God’s Glory Is Everywhere (Psalm 19)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky displays what his hands have made.
One day tells a story to the next.
One night shares knowledge with the next
without talking,
without words,
without their voices being heard.
Yet, their sound has gone out into the entire world,
their message to the ends of the earth.
He has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun,
which comes out of its chamber like a bridegroom.
Like a champion, it is eager to run its course.
It rises from one end of the heavens.
It circles around to the other.
Nothing is hidden from its heat.

The teachings of the Lord are perfect.
They renew the soul.
The testimony of the Lord is dependable.
It makes gullible people wise.
The instructions of the Lord are correct.
They make the heart rejoice.
The command of the Lord is radiant.
It makes the eyes shine.
The fear of the Lord is pure.
It endures forever.
The decisions of the Lord are true.
They are completely fair.
They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even the drippings from a honeycomb.
As your servant I am warned by them.
There is a great reward in following them.

Who can notice every mistake?
Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep me from sinning.
Do not let anyone gain control over me.
Then I will be blameless,
and I will be free from any great offense.

May the words from my mouth and the thoughts from my heart
be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my defender. (God’s Word Translation)

Today’s psalm is a celebration of God’s self-revelation. Through both nature and law, the Lord has graciously made the divine life known to humanity. What’s more, God’s moral and ethical teachings provide insight for living a good life. All of this is for the common good of everyone.

The vision of the psalm is of a personal God, not an abstract deity who is aloof from creation. Through both land and law, there is the Lord of life, desiring humanity to know the divinity which infuses it all and has people’s best interests continually at the forefront of providence and goodwill.

The created world witnesses to God. Creation manifests the glory of its Creator. Each creature and every created thing have the capacity to acknowledge and declare their Originator. That which has no mouth can speak. Those with no vocal cords have a voice. We can hear them, that is, if our ears are open to listen.

The creation is not God. Yet the created world and order knows the Lord so intimately that it sometimes seems as if the sun, the trees, the mountains, and the meadows are divine. The divine stamp is there, testifying with mysterious unspoken words to a glorious God who desires to be known.

So, the Lord graciously gave us law. God’s righteous and good law flows seamlessly from God’s good character. Law is the divine medium for humanity, a guide for human life toward thriving and flourishing on God’s good earth.

We were put on this planet with instructions on how to get along on it. It is when we throw out the rulebook and improvise that we tend to get into all kinds of trouble.

Yet, even when we go our own way and dig our own grave, and end up falling into it, God is there. Grace is available for the asking, redeeming the wayward life.

Deliverance is a real possibility, to set us aright again, and restore us to our full luster as people created in the image of God. Law and land converge to guide us into grateful living, into the wisdom of dealing rightly in all things.

Wisdom in the Old Testament is the combination of knowledge and practice. It is the application of God’s self-revelation to concrete situations in life. We live wisely when we get to know the sovereign God of creation and use the Lord’s revealed mores and ethos as our guide in daily experiences.

We need God’s gracious revealed law. It’s not just for theology nerds or spiritual eggheads; God’s law is for everyone – the learned and the unlearned. Every one of us needs the guidance and direction of God’s Holy Word, and the careful application of it to all our circumstances. That’s wisdom.

You and I are shaped and formed as godly people as we allow God’s Word to awash us and seep into our souls.  Reading this psalm out loud slowly and contemplatively more than once is an opportunity to let our common ordinary experiences transform into divine appointments.

God’s glory is everywhere. We just need the deep spirituality given to us to help us see divine glory in all the myriad ways it comes to us every day.

Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh! Keep me from stupid and idiotic sins, from thinking I can take over your work. Then I can start each day sun-washed, scrubbed clean of sin’s awful grime. Let me not be found in the dominion of darkness but bask in the glorious light of your glory. Accept both my words and my life when I place them on the morning altar, O God, my Rock, my Deliverer, my Redeemer, my All. Amen.

Accept the Situation (Jeremiah 30:12-22)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

“This is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wound is incurable,
    your injury beyond healing.
There is no one to plead your cause,
    no remedy for your sore,
    no healing for you.
All your allies have forgotten you;
    they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy would
    and punished you as would the cruel,
because your guilt is so great
    and your sins so many.
Why do you cry out over your wound,
    your pain that has no cure?
Because of your great guilt and many sins
    I have done these things to you.

“‘But all who devour you will be devoured;
    all your enemies will go into exile.
Those who plunder you will be plundered;
    all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
But I will restore you to health
    and heal your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,
    Zion for whom no one cares.’

“This is what the Lord says:

“‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents
    and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,
    and the palace will stand in its proper place.
From them will come songs of thanksgiving
    and the sound of rejoicing.
I will add to their numbers,
    and they will not be decreased;
I will bring them honor,
    and they will not be disdained.
Their children will be as in days of old,
    and their community will be established before me;
    I will punish all who oppress them.
Their leader will be one of their own;
    their ruler will arise from among them.
I will bring him near and he will come close to me—
    for who is he who will devote himself
    to be close to me?’
declares the Lord.
“‘So you will be my people,
    and I will be your God.’” (New International Version)

Jeremiah, by Marc Chagall, 1956

Once in a while, I get a response from a patient in the hospital who was given a poor diagnosis, or a very challenging prognosis, that goes something like this: “These doctors are always focusing on the negative. I’m only going to listen to the positive. I don’t need all that negative talk and energy.”

I believe in things like hope, optimism, and confidence. Yet, those qualities can only be acquired through the purgative force of hard circumstances and suffering. That means, in order to truly embrace the positive and encouraging, we need to first sit with the negative and discouraging realities in front of us.

Bottom line: It hurts to heal. Cuts need peroxide. Serious wounds need to be vacuumed. Severe internal issues require a surgery – being opened up – with a surgical knife, in order to get the body in a position to heal itself.

I find it curious that so many folks who believe in the Bible have never read the Old Testament prophets.

And very few preachers have never even given a sermon from the prophets. “It’s too gloom and doom, too negative. I focus on the positive and build up the church with New Testament truth!”

So, how’s that working for you? If there is a spiritual cancer that needs removal, it’s going to take some pain and hard treatment. And that is a lot of “negative” stuff.

There wouldn’t be a New Testament without an Old. I am suggesting that perhaps one reason why there is so much spiritual immaturity amongst many churches and Christians is that there is a lot of biblical illiteracy, due to the neglect of the prophets.

Without the prophets, we do not get a true feel for the pathos of God; that is, the Lord’s spiritual and emotional energy against injustice and oppression. And, practically speaking, it leaves us with neither resources nor skills to cope with adversity and trouble when it comes.

What do you do when you – or someone you love – hears that they have an incurable disease or condition?

Those without a solid grounding in the biblical prophets will likely want to rush to the places in Scripture that talk of answers to prayer and miracles and resurrections. But little do they realize that one cannot experience life apart from death, that there is no resurrection without a crucifixion, no positive glory without negative suffering.

No healing can take place if there is no pain of a cross.

Conversely, those who have become familiar with the message of the prophets are sure to respond to the incurable situation with expressions of personal grief and public lament, with humility and submission to the will of God.

Prayers will arise from deep within them that are grounded in the justice of God, and rely upon the promises of God. They will look to their inner spirit, without outwardly blaming God and medical staff for being uncaring and negative.

And, most of all, the spiritually and prophetically aware person will lean into their prodigious support system of a loving and gracious God, as well as the many persons who want to help.

The mature believer engages in a combination of submission and subversion – submitting completely to the will and ways of God, while simultaneously praying against the unfairness of disease, disaster, and death.

Healing and restoration will happen. The kicker is that we just don’t know the timing of any of it. We may not realize healing until the next life. Then again, we might experience a dramatic restoration of health and happiness, far beyond what we could ever ask or imagine.

The wise person learns to be patient, and wait for the proper time. They are comfortable with whatever timetable the Lord has for them. For what is most important to them is that they are close to the God who is near to the brokenhearted.

If we are guilty, we admit it, and seek to repair whatever damage may have been done. And if we are innocent, well then, we admit that we are not our own, but belong, both body and soul, to our faithful Creator.

Even in pain, we rest; even though suffering, we are at peace.

Accept the situation as it is, and not as you want it to be.

O God of love, you are the true sun of the world, evermore risen and never going down: We pray you to shine in our hearts and drive away the darkness of sin and the mist of error. We pray that we may, this day and all our lives long, walk without stumbling in the way you have prepared for us, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God in glory everlasting. Amen. – A prayer of Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536)

True Faith (Hebrews 11:1-3, 13-19)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible….

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. (New International Version)

Faith is important. It’s part of us. We are all people of faith – maybe not sharing the same faith – but it is faith, none-the-less.

Belief transcends time. Faith is rooted in the past, experienced in the present, and future-oriented. In Christianity, faith is historically moored to the redemptive events of Christ’s incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension.

This historic faith has continuing ramifications into the present time. And it is a faith which believes Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead.

People of faith allow their belief in what is coming to shape how they live now in daily life.

The biblical character of Abraham is synonymous with faith. And for good reason. God had told Abraham he would have a son with his wife Sarah. This would not be unusual except for the fact the couple were well advanced in age, and Sarah was incapable of having children.

Yet, despite the overwhelming odds, Abraham believed God. Years later and with a mix of patience and impatience from the would-be parents, the promise from God was realized. Abraham and Sarah had a son, Isaac.

But true faith never comes without anguish…

Isaac was known as the child of the promise. So that’s why this command of God was so perplexing: Take your son, this child of the promise, and go to the mountain and sacrifice him there. (Genesis 22:2)

Huh? What the #&%!  But it only seems strange and super-weird to us. There was no reaction from Abraham, no questioning, no talk back. He simply went about the business of saddling up the donkey, chopping some wood for the sacrifice, and took his only son with him on the journey to the mountain. (Genesis 22:3-5)

The Sacrifice of Isaac, by Marc Chagall, 1966

We might wonder what was going through Abraham’s mind through all of this. While you and I might try and figure out if we really heard God or not, Abraham had a history of talking with God. He knew God’s voice as well as he knew his own.

Abraham was well down the road of relationship with the God he served. We gain the insight from the author of Hebrews into Abraham’s thought process, a line of thinking consistent with a person who has a regular habit of talking with God.

The promise was given to Abraham that it would be Isaac who receives the family blessing. So, when Abraham’s faith underwent a maximum test, he was willing to sacrifice Isaac. He reasoned and believed that God could raise people to life. Abraham simply thought he would get Isaac back from death.

Abraham did not try and figure out God’s mind. He didn’t get into a debate with God about the contradiction of ethics he was being asked to do. He just obeyed. Abraham knew that it didn’t matter if Isaac were killed because God would raise him from death.

This, of course, is not what happened. It was all a test of faith. Abraham knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is the Lord who provides. (Genesis 22:9-14)

You and I, along with all the faithful believers who have gone before us, rarely know why we are facing the unwanted and unasked for circumstances we are enduring. We don’t always know what in the world God is thinking.

Yet, like Abraham, if we have a spiritual history of walking with God and hearing the Lord’s voice, we don’t hesitate to respond. We are convinced God will provide. Obedience for the follower of Christ is not a burden but a privilege, even when we are being tested beyond our seeming emotional ability to do it.

True biblical faith is neither an existential leap into darkness, nor a simple recognition of certain facts. Rather, Christian faith is a reliance upon and commitment to the promises of God that results in taking a risk. 

Sovereign Lord, your ways are sometimes strange and confusing. Yet, I know that everything you do is always right, just, and good. It is to your gracious and merciful character that I know you will provide. My allegiance is to you, in the Name of Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Recall the Faithfulness of God (Psalm 105:1-11, 37-45)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Delivery of Israel out of Egypt, by Francis Danby, 1825

O give thanks to the Lord; call on his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
    his miracles and the judgments he has uttered,
O offspring of his servant Abraham,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.
He is mindful of his covenant forever,
    of the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
    his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as your portion for an inheritance….

Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
    and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
    for dread of them had fallen upon it.
He spread a cloud for a covering
    and fire to give light by night.
They asked, and he brought quails
    and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed through the desert like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise
    and Abraham, his servant.

So he brought his people out with joy,
    his chosen ones with singing.
He gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
that they might keep his statutes
    and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord! (New Revised Standard Version)

Some stories are worth repeating over and over again. For example, on the birthday of each of my children (and now grandchildren) I recount and remember their birth story; on Christmas, I read the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel to the family in order to recall and remember the birth of Jesus.

Psalm 105 is a remembering and retelling of the ancient Israelites’ exodus event, their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. That event permeates much of the Old Testament, and rightly so. God’s faithfulness, grace, and steadfast love dominates the psalm, namely because the Lord’s majesty, power, and sovereignty was overwhelmingly evident through the deliverance from Egypt.

And so, it is appropriate for the psalmist to express gratitude and praise to God in remembering that deliverance. It only makes sense, in such a retelling, that we are encouraged to continually seek the Lord. Seeking the Lord is a common biblical admonition, and is linked to memories of what God has done in the past.

Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
    his miracles and the judgments he uttered. (1 Chronicles 16:10-12, NRSV)

God graciously works in history by choosing a people and making a covenant with them. The Lord is faithful to that arrangement by giving them everything they need to maintain obedience on their end of the covenant. For God doesn’t merely call persons who are already equipped and ready for high level spiritual service. Rather, the Lord equips those who are called.

Abraham was called by God, not because he had some sort of superior spirituality or inclination toward the divine, but only because God chose him, period. And once he was called, Abraham doggedly and faithfully sought the Lord.

God brought the Israelites out of Egypt because of the covenant made to Abraham. The Lord promised him and his descendants a people and a land. It may have seemed that becoming enslaved in Egypt would negate the promise. But not so. The exodus happened.

Being freed from slavery, the people could seek the Lord and pursue knowing God without any hindrance or obstacle. From that point on, the people were expected to utilize their memory of God’s saving actions to seek God with all their heart, soul, and mind.

The entire aim of recounting God’s covenant and the exodus event is to remind the people to observe God’s commands. Since a powerfully good God has acted in history, then we are to keep the faith by embracing the powerfully good words of God and following them with the utmost commitment.

Remembering that we belong to God, enables us to keep on seeking the Lord throughout all of life, for the rest of our lives. The consistent retelling of deliverance stories can strengthen our faith and equip us for what is ahead.

When times are tough, it is good and helpful to recall the divine deliverance that has already happened. Our memory can then serve us well, by renewing our minds and energizing us to persevere in the spiritual life.

O Lord our God, we pray that your Spirit would guide and inspire our life and worship, our contemplation and our action. Open our mouths to sing and speak your praise, our ears to hear your Word, our eyes to see to you at work among us, and our hearts to receive your divine love. Help us to remember your goodness, seek your face continually, and serve you always. Amen.