Tag: spiritual life

Let Go (Exodus 11:1-10)

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

Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)

So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.

The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt.” Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country. (New International Version)

It takes a lot for the status quo to die, to let go of something that has been relied on for centuries. In the case of ancient Egypt, it took the deaths of every Egyptian first born son.

The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years. The vast Egyptian Empire was literally built on the backs of Jews. After so long, their cry about being in bondage was heard by God – who sent Moses to deliver them. But Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, was not about to let go of this large labor force.

So, a series of 10 plagues came upon the Egyptians from God. Today’s Old Testament lesson is the tenth and final plague – the one most devastating to Egypt. Although Pharaoh was determined to keep the Israelites in bondage, not even mighty Egypt could keep it’s grip on the people when God was determined to free them and bring them to the Promised Land.

God graciously informed Moses that this was the final plague. After nine others, and hearing Pharaoh say he would let the people go multiple times, it must have been a relief to hear that this would not keep going any longer.

Moses and Aaron debating with Pharaoh, by He Qi

What’s more, the Lord added that not only would Pharaoh finally change and not hinder the people from leaving, but also that they should ask the Egyptians for what they needed when going. Indeed, the people of Egypt became so eager to have the Israelites away from them that they would give them anything to get them out.

The Israelites had worked hard and labored intensely for hundreds of years without any compensation. Now, they would leave the world of slavery and receive the riches of Egypt from which they were defrauded. Whereas Pharaoh’s heart became exceedingly hard, the Egyptians hearts became disposed to give – even though it was to be rid of the Israelites once and for all.

And so, God would deliver the Jews from their bondage and enrich them with many needed possessions, as if they were carrying away plunder from an enemy. The Lord both frees and empowers; God delivers from one situation and enables for another. When God closes a door, then another door is opened.

Indeed, the first will be last, and the last shall be first. In God’s upside-down kingdom, the oppressors eventually become the oppressed, and the poor become rich.

With this last and final plague, there would be no next generation to rise up and take back the Israelites into slavery again. A distinction was made between the first born of the Egyptians and the Israelites. Only the Egyptians experienced the awful deaths of so many.

After four centuries of keeping the Jews enslaved, maybe the Egyptians thought it would always be this way. Perhaps they even believed what they were doing was perfectly acceptable and right. So, when Moses comes along, speaking on behalf of God to Pharaoh, the great king of the empire thought things will not change; the Israelites ought to always be in subservience to Egyptians.

Why is it so hard to let go? Why do people keep holding on, even when it costs them nearly everything?

Whenever we cannot envision a different world or an alternative to what we are currently experiencing, then we hold on – even if it hurts to keep grasping it. Just because there was no divine judgment in hundreds of years, does not mean that God was okay with the situation in ancient Egypt. So, when the Egyptians experienced the judgment, it was absolutely devastating.

If ever we need to control other people in order to realize or maintain our own happiness or contentment, then we are in a very unhealthy place and need immediate help – before the providence of God steps in and pries that control from your clenched fists.

Conversely, if we have been in a place of oppression for a long time, it will not last forever. God sees the injustice. And God hears the cries which are uttered to heaven. A time is coming when all things will be made right.

Also, there are various sorts of traumas that people have endured. Sometimes, people don’t want to talk about any of it, and never do. But eventually, it overwhelms them. Without help, they will be in bondage. None of us can change on our own. We need others. Not everyone is going to harm us or shame us. There are people that God is ready to use in order to extend hope, healing, wholeness, and help. We should let them in, and keep the slave masters out.

Gracious and merciful God, help us to overcome the menace of evil in this world, and to be a part of freeing those weighed down with sinful oppression to realize a future of health and hope.

From famine and war, deliver us.

From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity of others, deliver us.

From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national and international, deliver us.

From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us.

Accept our cry on behalf of the sufferings of all humanity, and of entire societies of people.

Empower us by your Spirit to resist evil in all its insidious manifestations.

May the saving grace and the redemption of Jesus put a stop to cruel bondage everywhere; and may hope be kindled in every heart. Amen.

How to Handle Criticism (2 Corinthians 12:11-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Exploring Church Ministry Blog, Year ALeave a comment
A mosaic of the Apostle Paul in St Isaac’s Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Russia

Well, now I’ve done it! I’ve made a complete fool of myself by going on like this. But it’s not all my fault; you put me up to it. You should have been doing this for me, sticking up for me and commending me instead of making me do it for myself. You know from personal experience that even if I’m a nobody, a nothing, I wasn’t second-rate compared to those big-shot apostles you’re so taken with. All the signs that mark a true apostle were in evidence while I was with you through both good times and bad: signs of portent, signs of wonder, signs of power. Did you get less of me or of God than any of the other churches? The only thing you got less of was less responsibility for my upkeep. Well, I’m sorry. Forgive me for depriving you.

Everything is in readiness now for this, my third visit to you. But don’t worry about it; you won’t have to put yourselves out. I’ll be no more of a bother to you this time than on the other visits. I have no interest in what you have—only in you. Children shouldn’t have to look out for their parents; parents look out for the children. I’d be most happy to empty my pockets, even mortgage my life, for your good. So how does it happen that the more I love you, the less I’m loved?

And why is it that I keep coming across these whiffs of gossip about how my self-support was a front behind which I worked an elaborate scam? Where’s the evidence? Did I cheat or trick you through anyone I sent? I asked Titus to visit, and sent some brothers along. Did they swindle you out of anything? And haven’t we always been just as aboveboard, just as honest?

I hope you don’t think that all along we’ve been making our defense before you, the jury. You’re not the jury; God is the jury—God revealed in Christ—and we make our case before him. And we’ve gone to all the trouble of supporting ourselves so that we won’t be in the way or get in the way of your growing up.

I do admit that I have fears that when I come you’ll disappoint me and I’ll disappoint you, and in frustration with each other everything will fall to pieces—quarrels, jealousy, flaring tempers, taking sides, angry words, vicious rumors, swelled heads, and general bedlam. I don’t look forward to a second humiliation by God among you, compounded by hot tears over that crowd that keeps sinning over and over in the same old ways, who refuse to turn away from the pigsty of evil, sexual disorder, and indecency in which they wallow. (The Message)

Apostle Paul by Ivan Filichev

Criticism is hard to take. It’s even tougher when the criticism is off because you have been misinterpreted or misunderstood. And it’s more difficult to deal with criticism whenever you know you’ve done your best and accomplished good things. There are people who ought to have your back, but instead they do just the opposite and throw you under the bus.

This was the situation with the Apostle Paul. He had spent a good deal of time in the city of Corinth proclaiming the good news of Jesus and establishing a church. It was a rough ministry, filled with plenty of relational drama. (Acts 18:1-18)

Perhaps then, it is no surprise that as the church developed and grew, the people gathered themselves into special interest groups according to both their class and their affinity for particular preachers. Add to this the reality that many of the new Christians continued to embrace some of their old unhealthy practices, and you have the makings of a contentious and critical group of people. (1 Corinthians 1:10-12; 3:1-4; 11:17-22)

It is oddly surreal for Paul to have to defend himself – especially since he put so much ministry effort and wise exhortation into their church and their spiritual lives. Yet here he is needing to remind the Corinthians of his abilities, what he has done, and his credentials as a legitimate Apostle.

The following are some ways I observe how the Apostle Paul dealt with criticism:

  1. Accepting that criticism is going to happen. Paul knew that his life as an Apostle was on full display for all to see and evaluate. He did not always get things right. No one does. Yet Paul was on target about most things. He rarely got stuck on any one leadership decision. And he never let criticism, pushback, or even persecution deter him from his missionary purpose.
  2. Evaluating all things according to Christian standards. The farther people are from the problem, the less context and understanding they have. That’s why Paul planned to see them face to face. The story the Corinthians were telling themselves was inaccurate – filled with perceived motives and false conjectures about Paul and his ministry. Paul stayed focused on the gospel and the values it espouses.
  3. Keeping shame out of the conversation. We all naturally feel defensive when attacked, especially if it feels unjust, exaggerated, or inaccurate. And we may want to shame people into feeling guilt and becoming repentant. But any defensiveness on our part will only fuel people’s derision.
  4. Being transparent and vulnerable. Paul told them how he felt without making it a guilt trip. He was even sarcastic, at times. Maybe it seems counterintuitive, but more transparency works in our favor, and not against it. People get frustrated, hurt, angry, and confused about what we do and say. Our job isn’t to determine whether those feelings are legitimate or not, but instead to demonstrate empathy and concern. Doing anything that conveys dismissiveness risks making people feel like you’re gaslighting them.
  5. Acting on the problem. Paul doubled down on his commitment to transmitting Christian core values, and ensuring that a culture of Christian ethics reached every corner of the church.

It doesn’t feel good to get criticized, especially when it seems unwarranted. If we can stay focused on caring about our values and other people, we will likely handle it well. Because it’s not a matter of if we get criticized, but when.

Almighty and everlasting God, help me to have no corrupt communication proceed out of my mouth, but only words which are good, gracious, and edifying. And I pray for Christ’s Church everywhere, that all of our conversations will influence others for good and build up one another in the faith, through Jesus our Lord, in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Naming and Forsaking Evil (Psalm 83:1-4, 13-18)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Deliver Us From Evil, by John Flaxman (1755-1826)

God, don’t shut me out;
    don’t give me the silent treatment, O God.
Your enemies are out there whooping it up,
    the God-haters are living it up;
They’re plotting to do your people in,
    conspiring to rob you of your precious ones.
“Let’s wipe this nation from the face of the earth,”
    they say; “scratch Israel’s name off the books.”
And now they’re putting their heads together,
    making plans to get rid of you….

My God! I’ve had it with them!
    Blow them away!
Tumbleweeds in the desert waste,
    charred sticks in the burned-over ground.
Knock the breath right out of them, so they’re gasping
    for breath, gasping, “God.”
Bring them to the end of their rope,
    and leave them there dangling, helpless.
Then they’ll learn your name: “God,”
    the one and only High God on earth. (The Message)

The psalms are the church’s prayer book. Many of the psalms are laments; and many of them are worshipful songs of praise. And there are also the “imprecatory” (pronounced im-PRECK-a-tory) psalms. To “imprecate” means to invoke evil upon someone; it is to pronounce a curse. 

The reason for the imprecatory psalm is that it is not any person’s place to engage in revenge or retaliation. Instead, for people who are genuinely caught in the crosshairs of evil and have sinful persons dogging them, prayer is their most effective recourse; an appeal to God is their best chance at survival and hope.

Sometimes you have to tell it like it is. There’s a time to do your best in putting up a good face and dealing with people who never stop gossiping, slandering, and trying to get their way. But there is also a time to call such behavior “evil” and cry out to God for help.

There are a lot of folks who consider imprecatory psalms a problem because of their detailed expressions of imprecation, of cursing. Yet, such psalms refuse to put a positive spin on malevolent motives, wicked words, and destructive actions.

Desperate people utter desperate prayers. Their unflinching sense of injustice will not allow them to sugarcoat the villainous plans of corrupt people.

Evil is never toppled with tepid prayers from wimpy worshipers. Rather, nefarious agendas are thwarted in the teeth of specific, focused, and intense prayers directed with spiritual precision and passion to the very core of diabolical forces.

We need not be shy about being real with God, even with praying imprecatory prayers. There really are people in this world, maybe even in your own life, that have malicious intent against you or others. Our job is not personal revenge, but to entrust ourselves to the God who fights for the poor, the oppressed, and the needy against the arrogant and the powerful. Let your prayers, then, reflect your life.

Along with psalms of praise lifted during times of celebration, so imprecatory psalms are not to be ignored but need to be uttered equally loud as prayers to almighty God in seasons of desperate evil.

If you have a gut feeling deep down that wicked people are running amok, then use this psalm as a prayer against the darkness which seeks to envelop the earth.

Jesus Christ will build his church and the gates of hell shall not overcome it (Matthew 16:18). The picture Jesus portrayed is one of faithful believers equipped with righteousness and justice storming the gates of hell, not shying away from it. Baked within the Lord’s words were the promise that evil atrocities will not have the day – that God’s people will not be destroyed or overwhelmed because of demonic and satanic power.

There is a time to flee and then there is a time to engage. I am suggesting that the chief way of mitigating evil is to punch it in the mouth with imprecatory psalms prayed with righteous flavor and focused directly against the powers of this present darkness. Why pray, out of all the things we could do, in order to deal with the evil of this world?…

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12, NKJV)

Spiritual problems require spiritual implements to solve. And the tool of imprecatory psalms is a major way of pushing back the dark forces of this world, as well as the means of spiritual assertiveness against all forms of heinous acts and acerbic words from depraved people and evil systems.

God’s wrath is an expression of God’s love – because God is not okay with evil taking root in the lives and institutions of humanity. Prayer is our privilege of coming to the God who upholds justice and righteousness. For if God is for us, who can be against us?

Almighty God, hear me in the day of my trouble and send help from your holy sanctuary and strengthen my faith. Do not let me amble down the path of temptation, but deliver me from the evil one.

Holy Spirit, breathe your enablement into me and inspire me with a passion for goodness, truth, justice, and righteousness.

Lord Jesus be present with me in your risen power and protect me from harm and from everything that hinders your healing presence in this world. You overcame the forces of Satan, redeemed the world, then ascended to the Father.

Blessed Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Sprit – the God whom I serve: May you be with me and within me; before me and behind me; on my right and on my left; above me and beneath me; and around me always, for the sake of your glory. Amen.

Sensing the Impossible (Exodus 3:1-15)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Burning Bush, by Yoram Raanan

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name forever,
    the name you shall call me
    from generation to generation. (New International Version)

Moses with the Burning Bush, by Marc Chagall, 1966

The burning bush is one of those iconic objects and familiar stories in Holy Scripture. The experience of Moses changed both his life and the lives of all the Israelites then and now.

Having spent the first forty years of his life as a darling in the Egyptian court, then the next forty years far from that life on the backside of the desert with a bunch of sheep, it is an understatement to say Moses did not expect or ever envisioned encountering God in a burning bush. The impossible has no possibility…. Or, does it?

That incredible encounter engaged the senses of Moses:

  • the paradoxical sight of seeing fire in a bush that isn’t burning up
  • the smells of sheep, the outdoors, and perhaps, even of fire
  • hearing the call of God from within the bush
  • spiritually and emotionally tasting the attentive justice of God
  • removing the sandals to touch and feel the grounding of sacred space

The story comments on the senses of God, as well. Even though God is Spirit and is worshiped as such, God is alive with his own sensations:

  • seeing the approach of Moses, and the misery of the Israelites
  • the smell of injustice wafting into God’s nostrils with a stench that brought a strong divine reaction
  • hearing the cries of suffering
  • anticipating the savory taste of showing mercy and justice together
  • touching Moses in such a profound way that he and the Israelites would never be the same

Through it all, the close identification between God and God’s people is expressed. The Lord feels the humiliation and pain of the Israelites and vows to uproot them from the Egyptian factory farm of slavery and plant them firmly into rich Promised Land soil. And what God promises to do, God has the authority and power to make good on.

An impossible situation, Moses thinks. How can hundreds of years of backbreaking bondage to a national force so mighty that nothing can be done about it, be broken? Who am I, Moses, to face such odds?

Ah, but God specializes in systems of oppression and miserable people. It is the Lord’s abilities which conquer the mightiest of foes and can extend mercy to the lowest and the least powerful. The entire situation is ripe for divine intervention and supernatural wonders to occur.

God will make a way where there seems to be no way. God works in ways which transcend our senses.

  • Where we are blind, God gives sight
  • Where we are deaf, God opens our ears with the sound of justice
  • When our taste buds are shot with the gruel of poverty, God causes our tongues to dance with the zest of mercy
  • When our nerve endings are raw from cruel bondage, God touches us with freedom
  • Where our nostrils have become accustomed to the smell of death, God’s aroma of life awakens us to new hope

My friends, I believe with all my heart that you already intuitively know deep in your spirit that the impossible is possible with God. It is never a question of God’s ability, but of God’s timing. God is able – and the Lord works the impossible in its proper time so that justice and mercy will have their full effect.

God of the impossible: I believe. Help me in my unbelief.

God of mercy: I receive. Help me in my denial.

God of justice: I accept. Help me in my rejection.

God of all time: I endure. Help me in my impatience.

God of All: I submit. Help me in my rebellion.

God of power and of might: I trust. Help me in my distrust.

God of our Lord Jesus Christ: I follow. Help me in my wandering.

God of the nations: Yes, you know that I love you. Yes, Lord, you know I love you. Lord, you know all things, and you know that I love you. So, yes, I will answer your call to go. Help me in my sending. Amen.