Category: Year C

Psalm 145:1-5, 17-19

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
I will praise you,
my God and King,
and always honor your name.
2 I will praise you each day
and always honor your name.
3 You are wonderful, Lord,
and you deserve all praise,
because you are much greater
than anyone can understand.
4 Each generation will announce
to the next
your wonderful
and powerful deeds.
5 I will keep thinking about
your marvelous glory
and your mighty miracles
17 Our Lord, everything you do
is kind and thoughtful,
18     and you are near to everyone
whose prayers are sincere.
19 You satisfy the desires
of all your worshipers,
and you come to save them
when they ask for help (Contemporary English Version).
 
            Wherever I go and whomever I speak with as I move about my congregation and community, there is a great deal of anxiety, even fear, about what will happen in our nation.  Certainly, our political process of the past year along with its spirited dialogue has spawned much apprehension of the future.  And, yet, there is this angle of the psalmist to consider.  We are to think about and carefully consider some solid robust theology.
 
            God provides.  He protects.  The Lord’s presence is continually with his people.  God is good for his promises.  He deals with injustice.  Yes, our God deserves all praise, glory, and honor because standing behind all the anxiety of a puny human election of candidates is a very large deity who does his own election based in his good pleasure and purpose.
 
            In these next days, I encourage you to read this psalm again and again.  Internalize it, and let its message and theology seep into the pores of your soul so that by next week your confidence will not be in the ups or downs of your candidate and political platform, but in the Lord God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
 

 

            Mighty God, along with the psalmist I will always honor and praise your holy name.  You are far greater than I can even think or imagine.  Let my trust in you be a strong ballast in the days and years to come, both for me and for the next generations of those who believe in Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            To be comforted and to comfort others when there is grief, bereavement, or trouble is not a luxury but a significant need which we all possess.  Without comfort there is an abundance of people getting stuck in some stage of denial, anger, bargaining, and/or depression.  The Apostle Paul started off his epistle to the Corinthians mentioning the word “comfort” 10 times in 5 verses.  It is a beautiful word, full of wonderful meaning. 
 
            It is likely that all of us have had both good and bad experiences with others in our own personal season of grief.  Whatever has been said to us of assistance, we can emulate.  And whatever has been said which was unhelpful, we can determine to avoid in assisting others.  Here is the “what” and the “why” of biblical comfort:  We are to come alongside and walk with another through grief, offering helpful words and actions, until the person can accept the new situation and move on.
 
            Now here is the “how:” The way people get unstuck from grief and move on is through telling their story.  The power of listening well to others’ stories is grossly underrated and is vitally needed today.  Spending time with another, asking loving questions, and offering ears to listen, mimics what God does for us in our grief.  He always has a listening ear.  He knows grief better than all of us, because he saw the agonizing death of his one and only Son.  But through Jesus hope is reawakened.  Because of Jesus, there is a future resurrection awaiting us and our loved ones.  Our grief will be turned to joy, and our comfort will overflow.  Thank you, Jesus.
 

 

            Saving God, you have acted with the ultimate love by sending your Son, the Lord Jesus to this earth.  He is familiar with suffering, and knows grief inside and out.  Thank you for the comfort that you offer through the redemptive events of Jesus.  Let your Holy Spirit shape me into one who is both comforted, and is able to comfort others.  Amen.

Matthew 21:28-32

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Jesus was killed for a reason.  He often said shocking things to the crowds of people that did anything but endear many of them to him.  Today’s Gospel lesson has our Lord putting the religious leaders on their spiritual heels with a parable packed with a punchline:  “You can be sure that tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will!”  Now, there’s a recipe for conflict!  But the sobering truth of Christianity is that in Christ’s upside-down kingdom the spiritual insiders are really on the outside and the spiritual outsiders are the ones who will receive God’s promises.
 
            Like many portions of Scripture, this lesson is both a warning and an encouragement.  It is a warning to all the spiritually serious and uptight among us about being obsessed with correctness, checking off right beliefs on our spiritual checklists, and placing mercy and obedience as of only secondary importance.  But it is an encouragement to all of us moral failures with the wonderful possibilities of a changed life full of grace and love. 
 
            Talk is cheap.  Paying lip service to God, and not loving submission to Jesus, is hollow and means nothing.  What matters most, because we are all in need of grace, is repentance and a willingness to let God transform us into the likeness of Christ.  Anything less will result in the door of God’s kingdom being shut in our face.  Take several minutes to read over the parable two or three times, and be honest about how you fit into the story.  Christ’s kingdom parables are not just for other people; they are for us all.  For, to change our minds and believe is the true work of God in us.
 

 

            Lord Jesus, you pry with merciful intensity into my life.  Do your faithful work of convicting me of sin, and change me into a servant fit for the kingdom of God.  Amen.

1 Peter 5:1-11

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Humility is the consummate virtue of the believer in Jesus.  “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  Without humility there is no grace because there is no recognition of the need for God.  We wrongheadedly think we can do just fine on our own, thank you very much.  So, how’s that been working for you lately?  Are you frustrated, worried, and/or despondent?  Humility opens to us the wide vistas of God’s love and mercy.  A humble spirit makes church leadership both possible and bearable because the building of the church ultimately rests with Christ.  A humble spirit helps relieve the anxious worries that wash over us because our care is really in the hands of God.  A humble spirit enables us to resist the devil and remain strong in faith because Satan has nothing we want.  A humble spirit fortifies us to stay steady through suffering because we share in the sufferings of Jesus, and it is a privilege.
 
            This isn’t just some biblical spin-doctoring in order to have a positive attitude in the middle of crappy circumstances; humility really is the virtue to which we all need to aspire.  Genuine spiritual humility actually delivers what we need the most:  to rest secure in the merciful arms of God.  And it is what this old world needs the most of, and to which we must reinforce in all of our church leadership appointments, political elections, and work staffing.  No amount of brains and hard work can make up for a lack of humility.  God will be in control forever, and the sooner we sync our lives with this truth the better off we will be.
 

 

            Sovereign God, you cause people and nations to rise and to fall.  I place my complete trust and devotion in you.  With all the humility I can muster, I bow to you and submit to your gracious work in my life and in the life of the world.  Shoo pride far from me, and let me share in your sufferings so that I might share in your glory through Jesus Christ, my Lord.  Amen.