Category: Year C

Jeremiah 50:17-20

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Failure is not permanent.  The prophet Jeremiah had a message for Judah that excoriated their sin and wayward lives.  Most did not listen to Jeremiah.  As a result, the Babylonians came and destroyed Jerusalem’s wall and the temple, and took thousands into captivity.  But that was not the end of the story.  There would be a remnant of people who would survive.  The people in exile would return to the land.  When that time comes, “iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those who I leave as a remnant.”
 
            When God forgives, it is a clean slate.  The Lord does not hold people’s sins over their heads to use as leverage at some later point.  A pardon from God means that he takes his divine permanent marker and completely blots out the offense; it is gone.  The good news of the Holy Scriptures is that there is grace for the sinner. 
 
            One of the reasons we humans have such a difficult time forgiving others is because we do not really comprehend the forgiveness of God to us.  But when we discern and understand that God’s pardon means that he gives new life and a fresh start then we have confident hope for the future.  It causes us to forgive others as God has forgiven us.  This happens because we are in a place of spiritual stability and eternal security in Jesus Christ.  It is the secure, not the insecure, who know God’s grace and inherit the kingdom.
 

 

            Forgiving God, you extend your grace to me despite my past actions, attitudes, and words.  Thank you for this undeserved gift of new life.  Enable me to use this gift with great care so that Jesus is glorified.  Amen.

Psalm 100

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            A good deal of the Christian life is a continual renovation of the mind and a transformation of the heart.  It doesn’t just happen; a changed attitude and orientation to life occurs through the simple daily practices of infusing oneself with Holy Scripture in many different ways.  Just as most things in life need to have attention and careful maintenance, so our souls need ongoing work lest they devolve into disillusioned outlooks.  The psalms are ideal for such a life-makeover.
 
            Saying and quoting this psalm on a regular basis will alter our attitude and orientation toward life in general.  This is a psalm that really needs to be as familiar to Christians as putting on our shoes every day.  In fact, keeping a Bible by your bedside at all times is a good thing.  Once you awake in the morning, and/or go to bed at night, let Psalm 100 shape your thoughts by saying it aloud.  Maybe even say it several times.  After all, it takes less than a minute to read it so let’s not go down the road of saying we are too busy for such a thing.
 
            Knowing that the Lord is the sovereign God over us; entering the day with thanksgiving to God; remembering that God is good, all the time; and, believing that God’s faithfulness is constant and eternal are the theological underpinnings for serving the Lord with gladness, instead of serving oneself with grumpiness.
 

 

            Loving God, I come into your presence with gratitude and singing.  You are the great God and your steadfast love endures forever.  May your gracious works and constant faithfulness be with me today in all that I do; through Jesus Christ, my Lord.  Amen.

Luke 12:29-32

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


            We seek what we desire.  If we seek the kingdom of God, we will pursue the Lord Jesus and aim our love toward knowing him.  But if we seek materialism, wealth, and the accumulation of stuff we will never have enough because worry and fear shall always overwhelm the voice of God’s kingdom.  I make it sound easy, as if the choice were so clear.  On one level it is, but, like most things, it is complicated because we are all a weird hybrid of competing loves and desires.
             So, let’s make a few distinctions that might help us clarify our kingdom calling.  Materialism is not the same thing as hard work.  Materialism is a shield we lug around to protect us from failure and poverty; hard work is about healthy achievement and proper patient growth of assets.  Materialism puts us on a performance treadmill, tied to our self-worth; hard work seeks to improve and is satisfied with a job well done.  Materialism has a never-ending quest for security and protection, but hard work brings gratitude and joy.
             The pursuit of wealth seeks to avoid the criticism of others, seeks their approval, and wrongly believes that money will take away feelings of hurt, pain, and discomfort.  But seeking God’s kingdom as the passionate priority of our lives is the true path of taking away fear and worry.  Any worldly fool can make money; but only the wise and righteous person is able to manage resources in a way that glorifies God, builds up the church, and blesses others.  And it all begins with knowing the difference between depending on God versus depending on self.
             Merciful God, thank you for giving me everything I need for life and godliness in this present world.  Forgive me for every doubting your goodness and ability to provide for me.  Let my life bless the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Psalm 23

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


            This is one of those days where sacred time needs to break into secular time and transform it.  April 15, as all Americans are quite aware, is tax day.  Those procrastinating souls who have hoped for the return of the Lord before this date are now faced with the reality of secular time.  But in this sacred season of Eastertide, a focus on new life can bring a transformation from fear to faith, from fretting to resting.  Psalm 23 is just the right message for this time.  Yet, because of its familiarity, we might only associate it with funerals and miss its relevance for now.  So, the following is my contemporized version of this most famous of psalms:
Jesus is my pastor, and I lack absolutely nothing because of it.
My merciful overseer is watching me while I rest secure on a nice soft bed of grace;
             he leads me into an unhurried life; he is thawing out my cold anxious soul.
He leads me in all the right ways for the sake of his great name.
Even though I get lost and find myself in a dark alley,
             I really have no fear of evil;
for I know God is with me,
             his Word and Sacrament – they are sufficient to comfort me.
I have a big ol’ appetite and hunger for you, God,
             and you satisfy it,
             even though I have enemies within arm’s length;
you encourage my mind with joyous thoughts,
             so that my heart overflows with hope.
I am quite sure that goodness and mercy will follow me for a lifetime,
             and I will live in peace despite any adverse circumstances my whole life long.