pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: seek


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Choice

Reading: Romans 8: 1-11

Verse Six: The mind of the sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.

Why do people choose to follow Jesus?  Why do some folks choose to worship God and live their lives by what is written in the Bible?  Why do some folks choose a path in life that is hard and narrow instead of walking a road that is wide and easy to meander down?  Why do some people make these choices in deciding to be a Christian?  Why do you?

Choosing to follow Jesus and to live according to His example is a choice.  In many ways, it is a choice that runs against the norm.  By nature we are wired to seek pleasure and to desire to feel good.  Our society ingrains in us the drive to succeed and accomplish and excel – all good things in and of themselves.  Our culture champions messages like ‘just do it’ and ‘of’ it makes you feel good…’  Put all together, the world says to live for self and to just enjoy life to the max.  For some, this is their choice and this is how they live their lives.  Paul writes of these folks: “The mind of the sinful man is death”.

When one chooses to walk the wide and easy way that leads to death, life is fun and exciting and entertaining most of the time.  But soon one realizes there is something missing.  One senses that there is more to life than what they are living.  There is a void.  Philosopher Blaise Pascal described this as the “God-shaped hole in all of us”.  We are created by God in His image.  Therefore, God has a place to fill in our lives.  When we make the choice to fill the hole with God, we are choosing to be whole and complete.  We are making the choice to be a Christian.  Paul also writes of this choice: “The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace”.

We make the choice to follow Christ.  It is through this choice that we find life eternal and peace beyond all human understanding.  Here we find that Jesus is our all in all, our everything.  Thank you Jesus.


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Trust and Sing

Reading: Psalm 13

Verse One: How long, O Lord?  Will you forget me forever?

Our Psalm of complaint opens with quite the line: “How long, O Lord?  Will you forget me forever”?  It is a place we all have been at times in our lives.  In our minds we know that God is always present and that His love never fails, but in our hesrts sometimes we feel like God is absent.  We can relate, in our own monents of trial and/or suffering, to the psalmist’s feeling that God is hiding.  Of course, this is all our own creation.  The Psalm refers to wrestling in our thoughts and this is usually when we think God has been absent – when we were too busy to stop and go to God because we had to solve or fix the ‘problem’.  We are sometimes slow to “let go and let God”.

The psalmist pleads with God to “look on me and answer” as he seeks some resolution or end to his struggles.  It is a point we eventually get to as well.  We finally hit bottom or get to the point of not knowing what else to do and we then turn to God.  We admit that our “enemy” has overcome us and we cry out for God to help us.  At times, this can look like a ‘we is me’ pity party.  Sometimes though, we do try and seek God right away, but it feels as if God is distant.  Mother Teresa called the season in her life when she felt far from God even though she was seeking God the “dark night” of her soul.  It is a very hard place to be, but sometimes we find ourselves here too.

In the end, in the last two verses, the psalmist returns to the faith that has sustained him before.  He recalls trusting in God’s unfailing love and his heart rejoices at the thought of salvation.  Instead of complaint, the psalmist sings to the Lord – “for He has been good to me”.  These too are choices we can make.  May we ever trust in God’s unfailing love and sing our praises to God each dsy, ever remaining close to our God and King.


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Seekers

Reading: John 14: 1-14

Verse 5a – Lord, we don’t know…

Our faith requires some honesty.  Life is much the same.  We must be honest with ourselves and with others if we are to live lives of integrity and character.  We must also be transparent enough that others can know who we are and what we are all about.  At times this requires us to be open and vulnerable.  Philip and Thomas demonstrate all of these qualities in today’s passage.

Jesus is teaching the disciples some last-minute instructions before beginning His journey to the cross.  This “farewell discourse” is full of powerful emotions, moving experiences, and great teaching.  The disciples are like sponges, soaking it all up.  And is often the case, they need a bit more explanation.  Philip and Thomas could have kept quiet and tried to figure it out later.  They could have remained silent and not disrupted the Teacher.  Thankfully they did not remain silent.  Thankfully they were willing to be honest and transparent and vulnerable.  Thankfully they were willing to stop the Teacher and ask a question.  They were probably not the only ones a bit confused.  They were the two honest enough to ask Jesus a question.  Understanding was more important than looking like they understood.

Philip and Thomas were also seekers.  They were hungry for all Jesus had to offer.  Yes, they had been with Jesus for three years, but they still hung on His every word.  Jesus spoke the Words of Life.  Oh that we would live such a faith.  Too often we get comfortable and content and complacent.  Too often we simply go through the motions and fail to experience what God has for us that day in worship or in our Bible study or in our time of prayer.  Oh that we were all like that 96 year old woman, a Christian all her life, who still comes to church and to a Bible study because she seeks to always grow closer to her Jesus.  May we too be seekers always, ever wanting to grow deeper in Christ, ever desiring to know Him more.


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Milk

Reading: 1 Peter 2: 2-3

Verse Two: Like newborn babies, seek pure spiritual milk.

In this short passage, we find an essential of our faith.  At times it often seems newborn babies always want to eat.  Yes, they do sleep for short periods of time and do require moments to get clean diapers, but when awake and clean again they want to eat.  The milk is good and warm and sweet and is pleasing.  Their little growing bodies need the sustenance.  In our faith journey, we should be like the newborn babe.  We should wake up each day craving and hungry for the Word of God.  It should be something we continually pursue so that our little growing faith can continue to develop.

A mother’s milk is good and warm and sweet and pleasing.  It is also just what the baby needs to grow well.  It is pure and contains the nutrients as well as other things that help spur their growth and improve their health.  After day two of life the baby does not begin to look for something else to sustain and nourish it.  The baby instinctively returns to its loving mother.  The Bible and the words contained therein are our pure milk.  We are to come​ to it day after day to grow in our knowledge of God.  Like a mother’s milk, the Word tastes good and warm and sweet and is pleasing.  It provides what we need to nourish our faith.  In this sense, it helps us to grow as believers.  The Word also strengthens us and encourages us in times of trial and distress.  The Word is our “pure spiritual milk”.

A good mother knows the baby must continue to drink pure milk to grow and mature.  Our Father knows the same is true for us concerning our time with the Word.  Both our earthly mothers and our heavenly Father give to us out of love.  Both nurture us along so that we can grow and develop and come to be all we were created to be.  For both our earthly mothers and our heavenly Father, we are grateful.


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God’s Plan

Reading: 1 Samuel 16: 1-5

1 Samuel 16:4 – Samuel did what the Lord said.

As a prophet of God, at times Samuel has brought words that were tough for the person or people to hear.  The results of Samuel’s words are not often positive.  The Holy Spirit works much the same way in our lives.  When we sin the Spirit quickly convicts us and forces a change in us.  When the elders of Bethlehem see Samuel approaching, they are cautious and guarded.  They are straight forward in the conversation: “Do you come in peace?” is their opening line with Samuel.  ‘Yes and no’ would be the honest answer.

King Saul is not happy with Samuel.  Samuel has very recently told Saul that God has rejected him as king.  Initially, when God tells Samuel to go to Bethlehem, Samuel is fearful.  So too are the elders.  What might Samuel be doing in their town?  Will Saul punish them for having Samuel there?  Or worse?  At times we too are put to the test.  At times our faith leads us to follow God’s will into places and situations that bring up fear or doubt or that may have a cost to us.  Doing what is right or speaking the truth sometimes creates conflict or ruffles feathers.

God has a plan.  He answers Samuel’s fears and Samuel heads off to do God’s work.  Samuel voiced his concern to God and God responded.  This is what we are called to do as well.  God desires an open and honest relationship with us too.  So when we feel doubt or fear or lack of trust, we need to bring this to God.  When we are unsure of where to go or of how to proceed, we need to go to God in prayer, to seek God’s plan.  Like Samuel, God will lead us past our fear, our doubt, our concerns.  Like Samuel, we must call on God alone and we must fully rely on God’s plan, knowing that God is in control of all things and that God has good plans for us.

“Samuel did what the Lord said”.  May we follow Samuel’s example.


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Whole Heart

Reading: Psalm 119: 1-8

The ‘heart’ is mentioned a couple of times in the opening stanza to Psalm 119.  For the psalmist and for the people of Israel, the heart was what guided life.  For them, the heart contained all emotions, all thought, all intellect, all desires…  All of who one was and ever would be was thought to be in their heart.  When one reads this passage, with its emphasis on the heart, it expands our understanding of what it means to “seek Him with all of our heart”.  For the Israelites and for us, it means pursuing God with all you’ve got.

This passage emphasizes blessings when we learn to live according to God’s laws.  There is this idea of first learning God’s ways, precepts, and decrees.  Then the writer uses the word ‘obey’ several times.  This is because it is one thing to know the law and a whole other thing to obey it.  But this is not a rote process like memorizing state capitals for a test.  It is not boring or forced learning.  The psalmist writes, “I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws”.  There is joy and happiness in praise.

When we seek God with our whole hearts, obeying His ways as we live, then we find peace, contentment, assurance, and joy.  It is when we seek God and find these qualities defining our lives, it is then that we are truly blessed.  Living according to God’s ways and allowing God to be at the center of who we are – in our heart – transforms us into who God created us to be.  Living in God’s image and following Christ’s example brings a peace and joy in our lives that not only blesses us but also blesses those in our lives.

May we seek God with all of our heart, living lives overflowing with the blessings of our loving Father.  In this way, we live as light and love in the world.  Thanks be to God for this gift.


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Heaven Is Near

Reading: Matthew 4: 12-23

Isaiah declared “a light has dawned” in a prophecy he wrote hundreds of years before Jesus lived.  It has been read and looked for ever since.  Matthew proclaims the prophecy fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.  The light of Christ that began to shine about two thousand years ago continues to shine to this day and will shine forever.  The light of Christ dispels darkness, reveals our sins, and guides our way.  The light also brings warmth and love to our days and healing and hope to our hearts.

Jesus declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”.  In the light there can be no darkness, so we must repent.  The kingdom is here, so we must repent , we must change our sinful ways, we must walk as a child of the light.

To repent can be difficult.  To repent can be hard.  To repent can be work.  When we choose to repent, we can be in for a long battle.  Part of repentance means looking deep within ourselves and truly seeing who we are.  Part is also learning to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit that brings conviction when we are tempted and when we sin.  Part of repentance is being in the Word, so we fully understand what the call to be a Christian entails and expects of us.  We are blessed when we repent.  The blessings of repentance are a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ and a better version of ourselves.  When we repent and change our ways, we are being transformed and are becoming more like Christ.

Christ calls us to repentance, but He does not stop there.  His call is also an invitation to walk with Him.  He calls us to repent of our greed, our lust, our judging… and offers us peace, contentment, joy through our relationship with Him. The great healer will take our greed and replace it with generosity.  Our lust will be overcome with love of God and love of neighbor.  Jesus will transform our need to judge into a need to offer understanding, compassion, and justice.  It does not stop with these few things.  Jesus desires to transform all of us to be just like all of Him.

This day, may we search within and repent of all that is dark, seeking to walk fully in the light of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.


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Seek God’s Face

Reading: Psalm 27: 1 and 4-9

The emotions we find in the Psalm range from great confidence in God as light and salvation to times struggling with enemies and days of trouble.  The psalmist often repeats the practice of seeking, of finding refuge in God, of seeking God’s face.  There is a relationship with God that remains central in his life no matter what life brings, good or bad.

There is hope for us in the example set by the psalmist.  We too will have good days and bad, days of walking closely with God and days where we are distant from our God.  We can go from the high of worship or an especially moving faith discussion to a busyness of our week that somehow steals away our time with God.  We can allow our day to day worries and concerns to capture all of our attention and focus, and suddenly our faith is adrift.

Let us look to the example of the psalmist.  He constantly comes to God, whether rejoicing in who God is or whether seeking God’s protection.  In the Psalm we find honesty and openness – God can and wants to be in a full relationship with us – not a partial or occasional relationship.  Whether bringing our joys or our concerns, God wants to hear them.  Whether offering our praise and thanksgiving or whether struggling with our doubts and fears, God wants to hear them.

In all things and in all ways, may we seek God’s face.  May we each allow God to be our light in the darkness, our comforter in our pain, our protector in our doubts and fears, and our salvation in this life.  Verse eight reads, “Your face, Lord, I will seek”.  May we seek the Lord our God today!


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Glory and Strength

Reading: Psalm 29

The voice of God is everywhere.  It is both powerful and majestic.  We can recognize it in the loud thunder, in the forceful winds, and in the shaking of the lightning.  In the storms of life, it can be harder to hear God’s voice.  Yet God is everywhere.  It can be hard to hear God’s voice amidst the raging, but God is there.  God never leaves us.  Verse three reads, “the voice of the Lord is over the waters”.  If we tune into the rhythmic falling rain or the steadily moving waters, we can discern the voice of our God who “gives strength to His people: the Lord who blesses His people with peace”.  In the storm, if we can tune in and seek God’s voice, God is there.

It can be so hard to only see the chaos swirling around us in a storm or trial.  It can be hard to focus on anything other than the chaos.  But God is not in the chaos.  In times of chaos, it can help to go simple.  Taking a couple moments to utter a simple prayer over and over can be very powerful.  It can bring the peace and blessing promised in the Psalm.  One can use the Psalm, praying “O Lord” as you slowly breathe in and praying “give me strength” as you slowly breathe out.  Or one can pray “Lord God” and then “bless me with peace” as one breathes slowly in and out.  The short breathed prayer can also be specific to the need or trial at hand.  In those times of need, taking a few minutes to pray over and over as we breathe in and out certainly invites God in and provides fertile ground for the promised strength and peace to take root.

Simple prayers that invite God into our lives are powerful and effective.  They remind us of the power and majesty of our Lord.  The Psalm opens with the line, “ascribe the Lord glory and strength”.  In our times of trial and need, may we seek the Lord our God, trusting in God’s glory and strength.


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Repent, Prepare

Reading: Matthew 3: 1-4

John the Baptist went out and began preaching in the desert.  He did not set up shop in the temple, but out in the wilderness along the Jordan River.  In spite of his location, John drew droves of people with his message, “repent, the kingdom of heaven is near”.  They came to hear John’s message, to repent of their sins, and to be baptized in the water.  People were drawn to the message of hope and new life.  They were eager for this, even willing to change.  John proclaimed, “prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him”.  John told people they had a role to play.  To receive this kingdom gift, one’s heart must be prepared and ready – we must walk a straight path.

In three weeks many will come seeking.  Many will come to worship services all around the world, seeking to be touched by this same kingdom gift, seeking the hope and new life offered by the babe in the manger.  They come because they sense that the kingdom of God draws especially near in this night.  Just as in John’s day, people are still drawn to the powerful love of God, still drawn to the possibilities of hope and new life.  This is the gift offered by the baby on Christmas Eve.

Are we ourselves prepared to receive the Christ child?  Are we ourselves ready to help others come into God’s presence on this night of celebrating the birth?  Advent, just like Lent, is a time of preparation.  It is a time when we too must live by John’s words: “repent, the kingdom of God is near”.  It is a time when we too must choose to walk a straight path so that we are ready to welcome the Lord Jesus into our own hearts again.  May we hear the voice calling and may we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ child and all who come seeking His gifts of hope and new life.