pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: experience


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New

Reading: Acts 11: 1-10

This day, may we experience God in a new or unexpected way.  May God break into our ordinary and reveal Himself to us in a way that grows our faith.  May it be through an encounter with Him or through someone who crosses our path this day.

In today’s text, Peter encounters God in a new way that totally changed how He looked at a whole group of people.  It was a radical shift that was made in a relatively short time frame.  Today’s story has two lessons for us as we continue on our faith journey.

First, God is patient.  God did not reveal the vision of the sheet and animals once and then hope Peter understood.  He kept running the vision until Peter understood what God wanted him to know.  We too require God’s patience.  The person God wants us to minister to or to enter a caring relationship with may come to us repeatedly if necessary – maybe in person, maybe through the Spirit bringing them to our mind, maybe through a conversation with another person – until we realize God is at work.  Then we must respond.

Second, God seeks to increase our faith through our experiences.  Peter knew that God loved him and the Jewish people through his life experiences.  Culturally and religiously he had been taught exclusivity in God’s love for humanity.  Through the vision, Peter’s understanding of God’s love  grew greatly.  Peter came to know God’s love as universal and unconditional and unlimited.  He now knew how BIG God’s love is.  We too must come to know this.  Once we understand that God loves all people, then how we seek, look at, interact with, relate to, and love others is radically changed.  May we  see that person or those people today in a new way, through eyes and a heart that reflects the vast and unconditional, unlimited, universal love of God.


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Work and Grow

Reading: Psalm 23

In general Psalm 23 is optimistic.  There is a trust in God that flows through David’s writing.  It comes from experiencing God’s saving presence and from having an intimate relationship with God.  David’s opening line reveals his trust: I shall not want.  The next few verses tell of how God cares for him.

Does such a trust and faith come easily?  Is a positive outlook always easy to maintain?  Unfortunately the answer to these questions is ‘no’ for most of us.  To have a faith and trust like David’s takes time and effort.  To be in any good relationship, we must invest of ourselves.  To walk closely with God, we first must spend time with Him.  We do so by being daily in His Word, by worship attendance on a regular basis, by carving out time in our day for prayer.  It is hard to do all these things consistently because it is so easy to sleep in, to make something else the priority, to wake up one day and to realize it’s been a while since we spent any time with God.  To really build a solid relationship with God takes daily discipline.

We build trust much the same way.  When we allow God to be in control or when we turn our burdens over to Him, we experience His presence, guidance, direction, comfort.  Through these experiences we come to trust Him a bit more.  Then we are more willing to trust and do so more easily.  And trust grows.  We come to believe that His plans for us are good.  And trust grows.

David’s faith and trust grows to the point where he can confidently say that he fears no evil.  He knows God has him.  May we work and grow in our faith to experience the trust and faith that David lived out daily.


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Shaped to Share

Reading: John 12: 1-8

Mary and Martha’s brief season of pain ended when Jesus resurrected their brother.  In today’s story, they are hosting a meal to honor Jesus.  They had been followers since ling before the miracle that brought Lazarus back to life, but experiencing such a thing in person will forever change you.  Now they gather to offer back what they can.

Each sister has been blessed with certain gifts.  Martha’s gift is to cook and serve.  She seems to have become comfortable with this.  Mary’s gift is a little harder to define but perhaps we could define her gift as insight or discernment.  Like in the earlier story in the Bible, Mary chooses to simply be in Jesus’ presence.  But this time the Spirit moves inside of her and leads her to anoint Jesus’ feet with some very expensive perfume.  In a way it is acknowledgement that death will come to Jesus as she begins to prepare Him for burial.

Like Mary and Martha we are each gifted in unique ways to serve Jesus as well.  And like them, we too have impactful and life-changing experiences that shape us.  These events can often eventually become a start to our own personal areas of ministry as we are now intensely more aware of and sensitive to this experience.  Through this we are able to coach or mentor or walk alongside someone else experiencing something similar to what we experienced.  For example, a couple who unexpectedly lost a child may later be able to reach out to another couple now going through that same trial.

Mary was preparing others close to Jesus to begin to consider what His death would mean.  This came from her experience with losing Lazarus.  We too are shaped by our experiences so that we can share them with others.  In those trials we found that God remained close, carried us when needed, and guided us through the trial.  At times, we too will be lead or nudged by the Spirit to take action.  May we first be aware of the opportunities we have to walk alongside others, to offer them our love and support, and to draw them closer to God in their time of trial.


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Cloud of Witness

Peter, James, and John experience something amazing as Jesus, in transformed state, stands and talks with Moses and Elijah.  For these onlookers, they would have readily identified with the two guests.  Moses and Elijah are two of the great icons of the Hebrew faith.  Peter, James, and John would have grown up listening to stories of how  Moses led the people out of slavery and of how Elijah spoke out boldly.  Both men were (and are) shining examples of how God works through the faithful.

And just when it doesn’t seem like it could get any better, Peter, James, and John are enveloped by a cloud.  Within the cloud is God’s presence.  The three disciples hear God speak as He claims Jesus as His Son and then instructs them to listen to Jesus.  How could the day get any better?!

Perhaps the writer of Hebrews used this story for inspiration as they coined the phrase, ” great cloud of witness”.   In the words of God, spoken from the cloud, we certainly hear Him witness to who Jesus is.  In a similar way, Moses and Elijah are two men who witnessed to their faith in great ways.  Their faith certainly led to eternity in God’s presence up in the heavens.

The idea of a great cloud of witness ties in the faithful since the beginning to the faithful today.  The example and witness of all who have gone before guides us today.  In many ways, their story becomes part of our story.  It is all part of a great legacy.

So the question for us today is this: are we living out our faith and witnessing to others in such a way that we one day will become part of this great cloud of witness?  Ponder it.  Wrestle with the question.  May we each live our faith out in ways that witness to Christ and that builds His kingdom here on earth.

Scripture reference:  Luke 9: 28-34


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Each Opportunity

While at the wedding at Cana, Jesus experiences something we all experience – a request to help someone.  In this case Jesus must have known the wedding party as He and the disciples were invited to the party.  As I reflect on who I struggle most with when asked for assistance, it is with the stranger that I most often struggle.  In this story from the book of John, Jesus teaches us both what we are to do and what we are not to do.

The first thing Jesus did was to be open to the needs of others.  When His mother asked, He could have ignored her or dismissed the request.  Much like when the Spirit prompts us, do we pay attention or do we act like we did not hear or feel anything?

The second thing Jesus did was to decide what the greatest need was.  This can be hard to weigh or evaluate correctly.  At times people in need of assistance have a root need that is much deeper than the asked for need.  But we are called to be in relationship with and to walk alongside people in need.  Warning: to be in relationship and to walk alongside another is a much deeper commitment.  But it is only when we do this that we can begin to understand and address these deeper needs.

The third thing Jesus teaches us is something not to do: He did not judge the situation or the person.  This is often where I struggle most.  It is usually in the immediate need requests that I struggle with this the most.  When I have entered into a helping relationship with another, I learn that they are much like me and it is easier not to judge them.  But in the immediate request from a person I encounter on the street who is asking for $5 for food, for example, it is harder to not judge the validity or worthiness of the request.  In God’s view, we are to help if we can, no questions asked.

The last thing Jesus teaches us is to respond and act to the best of our ability.  He didn’t just make wine, He made good wine.  We too are called to be honest, genuine, and fully invested.  Each of our relationships and encounters should receive our best efforts.  Jesus offered no less.

May each opportunity to come alongside another be done with all the love, compassion, and ability that God has placed within us.  Lord, may it begin with me.

Scripture reference: John 2: 1-11


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In Our Trials

After a couple of underachieving semesters at college, I found myself dismissed from school.  Poor decisions on my part left me with a choice to make.  I could sit in my pity pot and cast blame all around me or I could move forward.  My choice was to attend community college and reapply to the university.  It was both a humbling and necessary experience in my life.

In Isaiah 43 God tells us, “Do not fear, I have redeemed you… you are mine.”  The chapter goes on to tell us that as the waters rise to overtake us and as the fires try to consume us, do not fear because God is with us.  In our struggles and in our times when we have to experience something unpleasant, we must remember that God call us by name, that He has already redeemed us, and that He is always with us.

Perhaps your trial is yet to come or perhaps there are another trial or two yet to come in your life.  Maybe your trial was not with college but was found in words such as “I want a divorce” or “We did eveything we could, but…” or in something equally traumatic.  There are and will be points in our lives when we all will have a choice to make.  Will we allow the event or the circumstances to define us or will we call on our heavenly Father and place our trust in Him?

In our trials, we must remember to claim our identity as a beloved child of God.  As the water rises or as the fire laps at us, we must remember that God does not want us to fear but to trust in Him instead.  The trials are real and they will come, but if we choose God, the fires will only refine us; they do not define us.  In our trials, may we cast all of our fears on Him and lean into God’s loving and protecting arms.

Scripture reference: Isaiah 43: 1-7


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In Lament

We find great comfort in the past.  Through our own experiences and through what we read in the Bible we gain both an understanding of God and of our relationship with Him.  We live day to day with these memories as both our guide and our support system.  We know God to be loving and caring and protecting and compassionate.

But sometimes in life we suffer and suddenly our God memories don’t seem to work.  We experience discord when we are in conflict or in the midst of a life change or in the woes of a loss and the God we know seems absent.  In this uncertainty we cry out to God.  We bring our laments to God as a means of reminding God that to us, at that moment, He is not the God of love and care and,,, that we know.

In lament we also bring before God the suffering and pain of others.  We lift up their need for God’s presence and intervention and we demand an answer or action on God’s part.  In a sense we proclaim the suffering and hurt in the world to God so that He will act on it and be present to those in need.

In lament we remind both God and ourselves that He is the one who saved us from the powers of sin and death through Jesus and that He is the one we, His children, look to for our deliverance.  Reminding God calls Him to action.  Reminding ourselves brings reassurance and a reminder that although we may not know or see the plans of God, all is in God’s hands.  In this we lay our trust and our hope.  God is love.  God is faithful.  For these things, we say thanks be to God!

Scripture reference: Psalm 22: 9-15


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When Necessary…

Have you ever had a “God moment” when you did not expect it?  In a place you did not expect it?  Both?  In your own Christian witness, have you shared your faith with another in an unusual circumstance?

A few weeks ago at Praise Team practice I was touched and moved by a fellow members care, concern, and power of observation.  It had been a busier couple of weeks than normal.  She noted in a deeply loving way that I seemed tired, that I did not have my usual ‘bounce’ as she put it.  In that moment it was as if God was sending me a message.  The divine was brought in by a simple observation by a good friend.

At times, we too can share God.  Although simple, one of my favorites is the idea of offering to pray for the stranger.  If the checker at the store seems a bit frazzled, offer to pray for him or her.  If a homeless man asks for some money, give and then ask if you can pray for him.  This simple act of prayer says I love you, God loves you.

The disciples were bothered by an outsider healing people of their demon possession.  Jesus said, in essence, ‘Silly men, whoever is not against us is for us.’  He went on to explain that all done in His name merits reward, even something as simple as giving another a cup of water in His name.

We are all asked by God to make a positive difference in the world.  He desires to use unlikely people in unusual circumstances to accomplish His will.  We are each unlikely.  The question is: do we see and hear well enough to catch the opportunities that God places before us?  Holy Spirit, whisper to me and nudge me to be used by God.  When necessary, shout and shove.

Scripture reference: Mark 9: 38-41


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Sharing Faith Through Action

Sometimes it is hard to love our neighbor when we really don’t know them.  Sometimes people who are not like us can intimidate or scare us.  Sometimes the negative stereotypes we hear prevent us from really seeing the person standing before us.

Mission trips and one-day outreach events are great ways to help us overcome these barriers.  It is amazing what happens when we allow ourselves to experience others in new ways.   Youth and adults who sign up and participate in trips and events experience direct contact with ‘neighbors’ they did not know before.  And as with almost all people, once they got to know them they come to realize that they are pretty easy to love and serve.  These experiences open us up to the possibilities that are in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and communities.

Our faith grows as we experience God’s love in action.  This leads us on to action in the everyday places of our lives.  There is a cyclical affect to faith and action.  When we have faith we sense the call to share the love of Christ with others.  When we share the love and see how it changes lives, then our faith grows.  It is a wonderful thing to be doers of the word.

The goal of our Christian walk is to grow in our faith.  If we are living out our faith in service to others, then our faith will grow.  In James we are reminded that faith without action is dead.  We cannot simply wish someone would have food and clothing; we must provide these things as we are able.  When Christ’s love is alive and breathing in us, we must go forth to share that love with others.  It is an amazing gift that we must share with others so they they too can come to know and share the love of Christ.

Scripture reference: James 2: 14-17


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Always at Work

God is ever-present and all-knowing.  God creates all and is in all.  He works sometimes in surprising and unmistakable ways and sometimes it is hard to see His presence.  In the psalm God is praised for always being present, for always being gracious, loving, and just.

Today’s psalm represents God’s activity in our lives from the beginning to the end.  The writer uses an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet to represent this idea.  He begins with “alpha” and ends with “tav” – equivalent to A-Z for us.  In the psalm he recounts all of the reasons we have to praise God – His works and righteousness, His grace and compassion, His faithfulness and justice, His laws and wisdom, and the covenant He keeps with His people.  For all of this, praise is lifted up.

God continues to offer all of this and more to us.  God continues to be active in the world.  As time unfolded, Jesus became the new covenant as He offered Himself in sacrifice to defeat sin and death so we could gain eternal life.  As we look back over our lives, from the beginning to where we are now, we can see God’s hand at work.  Sometimes His hand is active and easy to see.  At other times it is hard to see at all.  Yet even then we know He was present with us.  From the promises in the scriptures to our experiences in life, we know God is always at work.

In times of uncertainty or trial, it can be hard to see God at work or to feel His presence.  Sometimes another may see something we do not so it is often helpful to share our experiences with one another believer.  In the end, we know we can always look back and see His handprints.  In this we can always trust. For this, we say thanks be to God!

Scripture reference: Psalm 111