Category: Year B

Isaiah 41:14-20

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Each morning I rise and read God’s Holy Word.  It is a discipline I’ve been doing for nearly 40 years.  In the past few years, I have begun reading more slowly and with greater contemplation –  because the goal is not to check off that you have read some verses on a Bible reading plan.  The aim is to connect meaningfully with God.  The desired result is to hear from him, and to let the Scriptures do their incredible work in our hearts.
            One of the ways I connect with Scripture, after having read the verses for the day several times, is to write it in my own words, using personal pronouns.  This morning is one of those days.  Here is today’s Old Testament lesson interpreted and personalized with God being the speaker….
“My dear servant, there is no need whatsoever to worry yourself,
though others say about you,
            ‘That guy is nothing, only a wormy maggot!’
I am your holy God,
            who saves and protects you.
I’ll let you be like a big ol’ log
            covered with sharp spikes.
You will grind and crush
every mountain and hill in front of you
            until they turn to dust.
A strong wind will scatter the dust of unholy jerks
            in all directions.
Then you will celebrate
and praise me, your LORD,
            The holy God who watches your life.
When your financial budget doesn’t budge
and your bank accounts lie empty
            and you have no idea where to turn,
I, your LORD and your God
will come to your rescue.
            I will not forget you.
I will make rivers of abundance flow
            on the desolate mountain peaks in your life.
I will send streams of life
to fill your empty valley of life’s tribulations.
Dry and barren places in your life
will flow with springs
            and become a lake of grace and goodness.
I will fill the parched desert areas of your needy life
            with all kinds of fruitful trees –
apple trees, olive trees, fig trees,
oak and walnut, elm and maple, fir and pine,
like in the original garden,
all your needs will be met in and through me, your God.
Everyone will see this
            and know that I,
the holy LORD God whom you love and serve,

 

            created every bit of it.”

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

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            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….

Nehemiah 9:26-31

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Much of the Old Testament is a rhythm of God’s judgment and grace.  The storyline often goes something like this:  God makes promises.  God commands.  People get stubborn.  People disobey.  People refuse to listen.  God responds with judgment.  God gives grace and fulfills his promises.  People enjoy.  People get stubborn.  The cycle begins again….  The promise of God always involves judgment and grace.  Proclaiming only a message of judgment without grace brings despair, death, and hell; there is no hope.  Only speaking of grace apart from judgment is oxymoronic – it doesn’t exist because there is no need for grace if there is no judgment; grace is an undeserved mercy given freely by God in the face of our sinful selves.
 
            Nehemiah chapter nine is a beautiful prayer of confession.  Having heard the Word of God proclaimed, the people did not remain obstinate; they realized exile occurred because of their own stubborn refusal to listen to God, and they repented.  The Jews acknowledged their checkered past of ignoring the prophets God sent, and they bellied-up and took ownership of their own sin.  And God was faithful.  Even though the city of Jerusalem had been overtaken and the people sent into exile, God brought them back and the broken wall was rebuilt.
 
            It is never too late to turn from a past filled with poor decisions, broken relationships, and spiritual disobedience.  The time of confession is available, and the time is now.  God’s grace always trumps our dubious past.  The appropriate response to today’s lectionary is to spend some time in confession to God.  This chapter, along with Nehemiah chapter one, are good places to begin with understanding just what to say to God.  Confession ought always to conclude with accepting the grace available to us in Christ.  Today is a new day.  Let it be a new life with the love of Jesus implanted in your heart.
 

 

            Holy and loving God, your grace is measureless and free.  Today I turn from my stubborn refusal to walk in your ways, and receive the wonderful gift of new life through Jesus Christ, who loved me and gave himself for me.  Amen.