Tag: lent

Deuteronomy 9:15-24

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


            God is full of grace, steadfast love, and covenant commitment.  But this does not mean that God is okay with sin.  He does not shrug his divine shoulders in a “meh” kind of attitude.  In fact, grace does not exist apart from sin.  Where there is boundless grace and compassion there will be found bucket loads of sin.  And, oh my, was there a load of sin among the ancient Israelites!  They were characterized as stiff-necked, stubborn, rebellious, and idolatrous.  This is the kind of stuff that evokes the ire of God.
             The truly godly person is the one who shares God’s heart and interests; what upsets God, upsets him/her; what makes God pleased, makes him/her pleased.  Notice Moses’ response to the people’s idolatry and sin:  he was visibly angered; he confronted the people with their sin; and, he engaged in an extended time of fasting and prayer on their behalf. 
             Lackadaisical attitudes and approaches toward God are rife throughout the Western church.  There is little to no sustained, prolonged, and focused times of prayer and fasting among both individuals and groups of people because we are too busy indulging in revelry with our idols of money, sex, power, and perfectionist control.  Until we are cut to the heart with this present darkness of empty souls and vacuous spirits which run to everything and everyone but God, there will be no entering the Promised Land of peace, love, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  The glory of the Lord is almost upon us, and the season of Lent is nearly here.  So, let us make a solid spiritual plan for the forty days leading up to Easter for prayer and fasting on behalf of our own sin, and the sin of the world.
             Holy God, idolatrous sin brings about your wrath because you cannot stand for the lack of love to take root in your world.  I bow before you and bend the knee to your sovereign reign in my life.  Please lead me in your way of righteousness, and have mercy on those trapped in darkness so that we might see you, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

Spiritual Growth

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds.  The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be” (Jesus in John 12:24-26).
 
This was the message of Jesus.  There is no wiggle room or fudge factor to it.  Jesus unequivocally said what people really need to do:  die to self.  To make his message clear and understandable, Jesus used the illustration of a seed that must die before it bears fruit.  Seeds wait to germinate until three needs are met: water; correct temperature (warmth); and a good location (such as in soil). During its early stages of growth, the seedling relies upon the food supplies stored with it in the seed until it is large enough for its own leaves to begin making food through photosynthesis. The seedling’s roots push down into the soil to anchor the new plant and to absorb water and minerals from the soil. And its stem with new leaves pushes up toward the light.
 
            This is exactly the kind of process that Jesus said needs to happen with people in the kingdom of God.  People must never settle for being seedy because that is not what we are designed for.  Jesus wants us to be transformed, to experience new life, and to bear righteous fruit.  To follow Jesus means to die to being a seed and growing into a fruit bearing plant with more seeds to have the whole process occur again (reproduction).  We are to push down and anchor ourselves firmly into the soil of God’s Word and pull vital nutrients from it.  At the same time, we are to push upward toward the light of Jesus Christ so that his warmth and grace can cause us to be spiritually formed into the disciples that he intends us to become.  The process is only complete when we reproduce ourselves in others as followers of Jesus.
 
            Jesus said that the person who “hates” his/her life will gain eternal life.  That is, the person who is willing to give up everything to follow Jesus will find true life in Christ.  The one who serves Jesus will follow him.  Hate is simply a biblical term that means we make the choice to avoid one path in favor of another.  My girls were all born in West Michigan.  When we lived there, my wife and I would take our three girls to the beautiful sandy beaches of Lake Michigan.  We loved being there on hot summer days.  The beaches are actual sand, not with any gravel or dirt, so it was difficult to walk on them.  I would tell Sarah, Charissa, and Mikaela to follow me and walk in my footprints.  I told them to follow me not only because it would be easier for them to walk, but so they would not stray from me. 
 
            We are to forsake all other paths that stray from Jesus, and are to follow him by walking in his footprints.  We are not to turn to the right or to the left.  We are to hate all other avenues that are not behind our Lord Jesus.  We are to love his path and his ways.
 
            Church ministry that focuses on anything else other than true Christian discipleship must be, without compromise, jettisoned.  We are to be about the business of spiritual growth, helping others to take root in God’s Word and bring them the light of Christ.  Evaluation of programs, procedures, and ministries are to center in the path of Jesus and nothing else.  Determining the effectiveness of ministry based on how many butts are in the pews, how much money gets put in the offering plates, and how pleased people are with the pastor are not biblical criteria for church ministry.
 

 

            Lent is a season that is designed for us to remember Jesus, to recognize that we belong to him, and to repent of anything that keeps us away from him.  This is to happen on the corporate church level, as well as the personal individual plane.  There cannot be the new life of Easter without the crucifixion of self.  There will not be spiritual growth without dying to ourselves.  Ministry can only be truly Christian when it follows in the way of Jesus.    

Acts 2:14-24

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            In the Gospels, the Apostle Peter was a flake.  He sometimes got it, and sometimes didn’t.  Peter could discern Jesus was Messiah, but then turn around and refuse that Christ had to die on a cross.  He would get bold and walk on water, but end up falling short and needing help from drowning.  Peter stood tall for Jesus, and then denied him three times.
 
            In the book of Acts, however, Peter is a completely changed man.  He gets it.  He is brave.  He confesses Christ.  And all the while he does not falter, flinch, or back down.  What is the difference between the Gospels and Acts?  The Holy Spirit comes upon him and he is never the same again.  Everything falls into place for Peter, who preaches in such a way that thousands repent of their sin and believe Jesus is the hope of the world.
 
            “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death,” Peter proclaimed about Jesus, “because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”  Let that one seep into your soul.  If it was impossible for death to keep its grip on Jesus, then there is absolutely nothing that can deter Jesus or hold him back from accomplishing what he wants to accomplish.  Flaky believers are not going to frustrate Jesus or upset his plans; he’ll just send the Holy Spirit. 
 
            We too often imprison ourselves in self-made spiritual jail cells, flaking-out in the Christian life, sometimes getting it right and once-in-a-while hitting upon some right combination we can’t explain, like a golfer who hits an amazing shot but can’t reproduce it no matter how hard he tries.  The truth is:  Jesus has conquered sin, death, and hell.  By faith, we have forgiveness of sins in him and have the way opened to a new life in the Spirit.  It isn’t a secret; it is a new reality.
 
            The season of Lent is a time of remembering those things that hinder us in our walk with Jesus, and repenting of our sins so that we can live anew.  As we quickly approach Holy Week, the golf clubs of vulnerability, confession and prayer will keep us in God’s fairway and allow us to shoot par.
            Gracious God, who raised Jesus from the dead, may the same power reside in me so that I can do your will in every situation through the power and presence of your Holy Spirit.  Amen.

2 Chronicles 29:1-19

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
             Hezekiah was a faithful king, coming from a long line of faithless ones.  After becoming king, his first act of business was to thoroughly cleanse the temple.  Since the kings before him did not treat the temple as sacred, they defiled it by introducing practices of other gods and by sheer neglect of the holy implements.  Hezekiah assembled an impressive team of men to set about the task of getting the temple to the place where it could again be used as it ought.  The team of Levites meticulously took their time and worked diligently to consecrate the house of the LORD, and tossed everything unholy into the brook Kidron.
             Perhaps there is no better passage of Scripture than this to embody what the season of Lent is really all about.  We are to do the holy work of carefully consecrating our hearts so that our lives are prepared and ready for the new life of Easter.  It is hard and courageous work.  Just as Hezekiah had the bravery to uphold the temple’s true purpose through cleansing it, so we are to have the courage to enter the shadowy places of our hearts and bring out the sin within.  It is not a pretty process, but a necessary one.
             One of the greatest needs that believers have today is the courage to be vulnerable, to expose and bring into the light our besetting sins so that they can be tossed into the brook and be carried away.  Instead of spending inordinate amounts of energy and time trying to hide our true selves, it is much better to let the example of Hezekiah clear a path forward by confronting the darkness within.
             Holy God, my life is a temple of your Holy Spirit.  I invite you to come in and do the sort of cleansing work that needs to be done so that my words and actions are thoroughly consecrated to you.  Help me to have the courage to go to the places within that scare me.  In the name of Jesus I pray.  Amen.