Tag: the heart

How Jesus Prayed (John 17:1-11)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
David Ewart, http://www.holytextures.com

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 

“All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.” (New International Version)

Prayer can be described in many ways. Yet, at it’s heart, prayer is simply talking to God. Jesus had taught his disciples early in his ministry about how to pray (The Lord’s Prayer). Now he demonstrates the way to pray, also revealing the heart of God in the process. Our prayers reflect our values and what is truly in our hearts. As Jesus offers his petitions to the Father, let’s notice what they are, and so, align our own hearts with the heart of God.

First Petition: Glorify God

Jesus prayed that he himself would be glorified, so that then he might turn right around and glorify the Father in heaven. This is a great lesson for all who pray – that we seek to receive in order to give.

All of life is dependent upon rhythms of receiving and giving. We breathe in and breathe out in a consistent flow. If that doesn’t happen, we have major health issues. Jesus promised that he would send the Spirit of God to help us breathe spiritually.

And so, it’s important that we routinely inhale the Holy Spirit so that we may exhale the virtues of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control for the benefit of the church and the blessing of the world.

Please never forget that we are stewards of the grace given to us by God. That means our purpose is not for avarice (to hoard the spiritual resources so generously given to us) but to receive, so that we can give. And God’s grace is inexhaustible; we shall never run out of offering peace and reconciliation to the world. That, my friends, is how we glorify God and show God’s Name as holy. (Matthew 6:9)

Two Groups and Three Givings

            Jesus mentions two groups: The Father and Son; and the World and Church. And he prays that the Father will give in three distinct ways:

  1. The Father gave the Son authority over all humanity. Jesus truly has the whole world in his hands. And when the Son has a hold of people, there’s no snatching them out. Jesus is not a hired hand; he is the hand of God. Since Jesus is in charge, we can be fully confident that every single member of the human race will be treated with respect in this life and with fairness on Judgment Day.
  2. The Father has given Jesus a second group of people out of the whole of humanity: the Church. Both the World and the Church are in Christ’s hands. Jesus has other sheep who are not yet in the fold. He is presently, by means of the Holy Spirit, gathering them into his divine sheep pen. There are two groups and three givings; but there is only One Shepherd and one Flock. And this one Flock of Christ is to be a kingdom of priests to serve the interests of the entire world. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
  3. The Church has been given the gift of Jesus by the Father. The Flock has received life – abundant and everlasting life. This by no means implies that we are in some sort of holding pattern until Christ returns to take us to be with him. Rather, now we are to be busy giving the world the gift of grace we ourselves have received. Life – real life, true life – is to know the Father and the Son.

God is glorified when we take up the mission given to us by Jesus:

  • We are called by God for a reason: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8)
  • We are given a purpose of bearing witness to what God has done for us in Christ Jesus (Acts 1:8)
  • We are commissioned to make disciples from all nations, all ethnicities, and every sort of people (Matthew 28:19)
  • We are commanded to do it all through love of God and neighbor (Mark 12:28-31)

Second Petition: Protect the Church

Why does Jesus pray for our protection? So that we might be one as the Father and Son are one – and will not fragment and be scattered without any relation to each other.

Here are a couple of simple observations: this prayer of Jesus is not yet answered; and if Jesus can have unanswered prayer for two thousand years, maybe we ought to cut ourselves (and others!) a bit of slack on not getting our own prayers answered.

When we consider the Church throughout the world, we see that various Christian traditions just plain don’t like each other, and even accuse one another of not being Christians at all! And, what’s more, a chunk of the Church seems to be abusive.

Whether it’s Roman Catholicism and the sad story of the priest sexual abuse, or the steady stream of stories about Protestant Evangelical pastors who do the same and use their authority for personal and selfish advantage, there is plenty of awful crud out there.

And what the world sees, far too often, is a profound lack of grace – which brings us back to what we need to be doing to begin with: receiving grace so that we can give it to others. If this is not at the heart of our prayers (and apparently isn’t for many Christians) then we ought not be surprised whenever the world wants nothing to do with Christianity.

Unity is important to Jesus; it ought to be important to us. We need to work at it and work toward it. As God is One, so are God’s people to be one.

Unity does not mean:

  • one cultural expression (i.e. American)
  • the same personality (i.e. extroverted)
  • Christendom (i.e. the Church holding political power)

Unity does involve:

  1. being one in our basic mindset (humble, merciful, holy, peaceful)
  2. being one in purpose (glorifying God)

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:1-5, NIV)

The Church, the people of God, are to be protected and kept safe from fragmenting into mere special interest groups who only care about their particular pet convictions or projects. Instead, we are to take a step back and see the big forest of Christianity and appreciate all the various trees within it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is preserved and secured whenever we keep this unity of Christ in the middle of everything, and let go of everything else as being a test of Christian unity (e.g. personal convictions, church dogma and confessional statements).

Conclusion

So, what does this all mean for us? Pray. Talk to God. And talk to God about the same things that Jesus prayed about while he was here on this earth. We might discover that many of the issues we care about will resolve themselves if we simply pray as Jesus has modeled for us.

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace to set aside and let go of all dissension and division in Christ’s Church. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and everything that hinders us from unity and harmony.

As there is but one Body, and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all; so may all your people be of one heart, and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, and of faith and love, with one mind and one mouth glorifying you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Have Spiritual Eyes to See (1 Peter 1:8-12)

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

You love him, although you have not seen him, and you believe in him, although you do not now see him. So you rejoice with a great and glorious joy which words cannot express, because you are receiving the salvation of your souls, which is the purpose of your faith in him.

It was concerning this salvation that the prophets made careful search and investigation, and they prophesied about this gift which God would give you. They tried to find out when the time would be and how it would come. This was the time to which Christ’s Spirit in them was pointing, in predicting the sufferings that Christ would have to endure and the glory that would follow. 

God revealed to these prophets that their work was not for their own benefit, but for yours, as they spoke about those things which you have now heard from the messengers who announced the Good News by the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things which even the angels would like to understand. (Good News Translation)

No less real than our actual physical eyes are our spiritual eyes – which enable us to see things invisible to our physical eyesight. Faith is the glasses that bring those things into focus.

To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1, GNT)

Our life is a matter of faith, not of sight.

(2 Corinthians 5:7, GNT)

Faith creates the conditions for love. Cold dispassionate ideas and thoughts are just that; but faith gives us sight to see the true nature and meaning of love. Faith enables us to see Jesus Christ, who is Love incarnate.

This spiritual sight, made possible by faith, and bringing Christ into focus, is the basis for joy and the foundation of hope. It is more than joy; it’s joy unspeakable, beyond words, greater than the vocal chords can produce. It’s the sort of joy that takes your breath away.

Joy elevates us and brings us face to face with the glory of heaven. And once we have experienced this, our contentment is solely in Christ, and we have no need for anything the world offers. This is what it means to be saved.

Salvation always involves two equal and important facets: deliverance from something, so that we may attach to something else.

For the believer, with spiritual eyes to see in faith, we are saved from all the snake oil promises and allurements of the world; we are delivered from the weight of guilt and shame we carry; and we are snatched from the flames of hell and the machinations of the devil to ensnare us in evil.

The deliverance comes so that we can then connect with goodness, truth, justice, integrity, wholeness – with the love of God in Jesus Christ. Experiencing this wondrous spiritual fruit leads to a pure confession of faith:

But all those things that I might count as profit I now reckon as loss for Christ’s sake. Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ and be completely united with him. (Philippians 3:7-9, GNT)

I am neither a Christian because I was raised in cultural Christianity, nor because it was all I knew at the time. Rather, I am a Christian – a follower of Jesus Christ – because I was given a great gift of faith and saw divine love given for me, even though I deserved none of it.

So, my heart fully and forever belongs to Christ. It is a life worth living, a life of faith, hope, and love. No matter the hardship, adversity, or crud which happens to me on this earth, I am thoroughly surrounded by God’s grace, peace, and love.

And if I have to explain it to you, you probably don’t have it. That’s because it takes a different sort of eyesight, a countercultural set of ears, and a new meaning of touch, smell, and taste.

This sort of deliverance from sin, death, and hell, and into a great inheritance of faith, is so incredible that the ancient prophets, and the even older angels, longed to know what this salvation truly is.

And what they foretold, and believers now know, is that the cross is the way to victory; death is the passage to life; suffering is the road to glory.

Therefore, our present afflictions need not discourage nor debilitate us, as though we were miserable without any hope. Even more, it is through these very troubles that we are blessed.

No matter the evil thrown our way, there is always glory attached to it. If we must suffer, let us do so in the same spirit as Christ suffered:

My dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful test you are suffering, as though something unusual were happening to you. Rather be glad that you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may be full of joy when his glory is revealed. 

Happy are you if you are insulted because you are Christ’s followers; this means that the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is resting on you. If you suffer, it must not be because you are a murderer or a thief or a criminal or a meddler in other people’s affairs. However, if you suffer because you are a Christian, don’t be ashamed of it, but thank God that you bear Christ’s name. (1 Peter 4:12-16, GNT)

Allow your spiritual eyes to confirm the truth, and to behold the living Christ.

“Why are you alarmed? Why are these doubts coming up in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet, and see that it is I myself.” Jesus (Luke 24:38-39, GNT)

May you know Christ, and him crucified, risen, and coming again. And may you know the hope of glory, indescribable joy, and everlasting love. May you know salvation.

Against Hate (Genesis 4:1-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Cain and Abel by Keith Vaughan, 1946

Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, “I’ve gotten a man, with God’s help!”

Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer.

Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn’t get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.

God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”

Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.

God said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “How should I know? Am I his babysitter?”

God said, “What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you’ll get nothing but curses from this ground; you’ll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You’ll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You’ll be a homeless wanderer on Earth.”

Cain said to God, “My punishment is too much. I can’t take it! You’ve thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I’m a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me.”

God told him, “No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over.” God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.

Cain left the presence of God and lived in No-Man’s-Land, east of Eden. (The Message)

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.

1 John 3:11-12, NIV

Despite being brothers, Cain and Abel couldn’t have been any more different.

Abel became a shepherd. He took the absolute best of his flock and made it an offering, with the intent of giving God an appropriate gift. The Lord was pleased and approved of Abel’s actions because they demonstrated a good attitude and a sensitive heart. Abel’s belief and practice worked together.

Cain became a farmer. He cobbled together some of the leftovers from his vegetable harvest and gave them a nonchalant toss to God. The Lord did not look favorably on Cain’s actions because they evidenced a bad attitude and a hard heart. As a result, Cain became sullen, upset, and angry. His emotions reflected his actions. Cain didn’t listen to God. Instead, he let hate takeover and killed his brother.

God sets faithful people apart to demonstrate love and to be the hope of the world. God’s people reflect their divine image when lives are changed for the better; hatreds are overcome; failures are forgiven; grace melts hard hearts; selfishness is diminished; and compassion grows into blessing others – not hating them.

Humanity was created for love, not hate.

We know that we have transferred from death to life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The person who does not love remains in death. (1 John 3:14, CEB)

Love is the distinguishing mark of the spiritual person and the follower of Christ. The person with hate has so many barnacles built up on their underside that they cannot move through the water of life with any joy or fulfillment. What’s more, they drag down the rest of the fleet that seeks to move in concert together in love.

Everyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderers have eternal life in them. (1 John 3:15, NCV)

Yes, we ought to love – which means we also should not put up with hate. You and I are under no obligation whatsoever to listen to hateful speech and allow hateful actions. That’s because people are meant to be a reflection of God’s loving and healing acceptance of people. 

Love doesn’t let others spew hate in front of you, no matter who they are. Maybe you could respond to hateful words by saying, “Sounds to me like you need to let God pressure-wash some barnacles off your heart.”

If someone chronically complains to you, and there is never any love behind what they say, then there is hate behind it. In such a case, the person needs deliverance from the Evil One.

Every institution and organization on God’s good earth must have a zero-tolerance policy toward hate, and a 100% commitment to love. 

God has not called us to hate anyone, but to love. And God’s people are only the hope of the world when they love others. 

The world will know that there is a God in heaven, and a Christ in the church, when people within local congregations love one another, when particular Christian denominations go out of their way to bless others, and when the love of Jesus compels them to drip grace on the most unlovely of people. Indeed, they will know we are Christians by our love.

Cain is Exhibit A of modeling the way of hatred and death. He separated himself from his brother, Abel, in every way possible – relationally, emotionally, mentally, and finally, physically through outright killing of the body.

The message from Holy Scripture is: Do not be like Cain. Be like Abel. Love others. Do not hate them. Live for others. Die to self. Avoid violent speech and actions. Don’t be a murderer.

Lord Jesus Christ, through your death on the cross you disarmed the powers of evil. Help us, we pray you, to enter into your victory and to stand in your authority against all evil. Send forth your light and your truth. Bring to light the deeds of darkness and let plans of violence and murder be revealed. By the power of your Holy Spirit, convict those who have allowed their minds to be dominated by evil. Lead them to repentance so that they may receive new life and rejoice in your forgiving love. Amen.

Be Merciful (Jonah 4:1-11)

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

Jonah was really upset and angry. So he prayed:

Our Lord, I knew from the very beginning that you wouldn’t destroy Nineveh. That’s why I left my own country and headed for Spain. You are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don’t like to punish anyone.

Now let me die! I’d be better off dead.

The Lord replied, “What right do you have to be angry?”

Jonah then left through the east gate of the city and made a shelter to protect himself from the sun. He sat under the shelter, waiting to see what would happen to Nineveh.

The Lord made a vine grow up to shade Jonah’s head and protect him from the sun. Jonah was very happy to have the vine, but early the next morning the Lord sent a worm to chew on the vine, and the vine dried up. During the day the Lord sent a scorching wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head, making him feel faint. Jonah was ready to die, and he shouted, “I wish I were dead!”

But the Lord asked, “Jonah, do you have the right to be angry about the vine?”

“Yes, I do,” he answered, “and I’m angry enough to die.”

But the Lord said:

You are concerned about a vine that you did not plant or take care of, a vine that grew up in one night and died the next. In that city of Nineveh there are more than 120,000 people who cannot tell right from wrong, and many cattle are also there. Don’t you think I should be concerned about that big city? (Contemporary English Version)

Fear and anger go hand in hand. The fear of what sort of evil might happen often leads a person toward angry vitriol, even violence.

I once dealt with a woman who was so upset with her husband that she was literally shaking with anger. There was a time when her husband had been abusive, but thankfully, he gave his life to God, changed, and became a loving person. 

The thing that was so upsetting for the wife is that God saved her husband without punishing him for all the abuse he had dished out. She wanted some divine payback! The woman was actually furious about God showing grace and compassion.

This is not a novel or new experience. In the ancient world, the Assyrians were notorious for their brutality toward conquered peoples. They thought up forms of torture as a creative past-time. It was a violent culture, full of inhumane practices, and soldiers who were the scourge of the Middle East.

The violent ways of the Assyrians caught the notice of God. Divine judgment was hanging over the capital of the Assyrian Empire, Nineveh. So, God told the prophet Jonah to go and give the powerful empire a message of impending doom. (Jonah 1:2)

Jonah did not immediately obey God. However, he eventually went to Nineveh (after the infamous being in the belly of a great fish for three days and nights). The result was a great repentance of sin from the Assyrian people. 

The entire city turned from their evil ways. God saw this mass repentance and relented from sending disaster. Instead of destroying the city, with all its inhabitants and animals, the Lord was merciful and spared them. After all, God delights in seeing humility and the courage to admit evil and turn from it.

But Jonah had a serious problem with God’s grace toward the Assyrians. He was so upset and angry about the whole affair, that he wanted to die. Jonah was actually annoyed and greatly displeased by God’s goodness. Jonah wanted justice; he was looking for judgment. The last thing he wanted was divine mercy toward the very people who were experts at killing Jews. 

Yet, we must come to grips with the reality that God’s grace is so massive that it even extends to some of the most evil people in history. And Jonah wanted no part of that sort of theology.

God asked Jonah twice, “Do you have a right to be angry?” Jonah wanted destruction and pay-back for all the sin of the Assyrians. But God searches our hearts and exposes our expectations. Often, when those expectations do not happen, we are disappointed and become angry, even livid over the lack of retribution from God.

God wanted Jonah to share the same heart of mercy. And God still desires God’s people to have a heart that has grace and compassion, even in the face of terrible evil. Sometimes, God calls us to do what we least want to do in order to reveal what is really in our own hearts.  

Hating people to the point of wanting nothing but destruction upon them does nothing to bring about the righteous life that God desires. In Christian understandings, the blood of Jesus Christ has the power to bring healing and hope, even to the worst of sinners.

Whenever our fears turn to anger and we believe that God should bomb evil people off the face of the earth… or if we think our neighbors might be harboring ill-intent just because they are of a different race, ethnicity, or religion… or if we harbor bitterness because of real evil present in this world and want at least a little payback; then, we are no better than Jonah.

We end up looking just as ridiculous as Jonah, sitting at the edge of the city, pouting like a little kid.

Let’s grow up and rise above the current rancor that exists in so many places. Be concerned for the billions of people on this earth who need a merciful divine intervention and the grace of repentance that leads to new life. 

Pray for your enemies. Do good works for those who oppose you. Gain a bigger for the nations of the world. Remember what is really important in life. 

Any fool can rant and rave with anger against another; but the wise and gracious follower of God patiently and carefully prays and acts in ways that brings mercy and grace to others.

Merciful God, your presence of love in this world is truly amazing. Despite the real existence of evil on this earth, your grace cuts through it all and has the last word. Work in my life in such a way that fear is done away with and sinful anger vanishes, to be replaced with the love of Jesus Christ. Amen.