pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: faith


by 1 Comment

Trust in God

Reading: Ruth 1: 1-18

Verse 11: “Return home my daughters. Why would you come with me”?

Naomi had arrived in Moab with a husband and two sons. In time, the two sons married two Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. They were married ten years. During this time in Moab, Naomi became a widow and had to rely on her sons and daughter-in-laws for care and provision. This would have developed a strong relationship with Orpah and Ruth. After ten years, both sons die, leaving one older widow and two younger widows. Soon thereafter the famine ends and Naomi decides to return home to Judah to live amongst her own people. Initially Orpah and Ruth prepare to leave Moab, their homeland, to go with Naomi.

Naomi realizes this and tells them to stay in Moab. Naomi says, “Return home my daughters. Why would you come with me”? She encourages them to remarry, to find a new husband in their native lands. In the event that they do not remarry or if it takes time, at least Orpah and Ruth can return to their parents’ homes for food, shelter, … Orpah sees the logic in this this and kisses Naomi goodbye. I think I would have been tempted to stay if I was in this situation. The familiar is comfortable, it is more secure. Being married and having a family was of utmost importance. Orpah made a sensible and good choice.

When have I faced a similar decision? When have I had to choose between staying with the known versus stepping out in faith? When have you faced such a decision? For some it is going off to college, for some it is getting married, for some it is transferring to a new job in a new place. For some it is ending a relationship or saying goodbye to a loved one. Each involves risk or doubt or grief or all of these and more. Each requires a trust in God. For me, it was leaving a long teaching career and entering full-time ministry. God has been with me as I have gone to foreign lands and experience new challenges. God has gone with me and I trust that He will continue to do so. May it be so for you as well.

Lord God, thank you for always being present, always bringing me courage and trust. May I ever cling to you as life continues to happen. Amen.


by 4 Comments

Calling

Reading: Mark 10: 46-52

Verse 50: “Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus”.

Jesus arrives to where Bartimaeus is at in today’s passage. The hope that Jesus would pass by is becoming reality. Bartimaeus shouts over and over, “Son of David, have mercy on me” in spite of the crowd trying to quiet him. This will be Bartimaeus’ only shot – the blind man could never get up and go searching for Jesus. This is his one and only chance. Bartimaeus declares who he thinks Jesus is in the name he uses, calling Jesus the ‘Son of David’ acknowledges Jesus’ messianic lineage.

As Jesus and the crowd move along, passing Bartimaeus, Jesus hears Bartimaeus’ calls. Jesus stops and asks the people fo send Bartimaeus His way. Hear the hope realized in Bartimaeus’ response to the call: “Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus”. Leaving all he owns on the ground, Bartimaeus rushes to Jesus and in no time he can see. Jesus tells Bartimaeus that his faith has healed him. Leaving all behind, Bartimaeus then follows Jesus.

All Bartimaeus had to leave behind was his cloak. It is not much – most would probably refuse the tattered thing if it were offered to them. I’d like to think that if all I had was an old coat, I could leave that behind to follow Jesus. I have much more than an old coat to leave behind. How about you? It is paradoxical, but perhaps because I have so much, it is harder to give up a little to follow Jesus.

The voice of God continues to call out through the Word and through the Holy Spirit. Over and over, Jesus calls out. God calls for obedience and love. When our faith cries out, or when it gently nudges us, may we respond as Bartimaeus did – throwing all aside, rushing forward to Jesus.

God, help me to be willing to follow. Help me to lay aside myself and my ‘things’ to follow you. May my faith lead me on, drawing closer and closer to you. Amen.


by 1 Comment

A Faith Still There

Reading: Mark 10: 46-52

Verse 46: “As Jesus and His disciples… were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus, was sitting by the roadside begging”.

As Jesus is beginning His last journey to Jerusalem, He encounters a blind beggar named Bartimaeus. In Jesus’ day, the term ‘blind beggar’ would maybe seem redundant. Almost all who were blind or lame or deaf or otherwise disabled had to beg to survive. There were no social services in Jewish society, no places that cared for those with a disability. Yes, the Jews had a place in their hearts for the orphan and the widow, but not for people like Bartimaeus.

Bartimaeus’ life would be lonely and hard. His blindness would carry the stigma of sin and, with that, he would be shunned and ignored. Life would be lived on the fringes of society, survival dependant on what folks who passed by on the street would give to this man. The regular passersby would quickly grow accustomed to the man always there begging. These people would quickly become like the many in cities today who walk right past the homeless as if they were not even there. After a while the emotional weight of this would be greater that the affects of the physical disability itself.

When people are ignored, intentionally passed by, it affects how they feel inside. Questions of worth begin to mount. Anger against those who just pass by builds. It would be easy to question God and to become bitter towards God. It would’ve been understandable for Bartimaeus to disconnect from God. But he does not. His faith is still there. And Jesus is on the way.

Lord, help me to see those on the fringes. Continue to create in me a heart that sees and responds. Build up the Holy Spirit in me so that the voice is loud and the nudge is strong. Give me a soul that cares as you care, that loves as you love. Amen.


by 2 Comments

Close to a Big God

Reading: Mark 10: 35-40

Verse 37: “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory”.

James and John’s request can be heard two ways. Their bold request is generally viewed as over the line when one includes the reaction of the other ten disciples. When James and John say to Jesus, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory”, it can be seen as trying to elevate themselves over the other disciples. James and John have clearly heard that Jesus will soon return to His place beside God in heaven and they want to secure their places too. On the right and left would be two pretty good places. Jesus then asks them if they think they can walk the path that He will walk and they respond affirmatively. Jesus acknowledges that they will walk the path but concedes that it is God who has determined who will sit at the right and left.

Perhaps, though, James and John are not asking for selfish purposes. What if they are asking simply because they have heard Jesus’ plan and have caught His portrayal of heaven? What if they are just asking to go with Jesus when He goes, rather than to remain on earth? Maybe staying close to Jesus is their focus. Maybe Jesus’ answer to them is affirming the desire to remain with Him with a bit of “not yet” added on. Jesus does indicate that James and John will remain faithful and will indeed suffer for their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Whichever was the case, whatever the motivation was that led to the request, James and John wanted to remain close to Jesus, no matter the cost. They were bold enough to ask a big thing of Jesus. May these be the examples we take from our passage today. First, may our primary focus be on remaining close to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Second, may we have a faith big enough to ask bold things of God. James and John were bold for their faith. Let us follow their example as we walk out our journey of faith.

Lord God, help me to always seek your presence, to always be willing to walk closely with you in this life. And when I drift, may the Spirit’s voice be loud and insistent. Open my eyes to see you as you are – almighty, without limit, fully able. May my walk and my faith reflect who and what you are. Amen.


by 2 Comments

Love, Bless, Value

Reading: Mark 10: 13-16

Verse 16: “He took the children in His arms, and He blessed them”.

Our short passage today is about many things. It begins with a desire for a blessing. It includes a desire to see the “real work” of God being done. It includes an invitation with a nod to having such simple faith. It concludes with welcome, love, and blessing.

The passage begins with parents bringing their children to Jesus. It was the norm to have the rabbi bless the child. This usually occurred at the temple, much as baptism occurs in many of our churches. To bring them to this itinerant rabbi was similar – except there was something special about this Jesus. As parents we all want our children to be blessed, so we can relate to their motives here.

But the disciples try to intervene. Children were at the bottom of the social ladder, of little worth in society’s eyes. This was part of their trying to ‘protect’ Jesus. The larger part, though, was that this would distract Jesus from the ‘real work’ of ministry: preaching, teaching, healing. This was the disciples angle, to allow Jesus to work. We can all relate here too. How often we ignore or wish we could have avoided those trivial or unimportant things or people. That phone call, that knock on the door, that email – yes, maybe distractions. But maybe opportunities to minister to another.

Preventing the children from coming to Him upsets Jesus. He elevates their status – the kingdom belongs to these – and He recognizes their inner value – examples of how to receive love and God and faith. To demonstrate this, Jesus takes them in His arms and He blesses them. I envision this being a robust hug and a personal engagement with each child. I imagine the blessing is compassionate and loving and focused on each child. It is dedicated and intentional time. It is how we too should see and receive and treat all people, especially those that society deems unworthy and of little or no value. To these belong the kingdom of God.

Father God, how you love the children! Help me to love them as you do. May I never be too busy or too selfish – for then I miss the opportunities to love and bless those you send my way. In your name I pray. Amen.


by 1 Comment

Right with God

Reading: Psalm 26

Verse 2: “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind”.

Psalm 26 is a cry of the innocent, of the unjustly treated. David is crying out to God, seeking for God to be on his side, for God to ‘vindicate’ him.

At some point in our life we have all been where David is. We have all been falsely accused. We have all been treated poorly and unfairly. We have all felt the frustration of being stuck in these situations, feeling as if there were no end in sight.

David’s case begins with an invitation to God to “test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind”. David knows that he is not at fault and he wants God to know for sure as well. David goes on to list the ways in which he has avoided the evil men – those who perhaps would do what he has been accused of or slandered about. David also professes his faith in God. It is a faith that leads David to proclaim God’s praise and to express his love for God. We too may think along these lines. We do so when we wonder how bad things could happen to good people. We question, how could this happen to your faithful servant? How can this happen to someone who so loves God?

The Psalm closes with a plea for God to redeem him and to be merciful to him. At times we are here too – we can do no more and we rely on God to take it from there. We please with God to take up our case because we have hit the bottom. As he closes, David again reiterates his way innocence. He is standing on level ground – all is good within him. He is right with God. From this place of the heart, he will praise the Lord. We too can be in this place. We too can make our heart totally right with God. With a clean and right heart may we praise the Lord with our life today.

O Lord, hem me in with your love and mercy, that I may walk a blameless life. When I falter, may your grace and compassion draw me back in quickly. With a clean and right heart may I bring glory and honor to you this day. Amen.


by 3 Comments

Present

Reading: Job 2:1-10

Verse 10: “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble”?

Job was put forth by God as a man of deep faith, a man who was blameless and upright. Prior to the current trial, Job has had a wonderful life. Job was blessed – a wife, ten children, many servants, large flocks and herds. Then one day Satan is allowed to test that faith. Job loses all but his wife in one fell day. Even after this massive loss, Job remains faithful to God. Basically he says to his wife, ‘God gives, God takes – may the name of the Lord be praised’.

In our passage today, Satan requests and is granted one more degree of trial. Satan afflicts Job with painful sores from head to toe. As Job is sitting in ashes scraping his sores, his wife says, “Are you still holding onto your integrity? Curse God and die”! Not exactly supportive, but very realistic in terms of how people thought then and of how many think today. There is an imagined connection between sin and suffering and between blessings and righteousness. When something bad happens to a good person we wonder, ‘Why them’? When something good happens to a bad person we also wonder, ‘Why them’?

Not Job. Job remains steadfast. Job knows that God is always present. His trust and faith in God are not dependent upon his situation in life. In response, Job asks his wife, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble”? When good or blessings come in our life, we don’t refuse it. How can we accept only the good? For Job, we cannot. To go through so much and to remain do true to his faith is a great witness to us. As life brings its ups and downs may we remember the servant Job and his faith that remained strong. God is present in it all. May our faith cling to this truth.

Lord God, in the trial and in the joy, may I praise your name. In the mundane and in the exciting, may I praise your name. In all things, may I praise your holy name. Amen.


by 2 Comments

Blameless, Upright

Reading: Job 1:1

Verse 1: “Job… was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil”.

Today we begin a short journey with Job. For the month of October we will read a selection from Job each week. It will be, of course, just a small sampling of who Job was and what his story teaches us. Even so, the passages will reveal much to us about ourselves and our faith journey.

Job was a man who lived in Ur, a city far outside of Israel. He worshipped God in a foreign land in a culture that often counter to God and God’s ways. We find ourselves in a similar position today. In our time culture and society in general is ambivalent to matters of faith, even clashing with our beliefs and practices from time to time. The values and priorities of modern culture in the western world do not align well with the values and priorities that God calls us to practice and live out.

Verse one tells us, “Job… was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil”. Job is an early example of faith. On our best days we might be blameless and upright for periods of time. While this is our goal, it is not very often our reality for long stretches of time. But because it is our goal, like Job, we too must deal regularly with the attacks of the enemy. Because we are seeking to live and walk out a life of faith, Satan is ever on the lookout for ways to lead us into sin.

Job also feared God and shunned evil. These qualities of Job are much more realistic for us. Job’s fear was not a fear of ghosts or spiders type of fear. It was more of a reverence or healthy respect of God. To have this, one must have an intimate relationship with and knowledge of God. For Job, it came from having a deep and personal connection to God. Because of this, Job shunned evil. When we love God deeply, we too will shun evil. When our love of God is strong, we desire to please God. This leads us to shun evil and therefore to avoid sin, the thing that separates us from God.

As we live out our faith, being blameless and upright are worthy goals. Fortunately, they are not one and done goals. If we stumble or even if we fail, God’s love and mercy allow us to reset our goals and to begin anew. May we strive to grow closer each day, fearing God and shunning evil in all its forms. Through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit may it be so for me and for you.

God of Job, God of all people, God of me, pour out the power of your Holy Spirit on me today. Help me to be blameless and to live out an upright faith. Amen.


by 1 Comment

Salt

Reading: Mark 9: 42-50

Verse 50: “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another”.

Our passage today open with Jesus warning us about sin. It begins with a warning against causing ‘little ones’ or children to sin. This could be about literal children or about believers new to the faith. In either case, the consequence is dire – the equivalent of the old ‘cement shoes’ quip that we joked that people who crossed the mafia would receive.

Jesus continues to say that we are better off without a hand, foot, or eye if these cause us to sin. On the practical side, if I were missing a hand due to sin, for example, I would be a little less likely to commit that sin. Yet if I were to be honest, I’d sooner be without both hands than to be free from a particular sin. While this is our reality, in the text Jesus is not being literal. He is using hyerbole to make His point: all of our sin has a cost. Whether it is a broken or damaged relationship with another or if it just affects our relationship with God, there is always a cost.

Jesus shifts to salt in verse 49. Continuing His topic from the previous verses, Jesus reminds us that one day we will all be “salted with fire”. One day we will all stand before the throne of judgment. Then, in verse 50, Jesus connects this fact to the our daily lives with a different salt illustration. He says, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another”. Live with the fire of God in you. Live with the power of God at work in our lives. Allow our faith to ‘flavor’ all aspects of our lives as we live out an eternal life faith in this present world. In doing so, we will be at peace with one another. Living a life of faith counters our selfish tendencies, allowing us to be content and to live in peace with each other. May our faith flavor all we do and say each day!

Lord of light, pour our your Spirit upon me this day, that I may be both salt and light to the world. May my faith flavor all of my relationships this day – with you, with my family, with my brothers and sisters in Christ, and with those I meet today. Make it so, Lord. Amen.


by 3 Comments

God at Work

Reading: Esther 9: 20-22

Verse 22: “Mordecai wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving of presents of food”.

Our passage today begins with Mordecai recording the recent events and sending this out in a letter to “all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerses, near and far”. Mordecai is writing to all the Jews for two purposes. In Esther 3 an edict had been sent out to all the provinces that on the 13th day of the month of Adar, all the Jews were to be killed. Imagine the horror and fear that must have swept through the Jewish communities spread “near and far”. The date would have felt like a ticking bomb. So the first purpose of Mordecai’s letter was to let the Jews know that they had been spared.

As important as this information was, the bigger purpose of the letter was to tell the story of how God had acted to save His people. Yes, being spared is super important, but the “how” is much more important. The letter must have detailed Mordecai’s faith and trust in God to act. It must have spoken of Esther’s course and trust in God. In both cases, it speaks of people willing to step up and stand up for God and for their faith. Thus, it encourages to do the same should necessity or opportunity arise. The letter also tells, more importantly, of how God was faithful too – guiding and orchestrating the events to rescue His chosen people from sure death. The letter ultimately reminds the Jews of God’s love and care.

In his letter, Mordecai declares the 14th and 15th days of Adar to be “days of feasting and joy and giving of presents of food” as the people celebrate God at work. These are the days immediately after the former date of their destruction. Mordecai directs the people to give gifts of food not only to each other but also to the poor. Just as God had cared for His people in a time of need, so too will they care for those in need among them. This act is also one more way to tell the story of God’s saving hand.

This story reminds us of times when God has been at work in our lives. These times are part of our story of faith. Like Mordecai, may we also share the story.

Lord, I recognize and give thanks for the many times that you have guided and cared for and even rescued me. May I use each opportunity today to tell the story of your love and care and faithfulness. Amen.