Category: Year C

Psalm 68:1-10, 19-20

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            “Do something, God!” (verse 1, Contemporary English Version).  I think every believer has cried out that phrase at some point in their lives.  There are situations where evil seems to run on and on with no end in sight.  There are people who flap their tongues with half-truths, misinterpretations, and lack of evidence with apparently no one calling them out on their slander.  There are those that look like they are getting away with living however they want, no matter whom they hurt, with no consequence.  When such people inflict their ungracious ways on us, it is understandable that we would want to scream, “Do something, God!”
 
            Then there are circumstances that are just plain droll.  Nothing seems to be happening.  Church is boring.  Christians around us are unmotivated.  People don’t seem to care about anything but themselves.  The world is going to hell and there are spiritual couch potatoes only acknowledging God if it is in their best interests to do so.  It’s enough for a faithful believer to yell, “Do something, God!”
 
            Ah, but God is up to something.  He has acted in the past through giving the ancient Israelites freedom from Egyptian oppression; he has overturned evil kings; he has sent his prophets to call people back to himself; and, he has sent his Son, the Lord Jesus, to redeem humanity.  And he will come again to judge the earth and fulfill once-for-all his promises.
 
            With a God in heaven, the Son interceding for us at the Father’s right hand, and God’s Spirit present with us on earth, justice and mercy will rule.  We might only see the shadows, but God hovers over us and responds to our calls.  He has done something, will do something, and is doing something today to win the spiritual battle for the hearts and minds of people everywhere.
 

 

            O God, scatter your enemies but let your people be happy and celebrate because of you.  For you set people free, cause them to prosper, and judge the ungodly.  Open my eyes to see the ways in which your justice and grace are being played-out around me and in the world.  Amen.

Psalm 146

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


              I am something of an old cartoon buff.  I was told when I was eleven years old that I would outgrow watching them – I’m still waiting for that day.  I, of course, enjoyed watching Underdog.  There is something deep within the human psyche that cheers for the underdog.  Wally Cox was the perfect voice for the mild-mannered shoe-shine boy to take his underdog super energy pill and fly through the sky to rescue Sweet Polly Purebread.
             That “something” that is within us that identifies with the underdog is the justice of God.  Today’s psalm lets us know that God cares about the underdog.  There ought to be no doubt that God is deeply concerned for those who are powerless, defenseless, and on the margins of society.  The psalmist identifies such persons:  those who are hungry; the prisoners; the blind; those bowed down; the orphan; and, the widow.  All these people represent individuals without ability to be movers and shakers in their culture.  In short, they need God.
             And God delights to use his power to lift them up.  What is more, truth be told, it turns out that all of us are underdogs.  We all need God.  Every action and decision we take and make is really God’s grace and enablement to do it.  We owe it all to him.  Thus, the logical and reasonable response to such a God is praise – to declare our hallelujahs to the one who reigns forever and will always see humanity’s great need.  How will you praise him today for who he is and for what he has done?  Let such praise shape your soul and lift your spirit as you intentionally connect with the gracious God who gives the underdog what he needs.
             Eternal God, you reign forever and ever.  I praise you as long as I live.  I put my trust in you, and not in those in society who wield their apparent power and influence.  Let them wallow in their delusions while I declare the mighty Name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Mark 7:24-30

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Not much happens until something becomes urgent.  A doctor, a financial planner, or a preacher can tell us something until they are blue in the face.  But it won’t mean much without a sense of urgency that some sort of change must occur – that the way things currently exist isn’t going to cut it any longer.  When it comes to the Christian life, law and duty can only take us so far – we need the gospel of grace.
 
            Today’s Gospel lesson has a Gentile Canaanite woman (who is about as far from God as one can get in the ancient world) coming to Jesus with a keen sense of urgency.  She is not concerned about appearances or masking her pain; she cares about seeing her daughter healed of her terrible suffering from demonization.  The woman sees in Jesus the answer to her daughter’s problem.  She begged Jesus to act.  But Jesus puts her off.
 
            A superficial reading of this story might lead us to think that Jesus is either aloof or elitist.  But I think a better way of looking at Christ’s response of not immediately healing the daughter is looking at the episode through the lenses of patience and perseverance.  God is not some coin machine that we can drop in a dollar and get immediate change.  The Godhead is not some system to figure out in order to work the angles to get what we want.  Here’s what I believe the real point of the story is for us:  The woman had to go hard after Jesus, to keep going after him, and to exercise her faith muscle to its fullest extent.
 
            The woman looked for grace, kept going after God’s mercy, and was honored for her persistent faith.  We don’t need to write an essay to God in prayer about why he should answer us and try and convince him of our righteous cause – we just need to seek the mercy of God in Christ with determination.  Begging isn’t pretty and it isn’t comfortable.  But being poor in spirit is the only posture that Jesus is really concerned about recognizing.
 

 

            Gracious God, I beg you to bring healing, spiritual health, and relational wholeness to your church everywhere so that the name of Jesus is exalted in the world.  Amen.

Ezekiel 14:1-11

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            “One day, some of Israel’s leaders came to me and asked for a message from the LORD.  While they were there, the LORD said:  Ezekiel, son of man, these men have started worshiping idols, though they know it will cause them to sin even more.  So I refuse to give them a message!”
 
            Just because someone asks or inquires what the Bible says, does not necessarily mean that person intends on living according to it.  It just might be that the opposite is true.  We can, of course, see and sniff out hypocrisy in others, but might be blind to it in our own lives.  Whenever we go to church and sit under the preaching of God’s Word but have no intention of really doing anything but getting spiritual brownie points through attendance, we must locate ourselves along with the hypocritical men who came to Ezekiel.
 
            Listening to God’s Word, reading it on a daily basis, and even talking about it really means nothing unless we take a humble posture of intending to do what it says.  So, what are the idols in our lives?  What things hinder us from doing what the Bible says to do?  What will we do about it?  God is looking for repentance and faith in Jesus, and not us keeping up appearances to righteousness.
 

 

            Holy God, you desire a penitent heart, sincere faith, and an obedient life.  May it be so in my life to the glory of Jesus through the energy of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.