pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Jesus


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Drawn to Jesus

Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father draws him to me.”  When we come to accept Christ as Lord and Savior, it is not any person or their words that accomplishes the conversion within; it is the sole work of God.  Through our words and actions we can share Jesus, but it is God alone who can enter the heart and soul of a person to change that person forever.

Jesus goes on to say, “He who believes has everlasting life.”  Once God changes our heart and we are “born again” then the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and we then live with an eternal framework.  Our eyes are ever bent on heaven and the promise of eternal life with Christ.  Gradually our focus shifts away from the things of the world and our focus becomes more on the things of God.

We will still have moments when our vision becomes a little cloudy and we lose sight of God’s promises.  Sometimes these are even seasons.  Yet because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we will always be drawn back to our relationship with Jesus through God.  The love we find in Christ will always be what draws us back to Him.

When we allow the Father to draw us back to Jesus we experience redemption and we are made new again in Christ.  The grace and mercy and compassion that flows down upon us through His love and forgiveness is amazing.  Our grateful response to this is a burning desire to share the good news with others.  Such a wonderful gift is intended for all the world.  Through our story, through our lives, through our witness, the life and message of Jesus Christ must go out to all the world.  It is the plan.

Scripture reference: John 6: 41-51


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Trust It to the Spirit

We are called to give ourselves as a “fragrant offering” as we live out a life of love.  The scriptures call us to love and give of ourselves as Jesus did.  As I think of what this means, my mind comes to the Christ who accepted all.  He took all comers no matter their station in life of the condition of their soul.  Whomever Jesus crossed paths with, He loved and gave of himself.

But, to be honest, sometimes I struggle with who God puts before me.  In some cases I judge too quickly and that makes it hard for me to fully hear their story and to then offer all I can.  In other cases I feel inadequate to offer anything because the situation seems so overwhelming and daunting.  It can be hard to engage when my limited faith leads me to feel I am an insignificant, small part of a solution.

I must remember that our hope and life is tied to God.  Nothing is dependant on me.  God is a god that can do anything.  Our God is love unending and life eternal.  When we offer ourselves, fully believing these truths, then we too can be a fragrant offering to all we meet.  We must faithfully offer all that we can when we can and trust the rest to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Even Jesus did not have instant success all the time.  The rich young man walked away.  Maybe the Holy Spirit continued to roll Jesus’ words around in his heart and maybe he changed.  He healed ten lepers and only one returned to offer thanks.  It took Nicodemus a late night visit and some time but eventually he came to believe in Jesus.  Many of his fellow Pharisees did not.  We will encounter people just like all of these.  Their conversion is not in our hands.  In all cases we must love and offer of ourselves.  Our God is big.  No one is beyond His reach.  We must do as we can and trust the rest to the work of the Holy Spirit and to God.

Scripture reference: Ephesians 5: 1-2


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Obeying Truth

If I were king I would expect my word to be like law.  If I said it was to be so, then I would expect it to be just so.  I assume this is the line of thinking common to kings.

But in today’s story we find that King David’s order is not followed.  There is no “I didn’t know” here because the Bible specifically mentions Joab’s presence when the order was given.  There is no “I had no choice” as the victim was killed while hanging in a tree, trapped and vulnerable.  David weeps over Absalom’s death but there is no record of harsh words or anger at Joab for disobeying orders and killing Absalom.

Perhaps this is because David gave the order from the heart instead of from the head.  It is natural for a father to overlook a son’s sins and even rebellion and to continue to love him in spite of all he has done.  It is not hard for me to imagine doing this myself.

So why did Joab kill Absalom anyway?  It was not for power or revenge – Joab serves David faithfully for the remainder of his reign.  Joab, however, saw the reality and acted upon it.  He knew that if allowed to live, Absalom would always challenge to be king and would remain a thorn in David’s side.  One could even argue that Joab did this for the kingdom.  Joab did what David knew needed to be done.

Although the result has not been death, at one time or another we have done or said what was right instead of ‘obeying orders.’  If you have not, you will one day.  What allows us to discern such a course of action?  The Spirit will guide.  Prayer will bring clarity.  Scripture will reveal truth through the words of the prophets and Jesus.  In short, our faith and our God will bring us discernment.  We just need to seek Him and hear His voice.

Scripture reference: 2 Samuel 18: 15 and 31-33


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Bread of Life

Jesus, the bread of life, the bread of heaven, wants to feed us.  His food is for our spirits.   Jesus desires to pour into our hearts both to fill us with His joy and to sustain us in the hard days we all face.

The crowd in the story today is almost the same crowd who ate of the fishes and loaves the day before.  They have been physically fed by a miraculous work of Jesus and they are back wanting more.  Like us sometimes, they ask, “What must we do?”  But Jesus has no requirements.  There is no ticket to punch.  He simply wants to give us the bread of life.  Out of His great love for us, the gift of life is offered to all.

Jesus simply invites us into His presence to be fed.  We can ‘fill up’ in many ways – in worship, in prayer, in praise, in study.  At the table of the Lord we are fed.  His spirit and presence fill us up.  Oddly enough, over time we come to the place of desiring to offer our thanks. The ‘must’ becomes ‘can’ as we ask, “What can we do?”  As we are filled we come to want to share the bread of life with others through word, acts of mercy, and acts of kindness.This is our grateful response to Christ’s great love being poured into us.

As we ourselves continue to come to the bread of life, we grow to become more and more like Christ.  Out of His great love for us we are led to love others more.  In our churches, in our places of work or school, in our social settings, in or homes we will have opportunities to lead others to the table of our Lord.  This invitation is one of the greatest offers we can offer another.  This day may we find one who is lost and bring them to the table.

Scripture reference: John 6: 24-35


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Choose Life

Bread is usually a basic part of most people’s diets.  When Jesus proclaimed that He was the ‘bread of life’ those listening would have connected this to one of the necessities of life.  His Jewish audience would also connect this statement to the manna that saved their ancestors in the desert.  Jesus points out to them that that bread was also from God.

As food is a necessity for life, hunger can drive our thoughts and actions.  Jesus often spoke of meeting the needs of the those who were hungry by giving them something to eat.  Yet Jesus knew that this earthly food was only temporary.  Even though satisfied right then it was only for a moment.  So Jesus offered Himself to His audience and to us as the ‘bread of life’ – bread that satisfies a deeper hunger that resides in all of us.

Food satisfies out physical need or hunger.  But this is not the only type of hunger we face.  We all crave to be loved, to find companionship, to fit in, to be successful, to be in control, ….  The list goes on and on.  We are vulnerable to being tempted to try to fill our hungers in unhealthy and temporal ways.  The recent story of David and Bathsheba reminds us how quickly it can go bad when one gives in to the desires of our flesh.

Jesus offers Himself to us as the ‘bread of life’ in the passage today.  Through this, He offers us life abundant.  Jesus can also be our ‘living water’, rising up within us.  When we choose to walk with Jesus we are filled with His presence.  Like bread, He sustains us when we are in need or are struggling with temptations.  Like water, He quenches our thirst for all we desire.  When we choose Jesus, we choose life.

Scripture reference: John 6: 24-35


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Engaging Systems

Our sins are not always the things we do.  Sometimes they are the things we fail to do.  Our sins are not always personal; sometimes they are communal or corporate.

About once a month we have a homeless person come to church on  Sunday.  Sometimes it is some other individual who is noticeable because they are different from the regular worshiper.  As the people of God we are called to love all people and as a whole we really do well at this.  But not always.  Some days we are only as loving or good or welcoming as our weakest or lowest part.  So it is our task as fellow believers to notice these weaker parts and to build them up in love for all people.  We cannot and should not accept less.

As a society there are ills and things that are not ‘right’ in all of our communities.  These are things that certainly cause a tear to roll down God’s cheek.  As the people of God we are called to address the issues in our communities.  This does not mean simply jumping on the latest Facebook bandwagon and adding your ‘like’.  It means being on the streets and in the shelters and in the jails.  It means going to the places where the least, the lost, and the broken are and entering into relationships with them.

To truly be the people of God and to really love all of our neighbors, we must roll up our sleeves and get a little dirty.  We must truly walk alongside those in need to begin to see things at a systemic level.  It is at this level that we must begin change.  To end prejudice, injustice, and hate we must begin with fixing the systems that cause these evils.  As Christians we must engage the evils of the world.  We are called to be the light in the darkness.  Our light needs to shine into these dark places to begin real change at the base level.

Scripture reference: Psalm 51: 1-12


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A Little More

After the feeding of the five thousand the disciples head out across the lake without Jesus.  He has sent them on ahead presumably with reassurances that He will join them later.  One can assume that the disciples thought Jesus meant in Capernaum, their destination.  About three miles into their journey, they discover another reality.  With water as far as the eye can see in the dark of the night, the disciples spot something approaching.

The disciples reality is jarred as  they must have moved from “Hey look” to “can’t be” to “it is?” as Jesus draws near to the boat.  Jesus was not on a jet ski or in a speed boat.  He was walking on the water.  This must have struck a chord of fear in the disciples as He had to reassure them and calm them as He climbed into the boat.  I bet his sandals and the edges of His clothing were not even wet.

The scriptures tell us that as Jesus joins them, just as He got into the boat, suddenly they were there on shore.  Once He joins them they are there.  Does this phenomenon occur in our lives?  Does it ever seem as if Jesus sends us out and we journey along on our own?  Then just at the right time He is there, right in the midst of life with us?  Then He too says, “It is I.  Do not be afraid.”

His presence is an amazing part of this journey of faith.  Although God is omnipotent and omnipresent, it seems at times we get a little extra ‘bump’ – He is just a little more present, a little more with us when we need Him most.  He calms us with the same words again, “It is I.  Do not be afraid.”  For this we say thank be to God!

Scripture reference: John 6: 16-21


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Expect God

Expectations.  We all have them.  When someone you know and love is struggling with something, what do you expect?  When life throws you a curve ball, what us it that you expect?  For most of us, we expect to make it through, to be okay in the end.

A large crowd had gathered to hear Jesus teach that day.  They were spellbound with His words.  The day grew long.  Jesus tossed a problem to the disciples – feed them.  We’ve been there – maybe just not quite this extreme.  Boss or teacher or parent tosses us an assignment, project, or task that is due yesterday.  After the panic passes, we set to it and somehow get it done.  Sound familiar?

The disciples also panic.  They utter out loud what we usually only think.  What?!  Do you know what you are asking?  There are thousands here!  Can you see Jesus watching, arms folded, slight grin on His face?  Without being asked He steps in.  Just moments later thousands have eaten their fill and 12 baskets of leftovers are gathered up.  All from two fish and  five loaves of bread.  A miracle has happened.  All are amazed at His power.

Do you think they all expected to be fed?  Surely they could see there was no caravan of wagons laden with food.  Do you think any of the disciples’ first thought was to turn to Jesus when He handed out this impossible task?  Neither is mine.  It should be.  I read all about the miracles.  I believe them.  I hear of miracles in the world today.  I believe they happen all the time.  I just don’t expect them in my life.  I should.  Lord God, open my eyes and heart to the expectation of miracles in my life and in my world.  Help my unbelief.

Scripture reference: John 6: 1-15


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Rest

There are times we get run down and tired.  Life can just seem to consume us and suddenly we find ourselves with very little left in the tank.  As the disciples returned to Jesus after being sent out two by two, they were excited by all they had done but Jesus could see they were exhausted too.  His desire was to find them rest.  So they load up the boat and head out.

But a buzz moves on ahead of them and by the time they land ashore, a large crowd has gathered.  And it is not a welcoming committee.  It is a crowd full of people with needs.  The Bible tells us Jesus saw them as “lost sheep” and that He takes compassion on them.  Jesus steps out of the boat and begins to teach and to heal many people.

I can imagine that Jesus saw the crowd flowing to where they were headed to land.  So I can surmise that He made the decision not to change course and to go away from the gathering crowd.  Jesus knew or felt He was up to the task ahead so He chose to engage the crowd and to minster to their needs.

At times we too must make that assessment.  As we see a potential need coming our way we to must assess if we have enough left in the tank to meet that need.  We must remember that at times even Jesus stepped away for solitude and refreshment.  A time of Sabbath is essential to being able to minister effectively.  When we are dry and empty, we have nothing left to pour out into others.  We must care for ourselves so that we can offer our best to the care of those in need.

Mark 6: 30-34 and 52-56


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Expanding the Covenant

Long ago God made a covenant with the people of Israel to be their God.  As humanity spread and covered the earth, we can assume that most people did not have a close connection to the God we identify with.  Many people came to worship a creator god as one of many gods they worshiped.  This situation continues today.  Christianity is widespread but remains definitely in the minority.  In fact, in many of the developed countries which were founded on Christian principles, we now live in the ‘post-Christian’ era.

Long ago God identified Israel, of all the Peoples of the earth, as His people.  They were set apart as the chosen people of God.  From the vast and varied tribes of people, God chose Israel and entered into a covenant relationship with them.  It was and is a small, select group of people who follow the Torah and worship the one true God.

Over time though, the Israelites came to focus more on the letter of the Law and its interpretation.  Life became more about the 613 laws rather than loving God and neighbor.  God saw the need to refocus faith on loving God and loving neighbor, so He sent His Son, Jesus, to establish a new covenant.  Jesus lived out the two great commands to love God and love neighbor with every fiber of His being.  He was setting an example for us to follow.  In the end, Jesus gave His body and blood as a means to defeat the power of sin and death and to offer us salvation and eternal life.

God also sent Jesus to expand the original covenant beyond the small nation of Israel into the whole world.  Through the work of Jesus, the apostles, and many Christians that have followed, Christianity has spread to many places throughout the world.  As followers of Jesus Christ, it is our continuing call to do the same – to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth and into the corners of our neighborhoods and churches.

Scripture reference: Ephesians 2: 11-22