Month: February 2018

Romans 4:13-25 – Christianity 101

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

promise to abraham

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (New International Version)

Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of why we are here and what we are really supposed to be doing.  There’s just so much stuff going on around us all the time that it seems like we have spiritual ADD and can’t focus on what’s most important.  Certain people irritate us, we scramble to making a decent living, there never seems to be enough time to accomplish everything, and there is adversity and obstacles all along life’s way.

There’s a lot going on in the book of Romans.  At first glance, like our lives, it seems complicated.  The Apostle Paul had all kinds of words for the Christians: hope; faith; righteousness; and, justification, just to name a few.  But all those ideas funneled to and pointed toward a singular focus: the Lord Jesus.  Everything in church and life comes down to Christ.

The church was losing sight of why they existed.  Within the church at Rome were both Jews and Gentiles together as one people of God.  They didn’t always see eye-to-eye on everything.  The Gentiles thought the Jews were stuck in tradition and needed to move on.  The Jews had centuries of history behind them of God working through them; they thought the Gentiles needed some solid Old Testament law to bolster their primitive spirituality.  Would the church take their cues on life from the Gentiles, or the Jews?

Paul essentially told the church that they were focused in the wrong direction.  The issues and problems of living the Christian life were to take a back seat to faith in God.  To prove his point, Paul went back to Abraham as Exhibit A of what it means to live with and for God.

It went down like this: God made a promise to Abraham of progeny in his old age; Abraham believed what God said; Abraham demonstrated his faith by having the confident expectation (hope) that God is good for his promise; and, God declared (justified) Abraham to have a right relationship with himself (righteousness).

In other words, the heart of Christian faith and practice is: God makes promises; people respond in faith, hope, and love.  Law and the willpower to keep it doesn’t even come into the equation.

Christians are the spiritual children of Abraham.  All God’s promises are fulfilled in Christ.  We respond to God by believing in Jesus. The redemptive events of Jesus make us just and right.  So, what does this mean for you and me?

We are not to get sidetracked with trying to make others like be like us.  Instead, we are to proclaim the promises of God in Christ so that others might respond by believing and embracing those promises.  Furthermore, we have no need to try and get God to like us, notice us, and/or listen to us.  God has already made and kept promises to us, demonstrating his love, mercy, and grace through his Son, the Lord Jesus.

Our lives are not to center in our abilities, or lack thereof, to live a godly life.  Rather, our lives are to revolve around the person and work of Jesus Christ through faith, with the hope that God will always hold to his promise to be with us, which frees us to love others.  This is Christianity 101.  This is the faith we embrace.

Righteous God, you have made and kept promises to me.  My ultimate deliverance from sin, death, and hell isn’t through my ability to keep the law, but in your Son’s life, death, and resurrection.  Help me to live by faith in Jesus who loved me and gave himself for me; in the strength of your Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Genesis 16:7-15 – The God Who Sees

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

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“Now you have conceived and shall bear a son;
you shall call him Ishmael,
for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.
He shall be a wild ass of a man,
with his hand against everyone,
and everyone’s hand against him;
and he shall live at odds with all his kin.”

So she named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are El-roi”; for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?” Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.” (New Revised Standard Version)

It wasn’t easy being Hagar.  The servant of Sarah, who was the wife of Abraham, had a tough gig.  Not only was Hagar bound as a servant, she was mistreated.  But God specializes in hard cases.

God sees everything.  He saw Hagar’s adverse living condition.  And God did something about it.  He came alongside Hagar and spoke a promise to her that she could hold onto.  It was a promise that was way beyond what she could have dreamed of, far above her station in life.

Hagar gave a name to God.  “El Roi” means “the God who sees.”  What a great name!  At a low point in Hagar’s life when it seemed that she was a nobody, unseen and only enduring affliction, God showed up and let her know that she is seen by him.

I’m sure there have been times in your life, just like there have been situations in my life, where you wonder if anybody sees you, including God.  You feel if you stepped off the earth today that nobody would even notice.  To not be seen by another is one of the saddest realities of living in this fallen world full of people too busy and too self-immersed to notice another human being.

Conversely, to be seen brings wonder, joy, and awe into life.  To know that God sees you is to be transported into the garden with him, enjoying his presence and his fellowship.

You are not alone.  God sees you.  He knows your every move.  God watches because God loves and adores you.  Our God is not a god who is aloof and distant.  He looks upon you and me with the kind of affection a new parent has standing over the crib of his infant child.  It’s a look of care, protection, joy, pride, and compassion.

One of the most fundamental theological statements we could say about God is: He sees each individual human, and he cares.  Yes, terrible tragedies and gut-wrenching evil exist in this world.  God does have his anger and wrath.  Yet, God’s wrath exists because of his love.  He is not okay with evil, and he will do something about it; and, he will do it in his own good timing.

God is working out his purposes, and he will judge the living and the dead.  But he has not forgotten you.  God sees you, created in his image and likeness, and he will act.

It’s Time to Forgive

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog1 Comment

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God is in the forgiveness business.  It’s a big deal to him.

If you and I want to be content in this life, we need to let Christ’s instruction to practice forgiveness sink down deep into our souls.  Jesus said it about as clear as anybody could say it when he taught us how to pray:

“Forgive us as we forgive everyone else.” (God’s Word Translation)

Yet, many people live with discontentment because they think to themselves: “I will not forget what you did, and I will not forgive.”  Persistent thoughts of revenge only serve as a cancer that destroys the mind’s thoughts, erodes the soul, and hinders the heart’s ability to love.  But people who practice forgiveness are much less likely to be hateful, hostile, and belligerent toward others.  They are healthier and happier, and more at peace.

I have had people tell me, “But you don’t know what I’ve been through.”  My typical response is: “You don’t know what I’ve been through, either.  You may not even believe some of the things I have experienced, and some of the things that have happened to me and were said to me.  So, can I tell you what I have done to forgive those who have sinned against me?”

1. When I am trying to forgive someone, I pray for them.

It’s hard to keep resenting someone and wish them ill-will when you are praying for them on a regular basis.  In the book of Genesis, Joseph was the victim of his brothers’ abuse.  If there was ever a dysfunctional family to grow up in, it was Joseph’s.  Being sold into slavery by your own brothers and being the target of their derision would cause anyone to be upset.  But, many years later, Joseph chose to forgive his brothers.  He acted with their best interests at mind.  He prayed for them and did not actively work against them.  What’s more, he eventually came to see the hand of God in it all.  Joseph said to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).

2. I write a letter of forgiveness (which I may or may not send).

In the letter I write in full detail how the person hurt me.  I leave nothing out.  I express exactly how it made me feel, and how it affected my life.  Then, I express forgiveness and say that I will not hold the offense over their head.  Here is a five-step process for forgiving others using the acrostic REACH which helps shape how I write:

Recall 

That is, name the hurt.  Name it squarely.  Don’t fudge on it by saying it’s not that bad, or as bad as others have experienced.  Call it what it is: deceit; stealing; harassment; assault; abuse; adultery; verbal shaming; or even, murder.  The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa after apartheid was based on providing full disclosure of all crimes.  Those that stepped forward to do so would be offered a full pardon.  Desmond Tutu, who led the commission, was most struck by how many people wanted to hear what had happened to their loved ones from the perpetrators themselves so that they could know whom to forgive.  Methinks we have much learn from our African brothers and sisters.

Empathize

Try and see the offense from the other person’s perspective.  Attempt to put yourself in the other’s shoes.  This does not mean we paper over the offense; it just means we don’t demonize another as a monster.  That only feeds and fuels our own lack of forgiveness.  When we view others as non-human, then we feel no responsibility to forgive.

Altruistic

Choose to do the right thing and treat the other person well, not because they deserve it, but because it is within your control to extend grace.  Again, this is what Joseph chose to do with his brothers: “So then, don’t be afraid.  I will provide for you and your children.”  And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them (Genesis 50:21).

Commit

Commit to practice forgiveness.  Make the decision to do it.  Don’t wait too long for your feelings to catch up to you.  “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

Hold

Hold-on to your forgiveness.  Just because you make the decision to forgive does not mean you’ll never have to do it again.  Once you have forgiven, let it be a stake in the ground in which you look back to it again and again.  “I forgave him/her, and I will not let the enemy of my soul keep trying to make me bitter about it all over again.”  One of the reasons we repeat the Lord’s Prayer Sunday after Sunday in my church is to keep forgiving those who have sinned against us.

3. I talk to a trusted friend, mentor, or counselor about my effort to forgive.

Many people get stuck in discontentment.  They have an inability to forgive because they don’t seek a wise person to help them walk through the process of forgiving.  The easy path is to complain about the offense to someone we know will react with the same level of disgust and spirit of revenge that we ourselves have in our hearts.  But that only reinforces bitterness.  We need someone who can offer us what we need to hear, and not what we want to hear.

Forgiveness is at the heart of the gospel, and, so, ought to be at the core of a healthy Christian life.  The Christian season of Lent is designed for repentance, grace, and forgiveness to shape our lives.  There is no better time than now to deliberately engage forgiveness.

Psalm 22:23-31 – Full of Suffering

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

“Let all those who are suffering eat and be full!
Let all who seek the Lord praise him!” (Common English Bible)

cry of dereliction

“Suffering” is a word we’d like to avoid.  Simply saying or reading the word can make us cringe.  Suffering? No thanks.  I’ll pass on that.  Yet, something inside of us instinctively knows we cannot get around it.  Everyone suffers in some way.  It is endemic to the human condition that at times we will suffer physically, financially, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

That’s why I believe there is such talk within Christian circles of miracles.  It’s more than understandable.  A chronic pain sufferer wants relief; she prays for a miracle of health.  A small business owner is bleeding financially; he looks to God for an immediate miracle of wealthy clients.  A beloved senior saint knows that she is afflicted with something, and she’s told it’s Alzheimer’s; she prays for the miracle of deliverance, even to be taken home to be with the Lord.  A young adult finds himself in the throes of depression and has tried everything to cope and get out of it; he petitions God for a miracle out of the deep black hole.  The believer in Jesus keeps experiencing a besetting sin and just can’t get over it; she looks to God for the miracle of not struggling any more with it.

These and a thousand other maladies afflict people everywhere.  There are stories out there.  Folks who have experienced a miracle tell of their wonderful deliverance.  But what about the rest?  Those without the miracle?  Do they have a lack of faith?  Has God forgotten them?

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Oh, my, no.  God sees, and God knows.  God understands suffering.  Jesus knows it first-hand.  Remember, it was Jesus who said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Even Jesus cried out in his suffering.  But there was no deliverance coming for him.  There was, instead, deliverance coming for us.

Sometimes the greatest miracle and deliverance of all is to be freed from the need for a miracle.  The reason God doesn’t just offer immediate relief from everyone’s suffering and bring a miracle is that he is doing something else: Walking with us through our suffering.  God oftentimes has plans and purposes for us well beyond our understanding.  We simply are not privy to everything in his mind.

We may not get the miracle we desire.  But what we will get without fail is God’s provision and steadfast love all the way through the suffering.  Where is God in your suffering?  Jesus is suffering with you.  You are not crying alone; Christ weeps with you.

Let, then, those who suffer, eat and be full.  Let them be satisfied with the portion God has given them.  What’s more, let them offer praise to the God who is right beside them in every affliction and trouble.

God Almighty, you are the One who knows suffering and affliction better than anyone.  I admit I don’t often understand what in the world you are doing or not doing in my life and in the lives of those I love.  Yet, I admit that I have found in you the comfort, encouragement, and strength to live another day in my trouble.  For this, I praise you; in the Name of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.