Tag: obedience

How Can I Live a Pure Life? (Psalm 119:9-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Statue of Saint Valentine in Terni, Umbria, Italy

How can a young person live a pure life?
    By obeying your word.
I try with all my heart to serve you.
    Help me obey your commands.
I study your teachings very carefully
    so that I will not sin against you.
Lord, you are worthy of praise!
    Teach me your laws.
I will repeat the laws we have heard from you.
I enjoy following your rules
    as much as others enjoy great riches.
I will study your instructions.
    I will give thought to your way of life.
I enjoy your laws.
    I will not forget your word. (Easy-To-Read Version)

There was an actual Saint Valentine (c.226-269 C.E.) who lived and served as a Bishop in Rome. The Roman Emperor of the time, Claudius II, was vehemently opposed to Christianity. Claudius forbad Christian marriages from taking place – which was something Bishop Valentine was unwilling to do, and was supposedly jailed for his refusal to stop performing Christian weddings. Hence, one of the reasons for Valentine being the patron saint of lovers.

That’s certainly one way of helping to keep young Christians pure. I, in fact, have more than once advocated on behalf of a young couple in love. Their parents, who wanted a large wedding and plenty of time to prepare for it, simply didn’t realize what they were asking of their kids and how much that put them in an awkward position.

To be pure means to be holy or set apart for a special or specific purpose. Christians are to be completely devoted to their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In order to do that, they will need to pay particular attention to God’s commands and Christ’s teachings.

The Will

The whole person must be involved in obeying the teachings given to us. It begins with our will. Notice that the psalmist sets his resolve toward this great task by stating:

  • I will repeat (out loud) the divine laws I hear
  • I will study God’s instructions
  • I will give thought to my way of life with Yahweh
  • I will not forget the Lord’s words

I have considered my ways
    and have turned my steps to your statutes.
I will hasten and not delay
    to obey your commands. (Psalm 119:59-60, NIV)

We need strong affirmations toward engaging our will toward reading aloud, studying, and remembering biblical commands, so that we will succeed in our quest for purity and holiness.

The Emotions

Our affections also need to be involved. We are emotional creatures, having been formed by a Creator with deep feelings. Therefore, our own emotions are meant to be acknowledged and engaged. The psalmist enjoys God’s Law and is emotionally draw to it’s beauty and light.

Oh, how I love your law!
    I meditate on it all day long.
Your commands are always with me
    and make me wiser than my enemies. (Psalm 119:97-98, NIV)

We need strong feelings toward desiring God’s Word, so that there will be effective action toward a life of purity. Overall, we do what we want. Continually doing something we don’t really want to do ends up being either legalistic or loathsome.

The Body

Our bodies are the vehicles to doing and accomplishing God’s will on this earth. Thus, our physical selves must be animated toward the good, the right, and the just. The psalmist worshiped and praised God.

I, by your great love,
    can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
    toward your holy temple. (Psalm 5:7, NIV)

Hear my cry for mercy
    as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
    toward your Most Holy Place. (Psalm 28:2, NIV)

Our bodies need to move in physical rhythms of praise and worship to God, so that there will be purity of life. Holiness needs hands and feet to walk into the way of the Lord and obey God’s commands.

Philosophies of Purity

There are some unsound approaches to becoming pure and remaining holy:

  1. It’s up to me. God is too far away, maybe even absent altogether. This is a philosophy which ignores the gut. Yet, if we seek to connect with our innards, we’ll discover quickly that purity is not all on me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything. (John 15:5, CEB)
  2. Follow your heart. Doing this has significance; however, if that’s the exclusive approach to purity, the mind gets left behind and the heart ends up vulnerable to deceit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV)
  3. Knowledge is power. Yes, of course it is; but by itself, knowledge puffs up. We need the affections, particularly love, or else we become brains-on-a-stick, denigrating the body as superfluous to spirituality. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. (1 Corinthians 8:1b, NRSV)
  4. Control everything. There are certainly forces in operation in this world; yet we are never called to try and manipulate them. We may will ourselves to do many things, yet God has control of all things. Humanity is called to self-control, which takes up all our energy because it’s no easy feat. For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. (Titus 2:11-12, NIV)

A sound philosophy of being holy and pure recognizes that we need divine help in strengthening our faith; the assistance of others who can walk alongside us and provide encouragement; and the engagement of our entire person, utilizing all our faculties in order to live a life of purity. Obedience to God’s Word is vital to a holy life; and to obey requires our entire selves.

There is to be a marriage between God’s commands and human obedience. The world may forbade this, but much like St. Valentine, we’ll let love have its way – and not the ruler of this present evil age.

How To Live Well (Psalm 112:1-9)

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

Praise the Lord!
    Those who honor the Lord,
    who adore God’s commandments, are truly happy!
Their descendants will be strong throughout the land.
    The offspring of those who do right will be blessed;
    wealth and riches will be in their houses.
    Their righteousness stands forever.
They shine in the dark for others who do right.
    They are merciful, compassionate, and righteous.
Those who lend generously are good people—
    as are those who conduct their affairs with justice.
Yes, these sorts of people will never be shaken;
    the righteous will be remembered forever!
They won’t be frightened at bad news.
    Their hearts are steady, trusting in the Lord.
Their hearts are firm; they aren’t afraid.
    In the end, they will witness their enemies’ defeat.
They give freely to those in need.
    Their righteousness stands forever.
    Their strength increases gloriously. (Common English Bible)

To live well is to obey well. Well, that’s a thought! And a deep subject it is.

It’s a matter of whether we’ll take our cues for living from S. Hiney Wells or his brother, Russ T. Wells.

S. Hiney tells us this:

“Listen, my friends, the Lord’s commands are not made for drudgery. They’re how to be happy in this here life. Obeying what God says leads to blessings of family, security, contentment, and peace. God’s never failed to keep bacon in my frying pan, folks to help me out in a pinch, and a heap of hope for when I’m lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut.”

Russ T. tells us:

“Well, the world ain’t shiny at all. It’s all dark and covered in rust so thick you’d think nuthin’ good’s been used fer a coon’s age.”

S. Hiney responds: “Well, Russ T., there’s certainly a powerful lot of darkness everywhere; but that don’t mean there’s no light! Even a few little lightnin’ bugs helps us to see where we are in the night.”

Russ T. retorts: “Well, S. Hiney, them little bugs don’t help none when I’m brinin’ away in pickle barrel so full of vinegar that I don’t know whether I’m in the field or the henhouse.”

S. Hiney: “Well, now, fortunately we’ve got more than a few matches in our pockets. God’s own light shines so bright that it lights up the whole earth, a world-illuminating light that keeps every old fox away from the barn.”


Russ T.: “Well, that’d be mighty nice. But if that light’s so all-powerful, I ought to be able to see my hand in front of my face! All’s I see is a bunch o’ nasty weasels lurkin’ about, givin’ me a headache bigger than the Ozark Mountain Daredevils singin’ and playin’ on my tin roof while I’m tryin’ to sleep.”

S. Hiney: “Well, Russ T., I see it every time I lend money without any expectation of interest or return. I see it in my neighbor’s generous hand and sharing her prize winnin’ tomatoes and blue ribbon apple pies. And I mostly saw it with our dear mama’s teaching to “give until it’s gone, boys, not until it hurts,” rest her soul.

Russ T.: “I obeyed mama, bless her heart; she was one of the good ones. And I certainly didn’t wanna be on her bad side!”

S. Hiney: “Me, too. Her words of affirmation felt a lot better than those times when I was disobedient and found a willow switch on my behind! So, Russ T., were you happy listening to mama and doing what she said?”

Russ T.: “Well, now, I reckon I was. Things was a lot simpler and a lot less complicated when I listened to her. Whenever I didn’t, I felt like I was a polecat in the chicken house, like I didn’t much belong.”

S. Hiney: “My heart’s calculatin’ that your true love, the Lord God, is presently waitin’ on you to shake all that rust off so that he can give you a good shine on that soul of yours. But yer goin’ to have to listen, to obey what you hear, brother.”

Maybe because we tend to be all or nothing people, we often get hung up on either being perfect or being a failure. In reality, we are neither. We’re just simple folk trying to do our best in loving and serving the Lord with an obedient heart.

Christianity takes its cues in reading the psalms from Christ’s illumination. Jesus embodied the ideals of humanity, having neither material wealth nor actual physical descendants; yet he distributed gifts more generously than anyone ever did; and he has more spiritual progeny than anybody else.

Following in the way of Christ, we live in such a way that it is possible to be:

  • Poor and rich
  • Compassionate and competent
  • Gentle and shrewd
  • Gracious and tough
  • Giving and receiving
  • Faithful and doubting
  • Light and dark
  • Happy and sad
  • Vulnerable and powerful
  • Confident and scared
  • Brave and hesitant
  • Generous and just
  • Consistent and unpredictable
  • Mindful and forgetful
  • Weak and strong
  • Loving and questioning
  • Open to change and immovable

Living well means obeying well enough to see the best in others, seek the common good of everyone, and be resilient to deal with our personal foibles and the unforeseen pitfalls we sometimes experience.

What will you do when you’re in a pickle?

O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Obey with Integrity and Love (Psalm 15)

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

God, who gets invited
    to dinner at your place?
How do we get on your guest list?

 “Walk straight,
    act right,
        tell the truth.

“Don’t hurt your friend,
    don’t blame your neighbor;
        despise the despicable.

“Keep your word even when it costs you,
    make an honest living,
        never take a bribe.

“You’ll never get
blacklisted
if you live like this.” (The Message)

Nearly all of us had to work hard to get good grades in school. Each schoolyear began with a blank slate; then, what we did with learning the lessons determined the grade.

So, it’s unthinkable for many of us to consider that we all begin God’s school with A’s. We’re all 4.0 students. There’s only a lower grade if we neglect to do the things necessary as an A student. And, as it turns out, the most important things are a matter of basic human kindness and respect for others.

At the end-of-the-year banquet, awards are given. If we’ve done what’s expected, then the invitation to come to the front and receive the award is assured.

Yet, if anyone has gone out of their way to be deliberately stupid and ignore what’s right, then they aren’t going to show up at the banquet. They’ll dismiss it as a waste of their time and blabber about how they don’t be around a bunch do-gooder pricks and Abe Lincoln’s, blah-blah-blah.

Integrity, honesty, kindness, accountability, and commitment matter. Virtue shows itself through the practice of obedience.

We might get hung up on obedience for a few reasons:

  1. Many Westerners, especially Americans, have a strong anti-authoritarian strain; obedience smacks them as something negative. For some, they would rather stick-it-to-the-man than obey. Even Christians might sacralize their disobedience by linking obedience to law – as if gospel and obedience are antithetical.
  2. A lot of people have been personally hurt because they tried to do the right thing by obeying their authorities, but it ended badly. Now, they aren’t so sure about the whole obedience thing.
  3. We just plain don’t want anyone else telling us what to do and not do; and that includes not wanting to obey God. So, we focus on the freedom to do what we want, to the exclusion of obedience.

Yet, there’s no way to get around the pervasive reality of obedience to Torah, to Yahweh. Obedience is both the glue which holds a people together, as well as the major means of expressing love to God and others.

Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments.” (John 14:15, NLT)

Love and obedience go together in Holy Scripture like a hand in a glove. Jesus insisted that upholding Torah and loving others is by obedience to divine commands.

When Jesus first began his teaching and healing ministry, he sat all the people down who were following him and gave them a summary of the Old Testament understanding of God’s righteousness. These are the things, Jesus explained, that characterize a person who loves God:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. 

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 

Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:12-17, NIV).

Obedient believers are characterized by their:

  • Authentic humility
  • Deep concern over sin, to the point of tears
  • Gentle and meek spirit toward others
  • Intense desire for personal righteousness and corporate justice
  • Daily life of mercy, purity, and peacemaking
  • Willingness to accept adversity as part of the spiritual life

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus (Matthew 22:36-40, NIV)

Humanity is meant for wholeness, integration, and alignment of head, heart, and gut – with the glue of obedient love. We are designed to have all of life in parity and balance – work, play, family, and faith – because God is Lord of it all, not just the spiritual parts.

Historic confessional Christianity acknowledges that obedience is both duty and delight – and they go together in perfect harmony.

Believers consider it a both a high charge and a wonderful privilege to love the Lord with a life devoted to obeying divine commands.

It’s just that sometimes we have our lives so planned and pre-determined that when God’s Spirit shows up to take us to a place of obedience, we struggle to realize what’s happening. And we miss what the Lord is doing in this world. 

At other times, we read scriptural commands and feel the gentle nudging of God’s Spirit, yet we either cannot or will not respond out of fear, busyness, or grief. 

Then there are times in which we are attentive to God’s Word and Spirit, seeking to obey – only to mess up and fail at it. It can leave us wondering if God could ever really do anything in or through us.

The truth is this: Love conquers all. Grace overcomes everything. Mercy never fails.

We are here on this earth because of how much the Lord is devoted to us. Even though we often walk the spiritual road in a three-steps-forward-two-steps-backward kind of way, God accommodates to our weakness. 

So, we keep learning the ways of the Lord under the tutelage of God’s Spirit – who patiently and powerfully works within us so that God’s kingdom breaks into this world and God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

Blessed God, I seek not my own will but to fulfill your will in my everyday life. Enable me and strengthen me for this sacred duty and delight, in the power of your Spirit. Amen.

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing (Galatians 2:1-10)

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

Fourteen years after that first visit, Barnabas and I went up to Jerusalem and took Titus with us. I went to clarify with them what had been revealed to me. At that time I placed before them exactly what I was preaching to the non-Jews. I did this in private with the leaders, those held in esteem by the church, so that our concern would not become a controversial public issue, marred by ethnic tensions, exposing my years of work to denigration and endangering my present ministry.

Significantly, Titus, non-Jewish though he was, was not required to be circumcised. While we were in conference we were infiltrated by spies pretending to be Christians, who slipped in to find out just how free true Christians are. Their ulterior motive was to reduce us to their brand of servitude. We didn’t give them the time of day. We were determined to preserve the truth of the Message for you.

As for those who were considered important in the church, their reputation doesn’t concern me. God isn’t impressed with mere appearances, and neither am I. And of course these leaders were able to add nothing to the message I had been preaching. It was soon evident that God had entrusted me with the same message to the non-Jews as Peter had been preaching to the Jews.

Recognizing that my calling had been given by God, James, Peter, and John—the pillars of the church—shook hands with me and Barnabas, assigning us to a ministry to the non-Jews, while they continued to be responsible for reaching out to the Jews. The only additional thing they asked was that we remember the poor, and I was already eager to do that. (The Message)

The former devout Jew, Saul, had become the Christian apostle and missionary, Paul. His ministry was as radical and dramatic as his conversion to Christianity was.

The Struggle

Keep in mind that the earliest church was predominantly made up of Jewish Christians. They had to struggle with the relationship between their historic Judaism and their newfound Christianity. For many of them, Paul was doing the unthinkable; he not only purposely sought to reach Gentiles (non-Jewish people) with the message of Jesus Christ, but he also did not require them to be circumcised. For Paul, one did not have to first become Jewish before becoming Christian.

Paul doggedly sought to preserve the core essence and spirit of Christ’s message, that is, to proclaim the good news of forgiveness and new life through the person and work of Jesus – and not by means of retaining Jewish customs or laws, including circumcision.

The Main Thing

Christianity is more than set of beliefs and practices; it’s a way of life which can be summed up in three important words: faith, hope, and love. 

Both new believers in Jesus and veterans in the faith know from experience how difficult it can be to live the Christian life. One reason for this difficulty, even when we want to please the Lord, is due to the confusion that occurs between our inner feelings and our outer actions.

The Confusion

The confusion starts with the creation and fall of humanity. In the beginning, God created humans as persons with a divine/human relationship as central to daily life. (Genesis 1:26; 2:16-25) 

What’s more, God created people with the capacity to receive divine revelation through our ability to think and reason. (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10) 

Before disobedience entered the world, in the original state before humanity’s fall, all human functions were under complete control with an inner experience of unity and harmony with one another and God. (Genesis 1:31; 2:7, 16-25) 

It is imperative for us to recognize the distinction between our personal being and our personal functions. (Romans 1:21-32; 6:16-22; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Ephesians 4:21-32)

If we don’t grasp how cataclysmic the fall of humanity was, we are going to have big struggles with living the Christian life – illustrated in the way that Paul needed to fend off a bunch of professing Christians who still seemed spiritually stuck. 

The Disobedience

In Adam and Eve’s original disobedience to God, the authority for life was transferred from God to us so that our sinful bent is to call our own shots without God. The source of authority also got whacky, transferred from a holistic and synergistic approach of body, mind, emotions, and spirit to a one-dimensional approach of simply how we feel at any given moment.

If we fail to understand this dynamic, we will be continually frustrated with people because they do irrational things. For example, many church pastors are flabbergasted that parishioners do not simply take what they teach them and go and do it. Yet, if it were that simple, there would be no place for the Holy Spirit!

Unfortunately, there’s more. In humanity’s fall, we lost control of our capacity to function well. We are all now vulnerable to manipulation, too easily swayed by the surrounding culture, and, of course, Satan. (Ephesians 2:2-3; Galatians 5:16-21) 

As a result, our inner conscience has become confused. We are not always certain of right and wrong. We misunderstand what life is really supposed to be all about. 

We lose sight of the main thing. And, in that state, there’s no way we can keep the main thing the main thing.

Instead, we become obsessed with feeling comfortable and secure; so, we pursue false gods – leaving usdisappointed and with a lack of fulfillment in life.

The Good News

However, the good news is that through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, new life emerges; the bondage of sin is broken in our lives, and we are legally reinstated in a relationship with God in which the Lord is central in our daily life and the final authority. 

In this new relationship we can again receive truth through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures. We regain control of our functions. 

Yet, unless we learn the Scriptures and growin a daily walk with Jesus, the practical experience of this relationship with all its freedom, joy, assurance,  power, and fruitfulness may be greatly limited. (Romans 7:14-25; 1 Corinthians 3:1-4)

Even though we have redemption and faith, it is still possible to regress and give in to our old ways of functioning. This is a big reason why Christians can experience conflict, doubt, fear, anxiety, frustration, disappointment, and confusion.

To live keeping the main thing the main thing means to grow in the experience and application Christ’s centrality and authority in our lives. 

The Awareness

We must, therefore, make daily decisions of faith, hope, and love based in who we are in Christ and recognize his authority in our lives. The following seven recognitions and awareness may be helpful for you in experiencing Christian freedom and unity:

  1. You are a person with the ability to function in faith, hope, and love as God’s beloved child in Christ (2 Corinthians 7:1; Romans 8:14-17)
  2. There is a difference between who you are and what you do (or don’t do).  Evil thoughts and emotions do not make you evil, anymore than fantasizing about being a unicorn makes you a unicorn.
  3. You can take charge of your actions and your life (Galatians 5:22-23)
  4. The key is the use of your will through living in harmony with revealed biblical truth. In other words, you really can make choices of faith, hope, and love, no matter the situation. (Romans 4:17-21; Psalm 56:3; Psalm 43:5-11)  
  5. Reject whatever is contrary to Scripture, reason, and conscience. Listen to your whole self. Unhealthy patterns of acting and speaking must be broken in Jesus’ name. (Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:5-9; Titus 2:11-12)
  6. Choose to obey the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures. Learn to think and act on the basis of truth. (Acts 27:25)
  7. Practicing the truth results in freedom, a re-patterning of thinking and functions, as well as the fruit of the Spirit. (John 8:32; Titus 2:11-14; Philippians 2:12-16)

The church is intended to be a supportive community of fellow redeemed people who worship and love Jesus together. 

Without sharing our collective learning of the Scriptures and daily struggles of faith, hope, and love, believers will inevitably be spiritually immature over the long haul. Instead, talk about your shared experiences of worship, Scripture reading, and Christian living. 

In doing so, God is glorified, the church is strengthened, and the cranky circumcisers are seen as the legalistic lunkheads they really are.