pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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A Sacred Encounter

Reading: Genesis 32:22-24

Genesis 32:24 – “But Jacob stayed apart by himself, and a man wrestled with him until dawn broke.”

Photo credit: Mitchel Lensink

As we begin, some context from the start of chapter 32. Jacob is returning home. He is doing as God directed. As he gets close he hears that Esau is approaching with 400 soldiers. Esau is the one who had his birth rite stolen by Jacob. When Jacob fled, Esau was threatening murder. In fear and terror Jacob comes up with a plan. If Esau can’t be bought off, maybe some will escape while the rest are captured or killed or… Then Jacob prays for safety, even as he tries to barter with God. He then adds a level of security for himself. As we turn to our reading for today, we see that Jacob places all that is his – wives, children, servants, livestock – across the Jabbok River and retreats back across – alone.

Alone – just where he needs to be right now to encounter God. In verse 24 we read, “But Jacob stayed apart by himself, and a man wrestled with him until dawn broke.” This is much more than a physical struggle. Likely in response to Jacob’s prayers, wheeling and dealing, and scheming, God has come to wrestle with Jacob spiritually. In the wrestling, God confronts Jacob’s fears, lack of faith and trust, and his prideful, sinful ways. In the end, after transformation, Jacob refuses to let go of God. The physical and spiritual have come together. Once blessed, renamed “Israel,” he will face the day knowing that God is with him.

When we find time and space to be alone with God, to lay our fears, doubts, and worries before God, we too will find that God is ready to wrestle with us. God will meet us at our point of need and will help us to wrestle through, transforming us and our faith. Making time and space for a sacred encounter, we can count on our faithful God to show up and to work in us. May we trust in our faithful, loving God.

Prayer: Lord God, draw us into times and places where we can encounter your presence. Still our racing, often fearful, minds and hearts so that we can receive what you have to say and give. With open hearts and minds, transform us, bringing us to a place of deeper faith and greater trust. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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Hope and Peace

Reading: Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his [Jesus’] faithfulness, we have peace with our God through Jesus Christ.”

Our passage today begins with a connecting word: “Therefore…” In Paul’s original letter there was no big “5” nor were there any small numbers marking verses. 4:25 would’ve just flowed into 5:1. In what we call chapter 4, Paul has been writing about how Jesus died for our “mistakes,” meeting the “requirements of righteousness for us.” Through his blood we are forgiven. “Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his [Jesus’] faithfulness, we have peace with our God through Jesus Christ.” Being made right again with God, cleansed and forgiven, we have “peace” with God. We are reconciled back into right relationship with God through Jesus Christ’s faithfulness.

Living in right relationship through faith, we can stand firm and we can hold onto hope. These are essential to our walk of faith. Paul gets to the “why” in verses 3 and 4. “Problems,” as Paul puts it, are simply part of living as imperfect creatures in this broken, sinful world. Sometimes these “troubles” are our own making, sometimes not. We are each just one of a world full of imperfect creatures. But because we have hope and because we can stand firm in Jesus Christ, we can “see” beyond our present troubles and problems. We know that the world does not have the last word.

Through the Holy Spirit, which pours the love of God into our hearts, we can endure the hard times. This endurance builds up our Christian character, which, in turn, reinforces our hope. What enables us to go through this refining and growing process again and again? The loving presence of God in Spirit that covers us in God’s peace. For this presence and the peace and hope that it brings to our hearts and minds, we say thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, it is hard to imagine living this life without you. Some do, but without hope and peace, the struggles and trials of this world would overwhelm us. Therefore we thank you first for Jesus’ sacrifice, which allows us to be in your presence. It is your Spirit presence that gives us the love, hope, and peace that guides us through the struggles and trials. Thank you for this loving presence, the fuel for our faith and hope. Amen.