pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Up from the Foundation

Reading: Psalm 137: 5-9

Verse 5: “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill”.

In the short-term of life it seems like things never change. The context of our Psalm today is the period of exile that followed the fall of Jerusalem. The people of Israel have been in Babylon for what feels like forever. It feels like their situation will never change. Deep within they long for their past. But at this moment they are stuck in Babylon.

In the long-term of life it often feels like things are always changing. Kings come and go, foreign powers rise and fall, there are times of freedom and times of captivity. Humans in general do not like change. The routines that we fall into in life feel like “forever” after a while. Our faith is one of these routines. In exile, the people of Israel cling to the songs and stories of faith. The telling and retelling of their oral traditions and the singing of their sacred songs connects them both to God and to the past that they long for. The deep desire to always remember is captured in verse five, where we read, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill”. If one forgets the most important thing – God – then all else is lost.

Our faith exists and thrives in between the past and the future, between the constant and the change. The Bible and the practices and traditions that we derive from it keep us connected to God and to Jesus. They remind us of who we are as Christians and as communities of faith. Yet our faith also looks forward. One way we look forward is our trust in the future promises – to one day enter heaven and to one day see all things made new as Jesus Christ returns. The other way we look forward in our faith is the idea of journey. Our faith today is not what it was five years ago. We seek to journey forward, ever becoming more and more like Jesus.

The Bible, the traditions, the practices – these are the solid foundations of our faith. The desire to grow to be more like Jesus – this is the building up from that foundation. We are blessed by both. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Father God, thank you for being who and what you are: unchanging love and mercy and grace. Thank you for showing us all these things lived out in your son, Jesus Christ. Keep me connected to both. Amen.


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Mediator

Reading: Hebrews 12: 18-24

Verses 23-24: “You have come to God, … to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant”.

Verses 18-21 remind us of many people’s image of the God of the Old Testament. God was seen as frightening and distant, as angry and vengeful. Even Moses, the one who talked with God and glowed after being in God’s presence, at times trembled with fear. The covenant established in the desert with Moses and the Israelites became a hard and fast set of rules to follow. To a large degree, the rules were followed out of fear and out of the desire to avoid upsetting God.

The vision shifts in verse 22. The writer of Hebrews reminds the people of the new covenant that we have “come to Mount Zion, to the new Jerusalem, to the city of the living God”. Many angels sing praises of joy to God. The righteous have been made perfect. There, the faithful have “come to God, … to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant”. Through the gifts of his body and blood, Jesus Christ himself replaced the old covenant that required sacrifices to atone for sin and to find forgiveness. Jesus was and is and ever will be the atoning sacrifice for sins. And he is the mediator. Jesus stands between us and God. Jesus stands in our defense, in our place even. Jesus walked the earth. He knows our trials and our struggles. He knows our pains and hurts. In the person and Spirit of Jesus, God has become a very personal and loving God. We now follow out of love. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Loving God, thank you for being willing to do so much for me. You took on flesh, becoming weak and poor. You walked the earth, giving us an example of God’s love. Then you gave your life for our sake. You gave so much. Help me to give to others this day and every day. Amen.


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All in All

Reading: Colossians 3: 1-11

Verse 1: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above”.

Paul is writing to the Colossian church. He opens the letter in chapter one with prayers for the church, reminds them that Jesus Christ is the head of the church, and that they have been reconciled to God through Christ’s death and resurrection. In chapter two Paul reminds them that they must claim their faith and that he is praying for them. In my Bible, today’s section is titled “Rules for Holy Living”. Understanding these ‘rules’ is a gradual and evolving process. For most of us, this is a slow but steady lifelong process.

When I first met David I had no idea who he had been. Maybe the long hair and slightly loud personality could have hinted at his story. David had church in his childhood but stepped away in his early adult years. His life had become one of fast cars, fast boats, and a fast life. David had money and became involved in the drug world. Soon he was always racing to stay a step ahead of the law. He wove into his story that his mom and grandma were always praying for him. Then one day, in a face to face with mortality and the finite nature of the life he knew, David reached out to God in desperation. God reached back. It began David on the journey to being a servant of Jesus Christ.

In Colossians 3 Paul writes, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above”. The people in the Colossian church had died to the world and were raised to new life in Christ. In verse two Paul also encourages them to set things minds on the things above. In verses five and eight Paul lists several things to not do and lists things to be rid of. These are the things of the world. These are the things many people chase after.

It is hard to set these aside and to always put on the things above. It is, in fact, impossible to do on our own. In verses nine and ten Paul shows how God makes it possible. In Christ we can take off the old self and put on the new self. The new self is renewed day by day. This is part of our lifelong faith journey. Paul concludes our passage today by writing, “Christ is all and is in all”. That became true for my friend David, it is becoming true for me, and it can become true for you. May it be so.

Prayer: God, I am far from perfect but I strive to become more like your perfect son every day. Fill me more with Jesus day by day, making Christ my all in all. Amen.


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Holy Spirit Exercise

Reading: Acts 8: 14-17

Verse 17: “Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit”.

At the beginning of Acts 8 Philip goes to Samaria and proclaims Jesus Christ. His words and the miraculous signs lead many to accept the word of God and to believe in Jesus. When people profess faith in Jesus, Philip baptizes them. Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem, the apostles hear about this and realize that the people have not received the Holy Spirit. This is where today’s passage picks up.

Peter and John are sent to Samaria. They pray over the new believers, asking the Spirit to come. “Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit”. It is the Spirit that will fill the new believers with the courage and power and understanding to live out their faith as witnesses to Jesus Christ. Without the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, belief in Christ is more like head knowledge than lifestyle. There is a big difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. The Holy Spirit bumps Jesus fully into our life and into our everyday choices, words, actions…

Even with the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives, these new believers in Samaria will have choices to make. We too experience this. When they feel the nudge or when they hear the whisper – will they respond? At first that voice is quiet and the nudge light. When it is exercised though, it becomes louder and stronger. In this way we too are called to exercise the faith we have – to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and to allow the Spirit to lead and guide us. The more we do, the more we will. This day and every day, when the Holy Spirit calls or nudges, may we step forward in faith, trusting in God’s lead. May it be so.

Prayer: God, help me to cast aside fear and doubt and to step boldly where your Spirit leads. Build up my trust more and more and more. Amen.


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Praise the Creator

Reading: Psalm 104: 24-34 & 35b

Verse 24: “How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures”.

I cannot but help to look out the office window and see the green grass and tall trees gently swaying in the breeze. The sun is shining and even those little yellow dandelions have a beauty to them. There are still a few wet patches in the road – left by the softly falling rain that came by last evening. There are also a few birds chirping and singing to add an auditory sense to the scene outside. Verse 24 opens our Psalm today with these words: “How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures”. How true, how true!

Each element of the created world is imagined and made by God. That ranges from the minute amoeba to you and I to the vast array of stars and planets. All of it was created by God. The natural cycle of life is in verses 28 and 29. When God opens His hand, creation is satisfied. When God takes away breath, to dust all returns. In this too is a beauty because it is ordained and orchestrated by God.

In verse 30 the Spirit enters the story. With the Spirit we are created – the breath of life enters. As the Spirit continues to breathe life into us, “you renew the face of the earth”. To the grass, the trees, the birds… the breath of God’s Spirit brings the new leaves each spring… But to us, those created in God’s image, those who are counted as the children of God, this renewal is spiritual. Over and over the Holy Spirit sweeps through our lives, making us new again. The Spirit of God alive in us renews us over and over.

In verse 33 we read, “I will sing to the Lord all my life”. What an appropriate response to God’s renewing power in our lives. May we join the psalmist and all of creation today as we sing our joyful praise to the Lord!

Prayer: Creator God, thank you for tuning my heart and soul to the beauty of your creation. May I ever marvel at the works of your hand and may that always lead me to praise your wonderful name. Amen.


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Come

Reading: Revelation 22: 12-14, 16-17, and 20-21

Verse 17: “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life”.

Our reading today opens with the reminder, “I am coming soon”! Jesus is not speaking in our time frame but in His. Our life is but a mist (James 4:14), so our time reference is different than God’s. Jesus then goes on to remind us that He was there in the beginning and will be there at the end. Jesus was there at creation and will be there at the new creation and beyond.

Jesus will welcome all who “wash their robes”. These will have the right to the tree of life and can enter the new Jerusalem. Sin is the barrier between us and Jesus. When we live with sin in our lives, we are separated from Christ Jesus. When we acknowledge our sins and repent of them, seeking to live and walk with Jesus, then our sins are forgiven. When we do this, we are washing our robes.

Once we are made right with Jesus, we can enter into His presence. One day that means into eternity. In verse 17 we hear the invitation, “Come”! John goes on to expand on this invitation by saying, “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life”. We have a natural thirst for God. It is that hole inside all of us that can only be filled by a personal relationship with God in Christ. This hole is created in us the moment we are woven together by God. We are made in His image; therefore we long for God – we thirst for a relationship with Him. To our thirst, He simply says, “Come”. We are invited to take from the “free gift” and to drink of it deeply. It is the water of life. Jesus gives us life here and offers us life eternal too.

The passage for today closes by Jesus once again saying, “Yes, I am coming soon”. I love John’s response: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus”. Yes, you are coming soon. Thanks be to God. And all of God’s people say, amen.

Prayer: Father, today I join John saying come, come Lord Jesus. Come now into my life. Come soon to make all things new. Come, Lord Jesus, come! Amen.


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Come

Reading: Revelation 22: 1-5

Verse 4: “They will see His face, and His name will be on their forehead”.

With the coming of the new Jerusalem humanity and God return to their original relationship. Before sin entered the world, God walked and talked daily with Adam and Eve. But sin entered and created separation. Thousands of years later God began the work of final restoration as He took on flesh and walked among humanity once again. In the person of Jesus, God demonstrated the obedience that was lost in the garden. Obedience was fully demonstrated as Jesus went to the cross to be the final sacrifice for our sins, there defeating the power of sin. Through the resurrection from the grave, Jesus defeated the power of death too. It no longer has the final word. Yet sin and death remain. We continue to live in a broken world. Our relationship with sin and death has changed though – we no longer live in bondage to them. We are no longer slaves, but we are still subject to them.

John’s vision in Revelation looks to a day when sin and death will be no more. One day Christ will return and banish sin, death, and all brokenness forever. Maybe it will be tomorrow. Maybe it will be a few or many generations from now. We do not know when Jesus will return to make all things new. But we know He will. And we know what it will be like. The creation will return to the time before sin. “They will see His face, and His name will be on their forehead”. Like Adam and Eve once did, all who are children of God will be daily in His presence. There will be no separation. The curse that came through the first sin will be no more. All who are in the new Jerusalem will be constantly in God’s presence.

As Revelation 22 and the Bible close out, three times Jesus says to John, “I am coming soon”. The Spirit and the bride, the church, respond by saying, “Come”! John invites all who are thirsty to come, to come and to take the free gift of the water of life. Before his final blessing, John writes, “Come, Lord Jesus”. May we join in the invitation today, proclaiming come, Lord Jesus, come!

Prayer: Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, come! Come and walk with me this day. Return again tomorrow and the next tomorrow and forever. One day may that walk be in your presence. Until then, may we walk in harmony and love. Amen.


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A Wonderful Day

Reading: Revelation 21:10, 21:22-22:5

Verse 26: “On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there”.

Today’s passage comes at the end of the Bible. The world that we see outside our windows and will step into just outside our doors today will not exist any longer. Our passage opens today with John seeing the Holy City coming down. It is a city of light and love. There is no temple – God and the Lamb are the temple. There is no sun or moon – God is the light and Jesus is the lamp. Only the children of God will inhabit the city and “on no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there”. All whose names are in the “Lamb’s book of life” will come and go freely. The river of life will feed the tree of life. It will bring healing to the nations – there will “no longer be any curse” – no pain, no tears, no grief… God and Jesus will reign forever. It will be a wonderful day.

Yet today, in the world just outside our window, just beyond our door, there is brokenness and evil and despair and division. This vision of heaven in Revelation is a someday vision. We live in this earthly reality. Our task as followers of Christ is to work to bring vision and reality closer together today and each day. We are to seek to build the kingdom here on earth. This heavenly vision draws us and helps us to focus on the task at hand. Our primary focus is how we live our day to day lives, striving to bring healing and hope and love and light to the world we inhabit. In building the kingdom here on earth we seek to end division and to break down barriers that separate us from one another. When we live together, celebrating our differences, not in spite of them, then the peace and love of God and Jesus will reign. If we can live and love and bring hope and light into the world each day, then each day will be a wonderful day. May it be so for me and for you.

Prayer: Bringer of light and love, of hope and peace, use me as an instrument of yours today. Help me to walk side by side with all of my brothers and sisters in the world today. Enable me to break down all that separates in order to build up your kingdom here on earth. Guide me, O Lord. Amen.


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Diligently

Reading: Revelation 21: 1-6

Verse 4: “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away”.

I pastor in a rural community where many are involved in agriculture. In a small but real way, the farmers and ranchers live out the idea of a new earth each year. We all experience the seasons in South Dakota, but for me that mostly means I dress differently and such. In general, for me, life in October is much like life in April. But for those tied to the annual renewal of the earth, this is not the case.

As people of faith we live in this present time with a hopeful eye towards the time when “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away”. We look forward but we do so with patience. Yes, it will be wonderful beyond anything we can begin to imagine, but we are just fine if it a ways down the road. With this hope, though, we are called to live an active faith in the present. Within we are to spend time daily with God and to grow more in love with God in this way. Without we are to allow our faith and God’s love to color all we do and say and think. We are to live as humble servants in this time and place, diligently building the kingdom of God here and now.

In the agricultural community there is a parallel. During the winter months, when the fields are dormant, they do not just sit and stare out the window. They are actively preparing – planning and studying, readying machinery, purchasing the needed seeds… They diligently do all they can to insure the greatest possible success when the new season comes. If they use the best seeds for the season ahead and do all that they can to have the best crop, then a good harvest likely lies ahead.

The same is true of our faith and the journey we are on towards eternal life. May we each tend diligently to the things of God, preparing for the new that is to come.

Prayer: Lord God, this day may I sow good seeds of faith and hope within and without. May I do all I can, empowered by the Holy Spirit, walking closer to you day by day. Amen.


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All Things New

Reading: Revelation 21: 1-6

Verse 1: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away”.

There are two kinds of people in the world when it comes to broken things. One type is quickly willing to discard the broken item and purchase a new one if necessary. The other type will tinker and tinker, will try this and that, to repair the item to get just a little more life out of it. When you think of God and our world, which type is God?

I tend to fall into the second category. I will try and repair it, to somehow get a little more use out of it. Sometimes if it is mechanical my limited ability and knowledge forces me to seek a mechanic or repair person. Even then I am willing to try a little something to get more time out of the vehicle or lawnmower. Which type are you?

When we think about our relationships, we fall into similar categories too. When our relationships are great and going well, life is good. But once in a while we hit a bump in the road. It is at these points that we must make a similar decision: do I want to save this relationship or do I just want to let it go? This question applies to all of our relationships – from parents to spouses to best friends to co-workers or classmates to acquaintances. Some of us will do all we can to reconcile or to save the relationship. Others will quickly walk away. When you think about God, which type is God?

In our passage today, God gets to the point of starting over, of bringing total healing. Our key verse reads, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away”. There will come a day when all things are made new. A reboot happened once, when God covered the face of the earth with water. After the flood, God said not again. The next time will be final. Since then God has been working to renew our lives, getting some more good years out of us. God continues to be at work in our world, drawing all things to Him. God works in us, ever refining us to be more like Him. God never gives up on us, always extending mercy and grace and forgiveness. Our God is a loving and patient God. Yes, the new heaven and earth will be beautiful beyond words. But for now, I rejoice in God’s love and patience with me and with our world.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your deep, deep love that continues to work in my heart and in my life. When I fail and create some separation between you and I, all you do is reach out and call me back. Thank you for your example of love and grace. Amen.