pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Tomorrow 

Reading: Luke 12: 54-56

Jesus opens today’s passage with some praise of the crowd’s ability to read the weather correctly.  It is praise to draw them in, to pique their interest and attention.  Then in a sudden twist He calls them hypocrites.  Many a mind gathered there must have wondered at what could be hypocritical about predicting the weather.  If only that was where Jesus was going.  Instead Jesus shifts to interpreting who He is and to reading the signs of God’s presence in their midst.  But the masses miss these signs.  They seem oblivious to the coming judgment.

Unfortunately believers and non-believers alike live in the mindset.  Death or the day of judgment is far away, not right here at hand.  Many are aware of God but have not dedicated their lives to following Christ.  After school, after marriage, after kids, after … then I’ll go to church.  Some day.  For others life is good and they have no need for God.  Perhaps in the back of their minds they know that in a big crisis they can seek God, but God is not needed now.  Life is good.

Many Christians live with a similar mindset.  They rationalize a sin they continue to practice and vow in their minds to give it up one day.  Others vow to start reading their Bible and to pray every day, starting tomorrow.  Or it may be joining that small group or helping out with VBA or…  Yet too often tomorrow always remains a day away.  Making a total commitment to Jesus is hard.

In the last few verses of chapter twelve Jesus uses another illustration to show that judgment will come.  His point of emphasis is that one cannot wait until they are standing before the judge to start making things right.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  It is for us as well.  Are we aware of it?  Are we choosing to live now for the King?  Is there an urgency to be ready for the kingdom because tomorrow may be at hand?


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Prepare

Reading: Luke 12: 16-21

Jesus asks, “Who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”  The answer we give to that question can come on the earthly level or on the spiritual level.  Jesus is posing a serious question that can be difficult to answer or even to wrestle with.

In terms of possessions, the things requiring bigger barns, our culture has shifted a great deal over the past fifty years.  We have gone from a society that cared for our family to the end of life to one that places our loved ones in a facility.  We often grew up and then lived in the same town all of our lives and now many young people cannot identify a ‘home town’s because they moved so often.  Great, great grandma Ethel’s China hutch that was eyed by many as her life ebbed away now has no value for young eyed.  Who would want that old thing?  In terms of our possessions, more and more it is about the bank account.  People want an inheritance they can spend how they want and on what they want.

To that end we have become a society that accumulates money.  Almost all else has become disposable.  Thus, for many their security is in how much they have in the bank.  Our reality is that we all need money.  Each of us requires ‘x’ dollars per day or week based on a number of factors.  This is determined by questions such as: ‘how big a house?’, ‘how new a car?’, ‘how often a vacation?’, ‘how many clothes in the closet?’

Looking at Jesus’ question from the spiritual side is a reality check.  If we are the recipient as well, are we preparing for life eternal?  If we prepare for this well, there is a trickle down affect.  The inheritance our children and grandchildren receive is the gift of faith.  The answers to the above questions are very different.  We see wealth as something we are blessed with so that we can bless others.  This holy day, may we wrestle with this side of the question.


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Prepare the Way!

Zechariah’s prophecy about his son John continues today.  Often as a parent we can embellish stories about our children a bit.  But in this case it is not really Zechariah speaking.  He is filled by the Holy Spirit and it is really God speaking through him.  The words come from above.

John will be a messanger.  As with all messangers, he is sent before to prepare for another’s arrival.  He does not come to announce himself or to promote his own agenda, but to prepare the way for Jesus’ arrival and ministry.  John’s role is complimentary.

In Jesus and His life, God is about to offer up the saving act of salvation.  Through Jesus Christ, God is providing the means to reconcile us to God and to free us from captivity to and fear of sin and death.  John came to prepare the people for this mighty act of God.  In order to prepare the people, John preached in the desert about sin and offered a baptism of repentance.  He prepared the way for the coming Savior by making people aware of their sin and the need to repent of their sins.

As we walk through Advent, we too are called to prepare ourselves for the the coming of the King.  John’s message about seeing our sin and repenting is as applicable today as it was when he first preached it.  If we are to be ready to receive our Savior on Christmas Eve, we must look within and wrestle with our sins and temptations and work make ourselves ready.  May we see our sins, repent, and prepare for the coming of our Lord and Savior!

Scripture reference: Luke 1: 76-79


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The True Light

One cannot read passages such as today’s and not think that, yes, the world is in pretty bad shape.  One can look at all of the disasters and evil befalling the world and think maybe the end is drawing near.  Maybe it is drawing near.  As we look at our world it can be easy to feel powerless and maybe even a little hopeless.  Some of the issues are so big and we are so small.  Indeed, if it were up to just us to save the world, we would be in trouble.  But it is not up to us.  It is up to God and He calls on us to help.

At the end of today’s passage, Jesus tells us where to start: with ourselves.  He warns us to be careful, to be ready, and to be on watch.  In Christmas terms we are to prepare our hearts and to call out ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel.’  As we enter Advent today we do so with the feeling that something is coming.  We prepare ourselves to celebrate Christ’s birth and to anticipate His return.  We also prepare ourselves to be His light and love in our world each and every day.

Christ’s love must shine brightly in our hearts.  It must be brighter and more joyful than all the Christmas lights, fancy jingles, and hoopla.  As Christ’s ambassadors we must joyfully share the hope and love we find in Jesus Christ.  In our dark world, hope and love will go a long way.  The world is broken and needs to be reconciled to Jesus.  This Advent season may we play our role in helping God’s love and hope shine in the darkness.  May we help reveal the true Light of Christmas to the world.

Scripture reference: Luke 21: 25-36


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Prepare Him Room

One Christmas carol sings, “let every heart prepare him room.”  This is the essence of Advent – to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus.  Throughout these four weeks we seek to welcome Christ, our Emmanuel.

Today is Black Friday.  The spirit of today is pretty much the opposite of the spirit of Christmas.  Where Christmas is about giving and loving, today is too often about taking and getting.  People do things today that they would not normally do – get up really early, stand in long lines, rush and battle to get by the next guy, and sometimes become rude and obnoxious to secure that super special bargain.  And in some ways these two events are also similar.  There is excitement and anticipation in the air.  One is often there to get a gift for someone else.

In today’s passage Paul prays for God to increase, bless, and strengthen their love for one another.  It is through this love that they grow to share God’s love with others.  He knew that the more they loved, the more others would come to know God’s love as well.  Paul also knew that this pattern of loving others would deepen the Thessalonian’s faith too.

As we seek to prepare our hearts this Advent season, may we also do so by finding ways to love others more deeply.  Maybe that is by including someone on the fringe in your gathering or outing.  Maybe that it is by bringing some food to the neighbor or friend who is struggling.  Maybe it is by visiting the widow inthe nursing home.  Maybe it is by volunteering to ring a bell.  When we do these things, all of heaven and earth sing.  When we do these things we bring honor and glory to our King.  May Jesus Emmanuel, God with us, lead us to share His love this Advent season!

Scripture reference: 1 Thessalonians 3: 9-13


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Stand Firm

When life is going well we feel that God is with us, watching over us, guiding us, blessing us.  We feel the God of love’s presence and offer up thanksgiving for His role in our life.  When life seems a little bit sideways or the struggle comes to our little corner of the world, then often we wonder where God is.  The answer, of course, is that He is just as close in the trial as in the smooth sailing.  But for some reason our natural inclination is to assume God has abandoned us when life gets challenging.

Paul encourages us to put on the full armor of God.  By doing so we will be able to stand firm in times of trial.  The fully prepared Christian has truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and God word.  To put these on means to use and train with them each day as a Roman soldier would with his shield, sword, and armor.  If one does not train and practice daily, one is not fully prepared when the challenge arises.  We need daily practice of the disciplines of faith so we are strong and ready when the battle comes our way.  If we are diligent each day, we will be ready all the time.

When the waters get a little rough it is not because God has left the building.  It is because Satan has entered and stirred up the waters a bit.  In this moment we can flex our spiritual muscles and fall back on our training.  We can draw strength from God’s promises of salvation and peace.  We can gird ourselves up with truth and righteousness.  We can live strongly in our faith.  The full armor of God will allow us to withstand the devil and put him to flight.  Stand firm in the full armor of God today!

Scripture reference: Ephesians 6: 10-20


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Do you see and know?

Do you think the Christmas season starts too soon?  Or that it goes too long?  I imagine the first question prompted thoughts of stores selling Christmas long before Thanksgiving.  And for some the second question prompts thoughts of taking down the tree today!  Yet the Christmas spirit doesn’t and shouldn’t fit inside a nice neat timeframe.  Shouldn’t the love, hope, peace, joy, and giving that typifies this season be happening all year long?

Simeon and Anna were two people who waited  a long time.  They were steadfast and focused on waiting.  Their whole being revolved around being ready for seeing the Messiah.  Both were so prepared that they recognized Jesus without being introduced or anything.  They simply knew in their hearts that this one baby – one of many being brought to the temple that day tobe presented to God – was the one whom they had waited so long for. And then they both broke forth in praise and thanksgiving.

How could we prepare ourselves so that we are ready to offer love, hope, peace, and joy to all we meet?  How would we prepare ourselves so that we see Jesus in each person we meet today and every day?  Jesus comes to us in many ways.  May our eyes be open and our hearts willing to see and know the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives.  May our lives reflect this to all we meet.

Scripture reference: Luke 2: 22-40


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Do You Love Me?

Advent is a time of excitement.  It is a season where we love to decorate the tree, put the lights up on the house, and to make merry.  It is also a time of expectant waiting.  For Christians we wait for the day to celebrate Christ’s birth.  For our children, the waiting is for the day to open presents.  And, as usual, the children have something to teach us.  We should mirror their excitement as we wait too.  Our excitement should build as each day is marked off the calendar.

John the Baptist also added something to how we should wait.  His message as he preached and baptized in the desert was simple – repent of your sins as you prepare for His coming.  John’s call was to get your heart right, to focus on God, and to live as He calls you to live.  He speaks the same message to us as Advent begins and we prepare for the coming of the Christ child.  Prepare for God’s son to come!

Jesus won’t check the list twice to see if we have been naughty or nice.  He doesn’t keep score.  It is simpler than that.  He judges our hearts and simply asks, “Do you love me?”  May our hearts, minds, souls, and our lives scream “YES!” in reply.

Scripture reference: Mark 1: 1-8a