pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: grace


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Grace Unending

Reading: Romans 4:13-17

Romans 4:16 – “The inheritance comes through faith, so that it will be on the basis of grace.”

Turning again to Romans 4 today we read that the promise of God to “inherit the world” did not come through the Law. The Law was not even yet in existence when Abram was declared righteous because of his faith. So for Abraham’s descendants – those Paul was writing to then and to us now – the inheritance also comes through faith. One can work really hard to keep the Law (or to do any number of things that we think are pleasing to God), but we will always ultimately fail, bringing upon ourselves the “wrath” that Paul references in today’s reading.

On the opposite end of the scale, we find God’s grace. This free gift of grace is the “basis” for inheriting God’s promises: forgiveness of sin and eternal life. God does not weigh out our worthiness or keep track of how much good we need to do to settle our account. Salvation is not centered on a contractual relationship. There are no transactions needed between us and God in order for us to inherit the promises. There is a grace that washes away our sins and welcomes us back into connection with God and with one another. There is a transformation that occurs – again and again and again…

Paul speaks of this transformation at the end of our passage. This rebirth, this gift of new life over and over, it occurs when God “gives life to the dead.” Once dead in our sin, grace redeems and restores us to life in Christ. Rooted in God’s unconditional love, grace is unending. For the promises grounded in love and grace, we say, thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, living in this world, it can be easy to slip into doing and trying to earn. It is the way of the world: checklists, comparative analysis, judging, then self-doubt, shame, defeat. Your love offers a different way, a better way. Driven by love, you call and reach out in mercy. Fueled by mercy, your grace draws us back to you again and again. Standing there once again, in your love and grace, it feels like we never left. Thank you for loving us this completely, this unconditionally. How great is your love, O Lord. Amen.


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The Flawed and the Faulty

Reading: Romans 4:1-5

Romans 4:5 – “Faith is credited as righteousness… because they have faith in God who makes the ungodly righteous.”

Paul ends chapter 3 stating that through faith we “confirm the Law.” Here Paul is referring not to following the exact letter of the Law but to understanding the Law’s deeper purpose and meaning. We get a practical application of this in the Beatitudes, where Jesus dives deep and unpacks a handful of Laws. Moving into chapter 4, Paul centers in on the faith of Abraham, the founding father of the Jewish faith and the nation of Israel.

Paul reminds his readers that Abraham was declared righteous because of his faith. When Abram obeyed God’s open-ended call to “go,” he did so through a radical faith. God’s promises guided and empowered his decision to be obedient to the call of God. As Paul develops his line of thinking later in this chapter, he reminds his audience that Abram lived long before the Law was ever given to Moses and Israel. Therefore, Abram was declared righteous because of God’s grace, not because he kept the Law – just as the followers of Jesus are declared righteous through God’s grace.

We often think of those “pedestal people” as being perfect. A cursory glance reveals that Abram was anything but perfect. He doubted God and he took matters into his own hands. Remember Hagar and Ishmael? Remember sending them out into the desert to die? God isn’t looking for perfect people to work through. That’s because God didn’t make us that way. Instead, God uses imperfect people to accomplish God’s perfect plans and purposes. And like Abram, we are each called by God, flaws and all. God works in and through our flaws, responding to our faith with a grace that “makes the ungodly righteous.” For this transforming grace, we say, thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for choosing us, the flawed and the faulty. Through your love and mercy and grace you redeem us, refining us for your purposes. Through your guidance and direction you help us to fulfill your call upon our lives. With great patience and steadfastness, you redirect, forgive, and transform us to be your vessels of faith. Thank you for these many gifts. Amen.


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Forgiveness

Reading: Psalm 32:1-7

Psalm 32:3-4 – “When I kept quiet, my bones wore out… your hand was heavy upon me.”

Psalm 32 is a song about forgiveness. While the concept of forgiveness is simple, our human nature can complicate this practice in many ways. In the opening verses David lifts up the benefits of forgiveness. The one whose sin is covered by God and who is guilt-free before God is “truly happy.” When nothing separates us from God and God’s love, yes, we are truly happy! The same can be said of our other relationships. When nothing separates us from our love of family, friends, teammates, coworkers… we are truly happy.

We’ve all experienced this place of joy in our relationships. From this experience, you’d think we’d always be swift to seek and offer forgiveness. Unfortunately, we are often like David. In verses 3 and 4 he writes, “When I kept quiet, my bones wore out… your hand was heavy upon me.” Too often we do not seek or receive forgiveness and the weight of this choice begins to feel heavy upon us. The angst or anger, the guilt or the grievance can fester and grow as we let the unresolved tension continue. We come to the place, too, when God’s hand feels heavy upon us. The gentle nudge of the Spirit feels like a hard shove. This is a good thing. It leads to verse 5: “So I admitted my sin…”

Confession begins the healing process – at least as far as God is concerned. God is quick to remove the guilt and shame, swift to rescue and redeem us and our relationship with God. Sadly, we can struggle with these steps sometimes. Our pride or the hurt can get in the way. We can want to nurse a grudge. We can have a hard time admitting we were wrong. When we are struggling with these or other issues, may we remember that we are made in the image of God. Doing so, may our forgiveness be quick and gentle, honest and complete.

Prayer: Lord God, in the arena of forgiveness, make us more like you. Guide us to be practitioners of grace and mercy, humility and love – the key ingredients to living in right relationships with you and with one another. Amen.


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Deeper Work

Readings: 2nd Corinthians 5:20-21 and 2nd Corinthians 6:1-10

2nd Corinthians 6:1 – “We are also begging you not to receive the grace of God in vain!”

Photo credit: Rainier Ridao

Our reading today begins with Paul begging the Corinthians to “be reconciled to God!” This too is our ongoing call, especially as we begin the season of Lent today. Throughout Lent we are invited to look within, to reflect on the condition of our soul, and to make the needed changes so that we are ready to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. Paul touches on the source of our salvation, the one who took on sin for us so that we could be “the righteousness of God.”

Through God’s grace we can be forgiven and made new again. Paul begs the Corinthians “not to receive the grace of God in vain!” To do so would be to receive forgiveness and then to not follow through on our pledge of repentance. Paul reminds us that keeping true to our faith isn’t always easy. Paul lists many trials and sufferings he and his fellow believers endured. We can experience some of these too when we choose faith over the ways of the world. Yet with the same purity, hard work, genuine love, and Holy Spirit power, we too can endure and faithfully witness to the grace and love of God.

Our passage closes with many word pairs: fake and real, pain and happy, poor and rich… The first word is a surface level thing and the second word holds a deeper truth. We find this relationship to be true when we engage in the spiritual practice of fasting that becomes more prevelent in Lent. Going without and feeling that “hunger” is the surface level thing that we endure. The change that the Spirit works in us as we grow closer to Christ is the deeper truth at work in us. In the same way, confessing our sin is the surface level action. Working out our repentance and changing our hearts and lives is the deeper work of God going on within us. This Lent, may we be willing to go deeper, doing the hard work of faith.

Prayer: Lord God, prepare our hearts to go deeper this Lent. Give us the strength and courage to look deep within ourselves and to bring our full self before you. In grace and love, purify and refine us. Loosen our grips on that which pulls us away from you. Strengthen our hold on faith, hope, trust, and love. Amen.


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Answer the Call

Reading: Matthew 5:17-20

Matthew 5:19b – “But whoever keeps these commands and teaches others to keep them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Turning to verses 17-20 today, Jesus connects being salt and light to fulfilling the words of the Law and the prophets. Jesus came as God in the flesh, as one who would model God’s heart being lived out in the world. In Jesus’ words and actions, we see the depth and breadth of God’s love, mercy, and grace. To get an idea of how Jesus teaches us to fulfill the Law, read the rest of chapter 5.

Returning to today’s reading, Jesus then declares that those who ignore God’s heart and who teach others to do the same, they will be “the lowest in the kingdom of heaven.” Later in our passage, we see that Jesus is speaking of the overtly religious of his day. The Pharisees and legal experts knew the letter of the Law inside out. The living out of the heart of the Law was where they struggled. In the context of yesterday’s reading, they knew what it meant to be salt and light, but they were not being salt and light.

Jesus then proclaims, “But whoever keeps these commands and teaches others to keep them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” To keep the heart of God as one’s guide in all of life, this is our call. We teach best by example. That was Jesus’ model. The Law is centered on love – God’s love for all of us, our love for God, our love for neighbor. It is love that guides us and leads us to be people of mercy, grace, forgiveness, hope, repentance, generosity, justice, humility… This is the righteousness that Jesus describes. It is the righteousness that God calls us to. May we answer the call every day.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to not just be hearers but also doers. Yes, we know we are to love you and to love neighbor. Move us beyond our head knowledge, out into the world. Shape and form us to be people who love practically and tangibly, who practice grace and forgiveness in every opportunity. Use us to restore broken relationships and to redeem unjust practices and systems. In these ways, may your righteousness and glory be revealed to the world. Amen.


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Being and Doing

Reading: Matthew 5:13-16

Matthew 5:13… 14 – “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.”

Returning to the Sermon on the Mount today and tomorrow, Jesus declares first that we are salt and light for the world. We begin with a question: Is Jesus talking about our being or about how we are to act in the world? Are we light or are we to be light?

As there should be a connection between our being and doing, the answer is “both.” We are salt and light. Our faith flavors all aspects of our life. Our faith is the light that guides us to walk as Christ calls us to walk. Our salt and light are not just for our benefit, though. We are to act and be in the world in ways that flavor or season the world around us. Just as salt makes food taste better, so too should our faith make the world a better place. In the same way, the light of Christ that is within us should shine out into the world, helping others to see the way that they too are called to be and to walk in the world.

We are also reminded today of what happens when we do not live our faith out in the world. People get trampled under foot. People get lost in the darkness of this world. These things should not be so. Instead, may we let our faith be known, seen, and tasted, so that people “can see the good things you do and praise your father who is in heaven.”

Prayer: Lord God, be present in us, flavoring our lives with your love, grace, mercy, peace, joy, compassion, hope… Let your light shine upon injustice, oppression, marginalization, violence, addiction… moving our hands and feet into action against the darkness of our world. Use our actions and words, O Lord, to do and to bring good into the world. Amen.


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A Right Heart

Reading: Micah 6:1-8

Micah 6:6 – “With what should I approach the Lord and bow down before God almighty?”

Returning to Micah 6 today we read the verses that lead up to the well-known call to practice justice, to embrace faithful love, and to walk humbly with God and with neighbor. Verses 1-7 lay out “why” Israel should live in these ways and it points out Israel’s failed attempts at true worship. The passage is set as if in a courtroom as God brings God’s case against Israel. In a lawsuit, if you are the one seeking justice, it is good. But if you’re on trial, this is not a good place to be. For the people of God, they are on trial. “With Israel, he [God] will argue.”

God’s case opens with questions about how Israel has gotten to this place: What did I do to you (or fail to do)? How have I wearied you? God is wondering aloud how God displeased Israel, how God bored them into this disobedience. God then reminds Israel what faithfulness looks like. From leading Israel out of slavery to giving them good leaders to protecting them from their enemies, God has always been there for Israel – irrelevant to their commitment, regardless of their unfaithfulness, no matter their sin and wandering and idolatry.

God then lays bare the reality of their present worship. These acts themselves, prescribed by the Law, can be pleasing to God. But volume and simply going through the motions? If one if just playing the game and trying to impress God along the way, then God is not interested in the least. Micah muses, “With what should I approach the Lord and bow down before God almighty?” Returning to verse 8 we find God’s answer. We are reminded that a right heart, a heart right with God and with one another, this is where worship that is pleasing to God begins. With a heart that reflects God’s heart, this is the place that we are filled with love and grace and mercy and peace and hope and compassion and… Filled, we are then ready to be these things to the world. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, strip away our pretense, break down our barriers, wipe away the noise of the world. Bring us to a place of transparency, honesty, and sincerity – not for your sake but for ours. You see through it all. You know the true condition of our hearts. Beginning in a place of humility, guide us then to be practitioners of justice and steadfast love. This is the worship that is pleasing to you. Living and being this way, may our lives reveal to the world what is good and what is required by you. Amen.


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In Partnership

Reading: 1st Corinthians 1:1-9

1st Corinthians 1:9 – “God is faithful, and you were called by him to partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The opening of 1st Corinthians reminds those in these churches of some important things. First, they have been made holy and are called as God’s people. Second, they are bound together with the church universal through their faith in Jesus Christ. These truths continue to hold fast today.

Paul then praises these early believers for God’s grace that is evident in their lives and for the knowledge that they’ve received from God. Paul tells them that all of the spiritual gifts necessary for the church to be the church are present in Corinth. I believe that the same can be said of our churches today. God equips us to do the work of God amongst one another and in the world around us. We are gifted to do this work.

When Paul was writing, it was not an easy time to be a follower of Jesus. The Jews and the Romans were both opposed to this new faith. Persecution was common. That is why Paul encourages them, assuring them that God will keep their testimony blameless. Their lives will match their words and vice versa. This is possible because “God is faithful, and you were called by him to partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” The partnership worked then and continues to work today because God is the foundation and is the source of our strength. In this partnership, may we ever be faithful to our call to witness to the good news of Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord God, you alone have the power to defeat the things of this world. Some of these things are threatening and dangerous. Some are powerful and violent. Some are sneaky and deceitful. God, lead and guide us, strengthen and empower us, fill us with your Spirit and presence so that we may stand firm and can remain true to you alone, our God and King. Amen.


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God’s Goodwill and Plan

Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14

Ephesians 1:7 – “We have been ransomed through his Son’s blood, and we have forgiveness for our failures based on his overflowing grace.”

Verses 3-6 speak of God choosing us. This choosing is rooted in God’s “goodwill and plan.” At the beginning of time as we know it, God created humanity in the image of the divine and appointed humankind as stewards of creation. A partnership, a relationship – this has always been God’s good plan for all of humanity. This intimate connection with God calls us to be “holy and blameless.” This calls requires us to surrender our life to Christ’s will and way so that we can become “adopted children,” becoming like Christ in every way that is humanly possible. At its simplest, this comes down to loving God and one another just as God first loved us.

Part way through verse 6 the focus shifts to grace and forgiveness. Because we are human, at times our flesh leads us away from our relationship with Jesus Christ and into temptation and sin. At all times, God is ready to redeem us. Verse 7 speaks of this truth: “We have been ransomed through his Son’s blood, and we have forgiveness for our failures based on his overflowing grace.” Ransomed – the atoning price for our sins has been paid. Forgiveness – our sins are no more. This has always been God’s design. At just the right time, God in the flesh made the sacrifice required to redeem all the world.

The last five verses shift to an eternal reality. At the end of this present age – “the climax of all time” – Christ will bring all things together in the new heaven and earth. This is our inheritance. It first comes through belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is then sealed by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. The forgiveness and redemption founded on God’s love will one day lead us to our true and eternal home. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for your plan that seeks to include us all. Thank you for the wooing and pursuing that draws us into relationship with you. Thank you for the steadfast love and for the indwelling presence that strengthens and deepens our relationship with you. Thank you for the grace, overflowing and unending, that brings us back into right relationship again and again, redeeming us from ourselves, returning us to who you designed us to be. Thank you for your great love for us all. Amen.