pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: imitate


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Imitate Christ, Find Joy

Reading: Philippians 2:1-4

Philippians 2:4 – “Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others.”

Selfishness and sinfulness have been a part of the human condition since very early in creation. These two traits are opposed to the will and way of God. Within each of us there is a daily battle between the inherent love of self and the call to live God and neighbor.

In Philippians 2 Paul encourages those in the churches in and around Philippi to imitate Christ. Jesus set for the church and for us the example of what it looks like to daily love God and neighbor more than self. Paul invites his readers – then and now – to find encouragement in Jesus’ example, to find comfort in his love for us, to draw on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, and to have sympathy (compassion) for others. Paul tells the Philippians that this kind of living will “complete my joy.” Living this way is pleasing to God today.

To live like Christ one must work against our nature to do things for self. Instead, Paul encourages us, writing, “With humility think of others as better than yourselves.” Stripped of arrogance and pride, life is not all about us and our wants and our pleasures. Keeping in line with this practice, Paul then writes, “Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others.” Focus on the ways that we can care for and love on others. Focus on the ways that we can provide for and protect our neighbors. Doing these things, we imitate Christ. Doing these things, we find great joy in living for Christ.

Prayer: Lord God, guide us to look outward rather than inward. Break the tendencies to think first of self and to strive for the world’s “success.” Draw us to the heart of Christ, to humble service and sacrificial love. From this place of heart, use us to care for the weak and vulnerable, to feed the hungry and the lonely, to stand for and with the oppressed and the marginalized. As we seek to imitate Christ, fill us with joy. Amen.


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Equipped for Faithful Living

Reading: Hebrews 12-13

Hebrews 12:1-2 – “Let’s throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up, and fix your eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter.”

Hebrews 12 continues the ‘heroes of the faith’ ideas developed ch chapter 11. We begin today with the encouragement to also run the race of faith, surrounded by this “great cloud of witness.” This would include those names in chapter 11 and those we can make in our hearts. To run this race we are invited to “throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up, and fix your eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter.” Without these entanglements of this world we can better live a life of faith.

The author then turns to discipline and hardship. These work together, one ever strengthening the other. These partners benefit our faith, building us up in holiness, yielding “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” So, the writer says, “make straight paths… pursue the goal of peace… and holiness as well.” Living a disciplined life of faith, one will be drawn towards the city of God and to Jesus, the “mediator of the new covenant.”

The writer of Hebrews then declares that the faithful will receive a “kingdom that cannot be shaken.” Therefore, he or she says, keep expressing gratitude, keep serving in ways that are pleasing to God. Chapter 13 continues to unpack faithful living: love each other, open your homes to guests, visit the prisoners and the mistreated. Be free of the love of money. Be content. Remember and imitate your leaders. Draw close to Jesus and to “that city yet to come.” Do good and share what you have.

Hebrews draws near to a close with a prayer that the God of peace would “equip you with every good thing to do his will, by developing in us what pleases him through Jesus Christ.” May this too be our blessing!

Prayer: Lord God, we invite your power and presence into our lives, equipping us to run the race of faith with endurance and confidence. Remind us of those who have gone on before us so that we can draw strength and encouragement from their example. At the front of this line, keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, our ultimate example of faith and love. Amen.


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The Armor of Love

Reading: Ephesians 5-6

Ephesians 5:8 – “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so live your life as children of light.”

As we close out Ephesians today, Paul continues to explain how to live as followers of Jesus Christ. He begins by encouraging us to “imitate God” by “following the example of Christ.” Paul reminds us next of what this is not. It is not sexual immortality or greed or obscene language. These are not kingdom-worthy behaviors. Paul tells them, “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so live your life as children of light.” Here Paul uses darkness and light as states of being, not as adjectives that describe something that changes with the time of day. This sharp contrast is intentional. This is why Paul encouraged us to “test everything” to see if it is pleasing to God. More recently the idea to test everything was carried on WWJD bracelets…

Paul encourages us to be filled with the Spirit as we worship and praise God, as we offer our thanksgiving to God, as we submit to one another “out of respect for Christ.” Paul is continuing his “follow the example” thoughts here. He calls on us to love one another just as Christ loves us. In this way we will build up one another and the church, bringing each into a deeper holiness and into a stronger faith. Paul also applies these ideas to parents and children then to slaves and masters, a reality given up long ago. Today we could apply the latter to business owners and employees.

Ephesians closes with a well-known passage about the armor of God. He first acknowledges the spiritual battle that is always going on. He uses a Roman soldier’s armor as the analogy but underneath it all are the core tenants of our belief: truth, justice, the good news, faith, salvation, the Holy Spirit. These allow us to stand and to win the battle. With this “armor” may we too hang in there and pray for one another.

Prayer: Lord God, it comes down to love. To follow the example of Christ is to love you with all that we are and to love others as Christ loves us. To love, therefore, means to do no harm. To love means to give all of self to you and to others. To love means to do and be good. May it be so. Amen.


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A Faith Like This

Reading: Luke 6:17-19

Verse 19: “All tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.”

Photo credit: Clay Banks

As we turn to Luke 6 for the last 3 days of this week we see that Jesus is attracting many people. “A large crowd”… “a great number” come to see Jesus, to be healed, to learn from him. From verse 17 we can discern that the crowd was a mix – some were disciples or followers of Jesus and others were not quite there yet.

Three things drew people to Jesus: his presence, his wisdom, and his power to heal. Although one thing drew this person at this time or that person for that need, it is hard to separate these three things. For many, though, it was the last that drew them. In verse 19 we read, “All tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.” There was power simply in Jesus’ presence.

As followers of Jesus we are called to imitate Jesus. We are to be present in the world. Our faith is not just a Sunday morning thing, but is something that permeates all of our life and even our very being. Our faith is to have depth and wisdom. We are to have deep roots of faith that bring hope into darkness and love into brokenness and suffering. We are to be grounded in our faith, able to speak words of God into different situations and able to share our stories of when God intervened in our lives. We are to bring healing to the world and to the lives of people we meet. In all the ways that we can we should be people of healing and reconciliation, bringing hope to our broken and hurting world.

Practicing a faith like this we too will draw others to us and then on to the Jesus we follow. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, use me today to transform lives. Guide me to people and places of brokenness, offering your love and grace and healing touch. Amen.


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Imitate Christ

Reading: Hebrews 13: 1-8

Verse 8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”.

Today we are first encouraged to love one another. This extends both to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to the strangers among us. We are reminded that we might be entertaining angels when we extend hospitality to a stranger, to those we visit in prison, and to those who are mistreated. True hospitality draws no lines and sees no barriers. It loves both friends and strangers alike.

We are next encouraged to be good people. We do so by honoring our marriages, by keeping sexually moral, and by being content with what we have. Our contentment comes from our relationship with the Lord, which we read about in the quotes from Deuteronomy 31 and Psalm 118. The first emphasizes the fact that God will never leave us or forsake us and the second reminds us that with God as our helper we do not need to be afraid.

Our passage concludes with a reminder of what Hebrews 11 and 12 have been all about: following the examples of those pillars of the faith that have gone before. Here we connect back to Abraham and Isaac and Enoch… with Peter, James, John, Paul, and the other early church leaders. Verse eight concludes with the greatest one to follow, the perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ. In this verse we read that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”. Jesus loved all, was without sin, honored the pillars of faith, and gave the gifts of help in this world and an invitation to join him in eternity. The Holy Spirit is our ever present companion that never leaves us and always helps and guides us. Through faith in Christ alone we receive the promise of life eternal. It is the prize for which we run this race.

In verse seven we are encouraged to “imitate their faith”. When we strain forward, running the race like those pillars and especially like Jesus, we will help others to know the good news, to experience healing, to see miracles worked in their lives. In sharing Jesus’ light and love with others, we invite them into a relationship with Jesus Christ too. What greater gift can we offer to our friends and to the strangers in our midst?

Prayer: Dear Lord, you are the perfect example of loving God and loving neighbor. Give me the courage and trust to love you and all I meet today. May your love pour out into their lives today. Amen.


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Life Lived Fully

Jesus says to us, “Come be with me, come spend some time with me.  Be in my love and my love will be in you.  Remain in me and I will remain in you.  Get to know me by being with me and then become like me.”

He calls us to spend time in prayer – both talking and listening.  He calls us to spend time in the Word – both reading and reflecting.  He calls us to take account of our life  and day – both in thanksgiving and in evaluation.  All we do and say should be done to draw us closer to Jesus and to deepen our relationship with Him.

As we get to know Jesus more, two things happen.  First, we begin to recognize then respond to His calls into our life with increasing clarity.  As it really sinks in how Jesus loved and treated others, we come to see that we are called to do the same.  Our ears, eyes, and heart become more attuned to the nudges and voice of the Holy Spirit.  We think less of self and more of how we can come alongside another in the love of Jesus Christ.

Teh second thing is also within but it has more to  do with how we see self.  We question what we once never gave a second thought.  We choose to do this or that (or choose not to) as we seek to imitate more and more the life of Jesus.  Living a life that is holy and pleasing to God takes on new meaning.

As we continue on our journey of faith the line between outward and inward seems to blur.  As this line blurs one comes to see what a life truly lived for Christ looks like.  Be faithful to the journey.

Scripture reference: John 15: 9-11