Tag: jesus

Mark 16:1-8

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
           “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”  So asked the three women on Resurrection Sunday when they came to anoint Jesus’ dead body.  But they did not find a dead body.  He was not there – he was risen!
 
            I sometimes find myself asking the same kind of question that the women were asking each other.  Who will move this huge object (or objection!) to church revitalization?  How can I get to Jesus so that I can do something for him?  Who will take care of the immovable obstacles that stand in my way?  These are questions born more of a small faith and a limited understanding of God than of knowing his great power.
 
            The women were not expecting a risen Lord.  They did not anticipate that their question would end up being completely irrelevant.  Maybe as believers and lovers of Jesus we are asking the wrong kind of questions.  Perhaps we are not grasping what God’s power has already accomplished and/or what God already has up his sleeve.  It could just be that all we really need to realize is that God is going before us, clearing all impediments so that people can see and experience the risen Christ.  Methinks our expectations are far too low for a God who has the power and will to raise people from death. 
 
            The way has been opened to a new and vital relationship with the Lord Christ because the stone is rolled away and Jesus is alive.  We can now encounter and explore a fresh reality with Jesus as the Author and Pioneer of our faith.  We need only listen and follow him and leave the moving of big rocks to God.
            Mighty God, I not only recognize your power but trust in it for my entire life’s work and activity.  Help me to trust you so fully that I can be an eyewitness to your mighty works among your people.  Amen.

Hebrews 12:1-3

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising its shame.”  Our Lord experienced the ultimate in suffering and shame; the cross was painful physically, mentally, and spiritually.  It was awful.  Yet, there was joy set before him.  This does not mean Jesus relished in the pain; rather, he clearly understood what his suffering would accomplish: the saving of many lives.
 
            Trying to make sense of this great sacrifice on our behalf can be mind-blowing.  No earthly illustration or word-picture can begin to adequately capture the idea.  However, perhaps what we can understand is undergoing the necessary discipline, effort, and pain in order to accomplish a goal.  Back in the day, I was a cross country runner (back far enough for Sherman to set the way-back machine).  When I was running I would sometimes get that super nasty pain in my side while running.  It is called a side cramp, or side stitch.  If you have never experienced it, the pain feels like an intense stabbing, as if someone were taking a knife and twisting it inside you.  There is really only one thing to do when this occurs:  keep running through the pain and it will subside in a few minutes; to stop running only exacerbates and prolongs the hurt, not to mention losing if it occurs during a race.
 
            Jesus faced the cross knowing that he was going to experience terrible excruciating pain.  He also knew that not facing the shame of it all and avoiding the agony would only make things worse and not take care of the problem.  Jesus endured all the foulness and degradation of the cross for you and me.  The pain was worth it to him.  He did not circumvent it, but embraced it so that the result would be people’s deliverance from sin, death, and hell.  The end game of his redemptive work was joy over deposing the ruler of this dark world.
 
            Suffering often does not fit into our equation of the Christian life; but it should.  Since Jesus bled and died for us, it is our privilege to follow him along the way of suffering.  Holy Week is a time to reflect and remember on such a great sacrifice, and to consider our Christian lives in the face of such great love.
            Gracious Lord Jesus, I give you eternal thanks for your mercy toward me through the cross.  It is a small thing for me to follow you even it means great suffering on my part.  My life is yours.  Use it as you will, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

John 12:34-50

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Everybody has a philosophy of ministry, that is, of how to proceed with the actual doing of Christian service to others.  Just because we might not have a written statement on it does not mean no philosophy exists.  Let’s think the thought that Jesus had a philosophy of ministry… which he did.  If we take his words as being weighty, then perhaps he actually articulated what he believes about handling people.  Contained in today’s Gospel lesson is the heart of Christ’s approach:
 
“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.  And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.  I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.  If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.”
 
Here are several observations about Christ’s philosophy of ministry:
 
1.      True faith is Trinitarian faith.
2.      Jesus came to dispel darkness by deposing its ruler.
3.      Jesus did not come to nit-pick or harangue people.
4.      Jesus came to save the world.
5.      Jesus has the authority to save the world.
6.      Believing in Jesus brings salvation.
 
Folks who are into people-pleasing and angling for people-praise will actually not get judged by Jesus; they will be judged by the words of Jesus on the last day.  This means that, for us, there really is neither a precedent nor a need to do the Spirit’s work for him.  Instead, we believe in Jesus and allow our faith to shape our conversations with others.  A philosophy of ministry does not need to be complex; it just needs to be Christ-centered.
            Great God of deliverance, thank you that you sent your Son, Jesus, to save people from their sins.  I believe in you and what you did and what you stand for.  Each time I open my mouth, may you form my words so that they are not judgmental, but helpful in bringing others to faith.  Amen.

John 3:1-13

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            “You must be born again.”  In the evangelical world this phrase is arguably the most famous and used statement in the whole of Holy Scripture.  Unfortunately, it is often reduced to a cliché, an almost formula-like approach to the Christian life.  Simply ask Jesus into your heart and you can be born again, that is, go to heaven.  The problem, however, lies in the fact that this is not really what Jesus said in John 3.  
             Jesus ministered in a religious world that needed deep transformation because it had become, uh-hem, reduced to formulas and clichés.  When Jesus stated that people need to be born again, he meant that there is a need for new life – not behavior modification, not re-arranging some things on the calendar, and not some more focused goals.  No, people need new life.  They need it so bad that it is like being born again.
             Just as a baby cannot create herself, make herself grow in the womb, and give birth to herself, so no one can experience total life change, being born again, on their own ingenuity, power, or ability.  We ought never to expect anything less than complete life transformation that comes through a total spiritual awakening, like being born again.  
             If that sounds downright radical, well, it is.  It is meant to be.  Jesus’ words to Nicodemus were so revolutionary to him that he had a hard time swallowing it.  But Jesus never dumbed-down spiritual truth in order to make it more palatable or understandable; he insisted on life change, and he taught it and lived it through preaching the kingdom of God and healing all kinds of people. 
             Only God can do such a work of bringing new life.  We are completely dependent upon the Spirit to birth us into a new reality through the person and work of Jesus.  We are also totally reliant upon the Spirit to use us as spiritual mid-wives, helping to birth new spiritual babies into God’s world.
             Saving God, you sent your Son, the Lord Jesus, to this world in order to give it new life.  Save me, O God, from myself and give me the change I need.  Help me to share this message of transformation with others who need to be born again, as well.  Amen.