Category: Year C

Luke 22:39-46

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            It’s easy to believe that we are people of prayer, that is, until we contrast ourselves with Jesus.  One of the problems we often run into when thinking about ourselves is that we make comparisons with the wrong people.  Compared to others, we look pretty good.  After all, I pray more than the next guy, right!?  But consider how Jesus prayed when faced with enduring the ignominy of the cross:  “Jesus was in great pain and prayed so sincerely that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood.”
 
            Even Jesus, the Son of God, felt the intense need to watch and pray so that he could face his time of suffering and humiliation on behalf of humanity.  I would conjecture that even your most incredible time of prayer probably doesn’t compare to the experience of Jesus in prayer.  That isn’t meant to be a source of guilt, to try and somehow twist our collective arm to be more sincere and focused.  Rather, it is meant to show us that there is much more room to grow in this business of prayer than we ever thought.
 
            Perhaps there is so little church renewal, so puny personal revival, and such a paucity of revitalization and reformation among so many Christians because our prayers are so small and so far in between each other.  Jesus prayed because he needed it.  I pray because without God I am hopelessly lost.  I pray because I desperately need Jesus.  I pray because only the Holy Spirit can bring the empowerment to face the rigors of ministry in front of me.  I pray because I sincerely believe that humanity’s hope rests with the blessed Holy Trinity, the God whom I serve.
 

 

            Gracious Lord Jesus, I am eternally grateful for what you did on my behalf by enduring the shame of the cross.  I have much to learn in praying sincerely, earnestly, and effectively.  Teach me, Lord, so that I might be like you in all I do and say.  Amen.

James 5:7-12

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            In 1952, a woman named Florence Chadwick attempted to become the first female to swim the twenty-one miles from Catalina Island to the California coast.  Less than a half-mile from her destination she gave up.  It wasn’t because of fatigue, but because of the thick fog.  Florence simply could not see how close she was to her goal.  Two months later she did it, also in the fog, but had learned her lesson and persevered even though she couldn’t see the coast in front of her.
 
            Everyone who has faced adversity knows how hard it is to keep going without seeing the goal.  Yet, it is important to be patient and to persevere knowing that the Lord’s coming is near.  Like the farmer, we must expectantly wait till the harvest.  There is nothing we can do to speed up the process and go straight from planting to harvest.  It takes time.  It takes patience.  Grumbling and complaining about how long it is taking will not make it go any faster.
 
            For the Christian, there must be suffering before glory.  The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.  We live in a time when we will either sink or swim – there is no in-between.  God’s celestial shore is within sight; don’t miss it by getting discouraged by all the fog.  Hang in there, my friend.
 

 

            Patient God, you endure through all of my ignorance and impatience and just keep growing me by your grace.  Thank you for working me as a farmer works the soil.  May there be a great harvest of righteousness in my life as I allow your faithful work to be done in me.  Amen.

1 Peter 4:12-19

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            I am going to make one of the simplest observations about God’s people in the Bible:  they suffered.  Whether it was Abel being killed, Noah persevering through ridicule, Abraham facing an uncertain future, Jeremiah weeping over Jerusalem and thrown into jail, or Paul enduring persecution, everyone who wants to live a godly life will face suffering.  In fact, all of the New Testament epistles have something to do with this issue of suffering.
 
            Peter wanted to make it clear that every Christian should neither be surprised nor shocked when they suffer.  If our Lord suffered, we, too, will suffer.  Rather than this being a huge Debbie Downer sort of thing, Peter interprets a Christian’s suffering as a privilege, even a blessing.  It is a mark of belonging – a sign that God’s Spirit is within us.  If we do stupid things, we face the consequences.  But when we do good things for God, the consequence is a kind of suffering that puts us in solidarity with Christ.  “Be glad for the chance to suffer as Christ suffered.  It will prepare you for even greater happiness when he makes his glorious return.”
 
            Sometimes it can be rough.  It’s one thing to suffer.  It’s another to keep suffering day in and day out.  So, what to do?  “If you suffer for obeying God, you must have complete faith in your faithful Creator and keep on doing right.”  Bad attitudes, giving up, or revenge are not options on the table for the Christian.  Instead, we persevere in the doing of good.  It may not be easy, but God sees and he will vindicate our work.
 

 

            Dear Jesus, it is a small thing for me to suffer in light of your great suffering on my behalf through the cross.  Empower me to do right every day so that praise will always be on my lips for you.  Amen.

Psalm 119:97-104

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            We live in a wonderful, complex, beautiful, broken, and upside-down world.  The information we have access to, the choices we make, and the networking we engage in all require a great deal of wisdom.  Throw into the mix the reality that most things rarely go as we plan, and you have a recipe for disappointment and/or frustrating anger.  So, is there a path, a way of approaching this world that can help us navigate all of its twists and trials?  Well, yes, there is a light through it all.  And I will let today’s psalm, from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible, inform us of how to proceed:
 
I deeply love your Law!
I think about it all day.
98 Your laws never leave my mind,
and they make me much wiser
than my enemies.
99 Thinking about your teachings
gives me better understanding
than my teachers,
100 and obeying your laws
makes me wiser
than those
who have lived a long time.
101 I obey your word
instead of following a way
that leads to trouble.
102 You have been my teacher,
and I won’t reject
your instructions.
103 Your teachings are sweeter
than honey.
104     They give me understanding
and make me hate all lies.

 

Amen.