Author: Brian

Follower of Jesus, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Pastor

Palm Sunday – Praise!

On By BrianIn Holidays

Cross3

Palm Sunday: Praise – Rejoice in the Messiah

Read: Mark 11:1-10

Prayer: Father, let me join the crowds and lift up my voice in praise to you.  Thank you for the coming kingdom – the great hope of a new heaven and earth where we will dwell in peace without suffering in the presence of our King.  Thank you for so many salvation blessings of which the crowds were completely unaware.  Awaken my soul to give you the glory and praise that is due you today.  Amen.

Reflect/Discuss: For what salvation blessings can you praise the Lord today?

Praise: Sing some of your favorite songs of praise to the Lord.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some helpful posts for your weekend reading:

We May Be Confused, but God Isn’t – Paul David Tripp (Crossway)
Today you’ll encounter things that will confuse you, but rest assured the One who rules all those things is not confused.

Locked Down Alone – Tim Challies
But what about those living alone? They are dealing with the lack of physical touch for weeks on end and have no one to keep them company in-person. If you or someone you know is living alone and is about to go into lockdown, you’ll benefit from hearing wise words from those who have been living alone in lockdown for 10 days or more.

Leverage Your Loneliness – Rusty McKie (TGC)
Our first hurdle in the days to come is to choose not to make our lonely places loud places. This moment in history is spoonfeeding us the opportunity to get still and silent with our God. Hidden in this pandemic is an invitation from him to draw near, to be still, and to know that he is God—even though it may feel the whole earth is crashing down around us (Ps. 46).

7 Suggestions for Finding Joy in Isolation – Kimberly Wagner
Breath some fresh air. It’s dangerous to stay cooped up with the Pandemic for too long—I’m not suggesting getting in crowds, but find spaces to safely move outdoors and enjoy the sunshine or rain shower. Listen to the birds, feel a breeze, and take time to thank the Creator for the changing of seasons and spring’s reminder that He makes all things new.

Trusting God In Suffering, Sacrifice, Disease and Death: A Lost Art? – Peter Adam (TGC)
What amazes me most when I read of the lives of Christians who lived before the 1950’s is their positive attitude to suffering, disease, and death. They expected to suffer, they were willing to suffer, and welcomed it as God’s gift. They expected to have diseases, and could welcome them as God’s gifts. And they could welcome death, knowing that ‘to die is gain’ (Philippians 1:22), and looking forward to the joys of eternal life with Christ.

6 Things to Do with Your Anxiety – Justin Taylor
Your mind loses its grip. Fear and anxiety have taken over. Nothing’s safe or certain. Anxiety is a universal human experience, and you need to approach it with a plan.

Why Being Discouraged About Not Gathering as the Church is A Good Sign – Joey Tomlinson  So we are discouraged. We may even be depressed. But here is the good news- your emotions may be telling you, ‘this isn’t how things are meant to be’. So the moment the elders of your church prayerfully decide to open the doors, come. Come and be refreshed by those means the Lord has given us to worship Him and be spiritually built up in Christ. Come with a fresh, biblical perspective on the importance of Lord’s Day corporate worship.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Psalms Feed 11-15

On By BrianIn Psalms Feed

Psalms1

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
– Psalm 13:1-2a, 5-6

We are living in “How long, O Lord” days.  How long will we face this virus?  And where is God in this situation?  Why would he allow it?  We wrestle in our souls and in our hearts with questions, uncertainties, anxieties, disappointments, and sorrows.  The wrestling is real, and cry of “how long?” is real.

But in the midst of our wrestling, let us trust in God’s steadfast love. God loves us even now.  He does.

And we will rejoice one day in his salvation.  We will sing one day of his bountiful care through this situation and of his future blessings.  We will.

Psalms Feed 1-5

On By BrianIn Psalms Feed

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…

Whose advice are we following?

…nor stands in the way of sinners…

Whose actions are we following?

…nor sits in the seat of scoffers…

Whose attitude are we following?

…but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night…

Do we delight in the Word?  Meditate on it?  Ponder it?  Are we following the advice, actions, and attitudes taught in God’s Word?

…he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season….

If we are meditating on God’s Word, we are like well-watered trees.
To bear good fruit, we must be planted in God’s Word.  Are we?

(From Psalm 1)

Psalms Feed

On By BrianIn Psalms Feed

Psalms1

Many of us spend a lot of time going through news feeds and FB feeds, and are bombarded with news of the coronavirus, which can leave us stressed and distressed.

I would like to propose for the month of April that we go through a Psalms Feed to find peace, comfort, and strength in the Lord during this time.

Feed your soul on five psalms a day – which will take you through the Psalms in one month.

I will be posting reflections throughout the month as I am able.  I would love to hear your reflections too – please share them in the comments.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Redeeming the Time in the Days of the Coronavirus – Brent Osterberg (CBCD)
So, let’s consider using this time to do some of the spiritually-enriching things that we frequently say we don’t have enough time for…and let’s pray that these habits stick after we return to more normal life. Consider the following as possibilities…

Everything’s Canceled! Dealing with Disappointment in Pandemic – Abbey Wedgeworth (TGC) It can be hard to know how to deal with personal disappointments, how to feel about our own feels in response to loss. But life in a fallen world is marked by suffering, great and small, and pandemics only highlight what has always been true.  Here are four places the Bible invites you to look as you suffer disappointment…

Come What May: Finding Patience and Joy in a Slow Calamity – David Mathis (DG)
In other words, though the supply lines should fail, and the shelves be bare, and the economy tank, and the virus come to our own city, and street, and even home, yet — even then — this newly humbled prophet will rejoice in the Lord. Will we? Not in our supplies. Not in our health. Not in our own security. Not even in the defeat of the enemy. There is one constant, one unassailable surety, one utter security, one haven for true joy in the most challenging of journeys: God himself. He holds himself out to us as he removes our other joys. Will we lean anew into him?

What Are You Afraid Of? – Michael Horton
As Nebuchadnezzar discovered, we recover our sanity when we lift our eyes to heaven. We’re back in line with reality.  We’re not in charge, and never have been.  We can’t create or save ourselves.  But we have been created and saved by God in Jesus Christ!  Now we can see the needs all around us, our own and those of our neighbors and the creation, as opportunities rather than threats.  We want to play our part in curbing the spread of the virus.  We are called to defend the life of our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable: the unborn, our aging elders, the poor, orphans, widows and all victims of injustice.  We are called to be good stewards of God’s creation.  But this is because we fear God rather than anyone or anything else. 

COVID-19: Living by Probabilities or Providence? – Mike Emlet (CCEF)
Nothing is by chance. Everything comes to us by our Father’s loving and wise hand. Don’t live in these trying times unduly focused on impersonal probabilities, statistics, and risk assessments. They will prove to be an unstable foundation for true hope and reassurance. By all means follow the guidance of your local health authorities, but first and foremost, look to your faithful and loving God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who holds you in the palm of his hand.

How Can We Be the Body When Physically Separated? – Erik Raymond
How can we be the body of Christ when physically separated? While being physically present substantially enhances our fellowship in the body of Christ, it is not the exclusive sphere of our togetherness. In other words, the bond together as a body is not primarily physical but spiritual. This means that we as Christians can still do good to one another, even when we are apart.  Here are five ways we can be the body of Christ, even when we are physically separated.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts to help us learn from and respond to the coronavirus situation:

10 Gifts I Pray God Gives The Church Through The Coronavirus – Orion Berridge (FTC)
Today, I am going to pray that these 10 things would happen and I am going to lead his church toward these things because I have fresh hope – a hope like I have never had before!

8 Things the Coronavirus Should Teach Us – Mark Oden (TGC)
The story of the Bible is the story of a God who entered a world infected with this virus. He lived among sick people, not wearing a chemical protective suit but breathing the same air as we do, eating the same food as we do. He died in isolation, excluded from his people, seemingly far from his Father on a cross—all that he might provide this sick world with an antidote to the virus, that he might heal us and give us eternal life.

10 Ways in which this Coronavirus Pandemic Can Be for Our Good – Brian Najapfour
So how can this coronavirus be for our good? Let me suggest ten ways in which this virus can be for our good.

How To Make the Most of Lockdown (Tips from Christians in Italy) – Clay Kannard
So, this is a new, once-in-a-lifetime (I hope) experience and we are learning as we go. What are some of the things we have learned in these past weeks since lockdown began?

9 Ways to Love Your Neighbor in This Pandemic – Justin Whitmel Earley (TGC)
One of the primary postures of a Christian is outward. Our salvation means that the curse of the inward curve of sin is broken, and we’re now free to turn outward—to love God and neighbor.

Hope you have a good Lord’s Day meeting online with your local church!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points1 Comment

Everyone is thinking about the coronavirus, and it is important for us to think about it as Christians.  So here are some good posts toward that end:

The FAQs: Coronavirus Explained by an Infectious Disease Expert and Pastor – Miguel Nunez (TGC)
This is a good time for Christians to demonstrate sanity, peace, and hope, recognizing that our lives do not depend on the entry of a micro-organism into our bodies. Instead, it depends on the God who determines the beginning and the end of our history on earth.

Should Christians Be Anxious About the Coronavirus? – Todd Wagner (TGC)
Prayer-infused confidence, compassion, and selflessness should mark how we talk about the coronavirus. Why? Because our Savior put on flesh (John 1:14) and stepped into our sickness, sin, and death. He healed the sick and cared for the hurting. We must do likewise.

Anxiety, Waiting and the Coronavirus – Alasdair Groves (CCEF)
A virus is seeping across the world and has reached our shores, and we don’t know how treacherous it’s going to be. God is calling us to continue forward in love of neighbor and service to his kingdom, but all we can see are public surfaces potentially covered in germs and neighbors who may be walking vectors of disease.

Neighbor Love in the Era of COVID-19 – Kathryn Butler (TGC)
The question we should be asking ourselves, isn’t which supplies to stockpile in preparation for an apocalypse, but rather how to support those at real risk for losing their lives to this swiftly moving disease.

Dear Christian, When The Pandemic Hits, This Is Our Time – Akos Balogh  (TGC)
But whatever happens, dear Christian, know this: this is our time. God has raised us up for such a time as this. It’s no accident you’re here.  This is our time to think not about ourselves, but about our neighbours. Many of whom are scared, and will only grow more so as the virus spreads. This is our time to hold out the Word of Life to those around us—and give hope to those who are afraid, and are wondering what’s going to happen. This is our time to trust our God no matter what the future brings. For, unlike our secular neighbours, we know where our hope lies. We know where our security lies. We know where our future lies.

The Best Laid Plans – Matthew Hosier
The world we have created tends to make us very arrogant. We feel we are in control because of the general predictability of our systems and services. But really we are not. CV19 is humbling us.

Ten Things I’ve Loved about the Coronavirus Lockdown – Jonathan Whitman Coronavirus is scary.   Certainly a few important questions come to mind: When will it end?   Will we survive? How will we pay the bills? How will I survive the boredom of being stuck inside with nothing to do?  The good news is that God ordered Israel to stop often…not just once a week. There were good reasons for that. Here are a few tips I have come up with from my first week of lockdown.

You’re Not a Bad Pastor If You Cancel Services Over COVID-19 – Ronnie Martin (FTC)
In the end, you’re not a bad pastor if you cancel services over COVID-19. In this unique season, God will provide you with wisdom and faithfulness as you seek His face. Allow the assurance of Christ and the riches of his gospel to be the death of any guilt, anxiety, or fear that threatens to condemn you. Be reassured by His faithfulness, and rest well.

Love in the Time of Coronavirus: A Guide for Christian Leaders – Andy Crouch (Praxis)
The reason to alter our practices, especially the way we gather (see below), is not self-protection. For one thing, in the case of this particular virus, if individuals are young and healthy, infection may pose not much more threat than the ordinary seasonal flu. The change is needed because our vulnerable neighbors — those of any age with compromised immune systems, and those over 70 years old — are at grave risk. One of the basic axioms of the Christian life is that the “strong” must consider the “weak” (see Rom. 15). We are making these choices not to minimize our own risk, but to protect others from risk.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our hope in the Lord!