pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Modeling Christ

Reading: Acts 10:34-38

Acts 10:34-35 – “God doesn’t show partiality… whoever worships him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

Today’s scripture from Acts 10 serves as a bridge between the first two of John Wesley’s three simple rules. Peter first acknowledges that “God doesn’t show partiality.” He has come to understand that God accepts the Gentile Christians as they are. Peter now sees that their attempts to make these believers Jews first (then Christians) was wrong and was doing harm to these brothers and sisters in Christ. We too can do harm when we seek to elevate what we think is right over what God is doing at the time. We too can put up barriers to people coming to Christ. We do this when we say or imply that they must look or act or dress or… like us to attend church or to be baptized or…

Peter then recognizes that the Gentile Christians are worshipping God and are living out the example of Jesus. Getting past himself, he has come to understand that they are totally acceptable to God. Indeed, “He is Lord of all!” Reflecting back on his three years with Jesus, Peter can see how Jesus himself engaged one and all. Jesus did not show partiality. Instead he demonstrated welcome, acceptance, and love to all people.

Our passage closes with this observation about Jesus: “He traveled around doing good and healing everyone.” Jesus sought to do good to all. He didn’t first check to see if they really believed in him or belonged to a church. Sometimes faith or belief even came after the good act or after the healing. May we always be generous with our acts of kindness and love. Modeling Christ to others, we draw them towards Jesus and his love.

Prayer: Lord God, open our hearts wide too. Lead and guide us to see all people as Jests saw them. Each person was worthy of his time, his attention, his efforts, his love. Help us to engage our world this way too. Amen.


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For All People

Reading: 1st Timothy 2:1-4

1st Timothy 2:1 – “First of all, then, I ask that requests, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be made for all people.”

As we begin 1st Timothy 2, Paul encourages Timothy (and us) to offer prayers for everyone – “for all people.” Paul assumes that Timothy will pray for the regulars: family, friends, people he knows who need specific prayers. This is likely familiar territory. Maybe you, like me, have a standard list of people and situations that you pray for every day plus a few that are in your prayer list for a time or a season.

Paul next singles out praying for “kings and everyone who is in authority.” Why would Paul do this? Well, look no further than our current reality. In Timothy’s day it was the Roman authorities and the Jewish religious leaders who were persecuting the church. What prayers might Timothy lift for those in authority? What prayers might help lift that are in alignment with God’s will and heart? May our godly thoughts on these questions guide our prayers for our leaders.

In verses 3 and 4 Paul gives Timothy (and us) the “why.” Paul reminds us that it is “right” and that it “pleases” God when we offer prayers for all people, especially for those that are hard for us to pray for. It is our charge. First and foremost, it should be so because God desires for “all people to be saved” and to come to “a knowledge of the truth” – to understand and know God’s will and heart for themselves. Second, to pray hard prayers, that changes and empowers our hearts too. As our prayers become better aligned with God’s desires, our world will better reflect God’s kingdom here on earth. May our prayers work towards this goal and hope.

Prayer: Lord God, open our hearts wide, enabling us to pray as you call us to pray. And, Lord, open wide the hearts of our leaders, filling them with what fills your heart: mercy, grace, compassion, love. Guide all of our leaders to be leaders for and of all people, working for the good of all people. Amen.


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The Great Commands

Reading: Matthew 22:34-40 and 7:9-12

Matthew 7:12 – “Treat people in the same way that you want people to treat you.”

Photo credit: Shane

In Matthew 22 the Pharisees get together and decide to test or trap Jesus. Their religious rivals, the Sadducees, have just been left speechless after their attempt to trap Jesus in his words. The Pharisees send one forward to test Jesus with a question: What’s the greatest commandment? The Law has 613 (or 623) commands. Which is the most important one Jesus?

Quoting from the Law, Jesus identifies the Deuteronomy law to love God with all that you are. He quickly adds one from Leviticus: “love your neighbor as you love yourself.” For a devout Jew these are the two core commands. These two verses form the heart of a prayer offered each and every day, both morning and night. While the concept of loving God and neighbor is easy to understand, the actual execution of these commands can be very hard. To date, I believe that Jesus is the only one with a 100% success rate.

Jesus offers some practical application tips in chapter 7, verses 9-12. Here he uses parenting as the analogy. If your child asks for bread or fish because they are hungry, who would give them a rock or a snake instead? Well, no good parent would. Jesus then reminds us that the one who loves us as children will do the same and even more. He then generalizes this teaching on loving well to others, adding, “Treat people in the same way that you want people to treat you.” Give that person in need not just bread but some water too. Give that stranger not just a fish but a place to stay too. Just as the Lord our God is good and loving and generous, Jesus says, you do the same.

Prayer: Lord God, the call is clear: love well, love deeply, love genuinely. You have modeled this and your son Jesus modeled it. We have no excuses. We can’t play dumb. Yet we sure can struggle to love you with all that we are and to love others as we love ourselves. Lord, encourage and empower us today to love as you call us to love. When we waver, strengthen us by the power of your Holy Spirit. Thank you, God. Amen.


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Alert and Ready and at Work

Reading: Mark 12:35-13

Mark 13:36-37 – “Don’t let him show up when you weren’t expecting and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: Stay alert!”

We begin in the temple today as Jesus corrects the legal experts. The crowd delights in his teaching. He then condemns the religious leaders self-seeking ways: they wear long robes and say long prayers; they desire the best greetings and the best seats; and, they “cheat widows,” leaving them homeless. A sharp contrast to this arrogance comes in the next verses. A poor widow gives all that she has to live on. The rich give “out of their spare change.” This humble, faithful, trusting widow is the model.

As they leave the temple, one of the disciples points out the grandeur of the temple itself. Jesus predicts its demolition. Peter, James, John, and Andrew later ask him when this will happen… what will be the signs? Jesus warns them of deceivers. There will be wars, famines, and earthquakes. The disciples themselves will be handed over and persecuted (but the Holy Spirit will give them the words to say.) Then the war will culminate as the temple is defiled. People will flee to the mountains to escape the Romans. There will be great suffering.

Sometime after this suffering, the sun and moon will grow dark, the stars will fall, and the planets will shake. Then the “Human One” will come on the clouds in power and splendor. The angels will gather the “chosen people” from the corners of the earth. Jesus tells them that just as the fig tree’s new leaves tell them summer is near, so too will these signs tell the world that his return is near. Jesus tells them (and us), “Watch out! Stay alert!”

Jesus closes his teaching on the end times with a story. As an owner goes on a trip (perhaps back to heaven for a time?), he assigns tasks to his servants. For all disciples, the task will be to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Jesus closes with this warning: “Don’t let him show up when you weren’t expecting and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: Stay alert!” Jesus is coming soon. May we be found ready and alert, working on our task as we strive to live a daily life that seeks to make disciples for the transformation of the world.

Prayer: Lord God, please walk closely in Spirit with us. Attune us to the charge you give each of us. Defend us from our human tendency to make it all about us. Lead us to walk as humble servants, seeking to be witnesses of your love and power in this world. Amen.


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Nevertheless

Reading: Ezekiel 12-16

Ezekiel 14:6 – “The LORD God proclaims: Come back! Turn away from your idols and from all your detestable practices. Turn away!”

Our reading begins with Ezekiel modeling the exile in a sign act. With people watching, he packs a bag and tunnels through the wall. Bag in tow, he heads out into the dark. Exile is coming. A few will survive to tell of their detestable practices. God then instructs Ezekiel to eat while trembling, to drink anxiously. During the siege, this will be Judah’s reality.

Some people question God’s timing. God says there will be no delay. The foolish prophets who proclaim peace and that God will be their wall – their lies will be exposed. The prophetesses who are misleading and entrapping people – God will rescue their victims. The focus then turns to those who are worshipping idols. God declares that if they come to God or to Ezekiel for prayers or for guidance, God will send them back to their idols. Yet God longs for Judah to repent. God says, The LORD God proclaims: Come back! Turn away from your idols and from all your detestable practices. Turn away!”

Noah, Daniel, and Job figuratively enter the story in chapter 14. They alone would be saved if wild animals or war or plague or famine were sent by God. These icons of the faith and virtue couldn’t even save their sons or daughters. They could save only themselves. God declares that all four tragedies are coming. Few will survive. Jerusalem is then compared to a vine. It is useful only for burning.

Chapter 16 details Jerusalem’s “detestable practices.” God recalls saving her when she was abandoned and naked. God fed and clothed and cared for her. She grew up and became very beautiful. She then prostituted herself with “all comers” – Egypt then Assyria then Babylon. Jerusalem was worse than Samaria and Sodom – so detestable that they looked righteous by comparison. Yet, in verse 60, we read, “Nevertheless…” God will one day reestablish the covenant. God will forgive their sins. Judah will then know that the Lord is God.

Prayer: Lord God, it was important for Judah to let go of false hope and to hear a call to repentance. It is important for us to be reminded that you are the only hope – our only hope, the only giver of mercy. We too will face judgment. Lead us to walk in covenant relationship with you, O Lord. Amen.


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What Great Love

Reading: Song of Songs 5-8

‭Song of Songs 6:3 – “I belong to my lover and my lover belongs to me.”

Today’s reading begins with a dream or fantasy about a missed opportunity to be with her lover. She was sleeping but did finally go to the door, but he was gone. She searches but doesn’t find him. She longs for the one who is “radiant and ruddy… whose mouth is everything sweet.” Her friends ask where he has gone. He has gone to the garden. She worries not and declares, “I belong to my lover and my lover belongs to me.”

To him, she is an overwhelming site – as beautiful and lovely as Jerusalem. Even though there are 60 queens and 80 secondary wives, she is “my perfect one… one of a kind.” In chapter 7 he admires her. She is graceful and has “smooth curves.” She is “so beautiful, so lovely.” He has a strong desire for her. She makes another statement of belonging. This passionate and deeply intimate love is symbolic of the love possible between God and us. O how to see God this way. God sees us in this way.

Love is consummated as chapter 7 concludes. He holds her, embraces her. We find such a place in God’s embrace once we declare our commitment to God. God also longs to set “a seal over our hearts.” God longs for us to have a love for God that is “as strong as death.” God’s son modeled this kind of love for his father and for us. May we do so as well.

Prayer: Lord God, what great depth of love you have for us! What great passion and commitment is found in your heart. Help us to fully receive this love and then guide us to reflect it back out in our relationships and into the world. Amen.


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Listen, Save, Deliver

Readings: Psalms 37-41

‭Psalm 37:37 – “Observe those who have integrity and watch those whose heart is right because the future belongs to persons of peace.”

As we close our Book 1, today’s Psalms have a more personal, more intimate feel. Psalm 37 lifts up the life of righteousness. I love verse 3: “Trust the Lord and do good… farm righteousness.” What a great image – plant it, water it, feed it, tend it, nurture it, produce a crop. There’s an honest admission in verse 23: the righteous will trip up. But they won’t be thrown down because God holds their hand! We find great advice in verse 37: “Observe those who have integrity and watch those whose heart is right because the future belongs to persons of peace.” And let us tend to the other side of this equation too: may we model the faith well; may we be persons of peace in this world.

Psalms 38-41 all share connected themes. They speak of the consequences of our sin, of God’s forgiveness, and of the brevity of life. In Psalm 38 the writer acknowledges that the weight of our sin is “way too heavy for me.” Psalms 38 and 41 speak of how people abandon us when we struggle in our sin. In Psalm 40 their wrongdoings have caught up with them. We too have played this game. Psalm 41 begs for healing from their sin. These Psalms also express a strong belief and trust in God’s forgiveness and restoration. There is a deep confidence in God’s unconditional love. Psalm 40 closes with these words: “You are my help and rescuer. My God, don’t wait any longer.” Save me NOW!

Sitting in the middle is Psalm 39. It is a reflection on the brevity and difficulty of life. The psalmist tried holding their tongue to avoid sinning. It did no good. Sin resides in not just our words. The psalmist compares our lives to “a puff of air.” Our blip is just that on God’s eternal timeline. Yet, even so, the psalmist says to God, “Please don’t ignore my tears.” They matter to us, each day. God, don’t ignore our tears either. Listen to our cry. Deliver us, O God.

Prayer: Lord God, what are we, really, that you are mindful of us? Our lives come and go with a blinking of your eye. Yet from our perspective, our years hold meaning. Moments and seasons matter. Teach us to value our time, to use it wisely, to live it all for your glory. Be our helper and rescuer, O God. Hold our hand. Walk with us each of our days. Amen.


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Abram – A Model Faith

Readings: Genesis 12, Genesis 13, Genesis 14

‭Genesis‬ ‭12:4-5 – “Abram left just as the LORD told him… Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all of their possessions.”

As we begin chapter 12 the stories become more personal. We explore the relationships between God and Abram and between various human characters. The relationship between Abram and God reveals the ideal human relationship with the divine. All of the relationships between the human characters run the gamut from faithful and true to selfish and power-hungry. In many ways these human relationships mirror our relationships today.

Chapter 12 begins with God directing Abram to leave Haran to go to “the land that I will show you.” Abram doesn’t know the destination or the time frame. Yet in verses 4-5 we read, “Abram left just as the LORD told him… Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all of their possessions.” Living out a radical faith and obedience, Abram heads out. Abram leaves everything to follow God’s word. He is the model of faith in the Old Testament and beyond.

But Abram isn’t perfect. That’s another thing that character after character reveals in the Bible. Famine forced Abram and family to Egypt. He lies about who Sarai is to save his own life. She becomes part of Pharaoh’s house. This brings plagues on Pharaoh and his house. Abram is figured out and expelled from Egypt. While living there, however, God has abundantly blessed both Abram and Lot. This becomes a problem when they get back to Canaan. Splitting up is necessary and Abram graciously gives Lot the first choice. He greedily chooses the best land. It is near Sodom, a place of sin and evil.

Lot then becomes a victim of a local war. He and all he has is taken away as plunder. A survivor tells Abram who goes and rescues Lot. On the way home they meet Melchizedek, who blessed them in the name of El Elyon – the God of heaven and earth. Abram returns the blessing by giving the priest a tenth of the plunder.

The question I’m left with today is this: Do my relationships with God and others seek to emulate the relationships modeled by the good and faithful Abram?

Prayer: Lord God, were I to be as obedient and faithful as Abram, how my life and faith would change! When I lean towards being selfish or sinful, bend me back to your will and ways. When you bless me, O God, turn me to others so that I may bless them in turn. Amen.


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God in Jesus -> The Same

Reading: Hebrews 1:1-12

Verse 12: “You remain the same, and your years will never end.”

Photo credit: Tyler Milligan

Today’s text is fitting for this last Sunday and last day in 2023. As we conclude the year, this text reminds us of who and what Jesus Christ is, was, and will be. It reminds us of Jesus’ presence throughout the scriptures and of his place in our lives.

Hebrews begins by recognizing that God spoke through the prophets and has now spoken through Jesus. God incarnate in Christ is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of God’s being.” Jesus was God’s will, way, and heart lived out as a model for us to follow. After dying for our sins, Jesus returned to heaven to sit for a time at the right hand of God. At the end of the passage we are reminded that one day Jesus Christ will return. He will “roll them up” like a robe and “they will be changed” as the new heaven and earth are created. All that we know will be made new. But not Christ: “You remain the same, and your years will never end.”

As we come to the last day of 2023 and look forward to 2024, this truth remains: God in Jesus is the same today, tomorrow, and forever. This is foundational to our faith. With that in mind, let us reflect on how we can change for the better faith wise in 2024. What faith practices are you willing to commit to in 2024? What changes need made to give faith more of a priority? How can 2024 be an even better year for your relationship with Jesus?

Prayer: Lord God, help us to genuinely reflect on our 2023. Lead us to honestly consider our 2024. Form in us a commitment and an obedience to live more faithfully in the coming year. Amen.


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Living Together with Christ

Reading: 1st Thessalonians 5:6-11

Verse 10: “Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.”

Photo credit: Sophie Walker

Thessalonica was a city under Roman control. The political leaders and many of the religious leaders were trying to curry favor with the Romans. This upstart church refused to play this game. The tension created by this eventually sept into the church, creating division there too. They began looking at one another, questioning the other’s faith. The polarization of the world was beginning to creep into the church. The “us” and “them” mentality was negatively affecting the church and its witness, both from the outside and from the inside.

Paul begins to address this by encouraging the church to not be like those who are asleep – those without faith in Jesus Christ. Instead, he encourages them to “be alert and self-controlled.” Notice when the world is creeping in, keep the focus on Jesus. Make the choice to control your tongues and your bodies. To help these efforts, Paul invites them to put on “faith… love… and the hope of salvation.” Putting on and living out faith, hope, and love will allow them to be light in the dark world and peace in a world of division. These actions, of course, must begin within and then spread outside the church. We must first practice and model what we believe before we can preach or share these things with the world.

Paul closes with a reminder and then with an encouragement. First, in verse 10, he writes, “Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” Christ died for all – for those inside the church and for those still outside the church. The mission remains to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Second, Paul invites the church to “encourage one another and to build each other up.” Support and love one another, lift each other up. Being hope, love, and faith in the world is not often easy. We need one another. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, draw us together. Make us one in you and one with each other. Let love and hope and faith guide all that we do and say, especially within the family of God. After we’ve learned to do this well, send us out to share these blessings with the world. Amen.