pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: humanity


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Living Out Love

Reading: Hebrews 2:10-18

Verse 14: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity.”

Our text from Hebrews focuses on Jesus’ connection to us, to his brothers and sisters. Our connection begins in the garden, where God formed humankind in God’s own image. Perfection fell away quickly as temptation led to sin and to a new dynamic in our relationship with God. From that point on, temptation and sin would be part of our human nature. At just the right moment, God came in the flesh. Jesus, God incarnate, came and lived among our sin and suffering, among the pain and brokenness of life. Verse 14 puts it this way: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity.”

In order to be the provision for our sin Jesus had to know what he was dying for. He had to know the depth of our need. Jesus had to be made like us “in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest” for us in heaven. Because of this experience Jesus can intercede for us and can stand between us and God’s wrath over our sin. And because of this experience, Christ “is able to help those who are being tempted.” Because he too felt temptation, in Spirit he helps us in our battles with sin. In Spirit, Christ is right there with us.

In his earthly life Jesus was face to face with suffering and hardship. Here too is another connection. In love he fully engaged this side of life. Jesus touched the sick and the unclean. He walked and ate with the outcasts and the shunned. Christ sought relationship with those outside the family of God. Jesus identified all of these as the ones he came to save, as the ones that he shared humanity with. Being brothers and sisters with Christ, may we too seek to live out love, caring for and ministering to the needs among us.

Prayer: Lord God, I am so grateful that in Christ you came and lived among us, experiencing all aspects of this life. You know our weaknesses and our proclivity towards self. In response you gave life for our sins and then you gifted us the Holy Spirit, your presence alive in our hearts. In and through this we find life – both here and now as well as one day in eternity. May my grateful response be to love as you love, especially amongst those most in need of your love, mercy, and care. Amen.


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Witness and Bring Near

Reading: Psalm 65

Verse 4: “Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts.”

Psalm 65 is written by David and is a celebration of God’s presence, provision, and blessing to the Israelites. These words are written within the context of the Israelites being God’s “chosen people.” They saw themselves as a people set apart from the world. Many of the laws in the Torah were meant to keep them to themselves lest they become tainted by the pagans around them. When David writes, “Blessed are those you choose,” he is speaking into this context. As the Bible, the story of God’s love for humanity, continues to evolve and grow, we see a widening of the circle. As Christians we believe that God’s love is unending. That means that God chooses everyone. God wants all people to be a part of the family of God. This is perhaps best illustrated in Jesus’ final command: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

The blessings and provision and presence of God that David reflects upon in the Psalm are available to all who worship God. God hears our prayers, forgives our transgressions, performs awesome deeds, gives hope, and enriches the earth abundantly. In these ways and more God seeks to “bring near to live in your courts” all of humanity. This is true for you and for me and for all people. This day, as we live with the Lord, may we too “shout for joy and sing,” bearing witness to our God so that all people may hear the invitation to know the Lord our God.

Prayer: Lord God, use my words and actions today to reveal your love to those who do not know you. Lead and guide me to reflect your love and care to all people, drawing them towards a relationship with you. Amen.


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Greater, Stronger

Reading: Joel 2:28-32

Verses 28 and 32: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people… Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Continuing in Joel 2 today we see again that the text is the promise of a better day for Israel. It speaks of a day yet to come for God’s people. Yet for us, it is a day and time that has come in some ways. These promises of “one day” are a reality for our day today.

In verses 28-29 God promises to “pour out my Spirit on all people.” With this Spirit, all of God’s people will dream dreams and see visions. To me this has happened in two ways. First, God took on flesh and revealed the spirit of God to humanity. In and through Jesus we have an example of God’s love, grace, and mercy lived out in human form. In Jesus’ words and teachings he cast the vision and shared God’s dream for a kingdom here on earth. And then, on the day of Pentecost, God came again in the form of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus had promised, God in the flesh became God in the Spirit, dwelling in the hearts of all who called on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This second revelation of Christ comes in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.

Then verses 30 and 31 speak of the day when Christ will return in glory to achieve the final victory. This third revelation of Christ will be both a “great and dreadful day.” In verse 32 we read, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But not all will call on the name of the Lord. Some will rely on self and on the things of this world. This day will be dreadful for them. Only the faithful – those whose faith declares Jesus as Lord and Savior – only they will be delivered to glory.

Yesterday we read of the wrath of God, that which brought locusts and led to exile for Israel. We too live under God’s wrath. We experience hardship and suffering and separation when we choose to live in sin. But God’s love is greater than God’s wrath. God’s love is stronger than our sin. In grace God seeks to rescue us. In mercy God seeks to restore us back into right relationship. There, deliverance is ours. May we all call on the name of the Lord, the God who saves. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, you remind me today that the power of your love far exceeds my ability to sin. So your grace can always wash away my sin. You remind me that the depth of your mercy far surpasses the brokenness of my humanity. So your mercy ever calls me back to you, restoring me to right relationship with you. Thank you, God. Amen.


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Our Mediator

Reading: 1st Timothy 2:5-7

Verse 5: “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Photo credit: Brett Jordan

In today’s verses from 1st Timothy 2, Paul shifts gears to our ultimate authority. Part of our reality is that we live under human leaders. As good as the best leaders are, they all have flaws and shortcomings. None on this side of heaven is perfect. But God is perfect. God is all-knowing and all-powerful, good and just, loving and merciful. And no matter what comes or happens in this world, God is in control of all things.

Because humanity is flawed and God is perfect, there is a sort of gap between God and us. It’s not a physical or spiritual gap – maybe more of an understanding gap. Sin, evil, death – these are foreign to God’s character. God knows what they are (as the creator God designed and made all things) but God has never nor will ever experience them. As flawed and imperfect creatures, we experience sin and evil all the time. We brush up against death and will one day know it personally. Into this gap Jesus came. He did not come as one who was all-knowing, all-powerful… Jesus came and lived as a humble servant. Although he was without sin, Jesus experienced life in the flesh. He felt our emotions, our joys, our sorrows, our temptations, our pain, our struggles.

In verses 5 we read, “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Because Jesus came in the flesh, the risen Christ can stand as our mediator. Jesus Christ intercedes for us. He stands between God and our sin and pleads our case, helping God to understand, a little bit at least, our flaws and failures. Jesus reminds God of the choices to come and live among flesh and to “give himself as a ransom for many.” Jesus Christ is for you and for me. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the gift of Jesus. Your love was enough, flawed as we are, to lay aside glory and power to come in the flesh. Being one of us opened a new way to relate to us, to understand us, to close that gap. Thank you for a love that led to so great a sacrifice. You are a good, good God. Thank you, thank you. Amen.


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A Place of Spirit

Reading: Psalm 8:1-5

Verse 4: “What is humanity that you are mindful of us, the sons and daughters of God that you care for us?”

Photo credit: Greg Rakozy

In Psalm 8 David begins with a statement of praise. He ends with the same statement: “O Lord, our God, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” He bookends the Psalm with this phrase to emphasize the power and might of God over all the earth. As he continues, David acknowledges the glory of God revealed both in the heavens and in the praise that comes from “children and infants.” Against these two witnesses those who are “enemies” are silenced. Even they can see the glory of God revealed in these ways.

Moving into verses 3-5 we consider our role as sons and daughters of this majestic and glorious God. David, looking once again to the heavens, but also seeing other parts of God’s creation, asks the question: “What is humanity that you are mindful of us, the sons and daughters of God that you care for us?” As David takes in the scope of the “works of your fingers”, he is humbled. Yet at the same time David recognizes humanity’s place in the order of God’s creation. In the grand hierarchy, David identified humanity as “a little lower than the heavenly beings.” This place of spirit that David finds – humble yet aware of his place in God’s creation – it is a place that was inhabited by Jesus Christ himself as well. In humble service may we too seek to demonstrate our love of God and of all of creation. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, this day may I be filled with both a spirit of humility and a recognition of the ways that you ask me to build up your kingdom of love. May they work in harmony to bring you all the glory. Amen.


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Day by Day

Reading: Revelation 22:1:5

Verses 3 and 5: “No longer will there be any curse… the Lord God will give them light.”

Photo credit: Uta Scholl

As we turn again to Revelation 22 today, we read of a place we long for. The world will no longer be in bondage to sin and death: their “curses” will be no more. The “tree of life” will bring healing to the nations and people. All of humanity – people from all tribes, languages, races… – will gather and worship the Lord. Time as we know it will be no more: “the Lord God will give them light.” All will be lit by the light of the Lord. There will be no more darkness.

This picture of heaven, in all it’s beauty and grandeur, is a wonderful image to hold in our mind and heart. It is a place and time to look forward to, to find hope and peace in. But it is not just a future idea or image. It is also what Jesus spoke of when he talked about heaven drawing near and when we talk of building the kingdom here on earth.

Day by day, as followers of the Lord God, we seek to be light in the darkness and we seek to bring healing to this earth. We strive to restore relationships and to love all people – not just one another in the family of God. Sometimes we even fail at these two things. We too are part of the broken world, part of the “curse” at times. When we are, we pause and confess and repent, and we turn back towards the Lord’s light. We find healing for ourselves and then begin to walk anew, guided once again by holy light and pure love. Day by day may we draw closer to the Lord and to the realization of heaven here on earth.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to be a person of light. Use me to build up the presence of your kingdom here on earth. Let your light shine in and through me today and every day. Amen.


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Wheat and Chaff

Reading: Luke 3: 15-17 and 21-22

Verse 17: “His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn.”

Our passage from the gospel of Luke begins with John the Baptist answering questions about who he is. Clearly stating that he is not the Messiah, John explains who and what Jesus will be. John baptizes with water; Jesus will “baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” John even shares how much more powerful Jesus will be. John isn’t even worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals – a job reserved for slaves and servants. John isn’t even that when compared to Jesus.

In verse 17 John begins to describe who and what Jesus will be. Here we read, “His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn.” In processing grain, a farmer would separate the grain from the chaff – the useful from the useless, the good from the bad. In this illustration Jesus is not a farmer but the judge of our souls. The winnowing process begins here on earth. In his day Jesus differentiated between those who were faithful to God and those who were not. His words in the Bible and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives continues this process today. The parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46 describes the final sifting process and the criteria to be used when he returns in glory. Just as many read this passage and feel a bit uncomfortable, to too do many as they continue on in verse 17: “but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Taken as a whole this verse reveals the sharp contrast between being a follower of Jesus and being a follower of the ways of the world.

This reality is followed up by a truth. After being baptized, as Jesus emerges from the waters, God speaks over Jesus. In verse 22 we read, “This is my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” These words are for all sons and daughters of God. These are words that God desires to speak over all humanity. If God had God’s way, all people would come to a saving faith in Jesus, being baptized into the family and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. As we live our faith out loud in the world, may God give us the opportunity to introduce others to Jesus, building the kingdom of God in our world.

Prayer: Lord God, use me today to reflect your light and love, drawing others to you. Amen.


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Created

Reading: Psalm 104: 1-9, 24, and 35c

Verse 1: “O Lord my God, you are very great: you are clothed with splendor and majesty.”

Photo credit: Greg Rakozy

The psalmist is awed by God’s power and might. In verse one the author declares: “O Lord my God, you are very great: you are clothed with splendor and majesty.” There is a deep love for God that runs throughput this Psalm.

In the first few verses the psalmist sees God’s power and might in the heavens – in the lights, in the clouds, in the winds, and in the lightning. When one takes in the vastness of the stars and watches how the world works so intricately and precisely, just as God designed and created it, one cannot help being awed by God.

In the second set of verses the author reflects on God’s creative power and full control over the created world. God set the foundations of the earth and then established mountains and seas, valleys and rivers. All of our world was created, sculpted by the words and thoughts of God. In the opening nine verses the psalmist echoes much of the feeling found in the creation story of Genesis 1.

When one takes in these verses it’s easy to understand why the psalmist calls God “very great” and why he or she recognizes God as “clothed with splendor and majesty.” But why did God create and design as God did? In verse 24 we read, “The earth is full of your creatures.” All that God did was out of love for the creation. God’s final act in the creation story was to create humanity – that part of creation that God deemed “very good.” Created in God’s image we are the centerpiece of creation and of God’s love. Made in God’s image, we are created to reflect God’s love out into the world.

Our Psalm closes with these words: “Praise the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord.” In our day today, in all we think and say and do, may we praise the Lord, bringing all the glory to God.

Prayer: O God of power and might, of majesty and splendor, this day I praise your creativity and your love. All this – the vastness of creation, the amazing design – all this for those you created in your image. As one who bears that image, may I love all of creation well this day. Amen.


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Pure and Steadfast

Reading: Psalm 51: 10-12

Verse 12: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me”.

We return to Psalm 51 today. The Psalm comes from the messiness that has just occurred in David’s life. This is something we all experience. We cannot totally avoid sin – we are human.

Sometimes I think I could be less sinful if I lived an isolated life. If I were a monk or hermit maybe I’d sin less. But then I realize that my humanity would creep in. I’d get jealous of that monk who was recognized. I’d be angry that this other monk didn’t do his fair share in the garden. I’d long to be the one asked to lead this or that. Even in that monastic lifestyle I’d still struggle with sin. There too I’d have times when I failed to act, when I chose not to offer kindness, when I’d keep my gifts and talents to myself. I’d not escape these sins either.

David’s prayer for God to “create in me a pure heart… a steadfast spirit within me” needs to be my prayer too. Being pure and steadfast are always things I struggle with. Our section of Psalm 51 closes with these words: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me”. This verse follows David’s plea to not be “cast” away. Yes, our sin is ever before us. But so is God. Out of our repentance God will ever be right there to redeem and restore us. Yes, Lord, give us a willing spirit; sustain us all in this journey of faith.

Prayer: Lord God, so often I fail and yet your mercy remains. So often I harm our relationship or my relationships with others, yet your grace always abounds. Your love is so great. Thank you for loving me beyond myself. Amen.


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Wondrous

Reading: Ephesians 1: 1-10

Verse 4: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight”.

Today we begin a journey through Ephesians. I love the opening line: “To the saints in Ephasus, the faithful in Christ Jesus”. It is such a hopeful line! If someone began a letter to you or me with that line we’d be pretty happy, wouldn’t we? Well, Paul goes on to explain that God does choose all of humanity to be recipients of his love, mercy, grace… While this specific letter is written to the churches in and around Ephasus, the themes and truths apply to Christians everywhere.

In verse four we read, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight”. Not only does God bless those who hope in Christ, he has chosen us to be like him. Being created in God’s image we were made to be holy and blameless. Living in a fallen and broken world, we often fail to live up to this image. Paul addresses this too. Knowing the limitations of humanity, in love God planned for the coming of Jesus, the one who offers us “redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins”. God knew we would stumble and fall. So God lavished upon us his grace found in Jesus Christ. In his deep and abundant love God made a way for us fallen and imperfect beings to live in relationship with him and with one another. What wondrous love is this. May we share this love with all the world.

Prayer: Lord God, you chose me. You created me to be in relationship with you. You are holy and blameless. I am far from these things. Yet you love me and call me back into relationship over and over. What love. Thanks be to you, most wondrous God. Amen.