Tag: conflict

Hebrews 13:20-21 – Conflict and Peace

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Pretty Place Chapel Blue Ridge Mountains
Pretty Place Chapel in the Blue Ridge Mountains

May the God of peace,
who brought back the great shepherd of the sheep,
our Lord Jesus,
from the dead by the blood of the eternal covenant,

        equip you with every good thing to do his will,
by developing in us what pleases him through Jesus Christ.
To him be the glory forever and always. Amen. (CEB)

These verses are the benediction, that is, the blessing given at the end of a long letter to a group of struggling Jewish Christians. In fact, things were so difficult for these believers that they were giving serious consideration to reneging on their commitment to Christ. So, the author of Hebrews sent them an exhortation and an encouragement to remain true and steadfast to the faith.

What is needed is not a shrinking back from faith but instead an enduring faith which is sustainable for the long haul of a person’s life.

The believers had both inner and outer conflict. They were experiencing hardship and persecution in the form of confiscation of their property and public insults. The Christians had started out well, facing such trouble with confidence through standing side-by-side with others who were suffering as well as holding on to their vibrant faith.

Yet, over time, their resolve began to break down. A slow drift occurred. Eventually, they started to retreat from the helping of others. They emotionally and spiritually inched their way to becoming despondent to the point of questioning whether all this Christianity stuff was worth it. The outer conflict worked its way inside their souls and damaged their spirits. By the time the writer of Hebrews comes along, a group of Christians are stuck in discouragement.

It’s one thing to deal with trouble and hardship on one day, even two. It’s quite another thing when that difficulty does not let up – when days turn into weeks, weeks into months, even months into years.

There are times when peace seems to have about as much chance of being realized as winning the lottery.

Yet, God is the God of peace, real lasting harmonious spiritually restful peace. It was achieved through the life and death of Jesus. The peace Jesus has brought is so much more than the absence of conflict. God’s peace is freedom from fear and anxiety. It is a settled confidence deep down inside that God will ultimately make good on all his promises and that things will not always be this way.

Until that day comes, God is not sitting in some divine Lazy-Boy recliner watching old reruns of the Angels playing baseball. Rather, God is active through carefully, deliberately, and, to our occasional consternation, slowly equipping us and developing us into spiritually fortified people who do the will of God and please Jesus in everything they do and say. Jesus is the Great Shepherd of the sheep who will not lead us astray but will settle us in green pastures.

The word translated “equip” is a rich word (Greek καταρτίσαι, pronounced “cot-ar-tids-ay”) which means to set something straight. Picture a bone which has been broken and needs to be reset and have time to heal. That is what God is doing in his people – repairing broken spirits. This divine healing is equipping believers for a lifetime of handling adversity with faith, confidence, and endurance. The process, frankly, hurts and requires patience before healing and health come.

If God can raise the dead, he can most certainly handle any earthly trouble we are going through.

God is in the transformation business. Extreme makeovers are his specialty. He uses hard circumstances, troubles, and torments of our lives and bends them into divine tools to form and shape his people to both survive and thrive in the world.

Complaining spirits, blaming and shaming others, and impatience borne of unrealistic expectations are the evidence of damaged emotions, wounded souls, and weak faith. This is the antithesis of God. He’s not overlooking humanity with a divine *sigh* in exasperation. That’s because he is the God of peace who is bringing all things to a conclusion in Christ. Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. The Holy Spirit is now and very presently active to heal damaged emotions, repair wounded souls, and strengthen faith.

In those times when God seems absent and prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling are the times that God is establishing peace and expanding our capacity for faith and patience.

Benediction, blessing, and doxology come through the dark night of the soul and not by avoiding it.

Soli Deo Gloria. To God be the Glory.

Almighty God,
all thoughts of truth and peace
proceed from you.
Kindle in the hearts of all people
the true love of peace.
Guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom
those who take counsel
for the nations of the earth;
that in tranquility your kingdom
may go forward,
till the earth is filled
with the knowledge of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
–From the Book of Common Order of the Church of Scotland, St. Andrew Press.

Click It Is Well with My Soul by TenTwoSix Music and arranged by David Wise.

Acts 15:36-41 – Intense Argument

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Some time later, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit all the brothers and sisters in every city where we preached the Lord’s word. Let’s see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them.  Paul insisted that they shouldn’t take him along, since he had deserted them in Pamphylia and hadn’t continued with them in their work. Their argument became so intense that they went their separate ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus. Paul chose Silas and left, entrusted by the brothers and sisters to the Lord’s grace. He traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. (Common English Bible)
 
            Having continual consensus, complete harmony, and perpetual peaceful relationships are ideals, not reality.  Oh, it’s not that we ought not to strive for such things – it’s just that they aren’t going to be fully realized this side of heaven.
            Imagine if Paul and Barnabas, along with their entire coterie of people who traveled with them, decided that they wouldn’t go anywhere until there was 100% consensus on every decision to be made. It could be that they would never get anything done at all.  It’s sad when people can’t come together and be of one mind, but it happens now and will happen in the future.  Sometimes you just need to go do what you think is the best and right thing to do and step out and do it, whether others agree with you or not.
            I’m a bit adverse to taking sides on most things, but I admit to having a bent toward going with Barnabas.  His name means “Son of Encouragement.” He understands taking someone under his wing and giving them a second chance when they screw up.  Barnabas had a soft spot for John Mark.  Barnabas seems like the kind of guy who knows about grace.  This is a guy I could hang out with.
            Paul, on the other hand, has much more of a Type A personality.  He doesn’t have time for whiners or cry-babies.  There are things to do, goals to reach, areas to conquer.  Paul didn’t need someone in the group slowing them down with fear or lack of courage.  For all that I appreciate about Paul in the New Testament, sometimes he strikes me as being too driven and difficult to work with.
            Yet, in the end, taking sides isn’t really the issue.  It’s about God working his sovereign and good will through stubborn and stupid people like me, and maybe like you, who sometimes get lost in winning an argument.  Nothing is going to thwart God’s providential plans and purposes in this world.  So, rather than taking sides, I think I’ll rely solely on God’s grace and mercy in my life to work through me, despite my too often short-sightedness.

 

Holy God, you work your good purposes in and through your people, no matter what.  I want my life and work to be a joy to you and with others, and not a burden.  Create in me a clean heart.  See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting; through Jesus Christ, my Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Nehemiah 5:1-13

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Nehemiah was a faithful follower of God who had been taken into exile to Babylon.  But, through his initiative, Nehemiah laid plans to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the broken down wall which surrounded the city.  Once Nehemiah arrived and arranged for work teams to busy themselves on the wall, he discovered there was much more to rebuild than just a physical wall.  A wall of separation existed between fellow Jews based on economics.  The poor were being taken advantage of as their fellow Jews were exacting usury from them.
 
            Nehemiah’s response is instructive for us.  He did not ignore the situation and only focus on the wall.  He firmly and squarely addressed the problem, and was downright angry about the circumstance of Jewish families essentially living in a state of slavery.  Nehemiah was clear, concise, and direct about the nature of the problem.  He threw himself into being part of the solution instead of only complaining about what was happening.  Nehemiah did not over-involve others in the process of handling the conflict, but handled the issue by taking counsel with himself.  Finally, he attacked the problem without alienating others, and held people accountable for their actions and their promises.
 
            Packed into these few paragraphs of Scripture is a sort of case study of how to engage significant problems and conflict.  This is a section of the Bible not to quickly read over, but to ponder, examine, and absorb Nehemiah’s dealing with the situation.  We all need some guidance and direction when it comes to confronting the problems that surround us.  Let this story serve us well in addressing the issues in our lives.
 

 

            Holy God, you have a special concern for those who are poor and needy.  Enable me to live and speak wisely into the crucial needs which exist around me, so that Christ might be exalted through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Luke 7:31-35

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            I am quite sure that all of us at some point in our lives have been in a no-win type of situation.  Even Jesus experienced it.  John the Baptist came as an ascetic, eating no bread and being a teetotaler and the people thought he had a demon.  Then, when Jesus came on the scene doing just the opposite, eating and drinking and having a grand old time, the people accused him of being a drunkard and a glutton.  When it came to the religious authorities of the day, Jesus was like the Rodney Dangerfield of the ancient world – he never got any respect from them.
 
            I’m actually a bit relieved that Jesus went through that kind of scenario.  Sometimes it just seems that, with some people, I can never quite do anything right – they grump and complain no matter what I do or say.  Wise King Solomon was familiar with such people; he called them fools.  “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.”  Then, in the very next proverb it says, “Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes” (Proverbs 26:4-5).  So, which is it?  How do I handle a fool?  The answer is:  you don’t.  A fool is going to be a fool no matter what you do or say.  Handling them is a no-win situation.
 
            So, what do we do with such people?  Jesus just went about his mission despite what the foolish generation was saying about him.  And we must do the same.  Some people are going to talk, gossip, and label you something you aren’t.  We don’t take our cues from fools.  We find our security in Jesus, live and love just like him, and let the critics blow out their blowholes into the air.
 

 

            Wise Jesus, you handled people as well as anyone could, yet, they still criticized you.  Help me to live and speak wisely so that when people talk it isn’t because of my foolishness but because of my love.  Amen.