pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: sin


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Nathans

Sin can so easily slip into our lives.  Sometimes it is ‘small sin’ – unkind thoughts, jealous thoughts, angry thoughts.  We catch ourselves quickly, often wonder where that thought came from, and we seek forgiveness from God in order to mend our relationship with Him.  Maybe we do not check it so soon and the thoughts become words.  Then we must also seek to mend that human relationship with the one we offended or hurt.  In both cases we must look within to find the cause of the sin and work to make that right as well.

Sometimes the temptation is a little bigger and we succumb to it.  The pull is more that we think we can withstand on our own and the draw is greater than our desire to turn to God for help.  We head down a road we know we should not be on, moving forward anyway.  We have all been here before and will probably be there again.  Maybe we did not go as far as David went but we can certainly relate.

Nathan was a true friend to David and he was faithful to God.  He had these two characteristics we all need in those closest to us.  Led by God, Nathan came and spoke truth into David’s life.  He called him out and forced David to look at his sin.  I am positive that David knew he was sinning every step of the way.  We always do too.  David just needed a good friend like Nathan to name it so that he could own it.

Do you have a Nathan or two in your life?  Are you a Nathan to a couple people close to you who you value?  No matter how big or small we each are in the grand scheme of life, we all need to have accountability partners.  I need people willing to say, “John, we need to talk.”  Others need me to do this for them.  It is together that we grow in faith; in community we are each better.  May we each be the iron that sharpens iron.

Scripture reference: 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a


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Human Yet Spirit

One thing we all have together is our humanity.  God created each human being for a greater purpose than simply living out our earthly years.  In the life of every person is also an inner light that comes from our creator.  Working within all of us are also the desires of the flesh.  Paul often writes of this struggle that wages inside every human being.

All of us live within a human body and therefore face human desires.  God and our faith provide us with a framework within which we decide to do or not to do certain things.  Some are good and should be pursued.  Some are harmful and should be avoided.  This same concept is true for the non-believer, except their ‘filter’ is just not at the same place as a Christian’s is.

All of us also have the same inner light that our Creator placed in each us.  As with the things of the flesh, if we acknowledge and ‘feed’ the Spirit within us, then it grows.  If one chooses to ignore it and push it down, life is lived differently as all one has left is this body.  As we feed and allow the Spirit to have  more control of our life, our filter shifts.  What we did not see as sin before we begin to question.  As we grow closer and closer to Christ, we seek His perfectionmore and more.  While we will never attain perfection, others come to notice our faith more and more.   May our light shine so that God maybe glorified and so that others may come to know our Christ.

Scripture reference: Romans 8: 12-13


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Time for the Word

The disciples were sanctified by Jesus.  Through His words and actions the disciples came to know the truth.  They understood the ways of God.  Through sanctification they were marked as holy, set apart from the world.  God seeks to sanctify us as well.  As we grow in closeness to God, we become increasingly separated from the things of this world.  Just as Jesus told the disciples that they do not belong to the world, He tells us the same thing as He lays claim to our lives.

Since we belong to Jesus as His disciples, we know the path we are called to walk in this world. We are called to offer the world radical love, unexpected forgiveness, absolute justice, complete compassion, and sacrificial service.  In short, we are to live out the life that Jesus patterned for us so that all may come to know Him.

There is much beauty and good in the world. God loves the world and all that He created is good.  We can love these aspects of the world too.  But sin did enter the world and Satan continues to operate in the world.  As Jesus claims us and as we continue to grow closer to God, we are called away from greed and wealth, away from violence and corruption, and away from status and power.

In the midst of the world and this culture, how can we be sanctified, set apart for God?  It is God’s Word that sanctifies us.  Time in the Word draws us closer to Him.  Time in the Word builds up our armor and makes us strong so we can resist temptation.  Time in the Word lays out how we are to be in the world but not of it.  We must spend time in the Word of God, for there we too find truth.

Scripture reference: John 17: 17-19


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Power in the Name

Something as simple as a name can have a lot of meaning.  The names of famous people can invoke memories or emotions.  For each of us we also have a list of names that do the same things for us personally.  To others, our name has the same effect.

No name carries the power that the name of Jesus carries.  In today’s story a man finds healing when Peter and John call on the name of Jesus.  When the twelve were originally sent out, it was in the name of Jesus.  Then and after Jesus was resurrected, these ordinary men did many amazing works and miracles in the name of Jesus.

Jesus continues to be the cornerstone today.  He is the gate through which all of us must pass to enter eternal life.  Jesus himself declared that He is the only way to the Father; Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  The Holy Spirit only enters into each of us after we have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Even to this day, Christians all around the world often end their prayers with the phrase “in the name of Jesus.”

A song I learned recently begins with the words “there is power in the name of Jesus” repeated several times.  It is followed by the words “to break every chain”, also repeated several times.  As broken, imperfect creatures, only the name of Jesus saves us.  He is the true cornerstone or foundation upon which our faith stands.  It is only through and in the name of Jesus that we find salvation.  In the personal relationship we each can have with Jesus we find grace, love, forgiveness.  Call on the name of Jesus and allow Him to break every chain.  Call on His name and be redeemed.

Scripture reference: Acts 4: 11-12


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Imperfect Yet Loved

As imperfect people we are prone to sin.  Temptation is around us all day, from the leanings to think unkind thoughts all the way up to the more serious actions we may ponder.  In the mix, pride and rationalization toy with us and society tells us anything is okay, just go for it.  Yet an innate part in all of us also senses when we are about to do something wrong, whether to self or another, and it cautions us.

Even though we can admit to all of this, at times we are still reluctant to admit our sins, to bring our faults out into the light.  Often sin is also seen as a shortcoming or a weakness – things we are unlikely to admit to as well.

But perhaps the biggest thing that holds us back from admitting our sins is the idea that once we confess our sin before God, then it is out there and we are called to repent, to begin to battle that sin in our life, to turn away from it.

In Psalm 51, David writes, “Against you, you only, have I sinned.”  Our sins too are between us and God alone, for He alone can offer the mercy, forgiveness, and cleansing of our soul that we so need.  David goes on to ask God to “create a pure heart within” – something we all need as well.

We are imperfect.  We all sin.  Our God of steadfast love and unending mercy knows this.  When we come with a broken and contrite heart, His love washes over our sin and He renews our spirit.  In turn, may our lips sing His praises!

Scripture reference: Psalm 51: 1-17


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Temples Bought at a Price

Imagine you are making a batch of cookies.  You mix the butter, sugars, and eggs together.  You fold in the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Next you stir in the chocolate chips.  Lastly you add in a cup of mustard.  You then spoon out your dough.  Yes, I know, you are stuck back at the mustard.  Why?  Because it would ruin some perfectly delicious cookies!
Paul remind us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Once we enter into a personal relationship with Christ, the Spirit dwells within us.  In 1st Corinthians 6, Paul is addressing the sexual immorality that has crept into the church there.  It is the mustard that has been added to the mix.  For Christians today, we all struggle with sin.  No one follows the ‘recipe’ that Jesus provided 100% of the time.  We all struggle.  Our vices and temptations may vary, but we all struggle.  Whatever our fancy, these sins add the wrong ingredients to our lives.
Paul also goes on to remind the Corinthians and us that we were all bought with a price.  He calls us to remember the physical and emotional price that Jesus paid for the forgiveness of our sins.  His body and blood were a gift to us all for the redemption of our sins.  Paul wants the Corinthians and us to see our physical connection to Christ and to realize the price paid to keep that connection open.  Once we enter into that relationship, our body is joined to Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  He urges them and us to live to honor that connection.  May we honor God in all we do and say, bringing glory to His name!
Scripture reference: 1 Corinthians 6: 12-20


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Remember and Be Glad

Inherent in our nature as human being is our pull toward sin.  As creatures who can sense pleasure, we are drawn to sin in a variety of ways.  Also inherent in us is the conscious that tells us right from wrong.  Some sin simply occurs – think about the word that slips out when you stub your toe really bad.  But most sin has been mulled over and the consequences weighed.

Present in our world is also God.  God was before the first word was spoken that began the process of creation.  God has been present in every death and in every birth and in every moment in between.  Each and every day of our lives, God has been present in our worlds.

For all of us, God was present in the delivery room in the miracle of our birth.  A short time later most of us were initiated into the family of God as we were baptized.  for most of us, this was a decision made for us, but a decision made nonetheless.  And just like all else with God, He does not force us to continue to choose faith and to walk daily with Him.  He allows us to zig and zag, to wander and to return back.  We are always welcome when we return back home to God.

When we reconnect back to God, we are renewing those vows made for us long ago, but each time as a choice we are making when we return.  We return and accept faith, believing that He will go with us each day forward.  On this “Baptism of the Lord” Sunday, may we too remember our baptism and be glad.

Scripture reference: Mark 1: 4-11


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Celebrate and Share

John the Baptist seemed to be focused in on one thing: repent of your sins.  Many people came to John to confess their sins and to be baptized with water.  But John also had a much bigger picture in mind.  His mission had much more to do with the “why” of people needing to repent.  John knew Jesus was about to change the world forever and he knew people’s hearts had to be right to accept Christ.

It is fitting to find this scripture and its message at the start of Advent.  In Advent we look forward with anticipation as we say, “Jesus is coming!”  The same feeling to need to be prepared for celebrating Christ’s birth is a part of our waiting.  We need to be at our ‘best’ to welcome into the world this newborn King.  He needs to find us ready.

So John’s message to repent calls out to us too.  In this challenging time of year where the world says to buy more, be busier, live it up, celebrate the presents – John says to slow down, focus in on Christ, repent of sin, prepare for the coming gift of Christ.  This gift comes bearing hope, peace, joy, and love.  He comes bringing justice, forgiveness, and inclusion.  May we be in Advent a vessel that is clean and full of all that Christ has to offer.  May we celebrate the gifts of Christ and share them with a world so in need.

Scripture reference: Mark 1: 1-8


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Thank you Jesus!

When you ask a friend or a child to do something, would you rather have them say ‘yes’ and then no do it or would you rather have them say ‘no’ and do it anyway?  Neither is the ideal situation, but which do you prefer?  Does intention or completion matter more?

When we first say ‘yes’ to a personal and intimate relationship with Christ, it does not include any ‘but’ or ‘if’ or ‘when I’ statements.  At first it is just a big ‘YES!’  Soon enough though sin, or at least temptation, rears its ugly head.  Sin is almost a constant presence in our life.  Paul writes beautifully about this struggle in Romans 7.  The sin can be as small as an unkind thought or word or it can range to jealously eyeing your neighbor’s possessions.  In spite of our inner desires to live a life wholly pleasing to God, sin is always nearby.

Bluntly put, we cannot do it on our own.  Thankfully, through His time on the earth, Jesus empathizes with our human condition.  Though Jesus was without sin, in the time on earth He came to see our struggle.  So now, in heaven, He intercedes for us before God.  Without Christ we would be lost.  But thanks be to God for the gift of His Son!!  As constant as the struggle with sin is in our lives, more steady is the presence and love of Christ.  Thank you Jesus!!

Scripture reference: Romans 7: 15-25a


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He Loves Us

Jesus said that if we love Him we will obey His commands.  Do you suppose He meant ALL the time?  Or just some of the time?  We know the answer to this question.  Hard as we might try, we cannot always obey.  Here is where vision runs smack into reality.  But we try.

God must have known this since the time of Adam and Eve’s sin – that mankind will always be a struggle.  Yet His love is so vast that He found a way to always allow us to renew our relationship with Him.  He first sent His Son so that we would know the way, the truth, and the life – as He intended us to live.  Then God allowed His Son to die as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Yes, He loves us.

Yet the story doesn’t end there, good as it is.  Because He remembered that we struggle.  So God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, to lead and guide us.  The advocate brings us back to that way, truth, and life and helps us to share the good news of Jess Christ with others.  Yes indeed!  He loves us.