Tag: love

Hold It Loosely (Exodus 1:1-7)

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

When Jacob went to Egypt, his son Joseph was already there. So Jacob took his eleven other sons and their families. They were: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Altogether, Jacob had 70 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who went with him.

After Joseph, his brothers, and everyone else in that generation had died, the people of Israel became so numerous that the whole region of Goshen was full of them. (Contemporary English Version)

Exodus is the second book of the Bible, and the second of five books known as the “Pentateuch” by Christians, and the “Torah” by Jews. The first book, Genesis, ended with the story of Joseph – who was one of the 12 patriarchs. God established a covenant with Abraham, the father of Judaism, and promised him land and descendants – even though he did not have a son. God miraculously gave Abraham and Sarah a biological son, Isaac, who grew up to be the father of Jacob, or Israel, Joseph’s father.

The stories in Genesis surrounding Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were filled with wonderings of whether God’s promise would ever survive, or not. Yet, it did. Joseph, in the ultimate reversal of fortunes, went from the lowest person in Egypt to it’s highest official. Through Joseph, the brothers and their families ended up relocating to Egypt because of a severe famine.

Present-day land of Goshen, Egypt

As time moved on, Joseph, his brothers, and all that generation died. In contrast to the extended family of Jacob, 70 of them, who initially went to Egypt, the opening of of Exodus relays an exponential growth in numbers of Israelites.

God was faithfully and tirelessly preserving the covenant and the promise for Israel. When the people went to Egypt, God assured them they need not be afraid. The Lord will make them a great nation, will be with them, and shall lead them back out again. (Genesis 46:1-4)

The opening of Exodus not only connects us with events in the latter part of Genesis, but also hearkens back to it’s very beginning, when God spoke to the first human couple. The Lord gave them a five-fold blessing, consisting of commands to 1) be fruitful 2) multiply 3) fill the earth 4) subdue it, and 5) have dominion over it. (Genesis 1:28)

Following the Flood, God blessed Noah, repeating the commands to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1). Later, God spoke to Abraham, promisingto make him fruitful (Genesis 17:5-9). Moving into Exodus, we see a fulfillment of the commands and the promise taking shape, stating that the descendants of Israel were fruitful and multiplying, so that the land was filled with them.

It was this very blessing of progeny, and the fertile increase of descendants, which sets up the entire book of Exodus. The great and growing numbers of Israelites became a source of concern and fear amongst the Egyptians. It wasn’t long before the Jews were seen as another source of slave labor.

Sometimes, we must bear in mind and remember that great blessing also has an underbelly of great blight. Only God and relationships last forever; everything else is temporary, including our earthly blessings.

Therefore, it is wise to hold all things loosely, with open hands, and not with clenched fists that believes possessing things in this moment will be permanent. The following are some things to remember:

Remember who is in control

When things are going well, it may create the illusion that I am in charge of the blessing. But, in reality, it was given to you, and it can be taken away, as well.

The only thing you can control are your thoughts, feelings, emotions, choices, actions and the story you are telling yourself about what happened in the past, is happening now, and will happen tomorrow.

We all have our personal invisible backpacks to carry. That backpack is ours, and nobody else’s. Others have their own burdens to carry, which are individual to them. They aren’t yours to carry. Their stories aren’t yours to tell.

God is the Sovereign of the universe, and controls all things. That is God’s burden to carry. Not yours. Carrying the world on your shoulders isn’t your job. So, hold loosely whatever happens on this earth, whether for good or ill. 

Remember that life is both planning and improvisation

We have an agenda, make our plans, and put things in place. Yet, in the execution of doing it, we have to move with whatever circumstances and conditions arise – with whatever life throws our way – and then adjust our expectations.

Remember it’s both in planning and in improvising. The Israelites laid plans to go to Egypt, went there, and then had to deal with changing conditions once they were there. All planning and no improvising is unrealistic; and all improvisation with no plan is flying by the seat of your pants and living in a dream world which doesn’t exist.

What’s more, it might be your plan, or your group’s plan, but it’s not everybody’s plan. They have the freedom to say, “No thank you.” So, be careful to not marry yourself to a particular outcome. Release the urge to cling or obsess about certain expectations. Hold your plans loosely, and plan to improvise.

Remember to cooperate with God

In reality, there is a divine/human cooperative which exists on the earth. Ideally, we are to work together, me doing my part, and God handling the rest. And the both of us constantly must be in dialogue with each other.

When we align with this truth, and participate with God and integrate this cooperative into daily life, then we begin to relax, breathe, move with confidence, and speak with purpose. Head, heart, and gut are no longer disparate parts within me, but work together in a harmonious sync with the Lord.

If this is a challenge for you, set aside some time and be in nature. Look around you and observe all the life thriving right in front of you. Connecting with what is alive connects us to the universal Love which exists everywhere. And that Love can help us and heal us – if we will but let it.

I can hold things loosely because I know the internal pressure of “getting it right” isn’t mine to carry. I can cooperate with God, relax, do my best, and trust.

Blessings are wonderful and abound everywhere. Yet, adversity, acrimony, and even abuse still lurk about in this old fallen world. So, may you learn to hold all things loosely, and live as you know you can, and ought. Amen.

Dealing with Hate (Genesis 37:5-11)

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

One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. “Listen to this dream,” he said. “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”

His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.

Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”

This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?” But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant. (New Living Translation)

We need to talk about hate, and it’s wicked stepsisters jealousy and disrespect.

In the ancient world, the oldest son was usually the one favored by parents. The eldest child would typically grow up to lead the family and inherit the largest share of the family resources. Joseph and Benjamin were two sons born to Jacob and Jacob’s favored wife, Rachel (Genesis 30:22-24). They were the youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons.

Jacob loved Joseph more than any other of his children (Genesis 37:3). To make things even more complicated, Jacob made his affection for the seventeen-year-old Joseph very public by giving Joseph a special long multi-colored robe. Not surprisingly, the other brothers hated him. 

“Joseph’s Dreams” by Susan Govatos

From the brothers’ perspective, Joseph added insult to injury by sharing a dream of his, implying that all of them would one day bow down to him. Dreams were significant in the ancient world; they were understood to be one way the divine realm could communicate with humans. But all this only made Joseph’s brothers hate him more than they already did.

Unfortunately, as the story unfolds further into Genesis, Joseph’s brothers take their sibling rivalry to a diabolical level. And it’s all fueled by their hatred and jealousy.

We all can relate to feelings of hatred and jealousy toward another. They can overwhelm us. So, what do we do when these big emotions come upon us?

  1. Consider your thoughts. If you find that you’ve been engaging in an all-or-nothing thought or a generalization, consider what a more balanced thought might be. Instead of saying, “He’s a total jerk,” consider instead, “I don’t like what he did to me” as an alternative. This approach typically makes the difference between health and sickness. A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones. (Proverbs 14:30, NLT)
  2. Pause for a moment and be curious about whether what you’re telling yourself about the other person or group is accurate. Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed. The high priest and his officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. (Acts 5:15-18, NLT)
  3. Lead with empathy and compassion if you feel hatred toward a person or group. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Compassion is engaging in an act of kindness. If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help. (Exodus 23:4-5, NLT) “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” (Luke 6:27-28, NLT)
  4. Talk to God instead of bottling up your feelings. Many people believe that ignoring their emotions will make them disappear, but in reality, it’s quite the opposite. Rather than going away, unaddressed emotions build up and intensify over time. Praying to the Lord and crying out to God are therapeutic. Rescue me from the mud; don’t let me sink any deeper! Save me from those who hate me, and pull me from these deep waters. (Psalm 69:14, NLT)
  5. Receive God’s love and kindness. We cannot give that which we have not first received. Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But when God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:3-5, NLT)

If we spend a disproportionate amount of time hating someone in our heart, have difficulty focusing on other things because of jealousy, or consider disrespecting another to the point of violence, then we need help; we cannot handle this alone.

Seeking help to resolve hatred doesn’t mean that there’s mental illness going on. Everyone experiences hatred at some point in their lives. Allowing God and others to help is a rational, responsible, and courageous act.

Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed: kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all, the true love of peace and guide us with your pure and peaceable wisdom, so that your kingdom may go forward on this earth, filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

I Am with You (Isaiah 43:1-7)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Train Crossed the Red Sea, by Marc Chagall, 1966

But now thus says the Lord,
    he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
    Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my sight
    and honored and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
    I will bring your offspring from the east,
    and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, “Give them up,”
    and to the south, “Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
    and my daughters from the end of the earth—
everyone who is called by my name,
    whom I created for my glory,
    whom I formed and made.” (New Revised Standard Version)

God is for us, not against us. The Lord is with us. In fact, a healthy way of viewing the entirety of Holy Scripture is to see it communicating a singular message that divine presence is always there, always a given. Which, then, allows us to respond with faith and trust, instead of fear and anxiety.

God is with us because God loves us. Contrary to how many folks were raised in the church, the Lord is not a continually angry Being. God isn’t like the perpetually upset parent who always finds fault with the child. Rather, the God of Scripture is Love itself, alive and flamed with a desire to gather humanity within a protective brood, much like a concerned mother hen.

“Be still, and know that I am God!
    I am exalted among the nations;
    I am exalted in the earth.”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Psalm 46:10-11, NRSV

“Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:23, NRSV)

Jesus said, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20, NRSV)

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8, NRSV)

There are times when our souls can become parched and dry, times when it seems no one quite understands, and as if circumstances might overwhelm the spirit. The best remedy to such times is to fill oneself full of God, of the divine love and presence that is with us. 

Today’s Old Testament lesson is the perfect prescription for those passing through difficulty and/or wondering what lies ahead, fearful of the future. The following is my own translation/interpretation of this encouraging passage of Holy Scripture; may it fortify your soul today and lead you through the sticking points of life:

Now listen up to what the Lord says, the One who created you and formed you:

Don’t be afraid, because I’m the God who has bought you from the auction block with the ultimate price;

            I have called you by name, and you are now mine.

When you are in water over your head, I want you to know that I will be with you;

            and when it seems like you are drowning, please understand that I’ve got you;

when you walk through fiery trials, I want you to know that you will not be burned,

            and the circumstance will not consume you and burn you out.

This will all be true because I am the Lord your God,

            the Holy One, your Savior.

I put everyone around you in their place,

            and there is no one who is in a position to buy you back from me.

Because you are infinitely precious in my eyes,

            and honored, and I love you,

there is nothing I would not give for you,

            nothing I would not do to keep you with me.

Don’t be afraid because I am with you always;

            I will gather all my children from the east and from the west,

            so that you will never be alone on this earth.

In fact, I will command all the ends of this planet of yours

            to not withhold, to bring together every son and daughter from the farthest reaches,

everyone who is called by my name,

            whom I created for my glory,

            whom I formed and made.

You are all in this life together,

            and I, the Lord, am watching over each and every one of you. 

 Bank on it.

Amen.

Imitate the Right Use of Power (1 Corinthians 4:14-20)

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

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. (New International Version)

We need to talk about power.

And we need solid sacred examples of how to wield power rightly and justly.

Power is a lot like sex. Everyone wants it, but not everyone respects it and uses it well.

Humanity was created by God to exercise power. True human power has always been intended by our Creator as a means of giving love to others. Wherever you find love being extended by people in power to the powerless, there you will see that it works.

Yet, here’s the rub for many of us: This godly use of power may not (and likely will not) achieve instant results. That’s probably why we so often associate humanity’s possession of power with threats, bullying, and violence – because they usually work to get the immediate results of obtaining power and keeping others in subservience to that power.

The right use of power rarely gets rolled out smoothy without any wrinkles to it. Instead, wielding power through love makes its way by means of suffering. It comes from the humble servants like Mother Teresa, and from those who could throw their weight around, but instead choose to use their influence for self-giving love.

This sort of just and right authority is realized when we are aware of our own weaknesses and failures. Believing that “might=right” is merely a prescription for working out our own complexes on other people; it will only result in extending hate, not love, when others resist our authority.

The ones who hold true power are those who know they are unworthy of it, and incapable of using it without humility and divine help. Real power is like a shepherd looking after a flock of sheep – and not like pulling out a sword to kill the bad guys when they come to challenge authority.

Believers everywhere need awareness that the Christian message offers a profound reversal of what we think we know about power. All signs of real power lead us to the foot of the cross. National governments seems to think that power must be both achieved and sustained by the threat of violence. But the power of God’s kingdom is exercised through giving, serving, and loving.

And it is that sort of power which transforms the world in ways that probably won’t make headlines on the nightly news. The power of Christ is passed on throughout the generations of believers – learned by imitating people, like the Apostle Paul, who demonstrated humble service, instead of arrogant authority.

Faith is passed from person to person; and not just handed down from individuals reading their bibles in seclusion. Power and authority are given to those who are capable of handling it with justice and righteousness.

“You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.”

The Apostle Paul to his protégé Timothy (2 Timothy 2:2, NLT)

Christians learn from leaders how the faith is lived out, and how power is used, by imitating what they see and hear. Therefore, an important question is this: Who do I imitate?

“Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.”

The Apostle Paul to the Philippian Church (Philippians 3:17, NLT)

Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance. (Hebrews 6:11-12, NLT)

Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith. (Hebrews 13:7, NLT)

Those who hold authority and power in the Christian Church must exemplify a proven character of persevering love in the face of pain and suffering. Such persons, having shown humility through it all, are worthy to imitate.

This does not necessarily mean that we emulate those who eruditely speak the Word of God, have superior gifts and abilities, and enjoy success in ministry. It does mean that we ought to imitate, and have as mentors, those persons who imitate Christ and are not self-promoting peacocks who go after being admired and praised.

A cocky Christian leader who has not focused on suffering love, and who has not experienced the purgative fiery trials of this life, may easily become seduced by their own importance. However, leaders who have seen their share of hard circumstances, pain, and suffering, and have come through it loving God and serving others out of grace and humility, are leaders worth imitating. 

Character shapes power, and never the other way around.

God of unchangeable and unending power: Look with mercy on your Church everywhere, and carry out your good and loving purposes through us your people. We trust that your power and love will have it’s way in this old fallen world – and that your plan of salvation shall be carried out, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.