pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Hope and Peace

Reading: Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his [Jesus’] faithfulness, we have peace with our God through Jesus Christ.”

Our passage today begins with a connecting word: “Therefore…” In Paul’s original letter there was no big “5” nor were there any small numbers marking verses. 4:25 would’ve just flowed into 5:1. In what we call chapter 4, Paul has been writing about how Jesus died for our “mistakes,” meeting the “requirements of righteousness for us.” Through his blood we are forgiven. “Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his [Jesus’] faithfulness, we have peace with our God through Jesus Christ.” Being made right again with God, cleansed and forgiven, we have “peace” with God. We are reconciled back into right relationship with God through Jesus Christ’s faithfulness.

Living in right relationship through faith, we can stand firm and we can hold onto hope. These are essential to our walk of faith. Paul gets to the “why” in verses 3 and 4. “Problems,” as Paul puts it, are simply part of living as imperfect creatures in this broken, sinful world. Sometimes these “troubles” are our own making, sometimes not. We are each just one of a world full of imperfect creatures. But because we have hope and because we can stand firm in Jesus Christ, we can “see” beyond our present troubles and problems. We know that the world does not have the last word.

Through the Holy Spirit, which pours the love of God into our hearts, we can endure the hard times. This endurance builds up our Christian character, which, in turn, reinforces our hope. What enables us to go through this refining and growing process again and again? The loving presence of God in Spirit that covers us in God’s peace. For this presence and the peace and hope that it brings to our hearts and minds, we say thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, it is hard to imagine living this life without you. Some do, but without hope and peace, the struggles and trials of this world would overwhelm us. Therefore we thank you first for Jesus’ sacrifice, which allows us to be in your presence. It is your Spirit presence that gives us the love, hope, and peace that guides us through the struggles and trials. Thank you for this loving presence, the fuel for our faith and hope. Amen.


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Reconnect to God

Reading: Psalm 42

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by problems relating to money, health, relationships, and vocation.  When a couple of these worries pair up, which they often do, then our lives can be quite challenging.  Our habit tends to be to dwell on such things, to allow them to consume our lives.  The cloudiness that settles in can even affect our relationship with God.

Sometimes we become so centered on our problems that we forget God is available as a source of strength and relief.  Our troubles can consume us.  When we finally are reminded of His presence we wonder why we did not turn to Him sooner.  At other times we are like the psalmist.  We seek God but end up asking, “Where is God”?  Despite our efforts, God feels distant.  The cloudiness can be hard to shake.

In these cases, we need to practice the motions of faith that we know so well.  First, we need to pray.  We need to pray out to God even if we feel all alone.  God is near and He is listening.  If we pray faithfully, He will be present.  Second, we need to praise God.  If we are too downcast to find any current praises, turn back to times and ways in which God has blessed you before.  Also, we can be thankful for the littlest things.  Song is another way to pray and to praise God.

In both of these ways we will reconnect to our God, our help and our rock.  In prayer and praise we invite God’s presence to be real to us and to also offer ourselves back to Him.  May we place our hope in God, for He is ever faithful and His love never fails.