pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: release


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Hope, Peace

Reading: John 20: 19-31

Verse 26: Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you”!

The disciples are hiding in fear.  The Jews just engineered Jesus’ death and they fear for their own lives.  Jesus appears to them twice in today’s passage and both times begins with, “Peace be with you”!  In the times of worry and fear and doubt, peace is a great gift.  It is a gift we all treasure in the midst of the trial or in the storms of life.  In faith we can release our fears… to God and His peace will replace all of those emotions and thoughts.

As Jesus offers the disciples peace, He also breathes the Holy Spirit on them.  With the presence of the Spirit, the disciples will go forth into the world to spread the goods news of the resurrected and risen Jesus.  We too receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when we confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.  With that confession we also receive the same charge to share the good news.

Jesus also empowers the disciples with the power to forgive people their sins.  In this gift, followers of His can release people from all that entangles and hold them down.  It is similar to releasing our fears… to God and allowing His peace to flow in instead.  In sharing the hope and faith we find in Jesus, we are opening others up to feel the freeing power that comes when we accept the One who conquered sin and death as our personal Savior.  We are not offering atonement for their sins through us, but we are inviting the lost and broken to come to Jesus so He can do that.  He died on the cross to offer us all freedom from sin by paying for or atoning for our sins with His blood.  The freedom of releasing our sins is also a way Jesus brings peace.

The hope and peace we find when we rest in Christ is a wonderful and amazing gift.  May we offer Christ to all we meet so that they too may rest in His peace.


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The Struggle

Reading: Exodus 17: 1-3

Leading up to today’s story, the Israelites have had quite a relationship with God.  After hundreds of years in slavery, God hears their cries and delivers them from bondage.  In the process, they witness ten miracles that lead to their release.  The final miracle is so amazing that it becomes an annual festival that celebrates God’s saving act: Passover.  Then, just as all seems lost again, God parts the sea, the Israelites cross over, and the pursuing army is destroyed.  Shortly thereafter God provides manna each day and quickly follows that up with quail for meat.  The people have seen blessing after blessing after blessing.  In this way, many of our lives are like this.  God blesses us in so many ways.  We too can look back and see where God’s hand has been at work in our lives.  Maybe we too should have a rock-solid relationship with God, walking hand in hand all the time.

But if we delve a little deeper into the Exodus story, we see another side of the Israelites that we probably recognize in ourselves as well.  The Israelites liked the idea of freedom but grumbled to God when Pharaoh’s reaction was harsh. Then they tasted freedom, only to grumble about starving to death in the desert.  They next complain about water and God leads them to a spring.  They complain about food and long for Egypt and God provides.  The pattern is pretty consistent.  Instead of God’s miracles leading to deeper faith, the Israelites continue to show a lack of faith and trust time after time.

If we fast forward to today, the struggle continues.  Today the sense of community has largely been replaced by rugged individualism.  Instead of grumbling to one another, we simply put our heads down and try to forge a way forward.  We grip the wheel a little tighter.  And often as a last resort, we turn to God.  We look back on the people that God called ‘stiff-necked’ and wonder why they couldn’t trust God after all He brought them through.  Then we see a mirror and realize we are much the same.  We cling to control.  We too allow doubt and fear to creep in.  We too struggle to trust and to live by faith.

Acknowledging it is the first step.  Releasing control is next.  Lord God, help me to yield all to You.  Grow in me the trust that allows You to fully lead my life.  Please.


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To the Cross

Reading: Luke 23: 33-38

As we draw near to the end of our season in the Gospel of Luke, we come to the cross.  In a way it is odd to come to the cross as we prepare to celebrate Advent, a time when we remember Jesus’ birth.  Yet it serves to remind us of why Jesus needed to be born and to live among us.  After all, Jesus came to die.

Oh how the people wanted to have a Messiah who would rid them of the oppressive Romans.  They were looking for a new King David.  During Jesus’ ministry He brought much healing and offered some great teaching on how God really wanted humanity to live together.  For all who saw and heard Jesus or even just the stories, they all knew that Jesus was something special.  But Jesus was not the kingly Messiah they wanted so they mocked Him on the cross.  He did not meet their expectations so they ridiculed and abused Him, releasing some of their own frustrations with their current situation.

It would have been so tempting to lash out from the cross and maybe even to really save Himself.  But Jesus came for a far greater purpose.  To save Himself would have been selfish.  Jesus always placed God first, others second, and Himself last.  To save Himself would have gone against all that Jesus was and is.  Instead, Jesus chose to give Himself.  Instead of releasing His human form from the cross and wiping out the Romans, Jesus unleashed His divine self and defeated an enemy far greater and much stronger than any human empire.  On the cross and in His resurrection, Jesus defeated sin and death.  Sin and death had been ruling since the first sin entered the world through Adam and Eve.

This is why we come to the cross just before we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth.  It is the greatest gift mankind has ever been given – the freedom from sin and death.  Thank you Jesus.


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A Personal Connection

In His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus goes to the temple and teaches from the scroll containing the words of the prophet Isaiah.  Luke makes mention that many there are aware of and appreciative of Jesus’ teachings up to this point.  What He reads that day would be a well-known passage.  The ideas of bringing the good news to the poor, releasing captives, bringing sight to the blind, setting the oppressed free, and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor all were part of the Jewish mindset.  Heads would have been nodding their approval.  But then Jesus added one more thing.  He claimed to be the fulfillment of this passage.  He states that He is this Messiah.  He created discomfort and ruffled feathers.

Fast forward to now.  When one speaks of sharing the good news, of freeing people from whatever oppresses or holds them back, of giving spiritual sight to one who is blind, all of us nod our heads approvingly.  We too view helping others as worthy and as the calling of the church.  But sadly enough we have our “just hold on a minute” line.  It’s a wonderful idea to feed and care for the needy.  Could you just do it over there?  It is great to share the gospel with those who have not heard it.  But do they have to come and worship here at our church?  It is noble and godly to help people overcome addiction and sins in their life.  But does little Suzy have to see it played out in person?

Sorry, but yes, we need to minister to people in our churches.  Alas, we must sit beside those new to the faith, to love and mentor them, to help them connect to God.  Yes, it is messy.  Folks who struggle need help in the form of a personal connection.  We are to be Jesus’ hands and feet, touching their lives directly and walking side by side with those who are new to faith or who are struggling.  May we find a little discomfort, may our feathers get a little ruffled, and may we like it.

Scripture reference: Luke 4: 14-21