pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: life


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Cycle 1

Readings: Job 6, – Job 14

Job 11:7 – “Can you find the secret of God or find the extent of the Almighty?”

Today’s readings complete the first cycle of Job’s conversations (arguments?) with his three “friends.” This pattern occurs two more times. In chapters 6-7 Job speaks. He longs for his suffering to end. He again reasserts his innocence. Job accuses his friends of disloyalty and then he asks them to help him understand his situation. And then he asks to be left alone. These are thoughts and feelings that we’ve all had in times of suffering.

Bildad responds by inviting Job to look to the past. There Job will see a God of justice and faithfulness. He advises Job to turn to God, to confess and repent, and then God will “fill your mouth with joy.” Job counters by asking if anyone can truly be innocent before God. Even though no one can contend with God’s power, Job still wants a contest (or trial) with the God who “destroys the blameless and the sinners.” Quite an accusation! But in a moment of realization, Job speaks of a mediator – one who could stand impartially between God and Job. Then Job’s case could be heard. As chapter 10 closes, a darkness descends. Job longs for death, even wishes he wasn’t even born.

Zophar responds, reminding Job of God’s wisdom that is far beyond Job’s understanding – but within Zophar’s! Oh that Job would just confess and repent. Then Job could “lift up your face without blemish.” Job responds by acknowledging God’s superiority but quickly reminds Zophar that he is not superior to Job. He again claims his innocence and longs to just speak with God. His life is now nothing. What does he have to lose?

In chapter 14 Job bookends a hopeful thought with the realities of life. We bloom and then whither like a flower. Life is too short. In verse 13 Job speaks a hopeful but impossible thought: if God would just place him in Sheol until God’s anger passed. Then God could restore Job. Cycle two begins tomorrow!

Prayer: Lord God, what swings of emotion and thought. What ups and downs as Job and his friends try and make sense of all this suffering. We too wrestle with these things. We too get caught up in our struggles and trials. When we do, Lord, pull us back to the reality of your sure and steadfast love. Amen.


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A Solid Foundation

Readings: 1st Chronicles 28, 1st Chronicles 29

1st Chronicles 28:9c: – “If you seek God, he will be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.”

As we close 1st Chronicles we close the story of David’s reign. Who and what David was and much of what he did will live in through Solomon and through the construction of the temple. The peace and prosperity that Solomon and Israel will enjoy are also byproducts of David’s life and legacy.

David gathers all Israel to Jerusalem. He begins by explaining why Solomon will build the temple: David has shed too much blood. He reminds the people that God chose him as king and declares that God has chosen Solomon as the next king. We once again read the call to obedience. This time it is summed up this way: “If you seek God, he will be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.” David then gives Solomon the plans for the temple. These plans include both the building plans for the physical temple and the plans for ordering and administrating the temple. David is thorough.

Turning the focus to Solomon, David tells him to be “strong and courageous.” He tells him to get to work. David tells him that there is nothing to fear – God is with him. All is ready. David then gives generously from his own personal wealth. He then challenges the leaders to do the same. Their “wholehearted and willing” generosity inspired the people to rejoice. David then blesses the Lord, recognizing first God’s power and might. He then acknowledges that all comes from God. He rejoices in their choice to return some as a blessing to God.

A great celebration follows. Solomon is crowned and, according to the chronicler, “All Israel obeyed him.” David does, having lived well, having provided well for the future. I wonder, are we as intentional about living this way? Do we live in such a way that we die well, leaving a solid foundation for those who will follow?

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the great reminder today. David saw beyond himself and worked hard and gave generously for that future. David set a great example. Use us too as good, faithful, generous examples for others. And maybe most importantly, David knew that all he had – all Israel had – were gifts from you. Grant us this perspective too. All is yours. Lead us to treat our lives and all that we have and are this way. Amen.


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Gracious and Compassionate

Readings: 2nd Kings 11, 2nd Kings 12, 2nd Kings 13

2nd Kings 13:23 – “But the LORD was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them, turning back to them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Chapters 11-13 are chapters filled with evil done in the sight of the Lord. Our readings begin with Athaliah killing off almost her entire family – so she can rule Judah. But one of Ahaziah’s sons escapes. Hidden away and raised in the temple, Jehoash becomes king at age 7. The priest Jehoiada orchestrates this. He then makes a covenant with the people to belong to the Lord. Jehoash is mostly a bright spot. He oversees the repair of the temple in spite of the priests’ reluctance. But he allows shrine worship to continue. And he buys off Aram’s King Hazael with the Holy objects and gold from the temple. In the end, a conspiracy by his own officials ends Jehoash’s reign after 40 years.

Shifting back to Israel in Samaria, Jehoahaz becomes king. He rules for 17 mostly evil years. A bright moment comes amidst heavy oppression from Aram. He cries out to God and God sends a savior who defeats Aram. There is peace, “But they didn’t deviate from the sins.” Joash is the next king. His 16 years are filled with what was evil in God’s sight. He dies and Jeroboam becomes king in Israel.

Our readings end with Elisha’s final appearance. He becomes gravely ill and King Joash pays him a visit. Through the use of a bow and some arrows, Elisha prophesies some rescue from Aram. He dies and is buried. And then his bones bring a man back to life. God is still present, in more ways than one. In verse 23 of chapter 13 we read, “But the LORD was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them, turning back to them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Ah, the covenant. Ah, the love.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the closing reminder of your covenant love. No matter the evil done by Jehoash or Jehoahaz or Joash or by us, your love remains. You remain compassionate and gracious. You even work through some we least expect – like Jehoash and maybe even through us. You can use any situation and any person for your plans. Restore us when we fail. Use us as you will. Amen.


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The One Who Does Right

Readings: 1st Samuel 25, 1st Samuel 26, 1st Samuel 27, 1st Samuel 28

1st Samuel 25:28 – “The LORD will definitely make an enduring dynasty for my master because my master fights the LORD’s battles.”

Chapter 25 brings us the story of Abigail – another female heroine who does what is right in the eyes of the Lord. She is married to Nabal, who harshly and arrogantly refuses to help David and his soldiers. This angers David and leads his to say, “Strap on your swords!” Abigail hears of all this and quickly prepares a gift, heading out to intercept David. She moves his heart away from bloodshed and vengeance with her wise words. She also tells him, “The LORD will definitely make an enduring dynasty for my master because my master fights the LORD’s battles.” He accepts her wisdom and her gifts and sends her home in peace. When Nabal hears the story, his heart fails and he soon dies. Abigail then becomes David’s wife.

Saul then comes again in pursuit of David. God causes a deep sleep to come over Saul’s camp. David and Abishai sneak into camp and steal Saul’s spear and water jug. In the morning, David confronts Abner about what has happened. Saul realizes that David has spared his life a second time: mercy.2.0. Saul blesses David and he returns back home. David settles in the land of the Philistines.

Then the Philistines again come out for war. Saul gathers the troops. He tries to consult God, but God is silent. Through a medium at Endor, Samuel is called up from the grave. Samuel reiterates what he had said before – the kingdom will be torn away. He adds something Saul likely knew – it will be given “to your friend David.” And he adds ominous news – tomorrow Saul and his sons will die at the hands of the Philistines. Saul is “utterly terrified.” We are drawing close to a transition in leadership. The one who does right in the eyes of the Lord is being guided and blessed by God. May it be so with you and with me.

Prayer: Lord God, in the midst of the foolishness, poor decisions, and overly emotional responses you continue to steadfastly guide, using this person here and that person there to accomplish your plans. Continue to lead and guide us, your servants, through the chaos and uncertainty of this world. Amen.


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Choose God, Find Life

Readings: Deuteronomy 26, Deuteronomy 27, Deuteronomy 28, Deuteronomy 29, Deuteronomy 30

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 – “Now choose life… by loving the LORD your God, by obeying his voice, and by clinging to him.”

Chapter 26 begins by establishing a solemn oath to be taken when entering the Promised Land. The oath recalls the past and celebrates all that God has done. It reminds them of the important role that they will play upon entering Canaan – to obey God’s word. If Israel lives this way they will be God’s “treasured people.”

Moses instructs the people to set up giant stones and to write the Law upon them once they cross the Jordan. There is then a blessing-cursing ceremony in which Moses reviews a sampling of the Law. Failure to keep these brings curses. This is then followed by “future blessings.” If Israel carefully keeps all of God’s commandments, blessing will come in many ways. The other nations of the world will be in awe of Israel.

Next comes a long section on the curses that will come if Israel does not obey God. Death and destruction, plague and oppression and death, exile – it will be horrific. Much of this will come to pass. Chapter 29 halts this bad narrative and invites the people into a covenant relationship with God. The good and the bad have been laid out. Chapter 30 returns to reality. The sin cycle will be fully lived out. The curses will befall Israel. But… when you turn back to God, you will be restored. Israel will be gathered back up.

Our reading closes with words of encouragement. To obey – it’s not too difficult. These words, this God – “in your mouth and in your heart.” Life and death, blessing and curse, they have been set before Israel – and before us.“Now choose life… by loving the LORD your God, by obeying his voice, and by clinging to him.” May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, you lay out the reality before us – life with you versus life without you. It is not a promise, though, of everything being good if we’re obedient. The promise is your presence. There we do find good in all things, even in the defeats and exiles. Thank you for being our constant God. Amen.


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God: Good, Creative, Loving

Readings: Genesis 1, Genesis 2, Genesis 3

Genesis 3:5 – “You will see clearly and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Photo credit: Marek Piwnicki

As we begin our adventure of reading the Bible in a year, we start at the beginning, in the creation story. Genesis 1 is a very familiar passage – day 1 there is light, day 2 the waters are separated, day 3 land is formed and plants are created… Four times we read, “God saw how good it was.” Then, on day 6, God creates humanity “in our image.” Creation is completed and God now says, “it was supremely good.” Humanity completes creation and raises it from good to supremely good. In chapter 1 we find two themes that run throughout the Bible: God is good and God creates or gives life.

Turning to Genesis 2 we read a different creation story. In this account we read that on day 3 God creates a man. Then, on day 6 of the original story, God creates a woman from the man’s rib. Among the rest of creation, a “helper that is perfect” could not be found so once again, God creates. In chapter 2 we experience our first dissonance. Our brain tells us that both stories cannot be “true.” Our brain is right. Here we learn an important thing about the Bible: it is not a book of “how” but is a book of “who” and of “what.” It is not a science or history book. The Bible is a book about our relationship with a good and loving God.

We close today’s reading with chapter 3. This is another very familiar story. The temptation and sin and fall of Adam and Eve represent another recurring theme in the Bible: human arrogance. Adam and Eve believe the snake’s words: “You will see clearly and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” To be like God – it’s too tempting to pass up. They eat and God’s heart is broken. They hide when God comes to walk and talk with them in the garden. God asks, “What have you done?” This certainly won’t be the last time God asks this question. And it won’t be the last time that God works to restore our relationship with God. All we can say is: thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, in love and with purpose, you created our world and you created us. You allowed us the freedom to choose you or other things. Then and now when we choose other things, your love does not fail, you still desire relationship, and you seek to draw us back to you. Thank you for your great love for all of creation, especially for us, O God. Amen.


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Restore Us, O God

Reading: Psalm 126:4-6

Verse 6: “He [or she] who goes out weeping… shall come home with shouts of joy.”

Photo credit: Shane Rounce

Turning to the second half of Psalm 126 today we bump up against reality. Life happened to Israel and it happens to us. At times our humanity and our tendency towards selfishness and sin gets us to a place of exile, either from God or from one another or from both. And sometimes the actions or decisions of others negatively affect us. And… at times we get sick or a natural disaster impacts us or… In all of these circumstances and situations we too can cry out to God, “Restore our fortunes, O Lord!”

In verses 5-6 comes the promise and the hope. The reality of our times of sorrow or grief or sadness is that life goes on. As the Israelites continued to sow, even with tears in their eyes, we too must continue to keep moving. As we become able to, we need to resume living. The promise is that eventually we will “reap with songs of joy.” God will be at work, will walk with us through our sorrow…, and will bring joy back into our lives. It is this hope that enables us to work through our sorrow, grief, sadness…

Through tear-filled eyes and with heavy hearts the Israelites trusted in God to restore them. They knew that God was and is loving, faithful, and steadfast. Their trust rested upon these things. May we too recall the “great things” that God has done in our lives, trusting that “He [or she] who goes out weeping… shall come home with shouts of joy.” May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, in those moments of doubt and fear, when sadness and grief are about to win the battle, whisper your hope into our hearts. When it is difficult to take that next step, grant us courage and bring us the strength to step forward. When our hearts fill with sadness, wrap us in your love. And when loneliness sets in, send a brother or sister in Christ our way. Walk with us always, O God. Amen.


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Our Whole Life

Reading: Matthew 22:41-46

Verse 42: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

In yesterday’s first half of our gospel reading the religious leaders asked Jesus a question to test him. The Pharisees were experts in the Law. They knew the scriptures inside-out. Keeping the letter of the Law and honoring all of the traditions was their focus. They were great practitioners of religion. So when they asked Jesus a letter of the Law question, they were likely surprised when he gave them a spirit of the Law answer. The idea of summing up all of the Law into just two commands had to have gotten their heads spinning. If one’s life has been dedicated to keeping each and every of the 600+ laws, what would it be like to consider really keeping and living out just two?

In today’s text, Jesus pushes the conversation further, deepening their new state of unease. It is his turn to ask a question. For the Pharisees, answering “Whose son is he?” should be as easy for them as answering 2+2=? is for us. Yet they have no answer. The answer is not explicitly found in their scriptures. It is there if one digs and goes deeper: the Messiah is Christ, the son of God. But the religious leaders cannot see or even fathom God coming in the form of a baby now grown into this man standing before them. This did not fit their strict and narrow reading and interpretation of the scriptures. Jesus’ question left them with an even great feeling of unease.

We too can find ourselves in this place at times. We can fall into being experts at following the rules or checking the boxes. We can be really good at practicing our religion yet fail to live out our faith. Both are important. Both should answer the question of who Christ is to us. We too can find unease when these two cross paths. Our religion, for example, calls us to love our neighbors. It tells us to give the hungry person $10 to buy lunch. Our faith tells us to buy our lunches and then to sit down at the table with our neighbor. Unease.

As we ponder Christ’s total call on our lives, may we, like David, understand the Lord to be the Lord of our whole life. And, from there, may we live it out with all that we are and all that we have to offer.

Prayer: Lord God, guide me to not only know the word, but to be the word lived out. Guide me to not only help others to know Christ, but to experience Christ in me. Guide me to be not just faithful and obedient, but also to be compassionate and generous. As I seem to grow into you, Lord, grow in me. Amen.


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The Way to Abundant Life

Reading: Psalm 106:1-6 and 19-23

Verse 6: “We have sinned, even as our ancestors did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.”

Psalm 106 begins by praising and giving thanks to God because God is good and because God’s love endures forever. To praise and give thanks to God for these things is something that we should do every day. The psalmist then notes that we are blessed when we “maintain justice” and when we “do what is right.” Living in alignment with God’s will and ways is a blessed way to live. This is the experience spoken of in verses 4-5. The people of God – when living as the people of God – they enjoy prosperity and joy. What blessing!

The Psalm suddenly turns in verse 6. It gets real honest. Here the psalmist writes, “We have sinned, even as our ancestors did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.” This is as true for us as it was for the psalmist. Humanity is prone to sin. Left unchecked by the will and way of God, we become selfish and greedy and prideful… We become the one on the throne or we try and surround ourselves with things that make us feel safe and secure. We seek to achieve and gather, these things soon growing into idols. It might not be a golden calf, but it is certainly as temporal and manmade.

We make idols and lose our way for the same reason that the Israelites did: “They forgot the God who saved them.” We do this when we fail to do what the psalmist prescribed in verses 1-6. Praising God for the love and blessings, living out God’s justice and righteousness, and frequently confessing and repenting of our sins – these are the antidotes to becoming selfish, greedy, prideful… This is the way to abundant life, both now and into eternity. May this be the way that we choose to live day by day.

Prayer: Lord God, forgive my wayward and selfish decisions and choices. Strengthen me to change, to grow less selfish and prideful. Replace these with your justice and righteousness. Open my eyes to your works, filling my heart with praise and thanksgiving – for your mighty deeds and for your gentle touches. All praise and glory to you, O God! Amen.


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Present in All of Creation

Reading: Psalm 19:1-6

Verse 1: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

Psalm 19 speaks of two sides of God. They are different aspects of God in some ways yet work in unison to draw us deeper into our relationship with God. Today’s portion points us to the created world, where God’s power, might, and design are revealed. Tomorrow we turn to the second portion of Psalm 19. Here David rejoices in God’s word. Although very different from nature, the word also reveals God’s power, might, and design.

The opening verse sets the stage for today’s passage: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” To step outside right now, to gaze up at the stars dotting the sky – it moves me to awe and wonder. The stars that God knows by name paint a picture of beauty and grandeur. Soon enough the sun will rise and the “champion” will move across the sky, bringing light and warmth and life to all. Clouds will form and float across the sky, sometimes bringing rain to water the earth, sometimes being part of the water cycle in other ways. Plants, animals, and the earth receive the water and are blessed. All of this displays God’s power and might and it reveals God’s attention to the finest detail. Our response should be to worship God the creator.

At times we can lose this perspective. Driving east last summer, headed to camp, the sun was really hot pouring in through the windshield. I grumbled about it. Then I spent a week at camp, surrounded by God’s amazing creation, blessed by the sun and the water. In this place set apart, God was present. Today I am reminded that God is present in all of creation – in the hot sun and in the waves that break in the beach and in all things in between. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, I praise you for the created world and for the many ways in which you are revealed in it. Your infinite design awes me. Your creative power draws me to worship you. Thank you for this world and all that is in it. Amen.