pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Jesus


by Leave a comment

Gifts, Love, Strength

Reading: 1st Corinthians 1: 3-9

Verse Five: “For in Him you have been enriched in every way”.

Paul is writing to a church he loves.  He writes to them to strengthen and encourage them as they live amongst a society that loves power, position, and money.  This sounds like the setting for many of our churches today.  The church in Corinth is apparently being a little judgmental and is having some disagreements within.  The church is also failing to treat all of its members equally as the wealthier members are being given better treatment than the poorer members.  This also might be a thing or two that we struggle with in our churches today.

Into the current reality, Paul speaks some Gospel truths.  He begins by thanking God for the grace that they have been given.  It is a grace that has fallen on one and all.  Paul then goes on to write, “For in Him you have been enriched in every way”.  Here Paul is speaking of both the spiritual gifts that each member has been given as well as of the strength that they can find in Jesus Christ.  In reminding them of grace, Paul is reminding them that God gives grace to all people equally.  Just as God gives grace freely to all people, God also loves all people equally as His beloved children – not loving this special person more and “that” person less.  In reminding them that each has a spiritual gift, he is reminding them that all have value as each gift is needed for the building up of the body of Christ.  Paul also knows that at times the walk of faith will be hard.  So he also reminds them that God is faithful and will keep them to the end.

Just as this passage was a great reminder of the truths of God for the church in Corinth, so too is it a great reminder for us, the church today.  This passage calls us to use the gifts that we have been given, to love others just as Jesus loved all, to lean not into our own strength but to lean into God’s strength instead, and to rest upon the eternal faithfulness of God.  In and through all of these things may we find our path today, loving both God and neighbor, as we are each called to do.


by Leave a comment

Anticipate

Reading: Isaiah 64: 1-4

Verse One: “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down.”

As we begin Advent today, we are preparing to remember when Jesus first came as a baby.  There is an anticipation that builds as we walk through this holy season.  There is an excitement that grows as we draw nearer to the celebration of Jesus’ birth.  Part of our excitement and anticipation is built upon what comes next though.  The birth is exciting and grand partly because of the life that is then lived by Jesus the Messiah.  Jesus the Savior brought new life and love into the world.  Jesus allowed people to connect to God in a new way and also opened up the way to eternal life for all who believe.

As Isaiah wrote today’s passage, there was a deep longing for hope and God’s presence.  The Israelites had just returned from a long period in exile.  Things were not as they had been.  Life was hard.  Isaiah voices the people’s deep-felt need for God when he writes, “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down.”  It is a plea.  He is begging for God to come down and to intercede for the people.  The people long for God to come down to “make your name known” as God once again does “awesome things”.  The people of God are anticipating the restoration of God’s reign.  It is a waiting they want ended very soon.

On the edge of Advent, we too anticipate God’s reign.  Many people long for God to intercede in their lives today.  They long for God to bind up their hurts, to end their season in exile, to make all things new, to once again feel hope and love.  We all long for the God who “acts on behalf of those who wait upon Him”.  We too wait with hope and excitement for Christ to come down once again, to begin His forever reign.  In the interim though, we live now with the risen Christ, daily looking forward to His presence and activity in our daily lives.

As we wait, we pray for Jesus to be near the broken, to heal their hurts, to restore their lives to wholeness.  We ask that we may be used in the process, to have open hearts and willing hands.  May it be so.  Amen.


by Leave a comment

The Only Question

Reading: Matthew 25: 45-46

Verse 45: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me”.

Today we come to the end of Matthew 25, to the end of the parable of the sheep and the goats.  For me, it is one of the most difficult passages of scripture to read and ponder.  It often leads me to the question of whether or not I am doing enough for the kingdom of God.  The kingdom of God and His justice are not about keeping score, but I often feel conviction when I read this passage.  I fail on both ends of the spectrum.  There are times when I see hunger or loneliness or some other need and I fail to act.  There are times when I do act but not for the right reasons.  I do meet a need but it was not for the building of the kingdom of God but it is for a selfish reason that I served.  So when I read, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me”, the word ‘whatever’ looms large.  It seems that I often fail Jesus and the ones He loves and the ones sent my way.

I also often try and rationalize things in my mind to assuage my guilt.  I make excuses or I rationalize why I should not give this person money or I try to convince myself that I do not have the time…  I judge and try and make the one n need unworthy of love in my mind, helping my inaction to feel a bit better.  And when I do all of these things, they eventually bring on their own conviction and sense of guilt.  This sometimes leads me to try and do something for someone, but soon enough I am made aware that my motivation is in the wrong place and I am a goat in the parable.

It is a tough parable to wrestle with.  I do not like where it often leaves me.  Yet in the end, I realize that it is not a giant scoreboard that Jesus keeps, ever balancing my times when I did meet Jesus in the service of another against those times when I did not serve or when I served for the wrong reasons.  Instead Jesus keeps an overflowing well of mercy, grace, and love, offering me chance after chance to love as He loved, to serve as He served.  In the end, I believe the only question that will matter is this: do you love me?


by Leave a comment

Serve

Reading: Matthew 25: 31-44

Verse 40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me”.

At first, today’s passage is challenging because we can all think of times when we we both the sheep and the goats.  There are times in our lives when we have taken the time for one who was hungry or thirsty or have visited with a stranger or one who was sick.  There have also been times when we have passed by or ignored or chosen not to help, not to stop, not to care fore one in need when we could have.  But I do not think today’s passage is about making us feel guilty that we did not serve one in need or proud that we did.  It is about helping us to understand that Jesus is present in all of us.  It is about being open to the times when the Holy spirit nudges us to be of help and also about how we grow in our faith when we step outside of our comfort zones.

What is it about our times with the hungry, thirsty, sick, imprisoned and strangers that allow us to experience Jesus more?  In those times when we step outside the normal, outside our comfort zones, we are more willing to see or experience Jesus in a new way.  Sometimes it is in the experience of serving another, sometimes it is in seeing Jesus in them, and sometimes it is about feeling personally connected to Jesus ourselves.  It is much like going on a mission trip or going to camp or a revival meeting – we are then mentally predisposed to experience Jesus in a new and powerful way, so we are more likely to do so.

More often than  not, when we feel nudged or even led to engage or serve another, we should if at all possible.  Simply because we might meet or experience Jesus more is reason enough.  May we heed the warmth we feel in out hearts, allowing ourselves and others to know Jesus and His love today.


by Leave a comment

Mind and Heart

Reading: Ephesians 1: 15-23

Verse 17: “I keep asking that God may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation”.

Paul is thankful for the church’s faith in Jesus and their love for the saints.  He writes that he has “not stopped giving thanks” as he remembers them in his prayers.  But Paul is not content to end his prayers of thanksgiving here.  He goes on in the next verse to write, “I keep asking that God may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation”.  Paul realizes that the church in Ephesus is not “there” yet.  This verse finishes with these words: “so that you may know Him better”.  This is the purpose of our journey of faith too.  As followers of Christ, we never fully know Jesus.  Each day of our lives we can know Him more and more, coming to be more and more like Christ.

We know Jesus in two interconnected yet different ways.  We first come to know Jesus in our minds.  Whether as a child in Sunday school or as an adult who later comes to faith, we begin by learning about Jesus.  Whether that is through the Sunday school stories or through seeing faith lived out in the lives of other Christians, we first come to know Jesus.  This head knowledge eventually travels the path to our heart and we begin to sense a need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  When we get to know Him sufficiently we respond to that “knock on the door of our heart”, one day finally professing Jesus as the Lord and Savior of our life.  Then Jesus has a place in our heart.  But beware – we are not “there” yet either!

Paul’s prayer is for the Ephesians and for us to have the “Spirit” of wisdom and revelation.  In having a spirit that yearns to know Him better, Paul prays that the eyes of our heart be enlightened so that we know both the “hope to which He has called you” and the “incomparably great power” for us who believe.  In coming to know and live into these two requires both wisdom and revelation because these two are both in our heart and in our mind.

This day may we have mind experiences that cause our heart love of Jesus to grow as well as heart experiences that reaffirm and expand our mind knowledge of Jesus Christ.  In both ways we continue to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, ever drawing closer to Him.


by Leave a comment

Are We Willing?

Reading: Ezekiel 34: 20-24

Verse 22: “I will save my flock and they will no longer be plundered”.

Ezekiel is writing to a people who are discouraged and downtrodden.  They feel like the sheep he is describing who are lean, weak, and driven away.  The Israelites have been in exile for many years.  The years have separated them from each other and many of them from their faith.  Even those who did not go into exile have become mixed in with the people living around them.  Ezekiel looks at the people and sees their deep need for a shepherd to rise up who will gather the scattered flock, protecting the weak and poor among them while ruling with justice, compassion, and love.

The need for a good shepherd is very real today.  On a personal level, we need one to walk the walk of faith.  Our inner bent towards sin is in almost constant need of the voice of the good shepherd to guide is on the right path and to keep us from wandering off of the narrow way.  We also need the good shepherd to lead us where we should go at times – to those green pastures.  As we follow Jesus and His teachings and example, we are following the one true good shepherd.  As we follow, we in turn open ourselves up more and more to the voice of the good shepherd as we feel the nudges and hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

This voice calls us to the least and the lost.  It calls us to those who do not know the good shepherd.  The lost are wandering around in the darkness, going from one thing to another, never finding what they truly need.  Others are marginalized and struggle in the simple day to day of life.  The Holy Spirit calls us to them as well.  The least often cannot begin to hear the voice of the good shepherd calling out to them until their basic needs are met.  The need for shelter, food, and safety must be met before there is space for the good shepherd to speak into their lives.

The Good Shepherd says, “I will save my flock and they will no longer be plundered”.  He says this to us in our times of need and encouragement.  He calls us to help bring this message to those who are hurting and broken and lost and discouraged.  Are we willing?


by Leave a comment

Awake and Alert

Reading: 1st Thessalonians 5: 1-11

Verse Nine: “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Paul encourages us to stay awake on our faith journey.  He calls us to be alert to what is going on around us.  He contrasts this with those who are asleep.  There is a great difference between having a faith that is awake and alert and journeying through life asleep and oblivious to God.  The difference matters in both the day to day living and on the day when Jesus returns.

In our daily walk with Jesus we must be awake and alert and self-controlled.  Paul calls us children of the light.  In the light, all of our deeds and words – both the good and the bad – are exposed.  Paul is implying that in all we do and say we must bring honor to God.  Faith and love and the hope of salvation must be what others see in our lives.  It is through these three that we encourage one another and it is how we draw others to the light.  When we are awake and alert we also see the world as Jesus sees it.  We see those in need.  We see how we can make a positive difference for the lost.  Only when we are awake and alert do we see so that we can then respond with compassion and care.

Paul contrasts the daily walk with Jesus with those who are asleep and with those who live in the night or in the darkness.  They have a false sense of security in the dark and will be caught unprepared when Jesus returns.  They live in the dark and think their sins are covered by the darkness.  They live enjoying the pleasures of the flesh and the world, not realizing that God sees in the dark just as well as He sees in the light.

at times, however, we too wander into the dark.  At times we succumb to the temptation and we dwell in the darkness.  But out of His great love for us God calls us back into the light.  Verse nine reads, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”.  Thank God for that love that died for us so that we may live with Him forever.  This day may we be awake and alert, having a servant’s heart and hands and feet that bring His love to all we meet today.


by Leave a comment

Light

Reading: 1st Thessalonians 5: 1-11

Verses 5 and 6: “You are all sons of the light… let us be alert and self-controlled.”

The Thessalonians are awaiting the return of Christ.  It has been twenty years and they are beginning to wonder.  They wonder about whether or not He is coming in their lifetimes and they wonder about their loved ones who are dying in the interim.  The anticipation of Christ’s return has begun to fade for some of the Thessalonians.  As Christians today we should be looking forward to Christ’s return too, but praying for Jesus to return today is not at the start of most of our prayer times.  For the most part, we live with the attitude that Christ could return today, but we do not live like He is returning today.

Paul’s words to the Thessalonians applies very much to Christians living in 2017.  The world is full of darkness and there are many who will face destruction and who will not escape.  They will be surprised when Jesus comes “like a thief in the night”.  Paul reminds us that we are all “sons of the light” and that we belong to Christ, who is our light.  Therefore, Paul says we should be “alert and self-controlled” as we live out our daily lives.  There is the implication then that we will not be surprised when Jesus returns (or when we go to meet Him).

Paul goes on to write about how we are to live our daily lives as children of the light.  He first says to put on faith and love as a breastplate.  The breastplate protects the heart.  If we begin each day by covering our heart with faith and love, then faith and love will be what guides our thoughts, words, and actions.  Paul then says to put on the hope of salvation like a helmet.  By doing so, we have the promise and hope of salvation right on the top of our minds, allowing that reassurance to be with us in all we do.

This day may we allow faith, hope, and love to be what others see as we live a s a child of the light.  May we shine brightly into the darkness of the world this day, bringing our God and King to all we encounter this day.


by Leave a comment

Teach

Reading: Psalm 78: 1-7

Verse Four: “We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.”

Today’s Psalm is all about the story of God and His children.  The whole Psalm speaks of God’s love and compassion for the people regardless of their wanderings and stumbles.  It is a reminder that it is God who remains constant in our covenant relationship.  God is faithful even as we rebel.  As we read the opening of Psalm 78, we are reminded why we need to stay in touch with our history with God.  The psalmist begins with this proclamation: “O my people, hear my teaching”.  We do this many ways.

We remember through personal and corporate study and worship.  We remember as we take time to reflect on God’s provision and blessing as we lift our prayers of thanks and praise.  As we do these things, God’s love and compassion seep a little deeper still into who we are and how we live out our lives.  We remember, we connect, we are shaped.

Verse four begins our role as story tellers of the faith.  It begins with, “We will not hide them from our children”.  We will instead live out the love and compassion of God in our daily lives.  The verse continues, “We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord”.  To many this speaks of Sunday school.  Yes and no.  What we teach our children about God must begin at home.  If we model God as the central focus of our personal lives, so too will our children.  If we joyously head off to church each Sunday, so too will our children.  We model God’s love and compassion by how we live it out in our lives.  We model faith by how visible it is in our lives.  We model Christ’s love to the world by being His hands and feet each day.

The psalmist goes on to write, “then they would put their trust in God”.  It is my hope and prayer for all children.  May it be yours as well.  As we live out this day, may our love of God pour forth in all we think, say, and do.  May God’s compassion for all if His children be evident in our compassion for all of His children.  May it be so this day and every day.  Amen.


by Leave a comment

Glorious and Beautiful

Reading: Matthew 25: 1-13

Verse 6: “Here’s the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him!”

In our parable today, ten bridesmaids await the arrival of the bridegroom.  The festivities cannot begin until he arrives and ushers in all of the bridesmaids.  It will be quite a party.  A wedding banquet lasted days and was a demonstration of all that the host family could offer.  It was an event full of joy and laughter and celebration.  Of course these ten bridesmaids cannot wait!

Then the shout goes out: “Here’s the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him!”  What excitement!  But when the bridegroom arrives we find that five of them were not really prepared.  They only came with some oil in their lamps and must go and to get more.  There must have been some indecision at this point – stay and hope I have enough?  Go and get more oil?  All must have wished they had filled their lamps before coming to the banquet.  All must have wished they were prepared when the call came that the bridegroom was on the way.  It is sad that they cannot enter the banquet.

But what joy for those who were prepared, for the five who did get to enter the wedding banquet.  They step inside and see the beautiful hall, well-decorated for the occasion.  They smell the lavish and tasty food prepared for the celebration.  They can sense the emotional buzz, the excitement.  The five step inside the door that the bridegroom hols open for them and they become a part of this beautiful and glorious scene.

One day we too will stand at that door.  One day we too will have the opportunity to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.”  As we read the Word of God each day, we hear the call of God’s love.  As we pray and get connected to God, we sense His love covering us as we pray.  As we worship, we are in God’s presence.  We are preparing for the day.  All these ways we connect to and experience God in the day to day of life are just glimpses of the day to come.  It’s just a small taste of the moment we walk through that door and enter forever into God’s light and love.  What a glorious and beautiful day it will be!  Amen and amen.