Category: Year C

Psalm 17

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            This is one of David’s personal psalms of lament.  It is a prayer forged in the midst of adversaries who sought his life.  The psalm is a plea uttered with the hope that God would indeed vindicate him and subdue those who wanted to harm him.  It is a lament that wickedness exists and often gets its way; it is a grieving over the constant threats that swirled around David.
 
            It was David’s prayer that with all the heartless and arrogant violence that was continually in his life that God would keep him as the apple of his eye, and hide him in the shadow of his wings.  Indeed, perhaps no better prayer could be said in those times when there are people who make untrue accusations and only wish harm to be done to you:  “Keep me as the apple your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”  It is in the times when angry simpletons spew their worst that we need to confidently know that the God watches over his people with affection and cares for them as a mother hen protects her chicks.
 
            You and I are precious to God.  We can run to him when there is trouble.  The Lord is a benevolent God showing firm commitment to those who seek truth, loving actions, and merciful words.  When going through a difficult time in which another or others accuse you of wrongdoing and you know you are innocent, the proper prescription is to pray this very psalm repeatedly at night before bed.  For we all know that sleep can be elusive and hard to come by in such circumstances.  Perhaps, along with David, you will be able to say:  “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”
 

 

            Arise, O LORD!  Deliver my soul from the wicked and subdue them!  I seek refuge in you, O Savior; show me your steadfast love as I cry out to you for help.  Incline your ear to hear me, and answer when I call through the name of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

1 John 2:1-6

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            “My little children,” the Apostle John wrote, “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”  Jesus is our advocate, the one who speaks on our behalf, our mediator who stands in the gap between heaven and earth, standing-up for us when we have no leg to stand on. 
 
            Jesus has atoned for all our sin, guilt, and shame through his “propitiation” which means that his death has satisfied the demands of justice and put to rest the sin issue once for all through his blood.  Christ’s gracious intervention has saved us from ourselves.  Jesus has made it possible for us to experience forgiveness, restoration, and new life.  When we are so broken and so full of tears that we cannot even speak words at all, Jesus steps in and speaks on our behalf with words that mean something because they have been backed up with the action of the cross.
 
            So, then, we all really have two choices in the matter:  we can either pretend everything is okay and proceed with business as usual; or, we can come to Jesus, confessing our sin and receiving the grace of forgiveness and cleansing.  What is more, Christ’s followers are called to be little advocates practicing the ministry of coming alongside and interceding for one another before God and others.  If spiritual healing is needed, there are no better verses than these to ingest, believe, and bank on.
 

 

            O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing.  Send your Holy Spirit and pour into my heart your greatest gift, which is the love of God in Christ, the true source of healing and the real bond of peace.  Amen.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            I think most people can resonate with the wisdom from Ecclesiastes:  “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”  We intuitively know that there must be balance to life, and that there needs to be a sage approach to living-out all of the many responsibilities and duties of this present time.  The problem, it seems to me, is not that we don’t recognize the need for movement from one season to another; the issue is that we do not deliberately and intentionally stop one thing and start another – we just keep going.  We keep working when we should stop; we continue eating beyond what we know we should; we do not stop yelling, or being angry; we continue in abject furrow-browed seriousness with no end in sight; parents keep treating their adult children like little kids who need their constant guidance; and, churches ensconce a particular time in their history as normative even though it has outlived its shelf life.
 
            The Church Calendar is attentive to the movements and seasons of the Christian life.  We are now in the season of Lent.  This is the time for healthy soulful introspection, examination of the heart, and repentance which leads to the eventual new life of Easter.  It is the time to stop and question why we do what we do – why we cannot stop our compulsions and obsessive behavior.  It is the season to feel something of the suffering of Jesus Christ and discern that our salvation was obtained at a very steep cost.  It is the time to ponder why we even need deliverance in the first place, and what it is we need to be saved from.  Now is the moment for contemplation, fasting, and prayer.
 

 

            Eternal God, you are infinitely patient with my failings and foibles.  As I consider the cross of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit, lead me to Calvary’s mercy and sacrifice.  Grace me with the repentance which leads to life.  Amen.

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

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


             I had a flashback today when I read today’s psalm.  My wife’s Grandma was a godly woman.  She raised five children in depression-era America, and it was not an easy life.  She had seen her share of hardship and difficulty.  By the time I met Grandma she was elderly and in the twilight of life.  Yet, none of the hard life she experienced had hardened her – she had an unmistakable sweet spirit.  In my first meeting with Grandma I read her this very psalm because it was her favorite.  As I read the beautiful words of God’s protection and watch-care over his people, the look on Grandma’s face was as if I was reading it to her for the first time.  She drank in its message and savored every word.
             Grandma has been gone now for decades, but her legacy lives on.  My wife, to put it delicately, was something of an ornery kid.  Grandma prayed for her, along with her other grandchildren, every day.  Today my wife is a godly woman, just like her Grandma.  And it is no surprise to me that her favorite psalm is Psalm 91.  
             What kind of spiritual legacy are we leaving for our kids, grandchildren, friends, and others?  The times of testing, danger, risk, and hardship are the opportunities to put trust in God into practice.  It is in such seasons that we can run to the Lord as our refuge and fortress, our shelter and our shade.  In doing so, the impact is not only personal but shows the way for others, as well.
             Watchful God, you are my protection and my strength.  I run to you because you are able to deliver and to secure.  I pray for all those in who need your special help and protection today.  May they know that you are able to save through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.