pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: passionate


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Need ___, go to ___.

Reading: 1st Thessalonians 1:7-10

1st Thessalonians 1:8 – “And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to all people everywhere.”

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Returning to Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, we read about the results or impact of their faithful works, loving deeds, and enduring hope in Jesus Christ. In a day when there was no mass media, nevermind the Internet or cell phones, this small group of believers was becoming “an example to all the believers in Greece.” A whole region was being influenced. Paul gives evidence of this impact in verses 8 and 9. In verse 8 he writes, “And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to all people everywhere.” Through the Thessalonians’ witness, faith in Jesus Christ is growing all over the place. The word is ringing out!

Imagine for a moment if the people in your community were talking this way about you or about your church! Imagine if this was how your neighbors spoke of you. Nevermind your whole state or nation – just think about your immediate sphere of influence. What if someone at the grocery store or at the soccer field or in an online space were to naturally encourage a person in need to go to you or to your church? Need help with ___, go to ___. Want someone to walk with you through ___, go to ___. What would it feel like for the average person in your local community to naturally talk about you or your church in these ways?

Yes, it would feel great. It should be this way. And if it is not, we must ask: Why isn’t this our reputation?

Prayer: Lord God, oh to be known as people who love, care for, walk alongside, stand for, lift up, serve… This is your desire, Lord, for all who call on you as Savior. So stir up in each of us an active and passionate faith, one that is noticeable, one that stands out, one that makes a positive difference. 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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Arise, Beloved

Reading: Song of Songs 2: 8-13

Verse 10: “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me”.

The Song of Songs is about love. On the literal level it is the story of young love, of courtship, of desire. In today’s six verses we see the beloved, the young woman, being sought by her lover. Twice in today’s passage he calls out, saying, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me”. The earth itself is coming to life as spring begins. The flowers and vines are blossoming, the doves coo, the figs begin to form. Life is bursting all around. The two lovers can sense the energy in creation and want to be a part of that.

In the metaphorical sense, the Song of Songs is the story of how God seeks to be in relationship with us. This relationship is also built upon love. God’s love is not the “I love my brother” kind of love from childhood. It is not the pinky swear “I’ll do anything for my BFF” kind of adolescent love. It is not even the wild and passionate love of two twenty somethings who have fallen madly in love. Even this love pales in comparison to the love that God desires to lavish upon us. God’s love is unconditional, unfailing, unending. The best of human love is conditional, fickle, wavering.

God pursues us like the young man pursues his love. God leaps the mountains, walks across the seas, peers through any opening that he can find, calling out to each of us, his beloved. Today, be aware of how God is calling out to you, seeking to deepen your relationship with him. Will you arise and go with God?

Prayer: Loving and compassionate God, make me aware of each way that you reach out to me today. Create in me a sensitive heart, a willing heart. Help me to take in and to pour out your love this day. Amen.