pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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God Really Loves Us

Reading: Psalm 116:1-4

Psalm 116:2 – “I’ll call out to him as long as I live, because he listens closely to me.”

Today and tomorrow we turn to Psalm 116. In the opening verse, the psalmist declares love for God. This love is founded on God listening to prayer requests. The psalmist then declares, “I’ll call out to him as long as I live, because he listens closely to me.” Walking in faith, we too can feel this way. As the days go by and we study our Bibles and spend time in prayer, we feel like God is close and that God is listening to our prayers. Our relationship with God feels solid. Our human relationships develop this way too. Time and effort invested in these relationships builds depth, trust, and, yes, love.

Turning to verse 3, we see that the psalmist came to a difficult time in life. Death felt close at hand. Trouble and grief rose up. We have had these moments. Either we were ill or someone we loved was ill. In these times, prayer is our natural go-to. As we cry out to God, we pray as the psalmist did: “Lord, please save me!” (Or my Mom or…) In our walks of faith, we trust God to answer. At times, God answers as we hoped. And faith grows, our relationship deepens, our love of God increases.

But some of the time, our prayers are not answered as we had prayed. The illness or whatever persists. Death wins. The unwanted change happens. We question and we doubt. We maybe even reconsider our relationship with God. Over time, though, we come to see or understand God’s answer. Our relationship grows as love and trust deepen. We realize, yes, God is faithful and good. We come to know, yes, God really loves us. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, you are always present, always faithful. You are steadfast and true. Even when we are not all these things, still you are. Still you are. Thank you, Lord. Strengthen and encourage us for the daily walk of faith. We love you, Lord. Amen.


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The Questions of Lent

Readings: Genesis 2:15-17 and Genesis 3:1-7

Genesis 3:1b – “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any tree in the garden?”

Our passage today begins with God giving Adam a purpose: to farm and take care of the garden. In this place of great abundance, Adam is given all that he needs. Of all the abundance, he is denied just one thing: “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” This scene made me wonder, how many “one thing” moments have I had? I quickly run out of fingers as I recall times when I’ve had all I needed yet chased after or at least really longed for that one thing I didn’t have. Almost always this was from a place or greed or lust or insecurity… How about you? How many moments can you recall?

As we turn to chapter 3, the serpent enters the picture. Viewed as Satan since the time of the earliest Jewish writers, the evil one says to Eve, “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any tree in the garden?” Satan begins by planting a seed of doubt. Can you hear the emphasis on the word “really?” The seed is watered with half-truths until it grows into desire. Eve takes and eats the fruit that looks beautiful and delicious. Adam partakes too. Eyes opened, they see as Satan saw them. They felt vulnerable and naked and ashamed and they try to cover all this up. This scene feels too familiar.

The season of Lent is about looking within and honestly assessing that which must die within us so that we can live for Christ instead of for self. What looks beautiful and delicious that brings ugliness and bitterness instead? What do I long for or lust after that will never truly satisfy? These are the questions of Lent. In turn, what honest questions do you need to ask yourself?

Prayer: Lord God, Adam and Eve’s story is my story. It is the story of humanity, of us all. There is always a part of us that desires that which harms us or lessens us or leaves us empty. When Satan whispers into our ears or hearts, remind us that you are all we need. Your love, your care, your provision – all we need and more. Strengthen and encourage us to trust in these truths. Turn us to your Spirit when temptation rises. Guide us to place our whole self in your hands. Amen.


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Hard Heart… or Heart for God?

Reading: Mark 10: 1-12

Verse 5: “It was because your hearts were hard…”

Photo credit: Kelly Sikkema

Today’s passage in Mark is typical of the ‘conversations’ that the religious leaders had with Jesus. Today’s conversation focuses on the topic of divorce. This was a topic widely debated and interpreted since the time of Moses. Jesus quotes from the beginning times, in Genesis, lifting marriage to a lifelong covenant as the two “become one flesh.” In Deuteronomy 24:1 the Law allows for a man to write a certificate of divorce if his wife “becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her.” At the time, this usually applied to cases of sexual immorality. However, in Deuteronomy 22 the universal punishment for all consensual sex outside of marriage is stoning to death for both parties. If these laws were followed, then divorce caused by sexual immorality would be unnecessary. The muddy waters around the topic of divorce have made it fertile ground for interpretation and debate. For example, in the Mishnah section of the Talmud, a book containing authoritative interpretation of the Law, one rabbi writes that divorce is permissable only for sexual immorality and another rabbi writes that divorce is permissable for something as trivial as burning supper. So for Jesus, there is no 100% right answer.

Jesus answers their question by reminding the religious leaders of God’s intent for marriage. It is to be a relationship where “two become one flesh” as they are united by God. The lifelong commitment is emphasized by Jesus as he says, “what God has joined together, let man not separate.” This is God’s intent for all marriages. In a perfect world every marriage would be ‘happy ever after.’ But we live in an imperfect world, often falling short of the glory of God. Human will has forever fought the will of God. As the ancient Israelites pressured Moses about really, really having to live out God’s intent for marriage, Moses permitted divorce. Jesus points out that it was “because your hearts were hard” that Moses refined the Law. The desires of mankind affected how God’s law was understood and then lived out. The hardening of hearts continues to affect how we as individuals, as communities of faith, and as a society in general live out God’s will for our lives.

Divorce or sexual immorality are far from the only arenas in which humanity says over and over, ‘God, do we really, really have to do this or live just that way?’ Our hard, selfish hearts often lead us to question the will and ways of God. In our passage Jesus is inviting his audience then and us today to better understand and live into the heart of God instead of into our fleshy hearts. God’s heart is a heart first guided by love, but is also backed up with mercy, grace, compassion, empathy, generosity, forgiveness, humility, kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control… May our hearts be filled with these things of God, bringing God the praise and glory. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, Jesus boiled down the Law to two central commands – to love you with all that we are and to love neighbor as self. When we truly live these out, all else falls in line. May we not be people who split hairs over this and that. Instead may we love as generously and universally as you love. Amen.