Tag: the law

How Can Young People Keep Their Lives Pure? (Psalm 119:9-16)

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

How can young people keep their lives pure?
    By obeying your commands.
With all my heart I try to serve you;
    keep me from disobeying your commandments.
I keep your law in my heart,
    so that I will not sin against you.
I praise you, O Lord;
    teach me your ways.
I will repeat aloud
    all the laws you have given.
I delight in following your commands
    more than in having great wealth.
I study your instructions;
    I examine your teachings.
I take pleasure in your laws;
    your commands I will not forget. (Good News Translation)

Every historical age, and every generation of people has its own struggles. Of course, the challenges vary widely depending on who you ask – young adults of different races, income levels, and geographic locations often have different concerns or prioritize the same concerns differently.

Young people today have particular challenges concerning money, school, violence, sex, climate change, social media, and many other issues. And they face them in different ways than I had to deal with them (back when I was considered young).

Yet, no matter the struggle, nor the concern, the ability to remain set apart for godly purposes is perhaps the main challenge for a spiritual young person. How can a young person keep their life pure?

The psalmist asked the question, and gave a straightforward answer: By obeying God’s commands.

Knowing the answer, however, is only part of attaining and maintaining purity of life. One must put in the hard work necessary to achieve it and hold onto it. And the psalmist helps out with that, as well.

An engagement with the following spiritual practices is how the young person can live into obedience to God and be pure. It’s necessary to frame them as “I will” statements, so that we continually understand that these spiritual practices are vital, and not optional, to a successful life of purity.

I Will Put Energy Into Prayer

It’s one thing to throw up a few prayers in the heat of the moment. But it’s an altogether different thing to devote oneself to prayer and intentionally put the time and energy into praying.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Colossians 4:2, NIV)

Let there be no excuses in developing a robust prayer life – with the content of those prayers including petitions to avoid falling into disobedience.

I Will Hold God’s Word In My Heart

This is the primary means of keeping sin at bay and maintaining purity and holiness. The Scriptures are meant to be read, ingested, meditated upon, ruminated on, contemplated, and lived. Bibles are not intended to adorn coffee tables; they are designed for their contents to be known.

We can only hold what we have. To keep God’s Word in the heart, it must be taken into that heart.

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11, NLT)

I Will Praise God

Praise to God arises organically whenever we truly take in the words of God. That’s because God’s Word is life. Praising the Lord is a consistent theme throughout Holy Scripture, as people experience the grace and goodness of God.

I will praise you, Lord!
    You always do right.
I will sing about you,
    the Lord Most High. (Psalm 7:17, CEV)

I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—
    I’m celebrating your rescue.
I’m singing at the top of my lungs,
    I’m so full of answered prayers. (Psalm 13:5-6, MSG)

I Will Repeat Aloud God’s Word

It’s a good thing to read the Bible and know the commands of God. It’s an even better thing to read, out loud, and read it more than once.

“…Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon… in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.” (Nehemiah 8:2-3, NIV)

Ezra Reads the Law to the People, by Bernadette Lopez

This, in fact, is how we actually get God’s Word impressed on our minds and into our hearts. It’s important for Scripture to move from our short term memory into our long term memory. Then, we can draw from it, especially in those times when we need immediate wisdom or comfort or help.

Just as praise is organic, so God’s Word can spontaneously come out of us – that is, if we have prepared ourselves by filling up the soul to the full of Scripture. Then, helpful words and theology begin to overflow out of us, and benefits everyone.

I Will Delight in Obedience

Submission doesn’t come naturally to most people; it requires intentional development. We need a plan for getting the commands of God inside us. Then they can be familiar to us. And we can follow those commands with all the grace and ability the Lord grants us.

This is more than woodenly following some rules. Keeping to the letter of the Law only engages the mind. The heart needs to be involved, as well. We must also keep the spirit of the Law. And that can happen by learning to delight in obeying God.

Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart…

The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand. (Psalm 37:3-4, 23-24, NIV)

I Will Study God’s Word

Learning to delight in God’s commands logically leads toward wanting to examine those commands more closely, to take a good hard look at the biblical teachings available to us.

We don’t necessarily need to become Bible scholars in order to study. We just need the desire and a way to take a closer examination at Scripture. A good way to begin is engaging in a practice known as Lectio Divina.

Lectio Divina is an ancient Latin term which means “spiritual reading.” It is to read Holy Scripture not just to know its contents, but to experience its power to restore, heal, transform, and draw close to God. 

This is a simple way to prayerfully read the Bible, meditate on its message, and listen for what God may be saying for us to do. The goal is to become more Christ-like.

Lectio Divina is based upon reading a selected text of Scripture three times. Each reading is followed by a period of silence after which we respond to God with what we are hearing as we listen.

First Reading

During the first reading, read the text aloud twice. Read slowly and carefully. The purpose of the first reading is to hear the text and listen for a word, phrase or idea that captures your attention. Focus your attention on it, repeating it within your mind several times.

Second Reading

During the second reading, read the text again. This time, focus your attention on how the selected word, phrase or idea speaks to your life. What does it mean for you today? How is Christ, the Word, speaking to you about your life through this word, phrase or idea? After reading, observe a period of silence, then express a brief prayer to God.

Third Reading

Read the text again. This time, focus on what God is calling you to do or to become. Experiencing God’s presence changes us. It calls us to something. During this final reading, focus on what God is calling you to do or to be. Again, observe a period of silence, then pray to God about what you believe you are being called to do or to be.

I Will Take Pleasure in God’s Word

It is probably a foregone conclusion, that when we commit our energy to prayer, hold the Word near and dear to our heart, praise God, speak aloud the words of God, delight in and study divine instruction, we will find ourselves enjoying every moment of it – and living a pure and holy life.

We will discover that God takes pleasure in us. This enjoyment of God over us is so compelling and gracious, that it’s almost as if we cannot help but reciprocate with praise, adoration, and devotion to holiness of life.

There is no arm-twisting in this realm of enjoyment. No need to gin-up motivation, nor to try and get obedience and purity out of others.

The sooner we all learn that the world truly spins on an axis of mercy, the quicker folks will realize a better way to live than endless rules and pronouncements.

For the Lord is always true to the basic divine character of pure steadfast love through what is right, just, and good. Amen.

Spiritual Confidence (2 Corinthians 3:4-11)

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

Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! (New International Version)

The Christian religious tradition holds to the great Three-in-One of God – God is indivisibly One, and at the same time, a Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit. Christians typically have no problem expressing their prayers and devotion to the Persons of the Father and the Son, as well as connecting their ministry efforts to them. 

However, when it comes to the Spirit, this Person of the Holy Trinity is often referred to as an “it” or a “force.” Yet, the Holy Spirit is as much God and a Person as the heavenly Father and the Savior, Jesus Christ. The Spirit is the One who provides the guidance and energy for Christian ministry – and not the Law.

We very much need the Holy Spirit of God. Without the Spirit’s help, Jesus is merely looked at as one person out of thousands of individuals crucified in history; and only an example of one who was martyred for his faith. But Jesus is infinitely more than that. 

Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Through Jesus Christ’s life, death, resurrection and ascension, people can be redeemed from empty lives, saved from destructive life-patterns, and given the kind of security and purpose in life that God intended from the beginning for people to possess. 

And the Spirit of God is the One that takes these redemptive events of Jesus and applies them to our lives. Apart from the Holy Spirit, we are lost, because we are unable to see the genuine spiritual truth about the cross of Jesus Christ unless God the Holy Spirit breaks into our lives and does an intervention – showing us our denial about how we are really doing and our delusions about who we really are (1 Corinthians 2:1-16).

This, then, is the basis for spiritual confidence. And this sort of confidence does not and cannot come from obedience to the Law.

Admitting that we absolutely need the Holy Spirit of God means that the power of Christianity does not reside with me or you; power for the Christian life rests upon Jesus Christ and him crucified, with the Spirit witnessing to us of this truth. 

In other words, we are largely powerless. 

Now, I realize this is not a popular message, especially in Western society. That sounds ridiculous to a particularly can-do kind of people, like most Americans. We believe we’ve done fairly well on our own, thank you very much. A couple of cars, a house, a job, and a family. I work hard. I’ve earned my stuff and my accomplishments. 

But the thing is, any worldly success may lead us to the delusion that we have the power to do what we want – as if I am the sole captain of my soul. I did it. And I did it my way.

“Oh, sure,” many a person may reason, “we have problems just like everybody else. After all, I can’t control everything!” Yet, we are not powerless just because we have difficult circumstances and a few problem people in our lives. “God will step in a take-over where I leave off, right?” Wrong. 

It’s all wrong, because it’s based in one’s effort to obey a personal creed, the rules of the game, or even the Law and the Ten Commandments. But if we could really do it on our own, there’s no need for any of this spiritual stuff.

In truth, apart from the Holy Spirit of God, we are unable to be Christians and live the Christian life. If we think we manage our lives just fine, with a bit of help from God, then we are likely in denial. We are probably placing ourselves at the center of the world; and believe we should be able to deal with whatever comes in life. 

Whenever the consistent response to adverse situations, or the realization that we are not handling something well, is to try and fix ourselves, then we are surely living in the delusion that we hold the power to change – independently without anyone or anything helping us.

If our first reaction to adversity or problems is:

  • Searching Google for more knowledge
  • Dealing privately with personal issues
  • Expecting that willpower should be enough

Then, we are feeding the delusion that we do not really need the Holy Spirit of God; we are actually believing that we need more effort, or information, in order to find the power to overcome whatever is in my life that needs overcoming.   

Unfortunately, it typically takes a tragedy or crisis to break our delusions of power. Let me ask: How bad must we hurt before we admit that we are not managing our lives well at all, and that the real power to change resides with the Holy Spirit?

Our spiritual power and confidence resides in the cross of Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit testifying to us of God’s great grace. 

The Apostle Paul believed this with all his heart. Although he was a very intelligent and learned person, he did not rely on his abilities, but on God’s. 

The cross of Jesus is not just an historical event, but an ongoing reality for us to experience victory over all the brokenness of this world, and all the mess we have made of things by putting ourselves at the center of the universe. 

We need the Holy Spirit of God to intervene and apply Christ’s finished work to us. 

None of this means that the Law, or that you, are bad. Both you and the Law are good. It’s just that we, by ourselves, and the Law by itself, are inadequate to save, deliver, and overcome. For that, we need God’s Spirit, and to tap into the spiritual reality that exists.

If the Ten Commandments were introduced with glory, and we ourselves were created with glory, then how much more glory and life is there through an intimate relation with the Spirit?

O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Embrace the Change, Slowly (Exodus 24:12-18)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Moses receives the law from God on Mount Sinai, by Unknown artist, 1877

The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there; I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up onto the mountain of God. To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us, until we come back to you. Look, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.”

Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the Israelites. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. (New Revised Standard Version)

The Lord graciously entered into a covenant with the ancient Israelites. Following this, Moses was summoned to come up the mountain into God’s presence. There he would receive the tablets of stone with the law and the commandment on it. Yahweh was providing the people with instruction on how to live in the covenant relationship.

The scene was set for the Lord to give an extended revelation to Moses. Moses ascended the mountain, into the cloud, so that the people did not see him. For the next forty days and nights, God’s law and commandments were relayed and taught to Moses.

What did not happen is God tossing some stone tablets containing the law to Moses and then going on God’s merry way. The whole encounter unfolds over an extended period of time. That’s because we are people; we need time to wrap our heads and hearts around new realities. Humans require the gift of slowness to learn and absorb.

Western society, however, does not operate that way. More, faster, and better seems to be our cultural creed. And it’s found everywhere around us. Speed reading. More money. Bigger stuff.

Hogs and chickens are raised on factory farms in large confinement buildings. They never see the light of day. Instead, they are given steroids and growth hormones to grow faster and bigger, so that they can get to the market more quickly and get a better price.

Churches and faith communities in financial trouble look for quick solutions and fast turnarounds by expecting pastors to work more, faster, and better. Sports teams hire and fire coaches with dizzying frequency, believing that if the athletes aren’t faster and better with more wins, then there’s something wrong with them, the coach, or both.

But we have no further than the end of our nose to look for change.

People are in control of very little in this world, and so, a great deal of life is the ability to respond in changing circumstances – both wanted and unwanted. Resilience and flexibility are needed.

Moses receives the Ten Commandments, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1860

The Lord brought about the end of Egyptian slavery for the Israelites through a series of plagues against Egypt. God miraculously delivered the people from the Egyptian army by parting the Red Sea. And Yahweh graciously entered into covenant with them at the mountain. All of this was a major change of life.

It was the people’s responsibility to respond in faith and obedience to the actions and words of God. The Lord was allowing them the space and the time to come to grips with their new reality – which is one reason why Moses met with God for forty days and nights on the mountain.

The Israelites needed to spend their time adjusting to their new life, and contemplating the giving of the law, which was about to happen. Since we are privy to the end of the story, we know that the people did not do this. They became impatient, and experienced a failure of faith and obedience.

Aaron and Hur were the leaders who needed to step up and guide the people in the special opportunity of preparation for receiving the law. Whatever it is they did, it wasn’t that.

Murmuring, complaining, and arguing are the initial signs of impatience and wanting things to happen faster, even immediately. But faith is not forged this way. Faith is developed through dealing with adversity by looking to God, listening, and obeying. Faith knows that all things can be faced with joy.

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face various trials, consider it all joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance complete its work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4, NRSV)

Waiting, patience, and the stretching of faith is not typically what people sign up for. Whenever there are circumstances which warrant endurance and perseverance, it’s far too easy to become antsy and begin grumbling about the situation.

That’s what happened to the ancient Israelites. They had a stiff price to pay for their impatience and impertinence. Don’t be like them. Instead, decide now for encouragement, in and through, all circumstances.

Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that none of you have an evil, unfaithful heart that abandons the living God. Instead, encourage each other every day, as long as it’s called “today,” so that none of you become insensitive to God because of sin’s deception. We are partners with Christ, but only if we hold on to the confidence we had in the beginning until the end. (Hebrews 3:12-13, CEB)

May almighty God give you grace to persevere with joy, so that the Spirit may complete the work begun in you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Love for Others (Romans 13:8-14)

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

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. (New International Version)

The first eleven chapters of Paul’s letter to the Roman Church focuses on the nature of the gospel, that is, the good news of God’s unconditional love for us in Christ.  In order to love others, we must first grasp the truth that God loves you as if you were the only person on earth. 

The Father’s mercy and kindness reached to such a length as to send the Son to woo people in love back to God. It is through Christ’s life, death, resurrection, ascension and glorification that there is forgiveness of sins and new life for those who, by faith, trust in Jesus for deliverance.

This is what the Bible calls “grace.”  It is a steadfast committed love that seeks out others for no other reason than that they need help.  And this is both the foundation and the motivation for Christian love. It is always open season on love.

Whenever you see the phrase “one another” in the New Testament, it is talking about fellow Christians. And whenever there is the phrase “the other,” “others,” or “fellowman,” the Bible is talking about outsiders, that is, non-believers. 

Therefore, Paul’s vision for the church is that it should love all people, without exception.  So, we need to do away with any kind of notion of the church being like a country club that caters to members who pay their dues. Instead, let’s stick with biblical metaphors for Christians such as being light instead of dark; or wearing clean clothes instead of dirty clothes, meaning to live holy lives in order to exhibit a holy love toward outsiders.

We know we are supposed to love; this is not a new message. None of us will walk away saying, “Well, that was new! I’ll be! The Bible actually says I am supposed to love other people!” Yet, at the same time, we all know there is a lack of love in this old fallen world, and sometimes even in Christ’s church. 

When author John Shore did research for a book titled, I’m OK – You’re Not: The Message We’re Sending Non-Believers Toward Christianity, to his surprise the over-and-above response he got from those outside of the faith was, “Why do Christians hate us so much?”

Over the past several years I have actually “de-friended” several of my brothers and sisters in the faith from Facebook because their postings were so often filled with hate toward “the other.” Feeling justified to hate another person does not come from the New Testament Scriptures. We, as Christians, owe the world our love, not our hate. 

Everyone needs a friend. Everybody needs relationships. All people are created in the image of God and, therefore, deserve the dignity of conversation and relationship rather than being looked at as a “project” or overlooked just because they are different or don’t fit in. 

According to Paul’s message, we cannot really love one another in the church or love the other if we continually indulge our old sinful nature. Like wearing a set of dirty clothes, we are to take off our selfish sinful desires, and put on the new clean clothes of God’s love in Christ. If we are giving love, then there is no room to give dissension or jealousy. If we commit to exercising our spiritual gifts, given by God, there is not enough time in the day to think about how to gratify our sinful impulses.

In loving our neighbor, we won’t break any commandments concerning murder, theft, adultery, coveting, lying, or dishonoring anyone. In other words, we won’t do anything unloving. This is not a matter of gritting our teeth and pushing ourselves to accomplish love by trying harder. Rather, it’s a matter of receiving love so that we can give love. 

We are to be in a continual rhythm of life that receives and gives. Giving without receiving is a one way road to burnout and leads to an inability to love; receiving without giving is to stockpile grace and results in unloving words and actions.

Another potential hindrance to a life of love has to do with the law or keeping the rules. The law is good; yet, law has its limits – it cannot change a life; only love can do that. The law must serve love of God and neighbor, and not the other way around. The law must bow to the demands of love. 

In Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol, Ebeneezer Scrooge was a law-abiding citizen, and when faced with the needs of those less fortunate, old Scrooge appealed to the law. He saw no need for loving actions or loving words when there were already poor houses, relief organizations, and prisons in operation. It’s like saying today that I am a tax-paying, law-abiding citizen and have no obligation to the other. 

This brings us back to relationships. It’s easy to say people need to work harder and not be lazy when we are not in a relationship with anyone who is in need. Furthermore, it can be easy to indulge our sinful nature when we believe that we have earned the right through our law-abiding selves to speak ill of “the other,” and even to a brother or sister in Christ.

Paul’s response to this attitude is instilling a sense of urgency to love. The Day of the Lord is much nearer now than it was when Paul penned these words! God will not settle for anything less than the transformation of the world. Instead of giving us a three-ring binder full of organizational charts for how to change the world, Paul saw that nothing will ever change without basic human kindness and a concern of relating in love to others. 

Our task, as followers of Christ, is to engage in the tedious and patient construction of souls through loving words and actions over an extended period of time. We need to take a sort of Christian Hippocratic Oath: To do no harm to our neighbor, but to do everything within our power to love them. Paul’s vision for us is to love one another in the church; and, to love others in the world.

Within the Roman church, there were both Jews and Gentiles. They were to love one another. Paul wanted the Jews to get out of their exclusive Jewish-only group and love Gentiles; he wanted Gentiles to get out of their Gentile-only ghetto and love Jews. They were to have a shared vision together of loving each other so that they could collectively love others in the city of Rome. 

One of the reasons this was so hard for them, is that they had differing understandings of how to live the Christian life and how to worship together. The only way they could overcome their obstacles was by understanding each other by interacting and listening to one another. More than that, Paul wanted them to champion each other, to encourage one another by letting go of their personal preferences. In this way, they had a better chance at loving each other, and thus, loving the surrounding culture.

Genuine love does not meet needs in order to get something back from the other. True Christian love seeks the other’s best interests, just because God has shown unconditional love to us. Whenever we keep thinking about what others can do for us, we are not operating out of the reserves of grace that God first showed us. But if we consistently receive love from God, we can then give love to others.

When growing up, our moms would say to us that if there is a kid on the playground playing by him/herself, go play with that kid; and, if you see a kid getting bullied or picked on, stand up for that kid. Those two pieces of parental wisdom can serve the church well. When we see lonely people, or even groups who are by themselves, go interact with them and love them. When we see individuals or particular groups of people getting bullied, stand up for them.

Our guiding principle is love. The hour has come to wake up and have eyes to see the people all around us in need of grace so that we can be long on the love of God, deep in our love for each other, and wide on love for others in the world.

Lord God, make us instruments of your love. Help us see every circumstance as an opportunity to grow in love. May we then take this love to others through being patient, kind, gentle, blessing instead of cursing, and quick to forgive. May we take no pleasure in criticizing others, but in being gracious, as is our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.