Tag: jesus

John 3:31-36

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            “The Son was sent to speak God’s message, and he has been given the full power of God’s Spirit.”  Well, there you have it.  This is a statement that every person on planet earth needs to contend with.  I, personally, have found in Jesus grace and truth.  I have come to believe the New Testament Gospel accounts of his birth, life, teaching, death, resurrection, and ascension.  None of that belief and faith came quickly or easily – it came as a result of primarily two things:  plain straightforward reading of the Bible; and, the wooing of the Holy Spirit.
 
            It really isn’t my job to convince you of the veracity of Jesus.  It is my task to point you to him and let God take over.  There is only one thing that I refuse to put up with in talking with people about Jesus:  If you haven’t read the Gospel accounts and you have rejected Christ, then, for honesty’s sake, have the gumption and the integrity to give Jesus an honest real hearing before you dismiss him with a slight of hand.  It is one thing to genuinely not know about Jesus, and it is another thing altogether to ignore him when you have some knowledge about how to find out about him.
 
            Everyone who has faith in Jesus has a life-giving connection with God.  Those who don’t, don’t.  If you do not agree with that statement, then contend with Jesus himself.  Give him a hearing.  Watch him in action.  Observe how he deals with people.  See if he lives up to his words.  Then, come back and we’ll talk.
 

 

            Blessed Father, Son, and Spirit, you are the Holy Trinity, the God whom I serve.  Lead me to those you are leading to yourself so that we can talk about Jesus, my Savior and Lord.  Amen.

Matthew 8:14-17, 28-34

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            When I was a kid, every evening after the news I watched a show called To Tell the Truth.  The show featured a panel of four celebrities attempting to correctly identify a described contestant who has an unusual occupation or experience.  This central character is accompanied by two imposters who pretend to be the real character.  The celebrity panelists question the three contestants.  The imposters are allowed to lie but the central character is sworn “to tell the truth.”  After questioning, the panel attempts to identify which of the three challengers is telling the truth and is thus the central character.  The host would then say, “Will the real _____  please stand up!”
 
            The four panelists would often miss the real person, mainly because they had certain expectations of what the real person’s occupation or experience would be like.  And their expectations just didn’t match reality.  The people of Christ’s day often missed who Jesus really was because their expectations chiefly centered in a Messiah who would beat up the pagan Romans and establish a strong political kingdom that benefited them economically.  And that is why they missed the real deal because Jesus did not fit their preconceived notions of Messiah.  The real Jesus is compassionate, cares about people, and brings transformation to people’s lives, irrespective of whether it can turn a buck for somebody.
 
            The real Jesus puts people before pigs.  That might sound like a no-brainer, but, believe me, in Iowa I knew of more than one farmer who treated his pigs better than his family.  Jesus continually put people first before anything else.  He delivered two men from a terrible demonic bondage with the result that an entire herd of pigs was lost.  However, the town didn’t rejoice over the transformation of the men.  They just begged Jesus to go away before he messed up their economy even more.
 
            Jesus did not come to boost the local economy and make sure the political system was all warm and fuzzy toward the local merchants.  He changed people’s lives brought deliverance from emptiness.  The irony in the story is that the farmers and farming community had their hearts revealed as the ones who were truly empty.  Will the real empty hearted people please stand up!  What do you expect from Jesus? 
 

 

            Jesus, you are the rightful King of this universe.  May I participate with you in your agenda for this world so that I might exhibit the same care, compassion, and concern for people that you did.  Amen.

Luke 1:1-4

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            The season of Advent is almost upon us.  Advent is simply another word for “coming.”  During this liturgical season on the Christian Calendar, we rehearse the incarnation of Jesus, his coming to this earth as a baby.  Through this focus we anticipate Christ’s coming again in his Second Advent, at the end of the age.  As the secular world encroaches more and more into the sacred through a mere cultural assent to Christmas with its anticipation of gifts, food, and time off, the spiritual grounding of Advent is quite necessary for the Christian.
 
            It is appropriate, then, that today’s lectionary brings us to the beginning verses of Luke’s Gospel.  We are told that Luke set about the task of an historian, providing a first-hand account of Jesus Christ as well as researching primary sources to give a reliable and faithful narrative of the major redemptive events of Christ’s life and ministry.  The purpose of it all is to ground the believer in truth, and to orient the unbeliever into the vital components of God’s rescue mission of humanity.
 
            Let’s make it our goal to journey with Jesus in this next month by carefully and devotionally reading the daily lectionary so that we might be the recipients of God’s incredible story to us.  It would be helpful if you kept a journal of daily observations and thoughtful applications.  Yes, this takes the time of thought and reflection, but, then again, we are seeking to reverse the trend of the secular invading the sacred.  Who knows?  A fresh movement of the Spirit might stir up amongst us.
 

 

            Gracious God, thank you for neither abandoning nor obliterating humanity because of our terrible estrangement from you.  In this Advent season, lead us to Christ and save us from ourselves so that we might know the life that is truly life.  Amen.

Luke 1:68-79

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            When I was in graduate school at a public university some years back, I was describing for my class a New Testament view of Jesus and the church’s consistent historic teaching about him.  One of my classmates spoke up and said to me, “But you don’t really believe all that, right?”  Well, actually, I really do believe all the things concerning Jesus accounted for us in the Gospels.  Why?  Because I have found the historicity of Jesus from an objective ground of evidence as reliable, as well as a subjective witness within that resonates as true.  Christians call this witness within the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
 
            Old Zechariah experienced this firsthand.  The Holy Spirit came upon him and he uttered some objective prophecy over his newborn son, John that rang exultingly true within his subjective hopeful soul:  “You, my son, will go ahead of the Lord to get everything ready for him.  You will tell his people that they can be saved when their sins are forgiven.  God’s love and kindness will shine upon us like the sun that rises in the sky.  On us who live in the dark shadow of death this light will shine to guide us into a life of peace.”
 
            Indeed, this is exactly what John the Baptist did in his ministry.  When the Spirit resonates with us and testifies to the truth of Jesus, we can find genuine deliverance from sin, death, and hell, as well as have the confidence to proclaim the name of Jesus as Savior and King.  The objective and subjective aspects are both needed:  objective evidence alone is really nothing more than facts; subjective witness alone without evidence is just gut feeling; but the objective and subjective together presents the person and work of Christ with truth and grace, fact and flavor, mind and heart, in a compelling blend of Christianity for all people.
 

 

            Praise to you, Almighty God, because you have come to save your people.  Thank you for delivering me through your Son, the Lord Jesus, and giving me your Holy Spirit.  May the confidence I have with faith, hope, and love be used for your glory and honor.  Amen.