Category: Daily Bible Reading Blog

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

John 12:36-43

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
             The season of Lent is a time of preparation for Easter, and of repentance from sin.  It is a time to consider our ways and the state of our hearts and find that only the grace of God in Christ can heal all wounds.  Today’s Gospel lesson gives perhaps the most succinct and convicting statement about the dark places of our lives.  Many of the religious authorities actually believed in Jesus, but they did not speak of it because they were afraid of being put out of the synagogue by the Pharisees.  “For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”
             The word “glory” has its roots in the Old Testament, and has the meaning of being weighty or heavy.  In other words, we might picture God descending to earth among humankind in all his weightiness.  If we were back in the ‘70s we could say, “heavy, man, heavy!”  Glory is really a reference to God’s presence among us.  So, if we plug this thought into the religious authorities, we see that they preferred the presence and accolades of their peers to God.
             It is easy to be hard on the religious rulers in the New Testament, but this is Lent, and, so, we must shine the light of Scripture upon ourselves.  Perhaps the burning question for all believers at this time of year is:  Do I seek the presence of God more than the presence of anything or anyone else?  
             In my church the first few rows on Sunday morning are always empty.  It bugs me.  I don’t like it.  There are times when I am more concerned about the presence of people than the presence of God in a worship service.  Maybe you live in fear at work and are more concerned about the presence of people around you than the presence of God, so you keep quiet about your beliefs.
             Lent is not just about identifying sin; it is about receiving grace.  So, let us find that the cleansing work of the Spirit through the work of Jesus is active through our confession of sin.  And let us pursue the glory of God in all we do and say as grace permeates deep in our souls.
             Glorious God, your presence is awesome and appreciated.  Fill me so with your presence that your glory comes shining out of me in all I do and say, through Jesus Christ my Savior, and Lord.  Amen.

Romans 3:21-31

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            It would be an understatement to say that how we view the whole of Holy Scripture is important.  For Christians, the Bible is God’s Word to humanity.  Some believers approach the Bible as a law book and see the essence of Christianity as obedience to specific commands.  Yet, today’s epistle lesson affirms that we are justified by faith apart from works of the law.
 
            Therefore, I tend to see the Bible more as a beautiful story of grace in which God goes out of his way across the millennia to redeem his lost creatures from sin, death, and hell.  Our relationship to God will not stand up under the burden of a perpetually angry army sergeant-type God who is trying to drill truth and salvation into his stupid raw recruits.  Rather, we come to God as a loving heavenly Father who, along with the Son and the Spirit, went to the greatest lengths to make redemption possible.  God did for us what we could not do for ourselves.
 
            The only proper response to this grace is faith – not effort, not trying harder, not by self-flagellation or extreme guilty feelings.  None of us has anything to stand upon, except the grace of God in Christ.  The wrath of God against sin and evil has been satisfied through the death of Jesus.  We do not need to try and please God through working more and harder because we already possess his pleasure.
            Loving God, who sent Jesus as my substitute on the cross, give me the gift of faith so that I might always trust you for my salvation and for everything in my life every day.  Amen.

Matthew 4:1-11

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Let’s think about the season of Lent for a moment.  It is not a time for unhealthy introspection that seeks to rally all our willpower in order to have success over temptation and sin, thus proving how either strong or weak we are.  Lent is, however, an opportunity to give a forty day focus to the truth that overcoming temptation and achieving victory does not come from within, but only through Jesus.  In other words, no one can earn a right standing or even right feelings or right behavior – I must have the grace of Christ’s cross.
 
            Satan’s sly temptations were, at their core, attempts to try and get Jesus to circumvent the cross.  Satan wanted to see Jesus bring in God’s kingdom by another means, thereby destroying the kingdom all together.  An appeal to miracles for personal gain; popularity; accolades and recognition; proper branding of the Jesus phenomena; and, of course, avoiding the suffering of the cross completely were all ways of subtly trying to get Jesus to veer off the path toward the cross.
 
            We all desperately need to rely solely, completely, and totally on the grace of God in Christ through the cross.  Any attempts to seek holiness in our own ability to perform will only result in shame for not measuring up.  The greatest temptation of all is the belief that the cross is not enough; I must myself supplement the work of Christ with my own effort, ability, and willpower.  The true work of Lent is having all that useless striving broken down and done away with, so that the cleansing and healing of the cross will do the real work.  We are, then, set up for the pinnacle of Easter and new life.
            Gracious God, thank you for sending you Son, the Lord Jesus, to endure the cross.  I choose today to get off the performance treadmill and receive your grace as my only sure hope and salvation.  Amen.

1 Peter 3:8-18a

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            Sometimes people say things that are uncaring, insensitive, and even downright stupid – things that do not reflect the gospel of grace.  Indeed, there is enough sinfulness to go around no matter where you go.
 
            The Apostle Peter gave some practical commands to occupy us in the midst of troubling speech and actions that people say and do.  Rather than responding in kind by verbally decapitating another person, either to their face or behind their back, we are to “have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”  Peter sums it up by saying, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called.”
 
            If we ever wonder or struggle with what God is calling us to, it is clear as a bell in this Scripture.  Grace is our business, and we are not to respond ungraciously to others’ lack of mercy.  If we put our focus on blessing others with these practices, no matter who they are, we will set ourselves apart as people who follow the way of Jesus.  And make no mistake about it:  the way of Jesus is the way of suffering grace.  It does not mean keeping silent; it means actively blessing through a tender heart and a humble mind.
 
            Humility is the cornerstone of all other biblical virtues.  Every Christian must be ready to accept the things that are not within his/her control, and then respond humbly with love.  If this sounds wishy-washy to you, then I would say you have never even tried it because it takes a courageous strength of faith to put into practice a spirit of meekness.  To this we are called.
            Gracious God, who sent Jesus to humbly suffer for my sins, engraft your humility in me so that I might respond with love in thought, word, and deed to every person and circumstance in my life.  Amen.