pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: faith


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Young and Powerful

Reading: 2 Kings 5: 1-14

The three central characters are varied.  Two are very powerful and one is apparently not.  On the one hand, Naaman and Elisha appear to have a great deal of power.  Naaman is a powerful military commander and Elisha is God’s prophet, empowered by the living God.  The slave girl appears weak and powerless.  She is a prisoner of war, being kept as a slave in a foreign land.

On the other hand, Elisha and the slave girl are powerful in a way that the world does not know.  They know the power of God and trust in Him absolutely.  Naaman does not know God.  He is powerless to affect the one thing in life that isolates him: leprosy.  In a mighty act of God, Naaman does come to see and experience God’s healing power, but we do not know if he claims it for his own.

In this story we cannot miss the young slave girl’s impact.  She is alone, away from her people, enslaved in a foreign land.  Yet she holds firmly to her faith in God.  Without the slightest doubt she makes known to Naaman that he can find healing in her homeland.  She is willing to share her faith and her knowledge with one who has enslaved her.  This young slave girl is a shining witness to her faith, loving her enemy.

We cannot miss that she is young, yet another example that God provides so that we do not overlook our young people.  It would have been easy and all too common for Naaman to simply dismiss her.  It is not common for those in authority to readily listen to those who appear young and powerless.  This happens in our churches as well.  How often do we miss what the young Davids, the young Samuels, and the young slave girls have to offer.

After spending a week with almost one hundred youth serving on the Navajo Nation, I can testify to the fact that they have much to offer.  They not only offered the labor of their hands, but they also witnessed to their faith.  They were, like the slave girl, amazing and powerful.  As individuals and as places of God, may we cultivate, encourage, and seek out young people as leaders and as contributors to the building of the kingdom.  Like with the slave girl, much power resides in our young people.  May we invite them in, allow them space to share and develop their dreams, gifts, and talents, and encourage them as they go forth to change the world.


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Choices

Reading: Galatians 5: 1 and 13-25

Life is full of choices.  Some call them decisions and some call them forks in the road.  Our reality is that at many points we make choices that move us forward in life.  Some of the time these decisions are not in our best interests or are not good for our faith.  We can certainly make other choices that then realign us with God’s will for our lives, but we do have detours from time to time.

Our faith is built on God’s unfailing love, His steadfast faithfulness, and His unending grace through Jesus Christ.  Once we are in a saving relationship with Christ, our status is as a child of God.  Even once we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we can still make a poor choice and can still go in a direction away from God.

Paul encourages the Galatians and us to “stand firm and do not submit to a yoke of slavery”.  Paul saw sin ad a controlling force.  Sin occurs anytime we choose our desires over God’s desires for our life.  It is anytime we choose the things of the world over the will of God for our lives.

Paul encourages us to live by the Spirit and to allow God to guide our choices and our lives.  May our life be led by His will and may we trust in the Spirit’s guidance.  And when we fail, may we fall back into God’s love, faithfulness, and grace.  He will redeem us and again welcome us back into a right relationship with Him.


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Witnesses and Teachers

Reading: Galatians 3: 23-29

Paul writes of the Law being put in charge to lead people to Christ.  For those living under the Law, the prophecies and teachings of the Old Testament certainly shaped Jesus, the disciples, and all the other followers of Christ who had Jewish roots.  The basic way of life of a practicing Jew as established by the Law and Old Testament is the life Jesus lived out.  After all, Jesus was God incarnate, in the flesh, so all that God is in the Old Testament is embodied by Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

Many of the believers, however, were Gentiles.  They did not have the basic way of life down since birth.  It would be logical to assume that some of the basic customs such as offering hospitality to the stranger would have been practiced because they were cultural norms.  But concepts such as Sabbath, fasting, loving neighbor as self, loving your enemy, and serving only one God would have been new to many Gentile believers.  So it was necessary for the Law to be replaced by the teachings of Jesus shared by His followers.  As the church grew, people in their local communities came alongside Peter, Paul, Timothy and the other apostles to teach, mentor, correct, and witness to the people of God.

This process of learning, accepting, maturing, growing in, and defining our own faith has been continued by the generations right up to and through many of us.  Some are first generation Christians, but for each of us someone poured into us and helped us along as we grew in our faith.  For each believer we can name parents, pastors, friends, and others who guided us in the development of our faith.  In turn we have and will pass faith in Jesus Christ along to others.  Each and everyone who calls on the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior are witnesses to and teachers of the faith.  May all we do and say serve to draw all we encounter each day closer to the one true King, Jesus Christ.


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The Faith OF Christ

Reading: Galatians 2: 15-21

In the original Greek of today’s text, there was no word between ‘faith’ and ‘Jesus Christ’.  The structure of the original sentence would have implied a certain connection.  Through the study of this and with an understanding of the whole message of the Bible, the word inserted is almost always ‘of’.  As is: the faith of Christ.  In using ‘of’ it places the redemptive work of saving grace fully on Jesus, not on us.

While it is true that we often live as if faith ‘in’ Jesus is what matters, wrongly thinking that somehow our own actions will save us.  In using ‘faith in Christ’ we are trying to take a role in something that is solely the work of God.  It was Jesus’ faith alone that led Him to the cross and it is God alone who offers us grace – that unmerited, undeserved free gift of love.  Our role is simply to live into the faith of Jesus Christ in God that allowed Him to go to the cross.

Once we can accept this and begin to understand the faith of Christ in His saving act, then this initiates a response on our part.  Once we wrap our heads around this great gift, then we begin to live our life as a grateful response to this gift and to His love.  As one of my devotionals put it this morning, we begin to “embrace a cross-shaped faithfulness of our own”.  In embracing this we understand and begin to live out God’s desire and plan to make all things new and to restore all of creation, bringing healing to all brokenness.

We understand that we ourselves are made new as children of God.  We respond by inviting and bringing others into this right relationship with God.  We respond by seeking to bring healing and restoration to the brokenness of our world.  The faith OF Jesus Christ dwells in us and shines out into the world through our lives.  This is the gift a faithful follower of Jesus Christ offers back to a world in need.


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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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Hope

Reading: 1 Kings 17: 8-24

As Elijah enters into a relationship with the widow, he realizes right away that she is struggling.  The famine has been long and surely this has worn on her.  She has been in survival mode for some time.  She is down to her last bit of food and is mentally resigned to death.  Life has totally beaten her down.

There are people like the widow in almost every community in which we reside.  Life has been uphill for so long that they can remember nothing but struggle.  They have come to feel like it is just them against the world and no one seems to care.  An added burden for some is the child or children in their care.  Where they will sleep that night or if they will find food that day are their greatest and often only real concern.  Their whole focus is consumed with things we do not even ponder.

The widow’s desperation and surrender are equally present in her words: “as surely as your God lives”.  She must have emphasized the word ‘your’.  In her mind no god would allow her to struggle as she has.  In her heart and soul any and all gods have been pushed far away, pushed out by the anger at life.

There are people today who think just like the widow.  You can see the exhaustion and fear in their eyes.  When life is nothing but a struggle to find the basics of food and shelter, there is no room for hope.

Elijah chooses to engage the widow.  He chooses to step into her life.  He asks her for the one thing she San provide: a little hospitality.  All people have something they can offer.  Often it is just a few minutes of help – sweeping the front patio or helping organize some clothes.  Sometimes it is just a few moments of conversation.  In doing and sharing, people can find worth in themselves.  In giving of themselves they can begin to find hope.

We can choose to engage the other or we can choose to not even look their way.  We can choose to enter into a relationship with them or we can maybe  choose to toss a little money their way.  Or we can choose to invest of ourselves, to show one in deep struggle that we care and that God cares.  May we follow Elijah’s example – engaging one whom others have ignored or shunned, loving and bringing God’s love to one so in need of hope.


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Represent

Reading: Galatians 1: 1-12

Paul is angry with the Galatians for living a gospel that is less than what he taught them.  They have come to accept a gospel that is less than they first believed.  Although the way of the cross is hard and the path is narrow, there is only one way, truth, and life.  There is only one good news.

Before we condemn the Galatians, let us look within first.  Have you ever bought an imitation product before?  Even though you knew it wasn’t the real thing?  Maybe it was a watch or pair of sunglasses or a handbag.  We buy such things because we want to appear to be something or someone we are not.  If we were really what those items represent, we would buy actual Rolex or Oakley or Gucci.

Our faith is not very different.  If we were to honestly assess the faith we are practicing daily and living out in the world, then we would have a good look at the gospel we have accepted.  I am guessing it is also less than what we first accepted.  At some point we have read “with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength” and thought, ‘not yet, but one day’.  To fully love God with our all is the goal.  When we fell in love and gave our lives to Christ, this was our goal: to make Him #1 in our life.

Maybe tomorrow you will worship the god of green pastures and little white balls.  Maybe tomorrow you will worship the god of still waters and drowning worms.  Maybe tomorrow you will worship the Lord of you life and sing and praise His Holy name with your church family.

Either we are living a sold out, 100% in faith or we are living something less.  Are we really who we say we represent?  May the true gospel of Jesus Christ be our all in all, our way, truth, and life.  All of it.


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Faith of a Centurion

Reading: Luke 7: 1-10

The centurion is a man of authority.  He has absolute command of the soldiers under him.  He tells one to go and they go; he tells one to come and they come.  He understands power.  The centurion has heard of Jesus and he recognizes that Jesus too has power.  The stories he has heard have been enough for the centurion to recognize the power Jesus wields.  The centurion also understands though that Jesus’ power is different than his own earthly power.  He sees that not only is it a different kind of power but it is a superior power.  The centurion who knows he has a lot of earthly power acknowledges that he is not worthy of being in Jesus’ presence.  The centurion is a powerful man with a lot of humility.

Jesus in turn credits the centurion with having great faith.  He goes so far as to comment that He has not yet seen such faith in Israel.  That is a pretty strong statement for Jesus’ followers and for the religious authorities to hear.  This Roman soldier has a faith superior to ours?  It would be a difficult question for them to wrestle with.

It is a difficult question for us to wrestle with too.  We say that God is all-powerful and can do anything, but do we really trust Him to do so?  We’ve heard the stories just like the centurion did, but do we have absolute confidence that Jesus can still act?  He brought healing to a sick servant who was miles and miles away without uttering a word.  Surely this kind of power can still heal and transform lives.  But do we have the faith of the centurion?  This day may we call upon the mighty and powerful name of Jesus to enter into our lives to bring us spiritual, physical, and/or emotional transformation.  In Jesus’ name there are no limits.  May we live faithfully today, trusting in this truth.


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God Reigns

Reading: Psalm 96: 10-13

The psalmist proclaims that God alone reigns.  The psalm calls for all of creation – plants, animals, sea creatures, fields, mankind – to rejoice for God will come to judge the earth.  When God comes He will judge in righteousness and truth, restoring equality and fairness.  At the initial reading this sounds like a problem for those living outside of God’s ways.  While this is true, it is also a call to enter into a life that recognizes God’s sovereignty.

I can recall many instances as a child when my parents either insisted I do something or were very adamant that I not do something.  Every child has a list like this by the time they enter adulthood.  This list was added to by teachers and coaches then by a spouse and by bosses.  In the moment I sometimes chafed at not having a choice or being placed in a spot I did not like at the time.  But it was often the case, always after the fact, that I realized my parents always had my best interests at heart.  My coach or teacher or spouse or boss was trying to pull out of me or develop in me something that I could not see myself.  They were coming from a place of righteousness and truth.  They were guided by love and concern for me.

In much the same way God desires for us to live in righteousness and truth.  His plans for us are to prosper us and to bring us good.  At times we too chafe at what our faith calls us to do or because of what it denies us.  We are human so at times we are drawn to earthly desires and temptations.  When we choose to declare God the Lord of our life, we are making the choice to follow His ways over the ways of the world.  Once we make this choice and proclaim God our Lord, then the Holy Spirit enters into our hearts and begins to guide and lead us to live in God’s righteousness and truth.  This path is narrow and the way is hard, but peace and contentment are found along this path.  Joy and everlasting life are found along this path.  May we choose to daily make God the Lord of our life so that we may live freely as a beloved child of God in this world.


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Pentecost Ripples

Reading: Acts 2: 1-21

On the day of Pentecost the Spirit came and began to fill the hearts of the believers.  Like a stone that is thrown in a lake, the ripples spread slowly but steadily out from the center, out from Jesus, out from Jerusalem.  The power of the Holy Spirit is shown in how far those ripples went: to the ends of the earth.  As His followers today we continue to be a part of this motion; we continue to go out and faithfully follow the Holy Spirit, bringing good news to all the corners of our world.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit entered in a new way.  With this new entrance, God began a new creation.  God is all around us.  Jesus the man came and lived among us.  The Holy Spirit comes and lives inside of each of us.  This is a different relationship, a different dynamic.  Like the ripple in the water, the Spirit is inside of us, seeking to radiate out in all directions.  The infinite love of God dwells in the heart of each believer, making them a new creation.

On the day of Pentecost, those first disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to change the world almost immediately.  The Word of God was spoken and many were baptized and came to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.  On this day of Pentecost, the Spirit continues to fill the hearts of all believers, old and new, eager to move in and through them.  On this day of Pentecost, may we too be filled with the breath of God, allowing the Holy Spirit of God to move in and through us.