pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: trust


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Full of Belief

When we get to the end of our rope, we often beg or plea for help.  When we feel there is nothing else that we can do, we turn for help.  When life deals us a hand that we cannot make sense of, we beg for a way to make sense of it all.

Jarius comes to Jesus.  He is a ruler in the synagogue.  For him to come to Jesus, he must be desperate.  He falls at Jesus’ feet and begs Jesus to come heal his sick daughter.  On their way to Jarius’ house a desperate, desperate woman turns to Jesus as her last resort and silently begs for healing.  She finds it in the hem of His cloak, in a faith strong enough to believe.

While still on the way, news come that the daughter is dead.  Jesus response to Jarius: “Do not be afraid.  Just believe.”  He is challenging Jarius to go beyond his desperate faith to a faith that is solid.  Jarius has seen the woman healed simply by touching Jesus’ cloak.  He heard Jesus credit the healing to her faith.  So maybe Jarius holds out a speck of hope.

The story ends in a house full of people crying and grieving when they arrive.  Jesus tells them she is only asleep and they laugh.  Upstairs, alone in the room with the parents and  the inner circle of disciples, Jesus calls the girl back from the dead.  She rises and walks around.  She is alive again.  “Just believe.”  Jarius and family must have.  The healed woman must have.  They turned to begging when they had no other choice.

Jesus will be present in our begging too.  When we come to Him with our pleas and supplications, we too will find His presence.  When we go to Jesus full of faith, we will find Him there.  We must be aware that healing may not come.  It is about being with and giving our full faith to Jesus Christ, in both the good and the bad.  It is about growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Scripture reference: Mark 5: 21-43


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So Others May Simply Live

We often struggle with the question of “How much?”  It is a question that goes both ways.  How much do I keep for myself, storing it up in the bank?  How much should I give to the church and other charitable organizations?  It is a fine line that is difficult to define or explain.

Could one pay their bills and give the rest of what one has left away at the end of each month?  I suppose one could but it would cause problems when one needs new tires or when a child hits a growth spurt and needs new clothes.  But on the other extreme one does not need millions in the bank either.  In reality, most of us live between these extremes.

Another reality is that most of us live with much more than we need.  We live in abundance.  We live with an excess of food, cars, televisions, clothes, bedrooms in our homes, and on and on and on.  Can we learn to live with enough so that others may simply live?

To do so requires trust and living in community.  We must trust God and each other.  We need to learn to live relying on God to provide and trusting that others will come along side us when we need them to.  We must learn to live in true community, being sensitive to and responsive to the needs of others in our communities.  We must be OK with saying ‘no’ when it is appropriate or when we have nothing to give but still be willing to offer empathy or to help another to other resources.  May we learn to live with less so that others may simply live.

Scripture reference: 2 Corinthians 8: 7-15


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All in All

When the Israelites ask the prophet Samuel to appoint them a king, they are living fully in the world.  How quickly they have forgotten God’s defeat of Pharaoh and His leadership of them into the Promised Land.  How quickly they have forgotten the leadership of God’s agents – Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Samuel.  They want to be like the rest of the nations around them, so they say, “Give us a king!”

At times I walk a similar path with God as I live fully in the world.  My life does not always fully reflect my pledge that “Jesus is Lord.”  In the little daily struggles it is not always to Jesus that I first turn.  Often I try to rely on myself or turn to others to deal with the day to day issues.  Maybe in the ‘big’ stuff I am a little better.  Maybe just a little though.  It is in the larger crisis that I realize sooner that I am less in control and I tend to turn to Him quicker.  This is especially true when I have hit bottom or feel as if I am at the end of my rope.  Yet Jesus is not who I always turn to.

When I say and claim “Jesus is Lord” my thought process and my heart need to reflect this.  It is just not turning to Him in times of trial either.  It is in choosing to give to another without hesitation and without questioning.  It is to offer the best of my day to Jesus and not what I have left at the end.  It is really about giving Jesus every area and little corner of my life.  May I be willing for Jesus to be by all in all, my everything.  Strengthen me Lord Jesus.  Bend me to Your will.  Make me yours.

Scripture reference: 1 Samuel 8: 4-9


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Decisions, Decisions

Each day a person makes many decisions.  Depending on how you define ‘decision’ it could be thousands.  In the decisions like ‘what to wear today’, most of the time these decisions do not have lifelong implications.  But for some, each day decisions are made that are on this level.  Certainly we all make major decisions at times in life.

Each of us must apply due diligence in making the big decisions – Do I marry?  What college?  Do I pursue that job?  Do I blur the lines?  We must each weigh the positives and negatives and think through our decision in light of who we are.  Sometimes we seek the counsel of trusted friends, mentors, or family members.

When the disciples came to the point of replacing Judas, they thought through what this person must offer and what the requirements for the job ‘apostle’ were.  After this and after searching for a candidate they came down to two qualified men.  They did not then flip a coin or vote on who to select – they went to God in prayer for the final decision.

This pattern of doing what we can and then taking time to seek God’s will and direction should be our standard course of action when we face the big decisions in life.  Sometimes we may even need to involve God when we cannot sort our options out on our own.  God desires good for all who love Him.  Invest in time with God when making life’s big decisions.  Listen for His voice, feel the nudges, trust in Him.

Scripture reference: Acts 1: 21-26


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The Spirit and the Story

We are all called to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him.  Where do I have to go to do this?  What is the cost?  Do I know all I need to know to accomplish this task?  These are probably the three basic questions one asks.

When the risen Jesus sent the disciples out to continue His work, He answered none of these questions.  Many people are called to the task of going forth to another country or city, but most of us are called to be at work right where we are.  By that I do not mean within the walls of our churches but out in the community in which we worship, work, play, and live.

To answer the first question, another question: what is your passion?  It may be among the homeless or it may be among bankers.  It may be at the jail or it may be at the ball park.  The cost.  Financially our God provides.  For example, when one commits to tithe, God faithfully responds by providing for their needs.  There is always money for what is needed after one dedicates the part to God.  We give to others out of love and out of the blessings that God has given us.  When we step out in faith and put our full trust in God, it is good.  He will not fail us.

For the last question, we look to the disciples.  They had the power of the Holy Spirit and the story of their lives.  Each of us also has these two assets in our arsenal.  The Holy Spirit will give us just the right words when we need them.  The Spirit will also lead, guide, protect, and intercede for us.  We all have a faith story.  This story of what Jesus Christ has done in our own lives is where to begin sharing the good news.  Those without need to know why they need Jesus.  Sharing how Jesus makes a difference in our lives is a compelling story.  Go forth, empowered by the Spirit, to share the good news of Jesus with the lost and the least.

Scripture reference: Luke 24: 44-48


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Christ Alone

Television, alcohol, work, Facebook, drugs, internet, books, hobbies, texting, shopping.  The list could go on and on.  Transparency, honesty, vulnerability, commitment, trust, openness.  The list could go on and on.  These two lists are related.  The first list contains some of the ways we try to replace genuine community.  The second list is both our fears of and the reasons to be in an authentic faith community.

Being together in an authentic faith community allows us to feel connection to God and to each other.  In community we can experience hope, love,mercy, forgiveness.  In community our faith comes alive.  From this strength gained in community, we can see the Word of Life alive in our world.

We can see Christ alive in many ways.  We can taste it in the meal lovingly prepared for a family in need.  We can hear it in the laughter of a small child who has found joy in a gift.  We can touch it as we accept the hand extended in friendship or in the hand reaching out for forgiveness.

To be fully alive in Christ and to see Him actively engaged in our world. we must at times et aside the lures and cares of the world to invest both in our personal faith and in the community of faith.  We must be willing to risk ourselves as we enter into genuine community with one another as the body of Christ.  We must be willing at times to give or serve when we really do not feel like it or think it an inconvenience.  But the more we choose to be alive in Christ, the greater our joy and love becomes.  Jesus Christ overcame the world with love.  This too is the path we are called to walk.  Christ alone is the way, the truth, and the life.

Scripture reference: 1 John 1: 1-4


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Suffering and Faith

For many, many years most images of Jesus show his miling and gentle.  Art generally depicted Jesus’ life and rosy and carefree.  But in recent times, we have begun to see a different side of Jesus’ life.  Most notably in the movie “The Passion of the Christ” we saw a suffering Jesus.  Other movies and television shows have allowed the public to see the sacrifice and pain Jesus experienced.

Jesus did have a lot of pain and suffering in his life.  He wept when Lazarus died, he was sorrowful when John the Baptist was killed, shed tears like blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, lamented over the lost children of Israel, and personally endured the pain and suffering of being beaten and crucified.

All of Jesus’ suffering was for us.  Because He experienced these emotions and feelings, Jesus can have empathy for us and can intercede more directly when we suffer trials and pain.  He has walked through these things and can relate to us.

He also suffered to give us an example. Jesus could have chosen to not suffer by calling in angels or exerting power himself.  Instead He gave us the example – be obedient to God, pray through our trials, trust in God’s big plan, lean into His love.

Although no one chooses to suffer, it is often in the trials that our faith grows the most. As we follow Jesus’ example, we learn that we can only make it through some things with God’s help.  Our relationship then grows, deepens, becomes more trusting.  God will carry us through.  We just need to call upon Him and follow Christ’s example.

Scripture reference: Hebrews 5: 5-10


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Our Promises

In many churches the words, “God is good!” draws the response “All the time.”  Then the call, “And all the time,” draws “God is good!”  In our churches we are sure to spread the word that God loves us.  As just one means of responding to God’s vast love for us, we are drawn to give back to God through our churches and their work in the world.

In my denomination we promise to support the church with our “prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness” when we join.  It is much the same in any church for these are the things Christ did when He set us the example of how to live our lives.

I think the list goes from easiest to hardest for most people.  A time of prayer each day or a few prayers here and there is easy to offer up to God.  Being present in church on a regular basis takes a bit more effort but is not really that hard.  Giving back some of the gifts that God has blessed us with is OK for most.  When one begins to speak of tithing it takes a bit more and here is where we begin to see some delineation in what commitment really looks like.  Service requires a higher commitment that basic giving.  It is more that the hour on Sunday morning and often requires some effort to serve.  Here we see more separation.

But that last word – witness – is the most challenging.  It is the promise that takes risk, the one that requires us to really put ourselves out there. It also calls upon us to trust in God and to seek the Spirit’s lead.  His promise is to give us the words we need, when we need them.  When we offer our witness or testimony, God will be fully present with us if we acknowledge our need for Him.  Trust and obey, for God really is good all of the time.

Scripture reference: Psalm 107: 1-3


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Self-Examination

The scriptures read, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven… a time to be silent…” ( Ecclesiastes 3: 1 and 7b). It is in the silence sometimes that we can best hear God.

It is very hard to hear His still, small voice over the ruckus of daily living.  Even when I am all alone in the quiet of the early morning hours and I sit down to pray, the mind races.  I cannot very easily force myself to be still for very long, to allow a space for God to speak.  It is never very long before a thought pops in.

We all desire a deep connection with God.  So, what is it that holds us back?  Part of it in me is the compulsion to do.  There is always the next task to accomplish.  This very thought betrays my lack of trust in God as provider.  Yet it goes deeper than that.

A part of me also fears what I might hear.  By providing enough time and space for God to speak might mean He actually does speak.  Because I really like to be in control of my life, I fear what He might say.  What God might speak into my life may force change, it may challenge me, it may push me into uncomfortable territory, it may cause me to really pour myself into His will.  This is also really a matter of trust.  I pray, Lord God, help me to trust.

When we are open and honest with it, there is much God will reveal.  May this season of Lent be a fruitful season of self-examination for your faith as well.

Scripture reference: Psalm 19: 1-6


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His Response

An Old testament belief and one that persists in some Christians today is the belief that bad things or trials are punishment from God.  It is true that in the Old Testament there was punishment.  The flood is perhaps the greatest example of this.

In the New Testament God is revealed in a different way.  In Jesus we see a new way.  Jesus teaches that a person’s blindness, for example, is not the result of the parent’s sins or even the sins of the person being afflicted.  God does not choose to smite us.

Jesus also reveals that at times, hard choices are required.  He also makes it clear that it is we who have to make the choices.  One example would be the rich young ruler – he would not give up his great wealth to follow Jesus.  It was a hard choice for him, but still his choice to make.

When adversity comes our way or when we face a hard choice, how our faith figures into the situation is paramount.  Often in the trial we become closer to God because in our weakness He is made strong.  When we depend on Him, we find He hears us and draws near and walks with us.

When we face a tough decision, in many of the cases we know what we should do, what God wants us to do.  In some of these cases we still may make a poor choice…  Sometimes though we are unsure.  It is then we need Him most. And His response is the same – He hears us and draws near and walks with us.  Thanks be to God for His faithfulness.

Scripture reference: Psalm 22: 23-25