Category: Year C

Psalm 14

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            George Washington, in his farewell address to the nation in 1796, constructed his encouragements to the American people on the basis of virtue.  Only a virtuous people, Washington believed, could cause the American experiment to succeed among the family of nations.  Virtue, for Washington, could only occur through the twin pillars of religion and morality.  He stated:
 
“Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it – It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices?”
 
Washington was no fool.  He understood that the guiding hand of Providence [God] was necessary to the flourishing of a free and happy people.  Indeed, as the ancient psalmist said, “Only a fool would say, ‘There is no God!’  People like that are worthless; they are heartless and cruel and never do right.”  Whatever Washington’s true personal sensibilities were about theology, he did believe that belief in God along with the Scripture’s moral guidance were needed for a fledgling nation.  The people’s ability to recognize and engraft religion into their lives would be a must for America.
 
Becoming untethered from God leads to vice; enjoining God and following him leads to virtue.  It is not wise to ignore the God of all creation.  But through daily attentiveness and devotion to the Lord, moral and ethical ways can take root and produce justice, reconciliation, and peace.
 

 

Sovereign God, you rule the nations through your wise and benevolent reign.  Help me to participate with you in your grand kingdom enterprise so that I can make decisions consistent with true morality, for the sake of Jesus.  Amen.

Luke 18:18-30

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            One way of looking at this Gospel story of the rich young ruler is that Jesus did an intervention.  The rich man was addicted to wealth and money, but he didn’t see it.  In fact, he thinks he is quite godly and spiritual.  After all, he’s an upstanding citizen, a religious man, and attentive to God’s law.  It’s a sad story because the man walks away un-transformed by his encounter with Jesus and refused to follow him.  He didn’t see himself as hopeless and desperately needing to change.  He held to his denial.
 
            We are all addicted to sin.  If you want to push back on that statement and are thinking, “Well, I don’t have as much money as _____” or, “So-and-so really has a problem with this…” then you are practicing what we call, in terms of addiction, denial.  Truth be told, all of us are in some sort of denial about how much we really trust in paychecks, bank accounts, investments, and a wealth of stuff.  Even people who truly do not have much money can have an addiction by always thinking about money and wishing for it as the answer to their problems, as if wealth is the highest good to attain in life.
 
            Jesus puts the problem of sin out there for us all to see by communicating to us that sin cannot be managed – sin needs to die.  The good news is that through sheer honesty and facing up to our own addiction to things we can find grace.  Grace always has the last word.  Grace trumps addiction to money, stuff, and anything else.  God’s love and acceptance is not based on our screw-ups, but on Christ’s forgiveness through the cross.  Jesus put sin to death.  We are simply invited to bring it out in the open, confess it, and follow Jesus.
 

 

            Gracious Lord Jesus, you invite me to follow you.  All I need do is to let go of everything and do it.  That is exactly what I choose to do.  My life is yours; do with it what you will.  Amen.

Psalm 2

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Our view of God determines how we live.  If our perception of God is that he is small and ineffective, or does not really see or care about everything that happens on earth, then the response of the nations in Psalm 2 is likely:  “The kings of this earth have all joined together to turn against the LORD and his chosen one.  They say, ‘Let’s cut the ropes and set ourselves free!’”  But if we rightly discern that God is far larger than we can ever imagine and sees all, then we know that “in heaven the LORD laughs as he sits on his throne, making fun of the nations.”  Any group of people who think they can distance themselves from the God of the universe are, at best, delusional, and, at worst, in danger of being swept away like an ant hill.
 
            God blesses and protects everyone who runs to him.  So, we are to be smart and show respect.  The fact of the matter is that God is bigger than anyone or anything.  That is good news for those who serve God and bad news for those who don’t.  The fact of the matter is that nothing can separate God’s people from his love; no nation has more power than God; and, no organization, institution, or government can continue unabated in their unethical ways. 
 
            So, when we face adversity, hardship, and difficulty we have a very large God who has our back.  It might seem in the short term that evil is winning and arrogant people are having their day, but ultimately God is going to deal with it.  Jesus is king, and we are not.
 

 

            Immense God, you are sovereign above all creation and everything in the earth.  I choose this day to submit to the words and ways of Jesus, who is the true ruler of all.  May all the nations come to see you for who you really are: the great and wondrous king.  Amen.

Jeremiah 17:14-27

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            God had a serious thing about the Sabbath.  Throughout the prophetic books of the Old Testament, the lack of observing a Sabbath day’s rest is consistently mentioned as a reason why judgment was on its way.  And it wasn’t just a side issue for God; He really took umbrage about treating the Sabbath like any other day of the week.  Listen to the cold description:  “If you value your lives, don’t do any work on the Sabbath….  If you keep on carrying things through the city gates on the Sabbath [in order to do business] and keep treating it as any other day, I will set fire to these gates and burn down the whole city, including the fortresses.”
 
            Whoa!  What is that all about?  Such language and warnings are pretty strange to our modern ears.  Why in the world would God be so upset about doing a little business on the Sabbath day?  The reason the Lord held tenaciously to a Sabbath rest is that it was intended as a time of sheer enjoyment and change of pace from all the other days.  It was a chance to connect with God in a special way.  It was an opportunity for God’s people to connect with each other in worship and delight in the unforced rhythms of gracious relationships. 
 
            But for centuries, the people forsook this Sabbath day because they wanted to do business, make some more money, and carry on just like everyone else did in the world.  There will always be work to do – another phone call, one more business connection or task, or correspondence to maintain.  After all, can’t let the competitors get the advantage!  So, if working on the Sabbath is what it took, okay we’ll do it.  But God interpreted all this as a profound lack of faith and stiff-arm in his face.  Rather than trust in the Lord, the slippery slope of a downward relationship with God began with simply not paying attention to the Sabbath.
 
            Whether we need to hold to the actual same Sabbath day rest today for Christians has often been debated.  But what is not up for debate is setting aside a consistent weekly time and place for extended rest with the Lord.  If we see this as negotiable, perhaps we need to spend some more time in the prophetic books.
 

 

            Holy God, you scan the earth looking for faithful people.  May the gift of faith you have given me nurture and grow into a consistent, sustained, and committed life of fellowship with Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.