pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: heart


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Focus on the Good

Reading: Matthew 13:36-43

Matthew 13:43 – “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their father’s kingdom.”

Moving forward and inside the house, the disciples receive Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the weeds. Jesus (and now the Holy Spirit) plants good seeds in the hearts of Jesus’ followers. The evil one plants bad seeds that produce weeds. At the end of this “present age” the angels will come and harvest from the world “all things that cause people to fall away and all people who sin.” For these people, there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” in the “burning furnace” (hell.) “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their father’s kingdom.” The redeemed will exult in glory.

The disciples asked Jesus for an explanation because they did not get what he was saying. Jesus offers guidance and answers. At times we need guidance and direction. We don’t understand or we don’t know the next step to take. Jesus invites us to come to him, to ask him our questions. In prayer, we take them to the Lord. God responds to our prayers and through the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, we grow in our faith and in our trust in God. As we grow in these ways, we will “shine like the sun” in this present age, even as we wait with longing for our final redemption. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, focus our hearts and eyes on you and on the good in our world. It can be easy to get distracted, to focus on the evil all around us. So, Lord, keep us out of the weeds. Lead us to focus on being the good in the world, on shining your light into this world. Amen.


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Joy That Attracts

Readings: Psalm 119:111 and Matthew 13:1-2

Psalm 119:111 – “Your laws are my possession forever because they are my heart’s joy.”

In the opening verses of Matthew 13, Jesus heads out to the lake. We see that a large crowd came and gathered around Jesus. The lake can be a fun place to go, especially on a warm day. But the crowd was there because Jesus was there. He was the attraction.

Today social media alerts us to where our favorite food truck is that day or to who is having a flash sale that we do not want to miss. If we want to grab a coffee with a friend, a quick text or phone call can set that up. As we remember that almost all communication in Jesus’ day was by word of mouth, we have to wonder what drew a large crowd to the lake. For that matter, how did word of Jesus spread at all?

Verse 111 of Psalm 119 reads, “Your laws are my possession forever because they are my heart’s joy.” The psalmist loved God’s laws because they brought joy to his or her life. They want to hold onto this joy forever. God’s instruction, living by God’s will and way, this brings joy to our hearts as well. Do others see it or feel it in your life? Does our daily walk with Jesus and the Spirit lead us to overflow with joy (and love, hope, peace…)? I think those touched by Jesus spiritually and/or physically overflowed with joy because of how their encounter with Christ changed their lives. These stories are what drew the crowds to Jesus. May it be so for you and for me as well.

Prayer: Lord God, fill us with your joy today. Fill us so full that others sense it, see it, want it. Prepare us to respond when we are asked about our joy. Give us the words of witness that draw others in, that attract others to Jesus Christ. Amen.


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If So… If not…

Readings: Psalm 119:108 and Matthew 13:18-23

Psalm 119:108 – “Please, Lord, accept my spontaneous gifts of praise. Teach me your rules!”

Today’s verse from Psalm 119 expresses gratitude and a desire to know God more. The psalmist offers praise as an expression of thanksgiving and worship, which leads to a request for God to respond by revealing more of God to his or her heart. This is a great example of what it means to love the Lord with all of one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength. To love this way – it always seeks to deepen that love. With this example in mind, we turn to Matthew 13.

In verses 18-23 Jesus explains the parable that we read yesterday. Each soil type relates to both a person’s readiness to accept Jesus and to the outcomes of each type of “soil.” Considering the psalmist – at least in today’s verse – he or she would be “good soil.” They are grateful for their relationship with God and are eager to grow that connection deeper and stronger. Knowing God more, in turn, leads to making God more known. This is the bearing of fruit that Jesus refers to.

Are you like the psalmist? Do you thank God each day for all that God has done? Do you daily seek to know God more? if so, alleluia and amen! If not, what is the condition of your soil? And, even more important than honest assessment, how are you going to work the soil of your heart to better love God with all that you are? Maybe it begins with some spontaneous praise and thanksgiving. Maybe it includes a little more study, meditation, and prayer. Decide and act. It’s your soul!

Prayer: Lord God, each kindness, each blessing, each brush with the divine – all potential fertilizer for our faith. Lord, help us to realize this potential: slow us down, help us to pause and reflect on your presence in our lives. Lead us to rejoicing and thanksgiving, to awe and to praise. Ready our hearts to receive more and more of you. Amen.


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The Simple Way of Love

Readings: Matthew 11:16-19 and 25-26

Matthew 11:19b – “Wisdom is proved to be right by her works.”

Photo credit: Wylly Suhendra

Two kindergarteners were best friends. Just before Christmas break, one got a buzz cut – to look sharp for family pictures. Over break the other one got a buzz cut – so their teacher couldn’t tell them apart. One boy was Caucasian. The other was African American. We are not born knowing hate, prejudice, sexism, greed…

In the first part of this week’s gospel lesson, Jesus is lamenting how “this generation” misunderstood John the Baptist and even Jesus himself. When he says this, I think he’s looking at the religious leaders. This becomes clear in the second half of today’s reading. John was sober and very serious. He lived an austere life out in the wilderness. Yet the religious leaders said he was possessed by a demon. What demon would call people to repent of their sins?

Jesus, by comparison, was pretty social. Instead of taking up residence in the church, oops – in the wilderness – and waiting for people to come to him, Jesus went to where the people were. He ate and drank with those who needed to know God’s love. That included those looked down upon and shunned by the religious leaders. So they called Jesus “a glutton and a drunk.” To this “opinion,” Jesus replied, “Wisdom is proved to be right by her works.” Wait and see how God works in and through Jesus.

Speaking more directly to those with the power and authority of his day, Jesus thanks God for hiding who he truly is from those thought wise and intelligent. He thanks God, too, that his simple way of love is known by “babies.” There is a story about two kindergarteners…

Prayer: Lord God, the “wisdom” of this world leads us so far from who and what you created us to be. Sadly, sometimes the wisdom of religion also can lead us astray. Living as the world lives, there is little room for the way of love. Focused on self or on protecting an institution, there is no space for “the other.” Lord, like you always did, may we make space both at the table and in our hearts for those who are in need to love, belonging, worth. And, when needed, may we sit at their tables and be present there. Amen.


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Open Hearts

Reading: Matthew 10:5-23

Matthew 10:7 – “As you go, make this announcement: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.'”

Photo credit: Paz Arando

Having named and empowered the twelve, moving forward in chapter 10, Jesus gives the disciples instructions for when they go out into the world. The first is this: “As you go, make this announcement: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.'” We recall how Jesus did this in the ordinary, daily living of his life. In all that he said and did, Jesus proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God. His vocation was prophet, preacher, and healer. For some of us, ministry may be our vocation too. But for many it is not. Many are bankers or construction workers or nurses or stay-at-home parents or… Yet make no mistake, all who call on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are called to proclaim and to bring near to others the good news with our lives. While I do offer a message on Sundays and teach a small group here and there, much of the work of my witness to the world occurs outside of the physical church building.

As the passage continues to unfold, we note how Jesus tells us to go. Don’t take a bunch of stuff with you – all you need is in your heart. Don’t expect everyone to instantly commit their lives to Jesus Christ – maybe a few will but it is a process for most. Expect to be harassed and maybe even abused. The good news convicts sin. Change is hard. Move from place to place, person to person. Be present and meet needs – physical, emotional, spiritual… Trust that the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say in the moment. Trust that your compassion and love will touch many hearts, opening the door for Jesus to enter those hearts. As we work to bring near and to build the kingdom in our time and place, may the Lord bless the harvest!

Prayer: Lord God, open our hearts to your presence. Fill us with your Spirit and open our eyes to see those you place in our lives. Seeing, give us the words to say and show us the steps to take so that the list may be drawn to you. Use us today to bring the good news to the world. Amen.


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Pass Love On

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

Psalm 116:12 – “What can I give back to the Lord for all the good things he has done for me?”

Psalm 116 begins with a declaration of thanksgiving for God’s mercy. This gift of God is something freely given. It is something we cannot earn or buy. God’s mercy is rooted deeply in God’s love. To receive mercy and the grace and forgiveness that follows simply by asking God for it, this is truly worthy of our praise and thanksgiving!

Jumping to verse 12, we see the natural response to this gift of mercy. This is not something required by God. Instead, it is our natural response to God’s love. The psalmist asks, “What can I give back to the Lord for all the good things he has done for me?” He or she has been moved to respond out of a place of deep gratitude in his or her heart. This response reminds me of the words found in the chorus of the song “Pass It On.” We’re reminded that once we have experienced God’s love ourselves, we want to “spread his love to everyone, we want to pass it on.”

The psalmist lifts up the “cup of salvation” and calls on God’s name. These acts of worship are a means of sharing God’s love with others. The author also commits to keeping the promises he or she made to God. At a minimum, this would be to keep the two great commands to love God and neighbor. Years later Jesus also lifted up these commands as essential to living faithfully in this world. When love becomes the core of who we are and it leads and guides all that we say, do, and think, then our very lives reveal the love of God to the world. Living and loving faithfully, we pass on God’s love to all people.

Prayer: Lord God, your love and mercies never end. They are poured out over our lives again and again. Our hearts are warmed as we receive these abundant gifts. Set us afire, Lord. Make your love blaze in our hearts so that all we encounter can feel and experience your love moving in and through us and out into the world, out into their lives. Amen.


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Chosen and Blessed

Reading: Psalm 33:1-12

Psalm 33:5 – “The Lord’s faithful love fills the whole earth.”

Photo credit: Eugene Zhyvchik

Psalm 33 celebrates God both for God’s control over the earth and for the created world that God has made. The initial response to our God is to worship God – to shout joyfully and to give thanks as we sing praises. The response is partly because of who and what God is: good, faithful, righteous, and just. The response is also partly because of what God has done. “God spoke… There it was!” Creation was spoken into being. To take in our world, in all of its creativity and diversity, is to understand an all-powerful God. This understanding brings us humility as we stand in awe of our God.

The psalmist speaks of God’s plan and control in verses 10-12. Nations can plan and scheme. We can plan and scheme. But it is God’s plans that “stand forever.” Set in place since the beginning of creation, it is the plans of God that will endure. This is so because God is good and just and righteous… Within God’s plans we do not find greed or envy or any of the other selfish or sinful desires that tend to doom our plans and schemes.

In verse 5 we read, “The Lord’s faithful love fills the whole earth.” God’s love is all around us. It is there for the taking. It has the power to fill your heart and my heart. When we surrender to God’s love, when we allow ourselves to be and live as “people whom God has chosen,” then we are blessed and are “truly happy.” Surrendered and filled, we pour God’s love back out into the world. May it be so for you and for me, this day and always.

Prayer: Lord God, we, like all of creation, are the work of your hands. We can be as you are in the world – good, faithful, righteous, just… We can live as your chosen ones, aligned with your will and way. Lord, draw us again and again to that place of surrender, over and over to that place of humility. From this place of the heart, we offer our whole lives to you, all for your praise and glory. Amen.


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What If?

Reading: Matthew 9:18-26

Matthew 9:16 and 21 – “My daughter has just died. But come and… If I only touch his robe…”

In Matthew 9 we find two “what if?” stories. They are similar to Abram’s story: What if I follow where God is calling me to go? In reality, Abram did have a bit more to go on. God has spoken to him, promised to show the way, told him there would be blessing in the going. For the ruler and the woman, they’d likely heard that this Jesus was healing people. In a moment of need, their thoughts were something along this line: What if the stories are really true?

In Mark 5 and in Luke 8 we find more detailed versions of this story. The ruler is named Jairus. His daughter has died. In Matthew he says to Jesus, “But if you come and place your hand on her…” The woman, unnamed in all three gospels, has had a bleeding problem for many, many years. She thinks to herself, “If I only touch his robe…” Both of these stories are about hoping against hope, about taking a desperate leap of faith.

I think that in both cases, if either would have told others what they were going to do, there would’ve been ridiculed or worse. It might’ve been the same for Abram when he announced that he was leaving. And it might be the same for you or for me when we are willing to put all of our hope in the Lord. In the gospel, Jesus did come and lay a hand on Jairus’ daughter. She lived again. The woman did touch Jesus’ robe. She was healed. What if we were to follow the nudge, to hope against hope, to take a big step of faith?

Prayer: Lord God, the same question – what if? – can look large in our lives at times. We ask ourselves the same questions: Can I trust this to you? Can I take this risk, this big step? In these moments, O God, whisper into our hearts, speak into our fears, fill us with your guidance and direction. Lead and guide us to follow faithfully, no matter the risk, no matter the cost. Just like Jesus. Amen.


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Be My Witness

Reading: Acts 1:6-14

Acts 1:8b – “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

As we pick up today’s passage, the risen Jesus has been with the disciples for forty days. He has offered “many convincing proofs” that he has risen and is alive. Jesus has promised the coming “baptism” of the Holy Spirit. In response, the disciples ask Jesus if it us now time for him to “restore the kingdom of Israel.” Not exactly. Remember, nothing remotely like this has ever happened before. The disciples are learning on the fly. An ever patient Jesus replies, “Rather, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” The power is the Spirit of God within Jesus that gave him the words to say, that showed him the next steps to take, that guided all of his actions and decisions. That same power is about to fall upon these first disciples, empowering and equipping them in the same ways that the Spirit did with Jesus.

The Holy Spirit can work the same way in our lives. Once we surrender to Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of our hearts and lives, we too have this same power available to us. Jesus continues in verse 8, telling the disciples, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Note the expanding circles. The community of believers, the earliest “church,” will begin in Jerusalem. It will be tested by fire but will grow through the disciples’ witness. The disciples will go out into wider Israel, entering even Samaria, to witness to the good news. Eventually the apostles – Paul, Timothy, Silas… – will carry the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the known world. At each place, the power found in the story of Jesus will change hearts and lives. As the two men in white robes indicated, this work will continue until Jesus returns. We await that day. While we wait, we do so with the same charge as those first disciples: be my witness. So may we do as the first disciples did, sharing our stories of faith, building the kingdom of God here on earth. Lord, may it be so!

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the gift of your power and presence that lives in our hearts. Continue to use that presence to refine and shape us, to deepen our faith, and to guide our unfolding stories of faith. Use us as you used the first disciples, taking our stories of faith out into the world, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with all that we meet. Enter their hearts too, O God, drawing them to you. Amen.


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Only through Surrender

Reading: Acts 17:22-31

Acts 17:27-28 – “In fact, God isn’t far away from any of us. In God we live, move, and exist.”

Photo credit: Greg Rakozy

Returning to Acts 17 today we focus on God’s presence with us. To get the people of Athens to understand this, Paul begins where they are at. After walking around the city, Paul noticed that they are very “religious.” There are idols to many, many gods. He even finds one “To an Unknown God.” The Athenians are covering all the bases, just in case they missed one. This is Paul’s opening. He tells the council and others gathered to listen, “What you worship as unknown, I now proclaim to you.” Paul then begins to tell them about God, creator of everything. God is the giver of “life, breath, and everything else.” Paul is working towards God’s omnipresence – God everywhere, all the time.

In verse 27 Paul proclaims that God created humanity with a natural desire to seek him, “perhaps even reach out to him and find him.” This thought resonated with many of the Athenians just as it does today. We all want to understand life and to find meaning and purpose in this life. Paul speaks to this, saying, “In fact, God isn’t far away from any of us. In God we live, move, and exist.” God is near to us. In God we find all that we need. As he continues, Paul touches on an important aspect of faith in God. One cannot chase after this god and that god, seeking this here and that there. This has been the call to worship the one true God since the days in the wilderness. In verse 30 Paul tells the audience that God “directs everyone everywhere to change their hearts and lives.” To be in relationship with God, to experience God’s presence in Spirit, one must be willing to surrender one’s life to the Lord. Only through surrender do we experience the fullness of God’s love and grace. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to seek your presence today. Lead us to reach out to you. Guide our hearts to rest in your heart. In your presence may we experience the fullness of life – not only breath and existence but also meaning and purpose rooted in humility and service. Here we surrender all of ourselves to all of you. Receive us and change our hearts and lives each day, shaping us more and more into the image of your son Jesus. Amen.