pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Relationship

Reading: Acts 8: 14-17

Verse 15: “They prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit”.

As we become better and better friends with another we can get to the point of being able to finish their sentences. After being married or after being best friends for a long while you even get to the place of knowing what they’re thinking. This deep connection forms a very special bond. But just how does this bond develop? Certainly an important element is time. Spending time with someone allows you the opportunity to get to know them. Time alone won’t do it though. One could spend a lifetime in a 6×12 prison cell with someone and never get to know them very well. One must also make an effort. One must invest in the relationship. This speaks of commitment.

In our passage today some folks hear the words that Philip shared and they come to believe in Jesus name. They do not receive the Holy Spirit so Peter and John are sent. Once they arrive, “they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit”. Why? Because the indwelling presence of the Spirit can be the beginning of a deeply personal relationship. The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit does not take you to “finish their sentence” status automatically though. It is the beginning of a relationship. In many the relationship begins “on fire” – you want to get to know that person more and more. Soon enough though, like with all relationships, it gets to a point where you ask yourself if you want the relationship to continue to grow or not. Usually there is a pinch point of some type. With the Holy Spirit it is usually that point where we realize it will require a full surrender of our will and our desires to the will and desires of God. It is a hard moment. Some choose to slow things down and keep the relationship on the “acquaintance” level. But if one chooses to go all in with their relationship with Jesus Christ, then one can get to the point of finishing sentences and knowing what the Holy Spirit is thinking before it whispers or nudges.

If one chooses to surrender, it is not a one time decision either. There is a reason Jesus said we must pick up our cross daily to follow Him. It is a daily surrender. In general, the cross becomes lighter and easier to pick up each day as the joy of the relationship makes it so. Yes, there are days or even seasons when self rears its ugly head. But the time and commitment that God has in the relationship always seeks to draw us back in, to restore us to right relationship. On our own the relationship would be in trouble. But we are not alone. God is fully committed to us. God alone makes our relationship possible. Thanks be to God for the amazing love that desires a relationship with each of us.

Prayer: Lord, when I look hard in the mirror, I am amazed that we are still great friends. Thank you for still loving imperfect and sinful me. You are an awesome God. Amen.


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Unity in Love

Reading: John 17: 20-26

Verse 22: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me”.

Our passage today focuses on unity. Jesus prays for unity between and among the believers. Unity was essential for the early church – the Jews and the Romans would put a lot of pressure on them to try and snuff out the early church. In both verses 20 and 22 Jesus prays that they “may be one” and He connects this prayer to how He and God are one. Jesus defines this further in verse 23, praying for “complete unity” among the believers. Such a unity reveals their absolute faith in Christ and also the love of Jesus that is in them and flows through them.

The second unity that Jesus focuses on is between the believers and Jesus himself. A unity between Jesus and those who follow Him is also essential. A relationship with Jesus is the core connection. It is the foundation upon which the believers’ relationships with one another will stand. Their personal relationship with Jesus is also what connects them to God. In verse 22 Jesus prays this prayer: “I in them and you in me”. It reveals this connection.

Throughout His time on earth Jesus revealed God’s love. All that Jesus did and said and prayed was based upon this love. Our passage today closes with a prayer for this love to be in the believers. In verse 26 Jesus prays, “I have made you known and will continue to… in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them”. If we have the love of God in Christ inside of us, it will be revealed to the world. Just as Jesus came to reveal God’s love, we too are sent into the world to be like Christ, revealing God’s love by all we do and say. May it be so this day and every day.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, dwell fully in me this day. May I so know your love that it is evident to all. Fill me with your love so that I may share it with others. Thank you Jesus. Amen.


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The Holy Spirit

Reading: John 14: 25-29

Verse 26: “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”.

As Jesus is preparing His disciples for His departure, He speaks these words to them: “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”. He will not leave them alone or as orphans. In chapter 16 of John, Jesus will go on to tell them that it is good that He is going away – only then will the Holy Spirit come to each of them. This constant indwelling presence of the Spirit will be like Jesus Himself living in each of them. It will teach and remind them. It will bring them peace. Our passage concludes with Jesus telling them that He shares this now so that when it happens they will believe. He is predicting the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of His followers.

There are many names for the Holy Spirit. The original in Greek was “paraclete”. This word translates to “one who comes alongside”. This translation reminds one of a best friend who is always there for you. Other names include Counselor, Advocate, Guide, and Holy Ghost. The Spirit is the personal, intimate, continual presence of Jesus Christ in our hearts and minds. The Spirit works within us to draw us closer to God, to teach us the ways of God, to keep us on the right path, to remind us of how to follow Jesus. It also helps us to feel God’s peace, comfort, love, strength, grace, mercy, forgiveness… The Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift that comes when we confess Jesus as Lord. Thanks be to God for the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Giver of all good things, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit in my life. Thank you for how it encourages, strengthens, empowers, and leads me. Thank you for this wonderful gift in my life. Amen.


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Life

Reading: John 20: 24-31

Verse 31: “Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name”.

When Jesus appeared to the disciples, Thomas was not there. He rejoins the group and they tell him that they have “seen the Lord”! It was on the evening of the first day of that week. Mary Magdalene saw Jesus early that morning and He appears to them that evening. We recall that even though the disciples heard Mary’s account and Peter and John witnessed the empty tomb, the disciples are not yet at the point of belief. During this first visit Jesus breathes on them the Holy Spirit and tells them that He is sending them into the world. A lot more goes on here than a quick visit.

Thomas wants proof that it was really Jesus who had been there that evening. He wants physical proof – to see and touch to know that it is Jesus. We have all had or been a part of those “you gotta see this” moments. What is happening or has occurred sounds so outlandish or unbelievable that visual proof is required. When we do see the proof, we scratch our heads, but cannot argue or deny it because we saw it with our own eyes. I think this is where Thomas is. Sounds great, but I need to see to believe. After a week passes, Jesus appears again and offers the scars to Thomas’ touch. Jesus goes on to encourage him, saying, “Stop doubting and believe”. Thomas’ response? “My Lord and my God”!

Jesus uses this as a teaching moment. He acknowledges that because Thomas saw, he was able to believe. Jesus then adds, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”. This statement encompasses almost all who come and all who will come to believe in and follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Through the testimony of the Bible and through our own personal encounters with God we have come to believe in Jesus. We are the blessed.

This is the conclusion of this section and of the chapter: “Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name”. By faith we believe. Through belief we find life – life both now and in the time to come. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: God, thank you for your Word – the Word that lived among us some 2,000 years ago and your Word that continues to live in the pages of the Bible. It is life and life to the full. Thank you, God. Amen.


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Personal Call

Reading: John 20: 1-18

Verse 15: “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for”?

Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb early on the first day, prepared to visit the grave. She was present throughout the events of Thursday and Friday, when they tried, beat, and crucified her Lord. She was there when the stone was rolled in place, sealing the end of the story. Mary comes in the darkness, full of sorrow and grief and pain. She at first assumes Jesus’ enemies have stolen the body. Mary tells Peter and John; they run to the tomb and enter, finding just the linen and cloths lying there.

Peter and John return home, but Mary lingers. She stands outside the tomb crying. Grief has been added to grief. What else could she do but stand and weep? Two angels appear in the tomb and ask her why she weeps. Because they have taken the body of her Lord. A second question comes, this time from behind her: “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for”? Maybe this is who took the body. Again, tell me where you have put the body. But then it happens. Jesus says to her, “Mary”. In that moment, in that personal and intimate moment, Mary knows it is Jesus. She cries out in recognition and hears the news from Jesus Himself. She goes and tells the disciples the good news: “I have seen the Lord”! Jesus is alive. He is risen!

As it was with Mary, so it is with us. Jesus calls out to each of us: Sue! Peter! Anna! Fred! Melanie! Steve! Beth! Mark! Hanna! Joshua! … When we search, Jesus calls out to us. He seeks us. He finds us. Some have walked a slow but pretty steady journey to the point that Jesus finally became personal, calling out our name. Some have had a sudden encounter with Jesus – unexpected and sudden, caused by situation or circumstance. The same Jesus called out your name. In that moment Jesus became your Lord and Savior. There are many ways to become friends with Jesus Christ. They all begin with the same question asked of Mary: whom are you looking for?

We are all looking for the same thing. All of humanity wants purpose and meaning and relationship. We find all this and more in Jesus Christ. In Him we find a deep satisfaction for all that our soul longs for. The eternal, big questions are all answered by the One who personally calls our name. If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, open your heart to Him. He will find you. If you know the Lord, rejoice today because we celebrate: He is risen! He is alive! Thanks be to God! Jesus is alive!!

Prayer: Lord of all, you are risen, resurrected, and eternal. Yet you are intimately connected to each of us. Hallelujah! Amen.


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Remember

Reading: Joshua 5: 9-12

Verse 10: “The Israelites celebrated the Passover”.

After crossing into the Promised Land, the Israelites set up camp. They have just witnessed another miracle. God led the people through once again. Although at “full flood stage”, the people walked across on dry ground. As soon as all had crossed over, the waters returned to flood stage. They built an altar from 12 stones from the river bed to remember this miracle. Then they set up camp and, “the Israelites celebrated the Passover”. This is another remembrance. The yearly festival is a celebration of how God freed them from captivity as slaves in Egypt and led them out of Egypt.

The Passover is a remembrance of all the details of the time when God acted on behalf of His people. This celebration reminds the people of both the power of God and of His love for them. As children of God we too celebrate and remember experiences and moments when God has acted on our behalf. We remember to remind ourselves of God’s love for us. This is why we celebrate Christmas, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost… These are powerful movements of God. These reveal God’s love for us. Like the Israelites and Passover, we celebrate these events each and every year. We also have movements of God that we celebrate more frequently. Churches regularly celebrate communion. All of these events that we celebrate remind us of God’s power and of His love for us.

As children of God, we all have personal experiences that also remind us of God’s love and power. Our God is a great God who acts in mighty ways. Some of the time, these are personal. God is involved in the details of our lives. We have moments and experiences when we encounter God in our lives. That night in the balcony at church, that afternoon in the emergency room, that morning atop the mountain, those days in worship. We can all remember times when our God came up close and became intimately personal. We store those away in our hearts and we remember them in our minds.

When were your moments? How has God been up close and personal with you? Take a moment or two to remember and give thanks to the Lord our God.

Prayer: Lord, you have been present in many ways. I thank you that over and over, at just the right time, you have come to me in real and personal ways. Continue to do so over and over again. Ever be my God. Amen.


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Seek… Know

Reading: Isaiah 55: 6-9

Verse 6: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near”.

In our four verses for today we get a glimpse of both the intimate, personal, knowable God and the all-powerful, way up in the heavens God. God is at once both but is also everywhere in between. God created the stars that are billions of miles away but also knows every hair on our heads.

Verse 6 reads, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near”. Yes, we do seek the Lord. Even though God is present everywhere, God does not force His way into our lives. We must seek the Lord. There are many ways to seek the Lord. God can be found in nature, in times of prayer, in worship, in times of Bible reading and study. God is especially found in the person of Jesus, who was God in the flesh. In Jesus we see what it looks like to live out God’s love here on earth. It is also through Jesus that God can be most near to us. When we choose to ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, He comes to us in the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. One does not get closer than having God dwell in our hearts.

In verse 7 we get another glimpse into God’s love. In this verse we see the invitation to know God is extended to all people – even to the “wicked” and “evil”. If they, even they, simply do as we do, they too can be saved. By turning from their sins, the Lord will have mercy and will “freely pardon” them. God’s great love is for all people. If and when we stray and sin, God still loves us and desires to offer us mercy and grace and redemption.

In verses 8 and 9 we get a glimpse of God’s vastness and superiority. Most simply put, God is not one of us. God desires to be one with us but will never be one of us. In Jesus, God chose to be like us. Yet even then Jesus was still partly divine. In verse 8 we read, “My thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways”. God’s thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and ways. While we are each created in God’s image and are called to be like Jesus, we are not God and we will never reach the perfection of Jesus, He who was without sin.

In this life, in this body, we do seek the Lord so that we can know Him more and so that we can be more and more like Jesus. This day and every day, may we seek the Lord, turning back to God when we have fallen short, dwelling each day in the Lord just as the Spirit’s presence lives in us.

Prayer: Dear God, you are as close as my next breath, your Spirit dwelling in me. Yet you are a great and vast and powerful God. I am just beginning to know you. Each day may I know you more. May it be so. Amen.


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Personal Encounter

Reading: 1 Corinthians 15: 12-20

Verse 17: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sin”.

As it was in Jesus’ day and in the days of the early church, so it is today: many people think that Jesus was just a good moral teacher. In the church in Corinth some were questioning the whole gospel that was first preached to them and that led many of them to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Paul wonders how some that first believed can question resurrection – this part of what they first believed.

In verse 17 Paul focuses in on the consequences of questioning this fact that has been witnessed to by so many people, writing, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sin”. Belief in the resurrection is an essential component of our faith. If we do not believe that Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave, we do not believe that we can also be raised to life eternal. If we do not believe that the cross was the place that Jesus took upon Himself the sins if the world and there defeated the power of sin, then we are ever living in our sins.

All of this, if course, can also be traced back to the words of the prophets in the Old Testament. From His virgin birth to His ministry beginnings to the message He proclaimed to His death and resurrection – all of Jesus’ life – is laid out in prophecy as well. Yet for Paul what really sealed his belief in Jesus as Messiah was his own personal encounter with Jesus Christ. He himself was changed from Saul the chief persecutor of the church to Paul the lead apostle of the church. His personal encounter shifted Paul onto a totally new path. Paul was born again and went out to share the good news of the living Christ with all he met, everywhere he went.

We too can read the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament writings as well. We too can see the connections between prophecy and what came to be. But our faith became “real” for us the same way it did for Paul – when we had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. People can read all the books in the world about Christianity – including the Bible – and still only have head knowledge. Jesus becomes real when we know Him in our heart.

On this Sabbath day, may we take some time and consider our own story of faith. May we think on how we can fashion that into a story that we can share with others. In doing so, we will be able to share the story of what Jesus has done in our lives so that others can see examples of what He can do in their lives. In doing so, we invite others to have a personal encounter with our resurrected and risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, this day may I again consider anew my personal encounter with you. Help me to articulate it to others this week. Amen.


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The Catch

Reading: Luke 5: 1-7

Verse 4: “Put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch”.

Our passage begins with the words, “One day…”. The words sound so casual, so happenstance. Jesus is there by that lake that day because that is the day and place that He is going to call His first disciples. Jesus could have been many places that day. As Jesus is teaching the crowds build. He steps into a boat. There were two boats. Jesus steps into Simon Peter’s boat and asks Simon Peter to put out a bit. The boat was empty, just like the second boat. In putting out, Peter had to join Jesus in the boat.

Jesus finishes teaching and asks Simon Peter, “Put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch”. He asks His captive audience to do something that is probably the last thing on his mind. Peter does call Jesus “Master”, showing some recognition of who Jesus is said to be. But Peter is tired and just wants to go home. Yet Peter chooses to honor the request that Jesus has made of him.

In the request, Jesus has told Peter what is going to happen. Jesus says, “for a catch”. He knows how many fish will swim into Peter’s nets. Jesus is not in that boat with that man by happenstance. He is about to do a miracle that will change a man’s life forever. It is something that we see Jesus do often in His ministry. But often the role is reversed. The blind man calls out to Jesus for sight. The lepers cry out to Jesus to be healed and made clean. The friends bring the lame man to Jesus. Today Jesus is the seeker. Today Jesus is the one calling out.

Some of us have perhaps sought Jesus – in the midst of a devastating loss we turned to Him. Or in the depth of a life-threatening illness, we cried out to Jesus. But most of us were like Peter, aware of who Jesus was, heard a few of the stories. But just going through life. And then suddenly Jesus is there and He climbs in our boat. Almost unexpectedly we meet Jesus up close and personal. We did not see it coming, but we cannot deny the relationship that has suddenly burst to life.

The miracle that Jesus offers is amazing. It is not just a catch – a few fish for lunch. It is not just a good catch – enough to sell and earn some wages. The catch is enormous. It was so big that Peter needed help containing it. It is like when Jesus catches us – we are filled with Him to overflowing and we just want others to know of this Jesus that called us to new life. We want to share this amazing thing that has happened in our lives. Can you remember that day, that season?

Connect to the day that you were the catch. Recall the emotion. Recapture the energy and the passion. Then go out and tell the story of how Jesus caught you over and over.

Prayer: Lord, rekindle that fire within me today. May I again be so filled with you that you overflow. May I tell the story of your love and power in my life today and every day. Amen.


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Fellow Children of God

Reading: Mark 12: 28-34

Verse 34: “You are not far from the kingdom of God”.

Today’s passage contains what I believe are the two quintessential requirements of our faith. Jesus is asked about the most important commandment and the two He gives summarize our faith practices. If all we do is love God completely and love our neighbors as ourselves, then we will be living out an excellent witness. Today, though, I want to focus on the relationship between Jesus and the man.

We know that today’s interaction occurs within a group of people, but it is as if they are the only two there. In my mind it is a personal conversation that others happen to overhear. It does not matter to Jesus or the man who else us there that day. This happens elsewhere in scripture too. Jesus focuses in on that person and they are all that matters. This is the type of relationship and personal interaction that we are called to have with one another.

People can treat each other poorly. We can have an “I’m the boss and do as I say” attitude that leaves others feeling of little value. We can have a “this is just the way it is (or has always been)” attitude, leaving others feeling powerless. We can interact with people in other ways that diminish, exclude, overlook, discount the other. This is not the way of Jesus; it is not loving God and neighbor.

Instead, Jesus focuses in on the man. I envision Jesus looking him right in the eye the whole time. Maybe He even steps a bit closer or places a hand on his shoulder. This should be the model for our personal interactions with each other. The focus and attention communicate value, worth, importance, acceptance. It says they matter to us, that our relationship is important. As they prepare to part ways, Jesus appreciates the man’s faith, saying, “You are not far from the kingdom of God”. This statement also says “you are drawing close to God”. Jesus sees the heart of God in this man. May our words and actions convey the same to others today as we encounter each fellow child of God. May it be so.

Lord God, slow me down, focus me in. Help me to be one-on-one with each I encounter today. Help me to see you in them. Amen.