David Bahn - Reflections

No matter how dire the circumstances may be (brutal facts), there is always hope. Always. The tomb is empty. Our salvation has been won. We will rise with Jesus on the Last Day. That is the kind of hope that withstands even the most dire circumstance and brutal despair.  Face the brutal facts - whatever they may be in your life; and Hold onto hope - in Jesus' help here and now and in his salvation...

Mother Nature isn't the one in charge of the weather. That's God's department. And since the creation of time, the weather has testified to God's omnipotence and man's limits. We may not like to face storms of any severity. But when we do we best look to God for help and salvation. Storms may well remind us of our human limitations, and our need to rely on God. We may need to take action to secure...

It may be too harsh to suggest that the crew of the ship had delusions of adequacy. But they certainly did have to face challenges for which they were ill prepared. I say that because Luke makes two statements in this account that show how bad the situation really was. He says, "we," twice. "We," Luke writes, "gave way to [the strong wind] and were driven along." Then, "we managed with difficulty...

Maslow postulated that there is a hierarchy of needs. According to his reckoning we don't really care about self-actualization if we are worried about self-survival. Yet, at whatever level of needs we find ourselves there is a need for God's grace, his divine provision, and his eternal salvation. We may be numbed to those needs by our first world comforts. There are no atheists in foxholes. Nor sh...

I'm inclined toward explicitly naming Jesus in my prayers, conversation, and teaching. I want to be sure that I honor his name as clearly as possible. A missionary once shared with me about her and her husband's work in south Asia. "Jesus is not getting the honor he deserves," she said. That really captured my heart. I'm all in for honoring Jesus. I want to do that in word and deed. And I can do t...

Decisions made on the basis of godly wisdom may not seem easy, but easy isn't always best. And God's ways - though they may be challenging - are always best. When wise and godly people counsel us we do well to listen to them.

Whether it is a blessing God has in mind for us to receive, or a divine appointment for us to keep, God is in every moment of life's journeys. Whether we're on the way to the grocery store or arriving at a beautiful mountain vista, we must be alert to God's presence and plans for us along the way or at our destination.

We may have the opportunity to show hospitality and kindness - which we should do just for kindness' sake. But God's agenda includes both the kindness received and the blessings that come with it. Those blessings flow down from person to person so that more and more people can hear of Jesus and believe in him.  I doubt that Julius realized how he was furthering the message of the gospel by showing...

It's a pretty high honor to serve as someone's mentor, inviting someone to do as we do. It's not for someone who says,  "Do as I say, not as I do." We are inviting someone to watch us, and learn from us, and see how we navigate difficult decisions, resist temptation, and honor Christ with our witness. I'm sure Paul failed from time to time. In fact he shares his struggle with temptation and sin in...

I’m thinking about thinking differently and in a new way. I’m thinking about engaging and disengaging is some matters of thought. There are the obvious and ongoing battles of the mind. There are thoughts we must constantly abandon. Think lust, greed, fear, envy, and rage. There are also thoughts I need to renew. Think Bible memory, things listed in Philippians 4, pure, lovely, excellent, and prais...

When we have the opportunity to share the message of Jesus we can be sure the Holy Spirit is attending our throughs and words. And if the message seems to glance off the hearts of those to whom we speak, we can be patient and persistent in sharing the gospel.  This not only applies to our witness to non-believers, it applies also to the conversations and encouragements we have with other believers...

Someone once said that the problem of many regarding the Christian faith isn't so much a matter of believing as it is surrendering to the Lordship of Christ. That might be partly true, but it is not the whole story. The love of God brings us to faith, changes our hearts, and ushers us into his kingdom. That's more than surrender. That's faith. I believe the prophets because they point me to a lovi...

True witnesses to the Christian faith have never tried to hide these things. The Gospel message welcomes the bright light of full disclosure. The message of the gospel must not be relegated to the corners of life.

Jesus' victory, however, was both through death and resurrection. He didn't just die in agony. He rose in victory. He didn't just carry our sins, taking them into his body. He brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. He didn't just overcome the sharpness of death. He ascended to the right hand of God and reigns there forever. He didn't just confound the naysaye...

Paul will have to endure further trouble, suffering, hardship, and difficulty. This was also part of what Jesus told Ananias - who came and baptized Saul after his Damascus Road experience.  I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name,"  Jesus tells him (Acts 9:16).  Today we walk in the light of God's love, Christ's redemption, and the Holy Spirit's sanctifica...

I wish I had more of Paul's courage. I wish I was more bold. But I am thankful for his courageous faithfulness. You and I are beneficiaries of his faithful witness to Jesus Christ. Ignited by Jesus' Damascus Road confrontation and mission mandate. Fueled by God's grace. Sustained by the Holy Spirit's presence. Giving us meaning and purpose today. Anticipating the joyous vindication...

Opening eyes, turning people from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, and helping people take their place among those who believe in Jesus is a challenge and an honor. We might shy away from such a high challenge. But here is God's calling through Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth. Written 5 or 6 years before these events before Agrippa.  Jesus died for all, that t...

It's very easy to credit modern medicine, social and psychological factors, and emotional growth in these things. The world always points us in that direction. But just because it's easy to see something, doesn't make it right. And just because Jesus' influence and participation isn't always obvious to us doesn't mean he's not behind it all.

Paul was struck to the ground and had to hear from Jesus directly. He had to be asked, "How long will you kick against the goads?" The reference there is to a sharp stick (goad) used to urge beasts of burden forward. Kicking against them will only hurt, not get rid of them. If Paul had continued in his rigid and strong opposition to the message of Jesus, it would have served only to caus...

Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? Because our faith is weak. Because we don't understand the depth of God's grace and love. Because we don't know the power and grace of God.  But we do know this. We do believe - even if our faith his weak. Jesus has been raised from the dead. It may be thought to be incredible. But it's true. And it is profoundly...

My own spiritual journey is unlike Paul's except in regard to my earliest spiritual formation. I was raised in a Christian family, and attended Sunday School and church throughout my youth. It was not a strict religious environment, but it was dedicated. My character has experienced reshaping throughout my life. Some of those reshaping moments have been difficult. Other have been almost pleasa...

I wonder how many times we stand on hills too small for principles too minor and bloody ourselves in battles that need not be fought. Whenever I help church leaders formulate strategic plans, I like to make the distinction between God's good provision for his mission: the people, pastors, facilities, and programs on the one hand, and God's mission on the other hand. People get stuck on wha...

Sometimes people make much of dramatic conversions and lives of profligate immorality and ungodliness. It's almost as though a person has to have lived an extremely sinful life in order to have a testimony.  Few of us have such a lifestyle to brag about - even if it is to brag about how Jesus changed our lives. All of us, however, have something to say about Jesus. It might be a Bible passage...

If one is not robbed of his retirement savings, yet doesn't hear the Gospel, is not called to faith in Jesus, and brought into the fellowship of the redeemed, the gain is for nothing. And what if a person sells drugs and is caught, but learns about Jesus in prison? No matter what may happen to him from there, the blessings of the Gospel echoes through eternity. Evil will always collapse under...

Paul will make more than a cameo appearance as this episode unfolds. But his appearance - even as it continues through his long and eventful travel to Rome - is not eternal. Jesus' ultimate appearance will be forever, and every tongue will confess his lordship and reign for all eternity. His final appearance will be The Starring Role, no mere cameo.