pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: forgiveness


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Hope

Reading: Romans 5: 1-11

This short section of Romans is a great summary of our faith.  It begins with grace, which is always with us.  When we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we experience a grace that justifies, or makes us right with God.  Through this same relationship, we receive an undeserved and unmerited forgiveness that God pours out upon us.  Paul acknowledges that we do suffer at times, but he also rejoices because in doing so we are made more like Christ, who also suffered for the faith.  When we have suffering or trials, though, it works in us to build perseverance which builds our character, shaping how we see and ‘deal’ with future trials.  It is through this process that we also build hope.  It is a hope based upon our relationship with Jesus, one that grows as we live a life that rests in His love and care.

Verse eight reminds us of God’s unlimited love for us: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.  Jesus did not wait for us to be good or fixed or perfect.  He died for a bunch of sinners.  It is through the blood of the cross that our sins are washed away.  It is through Jesus’ gift on the cross that we are reconciled to God, made new again, and able to claim the gift of eternal life.

The hope we hold onto is based upon God’s love and promises.  Through God’s love and grace we are justified and forgiven, finding a peace within our souls.  We release the guilt and shame of our sins and live as freed children of God.  As a child of God, saved through our relationship with the Son, we hold the promise of eternal life.  We know that nothing in this world can separate us from this promise.  It gives us great hope in this life and in the life to come.  It allows us to walk through the trials and sufferings, trusting that God is in control and that He is with us through it all.  Knowing this allows us to persevere and to know that, in the end, all will be good because we are in God’s love and care.

All of this is good news!  To all who are lost or broken or hurting, this is great news.  May we share this hope with one in need today.


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Universal Love

Reading: Romans 4: 1-5 & 13-17

Paul’s writing today is all about inclusion.  At the time of this writing, Paul was trying to show how universal God’s love is.  Some were hung up on being circumcised and living under the Law as the requirements to be in God’s family.  Paul states that it by faith alone that we receive the promise.  It is through the promise that we are saved.  His argument is based upon salvation by grace alone.  Paul developed this line of thinking from the realization that no one can follow the Law enough or do enough good works to earn or deserve salvation.  Paul knew that it was only by God’s grace that anyone can be saved.  Paul personally experienced this in his own redemption story and it was his life’s work to bring in any and all into God’s family.

This is also our call as individuals and as churches.  There are many people who feel as if they are outside of God’s love.  Some feel they have done too much wrong or have too great a sin, some feel they are too broken, some feel they could never be good enough…  The list is long, the barriers are many.  To all of these people, Paul’s message is that no one is too anything to step into the love of God. All are loved by God.  This is our message to carry forth as well.  The doors of our hearts and the doors of all of our churches need to reflect this idea of universal inclusion.  This means we see all as God sees them, as a child of God.  Yes, they may be less than perfect.  We all are.  News flash.  And yet God offers us all love and grace and forgiveness.  Who are we to draw lines and put up barriers?

May we all have the courage to live out our faith.  May we all be willing to see lost people simply as they are: just another broken child of God who needs to meet their Father.  May each person that crosses our path or walks through the doors of our places of worship encounter the pure and universal love of God in us, opening the way for them to experience God’s love and grace and forgiveness.  God is for all people.  May we help it to be so today.


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Lent and Ashes

Reading: Psalm 51: 1-17

Lent begins today on Ash Wednesday.  We mirror Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness with a season in which we too prepare ourselves and look forward to Easter, when we celebrate our risen Lord.  On this Lenten journey we pray, study, meditate, fast, and repent as means of preparation.  We begin this journey with ashes.  As we repent and work to mirror Jesus, we must work to prune away all that is impure and force certain parts of ourselves to die.  The mark of the cross on our foreheads reminds us that we belong to Jesus.  The one we seek to follow and emulate walks with us.  As we undertake this Lenten journey, we know that we do not walk alone.

Psalm 51, the Ash Wednesday choice forever, opens with, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love”.  Verse three reminds us, “My sin is always before me”.  We live each and every day with this reality.  We are always in a battle with temptation and sin; Satan remains vigilant, always seeking to derail us, to draw us away from God.  We seek and desperately need God’s mercy because we fail.  We are assured of God’s unfailing love.  This is a beautiful thing.  In verse ten we read, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me”.  These words will be said often tonight.  This is our goal in this life – to live with a pure heart.  Creating a pure heart is the focus of our Lenten journey.  May we use verse ten often as a prayer to God in this holy season of Lent.

Lent is certainly a time to look inward and to prepare for the risen Christ.  But we must also look outward.  We do not live in a vacuum.  We live as a part of humanity.  As such, we are all connected together.  Verse thirteen reads, “then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will turn back to you”.  We are called as Christians to shine the light of Jesus out into the world.  Many are broken and hurting.  Each needs to experience God’s unlimited mercy, unfailing love, and endless forgiveness.  As we journey through Lent, preparing ourselves, may we also help others on their journey, bringing friends and strangers alike to the cross so that they too can know our risen Savior.


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Prone

Reading: Genesis 3: 1-7

The story of sin in our passage today is repeated each day in our lives.  While we do not eat the forbidden fruit, we partake and indulge and rationalize and justify and blame any number of times each day in our lives.  Maybe it is an unkind word to our spouse, maybe it is a little gossip, maybe it is one too many treats, maybe, maybe, maybe.  The list is long.

For Adam and Eve it appears that just one thing draws them away from following God’s instructions.  But I do not think the serpent’s whisper was the first time they thought about the tree.  They have probably wondered ‘why’ ever since God said, “don’t eat”.  Adam and Eve have always obeyed God up to this point.  That is why it has been a wonderful relationship.  They walk and talk each day.  The serpent tells Eve that she will not die if she eats the forbidden fruit.  The serpent also plants the ‘real’ reason God does not want them to partake.  Later, when Adam and Eve are at the tree, she sees the fruit is appealing and good to eat, when she remembers that what God said isn’t ‘true’, she eats.  She indulges.  She justifies what she knows she shouldn’t.  And Adam is right there with her.

Sitting in the break room, the conversation begins.  It is so hard not to join in or at least listen to the gossip and silently judge.  TV show isn’t quite over and there are some chips left in the bag.  It is so easy just to finish them off.  It was a hard and stressful day at work and emotions are tense.  Something is not quite right with dinner or the kids are a bit rambunctious, so you let someone have it.  It is so easy to slip into sin.  We like to think those listed here and others like them are relatively ‘harmless’, but each sin comes with a cost, a price, a consequence.  A relationship is damaged or broken.  Maybe it is repairable, but should we ever get to the point of having to repair our relationships?

We all know the answer is ‘no’ but it is easier said than done.  We are, by nature, prone to sin.  God works all the time, most often through the presence of the Holy Spirit, to turn us from temptation and sin.  Merciful redeemer, when we do sin, make us humble in seeking forgiveness.  O Lord our God, strengthen and encourage us today for the trial and temptations that surely lie ahead, so that we may walk as faithful disciples this day.


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Exalt and Worship

Reading: Psalm 99: 5-9

In today’s Psalm, we see four aspects of God, each requiring or provoking a response from the faithful.  Each of these aspects of God continue to be a part of our faith today.  Each is essential to a full relationship with God.

Verse five reminds us that God is holy.  In God, there is only good.  In God there cannot be any wrong or evil doing.  It is the spark of the divine in each of us that makes all of humanity have a natural bent towards doing good in the world.  Our response is to exalt the Lord and to worship our God.

Verse six speaks of calling on God.  Moses, Aaron, and Samuel are but a few who called on God.  There are many more who turned to the Lord our God in prayer.  Each came before God with honest and sincere hearts and prayers and “He answered them”.  Our response is to do the same.  We are called to regular communication with God, in the pattern of these great examples.

In verse seven we are prompted to remember God’s statutes and decrees.  The Bible is God’s guidance and directions for how to live as He intends us to live.  Our response remains the same: be obedient to God’s ways.

Verse eight recalls the struggle we all face: sin.  We will all experience temptation and at times we will all sin.  This verse reads, “you were to Israel a forgiving God”.  This remains one of God’s core characteristics.  God loves His children and constantly seeks to restore us to a right relationship with Him.  Because of this desire, our God is a loving, merciful, forgiving God.

Verse nine contains our response.  It is a reminder of what this passage opened with.  In light of all that God is, the psalmist again calls us to exalt and worship the Lord our God.  May our lives today be filled with our praise of God, worshipping the Lord our God in all we do and say and think this day.


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Salt and Light

Reading: Matthew 5: 13-20

As follower of Christ, we are called to be both salt and light. Both are essential roles in our Christian witness.  If we fail to be either, we are only partly carrying out our role.

Traditionally, salt served two purposes – salt preserved and salt flavored.  In a world without refrigeration, preserving food was an essential practice.  Food is crucial to life and is a prescious commodity, so preserving what you did not eat when you killed an animal would later sustain life.  In much the same way, our faith preserves us.  Through prayer, study, and worhsip we coat our hearts and minds with the things of God.  Then both in the day to day and in the trials, our faith preserves who we are at our core, keeping us grounded in Christ.

Sal is also a flavoring.  Many foods are bland or dull without salt.  Our faith is the salt that flavors our life.  It is also our faith that flavors the lives of those around us.  Who we are, what we do, the words we choose, how we treat others – all are flavored by our faith.  The ‘flavors’ our faith adds to all these things is love, truth, compassion, honesty, understanding…

Traditionally, light was held up to illuminate or show the way to things around the source of the light.  For example, a city was built upon a hilltop or a lamp was placed upon a stand.  The analogies of lighting the way or of casting aside the darkness are what Jesus refers to as He calls on us to be light.  Our faith should shine out from us, into the world.  Our faith should radiate out from within, bringing hope and promise and vision to a world living in darkness.  Our faith must not be private – hidden under a bowl – but public and out there for all to see.  It is through seeing our faith lived out that others see the true light and are guided towards a relationship with Jesus Christ.

We are called to be salt and light.  We each have opportunities each day to be these things to a world in need.  May we make the most of what God sends out way, seeking to bear witness to the faith we hold dear.


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Light

Reading: Isaiah 9: 1-4

Today Isaiah brings a joyful pronouncement.  Although there was much darkness and oppression when Isaiah spoke this prophecy, it brought hope.  Yet the darkness and oppression remained.  When Jesus was born, the prophecy was fulfilled.  Out of Bethlehem, from out of the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, came Jesus, the Savior and light of the world.  Jesus was and is the great light of the world.  Yet still the darkness and oppression remained.  These forces of evil remain to this day.  So too does the light of the world.  The Lord Jesus Christ still reigns, still seeks to win people’s hearts, still works to shine light into the darkness.

In His day, Jesus walked the earth and taught and healed and brought hope.  Jesus Christ worked to bring the kingdom of God to the earth.  In doing so, Jesus offered hope and mercy and forgiveness and relationship to all He met.  His offer is the same today.  But for people to meet Jesus today, they must meet Him in the Word of God and in us.  One can begin with the Word, but I believe people learn best by seeing and experiencing.  The most effective way we have of sharing Jesus is not by giving someone a Bible, but by sharing what it looks like to live out the Bible by how we live our lives.

Jesus began a great work by defeating the power of sin and death.  Through the cross and the tomb, Jesus freed us from these chains.  He did this so that we who are imperfect could follow the example of He who was perfect.  It is our task, as loved and redeemed people, to help others to come to live as loved and redeemed people.  We do so by continuing the work of Jesus.  We go forth and shine light into the dark places; we work to end oppression and to bring justice; and, we live on people just as Jesus loves on us.

A light has dawned… we have seen a great light.  May we go forth, eager to share the light of Christ as we seek to bring the good news to the ends of the earth.


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The Glorious Story

Reading: James 5: 7-10

“Be patient”.  That can be hard to do.  This is not so hard when life is good and you feel blessed.  Patience from a place of contentment is feasible.  But when life is hard and it seems to be one hardship after one setback after one more dose of bad news, patience can be hard to muster.  When one is struggling in life, patience is hard because hope is dim.  Many in our communities and probably some in our congregations are in a daily battle with life.  They do not know the hope and promise found in Jesus.

To the believers, James says, “Be patient and stand firm because the coming of the Lord is near”.  He goes on to remind us that the Judge is standing at the door.  The door to what?  Maybe the door to our hearts?  Maybe the door that opens to lead to His return?  We may not know the answers to these questions, but we do know that Jesus has already come.  As faithful followers we now prepare to celebrate the first coming of the baby Jesus.  We celebrate this because it leads to the life of Jesus, God in the flesh.  In life, Jesus taught us what it looks like to live God and to love neighbor.  This is the example we try to follow.  We also celebrate His life because it leads to Hid death and resurrection.  In the end, Jesus conquered the bonds of sin and death.  Through this victory Jesus gave us the gift of forgiveness that leads to eternal life.

It is with this knowledge that we enter Advent.  Knowing the rest of the glorious story.  It is with this story that we live now with the risen Savior.  He is our hope and promise now.  This brings patience in the trial now because we know the forever story.  We know Jesus will one day return and will restore all things.  We eagerly await this too.

Our quest is to share this story with another, so that they too may know the whole story.  Advent is a time when people are ripe to hear hope and promise.  It is in the air.  Who do you know that needs hope and promise amidst their struggles?  Share the glorious story with them today.


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Love Lived Out

Reading: Matthew 24: 36-44

No one knows the day or the hour when Jesus will return.  There will be no mistaking it when He returns.  Our passage today speaks about one being taken and one being left behind.  The rapture will be the first unmistakable sign.  With all this in mind, Jesus urges us to always be ready.  If we are ever seeking to live a life worthy of Jesus’ example, we will always be ready for the moment He returns.

Salvation is something we do not lose once we declare that Jesus is Lord and Savior of our life.  Once we receive Jesus into our heart, we are saved.  This status does not change.  But for many people, they have not chosen to accept Jesus as Lord.  For some, it is an intentional choice.  They are still choosing self even though they fully understand what Jesus offers.  They are not willing to surrender.  For others, they do not know who Jesus is or how Jesus can work in their lives or maybe how to begin a relationship with Jesus.  In all of these scenarios, all are lost and need to enter a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

One of our primary roles as followers of Jesus is to share the good news with the world.  We do this in our daily lives.  It is both our words and our actions.  In our words are love, compassion, mercy, grace, understanding, forgiveness…  In our actions we are a servant to all, humbly doing for others.  Another role we play is prayer warrior.  Just as Jesus and the Holy Spirit are interceding for each of us, we too are called to pray for one another.  Sometimes our prayers are general – asking God to help our church reach out or helping us see opportunities that God places before us.  Some prayers are more specific – for a certain person or situation, for God to work in a loved one’s heart, for someone we know is sensing God’s hand at work in their life.

Each and every day may we be God’s love lived out – in our actions, in our words, in our prayers.  May we be love to the world.


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The Journey On

Reading: Colossians 1: 15-20

Jesus, Paul declares, is the “firstborn of all creation”.  Since the beginning of time, Jesus has been the creator and the purpose for all that has been created.  He is therefore supreme over all.  Yet counter to all of this, Jesus is also the one who humbled Himself to death on a cross, becoming the “firstborn from among the dead”.  In doing so, Jesus became the way to true and eternal life.  Only through His blood can we be made righteous.

Jesus rule and example were so countercultural.  Jesus loved instead of conquered.  Jesus healed instead of killed.  Jesus forgave instead of holding grudges.  Jesus sacrificed instead of taking advantage.  Jesus offered compassion instead of judgment.  In all these ways, Jesus gave us an example we can each follow.  Love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, understanding, servant.  Jesus’ power comes from His heart, not from His brain or His brawn.  We are each born with the spark of the divine in our hearts.  We can thus all live a life that follows the ways of Jesus.  We were created in His image, intended to follow after Jesus as His disciples.

Next Sunday begins a new year in the church calendar as Advent begins.  Like the end of the calendar year, may it be a time when we pause and take stock of our journey of faith.  John Wesley called this life of faith a “journey towards perfection”.  It is a place we never reach, yet one we should always be arriving towards.  Jesus was the perfect example of God’s love lived out.  This week may we look at our journeys of faith – at both our times moving forward and at our times of failure.  May we each commit to a year of growth in our faith, seeking to ever become more and more like Jesus Christ, the one true King, the one and only Way.  May it be so.