pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Faithful Love Forever

Readings: Psalms 131-136

‭Psalm 135:14 – “The LORD gives justice to his people and has compassion on those who serve him.”

We begin with Psalm 131, a song of humility. The psalmist isn’t proud or conceited, doesn’t stray from his or her lane. There is contentment in God’s presence. So, “Israel, wait for the Lord.” Psalm 132 speaks of why they can and should. God dwells in the temple and God made a covenant with David. The promise was to have a Davidic king on the throne forever – if they’re faithful. God’s presence provides food, salvation, and protection. The faithful one will shine.

Psalm 133 speaks of unity: “how good and pleasing it is.” Living in unity brings blessings and leads to eternal life, two gifts of God. Psalm 134 gives a pattern of response: lift your hands, bless the Lord! Praise the maker of heaven and earth! Psalms 135 and 136 develop this theme.

Psalms 135 and 136 are very similar. Both call for praising the Lord. Both recall acts that show God’s wonder, power, and might in nature and in Israel’s history. Psalm 135 reminds us that idols are “just gold and silver.” How we still need that reminder. Wealth, in whatever form we chase, is “just gold and silver.” Psalm 136 repeats the line, “God’s faithful love lasts forever,” 26 times. It is the repeated response to all that God has done and to all that God is. May it be our response as well!

Prayer: Lord God, lead us to walk humbly today with you and with all that we encounter. Guide us to live as light, as ones anointed in your love. Remind us too of all the ways that you have compassion on us, your children. And use us today to reveal your faithful love to all of creation. Amen.


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Songs of Ascent, Part I

Readings: Psalms 120-127

‭Psalm 122:1 – “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let’s go to the LORD’s house!'”

Psalms 120-134 are collectively known as the “Songs of Ascent.” Each carries the superscription, “A pilgrimage song.” These songs were likely sung by pilgrims on their way up to Jerusalem to participate in one of the three yearly festivals. I wonder which of these Jesus and his followers sang as he rode into the city just before the Passover.

Psalms 120 and 121 are like a call and response. In Psalm 120 the psalmist has been away too long and needs rescue from “lying lips” and those who “hate peace.” Psalm 121 answers with the invite to look to the mountains, to Jerusalem. There you will find your “protector,” the one who “never sleeps or rests.”

Psalms 122 and 123 function in the same way with Psalm 124. Psalm 122 begins with joy over being invited to go up to God’s house, to the city “joined together in unity.” The psalmist turns to God, asking for peace and rest for Jerusalem. Psalm 123 adds a prayer for mercy. They’ll pray attentively until mercy comes. Then Psalm 124 offers encouragement as it recalls God’s rescue and deliverance in the past. The psalmist declares that their help is still in God alone, “the maker of heaven and earth.”

Psalm 125 continues the theme of trusting in God, who, like Mount Zion, is “never shaken.” The psalmist closes this song with a request of God: do good to the good and banish those evildoers. Psalm 126 is similar in structure – remembering when God rescued them, then asking God to rescue them again. Psalm 127 is a bit like Ecclesiastes. Human effort is “pointless.” But children – and lots of them – are a gift from God!

These songs of ascent, like much of the rest of the Psalms, cover a range of emotions and situations. May we use these prayers too as we find ourselves experiencing joy or sorrow, blessing or suffering, belonging or isolation.

Prayer: Lord God, as some of these Psalms or words within call out to us, write them on the tablets of our hearts. Then, by the power of your Holy Spirit, call them to our minds at just the right time. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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Not So Tightly

Readings: Leviticus 24, Leviticus 25, Leviticus 26, Leviticus 27

Leviticus 25:23 – “The land must not be permanently sold because the land is mine. You are just immigrants and foreign guests of mine.”

Photo credit: Javardh

We draw to the close of our time in Leviticus today. The last four chapters begin with commands concerning the eternally burning lamp stand, its oil, and the bread for the table of God. Punishment for blaspheming and assault are clarified. Standards are set so that the punishment fits the crime. Standards are also set for the land’s sabbatical year and for the Year of Jubilee. The land is given a year to rest, to lie fallow. God promises to provide generously, as was done with the manna, to carry Israel through.

The Year of Jubilee is a 50-year reset. Land and debts are restored or forgiven. Values are set according to this special year – both in buying and selling, even for those in servitude or hardship. This year of restoration is grounded in the spirit of verse 23: “The land must not be permanently sold because the land is mine. You are just immigrants and foreign guests of mine.” The land, the crops and herds… our time, our resources, our wealth – it is all God’s. Don’t cling so tightly to it.

In chapter 26 covenant blessings are followed by covenant curses. The blessings are fewer numerically – ample food, peace, victory in battle, prosperity, population growth, God’s presence. The curses are stacked in if-then, escalating scenarios. Verses 14-39 remind me of the plagues in Egypt. Yet as bad as it gets – and it does get bad as all of these curses unfold – we still have verses 40-42. If Israel confesses, if they humble their hearts and repent, then God will remember the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – “because I am the Lord their God “

Leviticus closes with dedications and gifts to the Lord. Dedication values are set for people (??!); homes, land, and livestock belong to the Lord. Jubilee rules apply. We close with the command that 1/10 of the produce of the land and 1/10 of the herd or flock belongs to God. Again, don’t cling to it so tightly.

Prayer: Lord God, your grace and mercy, your love and care flow freely. Yet we are to live in covenant. We have responsibilities. Or are they responses to your blessings? Help us to understand this relationship correctly. Amen.


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Sure and Steady

Reading: Luke 1:26-38

Verse 38: “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

In today’s Luke passage we receive the foretelling of the birth of Jesus. Our text is proceeding with the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist. Through these angelic visits the lives of Elizabeth and Mary are intertwined, as are the lives of their sons. Continuing on in the text after today’s passage, Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth.

As we begin in the text for today the angel Gabriel comes to Mary. He tells Mary that she is “highly favored” by God and that God is with her. This is no random visit. Mary is troubled. And probably a bit afraid too as Gabriel next says, “Do not be afraid.” I wonder how I would feel if an angel of the Lord appeared to me. Would I be afraid too? Or would I be filled with joy and excitement over what was about to happen? How about you?

Gabriel explains much of what will happen. It is not “might” but “will.” Huge difference here. Mary will be with child – a child conceived by the Holy Spirit – and she will give birth to Jesus – the Son of God. To perhaps add assurance, maybe to let her know she’s not alone in all of this, Gabriel shares that Elizabeth is pregnant. Old and barren, now with child: “For nothing is impossible with God.”

Mary’s response is sure and steady: “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Mary’s response comes from a place of deep trust and faith in God. Indeed, God knew exactly who Gabriel was being sent to. So if God sends an angel – or the Holy Spirit – to you or to me, may we too respond surely and steadily. God knows exactly who we are.

Prayer: Lord God, I am humbled and amazed by Mary’s response. Her faith and trust in you are awesome. When you call, may I answer as she did. Amen.


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Patiently, Attentively, Actively

Reading: Psalm 80:1-7 and 17-19

Verses 2-3: “Awaken your might; come and save us. Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.”

In this week’s Psalm the people of God are waiting to hear from God. The Psalm begins, “Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel.” They have lifted prayers to God and eagerly await God’s response. This is not like that text or email that we send that says, ‘Call me when you get a chance.’ This is lifting a prayer to God and then actively and attentively waiting for a response from God. Devotional writer Willie James Jennings beautifully describes it this way: “It is waiting inside a conversation that is happening inside a life with God.” The prayers of the psalmist and the prayers of the people are words offered within an intimate and personal relationship with the Lord.

At this point, as was the case in Isaiah’s passage yesterday, the Israelites feel or sense separation from God. Their sins have created this feeling. Sin isn’t the only thing to create a feeling of separation. Challenges that life throws at us can also cause these feelings. I think today of my beloved relationships. When I have caused hurt in these, I offer words of apology or healing and then I wait for a response. I don’t offer these words and then go off to do something else. I wait patiently and attentively.

The great plea offered in Psalm 80 comes in verses 2-3: “Awaken your might; come and save us. Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” There are words of restoration and salvation in this plea. There is a hope and a trust that God will respond. These lead to waiting for God’s response, waiting patiently, attentively, actively with an open and obedient heart. In our moments and seasons when we feel separated and in need of restoration and salvation, may we too wait patiently, attentively, and actively.

Prayer: Lord God, I’m waiting here for you. In my distress and in my trial, I come to you seeking guidance and direction, a restoration to wholeness. Pour out your healing power, lay on the balm of your love. I will wait in hope and with trust in you, O God. Amen.


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Aligned

Reading: Exodus 33:17-23

Verse 17: “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

Today we continue in the conversation between God and Moses that we began on Monday. Just a quick review – in verses 12-16 Moses seeks for God’s presence to be with him and with the Israelites. Today God responds, saying, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” There are two pieces that drive God’s positive response. First, God is pleased with Moses. Although far from perfect – like us – Moses has sought out and grown in his personal relationship with God. In this process, Moses has revealed himself to God. This is the second reason that God agrees to share God’s presence with Moses and with the people. Who and what Moses is and does is pleasing to God. It opens the door for God to be more present in his life.

Moses next asks for even more of this presence. Presumably Moses is in the “tent of meeting” talking to God. Moses wants more. He wants to see God’s glory. He is asking to see God live and in person. God responds positively again. God will allow Moses to see as much of God as is humanly possible. This response is first because Moses asked and, second, because Moses is pleasing to and known by God.

The first question that comes to mind today is this: Do I want to see God’s glory? And, if so, two more questions: Is my life pleasing to God? And, am I fully known by God? God is all-knowing. So the last question is more a question of whether or not I am revealing myself to God humbly and honestly?

Heart and will aligned with God, may we see God’s glory.

Prayer: Lord God, I say I want to know you and to be known by you. Lord, move me from these easy words to tangible action. Work in me, Holy Spirit, to bring me closer to God, to stand more fully in the divine and holy presence. There, empty me of myself and then fill me up with God’s glorious presence. From there, use me to reflect God’s glory out into the world. Amen.


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God at Work

Reading: Psalm 105:1-6 and 37-45

Verses 5 and 45: “Remember the wonders God has done… that they might keep God’s precepts and observe God’s laws.”

Our passage from Psalm 105 can be quickly summed up in these words from verses 5 and 45. It is about remembering and praising God for all that God has done. In turn, this leads us and strengthens us in our walk of faith. In the Psalm are examples of all that God has done. We too could and should make such a list that details our faith journey.

The psalmist fills the opening verses with responses to God’s work in the lives of the Israelites: “give thanks… make known… sing… tell… glory… rejoice… look… seek.” Each is done or offered with an attitude of gratitude and with thanksgiving filling the heart. These are all ways that we too can offer our praise and thanksgiving to God.

Verses 37-45 (and the rest of the Psalm) are all about remembering the specific actions of God on behalf of the people of God. In our verses today the psalmist celebrates the actions of God during the exodus from slavery. God showed up and showed out again and again. The challenge today is to reflect on your faith life and then to write down a handful of times that God showed up and showed out in your life. It can be a simple list that you write down and then lift up in prayer. It can be on a timeline that you praise your way through. It can be a poem or a song that you put together, read or sung as an act of prayer and praise. Taking the time to be intentional about remembering and thanking God reinforces our faith and it strengthens us to “keep God’s precepts and observe God’s laws.” May it be so!

Prayer: Lord God, fill my heart with gratitude as I remember all that you have done in my life. Each step, each stage – a drawing in deeper into our relationship. Each moment, each season – a place of learning and growth in my faith. Please continue to work in my life, O Lord. And in turn may I serve you in this world. Amen.


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Room to Grow

Reading: Exodus 16:1-5

Verse 3b: “There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted.”

Just 3 days after witnessing the amazing miracle at the Red Sea, the grumbling begins. The first instance is because the water is bitter and they’re thirsty. Through yet another miracle, their thirst is quenched. A short while later, in today’s passage, the grumbling returns. This time they are in the Desert of Sin. I wonder if that is an actual physical place or if it is just a metaphor.

The Israelites are hungry. They are without food in the desert. They grumble to Moses: “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!” Are they longing to live once again under heavy oppression? Do they want to return to slavery? No, no, and no! When there is a want gnawing at us, we too can grumble. Yet the Israelites still say to Moses (and to God), “There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted.” When we look at that shiny new car next to our 2021 model or when we long for the good old days when the pews were full, we too can grumble in ways that don’t really make a lot of sense.

God doesn’t smite us down. God doesn’t say to the Israelites, ‘Fine, then, just go ahead and die out there in the desert.’ Just the opposite! God says, “I will rain down bread from heaven.” It’s not just a morsel. It’s not just enough to tide them over. God rains down bread. It is God’s loving and generous response to the peoples’ grumbling. There are some instructions too – a “test.” God has been faithful. Now that they have been provided for, will they too be faithful? This too is a question that we frequently wrestle with. The Israelites aren’t the only ones with room to grow.

Prayer: Lord God, in my heart of hearts I know that you are faithful. And loving and generous. Yet in my mind, I can go where the Israelites went. Wants and desires can creep in and I find myself grumbling – or complaining. My inner Eeyore rises up – woe is me! In these moments, whisper into my heart how much you love me. With these whispers, lead me back to a place of faith and trust. Amen.


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TBTG

Reading: Romans 11:1-2a: “I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew.”

Rejection. This is something that we can easily do to one another. Human beings can quickly find all sorts of reasons to reject someone: they were mean to me… they lied to me… they didn’t do what they said they’d do… they are not like me… they see things differently than I do… they believe things that I don’t… The list could go on and on. We’ve both rejected others and we’ve felt the sting of rejection. This is an intimate subject.

A couple of the things on the list above (and probably a few more) have created division between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians in Rome. Paul spent all of chapter 10 discussing Israel’s unbelief. Most of the Jews did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. They rejected him. The issue creating the rift and the question that Paul addresses today is this: Has God, in turn, rejected Israel? “In turn” is often why we reject someone – they don’t like me so I don’t like them!

Paul answers the question emphatically: “By no means!” Thanks be to God, right? Thanks be to God because God has every right to ask all those things listed above about you and me. Regularly. Yet rejection does not follow. Paul writes, “God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew.” The key here is “whom God foreknew.” God designed us, knowing we’re imperfect. God created us for relationship with God, knowing we’re prone to sin and failure. Is God “sad” that people reject a relationship with God? For sure! But the door never closes. It is always open. Again we say, thanks be to God.

Prayer: Lord God, I am so grateful for your grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness. Without these I’d have been lost forever years and years ago. Guide my response to be to live and be in this world this way too – seeing everyone as worthy and beloved. Use me as an example of your grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness. Amen.


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The Natural Response

Reading: Psalm 105:1-11

Verse 8: “God remembers the covenant forever, the promise God made, for a thousand generations.”

Photo credit: Rainier Ridao

Psalm 105 calls us to praise God as we remember, recall, and celebrate God’s promises and God’s actions in the past. The psalmist is writing the people of God – to the Israelites – and inviting them to remember all of their great stories of faith. Stories about the parting of the sea or river, stories about the walls coming down, and stories about God’s presence in the hardest of times would be remembered and retold as a means to reassure themselves, to rekindle their faith and trust in God, and to pass these treasures along to the next generation. The natural response would be to praise God.

All of the Israelites stories were based upon the covenants – especially the one given to Abraham. This covenant promised descendants as numerous as the stars (or sand in the beach), the land in and around Canaan, and God’s presence with the people of God. Much of the rest of Psalm 105 speaks of the exodus out of Egypt and the journey to the Promised Land. This epic journey is filled with story after story detailing God’s love, care, provision, and presence. Again, as these stories are told and the covenants are remembered, praise is the natural response offered to God.

We too journey in faith, using our own stories of God’s love, care, provision, and presence to encourage and reassure ourselves. We also connect to and lean into the promises and covenants to continue walking in faith, especially on those hard days. As we recall our stories today, may we praise the Lord. And as we recall the covenants and promises may we raise a joyful song!

Prayer: Lord God, your love and care for your children began in the garden and it has continued right through to this day. Our scriptures are filled with examples and our lives are filled with accountings of your love and care, of your provision and presence. Thank you for being the God who so deeply loves us. All praise and honor to you, almighty God! Amen.