pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: transform


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Step Out

Reading: Acts 16: 9-12

When was the last time you felt God calling you to do something or when you felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit?  Depending on how in tune we are to our relationship with God, the guidance and nudges and whispers can come frequently.  These connections are like everything else in our lives: the more we try and allow ourselves to hear and sense God, the better we become at sensing and hearing His presence and guidance in our lives.

In the text today, Paul has a vision calling him to a new place of ministry.  He had been struggling with where to go next so this vision would have been like an answer to prayer.  For Paul the call was clear as day.  They get up in the morning, pack up, and head out for Macedonia.  New place, new people, new challenges.  Lots of unknowns.  Paul did not hesitate.  As one deeply in tune with God and the Spirit, God spoke and Paul went.

God sometimes calls us in a similar way.  He puts a call upon our heart and we feel the tugs to respond.  Or maybe it comes in an almost audible whisper from the Holy Spirit or in a nudge we can almost physically feel.  There is no denying that we all sense, feel, hear God’s calling and leading.  And there is no denying that at times we ignore, dismiss, … this call and leading.  We allow the fears, doubts, and unknowns to keep us in our safe, comfortable, easy place.  Step out.  We need to step out in faith and with the confidence that God goes before and that the Spirit walks alongside us.

We were each created to be used by God.  Each of us was created with our own gifts and talents for a purpose.  As we allow God and the Spirit to move in our lives, we are freed to experience and share the amazing power of God transforming our lives and the lives of those around us.  Step out and step into God’s plan for your life.


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Cloud of Witness

Peter, James, and John experience something amazing as Jesus, in transformed state, stands and talks with Moses and Elijah.  For these onlookers, they would have readily identified with the two guests.  Moses and Elijah are two of the great icons of the Hebrew faith.  Peter, James, and John would have grown up listening to stories of how  Moses led the people out of slavery and of how Elijah spoke out boldly.  Both men were (and are) shining examples of how God works through the faithful.

And just when it doesn’t seem like it could get any better, Peter, James, and John are enveloped by a cloud.  Within the cloud is God’s presence.  The three disciples hear God speak as He claims Jesus as His Son and then instructs them to listen to Jesus.  How could the day get any better?!

Perhaps the writer of Hebrews used this story for inspiration as they coined the phrase, ” great cloud of witness”.   In the words of God, spoken from the cloud, we certainly hear Him witness to who Jesus is.  In a similar way, Moses and Elijah are two men who witnessed to their faith in great ways.  Their faith certainly led to eternity in God’s presence up in the heavens.

The idea of a great cloud of witness ties in the faithful since the beginning to the faithful today.  The example and witness of all who have gone before guides us today.  In many ways, their story becomes part of our story.  It is all part of a great legacy.

So the question for us today is this: are we living out our faith and witnessing to others in such a way that we one day will become part of this great cloud of witness?  Ponder it.  Wrestle with the question.  May we each live our faith out in ways that witness to Christ and that builds His kingdom here on earth.

Scripture reference:  Luke 9: 28-34


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Right There for Us

Paul is so thankful for the relationship he has with the Philippians.  It is a mutually beneficial relationship.  The Philippians pray for and support Paul and are coworkers of his in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.  Paul pours his love and knowledge of God nto the Philippains to help them grow in their faith.

Some messengers, like Malachi and John the Baptist, bring a message of change and challenge.  They call for the people to repent of their sins and to be transformed into th epeson God is calling them to be.  Paul’s message, on the other hand, is all about God’s love.

In our world today I think we need both kinds of messengers.  We need to hear the tough love message at times.  We are prone to wander and pron to sin.  Sometimes we need those harsh but true words.  At other times we need to be reminded of God’s absolute and pure love for us.  We need to hear that this love is not dependant on us or on our actions.  God just loves us.

When we are willing to take that hard look in the mirror, God is ready to transform our lives.  And when we cannot bear to look in the mirror because our sin is heavy upon us, God’s love is right there for us, undeserving as we may be.  For both of these things, we say thanks be to God.

Scripture reference: Philippians 1: 3-8


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Transform and Lead

John came to prepare the way for the Lord.  In the desert he preached a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”  He came to bring a message that would transform people’s hearts and make them ready for Jesus.

The radical changes to the earth that Isaiah wrote about and Luke quotes are very dramatic – valleys are filled in, mountains laid low, and crooked paths made straight.  Powerful things that only God could do.  But John called for and calls today for us to undertake such radical transformations in our lives as well.

As we seek to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ this Advent season, what valleys or low spots in or lives do we need God to lift us out of?  What mountains or pedestals do we need to step down off of to allow humility in and God to be the one lifted up high?  What crooked paths do we sometimes walk that we need the Holy Spirit to turn us from and to walk alongside us on the narrow path?

We anticipate a time of celebration as we remember Christ’s birth.  We also need to be transformed by and made right with God.  May we allow God to transform us and to lead us in a life that knows His saving grace.  May we prepare Him room in our hearts.

Scripture reference: Luke 3: 3-6


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A Love to Share

Our minds are capable of learning many things.  In school and in church we are taught a lot.  While in school we aretaught what is factually correct, in church we learn about what is true: Jesus.

In repsonse to Pilate’s questions about what truth is, Jesus responds, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  In His answer Jesus implies that there is a relationship or connection between people who know the truth and Jesus himself.  In order to know the truth, we must listen to Jesus and come to know Him.

We listen and learn by being in contact with the teacher.  Through the written Word of the Bible, through the Word spoken in church, through time in prayer, and through fasting we seek to learn about and grow in Jesus.  Our learning and connection to Jesus is in direct proportion to the effort we choose to put in and to the amount of time we spend with Him.  For example, if all we are willing to give is one hour on Sunday morning then our connection and understanding is less than it could be.  On the other hand, if we also choose to spend time in the Word and prayer each day, what we know as truth will be greater.

As we come to know Jesus more and more, what the truth is becomes clearer and clearer.  As we grow in our love of God, it start to spill out into love of all of God’s children.  This love we share with Jesus becomes a love we share with all we meet.  As we grow into Jesus, our lives are transformed by His truth.  Jesus seeks to transform us so that we become His love poured out daily to all we meet.  This day may His love radiate from us and through us in all we do and may it flow out to all we meet.

Scripture reference: John 18: 33-38