pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: path


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Walking by Faith

Paul reminds us that we walk by faith and not by sight.  Envision with me, just for a moment, your feet walking along a stony path.  See just the bottom of your legs and your feet and the path.  Hear the sound of the rock underneath your feet.

What is it that you see and hear?  Are your feet moving right along, steadily crunching the gravel as you stride?  Or are your feet skipping along making a scuffling sound in the stones?  Or are they moving haltingly and unsteadily, offering up an uneven pattern of noise?  Or are your feet still, making no sound at all upon the rocks?

Depending on how our lives are at the present moment, we may be breezing along the path, at a standstill, or somewhere in between.  For a season our walk of faith might be steady, but at other times it is not.  Life can distract us, disruptions can halt our progress.  Peaks and valleys come and go, but we always must keep moving forward in faith.

In faith we do continue to walk forward, ever seeking to draw nearer to He who stands at the end of our path – Jesus Christ.  By keeping our eyes on Christ, we can always move closer whether we run, jump, skip, walk, or barely move forward.  At times the next step may seem unclear or unsure, but we know by the faith in our heart that He is there, ever calling us along our journey of faith.

Scripture reference: 2 Corinthians 5: 6-10


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Resurrection Eyes

How often could Jesus look down at the decisions we make and the actions we take and think to Himself, “Get behind me, Satan”?  How often do we disappoint our savior?  How often do we fail to live up to our full potential?

Peter was one of Jesus’ closest disciples.  Yet when the end was nearing and He told them so, it was Peter who rebuked Jesus.  Peter saw Jesus’ power and authority growing almost daily – why death now?  Peter was trapped and he could only see what Jesus was describing from earthly eyes.  Peter didn’t yet have resurrection eyes.

Sometimes we don’t either.  Ok, maybe often we don’t.  That is why we are often less than we could be.  That’s why we don’t always feed the hungry or clothe the naked.  Maybe faith is not the top priority.

Each day that we choose to walk with Jesus Christ, we are more than we used to be.  As we get to know Him more, we grow closer to Him.  It is a pretty neat little circle.

How do we come to see more and more with resurrection eyes?  How do we focus in more on God’s priorities and less on the world’s?  Time.  T-I-M-E.  In this season of self-examination, may we see ourselves more clearly and allow Him to lead us on His path.  When we walk His path, we see the things He sees.

Scripture reference: Mark 8: 31-33


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Pointing the Way

John the Baptist knew his role well.  He lived a very basic, simple life.  He did what God called him to do.  Although he had followers and many people came out into the wilderness to be baptized, John remained humble and true to his calling. His perspective never changed – always God’s servant and always speaking the truth.

As we move through Advent and closer to Christmas, excitement builds.  Christ’s birth precedes all of God’s promises being fulfilled in and through Him.  John knew just how important Jesus was to the world and put all of his focus and energy into drawing people’s attention to Christ.

Our role is really the same – to tell His story, to share our story, and to point people to Christ.  Through both our word and example we can help others to “make straight the way for the Lord.”  Our role is to point the way and to help others draw closer to the true and only reason for the season.

Scripture reference: John 1: 16-28


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Words of Life

In Psalm 19 we find some great insights into the Word of God and its role in our lives.  This Psalm shows the value of the word and its effect on our lives.  It is not a burden but a delight to live as a child of the word of God.  It guides us as we seek to walk in His ways.

In the word we find God’s perfect law, which revives our soul.  The word is trustworthy and brings us wisdom.  His word is right and clear, bringing joy to our hearts and light to our eyes.  God’s ways revealed through the word are true and yield righteousness in us.

God’s words guides and leads us along the path that He intends us to walk.  It is vibrant and living and remains relevant to the choices and decisions we make n our lives.  May we learn to love to spend time in the Bible, growing in our depth of faith, drawing ever nearer to God.  His word is a lamp to our eyes and a guide to our feet.  May we grow dependent on the Bible and its words of life.

Scripture reference: Psalm 19: 7-12


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Finding True Joy

In the Old Testament people followed the word of God, mostly recorded in the Torah.  Early followers found joy living according to God’s ways.  Over time though, the law became cumbersome and burdensome.  The obedience that brought joy was replaced by 613 laws that were almost impossible to follow and brought condemnation and judgment.

In the New Testament the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  Jesus’ yoke was easy and the burden light.  Obedience and joy in a life following Jesus came down to two ‘laws’ – love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love you neighbor as yourself.  After Jesus’ death and resurrection, God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and to guide us on the path that Jesus laid out.

In the Old Testament, a life lived for God hinged upon prayer, study, worship, and obedience to His commands.  Today our faith rests upon these same practices.  Through these habits or disciplines, we incline our hearts and minds toward God.  It is then that we walk His path and find our true joy.

Scripture reference: Psalm 119: 105-112


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A Narrow Road

At times in our faith journey we can be immature and rather un-Christlike. We can choose to quarrel or bicker – both within a church and between churches or denominations or religions.

At times we choose as individuals to withhold love or kindness or acts of mercy. There can be a variety of reasons – prejudice, stereotypes, past history…

But thanks be to God that He doesn’t treat us this way! For His love never fails and it never gives up on me. Praise God! At times I must frustrate Him and at times I must miss opportunities He places before me. But He always loves.

As Christians this is our call too. We must emulate this love of God. We are called to love and serve all we meet each day. When they don’t look like us or are different from us or annoy us, this challenge can be hard. But it is the narrow road we are called to walk. May our walks be straight and true every day!!