pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: whose


by Leave a comment

Consider As Loss

Reading: Philippians 3:4b-10

Verse 8: “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.”

As we begin these two days in Philippians 3 we begin with the battle between God’s ways and the ways of the world. Paul begins today’s verses with all list of credentials. This list would place him in the top 1 or 2% of all religious leaders in Israel. It would be like someone today saying they got their undergrad at Stanford, their masters at Yale, their doctorate at Harvard. And, oh ya, they’re the Super Bowl MVP and have won the world chess championship six years running. As Saul, Paul’s life was built around who he was according to titles and worldly standards. In the church world we build a list like this: haven’t missed a Sunday in four years, read my Bible every day for at least an hour, serve on two committees, have been on six mission trips… All places have boxes to check.

Paul turns the corner in verse 7. He begins by saying, “Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.” All those words, all those titles – they were holding him back from really knowing Jesus Christ. In verse 8 he continues, saying, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.” Nothing compares to knowing Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. All these titles, all these credentials, all this box checking – “I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ.” Rubbish!

Paul learned that faith and righteousness come not from titles or credentials or checking off boxes. It’s not about who you are. It is all about whose you are. That’s a difficult transition – from who to whose. All around us we hear that who we are matters. So, in our lives, what titles or other “who we are” things limit our relationship with Jesus Christ? He desires to be our Lord and Savior. What do we need to consider as loss for the sake of gaining Christ?

Prayer: Lord God, help me to look within, to see that which I cling to for my identity, for my worth. Give me the courage to strip away the things that I need to in order to know Jesus Christ my Lord better. Amen.


by Leave a comment

Who and Whose

Reading: Luke 4:1-12

Verses 1-2: “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit… was led by the Spirit into the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”

Photo credit: Mael Gramain

Today and tomorrow we look at the temptation of Jesus found in Luke 4. Fresh off being baptized and anointed by the Holy Spirit, Jesus finds himself being led into the desert, into the wilderness. Rather than celebrating the amazing and powerful experience at the Jordan River by taking that energy and launching his ministry, instead Jesus is led away, alone, to prepare for a ministry that will be and look much different than expected.

When I struggle with temptation, at the core, it is a battle for who and whose I am. When I am drawn towards sin, it is almost always to please that fleshy part of me. Temptation never draws me initially to be more of who God created me to be. The pull is always to the ways and things of the world be they material, social, political, emotional or whatever.

The temptations that Satan or the devil places before Christ are much the same at their root. Be the Messiah that people are looking for Jesus. Wield great power in ways that look good on the surface – feed the hungry, take authority and rule wisely, use the power in miraculous and amazing ways. Use power as force, as intimidation, as warning against questioning your authority, as proof of who you are. Be and act as something you’re not Jesus, because that’s what the world is looking for. How easily we too can fall into this trap.

Jesus does have great power. He could have done all that the devil described without an iota of help from the devil or anyone or anything else. But Jesus knows who and whose he is. The great power of Jesus will be manifest in love and compassion, in mercy and justice, in forgiveness and restoration. At the tipping point in his life, it was this power that Jesus chose. In those moments of choice, may we too choose as Jesus chose, remembering who and whose we are.

Prayer: Lord God, fill me with your love, your compassion, your mercy, your justice, your forgiveness, your restoration. Purge from me the versions of these that I twist, melding them into the world’s selfish version of these things. Keep me on Jesus’ path of humble service. Grow me to be more like him. Amen.