Category: Daily Bible Reading Blog

A blog following the daily readings from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Acts 22

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            You have a story to tell.  We all do.  Your story is as special, powerful, and unique as anybody’s.  Every person’s story is interesting, compelling, and needs to be told.
            In today’s New Testament lesson, the Apostle Paul, considered the greatest follower of Christ of all time, tells his story.  Paul was a Jew, an upwardly mobile mover-and-shaker within his world.  He despised Christians and saw them as an aberration to the true worship of God.
            But Paul had a life-changing encounter with Jesus.  He was not expecting it.  It slammed him upside the head like a divine baseball bat.  Whereas Paul really believed he was serving God by persecuting Christians, now he came face-to-face with the true reality that he was doing just the opposite – persecuting God!
            As a result, Paul did a complete turn-around to a new life.  He became a faithful Christian, and took the good news of forgiveness of Christ to the known world.  And Paul knew something of forgiveness.  Paul never got over the grace shown to him.
            This chapter of Holy Scripture is a good template for you to tell your own story.  As you read Paul’s story, notice that he talked of life before being a Christian; the circumstances that happened for him to believe in Jesus Christ; and, talks about what his life after becoming a Christian was all about.
            A good, profitable, and healthy practice for you to do is to sit down and jot some thoughts down about your life before Christ, how you came to Christ, and what your life after becoming a Christian is like.  Let your life-changing Christian event shape the story – whether it was like Paul’s, or a baptism, a church service experience, a family crisis, or whatever it was – the act of writing will help you make sense of your unique and special narrative.

 

            Just as important, tell your story to others.  There are people in your sphere of influence that need to hear what God has done in your life.  They are in your life by God’s gracious design.  You need to do this for their sake, and for your own.  You have a story to tell.  Let it out, my friend.

Psalm 69:1-5, 30-36

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            As the church’s and the Christian’s prayer book, the psalms offer a way to come to God when our feelings and emotions have us not knowing how to pray at all.  If you are depressed because of people who would like to see you fail or are out to get you, then this is the psalm for you to pray!
Save me, God!
I am about to drown.
I am sinking deep in the mud,
and my feet are slipping.
I am about to be swept under
by a mighty flood.
I am worn out from crying,
and my throat is dry.
I have waited for you
till my eyes are blurred.
There are more people
who hate me for no reason
than there are hairs
on my head.
Many terrible enemies
want to destroy me, God.
Am I supposed to give back
something I didn’t steal?
 
            When you are voiceless, the psalter can voice it for you.  When you are unable to put your thoughts into words, the Scripture can word it for you.  Two of the great attributes of God is that He is powerful and loving, which means God is more than able to do something about your situation, and it will always be in a loving way.  Know that today He hears you and He is working on a response to your lament lifted to Him – even if it isn’t in your own words.  And I want you to think the thought that He hears you, especially if it is not in your own words, but in the words of Holy Scripture.
            God will come through in His own good time.  But that doesn’t mean you cannot praise Him right now in your dilemma.  David chose to praise God, even though he didn’t get an immediate answer to his prayers.  Perhaps God is more concerned to change you and I first, before he chooses to change your circumstance.  So, let this be your decision right now:

 

I will praise the Lord God
with a song
and a thankful heart.
This will please the Lord
better than offering….

Luke 1:46-54

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

 

           
 
            Faith that is faith in itself is not faith at all.  But a deep and personal faith arises from a healthy and robust theology.  Today, let the words of Mary’s Magnificat (Song of Praise) communicate to you a God who is aware, hears, and responds with power and grace.  Read it slowly several times and allow your own praise to arise in cognizance of what God has done and will do for you:

 

46 Mary said:

 

With all my heart
I praise the Lord,
47 and I am glad
because of God my Savior.
48 He cares for me,
his humble servant.
From now on,
all people will say
God has blessed me.
49 God All-Powerful has done
great things for me,
and his name is holy.
50 He always shows mercy
to everyone
who worships him.
51 The Lord has used
his powerful arm
to scatter those
who are proud.
52 He drags strong rulers
from their thrones
and puts humble people
in places of power.
53 God gives the hungry
good things to eat,
and sends the rich away
with nothing.
54 He helps his servant Israel
and is always merciful
to his people. (CEV)

 

Amen.

 

Matthew 1:1-17

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            If you looked up these verses, you might wonder if you’ve got the right text.  Is there really a genealogy in the lectionary?  Am I really going to get something out of this?  Yep, you are.  All of God’s Holy Scripture drips with grace, and the opening genealogy in Matthew is no exception.  At the heart of Matthew’s gospel is a presentation of Jesus and his teaching that centers on the kingdom of God with Jesus as King, the one whom is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises.  So, then, the genealogy is not just a chronicle of Christ’s lineage, but is a theological statement made by Matthew that Jesus is the promised Messiah.
 
            The genealogy includes four women in the lineage of Jesus:  Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba.  Just so you know, women are central to the kingdom of God.  They may not have been important to ancient kings, but to King Jesus they play a significant role.  All four of these women were Gentiles.  King Jesus operates differently.  No matter your gender, your race, or your past (all four had a dubious sexual history), the kingdom of God is for everyone, and is not an exclusive club.  If God can use scandalous Gentile women to accomplish his purposes, who are you or I to tell God whom he can use and whom he can’t use?
 
            God acted in history by sending Jesus, the rightful king of the universe.  He is the Anointed One, sent to restore people to God.  He himself is our peace and our hope.  The kingdom of God operates on grace, and not in typical power position fashion of imposing self-serving agendas.  No matter our past or station in life, grace trumps it all.  Jesus is the One whom makes all the difference.  He is the rightful king.  And he uses his power to save and deliver people from sin, death, and hell.
 

 

            Merciful God, thank you for sending your Son, the Lord Jesus, to save, redeem, and love humanity, including myself.  Help me to walk in his steps of grace every day, in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.