Tag: endurance

Endure Patiently to the End (Revelation 14:12-20)

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

God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”

Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.” So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.

After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.” So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath. The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle. (New Living Translation)

The Scripture meditations I offer each day are based in the daily readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. The readings are designed to move us through the whole of the Bible in a three year cycle. And they are arranged so that Thursday, Friday, and Saturday readings anticipate the Sunday scriptures, and the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday readings reflect on Sunday’s texts. Today’s New Testament lesson is such a reflection on Sunday’s Gospel reading of Christ’s Parable of the Weeds (Parable of the Wheat and Tares).

Jesus made it clear in the parable that it is not our job to weed out evil. This will be done by the angels at the end of the age. In Revelation, we look forward into the future as to what happens with the plants and the weeds. As you can readily see, it is a grim picture. Those who are visual learners, and picture the words in their minds, their stomachs might be turning after the reading of today’s text.

The entire book of Revelation was originally meant to encourage believers in Jesus to persevere, endure, and keep going in their commitment to Christ. As they were undergoing difficulty and even persecution for their faith, this apocalyptic vision of the Apostle John was to instill hope: It will not always be this way.

There is a time coming soon in which the problem of evil is taken care of, once and for all. Until that final day of judgment comes, we are to hold fast to our faith, and continue to keep the commandments of Christ.

The wrath of God has always been an issue with various people throughout history. In contemporary theology, it is common to have groups of folks polarized between either making God out to be constantly angry and looking to zap people; or dismissing God’s wrath altogether as some outdated and antiquated idea. Neither of these approaches will do.

God’s anger and wrath exist, yet is never divorced from God’s love. Rather than viewing wrath and love as two sides of the same coin, I believe a healthier and more biblical understanding is to discern God’s wrath as an expression of God’s love. I will explain….

When God bends to observe us in the world and sees injustice, war, poverty, oppression, trauma, and abuse from narcissistic people who exalt themselves above others and use them for selfish purposes, God is not okay with this!

Whenever God looks at the world and sees governments, institutions, corporations, and even churches which maintain structures that keep others from becoming all that God intends for them to become, divine compassion is stirred up, along with a determination to bring about justice and righteousness.

Only God has the combination of willingness, power, and ability to handle the evil of this world, in a way which is both just and loving.

I realize there are many times when we wonder if God is really watching, or not, and are curious if the Lord is aloof and uncaring to our plight. There is a day when the dramatic will happen, but that day is not today. For now, God is patiently and carefully working divine love into the fabric of this world, in such a way that it will not destroy the innocent and compromise the integrity of the righteous.

Until the time is ripe for God to act in a more decisive manner by equipping angels with scythes and bringing in the final harvest, we experience pain and hurt.

We sometimes are misjudged and misunderstood by others. We often get shafted by systems which are supposed to be helping us. We can, however, be assured that God is working behind the scenes, planting seeds of love and grace. The Lord is pastorally tending to our growth, till the time is right to gather the abundant crop.

Acting too soon, and going off half-cocked without enough information, is what we humans tend to do. Not so with God.

The fact of the matter is: Justice and injustice will co-exist side-by-side for a while. Righteousness and evil will be found together everywhere we go, including our own hearts – holding both our altruistic motives and our evil inclinations.

Sisters and brothers, let us endure, persevere, and be patient. God is good, and will not forget your deeds done in faith; your actions inspired by hope; and your work animated by love.

Lord Christ, you came into the world as one of us, and suffered as we do. As I go through the trials of life, help me to realize that you are with me at all times and in all things; that I have no secrets from you; and that your loving grace enfolds me for eternity. In the security of your embrace I pray. Amen.

How Long, O Lord? (Psalm 13)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
No Immediate Relief, by Melani Pyke

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul
    and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;
    my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

But I trusted in your steadfast love;
    my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord
    because he has dealt bountifully with me. (New Revised Standard Version)

Faith is more than the mind’s affirmation of theological beliefs. Faith is also visceral, an expression from deep in the gut about what is going on around us. For faith to be truly faith, it needs to hold the whole person, not merely the brain.

Today’s psalm is the reaction of a person of faith to God when the world as they knew it was crumbling and broken. This is a psalm of lament which moves and deepens the faith of the worshiper. When the world around us changes and all seems horribly awry, we understandably become disoriented – we lose our normal bearings and feel confused and lost.

One of the simplest observations we can make about this psalm, along with all psalms of lament, is that, whether the content is ethically pure or not, the words of the psalmist directed toward God reflect the pain and agony of people in the middle of world-shattering circumstances.

In such dire situations, there are no simplistic answers or easy diagnoses of problems. Complicated layers of grief exist, and mere cerebral responses will always fall short of adequately being in the present moment, sitting with emotions, and getting in touch with the gut.

I am leery of folks who quickly affirm trust in God when a terrible event has just occurred. Bypassing the gut and the heart cannot bring a whole person response to that event and will inevitably result in a cheap faith which cannot support the immensity of the situation.

Even worse, it leads to a bootstrap theology where people are expected to pull themselves up in a free-willpower way that is impossible to achieve. Sometimes failure of faith comes not because of a person’s weakness, but because the faith being espoused is not faith, at all.

Biblical faith expresses weakness, need, help, curiosity, and doubt with a healthy dose of emotional flavor and visceral reaction.

If we had just one psalm of lament as an example, that would be enough. Yet, in fact, we have dozens of them, with more sprinkled throughout the entirety of Holy Scripture. We even have a book of the Bible given completely to lamenting a loss, Lamentations, which is a deep reflection of the prophet Jeremiah’s grief.

So, let us now be honest with ourselves and each other. All of us, at one time or another, have given a cry of “How long, O Lord!”

There are times when our prayers seem unheard and unnoticed, as if they only bounce off the ceiling and fall flat. There are hard circumstances which continue to move along unabated with evil seeming to mock us. We long for divine intervention, we long for deliverance, we long for healing – and when it does not come our disappointment and frustration boils over into an unmitigated cry of wondering where God is in all the thick crud.

Whenever a person and/or a group of people are traumatized, not once but over-and-over again, how can we not cry aloud, “How long, O Lord!?”

When despair settles in the spirit, disappointment seeps in the soul, and depression becomes our daily bread, how can we not muster up the voice that yells, “How long, O Lord!?”

Wherever powerful people cause the lives of others to be downtrodden and despised, how can we not scream, “How long, O Lord!?”

When the covert actions of others demean and denigrate, leaving us with private pain which no one sees, how can we not bring forth the words, “How long, O Lord!?”

If you have never uttered this kind of wondering about God, then perhaps a profound disconnect with your own spirit exists. A full-orbed faith names the awful events and situations and sits with the feelings surrounding those events with God.

Psalm 13 is important because it gives us words when the bottom falls out of our lives and everything is upside-down.

This psalm helps us admit that life is not as well-ordered as a simple Sunday School faith may pretend. The psalm acknowledges that life is terribly messy, and the psalmist protests to heaven that this quagmire of injustice is plain unfair. What’s more, this psalm helps move the sufferer to a new place.

God is big enough to handle everything we throw at him — our pain, our anger, our questions, our doubts. Genuine biblical faith is comfortable challenging God. And God is there, listening, even if we cannot perceive it. Just because we might need to endure adversity does not mean there is something wrong with us, or God.

We likely will not get an answer to our “how long?” We will get something else: mercy. Mercy is compassion shown to another when it is within one’s power to punish. If we widen our horizon a bit, we will observe a God who cares:

“The Lord isn’t slow to keep his promise, as some think of slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives.” (2 Peter 3:9, CEB)

The only thing better than the joy of personal salvation is the joy of many people’s deliverance and collective emancipation. Patience, perseverance, and endurance through hardship will require expressions of faith with words of affirmation along with words of agony. And the psalms help us with both.

Lord God Almighty, I pray for the forgotten and the unseen – the stranger, the outcast, the poor and homeless – may they be remembered and seen by you.

Merciful God, I pray for those who struggle with mental illness, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation – may there be resources to help, enough staff employed, and finances given, toward mental health services. May there be basic human kindness available for the hurting.

Compassionate God, I pray for those who wrestle with sorrow – may they know your comfort within the dark thoughts which currently seem to triumph.

Attentive Lord, I pray for the crestfallen and the ones considered fallen by those around them – may they receive your restoration and reconciling grace. Protect them from judgment and shield them with your mercy.

Lord of all creation, I trust in your steadfast love and rely upon your infinite grace. May our tears turn to songs of joy, to the glory of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Take the Scroll and Eat It (Revelation 10:1-11)

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

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”

Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’” I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.” (New International Version)

Maybe this goes without saying, yet it probably needs to be said anyway: Our human participation is required to go along with God’s action.

We are fellow actors with God in the drama of what is happening in this world. This is both invigorating and scary, at the same time. Decrees were not simply shouted from above, and down to humanity. Instead, God’s words are sent by heavenly messenger to the earth, to be digested by people.

The world is not changed from its hateful ways and prejudiced stances simply by God decreeing love for us. Rather, the words are followed by the invitation to participate.

For the Christian, this participation begins with the Lord Jesus. He entered into our situation, lived among us, full of grace and truth. Christ took the words of God, ate them, digested them, and allowed them to thoroughly guide his earthly life and ministry.

Some believe that the mighty angel in today’s New Testament lesson is none other than Christ in the form of, or using, an angel to communicate. Whatever is happening in the text, it is clear that Jesus is certainly behind it all.

A scroll was given to the Apostle John. He was exhorted to move from observer to actor. The bad news of humanity’s sin and judgment must be transformed into good news of grace and forgiveness through human presence and cooperation.

Take the scroll and eat it. The prophet Ezekiel, in the Old Testament, was also told to eat a scroll and then go speak (Ezekiel 3:1). We aren’t told anything about what was written in the scroll which John took – and that’s because the words themselves aren’t really the point of what’s happening.

Whenever the people of God take and eat the words of God, they have the dual experience of delivering the good news of grace with great joy, as well as enduring suffering with patience because of the testimony they proclaim.

Revelation, or the Apocalypse of John, was written not to craft elaborate prophecy charts about the end times, but was meant to offer encouragement to a suffering church that their witness to the gospel was worth it.

The believers were experiencing persecution from the hands of unbelievers. The vision of John was designed to pull back the curtain a bit, revealing a peek that, in the end, God’s purposes will be accomplished, evil shall be vanquished, and the people of God will be vindicated.

Perseverance requires active participation, not passive acquiescence. We endure through hardship. It has always been this way for God’s people. Believers walk through the valley, and sit at the table with the presence of enemies, along with the presence of God.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
    I fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows. (Psalm 23:4-5, NRSV)

The ability to move through adversity requires collaborating with the Lord, knowing God’s words, and using that message for help and encouragement.

People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4, NLT)

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. (Hebrews 4:12, NLT)

The angel of the Lord camps around
the Lord’s loyal followers and delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed is the one who takes shelter in him.(Psalm 34:7-8, NET)

The word of God is active and powerful. Ingesting God’s words enables God’s message to move within us and shape us for active and effective participation in the world.

It is neither an easy path, nor a wide smooth highway to speed down. Yet, for those who will take the journey, it is a joyous road and a winding narrow trail full of God’s signs and wonders.

This is the way of perseverance, and God’s words are our guide.

Heavenly Father, give us faith to receive your word, understanding to know what it means, and the will to put it into practice; through Jesus Christ our Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Faith Helps Us Take the Long View of Life (Hebrews 11:23-28)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Moses is saved from the water by Pharaoh’s daughter, by Marc Chagall, 1966

It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons. (New Living Translation)

Sometimes we can’t see beyond the end of our nose. We get lost in the here-and-now worries of the moment. We need a better view.

Taking a long view of life happens whenever we place our faith in permanent and ultimate realities, and not merely live by what feels good or drives our anxiety in the temporal moment.

To have faith is to possess an indefatigable and unflagging trust in someone’s ability to achieve a desired outcome. The author of Hebrews describes it this way:

No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:6, GNT

Faith looks ahead and sees as clearly as whatever is right now in front of your face. People of faith have the ability to take the long view of life, knowing that God has their backs. The mature person of faith can set aside temporary pleasure to attain a future hope. 

Moses, held up by the writer of Hebrews as an example of such faith, refused to identify himself as the daughter of Pharaoh. He chose to be mistreated in solidarity with his fellow Israelites, instead of having a good time with his high position in the most powerful empire of its day. Moses knew that the treasures of Egypt were not as wonderful as what he would receive from suffering for the sake of Messiah, and he looked forward to his reward.

It’s an understatement to say that our contemporary society embraces instant gratification. We want to feel good, and we want it now. Impulse control may just be one of the best life skills that kids (and adults!) need to learn in society. And one of the most effective ways to distract ourselves from a tempting pleasure we don’t want to indulge, is by focusing on another pleasure.

For the Christian who desires to follow Jesus in all things, looking ahead to better days is a confidence booster, namely because Jesus is better and superior to all things. This isn’t some wistful fanciful notion of positive thinking; this faith is based in the person and work of Christ. Spiritual endurance and perseverance through difficulty will have a reward – and it will be shared along with all of God’s people. 

But if we only consider today and what’s in it for me right now, there are scant resources for responding to the temptations and fluctuations of life. We must put some planning and energy into clarifying and embracing our most cherished values. Then, those values shall inform everything we do, or not do. In the scope of eternity, suffering a bit now is nothing compared to what Christ has yet in store for his people.

Deferred gratification causes us to live differently. In a twist of irony, folks who orient themselves toward the unseen world to come are able to effectively impact and change the visible world they currently reside within – whereas those who focus solely on this present world find themselves falling woefully short with their truncated view of life. We need the wisdom which faith provides us:

We are always confident, because we know that while we are living in the body, we are away from our home with the Lord. We live by faith and not by sight. We are confident, and we would prefer to leave the body and to be at home with the Lord. So, our goal is to be acceptable to him, whether we are at home or away from home. We all must appear before Christ in court so that each person can be paid back for the things that were done while in the body, whether they were good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:6-10, CEB)

Future hope, fueled by faith, gives shape to how we live today. It enables us to live in solidarity with those who suffer and are mistreated. It ennobles us to live above short-sighted desires and act on behalf of the common good of all persons in the here-and-now.

Lord God Almighty, the One who is and was and is to come, may we, along with your servant Moses, see the plight of all those who suffer in our midst. Give us courage and compassion to live in solidarity with the poor, the oppressed, the forgotten, and all who live with misfortune and misery. May our hearts, burning with love, bear the burdens of all in our care. And may our loving example ignite the hearts of others to accompany the vulnerable in their affliction. We ask this in the gracious name of Jesus through the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.