pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Fully Trusting in the Lord

Reading: 1st Samuel 17:32-37

1st Samuel 17:37 – “The Lord who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.”

During Saul’s reign as King of Israel, the Philistines and Israelites assembled for battle. The two armies gathered on hills opposite each other with a valley in between. A champion from Gath came out on day one to challenge the Israelites. He was huge, fierce, and strong. Early in chapter 17 Goliath is described in powerful detail: really tall, armor weighing 125 pounds, a spear with a shaft strong as the bar on a weaver’s loom. Each day for forty days Goliath would stride down into the valley and challenge Israel to send out a champion to face him man to man. Saul and the Israelites “were distressed and terrified.” Great fear surrounded Goliath and his challenge.

Sent by his father to bring food to his three older brothers and to gather news of the battle, David hears Goliath’s challenge. Instead of feeling fear, David is upset that this Philistine is “insulting the army of the living God.” The young shepherd boy knows none of the fear that has been immobilizing Israel’s king and army. Filled with God’s presence, David declares, “I, your servant, will go out and fight him!” Saul protests, noting David’s youth. Undeterred, David says to Saul, “The Lord who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.” David trusts in the Lord. He will fight Goliath. With the Lord, David will be victorious.

As we remember this well-known and beloved story, we ask ourselves: What ‘Goliath’ currently has us bound up in fear? Is it the situation in our world? Is it a difficulty at work? Is it a health issue? Is it something else? No matter what it is, no matter how big it feels, God is bigger and is totally capable of leading us to victory. May we, like the shepherd boy, fully trust in the Lord.

Prayer: Lord God, there are many different ‘giants’ that we face. Often it is fear that grips us too. In those moments, whisper your love and your power into our hearts. With your presence and assurance, guide us to surrender our fears, worries, challenges… to you, trusting in you alone for the victory. Amen.


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Live in Love

Reading: 2nd John

2nd John 1:6 – “This is love: that we live according to his commands. This is the command that you heard from the beginning: live in love.”

2nd John is a short letter from “the elder” (likely John the apostle) to the “chosen gentlewoman” (likely a personification of a local house church.) The letter begins by expressing joy over some that are “living in the truth.” These believers are being faithfully obedient, living an active faith out in the world. This joy then becomes an invitation as the elder invites all in this community of faith to be love in action. In verse 6 we read, “This is love: that we live according to his commands. This is the command that you heard from the beginning: live in love.” This community of faith is being called to demonstrate God’s love for them to others – to those both inside and outside the church. This continues to be the call for all Christian communities of faith.

The elder also addresses false teaching. These false teachers, later known as Docetists, were teaching that Jesus did not come in a real body. They taught that Jesus just “appeared” to have a body. Imagine what this teaching would mean to the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and to recent readings about Jesus emptying himself, laying aside equality with God to walk with us. The elder warns the faith community about receiving or welcoming these teachers into their homes. To bring a false teacher into the place that the community of faith met would be to affirm their teachings.

The letter closes by stating that there is much more to say. The elder hopes to visit, to see this faith community face to face. Being present to one another is the best way to “live in love.” May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, lead us today to be love lived out loud in the world. In all ways, may we seek to love you through loving neighbor and stranger alike. Guide us to walk in your truths. Protect us from falsehoods and the ways of the world. Amen.


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God Is Our Hope

Reading: Isaiah 1-4

‭Isaiah 3:8-9 – “Yes, Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen… like Sodom, they display their sins in public.”

Today we begin with the prophets. Isaiah kicks off almost six weeks with the five “major” prophets. The original Isaiah ministered in the southern kingdom of Judah during the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah. Chapters 1-39, known as First Isaiah, were written around 700 BCE. Second and Third Isaiah pick up around 545 BCE. Today, in chapters 1-4, we find both judgment and hope. This balance is typical of the whole book of Isaiah.

Chapter 1 begins by detailing Judah’s sin and disobedience. They have turned their backs against God. They have endured beatings yet remain unfaithful. There are frequent references to Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities utterly destroyed by God because of their great sin. God is also disgusted by their sacrifices – just going through the motions! In verses 16-17 Judah is invited to change her ways, to do good instead. To do so will bring blessing. To continue walking in disobedience will bring sword and fire.

Chapter 2 begins with a hopeful vision of their possible future. This picks up again in chapter 4. Zion will be lifted up high and war will be no more. Zion will be called holy. Instruction will flow from her and nations will stream to her.

In between this hope we find the sins of Judah. The land is “filled with idols.” Pride and arrogance is rampant, especially amongst the leaders. A day is coming, says Isaiah, when all will suffer as the poor and needy currently are. God asks, “How dare you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?” Sadly, this behavior continues today. Yet hope also persists. God is still in control. There is still a plan. God is our hope.

Prayer: Lord God, the battle continues on: obedience or disobedience, good or evil? In our lives we so need you. The powers and temptations of this world remain great. Idols and the lures of wealth and power ever pull at us. God, strengthen us with your Spirit. Hold us in your love. Amen.


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Prepared

Reading: Matthew 24:36-44

Verse 44: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Returning to these words of Jesus in Matthew 24, we again hear the call to be prepared. Jesus implies that being prepared involves living faithfully. Noah is the first example. Against all reason he built an ark, trusting fully in God’s direction. Jesus follows this with another example. In verses 40-41 he speaks of two men and then two women. Both are engaged in everyday life. In both cases, one will be taken to heaven and one will be left behind. We can only assume that one had lived faithfully and one had not.

Throughout the gospels Jesus is clear that we do not live faithfully just to get into heaven. We live out our faith here to make the world better, to make a positive difference, to do God’s will here as it is in heaven. So what if we read verses 42-44 in this light too? In the next chapter in Matthew’s gospel Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats. In this passage Jesus says, “whenever you did this for one of the least of these” then we’re doing it for Jesus. What if each opportunity to feed or clothe or visit or… is an opportunity to look into the face of Jesus?

With that in mind, re-read verse 44: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Maybe he will come in the one you meet this afternoon as you’re walking downtown. Maybe she will come in the morning as someone new comes to church. May we be prepared to recognize Jesus always.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to see better. Lead me to love wider. Guide me to know you and to recognize you more regularly. Amen.


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The King of Glory

Reading: Psalm 24

Verse 3: “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place”?

Photo credit: Alex Woods

After declaring that the earth is the Lord’s because he created it all, the psalmist asks these two questions found in verse three. Questions like these can make us pause at times. When I have been struggling with sin or when I have felt distant from God, it would be hard to answer these questions in the affirmative. When I have felt stuck, it was hard to imagine going up to God or entering into his holy presence. On those days or in those seasons it is good to remember the encouragement found in Psalm 24.

Psalm 24 reminds us that those who seek his face will receive blessing and vindication. When we seek the Lord, when we lift up our heads, the king of glory will come in. The one who is “strong and mighty” will lead the way. And when we look up we will be reminded of who and whose we are. That king of glory, why yes, that is our inheritance. We were adopted into the family, sealing our place with the promised Holy Spirit. In and through that presence we recognize that we do bear the image of the Son. The mercy, love, grace, compassion, forgiveness… that resided in the Lord Almighty is right there within us too.

May we open wide the gates of our heart today so that the king of glory may come in!

Prayer: Living God, thank you for the reminder that I am created in your image, adopted into your family. Jesus, king of glory, shine in my heart today! Amen.


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My Rock, My Salvation

Reading: 1st Samuel 17: 1a, 4-11, 19-23, and 32-49

Verse 45: “I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty”.

We return today to the story of David and Goliath. Standing before Saul, David expresses his faith in God, saying, “he has defied the armies of the living God”. David knows that the battle now belongs to the Lord. With that knowledge and his faith in God, David is willing to face the giant.

Sometimes our giants work us into a place of fear. After time we want to withdraw. Goliath came day after day for forty days, defying God and the army of Israel over and over. In our recent communal history COVID was like this. Every day COVID shouted at us, defied our health care systems, made us want to withdraw. No matter what we as a nation did, it raged on day after day. As a nation and as individuals we faltered, we doubted, we feared. And many chose to lean into God, into our faith. In our quiet places we opened our Bibles. In our homes we knelt and opened our hearts to God. In faith we found hope and peace, strength and comfort.

As David meets Goliath, the giant rails against David and against God. He curses David by his gods and threatens his life. David correctly identifies that all Goliath has is a sword, spear, and javelin. These weapons are harmful and even deadly, just as COVID or any other serious illness is. Yet all these are powerless against God, our hope and our eternity. David declares, “I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty”. We know how this battle turned out.

As we face our giants, may we too remember that God is on our side, that we do not fight alone. Anointed by God’s Spirit, we belong to the Lord.

Prayer: Living God, give me a confident faith, a trusting faith. As the world trots out its giants, may I ever stand upon my rock and my salvation. Amen.


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Giants

Reading: 1st Samuel 17: 1a, 4-11, 19-23, and 32-49

Verse 32: “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him”.

Photo credit: Steve Halama

We enter today into a familiar story. Israel and the Philistines are at war again. They are encamped across the valley from one another and each day Goliath comes out to challenge the Israelites: “Choose a man and have him come down to me”. No one from the Israelite camp is raising a hand; no one is jumping up and down saying to King Saul, ‘Pick me! Pick me’! At the sight of this nine foot tall behemoth the Israelites are “dismayed and terrified”. Day after day this scenario plays out. Day after day Israel is dismayed and terrified.

We all have our giants. In 7th grade it was a bully named Leo. He towered over me in many ways. When I was nineteen it was going to my parents to tell them I’d failed out of college. At three stops in my twenties I worried and stressed about being a good father for these three little human beings. At 47 I was a bit terrified and a lot unsure about the future as I left my career of 23 years to enter vocational ministry. In my mid fifties now, I still worry and stress about being good enough, about letting go and letting God lead, and about the upcoming rupture in my denomination and most likely in my church. There are days when the old giants come back and haunt me. There are days now when my current giants hold me back in fear. We all have our giants.

David arrives at the battle front just as Goliath is once again shouting down the Israelites. Brought before Saul, David says, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him”. The Spirit of the Lord that came upon David when he was anointed by Samuel remains strong as ever in him. With full trust in God, David slays Goliath “in the name of the Lord Almighty”. The battle truly belonged to the Lord.

This is true for you and for me too. Yet in our battles with our giants we try and fight on our own. Some days I flail against my fears and doubts and other days I don’t even step near the battle line. On these days my giants win without a fight. But what if we did not fight alone? What if we “gave it all” into God’s hands – ourselves and our giants? If we would but do this then our giants would fall “facedown on the ground”. May it be so for you and for me. The battle belongs to the Lord.

Prayer: God of heaven’s armies and my little battles, go with me today. Remind me that I too am anointed by your Holy Spirit. Remind me that you are the only one in control so that I can fully trust in you, the Lord Almighty. I fight on my knees now, giving it all to you. Amen.


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In His Light

Reading: Psalm 4

Verse 8: “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O God, make me dwell in safety”.

David begins Psalm 4 seeking God, pleading with God. He shifts to righteous living in the middle verses. Today we focus in on the last few verses. For those seeking false gods, David asks God to “let the light of your face shine upon us”. Remind us, O God, that you are still right here. Remind us, O God, of your wonderful presence. When God’s light shines in the world, people are drawn towards the light.

God’s light shines in many ways. Sometimes it is in a sunset or sunrise. Sometimes it is in a delicate flower or in a newborn baby. Sometimes it is in the acts of kindness or words of compassion or forgiveness that we share with one another. Sometimes it is in the hymn or song we sing or it is in the words of life spoken or read. In each of these, and in many more ways, God’s light shines, reminding us and others of his presence in our hearts and in our world.

The last two verses speak of the life of faith. In verse seven David shares that God has “filled my heart” with great joy – a joy even greater than at harvest time. The joy found in a life lived in right relationship with God is abundant and generous, as with the God of a great harvest. In verse eight David writes, “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O God, make me dwell in safety”. This speaks of the contentment, the trust, the assurance, the peace that comes from walking with the Lord. Knowing that God is our all in all, there is nothing that this world can bring that is bigger, stronger, or more powerful than our God. There is nothing that can separate us from the love and light of God. In his light we dwell in eternal safety. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: God of light and love, your presence and your love surround me. You go before me, you hem me in. When I wake you are there. When I lie down you are there. Guide me by and in the light of your love. Amen.


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Covenant God

Reading: Genesis 17: 1-7

Verse 7: “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant… to be your God and the God of your descendants”.

Photo credit: Geda Zyvatkauskaite

Yesterday as we looked at this passage we focused on how we are to keep the covenant. We are to “walk before God and be blameless”. God set this as the goal and Jesus lived out the example, giving us a goal to aim for, a model to follow. This is “how” we are to live out the covenant. Today we turn to the “why”.

God chose Abram to be the father of not only many nations but of God’s children. This was not something Abram decided and then set out to accomplish. God is the one who offers covenant relationship to Abram and Sarai. God is the one who invites them to be a partaker in the covenant. God is the one who upholds the covenant as God rules over the earth. The question for Abram and Sarai is this: will they trust God to be the covenant keeper?

Abram falls face down before God. He recognizes that God is supreme, almighty, all-powerful. This is Abram saying “yes” to God’s invitation into covenant relationship. In response God changes his name to Abraham, which means “father of many”. Later in the story God also changes Sarai’s name to Sarah, reflecting her role as the mother of nations. God defines the covenant this way: “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant… to be your God and the God of your descendants”. God will be the God of Abraham and Sarah and their descendants forever. The time frame of the covenant again reinforces who is in control and who is the covenant keeper. Like Abraham and Sarah, we are finite, limited, human, flawed. God is eternal and forever and perfect. Abraham and Sarah would seek to walk blamelessly before God, just as we try to do. They would not be perfect, just as we are not perfect. Down through the generations, Abraham and Sarah’s descendants would break the covenant over and over. Again and again, God would keep the covenant of grace, loving us forever. Over and over we end up at the table of grace, being made right again, being restored back into relationship again. This is God’s nature, it is his character. God remains our God. God will always be our God. This is his covenant promise, sealed by his love. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Loving God, you are forever, you are in total control. You are steadfast and true in keeping the covenant to be our God – to be my God. You love us no matter what. Thank you, God, for loving even me. Amen.


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Walking Into Places and Spaces

Reading: 2 Kings 2: 1-12

Verses 2, 4, and 6: “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you”.

Photo credit: Lili Popper

As we begin this week we enter into the end of Epiphany, the season that focuses in on the revelation of Jesus Christ. In this season we highlight who and what Jesus is. Our call, however, is to reveal Jesus Christ to the world every day of our faith journey. It is fitting that this season culminates on Transfiguration Sunday, when the Christ is filled with light, revealing him in all of his glory. In each passage this week we enter into the thin spaces of holiness, into the places where God is at work.

As 2nd Kings opens there is turmoil in the land. The king tries to consult Baal, one of the local pagan gods. Elijah, God’s prophet, condemns this action and proclaims that the king will die. It is also time for Elijah to end his earthly life and to cede the role of prophet to Elisha. After clearly demonstrating that God is with him, Elijah comes down the mountain to walk out his final steps. Three times Elijah tries to leave Elisha behind, seeking to spare him. Each time they arrive at a new place, the local prophets come out and tell Elisha that the Lord is going to take Elijah from him. Three times Elisha asks them not to speak of it. Each time Elijah tries to leave him behind Elisha says, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you”. He will not abandon Elijah. He will continue to walk faithfully with him. Elisha chooses to walk into that thin space with Elijah. As he walks through that space, Elisha is transformed from protege to prophet, from student to master, from one who follows to one who leads others into God’s presence.

As believers we too will face times when the Holy Spirit invites us to walk into those thin spaces, into those holy places. We will be called to be the presence of God in the lives of others. We will be asked to walk with another on a difficult journey. We will be asked to sit or pray with another in a time of pain or loss. We will be asked to share our faith and our hope with another who is lost or broken. In these sacred moments we will be called by the Holy Spirit, asked to be the very presence of God to another. Yes, it is scary and hard to step into those places and spaces. We do not go alone. The one who invites goes with us. The Spirit is ever present, ever ready to reveal the power of God’s love, peace, hope, power… through us. As we feel ourselves called and as we stand on the doorstep to these holy and sacred moments, may we too say, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you”.

Prayer: Lord God, each time that I have stepped into that thin space, you have been right there with me. Your Spirit leads and guides, strengthens and encourages. Each experience has been holy and sacred. Yet each first step is always hard. It ever requires trust and faith. Continue to give me the courage and belief to step into those places and spaces. Walk with me day by day. Amen.