pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: loosely


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Ready, Ready?

Reading: Luke 21:5-11

Luke 21:6 – “As for the things you are admiring, the time is coming when not even one stone will be left upon another.”

As we begin two days in Luke 21, the scene is the temple in Jerusalem. Some people are talking about and admiring the brand new iPhone 17 Pros that were just issued to the Levite priests. Oops. That would be today. In Luke they were admiring the beauty of the temple. It was truly glorious. Speaking into this admiration, Jesus says, “As for the things you are admiring, the time is coming when not even one stone will be left upon another.” This monument to God will be utterly destroyed.

To the Jews, the temple was more than a pretty building. Yes, it would bring great sorrow to see it destroyed. Imagine waking up tomorrow and driving to church, only to find a pile of smoldering ruins. The Jews believed that God literally dwelled in the temple, in the Holy of Holies. Their communal identity was tied to the temple. Stunned by this thought, the people ask Jesus, “When…?” Instead of telling them when, Jesus begins to address how – how to be ready for when this happens. There will first be false prophets. Don’t listen to them. Then there will be signs: wars, earthquakes, famine, epidemics. These too will be signs warning that the end is near.

In our day, we can be just like the people in Luke 21. We can look longingly at another’s stuff – cars, homes, jobs, phones, status, wealth… And we can easily worry when any of our things are threatened by a stock market dip, by a health scare, by potential unemployment, by a change in our benefits… It has been a long, long time since anyone believed that God resided in a building. And it has been a long, long time that the faithful have believed that all we have really belongs to God. Yet we can easily get caught up in longing for the things of this world.

We can choose to live differently. We can focus on the things of God, readying ourselves for that final day. Living with God’s Spirit dwelling within us, holding loosely to the things of this world, we are on our way to being ready, whenever we come to meet Jesus face to face.

Prayer: Lord God, instead of admiring and chasing after the things of this world, may we love and pursue you and your will and way. Draw us to the present yet eternal, to joy and peace, to hope and trust, to love and faith. Amen.


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Generously and Joyfully

Reading: Deuteronomy 26: 1-11

Verse 10: “I will bring the first fruits of the soil that you, O Lord, have given me”.

Being thankful or grateful is such an important part of our faith. It was so important to God that this practice is one of the key tenets of the chosen people’s faith. Every year it was celebrated. Today we read, “I will bring the first fruits of the soil that you, O Lord, have given me”. By bringing the first fruits we act in faith and trust. Abel brought the first lambs of his flock trusting that God would give him more. In faith Abraham offered his only son Isaac on the altar trusting that God would provide.

In our passage today, the first fruits are being offered as a “thank” offering. The first grapes or wheat or olive oil or lamb or goat or… was brought and sacrificed to God along with prayers of thanksgiving for the blessings in their lives. It was a time of joy. Our passage closes with, “rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given you”. These offerings also acknowledged that it is God alone who provides. This is still an important perspective for us to keep.

These two practices remain essential to healthy faith. Our first fruit is often referred to as a tithe in the church. We usually think of it as money but it can also be our time or our talents too. Either way, God still calls for it to be the first fruits. In practice that means we write the check or give the gift at the start of the month. This demonstrates trust and faith in God. It requires much less to wait until the end of the month to give what is left. No one wants leftovers. To give thankfully and joyfully is also an essential. To give willingly with a heart that rejoices in all that God has done is pleasing to God. Remember cleaning your room grudgingly because you had to? Don’t give that way.

Lest we think it too easy, we must remember that God calls us to this thankful giving so that we learn to always live with a generous and giving heart. In the day to day of life we are also called to give of ourselves when opportunity arises. It may be time for a lonely friend, it may be a meal for a hungry person, it may be watching a young mom’s kids so she can go to the grocery store. In all we do may we be thankful to God and may we share richly with others.

Prayer: Lord, may I hold loosely to all you bless me with so that it may freely go to those in need. Amen.