pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Jesus


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How Do You Repsond?

Many times in life we are present in a situation where we have been wronged.  In each case we can offer mercy and forgiveness or we can be self-righteous or maybe offer an ‘I-told-you-so’ type of response.  One response brings healing and another continues the hurt.  So… why does the wrong choice often seem so much easier?

I think at times God places us in situations to test and refine our faith.  Sometimes another needs to see what this love of Christ really looks like.  (Once in a while we are that person too!)  Sometimes it is to refine our faith in God.  Through prayer and the reading of the word, we come to the place where we are ready to offer forgiveness and reconciliation.  It is also through prayer that we can come to love our enemies.

What allows us to make that hard choice?  It is the relationship we form and develop with Jesus Christ.  Through times with Him in prayer and through reading the stories in the gospel, we come to see our call to love all above self more and more.  Through our journey to draw closer to Jesus, we too draw nearer to our fellow man.

Scripture reference: Genesis 45: 1-8


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Always By Our Side

Peter was the disciple most likely to talk or act without thinking. We have many examples of this too!  Yet Peter was also dubbed “the Rock” by Jesus for it was upon Peter that the church would be built.  Peter is also one of the disciples who we see struggle with his faith from time to time – most notably sleeping in the garden and denying Jesus three times in the courtyard.

We, like Peter, often fail in our faith as well.  Maybe our failure is to act at all – we stay in the boat or never come back around to that place that we felt called to lead.  Maybe it is a lack of faith to see something through once it gets a bit difficult.  But often our faith is tested and refined by the things we have no control over – the difficult person at work or the sudden illness or loss we face.

It is when we step out in faith or in the hard situations that we face that our faith often grows.  It is when we come to rely more on Jesus that we actually become stronger in our faith.  When we are weak, He is strong.  Peter’s faith shines brightest in this passage when he takes those few steps on the water.  May we also be so bold today to steadfastly step out.  We can do so, because like Peter, we have a savior who is right there the whole time. Jesus Christ is always by our side!

Scripture reference: Matthew 14: 22-33


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His Constant Presence

After feeding the 5000, Jesus sends the crowd and the disciples off and takes the time to go up the mountain to pray.  As night falls, He walks out to the disciples, who have been struggling against the wind.  In faith, Peter even takes a few steps on the water.  As they climb into the boat, the winds die down.  What they had been struggling against is taken away by Jesus’ presence.  In response they say, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

I wonder why we at times recognize Jesus as so much more and at other times fail to even notice His presence.  For the disciples, why does Jesus walking on the water and calming the wind draw such a response when feeding 5000 from a couple fish and a few loaves does not?  Yet we are the same.  Why does seeing someone’s cancer suddenly disappear seem so much more than a simple day blessed by God’s presence?  Isn’t God as present in one as in the other?

We are drawn to the big and flashy but God also resides in the day to day as well.  It is from His constant presence that we truly draw our strength.  Today, may we notice God in all of the little things of life.  And at the end of the day, may we sing His praises for this gift.

Scripture reference: Matthew 14: 22-33


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All Are Welcome

The feeding of the 5000 in the wilderness is much like the giving of the manna to the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness.  In both cases the people of God were in need and He responded by providing their sustenance.

The giving and sharing of the bread has become such an integral part of the church’s life.  As the people of God gather to celebrate communion, we are connecting back to the manna and the loaves.  Through the bread of communion, God is both providing for our need and also reminding us of Jesus’ sacrifice.  Through His broken body and spilled blood we find forgiveness for our sins.  Through the bread and cup we are celebrating Jesus’ mighty act that cleanses us of our sins and leads us out of our own personal wilderness and back into relationship with God.

Like the loaves, when we come to the table, all are fed.  When we come to the common table to celebrate holy communion, there is no cost. The price has been paid for each of our sins.  All are welcome to come and lay it all before the cross.  It does not matter what we come with or how many sins we are bearing.  All is left at the foot of the cross.  And after we take the bread and the cup and confess our sins to God, we walk away fully cleansed, wholly restored.

Scripture reference: Matthew 14: 13-21


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Even in the Wilderness

After Jesus hears of the death of John the Baptist, He withdraws by boat to a solitary place.  But the people follow Him out into the wilderness.  They are seeking.  As they come to Him, Jesus is filled with compassion and heals many.  At the end of the day, out in the wilderness, some of the people find hope and love.

Out in the wilderness, as night begins to settle in, many are vulnerable.  They all have a basic need for food.  Once again (but after an interesting exchange with the disciples!), Jesus feels compassion for the people.  Again He responds out of love.  The people are seated and, from little, 5000 men plus the women and children all eat their fill.  In the wilderness the people encounter a loving God who meets their need not just with what satisfied but with abundance.

At times we to are in the wilderness.  In these times we often feel alone and vulnerable.  And Jesus comes to us too.  In His compassion and love we find healing and comfort for our souls.  In His presence our strength is renewed.  As He walks with us, our wilderness begins to fade.  We come to know that no matter where we are, His love and compassion will always help us through.  His mercies are new every morning and His love never fails!

Scripture reference: Matthew 14: 13-21


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Faithfulness and Love… and Patience

In Romans 9, Paul is in sorrow over the Israelites not seeing Jesus for who He was  – the Son of God, come to redeem the world.  It is a situation where he sees it, has the same background knowledge as them, and does not understand why they do not see it.  Have you ever been one either side of one of these situations in your life?  Maybe you were in the role of Paul and tried and tried to get someone to understand, but just couldn’t.

In this story it is God who is ultimately in this role.  The story also extends out past this current moment in the Bible.  And in this we see something amazing about God.  We can see God covenantal faithfulness and His steadfast love.  Despite all in the Old Testament and all that Jesus said and did, most of the Israelites do not come to understand who Jesus was and is.  Yet God continues to pursue the people of Israel even to this day!

Often I think it is the same with me.  After all of these years of walking with Christ, I still fall short.  At times my sin is that I think I am the one in charge.  Sometimes I take the credit.  Other times it is a thought or word that holds my sin.  But thank God for His faithfulness and love!  Sometimes I can’t imagine why He chooses to stick it out with me.  But He does.  Thank God for His patience too!

Scripture reference: Romans 9: 1-5


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Good Questions

In the beginning it was Israel that was God’s chosen people.  For the thousands of years before Christ, they were God’s only people.  They are the people of the law, the covenant, the prophets, the temple, the history, and of Jesus’ ancestors.  Yet they are, like us, a broken people.  The law is ever before them as a testament to their inability to make it on their own.  We too cannot walk out our faith on our own.  God sent Jesus to establish a new way, to establish a new covenant with a people who became known as Christians.  We are a people of the Jewish Bible but also a people of the New Testament.

In Romans 9 you can hear Paul’s pain and anguish.  He was a former Jew hurting for his fellow Jews.  Paul offers up his own faith – if Israel would just believe in Jesus Christ.  That’s pretty amazing.  It is very sacrificial.  It is also something that I could see Christ doing.

So it begs the question in me – and hopefully in you too – what am I willing to do to bring a lost soul to Christ?  What would I gladly yield up to save another?  These are good questions to spend some time with today.

Scripture reference: Romans 9: 1-5


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A Work in Progress

How true of a vision of ourselves do we present to others?  In sharing a story, do we fully and honestly tell “the whole truth and nothing but the truth”  or are we more selective?  There are times when we may want to stomp our feet and scream, but we don’t.  Why not?  Because we like to keep the ugly locked away and hidden.

Are we the same way with God?  Do we come before Him with partial truths and incomplete confessions?  Even though we know that He knows all, at times we are not transparent and open.

Do we offer God partials?   All of my heart?  Really?  Can’t I just keep this part here and that part over there?  Isn’t ‘most’ good enough?  Not in the end. Is some better than none?  Certainly!  But God wants to be our “all in all” not just our “some of a bit”.  It is a journey.  The question we need to be asking is do we love Jesus more today than we did yesterday or a week or a year ago?  Is our faith growing?  After all, in reality, we are a work in progress.

Scripture reference: Psalm 17: 1-7 and 15


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At the Name…

Names can often define us.  Names come with attachments.  If the name is something that describes us it often comes with expectations and ideas of what you are like.  And this is a relative thing – our perspective and who we are affects how we see another.  For examples, if one is called an ‘overachiever’, thoughts immediately come to mind.  And depending on how you relate to the given term, your perceptions and thoughts are different than someone who relates differently.  If you are an overachiever, you see  the term in positives.  If you are not, you often see negatives.

The same is true when someone is labeled a “Christian”.  On a basic level, a Christian is known as a follower of Christ.  This name also comes with a lot of connotations and expectations – some good and some bad, depending on your experiences and background.  Don’t you wish the name “Christian” only evoked good thoughts and connotations?

Our own names also carries certain identities to those that know us or know of us.  At the mention of our name people often think certain things.  These thoughts and expectations are developed through their experiences, stories, and interactions with us.

We all want to be thought of well, in good terms.  So does Jesus.  Today, as we live out the name “Christian”, may we bring glory and honor to His name in all we do and say.

Scripture reference: Genesis 32: 27-31


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Love ‘Em More!

The parable of the weeds is such a great example of the challenges we all face.  There are ‘weeds’ all around – people and things – even in our churches!  One challenge is to live among the weeds and not to become like them.  The temptation to fit in can be great, even if just for a short time.  Another challenge is to continue to grow in the midst of the weeds we all have in our lives.  These weeds can be both within us and around us.  Satan is always sowing weeds and often they are tempting!

But I think our greatest challenge comes in trying to change the weeds into something else.  It would be easier to just stay within our church walls, to toss out all the weeds, and to live happily ever after.  In the end our churches would be pretty lonely places.

Jesus would counsel us to love on the weeds.  And when they don’t come around Jesus?  He’d tell us to love them some more.  And when they still don’t come around and they are a little messy?  Just love ’em some more!!  In my day today, how will I show love to someone in need of Jesus’ love?

Scripture reference: Matthew 13: 24-30