Tag: hope

Is There Hope?

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

manger

Every single hope and longing of your heart is to be found with a baby born two-thousand years ago.  The birth of Jesus Christ is the mid-point of history, the fulcrum on which the entire history of humanity hinges for its purpose and fulfillment.  Come and take-a-peek inside of a smelly room with stinky sheep and the distinct aroma of fresh hay – a dimly lit room which could be the place of any ordinary ancient family – and gaze upon the infant born.  The Christ child entered this world, this banal common space, just for you – to bring to fulfillment all your hopes and dreams.  The hope of the nations, the anticipation of peace on earth is just beginning….

Now your past, with of all its lack of direction, poor decisions, and missed opportunities can fade away.  “Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit… name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

Now your present circumstances, whether good or ill, have meaning and are not random events with no purpose.  “And the star they [the wise men] had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  They were thrilled and excited to see the star.  When the wise men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:9-11).

Now your future, which was so uncertain and filled with worry and anxiety, has direction and a trajectory in which to shape your entire life.  “With my own eyes I have seen what you have done to save your people, and foreign nations will also see this.  Your mighty power is a light for all nations, and it will bring honor to your people” (Luke 2:30-32).  “The Word became a human being and lived here with us.  We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.  From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us” (John 1:14).

I was once in the mass of people who were familiar with Jesus, knew the supposed facts of his birth, and gave no real credence to it.  After all, that was then, and this is now.  What has an ancient birth have to do with me today?  But I found within Jesus all that he claimed to be, and discovered that his words and ways were more than worth following.  What is more, I realized that forgiveness is real, grace is enough, faith is as epistemically sound as my five senses, and that the world really does revolve on the axis of love.  That is, if Jesus is at the center of it all.

This season, this most blessed time of year, is truly a call to all humanity.  It is a summons to awaken to God, to discern that he is there wooing you to himself through his Son, the Lord Jesus.  It is an invitation to forsake the old life and familiar path, to strike out and find your heart’s truest hope.  It is the chance to make a difference as a new person.  Your past does not need to define you forever.  Your present is awaiting your next move.  And your future can be bright.  Catholic nun, Sister Joan Chittester, has wisely said:

“The challenge of hopelessness is the challenge to re-enter the human race, to take our part in it knowing that it has as much our responsibility to shape life as it is for life to shape us.  It requires us to understand that misfortune is not failure.  It is at most simply a digression through life intended to make us reassess our course, our goals, our aspirations.”

            That reassessment is the opportunity to hope again with the real hope of Christmas and the Christ child.  It is not a call to a job, or necessarily to do something.  Rather, it is an appeal to becoming fully human and alive to the image of God within, awakened by coming to the manger.

Take some time and withdraw to a quiet place, either sitting down in your favorite chair or walk along a secluded path.  Use your imagination in coming to Jesus and see, smell, taste, touch, and hear the birth of the Savior.  What is the sixth sense of faith telling you as you ponder the scene?  How is Christ filling your heart?   Where are the places of your life Jesus is coming and enlarging?  Is there hope as you find an alternative way of sensing God in your life?

1 Peter 1:3-9

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Christians ought to expect suffering.  Yes, you heard that one right.  In our litigious age of claiming rights and avoiding pain at all cost, the biblical teaching can seem like some antiquated throw-back to an age we can’t relate to very well.  But Peter’s letter to the churches was all about facing and dealing with suffering.  Unfair treatment was happening, and was going to happen.  Peter would think it weird if believers were not undergoing suffering of some type.
 
            But it is not random meaningless suffering.  It is a testing of faith.  “Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire.  And these trials will prove that your faith is worth more than gold.”  Because faith is much like a muscle, it needs to be flexed, used, and exercised so that it develops and grows strong.  An absence of adversity will only lead to faith-muscle atrophy.  So, how do we endure such adverse situations of suffering?
 
            Christians deal in the currency of hope.  God has “given us new life and a hope that lives on.  God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.”  The path forward through suffering is to know that we are being trained and developed for eternal life with Jesus.  We learn to put our hope in things which are permanent, instead of putting too much investment and stock into the temporary.  Our strengthened faith will not decay, will never be ruined, and shall not disappear.  It only makes solid spiritual sense to develop a robust life of faith in this life, since eternity awaits us.
 

 

            I praise you God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  You are so good by raising Jesus from death and giving us a permanent inheritance which can never perish, spoil, or fade.  I entrust myself to you and seek spiritual growth by means of the trials you bring into my life.  May they be used for your glory.  Amen.

Isaiah 57:14-21

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Our God is the ultimate expert on helping the helpless, giving hope to the hopeless, and healing the broken.  In this American post-election season, many, even throughout the world, have either great anxiety or great relief; they are in either in a terrible funk, or are quietly in jubilation.  But from whatever emotional place we find ourselves today, Scripture always has something to say to us that is relevant and real. 
 
            The Old Testament prophets give a word from God.  It is a word that is full of judgment, but laced with grace; it reveals a hard road, but assures that the road will be made level and passable.  Today let the words of Isaiah penetrate your weary soul, and let this word from the Lord become internalized as a steady ballast for your ever-swinging feelings:
 
14 God says, “Rebuild the road!
Clear away the rocks and stones
so my people can return from captivity.”
15 The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,
the Holy One, says this:
“I live in the high and holy place
with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.
16 For I will not fight against you forever;
I will not always be angry.
If I were, all people would pass away—
all the souls I have made.
17 I was angry,
so I punished these greedy people.
I withdrew from them,
but they kept going on their own stubborn way.
18 I have seen what they do,
but I will heal them anyway!
I will lead them.
I will comfort those who mourn,
19     bringing words of praise to their lips.
May they have abundant peace, both near and far,”
says the Lord, who heals them.
20 “But those who still reject me are like the restless sea,
which is never still
but continually churns up mud and dirt.
21 There is no peace for the wicked,”
says my God. (New Living Translation)
 

 

            Lord God Almighty, I trust you to save me.  Then, I will not be afraid.  My strength comes from you.  I will celebrate your greatness because you are here to help me through Jesus Christ my Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Romans 8:22-25

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Advent is a season for patience, waiting, and anticipation.  As Christians, we have the confident hope that Jesus is coming.  His arrival is certain.  It will happen.  When my wife was pregnant with our firstborn daughter, the nine months seemed to go agonizingly slow.  And the closer the time came for her to be born it seemed she would never come!  But, of course, she did.  My first gander at a live childbirth was not a pretty sight; there was nothing at all romantic or glamorous about it.  It was not easy seeing my wife in such unique pain.  Yet, after it was all over, it was as if she had forgotten the difficulty of pregnancy and birth because her joy was so immense.
 
            In this world which is so full of physical, emotional, and even spiritual pain, we groan inwardly longing for the day when the promise will be realized and Jesus arrives.  Christians have a settled expectation that Jesus is coming.  If we keep our focus on this future reality, it helps to give shape and purpose to what we do now.  If we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it with patience.
 
            But sometimes we lose sight of our hope.  How do we hold on and not give in to discouragement?  How might we remain vigilant and steady, especially when times are difficult?  One way we persist is by not going it alone.  Christians all share the same common experience of needing to embrace hope.  We are to remind one another of our forgiveness in Christ, our shared love of Jesus, and our commitment to remain true to the Lord’s way of love.  Perhaps today you need to be vulnerable enough to openly share with a trusted believer how much you need your hope reawakened; or, maybe you have noticed someone who is losing hope and needs an intervention of encouragement.  Let us keep reminding each other that better days are coming….
 

 

            God Almighty, although this is a season of hope, many suffer in silence with hurting hearts.  Open my eyes to those around me who need their hope reawakened today, and use me to remind them of your abiding grace in Jesus Christ, our coming Savior.  Amen.