pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Jesus


by Leave a comment

Jesus, Our Superhero Model

Jesus was an amazing combination of real human and heavenly God.  He was like a superhero – normal person most of the time – yet now and then demonstrating the amazing.  And true to superhero code – He never used his powers for his own good!  But more often than not, Jesus was a humble servant – to any and to all.

We most often live in the ordinary.  Just a simple person, getting by day after day.  Yet once in a while we have the chance to step into the amazing.  We have the opportunity to live beyond the human limitations.  Sometimes we find it in a time of prayer or perhaps during worship.  It is that amazing moment simply being in His presence.  Sometimes we find it when we step out of our own comfort zone and into another’s world to engage them where they are at.  This idea is what awes me about Jesus – he accepted all he met at face value and offered what he could to them.  So often when we do for others, they are certainly helped but it is us who has gained the most.

In John 10:10 Jesus promised, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  Got your cape and tights ready?  Where will you find and give life abundantly today?


by Leave a comment

Standing on the Rock

Throughout the Bible we find God using the unlikely or the outcast or the rejected.  From shepherds to elderly women, from the child sold into slavery to the child left to float down the river, from the prostitute to the wandering prophet, God used them all.  From the lawyer to the waitress, from the rancher to the teacher, from the oil field worker to the stay-at-home mom, God wants to use them all.

When we look at Jesus and the men he chose to be his disciples, we see the same concept – a widely ranging group of men.  Some simple fishermen, one a despised tax collector.  When we look at who Jesus ministered to, we see that concept expanded.  Jesus ministered to all who came to him.  Jesus met each person with no pretense and no hint of judgment.  He met people where they were, loved them and accepted them.  Then Jesus most often found a way to move them along in their faith.

The church in general, and many of us as Christians, would do well to better follow Jesus’ example of who to love and minister to.  All were His neighbor and all are our neighbor as well.  To think or even say that some people do not ‘fit’ in because of race, ethnicity, class, education, and so on is in error.  To think or say that someone is too big a ‘sinner’ to be welcome is so far away from right that you can’t event see ‘right’ from there.  The church was and is built for the lost and the broken.  It is who Jesus loved and who we need to love.

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Psalm 118).  Many years ago the Pharisees missed Jesus standing right there in front of them.  Today the church and sometimes we as Christian miss Jesus standing right in the midst of our lives.  May we learn to see Jesus and to be like Jesus.  May the stench of judgment and the sting or rejection fall away like rain.  May the love of Christ and the heart seeking to serve rise up like the morning sun, bringing light, love, and hope to all that it casts its rays upon.  May we come to stand on our cornerstone, our rock – Jesus Christ.


by Leave a comment

Hosana to the King!

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the large crowd of people gathered there threw their cloaks and palm branches on the road into the city.  The soft path that they created symbolizes a special entrance.  They must have sensed that there was something special about this man on the donkey and colt.  Perhaps the people’s kind act even brought comfort to Jesus as he pondered what was to come in the days ahead.

The people raised their voices to welcome Jesus too.  Their shouts sought what we too seek from Jesus –  healing and salvation – and what we offer to him – our praise and thanksgiving.

May we be full of praise and thanksgiving as we walk into and through Holy Week so that we may also experience the healing and salvation that the week yields!


by Leave a comment

Jesus is My Hero

Human heroes come in different shapes and sizes.  Heroes are admired for various reasons.  A big fan of science may admire Louis Pasteur or a big fan of rock and roll might really admire the Beatles.  But in my opinion, although great ou in their fields, they fall short of ‘hero’ status.  To some a Mother Teresa or an Anne Frank may be a hero, but may just be admired by most people.  A soldier who gives his life to save his fellow soldiers is a hero to many, and certainly to his fellow soldiers, but may not be a hero to all.

What qualities are required of our heroes?  Is it loyalty, courage, dedication, perseverance?  Maybe it is these qualities in some cases, other intangibles in different situations.

Would you put Jesus in the ‘hero’ category for you personally?  Most Christians would look at the life and teachings of Jesus, culminating in his death on the cross to pay the price for all of our sins followed by his resurrection, and look at Jesus as a hero.  The depth of his love and the sacrifice he made is courageous, extraordinary, and amazing. Jesus is my hero.

Heroes are often people others emulate.  If Jesus is your hero too, how will we emulate him today?  He calls us to love the world as he first loved the world.  Sounds like a great place to start!  Happy loving today!!!


by Leave a comment

Light of the World

“Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness.  Opened my eyes, let me see.  Beauty that made this heart adore you, hope of a life spent with you.”  These are the opening lines to the song, ‘Here I Am to Worship’.  We were once called from the darkness into the light.  As we come to know Christ, we come to live in His light.

Once we have accepted Christ we are ‘walking in th light.’  We come to realize that we cannot keep anything hidden from God.  We were once under the illusion that we could.  But once we believe in Christ, we realize that God always knew what we were doing in our sin.  We just come to know that He knows.  Once we are walking in the light, we make decisions from the WWJD perspective (what would Jesus do?)  As we walk in the light, we cast light along other’s paths as well.  This can expose darkness in their lives – and what a great opportunity this can be to minister to them!  At times this too can remind us of darkness we yet have in our lives and it allows us opportunity to grow in our walk with Christ.

Yet alas!!  We are human and at times we step out of the light and into darkness.  Satan is ever knocking at our door, ever bringing temptations before us.  Like Christ, he also never gives up.  At times we may stumble, but the great love and light of Christ always is there to call us back.  Praise be to God for His unending love of you and me!!

Continue reading →


by Leave a comment

This Is Our Jesus

The shepherd of the famous 23rd Psalm is our Jesus.  What are your green pastures or quiet waters?  Are they just these things or is it a quiet bike ride or some time with a good book?  Is it early in the morning or late at night with your Bible, devotional, and journal?   It is wherever you find restoration of body, mind, and soul.

Do you feel the guiding hand?  Do you sense the rod and the staff protecting and keeping you?  Do you feel His lead in keeping you on the right path and comforting you in your times of sorrow and trial?  This is our Jesus.  He is there for us in every aspect of our lives.

Does He sit with you when you are in the presence of your enemies?  Does He go so far as to bless you in their presence?  He is willing, for this is out Jesus.

What comes of following this Jesus?  Surely goodness and love.  Hardships and trials too?  Surely.  But we do not walk through them alone.  For He is with us.  This is our Jesus.


by Leave a comment

Drinking at the Well

When you think of ‘living water’ what do you imagine? Do you see a gently bubbling spring or a huge waterfall pouring over a cliff? It really does make quite the difference. So when Jesus said that he was the living water, what image did he have in mind?

And what does Jesus offer us? The living water is life-giving to us. The living water washes us clean. The living water offers us hope and is a glimpse into eternity. It is something that we can live without but something we shouldn’t live without. Life is so much better when one allows the living water of Jesus Christ to be a part of our life.

Today may the living water of Christ refresh and renew you. May it make you clean again. May you drink deeply of His water!!!


by Leave a comment

Thanks Be to JC!!

In Romans 5 we find many of the great cornerstones of our faith.  Paul had quite a way with words!  In the first part of Romans 5 Paul reviews the basics of the faith – Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead.  Jesus made the choice to die for our sins.  He chose to take upon himself the sin of the world and to shed His own blood for us.  Through Jesus, God restored every person’s connection to Himself.  Up to this point there was a lack of personal connection.  The priests played the role of intermediary between God and the Jewish people.  Sacrifices were made on behalf of the people to atone for their sins.  Reconciliation came through these ritual sacrifices.

As Paul writes, at just the right time Christ died for us.  While we were still sinners, He died for us.  Jesus was and is our sacrifice.  He opened to us and to all mankind that conduit to God.  We come ourselves before God seeking forgiveness so that we can be reconciled to Him.  We do not need a human intermediary.  Nor do we need a ritual sacrifice.  For us that was and is Jesus on the cross.  Because Jesus defeated death and rose to live eternally, He will always be there to intercede on our behalf.  He will always be with us, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to guide and lead us in this life.  Through Him we grow to be more and more ike the Father.  Through him we are continually reconciled.  Through Him we repent, are washed clean, and are restored to the righteous relationship with God.  Thanks be to Jesus Christ!!


by Leave a comment

Living Like the Light

The prophets have long spoken of God in terms of light.  The Old Testament refers to the coming messiah as one who will bring light into the world.  In the transfiguration story we see Jesus becoming the ultimate light of the world.  The light grows from within Him until his whole form is dazzling and simply full of brightness.  To me it would be like looking into the sun – except that He is right there instead of 93,000,000 miles away.

As we come to know Christ and to grow into our relationship with Him, our daily walk is generally blessed and we are often happy and content.  But there are moments in each day and sometimes days when we seem to struggle with darkness and wrestle with the evils of temptation and sin.  But overall, life is good because ultimately our hope rests in Jesus and His saving grace.  Yet our reality is that evil and darkness do exist in our world.  Life can be difficult.  At times it draws close to us and at other times evil and darkness seem far away.  When we are tempted, evil has drawn near.  We also can find it in people we know and meet.  There are all kinds of dark things that people are struggling with.  For some, all seems dark for they have lost hope.  Yet none are beyond hope.  Nothing is outside of the love of Christ.  No situation is unable to be redeemed.

It is when we find ourselves in darkness or when facing down the evils of sin, that we can call upon the light of the world to chase away the darkness.  Just a quiet ‘help’ and He comes running.  Just a glance toward heaven and the light begins to grow.  The Lamp begins to glow, as a candle spreads light in the dark, and we can again see our way and we can find our hope and peace.  In turn we can also be the light that shines into other people’s lives to dispel that darkness and give light to their path.  We can each be a candle that illuminates.  As we grow in Christ, our light radiates out to bring light and love to a broken and hurting world.


by Leave a comment

Son Shine

In Jesus’ call to love both our neighbors AND our enemies, we are challenged. As the Bible points out, God sends the sun and the rain on the just and on the unjust. All are loved by God, none are excluded. We are called to look at the world in the same way. God calls us forward daily on our Christian journey towards perfection. It is a road we are all called to walk. Although the goal of perfection may not be attained here and although we may not even come to see the end of the road, it is the call to always grow in our faith and to strive to be more like Jesus each day.

The call to love our neighbors can be hard when we realize that by neighbors Jesus meant everybody. Not only our family and friends, but the person next door or in the next cubicle/office and even the person who is our ‘enemy’. In this call Jesus wants us to extend ourselves.

On the personal level this challenges us to moe beyond our human hurts and emotions to see all as worthy of God’s love and therefore worthy of our love. This command asks us to look at it from the heart – to love where it is hard to love. To pray for someone who it is hard to pray for.

On the corporate level it calls us as Christians to step beyond the walls of our churches. As the love and holiness of God grows in us, it begins to shine outside of us as we come to love the least, the lost, the lonely, and the unloved. Our faith becomes our actions as we help the Son to shine on all people.