pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Embrace Your Role

Reading: Luke 1: 76-79

Verse 76: “You will go on before the Lord to prepare a way for Him”.

Zechariah, like every other person living in Israel, was awaiting the coming of the Messiah. The Jews had been living under the thumb of the Romans and the harsh leaders they appointed. They long for a Messiah King to come and set them free.

When I think of bringing people to faith in Jesus Christ, I think we all want to be the closer. We want to be the one that hits the walk-off home run, the one who inks the big deal, the one who prays for the first time with one who has given their life to Christ. But for most of us, wr are the kids that shags the foul balls, the gal who ran off the copies of the big contract, the humble servant who lives a life that simply bears witness to the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

Zechariah had drawn the life time opportunity to go into the inner temple to burn the incense at the altar. When he was in the Holy of Holies the angel of the Lord appeared to him. “You will have a son!” was Gabriel’s message. The faithful and blameless but old and barren couple was to have a child! Clean-up batter is walking to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded. The pitcher throws a curve ball that doesn’t break. The pitch floats in, almost hanging there, right over the heart of the plate. The batter’s eyes get big. Nope Zechariah, not this time. Your boy, John, won’t close the big deal. He will not be the Messiah that you and so many are longing for. He will be the set-up man.

Zechariah embraces this role. He knows the Old Testament story. There has to be a voice calling out in the wilderness. John may not be the One, but his role is still super important. John will be “a prophet of the Most High”. Zechariah prophesies, “You will go on before the Lord to prepare a way for Him”. Read that line again: “You will go on before the Lord to prepare a way for Him”. This too is our role. We too are called to be the humble servant who lives a life that simply bears witness to the love and hope of Jesus Christ. Embrace your role. Live into your role today. That person you encounter today may never meet the Lord Most High if you don’t introduce them today. Help prepare a way for the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, may I be a great set-up man today. May all I meet be inched a little closer to knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior today. May it be so. Amen.


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God My Savior

Reading: Psalm 25: 1-7

Verse 5: “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long”.

Today’s Psalm reminds us that we live in relationship with God. For our part, we trust God, we place our hope in God, we seek God’s love and forgiveness. For God’s part, God protects us, God teaches us, God guides us, God forgives us, and God loves us. One quickly notices that God does more than we do!

How we live in relationship with God reflects this as well. The psalmist writes “I lift my soul” and “in you I trust” and “show me” – indicating a reliance on or need for God. There is also a call for protection from enemies.

In verses 4 and 5 we find the heart of the relationship. These verses express our deep need for God’s instruction. They begin by asking God to show us how to love like God, to treat others as God does, to do as God does. They seek to know God’s paths – the roads to those in need, to those who are lonely, to those who are hurting or broken. Verse 5 sums it up well, asking God to “guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long”. All day long.

The psalmist recognizes God as his Savior. This becomes the focus of verses 6 and 7. The psalmist calls upon God to remember God’s “great love and mercy”. It is with and because of these that the psalmist asks God to “remember not” the sins and rebellious ways that he has practiced. These are also our cries to God. In our struggles with sin, we too beg God to “remember not”. This section closes by asking God to remember us in love, drawn from God’s goodness. This too is a good request for us to make: think of us in love today, O God, poured out from your goodness. Remember not our sins but love us in your great mercy. Thank you God.

Prayer: Lord, I join the psalmist today, asking you to lead and guide me, to show me your ways. May all I do and say honor you and bring you glory. And when I stumble, when I fail, please pour out your mercy and grace and love upon me. Thank you God my Savior. Amen.


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A Woman and a Foreigner

Reading: Ruth 4: 13-16

Verse 15: “For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth”.

Our nice story continues. The woman who left her homeland to be with her mother-in-law has found a husband. Ruth and Naomi, the two widows, have found happiness and security. It gets even better as Ruth gives birth to a son. Naomi is a grandmother!

As the women gather around to gawk at the baby and to celebrate with Naomi, they make a profound statement. They note the blessings that Ruth has been and will continue be to Naomi: “For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth”. This is quite the statement. It is quite an acknowledgement to Ruth. Sons were valued much more than daughters. Sons were labor. Sons got the inheritance. Sons carried on the family name and the family business. Women were clearly seen as inferior. Yet these women recognize Ruth as being better than seven sons!

On top of this gender reversal, Ruth is also a foreigner. In a nation that often prohibited foreign wives and who usually viewed themselves as isolationists, Ruth is viewed as a great blessing. Ruth did not bring with her the religion of her youth but has instead become a part of God’s family. The quality of the person far overshadows the normal tendency against outsiders. As our passage concludes, the story gets even better.

The child Ruth bears is a boy. That is good news. But the best news is the lineage. The boy is Obed. His son will be Jesse. One of Jesse’s sons will be a Shepherd named David. David will become Israel’s greatest king for the longest time. Then, generations later, a forever king will be born. From the line of Ruth, the Savior will be born in the city of David. Ruth’s name will be found in the list of Jesus’ relatives. A woman and a foreigner – imagine that!

Lord, thank you for the awesome example of Ruth. She placed love and devotion to another far above her own wants and desires. Help me to be a humble servant each day, loving you and others more than myself. Amen.


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Close to a Big God

Reading: Mark 10: 35-40

Verse 37: “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory”.

James and John’s request can be heard two ways. Their bold request is generally viewed as over the line when one includes the reaction of the other ten disciples. When James and John say to Jesus, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory”, it can be seen as trying to elevate themselves over the other disciples. James and John have clearly heard that Jesus will soon return to His place beside God in heaven and they want to secure their places too. On the right and left would be two pretty good places. Jesus then asks them if they think they can walk the path that He will walk and they respond affirmatively. Jesus acknowledges that they will walk the path but concedes that it is God who has determined who will sit at the right and left.

Perhaps, though, James and John are not asking for selfish purposes. What if they are asking simply because they have heard Jesus’ plan and have caught His portrayal of heaven? What if they are just asking to go with Jesus when He goes, rather than to remain on earth? Maybe staying close to Jesus is their focus. Maybe Jesus’ answer to them is affirming the desire to remain with Him with a bit of “not yet” added on. Jesus does indicate that James and John will remain faithful and will indeed suffer for their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Whichever was the case, whatever the motivation was that led to the request, James and John wanted to remain close to Jesus, no matter the cost. They were bold enough to ask a big thing of Jesus. May these be the examples we take from our passage today. First, may our primary focus be on remaining close to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Second, may we have a faith big enough to ask bold things of God. James and John were bold for their faith. Let us follow their example as we walk out our journey of faith.

Lord God, help me to always seek your presence, to always be willing to walk closely with you in this life. And when I drift, may the Spirit’s voice be loud and insistent. Open my eyes to see you as you are – almighty, without limit, fully able. May my walk and my faith reflect who and what you are. Amen.


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What a Savior!

Reading: Mark 10: 17-22

Verse 20: “Teacher, all these I have kept since I was a boy”.

In our passage we begin with the young man. He runs up to Jesus and falls on his knees before Him. The young man is eager to see Jesus. He has a question to ask. He runs to Jesus. The young man also looks up to Jesus or at least to His reputation. The young man falls on his knees – a sign of respect and a recognition of authority. And then the young man asks a spiritual, heartfelt question of Jesus. He desires eternal life and wants to know what he must do to gain it. Oh that we would approach Jesus each day like this young man approached Jesus!

Jesus and the young man’s conversation begins with keeping the Law. This was the goal for all devout Jews. Jesus and the disciples were in Judea so we can safely assume this young man was a devout Jew. He answers Jesus’ inquiry well, saying, “Teacher, all these I have kept since I was a boy”. He has followed the rules. From the interactions we see between Jesus and the Pharisees and other religious leaders, following the rules, keeping the Law, was all that mattered. We too like rules. Go to church on Sunday. Receive communion once a month. Sing the songs. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Pay attention during the sermon. Put a little something in the offering plate. See you next Sunday.

Like us, the young man follows the rules, he checks the boxes. But God is not his all in all. Maybe God has most of this young man’s heart, perhaps even 90 or 95% of it. And in spite of his lack of total commitment, verse 21 says, “Jesus looked at him and loved him”. What a Savior! This is the story played out on the cross. Jesus looked at mankind and our proclivity to sin and said, ‘I love you anyway’. Jesus endured the cross, taking all of our sins upon Himself, so that we could continue to run up to Him and kneel before Him. When we do, when we come to our Lord and Savior, and imperfect as we are, Jesus looks upon us and loves us. What a Savior. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Loving Savior, thank you do much for loving me as I am. There is nothing I can do and no one and no thing can separate me from your love. Thank you Lord! Amen.


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To Know Jesus

Reading: Hebrews 2: 5-12

Verse 8: “In putting everything under Him, God left nothing that is not subject to Him”.

The passage for today is about establishing authority. The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 8 to remind the Jews of God’s action with Jesus, “You crowned Him with glory and honor and put everything under His feet”. The writer is drawing upon a sacred and ancient text to connect to Jesus, the one with this authority. He then goes on to the practical application of this reference to Psalm 8, writing, “In putting everything under Him, God left nothing that is not subject to Him”. All of creation is subject to Jesus’ authority. The implication for the Hebrews is that they are under this authority that has been established by God. The same implication applies to us.

In the remainder of verse 8, we get reality. Yes, all are under Jesus’ authority, “yet at present we do not see everything subject to Him”. I’d guess the writer is thinking of folks who know of Jesus but refuse to know Jesus. To know of Jesus and to know Jesus are worlds apart. Some of these folks are Jews who know of Jesus but will not accept that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Some are followers of Jesus Christ, yet in name only or on a very limited basis. This last group appears to be Christians – they come to church on Sunday but live a worldly lifestyle otherwise.

I can recall a time when this was me. Perhaps you can too. As I reflect on this passage, I can remember folks who came alongside me and helped me to really know Jesus as the one that “God put everything under His feet” – including me. With the support and encouragement and presence of some godly men and women, Jesus went from 1/168 to 24/7. He went from Sunday morning Jesus to Lord of my life Jesus. Today, as I consider my journey, I am grateful. I also wonder who I know that is where I was at. I wonder who I can begin to walking alongside, nurturing and mentoring in faith, helping them to know Jesus as Lord and Savior too. My challenge to you is to do the same.

Lord Jesus, to be known by you and to know you brings great joy. To know you as my all in all brings peace and contentment. To walk always in your love brings deep assurance. This day, help me to identify others that I can walk alongside and pour into. May your Spirit lead and guide me in this desire of my heart. Amen.


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When and Where

Reading: Mark 8: 27-30

Verses 29-30: “Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ’. Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about Him”.

Can truth be spoken any time? If we are right, are we free to speak, regardless of the situation? Much like Peter in today’s passage, we want the answer to these questions to be ‘yes’. But from our own experience, we know that just as there is a time and place for everything, there are also times and places not to speak, act…

Our passage today opens with Jesus seeking some information. The initial question leads us to believe that Jesus is curious about the word on the street – who the public says He is. Jesus, of course, knows the answer to the question before He asks it. So He is probably checking in on who His disciples think people think Jesus is. He then turns the question to the disciples, the ones who have spent 24-7 with Jesus for a long stretch of time now. They have witnessed more than the miracles and more than great teachings. They have seen how the real Jesus lives, speaks, and does when away from the crowd, when out of the spotlight. In response to the question, Peter answers, “You are the Christ”. The disciples know Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

This truth feels like something that should be shouted from the rooftops. This truth seems like something that should be proclaimed to all who have ears to hear. But we read, “Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about Him”. Not now. Not yet. Yes, the disciples know the truth. But now is not the time for it to be spoken. Just as 2+2 will always be 4, Jesus will always be the Christ, the Messiah… But for the disciples, in that time and place, the world is not quite ready to hear this truth yet.

We too know this truth. And today we might meet someone who needs to know this truth, but is not ready to hear it today. Perhaps their heart is too hard or maybe the sway of Satan is still too strong. It is hard to always know when the time and place is correct to share the truth of Jesus Christ with another. Yet if we are sensitive to the voice and the nudge of the Holy Spirit, we will know. We will know.

Today, Lord God, make me sensitive to the Holy Spirit, knowing when and where to share Jesus, and knowing when and where to simply be His love and light in our broken world. May it be so. Amen.


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The Rock, My Savior

Reading: Psalm 89: 20-37

Verse 28: “I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail”.

Today’s Psalm speaks to us on many levels. The first level is David’s time as king. The psalmist reviews how David was anointed and how God has brought down David’s enemies. It speaks of how David was faithful to “God, the rock my Savior”. The Psalm reiterates God’s covenant with David, saying, “his throne (will) endure before me like the sun”.

Out of David’s line will come Jesus. His earthly parent hails from Bethlehem, the city of David. There is lineage that passes through David and down to Jesus. In Jesus, David’s line is truly established forever. Through this lens we read these words in the Psalm with a different angle. Verse 26, for example, is read and understood a bit differently: “You are my Father”. This reading speaks of Jesus’ connection to God.

Starting in verse 30 there is a recognition that all who come after David will not be as faithful. Plus an honest reading of David’s life and even his reign as king includes sins of adultery and murder and deceit. Yet even knowing all of this, God again promises that he will not take His love or covenant from David and his line. This is also where we enter into the Psalm and it speaks into our lives on a personal level. As sons and daughters of the line of David, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we too ‘fit’ into this Psalm.

The promise holds for us too. When we forsake God’s ways and when we fail to keep God’s commands, which we surely do, God “will not take my love” from us. Once we profess faith in Jesus and lay claim to our inheritance with Him, we become part of the promise and covenant. God will not “violate my covenant” and will establish us too, as Jesus provides an eternal place for each who know Him as “the rock my Savior”.

Verse 28 reads, “I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail”. Thanks be to God.


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Pentecost People

Reading: Acts 2: 1-11

Verse Four: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit enabled them”.

The holy day of Pentecost has gathered Jews from all over the known world into Jerusalem. Jerusalem is also home to the newly formed church that follows Jesus. God uses a very loud sound, something that sounded “like the blowing of a violent wind”, to bring these God-fearing Jews and Jesus-loving Christians together in one place.

As the Jews hear the sound, they are drawn to find the source of this strange phenomenon. At the same time, the Christians are anointed with what appears to be “tongues of fire” that come to rest on each of them. The fire represents the Holy Spirit. It is a physical sign of a spiritual gift. The Holy Spirit is the gift that Jesus promised in Acts One. With the promise of the gift came a responsibility: “you will be my witnesses”. As the crowd of Jews arrives, the believers “began to speak in tongues as the Spirit enabled them”. The believers are witnessing to their faith in the languages of the crowd that is now arriving. People from all over the world hear the good news of Jesus Christ in their native tongues. They were “utterly amazed”.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we too have been blessed with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and have received the same charge to be witnesses. The same power that the original Pentecost believers had is also in us. The Holy Spirit will help us to speak to the non-believers that are all around us as well. If we are willing to allow the Spirit to be at work in our lives, to lead and guide us, we too will have opportunity to witness to those who do not know Jesus Christ. We may not speak in exotic or foreign languages, but the Holy Spirit will enable us, giving us the words of life that a non-believer needs to hear to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This action of the Holy Spirit is just as amazing as the work done that first Pentecost long ago.

To this day we remain Pentecost people. We are people filled with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. May we faithfully use the gift that God has given each of us to speak words of love and words of hope to our world in need. Holy Spirit, lead us each and every day. Amen.


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Spirit of Truth

Reading: John 16: 4b-15

Verse Thirteen: “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth”.

In a lot of ways, our faith journey is much like the disciples’ faith journeys. At some point we too heard Jesus calling us, saying, “Come, follow me”. Maybe right then, maybe a bit later, we accepted the call. As we began to walk through life with Jesus, we too came to a point of saying, like Peter, “You are the Messiah” and we confessed Jesus as the Lord of our life. Then the journey really began.

In today’s passage, Jesus tells the disciples, those who have been with Him for three years, that He has much to share with them – “more than you can now bear”. This is not the first time that Jesus had to meter out a concept or skills to these men. At times, after teaching to a group or crowd, Jesus would have to explain the teaching to the disciples. In other cases, they take in the words, only to get the meaning later. Such was the case when He spoke of His death and resurrection, for example.

We too experience these things. We can read a Bible passage for the tenth time and suddenly God speaks a new truth to us. The other nine times we read it, those same words were there. We just were not open to or ready for that truth yet. Other times we take in the words and then later, in a different setting, suddenly the meaning springs to life. That voice that speaks to us is the same voice that Jesus promised the disciples in today’s passage. In verse thirteen Jesus says, “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth”. The same Holy Spirit reveals new truths and brings life-giving meaning to us as we read or meditate on scripture.

Jesus also speaks of the Holy Spirit convicting the world of its sin. We still experience this gift of the Spirit of truth in our lives. This is part of the guiding us to live in the truth. The Spirit redirects us when we’ve gone astray, convicts us when we sin and when we miss opportunities, reminds us when we forget, teaches us when we don’t quite get it, and nudges us when we need prompting or a push. I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit in my life. Thanks be to God for this gift of constant presence. Amen.