pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: leave


by Leave a comment

Great Love and Compassion

Reading: Luke 7-8:39

Luke 7:50 – “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Luke 7 begins with a story about a man with great faith. The centurion first asks Jesus to come heal his valued servant. He then realizes that he is unworthy to have Jesus come to him. So he sends words, recognizing Jesus’ authority to simply speak a word to heal the servant. It is so.

Jesus next encounters a funeral procession. A widow’s only son has died. With great compassion Jesus resuscitates the son, providing for the widow.

From prison John the Baptist sends some disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one?” Jesus heals many people right then and tells the disciples to tell John what they saw. This is a physical demonstration that fulfills Isaiah 35 and 61. It is Jesus’ “yes” to John’s question. He then laments this current generation’s lack of faith.

Jesus is then invited to dinner at a Pharisee’s home. While there, a sinful woman comes and washes Jesus’ feet with her tears and hair, kissing them and then anointing them with oil. In his thoughts, the Pharisee is condescending of both Jesus and the woman. This leader skipped all the normal hospitality customs. Jesus says to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Her revelation of great love leads to her salvation.

After naming some of the women who support Jesus’ ministry, he tells the parable of the soils. It is about our receptivity to Jesus’ words and example. These women are the good soil. Jesus then encourages us to let our light shine. It is to shine on all soil/soul types.

Jesus then reveals his power over wind and sea before encountering “Legion” – a man long possessed by many demons. The demons recognize Jesus and negotiate release into the pigs. The man is totally healed. The townfolk are awed but are also afraid of Jesus’ unexplainable power. They ask him to leave. The man is told to stay behind, to witness to Jesus’ power. He goes home to “tell the story.”

Prayer: Lord God, you continue to have great love and compassion for us. You respond when we call out in faith. And you sometimes come even when we don’t call out. You know what we need and this drives your responses. Thank you. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Faith, Trust, and Seeds

Reading: Mark 4-5

Mark 4:20 – “The seed scattered on good soil are those who hear the word and embrace it. They bear fruit.”

A farmer goes out to scatter seed. Not sow, not plant – scatter. Some seeds fall on the path and are eaten by birds. Some falls on rocky soil. It sprouts quickly but does in the heat – no roots. Some seeds fall among the thorny soil. They sprout and grow but are soon choked out by the weeds. Other seed falls on good soil. “The seed scattered on good soil are those who hear the word and embrace it. They bear fruit.” For others, faith is short-term, cancelled out by distress, fear and doubt, by the cares of this world. Faith is like a lamp – we let it shine and it reveals what was hidden. Faith comes to those seeking. This is one way we bear fruit. We don’t know how it takes root or how it grows, but the tiniest seed can grow and grow, helping others. This too bears fruit.

Jesus crosses the lake, going to Gerasenes, a Gentile community. There is a storm along the way. Frightened, the disciples awaken Jesus, who calms the storm. He chastises them for their rocky soil faith. Once there, Jesus encounters a demon possessed man named Legion. The thousands of demons are cast into the nearby pigs. The uncontrollable madman is found “fully dressed and completely sane.” The townspeople ask Jesus to leave. Their thorny soil prevents them from accepting Jesus. The man asks to go with Jesus. He is told to go home to tell his people what Jesus did for him. He is good soil ready to produce a crop.

Our reading closes with two healings. Both involve risky faith. Jairus, a synagogue leader, risks by coming publicly, asking Jesus to heal his daughter. The woman with a bleeding disorder sneaks up through the crowd and touches Jesus’ clothes. She is healed. In the midst of a great crowd, Jesus asks “Who…” and she risks coming forward. She confesses and Jesus blesses her faith that healed her. News then comes of the daughter’s passing. Jesus says to Jairus, “Just keep trusting.” In the end, Jairus’ trust and faith is honored too. Jesus heals the daughter. Faith and trust bring healing.

Prayer: Lord God, you have power over all things – wind and waves, fear and doubt, mental and physical illness, even death. That power is available to those who believe in you as Lord and Savior. Lord, grow these seeds of faith that have been planted in each of us. Encourage and empower us to scatter these seeds, bearing fruit for your kingdom. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Truth Remains Truth

Reading: Amos 7:10-17

Verse 10: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear his words.”

In today’s reading from Amos, he is confronted by the high priest in Bethel. The confrontation begins with Amaziah sending word to King Jeroboam that “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear his words.” Yes, indeed, Amos is stirring things up with his words, calling all of Israel to turn back to God. The main issue is that the evil is a top-down problem. It is Amaziah and Jeroboam who are leading in the wrong direction.

Turning to Amos, Amaziah tells him, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there.” He just wants Amos to leave, to go and focus on the other kingdom’s sinful living. Amaziah just wants left alone. I can relate. When I’m confronted with something I’m doing wrong, my first instinct is to tell the truth-speaker to just go away.

Amos doesn’t flinch. He reminds Amaziah that God called him from tending sheep and trees. Amos reminds him that God said, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” This was not Amos’ idea. These are not Amos’ words. Then Amos shares the cost of trying to silence truth, prophesying against Amaziah and his family. There is a cost to working against God. And, oh yes, Israel “will certainly go into exile.” The truth remains the truth.

Like Israel, when we choose to live out of alignment with God’s will and ways, we too will be judged. Truth will be revealed. Walking in our own selfish ways will not yield good fruit. As we consider this passage today, may we reflect upon what might be said to us. May we have ears to hear what we need to hear. And may we choose to align with God, walking closely to God’s will and ways.

Prayer: Lord God, reveal to me where I need to change. Lead me to be open to the working of the Holy Spirit in my life. Align my heart and mind with your will and ways. Amen.


by Leave a comment

The Wilderness

Reading: Psalm 107: 1-3

Verse 1: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever”.

Psalm 107 is a Psalm that reminds us of God’s faithful love. It is a song of thanksgiving to the God that never abandons or leaves his people. The Israelites and individuals within the faith community have experienced this faithful love. The nation has experienced exile, slavery, and times of oppression and conflict with those living around them. Individuals like Joseph, David, Samuel, and Job have had their own wilderness experiences. Each time that the community has found themselves in the wilderness, whatever that may be, God has remained present and connected to his people. At times the connection was to a small remnant, but God was always faithful. Experiencing this over and over has led them to “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever”.

As we experience life we also find ourselves in the wilderness from time to time. We find ourselves there in many ways. Loss and grief can lead us into the wilderness. Moving, job loss, and other forms of unwanted change can lead us to this place. Sudden bouts of physical or mental illness can take us to the place of isolation and fear. Yes, there are many ways that we can find ourselves in the wilderness. If we choose to remain connected to God, then we experience what the psalmist and the Israelites experienced. God remains present. God sustains us. God’s faithful love endures the trials with us. From these experiences we too can proclaim: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever”. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord, your love is grander than the mountains and deeper than the ocean’s depths. Your faithfulness stretches past the furthest star. I am but a tiny speck in the cosmos, but you love me as if I were the only speck. Thank you, God. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Great in Love, Rich in Mercy

Reading: Ephesians 2: 1-5

Verse 4: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ”.

Today’s passage is all about the change that God has made in us. Before Christ we were as Paul writes: “dead in our transgressions and sins”. We lived a life focused on self and on doing whatever we wanted to please self and our earthly desires. We lived according to the “ways of the world” and we were “disobedient” to God. For many of us older folks that meant distancing ourselves from the faith of our childhood and from the faith of our parents. For the younger readers, a larger segment grew up without a childhood church or faith. For all who came to faith the realization came that the things of this world are temporary. They never really satisfy or bring meaning and purpose to this life. Peace, contentment, joy… only come through the eternal relationship that we find in Jesus Christ.

Why didn’t God leave us there, dead in our sin? Why did God continue to pursue us even when we were running from him? We find our answer in verse four: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ”. God’s love is greater than our sin. We were created to be in relationship with God and with one another. God calls and woos and chases us until we make the choice to invite him into our hearts or until we draw our last earthly breath. Faith, however, does not stop at our decision for Christ. Once we accept Christ we are not finished. It is just the beginning of our faith journey. We are not suddenly sinless. Satan continues to pursue us, often with renewed passion, enticing and tempting the flesh still within us. Yet the battle is different, it is changed. The field is no longer level. With Christ alive in us, we do not fight alone. The Holy Spirit leads and guides, convicts and corrects, ever helping us to choose Christ over the world, good over evil, light over darkness.

Lent is a season that reminds us of this battle, that draws us into combat. In Lent we are called again and again to look within, to seek out the parts of us that still need to yield to Christ’s authority and reign. In this seeking and yielding it is grace and mercy that provide the way. In love it is God’s grace and mercy that say our past doesn’t matter, that our selfishness or pride or fear doesn’t control us anymore, that we are loved just as we are. In the season of Lent and in the hard work that we are called to, this is the good news: we are loved, we are forgiven, we are saved by grace. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your love that is so deep that I cannot ever reach the bottom. Thank you for your love that is so wide that I cannot ever see the other side. Thank you for your love that always surrounds me, even when I stumble and fall. What great love. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Forward in Faith

Reading: Mark 1: 16-20

Verse 18: “At once they left their nets and followed him”.

Photo credit: Jillian Werner

In today’s passage Jesus calls the first four disciples. They are just regular people. All four are fishermen, used to a hard life. They work long hours, endure the weather, and rely upon the water for their livelihood. This day began just about like every other day – until Jesus walks along the shore. This scenario is true for most of us. Our days start about the same each day and then sometimes Jesus shows up, calling us into ministry.

First Jesus comes to Simon and Andrew. They are at work when Jesus comes, casting their nets into the sea. He simply says, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fish for men”. We read that “at once” they left their nets – right there in the water – and followed. The call of James and John is similar. They are mending their nets when Jesus calls them. “Without delay” James and John leave their father and the hired men behind to follow Jesus. Is this the lesson we are to take from today’s reading?

It certainly is one of them. Most of the opportunities we have to “come and follow” are moments unfolding in life at that time. The person the Holy Spirit nudges us towards may not be there any more or the particular need may not be there when we see them the next time. The door or window of opportunity that is open when the Spirit whispers in our ear may close or shut if we say we’ll get to it “tomorrow”. And, honestly, what call would Jesus give to you or me that would compare to the call these four fishermen received today? Well, honestly, each call rises to the level of being a disciple.

The first step for Andrew, Simon, James, and John is the first step for each of us. The first step is to decide if we trust Jesus. When we are nudged to go to that person or when the Holy Spirit whispers into our heart, we have no idea where that step will take us. Yet, just like these fishermen, we are called to step forward in faith. As Jesus calls us today or tomorrow or another day, may we each trust in the Lord. Without delay, may we go where the Lord sends us.

Prayer: Lord God, I’ve come to see that “not now” most often means “no”. Help me to be better in those moments when you call. That “thing” that feels oh so important is never as important as the person or need you are calling me to. Make me more obedient, Lord. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Hour by Hour, Day by Day

Reading: Mark 13: 30-37

Verse 34: “He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task”.

As this chapter in Mark about the signs of the end of the age comes to a close, Jesus reminds his disciples and followers that no one knows when he will return. Even Jesus himself does not know when. Therefore he says, “Be on guard! Be alert”! As is often the case when we wait and wait and wait, our focus or attention can lag or fade. If I, for example, were to plan to run a marathon in October 2022, I probably would not start training today. If were planning to enter the next race as soon as I were able to run 26.2 miles, then I would start training today. That is Jesus’ point in this section of Mark 13.

In verse 34 Jesus says, “He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task”. About 2,000 years ago Jesus left this temporary house on earth to spend eternity with his father in heaven. Jesus left us each with a task or a role to play. These are the gifts of the Spirit that we read about yesterday in 1st Corinthians 1. Some are pastors, some are teachers. Some are encouragers, some are prayer warriors. Some are missionaries, some are singers. Some are greeters, some are readers. Some are audio-visual folks, some are cooks and bakers. There are many roles to play in the family of God, in the church. When the owner of this house returns, will he find us sleeping? Or will we be actively living out our faith, serving God and one another, ready to meet him at any moment?

Hour by hour, day by day, life by life, may we be ready to serve the Lord, his church, and his world.

Prayer: Lord of all, help me to always be ready to do your will. As you have gifted me, so may I serve. Put me to doing, put me to all things, put me to nothing. Use me as you will, O Lord. Amen.


by Leave a comment

The Opportunity

Reading: Acts 2: 37-41

Verse 39: “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call”.

The people that were drawn to the place that the church was gathered feel remorse over their role in crucifying Jesus. Yesterday we felt our role so today we can relate to how they felt. Their question of Peter is, “What shall we do”? Their hearts told them they needed to respond. It is a familiar feeling, isn’t it? We have felt it when we see someone in great need. We have felt it when we have sinned and have felt the conviction.

Peter’s response is basic Christianity 101: “Repent and be baptized”. Leave your old way of life and enter into new life with Jesus Christ. Leave behind your sinful ways and begin to walk as a follower of Jesus Christ. Leave behind not only your sins but the guilt and shame that we often associate with wrong-doing. In this case, Peter wants them to leave behind their remorse for their role in the crucifixion. Only then can they claim their new resurrection life as they begin to walk as new creations in Christ. As they make the good confession and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, they too will receive what drew them to this time and place – the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Then, in verse 39, we see Peter beginning to understand just what Jesus meant when he gave the great commission. In verse 39 Peter says, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call”. The idea of making disciples of all nations and of going to the ends of the earth are starting to settle into Peter. God will continue to work in and through Peter to make the gospel known. Many others will have a hand in sharing the good news – James and John and the other disciples, Paul and Timothy and Silas. The first disciples will teach new disciples. The work will continue on. The list of disciples of Jesus Christ goes on down through the ages. It continues to grow in 2020. The range of the church expands and now the gospel reached around the globe.

Yet there are still places that the good news of Jesus Christ has not yet taken root. One might be just down the street. One might be in the next office over from yours. One might be in the pew next to you when we once again can gather together. Peter took the opportunity to share the gospel as the opportunity presented itself. 3,000 were added to the church that day. May we, like Peter, make the most of the opportunities that God gives us. May we share the promises of resurrection with a world in need of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to share the good news today in whatever form I can. Give me words to speak, prayers to offer, actions to take. Lead me by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Imitate Christ

Reading: Hebrews 13: 1-8

Verse 8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”.

Today we are first encouraged to love one another. This extends both to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to the strangers among us. We are reminded that we might be entertaining angels when we extend hospitality to a stranger, to those we visit in prison, and to those who are mistreated. True hospitality draws no lines and sees no barriers. It loves both friends and strangers alike.

We are next encouraged to be good people. We do so by honoring our marriages, by keeping sexually moral, and by being content with what we have. Our contentment comes from our relationship with the Lord, which we read about in the quotes from Deuteronomy 31 and Psalm 118. The first emphasizes the fact that God will never leave us or forsake us and the second reminds us that with God as our helper we do not need to be afraid.

Our passage concludes with a reminder of what Hebrews 11 and 12 have been all about: following the examples of those pillars of the faith that have gone before. Here we connect back to Abraham and Isaac and Enoch… with Peter, James, John, Paul, and the other early church leaders. Verse eight concludes with the greatest one to follow, the perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ. In this verse we read that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”. Jesus loved all, was without sin, honored the pillars of faith, and gave the gifts of help in this world and an invitation to join him in eternity. The Holy Spirit is our ever present companion that never leaves us and always helps and guides us. Through faith in Christ alone we receive the promise of life eternal. It is the prize for which we run this race.

In verse seven we are encouraged to “imitate their faith”. When we strain forward, running the race like those pillars and especially like Jesus, we will help others to know the good news, to experience healing, to see miracles worked in their lives. In sharing Jesus’ light and love with others, we invite them into a relationship with Jesus Christ too. What greater gift can we offer to our friends and to the strangers in our midst?

Prayer: Dear Lord, you are the perfect example of loving God and loving neighbor. Give me the courage and trust to love you and all I meet today. May your love pour out into their lives today. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Presence In Change

Reading: 2 Kings 2: 1-2 & 6-14

Verse 9: “Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you'”?

In our passage for today and tomorrow, Elijah knows a radical change is ahead. In the opening verse we read that God is planning to take Elijah up into heaven. As the passage unfolds, so does Elisha. Back in 1 Kings 19 God sent Elijah to Elisha to take him in as his understudy. Elisha had lived with and learned from Elijah, becoming close with him through the process. As Elijah is called to Bethel, he tells Elisha three times to “stay here”. Each time Elisha’s response is the same: “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you”. Elisha is dedicated.

In life we too will find ourselves in positions similar to Elisha’s. For example, it happens when a good friend moves away. In the time left we rejoice over our friendship and we encourage one another on the journey ahead. It happens when a friend or loved one prepares to transition to the next life. We remain present and we assure them (and ourselves) of what lies ahead. We remind each other of our love for one another and of God’s love for us. As people of faith we commit to remaining engaged and connected in and through times of change.

At first Elijah seems to want to be rid of Elisha. On the surface it appears to be so. We must ask why. For some, this occurs because they want to spare the other being present right at the end. For some, they push others away to test, to see if they’ll really stick it out to the end. We do not know Elijah’s motivation, but we do see a change in him. Not only does he relent to Elisha’s request, but he begins to think of the other, of Elisha. As a way to acknowledge their relationship and to say thank you to his protege, to his friend, he asks Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you”? In a gesture of both love and concern, he asks what he can do for his friend before God takes him up into heaven. Elijah is thinking of much more than himself.

It is those content and strong in their faith that can remain present and have something to offer the other as the end draws near. As one says a last goodbye to a friend moving away or to loved ones before transitioning to eternity, sharing one’s faith and trust in God is a precious gift. We arrive at that point by living each day like Elijah did, connected to and loving and trusting fully in God. When we are content and strong in our faith, we too can witness to that faith as we make such transitions. May we invest in others for the building of the kingdom here on earth.

Prayer: God, parting is hard. Sometimes it simply comes and we are a part of it. Sometimes it is a choice made. God, grant me grace and love to walk faithfully through the changes that life brings. Amen.