pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: pure


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Milk

Reading: 1 Peter 2: 2-3

Verse Two: Like newborn babies, seek pure spiritual milk.

In this short passage, we find an essential of our faith.  At times it often seems newborn babies always want to eat.  Yes, they do sleep for short periods of time and do require moments to get clean diapers, but when awake and clean again they want to eat.  The milk is good and warm and sweet and is pleasing.  Their little growing bodies need the sustenance.  In our faith journey, we should be like the newborn babe.  We should wake up each day craving and hungry for the Word of God.  It should be something we continually pursue so that our little growing faith can continue to develop.

A mother’s milk is good and warm and sweet and pleasing.  It is also just what the baby needs to grow well.  It is pure and contains the nutrients as well as other things that help spur their growth and improve their health.  After day two of life the baby does not begin to look for something else to sustain and nourish it.  The baby instinctively returns to its loving mother.  The Bible and the words contained therein are our pure milk.  We are to come​ to it day after day to grow in our knowledge of God.  Like a mother’s milk, the Word tastes good and warm and sweet and is pleasing.  It provides what we need to nourish our faith.  In this sense, it helps us to grow as believers.  The Word also strengthens us and encourages us in times of trial and distress.  The Word is our “pure spiritual milk”.

A good mother knows the baby must continue to drink pure milk to grow and mature.  Our Father knows the same is true for us concerning our time with the Word.  Both our earthly mothers and our heavenly Father give to us out of love.  Both nurture us along so that we can grow and develop and come to be all we were created to be.  For both our earthly mothers and our heavenly Father, we are grateful.


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Lent and Ashes

Reading: Psalm 51: 1-17

Lent begins today on Ash Wednesday.  We mirror Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness with a season in which we too prepare ourselves and look forward to Easter, when we celebrate our risen Lord.  On this Lenten journey we pray, study, meditate, fast, and repent as means of preparation.  We begin this journey with ashes.  As we repent and work to mirror Jesus, we must work to prune away all that is impure and force certain parts of ourselves to die.  The mark of the cross on our foreheads reminds us that we belong to Jesus.  The one we seek to follow and emulate walks with us.  As we undertake this Lenten journey, we know that we do not walk alone.

Psalm 51, the Ash Wednesday choice forever, opens with, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love”.  Verse three reminds us, “My sin is always before me”.  We live each and every day with this reality.  We are always in a battle with temptation and sin; Satan remains vigilant, always seeking to derail us, to draw us away from God.  We seek and desperately need God’s mercy because we fail.  We are assured of God’s unfailing love.  This is a beautiful thing.  In verse ten we read, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me”.  These words will be said often tonight.  This is our goal in this life – to live with a pure heart.  Creating a pure heart is the focus of our Lenten journey.  May we use verse ten often as a prayer to God in this holy season of Lent.

Lent is certainly a time to look inward and to prepare for the risen Christ.  But we must also look outward.  We do not live in a vacuum.  We live as a part of humanity.  As such, we are all connected together.  Verse thirteen reads, “then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will turn back to you”.  We are called as Christians to shine the light of Jesus out into the world.  Many are broken and hurting.  Each needs to experience God’s unlimited mercy, unfailing love, and endless forgiveness.  As we journey through Lent, preparing ourselves, may we also help others on their journey, bringing friends and strangers alike to the cross so that they too can know our risen Savior.


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Our Great High Priest

Jesus is our great high priest, perfect in all ways, full of mercy and grace.  He is one who can sympathize with our human weakness yet is still perfect Himself.  Jesus is holy and blameless and pure – set apart from sinners in this, yet also interceding on our behalf.  What great love the Father has lavished on us through His Son!

Unlike human priests (and pastors) who sin and struggle with life, Jesus forever remains our great high priest.  Jesus will live and serve forever – at least until He returns!  In His role as the great high priest He gives us access to the Father.  He is the conduit through who we can begin to know God.  Jesus also intercedes on our behalf to bring about our salvation.  Lastly, in His time here on earth, Jesus gives us the example of what God’s love lived out looks like.

What does all of this mean for you and me in our daily lives?  It means we have a savior who we can go to and draw strength from at any time and for any need.  It means we have a friend who is on our side.  Even though He sits enthroned beside God almighty, He still intercedes before God on our behalf.  Through the strength He gives and through the intercession He provides, He makes our salvation possible.  On our own we would surely fail.  And Jesus provides us the perfect example of how to live.  Although we will never attain perfection, still we strive to love God and neighbor as Jesus loved them.  Oh perfecter of our faith, oh great high priest, lead us this day and every day!

Scripture reference: Hebrews 7: 23-28


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Past Confession

Communion is a time we gather once a week or once a month as a community of faith.  In this sacrament we remember both what Christ did for us at the cross and what He continues to do for us.  Through Christ we can be cleansed, forgiven, and restored to a right relationship with God.

In Psalm 51 we find ourselves with David just after he has been convicted of his transgressions with Bathsheba and Uriah.  In the opening verses we can hear David’s pain and sorrow just pouring out.  A man who is known for being close to God’s heart finds himself away from God because of his own actions.  David acknowledges the sinful nature inherently in all of mankind.  He acknowledges that his sin is against God.  And he acknowledges that God desires more.  All of this is true of us and our relationship with God as well.

Our reality is that we sin more than once a week and certainly more than once a month.  We need to come before God more regularly than at the communion table.  And His good news is that we can.  Lamentations 3 reminds us that God’s mercy and compassion never fail.  They are new every morning and great is His faithfulness.  Each day, each hour, each moment we can come before our loving God to be made new.

David goes on past confession and we must also go there.  In the second half of the psalm he asks God to create in him a pure heart and a steadfast spirit.  He asks God to restore the joy of His salvation within.  May the God of all love, hope, and mercy create in each of us a pure and willing heart and a steadfast spirit that willingly kneels at the cross of Jesus Christ each day, each hour, and each moment.

Scripture reference: Psalm 51: 1-12


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Pure Love

Only God loves us purely.  Only God meets all our needs joyfully.  Only God wants the very best for us.  Only in His promises do we find forgiveness, peace, hope, and contentment.  Only through God’s selfless love.

For us, this should be the love we return and share with others.  But we lose focus on our true love.  Our eyes and our heart drift.  Soon we look to the world instead.  Our wants draw us to work more for the newer thing or the greater want.  Our pursuit of worldly pleasures leaves us hungry for more.  Our new position only drives us to seek a higher one with more power.  Back to work!

Like the Israelites we think this new ‘king’ is just what we need.  Sometimes we lose sight of our true King.  Often, those ‘kings’ we pursue don’t turn our so royal or altruistic.  What we see as a king can enslave us and trap us and make us see life and our priorities from an ungodly perspective.  We find ourselves always on the treadmill, always saying “just a little more”, but it never is enough.

Only God loves us purely.  One significant or tragic event or life change and we wonder how we got to where we are.  We question why the world seemed do important when all the really matters is God and His love.  But we don’t need to get there.  We can stop and anytime and focus back in on God.  Focus in on the only one whole loves us purely.  We are God’s priority; may He be ours as well.

Scripture reference: 1 Samuel 8: 10-20


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Sheep with Good Hearts

In the parable of the sheep and the goats, the sheep are almost unaware of all the times that they helped another in need.  The acts of sharing love and offering care were just such a natural part of their lives that they didn’t notice how often they were in ministry to others.  I can almost seeing the lightbulb going off as they realized how much they had come to be like Jesus.

For many of us, it can be hard to help someone else as an equal.  The danger is in wanting to think how good we are for helping someone who is less fortunate  that ourselves.  It is so important to avoid the power relationship that we can so easily perceive.  Jesus met each person right where they were at and offered what He could then and there.  We are called to do the same.

When we encounter someone in need, the attitude we choose makes such a difference.  To offer empathy and understanding and encouragement, to give purely out of love, is what is expected.  If we can empower them as well, all the better.  Often a person wants to offer something and maybe it is as simple as sweeping the walk.  Maybe it is offering them a gift card to a store instead of showing up with a bag full of clothes and toys that you thought their children would like.  Either way, when we approach the situation as Jesus would, then we are starting with a good heart and pure motives.  Trust Him to guide you from there!

Scripture reference: Matthew 25: 31-46


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Focus in on God and Good

Paul encourages us to stand firm in the Lord and to rejoice in the Lord.  He directs us to go to God with our prayers and petitions.  This brings the peace of God upon us.  Paul also reminds us to do our part – to think about what is true, noble, right, pure, admirable, and praiseworthy.  Simply put, he calls us to focus in on the good.

How we look at the world really affects how we live our life.  For example, if one spends a lot of time complaining, then life is generally unhappy and what they focus on is dominated by bad thoughts.  Loving God and neighbor is a difficult task when all are against you.  On the other hand, when one focused on God and all the good in the world, then life is generally happy and content.  “Life” still happens but the issues and situations carry less weight because God carries the bulk when we focus on Him.

Also, as we fill our minds with what is true, noble, right, … then there is less time for evil or impure thoughts.  As we focus in on the good and God, then He guards our hearts and minds so that our energy and efforts dwell on God and His plans for us in the world.  And the God of peace will be with us.

Scripture reference: Philippians 4: 1-9