pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: humility


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Whole

Reading: Psalm 147: 1-11 & 20

Verse Eleven: “The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love”.

The theme of a mighty and powerful and compassionate creator is continued from our reading in Isaiah 40 into today’s reading from Psalm 147. The psalmist’s initial response is to sing praises to God. The themes of caring for His people and healing and caring for the broken continue to resound in our passage today. In power and might God again counts and names the stars. The psalmist connects this action to God’s great understanding that has no limits. It is out of this understanding that the power and might of God remains a good thing, sustaining the humble and casting the wicked to the ground.

The idea of caring for the broken and sustaining the humble runs against the cultural norms of the day. In today’s secular world you must be bright and shiny and polished to be seen as successful or as having worth. Broken? In today’s secular culture being humble gets you nowhere. At least that’s what we’re told. Success and power in the world only comes from dominating those around you, doing whatever is necessary to ascend the ladder, and being proud of your success. Humble?

Yet we see in today’s Psalm that power and might can be present as we respond to our call as a child of God. It begins with our own experiences. From those times when God has come alongside or carried us we learn that true power and might is shown in caring for the broken and the weak. This also brings humility as we learn to do for others what God has done for us. It is a compassionate love brought in the name of our mighty and powerful God.

“The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love”. Through the ups and downs of our life we experience God’s faithfulness. Learning that God is the only one in control brings us a reverent fear of God. In humility we bow down and worship our God – so powerful yet attentive to each of His children. It is so because God desires wholeness in each of us. May we trust into God’s power and might to bring us a wholeness that rests upon hope. In response may our lives be living praise to the Lord our God.


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Repent and…

Reading: Mark 1: 14-18

Verse Fifteen: “The kingdom of God is near.  Repent and believe the good news”.

Jesus begins His earthly ministry in a similar manner to John the Baptist’s ministry.  Like John, Jesus calls the people to repent and then to accept the good news.  Repentance must come first.  We simply cannot walk with Jesus when we have sin in our lives.  Sin, by its nature, separates us from God.  Repentance requires a change in our lives.  Whatever the sin, it leads us away from God.  So if our desire is to be in a relationship with God, then we must turn away from our sin and resubmit our lives to faithful obedience.

As Jesus entered Galilee, the message He preached was all about repentance.  He said over and over, “The kingdom of God is near.  Repent and believe the good news”.  This theme continued throughout His ministry.  The woman caught in adultery heard this message as Jesus told her, “Go now and leave your life of sin”.  Zacchaeus pledges a new life as he promises to repay all that he has wronged.  Jesus responds by declaring that salvation has come to Zacchaeus that day.  Over and over Jesus calls us to leave our sin behind and to turn to Him.

Repentance is hard.  It would be easier to skip over this part of the passage.  Repentance requires admitting that we did something wrong, that we faltered.  This requires a certain amount of humility.  Pride and ego can get in the way.  Repentance also requires an honest look into ourselves, a searching if you will, to see the sin in our lives.  And lastly, it requires that we commit to being better, to walking a more holy life, to being more like Jesus.

Jesus sought disciples who were willing to put their old life behind them to come and follow Him.  It required a radical change in direction.  Simon and Andrew heard His call and began a new way of life.  It was risky and full of the unknown.  It required trust.  Repentance can bring us these same feelings as we choose to leave a part of ourselves behind and we are not sure where our new self will go.  Just as Jesus called the first disciples, He calls us as well.  Jesus is still seeking followers who are willing to orient their lives to a new way of living over and over.  The journey of faith never ends as our faith is always growing and developing.  The call involves risk for us too.  Are we willing to risk and to trust in wherever Jesus leads?  After all, the call is to come and follow.


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Humility

Reading: Luke 2: 1-20

Verse Seven: “… because there was no room for them in the inn”.

The birth of Jesus is full of humility.  It began in the incarnation – Jesus taking on flesh, leaving behind whatever form He had in heaven to become human.  Humility continued in the choice for parents – not someone rich or powerful of famous, but a virgin mother and a carpenter father from a tiny little village.  The humility continued in the journey – forced to take a 3-day trek at nine months pregnant because a man far away wanted to know how many subject she had.  They arrive in Bethlehem and face another humility – no family with space to take them in, no rooms left at any of the inns, so they find shelter in a stable – surrounded by stinky and probably pretty curious animals.  Welcome to your birth, Son of God.

Jesus will continue to demonstrate humility.  He will be baptized by a human man because that is how is is supposed to happen.  He will wash the disciples’ feet to show that the greatest must be willing to serve too.  Jesus’ ultimate humility comes in the trial, the beating, and the scorn of the  cross.  But this was also just another great act of love – just one more example of how to empty self in order to be able to give to others.  It is what Jesus was all about – showing others how much God loved them through how much He loves them.  There was no sin too great, no leper too unclean.  There was no soul too lost, no heart too hard that Jesus could not love and save.  In His heart, there was always room.  Yes, Jesus was born into humility, not “… because there was no room for them in the inn” but because this is what His whole life and witness was all about – being a humble servant.

This day, of all days, may we go and do likewise – showing all we meet the type of Savior we love.


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Big

Readings: Psalm 126 and Isaiah 61: 1-4 and 8-11

Key verses: “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy”. (Psalm 126:5) and “The Spirit of the Lord is on me… to preach… bind up… release… proclaim…” (Isaiah 61:1)

In our Advent study this week we are looking at humility – at having the mind of Christ spoken of in Philippians 2.  One of the men in our Tuesday morning study said humility is thinking less of yourself so that you could think more of others.  Humility is an active practice.  These profound thoughts fit well with the humble servant hood that Jesus modeled and calls us to follow.  Our world is certainly in need of more humble servants.

Both the bigger world out there and many people’s lives are filled with hardship and suffering and trials.  There is plenty of oppression and abuse of power, lots of violence and other senseless actions, many struggling with addictions and unhealthy relationships, and a host of other issues.  Individuals we know face some of these issues as do whole groups in our communities.  There are lots of people in lots of places who would love to live into this verse: “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy”.

As humble servants of Jesus Christ, we are called to help those in need to do just that.  It is what Jesus did and what He calls us to do.  For all who follow Jesus, we live into the words of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…”  When we read on, we find the “why” – to preach the good news to the poor, to heal the broken, to bring freedom to the captives, to release prisoners from all that binds them, and to proclaim God’s blessings on all.  These are big words and big ideas.  But guess what?  We serve a big God.  We serve a God who wants to work in and through us – just like He did with Jesus – to see all these things to come to be.

Sometimes we don’t see God big enough.  Sometimes we fail to dream and other times we fail to trust.  Sometimes we doubt.  Into all of this God speaks through the apostle Paul: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).  May we serve a big God, trusting that all things are possible when we call on the One who can do all things.  Amen and amen.


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Kneel and Confess

Reading: Philippians 2: 5-13

Verses 9-11: Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place… every knee shall bow… every tongue confess…

Today’s passage begins with a reminder of how Christ “made himself nothing” and became a servant, made in human likeness.  It still amazes me that He would love us so much that He would become like us.  In the end, this love was demonstrated in humility – becoming obedient to death on the cross.  But the story did not end there.  “God exalted him to the highest place”.  Praise be to God!

God exalted Jesus to the highest place.  Our response to this?  “That every knee shall bow” and “every tongue confess” that Jesus Christ is Lord.  According to our passage today, this is the first task we have as Christians: to sing and offer our praises to the glory of God.  How lucky we are!  Today is Sunday and we will have the opportunity to do just this with the body of Christ!

From this place of praise and worship we are to go out and live with the attitude of Christ – live humbly, serve others, love God – all for the same purpose: to bring glory to God.  Paul writes of this, saying, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”.  To do so, we live our lives in response to our faith.  In faith we kneel and witness that Jesus is Lord.  In daily life we go out and live that faith.  All we do and say seeks to reflect Jesus to the world as we bring God glory through the living out of our faith.

We do this with “fear and trembling”.  This is not a “scared of the dark” fear but a fear that is like holy reverence.  It is God – the creator of the universe, the one who us all-knowing and all-seeing – “who works in us to will and act according to His good purpose”.  Again I return to humility here.  This vast and amazing God chooses to be at work in me, a sinner.  It brings me to a place of fear and trembling to realize that kind of love.  Once here I am led to kneel and confess Jesus Christ as Lord.  And my response?  To praise His holy name!  This day and every day, may my life be an act of praise.


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Upward

Reading: Luke 18: 9-14

How would you finish this line: “Thank God I a not like __”?  For the Pharisee in today’s story, the tax collector is nearby and is an easy target to compare himself with.  Everybody looks down on the tax collectors!  But on another day it could be a struggling widow or the town beggar.  When one steps outside the temple the possibilities of how one could finish that line grows quickly: Gentile, Samaritan, prostitute, slave, foreigner, Roman…

For the Pharisee, he finds great comfort in who he is, or at least in how he appears to others.  He is, of course, playing a game that we are quite good at too.  By comparing himself to another who is an ‘obvious’ target in society, he is elevating himself.  But it is shallow and self-centered.  It is also far from pleasing to and honoring of God.

So, how would we finish that line?  Who in our communities would go on that line?  Our answers could be political, ethnic, racial, socio-economic, emotional, moral, or simply learned.  Our answers could be intimate friends, family members, co-workers, fellow pew mates, neighbors, and strangers.  We find no shortage of others we could compare ourselves to.  We are also quick to look away from those to whom we do not compare to favorably.  The game can cut both ways.

For the Pharisee, and all too often for most of us, the focus is not on God and the many things we should be grateful for.  Our focus is too easily inward and not upward.  May we be grateful for who we each are in God and for the unique gifts and talents we all possess.  May we offer praise and thanksgiving for the many blessings we have.  May empathy and compassion be what fills our eyes, minds, and hearts.  May generosity and humility guide our response to those God places in our lives.  May our gaze be ever upward.


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Clothe Ourselves Well

We are often concerned with what we wear.  We like to look good or at least be presentable!  If our hair is a little wild or our make-up a little smudged, we neaten it up a bit.  Many will give themselves a quick once over in the mirror to make sure they can be seen in public.

In our reading from Colossians, we are also instructed to put on more than clothes each day.  We are also called to put on compassion and kindness and humility.  These traits help us to see others as God sees them and to treat all as worthy of God’s love and of our love.  They help us to see the person and not their circumstances.

We are also called to put on gentleness and patience.  These two traits help us to treat people as God would treat them.  When we are gentle and patient we understand that some people require more time and attention than others and we are willing to offer this.  They help us to invest both deeply and long term in others so we can build relationships.

And we are called to forgive as God forgives us.  This encompasses two main components: there is no limit to how many times to forgive and it is a gift freely given with no strings attached.  People who are in need often walk a hard path in life.  It is easy to stumble along this path.  Clothing ourselves with forgiveness allows us to give mercy and encouragement over and over and over.  This shows we are in it for the long haul.

Lastly we are called to cover all of these traits in love.  It binds the other traits together in the perfect unity of the love of Jesus Christ.  This love of Christ must be what motivates all the others as well.  We cannot be compassionate, kind, … without the love of Christ being the driving force.  Without love the other traits will falter and fail.  May we clothe ourselves well this day so that all we meet can see Jesus Christ within us and experience His love shining forth from inside of us.

Scripture reference: Colossians 3: 12-14


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As Your Child

So often we want to be who we are not.  At times we long to be more that we are or we long for more than we have.  At other times we seek to be less – to not be in the spotlight, to not be in that situation, or to have a little time and space to just breathe and to rest.  Being content with who we are and where we are can be a struggle.

We can also struggle in our role in our relationship with God.  All too often, if not most of the time, I want to be the one in control.  In the deep corners of my heart and mind I really do know that God is the one who is in control.  Yet I have a hard time yielding up all of my life.  In general I am obedient but am not fully obedient.  In almost all ways I trust God but I don’t quite offer all up to Him.

Through Jesus, God demonstrated what it looks like to live as a human fully obedient to and wholly trusting in God.  But this is such a tough example o live up to.  Jesus loved everyone.  To all who came to Him, to allHe encountered, and even to those who challenged or condemned Him – Jesus loved them.  Jesus met everyone right where they were at and did not judge.  He simply ministered to them right where they needed it.  For me it is so hard to enter into a relationship and to serve another without somehow judging them or their situation.

Lord, bring me humility.  Lord, bring me a purer love for my brothers an sisters.  This day may as live and love as Your child, as Your witness of Christ in the world, bringing You all the honor and glory.

Scripture reference: Revelation 1: 4b-8


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Unity and Love

To live in unity and peace as the community of faith can be a challenge.  It takes effort.  Paul reminds us of our call as the body of Christ to work together for the common good.  To best accomplish this he offers three key characteristics to strive for: humility, gentleness, and patience.  When this is how we each walk, unity is much easier to accomplish.

Paul also calls for us to bear one another up in love.  What does this look like?  It looks like coming alongside a brother or sister in Christ when they have lost a loved one.  It looks like showing up when a single mom needs a hand around the house.  It means showing up to babysit a young couple’s children so they can have a date night.

At first glance maybe it seems unity may be hard because we appear to be quite diverse.  But diversity is good.  When we are diverse we all have unique gifts, perspectives, and thoughts that we can offer to each other.  Paul reminds us, though, that we do have much in common.  We worship one Lord and are guided by one Holy Spirit.  We share one common faith.  We practice one baptism.  We hold onto one hope.  We come together as one to worship one God and Father over all and through all and in all.

Together in unity we are strong and powerful and able to do much for God.

Scripture reference: Ephesians 4: 1-10


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Humble

In all of creation, God bestowed upon mankind alone the ability to pray.  It is a great honor to be able to intercede for one another in prayer.  In prayer we can also find great comfort.  In prayer we can find strength and peace.

Yet we are also just a part of creation.  In our worlds and in our lives there is just so much we cannot control.  At times we cannot control even ourselves, often falling into sin.

In Psalm 25 the writer recognizes all of this.  He seeks what we seek – help to trust in God and to walk in His ways, forgiveness of our sins, and guidance for the humble.  For the humble?  Why must we be humble?

When we are humble we first remember that God is the creator.  All is within His grasp, all is under His control.  We are reminded of His supremacy.

When we are humble we recognize that we are not the only creation of God.  Each and every person is a child of the King.  In humility we treat all of our brothers and sisters with love, care, honor, and respect.

And lastly, when we are humble we come to see ourselves as we are: imperfect people, incapable of accomplishing much of significance on our own.  In humility we come to see how much we need God.  We come to see that even our gifts, talents, and all that we have come from Him.  With a humble heart, may we offer ourselves in service to our God this day.

Scripture reference: Psalm 25: 1-10