pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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We’ve Been Given Much

Reading: Luke 11:37-12

Luke 12:33 – “Make for yourselves wallets that don’t wear out — a treasure in heaven that never runs out.”

Photo credit: Tyler Milligan

Today’s reading deals with authentic versus surface commitment to God. And it speaks into the worry and doubt and anxiety that is so common in our world today. These two topics relate to one another.

Our words from chapter 11 address the outward and superficial faith lived out by the Pharisees and legal experts. They tithe their herbs but neglect justice and love. They crave recognition and status. They place huge expectations on others but don’t help them and often get in the way of their faith development. These condemnations create deep resentment towards Jesus. But we must ask: Which would be addressed to the faith lived out by you and me?

Chapter 12 mostly focuses on trusting in God’s love and care instead of getting caught up in worry and fear or in the cares and concerns of the world. Jesus reminds us that God cares for and loves us much more than sparrows, ravens, and lilies. Each of these is provided for. How much more will God provide for us, God’s dearly loved children.

Jesus warns against greed, specifically against hoarding or storing up. These inwardly focused acts draw us away from compassion, empathy, and generosity. We are encouraged to release our “things,” to give to those in need. Doing so, we “make for yourselves wallets that don’t wear out — a treasure in heaven that never runs out.” Nothing can take these eternal things away. Jesus sums up why it is so important to be selfless: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be too.”

Jesus also addresses our spiritual readiness. As servants of God we all have roles to play. We are to be diligent and faithful in how we use all of our resources – time, talents, gifts, wealth… “Much will be demanded from everyone who has been given much.” Friends, we have been abundantly and generously blessed by our God.

Prayer: Lord God, yes, you love us far beyond our understanding. And, yes, you care for us unlike any other. Yet worry and fear and earthly concerns can creep in. We can question you. In these moments, remind us of your truths and promises. Speak these into our hearts, Holy Spirit of God. Amen.


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When We Choose

Reading: Obadiah

Verse 15 – “As you have done, so it will be done to you.”

Obadiah condemns Edom for its attitude and for its behavior. The nation of Edom is proud. It rejoices when its ‘neighbor’ is defeated. They choose to then join in the plundering and violence. Edom kills those who escaped Babylon’s swords and they sell the refugees as slaves. There is much for God to condemn and judge concerning Edom and their choices.

There is a long history between Edom and Judah/Israel. These peoples are descended from Jacob and Esau. In real life there was great tension between these twin brothers. That tension persisted down through time. Perhaps today we’d say there is ‘bad blood’ between these two nations. Today, when one side or the other suffers or falls or experiences some defeat, there is often rejoicing on the other side. When long held animosity and tension lie just beneath the surface, that can flow out and lead to things like Edom did to Judah.

This same reality, this same scenario also scales down. We see it between the police and inner city residents. We see it between gangs who compete to thrive upon people’s weaknesses. We see it between neighbors and family members who refuse to even speak to one another. We see the tension there, just beneath the surface, always there. Then, at times, it rises up, it erupts, it shows its ugliness. Such was the case with Edom when Judah fell to the mighty Babylonians.

God declares to Edom, “As you have done, so it will be done to you.” About 750 years later a relative of God’s would share this same sentiment. He encouraged those who saw each other as less than to choose love over hate, empathy over apathy, compassion over condemnation, welcome instead of exclusion. Funny thing is this: when we choose love, empathy, compassion, welcome, grace, forgiveness… it is also said: “As you have done, so it will be done to you.” May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, it can be hard to choose not to celebrate when a rival loses, to not rejoice when an ‘enemy’ falls. It can even be tempting to join in, to pile on, to release those old, bad feelings. These are the ways of the world. This is not your way. As your children and as your examples in this world, use us to choose the better way, to speak and act and think in ways that reveal your heart for all people. Amen.


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Ever at Work

Reading: Genesis 37:1-4 and 12-28

Verses 3 and 4: “Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons… they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.”

Photo credit: Robert Linder

This week’s Old Testament passage is very challenging. Israel’s family is settled in Canaan and the kids are growing up. There are 12 sons in all. Joseph is Israel’s favorite. In the opening verses we read, “Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons.” This is a difficult dynamic to live with. I’ve heard many older siblings say that the youngest is Mom’s or Dad’s favorite. Usually this isn’t really the case. But because this exists in most families, we can relate to Joseph or to the brothers – depending on which side of this we were on in our families. In today’s story, though, Joseph isn’t the youngest. But he is the one finally born to Rachel, the love of Israel’s life.

As you can probably imagine, this clear favoritism creates some problems. The fancy, multi-colored coat is clear evidence of the favoritism. Joseph’s tendency to tattle frequently only worsens the situation. Add in his dreams about his family bowing down to him and we pretty easily arrive at this: “they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.”

One day Israel thinks it is a good idea to send the tattletale out to check up on his brothers. As they see him coming, they begin to plot. As Joseph struts towards them in that fancy coat, their first thought is to kill him. This anger and hatred gets de-escalated into just tossing him into a dry cistern. In the end the brothers sell him to some merchants passing by. It is a win-win for the brothers. Joseph is gone forever and they have a little money in their pockets.

It is a challenging story because on the surface it does not appear that God is anywhere to be found. Sometimes it feels like that in our lives when we find ourselves in an ugly situation. And yet God is at work. God is always at work. The first challenge then is either to not sink down to a lesser level, as the brothers did, or to recognize our role in the problem, as Joseph failed to do. The second challenge is to keep looking forward and upward when we’ve failed to meet the first challenge. Even in the pit we must believe that God is at work. It is true in Joseph’s story and it will be in our story.

Prayer: Lord God, in those moments when we feel like Joseph or one of the brothers, remind us of your presence. If we’ll allow it, lead and guide us through. If we fail, come back around in love. Bring us through to see how you were at work. Thank you for your faithfulness, O God. Amen.


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Eyes, Heart, Hands and Feet

Reading: Genesis 29:15-30

Verse 27: “Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”

Photo credit: Nick Fewings

As we continue in Genesis, we continue with the story of Jacob, the trickster and deceiver. If this story were just about Jacob perhaps we would feel bad for him because of how Laban tricked and deceived him. But Leah and Rachel are also part of this unfolding story that will continue. This week’s theme is about what is hidden and mixed in. It is about those God moments that we can miss if we’re not paying attention and if we’re not looking past the surface.

In Laban and Jacob’s day, treating women like property was the cultural norm. It was a male-dominated and male-focused world. Just reading verse 27, given above, is enough to paint the picture, to turn our stomachs a bit. But if we just shake our heads and leave the story here, we would be missing what God might want us to consider and ponder. Instead of treating them as property, what if we considered Leah and Rachel as people? In this whole story, how did they feel? How did being treated this way affect them, their relationship with one another, their relationships with Jacob, with Laban, and with God? So much to ponder.

As I think about this, I think about people today who are hidden and mixed in. I think about those in Ukraine, about those in limbo along our southern border, about those caught up in sex trafficking, about those living in poverty on the streets, about those living without hope on our reservations and inner cities. It is dangerous and maybe a little bit uncomfortable when we seek out and think about what can easily be hidden and mixed in. May the Lord indeed give us eyes to see, hearts to feel, hands and feet to move.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for leading me here today, for opening my mind and heart and eyes to the continuing realities in our world. Use me today to see the Leah’s and Rachel’s in our world. Use me today to hear their stories, to be love and grace and hope in action today. May it be so. Amen.


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Past the Surface

Reading: 1st Samuel 16:1-13

Verse 7b: “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

In our first Old Testament reading this week we visit a familiar passage and center in on a well-known verse. Samuel the prophet is sent to anoint the next king of Israel. Samuel the prophet brings God’s word to the people. Like most prophets it is often by offering words of correction and warning. His job is to get wayward people to walk faithfully. His most recent difficult words informed King Saul that he has been rejected by God. He has violated God’s command. He will reign, however, until the next king is ready. Over time people have come to fear seeing Samuel coming. This all is why the city elders tremble as Samuel draws near.

As the time comes to anoint the future king, Samuel sees and thinks as we can be tempted to see and think. First comes Eliab – oldest, strongest, tallest. Surely this is the one! No, God says, “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Son after son passes by Samuel. The oil remains in the horn. In the end the youngest is sent for – the one out tending the sheep. God says to Samuel, “Rise and anoint him. He is the one.” Maybe the least likely from human standards, but the one with the heart to follow God and to lead the people faithfully. The Spirit comes upon David and begins to prepare him to be king one day.

The key verse for today is the lesson we need to learn and to practice over and over. Go past the surface, get down below the shine to know the person’s heart. Hear their story, understand what has shaped and formed them. As we do, we will begin to see where God is working or where God could be at work. As David was, may we too be led by the Spirit.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to see what you see, to perceive as you perceive. Then guide me and use me to build your kingdom by encouraging and empowering others in their walk of faith. Amen.


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Applying the Way of God

Reading: Matthew 5:17-20

Verse 19: “Whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

After beginning the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes and an encouragement to be salt and light, Jesus connects back to the Hebrew scriptures. After painting a picture of what the community of faith should look and be like, Jesus goes back to the roots of the faith. In verses 17 he says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets.” In and of themselves, these are good things. No, Jesus says, “I have come to fulfill them.” He has come to show what it means to really live out the way of God. Next week we will delve into some of what this means as Jesus says again and again, “But I tell you…“

In the second half of today’s reading Jesus addresses the overall application of the Law and prophets. Focusing first on the goal, Jesus says, “Whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” These words connect to the call to be salt and light, to the calls to comfort and make peace, to the calls to hunger and thirst for God and for righteousness. Jesus applied the way of God to all of his life, to all of his relationships, to all that he said and did. Jesus lived a wholeness of faith and he calls his followers to do the same.

The contrast comes in verses 20, where Jesus informs us that our faith must surpass the surface level faith of the religious leaders of his day. They know the Law and prophets and they work hard at checking the boxes they’ve constructed. They just don’t allow the Law and prophets to affect how they live their lives. This is a call to let our light and love show in real and tangible ways, to let our faith impact and change lives, beginning with our own. May this be the faith that we live and breathe.

Prayer: Lord God, lead me today to live a faith that shows, that reveals you, that draws others into your presence. Amen.


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An Intentional Choice

Reading: Psalm 82

Verse 8: “Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all nations are your inheritance.”

Asaph, the psalmist, echoes yesterday’s call of ‘How long?’ The Psalm begins by recognizing that God presides in heaven, giving judgment. Recognizing this truth, the author then offers a great reflective question. If this truth is true, God, then “how long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?” The Israelite understanding that God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked does not seem to be playing out. So God, how long will you allow this?

Continuing on, the psalmist asks God to defend, rescue, uphold, and deliver the weak and fatherless, the poor and oppressed, the needy. He wants God to shed light on those who practice evil, on those who “walk about in darkness.” Speaking to these, to those who think themselves mighty and powerful, Asaph writes, “you will die like mere men.” All face the same fate in the end. Closing, the author seeks this as he writes, “Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all nations are your inheritance.”

Reflecting on the Psalm today one realizes that Asaph could be writing these words today. But could we write this Psalm? Are we aware enough of the marginalized to implore God to action? For many of us, the reality is that we are not. Our lives and our circles of interaction are far from those on the edges of life. Maybe we brush up against it on a mission trip or as we read or hear a news piece. But these usually feel far away. Yet this world exists in our communities. And the weak, the fatherless, the poor, the oppressed, the needy – they live in most of our neighborhoods. May we make an intentional choice to deliver deeper, to look harder, to venture wider, to work beneath the surface in order to truly minister to the margins.

Prayer: Lord God, reveal to me and to our church the margins and edges that exist right here. Impassion us all to really know and really invest in practices that transform lives – and not just others’ lives but our own. Amen.


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Fellowship with the Light

Reading: 1st John 1: 1-5

Verse 3: “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us”.

In his first letter John proclaims the life of Jesus and the eternal life of Jesus. Just as he did in his gospel, John begins our passage today by reminding us that Jesus Christ was present with God at the beginning, in the creation of the world. John goes on to state that he himself has heard, seen, and even touched the physical Jesus. John did so for three years as a follower of Jesus. He was also blessed to see, hear, and touch the resurrected Jesus, “the eternal life”. John shares all of this firsthand evidence to let his readers know that Jesus was really real and that the resurrection really happened.

There is a point to John’s sharing of these facts. In verse three he writes, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us”. John shares his experiences with Jesus so that we too may know Jesus and can have fellowship “with us”. John goes on to define “us” in the next verse. Fellowship is not just with John or with the community of faith, but it is also with God the Father and with Jesus Christ, his Son. Christian fellowship always includes the divine. Without this holy presence we are simply friends gathering for a social function.

Much of the world prefers to function on this surface level – pleasant hellos and how are yous, general acceptance, polite conversations… Deadening all this is the constant noise and buzz of information that we seem to prefer to live amidst. It is refreshing to pause and to feel and hear John’s excitement surrounding his real experience with Jesus Christ. It is inviting. This shines out in verse five where John writes, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all”. There is no noise, no buzz. The light is clear and bright. In the light we can see things as they are. It is easy to understand what we touch and are touched by. In the light, our journey of faith follows a clear path, easily seen as we study and learn about Jesus Christ. It is in this process that we too see, hear, and touch Jesus himself. As knowledge leads to belief, we are increasingly seen, touched by, and heard by Jesus the divine. Our fellowship with him deepens and our joy is ever made more complete. Thanks be to God for our fellowship with the light!

Prayer: Lord of life, continue to draw me into your son Jesus. As I walk each day, help me to see, hear, and touch Jesus both in my times of prayer and study and in my encounters with others in the world. To God be the glory! Amen.


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Draw Others to Him

Reading: John 1: 43-51

Verse 46: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there”?

Philip is sold immediately that Jesus is the one, the Messiah, the Savior. Something about Jesus and something inside Philip connect and he responds to a simple invitation: “Follow me”. Some people come to Jesus this way. In a moment he is what they need or who they find healing or peace or strength or mercy in, and they believe in him. Most of us, however, are more like Nathanael – doubtful, skeptical, questioning. When invited to come to meet this Jesus, he scoffs: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there”? What good could ever come out of that small, insignificant town in Galilee?

People today might not question where Jesus came from, but we do question what he could do for us. What difference could Jesus possibly make in my life? Like Nathanael, we question and we doubt. We scoff. Even some who were raised in the church come to a place of questioning, of doubting. I was raised in the church – Sunday school, worship, confirmation, choir, youth group – the whole nine yards. I knew who Jesus was and I followed on the surface. I followed the parts that I wanted to. In college, I “drifted” even further. Life was just fine sort of being a Christian. Then things were not so good and I found myself seeking the Lord – and he was there. I met Jesus in a way that I hadn’t before. My walk with the Lord began anew.

Nathanael was one without anything false in him. Jesus called him a “true Israelite”. Even though Jesus was not what he expected, and even though he was skeptical, Nathanael went to meet Jesus. He was initially draw by Philip’s testimony. He knew about the Messiah, he had been raised in the “church”. There are many who know about Jesus, even some who have drifted. Today and each day of our lives, may our faith in Jesus Christ draw others to come and see, to meet him in a new way. May we, like Philip, invite others to meet our Jesus so that he can do “greater things” in their lives too.

Prayer: Living God, may your light shine brightly within me, being a light others see and are drawn to. Help me to be invitational, encouraging others to come and meet Jesus, the Savior, the Messiah. Amen.


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To This We Are Called

Reading: 1 Peter 2: 19-25

Verses 20-21: “If you suffer for doing good and you endure it… to this you were called, because Christ suffered for you”.

Peter writes of suffering for the faith to a group of people who knew physical persecution and real oppression. They faced unjust suffering for their faith from both the Jews and the Romans. They also lived as subjects of the Roman overlords, which often brought oppression. Peter encourages them by reminding them that it is commendable to “bear up” for God and faith. As followers of Jesus Christ, the early Christians sought to live out their call to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. These acts of doing good would draw attention to themselves, making them easier targets for persecution and oppression. It would have been easier to lay low, to just gather privately for worship, to just help their fellow Christians, to quietly live their faith. But that was not Jesus’ example. Peter reminds them, “If you suffer for doing good and you endure it… to this you were called, because Christ suffered for you”. Again, it is a call to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

In our part of the world today we do not face the same level of physical persecution and oppression because of our faith. Relatively speaking, we live in a very safe time. Is it even possible to suffer for one’s faith? We can certainly be the hands and feet – feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and imprisoned, clothing the naked… But none of these are likely to draw negative attention. It is usually just the opposite. And, yes, we may suffer slightly, having less ourselves because we have given some away.

In general we tend to stay on the surface levels of poverty and incarceration and the other ills of society. We apply bandaids instead of addressing the deeper roots. Yet if we dig a little in the scriptures, we will find that this is where Jesus operated. He addressed the deeper roots – the Pharisees’ arrogance and pride, the woman’s adulterous lifestyle, the cultural biases against women and Samaritans and…, the spiritual blindness of both individuals and the religious system. To pay a bill so that a family can have heat in the cold is a good thing. To address the poor living conditions that require an extraordinary amount of energy to keep warm is better. To visit the imprisoned is good. To invest in a relationship and to teach them another way to live once they are released is better. When we step deep into the muck, we risk the suffering as we more closely follow Jesus. I believe, if we are truly making a difference, to this we are called.

Prayer: God, to do more than a hand out requires more of me. It calls me into relationship and into true commitment. Lead and guide me on this path, O Lord. Amen.