pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Jesus Is with Us

Reading: John 11:1-37

Verse 33: “When Jesus saw her weeping… he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.”

Photo credit: Ruthson Zimmerman

We end our week with the story known as the raising of Lazarus. That’s the miracle in the passage. It begins with Mary and Martha asking Jesus to come: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” We read into their request an urgency. We can relate because maybe too often our prayers are lifted only when the situation has become urgent. At that point we too are like Mary and Martha: we want a speedy response. If things don’t turn out how we’d like or want, we too can toss up a “Lord if you had…” It is always hard to wait, to have patience, when we bring something important to God, especially if we feel that a response is urgent.

Jesus does show up. It’s just not in Mary or Martha’s preferred time frame. And it’s not the response they wanted – or so they initially think. First Martha comes and he assured her that he is “the resurrection and the life.” Yes, Lord, you are the Messiah. Then Mary comes, full of “if onlys” and filled with grief. It is here that we read, “When Jesus saw her weeping… he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” He enters their pain and grief. Jesus becomes present in the midst of their sorrow. He is with those who believe. This too is our Jesus. In our pain and grief, in our anger and disappointments, in our loneliness and doubt, in all of life – Jesus is with us.

Yes, Lazarus will walk out of the grave. But in 5, 9, 17 years – he will die again. The pain and sorrow will return. And so will Jesus. In Spirit, he will comfort Mary and Martha once again. This is the good news of this story: Jesus is with us. He weeps with us. He comforts us. He lifts us up. Thanks be to God, Jesus is with us.

Prayer: Lord God, yes, you are present! In the highs, in the lows, and everywhere in between, you are there. You invite us into a personal relationship. You offer to all who believe abundant life now and life eternal. But you don’t wait until we die to become part of our lives. The moment we invite you into our hearts, you enter in and you take up residence. Thank you, Jesus. I need you every day and every hour. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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Receive and Practice Grace

Reading: 1st Corinthians 1:1-9

Verse 4: “I always thank my God for you because of God’s grace given you in Christ Jesus.”

Photo credit: Fuu J

After the introduction and greeting Paul turns to thanksgiving. As we begin 2 days with this text, we begin today with verse 4. In this verse we read, “I always thank my God for you because of God’s grace given you in Christ Jesus.” Thanking God for the gifts that we have received and for the gifts that we see in others is a habit that Paul practiced regularly and that we should practice regularly. But let us not be thankful just for the gift. Let us also be thankful for the ways in which the gift is manifest in our lives and in the ways that the gift helps us to witness to Jesus Christ.

In that spirit let us consider the gift of grace a little deeper today. Grace is something that we receive from God that we are also to extend to others. God’s grace does not hold us accountable for our mistakes, our failures, our shortcomings, our sins. God’s grace continues to love us as we work through these things. We are to look at and treat others this way. When a friend makes a mistake, for example, and our gut reaction is to cut ties, grace calls us to move past that and to continue being their friend. God’s grace offers us forgiveness without expecting us to do anything to earn it or to prove we’re worthy of it. Grace is not conditional. It has no strings attached. Because God offers grace this way, we cannot say to another, “I’ll forgive you if you ___.” We simply say, “I’ll forgive you.”

These are but two of the ways that we receive God’s grace and, in turn, extend grace to one another. Grace is just one way that we reflect Christ to the world. Today may we be grace-full.

Prayer: Lord God, your grace reveals your heart to me. It is powerful and transforming. As I grow in grace, use me to be grace in the world more and more, day by day. Amen.


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If…

Reading: Psalm 124

Verses 6 and 8: Praise be to the Lord… Our help is in the name of the Lord.

The psalmist wrestles with an interesting thought today that is good for us to wrestle with from time to time.  The idea is “if…”. In the Psalm, he is considering the plight of the nation of Israel ‘if’ the Lord was not with them.  The writer realizes that without the Lord they would have been ‘swallowed’, ‘engulfed’, and ‘swept away’.  On its own, Israel would have long ago disappeared from the earth and would have existed only in history books just like thousands of other tribes.  But God was with them. “Praise be to the Lord”.

When I look back and consider my life, I too have many ‘if’ scenarios.  There are times where the hand of the Lord guided me to safety or kept harm from me.  There are times when the Lord our God has shown me the path to take or the decision to make and good and blessing have resulted.  Many times I have sinned and repented and found forgiveness and have been made new and whole again.  It is a good thing to ponder the ‘if…’ – where would I be now without God’s guidance, protection, direction, and forgiveness?  These thoughts lead me to where the psalmist went: praise be to the Lord!

God is always active and involved in our world and in our lives.  God remains our protector, our defender, our conscious, our guide, our redeemer, our hope, and our love.  For the Lord our God we say thanks be to God.  “Our help us in the name of the Lord”.  Amen and amen!