Category: Year A

Matthew 12:43-45

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year A1 Comment
            Nature abhors a vacuum.  A plot of soil that is tilled will be overtaken with weeds if nothing is planted and nurtured in the turned-over soil.  The pecking order of a brood of chickens cannot handle the death of the top hen without filling the position almost immediately.  And, in the spiritual realm, the exorcising of a demon will not simply leave a person empty of evil – his life will be filled with something in its place.
             The Gospel story that Jesus told about the man who is rid of an unclean spirit is a powerful and simple narrative on the necessity of true repentance.  It is not enough to be rid of something bad and destructive; the evil must be replaced with something good and useful.  That is, genuine repentance is both a turning away from ungodliness and an embrace of righteousness.
             For example, the Apostle Paul exhorted the Ephesian believers to not only stop stealing, but also get a job and start sharing with others.  They were not only to stop lying and using their tongues for gossip and slander, but they were to start using their words to speak truth that builds up others.  The spiritual principle is the same as the principle from nature:  a vacuum will always be filled.  The man who did not fill his life with God ended up having a problem with evil seven times greater than when he started.
             Whether dealing with addiction, bad habits, or any kind of evil influence we must have a two-pronged approach to its eradication.  We expel the evil by replacing it with godliness.  The man struggling with pornography or adultery must not only stop the behavior, but take up and champion women’s issues.  The woman who gives herself to others to be used and abused must not only get away from the problem, but take on her true identity in Christ as a precious child of God.  These are not meant to be simplistic answers to complex situations; they are meant to illustrate why so many people do not experience freedom and continue to have greater enslavement.  Freedom can only be realized through replacing old practices with new disciplines that directly attack the old.
             O God, I no longer want to live with saying I’m sorry and going right back to the old pig slop of sin.  I cannot change on my own.  I need Jesus to both take away the sin and give me a new life of living for him.  Help me to make choices that put to death the old way of life, and the courage to live into my forgiveness from you.  Amen.

Judges 2:6-15

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            The Old Testament book of Judges is, frankly, a depressing piece of literature.  It is an account of a downward spiral into degeneracy and ignorance as God’s people forgot his laws and embraced foreign religious practices.  The Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament, often referred to as The Law) is filled with admonitions to teach children and to be careful in passing on God’s covenant to future generations.  But no sooner did the Israelite leader Joshua die that the people rested on their laurels in the good land God gave to them.  The Israelites simply failed their children.  They neglected their God-given duty and privilege to teach about the LORD and the great work he had done in delivering them from Egypt and giving them the Promised Land of Canaan.  And as a result, the people began experiencing the curses of God’s covenant instead of the blessings.
 
            We in Western civilization live in an extremely fast-paced and busy culture.  The gods of our age are effort, efficiency, and effectiveness.  We rise early and rush to get to work.  We move at the speed of light to get things done.  Then, at night, if we do not bring a stack of work home with us, we fall into our favorite chair with no energy left except the ability to watch TV.
 
            But what happens to the kids and to the family?  With such a lifestyle there is no space for relaxed time around the Word of God; no ability to pass on some instruction of Scripture; nothing left in the tank to give to the people who need it most.  It is no wonder an entire generation of people in the age range of 18-29 are leaving church in droves with a neglect of the Bible and its life-giving message.  Since it was not important enough for parents to pass it on to them, they simply ignore Christian redemption and the community of the redeemed who worship Jesus.
 
            We must, for God’s sake, rearrange our crazy lives so that God and his Word become valuable enough to be top priority in our families.  It is high time to stop the excuses and start the instruction.
            O God, I confess that my busy life has pushed out the people for whom I care most about.  Give me the courage to make a fierce moral and spiritual inventory of my busy life, and the care and conviction to act upon what you reveal to me so that my family may know your Holy Word through me.  In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            The past few weeks, the Lectionary readings have brought us a steady admonition of passing on to future generations the necessity of covenant, faith, and law.  Obedience is the key to it all.  But the problem entered that Israel was not faithful to God’s commands; they kept disobeying and following other gods. God always had a faithful remnant of people devoted to him, but the nation as a whole simply did not follow through with the teaching given to them.
 
            But where Israel failed in obeying the covenant stipulations and passing them on to their progeny, God forgives.  God’s answer to repeated human failings was not just to pronounce a judgment, but to rectify the problem altogether through the establishment of a new covenant.  God will put his law in their hearts, and they will know him in a direct and immediate kind of way. “For they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD.  For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
 
            From a New Testament (that is, New Covenant) perspective, Jesus is the fulfillment of all God’s good covenant promises to his people.  And God’s Holy Spirit serves as the continuing presence of Jesus within us, teaching us and guiding us in the ways of God.  Our only task, then, is to live into those promises – to know them, claim them, and bank on them.  We are most obedient when we believe the promises of God and place all our hope in them.
            Lord God, thank you for your promise of a new covenant.  Thank you for Jesus.  Establish his presence so firmly in my heart by means of your Spirit that obedience is always my default mode of living.  Amen.

Nehemiah 8:1-12

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            Under the leadership of Nehemiah, many of the Israelite exiles returned to Jerusalem from captivity.  Nehemiah did an incredible work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem so that the people were safe once again.  But that was only the physical dimension of the massive rebuilding effort; the people needed to be spiritually restored, as well.  The priest and scribe, Ezra, was at the forefront of a great revival.  At the center of the Jewish renewal was the Law of God.  The people gathered in order to hear Ezra read God’s Word to them from early morning to midday.  While Ezra read the Book of the Law, other priests were among the throng of people and helped them to understand it while they listened.  As the ESV puts it, these priests “gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”
 
            The people clearly needed help in making sense of God’s Word.  And as they understood the meaning of what was read, they wept and repented and dedicated themselves afresh to faithful living before their God. The need for all of God’s people to make sense of the Bible is no less true today.  The path to living intelligent and informed Christian lives will come by having clear insight into God’s Word so that we may walk with clarity and confidence, knowing the will of God in all things.
 
            A craving to know the revealed words of God is at the heart of any church revitalization.  An ardent desire to understand the Bible will be at the center of spiritual revival in our own time and place.  A longing for knowledge of the Scriptures is imperative to contemporary renewal.  Committing ourselves to a daily regimen of Scripture-reading is most necessary to a healthy spiritual life.  Teachers who help bring God’s Word to light are a great gift to the Body of Christ.
            O God, raise an entire generation of people who seek to know you and your Word.  Set apart gifted men and women for your service so that there will be teachers who help others make sense of what you want us to do.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.