pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: obedience


by 1 Comment

Angels

Hebrews 13: 1-8 and 15-16

In Hebrews 13:2 we are reminded, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it”.  Do you think you have ever experienced this?  Could have someone God placed in your path been an angel instead of simply a stranger?  Maybe so.  These thoughts made me wonder why.  Why would God allow us to practice loving a stranger with an angel instead of with a real stranger?  Maybe we were not ready for a real stranger yet.

Or… maybe God is reminding us of the sacred value of all life.  Imagine if we treated all people we met as if they were an angel.  We would certainly be more humble and more willing to go the extra mile.  We would look on others as worthy and even as deserving of our time and attention.  It would be an experience in radical love.

Or maybe God is reminding us because so often God chooses the unlikely, the one we see as powerless, the stranger to teach us.  Sometimes people we tend to ignore or marginalize can teach us much.  If we are willing.  A lifelong hard core criminal who experienced salvation while incarcerated can teach us much about God’s amazing grace.  A person who struggled for years with addiction that found freedom through a relationship with Jesus Christ can teach us much about God’s redeeming love.  A person who endured years of unfair treatment and injustice yet persevered because of their faith can teach us much about trust and obedience.  These are but a few examples.  Those who have had powerful, lifechanging encounters with God have much to offer and teach.

Today, today may we see all people as if they were angels.  May we find the value in each person we meet.  May we see in all the gift of God that they each are.  And may we be willing and open to all that each has to offer to us.


by 1 Comment

Inside

Reading: Isaiah 5: 5-7

God loves and cares for all humanity.  It is God’s desire to be in a loving relationship with each and every one of us.  God blesses us with all we need and more as an expression of that love and care.  God watches over us and through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit guides and protects us.  God is the ultimate example of a loving parent.

In today’s passage the people of Israel are the children.  Apparently they are not being good children.  The frustrated parent looks back over all that has been done for Israel and recalls all the love and blessings poured out upon them.  In response to their disobedience and lack of faithfulness to the covenant, God will step back from being their provider and protector.  God will not stop loving them.  But God will love them from afar.

At times in life I have made similar choices.  I can relate to the Israelites.  I have allowed earthly pursuits to push my relationship with God way to the back burner.  I have been enamored with the things of this world from time to time, leaving very little or no time for God.  At some point though I come to a place where I realize that the hedges and walls are not there.  My soul is dry as God’s rain has not fallen in a while.  When I stop here and look at how I have been living my life, I see that I have stepped outside of my relationship with God.  The walls and hedged are still there. I had just stepped outside of them for a season.

Perhaps you can relate.  Perhaps you know someone in your life who is struggling along outside the walls of God’s love.  Step back inside.  Lead that friend into a relationship with God.  In relationship with God is where and when life is best.  May we all dwell inside the bounds of a loving, committed relationship with God.


by 1 Comment

Simply Love 

Reading: Hosea 11: 5-11

We have a varied view of God.  Since God is vast and far beyond human understanding, it makes sense that we cannot pin down an exact image or view of God.  On one end of the spectrum we see God as judge and in that role God decides on consequences and hands out punishment for our choices.  On the other end we see God as love, giver of new mercies every morning and of endless grace and other blessings.

God is just and in our relationship expects obedience and faithfulness from us.  In the Old Testament God gave the people the covenant to uphold and the Law to follow, with its accompanying sets of sacrifices.  In the New Testament God brought the new covenant into being through the life and witness of Jesus Christ.  In the latter part of the New Testament and for us today, God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.  Even though we have all of this to help us be obedient and to follow God’s will and ways for our lives, we so often fail.  Even when we fail, God loves us.  Even when we fail time after time, God continues to love us.

The constant giving of love, mercy, and forgiveness that we experience from God transforms our lives.  We are made new creations, without blemish, every time we seek God’s throne of grace.  We are drawn in over and over and over again into God’s transforming love, marvelling that it is never withheld, that it is never conditional, and that it is given without cost.  God simply loves us, imperfect and sinful as we are.  God simply loves us.  For this we say, thanks be to God.


by Leave a comment

For His Glory

Reading: Acts 1: 1-11

All too often we are like the disciples.  Jesus tells them that they will soon receive the Holy Spirit.  He has taught and built them up so that they can carry on His work as they go out to share the good news and to build the church.  He has told them that it is better that He goes so that the Holy Spirit can come.  It is now their moment to shine.  And they ask if now is the time He will restore the kingdom of Israel.  I can just see Jesus’ head drop and His shoulders slump as He let’s out a long sigh.

We too have the promise of the Spirit dwelling in us.  Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior then the Holy Spirit enters our heart and seeks to lead and guide us.  We are reminded in scripture that the Spirit will give us what we need, the words to say, the thoughts to share.  We are told that God will never put us in a situation we cannot handle and that He will never give us more than we can bear.  Yet we don’t always live into these things.  We too ask, “God, won’t you just do this for me?”

We cannot expect the kingdom to grow if we are not willing to be co-laborers with God.  We cannot begin by pursuing our own agenda, hoping that God will join us somewhere along the way.  Our God is a big God and can alter our life anytime He wants to bend us to His will.  But that is not how He operates.  He desires our love, our obedience, our willingness to serve.  It is when we offer all of these and when we prayerfully seek His lead that we can make the greatest impact for His kingdom.  Each day we must strive to offer our all to God.  Each day we must hand all control over to Him.  It is then that we begin to live for His glory.


by Leave a comment

Go and Do Likewise

Reading: John 12: 1-11

Our Holy Week readings begin with Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume.  It is something she bought and has kept for just this occasion.  Mary anoints His feet as a beginning step of preparation for His burial.  While this surface fact is true, we must look deeper as well because Mary is a study in faith, a great example to all who call on the name of Jesus.

This story is not our first or last encounter with Mary.  In Luke 10 we see Mary as obedient follower.  As sister Martha works to make all the preparations, Mary simply sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him.  Jesus indicates that Mary has chosen wisely.  Unspoken is the warning not to allow business to get in the way of following.  The lesson here from Mary is to place His Word as supreme in our lives.

We also encounter Mary in the story of the resurrection of her brother Lazarus.  In John 10 it was Mary who first sent for Jesus because her brother was sick.  As  news of Jesus approaching their town comes to the grieving home, Mary does not rush out to meet Jesus.  She waits until He calls for her.  Then she goes without delay and confesses her faith in Jesus’ power, even over death.  This is a confession we too must make if we are to surrender our lives to His will.

Lastly, the anointing.  There is of course the sacrifice of the expensive perfume.  But for many of us, like Mary we too can ‘afford’ to give of our resources.  But to go beyond is the challenge for many of us.  To allow the Spirit to lead and to be willing to see God’s vision of what lies just ahead can be difficult.  Here Mary does both.  She goes the extra step and uses her hair to wash His feet.  She allows the Spirit to lead her into this act of service.  In the next chapter we see Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.  He instructs them to follow His (and Mary’s) example, to be willing to serve one another.  Led by the same Spirit, may we be willing to go and do likewise.


by Leave a comment

Blessings, Providence, and Giving

God brought the Hebrew people out of long years of slavery and oppression and into a land flowing with milk and honey.  It was a drastic change for the people.  They would clearly remember how God had directly intervened to free them, to protect them, and to deliver this new land into their hands.  So when they are asked to bring a portion of their first fruits to God each season, as a way to say thank you, they gratefully follow the instructions.

As we fast forward to today, we in modern cultures have lost the sense of gratitude for God’s direct provision.  All that most of us have is not based on the crops and animals that grow.  We do not see the dry seeds that spring to life or witness the miracle of birth out in the fields.  It can be harder to see God’s hand directly involved in many of the jobs and professions today.  Adding to this distancing are society’s messages about hard work and individuality, the paths to success.

In reality though, God is still an active part of everything.  If we really dig down deep, it was God who formed each of us in the womb and it has been His hand of guidance and providence that has led us, brought opportunities our way, opened doors for us, gifted us with the talents and skills to succeed, and so on.  If we daily acknowledge these things before God, we are much more willing to gratefully follow His instructions on giving.

When we give the first fruits of our labor, we are saying we trust God.  To give that part right at the beginning says we trust His blessings and providence to see us through to the end of the month.  It is a grateful and trusting act of obedience and faith.  It is admitting that all we have is truly His anyway.  May our offerings to God reflect our heartfelt appreciation for all of His blessings and providence in our lives.

Scripture reference: Deuteronomy 26: 1-11


by Leave a comment

Our Worship

What kind of worship do you think God likes best?  Yes, I did ask that.  I think God most likes the worship that brings all the glory and honor to Him.  That may happen in a lot of different styles and settings and experiences.

Ezra read from the scriptures and the people listened attentively.  They raised their hands up toward heaven, seeking to connect to God.  They bowed their heads low, seeking to demonstrate their obedience and submission to God, to His holy Word.  In prayer they laid low to the ground.  All of these gestures were done to bring honor and glory to God alone and to indicate the conditions of their hearts – hearts fully committed to God.  But this is not the only way on can worship God.  David danced in the streets as he worshiped God.  Jesus went alone up on the mountain to worship God.

In our churches, our worship can vary greatly too.  It amazes me how many ways we can worship God and bring our praises to glorify God.  Musically it can be a stirring organ or a rocking praise band or a beautiful piano gently playing a song.  Vocally it can be a moving choir or a single voice lifted beautifully in praise or it can be a whole congregation raising the roof.  Prayer can be vocal with hands lifted high or it can be kneeling at the rail with head bowed low in reverent silence.  The Word can be read together or it may just be the liturgist.  The variances in tone, gesture, inflection, pace, and so on can be great even within one sermon.

God desires our worship to reflect the condition of our heart.  Does our individual worship on a Sunday in church reveal a faith fully committed to God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength?  Does our worship fill us so completely full of God that we have to go through the week ahead pouring Him out to all we meet?  This is the worship God desires.

Scripture reference: Nehemiah 8: 5-6


by Leave a comment

Obedience on the Journey

The obedience that Jesus the man demonstrated is amazing.  Jesus made the choice to obey God over and over and over.  The major example we think of is the cross – the place where Jesus paid for all of our sins with His life.  At the end of a life and ministry build upon loving people, Jesus demonstrated the depth of His love by obeying God’s will on the cross.

Sometimes I find it easier to be faithful on the big things.  For example, cheating on my taxes or stealing from the store bear big consequences that I am not willing to risk, so I do what is right instead.  But the little things can catch me so easily.  The unkind thought crosses my mind or the hurtful words slip out so effortlessly.  Often they are followed quickly by remorse or an aplogy, but sometimes there is a delay.  It is a struggle to always be obedient.

Jesus lived a life without sin until that momet when He took our sin upon Himself on the cross. A life without sin.  Just think for a moment about being that obedient to following God’s will.  For Jesus, obedience extended beyond simply not sinning.  It also meant being obedient to going where God called Him to go and to doing what God led Him to do.  What a depth of love for the Father that Jesus had!

The reality for us is that Jesus is our example to follow.  I am far from being without sin and have a long way to go to be fully obedient.  But God does not expect perfection or for me to ever reach perfection.  He only expects my love and my continuing on the journey to grow to be more and more and more like Christ.  Lord God, bless this journey.

Scripture reference: Hebrews 10: 5-10


by Leave a comment

Promises

In today’s psalm is the root of the promise that our faith rests upon.  God promises David that a descendant of his will always be on the throne of Zion, God’s chosen resting place.  Jesus was the last in David’s human line.  The resurrected Jesus completes the ‘forever’ part of God’s promise as He leads us from beside God’s throne.

In Jesus we see God’s love poured out as He kept this promise.  This should be no surprise as God always keeps His promises.  Just as God chose Zion, through Jesus Christ He chooses you and me as well.  We are each God’s beloved children.  But sometimes we forget that.  Sometimes we turn our relationship with God into a relationship like our other human relationships.  Sometimes our relationship with God digresses to bartering, dealing, if-then statements.  If I go to church, then God will…  If I help my neighbor, then God will…

But God does not promise us an if-then relationship.  He does not love us more or less based on our actions, words, and deeds.  He simply loves us.  He simply loves us.  The gift of salvation offered through Jesus Christ is God’s unmerited, no-strings-attached, free gift to us, His children.

Jesus was and is the embodiment of God’s love.  This is why Jesus brought and offered this gift for you and me.  When we are tempted to slip back into the wheeling and dealing relationship, we must remember Jesus’ example of perfect obedience to the Father’s will.  When we want to pick and choose when to be a Christian, we must remember how Jesus loved all who came to Him, no matter the time of day or season.  And when we question, when we falter, we must remember Jesus’ promise as well: I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.

Scripture reference: Psalm 132: 10-18


by Leave a comment

Part of God’s Story

Jeremiah 29:11 promises us that God has plans for each of us, plans for good.  God also allowed free will into the world so we each have the choice to live into God’s plans or to follow our own plans.  For any of us, we seek to live our lives as a child of God but we also venture down our own roads from time to time.  As we mature and grow in our faith, we learn to stay attuned to God’s plans and purposes for our lives more and more of the time.

The Bible, or God’s story, is filled with ordinary people doing small things to remain faithful who are used in extraordinary ways.  Today’s story features two widows and a farmer.  Through their simple acts of self-giving love they become part of the lineage of Jesus.  Another story features a shepherd boy, the youngest in the family, who slays the giant and eventually becomes king.  One of my favorites is about the fishermen, tax collector, .. who become the disciples and come to change the world forever.  Each of these ordinary people became part of God’s story and are a part of our story as well.

God also calls each of us to be a part of His ongoing story.  Each and every day God brings before us opportunities to serve others with self-giving love and to share our story with others.  Sometimes the small things we do or the little pieces of our story that we share make a big difference in another’s life.  Many times we do not know about this affect or impact.  At other times the whisper of the Holy Spirit is harder to hear or we find it easier to ignore.  We must be attuned to the whispers and nudges and must seek to live into the will of God.  We must be open to those whispers and nudges even when our first reaction is to ignore them or to think, ‘Really?’  The Lord requires of us the same things  he did of Naomi, Ruth, Boaz, David, te disciples… – trust and obedience.  We must remember that God has us each in the palm of His hand.  Lord, make us willing and obedient to the call to be your loving servant today.

Scripture reference: Ruth 3: 1-5 and 4:13-17