Category: Year C

1 Kings 1:1-30

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            A person’s impending death can bring out a lot of different behaviors in the people around the dying.  Death really ought to teach us how to live, how to face our limitations, and how to accept the inevitable.  Notice some of the responses of various people in today’s Old Testament lesson concerning the last days of the aged King David.
 
            The servants of David treat the king’s declining health as some sort of problem to be solved in order to avoid or put off his death.  Maybe David would be aroused through giving him a beautiful virgin, and he would get back to his old kingly self.  David’s son, Adonijah, on the other hand, has just the opposite response; he is impatient to see his father die so that he can pursue his own kingly aspirations.  Bathsheba, one of David’s wives and the mother of Solomon, wants to make sure her son becomes king.  It seems David is just a pawn who can help her negotiate a difficult situation.  Finally, there is Abishag, the young woman who was with David in his final days.  It is interesting that we do not have recorded a single word of what she said.  She merely serves as a witness to David’s deteriorating health. 
 
            Out of these different people, it is Abishag that perhaps teaches us more about death than anyone else.  She was simply present and served the king; Abishag was like the ancient version of a hospice volunteer.  When faced with the eventual death of a friend or family member, to be present, to listen, and to serve are likely the best forms of dealing with the situation.
 
            The Lord Jesus faced death.  He didn’t try to avoid it; he wasn’t impatient to get it over with; and, it was not a difficulty to stoically endure.  His death is our life.  Christ’s death has brought meaning to both life and to our eventual death.
 

 

            Gracious Lord Jesus, you faced the agony of death so that I could have life.  Thank you for your sacrifice, and for giving my life meaning and purpose.  May I live for you in life and in death.  Amen.

Luke 11:33-36

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            At first glance this verse seems a bit weird:  “Your eye is the lamp of the body.  When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.”  Huh?  Well, we need to keep in mind that Jesus the Jew communicated in distinctly Jewish ways.  Speech was often expressed in metaphors and word pictures.  In other words, the word “body” serves as a way of saying “life” and the word “eye” represents our contemporary word “goal.”  So, then, let’s restate the verse:  “Your goals determine the direction of your life.  When your goals are good, your entire life is healthy, but when your goals are bad it messes up your life.”
 
            Ah, now we get the gist.  Our goals, whether stated or unstated, set the focus and direction of our lives.  If the orientation of our lives is the pursuit of selfish gain and temporary satisfaction, then we will move in that direction and it will not end well.  But, conversely, if our goals are toward God and the accomplishment of His will, then we will be light for the world.  It’s all a matter of focus and where we set our attention.
 
            Therefore, goal setting is an important thing to do.  We are to be careful, deliberate, and sensitive to the ways of Jesus when doing so.  What are your goals for this year?  Take some time to write them out.  Then, think through an intentional pathway of realizing them.  Finally, ask for the agency of the Holy Spirit to help you accomplish them.  If this seems like a daunting task, begin with just one goal and follow it through to its realization.  It is true that if we aim at nothing, we will hit our target every time.
 

 

            Loving Lord Jesus, help me to set my life’s gaze on the living and doing of your teaching.  Enable me to set godly and worthy goals, and grant me the power to see them realized through your Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Ephesians 6:10-17

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Today’s New Testament lesson has some densely packed verses concerning spiritual warfare.  We need some pegs to be able to hang all the ideas and concepts.  There are three major imperatives or commands for every believer and every church:  1) Be strong in the Lord because we are in an invisible war; 2) Put on the whole armor of God and make preparations for spiritual battle; and, 3) Take up your spiritual weapons and do battle.
 
            We are to be strong since Satan and his wicked spirits are highly organized for evil with devious schemes and stratagems designed to blunt our spiritual growth.  We are to put on the necessary armor of truth, righteousness, and peace to defend ourselves against the inevitable attacks.  We are to use our spiritual weapons of faith, salvation, and the word of God to advance against the darkness.
 
            These are non-negotiable commands given by General Paul.  He is serious about this because the spiritual forces we are up against are wicked, cunning, and they do not observe any kind of Geneva Convention rules when it comes to war.  Therefore, we are in need of some spiritual boot camp that equips us to engage the enemy of our souls. Each and every day we need the training that comes through careful, sustained and thoughtful examination of God’s Word and focused prayer.  Basic spiritual disciplines will help arm us for the certain attacks.  The goal is not simply to read and utter a prayer, but to take off the old street clothes and put on the armor provided by God.
 

 

            Holy God, I am your soldier.  I pray that words would be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ so that your ethical kingdom will prevail here on earth through the power of your Spirit.  Amen.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            The book of Ecclesiastes is not usually on many Christians’ list as the most enjoyable piece of literature they have read in the Bible.  If you have ever worked your way through these words of Solomon, then it is quite possible that you have walked away from it a bit discouraged.  Let’s face it:  this is a really depressing book.  When the chief message being expressed is that “all is vanity” when it comes to life, then it is hard to become enthused.
 
            However, we need to feel the impact of Solomon’s perspective.  He was expressing a common worldview present in his time:  history apart from God, without the divine Sovereign in the equation, moves along in vain with no real purpose behind it.  The ancient world in the days of Solomon looked at history as cyclical, not linear.  In other words, there is no real hope for things to improve, be different, or get better because what-goes-around-comes-around.  The only option in such a view of history and of the world is to accept your lot in life and try to make the best of it.  Yep, it’s depressing to say the least.
 
            But when we have God in the equation of history, there is a goal, an end to all that is happening; there is meaning and purpose to the world.  Everything we do and all that takes place around us is only vanity with the absence of God.  Yet, when the Christian fears God and keeps his commandments, then life moves along a decided pathway of following Jesus.  Life’s journey is not marked by useless activity, but faith, hope, and love.
 
            We all have a need for purpose and contribution, which is why the worldview apart from God is so meaningless.  We need to deeply and meaningfully connect with our Creator.  In doing so, we discover that life opens up to new and fresh vistas of peace and joy.  There is an end to the story, if we have spiritual eyes to see.
 

 

            Almighty God, you sometimes seem hidden and life appears to be going nowhere.  Open my eyes to see what you are doing in your world so that I might be directed toward your purposes in the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of Jesus Christ.  Amen.