pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Help and Hope (and SO much more!)

Reading: Psalm 146:5-10

Verse 5: “Blessed is he [and she] whose help is the God of Jacob; whose hope is in the Lord our God.”

Psalm 146 is a celebration of who God is and of what God does for those who trust in the Lord. It is a song that reminds us of the deep love of God and of the many ways that this love is applied to our lives. It is primarily about God in our lives here and now. At the end we are also reminded that “God reigns forever.”

In verse 5 we read that we are blessed when God is our helper. It is so true. Life is so much better when we rely on God as our help (instead of trying to rely on self.) When we press into and lean on the hope we find in God, then God is faithful and walks with us, pouring hope into our lives. In the next four verses the psalmist offers a myriad of ways that God is both our help and our hope. In many of these cases it is God who helps us when we cannot help ourselves and it is God who brings us hope when we had none.

In these verses we are reminded that God stands for us and with us when we are oppressed. God feeds us when we are hungry. God frees us when we are imprisoned – whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. God opens our blind eyes when we need guidance or redirection. God lifts us up when we are down. God loves on us. God cares for us and comforts us when we are alone or grieving or hurting. God guards us against the evils of the world. Yes, we have much to celebrate. And, this list is only partial!

The Psalm closes with these words: “The Lord reigns forever… for all generations. Praise the Lord.” Life is seldom perfect. Yet we have so many blessings and so much to be thankful for. Yes, let us praise the Lord!

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for your great love. It amazes me when I think of all the ways that you touch my life. In each way listed in the Psalm and in many other times, you have blessed me. I humbly ask, O God, that you would use me as a conduit of your love. Through my words and actions may others come to know your great love for them. Amen.


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Stand as Hope

Reading: Isaiah 11:6-10

Verse 20: “The root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.”

We began this week with the first half of our Isaiah 11 reading. In that portion we read of how the root of Jesse – Jesus Christ – will be filled with wisdom, power, understanding, and a fear of God. We read that he will rule with justice, righteousness, and faithfulness. Today we conclude with a vision of what his reign of peace will be like.

Once in a while we catch glimpses of this kind of peace. We can see it when teenage siblings who always seem to be fighting in a moment become best friends, laughing and loving deeply. We can catch a glimpse at the end of a soccer match when one man suddenly realized the danger of going home, leading him to tears and anguish. In a moment an opponent embraces a competitor and offers words of encouragement and hope. We catch a glimpse when a small child extends a toy or offers a hug to another child who is having an emotionally hard time.

We see a vision of the time of glorious peace in our reading today. It will be a time when the wolf will lie with the lamb, when none will harm or destroy another. The glimpses we are blessed with will become the constant reality. “The root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.” It will indeed be a glorious day! The glimpses, the vision – these fill us with hope, allowing us to live with hope every day, even and especially in this broken world. May we too stand as a signal, shining hope out into the world.

Prayer: Lord God, what a beautiful vision Isaiah shares. It is a time and place that I long for. Even so, Lord, use me here and now. Fill me with the peace and hope found in Christ alone. Then use me to bring that peace and hope to others. Amen.


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Stand Firm, Hold Fast

Reading: 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-5 and 13-17

Verse 15: “Stand firm and hold onto the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”

The first five verses address some of the false teaching that has been a challenge to the people of faith in Thessalonica. Of focus is the event of Christ’s return. Some are falsely preaching that Christ already returned and that the church there missed it. Others are raising themselves up into the role of the Lord in an attempt to gain a following. While we can be susceptible to being led away from the truth, we tend to struggle today with what the world says is important: success, power, status, popularity, wealth… So verses 13-17 are still very relevant to our lives today as we seek to live faithfully.

In verse 13 Paul thanks God for this group of believers, chosen and saved by “the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and through belief in the truth.” He next attributes the gospel or good news of Jesus Christ as that which drew them to faith. Our personal relationship with Jesus, the ongoing work of the Spirit, the way of life we find through reading and studying the scriptures – these are the foundations that enable us to live faithfully as strangers or foreigners in this world. This is what Paul is encouraging in verse 15 when he writes, “Stand firm and hold onto the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” Continue to walk the walk of faith. Hold fast to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul closes this section with a blessing. He asks for Jesus and God to “encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and work.” May this too be our blessing as we seek to walk in faith.

Prayer: Lord God, give us the will and the courage to stand firm and to hold fast to all we have received from you. Open our hearts to the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit. Open our minds to the words of life that we find in the scriptures. Open our hands and feet to the call of Christ to unconditionally love and humbly serve others just as he did. Amen.


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What We Can

Reading: Habakkuk 2:1-4

Verse 1: “I will stand at my watch… I will look to see what God will say to me.”

Photo credit: Tyler Milligan

Moving into chapter 2 of Habakkuk the prophet has registered his complaint with God: there is much evil in the world and it is destroying the nation. Before pressing on, let us admit that this is a 2,600-year-old complaint that remains relevant today. Habakkuk wants to know what God is going to do about it.

Habakkuk does not ask God like we ask God with most of our prayers and petitions. He doesn’t pray about this and then forget about it until the next time his morning or evening prayer time rolls around. No, he declares, “I will stand at my watch.” Habakkuk will wait faithfully upon the Lord. He will take up his post on the ramparts and will wait patiently for God to answer. In faith and hope and trust he states, “I will look to see what God will say to me.” He is sure that God will answer his complaint.

And God does answer. God says, “Though it linger, wait for him.” It will not be a short wait. But hold onto your faith and hope and trust. Wait patiently. For Habakkuk and his generation, it will be a 600 year wait for the Messiah to come. For those of us reading this response post-resurrection, the wait is almost 2,000 years and counting. We await Christ’s second coming.

The evils that drew Habakkuk’s complaint remain present today. Personifying evil, God says, “See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright.” Even so, God says to wait, to be patient, to keep the faith. Calling for our trust, God says, “The righteous will live faithfully.” Doing what we can to resist evil, to fight for justice, to do good in the world, may we live faithfully day by day, shining light into the darkness of the world.

Prayer: Lord God, while evil abounds in this world, your love is greater. While evil plots destruction and ruin, your love and grace triumphs in good. Use me day by day to bring light into the darkness, offering the healing and wholeness that Jesus brings to those who are lost and hurting and broken. May it be so today and every day. Amen.


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In the Line

Reading: Hebrews 12:1-2

Verse 2: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.”

Hebrews 12 begins with a reminder of the past. First there is this “great cloud of witness” – the unending line of those who have lived out a life of faith, setting for us an example. In the line are those listed in Hebrews 11. Also in the line are folks we knew – parents and grandparents, pastors and Sunday school teachers, friends and neighbors. All of these witnesses provide both hope and encouragement as we journey in faith.

The journey is not always easy. The writer of Hebrews implores us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” Oh how these things can get in the way. The worries and the pleasures of this world, our proclivity to sin – they can easily derail us. Satan is tricky and sneaky and knows every trick. We are called to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” This is not a prescribed course, set in stone. No, it is a way to live.

In verse 2 we are shown this way: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.” Jesus marked out the way to live. He wrote the trail guide with his life. Therefore we are to fix our eyes on Christ. Doing so we too will pick up our cross with joy, knowing that denying self and humbly serving others are steps we walk daily with Jesus. We walk with joy because we know the promise waiting at the end of the walk of faith. The path ends at eternity as we step into God’s glory. With joy may we follow the way of Christ, one day becoming another who stands in the line of witnesses to God’s love, mercy, and grace. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, keep me in the path. Keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. Fill me with a joy that is contagious as I seek to love you with all that I am. May that joy then overflow as I seek to pour that love and joy out into the world. Amen.


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True Peace

Reading: Colossians 3: 15-17

Verse 17: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Paul begins by encouraging us to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” He goes on to remind us that as part of the body of Jesus Christ – as an extension of Jesus himself – “you were called to peace.” This peace, this peace that Jesus sought and practiced, was not an easy or comfortable peace. It is a peace for everyone. D. L. Mayfield describes true peace as “justice for all and a world where everyone flourishes.” When we see our call to peace as part of accomplishing true peace, then we are beginning to see and understand what it means to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

Pursuing this kind of all encompassing true peace will put us in conflict. This may seem odd but it is a natural outcome when so many in our world live for self and to accumulate more and more. These worldly truths fly in the face of justice for all and a world where all people flourish. When we choose to stand for the marginalized and powerless and when we speak for those experiencing injustice or oppression or abuse, we are stepping where Jesus stepped, challenging the status quo. Conflict will come to us too as we stand against the evils of this world.

Seeking true peace for all people is part of our mission to transform this world, making it more like the kingdom of God. I alone cannot change the world. But I can be the change in a few lives. A church alone cannot change the world. But it can be the change in a neighborhood or community. One person at a time, one community at a time, the light and love and peace of Jesus Christ can change the world. As Paul wrote in verse seventeen, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Prayer: Lord God, just one more, just one more, just one more. May that be my way of walking as Jesus Christ’s follower in the world. Bless the church to be change agents, bringers of true peace. Amen.


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Pray, Speak, Stand

Reading: 2nd Samuel 11: 1-5

Verse 2: “One evening David got up… walked around on the roof… saw a woman bathing”.

Photo credit: Joshua Oluwagbemiga

Today we enter one of the uglier stories in the Bible. The story begins with a bad decision and spirals down from there. David decides to stay home when the army goes off to war instead of leading them into battle. But a king can do what a king wants to do. Then one night he can’t sleep. In verse two we read, “One evening David got up… walked around on the roof… saw a woman bathing”. His eyes and heart wander. He spies a very beautiful woman bathing. Lust is born. As the story unfolds one of his servants asks, “Isn’t that Bathsheba… Uriah’s wife”? Hint, hint. But a king can do what a king wants to do. David sends for her and sleeps with her. Forced himself upon her is the much, much more likely reality. David is finished with her and sends her back home. It is an ugly story that ends with an unexpected pregnancy.

On Sunday in church we talked about breaking down walls and about standing with the abused, oppressed, taken advantage of… We would have loved to have been there and to have stood up for Bathsheba. We think we would have stood and shouted, “No more of this ‘But a king can do what a king wants to do’ stuff”! Yet today people with power continue to force their way, to coerce others, to play by their own set of rules. Naming realities helps to break down walls. Sex trafficking and other forms of sexual exploitation are still alive and well. One of the top sex trafficking events in the US will take place just up the road in a couple of weeks. I believe the Sturgis Rally is second only to the Super Bowl. Most of us are appalled by and disgusted by the story of David and Bathsheba. Are we equally so when we recognize that sex trafficking and pornography are huge business in our nation?

Just as those in David’s palace should have stood up for and then cared for Bathsheba, so too must we pray for and speak for and stand with those who are exploited and used by others. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, we peak today at the ugliness of a person in power forcing his way. Hold our eyes and hearts for a few moments; help us to connect to Bathsheba. Then turn our eyes and hearts to the ugly realities of today. Money and power and lust still lead to ugliness today. Guide us all to do what we can – some to pray, some to speak, some to stand with the victims. May your love bring healing to the brokenness of our world and lives. Amen.


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Spirit Touch

Reading: Mark 6: 14-29

Verse 20: “Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a holy and righteous man”.

Photo credit: Sharon McCutcheon

Herod Antipas became king after his father died. Herod “the great” was the ruler when Jesus was born, the one who had all the baby boys killed in a fear-driven attempt to remove potential competition. His son, Herod Antipas is not so violent, not so decisive. Today’s passage begins with this Herod hearing about Jesus. As he was with John the Baptist, he is intrigued with Jesus. And as rumors begin to fly about Jesus, Herod wonders if John the Baptist has returned to haunt him.

The bulk of the passage recounts the beheading of John. Herod had John arrested for speaking out against his marriage to Herodias. This greatly angered her. Given the choice, she would have killed John immediately. But Herod “feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a holy and righteous man”. Herod sensed something in John. In the same way he sensed something about Jesus that night that Jesus was on trial. There too he failed to stand for what he knew was right. There too he allowed the crowd and the opinions of others to lead him to make a decision that he knew was wrong.

When we are intrigued by Jesus instead of sure of our faith, we too can easily be led astray. When we become more concerned with the things of this world than with God’s ways, we too can be drawn away from the things of God. We can be just like Herod. Yet in these moments the Holy Spirit whispers to us, nudges us in the right way, in the holy way. Unlike Herod, we have an ally, a guide, a friend. When put to the test may we open our hearts and minds to the direction of the Holy Spirit, bringing glory to God. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, when the voices of the world howl loudly, when the pressure of peers pushes in, help me to hear the quiet whisper, to feel the gentle nudge. Day by day may there be more of you and less of me. Amen.


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Steadfast and Eternal

Reading: Mark 5: 35-43

Verse 36: “Don’t be afraid; just believe”.

Photo credit: Aron Visuals

Today we again pick up the story of Jairus and his daughter. The woman with the 12-year condition has been healed. It is now almost time to continue on so that Jesus can attend to Jairus’ daughter. But just as Jesus finishes speaking to the woman, men from Jairus’ house arrive to tell him, “Your daughter is dead”. In immediate response, “ignoring what they said”, Jesus says to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe”. We hear of no response or reaction from Jairus. He, Jesus, and Peter, James, and John leave everyone else behind and proceed to the house. Was Jairus still hopeful? Did he still believe in Jesus’ power? Was he just numbly walking along?

Arriving at the house, the mourning is already well under way. Preparations for death had been made. Clearing the house, Jesus takes Jairus and his wife plus Peter, James, and John to the little girl’s room. Taking her hand, Jesus calls her back to life. Immediately the daughter stands up and begins to walk around. Like the woman, she is completely healed, fully restored. Whatever had been killing the girl is totally gone. Jairus’ plea for help and all of the prayers lifted for this girl and her family are answered. Resisting fear and holding onto belief brings life to his little daughter.

The woman is healed. The daughter brought back to life. Does faith always lead to a good outcome? Does resisting fear always hold off grief or the time of trial? No, not always. Life will still happen – illness persists, death is final. Yet God is both of these too – steadfast and eternal. Trusting in God and believing that he is always in control is our strength in the storm. God can do the impossible. May we walk in faith, ever standing upon our steadfast and eternal God.

Prayer: Lord God, you are ever with me in the highs and lows plus all the places in between. May I be as true to you, O Lord. Amen.


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Known by Justice

Reading: Psalm 9: 9-20

Verses 15-16: “The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug… The Lord is known by his justice”.

Photo credit: Kalea Morgan

David begins our passage by declaring the Lord a refuge and stronghold. God is a God of all peoples yet has a heart for those on the edges. This was clearly visible in the life and ministry of Jesus, God in the flesh. Jesus gravitated towards and attracted the marginalized, the outcast, the lost, the least. As a nation we have wandered far from the example set by Jesus.

In verses fifteen and sixteen we read, “The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug… The Lord is known by his justice”. In most “modern” nations individualism and greed have guided our culture and leaders. Finding a humble servant on that stage is rare today. Success and profit margins, status and power, appearances and materialism – all have become woes of our nation. Elevating these values and goals has clearly decreased how we as a society value those without these things. Worse yet, those with see it as their right to exploit, oppress, and manipulate these unjust economic and political dynamics to increase the gap between the haves and have nots.

How would God look upon our land today? “The Lord is known by his justice”. As Christians are we known for our stance against injustice, for our work to end oppression in whatever form it presents itself?

Later in the Psalm David writes, “The needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish”. As God’s people, may we walk alongside those in need; may we walk hand in hand with those being afflicted. May we join the Lord in the healing of the nations.

Prayer: Lord God, open my eyes to the needs and afflictions in my little corner of the world. The work must begin at home. Lead and guide me to stand for justice and equality for all. Amen.