pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: one


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One Day

Reading: Psalm 98

The psalmist solemnly reminds us that the Lord “will judge the world in righteousness and the people with equity”.  It is a truth we know: one day we will all stand before the judgment seat to be deemed worthy of heaven or to be condemned to hell.  We do not know the when or the how, but we know that the who and what we are now is not forever.

God will first judge in righteousness.  There will be truth in how we are judged.  The simple question that is illustrated in the parable of the sheep and the goats will be the one Jesus asks us: “Do you know me”?  It is the hope and prayer of every Christian that when Jesus looks back over the course of our lives, that He will see we knew Him.  It will be revealed in how we lived out our daily life.  It will be revealed in how we treated our neighbor and the stranger in our midst.  It will be revealed in how we used the gifts and talents and blessings God gave us to help build the kingdom here.

God will also judge with equity.  Loving God and loving neighbor can look like and be a lot of different things.  There is not just one way to love.  By judging with equity God will look at each of us uniquely.  If I was given the gift of teaching, did I teach others about God and faith?  If I was placed in a situation to help the person on the street, did I?  If I was feeling the call or nudge to go to a friend in need, did I respond?  We will each be judged by our own lives, not against some set standard.

When Jesus asks, “Did you know me?” may our answer be a joyous “Yes”!  And may our Lord and Savior say, “Yes indeed – welcome home”!  May we live each day so that one day this will be.


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One More

Reading: Matthew 1: 18-25

One more.  We wait.  One more week.  We wait.  In one more week it will be Christmas.  We will celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior.  One more week.  It is a significant day because it marks the celebration of the arrival of the Messiah – the one who forever changed the world.  Jesus began a new era in His birth.  Emmanuel, God with us, forever changed our relationships with God, with each other, with sin, and with death.  Jesus is the full revelation of God’s love and the example of how to live this love out in our daily, human lives.

One more second.  On more month.  Twenty-three days.  Right now.  All of these are also available options of times to celebrate the arrival of the Messiah.  Our Emmanuel, God with us, is an ever present God.  We can have Jesus’ presence with us all the time.  Jesus does not just come once a year on Christmas.  Jesus continues to be present to us in the here and now and will continue to be present to humanity until the end of this age.

The Messiah came to initiate a new age: the age of peace.  It is a work in progress.  It is a work in the midst of labor pains.  It is a work that seems far from complete.  It is a work that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, continue to carry out day by day, person by person.

Just as Jesus was the revelation of God and the evolving story of the Old Testament, we too are the continuing revelation of Jesus and the story of the New Testament.  The story of the good news of Jesus Christ continues to grow, to spread, to reach new ears, and to transform lives.  Everyone who comes to Jesus as Lord and Savior helps to complete the narrative of peace and to draw the world a little closer to the return of Jesus.  One more soul at a time.  Matthew writes, “He will save his people from their sins”.  May all come to know this wonderful peace of Christ.


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Worship

Reading: Revelation 5: 11-14

Reading of the worship around the throne in heaven makes me think of times of worship that have been powerful and amazing.  The first that comes to mind was the choir and orchestra that led worship at a big conference I attended in a Kansas City suburb.  There were hundreds on the platform and thousands in the congregation who joined together to praise our God.  Next my mind went to any number of Promise Keepers events where almost twenty thousand men would lift our voices as one and fill the stadium or arena.  The power and majesty and presence of God was real.

Of course both of these events pale in comparison to John’s description of the thousands upon thousands – literally millions – of voices gathered to praise the Lamb who was slain.  John goes on to include every being born since the creation story.  It will be quite the choir!  If we expand our ‘grandest’ worship experience hundreds on hundreds of times over, it may get us close to what John saw in his vision.

The thousands or even millions lifted in one voice, bringing praise and glory to God, surely pleases Him. There is an undeniable power felt when a large number gather for worship.  This experience occurs at large events throughout the year and at churches across the world on days like Christmas Eve.

Yet I believe God is also greatly pleased with the worship of one.  We all experience times of worship where we are the only ones there and we definitely feel the presence of God.  Maybe it is during a walk along the beach or maybe it happens sitting alone on the deck at sunrise.  Maybe it occurs during a hymn when you too have felt tears streaming down your cheeks.  In our times of worship, whether alone or with a handful or with hundreds, He is every bit as pleased as with millions upon millions in worship.  Praise be to the Lamb!  Praise to our God who is pleased when we bow and worship His Holy name!  All honor and glory is His, both now and forever!


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The Gift of the Holy Spirit

Baptism marks us as a child of God and brings us into His family.  In the early church and in non-infant baptisms today, it is also an affirmation of one’s own faith in Jesus Christ.  In all cases of Christian baptism today, one is baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  In our text from Acts, this was not the case.  The new believers had been baptized but had not yet received the Holy Spirit.

John and Peter go to the newly baptized believers in Samaria to offer them the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Through prayer and the laying on of hands, these new members of the family of God receive the Holy Spirit.  To invite the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in them was essential.  For them and for us, the Holy Spirit is the living presence of Jesus Christ in our lives.  This presence guides and leads us to live life as a follower or imitator of Jesus.  The life of one indwelled by the Holy Spirit is a life that bears fruit in the world and shares the light and love of Christ with others.

The Holy Spirit also acts as a connector or unifier.  It leads and guides us all in the same way, bringing us together as the body of Christ.  Much as baptism brings each new believer into the one family of God, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit imparts into each of us a common DNA, making us one in Christ.

This day may we invite the Holy Spirit to be active and present in our lives.  This day may we attune our ears and hearts to the voice of the Holy Spirit.  This day may our hands and feet be receptive to the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Come Holy Spirit, come!

Scripture reference: Acts 8: 14-17