pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: journey


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All Is Not Lost

Matthew 22 contains several series of questions that the Sadducees and Pharisees ask Jesus.  They are the religious leaders of the day and their queries have two purposes: to prove themselves correct and to trap Jesus, this radical upstart.  Yet with each question Jesus stings these experts in faith by drawing them back to the scriptures and the true meaning of God’s word.  After each encounter the leaders go away bruised and defeated, and probably a little angry too.

We too go away a bit bruised and defeated when we take the time to reflect on how we do honoring the two great commandments Jesus names in verses 34 to 36.  Love God with all of my heart, mind, and soul?  On a good day I might come close part of the day.  But my pride,my judgmental nature, my sense of needing to be in control – they each take their turn leading instead of me allowing God to lead.  Love my neighbor as self?  I could maybe do okay if I got to pick the neighbor.  But my neighbor is everyone I encounter and I struggle daily – with those I know and those I don’t and sometimes avoid.  Maybe you can relate.  Maybe you too are like the Sadducees and Pharisees.

But all is not lost – we are on a journey of faith.  Each time we stumble, Christ helps us back up.  He reassures us of His love for us.  He reminds us to love others as He first loved us.  And He sends us back out each day, to matter and make a difference for His kingdom here on earth.  Each day we meet the world, seeking to meet it as Jesus did – right where it is at.  We seek to offer what we can to whomever we can, to make a difference one person at a time.  And we do.  Thanks be to God.

Scripture reference: Matthew 22: 34-36


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Day by Day

Have you ever faced a task that seemed monumental or so large that you didn’t even  know where to begin?  Maybe it was a huge pile of dirt or rock or wood that needed to be moved.  Maybe it was 30 years worth of pictures that needed sorting and organizing.  Sometimes it is hard to get started and sometimes we even want to give up in the middle.  Yet when we step back and look, we can see that the pile is smaller or that things are starting to take shape.

In our faith journey, that perfection in Christ that we are called to can seem monumental or huge.  At times we feel lost in the race, unsure of our footing, not quite able to see around the next curve.  Sometimes we feel that there are more questions than answers.  But we do not lose hope.

Paul knew the goal and the call of God heavenward through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Paul also knew the journey was made day by day, step by step.  Our journey is the same – day by day and step by step.  On this journey too, we can step back and see progress and growth.  In this we find the encouragement to continue to fight the good fight, to pursue the prize of our own call heavenward.  And day by day we draw ever nearer.

Scripture reference: Philippians 3: 12-14


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Walk Boldly in Faith

Paul deeply loved the churches he started and those he nurtured along in their faith, yet he also felt the pull of heaven.  His journey had been long and at times trying.  As he sat in prison and reflected on his journey, he could see that there was work yet for him to do.  The churches he was shepherding still needed his help to continue to grow in their faith.

Paul also had a sense that just as he was continuing the work of Christ, so too would others continue his work.  As he sat in prison, Paul also had a sense that through his faithful example, others we being strengthened in their willingness to be bold for Christ.

Each of us have others that we help to grow in their faith.  It may be family, friends, or coworkers.  It may be the people in our small group.  And just like Paul, our faithful witness to Christ matters to those in our sphere of influence.  As we walk out our faith journey, we too carry Christ with us as we provide an example for others.  May we, like Paul, walk boldly and full of the love of Jesus Christ.  May our faith be the light that helps others along their journey with Christ.

Scripture reference: Philippians 1: 21-26


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Walking Along Our Road

Do you remember when you accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and entered into a relationship with Him?  It may be a moment you can name and date – a ‘born again’ type of experience.  It may have been a gradual shift from the stories of Noah and Jonah to coming to know and believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins.  In either case, from the point of decision forward, one is never the same person again.

Often this prompts the awareness that we need to change and we begin to try and live more and more for Christ.  At first we notice and work on the ‘big’ and obvious sins in our lives.  These obvious ones usually fall away quickly.  And as we grow in our faith, we begin to see the less obvious sins in our lives.  Ridding ourselves of these sins can be harder – they often have deeper roots and reside within us where others cannot see them as easily and where we can try to keep them tucked away.  Yet there is hope.  For in and through Christ, we can begin to conquer these deeper sins as well.

As we live into Christ, we are drawn to share our joy and also to enter into other’s pain. We grow to risk greater for our Lord and Savior.  As we risk and step out in faith, we move a little further along our journey of faith and a little deeper in our relationship with Christ deepens.  May your walk be good today!!


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The Living Word

As Jesus and the disciples walked along the road to Emmaus, he explained to them how he was reveals and came to fulfill the Old Testament scriptures about the Holy One.  These were scriptures all good Jews would have known and would have studied and heard preached.  Yet on this day the scriptures seemed new to their ears.  The living word was made new again in their hearts.

Sometimes when I read a passage that I have read or even studied before, sometimes something new jumps out at me.  Does that ever happen to you?  The living word is made alive in a new way within us.  It may be a passage I ‘know’ but there is this new nugget.  We are not who we were when we first read it and we are not the same person after discovering our new nugget.  This is why we are on a journey of faith.  We never ‘arrive’.  In the DEVO today the author wrote of their love for geocaching.  It was not in the finding of the cache or in using the technology.  The joy came from noticing all of the details in God’s creation as she carefully looked for the cache – things she would never have noticed and found joy in if she were simply on a hike.  The Bible can be the word of God or it can be the living word of God.  We can read a passage or we can engage a passage.  We can be simply reading or we can be seeking to find new nuggets.  We can think we have ‘arrived’ or we can be on a journey.

And like the two disciples walking along the road with Jesus, once they allowed the living word to change them, they realized that Emmaus was not their destination anymore.  God was leading them somewhere else and they left for Jerusalem.  May we too allow God’s living word to speak freshly into our lives and to be the guide that directs our paths and that brings us new growth on our journey.