Category: Christian Spirituality Blog

All Saints Day (Psalm 149)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
All Saints Day I, Wassily Kandinsky, 1911

Praise the Lord!

Sing a new song to the Lord;
    sing his praise in the meeting of his people.

Let the Israelites be happy because of God, their Maker.
    Let the people of Jerusalem rejoice because of their King.
They should praise him with dancing.
    They should sing praises to him with tambourines and harps.
The Lord is pleased with his people;
    he saves the humble.
Let those who worship him rejoice in his glory.
    Let them sing for joy even in bed!

Let them shout his praise
    with their two-edged swords in their hands.
They will punish the nations
    and defeat the people.
They will put those kings in chains
    and those important men in iron bands.
They will punish them as God has written.
    God is honored by all who worship him.

Praise the Lord! (New Century Version)

Most of us are aware and in touch with how imperfect we are. Sometimes we view our imperfections as failure, weakness, or sin. But how does God see us? In what way does the eternally perfect, infinitely strong, and sovereign Lord feel about us?

The Lord is happy with his people, he is pleased with us. And because God is delighted with people, the Lord saves the humble in heart, beautifies the unlovely, and turns the sinner into a saint.

Throughout the ages, the faithful have experienced the love of God. Even now, they are rejoicing, singing for joy, and celebrating the ways God changed them to make the world a better place.

On the Christian Calendar, November 1 is the day each year to remember the saints who have gone before us, to acknowledge that God has always taken pleasure in using imperfect broken people to impact the world.  

Today is meant to be a day of remembrance – a way of not forgetting the people, friends, and family, as well as the long-dead historical saints, who have made a significant difference in our spiritual lives.

All Saints Day is more than simply acknowledging extraordinary persons; today also highlights the work of ordinary Christians who faithfully lived their lives and persevered to the end. We give thanks for the gift of how they daily lived their faith.

We remember today that:

  • Christians everywhere and throughout time are united and connected to one another.
  • God’s good pleasure saves and redeems all sorts of people.
  • Underprivileged and underserved people are noticed by God and God’s saints.
  • Influential people in our lives, now in the presence of the Lord, can be honored through emulating their faith and perseverance.

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.  Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7, NIV)

The saints of the past are an inspiration to us in the present. They serve us as a model of faithfulness in persevering in our Christian lives. Through biblical stories of very human persons being used of God, as well as reading biographies of godly people who were dedicated to God in service, we gain motivation and patience until Jesus returns.

All Saints Day II, by Kandinsky, 1911

Who went out of their way to communicate God’s love to you with both words and actions? 

Who wrestled in prayer for you so that you and others might know God? 

If any of those persons are still around, and you know where they are, remember them. Drop them a note. Express to them a simple thank you for their influence in your life. You will not only encourage that person – it will help you remember and re-engage with something in your life you may have forgotten or have just taken for granted for too long.

We truly stand on the shoulders of faithful and wise people those who have gone before us. We will continue to persevere and thrive in faith by remembering them; and also by allowing people now, presently with us, to join us in our journey along the road of faith.

It is sage to recall events of rescue and pull them forward into the present so that all God’s worshipers can taste and see that the Lord is good.

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:2-5, NIV)

God uses symbols as a means of revelation and remembrance. We need both special days and ordinary events;  shared meals and silent fasting, tangible signs and necessary endings, active rituals and passive observances, iconic images and iconoclastic nonconformity.

We need both words and sacraments – to have days set apart for gathering together and expressing our verbal gratitude and love for each other, as well as giving our nonverbal gifts of food, fun, and friendship.

Our shared spiritual history connects us to God, to one another, and to all of God’s people who have gone before us. We remember that history by energizing our time together with words and symbols of care and redemption.

Christ told the disciples about his upcoming death and provided symbols which reinforced the words: 

“Take and eat – this is my body…. Take this cup – drink from it, all of you.” (Luke 22:7-20)

The taste of real bread reminds us of the physical incarnation of Christ, and Christ’s humiliation and death. Drinking from the tangible cup reminds us of the bodily sacrifice of Christ, the drops of blood which Jesus sweat in Gethsemane, and the beatings, floggings, nails, and crown of thorns that caused the bleeding. Tasting the bread and cup when celebrating communion reminds us that our sins are forgiven, we are united to Christ, and we are united together. 

There are past historical events which are now presently forgotten. Yet, there are also past actions that ripple and linger with continuing results into the present. The incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification of the Lord Jesus are past redemptive events which continually exert powerful force into the here and now.

The saints throughout church history moved the message of Christ along and demonstrated for us that the past is alive in the person of Jesus Christ. Along with them, we proclaim:

Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ is coming again.

And God has something planned for those who have gone before us, along with us, so that together we will experience the perfect righteousness of Christ forever. (Hebrews 11:39-40)

Remember and celebrate, eat and drink, taste and see, that the Lord is good.

May we remember the Lord’s people and never forget their example of godly living.

Our spiritual ancestors in faith continue to praise the Lord, to proclaim that God is our refuge and strength, our ever-present help. Let us follow in their footsteps.

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical Body of your Son: Give us grace to emulate your saints by living virtuous and godly lives so that we may share the joy you have prepared for those who truly love you, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns as one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Get Me Out of This Scary Dungeon Cave! (Psalm 142)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment

I pray to you, Lord.
    I beg for mercy.
I tell you all my worries
    and my troubles,
and whenever I feel low,
    you are there to guide me.

A trap has been hidden
    along my pathway.
Even if you look,
    you won’t see anyone
who cares enough
    to walk beside me.
There is no place to hide,
    and no one who really cares.

I pray to you, Lord!
    You are my place of safety,
and you are my choice
    in the land of the living.
Please answer my prayer.
    I am completely helpless.

Help! They are chasing me,
    and they are too strong.
Rescue me from this prison,
    so I can praise your name.
And when your people notice
your wonderful kindness to me,
    they will rush to my side. (Contemporary English Version)

The modern holiday of Halloween is kitschy with a funny sort of scary. But there’s nothing funny about being truly frightened and feeling helpless. Its anything but a holiday.

The psalmist, David, was in both a literal and a metaphorical cave. Before he ever became king of Israel and Judah, David was on the run from King Saul. He hid in a cave. He had more suspense and was on the edge of his seat much more than any horror slasher film could portray.

David was hiding and just trying to stay alive. There was nothing in his life which deserved such maltreatment. It was sheer jealousy on Saul’s end of things that caused him to give his soul over to oppressive pride. And David was the brunt of that oppression.

As biblical readers, we know the end of the story. Saul is eventually killed in battle and David is exalted as the new king. Yet, here, in today’s psalm, we have the genuine cry of a desperate man who longed for the justice of God – not knowing what the end of it all would be.

One of the reasons David was a person after God’s own heart is that he was humble and remained connected to God without succumbing to the bitterness of his situation. I strongly suggest that David was able to keep his life free from pride because he regularly liberated his spirit through real and raw expressions of his emotions and experiences to God.

Spiritual confidence cannot be ginned-up through pretending that all is well, and everything is okay. Rather, spiritual courage is forged in the most awful of circumstances through loud cries of emotional pain to the God who truly hears it all.

Anyone who tells you different is flimsily trying to maintain their puny sense of delusional power. God sees you in the dark place and he hears your cry for mercy. He knows your dark cave better than you know it yourself.

One of the reasons I love the psalms so dearly is that they know the human condition. There is no pretense with the psalmist, David. He opens his mind and heart. He lets the genuine feelings of his life pour out in an offering to the God who pays attention to the humble and contrite.

The proud and arrogant will forever be flummoxed by the psalms, not understanding why they are even in the canon of Holy Scripture.

Yet, here they are, for all to examine and experience. Whereas the piously insincere are continually putting up a false front of godliness and keeping up appearances of superior spirituality, here we have authentic religion smack in front of our faces.

For me, the psalms liberate us from the shackles of trying to be someone I am not and enable us to connect with a God who encourages us in our strange wonderings, our emotional pain, and our sometimes horrific situations.

The Lord is perfectly at home with hearing loud cries, agonizing shouts, and desperate prayers directed to heaven.

Those who oppress others, I believe, are easy to spot because they:

  • Ask rhetorical questions to make a point.
  • Assume their thoughts and ways are always best.
  • Accuse without evidence based on their faulty assumptions.
  • Seek to harm and destroy.
  • Enjoy chaos and thrive on taking advantage of others’ misfortune.
  • Refuse to listen and learn from others.
  • Suppress all competing voices contrary to their own.

Autocrats are too smug and too far into their delusions of power, authority, and self-righteousness to be able to hear any voice other than their own.

A self-absorbed despot in power feels like being in a dingy dank prison cave with no ability to leverage a release.

A self-abnegated deliverer in authority feels like being in a wide open field with freedom to help others in bondage.

God hears when others don’t. The Lord advocates on behalf of those caught in the crosshairs of tyrannical injustice and maltreatment. Divine benevolence is always on the lookout for those being oppressed.

The Almighty uses power to listen and respond when distressed persons are scared silly with maltreatment. Voices raised to heaven shall never go unheard.

Since God listens to those in need of mercy, this is precisely the disposition we are to adopt, as well.

The proud, convinced of their superiority, either cannot or will not see those languishing underneath unjust power structures. There is no space within arrogant hearts to accommodate the cries for justice from people beneath them.

Therefore, recourse for the oppressed comes from God – because God acts with equity, integrity, and justice.

It is not the oppressed who need our pity; it is the ungodly, because they don’t know anything about pity, or empathy, or mercy. Oppressors have no stomach for any of that. So, they keep people locked in systems of oppression. They maintain relational distance and turn a blind eye to the genuine frightened screams of those under their boot.

The weak, the distressed, and the spiritually tired in this corrupt world, however, have the chance for appeal. They can call out to the God who knows them and their situations.

Although cries for deliverance may not happen immediately, we can be assured that divine help is forthcoming. And that is scary good stuff.

Lord Jesus Christ, by your patience in suffering you made my earthly pain sacred and gave me the example of humility. Be near to me in my time of weakness and pain; sustain me by your grace so that my strength and courage may not fail. Heal me according to your will. Loving Jesus, as you cried out on the cross, I cry out to you in my desperation. Do not forsake me. Grant me relief and preserve me in your perfect peace. Amen.

“I Want to See Jesus!” (Luke 19:1-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
Zacchaeus, by Ira Thomas

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (New International Version)

Every time I read this story about Zacchaeus climbing up the sycamore tree to see Jesus because he was a short man, I think of the old ‘70s song Short People by Randy Newman. The song was (and still is) criticized by some as being prejudiced against short people. 

Indeed, the criticism seems justified with lyrics such as “short people got no reason to live.” Yet, the song’s intended purpose was really the opposite – to be an attack on the pervasive prejudice of the day, and an attempt to “heighten” (pun intended) awareness of other people’s importance. 

“Short people are the same as you and I. All men are brothers until the day they die” are the lyrics containing the real message within the song.

At first glance, the story of the short Zacchaeus seems to be about his inability to see. Yet the real heart of the story is that:

Zacchaeus is unable to see because the other people are obstacles to his sight. 

In turns out that Jesus is the only person who truly sees Zacchaeus. No one else sees him. No one else seems to care. While everyone else is busy with their own line of sight, Jesus is concerned to see the one person who is unseen: Zacchaeus. 

And here’s the reason why Jesus had his radar attuned to picking up Zacchaeus: Because Jesus came to see people like Zacchaeus; Christ came to seek and to save the lost.

One of the most pertinent applications of this story for us, is that we must not be an obstacle for others coming to Jesus – and instead be a conduit for others to meet Jesus. For that to happen, we need a reformation of both attitude and our action.

Our chief obstacle to realizing a reformation is the sort of hindrance that Zacchaeus overcame in order to see Jesus and experience him:

Zacchaeus did not take himself so seriously.

A very serious Zacchaeus would not have been playful enough and much too respectable to climb a tree. Maybe he was used to living with short jokes all his life; I don’t know. I just see a rich businessman who was lighthearted enough to climb a tree; and who lightened up enough to give a big pile of money away.

As a tax collector, metrics and measurements and figures were his world. All of that accounting can create a serious and sterile environment – concerned with doing more, being more, and getting more.

Reformation – reforming oneself, one’s culture, and one’s institutions – comes through the disposition and willingness of not being so doggone serious all the time.

“Jesus and Zacchaeus” by Soichi Watanabe

Hanging one’s happiness and well-being on other people adopting my opinions, my plans, and my way is a surefire prescription for getting knocked down several pegs by both others and God.

A reformation comes through collegiality, cooperation, and collaboration with others. To acknowledge that God is God, and I am not, and that all people (even the ones I don’t like) are just as important as me, is to see with new eyes. This is the way of seeing Jesus because it’s the willingness to climb trees and to not care how it makes me look to do it.

People short on faith, short on hope, and short on love desperately need the love of God in the gracious person of Jesus Christ. 

Let us then, help, and not hinder, people’s ability to see Jesus.

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16, NIV)

Let us not become discouraged when our expectations obscure our sight.

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. (Matthew 11:2-5, NIV)

Let us have eyes to see and not be blinded by our own seriousness.

Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” (John 9:39, NIV)

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. (John 14:9, NIV)

Let us humble ourselves and stoop to see the incredible reality in front of us.

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” (Mark 16:5-7, NIV)

Let us see and believe.

“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    a son of man that you care for him?
You made them a little lower than the angels;
    you crowned them with glory and honor
    and put everything under their feet.”

In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:6-9, NIV)

In God’s kingdom, the tall are short, and the short are tall. And there are plenty of trees to climb so that everyone can see Jesus.

Loving Lord Jesus, give me the grace to see you in all things throughout my days on this earth. Help me to see your benevolent kingdom come and see your ethical will be done, here on earth, as it is always done in heaven. Amen.

Make Room for Jesus (John 8:39-47)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
Christ and Pharisee, by Russian painter Ivan Filichev, 1993

“Abraham is our father,” they [the religious leaders] answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 

Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (New International Version)

Glass-half-full or glass-half-empty? I confess I really don’t like those binary categories for people. That’s because I believe it misses a very important aspect of being a human. What’s most necessary is to have glass-fully-empty people.

While the religious leaders of Christ’ day were debating the subject of whether Jesus is of God, or not, they failed to notice something significant about themselves:

Their glasses were so full that they had no room for Messiah, even when he was standing right in front of their faces.

You cannot be full of God and full of yourself at the same time.

Only an empty vessel can be filled. Half-full or half-empty people only end up being in conflict with each other. They cannot find any room for Jesus in their lives.

Jesus had been dealing with these sort of shenanigans even before he was born. His poor parents had a dickens of a time finding a place for him to be born. There was no room in the inn. All the places were full. God was about to break into the world, and everyone was scuttling about as glass-half-full and glass-half-empty people.

In his earthly ministry, the religious leaders viewed Jesus as a competitor, not a compatriot – pitting themselves in conflict with him, even to the extreme.

“You are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word.” (John 8:37, NIV)

Conflict is inevitable. Put a bunch of sinners together in one place, add a few grumpy curmudgeons, some know-it-alls, then fireworks happens. I’ve always thought that every human institution is about one or two knock-down drag-out fights away from being non-existent.

At the heart of all the conflict is either an inability or an unwillingness to make room for another’s point of view. Where there is no room for mystery, there’s no room for Jesus.

How many settled beliefs and behaviors do you have? So many that your head and hands have no room for Jesus to do the unexpected?

Are you full of thoughts, opinions, and convictions? So much so that your interpretation of everything leaves no room for the contrary, even if it comes from Jesus?

Here’s how we get full of ourselves:

  1. Desire arises within. Options are considered in meeting the want or need.
  2. Conflict enters because there are others with competing desires.
  3. Expectations are formed when the desire is unmet. 
  4. Demands are made because of missed expectations.
  5. Judgment is meted-out to those not complying to the demands.
  6. Separation occurs with the intent of hurting another through a withdrawal of relationship.

You end up not making room for the other in your heart and life. You don’t make room because you’re already full of yourself and don’t want to change.

We, however, are to make room for Jesus and others because Jesus made room for us and expects us to do so for others.

My Father’s house has room to spare. (John 14:2, CEB)

Make room in your hearts for us. (2 Corinthians 7:2, NRSV)

Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. (Colossians 3:16, MSG)

Finding true and lasting satisfaction in Jesus as the Way is how to realize forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation. There is room at the foot of Christ’s cross for both me and you.

There’s Room at the Cross for You, by Billy Gaines

The cross upon which Jesus died
Is a shelter in which we can hide
And its grace so free is sufficient for me
And deep is its fountain as wide as the sea.

There’s room at the cross for you
There’s room at the cross for you
Though millions have come, there’s still room for one
Yes there’s room at the cross for you.

Though millions have found him a friend
And have turned from the sins they have sinned
The Savior still waits to open the gates
And welcome a sinner before it’s too late.

The hand of my Savior is strong
And the love of my Savior is long
Through sunshine or rain, through loss or in gain,
The blood flows from Calvary to cleanse every stain.