pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: grow


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The Gift of Life

In the realms of science and technology we are pretty advanced.  We can study a seed and learn the exact amounts of each component of the seed and ‘make’ an exact replica of the seed.  But when we place it in the ground, it does not sprout.  There is no life in the man-made seed.  Only the seeds created in nature by God have the mystery of life inside.

Life itself is a mystery.  By it we are drawn to God.  How life is created is just one of the mysteries of God.  All of this points to the kingdom of God.  Jesus Christ is the seed of this kingdom.  It was planted in Mary and grew to be our example of how to love God with all we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Through Jesus’ death and resurrection we witness another mystery of God and have the promise of new life, of life eternal.

Christ dwelling in us and through our words, actions, and deeds is the continuing sign that the kingdom of God is alive and growing.  We live as the light of the world, shining our faith in God and Jesus out into the world.  Through this they are offered life and eternal hope.

Today many will gather in worship.  A big part of this is to offer our praise and thanksgiving for the gift of eternal life that we have in Christ.  Each day as we go out into the fields of life, may we live each day as an act of worship as well, sharing this amazing and wonderful gift with all who cross our paths.

Scripture reference: Mark 4: 26-34


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Grains of Faith

At times in my faith journey I am like the chaff.  My faith becomes dry, seemingly purposeless.  In those times I too can be blow this way or that.  I feel adrift in these times.  It is easier to be drawn to the things of this world as well.  Yet God always draws me back in.

I want to be like the grain.  We all do.  It is the grain that sheds the chaff so that new life is made possible.  The grain is happy to be and do what God created it for.  Joy is found in fulfilling its purpose.

Some grain is used to nourish others.  It can be used in many ways to accomplish this purpose.  Each of us has a gift or talent to use in some way to nourish our fellow believers.  We are called to use these gifts and talents not for ourselves but to build up the body of Christ.

Other grain is used to yield more grain.  As we plant the Word of God in others, we are sowing seeds of faith.  Each of us has a faith unique story and a voice to use to tell that story.  Each of us has the ability to cast seeds far and wide both with our story and with the witness of how we live our lives.  Our hope is that some takes root and new lives of faith are formed.

God promises to watch over the ways of the righteous.  His promise is to those that love Him and seek to walk in His ways.  It takes sacrifice to give of oneself to help others grow in faith.  It requires the same to sow seeds of faith in others.  God’s love will lead us to do both.  Allow His hand to guide you today.

Scripture reference: Psalm 1: 4-6


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A Child’s Faith

When a baby is first born it is totally dependant on others for care.  Most babies bond right away with their mother as they are fed, held, and loved.  Soon a father becomes a known, loving presence as well.  Babies bond and come to expect parents to be there when they cry, when they want to be held, when they need changed, and so on.  Even though no parent is perfect, the baby comes to love and trust them.

God is our perfect parent.  As we mature and grow in our faith, we learn that God will take care of our needs.  We learn that He will forgive our sins and restore the relationship with us.  We learn that when we cry out to Him, He will be there.  We learn that no matter how long we wander away, He will be right there by our side when we turn back towards Him.

Perhaps this is the kind of love and trust that Jesus was talking about when He said that we need to have the faith of a little child.  Maybe Jesus is calling us to live a life totally dependant on Him.  Maybe Jesus wants us to cry out only to Him when we are in need.  Maybe Jesus wants us only to come to Him when we find ourselves in sin or are wrestling with temptation.

The more we grow to love and trust in Him, the more we come to live and to love like Him.  May we come to develop the faith of a little child.

Scripture reference: Psalm 22: 25-31


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The Light

Light is pretty cool.  Have you ever watched the light creep across the land as the sun slowly rises in the morning?  As it rises slowly above the horizon, the light flows across objects, illuminating them and making them visible.  In time, all is bathed in the light.

Psalm 50 speaks of God gathering His faithful people to Him.  It also reminds us that His light will shine forth as He judges all people.  One day we will all stand before our God.  On that day, will we be found faithful?

Each and every day God seeks to shine forth in our hearts.  His light and love desire to fill us.  His Spirit seeks to guide and lead us.  Both God and the Holy Spirit cast light into our lives.  Just like the sun as it creeps up, His light shines into all of our bumps, cracks, and crevices.  And what is revealed?

Sometimes we like to think that we still have our hidden spots – those things we cling to and try to convince ourself that God does not know about.  But all is bathed in His light.  God sees and knows all.  We are only fooling ourselves.

As we come to understand this, we become more willing to admit all to God.  Our lives become more honest and transparent.  Our lives align more with His will and purpose for us.  Soon our light begins to shine brighter, for others to see.  As we grow to walk more and more in His ways, may our light dispel the darkness both within and around us.  May the light guide us and those around us closer and closer to our God.

Scripture reference: Psalm 50: 1-6


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A Voice Calling

Job description: challenge the status quo, push people to grow and stretch themselves, be directly accountable to God

Any applicants?

Many jobs can be thankless.  Among them the job ‘prophet’ could be pretty high on a lot of people’s lists.  For most that were called in the Bible,”Yes!” was not their first reaction.

Prophets of old and prophets today have pretty much the same role.  A prophet has two primary job functions.  The first is to keep people oriented towards God.  A prophet calls us to live our lives with God at the center, following His ways and commands.  This runs counter to what the world so often tries to tell us and is therefore difficult.  A prophet tells us that ‘me’ does not come first.

The second role is to call for justice and equality for those whose voices are not heard by the those in power and in positions that can affect change.  A prophet calls for the care of the weak, for fair treatment of all, and for the stranger to be welcomed into our midst.  These calls too run counter to society’s norms.  A prophet tells us to give of ourselves and to become less so that others can become more.

Today most of us like to be comfortable, to maintain the status quo.  Change can be hard.  No wonder being a prophet is difficult.  But a faith that is not active and growing, bringing light into darkness, is dead.  That is not a good place to be.

May we learn to hear and welcome the prophet’s voice, both for what it calls us to spiritually and for the words spoken on behalf of the poor and powerless, words that bring hope, healing, justice, and love.

Scripture reference: Deuteronomy 18: 15-20


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The Gift of Faith

In Psalm 126 the people have returned from exile. For this they praise God joyfully.  But a hard reality also faces them.  No one was there the year before to plant crops and to store up grain.  In the midst of a joyous return they face a food crisis.

The people of Israel have just experienced the miracle of being freed from slavery.  They have seen God’s great power at work in their lives.  So they turn their prayers to the need at hand. They pray for food and a good harvest and are confident that their God will respond with a good harvest.  They have faith in His future blessings.

In our world today, many also have a hunger – a spiritual hunger.  During the time of Advent. as we draw nearer to Christmas, people are more aware of Christ and faith.  We have the food that the lost need.  We can offer them the great news of Jesus Christ – a morsel that always satisfies.  We are called to share what we have.  When we give away our faith, strangely enough it grows in us too.  Bless another today with the gift of faith.

Scripture reference: Psalm 126


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To Judge or Not to Judge?

Paul cautions us not to judge others but to accept where they are in their faith journey.  When we do not judge we are more open to two important things.  First, we can more fully love then and, consequently, hold nothing back.  Second, we are open to both learning from them and to sharing what we know of faith to help them learn and grow as well.  Too often when we judge another we put up barriers in our heart and mind.

Yet in our human nature we seem to judge, to rank, to compare all too easily.  Although society is a place where tolerance increasingly reign, as a culture we still place a premium on our ‘position’ in life, on how much stuff or money we have, and so on.  This makes Paul’s caution all the harder to adhere to.  But with faith and trust in God we can work towards this ideal.

Judging is personally essential as long as it remains something we do for ourselves and not to ourselves.  We must judge the decisions and choices we face and make.  We must judge if we are growing in the faith and take steps to do so if we are not growing.  With others, love must reign, not judgement.  For love is the most excellent way!

Scripture reference: Romans 14: 1-12


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Won’t You Join Him?

In Matthew 16 Jesus names Peter ‘the rock’ – the foundation of His church.  Imagine what the other disciples were thinking?!  Remember, Peter was the loud, in-your-face, foot-in-mouth, act-before-you-think guy in the group.  But Peter was also the only one who stepped out of the boat and took a few steps on the water.  He was also the only one who went to Jesus’ trials before the authorities.  It was here that Peter denied Jesus.  But Jesus saw in Pater what no one else saw.  He knew the denials would be used to build Peter back up.  Jesus saw Peter for what he was to become – the rock.

We too are all chosen by God.  We too are all empowered by Christ’s indwelling spirit.  We too all possess gifts and talents that God has given us to build up the kingdom here on earth.  We are to work together as the church.

Jesus is inside each of us.  Jesus living in us brings tremendous power.  His Spirit leads us to build community, to help each other grow in our faith, and to bring others into the family.  Jesus brings strength, courage, and compassion to or lives.  He sees our potential and wants to work within us to develop that potential.  Jesus seeks to work in and through us – won’t you join Him?

Scripture reference: Matthew 16:13-20


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Within AND Without

Are you an ‘innie’ or an ‘outtie’?  Does your faith reside mostly inside of you, like a well-kept secret?  Or is your faith out there to be shared with all you encounter?  Each moment of our lives can either be a God moment or just a moment.  God is everywhere all of the time – try and find Him there!

Is your community of believers more of an innie or an outtie?  Is the community consumed with what’s going on inside the walls?Or does your church look outside to the world some of the time?  A healthy church does both.

Just as the church must focus both within and without, we too as a person of faith must look both within and without.  We each need time reading the Bible, praying, meditating, and fasting to grow in our faith.  As a community of believers we need fellowship and loving and caring relationships between the members of the body.

Personally and as a community of believers we need to also reach outside of our own personal space or the four walls of the church so that others can come to know this mighty and awesome God we love and that loves us.  Not everyone will enter a church to find faith.  Some find it in the experiences they have with us or with our church.  We must be both within and without.  It is not either/or.  It must be both!

Scripture reference: Psalm 133


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Bearers of the Greatest News Ever!!

We form a relationship with God in a personal way.  We also experience and welcome in the Holy Spirit in a personal manner.  But growth as we continue our journey of faith must be made within community.  This community is both within the walls of our churches and also outside in the big wide world.

We are all part of the body of Christ, each a valuable member.  As we live out a Spirit-led life, we participate in the mission of the church.  The man mission of the church is the transformation of the world.  Once we participate in this we begin to see what God has in store for our world.  These little glimpses of ‘heaven on earth’ fuel our desire to make disciples of all nations.

Just as we struggle from time to time with sin, so too do the people we are trying to reach.  They just do not yet know the power of Jesus Christ to defeat that sin and temptation.  We are called to sow seeds of faith into people’s lives so that they too can come to know the redemptive love of Jesus Christ.  May we be bearers of the greatest news we have ever heard to those who need to hear it today!

Scripture Reference: Romans 8: 1-11