pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: servant


by Leave a comment

Like Him

Reading: Philippians 2: 5-11

Verses 6-7: “[Jesus] did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant”.

Today’s passage is at once both awesome and humbling, inspiring and challenging. It is awesome and inspiring because the divine chose to become human. Jesus stepped out of heaven and became one of us. This is a deep, awesome display of love. That Jesus would take on flesh and dwell among us is hard to fathom. Then to look at how Jesus lived, that is inspiring. Paul encouraged the Philippians and encourages us to have the same attitude. He writes, “[Jesus] did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant”. Jesus set aside His divinity and lived as a servant. He let go of divine power and grasped the role of a servant instead.

Jesus could have summoned a legion of angels or done a little wham! and bam! and been rid of the Romans, the religious leaders, and the whatever else was inhibiting a fuller understanding of God’s kingdom. He could have placed Himself as the next great king, ruling from Jerusalem like King David used to do. Instead, though, Jesus taught little groups, small crowds, and mostly individuals. He met and ministered to people right where they were at. For some this meant a story or a teaching that called them to a better walk with God. For others Jesus healed them of whatever it was that bound them or kept them from community or relationship with God and others. In all He did and said, Jesus modeled God’s love.

If Jesus were a powerful political king up on a big throne, you and I and most people would think we could never do that. And we would be right. So here is where it gets humbling and challenging. Jesus became one of us. Yes, a perfect and far superior one of us. But in many, many ways Jesus was a common person – a basic human being. This means that we can be like Jesus. We can’t be Jesus, but we can be like Jesus. The divine took on human flesh. This human flesh that we are can take on the divine. We can be Christ-like servants living out God’s love. To understand this is both humbling and challenging.

Jesus became like us so that we could become like Him. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for giving me an example that I can try and live into. I fail often and I don’t always have a servant’s heart. You are divine with a little flesh. I am a lot of flesh reaching for the divine. Please make me more and more like you, Lord Jesus. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Radical Love

Reading: Isaiah 50: 4-9a

Verse 7: “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced”.

The Servant faced scorn and suffering without retaliation or violence because God was with him. The Servant was able to go beyond the abuse as well. To the abuser the Servant willingly offered himself for more abuse. In doing so, the abuser will be led to question their own actions. It is love in the face of hate, giving in the face of taking. Jesus did the same over and over. For Jesus, it was summed up in His encouragements to love our enemies and to offer your other cheek to the one who has just struck you. Jesus also lived this out. At the end, from the cross, Jesus prayed for forgiveness for those who placed Him on the cross. Through God’s presence, Jesus was able to extend love instead of retaliating with hate. Like the Servant, Jesus lived out Isaiah 50:7 – “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced”.

This idea is so counter to what the world teaches and does. It us a radical love that makes the world take notice. In the world, it is not just get even but get ahead. It is done with emphasis to discourage another run at one’s money or status or position or popularity. It is power used to remind the other of who really has the power. It perpetuates the imbalance. But Jesus’ radical love offers even more than the one wants to take. When someone demands the shirt off of your back, Jesus asks us to give them our coat as well. It is a willingness to give more than is demanded.

Isaiah and the example Jesus set are calling us to look for opportunities to show love in unexpected ways. Returning from school one year I was in a drive through at a fast food restaurant. The line was long and moving really, really slow. In the other lane I noticed a woman who was clearly becoming more and more aggravated with the situation. She was pounding the dashboard and the steering wheel. She was yelling at the air in her car. I could feel her exasperation. When I got to the window I paid for her order. It was just a random act of kindness that I hope improved her day just a bit. It was small. But it is what we are called to do – to look for and to respond to others in and with love. May we all be blessed with opportunities to offer Jesus’ radical love today.

Prayer: Lord, grant me eyes to see and a heart to feel. Allow me the words to speak and the hands to serve today. If I find myself suffering, may I trust fully in your presence with me. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Vindicated through Presence

Reading: Isaiah 50: 4-9a

Verses 7-8: “Therefore have I set my face like Flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near”.

Our passage from Isaiah speaks of one who is faithful. He or she finds strength in the word of God, is one who wants to be taught, and has open ears to hear. The faithful one also knows that suffering may come. They will accept the beating, the hair pulling, the mocking and being spat upon. The faithful are willing to suffer for their faith and for their God. This comes from an assurance that because God is with them, “I will not be disgraced”. There is a sure trust and confidence in God.

The faithful have been present for a long, long time. In the Old Testament many a prophet sought to faithfully walk with God, sharing God’s word, warnings, and encouragement with the people. They often faced suffering because of the role they had. In the New Testament Jesus picks up this mantle. After Jesus, many of the disciples assume this role. Down through the ages and even this day faithful disciples continue to seek God with all their hearts while facing suffering because of their faith and the life their faith calls them to.

As we draw nearer, as we remember the last days of Jesus’ life, the focus of the Suffering Servant becomes Jesus Himself. Jesus was always seeking to do the will of God, was always speaking truth into people’s lives, was always willing to engage the other. Because of these practices, Jesus was often criticized, challenged, looked down upon. Yet Jesus always pressed on, fully aware of the role that He had been called to play. He was always humble and full of integrity. He was always loving and honest. He was always forgiving, even to His persecutors. In the end Jesus was beaten and spat upon and ridiculed. Always He trusted in God and the plan. “Therefore have I set my face like Flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near”.

God is near to us as well. The world continues to clash with our faith. It always will. They are built upon two very different kingdoms. As we walk in faith this day, may we walk with a confidence in God: God is here, with us every moment. God will vindicate the faithful. “It is the sovereign Lord who helps me”.

Prayer: Lord of all, walk with me daily, filling me with your presence. May I delve into your holy Word, seeking to know your ways and to discern the path you call me to walk. May I trust in you alone, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Live and Love Like Jesus

Reading: Philippians 3:17-4:1

Verse 17: “Join with others in following my example… live according to the pattern we gave you”.

Paul is writing to the church in Philippi. In our passage today he is encouraging them to keep in mind the eternal prize. In verses 12-14 Paul wrote of “straining toward what is ahead” and “to win the prize” that he has been called “heavenward”. This is the big picture, the end game, of our faith. Yet we also live in the day to day. Leading into our passage for today, Paul writes, “Only let us live up to what we already have obtained”. Let us live daily in a way that reveals our salvation and hope that we have found in Jesus Christ.

From this point Paul jumps off into today’s passage. He opens up with this encouragement: “Join with others in following my example… live according to the pattern we gave you”. Since his encounter with Jesus Christ, Paul has led a life of total devotion to Jesus. Paul has and will endured much suffering and pain for the cause of Christ. This is part of what Paul is calling the Philippians to. Once Paul became a follower of Jesus he dedicated his entire life to helping others know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. There was often opposition to Paul and what he was teaching. During his ministry he was beaten, stoned, arrested, whipped, and shipwrecked. He lived at times in poverty. None of this mattered: he would always continue with the same passion and conviction no matter what was done to him, no matter what he had to endure. Paul was truly a servant of the cross. His call to follow his example is second only to following Jesus’ example.

In the “Disciplines” devotional that I read this morning, the author calls this a “vulnerable love”. This is such an awesome description of the love that Jesus lived out and that Paul imitated. It is a love for Christ and for our brothers and sisters that is so deep that it makes us vulnerable. We love so fully and completely that we open ourselves up to pain and suffering for Christ and for the other. It is how Christ loved.

Paul concludes with the ‘why’ we are called to love in this extravagant way: “Our citizenship is in heaven”. The things of this world that others choose does not matter because “their destiny is destruction”. He goes on to remind the Philippians and us that we “await a Savior from there [heaven]”, one who will “transform our lowly bodies so that we will be like His glorious body”. What a day it will be! Until that day may we live and love like Jesus.

Prayer: Lord may the love I have for you and for my fellow human beings be extravagant, willing, vulnerable, generous, and all else that your love was and is. Amen.


by Leave a comment

God is…

Reading: Psalm 99

Verse 9: “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy”.

The Psalm opens with “The Lord reigns”. God does indeed reign. This is fact for me. Yet some days do not feel like God is fully in control. Some days things happen and I shake my head and wonder how or why in my heart. Sometimes a righteous anger rises up and at other times the tears flow.

The psalmist goes on to write, “The King is almighty, He loves justice – you have established equity”. Yes, God is almighty. There is nothing that God cannot do. Our King loves justice – what is good and right and holy. These too are facts for me. The King also establishes equity. In creating all in His image, in the image of God, we are all brought into the world in the same way: as a beloved child of God. In knitting us all together in our mother’s womb, God say I love you all just the same. Jesus would become God in the flesh, living out this type of equity. He loved all people. To one and all Jesus offered healing – whether spiritual or physical or emotional or all three – to all who came to Him. He did do out of love for all His fellow children of God. Jesus even named love as the most important thing we can do: love God and love neighbor. There were no exceptions for Jesus.

The Psalm also speaks of Moses and Aaron and Samuel. They we’re called by God to lead and guide and teach the people. Many, many, many more were called by God to be prophets, priests, and servants. These folks served God, loving God and the people with all their hearts. Jesus too stands in this line. He was called out of heaven and sent to this earth to lead, guide, and teach. In doing so, Jesus came to all people. His mission was to draw all into a saving relationship based upon love. Leaving, He commissioned His followers to go and do likewise, making disciples of all peoples, for the transformation of the world.

Sometimes things happen and it feels like it is harder to do this than it was yesterday or the day before. Some days we hurt. The Psalm closes with these words: “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy”. Some days we just need to rest in God’s presence. Some days we just need to be in His love, praising and worshipping the Lord for His love for you and me and for all people. Today is such a day. May we rest in God’s love as we worship in His holy and loving presence.

Prayer: Draw me fully into your loving presence today, O God of love. May I feel your love for me and for all people as I abide in that love today. Amen.


by Leave a comment

All the Glory

Reading: Exodus 34: 29-35

Verse 35: “Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord”.

Moses is radiant after being in God’s presence. Whenever Moses is just Moses, he wears a veil to cover up the shine. When Moses returns to God’s presence he lifts the veil and keeps the veil raised when he is sharing the word of God with the people. We read, “Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord”. A veil is an interesting choice. After the people’s first fears are quelled, the Israelites know why Moses glows and they know that being in Moses’ presence will not kill or harm them.

When we spend time in God’s presence it makes us more like God. Who we are inside becomes more holy, more righteous, as we draw closer. As our hearts become more like Jesus’ heart, we should appear different to others. As new creations in Christ, our old selfish ways die off and we become more loving, more caring, more compassionate. Yes, early on in our Christian journey we have some doubts and we question some and maybe we even hold back a little. As our faith matures and as our confidence in who we are as a child of God grows, we are more willing to let Christ’s light and love shine forth. And yet, like Moses, we must be careful too – we cannot become smug or arrogant or condemning. We cannot become holier-than-thou or self-righteous. Perhaps the veil reminded Moses that he was still human, was still prone to sin, was still susceptible to pride and ego and judging others. Perhaps the veil was a physical barrier that reminded Moses to not allow his special relationship with God to become a barrier with all those with a lesser relationship with God. As we grow in our faith we too must be careful not to flaunt our faith or our connection to God, especially when we are walking alongside the lost and those new to the faith.

Moses was one who acted on behalf of God. At times we find ourselves in that role as well. Moses was one in whom God placed authority and power. We too can find ourselves here. Perhaps the veil was a way for Moses to remind himself that this power and authority were not his own – they came from God alone. When God works in and through us, we too should do as Moses did and reflect all the praise and glory to God. It can be easy and can feel good to accept the accolades and the credit, but this will lead to pride and arrogance and eventually to a fall. We must always reflect the praise and glory back to God, walking as a humble servant, knowing all power and authority belong to God alone. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord of Lords, it is wonderful when you are present and when you work through us to help one in need or to draw someone closer to you. Keep me ever humble, always cognizant of my inability to do anything without you. At times, remind me of my weaknesses and failures. In all I do and say and think, may I ever give the glory, praise, and honor to you. Amen.


by 2 Comments

Glorify and Rejoice

Reading: Luke 1: 46-55

Verses 46-47: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”.

After hearing Elizabeth’s Holy Spirit filled blessing of herself and the child in her womb, Mary bursts into song. Elizabeth confirms for Mary an experience that must have been hard to fully comprehend. The visit by the angel Gabriel and the news that God incarnate will be born of her by the Holy Spirit’s power would have all been hard to wrap her mind around. Mary has received super cool, really big news but maybe it feels like it is not really real until someone else knows. Upon arriving in Elizabeth’s home and receiving such a divine blessing, Mary lets her emotions out and she bursts into a beautiful song to God her Savior.

Mary begins with, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”. To her core Mary is filled with praise and rejoicing for God. Mary is both awed that God chose her and she is humbled by it too. Mary knows the significance of her role – “all generations will call me blessed”. Turning a bit theological, Mary acknowledges that God will grant mercy to those that fear Him and will do “mighty deeds” for the faithful. Mary also begins to paint a picture of God’s preference for the poor. She sings of God scattering the proud and of sending the rich away empty. She sings of God lifting the humble and filling the hungry with good things. It is a picture of Jesus’ ministry too. Mary’s Song reflects Jesus’ preference for the lonely, the meek, the outcast, the broken.

Mary’s Song is a beautiful offering to God. It recognizes God’s love for those in need. It reminds us of our call to them in Christ. Her song praises God for the work of His hand in her life. It draws us in to consider God’s work in our lives. Today, may we sing of our love for God, telling the story of what He has done in our lives. May we glorify and rejoice in the Lord our God today!

Prayer: Lord, praise be to you for the work of your hand in the life of this humble servant. Keep my eyes ever fixed on Jesus, the example and perfector of our faith. May I honor you and bring you the glory in all I do and say. Amen.


by 4 Comments

God’s Will

Reading: Hebrews 10: 5-10

Verse 7: “Here I am… I have come to do your will, O God”.

Much of the Old Testament covers the when, what, how, and why of the sacrificial system that atoned for sin. Chapter after chapter details this system. In many ways temple sacrifice was a core element of the Jewish faith. Yet, sprinkled here and there in the Old Testament are verses like the one that Jesus quoted from Psalm 40. When an offering or sacrifice became just a motion they were going through, it displeased God. When the same sacrifice was given over and over because the sin was repeated too, it displeased God. The act of atonement had to include repentance in the heart.

At times I have been guilty of this too. I have asked for forgiveness without a full commitment to repent of that sin. I felt guilty enough to confess but not enough to change. I have gone to church or MYF or men’s group because I was supposed to, had a poor attitude the whole time, and left just as empty as when I came. I have helped my neighbor or the stranger I met not because I wanted to or was led to but because it was my “job”. We have all been there (or close to there).

In verse 7 Jesus quotes Psalm 40, saying, “Here I am… I have come to do your will, O God”. This is reminiscent of Samuel and others who responded faithfully when God called. Samuel and many like him had a heart willing to follow God and His ways. This too was the heart of Jesus. His purpose was to do the will of God. All day, every day. Jesus lived with a heart ever centered on God’s will. It showed in all He did and said. Jesus exemplified obedience and this allowed Him to be God’s love and mercy lived out to the fullest. May we go and be like Jesus, doing God’s will always.

Prayer: Lord, prepare me to be your servant each and every day. Mold me, shape me, refine me to follow Jesus’ way. Help me to become less each day so that my life glorifies you more and more. Amen.


by 5 Comments

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.


by 3 Comments

Love Overflow

Reading: 1st Thessalonians 3: 9-13

Verse 12: “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and everyone else”.

As Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica in our passage today, he is writing to the community of faith. Throughout the Bible, God is about community. In the beginning, God lived in community with Adam and Eve. As the Bible progresses, God’s love story reveals that community is the way we are to live out our faith. Much of our faith continues to be practiced in community. Our sacraments focus on being a part of the community of faith.

Our culture today has a mix of community and individualism. Most of the things we do are done in community – family, school, sports, work. But within these is a sense or valuing of individual success or achievement. We hear things like, “they wouldn’t be the company they are without…” or “they would not be the greatest team ever without…”. In our culture we raise individual success over the group’s or team’s success.

In a way the same can be said of people in the Bible. For example, we could say that without Moses the Israelites would either still be wandering around the desert or they would have returned to Egypt. In the Bible, no individual is more important than Jesus Christ. No one was a better example of obedience to God. No one loved God and neighbor like Jesus did. Yet these individuals were different than the individuals that rise to the pinnacle of their fields today. Moses and other important Biblical leaders, and especially Jesus, were not about self and individual glory. They were about living in relationship with God and with their communities. They were not just leaders, they were humble servant leaders.

Above all, Jesus’ life revolved around love. It is the focus of our key verse today: “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and everyone else”. During the season of Advent, may we spend time each day in the Word and will the Lord our God, growing in love. And may that love overflow to each other and to the stranger that we meet as well. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Dear God, may love be evident in our community of faith – in the ways we worship you and in the ways we love each other. May that love flow out into our homes, into our neighborhoods, into our schools and work places, so that all will know the love of Christ this Advent season. Amen.