David Bahn - Reflections

Jesus is true God and true man. He has come down to redeem us. He calls us to turn from the vain idols "to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them."

Perhaps there is someone in your personal orbit on whom you must not give up. Until it becomes clear that they have no desire to hear from you about God, keep preaching the gospel. And when rebuffed, what do you do? Keep on sharing the good news of Jesus.

If we believe that faith in Jesus will bring peace we are correct - in the ultimate end of all things . But until that time we live in a fallen world. Not everyone loves Jesus. Not everyone believes in him. I wish it was not so. But I'm thankful for Jesus' willingness to hold to both grace and truth, and for those who maintain that powerful balance - even at the cost of their personal comf...

We are the light for those who live in darkness. We have the privilege and honor of bearing Jesus' light to others. It's not ours. It is borrowed. We are like the moon which shines with borrowed light. Let the light of Christ reflect from us to others! Be the moon!

God wants all people to be saved: Jew, gentile, slave, free, male and female. No one is beyond his loving grace. We may push him away. We may even push others away from him. In either case this is a grave sin. Thanks be to God that he is always reaching, searching, inviting, and saving people of every race, tribe, people, and tongue. We’re one of those after all!

I've had the chance to lead a large church with a tremendous staff. I've enjoyed some degree of success. I'm glad to say not the degree of success as megachurch pastors have enjoyed. That's because I'm all in for giving God the glory. His is the kingdom, power, and glory. His is the church, honor, and majesty. His is the salvation, praise, and splendor. Let us never be envious...

When is the last time you've begged to hear more about Jesus? I realize we have heard it all before. We're more in danger of dismissing this familiar old story. And that's my point. Peter speaks of how angels long to look into the things of God ( 1 Peter 1:10-12 ). Seems to me that by now the angels in heaven might be up to speed about God's gracious work for our salvation. But the...

Even though we are sinners, Christ died for us . Even though we were dead in our trespasses and sins, God made us alive. Even though we had deserved death and damnation, God has condemned Jesus in our place and given us the glory he deserves. You may be in a place of despair, distress, hopelessness, shame, disease, or death. But God has an abundance of grace, hope, life, healing, peace, and joy. H...

God had made promises about his redemption and our salvation. It would be delivered first appearing as a newborn baby, delivered in a stable and laid in a manger. It would be further revealed in Jesus' ministry of teaching and miracles. It would be further seen when Jesus was delivered up to the cross to die. It will be finally shown when we are delivered into the throneroom of God's etern...

I'm wondering where I might be tempted to scoff at God's word and promises. Judging from my own personal spiritual inventory it has to do with the grace of God, his promise to hear my prayers, and his unwavering love for me. Sometimes it's just so hard to believe. That's why I'm so thankful that God has said, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself&...

Jesus' suffering, death, burial, and resurrection was gonna happen. It was done so we could be saved. And by that God is glorified.

"Time in erodes awareness of" is another way of saying that the longer you are in a particular situation - your home, your church, your car, your job - you grow less and less aware of the peculiarities of that situation. The scratch on the door. The funny noise of the brake pedal. The slightly torn window shade. The peculiar smell of the breakroom at work. You grow used to these things....

David shows that he is a man after God's heart because he repents. He will not hide behind an unbelieving heart with outward shows of piety. He won't harumph himself up before others in self-righteousness. He calls out to God, O Lord, open my lips,     and my mouth will declare your praise. - Psalm 51:15 And, Have mercy on me, O God,     according to your steadfast love; according to your ...

Encouraging words are words from the Holy Spirit. They will point us to Jesus and bring eternal encouragement.

Jesus' ministry is more than a bubble on the timeline of history. He is part of the grand sweep of the divine drama of God's redemption and salvation. More accurately, Jesus is the centerpiece of God's story of our eternal salvation.  The saddest thing of all is when people walk away from the faith and fail to pass down to their children. A dismissive yeah, yeah, yeah attitude is a dan...

God has always been at work. Whether through Abraham or Elijah, Gideon or Moses, God was working. But it wasn't merely to build a kingdom on earth. His is an eternal kingdom with people clothed in justice, mercy, witness, grace, and love. Through faith in Jesus all these are ours. That's what actually does work.

I don't think of myself as all that important. Most of us don't harbor delusions of grandeur. But we all can point to Jesus as the author and source of every good gift. We can all confess him as Lord. We can all claim his salvation through faith. We can all make a way for him in our hearts so that he can use us to gain access to others' hearts.

All kinds and sorts of people make up the church. We who are part of the church will have occasion to interact with all kinds of folks. We must be ready always to offer grace, mercy, hope, and love to those whom we encounter. We may never know how our lives may be woven into others' spiritual journey. But we must do all we can to honor Christ whenever we are part of such encounters. 

There are currently more than 600 congregations in our church body that are calling pastors. That’s about 10% of the churches. We need pastors. Please join me in praying that the Lord would send more laborers into the harvest of souls. And while you’re at it, remember this: Immediately after Jesus commands his disciples to pray for workers to be sent into the harvest, Matthew records that Jesus na...

Paul calls Elymas a son of the devil , and enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy. He asked him, "will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?" Sometimes we must call people to account for their rebellious, reckless and wayward ways.  Those who lead us toward Jesus are the Sons of God, whose feet on the mountains are beautiful.

The Holy Spirit  calls us to faith, enlightens us with his gifts, keeps us in the faith, gathers his people, and sanctifies us . And as Martin Luther says, the Holy Spirit “daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.”  This is the Good News (Gospel) of the Holy Spiri...

I'm thankful that the Holy Spirit moved the church in Antioch to send Saul and Barnabas. I'm thankful, too, that the Holy Spirit moved my parents to share the Gospel message with me when I was a little child. I'm thankful that the Holy Spirit keeps me in this faith. I'm thankful that the Holy Spirit continues to send people share the Good News of Jesus and moves people to believe....

Hubris will be replaced – either now or later, and either by godly sorrow which leads to repentance, or by worldly sorrow that leads to death. There is a chasm of difference between repentance (contrition and faith), and the faithless regret of comeuppance.  Sadly there are many who resist their whole lives, and will fall never to rise again. But those who bow the knee today, who repent and believ...

It's never too early to set ourselves or our children on the paths of righteousness. Whether it is bringing a child to be baptized, teaching them Christian songs and hymns, bringing them to church and Sunday school, and modeling a life of faith and love. We will never reach perfection this side of eternity. But we have a Savior who is completely and wholly righteous, perfect in the best sense...

When I am privileged to serve Holy Communion I use a blessing that reflects one part of this song. "Depart in peace; the Lord is with you," I say. When God is with us we may be at peace, for our God is rich in grace and mercy. He forgives our sins. He is with us to save us and give us perfect peace. I just recently started saying, "Live in peace; the Lord is with you." Departin...