Tag: apostle paul

For the Love of God, Not Money (2 Corinthians 8:1-7)

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

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 

For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 

And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 

But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. (New International Version)

I’ll be honest: As a preacher and pastor, I don’t much like talking about money. Yet, money is always an issue, especially in churches.

Although there are contemporary pastors and churches who deal with millions of dollars, the vast majority of believers and faith communities struggle from Sunday to Sunday. Money is a topic that has to be addressed and talked about.

So, even though there are plenty of abuses out there when it comes to money, it’s good to gain a more biblical, reasonable, and compassionate view of financial resources.

Holy Scripture does not condemn economic wealth; but it does warn us against the love of money, and centering our lives around it. Perhaps Jesus said it best:

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Jesus (Matthew 6:24, CEB)

Jesus clarified the issue of money as a matter of our values and commitments. To possess money in and of itself is neither good nor bad; it’s whether money is the master you serve, or God is, with money being a tool to serve the Lord.

In writing to Timothy about how to instruct the Ephesian Church concerning money, the Apostle Paul framed the issue this way:

But people who are trying to get rich fall into temptation. They are trapped by many stupid and harmful passions that plunge people into ruin and destruction. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves with a lot of pain because they made money their goal. (1 Timothy 6:9-10, CEB)

Financial resources are tools to be used, not only in providing for oneself and one’s family, but also to do good and to think of the common good of all people.

And that is exactly what the Apostle Paul was intent on doing. He was gathering a collection for the believers in Jerusalem. So, he took some space (2 Corinthians 8-9) in writing to the Corinthian Church for addressing this issue, as well as money and wealth in general.

Paul unabashedly called upon the Corinthian Christians to give, and considered it their obligation to do so.

The Apostle broached the subject by challenging the Corinthians to follow the example of the Macedonian churches. Paul fully embraced his training in rhetoric in using the technique of comparison to evoke competition between Corinth and Macedonia.

He did so by alluding to the generosity of the Macedonians. Even though the Macedonian believers were themselves experiencing a severe ordeal of affliction and even poverty, they voluntarily gave quite generously.

What’s more, the Macedonians gave well beyond their means. Paul didn’t ask them to do that; and nobody expected it of them. If anything, the churches in Macedonia could have probably received a collection of money and resources themselves. Yet, instead, they stretched themselves financially and gave.

The motivation to give from such meager resources, and in such a difficult situation, was an overflow of the believers’ hearts. In other words, they really wanted to give, so they did. The Macedonian Christians discerned that their true calling was to give of themselves to the Lord, and therefore, to also give of themselves to the Apostle Paul.

So then, Paul encouraged the Corinthian Christians to demonstrate their own commitment and loyalty to both God and to the Apostle. Titus would show up in Corinth to receive the collection, and Paul expected them to be generous – mainly because he knew they could do so, and therefore, ought to do so.

Paul established the church in Corinth. He spent a good deal of time there amongst the people and the city. He knew them well. And Paul was often frustrated with them, even sometimes using sarcasm to get his point across.

I wonder if he was a bit sarcastic, appealing to the Corinthians’ sense of pride in their city and their wealth. After all, the Corinthians excelled in everything else – such gifted people! (or so they always thought). Surely, they would also take full advantage of this opportunity to excel in giving, and be as generous as they possibly could!

Throughout my years of pastoral ministry, I have found in every place I’ve been, ironically, that those with little give much; and those with much give little.

Indeed, the wealthy are able to give much more than the poor. But I have never seen a rich person give everything they have for a cause, whereas many times, I have seen a person in poverty give everything they have for another. That’s also the observation Jesus made when folks were giving their offerings at the Temple:

Jesus sat across from the collection box for the temple treasury and observed how the crowd gave their money. Many rich people were throwing in lots of money. One poor widow came forward and put in two small copper coins worth a penny.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I assure you that this poor widow has put in more than everyone who’s been putting money in the treasury. All of them are giving out of their spare change. But she from her hopeless poverty has given everything she had, even what she needed to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44, CEB)

Indeed, money is very much needed in this life. And money isn’t everything. Economic wealth, financial resources, and money are temporary. God and relationships are permanent. Life is eternal, at least for those who haven’t centered their lives around money as their god.

Money is to be used for good in this world. It is a tool. So, let’s use it with wisdom and a generous heart, putting it in it’s proper place in our lives.

Lord of our lives, teach us how to use our money and our possessions. Deliver us from stinginess and wasteful extravagance; inspire our giving with the spirit of true generosity. Help us always to remember your generous love for us, that we may be wise and faithful stewards of the good gifts you have given us. Amen.

The Lord’s Will Be Done (Acts 21:1-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Prophecy of Agabus, by Louis Chéron, 1687

After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail. After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. 

We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”

When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples. (New International Version)

The Apostle Paul was on his farewell tour, visiting the believers in churches he planted during his missionary journeys.

The visit to Ephesus was especially heart wrenching; everyone knew this was the last time they would see each other. Paul had spent considerable time in Ephesus establishing the church, and went through a lot with the people. They cared for one another deeply, which is seen in their praying meeting on the beach.

Paul was determined to get back to Jerusalem. Everyone knew that Paul would likely be imprisoned or killed or both by returning there. After the tears were shed, Paul and his coterie of people got on a ship and sailed toward Judea.

Once in Judea, Paul and his companions encountered some characters in the city of Caesarea, including four sisters who had the gift of prophecy, and a man named Agabus who was also a prophet.

The Apostle had been warned several times about going back to Jerusalem. Agabus joined the voices by giving a word by means of the Holy Spirit that Paul would meet persecution if he continued on his journey.

Agabus did some rather dramatic Old Testament prophetic type stuff with Paul. Although others interpreted the message of Agabus as a warning to not go into the lion’s den of inevitable persecution, the prophecy itself is only descriptive of what will happen, and not prescriptive of what should be done.

It’s important to distinguish what the Holy Spirit reveals and commands. We ought only to smush the revelation and the commands together when the Spirit does that. In the case of Agabus and Paul, it was only a revelation. And Paul picked up on that immediately. He knew what he was in for, and was okay with it.

The bottom line for the Apostle Paul was that he felt compelled to head for Jerusalem and face whatever he needed to face there. He was determined to personally bring both spiritual encouragement and economic relief for the people in Judea.

It seems that nobody wanted to see Paul get hurt, arrested, killed, or all three; and that’s more than understandable. Yet, the Apostle himself was convinced of what he should do; and no amount of trying to persuade him otherwise was going to work. So, Paul continued his journey.

The believers came around to saying, “The Lord’s will be done.” And that’s really what we all eventually must come to accept – that participation with what God is doing in the world, in a place, and with us personally, is the thing that counts.

Even Jesus needed to get to that point, so maybe we ought to cut others (and ourselves) some slack when it comes to accepting the situation we are called to be in.

 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus (Luke 22:42, NIV)

No one, especially me, is saying that it’s easy to face adversity and hardship for a certain time and place in your life (or the life of someone you love). In fact, much like Jesus in the garden, it is often agonizing. But moving ahead and doing it we shall, if the Lord’s will is plain to us.

One of the reasons why Paul could be so resolute, and do what he did, was because of the support he continually had around him with his traveling companions.

I often ask people if they are part of a church. Some folks take this as a rebuke and instantly feel guilty that they haven’t attended a worship service for a long while. But the reason I ask is that I’m wondering about their sources of support.

Whenever people are going through hard times, its very helpful to have a faith community who they can rely upon and lean into. Since Paul was rarely alone, he had a consistent supportive presence of people who knew him well, and the circumstance he was enduring.

And I’m hoping that same thing for you – to have a good support system in place for help in following through with the will of God, as you understand it. Because if you are convinced of what you must do, and have people to support you in doing it, no matter what happens, then you can endure a lot, as well as learn a lot.

Lord God almighty, help me grow in discernment and making decisions. Jesus, you know the intensity of our struggle when God’s will conflicts with our desires. Equip and enable me to do your revealed will with a glad and sincere heart. May your will be done, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

From Darkness and Death to Light and Life (Acts 20:1-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
St. Paul Restoring Eutychus to Life, by Taddeo Zuccaro (1529-1566)

When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, where he stayed three months.

Because some Jews had plotted against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 

Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.

We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus. Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost. (New International Version)

Paul Raises Eutychus to Life, by Gerard Hoet, 1728

The Apostle Paul was fresh off a riot in the city of Ephesus. Reading through the book of Acts in the New Testament, this almost seems like another day in the office for Paul. Everywhere he went, Paul created a stir – not on purpose – but just for being himself. Much like the Lord Jesus he served, Paul was a guy people either loved or hated.

We pick up Paul’s journey as he was heading to Macedonia. There were several companions who accompanied him, as was usual. The Apostle rarely, if ever, traveled alone; he was always in an entourage and mentoring others in the ways of Christian ministry.

This journey was different than the others. Paul knew what was coming for him. He was beginning a farewell tour, knowing that he would end up back in Judea – which may mean death for him.

One of the reasons there was such a commotion everywhere Paul went was because the Jews continually opposed him. But Paul was not deterred; he was determined to persevere, and especially to encourage the churches he had formed.

While in Troas, Paul met with the believers on a Sunday. Since this was a final message to those gathered, Paul did the longwinded preacher thing by talking until midnight. Apparently, all the young people were sitting in the back (some things never change) and one of them, Eutychus, fell asleep in the window where he was seated, and fell out of the window to the ground.

By the time Paul got to Eutychus, he was pronounced dead. But the Apostle wasn’t having it. He scooped up the young man into his arms and declared that life is still in him. Like the Lord Jesus before him, Paul restored the presumably dead person back to life.

This is the power of resurrection, specifically the spiritual power of Christ’s resurrection: Death doesn’t have the last word.

Paul was speaking at night, which is why there were many lamps lit in the place. Despite the light, Eutychus closed his eyes and succumbed to shutting out the light. He quite literally fell into darkness, and into the place of death.

Yet, it doesn’t take much light to dispel the darkness. A small candle is enough to luminate a way forward. Paul had more than a candle available to him; he had enough to literally light up Eutychus.

And then everybody went back upstairs and Paul did what any preacher worth their salt would do next: He kept preaching.

I’m sure Paul’s everlasting long sermon after that dramatic event with Eutychus centered on the message to “stay awake!” And indeed, that’s exactly what believers in Jesus are to do.

Then Jesus returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:37-38, NIV)

Paul wanted to sail past the port of Ephesus in order to get to Jerusalem quicker. When he was previously in the city, and established a church of new believers out of their old paganism, he said to them:

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. (Ephesians 5:8-10, NIV)

The Apostle Paul was an intense guy. And that’s a good thing, when it’s channeled in ways of encouraging others, supporting them spiritually, and even raising someone from death.

Fortunately, the intensity of his light can still be seen these two millennia later.

O God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Temporary vs. Permanent (2 Corinthians 5:1-5)

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

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (New International Version)

Back in the day, when my kids were small, we did our fair share of camping. We had a large two room tent that we called “The Tabernacle.” But even that large tent could not compare to finally getting back home to our house.

We are all on something of a perpetual spiritual camping trip. It may or may not feel like one, but every person is living in a tent. 

One of the challenges of the biblical writers is that they worked to communicate hope and spiritual realities in concrete language. They often made use of metaphors to help us understand. So, when the Apostle Paul likens our current lives to being in a tent, he means that what we are experiencing now with our bodies is temporary. 

Compared to the permanent resurrected body that will be coming in the future, our existence now in this present life, in this body, is not very glorious.

We consider someone homeless if they live in a tent on a permanent basis. In many ways, the Christian is homeless; we are not completely at home in this present body, nor in this present world. So, it seems rather curious to me that many believers in Jesus can be ruthlessly attached to the trappings and stuff of this contemporary campground.

If we were to make a list of all the things we do and all the things we have that are extra-biblical, that is, not specifically mentioned in the Bible, it would not take long to discover that much of what we do on a day to day basis – not to mention religiously and through church ministry – is rather quite temporary. Yet, too many persons cling to their stuff and their ways as if all of it will endure forever.

In those times when we experience bereavement; in the situations that demonstrate that we are mortal; and, in the circumstances that occur in which we glimpse how fleeting this present life can be, we begin to understand that what we need to be living for is the permanence of relationships expressed through the ever-present Spirit of God. 

It is good for us to long for a better day when we will no longer groan in the tent of this body so that we will connect with the unseen God who goes before us, with us, after us.

Camping can be both fun and challenging. But if we had to make an actual tent our real home, I can easily imagine how much groaning would happen every day. We would certainly long for a more established residence. Paul gets at this exasperation, which a temporal finite existence can be, when writing to the Roman Christians:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:22-23, NIV)

Because we have the Spirit, we have help. The Spirit is our advocate. Sometimes, because of our situation, our prayers to God only come out as groans; words can seem far away from us. Yet, that is enough. The Spirit speaks groaning, and knows how to interpret it.

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27, NIV)

God has our back. We may not know what exactly we are going through, and why we are going through it, much less how to even pray about it. But the one thing we do know is that God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

With the Spirit alongside us, there is the continual assurance and reassurance that we belong to God. Our present existence may be temporary, but the presence and love of God are permanent and will never change.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39, NIV)

Our present circumstances will eventually pass; they are temporary. But the love of God has staying power; it is permanent and forever. Our bodies are always changing; someday we will die. Yet, because of Christ’s resurrection, believers shall be raised with a body fit for eternity. Our tent will be fashioned into a house.

Eternal God, who always has been and always will be, help me to so connect with your Holy Spirit that I can discern the difference between what is temporary and what is permanent. Guide me with your holy hand so that I can place my present efforts into the things that will make a difference for eternity, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.