pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: guilt


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A Community Effort

Reading: John 11:38-45

Verse 44: “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Photo credit: Wylly Suhendra

In the second half of our John 11 passage, Jesus moves into action. He says to no one in particular and therefore to everyone, “Take away the stone.” Practical Martha protests. Jesus draws her back to the spiritual: “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” And after a prayer to God, Jesus calls Lazarus out of the grave. The man dead four days walks out, still wrapped in his grave cloths.

This is one way that Jesus calls us back to life. But for almost everyone, he calls us back from spiritual or emotional death. We have fallen short and have sinned. We have separated ourselves from God and from one another. We come to a place of repentance and we are restored to a right relationship with God. But we still have our grave cloths wrapped around us. These take different forms: guilt, shame, remorse, regret. Often there are also real consequences that we must face. It is a very hard road to walk alone.

Jesus says, again, to no one in particular and therefore to everyone, Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” This last step of restoration is up to the community. It is something Lazarus cannot do on his own. It is something we cannot do on our own. To fully walk in the new life that Jesus offers, we need community. To restore our relationships, we need forgiveness and reconciliation. To begin to live again, we need welcome and engagement. Faith is a community effort. We are not always on the receiving end either. At times we will need to be the ones offering forgiveness… to others. May we be as willing to give as we are to receive.

Lord God, the community is such a beautiful thing. Walking together in faith is your plan and purpose for us all. Help me to be humble when I need forgiveness and restoration. Guide me to be generous when others need to receive. Bless your beloved community. Amen.


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Available to All

Reading: Romans 5:12-19

Verse 16: “The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.”

Romans 5 connects our Genesis 2 and 3 readings with the life and death of Jesus Christ. In verses 12-14 Paul reminds us that sin entered the world through Adam (and Eve). With sin came death. In the last part of verse 14 Paul identifies Adam as “the pattern of the one to come.” Yet, as Paul writes, “The gift is not like the trespass.”

Continuing on Paul explains that the trespass leads many to death. In verse 16 he writes, “The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.” Once sin entered the world, humanity faced condemnation. Sin and death and guilt began to reign in our lives. Until the gift came. The gift was God’s son, who came to earth to die on a cross for our sins. Jesus’ innocent life was the atoning sacrifice for all sin. His life paid the price for our sin. This gift brought justification – the process of being made right with God. Our sin and guilt is washed away by the blood of the lamb. Through the power of the grace of God, we are made new again.

There is a totality in the actions of both Adam and Jesus Christ. Sin came into all humanity through the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden. What flowed through their veins flows through all of our veins. Whether or not one is a believer, we are all prone to sin. That is all people’s human condition. At our base level we all look out for #1. There is also totality in Christ. Grace “overflows to the many.” It is available to all people. The offer of justification “brings life to all humanity.” There is no limit on God’s grace. It is available to all people. Just as sin touches all of our lives, so too can grace. This is how Jesus is the new Adam. This is the beauty of God’s love. It is not just for all who believe. It is equally strong and available to all who are lost in their sin. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, I am so grateful that your grace washes over me again and again and again. It is undeserved yet always available. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yet this is there for all people. I am so amazed at the limitless nature of your love and grace. It is for all people everywhere. This is truly amazing and wonderful. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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Washed Clean

Reading: Psalm 32

Verse 5: “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity… you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

In our Psalm today we find a pattern that we all know intimately and we find the truth that breaks or redeems this pattern. Like David, the author of the Psalm, we are familiar with sin. Some may think that as our faith matures, we sin less. We do, I believe, get a handle on many things that caused us to sin when we were less mature in the faith. However, as our faith matures, we come to understand more as sin. Things that we did not see before as sinful, suddenly it is sinful. For me, for example, gossip was one of those things. At a point I realized that this was sinful and that I needed to control my tongue. And physical age, which tends to parallel our “faith age,” brings with it challenges that often require greater faith – health issues, emotional changes…

No matter our age or the maturity of our faith, David names something that we all struggle with. Strangely it is not the sin itself. If one is truly repentant and seeks God’s help, then God will provide all that we need to overcome that sin. It is the guilt that we can struggle with. I may be able, with lots of help from God, to get a judgmental attitude turned around. The guilt for damage done remains though. This too I need to surrender to God. In verses 5 we find the promise: “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity… you forgave the guilt of my sin.” When we are honest with God and seek God’s power, then God not only forgives but also takes away our guilt. Now we may have work to do to restore or reconcile that relationship, but the stain or the guilt is washed clean by God’s love.

Fully forgiven, we get to the place that David is at at the end of the Psalm. The guilt and the weight of the sin removed, we know that God’s unfailing love surrounds us. We can rejoice in the Lord. We can experience joy and gladness as we lift our praises to God. What a wonderful Savior. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, you seek to walk with us daily. Beside us, you give us strength and courage. Beside us, you welcome our honest conversations and confessions. Through the life given by your son, you cleanse us and free us from the sun and guilt that we bear. Thank you for your mercy, for your grace, and for your great love. All my days may I praise your holy name. Amen.


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Great Love

Reading: Isaiah 12:1-3

Verse 2: “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song.”

Isaiah 12 is titled “Songs of Praise.” Today’s little snippet is about our relationship with God and the battle we have with sin. In a couple of days we will look at verses 4-6, a song of celebration and praise for what God has done and continues to do in our lives.

In verse 1 we read, “I will praise you, O God. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away.” This is a promise – both to the people of God then and to us today. The chapter begins with this line: “In that day you will say…” Isaiah is writing then about a day yet to come. As he writes these words, Israel is suffering the consequences of their corporate sin. At times I’ve been there. In my experience there comes a time when I am sinning that it is no longer fun or enjoyable or whatever. Sometimes it is quick, sometimes it is prolonged, but there is usually a time of regret and guilt. And once in a while, as it was with Israel in Isaiah’s day, there is a time of living with the consequences of my sin. Always, though, God’s great love restores and redeems me.

This is what Isaiah is speaking of in verse 2, where he writes, “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song.” When God comforts us and begins to draw us back into right relationship we know once again that God loves us unconditionally. Even though I turn my back on God again and again, God is ever there, waiting for me to face up to my sin so that I can once again turn my face to God. Our snippet today closes with these words of promise: “With joy you will draw from the water of salvation.” The depth of God’s love for us knows no bounds. With joy may we praise the Lord today for this great love!

Prayer: Lord God, even though my actions or inaction at times angers you, your love remains unconditional. You wait eagerly for me to turn away from my sin, to turn back towards you. Your salvation washes me clean once again and you invite me to continue my journey as a child of God. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this great love. Amen.


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Here Am I

Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

Verse 8: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?'”

Photo credit: Daniel Hooper

Imagine being in Isaiah’s place as chapter 6 opens! He has a vision or experience of heaven. He sees God on the throne, “high and exalted.” There are magnificent creatures, called “seraphs,” hovering above the throne. These beings with 6 wings sang in powerful voices, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is filled with God’s glory.” Their song shakes the doorposts and thresholds of heaven. What an amazing and powerful experience!

Suddenly, right in the middle of this splendor and might, Isaiah has a realization. He does not really “fit” in this perfect place. Discomfort riding, he blurts out, “Woe is me! I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips.” Have you ever felt really out of place before? As the realization sunk in perhaps you too thought, “Oh no…” Isaiah also extends this thought to the people that God has sent him to. They are “a people of unclean lips.” Double trouble!

Yet God, our God of compassion and mercy and grace, recognizes Isaiah’s distress. One of the seraphs takes a live coal and touches Isaiah’s lips – those unclean lips – and says, “Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” He is made right, able to stand holy and pure before God in that moment. It is like the moment when we’ve confessed and repented and take in the juice and the bread. Then too we stand for a moment perfect in God’s site.

Into this moment God asks, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” God needs a servant. God needs someone to minister to these people of unclean lips. This same needs exists today. Isaiah responds to God’s plea, saying, “Here am I. Send me.” May our response be the same.

Prayer: Lord God, use me today to draw someone closer to you. By the power of the Holy Spirit living in me, send me to the one in need. There, give me the words that they need to hear. Amen.


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Living Under Christ

Reading: Galatians 3:23-25

Verse 23: “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the Law, locked up until faith should be revealed.”

As we join Paul in Galatians 3 he is guiding people to transition from living under the Law to living under Christ. This is a transition almost all believers make (or should make). This is a very hard transition – harder the longer one lives under the Law. Paul knows this from his own experience. He described himself as a “Pharisee of Pharisees.” The Pharisees were known to keep the Law and to look down harshly on those who failed to keep all of the Law. These folks remain in many of our churches. Yet this All-Star Pharisee was changed and can look back on those days and can write, “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the Law, locked up until faith should be revealed.” Prisoners… Locked up… No one could ever keep all 600+ laws all the time. One was always guilty of something.

In the next verses Paul writes of how one is freed from prison. Freedom comes through faith in Christ. Through faith in Christ as Lord and Savior we are justified – made right before God. Forgiven in and through the blood of Jesus, we are no longer held captive to our sin or to its associates, guilt and shame. In Christ we are forgiven. No longer under the Law, we fall under Christ’s leadership and example, allowing Jesus to be our “supervisor”, our lead and guide.

As immature Christians we can struggle with this transition. I can remember the struggles I had. Starting to grow out of my parent’s faith and into a faith I could claim for myself, I saw faith as a list of do’s and don’ts. A faith that checks off this box and avoids checking off that box – that is not uncommon. It is present in our churches today. Long time, every Sunday attenders sit in their place for an hour and walk out the door unchanged, unchallenged, uninspired. They came in intending to check that box off the to-do list. Walked through the door and checked off that box.

A mature faith is so much more. A mature faith lives the way of Jesus Christ, not the way of the Law. A mature faith seeks to be changed, transformed more and more into the image of Christ day by day. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, strip away my people-pleasing nature and replace it with a Jesus-pleasing desire. Lead me to a place of full surrender to your will and your ways, O God. May you truly be my audience of one. Amen.


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Darkness

Readings: John 18:25-28 and Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Verse 5: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.”

In the story line of Holy Week, by Friday morning Jesus has been arrested in the garden, has been found guilty by the religious leaders, and is brought to Pilate in the early morning. During the late night hours Jesus remained at Caiaphas’ house. Tradition has it that these hours were spent in a dungeon. It was a time alone, spent in a dark place. Perhaps this is what we read of in Isaiah 53:3 – “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” During this time, Peter will deny even knowing Jesus. Three times.

In spite of the rejection, the denial, the persecution, Jesus still chooses the cross. Isaiah 53:4 says, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.” The weight of the cross itself isn’t the only thing Jesus carried to Golgatha. As the early morning progresses, Jesus is sentenced to death by crucifixion. His body will be nailed to the cross in the third hour – about 9 am. In Isaiah 53:5 we read, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.” The nails pierced his skin, the weight of the sin of the world lay heavy upon the innocent one. Verse 10 reminds us, “the Lord makes his life a guilt offering.” Verse 12: “he bore the sins of many.”

At noon darkness falls over the land. As our iniquities sit upon Jesus, all of creation mourns. Pouring out his life for us, Jesus breathes his last at about 3 pm. The body will hastily be placed in Joseph’s tomb – the Sabbath begins at sunset. All feels lost. All is wrapped in sorrow and grief. The incarnate one is dead.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for walking this difficult path for me and for all of humanity. You are familiar with our iniquities and suffering. Yet you chose love. Thank you. Amen.


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Living Beyond

Reading: Joshua 5:9-12

Verse 9: “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.”

The Israelites journey out of Egypt began at the sea, where God parted the water for the people of God and then swallowed up the source of their fear (Pharaoh’s army). Just before today’s passage the Israelites once again crossed over on dry land as God parted the Jordan River. Once across, the adult males are circumcised. This physical act is a sign of belonging, of belonging to God and to one another.

In our opening verse God says, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Forty years removed from slavery in Egypt… forty years of being led by, provided for, cared for in the wilderness… and the shame and disgrace of slavery still remains? Yes it does. The same can be true for us. The grief of a difficult loss never totally goes away. The sting of rejection or the pain of other tragic events is always just below the surface. In some cases, these things can come to define us. For the Israelites, they could only enter into the joy and blessing of the Promised Land if they put the reproach of Egypt behind them. The same is true for us.

What allowed the Israelites to do so? What enabled them to begin living into God’s blessings and promises instead of in their past? The people of God celebrated the Passover – the defining act of God’s love for them. Celebrating God’s love and grace in their promised land allowed the people to begin living in that place. What allows us to begin living beyond our grief or pain or loss or…? It begins as we remember when we passed through the waters of our baptism, when we were marked and sealed with the Holy Spirit, our symbol of belonging. It continues as we are fed, cared for, loved on, redeemed by God. Each act, however small, builds our trust in God. Through faith we are each empowered to step forth into the world, assured of God’s presence, power, and grace. Doing so we can live as beloved children of God, equipped to include others into this amazing family of God. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, when I get drawn back to that thing – whether it was something I did or if it was something done to me – remind me that I belong to you. Flood my soul with thoughts of how you’ve lived me, cared for me, comforter me… again and again and again. Fill me so that I can step back out into the world, seeking to share your light and love with a world in need. Amen.


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Set Free to Serve

Reading: Hebrews 9: 11-14

Verse 14: “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ… cleanse our conscience from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.”

Drilling down a little deeper into the passage that we began to work with yesterday, today we focus in on the new covenant. In the Old Testament sacrificial system the blood or ashes of sacrificed animals made the people ceremonially clean. Through these sacrifices the people were made outwardly clean and could return to communal life. The life of the animal paid the atoning price for their sin. But the guilt and the shame and the regret remained; the forgiveness was never complete. The sin remained a mark on them. Yes, it was ceremonially covered by the blood or ashes of the animal, but the blemish remained.

In verse fourteen we read about the difference made in the new covenant. Here we read, “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ… cleanse our conscience from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.” This unblemished, perfect sacrifice chose to die in our place, taking upon himself the sins of the world. Jesus’ blood, poured out in perfect sacrifice, washes away our sin and the guilt, shame, regret, doubt, fear… connected to our sin. Through the new covenant we are not only forgiven but we are made new. Our sins are no more according to God. Our sins are washed away; no blemish or mark or spot remains. We are made new again, holy and perfect in God’s sight. At least for a time we stand as the image of Christ himself.

The new covenant allows us to go forward to “serve the living God.” We are freed to go out as Christ in the world, offering his words of wholeness, healing, and restoration to others. This gift of mercy and grace and forgiveness and redemption is not ours to simply sit on or to cherish for ourselves. This great gift is ours to share, to proclaim to the world. Christ has set us free! May we share this good news today!!

Prayer: Loving and living God, consuming fire, cleanse the sun from my life. Draw me into your deep grace and fill me with it so that I can bring grace out into the world. As I have been reconciled, use me to reconcile others to you and to one another. Amen.


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Set Free!

Reading: John 8: 31-35

Verse 31: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples”.

Photo credit: Pablo Heimplatz

In this passage from John 8, Jesus is talking about the freedom we find in Christ. In our text today he is speaking to some Jews who has believed in him. Because of some hard teachings they have fallen away. In the opening verse he says to them, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples”. To be a disciple one must follow the teachings and the example of the teacher or rabbi. In this case, it was Jesus.

The Jews were people of the Law. The words of Moses and future religious leaders guided all of life. By Jesus’ day the following of the Law – over 600 statutes – had become one of two things. For the select few who could adhere to the Law, it became a source of pride and exclusion. For all else it became a burden – something impossible to attain, something covered in guilt and shame. While Jesus did not come to abolish the Law (Matthew 5:17), he did come to reveal the heart of the Law: to love God and to love neighbor. These two commands were the heart of the Law. According to Jesus, all of the Law hung on these two (Matthew 22:40).

Trying to live under the Law, many were “slaves” to sin. They were always worried about breaking some law and they were ever being reminded to do and be better. This led to many being outside the family, outside the temple or synagogue, outside the community of faith. Jesus offered and still offers a better way. In and through the blood of Jesus we are set free. If we are in Christ sin no longer has the power to condemn. In faith we are forgiven and cleansed, restored back into family. The guilt and shame that kept one outside are no more. Jesus wants all people to understand this gift. Because of the blood of Jesus Christ we are set free. This is the truth that Jesus offers. It is our truth. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, you are the way and the truth and the life. Your love breaks every chain and ushers me into the family of God. In you is freedom; in you is hope. Thank you Jesus! Amen.