pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: gift


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Irrevocable and Forever

Reading: Romans 11:29-32

Verse 29: “God’s gifts and God’s call are irrevocable.”

Photo credit: Shane Rounce

Paul writes today of the unmerited gift of God’s mercy. It is a mercy that has been present since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. Since that moment humanity has been sinful and fallen. We too stand in this long line of those who have received mercy and its companion, forgiveness. Instead of the punishment that our sin deserves, again and again we receive God’s mercy.

Writing to the church in Rome, Paul reminds them that “God’s gifts and God’s call are irrevocable.” He reminds them that they once were disobedient to God and yet received mercy. And he reminds them that others will be disobedient so that they too can have the opportunity to experience mercy. We, like the church in Rome, need this reminder. We, like the church in Rome, need to remember that all people are worthy of God’s love and therefore of God’s mercy. We, like the church in Rome, can become guardians and gatekeepers, wanting to limit or control who can enter the circle of God’s unmerited mercy.

The mercy of God is available for and is offered to all people. It was for the sinner then, it is for the sinners now, and it will be for all the sinners yet to come. Mercy is an abundant and generous gift, a gift that is irrevocable and forever. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, your mercies are new every morning – and every evening and every moment in between. Your mercy makes it possible to walk as a child of grace. Without this gift I’d be lost in my sin. So, thank you for your great love that extends mercy over and over. You are an amazing God! Amen.


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The Gift of the Spirit

Reading: Romans 8:1-11

Verse 9: “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.”

Photo credit: Diego Gennaro

Looking at Romans 8 yesterday we focused on the choice between life and death. Today we focus on what the choice for Christ (or for life) means to us as followers of Jesus Christ.

First, we find freedom from the condemnation of the Law. All of the sin offerings in the world could not remove the guilt and shame of disobedience. In and of ourselves we could not meet all of the requirements of the Law. It was a never ending battle in which we’d always fall short. In response God sent Jesus, “God’s own son.” Jesus became the sin offering for all of our sin, bringing us his own righteousness in place of our guilt and shame.

Second, through this gift our Spirit becomes alive. In verse 9 Paul writes, “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.” The Spirit, with our cooperation and effort, begins to lead and guide us, taking root in our heart. The Spirit brings us “life and peace.” These are found and lived out through our relationships with God and with each other. These ongoing and growing relationships help us in our battles with sin here and now. This yields life in our “mortal bodies” as we too one day experience God’s resurrection power. Thanks be to God for the gifts of life and peace.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the Holy Spirit. Thank you for coming incarnate to show us the way to life and peace. Thank you for rising up again to show us the way to life eternal. Between now and then, live in our hearts, drawing us closer and closer to you. Amen.


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Expressing Gratitude

Reading: Psalm 116:1-2 and 12-19

Verse 12: “What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?”

Psalm 116 begins with an expression of love for the God who heard the psalmist’s cry. There is a recommitment of faith because God has turned an ear to the prayers of the psalmist. In our lives there are often times when we connect with God, when we feel that God has heard our prayers. Experiences such as these bolster our faith too.

In verse 12 the psalmist asks, “What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?” To me this is a natural response. When someone does something nice for us, for example, we seek an opportunity to do something nice for them. We want to return the favor. When we feel that God has answered a prayer, blessed us, or has somehow touched our lives, our natural response is to repay God or to return the favor in some way.

For the psalmist this response first took the form of service. It was praising God and fulfilling his or her vows. This can be and maybe is your response: to serve God. That may involve being a part of a ministry or volunteering at church or with another organization. It may involve doing something for a friend or neighbor.

The psalmist also gives a “thank offering.” For the psalmist this likely would’ve been an animal sacrifice in the temple. For us that might translate to giving a financial gift or into going above and beyond in meeting someone’s needs. There are many ways that we can offer our thanksgiving to our God who blessed us richly. This day and every day, may thanksgiving be a habit.

Prayer: Lord God, guide me daily to first see the many blessings in my life. Then, Lord, move me to respond with thanksgiving. Guide me to bring you the glory in whatever way I find to express my gratitude to you. Amen.


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The Common Good

Reading: 1st Corinthians 12:4-14

Verse 7: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”

Photo credit: Ditto Bowo

In this week’s Epistle reading Paul speaks to us about the gifts of the Spirit. There is a list of 9 gifts in verses 8-10. You may recognize one or two of your gifts in that list. Or maybe your gifts aren’t listed here. The 9 are a partial list. There are many other gifts of the Spirit. Counsel, piety, teaching, exhortation, generosity, mercy, and leadership are gifts listed in Isaiah 11 and in Romans 12. Some have the gift of ministering to the grieving or with children. Some have the gift of music. There are many gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In verse 7 Paul writes, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” There are two parts of this verse that I’d like to highlight today. First, “to each one.” The gifts of the Spirit aren’t given to just the select few or even to a handful of people. No, every single one of us has been given gifts by the Spirit. Second, “for the common good.” There are two aspects of the common good. Within the body of faith our gifts are to be used to build up and enrich the body of Christ. The common good here would be growing deeper in Christ. Outside of the body our gifts are to be used in the world, yet for the same overall purpose: to build up the kingdom of God. Using our Spirit-given gifts in the world enhances the common good of everyone. This happens as we strive to live out and to live up to Jesus’ example, loving God and loving neighbor.

Each of us, using the gifts that we have each been given by the Spirit for the common good, is essential, needed, vital, necessary, important. Without you using your gifts, we are less than we could be. Imagine your body without a brain or without a heart or without lungs or eyes or blood vessels or… That is the body of Christ without you and your gifts. May we all use our gifts for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord God, lead and guide me today and every day to use all the gifts that your Spirit has given to me. Whether for just one or for a group, use me to enhance the common good and to build up the kingdom here on earth. Amen.


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Ongoing Creativity

Reading: Psalm 104:24-34

Verse 30: “When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.”

Psalm 104 is a celebration of God’s creation. Our passage today begins with “How many are your works, O Lord!... the earth is full of your creations.” Everything that is and everything that has ever been is the outpouring of God’s creativity. Just looking out the window one can see many things created by God. And that collection is just a teeny, tiny fraction of all that God has made.

In our verses today the psalmist focuses on the creatures of the sea. They are indeed “teeming beyond number” – there are some in the depths of the ocean that we have not even discovered yet. That is amazing. Today we are reminded that God gives life and that God takes away breath. All is within God’s control, even our lives. We too are part of God’s creation. Our breath comes from God and is just one way that we connect to the Creator. Like our breath, every time we appreciate God’s handiwork and each time that we are graced by God’s touch – these are reminders that God is ever with us.

In verse 30 the psalmist celebrates God’s ongoing creativity. Here we read, “When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.” Second by second, moment by moment, day by day, God sends new life through the Spirit. We are daily a part of this process. Thanks be to God our Creator.

Prayer: Lord God, each breath we take is a reminder of your gift of life. Each moment you bless us with is an opportunity to be alive and engaged with you and with all of creation. Thank you for this sacred gift. All praise and glory to you, our Creator. Amen.


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The Foundation: Love

Reading: John 14:18-21

Verse 20: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

Jesus continues to offer words of reassurance and promise as we press on into the second half of this week’s gospel lesson. Reassuring the disciples that their connection to him, that their relationship with him, will not end in his death. He states, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” While this will not be in the earthly physical sense it will be in a tangible, real, spiritual sense. The presence of the Holy Spirit is something that we can feel, sense, and connect to.

Jesus then says, “You will see me.” As the Spirit works in the hearts and minds of the disciples it will remind them of Jesus. It will bring back memories of his actions and words, bringing guidance, direction, encouragement, strength… In this way, they will see Jesus. Along these lines, because Jesus lives in them, they will in turn live as his hands, feet, words, and actions in the world. No, they will never be orphans. They will forever be connected to Jesus Christ and to the kingdom of God. We too experience this living presence when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

In verse 20 we read, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” Indeed so! On the day that the Holy Spirit becomes a part of our lives we realize this indwelling of Christ in us and of us in Christ. In the Biblical story, the disciples will soon experience this as the risen Christ breathes the Holy Spirit upon them. In the last verse, Jesus speaks again and again of love. This is the foundation of our relationship with the Lord and with one another. Each day may we live into this love and may we pour it out into the world.

Prayer: Lord God, your Spirit is a wonderful gift. It connects us 24/7 to you. It is a constant guide and companion. Through the power and presence of your Spirit lead me in love – for you, for others, for the world. Amen.


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Complete and Steadfast

Reading: John 14:15-17

Verse 16: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of truth.”

Photo credit: Kyle Johnson

Turning to our gospel lesson for this week, Jesus offers the disciples some needed reassurance and a promise. Coming out of a difficult to understand conversation about Jesus being the only way to the Father, he offers the words that we read today. He begins with this: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” The most recent command is this: “Love one another. As I have loved you…” Living out their faith and into this relationship with God – both are first grounded in love. From a place of complete and steadfast love will come obedience. In human terms, we ground our wedding vows in this kind of love.

Jesus has been addressing the fact that soon he will die. The disciples will soon find themselves without the physical Christ. In today’s teaching Jesus offers these words: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of truth.” Jesus himself will initiate this new relationship or connection with God. Through Jesus’ request God will send the spiritual Christ to be with the disciples. The Holy Spirit will be with them forever. There is both an assurance and a promise here. Yet, as in all relationships, we have a role to play. We must receive the Spirit into our lives. We must respond to the offer, to the invitation, to the “knock” on our hearts.

Jesus states that those who are of the world “neither sees him or knows him.” For those who do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and for those of us who do and yet choose to live in sin, the Holy Spirit is disconnected. When there is separation in our relationship with God, then we too are of the world. Even then God reaches out, calling us back into right relationship. Through God’s complete and steadfast love our brokenness is again transformed and we can walk and live once more as a child of God. Our God’s love redeems and restores us over and over, allowing the Holy Spirit to “live with you” and to “be in you.” Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, your love and presence are offered without limit, without condition. You are the perfect giver of these good and gracious gifts. Lead us to receive them, to be filled with them, and to be people who pour them out into one another’s lives. Amen.


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Feeding the Hunger

Reading: Luke 24:28-35

Verse 32: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Photo credit: Lina Trochez

As our trio reaches Emmaus, Jesus acts like he is going on. Cleopas and friend invite Jesus to stay with them – the day is almost over. They have been intrigued by this stranger, drawn into the conversation. Jesus accepts their invitation to stay. Was this what he was looking for? Did they need to express a desire for more time, for more connection?

Jesus joins them at the table. Coming together around food was and is a gift of community, a sign of belonging. To welcome another is to offer invitation and to extend hospitality. It gives opportunity to engage in deeper conversation, to build community. The table is also a place where we are all the same – drawn by our need for both physical and relational sustenance.

At the table, together with friends, Jesus takes bread, gives thanks, and breaks the bread. As he gives it to these friends, their eyes are opened and they recognize him. Now the journey makes sense. They both ask each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Even though their eyes did not initially recognize Jesus, their spirits did. Jesus was feeding this hunger first.

It is this hunger that drives their response. After walking 7 miles, mostly in the heat of the day, they rise at once and return to Jerusalem. Finding their faith community, the place where they most belong, they share the story of the walk to Emmaus and of the breaking of the bread. Having tasted and seen, they witness to others, sharing the gift that they have received. May we do the same.

Prayer: Lord God, the more I digest and gain nutrition from, the more I am drawn to the spiritual food that you provide. It is a hunger that grows as it is fed. Use me as you will today, sharing the gift of life, awakening the hunger in others. Amen.


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Mary or Judas?

Reading: John 12:1-11

Verse 3: “She poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair.”

As we begin Holy Week we encounter two very different characters. First we meet Mary. During a dinner to honor Jesus, she does just that. Mary takes some very expensive perfume and “she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair.” What an extravagant gift of love from Mary to Jesus. What a beautiful scene. Then we meet Judas. He crashes this beautiful scene by objecting to what he calls a waste. He cannot see the beauty because he is blinded by his greed.

As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to be like Mary. We are to look for opportunities to serve one another. We are to be generous with both our resources and with ourselves. We might not be able to offer gifts worth a year’s wages, but we might. But we can bring a meal to a neighbor or maybe we can volunteer to do something at the church or at another local organization. We might not wash another’s feet with our hair, but we can offer an uplifting word in a time of need or we can bring unexpected joy to someone with a small, thoughtful gift or with a note that recognizes their worth.

The truth of the matter, though, is that we all have some Judas in us. I do. You do. We all do. We can easily fall into looking out for self. As our best Judas we can see the potential to do something beautiful for another yet choose not to do it because of what it might cost us. At our worst, we can become outright greedy with the blessings that God has given us, wanting just a bit more for ourselves.

In our passage Jesus defends Mary. She has done the right thing. She has cared for another in her presence. May we do the same.

Prayer: Lord God, when my inner Judas rises up, remind me of all the times that a Mary has ministered to me. And, Lord, may these reminders lead to grateful responses that lead me to pour out your love for the other. Use me this week, O God. Amen.


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God Alone

Reading: 1st Corinthians 3:1-9

Verse 6: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”

Paul addresses the church in Corinth as “worldly” people. In them he still sees jealousy and quarreling. He asks, “Are you not acting like mere humans?” In the same way that Jesus was calling his followers to more in the Sermon on the Mount, so too is Paul challenging the Corinthian church to rise above the petty struggles of the world. Caught up in these worldly cares, the church is divided. Christian love and care and fellowship are hard to find or experience in this church at this moment.

Voicing a humility that is currently lacking in Corinth, Paul reminds them that he and Apollos are “Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task.” Pointing up to the power of God, he continues, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” Yes, he and Apollos and others have humbly served. But God alone sprouted and grew their faith. God alone.

This perspective is important for the church to understand and to live out. It remains as important today as it was in Paul’s time. Yes, all have been blessed with gifts from God and we are all expected to use these gifts to build up the church and the kingdom of God. But the gifts are not inherently ours. They are from God. And it is God alone who does the work of healing or transformation or salvation. Yes, we play a role. We are only “servants.” Like Paul we too know that we must rely on God alone to change lives, including our own. As Paul concludes, “We are God’s fellow workers.” Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, you alone have the power to save, to redeem, to restore, to bring new life. I am powerless to bring change or to make anything grow. Yet I know you call me to service. So I ask that you would use me today as your fellow worker. Put me to your work. Fill me with guidance from the Holy Spirit so that you may be made known. Amen.