David Bahn - Reflections

When it comes to our need for the fruit of the Spirit to be evident in our lives and influencing our hearts, we need the whole package of God's armor. For there is a foe who wants to sow seeds of hatred, misery, discord, agitation, and harsh bitterness. And he seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to take us down. To remove the joy, undercut the peace, destroy the love, incite rebellion, and...

When it comes to our need for the fruit of the Spirit to be evident in our lives and influencing our hearts, we need the whole package of God's armor. For there is a foe who wants to sow seeds of hatred, misery, discord, agitation, and harsh bitterness. And he seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to take us down. To remove the joy, undercut the peace, destroy the love, incite rebellion, and...

We must live under grace not law - especially when it comes to the influence and evidence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We don't often go even through our waking hours with only kindness, patience (don't forget that commute!), or gentleness in every personal encounter. We'll never get this all correct and proper day in and day out. Hopefully, on the balance, we will, however, display the evide...

Patience is the ability to keep in mind the myriad of connections with others and within the spiritual realm while we struggle against the currents and obstacles of life in a fallen world. The movie Bruce Almighty is a cute but irreverent movie about God giving Bruce all the powers and prerogatives that God has (but not the wisdom). In frustration at one point of the movie Bruce decides to answer...

God is the key to true patience. He models it for us. And he requires it of all of us...unless we have molded for ourselves a false patience. I would call that passivity, denial, or surrender. For patience is not a matter of giving up hope. It's not a matter of waiting someone out. It's not a matter of grinding your teeth. Patience is a matter of waiting for God to give the best. It's a matter of...

Remembering God's goodness, faithfulness, and love, his good will and power over sin, death and the devil, and having a view that sees beyond the immediate next moments are the building blocks of patience. And this is the realm of the Holy Spirit's work. The Holy Spirit helps us become more aware of these things as he focuses our attention on Jesus. Our preoccupation with the things of this world...

The gospel commission of God is for all of his followers, given with all authority, for all people. And his presence will be with us for all time.

I've struggled recently with worry. The reasons are not important. In fact they have no eternal weight at all. Either they will simply dissolve over time, or they will be resolved justly. Even so, I worry. That means I am not experiencing the peace which is the fruit of the Spirit. And to some extent I have been captive to the idea that I cannot stop. I have no control. And therein lies the soluti...

Justice has been established in the foundations of reality through Jesus' death on the cross. His resurrection proves this to be so. And his first word to his disciples on that Eater morning was, "Peace." More than a greeting it was a blessing, a gift, a legacy that followers of Jesus are to treasure and embody. The Holy Spirit's work is to bring glory to Jesus (John 16:14). Certainly when we are...

Jesus is first. Others are second. I am last. And Jesus promises that whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for his sake and the gospel's will save it (Mark 8:35). The most miserable people in the world are those consumed with their own happiness, rights, and blessings. Jesus offers joy of a completely different kind.

When the situation is dire and God shows up we find the strongest expressions of joy. The dark hours of deep contrition give way to the glory of sin's weight lifted. The restrictive bonds of worry are loosed by the peace of God in a moment of prayer and Scripture. The gloom of despair is cleared by the revelation of God's goodness. These come as the Holy Spirit has his way in us. Moving us to repe...

Joy reigns in the believer's heart insofar as he has crucified the sinful flesh. When we're consumed by sexual immorality, excessive indulgence in sinful pleasure, anger, envy or drunkenness, joy is far away. And although these do not bring joy, they appeal to a side of us that will never be satisfied by their pursuit. Drunkenness of any kind is never satisfied and yields only the rue of hangover...

This message was delivered at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Houston Texas on October 17, 2021.

Few times in life are we tested to the extent God tested Abraham. If we are, we who wait, hope, and trust in God will see the goodness of God in the land of the living. Perhaps we can find strength to wait and hope in him as we recall his daily provision, along with those special touches of his grace along life's way.

Abraham was being tested by God. But the stakes were much higher than passing an ESL test. His son was on the line. His faith, too, was being tested. And so was his willingness to obey. Abraham passed the test. According to Hebrews 11 he believed that God could even raise someone from the dead if Isaac had actually been killed. Abraham is, after all, the Father of Faith. James tells us that God do...

God will provide. What a powerful promise. Isaac saw that up close and more personally than any of us could every imagine. He saw it at the last moment. When there was no way of escape. Except God provided. It was a dramatic show of God's providential care and faithfulness - even as it was a test of faith and obedience for Abraham. But we don't call this mountain  The Mountain of Obedient Fai...

Abraham's trek from his home to the mountain that God would show him is anything but a slouch. Nor is it toward Gomorra. This is a long trek of faith toward an incredible test of faith and a resolute devotion of obedience to God. Three days. If it's me, my stomach is in knots after the first day. I am thinking through every possible scenario. I'm planning contingencies. I'm working out explanation...

We want to domesticate God. We make him our personal place of safety, comfort, and security. But While Jesus came as a servant, he is not our personal assistant. We don't order God around. We do not demand that he answer us. We must remember who is God and who is not. Sometimes his demands might seem unreasonable. But who are we to judge? The only thing that anchors my soul in times of turmoil, Go...

We may not always understand how in need of God's grace we are. That is made clear, however, by Jesus' initial gift to the paralyzed man. Whether he was disappointed at being told his sins were forgiven - as opposed to being healed by Jesus - is not clear. But Jesus makes two points in his action on this occasion. First of all he sees and responds to our greatest need: the need for forgiveness. Fo...

Grace will always look for a way other than judging and condemning. Grace will free people. Grace will put people on a different path. Grace will even challenge the self-righteous. For they will either have to become even more judgmental and discredit others' kindness, or give in to their own need for it. Grace opens the door to the latter. And when people walk through that door they walk into fre...

Jesus didn’t have to tell the woman at the well that her current living situation was sinful. She knew it. But he did invite her to expose this need for grace. When she did, he didn’t condemn her, but continued his conversation with her. He didn’t have to talk with her in the first place, but he did. He could have done what so many others surely had done, looking past her rather than seeing her an...

Elijah's actions around the sacrifice to the LORD God set up a dramatic display of God's power and control over all of creation. Even after the altar is prepared and drenched with water, God rains down fire from heaven and consumes  everything . "The Lord, he is God; The LORD, he is God!" goes up the cry after this mighty display. Elijah seizes and kills the prophets of Baal. You'd think that...

We need to understand, first of all, that we all need grace. Some people, however, may be extra challenging in their attitude or actions toward us or the gospel message. Those people are called Extra Grace Required people (EGRs). They may live next door, work with you, or be part of your family. In fact, you may be an EGR! They push our buttons, manage always to illicit a negative response in us,...

The love of a human being is a thing of great blessing. I am thankful for the love of my wife, family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and my friends. But human love - of a mother, sister, brother or even a spouse - has its limits. The love of the Heavenly Father has no limits. He sees all. He knows all. And he is writing a narrative that stretches from Hagar to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jesus, and to...

God does not turn his head or heart from pain and suffering. He does not ignore difficult and distressing situations. He draws near. And 2000 years ago he took on all of that in his Son, Jesus. Jesus embraced the pain, suffering, sickness, and sin of the world. He also experienced it himself. And although God forsook him at his darkest hour, the true hero of our faith, Jesus, still called out to h...