Tag: the heart

Keeping Sacred Space Sacred (John 2:13-22)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Christ Casting Out the Money Changers, by Peter Gorban

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, with the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 

The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (New Revised Standard Version)

It doesn’t take a Bible scholar to figure out that Jesus was upset. He quite literally came to the Jerusalem temple, whipped everyone into shape, and cleaned house. 

Cleaning house is what the season of Lent is really all about. This is the time of year for Christians to take a good hard look at the state of their hearts; it’s about shining light on the shadowy dark places, so that we can turn from all that hinders our relationship to Christ, and allow the presence of God to fill us and give us new life.

In the other Gospel accounts we discern why Jesus was upset. Matthew, Mark, and Luke each mention Jesus saying that the temple is to be a house of prayer, but the ones buying and selling in the temple courts were making it a den of robbers. (Matthew 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-47)

Two things were happening which angered Jesus: 

  1. Business was taking place in the Court of the Gentiles, thus pushing non-Jews out of being able to worship God.
  2. Those providing the service of sacrificial animals were charging exorbitant prices and gouging those who were just trying to offer a sacrifice during Passover. 

Disrespect of Gentiles, along with plain old greed, hindered prayer and worship for everyone seeking God. John, however, did not mention those reasons. He simply communicated that Jesus was downright mad over his Father’s house being turned into a market.

Orthodox depiction of Christ driving out the money changers

Jesus quoted from Psalm 69 saying, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” That particular psalm is a lament. The psalmist was grieving over the state of religion; it had degenerated into mindless empty ritual.

For Jesus, although worship was happening, he lamented and grieved over the state of people’s hearts, because they were far from God. The evidence was that people cared more about the presence of other people and animals than they cared about the presence of God.

Jesus stood in the Old Testament prophetic tradition of getting down to the heart of the matter (e.g. Amos 4:4-5; Hosea 5:6, 6:6). From a New Testament perspective, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away guilt and shame.

Therefore, there is no longer any temple because Jesus has come. The temple represented God’s presence on earth. But now the temple is Jesus, who is God with us, and God’s presence on earth. With the sending of the Holy Spirit, the presence of Jesus continues to be alongside the Church. Believers are God’s temple, the continuing presence of Jesus on this planet.

This creates a problem for many people. It’s the age old predicament of caring more about the presence of other things rather than the presence of God. Jesus was not speaking to pagan kings or Gentile sinners; he spoke to people in the temple courts who professed and worshiped the name of God – but they did not seek the presence of God with all their hearts. The Lord was not their primary allegiance.

Jesus wants people to desire the presence of God more than anything else in the whole world – and to not hinder others from doing so, as well. In every aspect of life, the heart must be in it. And the heart needs to be in the right place, at home, at work, at church, in the neighborhood, and in everyplace we go and everything we do and say.

The Cleansing of the Temple, by Ippolito Scarzella (1550-1620)

Many of the religious folk of Christ’s day lost their true sense of purpose as God’s people. They neither perceived nor focused on God’s presence, but cared more about animals and sacrifices and making money and keeping their social positions secure. 

Christ not only extends grace and mercy through healing the needy of society; he also turns his burning love for the Father on those who would treat the sacred with sacrilege. There is a time for gentleness and meekness, and there is a time for zeal and action, done with flavor!

Jesus had a zero-tolerance policy toward using the representation of God, the temple, as the means to make money. As people from all over the Middle East poured into Jerusalem for the Passover, savvy marketers set up their wares. 

Knowing that not everyone could bring animals for sacrifice, the money-changers were more than ready to take advantage of the situation by providing sheep and cattle at inflated prices. The temple looked more like a marketplace than a worship space, and Jesus would have none of it.

Christ the Lord was consumed with zeal for his Father’s house. Jesus single-handedly took on the businessmen and drove them out of the temple courts with a homemade whip. Whereas the people seemed to settle for the status quo of secular Passover protocol, Jesus restored worship to its rightful place in the life of God’s people.

Jesus still has zeal for proper worship. As he did in the temple all those centuries ago, Christ rearranges the furniture and upsets how things have become. Like an extreme makeover, the Lord overturns tables designed for selfish gain and re-establishes a connection between us and God. He upholds holiness and righteousness so that you and I will have a clean and clear path of relationship with the sovereign God of the universe.

Sacred space is important, both as a physical room or building as well as in our own spiritual hearts. That space becomes the meeting place between us and God. The Lord wants a meaningful dialogue with us, and he will guard that place of connection with great zeal.

Christ Jesus, the one who zealously loves, you have gone before me and cleared the way for me to enter God’s presence. Thank you for your movement toward me, and your careful guarding of our relationship. May my time on this earth be an offering of praise and thanksgiving to you. Amen.

The Source of True Godliness (1 Timothy 3:14-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Exploring Church Ministry Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Jesus Christ and the Apostles, by Nicolás Martínez Ortiz (1907-1990)

Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:

He appeared in the flesh,
    was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
    was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
    was taken up in glory. (New International Version)

Godliness is an important thing for those who seek to follow God.

So, the Apostle Paul wrote to his young protégé, Timothy, who was leading the church in Ephesus. Paul gave Timothy some sound practical instructions regarding how things ought to be conducted between pastor and people. Paul did this because he wasn’t quite sure how long it would be before he could show up in person, and he wanted to ensure that the ministry would go forward in a way that honored Christ.

Christian ministry is important because it doesn’t simply have to do with one’s private abilities and affairs. Rather, Christian leaders and pastors are entrusted with the household of God, the church. Believers are a holy sanctuary of the soul, the place where God dwells by means of the Spirit.

The Church is not a brick and mortar building, but the place of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. Pastor and parishioners alike are to support the truth of the gospel, that is, the good news about the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Both believers and bishops who make up the Church support gospel truth by doing the following:

  1. Hear and heed the truth. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear… This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (Luke 8:8, 11-15, NIV)
  2. Handle the truth rightly. Make an effort to present yourself to God as a tried-and-true worker, who doesn’t need to be ashamed but is one who interprets the message of truth correctly. (2 Timothy 2:15, CEB)
  3. Hide the truth in your heart. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11, NIV)
  4. Hold the truth as the Word of Life. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. (Philippians 2:16, NLT)
  5. Ingest and digest the truth. Study, meditate, and devote yourself to God’s Word. Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. (Jeremiah 15:16, NKJV) You must not depend on bread alone to sustain you, but on everything that the Lord says. (Deuteronomy 8:3, GNT)
  6. Interest yourself in the truth, and defend it. “I have been put here for the defense of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:16, NRSV) I must write and ask you to defend the faith that God has once for all given to his people. (Jude 1:3, CEV)
  7. Impart the truth and disseminate it to others. The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. (Psalm 119:130, NRSV) Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. (Matthew 28:20, NLT)
  8. Indicate and demonstrate the power of the truth in the way you live your life. Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him. (Colossians 3:16-17, CEV)

The Church is a big deal because the head of the Church, Jesus Christ, is a big deal.

In many quarters of the world, the Church no longer has much influence or impact. For some, the Church is nothing more than an outdated antiquarian club that’s irrelevant to us today. For others, the Church is an abusive institution that looks to extend selfish power over others. And for many, the Church is simply not something they want to be a part of, having neither strong opinions one way nor the other.

Yet, the Apostle Paul, in his letters to all the churches, presents the Church as united to Christ and an extension of his person and work on this earth. Now, that’s a big deal!

Therefore, the Church is meant to confess Christ in its daily witness in all it says and does. In other words, the Church is to embody the words and ways of Jesus, and even Christ himself, by means of God’s Holy Spirit.

Everything about the Christian is to exude the very life of Christ.

How we can possess such a vital union and connection with Jesus is a mystery. Rather than trying to understand it, we embrace it and live it with all the energy the Spirit of God grants us.

We do, however, seek to know Jesus Christ ever more, every day. The more we know Christ, the better we will be able to know the height and depth of love, and to extend that love in all the places of this fallen planet that lack it. This is where true godliness and goodness spring from.

The Church everywhere and for all time confesses and proclaims that Jesus Christ descended to this earth, was visibly seen in a human body by both people and angels, proved right by the invisible Spirit, proclaimed among all kinds of peoples, believed in all over the world, and ascended into heavenly glory.

After two thousand years of church history, Christians are still unpacking the incredible richness and mystery of what all that means for us and for our salvation. And it is a spiritual journey worth taking for the rest of our lives.

May I walk this day, O Christ, in the realm of grace, walking with you, my feet firmly on your earth-path, my heart loving all as kindred, my words and deeds alive with justice. Amen.

Believing Hearts vs. Poisoned Minds (Acts 14:1-7)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
A Roman bridge between Iconium and Pisidian Antioch

The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time speaking boldly for the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them. 

But the residents of the city were divided: some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. And when an attempt was made by both gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, the apostles learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region, and there they continued proclaiming the good news. (New Revised Standard Version)

The typical approach of the Apostles Paul and Barnabas was to enter a city and find the local Jewish synagogue. But their missionary efforts went well beyond attempting to reach fellow Jews; they also had the mind and heart to include non-Jewish persons, Gentiles, in the fledgling Church.

As a result of this apostolic ministry, a number of both Jews and Gentiles believed the message of God’s grace and became followers of Jesus. Thus, two ancient enemies came together to form one new society. Old animosities and prejudices came down. Jew and Gentile began worshiping together and embracing the words and ways of Jesus.

Yet, at the same time, there were also many Jews who refused to believe. Just as the new believers united together in faith, so the unbelievers banded together for a different purpose: to stir up the Gentiles by infecting their minds against this new union of people, centered around a common confession of Christ.

The unbelievers started a slander campaign against Paul and Barnabas, sowing mistrust and suspicion amongst the people in the street. But the sinful propaganda didn’t deter the apostles from spending considerable time in the city of Iconium and speaking confidently about the good news of Jesus.

What’s more, the message was confirmed by a demonstration of spiritual power. Paul and Barnabas were enabled by God to do many miraculous wonders in the city. This helped the gospel and the authority of the apostles to be established with the people.

The dynamic of belief and unbelief, cut right down the middle of the city. The people became divided and polarized. Some sided with the Apostles Paul and Barnabas, persuaded by their arguments and convinced by their actions; and others sided with the unbelieving Jews, having listened to their slanderous accusations and looking at the apostles as a threat to their existing society.

The climate in the city of Iconium became ripe for violence. Relations between believers and unbelievers deteriorated into planning harm against the new Christians. Even the city officials were becoming sympathizers with the planners to rid the city of the apostles once and for all. In other words, for Paul and Barnabas to remain in the city meant that they would likely get stoned and left for dead.

So, the apostles got out of Dodge and went to the cities of Lystra and Derbe. At least they could keep proclaiming the good news of grace to other people and avoid getting killed.

This story gets at a practical reality for many people of faith: How do people maintain their religious convictions and commitments in an environment that views them as harmful to society?

To be sure, not every person of faith faces this. But others around the world face it every day. And then there are perhaps the majority of the faithful, who sometimes find themselves in places and positions in which slander is rife and verbal violence abounds. What is a person of faith to do?

Not every situation is the same, so each circumstance will take some wisdom in handling it. Nevertheless, the following are some aspects to consider in dealing with the unbelief of others and the harmful effects it can bring:

  1. Persevere in your spiritual confidence. Paul and Barnabas did not cower in fear, but kept up their missionary efforts. The words of gossip and attitudes of hostility around them didn’t slow them down one bit. In fact, in other situations, the apostles who actually experienced harm, chose to view it as a privilege to suffer in the same sort of way Jesus did.
  2. Know when to walk away. Boldness doesn’t necessarily mean that one throws caution to the wind and simply keeps going, no matter the consequences. Paul and Barnabas knew when to leave the city and go somewhere else. They realized the shelf life of their ministry in Iconium was at an end. Neither one of them bemoaned the situation, but instead, looked ahead to the opportunity of gospel proclamation in other cities.
  3. Trust God in all things. Whenever we are slandered, or others actually make plans of harm against us, our initial desire may be to get them before they get us; or to fight back using the same tools of violence that were done against us. Paul and Barnabas did no such thing. Believers have spiritual tools of use that unbelievers don’t possess. So, use them. Pray for those who mistreat you. And let God handle the judgment end of things.

If Christians keep focusing on the words and ways of Jesus, they will consistently practice humility, not pride; confession of faith, not calling out in anger; meekness, not aggressiveness; righteousness, not wrongdoing; mercy, not judgment; purity, not dirty politics; and peacemaking, not war-mongering.

May it be so, to the glory of God. Amen.

Have a Healthy Spiritual Heart (Matthew 12:9-14)

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

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. (New International Version)

The juxtaposition of this story is pronounced: A man with a shriveled hand stretched it out and is healed by Jesus in full view of everyone in the synagogue; and the synagogue leaders with shriveled hearts withhold their hearts from Jesus, and are not healed of their paralyzed beliefs.

Asking questions out of a desire to make a point, instead of asking out of sincere curiosity, is a telltale sign of the small and shriveled heart. And the surefire signal that the heart is wadded-up like a crumpled piece of paper, is the concern for policy and procedure over people.

There was, of course, an allowance for life-threatening medical situations to be attended to on the Sabbath. The man’s shriveled hand, however, didn’t fall into this category. Jesus could have handled the question of healing by stating that he would do it the next day. That certainly would have protected him and quelled any concerns of his orthodoxy.

But Jesus didn’t go there.

Jesus heals the man with a withered hand, from a 17th century Arabic copy of the Gospels

Instead, he deliberately made a stink in front of everyone. Why? Because the whole situation already stunk to high heaven. The ensconced handling of the law by the religious authorities was calloused to real human need. In other words, such a view of the law was ungodly.

Somewhere along the line, the command of a Sabbath day’s rest had turned from a devoted time for community renewal to an opportunity for showing off one’s religiosity and personal piety.

And the height of offense for Jesus was that God was used as the justification for the peacocking to happen. It is to place the supreme spirituality of a holy person above the hard reality of human need and pain. Jesus wanted nothing to do with such a charade of law.

The divine purpose of the Sabbath command was the health of the entire community – even including animals. It’s meant to be a day of mercy, and not a day of restrictions to the point of perpetuating or even causing ill health.

In truth, to not heal on the Sabbath is a travesty of God’s law.

This isn’t only an ancient problem, but also a contemporary issue, as well. One reason so many modern people today believe that Christianity (and, in some cases, all religion) is nothing but a bunch of goofiness, is that there are far too many Christians and churches who espouse a reading of Scripture that is unhealthy instead of healthy.

Whenever Holy Scripture is used a weapon to keep women in check, existing power structures in place, and people different from one’s religious tradition out of congregational life, then such a practice will eventually be challenged by Jesus. And, ironically, all the nice religious folk will turn on Christ and plot how to be rid of him altogether.

And who, pray tell, wants to be a part of that sort of goofiness?

The bottom line, for many people, is their wealth, money, property, and resources. And if someone happens to get in the way of those economic resources, well then, we’ll simply reinterpret existing biblical commands to protect and maintain our stuff.

For Jesus, the whole point of the banter in the synagogue was to actually help the man right in front of him – to do the right thing on the Sabbath day, and not the hard-hearted thing of nothing.

Sabbath is intended to give everyone, without exception, an opportunity to “be” instead of “do.” The Sabbath is designed for the interests and betterment of all creation, all humanity, and not the other way around. The very fact that the upstanding religious folk even have to be told this, signals that they have drifted very far from the actual commands of God.

“If Jesus had been more diplomatic, he may have reformed Judaism, but he would not have won the world. He would not have give us a gospel that serves the depth intention of the law by freeing us from a slavish service to its surfaces.”

Frederick Dale Bruner

In short, Jesus healed the man’s shriveled hand. But the pious religious persons were not healed of their shriveled hearts. Instead, they were mad as hell. They held an after-church meeting in the parking lot about how to do away Jesus, once and for all.

They did this because the entire movement of maintaining religious power and authority was being threatened to the core.

There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court and detest the one who tells the truth. (Amos 5:10, NIV)

Therefore, I strongly urge every believer in Jesus Christ to be completely devoted to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, by actually reading them every day; instead of relying upon slick preachers who tell you what you like to hear.

Be discerning and wise in the reading, hearing, and study of God’s Holy Word. It’s a matter of health and illness, hope and despair, life and death. Don’t have a shriveled heart; have a healthy heart, my friend.

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.