Category: Christian Spirituality Blog

The Mediator and Leader (Psalm 110:1-4)

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

The Lord said to my lord,
    “Sit here at my right side
    until I put your enemies under your feet.”
From Zion the Lord will extend your royal power.
    “Rule over your enemies,” he says.
On the day you fight your enemies,
    your people will volunteer.
Like the dew of early morning
    your young men will come to you on the sacred hills.

The Lord made a solemn promise and will not take it back:
    “You will be a priest forever
    in the priestly order of Melchizedek.” (Good News Translation)

This is the most quoted psalm in the New Testament (twenty-four times) with the reason being that the apostles discerned Jesus as the messianic ruler of Psalm 110. The author of Hebrews purposed to highlight the superiority of Jesus Christ over everyone and everything. So, he went to this psalm, and used it early in his letter for the beginning of his argument:

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So, he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs….

But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
    a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
    therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
    by anointing you with the oil of joy.”

He also says,

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
You will roll them up like a robe;
    like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
    and your years will never end.”

To which of the angels did God ever say,

“Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet”? (Hebrews 1:1-13, NIV)

In Christianity, Jesus is the ultimate Mediator between God and humanity. Neither angel nor any other human can fill such a role. The author of Hebrews wanted to make it clear that Jesus is the rightful Ruler of all creation.

Christ’s authority is far and above all others. So, Christians are never defenseless in this world. Believers have a caring mediator, and a powerful sovereign, knowing that Jesus has the authority to back up his words of love and assurance toward us.

Jesus has the unique combination of being both a king and a priest; he intercedes for us and provides us with compassionate leadership. Again, in the middle of his argument, the author of Hebrews used Psalm 110 to emphasize this:

Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. Therefore, he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.

In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,

“You are my Son;
    today I have become your Father.”

And he says in another place,

“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:1-10, NIV)

Christ demonstrated and proved that he is qualified to be the rightful priest and king because of his obedient suffering. Therefore, Jesus is perfectly suited and able to help us. He is neither a detached nor an aloof priestly king.

The Lord Jesus knows exactly what it’s like to be a human in this broken and fallen world. Such divine empathy translates into solid emotional and spiritual support because, as the Christian tradition holds, Jesus has taken care of the sin issue once for all through the Cross.

The Messiah’s enemies – whose eventual and final defeat is certain – are not Gentile kingdoms or human institutions. Christ’s ultimate foes are the hostile and evil principalities and powers of this dark world, including death itself. The universal reign of Jesus, the exalted Son of David, brings deliverance from guilt, shame, and injustice as the unique God-Man.

In this unabashed Christian view of Psalm 110, Jesus is our perfected high priest who is able for all time to save those who approach God, since he always lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). The appropriate response to such a great king and priest is submissive loyalty and eternal praise.

O Lord our God: Reign in power over us, through your Son, Jesus Christ – for he is exalted over all governments and authorities, all ideologies and creeds, and all human hearts and souls. King Jesus: Be enthroned in our lives, in all people everywhere, as our mediator and atoning sacrifice. Spirit of God: Reign in power over us through Jesus Christ and give us the victory over all the enemies of our souls, within and without, for the glory of your Name. Amen.

The Transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 9:2-9)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Transfiguration of Jesus, by Armando Alemdar Ara, 2004

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. (New International Version)

It may be that reading this account of Christ’s transfiguration (metamorphosis) seems a bit strange, even confusing. Perhaps you have no categories of thought to explain such an encounter.

In a Peanuts cartoon, Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Linus were lying on their backs looking at the sky. Lucy says, “If you use your imagination you can see lots of things in the cloud formations. What do you think you see, Linus?” 

Linus replied, “Well, those clouds up there look to me like the map of the British Honduras on the Caribbean… That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor… And that group of clouds over there gives me the impression of the stoning of Stephen… I can see the Apostle Paul standing there to one side…” 

Lucy responds, “Uh huh… that’s very good… what do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?”

To which Charlie Brown replied, “Well, I was going to say a ducky and a horsy, but I changed my mind.”

Maybe your spiritual life seems more like Charlie Brown than Linus. Compared to the experiences of others, you have not had any defining moments of ecstasy; no shining Jesus in front of you; or no spectacular vision of Christ.

Perhaps your life seems rather mundane and ordinary in light of the many stories we have in the Gospels of Jesus doing the miraculous. 

Most of life is lived in the daily grind. In the monotony of life, we need some hope, an occasional mountain top experience that helps us glimpse into the future of what it will be like someday when the kingdom of God comes in its fullness.

Christ’s transfiguration came after a hard frank discussion Jesus had with the disciples about his impending death. Jesus was up front with them, saying that he must suffer, be rejected, and killed. But in three days he will rise again. The disciples did not want to hear that; Peter even rebuked Jesus for saying it. In response, Jesus said:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

Jesus (Mark 8:34-35, NIV)

Jesus identified himself as the Suffering Servant, the One who must suffer and die. Yet, he is also the One to be glorified. For Jesus, there has to be suffering before glory. And it is the same for us.

The Christian life includes walking through the valley of the shadow of death. But it is also punctuated with mountain top experiences that give us hope. The nature of the Christian journey is up and down, with both the mountain and the valley as spiritual realities of great importance.

We may have a lot of questions about Christ’s transfiguration. Jesus had a metamorphosis smack in front of the disciples’ eyes. Why? What’s the significance of this? Was it just a demonstration to get their attention? Why are Moses and Elijah there? What’s really going on?

Transfiguration, by Sadao Watanabe, 1971

Jesus intentionally took Peter, James, and John up the mountain to have this experience. Up to that point, a lot of rumors were circulating about Jesus – that maybe he was Elijah come back, or some other prophet, perhaps even Moses himself. But Moses and Elijah showing up next to Jesus, meant that Jesus is not them. 

In the Old Testament, Moses was used by God to deliver the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and to bring them to the Promised Land. Centuries later, Elijah was used by God to bring about a great repentance of the people from the false god Baal, and a mighty revival to the exclusive worship of the Lord.

As good as Moses and Elijah were, having them with Jesus on the mountain meant that it gets even better with Christ. Jesus is the Messiah, the True Deliverer, who saves people from their sins. What’s more, Jesus is the ultimate revivalist, bringing truth, grace, and the love of God to people, calling them from legalistic religion back to the true worship of God.

Deliverance and revival were integral to Christ’s earthly ministry. And Jesus expects his followers to do the same. In Christian ministry, there will be suffering, because we must take up our cross. There will also be glory, experiencing and seeing deliverance from sin that comes with revival. 

When I was in college, a group of us Christians met each week for encouragement and prayer. For a two year period, at least one person a week was added to our group, having had a dramatic conversion to Christ. That was an incredible time of being on the mountain with Jesus, seeing him manifested in all his glory through changing people’s lives.

Yet, inevitably, we descend to the valley. What goes up must come down. And how we handle the valley is crucial. On the mountain, things seemed effortless; but in the valley, it’s all different.

Coming off the mountain may lead to various temptations, like wishing you were back on the mountain – looking back to some Golden Age where everything seemed so great, and people were enthused and excited about God and the group you were in. Yet, there are times when the revival fires wane, and the glory departs. Then what?…

God’s Word to us today, given by God the Father, is: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

A 12th century Mosaic of Christ’s Transfiguration

Here is what Jesus has said to us, as recorded by the Evangelist Mark:

“The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)

“Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17)

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)

“Everything is possible for him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

“If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)

“I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:15)

“…the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him….” (Mark 10:33-34)

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

“I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:24-25)

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)

“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)

If you have had a mountain top experience with Jesus, let that encounter give you the drive and the hope to keep carrying the bucket through the valley, without living in the past.

If you have never been on the mountain, then today, listen to Jesus and follow what he says.

If you are vexed in your spirit, go to Jesus. Listen to him. Do what he says.

Know the word of the Lord, and bank on it. For our light and momentary sufferings will result in praise, honor, and glory when Jesus Christ is revealed. Amen.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility (1 Kings 16:1-7)

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

This message from the Lord was delivered to King Baasha by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani: “I lifted you out of the dust to make you ruler of my people Israel, but you have followed the evil example of Jeroboam. You have provoked my anger by causing my people Israel to sin. So now I will destroy you and your family, just as I destroyed the descendants of Jeroboam son of Nebat. The members of Baasha’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures.”

The rest of the events in Baasha’s reign and the extent of his power are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. When Baasha died, he was buried in Tirzah. Then his son Elah became the next king.

The message from the Lord against Baasha and his family came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. It was delivered because Baasha had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight (just as the family of Jeroboam had done), and also because Baasha had destroyed the family of Jeroboam. The Lord’s anger was provoked by Baasha’s sins. (New Living Translation)

“With great power there must also come great responsibility.” Uncle Ben to Peter Parker, Spiderman

That’s one of those popular modern proverbs that resonate with us because we readily acknowledge the truth of it. No matter the culture, ethnicity, or place, we all have an inherent sense of justice and what is right.

And that makes sense to me, since we are created in the image of the Lord who is a God of justice and cares about what is right and good. So, whenever a person or a people buck their conscience, and practice injustice, it will raise the ire of both other people, as well as God.

Anger, at its core, is a response to injustice. Whenever we are treated unfairly in some way and are denied what we need to survive and thrive in this life, it makes us mad! Not only that, but it also makes God mad, too.

The use and abuse of power is a vital issue. Power must not be accumulated simply for someone (or a particular group of people) to enjoy its privileges. Power is given by God to individuals and groups so that they will use their position and authority for the common good of everyone.

To possess power is to possess a great moral responsibility for making good and just decisions. If the people in power fail to do this, then they shall be held accountable by a sovereign God who has ultimate authority over everyone and everything.

King Baasha of Israel was given a solemn responsibility by God to ensure the proper worship of God and to provide for the needs of everyone in the kingdom. In a theocratic society such as ancient Israel, the king served as the person who was responsible for knowing the commands of God and making sure that they were fulfilled. And that meant that justice for all should be ensconced throughout the land, and injustice should be eradicated wherever it is found.

By discarding the proper worship of God, and instead following other gods who engaged in injustice, Baasha was shirking his responsibility and setting up the nation for the misuse and abuse of power. So, God was determined to uproot the evil so that it didn’t destroy the whole nation.

“Whoever has been given much will be responsible for much. Much more will be expected from the one who has been given more.”

Jesus (Luke 12:48, ERV)

We all possess some level of power – whether it be small or great. Everyone is held responsible for what they have. If we have been blessed with talent, wealth, knowledge, time, position – or whatever it is – it’s expected that we benefit others. With whatever we have received, we are, in turn, to give for the sake of another.

Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well. (1 Peter 4:10, CEV)

It’s not a matter of how much or how little power you have been given, but how faithful you are with the power you actually possess. Those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust by stewarding their resources and their decision-making well. (1 Corinthians 4:2)

God’s anger serves the purpose of fueling God’s great purposes in justice for all people everywhere. And if we channel our own anger into love for all humanity, then we are rightly ordering our own power in good, redemptive, and responsible ways.

Almighty and eternal God, empower us all by your Spirit to be good, just, and faithful stewards of the power and authority you have given to us. Help us to live conscientiously, to bless others graciously and generously with the grace and generosity given to us by your goodness. May the very life of Christ be manifested in us and through us to your glory and honor. Amen.

Make Good Choices (1 Kings 14:1-8)

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

At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go, disguise yourself, so you won’t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people. Take ten loaves of bread with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” So Jeroboam’s wife did what he said and went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh.

Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age. But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are to give her such and such an answer. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else.”

So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense? I have been sent to you with bad news. Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have aroused my anger and turned your back on me.

“‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country. The Lord has spoken!’

“As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the Lord, the God of Israel, has found anything good.

“The Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen. And the Lord will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the Lord’s anger by making Asherah poles. And he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, as the Lord had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah. (New International Version)

The prophet Ahijah and the wife of Jeroboam, 1853

It’s a sad reality that whenever we make choices to live against the grain of who are meant to be as humans, we not only harm ourselves, but other people also end up as collateral damage. Our own individual decisions may be independent, but the ramifications of those choices are always interdependent in scope and complexity.

The very same prophet who prophesied the rise of Jeroboam and his reign also prophesied his calamitous ending. Along with the establishment of a monarchy in Israel, there was also an ascension of divine prophets to the royal kings whenever things were going awry.

The prophet Ahijah had let King Jeroboam know, at the outset of his reign, that his longevity would depend upon his own faithfulness and attentiveness to God’s law (1 Kings 11:38). But Jeroboam failed to do this, and it doomed him and his family. The immediate death of Jeroboam’s young son was the confirmation of the divine judgment that would eventually come.

It behooves us all to consider the Apostle Paul’s words concerning fidelity toward God and our decisions as persons:

Make no mistake, God is not mocked. A person will harvest what they plant. Those who plant only for their own benefit will harvest devastation from their selfishness, but those who plant for the benefit of the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit. Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up. So then, let’s work for the good of all whenever we have an opportunity, and especially for those in the household of faith. (Galatians 6:7-10, CEB)

Jeroboam turned his back on God, in favor of going with his own ingenuity and pragmatic actions to secure his rule and reign in Israel. No matter who we are – whether king or commoner, rich or poor – it is our personal and collective responsibility to ensure that sound, wise, and good decisions are being made with an eye toward the benefit of all persons.

This then, begs the question: What are our priorities and practices?

Prophetic utterances in Holy Scripture typically center in human arrogance and mistreatment of other people. And this is why following the commands of God are to be supremely important to the believer – because the instructions given to humanity from the Lord are meant for humility and justice toward others.

I believe that if we seek to live into the spirit of God’s law, we will continually labor to make good choices for the common good of everyone. Important social, economic, and political policies and practices won’t just spring up from nowhere to benefit humanity; they must be intentionally cultivated by people who make it a priority to pay attention to such matters and follow through with the right, the just, and the good.

Let’s persevere in doing good; and not succumb to the pragmatic, just to get something done that we want.

Almighty God our heavenly Father, you declare your glory and show forth your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth: Deliver us in our various occupations from the service of self alone, that we may do the work you give us to do in truth and beauty and for the common good; for the sake of him who came among us as one who serves, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.