pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: spirit


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Rejoice!

How today’s scripture passage conflicts with tomorrow’s candle lighting!  In almost all of our churches we will light the pink candle on what was traditionally called Gaudete Sunday.   In Latin, this word means ‘rejoice.’  We do rejoice often in the Christmas season because we have much to celebrate.  So John’s message of judgment and repentance makes us stop and say, “What?!”

Yet John’s message is very relevant and applicable for us  today, just as it was for the ‘brood of vipers’ that John was addressing.  For us to truly see God in the birth of Jesus, we have to not only repent of our sins, but we must also bear fruit that reveals our changed hearts.  To repent does not mean to simply say “I’m sorry” to God.  It requires us to look deep within ourselves and to ask the hard question: what do I need to change to totally orient myself towards God?  This process of reorientation away from self can be one that is hard, takes work, and requires sacrifice.  Sounds a lot like what John’s cousin did for us!

Once we orient ourselves towards God, then we can truly rejoice because His holy light and love begin to dwell in us and to shine out for all to see.  As we continue to walk in His light and love, Christ joy becomes ever more complete in us and we begin to share it with all we meet.  Then the fruit of the Spirit – things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity – are made known in and through our lives.  This day may we look deep within, repent of all that we find that keeps us turned away from God, and draw closer to God so that His light and love may shine ever brighter.

Scripture reference: Luke 3: 7-9


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Faithful Trust

Love and faith seem to conquer fear.  Isaiah writes, “I will trust and will not be afraid.”  There is an implication here that we can simply choose to not feel fear by placing our trust in God.  If you follow this logic out, we get to a place where fear and faith are almost opposites.  For some, this raises the question: does having fear exhibit a lack of faith?

To me fear is an emotion.  It is our natural reaction to coming upon a snake in the tall grass.  But it is also our concern or worry about having enough money or whether or not we will get into the ‘right’ school.  Like all emotions, we cannot banish fear or worry.  But we can choose what to do with them and how much power we will allow them to have.

In this discussion then, faith is an action or a verb.  When we feel fear or worry we can choose to engage or employ our faith.  Like the Israelites in exile, they could place their trust in God and live this way, or they could allow fear to rule.  In faith we too can choose the saving power and authority of God.

When we choose to be faithful, we can see and experience the Spirit’s power and presence in our lives.  In faith we can face our fears or even the unknown and know that God is our hope, our salvation, our rock.  In belief and with faith, we know that no matter what, God is for us and will remain present to us.  We can live with His promise: fear not, I am with you.

Scripture reference: Isaiah 12: 2-6


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Where Is My Place?

God is omnipotent and omnipresent.  He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and is present everywhere, all of the time.  Psalm 139 reminds us that there is nowhere we can go to hide from God – not depths, heights, darkness, or the far side of the sea.  Yet at times we feel separated from God, at times we feel we can hide from God.  At times we feel distant and ask: “Where is God in my life?”  But the real question is: where is my place in God’s plans for my life?

God has promised to always be with us.  In the decision to become flesh, to dwell amongst us as Jesus Christ, God fulfilled His promise completely.  At birth the divine spark is planted in each of us.  This inner light is our connection to God.  For some who never respond and do not enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, the spark is still there, its light shown in the inherant goodness found in all humanity.  For those who do enter into a relationship with Jesus, that light leads us to become the continuing incarnation of God in the world.  We become a part of God’s redeeming work in the world as we extend His presence in the world, just as the Holy Spirit is God’s active presence in us.

Each day we must ask the question: where is my place in God’s plan for my life today?  Through prayer and through time in the Word we connect to God and seek to actively discern where and to whom God is calling us this day.  It is in His presence that we find where He is active in our life and where God is calling us to be active in our world.  This day may we find the time and space to bow down, to worship God, and to to praise our God and may we bring that out into the world with us.

Scripture reference: Psalm 132: 1-10


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Lead Well

“One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is the light of the morning.”  How true this is!  Over the years, rulers such as these have risen up.  People like Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King, Jr., come to my mind.  Even though they led through some dark and stormy times, they led well because at their core they were men of God.  In their hearts, a healthy fear of God guided their words, actions, and decisions.  As children of God, His light shone out into that darkness again and again casting rays of love, hope, healing, reconciliation, and forgiveness.  They led through their faith.

We too are each called to be leaders.  We may be leaders of businesses, churches, or schools. We may be leaders of social groups, peers, clubs, or teams.  We may be leaders of our families or friends.  Like these great men, we too are called to lead through our faith.  However large or small our sphere of influence, we are called to fill it with God’s light.  Our dark times or tough decisions might not be on the scale of the great men, but they are of equal importance to the people we lead.

In order to lead well, we must look at what all godly leaders do to lead well.  Whether in good or bad, each day we must begin with prayer and time in God’s Word.  The Word is the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path.  Prayer is where we connect to God and seek His will and way for our decisions.  We must also be attuned to the presence of the Holy Spirit.  We are promised that the Spirit will give us all we need.  Lead well today.  Lead well from a place walking hand in hand with God.  Lead well.

Scripture reference: 2 Samuel 23: 1-7


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Walk Where He Leads

In her deep distress and anguish, Hannah prays.  She cries out to God with groans and sighs and the silent moving of her lips.  I can picture her maybe shifting from foot to foot; perhaps her head is bobbing in a steady rhythm as she prays.  Hannah is so lost in her prayer that Eli, the priest, assumes she is drunk.

One can also get lost in God because you are so in love with Him.  King David, filled with the Spirit, danced and sang before the Lord.  Almost as if to some of the horrified onlookers, David said he would become even more undignified than this.  In a huff of embarrassment or disgust, some stormed away.

Although the content of their prayers are on the opposite end of the spectrum, Hannah and David have much in common.  First and foremost is their absolute passion for God and their relationship with Him.  Second, they pour out their hearts in reckless abandon – they do not care one bit what others think – it is just them and God.

On occasion one enters into this space.  Maybe it is during a hymn or song and suddenly tears arr streaming down the cheeks and the heart is filled with the presence of God.  Maybe it is when one steps out for God and offers an act of compassion or mercy for another.  Afterwards, one looks back and thinks, ‘I can’t believe I did that.’

This day may we each encounter God in a special, life-changing way.  Allow God to lead.  Walk where He leads.

Scripture reference: 1 Samuel 1: 9-20


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Into a New Way

The Book of Hebrews seeks to connect the Jews living under the old covenant to the new covenant ushered in by Jesus Christ.  In today’s passage the author explains that the old way of animal sacrifices only cleans that outside of a person but that through the new sacrifice, through the blood of Jesus, we are cleansed on the inside.  We are reminded that we are cleansed so that we can serve the living God.

Throughout Hebrews is this idea of ‘living’.  We are exhorted to have a living faith that is guided by the Spirit and not bound by manmade rules and laws.  Living by the Spirit can feel dangerous and wide-open.  Living by religion can feel safe and known.  But too often ‘religion’ is typified by rigid practices, by entrenched traditions, and by requirements that feel a lot like laws.  Like sheep tightly confined to a pen, religion asks one to go through the motions, to check off the boxes.  Religion becomes little more that Sunday worship and an occassional prayer.

By contrast Hebrews call us out of our old ways of living by religion and into new way of living by faith.  Faith is guided by the Spirit.  The Spirit moves in unexpected and surprising and unknown ways.  For typically neat, in-the-box people, this is scary.  Religion with its known boundaries is safe.  Jesus did not call us to religion, but to faith.

When Jesus sais, “Come, follow me”, He did not say where or how or when.  He simply said, “Come.”  He knew that the Spirit would lead.  May we each step out, take ahold of the hand of the Holy Spirit, and see where Jesus takes us today.

Scripture reference: Hebrews 9: 11-14


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The Faith of a Child

Jesus calls us to accept the kingdom of God like a child.  He warns that if we do not, we will not enter it.  As He has children gathered around Him, Jesus says the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Is Jesus calling us to a basic, immature faith?  I do not think so.  For each of us, our faith starts out smaller than it will be and our faith should grow and develop naturally, as a child does.

Much like a child as he or she grows, our faith also becomes more complex as we come to understand God and our relationship with Him better.   We learn to love more easily.  We learn to forgive quicker.  And we come to understand our ‘responsibilities’ as Christ-followers in deeper and more impactful ways.  The call to serve others as Christ did becomes louder as we better learn to put self aside more and more.  The Spirit’s voice becomes clearer as we are refined and come to see ways we can follow closer and be less prone to temptation and sin.

Our faith must also hold onto some characteristics that were strongest in childhood.  As a child we were often fearless and thought we could do anything.  In faith we are called to step out and to do things we never thought we could.  With this kind of faith we step out where God is leading and trust that He can do all things.  Children also do not understand limits.  If one cookie is good, ten are better.  Such should be our understanding of God’s limitless love.  No matter how much we receive from God, there is always more.  And no matter how much we pour out, there is always more to give away.  May we love without hesitation, knowing that God can do anything.

Scripture reference: Mark 10: 13-16


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Still Seeking Us

God does not expect perfection.  I just don’t think He ever expects us to get there in this lifetime.  Our God is a God of mystery – absolute and unconditional love for creatures who seem bent on sin and who must constantly be reminded of who we are in Him.  God will always love each of us with this amazing love.

Because of this love, God comes to meet us in all the ugliness of life.  He comes to us in our brokenness, in our failures, in our rebellion.  God does not seek out just the holiest of saints, but He seeks out each and every one of us.  That a God who is perfect in every way would seek to be in relationship with you and me is hard to comprehend.

Yet God meets us just right where we are.  His Spirit enters into our hearts and dwells within us.  In the constant battle with our inclination to temptation and sin, the Spirit never gives up, never tires of reminding us of God’s ways.  God sticks with us and continues to offer this divine presence, almost in spite of us.

It does require almost constant effort to keep us on track and on the path that God desires for our lives.  At times we take a great detour.  But it matters not – God is always there, waiting for an audience with us.  His patience must be almost as big as His love.  Each of us is capable of mirroring a glimpse of this great love and, like all good parents, God eagerly awaits those moments when His heart swells with pride and the angels cheer.  Soon enough though, we return to being just ourselves – human in all ways, imperfect in many.  Yet God still loves us.  God is still right there.  It is not about us in any way.  It is simply because of His great love.  For this, thanks be to God.

Scripture reference: 1 Kings 2:10-12 and 3: 3-14


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Giving and Receiving

Faith is meant to be lived out in community.  It is in the wider community of the world that we come to interact with people to share our faith.  Within our churches we also have a community.  It is in the fellowship of believers that we grow and develop in our faith.  It is from this smaller community that we go forth into the world.

Life is about giving and receiving.  In life we will all have situations where we can offer of ourselves to others.  We will also have times when we are in need and others will give to us.  This give and take is what it means to live in community as brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is about being filled and being emptied.

It is often through our relationship with Jesus Christ that we are filled.  He is the bread of life and the living water.  All who come to Him will never be hungry and will never thirst.  At times we need to be filled by Christ.  His table is always open for us to come, to connect with His Spirit, to be filled with His love.  Others in our community of faith can also fill us up and build us up.  This is just one reason community and relationships are so important to our faith.

It is from our community of faith and through our relationship with Jesus that we go forth into the world to answer our call to make disciples of all nations.  This is most often done in small, personal ways.  It is both giving generously of ourselves to meet the needs of another and also graciously welcoming another when they give to us.  Christ must be lived out in all of our relationships so that the light shines into the darkness and overcomes it.  It is in the light that we walk.  It is the light that draws others to Christ.

Scripture reference: John 6: 35


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Obeying Truth

If I were king I would expect my word to be like law.  If I said it was to be so, then I would expect it to be just so.  I assume this is the line of thinking common to kings.

But in today’s story we find that King David’s order is not followed.  There is no “I didn’t know” here because the Bible specifically mentions Joab’s presence when the order was given.  There is no “I had no choice” as the victim was killed while hanging in a tree, trapped and vulnerable.  David weeps over Absalom’s death but there is no record of harsh words or anger at Joab for disobeying orders and killing Absalom.

Perhaps this is because David gave the order from the heart instead of from the head.  It is natural for a father to overlook a son’s sins and even rebellion and to continue to love him in spite of all he has done.  It is not hard for me to imagine doing this myself.

So why did Joab kill Absalom anyway?  It was not for power or revenge – Joab serves David faithfully for the remainder of his reign.  Joab, however, saw the reality and acted upon it.  He knew that if allowed to live, Absalom would always challenge to be king and would remain a thorn in David’s side.  One could even argue that Joab did this for the kingdom.  Joab did what David knew needed to be done.

Although the result has not been death, at one time or another we have done or said what was right instead of ‘obeying orders.’  If you have not, you will one day.  What allows us to discern such a course of action?  The Spirit will guide.  Prayer will bring clarity.  Scripture will reveal truth through the words of the prophets and Jesus.  In short, our faith and our God will bring us discernment.  We just need to seek Him and hear His voice.

Scripture reference: 2 Samuel 18: 15 and 31-33