Tag: hope

The Everlasting God (Isaiah 40:21-31)

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

Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
    Wasn’t it announced to you from the beginning?
    Haven’t you understood since the earth was founded?
God inhabits the earth’s horizon—
    its inhabitants are like locusts—
    stretches out the skies like a curtain
    and spreads it out like a tent for dwelling.
    God makes dignitaries useless
    and the earth’s judges into nothing.
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
    scarcely is their shoot rooted in the earth
    when God breathes on them, and they dry up;
    the windstorm carries them off like straw.
So to whom will you compare me,
    and who is my equal? says the holy one.

Look up at the sky and consider:
    Who created these?
    The one who brings out their attendants one by one,
    summoning each of them by name.
Because of God’s great strength
    and mighty power, not one is missing.
Why do you say, Jacob,
    and declare, Israel,
    “My way is hidden from the Lord,
    my God ignores my predicament”?
Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?
    The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the creator of the ends of the earth.
    He doesn’t grow tired or weary.
His understanding is beyond human reach,
    giving power to the tired
    and reviving the exhausted.
Youths will become tired and weary,
    young men will certainly stumble;
    but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength;
    they will fly up on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not be tired;
    they will walk and not be weary. (Common English Bible)

Strength, endurance, and perseverance are vital resources which come from the reservoir of spiritual resources.  One does not simply will it into reality, and, poof! It is there! No, these resources must be drawn from a source that is reliable and continual.

Whenever you and I are persuaded to use an unreliable and/or limited resource, like our own, or some slick marketed one, we are not revived or restored to keep going and persevere through a given situation. In such times, we may naively think that God is absent, and cry, “God ignores my predicament.”

But God isn’t sleeping. The Lord hasn’t gone out to lunch or taken a bathroom break. God is not the problem. 

We actually thought we could handle our own junk, independently, without any help, saying, “I’ve got this!”  Maybe, for a while, you did. But then the strength ran out; weariness overwhelmed you. All of sudden, it seems, you have overestimated yourself, and underestimated God. 

With no steady and reliable resource to draw from, your brain’s thinking became distorted, and your heart’s confidence sunk. That’s because the sovereign and majestic God is the One who gives power and life, and there was trust in other things beside the Lord.

Yet, placing our hope in the God who is there, is to plunge into an inexhaustible and gracious pool of strength.  God enables us to fly and soar above our human predicaments and our daily problems. With the power God provides, we can carry-on and follow-through with the demands, duties, and desires of life on this earth which God created for us.

To draw from the deep well of God, it is thus extremely necessary to meet with this God on a regular and consistent basis. If food and drink for the body requires multiple daily attention and time, then filling the soul is just as, and even more, important.

This need for daily spiritual food and drink is why I choose to engage in the Divine Hours, also known as the Daily Office, or Fixed Hour Prayer. At certain set times in the day I break away from what I’m doing to give attention to the soul by drawing from the merciful resources of God. 

Perhaps this might be for you, as well, a fresh way to address your parched and needy soul.

Here is a link to the Divine Hours, based on the book of prayers compiled by Phyllis Tickle:

explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/hours.php

Yet, no matter the particulars of how we address meeting with God, consistently drawing from the well of grace is vital to our spiritual and emotional health.

Set me free, O God, from the bondage of my sins, and give me the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to me in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Becoming Holy (Isaiah 4:2-6)

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

And that’s when God’s Branch will sprout green and lush. The produce of the country will give Israel’s survivors something to be proud of again. Oh, they’ll hold their heads high! Everyone left behind in Zion, all the discards and rejects in Jerusalem, will be reclassified as “holy”—alive and therefore precious. God will give Zion’s women a good bath. He’ll scrub the bloodstained city of its violence and brutality, purge the place with a firestorm of judgment.

Then God will bring back the ancient pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night and mark Mount Zion and everyone in it with his glorious presence, his immense, protective presence, shade from the burning sun and shelter from the driving rain. (The Message)

One of the characteristics of Holy Scripture I deeply appreciate are the wonderful prose sections letting us, the readers and listeners, know that our longings for better days will come. There is a day coming when all of our good imaginings of the future shall be realized; and our present circumstances of hatred, discord, jealousy, and envy of one another shall be a thing of the past.

Unfortunately, we will likely (and biblically!) have to see some devastating and violent loss, and experience some terrible and awful destruction of both body and soul. All of the Old Testament prophets spoke messages of both judgment and grace, suffering and glory. Although hammered with ruin, biblical readers are given glimpses of hope to see the possibility of life beyond all of the carnage.

In other words, there will indeed be restoration and renewal. All shall not be lost forever. Death does not have the last word; resurrection does. It will happen because God has a determined resolve to find resilient ways of restoring the divine/human relationship back to its original and intended peaceful good.

It takes faith to have hope, and hope to have faith, and love to win the day forever. If God can create ex nihilo, out of nothing, then the Lord can reform and renew that which already exists, even though it may be in an awfully deformed state.

The ones who remain, the survivors, are the remnant of true believers, the people who hold onto faith and patience in the face of adversity, hardship, and difficulty. These are the dreamers, the seers, the prophets who foresaw both the need for divine judgment, and equally understood the promise of divine restoration.

The earth will once again be blessed. A rainbow of promise shall rise to remind us all that the storms which ravaged us have passed, never to return again.

But let us also clearly understand that it is because of human stubbornness, of hard-hearted people failing to love mercy and show steadfast love, that got us in this pickle of judgment to begin with. There comes a point when the repeated refusal to change, and use the gifts God has given us, leads to our shelf life on this earth coming to a moldy ruin. To be thrown into the divine incinerator is something brought on by us, not God.

Evil is like a cancer which must be purged from our existence so that we can be clean and healthy. The commands of God are not meant to keep people under a heavy divine thumb, but rather to help people live well in this world in a good healthy way. Living a holy life means that we participate in productive spiritual practices that strengthen faith and support the spirit.

People become “unclean” when they take a different path which is inconsistent with how we were designed by our Creator to live. It would be a bit like believing we can ignore all traffic laws and drive how we want, and then are surprised when we are nearly killed in an accident. Sadly, the unclean perish in their self-preoccupations, with God’s generosity completely off of their spiritual radar.

Yet, no matter where we’ve come from or what we have done, there is always the possibility of rehabilitation, of renewing our relationship to God, experiencing the divine presence, and receiving divine grace.

Getting in sync with the healthy spiritual forces of this universe is like having the ancient provision and protection of God’s pillar of cloud by day and fire by night – reassuring us that we are not alone and belong securely in the merciful arms of a loving Lord.

In Christianity, a holy life and a clean heart results from the person and work of Jesus Christ. God got down to it, taking the judgment we deserved and giving us grace. All of the temporary ritual cleanings merely pointed forward to the once for all scrubbing of the cross.

The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!…

 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 9:12-14, 10:21-23, NIV)

May you experience the blessing of becoming clean, and know the blessing of being holy and pure in all your relationships and activities. Amen.

Prepare the Way (Mark 1:1-8)

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

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way”—
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message:

“After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (New International Version)

The beginning of Mark’s Gospel lets us know what the entire account is all about: The good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And, from the get-go, Mark embeds this beginning in a much older beginning, from the prophet Isaiah. None of this stuff was made up; it’s been there all along, for those with the spiritual eyes to see it.

It could be that it seems you aren’t seeing anything happen in your life that’s good right now. You know you’re now into this Christian Advent season, but not feeling at all as if it’s a time of good news – because all you have been hearing is bad news stacked on top of bad news. Devastation and despair, destruction and depression, are not only with those experiencing the harrowing circumstances of war or disease, but perhaps with you, as well.

Just because you can always point to someone else, or some other people group around the world, that has it worse than you, doesn’t mean that your own situation is necessarily good. The worst sort of grief is the grief that you yourself are experiencing. It’s likely that you may have your own unique brand of hopelessness, and might feel guilty for not being more happy or grateful in this time of year.

We all need good news – not just the ones with daily terrible and traumatic encounters. Maybe we could all tap into our collective humanity and realize our spiritual connection with everyone else in this topsy-turvy world. If we share bad news together, then it seems to me that we can also share the good news with one another, as well.

And there is always good news, if we have the spiritual ears to hear it: God is here. God knows. God cares. God loves. God is the Victor. Specifically, for Mark and for Christians everywhere, the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus the Messiah is the dynamic proclamation of deliverance from all the guilt, shame, anxiety, and devastation that happens around us and even to us.

The consistent witness of the New Testament Gospels is nothing less than the Evangelists saying to us, “Look! God is here in the person of Jesus.”

Christ did not come to this earth in order to bring us some nice distractions from the crap we are enduring; but instead turns toward the crud and faces it down with divine power.

John the Baptist, by Anikitos Giannoudes

We possess good news of great joy for all the nations. And there is, I believe, no better messenger to let us know this than John the Baptist – a quirky man whose clothes look like they don’t fit right (or are even fit for a person to wear) and whose daily lunch makes all the girls squeal.

If a guy like John – on the margins of society – can help point us to good news, then we, too, have an important place in this world of making a difference with our own social eccentricities, spiritual foibles, mental disorders, and funny looks.

It appears obvious that John only cared about one thing: making sure everyone knew who the true and ultimate Messenger was, because this Messenger Messiah had the true message of good news that the whole world desperately needs.

The good news of God brings hope to those who find themselves in dire straits, on the peripheries of our world, and of wondering if things will ever get better, or not. God’s good news of grace announces God’s presence in all of our wonderings, in every place, and with each situation we find ourselves in.

God’s love goes wherever we are. Jesus is our Immanuel, God with us. In the person of Christ, we discover that God is for us; and if everyone else is against us, the Lord’s divine presence is enough for us. Thanks be to God!

The Restorative Powers of Grace (Jeremiah 31:10-14)

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

Listen to the Lord’s word, you nations,
    and announce it to the distant islands:
The one who scattered Israel will gather them
    and keep them safe, as a shepherd his flock.
The Lord will rescue the people of Jacob
    and deliver them from the power of those stronger than they are.
They will come shouting for joy on the hills of Zion,
    jubilant over the Lord’s gifts:
        grain, wine, oil, flocks, and herds.
Their lives will be like a lush garden;
    they will grieve no more.
Then the young women will dance for joy;
    the young and old men will join in.
I will turn their mourning into laughter
    and their sadness into joy;
        I will comfort them.
I will lavish the priests with abundance
    and shower my people with my gifts,
        declares the Lord. (Common English Bible)

In the seasons of our lives, when we go through those times of difficulty, it feels like a hard slog uphill that never seems to end. But it will not always be this way. Suffering will eventually give way to rejoicing; sickness will turn to health; estranged relationships will reconcile; and broken spirits will be made whole again.

God is the expert in restoration. Dilapidated communities, broken individuals, and peoples in diaspora can find fresh hope amid challenging circumstances. The initiative, interventions, and actions of God are what make the difference in turning sorrow to joy.

The Lord gathers scattered people together, as well as making the disparate parts of people into a unified whole again. And in this gathering action of God, no one is left behind. Attention is given to the stragglers, to those unable on their own strength or ability to journey on the road back to the Lord.

With the Lord’s movements of mercy, those with unfortunate circumstances are turned into the fortunate ones. The underprivileged become privileged. Grief, lament, and mourning give way to joy and a new lease on life. A great reversal occurs with God’s intervention. Sorrow is transformed into praise. Goodness is found in abundance because the Lord is a good God.

God calls people to action, to a response of experiencing the restorative powers of grace. The Lord encourages such behavior because it helps us never forget that no one and no circumstance is ever beyond the renewing grace of God. The effect of God’s merciful activity in the lives of people is singing, shouting, listening, and proclaiming.

With spiritual renewal, there is no mumbling of words, no timidity about being off tune when lifting a song of praise and thanksgiving. The lonely person, fragmented group, depressed community, polarized neighborhood, or scattered nation who becomes restored by God’s merciful grace is a newly minted exuberant people. Singing organically arises from them.

God’s restorative work causes shouts of joy to emanate deep within the soul. In fact, the Lord’s activity is so wonderful that even the rocks will cry out if the people don’t. A last second win in the sports stadium amongst thousands of fans doesn’t even hold a candle to the celebrative shouts of believers gathered and restored.

Whenever a people hear God’s voice and respond, it results in restoration. The desire to listen is then heightened, and obedience to God’s will becomes the norm, instead of the exception. Increased proclamation of good news happens, as a joyous and privileged response to God’s amazing grace. More and more people are included within the community, and hope rises beyond what anyone thought was possible.

Rescue and redemption are at the heart of God toward lost and wayward humanity. Divine intervention leads to restoration of individuals, neighborhoods, faith communities, even nations. Like a faithful shepherd over a flock of sheep, the Lord actively seeks the lost, brings them home, and continues to stand watch over them as a compassionate guardian.

And just as God redeemed the people out of Egyptian slavery and took them to a good land of abundance, so the Lord shall return those persons exiled from that abundant place and restore them to the peace of settled rest. The restoring action of God gathers the scattered. The lost are found. That which is fragmented is made whole. Those previously disabled become able. The weak become strong, the sick healed, the hungry fed, and the prisoner freed.

In times of famine, disease, poverty, hardship, confusion, and scant resources, there is hope. The Lord knows how to restore fortunes and bring untold abundance amid the most difficult of situations.

True joy comes through hard suffering. The pains of childbirth give way to unspeakable joy.

Christians are about to enter the season of Advent, after the long months of ordinary time. God, in Jesus Christ, is about to enter the world through a woman, in the flesh. The gracious work is about to begin, of ransoming, redeeming, and restoring a sinful world that had exiled itself from peace and abundance. In Christ, our lives are about to become full of blessing.

Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the spiritual blessings that Christ has brought us from heaven! (Ephesians 1:3, CEV)

“I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness. I am the good shepherd, who is willing to die for the sheep.” (John 10:9-11, GNT)

May you know and experience the restorative grace of God in Christ today and every day. And may this upcoming season bring you fresh hope and a renewed faith. Amen.