pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: love


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Sharing Faith Through Action

Sometimes it is hard to love our neighbor when we really don’t know them.  Sometimes people who are not like us can intimidate or scare us.  Sometimes the negative stereotypes we hear prevent us from really seeing the person standing before us.

Mission trips and one-day outreach events are great ways to help us overcome these barriers.  It is amazing what happens when we allow ourselves to experience others in new ways.   Youth and adults who sign up and participate in trips and events experience direct contact with ‘neighbors’ they did not know before.  And as with almost all people, once they got to know them they come to realize that they are pretty easy to love and serve.  These experiences open us up to the possibilities that are in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and communities.

Our faith grows as we experience God’s love in action.  This leads us on to action in the everyday places of our lives.  There is a cyclical affect to faith and action.  When we have faith we sense the call to share the love of Christ with others.  When we share the love and see how it changes lives, then our faith grows.  It is a wonderful thing to be doers of the word.

The goal of our Christian walk is to grow in our faith.  If we are living out our faith in service to others, then our faith will grow.  In James we are reminded that faith without action is dead.  We cannot simply wish someone would have food and clothing; we must provide these things as we are able.  When Christ’s love is alive and breathing in us, we must go forth to share that love with others.  It is an amazing gift that we must share with others so they they too can come to know and share the love of Christ.

Scripture reference: James 2: 14-17


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Boundaries

Social boundaries can be hard to cross.  Maybe your first experience with boundaries came on the playground in elementary school.  Maybe it was in the middle school cafeteria or audition room or athletic court.  Maybe it occurred in a different area or at another stage in life.  Being on one side or the other of a social boundary is something most of us have experienced.

As we grow into adulthood, the social boundaries do not get any easier to cross.  The imaginary lines we draw in our minds can be as tough to cross as the Berlin Wall.  Sometimes we treat the boundaries with the same level of fear as spiders or death.  Yet God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, continues to nudge and whisper into our ears and hearts.  And we can ignore, but that voice just does not go away if you are really working to live out your faith.

Maybe the nudge is to invite the new family who does not speak much English over for dinner.  Maybe it is to stop and offer some food to the man with the sign.  Maybe it is to be the first to welcome the couple who is different from everybody else in your congregation.

James encourages us to walk across that boundary, to quit judging others, and to get out of our comfort zones.  If one is really working to grow in one’s faith, they feel the nudges and hear the whispers of the Spirit.  If we can get outside our box and engage those across the boundary, then we begin to fulfill God’s command to truly love our neighbors as ourselves.  That first step can be hard, but go ahead, take it.

Scripture reference: James 2: 1-13


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Love Always Wins

Today we have a picture of Jesus that is not all warm and fuzzy.  In today’s passage He is giving it to the Pharisees.  I think in our minds we usually cheer Jesus on in this type of scenario.  It is almost like the new kid on the block stood u to the bully and all around cheer him on.  This direct and confrontational Jesus is alright until we realize that He is talking to us as well.

Hypocrite?  Me?  Hold on a minute Jesus!  Theft?  Murder?  Adultery?  Surely not.  Greed?  Envy?  Arrogance?  Well, I can explain.  Can’t I?  No, I really cannot.  Jesus is right.  At times what is within me is not so good.  Those unkind thoughts and words that sometimes come out of me are not so beautiful and loving.  Jesus is right.

One cannot explain sin away.  All one can do is to come before Jesus, to kneel down, and to offer up our confession and repentance.  The good news is that Jesus does not expect perfection.  He knows we will stumble and even fall at times.  It is not His desire for us but He did walk this earth.  Although Jesus was without sin, He certainly felt pain and sorrow and other human emotions.  Jesus saw firsthand the battle that rages in every human heart.

We are guilty as charged.  Sinners one and all.  But, thanks be to God, our story does not end here.  Confession and repentance leads to forgiveness and restoration.  Through grace we are made new again, pure and clean and worthy to call Jesus Christ our friend.  We are humbled by our failures.  But love alway wins.  The love of God made known through Jesus is an unending gift that is always given to al who draw near to Christ.  This love came to save one and all.  Praise God.

Scripture reference: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, and 21-23


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Words

Words easily flow from our lips.  The words we speak can build others up or they can bring people down.  Careful thought needs to be given to the words we speak.  Our words can carry great power.

In the psalm the king has ‘lips of grace.’  The kind and wise words he speaks flow from his heart and reflect the deep compassion and care he has for his people.  In his words he triumphs justice and equality and prosperity for those he leads.  He is a king I would like to be around.

There are people I know who build me up with their words.  They are people I want to be around.  In my life I too try to choose words that build others up.  One cannot simply dispense kind words but the words must be genuine and honest.  Words are powerful and through intentional practices we can build another up or offer some light when another is struggling or is in need.

Jesus was a man who also spoke words of justice, equality, and prosperity.  He advocated loving and serving all we meet.  He was a man that I picture as being slow to speak as He weighed His words carefully.  Jesus’ words convey the deep love and compassion He has for each of us.  He too is a king I like to be around.

Scripture reference: Psalm 45: 1-2 and 6-9


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Partners with God

Imagine the happiest couple you have ever seen – 80+ and still holding hands, giggling, kissing.  The deep and pure love that flows between them is just a glimpse into the vast love that God has for all of creation.  In creation itself we also see much of God.  In creation itself we can see both complexity and simplicity, both often created in wonder and beauty.

In creation we witness God’s strength and power.  He spoke all into being simply with His words.  God did not have to go into the lab in heaven to create water and earth and plants and animals and us.  He simply spoke and each was created.  What is even more amazing than this to me is that God also passes this power and strength on to us.  God gives His power and strength to all, especially to those who are weak and powerless and in need of God’s power and strength to face the many challenges that life brings their way.

In the continuing works of God and in the life of Jesus Christ, God continues to reveal Himself to us.  Our God created us as good and He desires that we act in good ways, bringing righteousness and equality into the world around us.  In Jesus we were shown what true love is really all about.  The love Jesus modeled is kind and gentle and truthful and giving.  This love flows to all, not just to a select few.  Our love is meant to be like Jesus’ love –  poured out to many to transform lives.

The amazing omnipotent and omnipresent creator of the universe and all that is in it invites us to partner with Him in transforming the world.  May we live lives full of His love, justice, strength, and power, bringing these into the lives of each we meet to do our part in healing a broken world.

Scripture reference: Psalm 45: 1-2 and 6-9


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Sing His Song!

Sometimes I get a tune or song stuck in my head.  It plays over and over and over.  If someone mentions or, worse yet, hums a bit of some songs, they get stuck.  There is much joy and happiness in music, so ‘stuck’ may be a bad choice of words.

In today’s reading from the Song of Songs the author speaks of their lover coming to visit.  The winter is over and spring is bounding out all around.  New life can be found all over the place and he beckons her to join him in enjoying it.  Visions of new shoots of green poking up through the earth as birds sing songs carried off on a warm breeze fill my mind.  It is a time that makes the heart smile.

The relationships between lovers also parallels our relationship with God.  Each morning God calls out to us, sings to us, at the start of each new day.  Like an expectant child lying in bed awaiting Christmas morning or a fiance about to pop the question, God cannot wait to welcome us to a brand new day.  The actual time or season of the year does not really matter – God is anxious for us to begin a new day with Him.  It is God’s desire that each new day is full of His presence.

2 Corinthians 5:17 reads, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new is come!”  Each day is a new day as we walk with our Lord.  His mercies are made new every morning as God offers us His love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness each new day.

God calls us to be in song with Him each day as well.  He invites us to sing the songs of love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness each day.  May this song of God become so stuck in our hearts and souls that it springs forth from us each day, all day!

Scripture reference: Songs of Songs 2: 8-13


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Commitment

“Unless you eat of my flesh and drink of my blood.”  Jesus often said things that were a bit jarring and often His words challenged people to the point of turning away.  In His day, disputes and arguments often arose over the words He spoke.  At times, Jesus intentionally challenged the status quo and turned the ‘normal’ upside down.

Could one really eat Jesus’ flesh and drink His blood?  Those living alongside Jesus could have if the purely literal interpretation was His true meaning.  But if this were His true meaning, then heaven would be closed off to all who lived after the resurrection.  As this is not the case, what then is Jesus’ meaning in these difficult words?

I think Jesus is looking for more than just hearing His words and pondering their meaning in our lives.  I think He is looking for commitment.  When we “eat” and “drink” Jesus we are taking His words and teachings and digesting them.  They become a part of who we are inside.  His teachings are the source of our energy and strength.  They are the source of life within us.  His words bubble up in us as the living water, bringing to the surface the things He taught that we are to live out.

When we take in Jesus’ words and teachings at this deep, deep level they become a part of who we are at the core of or being.  It is then that we are claimed by Jesus and we fully belong to Him.  Through His living presence in us we participate fully in this life.  Our lives then reflect the light and life of Jesus in us to a world living in darkness.  With Jesus deep within us, we become a part of building His kingdom here on earth each day.

Scripture reference: John 6: 51-54


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Sharing the Light

As light and dark are opposites, there is a sharp contrast between the two.  Biblically speaking, the light represents God, Jesus, and all other things holy and righteous.  The dark represents Satan and his minions and all things evil and sinful.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are choosing to walk in the light.  Although it is our intent to always “be in the light”, at times we slip and walk in darkness or at least in the shadows.

Paul contrasts the light and dark with a few illustrations laid out as choices.  He urges us to be wise instead of unwise, filled with the Spirit instead of with wine, to be understanding instead of foolish.  In each case it is choosing to follow Christ’s will for our lives instead of pursuing our own selfish desires.  When we veer off the path of light we are often chasing temporary pleasures or the things of this world with no eternal value such as power, wealth, or possessions.

We are called to be light.  We are called to be in the world but not of it.  Our light is to shine out into the darkness.  One light in a dark room makes an amazing difference.  As people of faith we choose to pursue goodness, righteousness, and truth.  We seek to share these things with others in our lives, sharing the light within that cannot be overcome by the darkness.

In our pursuit of being light, the Spirit is the essential traveling partner.  The leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit is the only thing that allows us a chance to stand in the battle between good and evil that rages inside of us.  At times we will stumble or even fall, but the Spirit will always guide us back to the light.  Because of God’s great love for us, we never need to remain in the dark.  We are beloved children of God, always welcomed back into relationship with Him through Christ’s atoning work on the cross.  This day, shine the light!

Scripture reference: Ephesians 5: 15-20


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Always at Work

God is ever-present and all-knowing.  God creates all and is in all.  He works sometimes in surprising and unmistakable ways and sometimes it is hard to see His presence.  In the psalm God is praised for always being present, for always being gracious, loving, and just.

Today’s psalm represents God’s activity in our lives from the beginning to the end.  The writer uses an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet to represent this idea.  He begins with “alpha” and ends with “tav” – equivalent to A-Z for us.  In the psalm he recounts all of the reasons we have to praise God – His works and righteousness, His grace and compassion, His faithfulness and justice, His laws and wisdom, and the covenant He keeps with His people.  For all of this, praise is lifted up.

God continues to offer all of this and more to us.  God continues to be active in the world.  As time unfolded, Jesus became the new covenant as He offered Himself in sacrifice to defeat sin and death so we could gain eternal life.  As we look back over our lives, from the beginning to where we are now, we can see God’s hand at work.  Sometimes His hand is active and easy to see.  At other times it is hard to see at all.  Yet even then we know He was present with us.  From the promises in the scriptures to our experiences in life, we know God is always at work.

In times of uncertainty or trial, it can be hard to see God at work or to feel His presence.  Sometimes another may see something we do not so it is often helpful to share our experiences with one another believer.  In the end, we know we can always look back and see His handprints.  In this we can always trust. For this, we say thanks be to God!

Scripture reference: Psalm 111


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Still Seeking Us

God does not expect perfection.  I just don’t think He ever expects us to get there in this lifetime.  Our God is a God of mystery – absolute and unconditional love for creatures who seem bent on sin and who must constantly be reminded of who we are in Him.  God will always love each of us with this amazing love.

Because of this love, God comes to meet us in all the ugliness of life.  He comes to us in our brokenness, in our failures, in our rebellion.  God does not seek out just the holiest of saints, but He seeks out each and every one of us.  That a God who is perfect in every way would seek to be in relationship with you and me is hard to comprehend.

Yet God meets us just right where we are.  His Spirit enters into our hearts and dwells within us.  In the constant battle with our inclination to temptation and sin, the Spirit never gives up, never tires of reminding us of God’s ways.  God sticks with us and continues to offer this divine presence, almost in spite of us.

It does require almost constant effort to keep us on track and on the path that God desires for our lives.  At times we take a great detour.  But it matters not – God is always there, waiting for an audience with us.  His patience must be almost as big as His love.  Each of us is capable of mirroring a glimpse of this great love and, like all good parents, God eagerly awaits those moments when His heart swells with pride and the angels cheer.  Soon enough though, we return to being just ourselves – human in all ways, imperfect in many.  Yet God still loves us.  God is still right there.  It is not about us in any way.  It is simply because of His great love.  For this, thanks be to God.

Scripture reference: 1 Kings 2:10-12 and 3: 3-14