pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: personal


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Tell the Story

Reading: Act 5: 27-32

In today’s passage Peter and the apostles witness to their personal experiences with Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit.  They are not relaying a second hand story or something they read about.  They testify to what they have experienced personally.  When Paul witnesses to the power of Jesus Christ to change a life, he does not tell the story of Peter, but he tells of his own encounter with the living Christ on the road to Damascus.

For us, we too are called to share the story of Jesus.  Our commission is to make new disciples and surely a part of this is by personally sharing our story.  Our story is not Peter’s or Paul’s or someone else’s from the Bible.  Our story is our personal experience with Jesus.  It is our unique witness as to how Jesus has changed our life, how He has led us through a trial, how He has freed us from sin or addiction.  Our own story tells others how Jesus has made a difference we cannot live without through a personal relationship with Him.  Our story is powerful because He is powerful.  Our story of Jesus’ work in our lives can lead others to seek Him as well.

When God brings someone or a group of people our way, He has a purpose in it.  Something in our story will connect with someone in our audience to draw them in, to make them curious, to nudge them a little closer to a decision for Christ.  The Holy Spirit will then work through our witness to change lives.  But we have to provide the fodder, we have to plant the seeds.  May we know our story of Jesus so that we can share our story each time God presents us with an opportunity to witness for Christ.


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A Personal Connection

In His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus goes to the temple and teaches from the scroll containing the words of the prophet Isaiah.  Luke makes mention that many there are aware of and appreciative of Jesus’ teachings up to this point.  What He reads that day would be a well-known passage.  The ideas of bringing the good news to the poor, releasing captives, bringing sight to the blind, setting the oppressed free, and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor all were part of the Jewish mindset.  Heads would have been nodding their approval.  But then Jesus added one more thing.  He claimed to be the fulfillment of this passage.  He states that He is this Messiah.  He created discomfort and ruffled feathers.

Fast forward to now.  When one speaks of sharing the good news, of freeing people from whatever oppresses or holds them back, of giving spiritual sight to one who is blind, all of us nod our heads approvingly.  We too view helping others as worthy and as the calling of the church.  But sadly enough we have our “just hold on a minute” line.  It’s a wonderful idea to feed and care for the needy.  Could you just do it over there?  It is great to share the gospel with those who have not heard it.  But do they have to come and worship here at our church?  It is noble and godly to help people overcome addiction and sins in their life.  But does little Suzy have to see it played out in person?

Sorry, but yes, we need to minister to people in our churches.  Alas, we must sit beside those new to the faith, to love and mentor them, to help them connect to God.  Yes, it is messy.  Folks who struggle need help in the form of a personal connection.  We are to be Jesus’ hands and feet, touching their lives directly and walking side by side with those who are new to faith or who are struggling.  May we find a little discomfort, may our feathers get a little ruffled, and may we like it.

Scripture reference: Luke 4: 14-21


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The Living Temple

For the people of Israel, the temple was something magnificent and wonderful.  The seven year building project was the fulfillment of a promise God made to Israel, the people of God.  It is a symbol of God dwelling with them.  For Solomon it was also a tool.  His prayer asked God to use it for evangelism.  When a foreigner came to see the beauty of the temple, Solomon wanted them to leave having been moved into a relationship with God.

The temple in Jerusalem was a physical place.  For the Israelites, it was the house of God.  In the New Testament, our body is referred to as a temple.  We are called to treat our own body as the temple of God.  This is a much more personal connection.  One does not have to go to the temple or synagogue or church to find God.  He dwells right inside of each person.  The manifestation of God in us should also be a beautiful thing, something that draws others toward God, something that moves others into a relationship with God.

How does one live as a ‘temple of God’?  How does one live in such a way as to reveal the God that dwells within us?  First, it is revealed in how we live our lives.  It is in how we go through our day, in how we treat others, in the decisions we make, and in how we walk through the storms of life.  Second, it is in how we share what it is inside us that makes us ‘different’ from the world and its ways.  It is in how we answer the ‘why’ questions that people will have.  Third, it is in how we share our faith that allows others to seek a personal relationship with Jesus Christ for themselves.  Each day may we live as the light of God, shining into the darkness, bringing the gospel of hope to our world.

Scripture reference: 1 Kings 8: 22-30 and 41-43 Continue reading →


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Engaging Systems

Our sins are not always the things we do.  Sometimes they are the things we fail to do.  Our sins are not always personal; sometimes they are communal or corporate.

About once a month we have a homeless person come to church on  Sunday.  Sometimes it is some other individual who is noticeable because they are different from the regular worshiper.  As the people of God we are called to love all people and as a whole we really do well at this.  But not always.  Some days we are only as loving or good or welcoming as our weakest or lowest part.  So it is our task as fellow believers to notice these weaker parts and to build them up in love for all people.  We cannot and should not accept less.

As a society there are ills and things that are not ‘right’ in all of our communities.  These are things that certainly cause a tear to roll down God’s cheek.  As the people of God we are called to address the issues in our communities.  This does not mean simply jumping on the latest Facebook bandwagon and adding your ‘like’.  It means being on the streets and in the shelters and in the jails.  It means going to the places where the least, the lost, and the broken are and entering into relationships with them.

To truly be the people of God and to really love all of our neighbors, we must roll up our sleeves and get a little dirty.  We must truly walk alongside those in need to begin to see things at a systemic level.  It is at this level that we must begin change.  To end prejudice, injustice, and hate we must begin with fixing the systems that cause these evils.  As Christians we must engage the evils of the world.  We are called to be the light in the darkness.  Our light needs to shine into these dark places to begin real change at the base level.

Scripture reference: Psalm 51: 1-12


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Witness, Testify, Pray

The Apostle John is known for presenting God as “love” and for using love as the foundation of our faith.  For John, Jesus is God’s love lived out here on earth.  Christ is the example, the reference point, the proof of how great this divine love really is.

Belief in Jesus’ teachings, works, death, and resurrection lead us to desire a relationship and to be open to knowing Christ.  Specific experiences with His presence and continued work in the world draw us into relationship with Jesus.  Once we personally accept Him as Lord and Savior, His Spirit comes to dwell in us and we become increasingly filled with His love.  As we become more and more filled with His love, it begins to overflow into the live of those around us.  We become a living testimony to Jesus’ love and a are a witness for others.

Our witness and testimony alone are  not what allows others to have a relationship with Jesus.  We are not capable of this; only the work of the Holy Spirit and the presence of Jesus will draw one into a relationship with Him.  We can point others toward Christ and we can plant seeds that build the desire for a personal relationship but it in only through divine action that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is formed.

As we live out our life of faith and love the world and those around us, God will place people upon our hearts.  We must be a witness and a testimony to them.  But do not stop there.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives and for the living Christ to make His presence known in their lives.  Trust in God to do a mighty work in them.

Scripture reference: 1 John 5: 9-13


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Two Sides of Faith

Faith is at once both personal and corporate.  Most of the time we live out our faith in isolation but we gather periodically with other believers.  Each day we seek to connect with God through prayer, reading His word, and in reflection upon His word.  This connection and relationship shows as we live out our life on a daily basis.  At times we also gather with other believers – perhaps on a Sunday morning for worship, maybe at another time in a small group or class.  These gatherings encourage, equip, strengthen, and support us in our relationship with God.

Much is the same in our two faith lives.  Daily we come before God, laying our sins before Him, seeking to be cleansed.  Daily we offer our thanks and petitions, seeking His presence in our life.  Daily we read His word, seeking to find how He speaks to us that day in the words we read.  As we gather together, these practices are done again, but this time as a fellowship of believers.  Although on one level, the acts are the same, there is meaning and value and much is gained from our time together.  In the songs, the message, the communal prayers, we are united as one.

Both aspects of our faith are essential.  One fuels and builds the other up.  They work together to help us on our Christian journey.  As we seek to grow in our faith, may each day bring us blessings through our connection with God.

Scripture reference: Psalm 105: 1-6 and 37-45


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Bearers of the Greatest News Ever!!

We form a relationship with God in a personal way.  We also experience and welcome in the Holy Spirit in a personal manner.  But growth as we continue our journey of faith must be made within community.  This community is both within the walls of our churches and also outside in the big wide world.

We are all part of the body of Christ, each a valuable member.  As we live out a Spirit-led life, we participate in the mission of the church.  The man mission of the church is the transformation of the world.  Once we participate in this we begin to see what God has in store for our world.  These little glimpses of ‘heaven on earth’ fuel our desire to make disciples of all nations.

Just as we struggle from time to time with sin, so too do the people we are trying to reach.  They just do not yet know the power of Jesus Christ to defeat that sin and temptation.  We are called to sow seeds of faith into people’s lives so that they too can come to know the redemptive love of Jesus Christ.  May we be bearers of the greatest news we have ever heard to those who need to hear it today!

Scripture Reference: Romans 8: 1-11