pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Jesus


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Growing Closer

There are times when we know we have been graced by God’s presence or when we can sense that the Spirit’s presence has been with us.  At other times we feel as if we were part of something that was led by God or was truly done in His name.  In these times, the existence of God is without question.  We have these moments to fall back on for strength – to remember when doubt begins to creep in or when fear rises up.

Our experiences with God also provide us with a filter or lens to look at future encounters with or through.  With each experience we come to know Him more.  With each encounter we come to recognize Him quicker.  All of this adds to the depth of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

The more God is revealed to us, the easier it is to hear His call.  As our experiences grow, we come to discern His will better.  We grow in our ability to separate His voice from all of the other voices that call out to us.  God’s promise to draw near to us as we draw near to Him is lived out as we choose to make time for Him and to walk daily with Him.  On this Sabbath day, may we draw very near to God.

Scripture reference: John 1: 47-51


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Come and See

Our world is full of good people, good places, good institutions and organizations.  We all know many of each of these.  But if someone says there is a good new restaurant in town, we only partially believe it.  If they describe their wonderful experience and the food, then our belief increases some.  Yet it is only after we have gone there ourselves that we really believe what we were told in the first place.

All people, places, … want to have a good reputation.  This includes churches.  When a church says they love God and neighbor, preaches from the Bible, and so on it must be found to be true when one visits the church.  If a church says they love their neighbor, then there must be evidence of that.  In many ways, we need proof to believe something.

When Jesus called Philip, he simply said, “Follow me.”  Something inside Philip knew to go and follow this man.  He sensed it.  sometimes we have the same prod of the Holy Spirit – we just know to act.  But when Philip tried to get his brother Nathanael to folow Jesus, he was skeptical.  Philip’s repsonse was simply, “Come and see.”  The long version is: come and spend time with Jesus and you will see that He is the Messiah.  As Jesus says to each of us today “Come and see”, how will you do just that?  Blessings on you rjourney!

Scripture reference: John 1: 43-46


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Temples Bought at a Price

Imagine you are making a batch of cookies.  You mix the butter, sugars, and eggs together.  You fold in the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Next you stir in the chocolate chips.  Lastly you add in a cup of mustard.  You then spoon out your dough.  Yes, I know, you are stuck back at the mustard.  Why?  Because it would ruin some perfectly delicious cookies!
Paul remind us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Once we enter into a personal relationship with Christ, the Spirit dwells within us.  In 1st Corinthians 6, Paul is addressing the sexual immorality that has crept into the church there.  It is the mustard that has been added to the mix.  For Christians today, we all struggle with sin.  No one follows the ‘recipe’ that Jesus provided 100% of the time.  We all struggle.  Our vices and temptations may vary, but we all struggle.  Whatever our fancy, these sins add the wrong ingredients to our lives.
Paul also goes on to remind the Corinthians and us that we were all bought with a price.  He calls us to remember the physical and emotional price that Jesus paid for the forgiveness of our sins.  His body and blood were a gift to us all for the redemption of our sins.  Paul wants the Corinthians and us to see our physical connection to Christ and to realize the price paid to keep that connection open.  Once we enter into that relationship, our body is joined to Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  He urges them and us to live to honor that connection.  May we honor God in all we do and say, bringing glory to His name!
Scripture reference: 1 Corinthians 6: 12-20


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Baptism into the Family

As Paul baptizes the twelve men in Ephesus, the Holy spirit comes upon then and they are filled with its presence.  They cannot deny the change that has occurred in themselves.  Outwardly there are signs as well – they begin to speak in tongues and to prophecy.  Much like the first Pentecost, this is a powerful moment.  It is also a great example of the power of the risen Christ.

Baptism remains a powerful experience.  It is s huge moment in each believer’s life and walk of faith.  As we are baptized, we are formally welcomed into the family of God and we are marked by Him.  All of our lives we carry this mark – child of God.  As part of our church family we are also part of the larger family of God, a huge network of believers past, present, and future.  Many will pray for you as needs arise just as we in turn intercede for others.

Baptism is also our first step towards our eternal destination with the risen Christ.  As the Holy Spirit dwells in each of us, the Spirit guides, leads, nudges, convicts, and prompts us to live a life worthy of our calling as a child of God and as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Our new internal compass is always present and active in our lives.  May we tune into the Spirit’s presence in our lives so that we more closely walk with Christ, our hope and our salvation.

Scripture reference: Acts 29: 1-7


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In the Times and Places

The Gospel of John opens so beautifully.  The words evoke past through future.  “In the beginning” takes us all the way back to Genesis and reminds us that Christ was there too.  John also provides the feel of the eternal in his vision of Christ’s glory “at His father’s side”.

Yet this morning the present tense is what resounds within me.  John writes that He came in the flesh and dwelt among us.  As much as we are still present in this world, so too is Jesus.  Christ, the light, came and lived amongst the darkness.  He stepped into the pain, injustice, suffering and brought light, hope, healing, love.  Jesus continues to be present in this world, still full of grace and mercy.  He comes each time a Christian acts on His behalf.

Today’s Upper Room had a touching story about a woman who brushed away a man out collecting for a mission on a rainy day.  She was too busy with her knitting.  But her nine-year-old daughter innocently asked the question that needed asked: “Why? Why did we give nothing?”  The mother had no good answer, only a lifelong reminder from the faith of a child.  Jesus came and loved.  This day may we offer all the love we can in the times and places that He calls us to today.

Scripture reference: John 1: 1-18


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Calling All

God desires to unite all people in faith.  His desire is not just for those already with faith but for all people to come to know Him.  In Jeremiah 31, he writes of God reuniting a people long in exile.  Jeremiah includes all of the exiles – the lame, the pregnant, the elderly, the marginalized.  He tells us that God will make the path straight so that all can come home.

As we fast-forward to Jesus’ time on earth, we hear the same basic message.  He came to save the lost, to eat with sinners, to bring healing and wholeness to all.  For Jesus, those in exile were not just the Jews, but were all who were separated from the love of God.  Jesus sought to gather all of the lost sheep to the Good Shepherd.

Fast forward another 2,000 years.  The call coming from God and God in Jesus is still the same: all who are weary and burdened, come and find rest.  All who suffer, come and find healing.  All who are broken, come and be renewed.  All who have sinned, come and be cleansed.  He calls all of us.  His call will continue on and on and on because His love never ends.  Thanks be to God.

Scripture reference: Jeremiah 31: 7-14


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God with Us

In the Christmas season we gain the sense that Christ is always with us.  To celebrate His birth reminds us that He is born anew in us again and again.  His eternity also assures us that this earth is not all that there is.  Our true hope lies eternal in the heavenly realms.

Yet we cannot live in the Christmasy, eternal realm.  In this season we may be blessed to be in that realm for moments here and there, but we now inhabit this earth.  We live day by day here preparing for our eternal life with God.  As we live toward that we are also called to bring the good news to those bound to this earthly realm.  We are called to share the Christ who redeems and who heals all that is broken in our world and in our fellow men.

We are blessed by that sense of “God with us” at Christmas so that we can go forth to share that with our world.  We are called to go forth and share that little slice of heaven that draws people toward God and a relationship with Jesus Christ.  May we help people to meet our hope and redeemer each and every day.

Scripture reference: Isaiah 52: 7-10


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Do you see and know?

Do you think the Christmas season starts too soon?  Or that it goes too long?  I imagine the first question prompted thoughts of stores selling Christmas long before Thanksgiving.  And for some the second question prompts thoughts of taking down the tree today!  Yet the Christmas spirit doesn’t and shouldn’t fit inside a nice neat timeframe.  Shouldn’t the love, hope, peace, joy, and giving that typifies this season be happening all year long?

Simeon and Anna were two people who waited  a long time.  They were steadfast and focused on waiting.  Their whole being revolved around being ready for seeing the Messiah.  Both were so prepared that they recognized Jesus without being introduced or anything.  They simply knew in their hearts that this one baby – one of many being brought to the temple that day tobe presented to God – was the one whom they had waited so long for. And then they both broke forth in praise and thanksgiving.

How could we prepare ourselves so that we are ready to offer love, hope, peace, and joy to all we meet?  How would we prepare ourselves so that we see Jesus in each person we meet today and every day?  Jesus comes to us in many ways.  May our eyes be open and our hearts willing to see and know the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives.  May our lives reflect this to all we meet.

Scripture reference: Luke 2: 22-40


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True Light, Eternal Freedom

In Isaiah 9 we find a passage that bridges the time in which he was writing with the time when Jesus lived with our time today.It speaks of what was, what is, and what will be.  By virtue of its timelessness, it is perfect for today.

Throughout time people have craved for light to shine in the darkness, for evil to be overcome.  Isaiah’s words, “the people walking in darkness have seen a great light”, bring hope.  He writes about breaking the yoke of oppression, of ending the foreign dominance.  In Jesus’ day it was the Romans on one level and the religious leaders on another level.  Today the things that oppress us vary greatly – from the self-imposed to things out of our control.  Forever and always we will long for freedom.

Into the midst of the oppression and the longing for freedom from all that burdens us steps the Christ child.  Tonight we celebrate Jesus’ birth – the entrance of the True Light, the arrival of eternal freedom.  Embrace these truths as we gather tonight to welcome Him into the world and into our lives.

Isaiah 9: 2-7


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These Last Days

Paul proposes the idea that our waiting during Advent is not passive.  Often we speak of “expectant waiting” – waiting with the idea that Jesu Christ is always near and to be on the lookout to share Him with those we meet.  Paul calls us to live our days using what we have learned from Jesus and to be “zealous for good deeds.”

But we must also be careful to avoid too much of the activity and busyness that can typify this season of the year.  If we do not take this care then we can end up tired and grumpy by the time we arrive at Christmas Eve.  We must be vigilant to ask ourselves if we are spending time each day of Advent first seeking to draw closer to Jesus.  If not, we still have time to focus in on Jesus these last days.

In these last days of Advent, may we live as Paul suggests: working and resting in Christ – demonstrating for all just who this Messiah is that we are expectantly waiting for.

Scripture reference: Titus 2: 11-14