pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: life


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Creation Care

Reading: Psalm 29

Verse 11: “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace”.

In our Psalm today we see God’s action in the heavens and on the earth. God remains present in all of creation – not just in us. Both the universe and the earth are alive with birth and death. Stars are no more and new ones are created. The same is true here – plants, animals, fish, birds, insects, and human beings are no more and new ones are created. The hand of God is present in each death, in all new life, and at every point in between. This is as true of the grass of the field as it is of our very dearest loved one. God’s hand touches all of creation.

When we think of our interconnection with all of creation in this sense, then our understanding of stewardship is a bit different. We see the image of God in our fellow humanity; therefore we strive to treat them well and with kindness and love. If we saw all of creation – all of it – as being touched and held by the hand of God and therefore as sacred, then our treatment of the earth and all that is upon and in the earth would be better. More thought and care would go into how we care for and interact with the land, plants, animals, water, fish, birds…

Verse 10 reminds us that God “sits enthroned over the flood”. We can extend this idea – God sits enthroned over all of creation. Over you and me and over all the earth. In verse 11 we read, “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace”. In turn may we give strength and blessing to all that we share and inhabit the earth with – our brothers and sisters as well as all of creation.

Prayer: Father God, help me to care well for all I meet – for the stranger on the street, for the cat by the curb, for my friends and family, for the earth upon which I walk. Amen.


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Step Two

Reading: Acts 8: 14-17

Verse 17: “Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit”.

The early church fascinates me. All they knew was Jesus. They preached about salvation – the blessing that came with entering a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They told others about how Jesus changed their lives and offered Him to them so that they too could be born anew. The early church lived out their faith boldly and as a witness to Jesus and His love. They lived out in and with the world, sharing the good news with any and all. In them we can see just how easy it is to share the good news – we just have to tell others what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives, opening their eyes to what Jesus can do in their lives.

The early church learns that some in Samaria have accepted the word of God and were baptized with water. The Spirit had not yet come. So Peter and John are sent to help these new believers through step two. There, in Samaria, “Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit”. It was simply an invitation to go one step further, one step deeper – to not only be baptized into Jesus’ name, but to invite and accept into themselves Jesus’ living presence, the Holy Spirit. This second step brought the relationship with Jesus to fullness.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is still the second necessary step. One can come to understand that Jesus is the way, truth, and life. One can come to know that salvation comes through faith in Christ alone. We can share Jesus and people can comprehend that Jesus is the Messiah. All of this is just head knowledge. Until they claim Jesus as their own and invite Him into their heart, to dwell in them, then Jesus is just head knowledge. This second step – inviting Jesus to be a daily presence – is essential. The invitation brings the daily guidance and presence of Jesus into a believer’s heart. Then Jesus becomes king not only of their mind but also if their heart. We can lead people to know who Jesus is and we can share the power He has to change lives, but only that person can invite Jesus into their heart.

Prayer: God, allow others to know Jesus through my life – my words, my actions, my teaching. Allow my witness to draw others closer to you so that they can invite indwelling presence of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, into their lives, making them fully yours. If I am but one step in their journey to you, thank you for allowing me to play that role too. Thank you Jesus! Amen.


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Flourishing

Reading: Psalm 72: 5-7

Verse 6: “He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth”.

The Psalms reveal God with a poetic beauty. Sometimes it is a God who judges, who has high expectations. Sometimes it is a God that is patient and loving. Today’s Psalm is of the second variety. In either case, the Psalms are about revealing God and bringing Him glory.

Verse 5 speaks of God’s span of time. The psalmist equates God’s span to the life of the sun and moon. From the Genesis 1 account we know that God pre-exists these heavenly bodies because on the first day God created light. The light brought order out of the darkness. Through Jesus Christ, the light continues to dispel the darkness and evil from our lives and from the world. The King that the psalmist speaks of, Jesus, will indeed endure through all generations as well.

Verse 6 states, “He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth”. After the harvest, the rain falls on the remnant, even then nourishing it and preparing it for new life. When we have been pruned or when we have repented and chosen a better path, Jesus’ love you pours out upon us, bringing growth and new life. The showers that water the earth also bring blessing. As well as bringing growth, the waters also wash away and cleanse.

Verse 7 also speaks of the blessing that will fall upon the righteous, upon those who are faithful to God. The psalmist says that they will flourish. The writer names prosperity as a sign of God’s blessing. Prosperity can be in terms of wealth and resources, but not always. These are temporal, earthly. To me the hope and joy and peace and contentment that come from faithful living are the true and lasting blessings. All we do and say flourishes when we are at rest in our relationship with the Lord. All is well when it is well with our souls. Today, as we wait upon the One who was and is and is to come, may it be well with our souls as we trust in God.

Prayer: Lord of the universe, thank you for being my God. This day and every day, may I rest in you and your love. Pour out your peace and hope and contentment upon my life. May these things overflow into the lives of all I meet today. Amen.


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Hope and Promise

Reading: Zephaniah 3: 19-20

Verse 19: “I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered”.

The book of Zephaniah is a prophetic book that deals largely with the people’s sin and the consequences thereof. In the last dozen verses or so the prophet begins to paint the picture of restoration. In the final two verses, our passage for today, Zephaniah closes his book with words of hope and promise. Just as God never leaves us dead in our sin, so too will He redeem Israel.

In verse 19 Zephaniah writes, “I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered”. God will one day gather all His people. He will rescue the lame and all others who are suffering. God will give them praise and honor. To those who are faithful, God says, “I will bring you home”. Home is where God is. Home is eventually in heaven. God will bring restoration. Wholeness. Relief from all that ails and entangles. Restoration.

These words that God spoke to the people of Zephaniah’s time echo down through the ages. They fall upon our ears today. These words of hope and promise apply in so many situations. These words are realized when one first claims Jesus Christ as Lord. They are realized each time one turns to Jesus Christ as Savior, each time we confess and experience redemption. These words can be claimed each time God rescues us from a difficult trial. They can be claimed when we lay a faithful follower to rest and they have been completely restored by the Lord.

Our God is a God of hope and promise, of redemption and restoration. Claim the message of Zephaniah 3:19-20 today. Declare it to yourself and proclaim it to the world. In doing so, you will be blessed as you bless others with the message of hope and promise.

Prayer: Lord, I rejoice in knowing you. It brings contentment and peace in my daily life and it brings hope and assurance for my future. In the trial, I know you will rescue me, bringing redemption and restoration. Gather me each day into your abiding presence so that I may be your witness all of my days. Thank you Lord. Amen.


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Trust in God, Our Salvation

Reading: Isaiah 12: 2-6

Verse 2: “Surely God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid”.

Life can bring us all kinds of ups and downs. In the midst of Advent and the holiday season, even then, “life” affects us. In church yesterday, on the second Sunday of Advent, we had two prayer cards for families who lost loved ones, one for a surgery, one for a man who had to place his wife in an Alzheimer’s unit, and one for a grandson. It felt like a lot. Yet for each of these families affected, it feels much more profound and impactful.

As I read and reflected on today’s passage, I realized that Isaiah’s audience must have felt some big emotions too. As Isaiah spoke these words to the people, the powerful empire of Assyria was bearing down on their part of the world. In what felt like a tide sweeping across the earth, the Israelites were awaiting the first waves. As what surely felt like impending doom crept closer and closer, Isaiah offers these words of hope: “Surely God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid”. Yes, folks, trouble is on the way. But God is greater. Isaiah’s message to Israel is the same message to us: trust in God.

For those feeling sadness or loss or even uncertainty during this time of the year, this is an important message to hear: trust in God. Trust that God will lead you through, and He will. Trust that God will bring you the strength that you need, and He will. Trust that God will give you discernment and will bless your decisions, and He will. God is surely your salvation.

Isaiah closes our passage for today encouraging us to “shout aloud and sing for joy”. He is encouraging the people and us to celebrate God’s faithfulness in the past. In doing so we are strengthened for the day today. To all who are hurting or worried or struggling this Advent season, remember, God loves you, God is trustworthy, God is your salvation. Trust in God. Amen.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for those who are down, those who are blue, those who need your loving presence, your hope, your grace. Please be present to them, O God of our salvation. Thank you. Amen.


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Offering

Reading: Malachi 3: 1-4

Verse 2: “Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire”.

The book from the prophet Malachi closes the Old Testament. Like many other Old Testament prophets, Malachi’s words connect to Jesus Christ and the New Testament. Chapter 3 opens with God letting Malachi and all of Israel know that God will send “my messenger”. This messenger will “prepare the way before me”. Malachi is prophesying John the Baptist. As we work through the other readings this week, we will flesh out the story as we learn that John will indeed prepare the way for the coming of God incarnate, Jesus Christ.

Malachi goes on to write, “suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come”. As John preaches repentance out in the wilderness, Jesus will come to be baptized. The Spirit of God will descend on Jesus, marking the beginning of His ministry. Jesus will be the “messenger of the covenant”. The new covenant will be written on the cross, where Jesus will die for our sins. This new covenant changes everything – both now and eternally. It frees us from the guilt and shame of our sins as the blood washes them away. It makes a way for us to be saved to eternal life as we are made new again. There is a lot in verse 1: repentance, forgiveness, salvation, life.

Then, in verse 2, there is a shift, a reality check. Malachi writes, “Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire”. No, Jesus is not all peace and love and flowers. One does not have to spend too much time in the Gospels to discover that there is a cost to discipleship and to find that the road is narrow. When Jesus tells us that we must die to self and take up our cross daily, we find a cost. When Jesus redefines our priorities by telling us that we must first love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and then we must next love our neighbors as Jesus first loved us, then we find the road is narrow and is hard to walk at times.

If we are really following Jesus, we find that the Refiner calls us to die to self over and over and over. Sin after sin falls away as Jesus refines us. Our life gradually becomes the “offering given in righteousness”. May it be so for me and for you.

Prayer: God, take me as I am today and refine me to be more like you. Strip my pride and selfishness and judging – all that leads me to think I am more, making you less. Reverse that O God – help me to die to self so that I may be less so that Jesus is more. Amen.


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Eyes to See

Reading: Luke 21: 25-36

Verses 26 and 26: “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars… nations will be in anguish… men will faint from terror”.

In our gospel lesson for this week, Jesus tells us that there will be signs that signal His second coming. In our opening verses, He says, “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars… nations will be in anguish… men will faint from terror”. These verses make it sound like it will be evident when the time is at hand. Yet for thousands of years people have seen catastrophic wars and diseases and disasters and wondered: is it now?

Since war and violence and pestilence seem to be natural parts of our world that occur with regularity and frequency, it is hard to interpret any of these as the signs that Jesus Christ is speaking of in today’s passage. So how will we know? I think the better question is: how do we see?

In our modern world we often rely on medicine instead of prayer. We turn to prayer as a last resort. We turn to ourselves to solve life’s problems instead of seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. When this doesn’t work, we may try and numb ourselves or may turn to other ways to take our minds off the matter. Again, we turn to faith when all of our efforts to solve, avoid, numb, forget, ignore… have failed. We do not always see the world – both the bad as well as the good – through eyes of faith. If we are looking for signs with our human eyes, surely we will miss the signs from God.

To use a simple illustration, I see this revealed at funerals. If the person and family are people of faith, they see the loss with a long-term vision. If the person and/or family is not a person or people of faith, then the death is the end. Both families feel the sting and pain of human loss, but when viewed through eyes of faith, the hurt is tempered by the hope of eternal life and by thoughts of eventual reunion. These same can be said for how people view change, other losses, hard times…

Yes, Jesus will return. If we are looking for, even anticipating this, then we see the world with eyes of faith and our daily lives are so much richer. We will see signs of the kingdom often, being strengthened and encouraged along the way. May we ever be on the watch, seeing with eyes of faith, eager and ready to encounter Jesus here and when we do stand before Him one day. Amen.

Prayer: Lord, prepare me. Lord, give me kingdom eyes to see. Come Lord Jesus, come. Amen.


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Thank You Jesus

Reading: Revelation 1: 4-8

Verses 5-6: “To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood… to Him be the glory and power for ever and ever”!

Today’s passage is the greeting from the book of Revelation. While the book itself is complex and can be hard to understand, this is not the case with our passage today. It begins by extending grace and peace to the churches from Jesus – “Him who is, and who was, and is to come”. It reminds us that Jesus is present now in the Spirit, was both here at the beginning of time and as God incarnate, and is to come again in the glory of final victory one glorious day.

The passage also identifies Jesus as “the faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth”. As Jesus ministered on earth, He was faithful and obedient to God alone. He witnessed to what it looks like to truly love God and neighbor. After His crucifixion, Jesus was resurrected to eternal life, becoming the first born from the dead. The grave could not hold Him – sin and death we’re defeated. Jesus is the first of many. All who call on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will follow His path and will be born anew into eternal life. Jesus is also the ruler of the kings of the earth. No one has ruled or will ever rule on earth unless they are part of God’s plan. In the end, every knee will bow and confess Jesus is Lord.

Verses 5 and 6 read, “To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood… to Him be the glory and power for ever and ever”! In this week of thanks, it is good to remember that Jesus loved us enough to endure the physical pain and suffering of the cross and the huge emotional weight of bearing our sins. He did this so that His blood could wash away our sins, leaving us pure and holy in God’s sight. Yes, indeed, thank you Jesus. With all we do and say and think, may we echo the last line – to Him be glory and power forever. Amen.

Prayer: Thank you Jesus! Thank you for your love and for the cross. Without you I am wretched and sinful. With you I am saved and free. All glory to you forever and ever! Amen.


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King

Reading: Psalm 132

Verses 3 and 5: “I will not enter my house or go to my bed – till I find a place for the Lord”.

David proclaims that he will not stop until he finds a place for God to dwell. He will not go home or to bed until he finds a place for God. David is operating under the assumption that God will dwell in a building. While God did reside the in the tabernacle or temple for a while, in general God is not found in one place.

When we speak of finding a place for God today, it is referring to a place in our hearts. There, in our heart, Jesus prefers to sit on the throne. I think that is where we want Jesus to be too. Yet we can sure struggle at times living with Jesus as the real Lord of our life. We find all sorts of idols to chase after and, in doing so, give them priority in our lives. Jesus is often dethroned while we pursue wealth or popularity or titles or other bright, shiny objects.

I am drawn to the “where would I be…” questions. Where would I be without that new car? Still driving that reliable older car. Where would I be without that extra $500 I worked so hard for? Still living a comfortable life. Where would I be without that title that took so much effort to attain? Still happily serving my church.

But then I get to question: where would I be without Jesus? I do not want to think about the answers to that question. It is then that I realize just how much I need Jesus to be the Lord of my life, to ever sit on the throne. How about you?

Prayer: Lord, you are all that really matters in my life. Be the king of my heart each and every day. I ask this humbly and knowing that I need you desperately. Jesus, be my king. Amen.


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The King of Glory

Reading: Psalm 24

Verse 10: “Who is he, the King of glory? The Lord Almighty – He is the King of glory”.

In many denominations today is All Saints Day. It is a day to recognize, to remember, and to rejoice in the saints that have been and in those who are living exemplary faithful lives now. In a most general definition, a saint is one who lives or lived a life that reminds others of Jesus Christ.

David opens the Psalm by reminding us that “the earth and everything in it” – including us – is the Lord’s. The passage then moves on to the eternal question: “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord”? Who will enter heaven? David’s answer is pretty straight forward: those with clean hands and a pure heart, those who do not bow down to idols. In the words of the day, the saints will ascend to be with Christ.

When folks arrive at the moment of drawing their final breath, almost all are either assured of what will come next or they are full of worry and fear. I have not been present in those final moments when one or the other was not the case. In situations where I have not been present, in the days just after a loss as I have met with lots of families, the assurance of life eternal was almost always either there or it clearly was in doubt. Once in a great while there is questioning about a loved one’s eternal future.

When I think on these experiences and reflect on this day to give our thanks for the saints we know and have known, I rejoice in those who live and have lived with clean hands and pure hearts. They love and worship the Creator. They set an example. When they read verse ten, the answer was or is not in doubt: “Who is He, the King of glory”? Why, He is their friend, Jesus Christ. All their words, actions, and deeds proclaim Jesus as Lord. The Lord Almighty, He is our friend too. As we journey through today and through life, may all we do and say and think bring glory to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

God, I think you for the great cloud of witness that you have provided in my life. Thank you for their witness to me. May each day of my life help others to know you as the many saints in my life have helped me to know you more. All praise and glory to you, O Lord. Amen.