pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Trust in HOPE

2nd Peter 3:12b-15a – “But according to his promise we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found by him in peace—pure and faultless. Consider the patience of our Lord to be salvation.”

As we continue in the week’s Epistle reading, Peter draws us to the big picture, to the promise and hope that one day Jesus will return. The community of faith has given up their old ways of life and have taken on Christ. This decision for Christ has not always been easy to live out. There is persecution in many places and there is the constant pull of the world. All of this remains true for those seeking to walk faithfully today.

In verse 13 Peter offers these words: “But according to his promise we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth.” Jesus himself said that he would return. That is the promise. But within this promise, it can still be a challenge to live faithfully in the here and now. There are times when our faith is challenged by things outside of our control and there are times when we create the difficulty all on our own. Both are often rooted in sin.

Today is the last day for a local institution that cares for those struggling with the issues of poverty and homelessness. They have long lived and ministered to those that Jesus would call “the least of these.” The forces of this world have once again conspired. The closure is not just or right or holy. Last night a few of us gathered outside the building to remember and share stories and to pray for the future. There was a heaviness that remains on my heart today.

Yet even in grief I can choose to trust in hope. In hope for the salvation that Peter writes of today. In hope for those who will be without come Monday. In hope for those who have failed the vulnerable and powerless. In hope for what God might have in store for our community. I choose to trust in hope because in and through Jesus, one day we will all experience a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no more tears, no more hunger, no more hate. There will be a banquet table where all have a place. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, walk with us who grieve today. Whisper your words of love and hope into our hearts again and again today and again in the hard days to come. Wrap your arms of love around us and keep us in your care. Amen.


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Our Eternal God

Reading: Mark 13:31 – “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

Photo credit: Tyler Milligan
https://bible.com/bible/2016/mrk.13.31.NRSV

Returning to Mark 13 today on the first Sunday of Advent, time remains a theme. Jesus reminds us today that very little in this life is permanent – “heaven and earth will pass away.” Passings or losses are part of our life. They are a reality of our finite human nature. Even this world, although eons and eons old, is in a steady state of decline. One day even our sun will give off its last warmth and light. This impermanence can give us feelings of instability and fear. If this 58 or 80 or 40 or even 100 years was all there was to life, then no matter how great our years and life, death would only bring deep sadness.

Set over and against this temporary life and world is our eternal God. Although even heaven as we think we know it will one day be no more, the one who created it and sustains it will go on and on and on. Although our substance will likely change, God and God’s words, those words of hope and promise and resurrection and eternity – “my words will never pass away.”

Our eternal God is present with us in the future of this life. The Holy Spirit walks with us daily, guiding us through the highs and lows and all else in between. Our God who was and is and always will be is with us, God’s beloved. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, what hope and promise you bring to our finite and limited lives. What peace and love you bring to our hearts. What joy you bring to our souls. Thank you for your everlasting presence with us. Amen.


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The Target Audience

Reading: Matthew 22:1-10

Verse 3: “He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.”

Photo credit: Possessed Photography

Jesus loved to tell a good story, to teach in parables. These were stories that were often set in real life so that people could relate to them. Therefore they were able to remember them. Parables are great ways to teach lessons or truths without actually naming the target audience. And best of all, the people knew there were deeper meanings to these parables, so they wrestled with Jesus’ teachings.

Once again Jesus begins, “The kingdom of heaven was like…” Jesus is talking about both the future kingdom of heaven and of the kingdom here on earth. These are to be like one another. When we get to heaven, we should say, ‘This looks a lot like earth.’ That is the truth that frames this parable. The parable reveals the reality that they are not alike.

The king (God) invites people (Israel) to his son’s wedding. They accepted the invitation. (The Jews see themselves as God’s chosen people.) The time comes for the actual banquet – all has been prepared (Jesus has come.) The king tells the servants to summon those on the guest list. The people refuse to come. Some even kill the servants (prophets). In a harsh but true statement the king says, “Those I invited did not deserve to come.” Undeterred, the servants are sent out into the streets (the world) inviting people (all people) to come to the banquet. The invitation is wide open. The banquet hall is filled! This is God’s intent for the kingdom of heaven – both here on earth and one day in eternity.

The target audience has layers. There is wrestling to be done. A target audience is the religious leaders and other Jews that have rejected the prophets and who now reject Jesus. Another target audience is those who have read this parable ever since it was written. How often we (you and me) reject the invitations of God – be they in the words in red or in the gentle whispers and nudges of the Holy Spirit. What then is Jesus teaching us yet today?

Prayer: Lord God, may the truths that you reveal to us today not just be a sting that we allow to fade away with time. May they lead us to step further into your kingdom here on earth. May we hear your voice calling us to the streets, to the places where the lost and lonely, the broken and the hurting reside. In and through us may they hear your invitation to the feast. Amen.


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A Willing Heart

Reading: Isaiah 65:17-25

Verse 24: “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.”

Returning today to the vision of the new heaven and new earth found in Isaiah 65, let us consider the role that God has for us to play in this restoration and redemption that God has planned. We read that in that day there will be no more weeping or crying. People will be safe and secure and cared for. “They will be a people blessed by the Lord.” That about says it all. What a beautiful vision we get from these words of the prophet!

While those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior long for this day and are promised an inheritance in this new heaven and earth, Jesus’ call to us in not to simply wait passively for the day to arrive. Living as a disciple, our hearts should be challenged by all of the pain and brokenness that awaits redemption and restoration. The Holy Spirit challenges our heart not just to be empathetic and maybe even generous towards those living in the brokenness of this world. The Holy Spirit challenges us to be builders of the blessed kingdom here and now, to bring this vision of a new heaven and earth to our present reality.

Jesus calls us out into the places and lives that are experiencing weeping and crying and to those that are unsafe, insecure, and without the basic necessities. This often feels like a daunting task. We question where to begin or how we’ll make a difference. The prophet has a word for us too: “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” God is just looking for a willing heart. As we say ‘yes,’ the Holy Spirit will lead.

Prayer: Lord God, while I long for the day when all evil and pain and suffering are no more, I also live in a time and place where these abound. I want to say ‘yes’ to your call and to your challenge today. Show me the way, Lord, to be a kingdom builder. Amen.


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Hope in God Alone

Reading: 1st Timothy 6:6-10

Verses 11-12: “Flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.”

This week’s epistle reading begins by contrasting an earthly life with a heavenly life. Paul begins by speaking of contentment. If we have food and clothes, we can be content. He then contrasts this belief with those who “want to get rich.” Paul notes that these folks easily fall into temptations and “have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Instead, Paul encourages Timothy and us to “flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.” He doesn’t say to try and avoid it, to see if you can ignore it. No, Paul says FLEE!! Run from the lures of this world and the evils of pursuing wealth. Escape quickly. And Paul knows this is not a one time decision. The lure of wealth keeps after us. That’s why Paul encourages us to “fight the good fight of faith.” Keep battling, keep choosing faith.

Paul invites us to pursue God and God’s ways: righteousness, godliness, and such. For Paul, if we choose to pursue these things then we experience heaven here on earth, being filled with contentment and joy. If we choose to live out our confession of faith then we will not only “lay up a good foundation for the coming age” but we will also “take hold of the life that is truly life.” We will naturally do what Paul asks those with wealth to do. We will “do good… being generous and willing to share.” Living and building the kingdom here on earth we will put our hope in God alone. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, day by day help me to fight the good fight of faith. Guide me to do good and to be generous to others. Moment by moment empower me to resist the temptations of this world. Doing so, may I find true life in you. Amen.


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Be Generous

Reading: Luke 16:1-9

Verse 3: “What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job.”

The gospel lesson for this week is one of Jesus’ most difficult teachings. It is one we can read through again and again and still scratch our heads. Is Jesus really commending someone for being dishonest? For cheating his boss? After all, the manager reduces debts owed to his master or boss, all to make those debtors indebted to him instead. And when the boss finds out, he commends the manager for acting shrewdly. Maybe money isn’t the most important thing in the world. Maybe the way we use money is what really matters. Jesus seems to agree. In verses 9 he advises, “use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”

The master was impressed because the manager used money to gain an advantage – in this world. Here is where Jesus differs. He advises us to use earthly wealth to gain advantage in the life to come. A time of hardship led the manager to act as he did: “What shall I do now?” he thought. We all find ourselves in places of hardship. We all know people who are in hardship. Whether on the receiving end or on the giving end, Jesus advises us to be generous with our money – which is really God’s money. Use earthly wealth to help others, to alleviate hardship, to build relationships and connections. Do so not for our own earthly gain, but do so for the glory of God. Then, in the end, we will know heavenly blessings. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to be shrewd with the money you’ve blessed me with, using it in ways that reveal your love and care for us all. May my sharing be counter cultural, leading to conversations about faith, about compassion, about generosity. Amen.

My master is taking away my job.”


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Day by Day

Reading: Revelation 22:1:5

Verses 3 and 5: “No longer will there be any curse… the Lord God will give them light.”

Photo credit: Uta Scholl

As we turn again to Revelation 22 today, we read of a place we long for. The world will no longer be in bondage to sin and death: their “curses” will be no more. The “tree of life” will bring healing to the nations and people. All of humanity – people from all tribes, languages, races… – will gather and worship the Lord. Time as we know it will be no more: “the Lord God will give them light.” All will be lit by the light of the Lord. There will be no more darkness.

This picture of heaven, in all it’s beauty and grandeur, is a wonderful image to hold in our mind and heart. It is a place and time to look forward to, to find hope and peace in. But it is not just a future idea or image. It is also what Jesus spoke of when he talked about heaven drawing near and when we talk of building the kingdom here on earth.

Day by day, as followers of the Lord God, we seek to be light in the darkness and we seek to bring healing to this earth. We strive to restore relationships and to love all people – not just one another in the family of God. Sometimes we even fail at these two things. We too are part of the broken world, part of the “curse” at times. When we are, we pause and confess and repent, and we turn back towards the Lord’s light. We find healing for ourselves and then begin to walk anew, guided once again by holy light and pure love. Day by day may we draw closer to the Lord and to the realization of heaven here on earth.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to be a person of light. Use me to build up the presence of your kingdom here on earth. Let your light shine in and through me today and every day. Amen.


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Share and Build

Reading: Revelation 21:1, John 13:31, and Acts 11:1

Rev. 21:1 – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.”

There will be a day when this world is no more. On that day the new heaven and earth will be established and God will once again walk with humankind. Our Revelation text also tells us that the sea will be no more. At the beginning of time the sea represented chaos and disorder. It was a great unknown still in Jesus’ day. 1,500+ years later we still believed that if you went too far you came to the end and you dropped off into a forever of nothingness. Symbolically, in Revelation, no sea means an end to the chaos and disorder of this world and this life. Therefore, no more death, tears, crying, pain…

In our verse from Acts 11 we are reminded that the Gentiles received God’s word. ‘Gentile’ was a term that originally referred to all people who were outside of the Jewish faith. In time it came to represent all people living without a relationship with Jesus Christ. The idea that all people can receive the word of God was a grand opening of the faith. Anyone and everyone became potential disciples.

John 13:31 speaks of Jesus and God being glorified. This refers to Jesus being raised from the dead. Taken in the context of our Revelation and Acts verses, it reminds us that when we share the good news of Jesus Christ and lead others towards a relationship with Christ, then Jesus and God are glorified here too. Each step, each effort to include all people in the family of God, each inches us closer to the day of a new heaven and earth while also bringing more of that kingdom to this earth. May we seek to share and build the kingdom of God today and every day by glorifying Christ!

Prayer: Lord God, the day of a new heaven and earth will be glorious beyond imagination. It will be awesome! Use me today and every day to make this earth a little more like the one to come. Amen.


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Here on Earth

Reading: Revelation 21:1-6

Verse 3: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and God will live with them.”

Photo credit: Thanti Nguyen

Revelation 21 comes near the end of John’s vision. Much unfolds up to this point – words are spoken to the 7 churches, there is trial and persecution, there is rapture and eternal punishment, there is a great era where Satan rules yet the name of Christ is still made known. As chapter 21 opens John sees a new heaven and new earth and a new Jerusalem coming down from heaven. God becomes present once again, just as God has been originally with Adam and Eve. In verse 3 we read, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and God will live with them.” This is the traditional, future-focused, apocalyptic reading of the book of Revelation.

Much of scripture has layers or multiple meaning. Jesus’ use of parables is the best example of this. For example, the parable of the sower is not just about planting seeds in different soil types. The first readers of Revelation, for example, would have read is as a present day event, with Satan representing the Roman emperor. Passages such as our today can also be read as a present and ongoing reality, not just as a historical or future event.

When we choose to accept Jesus Christ as the Lord of our life, we are made into new creations, indwelled with the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit lives with us and in our hearts from that point forward, daily walking with us. Not that we don’t ever again experience pain or loss or other hard things, but God present with us will “wipe every tear” from our eyes. The power of death was swallowed up in Christ’s victory on the cross – “the old order of things has passed away.” Death is no longer the end. It is just a point of transition to something more, to something much better. And like the woman at the well, in this life we too experience the “living water.” As we thirst for more of Christ in our lives, he gives abundantly “drink without cost” from the water of new life. Yes, we can experience the kingdom of God here on earth. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, heaven and being in your eternal presence is something I look forward to, even long for. Yet in this time and place you dwell with me, love me, walk with me. Thank you for the gift of experiencing a taste of heaven here and now. Amen.


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On Earth as It Is…

Reading: Philippians 3:17-4:1

Verse 20: “Our citizenship is in heaven.”

As followers of Jesus Christ we all have an eternal inheritance. In today’s passage Paul puts it this way: “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Paul is speaking to a time yet to come for us. Many have experienced what he is speaking of. We are told in scripture that heaven will be a kaleidoscope of people from every race, tongue, and nation. The great multitude will reflect our world in all its diversity. This is great news, isn’t it? Hallelujah and amen!!

While the promise of eternity in God’s presence is indeed wonderful and glorious, don’t we pray ‘on earth as it is in heaven’ at least each Sunday? Didn’t Jesus come not just to open the way to heaven but also to bring the kingdom of God here to the earth? In light of the honest answers to these questions, we can see that while we believe these things to be true, we don’t necessarily seek to live them out.

Paul’s initial audience was the church in Philippi. It was a city in the Roman empire so the average person in Philippi enjoyed the rights and privileges of Roman citizenship, much as you and I enjoy the rights and privileges of American citizenship. Much of the early church, though, was made up of slaves and others from the lower rungs of society. They did not enjoy the rights and privileges of membership in the earthly kingdom. News of citizenship – of belonging, of being equals, of having worth – this news would bring great hope to those largely without. Imagine hearing these words from their perspective. Great news, huh?! Hallelujah and amen!!

And while this is indeed wonderful and glorious news for many, there are people who truly love Jesus that at least feel outside of or excluded from our communities of faith. And there are people who don’t yet know Jesus but do need his love and grace and transforming power. Many of these also feel outside or excluded. So, the question is: how do you and I better reflect ‘on earth as it is in heaven?’ How do you and I live and act and think and speak in ways that offer belonging, equity, and worth to all people, flinging wide open the doors to the kingdom of heaven here on this earth?

Prayer: Lord God, may your love and justice roll down like a mighty river. May your love for all people, all created by you in your image, be manifest in our churches and in our lives. Amen.