Tag Archives: Jesus

God Is Here

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“Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” – Jesus
(Matthew 28:20, CEB)

above the cloudsRecently I began listening to some teachings on mediation and mindfulness. One concept that I have found particularly helpful is that the goal of having a clear, bright, and restful mind always at reach. An illustration of this is knowing that above the clouds is a clear blue sky. It is always there, whether we see it or not. There are times in our lives that seem cloudy, even stormy. It’s hard to know that things will get better, or that the potential for things getting better is already present, but it is.
(I write these words with trembling faith!)

This morning I had breakfast with a friend, and he asked me if God was saying anything to me. My answer was “No. Not really. But, I am aware of God’s presence.” I mentioned to him that I am in a season of learning, and God is with me in the learning. Just like when your child is learning how to do something on her own. We often just stand back and observe. Our helping isn’t always helpful, but we are there all the same.

This reminded me of how Jesus concluded the Great Commission. “Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” The disciples were definitely on the cusp of a learning season. God’s presence would be with them through the Holy Spirit. It just wouldn’t be the same as the previous three years of walking with Jesus.

Jesus’ words to his disciples are equally available for us today, since we enjoy the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. You may not be experiencing a learning season like I am. Your days might not be cloudy. That’s ok. Whether they are or not, the beautiful thing is that God is here.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Faith and Faithfulness

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Today I read the Parable of the Soils in Matthew 13. This is the story where the farmer scatters his seeds, and it falls on four different kinds of soils. Each soil produces differently depending on its condition. Much has been made about the condition of the soils and even what kind of soil best represents the condition of your heart. As I was thinking about it this morning, I realized that this parable is also about the farmer. He faithfully scattered his seeds and put his faith in God that they would grow. He knows that he can’t fully control how they will grow where they land, but he also know that they won’t grow if he doesn’t scatter them.

Jesus explained later in this chapter that this parable is about the message of God’s kingdom. We cannot control how that message is received, but what we can do is be a faithful expression of that message. When we love others it opens the door for them to receive not only our love, but God’s love, too. At that point we put our faith in God that God can and will do the rest. Faith coupled with faithfulness is how the God’s kingdom moves forward.

I assure you that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it can only be a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24, CEB)

Grace and peace,
Brook

Happy Independence Day!

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hiking pateIndependence Day is such a fun holiday! I love getting together with family and friends, eating, playing, and watching fireworks. It is also a time to count our blessings.

During the Fourth of July holiday many correlations are made between our freedom as Americans and the freedom we receive through our relationship with Jesus and his work for us through his life, death, and resurrection. I would like to head in a slightly different direction today.

Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teaching. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32, CEB)

There is nothing magical about truth. Acquiring it will not gain you freedom. Jesus said that freedom comes from living faithfully to his teaching. Truth is revealed through the pressures of living faithfully. How we respond to that truth indicates the level of freedom we experience. The choice is up to us. Jesus sets the path before us. We just need to be responsible to see it through. He is faithful, though, to walk that path along side us.

Here is a patriotic quote that sums it up.

“I recommend that the Statue of Liberty be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the west coast.”
— Viktor E. Frankl

Grace and peace,
Brook

Embracing the Time In Between

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light shining through treesIn the traditional Christian calendar, this Sunday is Ascension Sunday, remembering Jesus’ ascension into heaven just prior to Pentecost. Just before his departure, Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, which we now know is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ ascension created two periods of waiting — one for Pentecost and the other for his return or second coming. The first period was marked with worshiping God through prayer, praise, and serving others. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost empowers us to continue loving God by loving others in this second in between time.

To embrace this second season is to live fully in the present presence of God through the Holy Spirit. God is with us and within us. God’s kingdom is established through us as we live out Jesus’ commandment to love one another.

As we commemorate Jesus’ ascension and look forward to celebrating Pentecost I pray that we are established in the love of God for one another and in the ways God is leading us as a community.

Grace and peace,
Brook 

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”
(Matthew 28:19-20, CEB)

“I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”  (John 13:34, CEB)

Loving On Purpose

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Recently I read a number of accounts of restoration and resurrection in the Bible. Surprisingly, none of them were in the Easter story. What I was reminded about, though, is that God has always been in the business of restoring and resurrecting.

The_Raising_of_LazarusThe account that stood out to the most was the story of the resurrection of Lazarus. Yes, Jesus waited until Lazarus was dead to make his way to Bethany, but when he got there he fully entered into the situation, listening to and comforting Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary. Jesus allowed his grief to align with their grief, since he dearly loved this family. It was from this place of empathetic union that formed an environment where healing could flow, even resurrection.

Jesus wasn’t the disaffected physician or the practitioner seeking to simply fix their problem. He loved them on purpose. Yes, he knew that by bringing Lazarus back from death would cause many to believe in him, but that didn’t stop him from loving his friends because they were his friends.

It is interesting that this resurrection story occurs just weeks before the Easter story, and is but one of many instances that Jesus brought people back from death. This speaks to me that resurrection and restoration are vital aspects of the mission of God’s kingdom and are, as Jesus exampled, an outcome of love. As a mission of God’s kingdom, it is also a mission of the people that make up that kingdom.

Looking forward to Easter, the purpose behind our many Easter events is to bring about an environment of love where restoration and resurrection can take place. May this be a vital part of all our preparations and planning. It is only fitting for the people of God’s kingdom.

Grace and peace,
Brook

When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. He asked, “Where have you laid him?”
They replied, “Lord, come and see.”
Jesus began to cry. The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!”
John 11:33-36

Embracing Jesus

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I trust that you had a wonderful Christmas! This is the final installment in the Embracing Advent devotional series. We walked through embracing hope, peace, joy, and love. Now, we conclude with some thoughts on embracing Jesus.

She Shall Bring Forth a Son, by Liz Lemon Swindle

She Shall Bring Forth a Son, by Liz Lemon Swindle

We see in the Christmas narratives in Matthew and Luke that all along people needed to make a choice to embrace this child, Jesus, and his family. As each one did, they realized that it would be a tremendous blessing and as well and a serious cost.

Let’s take Mary as an example. The angel promised her a son as her first born, which in and of itself is a great blessing in her culture. This son would also be the Messiah. She was overjoyed! So overjoyed, in fact, that she burst into song over it! (Luke 1:46-55) She also knew that she would be judged and misunderstood as bearing an illegitimate son, even though Joseph embraced Jesus as his own. At Jesus’ birth his arrival was announced by angels and proclaimed by shepherds, but she also stored up all these events and announcements, pondering what they could mean, questioning, even arguing with herself, as she came to terms with the future of her son and her family. This was confirmed for her at Jesus’ dedication at eight days old when Simeon, a righteous and devout man, broke into praise at the sight of the baby Jesus. His words were concluded with the warning that Jesus would bring about significant change religiously and politically, that he would be the object of opposition, and that, spoken to Mary, “a sword would pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:35) The beautiful thing about Mary is that it seems there is no cost too high in her obedience to God and in her caring for those God has given her.

As the Christmas spirit continues with us in our holiday celebrations, what is it that we can take away from Mary’s example? What does it look like for you as you embrace Jesus this Christmas and in the new year? The blessings are numerous, such as God’s active presence in our lives through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and through the people we live and gather with on a daily and weekly basis. The challenges are no less numerous as we embrace Jesus, taking seriously the command to love God by loving others. The blessings and challenges are as unique as each individual that considers them. I pray that you take a few moments to reflect on the blessings that are afforded you as you embrace Jesus, and that you seriously consider the challenges that come your way as well. The kingdom way of Jesus is the do the hard work of embracing Jesus through the challenges, allowing the God’s Spirit to empower us so that we can become the reflection and presence of Jesus in our world.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Embracing Process, Part 2: The Process Is The End

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Last Sunday Kim Nowlin spoke at our worship gathering here at VLC. Due to some technical difficulties, her talk did not get recorded. I believe, though, that its impact is not in any way diminished by that. I was not in the gathering to hear it, but I did ask a few people to share with me what they heard. On each occasion they quoted something that Kim referenced from Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest. “What we call the process, God calls the end.” That phrase pulled up a chair and sat down in my soul like a caring loved one who won’t leave until the issue is resolved. If you couldn’t tell, I’m still in process with it.

I encourage you to read Oswald Chambers’ devotional that Kim referenced. It comes in two versions, classic and updated.

A few weeks ago I wrote about proximity and that closeness with Jesus us essential to learning from him. One of my main points was, “Closeness is not a matter of worthiness, but willingness.” I’m still working through that. If what we call process, God calls the end, then that means we need to invite Jesus into the now of our process. It’s easier said than done, especially if we are not too proud of our current process. It would feel much better to invite Jesus in at the end of the process, asking for his blessing, instead of inviting him into the process. But, that is precisely where the greatest value is found, in the one with whom we process, not in the finished product.  It is our willingness that God values, not our worthiness. “Come near to God, and he will come near to you.” (James 4:8, CEB)

My prayer is that we invite Jesus into our processes daily, for wherever he is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17)

Grace and peace,
Brook

Embracing Process: It’s OK That Things Just Take Time

Embracing Presence, Part 2: Thin Places for Thin Times

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On a regular basis I hear friends and family comment on how busy and tired they are, and I wholeheartedly lump myself in with them. Those comments, which are not always complaints, remind me of Bilbo Baggins’ remarking to Gandalf in the book The Fellowship of the Ring,
“I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

bread and butter

Image courtesy of Paul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I know not everyone is in this place, but I do know that a lot of us are. It is in such places that we need a sense of God’s presence, but we tell ourselves that due to our tiredness and busy-ness we have failed to draw close to God, and thus don’t deserve the comfort of God’s presence.

I also believe that with Jesus’ giving of the Holy Spirit to the church the kingdom of God is here with us now. In this holds the promise of God’s kingdom breaking in on our daily lives in life-giving and life-changing ways. These can be called holy places, and, if I understand correctly, the Celtic Christian tradition calls these “thin places.”

Jesus started his rabbinical career with the message,
“Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!” (Mark 1:14)
It was to a thin time that Jesus made the invitation to break through at the thin place. God’s presence is here now, and as I shared last week, God’s presence is experienced when we make ourselves apparent to God.

“Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Jesus understands thin times. He isn’t looking for us to work our way to God. He is inviting us. The thin times will not always stay thin, but the thin places are as available as our willingness to turn toward God. The hope of the kingdom of God is that as we experience the restorative presence of God, we too will become “thin places” for Christ’s  salvation to break through.

Grace and peace,
Brook