Category: Year B

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            It is no wonder that so many people struggle with self-image today.  Beautiful people reign across the television channels and movie theatres; the rich and powerful are highlighted in the media; and, people with perfect teeth and immaculate attire are splashed in front of us in the daily barrage of advertisements.  Meanwhile, the rest of us 99% of the population quickly notice that we do not measure up to such a standard.  It only takes a few minutes of people watching at the local grocery store or mall to realize that the vast majority of persons have less than perfect bodies and do not have much of a budget to live like the other less than 1% of the famous.
 
            Into this dark abyss of feeling depressed about one’s image enters the biblical truth that each and every one of us, no matter our station in life, is “fearfully and wonderfully made.”  The Creator God took great care to make us and form us just the way he wants us.  The psalmist, David, praised God for the way we were created.  The real standard from which we ought to judge ourselves is this:  God knows us intimately, inside and out, and he does not condemn us or shame us but loves us wholly.  Why? Because he is the one who made us.
 
            So, rather than wasting our emotional energy and our mental faculties on wishing we looked different or were more like so-and-so who seems to always have it all together, try practicing what David did:  praising God.  Whenever we think we do not measure up to the standard by which we compare ourselves, the only real measurement is grace.  No matter who we are, the entire race of humanity has been created in the image of God, and, on that basis alone, we have inherent value, worth, and majesty.  Let us, then, treat ourselves and others with the yardstick of grace.
            O God, thank you that I am wonderfully made in your likeness.  I praise you that I am fully accepted, even when I do not accept myself.  In Jesus Christ you have demonstrated the height of your love and mercy.  May this grace be with me every day so that I will conduct myself in a manner worthy of being part of the human family.  Amen.

John 1:29-34

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            In a world where people do whatever seems best and feels right to them personally; on an earth where the environment and people are viewed as commodities to be used, abused, and/or manipulated for personal gain; in a place where sin is rampant and seems to run amok as if it’s ubiquity is a hopeless constant; into this world enters John the Baptist.  His message speaks to the sin of the age:  “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
 
            Jesus has come on the scene to tackle this sin issue once for all.  This is truly good news!  I must admit, and perhaps you will confess with me, that we sometimes get quite discouraged with the way things are.  As a pastor I am in the business of constantly dealing with sin issues.  Not only do I interact and shepherd people who traffic in sin, try to manage sin, ignore sin, or genuinely seek to face sin down, but I myself must deal with the presence of indwelling sin in the shadowy places of my own heart.  I suspect that you, too, must engage co-workers, family members, neighbors, and others on a daily basis for whom sin is an ever-present reality while monitoring your own responses to hard hearts and difficult situations.  It can be exhausting!
 
            Yet, since Jesus has come on the scene and has lived a holy life, taught us how to do the same, was crucified, died, rose again, and ascended, the pioneer of our salvation has set us up for success.  We can take courage, joy, and even rest in the gracious sacrificial Lamb who has dealt a death blow to sin’s power.  Jesus Christ always has the last word.
            O blessed heavenly Father, thank you for sending the Son, the Lamb of God, to take away the sin of the world.  Help me to walk in this reality every day, so that I might face down sin in my life, and gently assist others to do the same.  Amen.

Psalm 69:1-5, 30-36

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            We have all likely at times felt the anguish of the psalmist:  being so overwhelmed that it feels like we are drowning.  The feeling is compounded exponentially when behind the sense of trying to keep our heads above water there are people who do not like us – maybe even hate us, to the point of undermining our work every chance they get.  It is in such circumstances that we can experience sleepless nights hoping that somehow and someway God will show up.
 
            The typical modus operandi for such a situation is the age old route of complaining and wishing things were different.  But neither griping about our adversity nor dishing out slander and gossip toward others is a godly way of dealing with problems.  Just the opposite response is the proper path to the bone-crushing feeling of opposition:  praising God’s name with a song, and magnifying him with thanksgiving.  The reason the believer can engage in adoring God in the midst of trouble is not some Jedi-type mind trick to make us think more positively.  Instead, the basis for praise is in knowing God.  It is God who ultimately will deal with the wicked; it is the Lord who will bend his ear to listen to our lament when times are hard. 
 
            Thanking God for answers to prayer in advance of them actually being answered is a biblical thing to do.  Having a faith robust enough to see ahead toward hope can bring love to a loveless situation, and usher in praise before the divine deed of deliverance is even accomplished.
            Saving God, thank you for your deliverance!  I give you praise for loving me through sending your Son, the Lord Jesus, to this realm so that I might experience salvation from sin, death, and hell.  By Christ’s authority, in the power of the Holy Spirit given to me, I resist the enemy’s attempts to seize control of my life.  I belong to you, God.  Amen.

Exodus 3:7-15

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Several years ago, when I attended seminary, I got to know several persons from around the world who came to study theology and ministry.  One of those people was a man from India whom I became good friends with.  His name was P.J.  I asked P.J. one day what the initials stood for.  He replied, “No one in the West is able to pronounce my real name, so I simply go by the initials P.J.”  
             When Moses asked God what his name is, God gave him an answer similar to my friend P.J.  He replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am.”  Okay.  That was not exactly what Moses was looking for, but he did get an answer to his question.  It was as if God knew that his name was much too wonderful to ever pronounce, so he gave Moses a name that people could actually call him.  
             “Yahweh” is the name in Hebrew.  It is only one word, but is difficult to exactly translate; it certainly cannot be translated into one word in English which is why we need to have an entire phrase in order to even begin to make sense of the name “Yahweh.”  Other Bible translations (i.e. NIV) capitalize all the letters of “LORD” in order to cue the reader that the name “Yahweh” is being used.
             A phrase in vogue today to communicate something that is hard to make sense of but is nonetheless real is, “It is what it is.”  That perhaps is as close as we get to understanding “Yahweh.”  He is who he is; God will be who he will be.  The LORD is so far above us that he must communicate to us in a kind of baby language, much like a parent who simply bends down and utters coos over the crib of her infant.
             God has been gracious to stoop to us and reveal something of himself to us.  The fullest expression of this love is the sending of the Son, the Lord Jesus, to be with us so that we can know this God who is who he is.  The proper response to this grace from Yahweh is gratitude, praise, and trust.
             Yahweh, the great I AM, you have graciously entered my life especially through the person of Jesus Christ, your Son.  Guide me each day to explore and know you so that my faith will be strengthened and my path righteous, through the power of the Spirit.  Amen.