Tag: god’s presence

Isaiah 40:1-11 – The Lord’s Glory Will Appear

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

Comfort, comfort my people!
    says your God.
Speak compassionately to Jerusalem,
        and proclaim to her that her compulsory service has ended,
    that her penalty has been paid,
    that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins!

A voice is crying out:
“Clear the Lord’s way in the desert!
    Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God!
Every valley will be raised up,
    and every mountain and hill will be flattened.
    Uneven ground will become level,
    and rough terrain a valley plain.
The Lord’s glory will appear,
    and all humanity will see it together;
    the Lord’s mouth has commanded it.”

A voice was saying:
    “Call out!”
And another said,
    “What should I call out?”
All flesh is grass;
    all its loyalty is like the flowers of the field.
The grass dries up
    and the flower withers
    when the Lord’s breath blows on it.
    Surely the people are grass.
The grass dries up;
    the flower withers,
    but our God’s word will exist forever.

Go up on a high mountain,
    messenger Zion!
Raise your voice and shout,
    messenger Jerusalem!
Raise it; don’t be afraid;
    say to the cities of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”
Here is the Lord God,
    coming with strength,
    with a triumphant arm,
    bringing his reward with him
    and his payment before him.
Like a shepherd, God will tend the flock;
    he will gather lambs in his arms
    and lift them onto his lap.
    He will gently guide the nursing ewes. (Common English Bible)

Advent is a time of longing, hoping, and anticipating fulfilled promises. Meanwhile, in this awkward liminal space, it’s a hard slog.

Most of the Christian’s life is lived in the mundane, yet necessary work of mission. The daily pilgrimage of faith is barely noticed by most people. Our small and seemingly obscure acts of kindness; the discreet gestures of love; and the graciously chosen words of encouragement can be undetected by so many – except for God.

I am sure the ancient Jewish people felt that, for an awfully long time, they were plodding along as faithfully as they could with often little to show for it. However, they knew it would not always be this way. God’s people anticipated that a time was coming when their pedantic service would see the light of day.

I am sure we, too, have times when it feels as if our prayers are only bouncing off the ceiling. In such times, words of comfort and assurance come as a breath of fresh air. When we least expect it, God speaks to us tenderly and with compassion. The Lord steps into our weariness and exhausting work and says, “Enough!”

Whereas our walk with God may often feel like trudging up and down hills, sloshing through muddy valleys, and traversing hard terrain, the proclamation of comfort assures us that it will not always be this way. The way to God will be made level so that we can connect with the Lord post haste.

No matter how much our worldly circumstances break us down, even shattering our expectations and dreams, we carry with us an unflagging vision of wholeness, integrity, and hope. God is our true home, our polestar, our ultimate destiny. Feeling displaced, out of sorts, or like we just do not belong are signs that we long for our place with God.

And when we find our home with God, all might be going to hell around us, yet we are buttressed and sustained by living divine words. For those with eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts attuned to grace, there is John the Baptist, smoothing the highway to our Lord – preparing the way to Jesus. (Mark 1:1-4)

God, as the warrior who powerfully fights our battles – and the shepherd who lovingly tends to our needs – firmly takes the initiative to bring us home, going out of the way to gently pick us up and carry us back to the place we belong.

The good news is that the world is changed by God. The world around us is no longer the way we thought it was or was supposed to be. Despair gives way to confident expectation, and discouragement is slowly replaced by consolation. The long exile is coming to an end. Jesus is coming soon. All will be made right. Justice and peace will have the day.

Let your hearts be true and humble, as befits God’s holy reign. For the glory of the Lord is on the earth and will be from everlasting to everlasting.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to people of goodwill. We praise you; we bless you; we adore you; we give thanks to you for your great glory. Amen.

Psalm 63 – I Will

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

You are my God. I worship you.
    In my heart, I long for you,
    as I would long for a stream
    in a scorching desert.

I have seen your power
and your glory
    in the place of worship.
Your love means more
than life to me,
    and I praise you.
As long as I live,
    I will pray to you.
I will sing joyful praises
and be filled with excitement
    like a guest at a banquet.

I think about you
    before I go to sleep,
    and my thoughts turn to you
    during the night.
You have helped me,
    and I sing happy songs
    in the shadow of your wings.
I stay close to you,
    and your powerful arm
    supports me.

All who want to kill me
    will end up in the ground.
Swords will run them through,
    and wild dogs will eat them.

Because of you, our God,
    the king will celebrate
with your faithful followers,
    but liars will be silent. (Contemporary English Version)

Regulars to this blog know that I believe the Old Testament Psalms to be a vast untapped resource of devotion and prayer for many Christians. The biblical psalms provide believers with words for prayer, song, and thought so that we might remain close and connected to the Lord.

I Will Worship

Worship involves gratitude to God for God’s inherent love; and praise to God for divine works done in the world.

God’s people, gathered together for worship, affords a wonderful opportunity to express gratitude and praise, as well as listen to the stories of others who have experienced the gracious works of God in their lives.

Therefore, both personal and corporate worship is needed. Personal worship, even if engaged daily, will inevitably lead to a truncated understanding of God and God’s Law without corporate worship – because we need the encouragement and the accountability of others for mature spiritual growth. In addition, to only participate in corporate worship, without attending to daily personal worship, leads to a bifurcation between Sunday and our Monday-Friday workaday existence.

Worship isn’t so much an event, as it is a life. So, it makes sense to have healthy rhythms of personal and corporate worship which enable us to glorify God in our neighborhoods, families, workplaces, and faith communities.

I Will Pray

In those dark times when we don’t know what to pray, how to lament, or what to say to God; in the joyful times when we want to proclaim praise, give thanks, or express our blessings and longings; in every season of our lives the psalms help give voice to our relationship with the God of all creation.

Today’s psalm was originally uttered to God when David was roaming in the wilderness avoiding King Saul’s malevolent intent. David prayerfully expressed his yearning, desire, and hope to connect with God and be guided by the Lord, step by step. David praised God in an awkward and adverse circumstance, longing to be satisfied with spiritual food and drink.

I Will Sing

Just as we are to pray the psalms, we are to also speak the psalms out loud with singing. The Psalter Hymnal of old, as well as many contemporary praise and worship songs, are words from the psalms, meant to help, encourage, and give voice to our own current experiences.  

Inspired by the psalms, take a few minutes today to sing and/or listen to songs such as, “God You Are My God” by Michael W. Smith, or check out a compilation of music from the psalms, like, “The Psalms Project,” which aims to put all 150 psalms to music. Maybe even craft your own tune to today’s psalm and sing it to the Lord.

I Will Think

Specifically, the psalmist mentions thinking about the Lord before retiring for sleep, as well as turning to God when awake during the night.

In today’s modern (and postmodern) society, anxiety and racing thoughts are ubiquitous – the result of overthinking and fixating on particular troubling thoughts. Contemplating God through reflecting on the psalms can be a way of taming the out-of-control thinking, while positively engrafting sound theology into the inner workings of our brains.

There’s a reason why the daily lectionary has a reading from the psalms every day. It is one of the best sources for practical spirituality and heartfelt worship, as well as transforming the way we think.

I Will Stay Close

Whatever we do, whatever we say, and wherever we go, let the psalms help form and shape within you a profound spirituality which helps foster a deeper connection with the God we long to know more and more. 

May our celebrations be raucous and robust because the God of the psalms has showed up and given grace and mercy to our troubling circumstances.

Soli Deo Gloria

1 Kings 8:22-30 – Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

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

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands to heaven. He said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart, the covenant that you kept for your servant my father David as you declared to him; you promised with your mouth and have this day fulfilled with your hand. Therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant my father David that which you promised him, saying, ‘There shall never fail you a successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ Therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you promised to your servant my father David.

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! Regard your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive. (New Revised Standard Version)

I grew up in rural Iowa, a place with lots of gravel roads. In the seasons of Spring and Fall, the thawing and re-freezing lead to some impressive ruts in those roads. It’s difficult to avoid them since they nearly dominate the driving space. 

With our prayers, there are seasons of life where we can slip into ruts – times where focused wrestling in prayer is set aside by just going along with the rut of prayer with the same lifeless words and phrases. There are Christians who pray wonderful prayers… over and over again with almost no thought to it, continually saying the same things anytime they pray.

In today’s Old Testament lesson, we have a prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the Lord’s temple. The two aspects of this prayer that jump out to me are: 

  1. Solomon reminded God of divine promises to the covenant people.
  2. Solomon reminded God of who God is. 

Solomon, as the wisest person to ever live, did not believe that somehow God forgot about promises made or had some sort of divine dementia about theology proper. Instead, Solomon prayed with the kind of prayer that God delights to hear. 

“Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.”

Søren Kierkegaard 

God enjoys hearing us pray. The Lord likes it when we pray according to the promises given us. God adores when we pray with a focused understanding of whom we are praying to.

So, then, in our prayers, it is good to emulate the example of King Solomon. Know the promises of God contained in Holy Scripture and pray they will be confirmed in our lives, families, churches, and world. 

Also, pray with the intention of declaring God’s inherent nature, attributes, and character. Acknowledge the basic trait of God’s steadfast love. Believers serve a big God whose hugeness is continually above all things, and whose work is always continuing according to divine decrees and words. 

One way of moving our prayers out of the ruts of familiar language and thoughts is to journal them. Writing our prayers can become for us an act of worship as we slow down enough to craft a response to God that is thoughtful and connects us with him beyond the rote and routine.

In its simplest definition prayer is a conversation between the one who is praying and the one to whom those prayers is directed. So, whenever we craft a written or spoken prayer, it’s good to get out of a rut by:

  • Using language and words that are meaningful to you.
  • Making your intentions clear by stating exactly what you need or want.
  • Taking your time and not rushing.
  • Lighting candles, burning incense, or creating a special sacred space for prayer. 

Thank you Lord God for the opportunity of prayer and worship. Thank you that I can put aside uncertainties of this world and rest and rely upon the certainties of your good promises. Thank you that we can bring to your feet all the hurts and fears that trouble us and leave them there knowing that your strength and assurance are all that we require. May all your people find peace, healing, wholeness, and joy in your presence, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit exist as one God, now and forever. Amen.

Psalm 113 – Shout Praises

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
“From Sunrise to Sunset Praise God” by Muha Rukab

Shout praises to the Lord!
Everyone who serves him,
    come and praise his name.

Let the name of the Lord
    be praised now and forever.
From dawn until sunset
    the name of the Lord
    deserves to be praised.
The Lord is far above
    all of the nations;
    he is more glorious
    than the heavens.

No one can compare
    with the Lord our God.
His throne is high above,
    and he looks down to see
    the heavens and the earth.
God lifts the poor and needy
    from dust and ashes,
    and he lets them take part
    in ruling his people.
When a wife has no children,
    he blesses her with some,
and she is happy.
    Shout praises to the Lord! (Contemporary English Version)

When my firstborn daughter was an infant, I was a busy seminarian as well as working a job. I had very little discretionary time on my hands. Yet, I could stand over the crib of my beautiful little bundle of a girl for long stretches of time without ever thinking about all my responsibilities. Whenever she awoke I spoke to her in that kind of baby talk that only a doting father can do. 

I imagine God looks at us in much the same way, as well as speaking and acting toward us in ways we can understand. Just as parents (hopefully) communicate on a level their kids can understand, so G-d condescends and stoops to our level in order to help us. 

The Lord is seated on high, looking down on the heavens and the earth. G-d looks at us with lovingkindness and seeks our best interests. The Lord notices the poor and acts justly on their behalf. G-d observes the needy and lifts them from their want to a place where they can thrive. The divine condescension of God is a beautiful thing because without it we would be like a helpless baby.

G-d, while being unknowable and unreachable in so many ways, has nevertheless communicated with humanity in a way people can understand and to which they can respond. The Lord has accommodated, or made allowance for, our language and general level of understanding.

The Lord, sovereign and high above us all, has chosen to stoop and coo over us here on earth. G-d’s love affectionately delights in us. The psalmist’s portrayal of G-d is not of some aloof Being who is bothered with humanity’s pestering. Rather, G-d sees, notices, and cares. We don’t need to do some sort of spiritual back flips to gain G-d’s attention. We already have it.

This psalm of praise to G-d celebrates how the Sovereign of the universe notices and acts. We are meant to remember the great deeds of G-d – both those things done in history, and the things done for us, personally. 

“Despite our earnest efforts, we couldn’t climb all the way up to God. So what did God do? In an amazing act of condescension, God climbed down to us and became one with us.”

Will Willimon

In Christianity, the concept of divine condescension and accommodation is given its supreme form in the person and work of Jesus Christ. By becoming human, Jesus accommodates himself to the human condition. Through his life, teaching, and ministry, Christ speaks as G-d, communicating sufficiently and effectively to humanity.

The redemptive events of Christ – his incarnation, holy life, death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification – are divine acts of grace, mercy, and love to all humanity. Praise and thanksgiving are the appropriate responses to such events done on our behalf.

This is one reason why the spiritual practice of journaling is such a good personal discipline because we then have a record of the ways in which G-d has acted on our behalf. When we look back and remember, we can praise the Lord all over again for lifting us from the ash heap. And this will fortify our spiritual mettle for the times when we need encouragement.

Keeping a gratitude journal and writing each day about at least one way the Lord has acted on your behalf, can bring encouragement, transformation, and joy to your life. I suggest you write for your own eyes only. This is between you and G-d. Therefore, you need not be concerned for correct spelling and grammar. It doesn’t even need to be legible, as long as you can read your own writing!

“Praise is the rehearsal of our eternal song. By grace we learn to sing, and in glory we continue to sing. What will some of you do when you get to heaven, if you go on grumbling all the way? Do not hope to get to heaven in that style. But now begin to bless the name of the Lord.”

Charles Spurgeon

What’s more, shouting our praises is not only appropriate but encouraged – even commanded. Shouting is both cathartic and fun. It builds emotional resilience and spiritual strength. Coupled with writing, shouting our praises has the effect of bringing spiritual growth and maturity to our lives.

We, of course, want to avoid shouting at others. Yet, we can take advantage of shouting while driving alone, out in the woods by ourselves, or even into a pillow. This isn’t weird. Shouting goes appropriately with praise and celebration.

In fact, it would be weird if there were no shouting. Try telling a sports fan watching their favorite team that they aren’t supposed to shout. Or just see what happens when a woman longing for children becomes pregnant for the first time.

Emotional expressions are expected whenever G-d shows up and accomplishes great deeds for us. To not do so is a sign of having spiders in your heart and garlic in your soul. It’s not right.

What are you thankful for today? Is there something in this day for which to praise the Lord, whether big or small? Will you give yourself permission to shout?

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, the beauty of this world, the wonder of life, and the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts and leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on your mercy and grace.

Above all, we thank you for your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, the truth of his Word, the example of his life; his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; his dying, through which he overcame death; and his rising to life again, in which we are raised to new life. Grant us the gift of your Spirit so that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, we may give thanks to you in and for all things. Amen.