Tag: faith

Go Up the Mountain (Isaiah 2:1-4)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, by William Simpson (1823-1899)

The word that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come
    the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains
    and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
    Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations
    and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
    neither shall they learn war any more. (New Revised Standard Version)

Mountains make up about one-fifth of the world’s landscape and 12% of the world’s population live on them. They are more than imposing and impressive statues of rock. About 80% of our planet’s fresh water originates in the mountains.

It was on a mountain that Noah’s ark settled; Moses was given the law; and Jesus preached and died. Even the beans from my morning coffee were grown on the side of a mountain. I have everything I need in the mountainous God of all.

The most fundamental truths about God are consistency and constancy in the divine nature. God is forever present with people. 

So, it is no coincidence that the temple of God was built on a mountain at the highest point in the city of Jerusalem. Ascending the temple mount reminded every worshiper of the Lord’s ever-present protection and strength. It pointed them to the source of life. With God, every need is met and satisfied, because on the mountain and in the temple, people learn how to live in this world. They are taught the ways of the Lord.

We learn to live in peace and harmony by ascending the mountain, entering the house of God, and adopting a teachable spirit.

Today’s Old Testament lesson is a vision of the future – the way things will be. Now, things are not as they ought to be. Injustice, unrighteousness, indifference, and impurity leave their mark everywhere. It may cause folks to wonder whether the Lord is truly present, or not.

If God seems or feels aloof or unconcerned, it is not that the Lord is avoiding us or is distracted with other important matters of running the universe. It simply means God chooses to reveal the divine character and the divine will when the appropriate time warrants it, for our benefit.

A mountain looks like it never moves. Yet the slow but steady rains, the creeping of tectonic plates, and undiscernible changes within the earth shift mountain ranges over time. The Lord is most certainly responding to us, our movements and changes, in a way we cannot perceive with the naked eye.

Our responsibility in the entire affair is to engage in consistent rhythms of spirituality which place us in a position to receive grace when God decides to give it. If we are still, we can feel the movements of grace developing within us, and enveloping us with life.

Perhaps we need to become adept at being spiritual mountain goats, using our wide cloven hooves of faith to negotiate the immense crags and rocks of God. After all, we will spend an eternity getting to know God and never exhaust the exploration.

Therefore, we must not despair. Rather, we can anticipate meeting with God, just as the Israelites of old looked forward and upward in ascending the temple mountain. The truth is that God surrounds people, even when we do not always perceive it to be so. 

The sturdiness of God is able to handle and bear the weight of our heaviest burdens.

Throw all your anxiety onto him because he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7, CEB)

If we will but look up, there is abiding help for the most vexing of problems.


I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
    Where will my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the maker of heaven and earth.
God won’t let your foot slip.
    Your protector won’t fall asleep on the job. (Psalm 121:1-3, CEB)

There is peace and settled rest when we call upon the God who surrounds us.

I call out to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy mountain.

I lie down and sleep;
    I wake again because the Lord sustains me. (Psalm 3:4-5, NIV)

It is through trust that we become mountains ourselves – strong in faith and giving life to those around us. And it is also no coincidence that Jesus ascended a mountain in order to deliver his most important teachings.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:1-10, NRSV)

On the mountain we encounter the Lord. In that place, we find that humility, gentleness, mercy, purity, and peacemaking are the sacred pathways of pushing back on the world’s injustice and establishing a more just and right culture.

All sorts of people, from everywhere, from every nation, will stream to receive gracious teaching. They will become aware of how to live in an egalitarian society. Everyone’s needs shall be met.

Great and mountainous God, help me to keep my heart clean and to live honestly and fearlessly, so that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away my joy of conscious integrity. Open wide the eyes of my soul so that I may see good in all things. Grant me today a vision of your truth. Inspire me with the spirit of gladness and make me to be a cup of strength to suffering souls; in the name of the strong Deliverer, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Remember and Listen to History (Deuteronomy 32:1-10)

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

Listen, heaven, and I will speak.

Earth, hear the words from my mouth.

Let my teachings come down like raindrops.
Let my words drip like dew,
like gentle rain on grass,
like showers on green plants.
I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
Give our God the greatness he deserves!
He is a rock.
What he does is perfect.
All his ways are fair.
He is a faithful God, who does no wrong.
He is honorable and reliable.

He recognizes that his people are corrupt.
To their shame they are no longer his children.
They are devious and scheming.
Is this how you repay the Lord,
you foolish and silly people?
Isn’t he your Father and Owner,
who made you and formed you?

Remember a time long ago.
Think about all the past generations.
Ask your fathers to remind you,
and your leaders to tell you.
When the Most High gave nations their land,
when he divided the descendants of Adam,
he set up borders for the tribes
corresponding to the number of the sons of Israel.

But the Lord’s people were his property.
Jacob was his own possession.
He found his people in a desert land,
in a barren place where animals howl.
He guarded them, took care of them,
and protected them because they were helpless. (God’s Word Translation)

In addition to being a church pastor and a hospital chaplain, I hold two academic history degrees. I firmly believe the past is important. Having an historical perspective on just about everything is helpful in order to negotiate present circumstances.

Another way of saying this is that it’s imperative that we remember times from long ago, and think about all the past generations – what they faced, why they faced it, and how they dealt with it – because it all influences us right now, whether we are aware of it, or not.

Listening to others is important. Hearing and responding to the voice of God is necessary. And listening to voices of the past is just as crucial. After all, Holy Scripture is ancient, containing the voices of hundreds of people, as well as the voice of the Lord. The faithful throughout the ages have encountered all sorts of situations related to their religious tradition; and they remain as a great cloud of witnesses testifying to us and encouraging us in the way we ought to go.

In today’s Old Testament lesson, the Lord exhorted the people to remember, simply because they had forgotten. And whenever a people forget where they have come from, they forget who they are; and if they forget who they are, their very identity is in jeopardy of being hijacked by corruption, guilt, and shame.

Israel needed to recall their own history, because they were in danger of failing to tell their stories to the next generation, who in turn, would not then have anything to remember.

The great redemptive events of God in calling their father, Abraham, out of Chaldea, promising divine presence and property to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery; and the wandering in the wilderness had to be lifted up and recognized, not forgotten.

In fact, every generation of believers needs to not only affirm their faith, but also restate that faith for the next generation.

And that is precisely what Moses did for the people. He restated Israel’s history and the giving of God’s Law for a new generation about to enter the Promised Land. Only with this collective memory of divine help and revelation would the people be able to make it in in the place they were going.

There is, I believe, a great collective ignorance of history. Many Westerners know very little of their own genealogy beyond a generation or two. Folks have little to no recollection of seminal events which have shaped the places where they live and work. It’s as if there is no foundation under their feet from which to stand firm.

For example, this is one reason why so many people of color get treated as if they do not belong – because the white folk in the room don’t even know their own history, let alone the background and challenges of those who look different than them.

“Every true history must force us to remember that the past was once as real as the present and as uncertain as the future.”

George Macaulay Trevelyan, Professor of History, Cambridge University, 1898-1943

History is about people, and not so much about dates and facts. And so, to be indifferent about history is to be disinterested, even calloused, toward other people. Conversely, to engage history and learn from it is to be transformed by it.

Historians are people tasked with describing and interpreting the past. They take the many historical facts and responsibly interpret those facts and events in a coherent narrative for the benefit of those in the present. That’s exactly what Moses did. He told Israel’s story.

Moses recalled the past, then retold it and revised it for his contemporary generation. All history is revisionist – and that’s a good thing. It just means that we faithfully tell the story of our past by clearly understanding that history within the historical actors own time and terms, as well as possessing an equally discerning grasp of the people who hear it.

An attention to history can guide us, and help heal us of our narcissistic ways. It can help dethrone us from the misguided belief that we are the center of the universe. History provides us with the tools necessary to hear and understand the other, enabling us to reconcile with one another. 

As we learn from reading and listening to historical narratives, we find resources that can bring transformation of our own lives and the communities in which we live. So, what are you waiting for? Read the Bible. Read history. Read the contemporary culture. Perhaps you will have a compelling, challenging, and coherent voice that will rise above all the other competing contemporary voices of contempt and corruption.

Great God of all history, thank you for the many faithful people who, through the centuries, have made a positive impact in this world.

Thank you for the godly men and women who, by your grace, have rewritten history books by their actions; who have heard your call to go into the world. We praise you for the good example they have shown and the difference they have made.

May you enable each of us to leave an imprint and legacy of your love and mercy in our spheres of influence, so that those who come after us will look back one day and say, “They made a difference.” Amen.

A Divine Appointment (Genesis 29:1-14)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jacob and Rachel at the well, by Friedrich Wilhelm Müller (Kirchditmold 1801–1889)

Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.

Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?”

“We’re from Harran,” they replied.

He said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?”

“Yes, we know him,” they answered.

Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?”

“Yes, he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”

“Look,” he said, “the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”

“We can’t,” they replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.”

While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd. When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.

As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.” (New International Version)

Jacob meets Rachel at the well, by Paolo Fiammingo, c.1585

Jacob was a homebody. Unlike his twin brother Esau, who loved the outdoors and was often away hunting, Jacob preferred to hang around home with his mother – which is probably why Rebekah preferred him over his brother. It’s also why the two of them succeeded in a plan to deceive Isaac and steal the family blessing from Esau.

In Esau’s bitterness over not being blessed by his father, he began laying plans of his own: to kill his brother Jacob in revenge. This came to the attention of Rebekah, who then warned Jacob to flee to her family of origin in Paddan-Aram.

The boy who was attached to his mother and stayed at home, was now a man on the run, in need of a new life. Jacob was alone. One can only imagine the fear and apprehension, the grief and loneliness, of being on his own in a strange place. But God was with him. And the Lord graciously assured Jacob of the divine presence and promises.

Since God was with Jacob and was going to accomplish divine purposes through him, the Lord set up a divine appointment.

Upon arriving at a well, Jacob discovers some shepherds who know his uncle. And then, along comes Rachel with a flock of sheep. God’s providential guidance is evident in leading both Jacob and Rachel to this place and for this time.

Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, was the brother of Laban and the father of Rachel. In the lives of both Rebekah and her son Jacob, Laban ran out to greet and be involved in the divine appointments. (Genesis 24) The narratives differ, however, in that Abraham’s servant had wealth to share in bringing Isaac and Rebekah together; yet Jacob showed up without two pennies to rub together.

And whereas, on both occasions a future bride comes to a well, Rebekah and Rachel differ greatly in their betrothal times. Rebekah’s marriage was quickly arranged; Rachel’s marriage is uncertain and everything is nebulous on how things will shake out with Jacob.

The divine appointment has happened. God’s protection, presence, and guidance are with Jacob. Yet, at this point in the narrative, everything seems up in the air. Will Jacob marry Rachel? Are there going to be numerous descendants? How in the world is Jacob going to return to the land which was promised?

Though this initial foray into the unknown has had a divine stamp on it, Jacob will soon discover that there are many obstacles to negotiate before the promises of God are fulfilled.

And that is the way of us all. Sometimes things come easy and effortless. At other times, it’s a hard slog. In the scope of a life, there are extended seasons of tedious and mundane work – punctuated with times of amazement, even miracle, letting us know there is a God still watching.

You never quite know what’s around the corner of your life – whether good or bad. Yet, the real issue is trust.

The thing about divine appointments is that God is the sovereign ruler of the universe – which means that everything is in the Lord’s hands. All of life, and all events, are providentially bent for divine purposes. Both good and trouble are appointed.

If we believe the Lord is good, right, and just – all the time and that there is never a time when God is bad or capricious – then we are able to accept all circumstances as being from the hand of God. We will trust, even though we don’t know what’s coming next.

The Apostle Paul had it right by saying that “every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” (Romans 8:28, MSG)

What would your life look like by adopting this perspective God and all events you encounter?

Gracious God, you alone know what my real needs are. You love me more than I myself know how to love. Help me to see my real needs which are hidden from me. I am afraid to ask for either a cross or consolation, so I wait on you; my heart is open to you. Visit me and help me for the sake of your great mercy. Strike me and heal me, cast me down and raise me up, according to your good will. I put all my trust in you. Amen.

The Connection of Faith, Obedience, and Blessing (Genesis 22:15-18)

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

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Faith

The biblical character of Abraham is synonymous with faith. And for good reason.

God had told Abraham that he would have a son with his wife Sarah. This was especially unusual because the couple were well advanced in age, and Sarah was incapable of having children. Infertility is not just a modern problem; it has always existed. 

Yet, despite all the contrary evidence of age and ability, 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.

“The child of the promise.” This was Isaac’s moniker – which made the command from God so perplexing: “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” (Genesis 22:2) Huh?

I can easily imagine Abraham saying to himself, perhaps not out loud, “What the [insert favorite expletive]!”  But it only seems strange and super-weird to us. We get no reaction from Abraham, no questioning, no talk back. He just goes about the business of saddling up the donkey, chopping some wood for the sacrifice, and takes his only son with him on the journey to the mountain.

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 get an insight from the author of Hebrews into Abraham’s thought process, a line of thinking that is consistent with a person who has a regular habit of talking with God:

Abraham had been promised that Isaac, his only son, would continue his family. But when Abraham was tested, he had faith and was willing to sacrifice Isaac, because he was sure that God could raise people to life. This was just like getting Isaac back from death. (Hebrews 11:17-18, CEV)

Obedience

Abraham did not try and figure out God’s mind. He picked no fights and chose not to debate with God about the contradiction of ethics he was being asked to do.

Abraham simply obeyed. He reasoned that it did not matter if Isaac were killed, because God could 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. After God stepped in and provided a ram for the sacrifice instead of Isaac, Abraham named that place “The Lord Will Provide.” (Genesis 22:14)

You and I most certainly do not always know why we are facing the circumstances we must endure. We are rarely privy to know what in the world God is thinking. Yet, like Abraham, if we have a spiritual history of walking with God and hearing God’s voice, there is no hesitation; we respond with obedience. We are convinced that God will provide. Obedience for the follower of Christ is not a burden; it is a privilege, even when we are being tested beyond our seeming emotional ability to do it.

Blessing

Blessings come through obedience. They are not willy-nilly thrown into a crowd like some cheap stadium trinket between innings of a baseball game. When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, the connection between obedience and blessing was re-emphasized:

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God…. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. (Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 9, NIV)

Here’s a simple observation about the blessing of Abraham: It took nearly five-hundred years before that blessing was realized. Furthermore, in the Christian tradition, it then took another fifteen-hundred years before the blessing was fulfilled in the person of Jesus.

And, I might add, all the promises of God to the people will be fully consummated at the end of the age when Christ returns. For a contemporary society which prides itself on timeliness, speed, and efficiency, taking the much broader scope of all history might seem unacceptable.

So, we come back around again to trust. Just as Abraham trusted God, even when it seemed like nonsense fraught with major moral implications, so we are to exhibit patient and persevering faith.

Although the scope of history is massively large, the only moment we have is the now. It is now, today, in which we put one foot in front of the other and toddle forward into the next moment – by faith.

We simply obey. Then, we obey again… and, again. It is in these continual small steps of faith and obedience that we discover the blessings of God in the middle of our path.

Sovereign Lord, your ways are sometimes strange. 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 guide and provide. My allegiance is to you as I anticipate divine blessings in my life through the Name of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.