pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: power


by Leave a comment

Her Offering

It is a challenge to be content, to trust, to be obedient.  The world tells us we need a bigger house, a better body, a higher title.  It tells us we need recognition and to rise above everyone else.  These are the attitude Jesus points out in the teachers of the law.  They do much for show.  Then He goes on to observe the offering box in the temple.  Many with much come along and drop in their offering.  He makes no judgment but only offers that it is easy for the wealthy to give out of their excess.

Then along comes the widow who puts in two small copper coins.  “Such a tiny offering” the teachers of the law, the wealthy, and the disciples observe.  We would have too.  But then Jesus notes this is all she had to live on.  All.  Oh.  What trust in God to do such a thing!  True, but it is more.  It is the joy of giving.  It is sacrificing so another can have some.  It is being obedient.  Just imagine for a moment gathering all you have – all your money – and giving it to the church.  All the money you had.

What would it have taken for this widow to do such a thing?  What would it take for me?  To be honest my faith is a long way from this widow’s.  We may pray to the Spirit to guide us, but we have our limitations.  There are things we hold back.  This poor widow is a tough example to follow.  But one worth striving to be more like.  Make me a  willing giver of all I have to offer Lord.  Help me to abandon self for You.

Scripture reference: Mark 12: 38-44


by Leave a comment

Along with Christ

It is a holy and sacred privilege when we are able to minister to someone.  This can occur in the pastor’s office or in the front pew of the church.  It can happen at the break table at work or on the bleachers at the soccer game.  While it is true that the pastor receives a call from God to minister to the people, all Christians are commissioned by Christ to share the good news found in faith in Jesus Christ.

On the cover of our bulletin it lists Greg and I as ‘pastors’ and lists the congregation as ‘ministers’.  In some cases the situation at hand calls for one specifically trained for just such a time.  Yet in some cases it is one’s life experiences that qualify one to offer ministry to another in their time of need.  The pastor can offer care and empathy to one who has lost a spouse, for example.  But a fellow Christian who has walked through that can offer this and more.

In those times we feel led to come alongside one another and to offer love, support, encouragement, … we must also remember that we do not walk alone.  Jesus is also with us.  The incarnate Christ walked this earth and experienced life.  In those sacred moments when we are called to minister to one another, Christ walks beside us too.  His love, care, presence, and power flow through us and into the life of the one in need.  In faith may we respond to His call, offering the love and light of Jesus to one in need.

Scripture reference: Hebrews 5: 1-10


by Leave a comment

Much to Give

The story of the rich young man.  In it we can hear his desire to follow Jesus.  In it we can sense how torn he is when challenged to give away all his possessions.  In it we can sense Jesus’ sadness over the man’s condition.  In it we can feel great conviction ourselves.  The general principle Jesus is teaching is to give away all you can.  He tells the man to sell his possessions – those things he more we must trust in God.he owns that he really doesn’t need.

We live in a society that teaches us to be consumers.  Society even tries to tell us that it is OK to live in debt, maybe even that it is normal.  Our culture values signs of wealth – big paychecks, impressive titles, grand mansions, fancy cars…  It is easy to say we are doing ‘well’ simply because of the country we were born in or because God is blessing us.  We easily become comfortable with our nice lifestyle.  All of this makes Jesus’ words so hard to hear.

Jesus does not say wealth makes it impossible to enter the kingdom, he just says it makes it hard.  He says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.  But don’t miss the key phrase, “impossible with man.”  He reminds us that anything, though, is possible with God.  “With God” is the key.

God blesses us in so many ways.  He blesses us not so that we can accumulate great wealth but so that we can bless others.  We are not blessed so that we can live in excess.  It is hard to look at our lives and to decide to prioritize differently so that we can give more away.  But it is not impossible.  The further we want to push that line, the more we must trust in God.  With our trust fully in God, we all will have much to give away.  In doing so we bless others and we bring glory to God.

Scripture reference: Mark 10: 17-27


by Leave a comment

His Kingdom

The first must be last.  To be first you must become a servant.  These words of Jesus run so counter to the view of the world.  In the world, power is seen as the one on top with the most money or the loftiest title or the best looks.  Jesus says that when we welcome those at the bottom of society and get to know them, then we also come to know Him better.  In the world’s view, those beneath are just stepping stones.

For Jesus, welcoming in and getting to know those who are struggling breaks down the barriers that often separate us.  In forming relationships we remove our misconceptions.  In loving other we help them to see their worth and identity as a child of God.  But it is not all one-sided.  In doing these things, our love for God and our love for neighbor grows as well.  We too are changed.

It is in these moments and through these experiences with the discounted, marginalized, and invisible that we ourselves come to catch a glimpse of God’s kingdom.  It is here we begin to see and know what Jesus meant when He said the first must be last.  In this kingdom we place other’s needs ahead of our own.  It is here that we see being a servant to those in need as a blessing to us as well as to them.  In this kingdom we learn that all are servants.

This life-transforming love of God is powerful.  It can forever change lives.  This day, this week, this life – may we be moved to be builders of His kingdom.  May we bring His light and love to all who are lost and in need.  May we be forever changed.

Scripture reference: Mark 9: 33-37


by Leave a comment

Amazed by God

The heaven’s declare God’s glory.  The sun and moon and stars reflect His perfect creation and remind us of the vastness of God.  God’s creation reflects a wonderful order and gives us a glimpse of His power.  His fingerprints are all over creation.  His glory is shown from the tiny cells that become a living creature to the beauty and intricacy in a spider’s web.  All that is God created and ordered and breathed life into.

Although none of these things can speak, they each shout forth God’s glory in their own way.  We can hear and see God all around us.  He is present in the sunrise just creeping over the horizon, in the delicate beauty of a new blossom, and in the way a human body functions physiologically.  God is present to us in so many ways.  His divine glory is manifested to us through all that He created and continues to create.

Take time today to be amazed by God.  Sit outside for a bit.  Take a stroll at lunch.  Spend a few minutes out on the deck or porch tonight.  Take some time to hear and see God speak to you through the creation all around you.  Sit in that presence and feel His power and glory within you.  Thank God for the wonderful creation that you are!

Scripture reference: Psalm 19: 1-6


by Leave a comment

Words

Words easily flow from our lips.  The words we speak can build others up or they can bring people down.  Careful thought needs to be given to the words we speak.  Our words can carry great power.

In the psalm the king has ‘lips of grace.’  The kind and wise words he speaks flow from his heart and reflect the deep compassion and care he has for his people.  In his words he triumphs justice and equality and prosperity for those he leads.  He is a king I would like to be around.

There are people I know who build me up with their words.  They are people I want to be around.  In my life I too try to choose words that build others up.  One cannot simply dispense kind words but the words must be genuine and honest.  Words are powerful and through intentional practices we can build another up or offer some light when another is struggling or is in need.

Jesus was a man who also spoke words of justice, equality, and prosperity.  He advocated loving and serving all we meet.  He was a man that I picture as being slow to speak as He weighed His words carefully.  Jesus’ words convey the deep love and compassion He has for each of us.  He too is a king I like to be around.

Scripture reference: Psalm 45: 1-2 and 6-9


by Leave a comment

Partners with God

Imagine the happiest couple you have ever seen – 80+ and still holding hands, giggling, kissing.  The deep and pure love that flows between them is just a glimpse into the vast love that God has for all of creation.  In creation itself we also see much of God.  In creation itself we can see both complexity and simplicity, both often created in wonder and beauty.

In creation we witness God’s strength and power.  He spoke all into being simply with His words.  God did not have to go into the lab in heaven to create water and earth and plants and animals and us.  He simply spoke and each was created.  What is even more amazing than this to me is that God also passes this power and strength on to us.  God gives His power and strength to all, especially to those who are weak and powerless and in need of God’s power and strength to face the many challenges that life brings their way.

In the continuing works of God and in the life of Jesus Christ, God continues to reveal Himself to us.  Our God created us as good and He desires that we act in good ways, bringing righteousness and equality into the world around us.  In Jesus we were shown what true love is really all about.  The love Jesus modeled is kind and gentle and truthful and giving.  This love flows to all, not just to a select few.  Our love is meant to be like Jesus’ love –  poured out to many to transform lives.

The amazing omnipotent and omnipresent creator of the universe and all that is in it invites us to partner with Him in transforming the world.  May we live lives full of His love, justice, strength, and power, bringing these into the lives of each we meet to do our part in healing a broken world.

Scripture reference: Psalm 45: 1-2 and 6-9


by Leave a comment

God’s Presence and Will

It is common in the church today to hear that these are dark days.  The world is full of greed, the lust for power and control, the idea that the individual is supreme, and tragedies such as war, disease, and oppression.  While much of this is true, dark days are not common only to our time.  For those that lived through world-changing events, such as the Depression or the World Wars, their times were certainly filled with dark days.  This could be said of many events in mankind’s past.  For the Ephesians that Paul was writing to, the days were filled with persecution and they lived within a pagan culture.  These were dark days as well.

As each generation of Christians face the dark and evil days in which they live, the questions are the same: how will we face these days? And, how will we respond?  Today our answers are just as important as they were during the bubonic plague of Europe or during the more recent AIDS epidemic in Africa or at any other time in the church’s history.

Some voices call for the Christian to retreat within the walls of our churches and homes, to live largely in isolation.  Venture forth only when absolutely necessary.  Other voices call for more aggressive measures such as protest, boycott, and other forms of condemnation.  Through these and other political actions these voices call for Christians to play the world’s game of power and control, just with our own Christian agenda.

Paul’s advice to the Ephesians was to understand God’s will.  Christians never were or are called today to run from the world.  Nor are we called to fight with the world.  Instead we are called to follow Jesus.  Jesus’ life was God’s will lived out in the flesh.  We too are called to live as God’s presence in the world sharing His love, goodness, mercy, righteousness, truth, justice, and forgiveness.  We face each day knowing God’s presence in and will for our lives.  We respond by sharing God with others.

Scripture reference: Ephesians 6: 18-20


by Leave a comment

What Do You Want?

“Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”  Just imagine for a moment if God asked you that.  I am sure we have all had practice dreaming about what we would do if we won the lottery or if we somehow found a genie in a bottle.  Our answer would reveal a lot about us.

God asked Solomon this very question.  He could have asked for wealth or power or at least for peace during his reign.  He could have asked for long life.  He did not ask for anything for himself.  Or for his family.  Solomon asked God for a discerning heart to govern justly and to be able to distinguish right from wrong.  God was very pleased with Solomon’s request so He granted it and gave him more.

You and I may never be asked this question.  But we do answer it each day with how we live.  We reveal what we desire and what we value by the way we live.  Every word we speak, every choice we make, every action we undertake, every goal we set – all answers the same question: “What do you want?”

If we desire a deep faith, do we invest daily in the development of this faith?  If we long for contentment, do we choose to live simply and not choose to chase after the next, newest, best thing?  If we want quality relationships, do we give of ourselves honestly and sincerely all the time?  If we feel led to help the lost and the least, do we spend time with alongside them ministering to their needs?

So.. what do you want?  What has your answer been and how does it need to change?

Scripture reference: 1 Kings 3: 5-9


by Leave a comment

Be Gentle

We enter today’s story on the cusp of battle.  David’s son Absalom has rebelled and it has all come to a head.  David’s army will engage Absalom’s army this day in battle.  In this deadly battle 20,000 men will die.  David issues what many would think an odd order just before battle is about to begin: “Be gentle with Absalom.”  In spite of the rebellion, David still sees his son and still loves him deeply.

Lots has led to this point.  Absalom’s vanity has led him to think that he should be king.  As this thought grew so too did the lust and greed for power and control.  Through a variety of schemes, deceit, and trickery, Absalom built up a following and ann army.  And so it came down to battle to determine who would be king.

In our lives we too can fall to the lies we tell ourselves and to the lies Satan whispers in our ear.  We too can be guilty of thinking more of ourselves than we should.  To get there we often tear others down.  We too can be guilty of seeking more power, more control, more influence over others.  To get there we often rationalize and manipulate and bend the truth.  It can be easy to go down the same road as Absalom.  It can be easy to rebel against God.  And we too find ourselves in battle.

In spite of all that led up to this point, David still says, “Be gentle with Absalom.”  When we get to the point of battle and wrestling with our desires against God’s will for us, our God says the same thing: “Be gentle with ____.”  God holds out for the same things as David held out for: reconciliation, restoration, redemption.  God is our loving father.  No matter our choices or actions, He still loves us and longs for relationship with us.  What a great love God has for you and me!

Scripture reference: 2 Samuel 18: 5-9