Category: Year C

1 Kings 18:1-19

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            “Obadiah was in charge of Ahab’s palace, but he faithfully worshiped the LORD.  In fact, when Jezebel was trying to kill the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah hid one hundred of them in two caves and gave them food and water.”  Ahab and Jezebel could have starred in the series House of Cardsby just being themselves.  They were a real king and queen who were thoroughly selfish and evil in all of their dealings.  Ahab, enabled and encouraged by his pagan wife, did away with the true worship of God and established the worship of Baal in the land of Israel. 
 
            But this did not mean that God was not active.  In fact, the Lord was working behind the scenes to undermine the systemic evil in the kingdom through a person, Obadiah, who was devoted to God.  Obadiah was not a prophet, a seer, or a priest.  He was a man working in an ungodly world, doing the best he could to serve the Lord.  Just because he was not Elijah did not mean that God couldn’t use Obadiah in the scheme of his will.
 
            Our ordinary everyday jobs and work have been ordained by God to use us where we are.  Rather than lamenting our limitations or wishing the situation were different, we all have an opportunity for God to work through us in our current positions and stations in life.  Every one of us has the opportunity every day to integrate our faith and our work through connecting biblical ethics to concrete applications at our jobs; working evangelistically and seeing our workplaces as mission fields; interpreting our work through a Christian worldview, and discerning that our vocation is a calling from God; and, knowing that our work is a means of God transforming and sanctifying us.
 
            How do you view your job?  How might you connect your faith and your work?  How does your job reflect the nature and character of God?  In what ways do you think God wants to use you at your workplace?
 

 

            Sovereign God, you cause nations to rise and to fall, leaders to rule and be brought down.  Take my life and my work and use it in redemptive ways that glorify the name of Jesus and exemplify the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:11-17

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            “We are ruled by Christ’s love for us.  We are certain that if one person died for everyone else, then all of us have died.  And Christ did die for all of us.  He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us.  We are careful not to judge people by what they seem to be, though we once judged Christ in that way.  Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person.  The past is forgotten, and everything is new” (CEV).
 
            Simple observation:  The Christian’s rule of life is to be love.  Love is the distinguishing mark of the believer in Jesus Christ.  A person filled and ruled by Christ’s love for him/her sees all of life in a new and different way.  Positive confidence and optimism replace negative skepticism and pessimism; grace takes over and trumps the old judgmental spirit; living in the present state and being attentive and mindful of others negates living in the past and holding onto old hurts and animosities.
 
            The person who does not change, refuses transformation of heart, and eschews the renovation of the mind is not being ruled by Christ’s love.  But the person who allows the love of God in Christ through the cross to thaw his/her cold heart into a new white hot passionate life in the Spirit is experiencing the resurrected existence to which we have been called.
 
            Try this today:  monitor your words and actions.  At the end of the day, ask yourself:  Were my words and actions done in love?  What percentage of those words and actions were loving and unloving?  Was I compelled by Christ’s love, or by the love of self?  How can I bring the value of love to be more operative in my behavior and speech?  Who will I share my plan with?
 

 

            Loving God, you demonstrated your love for us through the cross of Jesus.  May my life be so filled with grace that what comes out of my mouth and what is done in my behavior is consistently characterized by love.  Amen.

Luke 1:46-55

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
 
 
            I like it that the lectionary has a traditional Christmas text in the daily readings at this time of year.  We are now in the post-Pentecost season of “Proper Time,” that is, it is the proper season of all Christians to avail themselves of the gift of the Holy Spirit through sharing the gospel, proclaiming the grace of God, and declaring the great things God has done and is doing.
 
            Mary’s song of praise, having grasped the reality that she is pregnant with the Messiah, affirms that “God All-Powerful has done great things for me, and his name is holy.  He always shows mercy to everyone who worships him.”  It strikes me that Mary, instead of being full of worry and afraid of the future, and as an unmarried teen with child, is full of the Spirit and faith.  Mary doesn’t complain or fret; she praises God and is clear-headed about his gracious nature.
 
            God is full of grace, mercy, and power to those who are powerless and in need of help.  It’s what he does.  He’s got this.  Perhaps if we all, both individually and corporately as churches, used our words to identify and declare the great things God has done, rather than bemoaning all that isn’t right, we would realize the blessing of the Lord.  Take some time today to journal the ways in which God has been good to you this week, and praise him for each act of mercy.  Mary didn’t succumb to learned helplessness, but had her heart calibrated to detect the grace of God when it was present.
 

 

            Great and mighty God, I will praise you with all my heart.  You care for me and always show mercy to those who worship you.  Fulfill all your good promises in me, and in all your people, for the sake of your Son, the Lord Jesus.  Amen.

Ephesians 5:15-20

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            “Act like people with good sense and not like fools.  These are evil times, so make every minute count.  Don’t be stupid.  Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do.”  God’s Word is not just a nice collection of books; it is wisdom, and it is life.  A Christian who ignores Holy Scripture is like a race car driver who thinks he can enter a race with no pit crew or take any pit stops.  He won’t get very far.  In fact, it is downright foolish.
 
            We are exhorted to make every minute count, and to take the time to consider what God wants.  It is just plain common sense, as a Christian who follows Jesus, to take extended time for Bible reading, focused prayer, committed service in love, as well as taking regular Sabbath breaks in order to connect with God.  If this seems unrealistic, then the problem is that you are living with far too much stuff that is taking time, energy, and diversion away from finding out what the Lord wants you to do.
 
            We cannot use our time and resources wisely if we do not consistently interact with God.  Certainly, we are not all the same – one size does not fit all when it comes to how we read, pray, and live.  But we still must do it.  God gave us a book to read.  He is an invisible God who desires our prayers.  God has given us his Spirit in order for us to use our spiritual gifts for the benefit of others.  Pretending that any of these things is optional is, well, just stupid.  So today is the day, if you have not already done so, to make a plan for daily interaction with God. 
 
What have you done in the past that has worked for you?  Are you still doing it?  Can you do it again?  What changes must you make in your life to accommodate finding out what God wants you to do?  Are you currently being wise, or foolish?  What will you do?
 

 

            Wise God, I look to you for how to live, act, and speak.  I want to please you in every way by living according to the words and ways of Jesus through the power of your Holy Spirit.  Lead me in wisdom, truth, and grace.  Amen.