pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: faithful


by Leave a comment

To the Best of Our Ability

All that we have is a gift from God.  Our talents and abilities are gifts that we must use with humility, grace, and love.  We are not to use what we have been blessed with to lord it over others or to take advantage of people or situations.

As Joseph was riding along that trade route to Egypt, a new slave to Midianite merchants, I wonder if he saw it as God’s work in his life.  As they saw Joseph disappearing into the horizon, I doubt the brothers we thinking of how God’s plan was just beginning to take shape.  Often in the midst of things we too fail to see God at work in our lives.

When Joseph first exercised his gift to interpret dreams, he angered his family.  Yet later in Egypt this ability would allow Joseph to rise up in importance.  When used as God intended, Joseph’s gift was used to build up and to do good.  And yet even then Joseph probably only saw this as a personal success, not as a part of God’s bigger plan.  But Joseph was faithful and continued to do as God led him to do.  Because of this, he would eventually he would see God’s big plan.

What gifts and talents has God blessed you with?  In what ways are they being used to build God’s kingdom now?  Are you using you gift to the best of your ability?  May we learn to use what God has blessed us with, trusting Him and the plan He has for our life.

Scripture reference: Genesis 37: 1-4 and 12-28


by Leave a comment

Faithfulness and Love… and Patience

In Romans 9, Paul is in sorrow over the Israelites not seeing Jesus for who He was  – the Son of God, come to redeem the world.  It is a situation where he sees it, has the same background knowledge as them, and does not understand why they do not see it.  Have you ever been one either side of one of these situations in your life?  Maybe you were in the role of Paul and tried and tried to get someone to understand, but just couldn’t.

In this story it is God who is ultimately in this role.  The story also extends out past this current moment in the Bible.  And in this we see something amazing about God.  We can see God covenantal faithfulness and His steadfast love.  Despite all in the Old Testament and all that Jesus said and did, most of the Israelites do not come to understand who Jesus was and is.  Yet God continues to pursue the people of Israel even to this day!

Often I think it is the same with me.  After all of these years of walking with Christ, I still fall short.  At times my sin is that I think I am the one in charge.  Sometimes I take the credit.  Other times it is a thought or word that holds my sin.  But thank God for His faithfulness and love!  Sometimes I can’t imagine why He chooses to stick it out with me.  But He does.  Thank God for His patience too!

Scripture reference: Romans 9: 1-5


by Leave a comment

Confidence Forward

Have you ever taken the time to look back over your life to see God’s fingerprints on it?  Do you see how He guided you to this job instead of that other one and how you were blessed there?  Or maybe there was a challenge there – see how it forced you to grow and mature?

Can you see all the other decisions and event sin your life were God is there too?  Maybe it is the college you went to, the  major you ended up with, the person you dated or married, or the places you lived.  Maybe it was the college you did not go to, the person you did not date, and so on.  Maybe it is in the birth or a child or in that heart-wrenching loss.  Maybe it is that divorce or breakup, in that firing, or in that addiction.  As you take time to look back over your life, can’t you see that God was in each and every one of these points of your life?

As we look back and see how God led, directed, and loved into our lives, we gain a confidence to move forward.  In this reflection we build a reserve to know that He will be there in our next difficulty, decision, or event.  We know God will continue to be a part of our lives because He loves us so.  “The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.” (Psalm 145:9)

Scripture reference: Psalm 105: 1-11 and 45b


by Leave a comment

Faithful and True

We are called to spread God’s word and love.  Jesus compared the discipling of others to seeds and yeast.  In Matthew 13 the small mustard seed grows into a large plant that is home to many birds.  The ‘yeast’ that we work into the ‘dough’ spreads out and causes all of the dough to rise to new heights.  As we spread God to those in our worlds, we help them to grow in their faith.  It is neat to watch another grow in their faith.

But sometimes we have to wait.  The seed does not sprout overnight and the yeast takes time to work.  Sometimes it is hard to wait.  Although we can see and feel other ways God’s kingdom is being built, at times we can hone in on one person or one situation in our life.   It then becomes hard to see big picture that God is painting.

We must learn to wait patiently and to continue in our labors.  We are only the labors – God and the Holy Spirit are what cause the seed to sprout.  We know that the Father is faithful and true.  He is our hope and our strength.  In Hebrews 10 we find encouragement: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how we may spur on another on toward love and good deeds”.

Scripture reference: Matthew 13: 31-33


by Leave a comment

Hello… remember me?

God is a mighty God who watches over us and cares for us.  He is a powerful, benevolent, and passionate God.  In Psalm 68 we read of God bringing rains of abundance upon His people.  We are blessed today too.

But how often we forget to praise His name for all He is and does for us.  Sometimes we may even start to think that success is because of our efforts and our own hard work.  Possessions start to fill our lives instead of God.

And then reality hits.  Life becomes hard.  A sudden illness, a conflict at work or at home, something to bring us back to the realization that we are not really the one in control.  We come to realize that only God is in control.  It is then that we turn back and say, “Hello God… remember me?”

All we have and all that we are comes from God.  Nothing is outside of God.  May we all learn to thank God each day so that we live always in His holy presence.  May we live this way so that He doesn’t have to say so often, “Hello child… remember me?”


by Leave a comment

To the End of the Age

Jesus suffered a painful death as an act of obedience to God and out of love for us.  A pure and holy man went to the cross not only to suffer nd die but also to take upon Himself the sins of us all.  It is through this gift that we are able to find salvation for our souls.

After He died, Jesus was resurrected and sits at God’s right hand.  He sits to judge the living and the dead.  Peter tells us that after dying Jesus went and “preached to the spirits in prison”, those dead in their sins since the time of Noah.  Jesus wants us all to be saved.  Jesus judges us in accordance with how we live our lives as a follower or disciples of Christ.  Followers emulate the ways of the one they follow.  Disciples study one so that they can be like the one they study.

Our baptism was the beginning of our commitment to live as a follower or disciple of Jesus Christ.  Baptism is symbolic of the cleansing waters of the flood, when God washed clean the earth, removing man and his sin from the world.  Baptism is a promise to God to live with a purity of conscious.  At times we have suffering.  At times we have joy.  Most of the time we live between these two.  If we live in all these states as a faithful and obedient follower and disciple of Christ, our destiny is the same as Christ’s destiny.  Eternity awaits the faithful and obedient.  But in our day to day, we are called to take up the cross of Christ, to live for Him. For strength, remember the promise found in Matthew 28:20 – “I am always with you, even to the end of the age.”


by Leave a comment

Faithful and True

Have you ever done something or ventured somewhere with a guide or expert that you never would have alone?  If I were to go white-water rafting or skydiving or up Mount Everest, I would want a pretty skilled guide right there with me, leading and showing the way.  Imagine stepping to the door or the airplane and hearing your guide say, “Hope I packed the parachutes right, today was my first time packing a chute.”

In your walk of faith have you ever stepped outside of your comfort zone or made a ‘leap of faith’?  When we do these things we do so with the confidence that He is right there with us.  He walks right alongside of us – ready to catch us when we stumble, ready to show us the way when we feel a little lost, ready to whisper in our ear just what needs to be said, ready to give us courage when we begin to have doubts.  He is our rock, our comforter, our expert guide.

Knowing He is always by our side gives us the confidence and knowledge to step up or out for Him.  He will never leave us, He will never forsake us.  May we walk boldly, for He is faithful and true.


by Leave a comment

To Pray or Not to Pray?

Is there ever a good or a bad time to go to God in prayer?  Are there times when we turn to Him more often and other times when we hardly pray?

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we are guided to “pray without ceasing.”  Here Paul is guiding us to be a person who always has prayer on our minds and on our lips.  According to Paul (and many others), we should pray about everything.

Yet if we believe in an all-powerful and an all-knowing God, what is the point of praying?  He already knows our thoughts, our situation, our needs, our… We don’t pray for God’s benefit.  It is for our benefit that we pray.  Prayer is one way to stay in tune with God and it is a means to hear God’s voice.  Prayer is also a way to remind us of and to make us more sensitive to the needs of others.

So, is there a good time or a bad time to pray?  The good time is always and the bad time is never.  He always wants to hear our voice.  God is faithful and His love is unfailing.  Through prayer we come to know God more, so pray often.  May our day be filled with words spoken to our Lord and Savior!


by Leave a comment

Hear Him Calling?

Abraham, Israel’s founding father, is a great example of faith.  He is counted as ‘righteous’ by God.  But in Genesis 12 we encounter a young Abraham.  He was only 75 years old when God called him to pack up and move to a foreign land.  Comfortably living with his father in Haran, Abram hears God’s call to move.  So Abram packs up his wife Sarai and Lot and hits the road.  He seems pretty faithful, pretty trusting in God.  As he leaves, he leaves with God’s words on his mind – you will be blessed, made into a great nation.  God will curse people who curse Abram.

But soon after they leave, Abram falters.  A famine forces them to Egypt and here, in the midst of a powerful people he fears for his life – Sarai’s beauty will attract them and Abram fears they will kill him to have Sarai.  So he tells the Egyptians that she is his sister.  Not exactly honoring his wife.  But God intervenes and sends plagues that force out the truth and they are sent on their way.  I wonder why God intervened. I wonder why He just didn’t move on to finding someone else to found the nation.  But perhaps He saw the potential in Abram.  Perhaps God knew that one day Abraham would be willing to sacrifice his only son Isaac on the altar.  Seems God knew what He was doing!

In reality we too are like Abram – full of potential but needing a little polish and elbow grease.  Ready to serve but stumbling now and then.  And Abram’s God is our God too.  He is always calling us along, loving on us as we grow.  God can see in each of us what we can become.  He can see in each of us just where we will best fit into His kingdom.   And we, like Abram, need to be willing to step out in faith, knowing that He will be there right beside us, helping us to do His will in our worlds.  Can you hear Him calling?


by Leave a comment

To Wait or not to Wait… That is the Question!

In the story in Exodus 24 there is lots of waiting.  The expression “Hurry up and wait” comes to mind!!  Moses tells the people to wait here, Joshua waits part way up the mountain,  Moses waits for 6 days in the cloud, and then the people wait for 40 more days.  If I were there I’d have been expecting a quick up and back down the mountain trip.  I’m sure Joshua didn’t think he’d be there waiting for almost 7 weeks!  But they waited.  Often times we wait too.

Often times we will pray and then wait for an answer.  And we wait.  Despite our waiting, sometimes we miss the answer.  Maybe it is not the answer we were looking for so we don’t see that God has answered.  Maybe it is an answer we do not want so we fail to see the answer.  But God is faithful and He always answers our prayers.

At other times we are willing to wait.  Sometimes we wait well.  Songs like “Waiting Here For You” speak of the anticipation we have as we await the presence of our Lord.  In our prayer time we can enter into a period of silence and expectantly wait for God.  As we go through Advent we look forward to the coming of the Christ child much like a young child anticipates opening that big box under the Christmas tree.  At times we wait well.

Other times we choose to wait when we shouldn’t.  And in some cases we are patient.  Very patient.  We can see something that needs done, but we are willing to wait for someone else to do it.  We can see it needs done, but…  In other situations we can feel a nudge to do something, but we hold back.  In these cases we must challenge our fears, our lack of faith, our whatever to step into whatever God is calling us to do.  Whether it is someone hungry standing before us or a task that need done at work, at home, or at church, we are being called to be servants.  We are told in scriptures not to wish someone to be well-fed… when we have food… to spare.

May we be willing to wait when seeking the Lord as we grow in or faith.  And may we also be willing not to wait when God has placed before us a situation where He is calling us to take action and live as His hands and feet in our worlds.  In either case, we rest upon the fact that God is faithful.