pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: experience


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Mountain Top

Reading: Exodus 24: 12-14

God and mountains seem to go together.  It was on the mountain that Moses first heard God’s call and it was on another mountain that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.  It was on the mountain that God passed by Elijah and whispered in that still, small voice. It was on the mountain that Jesus rejected Satan’s temptation and it was later on another mountain that Jesus was transfigured.  It is later that Jesus pleads with His Father on the Mount of Olives.

Many believers have also had their own ‘mountaintop’ experiences.  Some have happened while physically on a mountain.  Bishop Hartwell climbed the mountain in Zimbabwe to seek God’s direction.  On the mountaintop, God gave him a vision that led to the founding of Africa University.  For others, their mountaintop experience is not literally on a mountain, but it feels as if they were on top of the world.  In that place, one experiences God in a way that is amazing and life-changing.  For many, it is the pinnacle or touchstone moment of their faith.

To be on the mountaintop is often to be alone with God.  To physically stand atop Mount Everest or Mount McKinley or Storm Mountain feels as if you were next to God.  There is something about the isolation, something about the height above all else, something about the beauty seen all around you.  In the ruggedness it can feel as if God himself has walked there.  Then when one looks down, the world lays out before you.  This too is a moving experience.  To see all of God’s handiwork laid out in its beauty and splendor creates a feeling of closeness to the Creator.

Our lives themselves can also have mountaintop experiences, and not just the one the first time we met God.  God calls us over and over and over to the mountaintop.  God wants us to experience His power and majesty and wonder over and over again.  Our question is: will we respond to God’s call?  Furthermore, will we obediently go where God leads, will we allow God to be fully in control of our lives?  When our answers to these questions are ‘yes’, then God will bring us to the mountaintop over and over, again and again.  In John 10:10, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”.  Do we desire life to the full?  If so, may we trust in God and allow Him to take us to the mountain today.


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God’s Power

Reading: 1 Corinthians 2: 1-16

Paul was well-educated and knew the Jewish faith inside out.  He could quote from the scriptures all day long.  He could probably recite all 623 codes found in the Law.  Paul was a man with great knowledge.  And he was very smart – he knew that the power to transform lives was held by God alone.  So Paul chose to proclaim faith, not religion.  Paul chose to share the words brought to him by the Spirit instead of relying on all the fancy religious terms and rules he knew so well.  Paul chose to speak from the heart and not the mind.

When we come to the sacred place of being able to share our faith with someone, they want to know the source of our joy, peace, and contentment.  They want to know how God has transformed us.  They want to know how accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will change them forever.  There is no interest in knowing what committee we are on or where to sign up to be an usher.  The seeker simply wants to feel what we feel and to experience the power of Christ in their life.  They want to hear and feel from our hearts what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus.

Others will come to us in times of pain or brokenness.  They often do not know where else to turn.  They have exhausted their other options.  Some have a sense that only God can help.  It may be prompted by a sudden tragedy, by an unexpected job loss, a request for a divorce that comes out of nowhere.  Here too we must speak from the heart and must rely on the power of God to give us the words to say.  Like Paul, we must trust in God to lead and guide us and to help us “speak not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths”.  In situations that are truly beyond us and make us feel inadequate, we must call upon God and seek the power of God.  Then the words we speak will be the wisdom of God.

In all things we must rely on the Lord our God.  This is true of our words, our actions, our relationships.   May we ever seek God first, trusting fully in God’s power alone.


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Faithful

Reading: 2 Timothy 2: 8-15

Paul accepts his physical reality but lives into his eternal reality.  He is a prisoner in chains, suffering in the way because of his faith.  He could fall into despair or depression.  He could as easily just give up.  He could blame God for the circumstances he finds himself in.  Paul does not do any of these things.  In fact, he willingly accepts the situation and simply continues to do all he can for God so that others “may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus”.  God always comes first for Paul, is always the focus.

At times we too are so filled with God that our surroundings or the little obstacles that come up aren’t even speed bumps to our completing what God has laid upon our hearts.  We are full steam ahead in our work for God.  The work is meaningful and impactful and lives are being changed.  We look ahead, eager to continue to do the work of faith, ready for whatever God brings next.  I often experience this scenario after a mission trip or after an event such as a rally where God touches lives and new believers are ‘on fire’ for God.

But I am not Paul.  I return and soon enough everyday matters – work, family, chores, … – demand my attention.  They are good and worthy matters and deserve my attention, but they consume my time and drain my enthusiasm for that next thing that God has in store.  I fall into the routine of everyday life and that ‘full steam ahead’ feeling is lost.  It is in this mode of life that the speed bumps can feel like mountains.  Yet God is faithful.  If I am willing and if I keep my eyes open and my heart sensitive, God always leads me to the next opportunity to serve or to meet a need or to help someone come to know Jesus Christ.  God is faithful.  God will use us over and over and over again if we are faithful and obedient.  Lord, make me faithful and obedient always.  Lord, use me.


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Called

Reading: 1 Timothy 1: 12-14

Paul reminds us today that God can use anybody to help build the kingdom.  Paul acknowledges that his past included blasphemy, persecution, and violence – all against the newly founded church that followed Jesus.  He was very zealous in his work against this new church.  Yet God, in a show of great mercy, claimed Paul for service in the kingdom.  In a flash all the zeal against Christ became zeal for Christ.

When we look at Paul’s past, we can see how God was at work preparing Paul for the role we know him in as one of the great missionaries and teachers if the early church.  Early on Saul, as the old Paul was known, was a star pupil.  He was very intelligence and quickly learned the Hebrew Bible inside and out.  He quickly rose through the religious ranks and became a very well respected Pharisee.  It was all of this past knowledge and practices that allowed Paul to so skillfully build His case for Christ and to defend it against attacks from non-believers and the Jewish authorities as well.

Each of enters into God’s service in a similar way.  We too all come with our past sins and mistakes.  But we also come with we have done and experienced and learned in life.  The gifts and talents that God has blessed each of us with are a part of who we are as well.  Just like Paul, when we are called or led into service in some particular way, we are ready.  We are just who God has prepared us to be and needs us to be for that role.

Like so many before us, often we too ask, “Me?” as our initial response to God’s call.  We are usually skilled at saying “Well…”, “But…”, “When…”, and “No” also.  But God does not call us unless we have been equipped for the task at hand.  We may not know this or feel this way, but God knows better.  May we each obediently respond to God’s call in our lives so that we may say as Paul said, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me faithful, appointing me to service”.


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Assurance 

Reading: Hebrews 11: 1-3

Anselm, a Benedictine monk, once said, “I believe in order that I may understand”.  This seems so backwards in the world of logic.  But in the world of faith it makes perfect sense.  God acts and is present in so many amazing ways.  We cannot deny this because of our own personal experience.  Yet we cannot always understand how or why.  A part of faith is always mystery.  Our faith is something we cannot prove scientifically, but one cannot deny that God exists.  We live with a conviction that God is all around us.

At times we have personal experiences with God’s presence.  These moments of divine presence in our own lives brings assurance to our belief.  In the Bible we find many accounts of God’s interaction with humanity.  In our lives we continue to hear and read testimonies of people who experienced God in their lives.  All of this builds our assurance and then our belief.

Our faith rests upon who God is.  Throughout the pages of scripture, in the lives and witness of all the saints who have gone before, and in our own lives we see a God who is always present, is always faithful, and is always just.  God does not slumber or sleep.  God does not go on vacation.  No matter when we call or where we are at, when we seek God or call on God’s presence, God is right there.  The promises God made to Adam, Abraham, Moses, … remain true to this day.  Because of who God is, we rest assured in our faith.  For this we say thanks be to God.


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Like Abraham 

Reading: Hebrews 11: 8-16

Too often we are deaf to God’s voice.  Like with Abraham, God is seeking to bless us and to do great things in our lives.  Throughout our day God seeks to connect to us, to draw us into relationship, to allow us to experience the presence of the Spirit in our life.  Too often we miss these chances.

Most of us have had significant encounters with God.  Maybe they were during a retreat or when we were at camp.  Maybe they were in a deep valley where our sense of God’s presence became very real at the low point of a trial or struggle.  Maybe it was during a special worship service or when we were on a mission project.  At certain times we are particularly open to hearing God’s voice or experiencing God in our midst.  But God desires this to be our frequent experience throughout our day.

The ‘God moments’ we have experienced are powerful and meaningful.  So this leads us to seek out why we do not have these times more often in our day to day living.  In Abraham’s story we find some clues.  First, he was open to hearing God.  At times God’s voice will boom into our lives.  But Abraham had his ear ever tuned to God and had his spirit focused on God.  We too can do this by being intentional in inviting God into our daily lives and by being cognizant of the opportunities God places in our lives.  These may come in the wise words of a friend, in the face of the one in need we encounter on the sidewalk, or in the still small voice of the Holy Spirit whispering into our heart.  Second, when Abraham felt God’s presence or heard the voice, he listened and was honest.  If he did not understand or felt doubt or fear, he was honest with God about these things.  God did not walk away, but responded.  Through faith Abraham heard and obeyed God and was credited as righteous.

Life can consume us.  Life can swirl around us.  The noise and busyness can obscure God’s voice and the encounters sent our way.  When we allow these things to occur, our relationship with God suffers.  Our soul is poorer for having missed out.  Our faith is not as strong as it could have been had we experienced God’s presence.  We, like Abraham, can hear God’s voice often.  We, like Abraham, can become attuned to that voice, lifting it above the daily hum.  The more we hear the voice, the better we listen. And we, like Abraham, can and will experience God’s presence and blessings when we slow down and focus on our faith.  May we learn to be like Abraham so that we can receive the promises, blessings, and power of God in our lives, daily and often. 


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Tell the Story

Reading: Luke 7: 11-17

It must have been a powerful scene for all involved.  Imagine the onlookers as Jesus approaches the funeral procession.  Those carrying the young man’s body stop as Jesus draws near.  Jesus reaches up and touches the coffin and says something.  The anticipation that has steadily build explodes as the young man sits up and begin to speak.  Jesus returns the son to his mother and continues on His way.  The story concludes with powerful words being spoken about Jesus and the story spreads throughout the area.

We can relate to this story from three angles.  Some of the time we are like the widow.  We are at a place in life when we feel a deep weight upon us.   Something in our family or at work has occurred and we we are filled with a sadness over our loss.  In these places Jesus enters our lives and speaks words of healing and wholeness and peace.  From these experiences we have powerful personal stories to tell.

Sometimes we are like the son – dead to God because of our sins.  A serious temptation or sin has us ‘stuck’ and we feel so far removed from God that is seems like He does not even exist.  Shame and guilt have created what seems an impossible chasm to cross.  In these seasons, Jesus Christ desire to walk up to us, to touch us, and to call us back to our journey of faith.  The story of redemption and His love is a powerful story to share as well.

And sometimes we are the crowd – observers of some amazing act of Christ.  We are privy to seeing a lost soul saved or a person who finds miraculous healing from a disease or illness.  We feel the buzz and want to share the story with all we meet.

Our faith impacts us in so many ways.  Each encounter with the living Christ is another story to share with those we know and meet.  May we ever tell the story of His love.


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His Witness

Reading: Ephesians 1: 15-23

Paul’s prayer for the church in Ephesus is that the Holy Spirit would bring wisdom and revelation to the church so that they would know Jesus better.  Paul lists three reasons why he is praying this prayer: to know the HOPE of salvation; to know the riches of the larger church; and, to gain a sense of His power.

It is one thing to know who Jesus is.  A good teacher.  A man with the power to perform miracles.  A moral example.  Yes, Jesus is all of these things.  But to know Jesus more, to the depth of calling on Him as Lord and Savior, requires faith and belief that He is the Son of God.  Once our ‘knowledge’ of Jesus has reached this place, then we begin to live for Him and not for self, knowing that our salvation, the eternal rescue of our spirit, rests firmly in His hands.

As we become a part of a community of faith we become richer.  The fellowship, worship, mentoring, accountability, and love of the faithful makes our lives so much better.  In turn we too can discover and offer the gifts that God has bestowed upon us to enrich the lives of the church and the world in which we live.  These experiences of sacrificially giving of self to others and receiving from others unconditionally opens the way for us to begin to sense His power at work.  It is through these acts of love and sacrifice that we begin to truly live as Jesus lived.  As we connect others to Him, we ourselves deepen our relationship with Jesus as well.

May we be His witness and example today, growing in our knowledge of Jesus Christ by following Him in all we do today.


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Realize and Recognize

Readings: Psalms 47 and 97

Both Psalms exclaim, “God reigns”!  In one we see the physical ways in which we can offer our praise: singing, clapping, shouting, and with instruments.  In the second, we see many ways we can experience or observe this exclamation: clouds, melting mountains, consuming fires, and images of heaven.  In these two Psalms, we see God’s grandeur, we see His glory.

At a concert last night we sang songs of praise to our God and to Jesus.  We also clapped and shouted; the band’s sang and played a variety of instruments to lead our praise and worship.  The Word was also proclaimed and the message of salvation was loud and clear.  Perhaps many of us also experienced something similar in church yesterday morning!  One leaves gatherings such as worhsip or a concert with energy, enthusiasm, and the Spirit of the Lord upon them.  We go forth with an exalted sense of who God is.  We go forth filled with joy, hope, love, and a sense of now being closer to God.

Often this reframed sense of our relationship to and with God causes us to see the world and people around us in a different way.  We exit an experience that drew us closer to God more able to see Him in our world – in nature and in people.  We also can recognize Him in people more quickly and more clearly.  When we choose to draw closer to God we are also choosing to be more like Him.  That joy, love, and hope that we now know better more easily flows from us to others in our lives.  Each time we allow ourselves to connect to, to share, to be a part of His activity in our worlds, the more we come to realize and recognize His presence the next time.  May we ever continue to seek, share, and grow in our relationship with our God!


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Step Out

Reading: Acts 16: 9-12

When was the last time you felt God calling you to do something or when you felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit?  Depending on how in tune we are to our relationship with God, the guidance and nudges and whispers can come frequently.  These connections are like everything else in our lives: the more we try and allow ourselves to hear and sense God, the better we become at sensing and hearing His presence and guidance in our lives.

In the text today, Paul has a vision calling him to a new place of ministry.  He had been struggling with where to go next so this vision would have been like an answer to prayer.  For Paul the call was clear as day.  They get up in the morning, pack up, and head out for Macedonia.  New place, new people, new challenges.  Lots of unknowns.  Paul did not hesitate.  As one deeply in tune with God and the Spirit, God spoke and Paul went.

God sometimes calls us in a similar way.  He puts a call upon our heart and we feel the tugs to respond.  Or maybe it comes in an almost audible whisper from the Holy Spirit or in a nudge we can almost physically feel.  There is no denying that we all sense, feel, hear God’s calling and leading.  And there is no denying that at times we ignore, dismiss, … this call and leading.  We allow the fears, doubts, and unknowns to keep us in our safe, comfortable, easy place.  Step out.  We need to step out in faith and with the confidence that God goes before and that the Spirit walks alongside us.

We were each created to be used by God.  Each of us was created with our own gifts and talents for a purpose.  As we allow God and the Spirit to move in our lives, we are freed to experience and share the amazing power of God transforming our lives and the lives of those around us.  Step out and step into God’s plan for your life.