pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Foundational Truths… Practices… Disciplines

Readings: Psalms 13-16

‭Psalm 16:8 – “I always put the LORD in front of me; I will not stumble because he is on my right side.”

Psalm 13 begins with a series of questions that all ask “How long?” This pattern of repetition for emphasis is found in many Psalms and throughout the Bible. To these questions the psalmist adds, “Look at me! Answer me, Lord my God!” When we are in a “how long?” experience or season, these thoughts are on our minds too. The feel shifts in verse 5, where God’s faithful love, salvation, and goodness become the rock on which the psalmist will stand during this present storm. May we too claim these foundational truths.

Psalms 14 and 15 wrestle with what it means to live for God and what it means to live for the world. These Psalms invite us to reflect on which person we are. Are we the fool, the wicked, the sinful… OR… are we the righteous, the blameless, the thankful? In reality we are mostly one or the other. The goal is to be “the person who lives free of blame, does what is right, and speaks the truth sincerely… who does no harm.” This worthy life is mirrored in two of John Wesley’s “3 Simple Rules.” May we too live these foundational practices.

Psalm 16 is a song of faith in God. God is the psalmist’s refuge and protector. God is the psalmist’s portion, cup, and provider of good things. In turn, this is the psalmist’s commitment to God: “I always put the LORD in front of me; I will not stumble because he is on my right side.” Instruction from God’s word coupled with God’s daily presence prevents stumbling as we seek to “walk in the way of life.” May we too strive to live out these foundational faith disciplines.

Prayer: Lord God, you are the way, the truth, and the life. Lead and guide us to choose you and your ways over the selfish and sinful ways of worldly living. Help us to focus on and to live out your faithful love, your goodness, your truth. Be our sure foundation and our eternal hope. Amen.


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God Surrounds Us

Readings: Psalms 1-4

‭Psalms 4:1 – “Answer me when I cry out… Set me free from my troubles! Have mercy on me! Listen to my prayer!”

Today we begin the Psalms. These words of lament and praise have guided and given voice to faith and suffering for thousands of years. They invite us to walk this road too. Originally the Psalms were Israel’s song book. As do our hymns and praise songs today, the Psalms tell the history and the theology of the people of faith – both then and now.

Psalms 1 and 2 serve as an introduction to almost all that follows in Psalms 3-150. Psalm 1 focuses on living according to God’s instruction and Psalm 2 focuses on the kingship of God. Psalm 1 begins with a list of don’ts. If one wants to be truly happy (or blessed) then don’t do these things. We all have our own list. Instead, the psalmist invites us to recite God’s word day and night. In the original Hebrew the word we translate ‘recite’ would have meant literally mumbling or uttering God’s word under one’s breath all of the time.

Psalm 2 acknowledges that the world (i.e. – the wicked) takes its stand against God and against God’s anointed. The one called “son,” the one who shall reign over “all nations” – we read that as Jesus. The psalmist advises the world to worship this king “reverently” and with “trembling.” And again the theme: take refuge in God and be truly happy.

Psalms 3 and 4 are attributed to David. Both are about crying out to God. In Psalm 3 David is hard-pressed by Absalom’s rebellion and pursuit. While we might not be kings facing a coup, we deal with oppressors and others who want to do us harm. In many ways and in many situations we too can cry out, “Answer me when I cry out… Set me free from my troubles! Have mercy on me! Listen to my prayer!” And because God is ever faithful, figuratively and literally, we can “lie down and fall asleep in peace.” God surrounds us always. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, you do fill our hearts with joy. Your face does shine upon us. We do not need to fear because you save and you rescue. When we rant and rave like the world, draw us to the Lord our refuge. Be intimately acquainted with our ways, O Lord, as we strive to grow intimately acquainted with your ways. Amen.


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Such… Good… News

Reading: Isaiah 61:1-4

Verse 1: “The Lord has sent me to bring good news to the poor… to bind up… to proclaim release for captives… liberation for prisoners.”

As Isaiah’s ministry and Israel’s time in exile is coming to a close, the prophet offers these words of hope and promise. These words were written to a people living in captivity in a foreign land. These words can be applied to many times and to many people who are experiencing exile in many forms. These words spoke to the people of Jesus’ day as they lived under the Roman occupation. These words speak to many people today. These words speak to you and to me.

Verse 1 is so powerful. It is jam-packed with hope, promise, rescue… It begins with a call to “preach good news to the poor.” Maybe this is material good news – food, help with rent or gas or utilities, warm clothes for the winter. Maybe this is spiritual aide that helps them to know that they are beloved and worthy, that they matter and belong to God and to us. Then there is “binding up” those who are broken and hurting. Verses 2 and 3 also touch on this. The binding up is healing for the ill and the suffering. It is also comforting those who grieve. It is drawing in the lonely. There is also proclaiming the freedom from captivity and darkness that the Lord brings. This encompasses the Israelites literal release from Babylon. It also includes release from addictions and other abusive relationships or from unjust situations and systems. And it includes freedom and release from our sins and from the guilt and shame that is often connected to our sin.

In one form or another we have each experienced each of these forms of the good news. As followers of Jesus Christ we too are sent to bring this good news to others. Taking where we have been, recognizing how we got to where we are at, may we help others to experience the good news of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer: Lord God, walking and living with you, we’ve experienced firsthand all of what Isaiah speaks of. We’ve been healed, freed, rescued… Use each of us today and every day to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to those who need healing or hope, release or rescue, restoration or redemption. Amen.


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God’s Sanctuary and Dominion

Reading: Psalm 114

Verse 2: “Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.”

For the psalmist, the exodus from under mighty Egypt’s oppression and the near-impossible rescue at the parting of the sea were two great examples of God in action. God acted on behalf of the beloved of God. You and I are beloved of God. So there are times and situations that you can look back on and say, ‘Yes, right then and there, God acted in my life.’ When has God freed you or saved you or rescued you? Like the psalmist does here, it is important for us too to remember and offer our thanksgiving to God. This is part of being God’s sanctuary and dominion.

In verses 5-6 the psalmist asks a great question. He or she ponders over why the waters part and why the mountains and hills quake. They do so because they are “in the presence of the Lord.” God’s power and might and majesty are over all of creation. They are over you and me. As we recognize God’s sovereign hand in all of creation and in our lives, we too humbly now and honor almighty God. This too is part of being God’s sanctuary and dominion.

In verse 2 we read, “Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.” This speaks of relationship and connection. It speaks of intimacy and commitment. You and I are part of God’s family. God is our sanctuary – both the place where we worship and the place we go to feel safe and protected. God is our dominion – both the one who is steadfast and true and the one to whom we commit our lives and faith. Thank you, God, for being our sanctuary and our dominion.

Prayer: Lord God, you are our all in all. With you we lack nothing that we need. You are ever-present and almighty. You are personal and intimate. May our lives be expressions of our gratitude for our connection with you. Amen.


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Peace and Joy

Reading: Romans 5:1-5

Verse 2: “We have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

Photo credit: Eugene Zhyvchik

This week’s passage from Romans 5 is all about peace and joy, two of the wonderful gifts that we receive from God. These words that we read today and tomorrow must have been of great encouragement to the church in Rome. These words can be of great encouragement to us today.

Paul begins by celebrating the justification that we experience through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the process of being made right in God’s sight. It begins with a recognition of our sin and moves into confession and repentance. This opens the door for forgiveness, which is freely given by God without price to us. Being made right with God is an oft-repeated process that brings us peace again and again.

In verse 2 we read, “We have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” It is faith that empowers us to come to God with our flaws and failures, assured that in love God’s grace will flow into our lives. Because through Christ we are justified over and over, we have hope. It is a hope both for this life and for the life to come. We can rejoice in this life because we know that nothing can separate us from God’s love found in and through Jesus Christ. We have hope for the life to come because the forgiveness and reconciliation offered by God allows us to be in right relationship with God. This guides our way to heavenly glory.

The peace and joy found in relationship with Jesus allows and enables us to walk through the hard things of life standing on our faith. This eventually leads us to a place of hope. Our section today closes with these words: “God has poured out God’s love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” Because of this indwelling presence of love in our very hearts, hope and joy never disappoint. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the peace and hope and love that you have set in our hearts through our relationship with Jesus Christ. Thank you for the grace and mercy that renews our relationship again and again. May we be people who reflect and share your love, peace, hope, joy, grace, and mercy into the lives of all that we meet. Amen.


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Power and Authority

Reading: John 20:21-23

Verses 22-23: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven.”

Continuing in John 20 today, Jesus offers the disciples peace once again and then he sends them into the world – just as God had sent him. This means that they go with all of the power and authority of the one who sent Jesus. Just as he ministered, taught, and healed through the power of God, so too would the disciples. So too can we.

“And with that” – with the command to go into the world, Jesus breathes on them the Holy Spirit. There is a connection here. It is the Spirit within us that connects us to God and to God’s power and authority. Jesus says to the disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven.” This gift comes with some responsibilities. The first and most obvious is the mission to go into the world to represent God and Jesus. Filled with the Spirit, we are to be Christ to the world.

The second responsibility is helping people in their sin. For most of us, at first at least, this is an uncomfortable thought. Sin feels private, personal. That’s the way Satan wants it. But Jesus knew how important community was. He lived and practiced community. Not just for worship or fellowship, but also for support and encouragement and accountability. In this second role we help one another to be freed from our sins. In a similar way we can walk with non-believers, helping them to find freedom from the trappings of this world. Both of these actions are fulfilling the command to represent Jesus as ones sent into the world.

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, filled with God’s authority, may we go into all the world, bringing forth the good news of Jesus Christ!

Prayer: Lord God, fill me and send me out! Guided by the Spirit within, may the words I speak be your words. And may the actions of my hands and feet mirror those of Jesus. Amen.


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Evidence of the Power

Reading: 1st Corinthians 1:18-25

Verse 23: “We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”

Photo credit: Thanti Nguyen

In the first half of this week’s Epistle reading Paul both encourages the Corinthian church and he reminds them of the challenges they face. For example, in verse 18, he encourages them with the tangible power of the cross to save and he reminds them that much of the world still sees this as foolishness. To the worldly, the story of the cross was one of weakness and defeat.

Paul writes about Jews demanding “miraculous signs” and Greeks demanding “wisdom”. The Jews wanted the power of Christ demonstrated in amazing ways – a new version of the parting of the sea, if you will. The Greeks wanted to be argued into believing. Both groups were really saying, ‘Prove to me that Jesus is real, that he still has power.’ This remains the sticky point for many today. People still want proof. Today many think, ‘Yes, nice stories and some good examples to follow, but what will it do for my life today?’ So to many people today the cross remains a “stumbling block” and to others it appears as “foolishness.”

But, as Paul points out, the cross is also “the power of God and the wisdom of God.” To those who believe, the cross brings new life. In the cross we see God wisely recognizing what needed done for our transformation to be possible. In God’s wisdom it was identified and through God’s power the sacrifice was offered. It is because the price was paid that we can be made new again. Freed from the chains of this world we are able to live as new creations in Christ. Filled with joy and hope and peace and love and grace and mercy and forgiveness we live as examples of the power and wisdom of the cross. And this, my friends, is the proof that the world needs. Day by day, may the transformation wrought in us be the evidence that leads others to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord God, through your power I am made again and again, each time a little more into who you created me to be. May this power at work in me be the story that others see, drawing them towards the Savior. Amen.


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A Light to All, for All

Reading: Isaiah 42:1-7

Verse 6: “I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.”

This week we will focus on baptism – both by water and by the Holy Spirit. In our text from Isaiah the prophet points towards Jesus Christ, the “chosen one” in whom God “delights,” the one that God “will put my spirit on,” the one who will “bring justice to the nations,” and the one who is the foundation of both of our baptisms. The prophet also points to the vastness of God’s love revealed in and through Jesus Christ. In verse 4 Isaiah refers to Christ as the one in whom “the islands will put their hope.” Some other translations render ‘island’ as “all nations.” Jesus is the hope of all the world.

Verses 6 and 7 really speak of Jesus! Verse 6 begins with God declaring that God will call Jesus in righteousness and will take Jesus by the hand. What a powerful example of the intimate relationship that God desires to have with all the world. Continuing in verses 6 we read, I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.” What love and vision we find in this verse. God will “keep” Jesus – God will be right there every step, leading, guiding, protecting. God will make Jesus a “covenant” – an everlasting model of love, grace, mercy, forgiveness. Many celebrated this promise yesterday as we celebrated Holy Communion. And God will make Jesus “a light for the Gentiles.” The term ‘Gentiles’ referred to all who stood outside the faith. Again, this means that Jesus extends or offers the covenant and the light to all the world, to all people.

As we read and consider these words and our Lord Jesus Christ, let us not ever forget that we are both “God’s people” and we are “Gentiles.” At times we are the light of Christ to others and at times we are in need of the light of Christ ourselves. Sometimes we “open eyes that are blind,” sometimes we need the Spirit to open our eyes. Sometimes we partner with the Holy Spirit to “free captives” and to release those “sitting in darkness.” Sometimes we are in need of freeing and release from our own sin and darkness. In faith and trust may we both give and receive the light of Christ.

Prayer: Lord God, humble me so that I can recognize where I need your light to shine into my heart. Reveal what needs surrendered, what needs given up. Guide me to yield all this up to the light of your refining fire. Free and release me from all that holds me back from receiving and from being the light to all people. Amen.


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Help and Hope (and SO much more!)

Reading: Psalm 146:5-10

Verse 5: “Blessed is he [and she] whose help is the God of Jacob; whose hope is in the Lord our God.”

Psalm 146 is a celebration of who God is and of what God does for those who trust in the Lord. It is a song that reminds us of the deep love of God and of the many ways that this love is applied to our lives. It is primarily about God in our lives here and now. At the end we are also reminded that “God reigns forever.”

In verse 5 we read that we are blessed when God is our helper. It is so true. Life is so much better when we rely on God as our help (instead of trying to rely on self.) When we press into and lean on the hope we find in God, then God is faithful and walks with us, pouring hope into our lives. In the next four verses the psalmist offers a myriad of ways that God is both our help and our hope. In many of these cases it is God who helps us when we cannot help ourselves and it is God who brings us hope when we had none.

In these verses we are reminded that God stands for us and with us when we are oppressed. God feeds us when we are hungry. God frees us when we are imprisoned – whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. God opens our blind eyes when we need guidance or redirection. God lifts us up when we are down. God loves on us. God cares for us and comforts us when we are alone or grieving or hurting. God guards us against the evils of the world. Yes, we have much to celebrate. And, this list is only partial!

The Psalm closes with these words: “The Lord reigns forever… for all generations. Praise the Lord.” Life is seldom perfect. Yet we have so many blessings and so much to be thankful for. Yes, let us praise the Lord!

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for your great love. It amazes me when I think of all the ways that you touch my life. In each way listed in the Psalm and in many other times, you have blessed me. I humbly ask, O God, that you would use me as a conduit of your love. Through my words and actions may others come to know your great love for them. Amen.


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Standing Firm

Reading: Luke 21:12-19

Verse 12: “They will lay hands on you and persecute you.”

In the opening verses of this week’s gospel lesson, Jesus told the disciples of the false prophets and difficult events that will come. Shifting to a much more personal focus Jesus tells his followers, “They will lay hands on you and persecute you.” Those who follow Jesus will be imprisoned and will stand trial before earthly powers. The way of Jesus runs counter to the ways of the world. Instead of accumulating more and more for self, Jesus calls for generosity towards those without. Instead of using power to dominate relationships, Jesus calls for love to guide all we do and say. Instead of using others to further our own interests and desires, Jesus calls us to walk alongside and to lift others up.

In and of themselves, these things that Jesus calls us to are not likely to land us in hot water. But living this way shines a light on the darkness of the world. That creates tension with power. Standing for justice and equality and redemption are also all good things – until they challenge systems that work against these values of God. It is then that power rises against the followers of Christ.

Jesus offers the disciples and us today words of encouragement. First, these trials will be opportunities to witness to our faith. Second, through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus will “give you words and wisdom.” Opponents will not be able to speak or stand against us. And third, “by standing firm you will gain life.” This is a both/and promise. Because of the Holy Spirit power within, we will be freed from the cares and worries of this world. And because of that, we are able to live towards the eternal glory found in Christ.

Jesus warns us that it will not be an easy road. But he also promises us that the path of discipleship will transform our life and the world around us. May we ever be faithful.

Prayer: Lord God, fill me with Holy Spirit power each day. Give me a holy compassion for all who are held down, held back, held below. Through your power and presence, use me to lift others up and to free them from the darkness of this world. Amen.