pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Holy Spirit


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Testing the Lord

Reading: Exodus 17: 1-4

Verse 2: “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test”?

Somewhere along the line I once heard that it takes ten positives to overcome one negative. For example, at a dinner party I would need to receive ten positive comments to balance out or get past one negative comment. While the 10:1 ratio varies from person to person, it does illustrate the power of our words. Kind words build others up and unkind words tear others down. As followers of the Lord of love, we need to be speakers of kindness and love.

As the Israelites continue on their journey in the desert they camp at Rephidim, near Horeb. There was no water there so the people begin to quarrel with Moses. The whole conversation is a familiar refrain. We can read this into Moses’ words as he responds to their quarreling by saying, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test”? Moses is really questioning their trust in God. Do the people still not trust that God is in control and that God loves them? How many signs must you see? Clearly they have forgotten the parting of the sea and the bitter water becoming good and the quail and manna from heaven. All that God has done for them – it is now like none of that happened.

At that hypothetical dinner party the guests could rave about the appetizers and the starter salad, about the main dish and various sides, and so on. It is all wonderful until the “I didn’t like the ___” comes. All else is forgotten like it was never said. We are like this with God too. Our faith life can be great. Our daily time with God and our worship can lead us to feel that our faith is strong and that our relationship with God is really solid. We feel loved and we know our place as a child of God. And then something negative happens or a challenge arises. It doesn’t even have to rise to the level of losing a job or a loved one. It can be a smaller thing – like someone else getting the promotion or not making the team. Suddenly we are questioning God and his love and care for us. We quickly forget all the other blessings and ask, “Why all these good days, only to endure this”? Oh, how we too must test the Lord our God at times.

In those moments, may the Holy Spirit remind us of God’s abiding and deep love for each of us. May we trust that the sea will part, that the water will come from the rock, that God will provide. In faith may we walk with the Lord day by day. Amen.


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Forgive

Reading: Matthew 18: 21-35

Verse 33: “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you”?

Today’s parable in about forgiveness. It begins with Peter asking Jesus how many times he needs to forgive a brother who sins against him. Peter suggests seven as the limit. That would have been a generous number – far beyond the expectations of the day. This number remains far beyond the norm today as well. For one of us to forgive a fellow believer even more than a few times would be considered extreme in today’s world.

Jesus’ response must have shocked Peter so much that Jesus has to tell a parable to explain his answer of 77 times. In the parable a king is owed 10,000 talents – millions of dollars in today’s economy. The servant is unable to repay the debt so the king prepares to sell the man and his whole family into slavery to repay the debt. This action is well within the letter of the law and was expected is such cases. The servant begs for mercy. In an act of great kindness, the king takes pity on the man and forgives the debt.

To this point the parable reflects our relationship with God. We rack up sin after sin in our lives. For example, I am often guilty of pride or wanting to be in control. The Holy Spirit makes me aware of my sin and I confess and repent. But these sins pop up over and over again. If seven times were God’s limit, I would have been condemned to hell long ago. In fact, even at 77, my condemnation would have been sealed long ago. But it is not. God’s love and mercy and grace are boundless, limitless, endless. That is Jesus’ point here: our forgiveness of others should reflect God’s grace with us.

To illustrate the cost of an unforgiving heart, the parable continues in verse 28. Fresh off being forgiven millions, the servant finds a fellow servant who owes him 100 denarii – a few dollars. Unable to repay him immediately, the second servant is thrown into prison. Fellow servants see this injustice and report it to the king. He calls the first servant, now called “the wicked servant”, back in. He asks, “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you”? Because of his lack of pity and mercy and forgiveness, the king’s pity and mercy and forgiveness is withdrawn and the servant is sent to prison to be “tortured” until he can repay the huge debt. Perhaps the debt is not just the 10,000 talents.

Our parable closes with a sober reminder: this is how God will treat us too if we do not “forgive your brother from the heart”. As we ponder this lesson, may we seek to forgive as we are forgiven, modeling the love of God.

Prayer: Lord God, when I am a little reluctant to forgive another, remind me of this story. Remind me again and again of your great love. Help me to forgive others as you forgive me – over and over and over and… Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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Do I Reflect Christ?

Reading: Romans 13: 11-14

Verse 12: “So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light”.

Paul’s overarching theme in Romans 13 is loving our neighbors. In today’s verses he focused on how our behaviors and choices impact our ability to love others. Paul begins by encouraging us to love others “understanding the present time”. He goes on to explain that Jesus’ return is closer today than it ever was. This remains true for us too. But there is also another angle to understanding the present times. We live in a much different world than Paul lived in. For example, words we leak out on Facebook or Twitter or Tik Tok or… can fly around the globe in seconds. Our words or video might not go viral, but they do color how everyone who knows us sees us from then on. If we do not understand that every one of us can influence others – for good and for bad – then we do not understand the present time.

In verse twelve we read, “So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light”. There are two parts to this admonition, both equally important to our ability to love others. The first part is to put aside evil thoughts and deeds. Paul lists sexual immorality and drunkenness right along with quarreling and jealousy. If we are promiscuous or abuse drugs or alcohol, if we are always disagreeable and argumentative, if we are always longing for what others have or just for more and more, then we have diminished our ability to even be able to love others. When we practice such evil deeds and selfish behaviors, others do not see us as people who are able to truly love. They see us as people working angles, as people only doing good for some selfish purpose. That is if they are even willing to be around us. Being a hypocrite – doing this thing and then trying to say another thing – is a relationship killer. The ability to love always begins with a relationship.

Instead of this, the second part of verse twelve calls us to “put on the armor of light”, which is Jesus Christ. The desires of the flesh have a strong pull. Jesus is stronger. By putting on Christ, by filling ourselves daily with his love, we are better able to be his love in the world. We are what we allow into our hearts. By filling ourselves with Christ instead of worldly thoughts and desires, Christ is what we reflect out into the world. If this is all people see in our words and actions, then we begin to have the opportunity to be love in the world. So, today, let us consider how we live. May we focus in on this simple question: Do I reflect Jesus Christ in all I say and do or do others see less in me?

Prayer: Lord God, help me to live more fully as your witness in the world. When evil thoughts rise up, shove them aside with a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit. When I am tempted by the things of this world, blow out the flames of desire with the quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit. Empower me today to be light and love in the world. Amen.


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I Will Be with You…

Reading: Exodus 3: 7-15

Verse 12: “And God said, ‘I will be with you'”.

In today’s passage we see the love and compassion of God for his people. In the first few verses we hear how God has “seen the misery”, “come down to rescue them”, and “have seen… the oppressing”. God has heard the cries of his people and has decided to act. As is most often the case, God will act through a person. God chooses Moses to go to Pharaoh to “bring the Israelites out of Egypt”.

In response to Moses’ self-doubt God tells him, “I will be with you”. God does remain present to Moses from that day forward – in numerous trips before Pharaoh and through many trials and rebellions in the wilderness. God remained Moses’ constant. Many years later God was a constant presence again. Born of the virgin Mary, God became one of us. As Jesus Christ, God lived out what he told Moses: “I will be with you”. The same love, the same compassion, the same empathy lived among humanity. God’s action took the forms of bringing wholeness to physically and/or emotionally and/or spiritually broken and hurting people. It led people to a new or renewed connection to God and to community. Jesus brought people out of their darkness, isolation, brokenness, and sin. He broke the chains of slavery – of sin and death – so that we could live in right relationship with God. Jesus died to accomplish this victory.

His death was not the end of the story. Jesus gifted us with the Holy Spirit. In the giving of the Holy Spirit to dwell in each believer’s heart, Jesus says, “I will be with you – forever”. The Holy Spirit is our constant presence of God in our lives. The Spirit leads us just as it led Moses, just as it was lived out by Jesus. Our Christlikeness, our creation in the image of God – these lead us to see the misery of the people, to go to rescue them, to work to end their oppression, to hear their cries. This day and every day may Christ within us lead us out into the world to share God’s love, compassion, and empathy, to help others know the God who promises, “I will be with you”. May it be so.

Prayer: Loving God, just as you hear and see and feel and act, help me to do the same. Lead and guide me to be your love in my world. Use me as you will. Amen.


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When God Calls…

Reading: Exodus 3: 1-6

Verses 4-5: “God called, ‘Moses, Moses’! And Moses said, ‘Here I am’… God said, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing is holy ground'”.

Today we hear the beginning of Moses’ call story. It is God’s first direct reach out to Moses. God has certainly been present in Moses’ life – guiding Pharaoh’s daughter to find the basket and to be moved by compassion. God was there when Moses stood up for his kinfolk and was there guiding him to flee, preserving his life. We all encounter God in similar ways. God closes and opens doors for us, for example, to help guide our lives. God’s Holy Spirit leads us in our decisions of both action and inaction. God is always present and engaged in our daily lives. Out tending the flock, God comes close to Moses.

There on Mount Horeb, we read, “God called, ‘Moses, Moses'”! God called and Moses responded. Prerequisite one to being called is to have a relationship with God. Moses knew God and he recognized that it was God calling. The next necessary step is the response: “Here I am”. Like I do from time to time, Moses could have skipped this step. The burning bush probably helped. I too pay better attention to God when something in my life is on fire. But not always. In the day to day of life – especially in the day to day of life – when I am out there tending to the ordinary, I can miss the extraordinary. Moses is told that he has come close enough. As the story continues, God says, “Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing is holy ground”. The sand and rocks there on the mountain were not holy because of themselves. They were holy because of a holy God’s presence.

We also can encounter God in the ordinary, in the regular places that become holy because God has shown up. It can be in nature – by a pure mountain lake, beside the ocean, on a path through the wildflowers. It can be in a church. But it can also be in the grocery store aisle or at a concert or event. Our limitless God is not bound by time or physical spaces. Anywhere and anytime we can experience the holy. Our questions are these: when God calls our name, are we attuned enough to hear and are we courageous enough to say, “Here I am, Lord”?

Prayer: Omnipotent and omnipresent God, keep my eyes wide open and my heart fully in touch with you. Guide the Holy Spirit within me to lead me to walk in your ways and to practice your will and purposes for my life. May it be so. Amen.


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Heart Condition

Reading: Matthew 15: 10-20

Verse 18: “The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean”.

In response to the Pharisees, Jesus addresses what it is that makes a person ‘unclean’. A person who was unclean was cut off from or had to live outside of community. In terms of faith, it meant separation from God. For the Pharisees being clean or unclean boiled down to whether or not one followed all of the law. For Jesus, being clean or unclean came down to the condition of one’s heart.

At the start of chapter fifteen the religious leaders question Jesus about the disciples eating without following the ceremonial cleansing rituals. They did not properly wash their hands before they ate. The implication was that the disciples were now unclean. That meant seven days outside the temple, seven days outside of community – according to the religious leaders. Responding to their lack of understanding, he says, “The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean”. Jesus bases the condition of our relationship with God not on what we eat but on what our heart is filled with. The “dull” disciples are sharp enough to know that these words jab at the religious leaders. Their man-made traditions and overemphasis on following the law of Moses has left them with a rule following, box checking religion. But no faith.

Today’s passage calls us to consider the condition of our heart. Does your heart contain some of what Jesus lists in verse nineteen – evil thoughts, false testimony, adultery, slander, theft? Or perhaps others – gossip, greed, lust, jealousy, pride? Or maybe doubt, fear, worry, stress, anxiety? What we have in our hearts will eventually come out of our mouths. Jesus’ point here is more about what is in our heart than about what comes out of our mouth. In the heart is where sin is born or is where we choose to stomp it out. If, instead of filling our heart with evil, what if we fill it with love and compassion, with mercy and grace, with generosity and a vent towards service, with kindness and self-control? Then there is less room for sin and evil.

What is the condition of your heart?

Prayer: Lord God, fill me daily with your word and your will. Send the Holy Spirit to whisper words of life into my heart. Guide me to be filled with your love so that I can be love in the world. Amen.


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Walk on in Faith

Reading: Genesis 22: 1-14

Verse 8: “Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering'”.

Our passage from Genesis 22 is one of those stories of faith that we read and wonder if we could do what that Biblical hero did. For me, this passage is right up there with David facing Goliath, Daniel facing the lions’ den, Esther facing the king, and Peter taking that step out onto the water. When our faith feels strong, these are actions we too could take for God.

Abraham has had a long story with God. As a young man he was asked to trust God and, as he left his father’s homeland, it began a long walk with God. After many years the promise of a son came true when Abraham was 100 years old. And now, just over 110, God asks for Isaac as a sacrifice. It is not to occur then and there. No, Abraham must make a three day journey first. This in itself would test many of us and would push us to the brink – walking for three days with nothing to pray and think about other than offering your only child. Abraham walks on in faith.

As they begin to head up the mountain, Isaac has put the pieces together – wood, fire, knife… He asks Abraham, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering”? That question might have been enough for me to turn and head back down the mountain. But in an awesome testament to his faith Abraham says, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering”. Again, Abraham walks on in faith.

Today, as we consider this story, what step of faith is God calling you to take? Reflecting on how God has been with you as you have stepped out before, how will you begin to walk forward in faith today?

Prayer: Lord God, as a new chapter opens, grant me the courage to step forward in faith and trust. Help me to lean on you in moments of fear or doubt. Guide me by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.


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Radical Hospitality

Reading: Genesis 18: 1-8

Verse 2: “When he saw them, he hurried… to meet them and bowed low to the ground”.

The church service has run long again and there won’t be much time before the next mini- congregation enters the sanctuary for their time of worship. You know from past similar experiences that the line will now be extra long at your favorite brunch spot. And your tummy is already growling. When the pastor finally says the last “Amen” you are ready to bolt for the exit. It is then that you spot that new young couple you saw moving in a couple houses down your street.

As Abraham stood at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day, he was probably weighing a little nap versus going back out there in the hot sun. It was then that he saw three men standing nearby. Instead of a quick wave on the way to ducking into his tent, we read that this was his response: “When he saw them, he hurried… to meet them and bowed low to the ground”. Abraham welcomed them into his presence and extended generous hospitality. He asks them to stay, bringing water to wash their feet. He invites them to rest in the shade of the tree while having the finest bread and tenderest calf prepared. When this is ready, he serves it with milk and curds. Abraham offers the best that he has to these three strangers.

Would you pretend that you did not see the young couple and rush off to brunch with the regulars? Would you wave and point at your watch, adding a little shrug as you head the other way? Or would you make your way over to them, introduce yourself, and welcome them to the neighborhood and hopefully to the church? Would you, like Abraham, go the extra step to offer them some choice food and drink, extending an invitation to begin a relationship?

As we will see as we continue to read tomorrow, when and perhaps because Abraham extended radical hospitality, he experiences the divine. As we make the choice to offer radical hospitality, maybe we too will experience the power and might of the Holy Spirit working in and through us. May it be so for our churches and for each of us as well.

Prayer: Holy Lord, lead me today to be like Abraham, choosing to offer all of myself to others today. May I give the very best that I can. Meet me in that space, O Lord. Amen.


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Trust and Pray

Reading: Acts 1: 6-14

Verse 8: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you”.

Now that Jesus has completed his earthly ministry, maybe now is the time that the mighty, kingly Jesus will appear to restore Israel to its glory. The disciples ask if the time is now. Jesus plainly tells them that it is “not for you to know” when Jesus will return in glory. It will not be as a great warrior in the way they are imagining. Instead of worrying about the future, Jesus focuses them in on the task at hand: to continue his ministry of transforming the world.

But the task will not begin right now either. Jesus tells them, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you”. He builds their anticipation and tells them what they will do – soon. Then Jesus ascends into heaven and their waiting begins. As these followers of Jesus return to Jerusalem, they gather together in constant prayer. Yes, they must certainly have been excited at the prospect of being filled with the Holy Spirit. They might not know exactly what that will be or look like, but they do know that they will be empowered to witness to their faith in Jesus.

In the time of waiting, they pray. Although we should turn to prayer as our first option, this is not always our first response. We can sure worry a lot or we can be overcome with doubt. We can decide we are not going to wait and we will try and take charge ourselves. Some of the time we can even get angry or mad at having to wait. The followers of Jesus had learned well from him. In the waiting, they pray. They can do this because they trust in Jesus. In our waiting may we do the same: trust and pray.

Prayer: Dear God, sometimes it is hard to wait, to be patient. Yet at times we must, I must. When I struggle, Lord, remind me to first trust in you, to wait in you. Then turn my heart to prayer. Amen.


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Daily Made New

Reading: 1 Peter 3: 13-22

Verse 21: “This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also… the pledge of a good conscience toward God”.

Peter touches a little bit on the idea of being saved through the water in today’s passage. In verse twenty he recalls Noah and family and how they were saved through the water. They were saved but all others perished as God, in a way, started over. In the next verse Peter speaks of baptism, using the story of Noah as a metaphor for baptism. In verse 21 he writes, “This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also… the pledge of a good conscience toward God”. Our journey of salvation begins as we “enter” the family of God. For many traditions this begins with infant baptism. For some water is also used in infant dedication. Both of these practices acknowledge that the child or person is a child of God and the process invites the Holy Spirit to be a part of that new life in Christ.

Baptism in the early church was also very symbolic. It was a part of the profession of faith. Adults and often their children would profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and then they would be baptized. Just as with Noah, the waters that they were immersed in were seen as cleansing – the waters would wash away the old self and one would emerge as a “new creation” in Christ. The Holy Spirit would be a part of the process – sometimes falling upon the person, leading them to be baptized, and sometimes it would fall upon them after being baptized, as it did with Jesus. As is the case with baptism today, the event marked the beginning of the faith journey. That is the “pledge” part of today’s key verse. It was not ever about just being made clean and then being done with it. The battle with sin does not end in this lifetime. The act of dying to self begun in baptism is one repeated over and over. Our journey of faith continues forever.

Peter connects baptism to salvation. Once we profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are “saved”. Our souls are saved for heaven. “Saved” becomes our status. Part of our salvation is justification and part of it is sanctification. Justification is simply being made right with God. Each time we come to God and confess and repent, we are being justified as we are forgiven and made new again. Sanctification is being made more like Jesus. As we wrestle with sin and continue to die to self over and over, we are becoming more and more like Jesus. These two processes are constant parts of our journey of faith. All of this is done in and through Christ. Thanks be to God that daily we are being made more like Jesus.

Prayer: Living God, just as you are alive, so too is my faith. In the living and the dying, my faith is always growing, being refined, shaping me into your son’s image. Thank you that I am a work in progress. Work in me today and every day. Amen.