pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: refining


by Leave a comment

Springs of Joy

Reading: Isaiah 12

Isaiah 12:2 – “God is indeed my salvation; I will trust and won’t be afraid.”

Our four readings this week collectively speak of God’s continuing transformation of the world. Together these readings help us as Christians to understand how we are to participate in this transformation. Today’s hymn of trust in Isaiah 12 comes after Isaiah’s preaching about Judah’s unfaithfulness and about the coming wrath of God. An invading army will soon decimate Jerusalem, leaving behind a “burning stump.” In the long term, though, this fire will also work to refine and transform God’s people. Isaiah speaks of a day when a shoot (child) from that stump will lead Israel into a time of peace and grace.

Isaiah 12 celebrates the time after God’s refining fire. The opening verse looks forward to when God’s anger has been spent. Then God’s comfort will come in. This leads Isaiah to write, “God is indeed my salvation; I will trust and won’t be afraid.” God, Judah’s strength and shield, will rescue and redeem, will restore and save. These promises are consistent with who God is and are therefore true for our reality too. When we sin and fall short, creating separation from God, we feel the refining fire of conviction. This leads us to confession and repentance, beginning the transformation process within us.

Being made new by these “springs of salvation,” God’s people will draw water of joy. The restored people will exalt God for the “glorious things” that God has done. When the Holy one is among us, Spirit leading and guiding us, then we too will sing for joy, declaring that God is indeed among us. As God works in our lives, transforming us from the inside out, we will be filled with joy as we live as new creations proclaiming our faith and trust in the Lord. Living as light and love, we will draw others to the Lord. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank you for your redeeming work in our lives and in our world. Each time that we are refined and transformed we are drawn deeper into faith. Each time we are made more into Christ’s image. Use us to bring this invitation to all of creation, inviting all to be made whole, to be made new again. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Even Then

Reading: Hosea 1:7-11

Hosea 1:10 – “In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.'”

Hosea is a prophet to the northern kingdom , to Israel. He is the only such prophet with a book in the Bible. As Hosea speaks God’s word, Israel is in its last days. Their pride and idolatry are the causes of the coming downfall. Judah, the southern kingdom, isn’t too far behind. But Judah is currently more faithful than Israel.

While God’s compassion for Israel is gone, the prophet tells them, “I will have compassion on the house of Judah.” To relate this, it would be like living in the North during the Civil War and hearing God say, ‘I will bless the South.’ God goes on, through Hosea, to tell Israel that God will save Judah. The sweeping tidal wave called Babylon will only pour in over Israel.

We then read that Hosea’s wife Gomer will have a third child. This one is named “Not My People.” And God declares, “I am not your God.” While this sounds really bad, and it is, this is not the end of the story. In verse 10, God through Hosea says, “In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.'” And not only that! Israel and Judah will be reunited under “one head.” God’s plan has a beautiful conclusion, just as our story does. But for now Israel has some difficult refining to go through. Such is the case for us at times too.

Prayer: Lord God, there are and will be times when we wander down a wayward road. There are times when we must make you want to walk away from us. Who could blame you? But even then, even then O God, you love us through the darkness, calling us back to the light. You offer the grace that leads to mercy and forgiveness. What a wonderful God you are. Thank you. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Love and Compassion… Forever

Reading: Jeremiah 30-33

Jeremiah 31:33b – “I will put my Instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Today we read chapters 30-33, known as “The Book of Comfort.” This “scroll” offers words of hope and restoration. It opens with a declaration that the time is coming when God will bring back the captives. This section has the “what you’re about to go through will be really, really hard, but…” feel to it. There will be “screams of panic and terror… a time of unspeakable pain,” but God will deliver them; God will break the yoke on their necks. God will restore and rebuild. There will be laughter and joy. The Davidic line and the Levitical priesthood will both be reestablished. “You will be my people, and I will be your God.”

The defeat and time in exile will be part of the process. This refining and reshaping process will lead to a new covenant. God declares, “I will put my Instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts.” The sin that has been deeply engraved on their hearts will be written over. God states, “They will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.”

Chapter 32 shares with us a critical moment for Jeremiah, offering him some tangible proof for these promises of God. Jeremiah is in confinement for prophesying the downfall of Jerusalem… He receives word that a cousin is coming to sell him some land. It all happens as God said it would. Jeremiah buys the land. In a practical sense this makes no sense. Judah is about to be conquered. Jerusalem and its temple will be destroyed. Most will die or go into exile. But this is an act of trust and faith. Jeremiah buys the land. God then declares that houses, fields, and vineyards will one day be bought and sold again in this land. Jeremiah responds with a beautiful prayer that recounts God’s power and might, that recalls the sins of Israel and Judah, and that reviews God’s promises of restoration and covenant renewal. Yes, hard times are ahead. Really hard times. But God is faithful. God’s love and compassion endure forever. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, we are reminded once again today of our frailty and failures, set against the hope and promise of your enduring and unending love and grace. What a sharp contrast. How different we are from you in so many ways. And yet, yet you hold on, yet you love us anyway. So great is your love for us, O God. Strengthen and encourage us today to be your people. Today. Amen.


by Leave a comment

A Strong Tower

Readings: Proverbs 17 and 18

‭Proverbs 18:10 – “The LORD’s name is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and find refuge.”

There are three themes that stand out to me today as we read and ponder Proverbs 17 and 18. To read these words in a few months or in a couple of years, other themes might stand out. That is one reason we read and read and read our Bibles. That being said, the first theme that emerged today was that wisdom or understanding brings peace to our lives. It is better to eat crusty, dry bread in peace than to feast in a quarreling house. It is love that covers offenses. But fools keep repeating words and actions that bring or lead to division. Therefore, it is “safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in their folly.” Let that sink in.

The second theme concerns God’s testing and refining and correction. Like a crucible refines and purifies silver, so God tests our hearts. For the wise and understanding, a rebuke goes deeper and impacts us more than “100 lashes to a fool.” For those who seek understanding and wisdom, these draw us together. As the community of faith we too love one another all the time, especially in times of trouble and trial.

The last theme has to do with the power of our words. First, the wise restrain their talking. The wise are cool headed. The understanding recognize that words are “deep waters” and hold the power of life and death. The wise guard their words, loving life, eating well of its fruit. Fools babble on and on, caring just for their own opinions, allowing careless and thoughtless words to bring harm and hurt.

Proverbs 18:10 stands out today as a summary verse, as words to cling to: “The LORD’s name is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and find refuge.” May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, you are indeed our strong tower, our rock of refuge, our place of peace. Walk closely with us, guiding our words and actions so that we too might bring peace and refuge and strength to a world in need of these things in their lives. Use us in the building of your kingdom. Amen.


by Leave a comment

A New Birth

Reading: 1st Peter 1:3-9

Verses 3-4: “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.”

Peter writes to “God’s elect” who are spread throughout the known world. These scattered Christians are experiencing an uptick in persecution under Emperor Nero. They are afraid and they are questioning the living of their faith in the public arena. Their suffering is driving these thoughts.

Today’s 7 verses pack a powerful punch. Peter begins his encouragement with these words: “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” Through their faith in Jesus Christ these exiles have received the promise of salvation and with it the gift of eternal life. They have been born anew, now living with hope as brothers and sisters of Christ. This new relationship and connection with Jesus brings with it an inheritance. Peter reminds them that this inheritance will “never perish, spoil, or fade.” It is eternal. It is “shielded by God’s power.” There is nothing more powerful. Living as elect exiles , as Christians in a pagan world, this reminder of Christ’s living presence and of God’s power over them would have been great encouragement to these believers.

In verse 6 Peter touches on another part of their inheritance. Here he writes, “though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” While this may make some consider going underground with their faith, Peter is being honest. Trials will come. Testing is assured. Living as hope and light in the world will draw fire. But, take heart, Peter says this will refine our faith so that it “may be proved genuine.” This too is a new birth. Although uncomfortable and often painful, this refining yields a stronger faith now and one day will result in “praise, glory, and honor” when we come face to face with Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, what a great reminder of the power and presence that you offer to us in this life. Though the trials come, we are always under your shield. Though the suffering may be painful and hard, it works for our good now and for glory to come. You are the God of all time, of all places, and of all situations. Praise be to you, O Lord! Amen.


by Leave a comment

Walk in the Light

Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14

Verse 8: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”

Throughout the scriptures God and good has been represented by the light. It is first reflected in how God created the world. Light shone into the darkness. Light signals the start of each new day; it brings life to our souls and to the physical world. In contrast, evil and chaos are represented by the darkness. Under the cover of dark we feel that our misdeeds are somehow covered up or are at least less likely to be exposed.

Paul picks up on these themes in today’s writing. In verse 8 he writes, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Before choosing to live with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we were in the darkness. We lived for self and to satisfy the cravings of the flesh. When we live in the dark, our eyes adjust and we get accustomed to that lifestyle. But once we come to Christ, the light becomes our norm. The light first illuminates the darkness right around us, exposing the evil in our lives and in our hearts. It can be hard to adjust to being in the light, at first. In general it grows easier and easier to live in the light. Sometimes, however, it is harder. But hard in a good way.

Walking in the light grows easier as we draw more and more upon the power and presence of the Holy Spirit of Christ to lead and guide our lives. Faith becomes the norm that we live by. Faithful living becomes our daily way of living. Here a part of the walk also becomes harder. The light continues to shine, working its way into the nooks and crannies. There we come to see that this or that really is a sin. What was “ok” before is no longer ok. The light reveals that habit or behavior and we come to see that it too must be put to the cross.

As we seek to grow in Christ, may we ever shine the light both within our hearts and out into the world, encouraging a walk in the light of Christ.

Prayer: Lord God, this journey of faith leads us deeper and deeper into our relationship with you. Joy, love, hope, grace – they grow in abundance in our life with you. In the light the refining process continues too as selfish habits and prideful ways continue to be exposed. Grant me the courage to surrender these things to you. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Welcome, Grace

Reading: 1st Corinthians 10:1-13

Verse 11: “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.”

Today we return to 1st Corinthians 10. Earlier this week we reviewed the sins of the Israelites during the exodus and realized that the sins of idolatry and sexual immortality and the sins of testing and grumbling against God remain with us today. Even though many of us have common roots of faith, just as the Israelites did, we too struggle with sin in our lives. Concerning the Israelites, in verse 5 we read, “God was not pleased with them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.” Today, ongoing sin continues to have consequences in our lives and in the world.

The difference for Paul’s audience and for all who call on Jesus as Lord can be found in verse 11. In the last part of this verse Paul identifies believers as those “on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.” The word become flesh is the one who has come. Jesus Christ, the salvation of the world, came to change the pattern. Instead of the endless repetition of the sin-confess-sacrifice cycle, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross began the sin-confess-repent-renew cycle. Sacrificing an animal made the Israelites feel better for a time but it did nothing to make them new again, to make them more like God. Grace entered the old cycle and invited us to be made new again each time we repented of our sin, drawing us closer and closer to the holy one. Grace washed away the guilt and shame that kept people stuck in the old cycle and opened the way for a holier way of living. We emerge from times of sin and struggle as more than we were before. God’s faithful, unconditional love brings us closer and closer each time, shaping and refining us to be more and more like Christ, our example. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for Jesus Christ and the gift of grace. Even though I am a sinner, I am saved by grace. Your awesome love continues to work in me, bringing me closer and closer to what and who you created me to be. Thanks be to God! Amen.


by Leave a comment

Pleasing to God

Reading: Isaiah 58: 1-12

Verse 4: “You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high”.

Photo credit: Jordan Wozniak

Today is Ash Wednesday. This is a great passage to consider as we prepare to journey into the season of Lent. The words of this Psalm are a wake up call to Israel and to all who approach their relationship with God superficially.

The ashes that we will place on our foreheads reminds us of our mortality. Ashes were used for this same purpose in the days of Isaiah. Remembering our mortality reminds us that we are finite, limited, imperfect. Today begins the season that culminates the Saturday before Easter Sunday. On Easter Sunday we celebrate Jesus’ triumph over the grave. In his resurrection we find our eternal hope. We are invited to walk through Lent as a season of preparation for that day. These forty days are a time of reflection, introspection, refining.

The people of Isaiah’s day were putting ashes on their foreheads, wearing sack cloth, bowing their heads to God. They were exhibiting all the outward signs of fasting. Today we can show up at church and have a cross drawn on our foreheads. We too can go through the motions. In our passage God’s people fasted, yes, but also continued to exploit the marginalized, to strike one another with “evil fists”, and to ignore the injustices and the oppression all around them. Verse four sums up God’s response: “You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high”. We cannot come to church and go through the motions of worship or Bible study or youth group and then go out and live as the world lives.

In verses six and seven God shares the kind of fast that is pleasing to him. As fast pleasing to God changes our hearts and leads us to fight injustice, to set the oppressed free, to share food with the hungry, to give shelter to the wanderer, to clothe the naked. In Lent we are called to look within, to repent of our sins, our selfishness, our indulgences. Doing so we will come to have a heart focused on drawing God’s kingdom near.

Verse eight reveals what happens when God’s people turn towards him and become like him: “Then your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear”. May it be so.

Prayer: God of the brokenhearted, the oppressed, the downtrodden, the needy – lead me to the place of honest confession and sincere repentance. Make me aware of how I contribute to the pain and misery of the world and turn me from my harmful and hurtful ways. Kill in me all that keeps me from fully loving and serving you and all of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Look Upon Us

Reading: Isaiah 64: 5b-9

Verse 8: “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter”.

As we continue in Isaiah 64 today, the second half of the passage begins in verse 5b with an admission: “When we continued to sin, you were angry”. Yes, God will come to the help of those who do right, but the sinners? Isaiah asks the correct question: “How then can we be saved”? As a people living in sin, the Israelites were taken into exile. God still loves them, but what can God do with his children who continue in their rebellion? The prophet laments that they have become “unclean” and that their faith has “shriveled up” like a dry leaf. In verse seven his words are honest: “No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you”. The situation, the condition of the people’s faith, is not good. Yet there is hope. There is always hope with God.

In verse eight Isaiah speaks of that hope: “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter”. Our God never gives up on us. Yes, we may choose to distance ourselves from God and from our relationships with one another. Our sin leads to separation. Even in the midst of our sin, even then we can cry out to God. Like a petulant child, we cry out only half-heartedly because we remain unclean. We want our way and we want God to do our will too. At that point God hears but does not respond. This is where almost all of Isaiah’s audience is at spiritually. Yet the one who speaks for God has hope. Isaiah knows that God can and will reshape the people. Through the process of defeat and exile, God will fashion Israel back into obedient children once again. Our passage ends with a humble plea: “Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people”.

In this season, especially in this time of division and discord, in this time of online worship and personal distancing, in this time of illness and loss, Lord, look upon us. We pray for all of your people. Great potter, shape us into something new.

Prayer: Lord God, show us the way. Help me to work through this discord in my soul, through this time of unease. Bring healing to our land, O God. Not just physical healing but also spiritual and emotional and relational healing. Unite us, O Lord, in your love and grace and mercy. Amen.