pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: love


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The Index Cards of Sin

In Psalm 130, the psalmist is so right – who could stand if God kept a record of our sins?  Imagine if each of our sins was written on an index card!  How high the stack would be.  But what if we pulled out all the sins that were just against God?  Would the stack be appreciably smaller?  I don’t think so.

As I think on my sins, most involve another person.  That’s why I think my stack would still be pretty high.  I’d guess most of us seek forgiveness from God for our sin on a regular basis – daily if not more often!  But what about the sin that involve and affect other people?  Certainly for the blatant and most egregious we seek forgiveness from the injured parties.  But what of the ‘lesser’ sins – the unkind thoughts and the unholy looks?  They are another matter!  For me, these sins would represent most of my stack of index cards.  And you?

Yet in the end these sins are also between us and God.  They are the ones I am ashamed of.  I can come to God with my big sins because they are so obvious and so in need of redeeming.  But these little ones are harder to name and to lay bare before God.  Is this because they are the sins I so struggle to fully set aside?  But each day we can lay these sins before Him and they are cast aside and forever forgotten.  As we feel the freedom of redemption, we also must seek to repent and to be at work against these sins in our lives, to sin less often.  This day and each day, may we grow more into Christ so that our stack grows more slowly!!


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To Know Him

Some people get used to living in a dry and barren place.  Life has beaten them down.  Over the years they come to expect little.  And because of this they feel they have little to give.  Maybe they don’t even notice the little flower poking up next to their front door.

For some an illness or a loss can lead them into a valley of dry bones.  Sickness settles in and becomes the way of life.  A loss of a loved one casts a pall that seems to always be there.  For some they are forever walking with their head down and their heart heavy.  They don’t see the flower either.

God’s desire is for all people to know Him, to find love and joy in Him, to be happy and content in this life.  God wants to use us to draw people to Him.  He wants us to love others so that through that love they can come to know God.  Our Lord wants our shining light to be that thing that draws their eyes up and lightens the burden others carry on their heart.  May we be the love and light of Christ to all we meet so that they see that beautiful little flower, smile to themselves, and begin to walk with God.


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Light of the World

“Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness.  Opened my eyes, let me see.  Beauty that made this heart adore you, hope of a life spent with you.”  These are the opening lines to the song, ‘Here I Am to Worship’.  We were once called from the darkness into the light.  As we come to know Christ, we come to live in His light.

Once we have accepted Christ we are ‘walking in th light.’  We come to realize that we cannot keep anything hidden from God.  We were once under the illusion that we could.  But once we believe in Christ, we realize that God always knew what we were doing in our sin.  We just come to know that He knows.  Once we are walking in the light, we make decisions from the WWJD perspective (what would Jesus do?)  As we walk in the light, we cast light along other’s paths as well.  This can expose darkness in their lives – and what a great opportunity this can be to minister to them!  At times this too can remind us of darkness we yet have in our lives and it allows us opportunity to grow in our walk with Christ.

Yet alas!!  We are human and at times we step out of the light and into darkness.  Satan is ever knocking at our door, ever bringing temptations before us.  Like Christ, he also never gives up.  At times we may stumble, but the great love and light of Christ always is there to call us back.  Praise be to God for His unending love of you and me!!

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Content in Christ

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want….  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23, verses 1 and 6)

We trust and lean into God in good times and in bad.  The opening line to Psalm 23 is such great reassurance.  Paul also knew well the key to being content in any and all situations because he knew that God’s presence in his life was all that really mattered.  Paul always lived life with one eye on  the eternal prize.  In Philippians 4 we read these words: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”  The strength we find in God is the key to our contentment in this life.

And the last line of the Psalm!!!  “Surely goodness and love will follow me… and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  These words resonate so deeply within our souls.  These words are our reassurance that even though we pass through the shadows in this lifetime, God’s love and goodness are always there.  They are a foretaste of dwelling in His house forever.  When we go through the day-to-day with this in mind, we can find the contentment and peace that comes from walking with Christ.  May our walk today be in lockstep with Jesus!!


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This Is Our Jesus

The shepherd of the famous 23rd Psalm is our Jesus.  What are your green pastures or quiet waters?  Are they just these things or is it a quiet bike ride or some time with a good book?  Is it early in the morning or late at night with your Bible, devotional, and journal?   It is wherever you find restoration of body, mind, and soul.

Do you feel the guiding hand?  Do you sense the rod and the staff protecting and keeping you?  Do you feel His lead in keeping you on the right path and comforting you in your times of sorrow and trial?  This is our Jesus.  He is there for us in every aspect of our lives.

Does He sit with you when you are in the presence of your enemies?  Does He go so far as to bless you in their presence?  He is willing, for this is out Jesus.

What comes of following this Jesus?  Surely goodness and love.  Hardships and trials too?  Surely.  But we do not walk through them alone.  For He is with us.  This is our Jesus.


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Thanks Be to JC!!

In Romans 5 we find many of the great cornerstones of our faith.  Paul had quite a way with words!  In the first part of Romans 5 Paul reviews the basics of the faith – Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead.  Jesus made the choice to die for our sins.  He chose to take upon himself the sin of the world and to shed His own blood for us.  Through Jesus, God restored every person’s connection to Himself.  Up to this point there was a lack of personal connection.  The priests played the role of intermediary between God and the Jewish people.  Sacrifices were made on behalf of the people to atone for their sins.  Reconciliation came through these ritual sacrifices.

As Paul writes, at just the right time Christ died for us.  While we were still sinners, He died for us.  Jesus was and is our sacrifice.  He opened to us and to all mankind that conduit to God.  We come ourselves before God seeking forgiveness so that we can be reconciled to Him.  We do not need a human intermediary.  Nor do we need a ritual sacrifice.  For us that was and is Jesus on the cross.  Because Jesus defeated death and rose to live eternally, He will always be there to intercede on our behalf.  He will always be with us, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to guide and lead us in this life.  Through Him we grow to be more and more ike the Father.  Through him we are continually reconciled.  Through Him we repent, are washed clean, and are restored to the righteous relationship with God.  Thanks be to Jesus Christ!!


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God’s Great Patience

Sometimes it is a wonder that God chooses to stick with us and continues to be patient.  As a parent I can recall painful waitings as one of my children worked their way through figuring out something for themselves.  It would have been so much simpler (and less painful) for me to just jump in and tell them what to do or to fix their problem.  Just as God chose to let Abram grow into Abraham, we too must not rush in so that our children can grow into who God intends them to be.

And just as it was important for Abram or for our child to go through the process of growth, so too is it important for us in our faith journeys.  How many times God must have said, “Aaarrrggghhhh!!!”  over Abram’s choices.  How often he must do the same with me!  Yet, just as His love for us exceeds our love for Him, so too his faith in us exceeds our faith in Him.  And thank God!

From His eyes our growth must seem so painfully slow.  Remember the gospels and ponder this – how often Jesus must have looked at the disciples and wondered when they would get it?  In both God’s divine form and in His human form, He was and is oh so patient with us.  In His great love, He waits patiently for us to grow into the follower that He designed us to be.  I don’t really think God ever says ‘aarrgghh” about us.  I believe that God looks down upon us with great big loving eyes and a knowing smile on His face as we slowly grow into His plans for us.  How great is the Father’s love for us.  Oh how He loves you and me!!


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Step Past the Norm

How often in the past week have you felt wronged or hurt? Was it when someone cut you off in traffic? Was it when someone said something careless that actually hit a nerve in you? Was it when a loved one missed an opportunity that you saw was right there? Was it…? And what is the initial reaction or thought? So often we feel angry or feel that we need to ‘make things right’.

We are raised to stand up for ourselves and to do things on our own, to be independent. But in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus calls us to a radical love. He turns the old law of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” upside down. Jesus points out that it is not about revenge (which the old law was limiting) or even about evening the score.

Jesus calls us to love our neighbor. Here Jesus is extending it. He advises that when another strikes our right cheek to then offer the left as well. He advises that when someone asks for your coat to give them your sweater as well. He advises that when someone asks you to walk a mile, to go ahead and walk two miles with them. Jesus is calling us to respond with love – and lots of it!!

This all brings me to the question of why? Why respond to these things with such lavish love? Wouldn’t it simply be enough to not strike back, to just give our coat, to just walk alongside someone for the mile? But isn’t that what the world expects? Most won’t even notice if we as Christians just do what we are supposed to do. It is when we go beyond the minimal and step past what others would do, that people begin to see the love of Christ being lived out in our lives. It is then that they take notice and begin to wonder why as well. It is then that we are living as Christ calls us to live.


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So Called to Love

God’s call on our lives is total and complete. How we do each thing should be a reflection of the relationship we have with Him. The way we treat one another, the way we care for one another, the way we deal with one another – all should be a reflection of how God loves us. And as God loves all, we too are called to love all.

The growth we experience as our faith deepens must also be shown on the outside in the relationships we have with others. Faith lived out is faith shared. In Leviticus 19 there is a long list of ‘do not…’ steal, lie, slander, bear grudges and so on. These are all things we would not want others to do to us. There are also three things that are ‘positives’. The first is to rebuke your neighbor so that we do not share in their guilt. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. These two kinda go hand in hand.

In the list of mostly ‘don’t’ do this or that, we can see God trying to limit our natural inclinations to be selfish and to judge others. In this way we can try to legitimize how we treat others or how we withhold from others because they are not worthy of our time, attention, care, and so forth. These are such hard things to curb.

Each little section of Leviticus ends with these words: “I am the Lord.” This gentle reminder serves two purposes: to remind us that we are called to be a reflection of God’s love for the world and to remind us that we can only live this way w/God’s presence and help in our day to day lives. Hebrews 13: 20-21 are a reminder of this reality: “May the God of peace equip you with everything good that you may do His will, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever.”


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Set on “Radical”

Early in our faith, Moses directed us to be a holy people, because our God is holy. Actually he directed the Israelites, but it applies to Christians today as well! In the original language of Hebrews the word was “qadash'” and it meant to consecrate, to dedicate, to sanctify our lives. It was and is meant as a mandate to live a life set apart from the worldly way of life. When we dedicate, sanctify, or consecrate our lives to God we are being called into an obedience to live as God’s representatives in this world. Our radical obedience to God’s call in our lives will set us apart.

Yet so often we are neither radical nor obedient. Does our daily walk of faith truly represent a holy God? Does our walk obediently tread where God is leading or where He is pointing us to go? Does our faith extend beyond Sunday morning worship AND outside the walls of the church? Or is our obedience and holiness limited?

God’s grace, love, and mercy for us are not limited. He does not ever hold any of this back from us. And so it should be with our obedience and our holy walk of faith. Our holiness should reflect a God who is loving and caring for all humanity, all of the time. Our obedience should be set on ‘radical’ constantly!