pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: work


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Kind, Generous, Serving

Reading: Genesis 24:42-49

Verse 42: “Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come.”

Photo credit: Ditto Bowo

In today’s portion of Genesis 24 the servant of Abraham lifts a prayer to the Lord. It is a prayer for the mission that he is on. Before he can say “Amen” a young woman appears. She is God’s answer to his prayer. She graciously gives him a drink and generously waters the camels. Rebekah would’ve had to make many trips to water the 10 camels. Can you imagine the thoughts that went through his mind and heart as he watched?

As they talk he learns of the family connection, further assuring him that she is God’s answer to his prayer. He offers gifts of jewelry, an invitation to a relationship. The servant praises God for this answer to prayer. This is something we’ve experienced and done too. God has answered our prayer and we express gratitude. Rebekah is God’s answer to prayer. The question for us to ponder now is this: When are we a Rebekah to others?

Sometimes we know the answer to this question and sometimes we do not. Some of the time we are clearly the answer to someone’s prayer. They tell us so with their words and/or with their actions. They are grateful and thankful. When we are kind or generous or serving others, we might be an answer to someone’s prayer. More often than not, we do not know our impact on others. God just works in and through us, accomplishing God’s plans and purposes. May we choose to have a spirit of kindness, generosity, and service each day, allowing God many opportunities to work in and through us.

Prayer: Lord God, use me as love poured out and made real today. In all things and with all people may I be generous and kind and compassionate. Use me today as a means for others to experience your love and provision. Amen.


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Sit Faithfully

Reading: Genesis 21:19-21

Verse 19: “Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.”

Picking up again in Genesis 21, God acts on behalf of Hagar and Ishmael, making good on the promise given in verse 18. God opens her eyes to the provision of water. God blesses Ishmael with a skill to live in the desert and then leads Hagar to find him a wife, the next step in becoming a “great nation.”

We all find ourselves in the desert at times – fear rising up, feelings of loneliness and helplessness close behind. We too cry out to God. Our prayers are heard just like Hagar’s were heard. And God provided a way when there seems like there is no way. For Hagar and Ishmael the way was through and in their desert experience. With little or maybe no choice they walked forward into God’s good plans for their lives. Here is where we often struggle. Most of us are not slave girl single parents with no resources.

The abundance and blessings of our lives can get in the way of how God wants to open our eyes and of seeing how God is making a way. We just want to get out of the desert. We want the pain or grief removed. We want light to shine into our darkness. So we marshall our resources and head off on our own way. When God wants us to stay put in that desert place a bit longer, we try and make a way out. It is hard to trust God in these moments. Yet it is there that we likely will see the hand of God at work.

May we learn to sit faithfully in these places, assured that God is with us and is working for our good, confident in God’s love and care for us.

Prayer: Lord God, guide me to walk faithfully, to trust in your good plans for me, especially in those hard moments and places. When tried and true faith is needed, may I lean deeply into you. Amen.


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Love Creation

Reading: Psalm 8

Verse 4: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

Photo credit: Falaq Lazuardi

Psalm 8 is a song of praise that calls us to praise God. It begins and ends with the refrain, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” In between these bookends David recognizes both the amazing creation all around us and the connection that we have to that creation.

David identifies God’s handiwork in the heavens – “the work of your fingers.” Staring up on a clear night, taking in the cast array of stars each known by name, one is awestruck, moved, amazed. This is just one way that we can and do connect to God through creation. It can also come in the intricacy of a spider web or in the beauty of a flower or waterfall or in the power of a thunderstorm or… God is present in so many ways in the creation.

Then, in verse 4, David asks an awesome question: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” This question makes me pause. It brings to mind both times when I have been 1 in a crowd of a million and times when I’ve been the only 1 in a million acres – both remind me of God’s power and might, both call forth the humility of this question. It is good to ponder this question, to be humbled.

David answers this question in the next few verses. God does “crown with glory and honor” humankind. God did make us “ruler over the works” of God’s hands. Here we must be careful. If we carry the humility generated by the question with us, then we see a great responsibility and a great privilege in these roles. If not, it easily becomes all about me. May we choose to love creation as God loves creation.

Prayer: Lord God, what a world you have made and continue to make! There are so many ways that I see your fingerprints in all of creation. As I interact with your creation, may my fingerprints look like yours. Amen.


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One

Reading: John 17:1-11

Verse 11: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”

After clearly telling the disciples that it is time for him to return to God, Jesus tells the disciples, “In this world you will have trouble.” He immediately follows this up with words of encouragement: “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” It is from this place that Jesus offers the prayer that we read today in John 17.

Jesus first prays mostly for himself, thanking God that eternal life will be given to those that belong to or believe in him. He acknowledges that he has “completed the work you sent me to do.” Jesus has lived out God’s love, revealing God to the world. He will be glorified here through the resurrection and then he will return to glory in heaven.

In verses 6-11 Jesus prays for his disciples – “those whom you gave me out of this world.” Living as exiles or sojourners in this world, we too fit this description. Jesus acknowledges their obedience and their belief that God was in him and he is in God. Recognizing that they will yet remain in the world, Jesus prays, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.” There is power in the name of Jesus. Calling upon his name will invoke a holy presence. Calling on Jesus for power or guidance or protection or… invites Jesus to be right there with us.

And why might a disciple need this power? “So that they may be one as we are one.” To bring unity, to build community, to develop relationships, to work together – to be one with one another as we are one with God, Jesus, and the Spirit. It’s all about relationship and connection. As disciples of Jesus Christ may we too seek to be one with each other and one with the Lord our God.

Prayer: Lord God, through the power of your Holy Spirit, connect us to one another and to you. Build us up as the body of Christ, finding power and unity in the name of Jesus Christ, your son and our perfect example. Bind us together as we seek to minister to the needs of the world. Amen.


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Thirsty

Reading: Exodus 17:1-3

Verses 1-2: “There was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water to drink.'”

As we begin two days in Exodus 17 let’s recall the Israelites’ recent past. They’d been slaves in Egypt for more generations than anyone could count. God, through Moses, freed them from slavery. Shortly into their wilderness trek, Pharaoh’s army is closing in, bent on returning them to slavery. God, through Moses, leads them through the sea, rescuing the people. After three days in the desert they are without water. Again, God through Moses provides. Soon thereafter, as they wander the desert, their food provisions run out and they become hungry. As with the first two incidents, the people again complain or grumble. God again provides, bringing manna in the morning and quail in the evening. Lead out into the desert by God (and Moses), the Israelites were dependent upon God. How else would a vast nation survive in the desert?

As the Israelites once again travel, they come to a place without water. They were in a desert. In our opening verse the people quarrel with Moses and say to him, “Give us water to drink.” They had a real need. They are dependent on God. Could’ve they asked or prayed instead of quarreling and demanding? Yes. Moses asks why they quarrel with him, why they test God.

The Israelites are demonstrating an immature faith. Even though God has provided again and again, they still turn to human reactions instead of faith responses. They are not yet what God is shaping them to be. They’ll spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness. I too can show an immature faith. Last week, when I got sick, my first thought was, ‘God, not COVID again.’ It was not said in the form of a prayer. Should’ve it been? Yes. I too am a work in progress. I too wander in the wilderness now and then. Lord, have mercy.

Prayer: Lord God, when I thirst or hunger, when I face a trial or even a temptation, lead me to turn to you first. Again and again you have provided, you have shown the way, you have rescued. Guide me to again and again turn to you in faith as my first response. Build up my faith, O Lord. Amen.


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Practicality and Eternity

Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

Verse 1: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

The words of Ecclesiastes 3 are familiar. They speak of life – the good and bad, the work of our hands, the eternity of God. Our passage begins with these words: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” God’s stamp is upon everything. God is present in it all. If one has lived very long, each of the pairs that we find in verses 2-8 becomes a reality. We begin some things and see others come to an end. We experience birth and death. We have times when we fix things and times when we tear things apart. We laugh and we weep. We experience times of war and of peace – both personally and societally. Yes, there is a time for everything.

The writer also addresses a key component of life: our work. For the Israelites, work was one of God’s gifts to us. Yes, at times it is toil. And yet “God made everything beautiful in its time.” This even includes our toil. God desires that we “find satisfaction in all our toil.” To do a job or task well, to look at a finished product, to see how one is making a positive difference – here is where our work is a blessing to our lives.

There is also an eternal aspect to all the practicality of today’s verses. We’re reminded that God has “set eternity in the hearts” of humankind. While we cannot fully comprehend eternity, we long for it and we look forward to it. Our text closes by reminding us of God’s eternal nature: “Everything God does will endure forever.” Yes, God is infinite and all-powerful. We are very finite and greatly limited. It is a good reminder. This is why we revere the Lord our God.

Prayer: Lord God, you’ve created, organized, and structured our world. You’ve guided, taught, and shown us life. There is much to all of “this” and you are fully present in all of it. I am awed that you take a personal interest in me. May all I do and say and think be pleasing in your sight. Amen.


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Make Way – God at Work!

Reading: Luke 2:1-7

Verse 4: “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth… to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.”

As Luke’s birth of Jesus story begins, a census is ordered. Caesar Augustus decrees that all people travel to their home towns to be counted. In verses 4 we read, “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth… to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.” The purpose of this census was not a lot different than the ones we take every 10 years in the US. The gathering of data is useful to the government for planning and decision making. It is amazing to me that God uses (and probably orchestrates) this secular action that places Joseph and Mary 90 miles from home – but right where the prophets said the Messiah would be born.

Once they arrive in Bethlehem, we see that Mary gives birth, swaddles the baby, and “places him in the manger” – because “there was no room for them in the inn.” Born is a stable or a cave – either way it was a humbling and extraordinary place for Jesus to be born. It was humbling for Joseph and Mary too. The “inn” that refused them a room, well, that would’ve been spare rooms in extended family’s homes. They saw a very pregnant Mary and a new husband and, in essence, said, ‘Not in my house.’ Finally a relative with a little compassion sends them out back to the animals’ quarters. There Jesus is born.

Even though Joseph’s hard decision to follow the guidance of the angel ‘costs’ he and his wife, he was faithful. Here again we see God at work in the ways of the world, using even the bad to work things out according to God’s plan. Christ would grow up to shepherd his people as a humble servant. Where better to start off than in a stable! In all things – from Jesus’ birth to our lives – God works for the good. Day by day may we trust in the God who always makes a way.

Prayer: Lord God, you are ever present and always loving and good. You have provided and protected, redeemed and defended, restored and guided me day after day. Thank you for the work of your hands in my life. Amen.


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Idle or Active?

Reading: 2nd Thessalonians 3:6-13

Verse 11: “We hear that some of you are idle.”

In this week’s Epistle reading Paul advocates for an active and engaged faith. In the opening verse Paul directs the people in the church in Thessalonica to “keep away from every brother who is idle” and to steer clear of those who “do not live according to the teaching you received from us.” Paul reminds all of the example set by both he and his companions. When they were there they worked “day and night” so that they were not a “burden” to their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Speaking to those who were being a burden Paul says, “We hear that some of you are idle.” He then commands them to “earn the bread they eat.” To these and to the rest of the church, Paul says, “Never tire of doing what is right.” Bread can be physical but it can also be spiritual. As Paul identifies the idle as “busybodies,” we can infer that they were neglecting their spiritual work too. This is where many of us today can struggle with idleness.

Many Christians are all in for going to church on Sunday – unless they were out late on Day or if the kids have an activity to go to. Many Christians are willing to support their church financially – let’s just wait and see what’s left over at the end of the month. Many Christians think that service and mission and witness are important – that’s why the church has a staff and a pastor, right?

Paul warns against having a idle or passive or complacent faith. He calls for a faith that is obedient, active, and engaged. How would you describe your faith? Does it match the first or the second sentence in this paragraph?

Prayer: Lord God, in this time when we like to hire someone to mow our lawn or to shop for our groceries, don’t let me be comfortable just farming out my faith. In this culture that says “just do it” and “have it your way,” guide me to live according to your will and your way. Amen.


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Bold and Trusting

Reading: Jeremiah 32:8-15

Verses 8-9: “I knew this was the word of the Lord; so I bought the field at Anathoth.”

As the Babylonians besiege the city, Jeremiah’s cousin Hanamel comes to him, just as God had foretold, to sell Jeremiah his field. Jeremiah was also under house arrest for prophesying against the king and for speaking of Babylon’s great victory over Judah. Instead of waiting to see how all of this plays out, Jeremiah buys the field. He buys it just as he has prophesied – boldly and in full public view. There is a witness and lots of people present to see this “crazy” purchase. But this is just Jeremiah being Jeremiah. He is fully trusting in God, just as he has always done. To put a stamp on it, in verse 15 he says, “For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.” What feels like doomsday, what feels like the end, it’s not. Israel’s story will continue again one day.

Where in our world or in our lives might God be asking us to act with the same boldness and trust? What feels like it might be coming to an end that God can give new life to? Maybe it is a chapter in your work life. This calls for trust that one door will open as another is closing. Maybe it is a loss you’ve endured. This calls for brave steps forward into your “new normal.” Maybe it is an injustice that’s been happening for too long. You feel a call to speak truth and to redeem this situation. Maybe it is something stirring that you can’t quite identify. This calls for prayer. Whatever or wherever God is calling you or I to, may we be as bold and trusting as Jeremiah.

Prayer: Lord God, how do you desire to use me? What bold and perhaps crazy step of faith are you calling me to? Empower me, fill me with a holy courage. Guide me into your will and purposes. Amen.


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Abundantly Poured Out

Reading: 1st Timothy 1:12-17

Verses 13-14: “Even though I once was… The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly.”

In the Epistle reading for this week Paul describes the change that God has worked in him. He wants young Timothy to understand how God can work in his life too. Many people looked at the change worked by God in Paul’s life and thought it a radical change. It was only radical in one way. Paul was as zealous as ever. He was committed to the cause as passionately as ever. Paul still spoke with great skill and power. His faith and trust were now in Jesus Christ instead of in the Law. That is what changed. This simple change in focus changed Paul’s life.

Paul is writing to Timothy, a young man who has shown some gifts and graces. He has accompanied others on their evangelical and missional trips. He has been poured into by these men as well as by his faithful family. It is now time for him to begin to lead. God has been slowly and steadily shaping Timothy’s life to be a leader in the early church. God is at work changing Timothy’s life too.

God continues to be at work in these ways and more. God is ever at work, guiding us, leading us, refining us. Sometimes it manifests itself as it did in Paul. We use the gifts and talents that God has given us – just not for God’s glory. Then in a moment our focus changes and we become focused on Christ and others, being filled with God’s love and grace. Sometimes it is the long walk of faith that guides us, God patiently yet surely working in and through us to reveal God’s glory in increasing measure.

In order for God to work in our lives we too must be touched by God’s abundant grace. This is a touch that reaches out to all people. May it be abundantly poured out in our lives.

Prayer: Lord, I invite your touch. Shape me and form me, lead me and direct me, refine and purify me. Day by day may you use me in increasing measure, reflecting your grace, love, and mercy to the world. Amen.