pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: glorious


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Glorious and Beautiful

Reading: Matthew 25: 1-13

Verse 6: “Here’s the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him!”

In our parable today, ten bridesmaids await the arrival of the bridegroom.  The festivities cannot begin until he arrives and ushers in all of the bridesmaids.  It will be quite a party.  A wedding banquet lasted days and was a demonstration of all that the host family could offer.  It was an event full of joy and laughter and celebration.  Of course these ten bridesmaids cannot wait!

Then the shout goes out: “Here’s the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him!”  What excitement!  But when the bridegroom arrives we find that five of them were not really prepared.  They only came with some oil in their lamps and must go and to get more.  There must have been some indecision at this point – stay and hope I have enough?  Go and get more oil?  All must have wished they had filled their lamps before coming to the banquet.  All must have wished they were prepared when the call came that the bridegroom was on the way.  It is sad that they cannot enter the banquet.

But what joy for those who were prepared, for the five who did get to enter the wedding banquet.  They step inside and see the beautiful hall, well-decorated for the occasion.  They smell the lavish and tasty food prepared for the celebration.  They can sense the emotional buzz, the excitement.  The five step inside the door that the bridegroom hols open for them and they become a part of this beautiful and glorious scene.

One day we too will stand at that door.  One day we too will have the opportunity to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.”  As we read the Word of God each day, we hear the call of God’s love.  As we pray and get connected to God, we sense His love covering us as we pray.  As we worship, we are in God’s presence.  We are preparing for the day.  All these ways we connect to and experience God in the day to day of life are just glimpses of the day to come.  It’s just a small taste of the moment we walk through that door and enter forever into God’s light and love.  What a glorious and beautiful day it will be!  Amen and amen.


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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.