Category: Year C

John 5:19-29

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            There are many things in this world of great importance:  how we govern ourselves as a free people in America; tackling issues of poverty, education, taxes, healthcare, terrorism, and international relations; local community relationships and business; the ability to go to work every day and make a decent contributive living; being a responsible citizen; and, loving and nurturing our families.  Yet, it is my unshakable conviction that the issue above all issues, the height of importance for every human being on planet earth, is our relation to God in Jesus Christ.  In short, people need the Lord.
 
            Jesus said, “I tell you for certain that everyone who hears my message and has faith in the one who sent me has eternal life and will never be condemned.  They have already gone from death to life.”  Seasons, eras, centuries, and even millennia come and go; people are born, live, and die; generations exist and then are no more; but Jesus is alive, and he continually lives bringing life from dust, beauty from ashes, and everlasting meaning from seeming meaninglessness.
 
            Today Jesus is still on the throne of all creation.  Right now Jesus remains attentive to people, even interceding for us at the right hand of his Father in heaven.  At this moment, God’s Holy Spirit roams the earth and continues to mysteriously and graciously apply all the redemptive consequences of Christ’s cross and resurrection to the lives of millions.  Sometimes we just need to remember what is really of ultimate significance in this old broken world.  If people need the Lord, then it only makes real sense to live in ways that foster connection with Jesus.  So, this morning I did what I do every morning:  began the day with Scripture reading, prayer, reflection, and gratitude – all done with the realization that Christ’s authority is real and pervasive, and his reign is supreme.
 

 

            Sovereign God, in Christ you rule all of creation, even when it feels like you are distant.  Your authority is both benevolent and all-powerful.  Thank you for deliverance from sin, life in the Spirit, and your eventual return.  To you be all glory, honor, and praise.  Amen.

2 John

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Perhaps it is ironically significant that today’s lectionary New Testament lesson is all about love.  After an acrimonious season of electoral politicking, and a forward look at some more of the same, we need the message of this oft forgotten little epistle.  And, so, yet another irony is that this brief letter is nestled in a place in the New Testament where few believers ever take a peek.  Perhaps love itself has become a forgotten virtue among the very people entrusted to uphold its beauty and grace.
 
            Everything in the Christian life rises and falls with love.  Even to say this is a gross understatement because God himself is love.  John is known as the Apostle of love, and he consistently and constantly espoused the primacy and permanence of love whenever he had the chance.  Truth and love must go together, always.  John says to the church, personified as a very special woman, “We love you because the truth is now in our hearts, and it will be there forever.”
 
            The true muster of the church and of individual believers is their love.  A profound lack of love is the litmus test that belies a faulty and heretical doctrine of Jesus.  No love is always the clue that there is going to be some impure teaching behind it.  The real enemy of Christ is the one who claims Christianity but does not love in either word or deed.  If we really want to love God, we will love one another, and vice-versa.
 

 

            Loving God, there is never a time when you do not love.  Let that same virtue dwell in me all the time, as well, so that the world will know there is a God in heaven who cares.  Amen.

Psalm 98

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
Sing a new song to the Lord!
He has worked miracles,
and with his own powerful arm,
he has won the victory.
2 The Lord has shown the nations
that he has the power to save
and to bring justice.
3 God has been faithful
in his love for Israel,
and his saving power is seen
everywhere on earth.
4 Tell everyone on this earth
to sing happy songs
in praise of the Lord.
5 Make music for him on harps.
Play beautiful melodies!
6 Sound the trumpets and horns
and celebrate with joyful songs
for our Lord and King!
7 Command the ocean to roar
with all of its creatures,
and the earth to shout
with all of its people.
8 Order the rivers
to clap their hands,
and all of the hills
to sing together.
9 Let them worship the Lord!
He is coming to judge
everyone on the earth,
and he will be honest
and fair. (Contemporary English Version)
 
            I hope you don’t miss the point of the psalm:  sing to the Lord a new song.  Yes a “new” song.  Other than the fact we ought to bring fresh music to our worship of God, this is a summons to get an original voice.  Instead of going down the same ruts in our speaking and living, being attentive to God’s mighty deeds helps us break out into new vistas of living.  This attention to God’s works through a new song becomes so invigorating that everyone and everything on earth is encouraged to join into the imaginative expression of praise.
 
            We are to praise God in this present time because of what he has done in the past, always looking to the future when he will come again.  If we don’t make the effort to offer praise that is fresh, creative, and thoughtful for our present time, then we ought not to be surprised when a watching world gives a shoulder-shrugging “meh” to our tepid singing.  And if such vibrant praise seems foreign, then the time is past due for a renewed focus on the works of God in history because he really has done miraculous things for us.
 

 

            Mighty God, your holy arm of power has done incredible works in history.  What is more, you have done influential works in my life, especially through deliverance from evil and transformation of heart.  For this, and much more, I praise the gracious and wonderful name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord.  Amen.

Acts 24:10-23

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


            We all have a conscience.  It is the moral compass, the intangible guidance system, and the sense we cannot always explain which is constantly with us giving us insight beyond mere facts and objectivity.  Without a conscience we are bereft and aimless in this world.  But paying attention to the conscience and allowing it to do its vital work in our lives will serve us quite well.  It is the constant angel on our shoulder, directing us to better things and the good life.
             When we allow the conscience to dictate a course forward, we are neither influenced toward inaction in the face of stress, nor spurred to sinful activity and words when in trouble.  The conscience tempers our inbred fight-or-flight syndrome so that we engage properly in each adverse situation.  The Apostle Paul, when standing trial before Governor Felix, gave testimony to his Christian faith.  Paul gave a cogent apologetic for his life and ministry not because he was trying to get off the hook or because he thought it was his duty, but because of his conscience:  “I always strive to keep my conscience clear before man and God.”
             I will suggest to you that the reason Paul was able to accomplish so much in his life without fear, and his effective engagement with others came from his God-given inner resource of the conscience.  I cannot help but think:  What if I shared this same concern as Paul to always have my conscience clear before both God and others?  What if sought to make decisions and live my life continually in conversation with my conscience?  What if my church all did this?  What if everyone did this?  We would be in much better world, for sure.
             Gracious God, you really do provide everything we need for life and godliness in this world.  Help me to keep my conscience clear and tender toward your will so that others might experience through me the life-giving message of Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.