pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Readying Hearts and Lives

Reading: Matthew 3:1-6

Matthew 3:2 – “Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!”

Photo credit: Kelly Sikkema

Advent is a season of longing and waiting. There is an anticipation that builds as we await the coming Messiah. Entering into Matthew 3 today, the people of God have been waiting, longing deeply for the Messiah to come. About 400 years before John the Baptist was born, the prophet Malachi called the people of God back to holy living. Channeling his inner Isaiah, in 3:1 Malachi writes, “Look, I am sending my messenger who will clear the path before me.” A few verses later God speaks these words through the prophet: “Return to me and I will return to you.” These words and others from prophets including Isaiah have hung in the air and in the peoples’ hearts for many, many years. The most recent occupation, this time by the Roman empire, has heightened their longing and anticipation.

John the Baptist arrives onto this scene and steps out into the wilderness, proclaiming, “Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!” Out in the desert, dressed as he was, both mark him as the “Elijah” who was to come. John struck a chord with the people of God. Identified as the one of whom so many prophets have spoken, John drew large crowds. They confessed their sins and were baptized in the Jordan. The people were committing themselves to living holy lives, readying themselves for the coming Messiah and the kingdom of heaven that was drawing near. As we read this passage and hear John’s call to repent and prepare ourselves, may we ready our hearts and lives anew to welcome the coming Jesus and his kingdom here on earth.

Prayer: Lord God, draw us near, hear our confessions, receive our repentance, and guide our hearts and lives. Ready us to welcome the Christ child and all that he offers: joy, peace, hope, love, mercy, grace. As we prepare ourselves O Lord, use our voices to proclaim the one who rescues, redeems, saves, and sets free. Use us as heralds and bringers of your kingdom here on earth. Amen.


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Humble Surrender

Reading: 2nd Kings 5:1-3 and 5-14c

2nd Kings 5:14b – “Now I know for certain that there’s no God anywhere on earth except in Israel.”

Photo credit: Shane Rounce

A powerful general from Aram has a skin disease. Unlike in Israel, this does not make him an outcast in his country. But this disease still creates a physical need for healing. By chance (?) an Israelite girl is a slave in Naaman’s home. She comments, ‘Only if my master could see the prophet in Samaria…’ In no time, Naaman is off to Israel’s king – letter, thank you gift, and entourage in tow. The king of Israel is powerless to heal him so he receives this visit as an attempt to pick a fight. Elisha the prophet hears of this and tells the king to send Naaman his way.

Ultimately following Elisha’s simple directions, Naaman is beyond healed. His skin was restored to the skin of his youth. Not just the bad spot was cleansed. Returning to Elisha’s house, Naaman declares, “Now I know for certain that there’s no God anywhere on earth except in Israel.” The outsider, the foreigner, is profoundly affected. Professing his faith in God alone, Naaman will bring dirt back home so that he has a place to worship God. The cleansing of his disease has begun Naaman on a path that leads to wholeness for Naaman. This is found only in a relationship with the Lord.

Wholeness comes through living daily in a right relationship with God. This week we’ve talked about one means to focus on living this way. The Examen’s steps of request, relish, review, repent, and resolve take us daily to a place of honest reflection and introspection, drawing us closer to the Lord, empowering our daily walk. This discipline is grounded in humility and surrender. Kneeling on proverbial dirt, may we worship the Lord our God each day.

Prayer: Lord God, we can struggle as Naaman did, allowing pride and status to mislead us, to keep us from a place where we open ourselves up to your healing power. Like the servant who called him to humble surrender, may we hear the voice of your Spirit calling us to this place daily. Amen.


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A Deeper Faith

Reading: Psalm 66:1-4

Psalm 66:1-2 – “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth! Sing praises to the glory of God’s name!”

Psalm 66 is a celebration of God’s mighty acts amongst the people of Israel. In the opening verses the psalmist invites us to “shout joyfully” and to “sing praises” so that God is glorified. In our walks of faith, gratitude and praise are two essential practices. Often in our life of faith, it is gratitude that leads to praise. In the first verses of Psalm 66 the gratitude comes from seeing God’s strength rescue Israel from “your enemies.” Being saved leads Israel to praise and glorify God. While it is a good habit to praise God, our relationship with God is about more than God thanking God for saving us. We’ll explore some other practices a bit today and throughout this week that can deepen our walk of faith.

In this week’s Disciplines, Rev. Dr. Mark Wethington shares insights into an ancient spiritual discipline established by Ignatius of Loyola called the Examen. This regular practice looks back and reflects on a period of time, usually a day. A modern take on this 16th century practice offers us the five R’s as a means to remember the steps: request, relish, review, repent, resolve. The practice begins with requesting God’s presence during this time of reflection and introspection. One then relishes God’s presence and blessings in the day. This is followed by a review of one’s day – what sins and failures were there? The movement turns next to repenting of the ways that one fell short and, lastly, one resolves that through God’s grace one will strive to live more like Christ in the next day.

As we work through this week’s lectionary readings we will do so with the five R’s in mind. There is not always a linear pattern in the scriptures. For example, Psalm 66 begins with “relish,” but will turn to “request” as we read the next verses later this week. As we close today, please take a moment to work through the five R’s. Each day this week, following the example given in the Disciplines, we will add depth to our practice of this ancient spiritual discipline.

Prayer: Lord God, guide us this week as we practice this ancient way of drawing closer to you day by day. Work within our hearts to form us more into the image of Christ. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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New Again

Reading: Psalm 51:7-10

Psalm 51:8 – “Let me hear joy and celebration again; let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.”

Continuing today in Psalm 51, David recognizes his separated state. Yes, God has seen his sin and sent the prophet Nathan to break through to David, leading him to see his sin. David knows that God alone can make him “clean.” In verse 7 David asks for this cleansing – for God to purify and wash him so that he is “whiter than snow.” On his own David would remain in his sin and would struggle with the guilt and shame that often accompanies our sin. The same is true for us. We need God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness to once again be back in right relationship with God.

In verse 8 David is not yet there – not yet redeemed and restored. He longs for these things. We can hear this longing as we read, “Let me hear joy and celebration again; let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.” When we are in this place we too can feel this way. For David, the sacrificial system and the giving of an animal’s life would provide the “means” or payment for forgiveness. For us today, however, Jesus interceded on our behalf. He paid the price, offering himself as that needed sacrifice. In communion we remember this gift formally. But we don’t need to take the bread and cup to be redeemed and restored. Forgiveness comes through a simple prayer of confession and repentance. Jesus then creates a “clean heart” in us, once again walking with a “faithful spirit” within us. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, we experience times when we are separated from you because of our sin and its impacts. Sometimes we tarry, wrestling with the guilt or shame. In these times, O Lord, call out to us, pull us into your grace and mercy. Drawn close to you, make us new again, O God. Amen.


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Ingredients for Transformation

Reading: Acts 26:15-18

Acts 26;17-18 – “I am sending you to open their eyes. Then they can turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.”

Photo credit: Shane Rounce

In today’s reading Paul is telling his conversion and call story before King Agrippa. This is his last stop before being sent to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. As Paul is presenting his case, he starts at the beginning, on the day that he was traveling to Damascus to pursue and arrest more Christians. Blinded by a light from heaven, Paul encounters the risen Jesus. Gathering his bearings, Saul asks, “Who are you, Lord?”

Jesus identifies himself as “the one whom you are harassing.” The degree of connection that Jesus claims here is interesting. These words echo his words about “whenever you do this to one of the least of these…” (Matthew 25:40.) Jesus calls Saul, stating the he is here now “to appoint you as my servant and witness.” All the power and emotion of rage and hatred will be redirected as compassion and love. Further describing his new role, Jesus tells him, “I am sending you to open their eyes. Then they can turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.” Through Paul many will receive salvation, forgiveness of sin, and inclusion in the family of God.

Through this experience and others that will follow, Paul is made fully Jesus’. His whole life and being will focus on making Jesus known, on bringing others to a saving faith in Christ. In neither this account or the original telling (Acts 9) do we hear Paul apologizing to Jesus or repenting of his sinful actions against Jesus and his church. But the evidence bears witness to a complete 180, to a total change of heart. Making amends, admitting fault, seeking forgiveness are all necessary ingredients for transformation. Often these happen first in the heart, opening the way to bring made new.

Prayer: Lord God, speak into our hearts, open our eyes, reveal to us the ways that we are less than you call us to be in our witness to you and to our faith. Call us forward into the plans that you have for us, strengthening and encouraging us for the journey. Amen.


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The Path We Choose

Reading: Ezekiel 18:30-32

Ezekiel 18:30 – “Turn, turn away from all your sins. Don’t let them be sinful obstacles for you.”

In today’s passage Ezekiel addresses individual responsibility. Yes, the bad shepherds led Israel and then Judah into sin and then exile. Yes, they set a poor example for those living under their care. Yes, these actions made it easier for the common people to go astray and to wander away from God. But at the most basic, individual level, each person has to choose to remain faithful to God or to live selfishly and sinfully. The same is true today. You, me, all of us – we are in control of ourselves. We alone choose the path that we walk.

Verse 18 opens our reading with this reminder: “I will judge each of you according to your ways.” In this life and in the moment that we stand before our Creator, God will judge us on what we alone did or did not do, say, and think. Therefore, God says, “Turn, turn away from all your sins. Don’t let them be sinful obstacles for you.” Make a better choice, a holier decision. This is a call to repent, to change our ways. Our sins are very much obstacles to a healthy and whole relationship with God and with one another. God calls us to “abandon” our sins.

God encourages the faithful to “make yourselves a new heart and new spirit.” While it is with God’s power alone that this is possible, we must take the first step by turning away from our sin. This choice is essential to the transformation that God can and desires to work in us. The passage closes with the clear cut options. One is stated and one is implied. God declares, “Change you ways, and live!” The opposite is also true, also an option. May we choose faith so that we can truly live.

Prayer: Lord God, while the way that leads to life is narrow, this path is filled with joy and peace, with hope and grace, with love. The path of the world, the path of destruction, it is wide and filled with greed, with pride, with envy and want. Guide us to walk your narrow way, for there you walk with us. Lead us to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, finding strength and encouragement for our journey. Amen.


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One to Exalt

Reading: Isaiah 2:10-18

Isaiah 2:17 – “People’s pride will be brought down and human arrogance humiliated. The Lord alone will be exalted on that day.”

Photo credit: Shane Rounce

We return to the beginning of Isaiah again this week. In chapter 1 we read about Judah being far from God, turning to idols and foreign powers to save them. The leaders were taking advantage of and oppressing the least among them. Even so, God offered grace and mercy, forgiveness and restoration – if the nation would humble themselves, confessing and repenting of their sins. If only…

Turning to verse 10, Isaiah suggests that the people “go into the rocks” to hide from the Lord’s terror. The sin of Judah will be dealt with. The people’s “proud gazing” and “humanity’s arrogance” will be brought low. The day is coming, says the prophet, when all that is prideful, haughty, and lofty will be “laid low.” These sins have led Judah to the precarious place that they find themselves in.

Next we find a list of some of the things that humankind’s pride can be rooted in: natural resources, man made structures, the means of war. In our day, does the list look much different? Pride and arrogance continue to drive many of the sins and evil of our day. Again speaking of the difficult and painful day soon to come, in verse 17 we read, “People’s pride will be brought down and human arrogance humiliated. The Lord alone will be exalted on that day.” It is good and right to that God alone is exalted, that God alone is worshipped. It is a choice that we can make. May it be so in our lives. Yes, may it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, it can be so easy to look around, to see others with ‘things’ we’d like – power, status, possessions. Once there it is an easy step to lust and envy, to greed and want. But to desire and pursue these things us to move in the opposite direction of you. The world is all about self, elevating self, gathering things. In that arena, pride and arrogance are rampant and infectious. Shield us from these desires. Lead us to find our worth in you. Guide us to seek you above all else. Center our lives on worshipping you alone. Amen.


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Come Near

Reading: James 4:1-12

James 4:10 – “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and God will lift you up.”

Photo credit: Kyle Johnson

James 4 addresses the conflict in the early church. In general, conflict over the things of this world are normal in the world. It should not be so in the church. In the opening verses of chapter 4 James identifies the issue: “cravings that are at war.” He then names want and jealousy as the primary drivers of these cravings. Our human natures focuses on self and our desires for power, status, possessions. These desires, left unchecked, lead us down evil paths. On this path we “struggle and fight,” we gossip and judge and slander, and even “commit murder” in extreme cases

James chooses language such as “hostility… enemy…” because there is a battle within us. Echoing Jesus’ teaching about our inability to serve two masters, James pits friendship with the world against friendship with God. He then offers the Christian choice: “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you.” When we make this choice it leads us to repent of our sins, to purify our hearts. Continuing, we read, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and God will lift you up.” Humility – thinking less of self and more of God and neighbor – is one of the key practices of an authentic faith and is absolutely essential in this battle. Walking in humility works against those worldly lures that tear apart community and fellowship.

Our prayer life is where much of this battle is fought. It is in prayer that we offer humble confessions and commi to repentance. It is in prayer that we find strength to resist the lures of this world. It is in prayer that we offer thanks for God’s blessings, provision, and grace. It is in prayer that we “Come near to God” so that “God will come near to you.” May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, the walk of faith is not an easy walk. The voices of the world are loud and powerful. But you are far greater. Your Spirit places us within your power. In that place, fill us with strength today, O God, so that we can walk faithfully with you and with one another. Amen.


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Our Great High Priest

Reading: Hebrews 10:19-24

Hebrews 10:19 – “Brothers and sisters, we have confidence that we can enter the Holy of Holies by means of Jesus’ blood.”

Hebrews 10 begins with a description of Christ’s “once-for-all” sacrifice. The author explains that Jesus, through his sacrificial death, put an end to the old sacrificial system. This system was unable to “take away our sins.” In addition, the mechanics of the system prevented a personal connection to God. The priest heard your sin and offered the atoning sacrifice on your behalf. There was also a second barrier to God. The Holy of Holies, the space which held the ark (God’s presence,) was separated off by a huge curtain. The high priest alone entered this most intimate and sacred space just once a year, seeking forgiveness and blessing for the people of God.

Verses 19-24 are a summary of what Christ’s sacrifice means for us. In the first verses we read, “Brothers and sisters, we have confidence that we can enter the Holy of Holies by means of Jesus’ blood.” As Christ breathed his last breath the curtain in the temple was literally torn in two, top to bottom. The physical barrier was removed. Christ opened the way, “a new and living way,” so that we could have a personal relationship with God. Christ is our new “great high priest” that invites us to draw near to God with a genuine, cleansed heart. Forgiveness and cleansing are ours every time we confess and repent of our sins. Jesus’ blood was and is the “once-for-all” sacrifice that stones for our sin. Hebrews also reminds us that we can “hold onto the confession of our hope,” because Jesus is faithful. We have confessed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is only in and through him that we can remain faithful too. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the new covenant, one written on our hearts because Christ’s Spirit dwells in our hearts. This personal and intimate connection is a great gift. You are with us always. Lord, lead and guide us to live out our faith, encouraging one another in love. May this love lead us to be and do good in the world, drawing others into the new and living hope that we have in you. Amen.


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With Us, Every Day

Reading: Matthew 28:16-20

Matthew 28:20 – “Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

Matthew closes his gospel with Jesus commissioning to disciples to carry on his work. There is no ascension here. Matthew is intentional in how he ends his gospel. Perhaps he picked up this idea from Mark. The abrupt end to Mark invites us to be the continuation of the story, to be the church. Matthew’s ending offers the same invitation.

Eleven disciples go to the mountain in Galilee. The women who met the risen Lord remind them of this planned gathering. In what feels curious to us at first, some disciples worship Jesus and others feel some doubt. But we too find ourselves here at times. We can feel some doubt even as we seek to cling to our faith.

Being given all authority in heaven and on earth, Jesus tells the disciples first to go. They are to go out into the world just as Jesus was out in the world. He spent also all of his ministry hours out in the world. Once our in the world, the disciples are to make new disciples. A disciple is one who repents of their sin, who trusts in Jesus for salvation, and who obeys Jesus’ teachings. Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is a public act of faith in and of surrender to Jesus Christ. Following baptism, the disciples are to teach new believers all of Jesus’ commands. This faith in and obedience to Jesus, to his teachings and example, this is the mark of a Christian and of the church.

This commission must’ve felt like a lot to the disciples. It feels like a lot to us. So may we too hear the promise Jesus makes to the disciples as his promise to us: Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”

Prayer: Lord God, lead and guide us to live into our commission. Use us to draw others to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. When the task feels big, help us to hear the guidance of the Holy Spirit, your promised presence with us. Walk with us, carrying us along as needed. Amen.