pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Our Shepherd

Reading: Isaiah 40: 1-11

Verse 11: “He will tend his flock like a shepherd: he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his chest”.

Chapter 40 falls in the second section of the book of Isaiah. The end of the exile and the return to the Promised Land is on the horizon. In our passage today, God gives a word to Isaiah. The prophet casts a vision of what will be. These words speak of their current time, of our present time, and of a time yet to come. For Israel, they would hear “Comfort, comfort my people” as a word of hope for their near future. They would hear that the penalty for their sin has been paid, looking forward to the future with a renewed hope. Right now, in the corporate sense at a very minimum, we feel like we are living in exile. We long for true words concerning an end to the pandemic.

In the middle section of our passage, Isaiah first speaks words of hope, prophesying a day when “the glory of the Lord will be revealed”. Next, in verses six through eight, there is a reality check. There will be years between when the glory is revealed and the present time for Isaiah’s audience. Generations of mankind, which is like grass, will perish. Here the prophet is acknowledging that God’s time is not our time. They await the Messiah; we await the second coming of the Lord. Lastly for today, Isaiah speaks of the Lord who “will come in power”. He calls for a voice to bring “good tidings”, for a voice to speak words that “make straight paths for the Lord”. About 800 years after Isaiah’s time and about 2,000 years before our time John the Baptist will be that voice in the wilderness, preparing the way.

John will be the fulfillment of these words from the prophet Isaiah. He would herald the coming of the Lord, the one Isaiah writes about in verse eleven. Here he writes, “He will tend his flock like a shepherd: he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his chest”. Jesus himself will claim the role of the Good Shepherd. He will lead and guide the flock from the beginning to the end of this age. In this way Jesus fulfills Isaiah’s proclamation that “the word of our God stands forever”. Jesus was and is and is to come. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord of Lords, King of Kings, ruler of all creation, thank you for counting me as one of your flock. Thank you for carrying me close to your heart. In this season, I ask you to level out this rugged ground, to make this rugged place we all find ourselves into a plain – a time of peace and joy and hope and love. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.


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Ought To

Reading: 2nd Peter 3: 8-15a

Verse 11: “What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives”.

As the years pass, some of the second generation believers begin to question if Jesus is really returning. This generation did not see and hear Jesus himself teach and heal. They worry that eternal life and salvation may not be a part of their lives. They begin to wander from the faith. The fear of an imminent return had kept the more “mature” believers on the narrow path that Jesus had taught them personally. We also have this tendency. When we first believed we were “on fire” and now many are but slightly smouldering. In life, we too often procrastinate and then try and pull it off as the deadline looms. Unless it has to do with others. We want them to have things done yesterday, we want that item we ordered to get here before we order it. And if that little circle on our computer or phone spins just a titch too long…

In today’s passage Peter calls us to the fine line of our faith – be patient always but it could happen at any moment. We are called to endure and persevere on our journey of faith, knowing that it could all end this hour. So Peter asks the tough question: “What kind of people ought you to be”? This reminds me of the question about what I hope people say at my funeral. Well, I hope they say I loved the Lord and my family, that I gave time to serving others, that I was a generous soul, that I was selfless. Both questions get at the same end. As Peter writes, “You ought to live holy and godly lives”. The big question for us is this: are we? Are we living holy and godly lives? Am I? Are you?

Taking time to reflect on our lives and to refocus on the goal is important, especially in this season of Advent. For many of us, this Sunday is a day when we celebrate Holy Communion, a time that calls us to consider the state of our souls, to confess and repent of our sins, to be made new again. For all of us, as we move closer to December 24, we prepare to meet the holy and godly one who came as a baby, who grew up to set the ultimate example for who and what we ought to be as we live out our lives and our faith. As we do so, may we heed this plea that we find today in verse fourteen: “make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him”. May it be so for us all.

Prayer: Lord God, you call me to a difficult thing: holy and godly. In my humanity I cannot be these things. Alone, I am lost and without hope. But with you, with the presence of your Holy Spirit, I can live day by day seeking to become more and more like Jesus, the perfector of the faith. So fill me with your Holy Spirit. Guide me to how I ought to live, bringing you all of the glory and the honor. Amen.


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Ought To

Reading: 2nd Peter 3: 8-15a

Verse 11: “What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives”.

As the years pass, some of the second generation believers begin to question if Jesus is really returning. This generation did not see and hear Jesus himself teach and heal. They worry that eternal life and salvation may not be a part of their lives. They begin to wander from the faith. The fear of an imminent return had kept the more “mature” believers on the narrow path that Jesus had taught them personally. We also have this tendency. When we first believed we were “on fire” and now many are but slightly smouldering. In life, we too often procrastinate and then try and pull it off as the deadline looms. Unless it has to do with others. We want them to have things done yesterday, we want that item we ordered to get here before we order it. And if that little circle on our computer or phone spins just a titch too long…

In today’s passage Peter calls us to the fine line of our faith – be patient always but it could happen at any moment. We are called to endure and persevere on our journey of faith, knowing that it could all end this hour. So Peter asks the tough question: “What kind of people ought you to be”? This reminds me of the question about what I hope people say at my funeral. Well, I hope they say I loved the Lord and my family, that I gave time to serving others, that I was a generous soul, that I was selfless. Both questions get at the same end. As Peter writes, “You ought to live holy and godly lives”. The big question for us is this: are we? Are we living holy and godly lives? Am I? Are you?

Taking time to reflect on our lives and to refocus on the goal is important, especially in this season of Advent. For many of us, this Sunday is a day when we celebrate Holy Communion, a time that calls us to consider the state of our souls, to confess and repent of our sins, to be made new again. For all of us, as we move closer to December 24, we prepare to meet the holy and godly one who came as a baby, who grew up to set the ultimate example for who and what we ought to be as we live out our lives and our faith. As we do so, may we heed this plea that we find today in verse fourteen: “make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him”. May it be so for us all.

Prayer: Lord God, you call me to a difficult thing: holy and godly. In my humanity I cannot be these things. Alone, I am lost and without hope. But with you, with the presence of your Holy Spirit, I can live day by day seeking to become more and more like Jesus, the perfector of the faith. So fill me with your Holy Spirit. Guide me to how I ought to live, bringing you all of the glory and the honor. Amen.


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Ought To

Reading: 2nd Peter 3: 8-15a

Verse 11: “What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives”.

As the years pass, some of the second generation believers begin to question if Jesus is really returning. This generation did not see and hear Jesus himself teach and heal. They worry that eternal life and salvation may not be a part of their lives. They begin to wander from the faith. The fear of an imminent return had kept the more “mature” believers on the narrow path that Jesus had taught them personally. We also have this tendency. When we first believed we were “on fire” and now many are but slightly smouldering. In life, we too often procrastinate and then try and pull it off as the deadline looms. Unless it has to do with others. We want them to have things done yesterday, we want that item we ordered to get here before we order it. And if that little circle on our computer or phone spins just a titch too long…

In today’s passage Peter calls us to the fine line of our faith – be patient always but it could happen at any moment. We are called to endure and persevere on our journey of faith, knowing that it could all end this hour. So Peter asks the tough question: “What kind of people ought you to be”? This reminds me of the question about what I hope people say at my funeral. Well, I hope they say I loved the Lord and my family, that I gave time to serving others, that I was a generous soul, that I was selfless. Both questions get at the same end. As Peter writes, “You ought to live holy and godly lives”. The big question for us is this: are we? Are we living holy and godly lives? Am I? Are you?

Taking time to reflect on our lives and to refocus on the goal is important, especially in this season of Advent. For many of us, this Sunday is a day when we celebrate Holy Communion, a time that calls us to consider the state of our souls, to confess and repent of our sins, to be made new again. For all of us, as we move closer to December 24, we prepare to meet the holy and godly one who came as a baby, who grew up to set the ultimate example for who and what we ought to be as we live out our lives and our faith. As we do so, may we heed this plea that we find today in verse fourteen: “make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him”. May it be so for us all.

Prayer: Lord God, you call me to a difficult thing: holy and godly. In my humanity I cannot be these things. Alone, I am lost and without hope. But with you, with the presence of your Holy Spirit, I can live day by day seeking to become more and more like Jesus, the perfector of the faith. So fill me with your Holy Spirit. Guide me to how I ought to live, bringing you all of the glory and the honor. Amen.


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Patient

Reading: 2nd Peter 3: 8-15a

Verse 9: “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”.

2nd Peter focuses on reminding the believers that the second coming of Jesus Christ is still coming. As time has passed, some of the followers have started to doubt, to question the promised return. Our passage today begins with this truth: “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day”. God’s timing and sense of time are not our timing. Our 60, 80, or even 100 years is but a blip in God’s eternity. In our instant gratification, me-first culture we still identify with the struggle to wait with faith.

The reason we continue to wait for the second coming is identified in verse nine: “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”. God is patient. Out of the depths of his love for humanity – the least and the lost just as much as the saved and redeemed – God waits because God does not want to see anyone die without the opportunity to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In this way, God has a “just one more” mentality: just let the good news of Jesus Christ get into one more heart, into one more home, into one more community, into one more nation… People cannot and will not repent of their sins until they have a chance to know the saving grace offered by the Lord.

God is patient, but it is not a passive patience. It is an active patience that we are called to live out. The great commission is the call to make disciples of all peoples. Patience must be a part of how we collectively and individually live out this call. Reflect inward for a moment. Are there sins that you continue to struggle with? Do you want God to be patient with you? When I consider these questions, I recognize my struggle with pride and wanting to be in control. Yes, God could get a bit frustrated with me. God could say, ‘Its been 2,379,647,704 times that your pride has caused you to sin, John. I’m not sure about forgiving #2,379,647,705’, but he doesn’t. Instead God reminds me that pride sin 2,379,647,703 was cast as far as the east is from the west. It was forgotten by God the moment I confessed… We are called to that same patience as we seek to share the good news with unbelievers. One more conversation about faith, one more gesture or act that shows God’s love, one more…

As we seek to bear witness to our faith today, as we seek to bring one more person to Christ today, may we be patient, “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”.

Prayer: God of love and mercy, remind me again and again how patient you are with me. Turn that reminder into a drive to see all enter into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. As you love me, may I love others. Amen.


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Gift of the Spirit

Reading: Mark 1: 6-8

Verses 7 and 8: “After me will come one more powerful than I… he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”.

John the Baptist chose the wilderness as his ministry setting. He dressed the part, wearing camel hair clothes. He lived a wilderness life, eating locusts and wild honey. In these ways he was about as far from a typical religious leader as he could be. But this was his destiny. John was born to Zechariah and Elizabeth when both were well beyond the children stage of life. In Luke 1 we find the story of the angel visiting Zechariah in the holy of holies, telling him of John’s special role in preparing the way for the coming Messiah.

Large crowds came out to see John, to hear his message, to confess their sins, to be baptized. It would have been easy for John to forget his main task. It would have been easy to get caught up in the crowds and growing number of followers. Maybe that is part of why John did not operate out of the temple. There he might have heard whispers of how great he was, of how much he was doing for God. Or maybe the religious leaders would not have ever even let John in the door. He was wild, after all, ministering outside the religious structures of the day. In this way John was much like his cousin Jesus.

John was like Jesus in another important way. He understood the role he came to play. John preached and baptized, called people to repent of their sins, not to build up a following, but to prepare people to follow Jesus. We see and feel John’s humility and dedication to God in verses seven and eight. Here he says, “After me will come one more powerful than I… he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”. The one who will baptize with the long awaited Holy Spirit is coming.

After baptizing Jesus, John will become less so that Jesus can step into and live out his role according to God’s plan. The Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus as he emerges from the waters of baptism. For three years, Jesus will play his role, defining what it looks like to love God and neighbor with all that you are. As Jesus’ ministry and time on earth comes to a close, he promises to pass on the gift of the Holy Spirit to all who believe. Like many disciples who have come before us, we too have received the gift of the Spirit. This gift allows and empowers us to play our roles, guiding us to be live love and light in the world. May we too play our roles, preparing others to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Prayer: Loving God, we all have a role to play. We are all called to be ministers of the good news of Jesus Christ. Fill us all with the power of the Holy Spirit, guiding us to ever point to your son, the Savior of the world. Amen.


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Be the Church

Reading: 1st Corinthians 1: 3-9

Verse 9: “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful”.

Paul opens his first letter to the church in Corinth by calling them saints – those “sanctified” and “holy”. As we begin our passage today, Paul extends “grace and peace” from God and from Jesus Christ. Paul gives thanks to God for the grace given the church through Jesus Christ. It is grace that empowers believers to live in a world that brings persecution and offers temptations. Grace also gives believers the ability to love others as they are – without judgment and without barriers. It was grace that led Jesus to pay the price for all sins as he went to the cross. It is grace that welcomes us as sinners into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul also names the way that the Corinthian church has been “enriched in every way”. This is also part of what allows them to bear such a strong witness in the world. Paul identifies the source of their strength and power: “you do not lack any spiritual gift”. They have been blessed by the Holy Spirit with a multitude of gifts and talents. In this way they are like all other churches. Collectively they have all the gifts and talents necessary to be the body of Christ in the world. The same is true of your church and of my church. As the church strives to live out its mission to make disciples, the Holy Spirit uses these gifts and talents to build up the kingdom of God here on earth as we await the revelation of Jesus’ return.

When we, the church, use our gifts and talents we are also strengthening one another. When we give of ourselves, we build up and encourage one another, playing our role in the effort to “keep strong to the end”. In our current season it may be more challenging to be the body of Christ. We may need to find innovative and creative ways to safely care for and love our neighbors. We may need to try new and socially distanced ways to be in fellowship with one another. As has always been the case, we will find Spirit led ways to be the church to one another and to the world. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God will see us through these current challenges because, above all, God is faithful. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord, in this season ministry has been challenging. It feels like we are frequently shifting and adjusting. Thank you for the guidance and direction as we work to find ways to minister to others. Please continue to lead and guide us as we seek to be your love lived out. Amen.


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Restore Us, O Lord

Reading: Psalm 80: 1-7 and 17-19

Verse 7: “Restore us, O God Almighty, make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved”.

Today’s Psalm is a plea to God. In the opening verses the psalmist pleads with God to “Hear us” and “awaken your might, come save us”. There is an urgency to the plea, a sense of desperation just below the surface of these words. As we have journeyed through life we have each felt these feelings at times. In our current world more and more people are feeling these emotions every day.

These feelings become clearer in the next verses. The psalmist wants to know how long God’s anger will “smoulder against the people”. He asks God how long they will have to eat “bread of tears”. There is a lot of hurt going on in this Psalm. A lot of pain and heartache are being experienced by the people of God. In verse seven the psalmist begs, “Restore us, O God Almighty, make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved”. This is a familiar refrain used in Psalm 80. It is a refrain that many could offer up to God on a frequent basis in this season of illness and pain and loss.

In verses seventeen thought nineteen the writer asks for God’s hand to rest upon “the man at your right hand, the son of man”. The psalmist is likely referring to an earthly king or to a prophet of God. The people need one to lead them. From our New Testament eyes we read these words and think of Jesus Christ. On our faith journeys Christ is the one we turn to, the one on whom we call. Jesus is the source of our salvation, the cornerstone of our hope, the example of love lived out. In our Christian faith we look at the Lord Jesus Christ and pray, “Restore us, O God Almighty, make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved”. May the Lord restore you and shine his face upon you today.

Prayer: Lord God, awaken your might and bring healing to our land and to our souls. Heal us of our COVID, heal us of our prejudices and injustices, heal us of our pride and consumerism, heal us of our sin. Restore us and make us more faithful disciples, better neighbors, people of love. Amen.


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Prepared to Offer Love

Reading: Psalm 100

Verse 4: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name”.

Psalm 100 is such a spirit-lifter! It is all about praising God and rejoicing in God’s goodness and love. The Psalm was written to be sung heading to and in worship. That is what the psalmist means, literally, when he writes, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise”. Enter into the tabernacle, enter into the temple, enter into the sanctuary, enter into the chapel… with thanksgiving and praise. We can all leave “life” behind and enter into that holy space to praise and worship the Lord. It is in that sacred place that we connect to the Holy One. There we are lifted up in spirit and filled with his presence and love. There we are renewed and refreshed. There we are prepared.

The second half of verse four reads, “give thanks to him and praise his name”. Once connected, lifted up, filled, renewed, refreshed, then we are prepared to exit the church to live lives that give thanks to the Lord and that bring praise to his holy name. We do so by living out and pouring out our faith into the world and into the lives of those we encounter. This is the feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty… that we have been reading about in Matthew 25. May we each see and live out the relationship between worship and life, seeking to make Jesus Christ and his love known in all we say and do and think.

Prayer: God of all generations, may my life be a fragrant and pleasing offering to you. May my times of connection ever be times of thanksgiving and praise, filling me to do your will in the world. Amen.


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Sing to the Lord

Reading: Psalm 100

Verse 3: “Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his”.

Psalm 100 is a song meant to be sung in community. It is a song that encourages us to “shout for joy” as we “worship the Lord with gladness”. The Psalm encourages us to bring God our “joyful songs”. Even in times of sadness it is important to worship and sing with joy. At funerals, for example, we sing songs such as ‘In the Garden’, ‘Amazing Grace’, and ‘How Great Thou Art’. The words of our modern hymns, compared to Psalm 100, remind us of God’s goodness and love, even and especially in difficult times.

In verse three we read these words: “Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his”. There is no god other than the one God. There is just one God, both now and forever. God is our creator. Each and every one of us were envisioned, woven together, and brought to life by our God. We are God’s workmanship. And, “we are his”. What a great reminder. All that we are, all that we possess, all that God has blessed us with – all are really God’s. As the psalmist writes, “We are his people, the sheep of his pasture”. Even this place we dwell, this earth, even it is the Lord’s.

So this day may we come before God, united as brothers and sisters before the Lord, and may we worship his holy name, for “his love endures forever”. With joy and thanksgiving may all we do and say bring glory to the Lord our God.

Prayer: Lord God, you are awesome and wonderful. You are everywhere almighty. There are billions of us, but you know each of us intimately and personally – because you created us. This day may I be a reflection and a spreader of your great love. Amen.