too would have never heard the part that came after “rejected, killed, …”

Peter’s reaction is purely human.  It is where we live most  of our days as well.  Peter did not look far enough ahead and was just concerned with ‘now’ and how not having Jesus around would affect ‘tomorrow’.  We preoccupy and worry over how we fit in, how we are though of, what tomorrow will bring, and so on.  It was hard for human Peter to see divine Jesus’ bug picture.  Sometimes we fail to live with an eternal focus too.  Sometimes our eyes are fixated on the here and now.

Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!”  What a reality check; what a wake-up call.  Imagine of you heard those words spoken to someone in your small group or during a meeting at church.  Imagine if they were spoken to you!  Yet in reality these are words we need to use personally with ourselves all the time.  When we begin to veer off the path or when we go astray or when we just begin to feel temptation, we need to shout these words in our hearts and minds: get behind me Satan!

We are much like Peter.  We live human lives quite often.  We stumble and fall.  Often.  And, like Peter, we too have the cross and the promise of life eternal.  In that cross we seek and find grace and love and forgiveness.  Because of this each day we can deny self, take up our own cross, and seek to follow Jesus.  It is the only way.

Scripture reference: Mark 8: 31-38


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Boundaries

Social boundaries can be hard to cross.  Maybe your first experience with boundaries came on the playground in elementary school.  Maybe it was in the middle school cafeteria or audition room or athletic court.  Maybe it occurred in a different area or at another stage in life.  Being on one side or the other of a social boundary is something most of us have experienced.

As we grow into adulthood, the social boundaries do not get any easier to cross.  The imaginary lines we draw in our minds can be as tough to cross as the Berlin Wall.  Sometimes we treat the boundaries with the same level of fear as spiders or death.  Yet God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, continues to nudge and whisper into our ears and hearts.  And we can ignore, but that voice just does not go away if you are really working to live out your faith.

Maybe the nudge is to invite the new family who does not speak much English over for dinner.  Maybe it is to stop and offer some food to the man with the sign.  Maybe it is to be the first to welcome the couple who is different from everybody else in your congregation.

James encourages us to walk across that boundary, to quit judging others, and to get out of our comfort zones.  If one is really working to grow in one’s faith, they feel the nudges and hear the whispers of the Spirit.  If we can get outside our box and engage those across the boundary, then we begin to fulfill God’s command to truly love our neighbors as ourselves.  That first step can be hard, but go ahead, take it.

Scripture reference: James 2: 1-13


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Seeking to Continue

When Peter, James, and John see Jesus transfigured and Moses and Elijah appear, they are frightened.  This experience is far beyond anything they have been through or that they could imagine.  Almost without thinking, Peter offers to build three shelters, perhaps seeking to make this experience last.

One cannot blame him.  In our own God moments – those special times when we experience His presence in our lives – it is a little frightening but it is also something that we want to make last.  We want that moment and that experience to continue.

To add to it all, a cloud descends and God actually speaks to them.  In a reaffirmation of Jesus’ baptism and as a sending forth proclamation, God again declares who Jesus is and what that entails for the disciples.

Just like Peter, James, and John, we too are to acknowledge Jesus’ divinity and we are to listen to Him.  As the transfiguration experience comes to an end, they head back down the mountain and back to real life.  We do the same when our God moments end.  We are thankful and blessed and forever changed, but the world is still there and it still awaits us.

Like the disciples, we too must deny ourselves and take up our cross, seeking to continue the work of Jesus in building the kingdom here.  Being changed ourselves, may we go forth seeking to bring change and hope to our very real worlds.

Scripture reference: Mark 9: 2-9


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Da Nile and the Cross Beside It

So often our stumbling blocks are tha things of men.  It is too easy to let our life revolve around our position at work or how our bank account looks or what other people think of us.  In our humanity, it is pretty easy to be human!  But we can also stumble on heavenly things.  For example, at times we can allow doubt or fear to keep us from doing what God calls us to.

Jesus calls us to deny self and to take up our cross to follow Him.  There are two parts here.  First, we are called to deny self.  When we deny self we are putting all others above ourself and our needs, desires, interests, wants…  ALL others above self.  That is not just family, close friends, maybe a few people from the church.  It is also that coworker you really don’t like that much and that homeless lady you walk by on the way to your car.  But certainly when we deny self, we have more to offer to others.

The second part of this call is to take up our cross.  For Jesus, His cross led to the greatest gift ever and also to His physical death.  For us, our cross is both what we can offer to our broken world and a spiritual death to the things that keep us from fully following Jesus Christ.  For Jesus, His cross held all of our sins and He took it up and bore it for our salvation, the forgiveness of our sins.  On Jesus’ cross was love for mankind.  Love was truly the gift Jesus had to offer.  He denied self to love others fully.

It makes me wonder – what gift for mankind is on my cross or on your cross?  Maybe it is our gifts and talents that are on our crosses.  So when we deny self, it is what we have to offer to our fellow man.  If compassion is our gift, then when one denies self and takes up their cross, is it compassion that flows out?  If ones gift is teaching, then when one denies self and pours themselves into being a teacher, is it learning that pours out for others?

Scripture reference: Matthew 16: 21-28