pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: possibility


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Life Beyond

Reading: Genesis 5:18-24

Genesis 5:24 – “Enoch walked with God and disappeared because God took him.”

Photo credit: Timo Volz

Today’s reading jumps way back, back to the generations that came after Adam. If one scans backwards, one reads of very lengthy lifespans – Adam lived 930 years, Enosh lived 905 years, Jared lived 962 years. The fate of all but one of these men listed in Genesis 5 is the same: “he died.” Running throughout this chapter and throughout the Bible is this common truth: our time on earth will run out and we will die. The question we wrestle with is where we will go.

For Adam, Cain, Abel, and so on, the end of life brought death. There was simply a cessation of life. That was that. For people today without faith, death remains final. There is no hope, no future possibility. Death has the final, final word.

In today’s text, Enoch has a different fate. Enoch’s story is different than the other’s stories. In his story alone we read that he “walked with God.” Enoch was faithful to God. So unique is this fact, it is in two verses. Because he walked with God we also read that he “disappeared because God took him.” Enoch did not taste death. Death does not always have the last word.

This is the first time in the Bible that it hints at what we would call “heaven” as a destination. Enoch clearly experiences something other than physical death. There is something beyond what we now know in our mortal bodies. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, from early on in your story you’ve pointed to something more, to something better, to something lasting. Thank you for the reminder today, for this first glimpse. Continue to walk with us this week as we delve into your story of life. Amen.


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Rejoice! Celebrate!

Readings: Psalms 90-95

‭Psalm 91:2 – “I say to the LORD, ‘You are my refuge, my stronghold! You are my God — the one I trust!'”

Photo credit: Shane Rounce

Today we begin Book 4! We begin with a Psalm attributed to Moses. The Psalm considers the fleeting nature of life. God sweeps humans away “like a dream.” We finish up our years “with a whimper.” So the author invites us to “number our days.” Doing so we learn to live with a “wise heart.” Doing so, life has meaning and purpose.

Psalm 91 petitions God for divine protection. It feels like a counter to Psalm 90. In verse 2 we read, “I say to the LORD, ‘You are my refuge, my stronghold! You are my God — the one I trust!'” The Psalm speaks of God’s protection and saving in times of sickness and trial. It proclaims that if even 1,000 fall dead, we will be ok. This is because God will “order his messengers to help you… to protect you.” While we can feel the psalmist’s trust, we must remember that this is a possibility and not necessarily a promise. The faithful are not immune from the happenings of life.

Psalms 92 and 93 compliment each other. Psalm 92 is a song of thanksgiving for victory. The wicked are like grass – they perish quickly. The righteous are like trees. They will bear fruit in old age. Psalm 93 recognizes God as the one who won’t be shaken, as the one mightier than the flood. Holiness “decorates” God’s house.

Psalm 94 is addressed to the “avenging God.” The arrogant brag and afflict widows, immigrants, and orphans. The God who hears and sees will repay the evil. This God helps the righteous, steadying slipping feet and comforting the anxious. This God is our fortress and our rock of refuge.

This leads us to Psalm 95, a call to worship God. It begins, “Let’s raise a joyful shout.” The “people of his pasture” are called to worship, to bow down, to kneel before the Lord.  A warning against hardening one’s heart closes the Psalm. It is good to offer our praise and thanksgiving to God. It counters our prideful nature and our tendency to turn inward.

Prayer: Lord God, at times we pray as the psalmists pray: steady us, comfort us, forgive us, protect us. At other times we too rejoice in your goodness and love. We celebrate your faithfulness and your justice. Today may our lives sing of your glory, power, and might. Amen.


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God Can Bring Life

Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-10

Verse 6: “I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

We begin this week with one of my favorite passages. The valley of dry bones is symbolic. Israel is in exile in Babylon. Ezekiel is a priest of the Lord, also living in exile. In this foreign land, hope had dwindled away; their faith had become dry. I love this passage because we all get to this place now and then in life. We can have a hard time clinging to hope and to God when we find ourselves too long in the valley.

This valley full of bones that Ezekiel finds himself in is extreme – there were “a great many bones” and they were all “very dry.” They had been there a long time. The time in exile had been long. God asks Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel does not judge by what he sees. He chooses instead to be open to the possibility of what God is seeing. He acknowledges that God alone knows. Ezekiel trusts into this.

In those moments when we are in the valley, when we are wondering if there can be life after “this” – may we too try to see as God sees. May we too seek to see into the possibilities of what God might be up to. May we too remember to trust into God, even though our faith may feel dry.

Yes, God can bring life. God directs Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. He does and the bones come together and are covered in tendons and flesh. Then God directs Ezekiel to call for breath to enter them. As the breath of God, the Spirit, enters these corpses, they rise and stand, “a vast army.” God brings life, even to that which is dry and without hope. May we cling to this hope and to these promises: God brings life, God restores, God makes a way in the valley. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, what good news! No matter how dry and far away we feel, you can always restore and give new life. What great news! In times or seasons in the valley, O God, remind us of these dry bones that came to life. Amen.


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God’s Abundance

Reading: John 6: 1-13

Verse 13: “So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten”.

Photo credit: Abram Mourad Blokpoel

As our story gets going Jesus poses a question to one of the disciples. He asks Philip but I bet he asked loud enough for all twelve disciples to hear the question. Philip responds that it would take a lot of money to feed the large crowd gathering to see Jesus. Most of the other disciples were probably thinking along these lines. Andrew offers up sort of a solution – a boy with five loaves and two fish. Even Andrew wonders aloud how far that would possibly go “among so many”.

When the Holy Spirit places us in a similar situation or prompts us to step out in faith, how do we respond? Do we see limitations or the scarcity of potential resources? Or do we see and step into the possibility of what God might do?

After having the crowd of 5,000 men (plus women and children) sit down, Jesus gives thanks and begins passing out the loaves and fish. Was it 10,000 or 15,000 that ate their fill that day? Would there have been any limit? Not this day. When the meal is over, Jesus has the disciples gather what is left over. There are twelve baskets filled with leftovers – one for each disciple. I wonder if Jesus had them each carry their full basket around for a few days as a tangible reminder of God’s abundance.

This story reveals one of the truths of God’s kingdom: there is more than enough. There is more than enough love, grace, mercy, kindness, and even food. Do we trust God enough to generously share what we have, knowing that God can and will do amazing things?

Prayer: Lord, give me hands that offer instead of fingers that grasp. Grant me a heart that lives into your abundance, blessing others on the journey. Amen.


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An Honest Look

Reading: Jeremiah 31: 31-34

Verse 33: “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts”.

A new covenant. A new promise. Hope. Opportunity. How we sometimes long for a fresh or new start. For the Israelites long in captivity in Babylon this word from Jeremiah had to bring great hope. Suddenly there was possibility and hope ahead again. They must have certainly felt like the old covenant was a thing of the past. They were living without a temple and without the systems that had connected them to God. Oddly enough they saw change as a good thing. They did not simply want a return to the way things were. Where they were spiritually and relationally was broken and needed changed. They were full of joy to hear, “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts”.

Today we can find ourselves here too. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere. For example, one day we find out that our job has been eliminated or that our spouse is asking for divorce. These types of disruptions are forced upon us and we have no choice but to adapt. But sometimes it is a slow creep instead. This happens in life sometimes. We look up and suddenly realize where we’ve gotten to and know in an instant that something must change. Sometimes this can happen in our institutions as well. Our church that used to have hundreds in worship and dozens in Sunday school suddenly seems a bit empty and without much life. At this point, whether personally or institutionally, we can look for and seek for God to do a new thing or we can continue the slow fade. Sometimes this is the easier choice.

We are still in Lent, so I challenge you to look within – to both yourself and to your church. Do you see growth and movement forward or do you see plateau or regression, complacency or death? These are hard questions to consider. Take an honest look within and go to God accordingly.


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Seek God

Reading: Judges 4: 1-7

Verse Three: “They cried to the Lord for help”.

Sometimes we find ourselves crying out to God because of something we have done.  Sometimes it is because life has brought us a trial or circumstance.  In either case we find ourselves at the point the Israelites find themselves.  Their sin has led God to give them over to a foreign king.  King Jabin cruelly oppresses them.  They know why they are being oppressed and they take it for 20 years.  Finally they have had enough.  Verse three tells us that then, “They cried to the Lord for help”.  In life, w all get to this place at times.

The Israelites experience this cycle over and over again.  Temptation leads to sin, continued sin leads to punishment, punishment leads to prayer, prayer leads them back to God, God responds and restores.  The sins are usually following other gods, not following the one true God.  And always, always, always, God waits patiently for His people to return to Him.  And He loves them again like the transgression never even happened.  It is an amazing love and an amazing grace.

In faith the Israelites returned to prayer.  Through prayer the possibility of God’s action became real.  The possibility lead to expectation and hope.  Living into the expectation lead to action on their part.  Deborah called Barak and he gathered an army, expecting God to lead.  And He did.

We may be in the midst of something today.  The trial may come tomorrow or next year.  Maybe the Holy Spirit is convicting us of a sin in our life.  Whatever and whenever, our response should be the same as the Israelites.  May our faith in God lead us to our knees as we seek God’s hand to be at work.  May we expectantly live, being open to and aware of how God goes to work, seeking to come alongside of God to do our part, seeking His redemption or restoration or simply guidance.  God has an amazing love and an amazing grace to share with us, His children.  May we seek God today.