pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: evil


by Leave a comment

Love as Well

Reading: Romans 12:17-21

Romans 12:21 – “Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.”

Photo credit: Kate Remmer

Our five verses from the end of Romans 12 come from a section in which Paul is arguing that love is the primary command. In and over and through and around all things, first apply love. Paul is elevating here what Jesus lived out. If we, like Jesus, allow love to lead and guide all that we say, think, and do, then we will be continuing Christ’s work of building the kingdom of God here on earth.

In verse 17 Paul warns about repaying evil with evil. That’s our natural reaction, often our first thought, isn’t it? It’s what we see in the culture all around us. Be upside-down instead. Choose love. Choose the good. In this spirit we’re encouraged to “live at peace with all people.” Paul offers some realism here: “to the best of your ability.” Some folks want nothing to do with getting along with others. Their evil intents guide all of their actions.

Paul, however, doesn’t advise us to avoid such people. Leave all the revenge and paying back to God. Paul does advise us to look for our opportunities – our chances to be love. If the one who is our “enemy” is hungry then feed them. If they are thirsty then give them a drink. In loving on such as these, we are piling upon them our love, a way of sharing faith that could one day influence them too. In this way, we will be living out Paul’s wonderful admonition: “Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.”

While we may think that Paul is channeling his inner Jesus with all of this “love your enemy” talk, he is quoting from Proverbs 25. Love was at the core of who and what Jesus was, yes. But love is also at the core of the Old Testament. This should be no surprise. God is love. May we be so as well.

Prayer: Lord God, empower us today and every day to be love when the world expects hate. Guide us to ever choose the good, eschewing the temptation to do harm. Through our counter-cultural and upside-down life draw others towards Jesus Christ, our earthly model of love and peace. Amen.


by Leave a comment

The Narrow Road

Reading: Luke 10:25-37

Luke 10:36 – “What do you think? Which one of the three was a neighbor to the man?”

Photo credit: Jan Huber

Today we turn to the parable of the Good Samaritan. This is very familiar ground. The lessons Jesus taught remain as relevant today as they were the day that he told the story. The religious continue to try and limit who is acceptable and worthy. We continue to see and define others by arbitrary things like ethnicity, race, gender, religion, education…

As the passage opens, a legal expert tests Jesus. The opening question is just to set up the second question. Any 5-year-old Jew could’ve answered the opening question. It’d be like asking a 5-year-old in one of our churches, ‘Who died on the cross for our sins?’ The second question has the meat on the bone. Jesus has been preaching that God’s kingdom and the salvation that he brings is for all people. He’s been eating with tax collectors and touching lepers. Clearly Jesus’ understanding of who a good Jew’s neighbor is needs some correcting.

The story unfolds and Jesus picks a most unlikely hero. A Samaritan would be about as far from a Jew’s neighbor as anyone could be. And he does not just stop and help. Maybe the legal expert could’ve tolerated that. Like, it might’ve been okay to stop and talk to Zacchaeus, but to go to his house and to eat with him? The Good Samaritan goes way above and beyond too. He shows mercy to the one in need. He is the one who sets for us an example.

Of this story, John Wesley writes, “Let us renounce that bigotry and party zeal which could contract our hearts into an insensitivity for all the human race, but for a small number whose sentiments and practices are so much our own.” From about 31 AD to the late 1700s to today. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, encourage and empower us to walk the narrow road. It is narrow. Our faith is assaulted on both sides – culture on the one side, “religion” on the other. The path of Jesus, the way of love, is a narrow lane. As you held back the waters of the Jordan, hold back these evils, O Lord. Be with us each moment as we seek to build your upside-down kingdom of love in this thin space. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Stepping Beyond Easy Love

Reading: Romans 12:9-16

Romans 12:13 – “Contribute to the needs of God’s people, and welcome the strangers into your home.”

In Romans 12:9-16 Paul calls us to love. He emphasizes loving without pretending. Other translations say “love without hypocrisy.” Paul is calling for genuine, sincere love, not fake or false love. Some of the time we can be tempted to love in ways that are superficial. We might, for example, say that we’ll pray for someone but be unwilling to take the obvious step that would be the answer to the prayer.

Paul connects this “pretend” love to cursing those who harass us and to thinking we’re better than or smarter than others. Genuine love would work against us being two-faced and against being arrogant. We are called to “hate” these evils and to “hold on to what is good.” Paul also lays out what it looks like to hold onto the good.

We are to love and honor one another. We are to be enthusiastic as we serve one another. We are to meet each other’s needs. We are to welcome in the strangers. (What a call to be the church both inside and outside the walls of the building!) We are to rejoice with the joyful, and we are to cry with those in sorrow. We are to bless others. We are to consider everyone as equals. We are to associate with those “who have no status.”

Much of what Paul writes in today’s passage parallels Jesus’ challenging words from yesterday in Luke 6. In essence both tell us to love those who are hard to love. There is also the same counter-cultural element to Paul’s words today. Love the stranger, love those without status or voice. There is risk in this call. Genuine love often involves risk.

Prayer: Lord God, as we’ve been reminded, sometimes it is easy to love. It is good and right to genuinely love our family, our friends, our church. Yet you call us to so much more. Encourage us to step beyond these familiar and safe circles of love. Guide us out into the unknown waters of the stranger. Lead us to stand on the uneven and rocky ground of the marginalized. Remind us, Lord, that in these places, we stand with you. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Pour It Back Out

Readings: Romans 5:1-5 and 12:18-21

Romans 5:3-4 – “Trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”

Paul begins chapter 5 by reminding the Roman church (and us) that they (we) are made righteous through Christ’s faithfulness. We are made right because of and through Christ’s work on the cross. We cannot do anything to restore ourselves to righteousness before God. But Jesus can and does. That brings us peace with God. And because we are forgiven through grace, we can and should be gracious to others. Through our own radical acts of love, others can experience and then claim the hope that we have in Christ Jesus.

Paul then rejoices because we experience hardship, trials, suffering. What?! Paul is not celebrating that we experience these things. He is celebrating how God uses them in our lives. Trouble builds endurance which builds character which builds hope. As we endure faithfully, we model Jesus and through this process take on more of Christ’s character. As we are made more Christlike our hope in God deepens. In turn we receive more of God’s love, poured into our hearts.

Shifting to chapter 12, Paul focuses in on those times when evil is the cause of hardship… He encourages an attitude of peace even then. The apostle encourages us to allow God to be the one in the punishment business. Paul then asks us to do just the opposite: give your enemy, the one doing evil to you, give them what they need. Give them food or drink or burning coals. (This last one refers to actually giving them coals so that they can rekindle the fire, bringing them warmth.) By taking the love of God that is poured into our hearts and pouring it back out into our relationships with difficult others we will “defeat evil with good.” May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank you for the gift of Jesus Christ – he who not only became the atoning sacrifice for us but also set before us the daily example of love. In the times when it is most difficult to muster up love, grace, mercy – in moments of hardship… – remind us of your great love for all of us. In gratitude and faithfulness lead us to pour these out, blessing others. Amen.


by Leave a comment

With Us Always

Reading: Psalm 91:9-16

Psalm 91:10 – “No evil will happen to you; no disease will come near to your tent.”

Psalm 91 is a liturgy of divine protection. The psalmist is expressing his or her belief in God as protector. They express an absolute trust in God. In verse 9 God is declared to be a place of refuge, the place of residence. The Psalm closes with God’s promise to fill them with “old age” and to “show you my salvation.” Throughout the Psalm we see the Jewish belief that living a godly life will result in being blessed by God. There will be rescue, protection, answered prayer, saving.

In verse 10 we read, “No evil will happen to you; no disease will come near to your tent.” This is backed up in verse 11, where we read that God will order the angels to protect us “wherever you go.” In verse 12 we read that we won’t even “bruise a foot” because the angels will carry us. With God’s protection we’ll be able to “march on top of lions and vipers.” These words express trust and faith in God. These words were written in a time when all things were seen as under God’s control.

As the biblical narrative unfolds, we see a shift in understanding. God created and designed the world and set it into motion. God does not, however, micromanage the world. Evil, free will, selfishness, greed… – these are part of the human condition. Nobody teaches a young child, for example, to want that toy just for themselves. They must be taught to share. Illness and death are also part of the human condition. Our bodies are amazing, complex creations of God. We are not, however, bulletproof, fireproof, illness-proof… These realities of life bring oppression, injustice, pain, grief, suffering. God desires to be with us in these hard moments. Calling upon God in faith and trust, our God of relationship will walk with us always.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for always being with us when we call out. Lead and guide us to have a deep trust in your love and care for us. Impart upon us also an understanding of the realities of the human condition. In moments of goodness and joy, in moments when evil or illness or when poor decisions impact our lives, draw us to you, be present in our trials, walk with us in all of life. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Come, Lord Jesus!

Reading: Revelation 21-22

Revelation 21:5 – “Then the one seated on the throne said, ‘Look! I’m making all things new.'”

As we conclude our Bible Year reading plan with Revelation 21 and 22, it is a wonderful end to this project and to the words of scripture. These two chapters give us a sneak peak into eternity. God and Jesus Christ are victorious. All evil is no more. Everything focuses on worshipping God and the Lamb.

Chapter 21 begins with the new heaven and earth becoming one as the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven. In this heavenly city, God will once again dwell with “his people.” There will be no tears, no death, no mourning, no pain. The one in the throne declares, “Look! I’m making all things new.” In his fourth spirit-led trance John gets a tour of this new city of God. It is 1,500 miles on each side. It was twelve gates, each made out of a huge pearl, each gate with the name of one of Israel’s twelve tribes on it. The city has twelve foundations, each made of a different previous stone, each bearing the name of one of the twelve apostles. There is no sun or moon. God’s glory is the light and the Lamb is the lamp. The river of life flows from the throne of God. On each bank is a tree of life. The trees bear twelve fruits and the leaves bring healing. God’s servants gather around the throne, worshipping God and the Lamb.

The epilogue begins in 22:6. An angel declares these words “trustworthy and true.” John states that he heard and saw these things. He is told not to seal the scroll because “the time is near.” Jesus, the “root and descendant of David… the bright morning star,” is coming soon. Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Prayer: Lord God, we long for the day. We long to see the new heaven and earth. We long to dwell in your presence. Today we pray, come Lord Jesus. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Almost Done

Reading: Revelation 18-20

Revelation 19:9 – “Write this: Favored are those who have been invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb.”

Chapter 18 details Babylon’s fall. An angel announces the fall, calls out any who are faithful, and pours a double portion of God’s wrath. Deadly disease, grief, and hunger strike her and then fire consumes Babylon – all in a day. The kings of the earth, merchants, and seafarers mourn and weep. The seafarers invite the saints, apostles, and prophets to rejoice. Then a powerful angel hurls a huge stone into the sea, bringing complete destruction: “It won’t be found anymore.”

Heaven celebrates the fall in the first half of chapter 19. A huge crowd, the elders, and the four living creatures celebrate God using “royal power.” Then an angel says to John, “Write this: Favored are those who have been invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb.” Oh to be in that invitation list!

Heaven then opens and Christ emerges. He is “Faithful and True,” “Word of God,” and “King of kings and Lord of lords.” An angel invites the birds to be ready to devour flesh. The beast and its allies draw up for battle. The beast and false prophet are thrown forever into the “fiery lake” and the rest die by the sword in Jesus Christ’s mouth.

An angel comes down from heaven holding the key to the abyss and a large chain. Satan is thrown into the abyss for 1,000 years. Those who were martyred reign with Christ. Satan is released and gathers all that he can deceive. Fire consumes the army and Satan is thrown forever into the lake to fire and sulfur. Then comes the final judgment. Death and the Grave are thrown into the fiery lake along with all whose names are not written in the book of life. It is almost done.

Prayer: Lord God, evil is defeated and sent forever into the lake of fire and sulfur. All the faithful join you for the great wedding banquet. It is an either/or day. To take the long walk of faith – it is not easy. Daily lead and guide us to walk faithfully with you, or… Amen.


by Leave a comment

Great and Awesome, Complete and Total

Reading: Revelation 15-17

Revelation 15:3 – “Great and awe-inspiring are your works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, king of the nations.”

Photo credit: Diego Gennaro

As we return to the story that we departed from at the end of chapter 11, we see those who gained the victory standing around the “sea” singing the songs of Moses and of the Lamb. They declare, “Great and awe-inspiring are your works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, king of the nations.”

Then the seven angels with the seven bowls of God’s wrath emerge from the temple. The first bowl is poured out upon the earth, causing “nasty and terrible sores” to appear on those who follow the beast. The second bowl is poured out on the sea, turning it to blood, killing all living creatures in the sea. The third bowl does the same to the rivers and springs. The angel of the waters proclaims God’s justice. The followers of the beast had poured out the blood of the saints…

The fourth bowl is poured out on the sun, allowing it to burn people with its fire. People cursed the name of God but did not change hearts and lives. The fifth bowl is poured out on the throne of the beast, bringing darkness. People bit their tongues and cursed God – but didn’t turn from their evil ways. The sixth bowl is poured out on the Euphrates, drying it up, paving the way for the final battle. Unclean spirits come out of the mouths of the dragon, beast, and false prophet. They gather the kings of the world for battle.

The seventh bowl is poured into the air, bringing a great earthquake and huge hail stones. The people cursed God. Then an angel shows John, in a Spirit-led trance, the fate of “Babylon.” The woman, the source of all evil, sits on a beast with seven heads and ten horns, all representing various kings. They will turn on her, devouring and burning her. This carries out God’s purposes. Looking ahead, John sees these kings will make war on the Lamb. Christ will emerge victorious. The great fall is next.

Prayer: Lord God, you are indeed great and awesome, just and true. There is no place for evil in your coming kingdom. The end of this age will be horrible and the victory in Christ will be complete and total. Thanks be to God! Amen.


by Leave a comment

Endure and Remain Faithful

Reading: Revelation 12-14

Revelation 12:12 – “But oh! The horror for the earth and sea! The devil has come down to you with great rage, for he knows that he only has a short time.”

Photo credit: Micah Tindell

In today’s chapters the story of God’s people is retold – this time from a cosmic perspective. It begins with a woman giving birth to a son. Her crown has 12 stars (tribes of Israel) and her child is saved from the dragon (evil), snatched up (resurrected) into heaven. A battle is waged in heaven. Michael and his angels defeat Satan and his angels, who are thrown down to earth. In 12:12 we read, “But oh! The horror for the earth and sea! The devil has come down to you with great rage, for he knows that he only has a short time.” Woe to the earth. Woe to us.

Satan chases the woman but cannot catch her. So Satan makes war on her children (the church.) Next a beast emerged from the sea. It is a parody of the Lamb. The head that was slain is healed, awing the whole earth, drawing followers. The beast then makes war on and defeats the saints. Verse 10 speaks into John’s readers’ present reality of arrest and martyrdom, calling on them to remain faithful and to endure.

A second beast emerged from the land. It deceives many and forces them to worship the first beast. People are made to wear the number of the beast. Without this they cannot buy or sell. This beast is a parody of the Spirit. The Lamb then appears in heaven with the 144,000. They are pure and blameless. A series of angels comes next. They announce the “eternal good news” and the downfall of Babylon (evil.) The earth is harvested – first the righteous and then those who end up in “the great winepress of God’s anger.” The end is drawing near.

Prayer: Lord God, as the story unfolds from the heavenly perspective, the choice to live for you or for the world becomes clear. Evil continues to tell lies in attempts to deceive and draw us away from you. By the power of the Holy Spirit, help us to endure and to remain faithful. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Generous and Hospitable

Reading: 3rd John

3rd John 1:11 – “Don’t imitate what is bad but what is good. Whoever practices what is good belongs to God.”

3rd John addresses two ways that one can live as a part of the community of faith. Unfortunately, good and evil can exist within the church. Like many other institutions, a church is a group of imperfect people. So, at times, people in a church can cause harm to one another or to the mission of Christ.

In this short letter the elder contrasts the actions and attitudes of Gaius and Diotrephes. The elder is “overjoyed” by what he heard about Gaius. He is living “according to the truth,” caring well for the brothers and sisters who are on missionary journeys. Diotrephes, on the other hand, is one who “likes to put himself first.” He does not welcome these itinerant missionaries. And, not only that, he’s slandering the elder and his companions. And Diotrephes is expelling people from the church if they help these missionaries.

The elder writes to Gaius, “Don’t imitate what is bad but what is good. Whoever practices what is good belongs to God.” Those who practice what is bad or evil have “not seen God.” This is a simple letter about being generous and hospitable. It calls us to consider where our actions and behaviors fall along this spectrum. If we are more like Gaius, then we are seeking to live according to the truth of Christ. If we are more self-centered, then we have some work to do.

Prayer: Lord God, lead us to truly reflect on how generous and hospitable we are to those who are doing your work and who pass through our doors or lives. May we strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ, the one who welcomed and engaged one and all in love. Amen.