pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: light


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Let Us Rejoice

Reading: Psalm 118: 1-2 & 19-29

The Psalm opens with a timeless line: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever”.  These three truths form some of the bedrock of our faith.  If one took the time, we could each list the many ways that we have personally experienced each of these truths in our lives.  As we grow in our faith, we come to appreciate each of these truths more and more.

The relationship we have with God is the overarching relationship in our life.  He actively seeks to guide and protect us, to bless us, and to bring us joy.  God desires to answer our prayers, to bring us success, and to receive our praise.  He is our strength in times of doubt, our courage in times of fear, our comforter in times of suffering, and our light in times of darkness.  Our relationship with God is the relationship which we should model all of our other relationships after.

For our part, we offer God our thanksgiving and praise for all He brings to the relationship.  Our grateful response is to seek to bring others into this relationship as well.  Jesus commanded all of His followers to go forth to make new disciples.  Jesus set the example for what our relationships with God and fellow man should look like and then said to go and do likewise, to love others as He first loved us.  We do this by being love, goodness, strength, courage, comfort, and light to those in our lives.

The psalmist also wrote, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”.  As we seek to emulate Christ and to bring Him to the corners of our world, we too will be blessed.  As we share the light and love of Christ with others, we too will be blessed.  Verse 24 reads, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”.  Each day is a day the Lord has made.  May we go out daily into our world rejoicing in all He has done for us, drawing others into our joy and praise, into His love and hope.


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True Hope

Reading: Psalm 126

The psalm begins with the memory of captivity and exile and moves into a time to sow and then to wait for the harvest.  The darkest hour seems to have passed and new life and hope seem just around the corner.  To wait for the harvest takes time and patience and trust but also comes with expectancy and hope.  One day new life will spring up, hope will continue to grow, and then a joyous harvest will be reaped.

This cycle of life can represent our faith journey as well.  As we begin to move past a time in the desert, we begin to see signs of hope as well.  Out of the trial we begin to see how we were refined or strengthened by the trial.  From the work that God was doing in us or in our lives, we begin to see new life take shape.  It sprouts and there is an excitement and hope and promise.  Over time it grows and comes to be something that gives hope and light and love to others.  We are bearing fruit and planting seeds in others that will one day sprout in the lives of others.  As we use the gifts and experiences we had have to walk alongside others in times of trial, we can help them begin to see the hope we find in Christ as we journey together.

It is within the work of resurrection on the cross that we have our true hope.  It is because of God’s love expressed through Jesus Christ that we have this true hope.  The true hope of eternal life is the source of our strength and trust in Him.  This true hope is what shines within us and also shines out to bring hope and light and love to those in darkness.  May we ever share the good news within us with a world so in need.


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Constant and Steadfast

Readings: Psalm 126: 4-6 and Isaiah 43: 16-21

Both passages speak to God’s love and provision that allows us to walk through difficult times, holding onto our faith.  Both texts acknowledge that at times we will face difficulties, hardships, challenges.  Both writings remind us that just as God has been there for His people in past trials, He too will be our rock and light in the trials we face.

In times of trial it does indeed seem dark.  We await some sign of hope or the dawn of change that signals a beginning to the end of our trial.  If it is a prolonged trial, we come to points of wanting to shout “Why?” to God.  It is in these moments that we need to recall God’s work in our lives.  It is at these times that we need to draw upon the strength found in passages such as today’s readings.  When we remind ourselves of God’s unfailing and steadfast love, the darkness lessens as hope begins to grow again.

Each trial we go through is an experience in faith.  As we reflect on how God was present to us each time faced a tough situation, we will see how we were never alone and we will see God’s hand always at work.  These reflections allow our faith and trust in God to grow.  They bring us reassurances that He will be there in the next trial and in the next and in the next…  For His constant presence and steadfast love, we say thanks be to God!


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The Joy of the Lord

Reading: Psalm 32

God desires to bring us joy unspeakable.  His desire is to fill us with joy as we walk daily in a loving and meaningful personal relationship with Him.  Each and every day God seeks to be the sunshine that can carry us  through any storm.  His mercies are new every morning because His love never fails.  Even though we will fail at times, God never gives up on us.

The psalmist admits to God and reveals to us a time of struggle in their life.  When he or she was silent and did not confess their sins to God, they experiences a time without joy.  Physical ailment came due to a separation from God.  We too can easily experience this.  When we are emotionally and spiritually stuck in our sin, the feeling and affects of being separated from God are real and tangible.

As  the psalmist admits their sins to God, the joy of the Lord returns.  It is as if sunshine has broken through the clouds and the lights fills their heart.  The sudden flooding in of God’s joy and love leads to proclaiming to others the amazing impact God’s love can have on our lives.  The psalmist bears witness to the joy that has been restored now that they walk in a right relationship with God again.  The joy is unspeakable.  He or she feels they must teach, instruct, guide, and lead others to experience this joy themselves.

The joy of  the Lord is the Son shine that we can have in our lives every day as well.  If we humble ourselves daily and confess our sins to the Lord, we too will experience the joy of living in a right personal relationship with God.  This joy that we are filled  with becomes a light within us that we too must share with all we meet.  May the joy of the Lord fill us and flow out of us into the lives of all we meet through our words, actions, and deeds, bringing glory and honor to His name.


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Being Fruitful

Reading Luke 13: 1-9

The world is sometimes filled with tragedy and sorrow.  You do not have to watch the news too long to feel the urge to turn off the television.  In today’s passage the people come to Jesus with a story of death and tragedy and are seeking help to make sense of it.  Jesus instead bring sup another story of loss and sorrow.  He warns us that tragedy can strike us all and that we must therefore repent, lest we will perish.  Jesus is implying that death will come to us all; it is up to us how we choose to live our lives between now and then.  Will our lives lead us to perish to hell or to rise to eternal life?

Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the fig tree.  The owner comes for a third year and again finds no fruit on the tree.  He instructs the gardener to cut it down.  The gardener asks for one more year.  He will tend to it and water it and fertilize it in an effort to help the tree bear fruit.  In this parable we are the fig tree.  Year after year Jesus pours into us through the Word, in worship, in small groups, …  He yearns to see us bear fruit.  The Holy Spirit works on us also, pruning and fertilizing and guiding us along so that we are more able to bear fruit.

As we continue to grow in our faith, we will bear fruit as we mature, just as the tree will.  As we touch the lives of others, bearing fruit and shining the light and love of Jesus, we will bring hope and comfort amidst the darkness and tragedies of this world.  It is through our witness and love that others will come to know Jesus, the only source of strength, healing, and understanding in the midst of pain and sorrow.  As we are fruitful and faithful witnesses, we are living for and pointing others toward the one and only way to true, eternal life: Jesus Christ.

 


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Shining

Paul reminds us how Moses’ face would shine after he had spent time with God.  It was a physical reminder of the Israelites direct connection to God.  So in those moments when Moses was still aglow, the words he shared from God must have carried a little extra weight.  Paul also points out, however, that the Israelites were also quick to forget God’s words and to turn away.  The light of God’s glory quickly faded for some of the people.

Jesus’ gift to us is the Holy Spirit.  Paul parallels the glory of God shining on Moses with the glory of the Holy Spirit dwelling in each of us.  When we have the Holy Spirit living within us, then we too can shine God’s glory out to those we encounter.  God’s light and love dwelling in us should be a constant glow that radiates from us through our lives in the many ways we share our faith and hope with others.

But we too can be like the Israelites.  We too can mask the light within at times as we make poor decisions and sinful choices.  In these times we are like Moses putting that veil over God’s glory.  We too can become stubborn or unwilling to allow the light of the Holy Spirit that is within to guide our steps.  God can place opportunities before us and the Spirit can nudge us towards them and we can still turn away.  We can sometimes be too good at rationalizing or making excuses.

The good news is that the Spirit’s light never goes out and it continues to work in us.  Sometimes it convicts us and steels us for action when the next opportunity comes.  Sometimes it softens our hearts and makes us more willing the next time.  May we learn to be ever open to allowing the Spirit free reign so that God’s glory will shine forth from us for all to see!

Scripture reference: 2 Corinthians 3: 12-16


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Shining the Light

Isaiah begins the passage today by declaring that he will not be silent.  Instead he will continue to speak until “righteousness shines out like the dawn”.  Each morning as the sun rises at dawn, the light slowly creeps forth and it lights up everything.  All is illuminated.  Isaiah claims his role to continue to speak out so that all will know salvation.

Jesus again spoke out to proclaim this same message of salvation for all people.  Everywhere He went and to all He spoke with, Jesus exemplified this same righteousness shining out like the dawn.  To all He ministered to Jesus was love and kindness and mercy.  He offered an alternative to the things people were struggling with.  Jesus offered a new way to live, a way that gave freedom from sin and death.  His focus on God’s kingdom also lifted our eyes off of all these earthly trappings.

Jesus called us too to be the light that is always shining out into the world.  He called us to be the same righteousness that brings light to all around it.  And He does not want us to ever be silent until all come to know the light.  Here is where the struggle begins.  There is so much that can distract us and cause our light to not always be shining out.

Do we remember when we first fell in love with God?  Do we remember how it consumed us?  For some that passion slowly dies away as it is not fed on a regular, steady basis.  For some life grows to be so busy as we allow work, sports, and other activities, pursuits, interests, and responsibilities to take up our time, energy, or both.  God must be our first priority.  If He is not, we must stop the whirlwind and place God back at the center.  Carving out time with God every day has to be the starting point.  Time in prayer and the study of His Word will allow that light to shine out into all we do.  When we center our lives on Jesus, then His light in us will be like the dawn, shining out to bring light to all.  May Jesus be our all in all we do this day and every day.

Scripture reference: Isaiah 62: 1-5


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The Journey

God’s promises to Zion are promises to us too.  In the broad sense, Zion is the place where God and mankind connect.  People of all walks of life, from a wide variety of circumstances and situations, and from all over the world come and connect to God.  Each of us are such people.  We are drawn by the promises of freedom from sin and death, of abundant life in the here and now, and of eternal life in the time to come.  God’s promises bring love, hope, joy, and peace.

In order to live in and enjoy all of God’s promises, we must go on and be on a journey.  Our journey begins with another’s faith.  We come to know God through our parents or through a friend as we see faith in them.  Our desire to “have” what they have leads us into our own personal relationship as we choose to declare Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Through our own servanthood and discipleship we begin to live into God’s promises.  We see the world from a new perspective.  As we continue to walk in this new relationship we experience the constant renewal of our mind and heart as we grow closer and closer to Him.

We cannot stop walking though.  Some do.  Some say they have accepted Christ and act as if that is the end point.  It is not.  Our journey of faith continues until the day we die.  Every day we are  called to know Him more and to fall deeper and deeper in love with Him.  Our role also expands.  We add witness to servant and disciple.  It is the “go” part of the great commission.  We all need to become His light and love in the world so that others might see our life in Christ and say as we once said: I want some of that.  May our light and love draw others to His light and love.

Scripture reference: Isaiah 62: 1-5


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Giving Thanks and Looking Forward

2015 ends today.  Tomorrow is the start of 2016.  Today is Thursday.  Tomorrow will be Friday.  In one sense, today is just another day.  While all this is true, there is still something special about the coming to the end of one year and the anticipation of a new year about to come.

People often celebrate at the end of the year.  As people of God we too should celebrate all that He has done to touch our lives in the past year.  As we look back over the year, may we offer our thanks to God for the guidance, blessings, and love He has poured out upon us.  May we also give thanks for the opportunities we have had to share His message and His love with others.  And lastly, may we give Him thanks for the times when His strength and love were all that carried us through.

As 2016 is about to dawn, we also must look forward to the new year.  We wonder what all God has in store for us.  We wonder how and where we will grow in our relationship with God and anticpate the ways He will use us in 2016 to be His light and love and hope in our world.  May we enter into the new year as eager disciples, seeking to draw ever closer to God in our walk of faith and seeking to be ever more like Jesus in our walk in the world.

Scripture reference: Psalm 147: 12-20


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Love Lived Out

For many who return to work today, it signals the end of the Christmas season.  For most it is a return to the normal routine and it is a good thing.  We are creatures of habit.  For the students, vacation lasts a little longer.  But soon enough, even for them, it is nice to return to the routine of school, to seeing friends on a regular basis, and to having a schedule.

For some, Christmas has given them a taste of what a connection to God is like.  Much like the Israelites in today’s reading, they now have a memory of what life could be like.  The people of God recalled life before exile and they long to return to their homeland and to experience life under God’s loving care.  Through Christmas, many people experience what life could be like.  For many, Christmas this year was filled with God’s love and on Christmas Eve they experienced God’s presence as a tangible feeling.  Perhaps this is you or someone you know.  There is a deep call within each of us to connect to God and to experience life as He intended it to be.

In the high of Christmas we see what life should be like.  We realize life has been less than it could be.  But it does not have to be this way.  Through Jesus Christ, God invites us all to order our lives as they should be, focusing on others instead of self, just as Jesus did.  In this loving, giving, self-sacrificing model, we begin to experience life as it should be.  Life lived to the full is a life of love for God that grows and overflows to become love for neighbor.  May our love for God and neighbor be a light shining in the darkness this day, drawing others to the light and love of God, to love lived out.

Scripure reference: Jeremiah 31: 7-9