Tag: truth

Don’t Forget about Kindness and Truth (Proverbs 3:1-12)

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

My child, do not forget my teaching,
    but keep my commands in mind.
Then you will live a long time,
    and your life will be successful.

Don’t ever forget kindness and truth.
    Wear them like a necklace.
    Write them on your heart as if on a tablet.
Then you will be respected
    and will please both God and people.

Trust the Lord with all your heart,
    and don’t depend on your own understanding.
Remember the Lord in all you do,
    and he will give you success.

Don’t depend on your own wisdom.
    Respect the Lord and refuse to do wrong.
Then your body will be healthy,
    and your bones will be strong.

Honor the Lord with your wealth
    and the first fruits from all your crops.
Then your barns will be full,
    and your wine barrels will overflow with new wine.

My child, do not reject the Lord’s discipline,
    and don’t get angry when he corrects you.
The Lord corrects those he loves,
    just as parents correct the child they delight in. (New Century Version)

There is no wisdom apart from humility. And humility can only be accessed through being authentic and vulnerable. The proud person doesn’t look to God (or others) because they think they already know what is best and can figure out things without anyone’s help.

Wisdom is a skill that is attained through learning and application, over an extended period of time. The wise person has a solid body of knowledge, and is able to take that know-how and apply it to real life situations.

For the skill of wisdom to be realized, we must first take the posture of a child. We need to listen well, and humbly receive instruction. Without this initial mindset and heart attitude, wisdom will forever be elusive.

Then, when we learn and gain understanding, it’s imperative that we remember it. This is why the best learning engages all of our senses; it presses needed information deep inside us, so that what comes out of us is right, just, and good.

Concerning the Christian life, we can only obey commands which we know. So, it’s important to learn and retain the commands of God. This is one reason why I read my Bible every day; my mind and heart need the continual refreshment and recalling of Holy Scripture’s insight and instruction. I want to be so full of God’s good commands that if you cut me, I bleed Bible.

Kindness and truth are to be worn like a big gaudy necklace around our necks – so that we will always have in front of us what’s most important in living our lives.

The reason so many people are continually at odds with one another is that kindness and truth are neither acknowledged nor remembered. But you cannot have good relations without basic human kindness and a commitment to truth. Put another way, being gruff and mean, and fudging on reality, will not only get you nowhere, but it will also bring a profound lack of success in life.

That stubborn meanness and inattention to truth comes from spending way too much time alone in one’s head. Left alone for too long, every one of us will come up with all kinds of goofy thinking that we believe is the truth. But it’s really only craziness born of a tremendous lack of healthy interaction with others.

At some point, everyone must eventually trust the Lord – who is kindness and truth itself. Going it alone is not an option, that is, unless we want to be lonely, messed-up in the head, and miserable in both body and soul.

Let’s get real. Often, the reason why so many of us choose a path of arrogant pride, radical independence, and selfish loneliness is because we simply do not want to be hurt.

Someone, some group, or many persons have hurt us, and we’re determined to never be hurt and to hurt like that again. So, we shut others out – including God.

We may not go the route of becoming actual hermits, but we build invisible walls which no one can scale. This is why the loneliest people are actually around other people – they’ve shut them out emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, even though they are next to them physically.

Persons who take such a route to living eventually discover that, although they may have avoided the sort of pain they feared, a new kind of suffering is experienced. And it’s the kind of suffering that gnaws at your insides and slowly kills you.

Little does one know, but the fear, anger, and hatred morphs into a bitterness which becomes gangrene of the soul. The person dies a little bit at a time in an agonizing existence. We all must endure pain; it’s just a matter of what sort of pain we will accept: the bad kind or the good kind.

A good sort of hurt is the pain of healing, of making things right, of committing oneself to reconciliation and peace. It’s a soreness of being corrected by Holy Scripture and God’s directives, a suffering that will truly lead to life, not death.

So, what will it be? The book of Proverbs calls us to make a choice, not only between good and bad, but a choice of better and best, and of accepting the sort of pain that helps us grow; or rejecting that and enduring a debilitating hurt that damages deeply, maybe even permanently.

Let go of the pride and adopt humility. Become a student of wisdom. Take up the necklaces of kindness and truth. Honor God with a life full of experiential knowledge and devotion to the betterment of humanity. Learn to trust the Lord and others who are trustworthy. Know what it feels like to be merciful, pure, and peacemaking.

You may just find that the old tools of cynicism, sarcasm, skepticism, distrust, and unbelief become lost in the mental junk drawer of things rarely, if ever, used.

Lord Jesus Christ, you prayed for your friends that they would be one as you and your Father are one. We confess our resistance to your prayer. We have failed to maintain the unity of the Spirit. We have broken the bond of peace.

Advent Is Coming (Zechariah 13:1-9)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Coptic Church icon of Jesus the Good Shepherd

“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

“On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.

“On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’ If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

“Awake, sword, against my shepherd,
    against the man who is close to me!”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered,
    and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
    “two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
    yet one-third will be left in it.
This third I will put into the fire;
    I will refine them like silver
    and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
    and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” (New International Version)

There’s likely a reason why so many Bible-readers have barely considered, or just never read, the minor prophets of the Old Testament: It’s difficult reading, on several levels.

Yet, the twelve books of the minor prophets, along with the four books of the major prophets, account for a lot of material within Holy Scripture. If we are to understand the whole of the Bible, as well as know God better, we need to contend with what the prophets have to say.

Impurity and cleansing, grace and judgment, idolatry and stabbing, prophets and visions, sheep and shepherds, faith and apostasy, are all part of what seems, on the surface, to be a confusing hodge-podge of verbiage from the prophet Zechariah. Yet, we can still observe the things God cares about.

The Lord promised to rid the land of idols (false gods), (false) prophets, and the spirit of impurity (false righteousness). If God takes out the false prophets, then the people can say good riddance to a false message of leading others toward idolatry and impurity.

The spirit and the message behind false prophets, unholy leaders, and unrighteous teachers, has to do with propagating lies and suppressing truth, so that they can deceive people and manipulate others for their own benefit – leading groups of people away from reality, and into commitments that go nowhere.

This insidious stuff is meant to be taken quite seriously – because it leads to a breakdown in community, a proliferation of injustice, and oppressive spiritual bondage. That’s why we have a rather dramatic picture of parents stabbing a child – not because God likes violence – but to demonstrate that false prophets and their message will damage and destroy a nation, if indulged.

Orthodox icon of Jesus the Good Shepherd

We must always keep in mind and remember that injustice and unrighteousness must always be nipped in the bud (Deuteronomy 13:6-11). Sin, that is, those things which deceive and make false promises that result in a downward spiral toward death, is to be confronted. In the New Testament, Jesus put the matter this way:

If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Matthew 5:29-30, NIV)

Christ was not advocating a physical maiming of oneself, but rather for us to separate ourself from sin by whatever means necessary. In other words, Jesus was saying that sin isn’t something to be managed, but instead something to eradicate altogether.

Truth matters. Truth brings reality and beauty to light. Falsehood is terrible. To promote that which is false, and perhaps even worse, tolerate it, gives hate and injustice a platform from which to crawl out of the darkness and make the world blind. It would take an awful lot to undo error’s presence.

This is why the shepherd, or maybe, from the Christian perspective, the Christ, is stricken. The Good Shepherd, the one who is truth incarnate, would have to suffer. The injustice and unrighteousness is so foul and degrading that only the pure can undo the impure. And it is all set in motion, not by the forces of darkness, but by God.

God strikes the shepherd, and the sheep scatter. He is not struck because he deserves it – far from it – but because he assumes responsibility for the wrongdoing of others. Father God is the parent who stabs a spear in the side of God the Son.

The ultimate good shepherd of the sheep will die as a heinous offender; and God is the executioner.

In Christ, God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

2 Corinthians 5:21, MSG

This same great shepherd of the sheep, who became the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, is coming again. And he will bring the refining and purifying fire of divine judgment upon the earth.

In this upcoming Advent season, we remember not only that Jesus has come to save the world. We also are reminded that there is yet a second Advent, in which Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead.

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:7-8, NKJV)

Blessed God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, preserve us from our own madness. Direct us away from dealing destruction to others; help us to steer clear of paths which lead to the ruin of ourselves and our world.

Protect us. Enable us to hear you. Beloved Jesus, show us your precious face in all others – you in us, and we in each other, from all places. Amen.

The Hound of Heaven (2 Timothy 2:8-13)

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

Remember Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead and descended from David. This is my good news. This is the reason I’m suffering to the point that I’m in prison like a common criminal. But God’s word cannot be imprisoned. This is why I endure everything for the sake of those who are chosen by God so that they too may experience salvation in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This saying is reliable:

“If we have died together, we will also live together.
        If we endure, we will also rule together.
        If we deny him, he will also deny us.
If we are disloyal, he stays faithful”
    because he can’t be anything else than what he is. (Common English Bible)

C.S. Lewis once described God as the Hound of Heaven. By that phrase he meant that God doggedly pursued him and would not let go. Lewis came into Christian faith, in his own words, “kicking and screaming” as God’s faithful pursuit won out in his life. 

The Apostle Paul reminded his young protégé Timothy of some basic theology to keep him on track and encouraged in a tough ministry. Paul gave Timothy a trustworthy saying that he could easily remember and say to himself day after day, especially when the going got tough: 

If we died with Christ,
    we will live with him.
If we don’t give up,
    we will rule with him.
If we deny
    that we know him,
he will deny
    that he knows us.
If we are not faithful,
    he will still be faithful.
Christ cannot deny
    who he is. (CEV)

The beauty, wonder, and distinction of God is his amazing grace. There is no ambiguity with God. The Lord is not fickle but loves and holds tight even when we are unlovely and practice avoidance. When God pursues, God finds; when God holds on, there is no letting go.

This trustworthy saying of Scripture is a good, short, solid expression of theological truth to memorize, meditate upon, and say to ourselves repeatedly. We belong to Jesus Christ. God is with us. The Hound of Heaven will always sniff us out and bring us to himself.

Lewis likely got his phrase “Hound of Heaven” from an English poem of the same name by Francis Thompson (1859-1907). Thompson was a tortured soul who flirted in and out of depression, opium addiction, and suicidal thoughts for much of his adult life. Yet, he understood, perhaps better than most, that a loving God never stops pursuing a wayward heart. The poem’s beginning and end says this:

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter….

How hast thou merited—
Of all man’s clotted clay the dingiest clot?
Alack, thou knowest not
How little worthy of any love thou art!
Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee,
Save Me, save only Me?
All which I took from thee I did but take,
Not for thy harms,
But just that thou might’st seek it in My arms.
All which thy child’s mistake
Fancies as lost, I have stored for thee at home:
Rise, clasp My hand, and come.”
Halts by me that footfall:
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?
“Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me.

Theology is not an impersonal affair. Personal religion still exists. The individual’s wax and wane between faith and faithlessness shall never negate divine grace.

The Lord of the universe loves you. There is a deep Divine desire to shower grace on you, to shelter and protect you. There is no need to run. Yet, if you do, God remains steadfast in his dogged pursuit. The hunt will continue….

Thank you, O God, for your great faithfulness, even to me. I believe. Help me in my unbelief! I give unceasing praise and undying devotion to you for your grace of being the One who never lets up, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

The Example of John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
John the Baptist preaching, by George Maurice Cloud (1909-1973)

At that time Herod the ruler heard the news about Jesus. He said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He’s been raised from the dead. This is why these miraculous powers are at work through him.” Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother Philip.

That’s because John told Herod, “It’s against the law for you to marry her.”

Although Herod wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd because they thought John was a prophet. But at Herod’s birthday party Herodias’ daughter danced in front of the guests and thrilled Herod. Then he swore to give her anything she asked.

At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a plate.” Although the king was upset, because of his solemn pledge and his guests he commanded that they give it to her. Then he had John beheaded in prison. They brought his head on a plate and gave it to the young woman, and she brought it to her mother. But John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened. (Common English Bible)

John the Baptist’s murder is not only an ancient story; it’s also a story about our contemporary world – a world of power, sex, and intrigue. Times may change, but people across the ages do not. Humanity is fundamentally the same in every century. And the world is still the world, no matter the historical time. 

The contrast between King Herod and John the Baptist supply us with two types of people who exist throughout every age of humankind, offering us the choice of which way we will go with our lives. The story illustrates for us the reality of living in a fallen world as a devout person.

The Herod in today’s Gospel lesson was a son of Herod the Great, the one who killed all the male babies when Jesus was born in order to try and get rid of any rival king (Matthew 2:1-18). King Herod is displayed in the narrative as a tragic and pathetic figure who is ruled by his own lusts. He seems too proud and wimpy to admit he made a rash promise. He killed a man just to save face with his guests at a party.

This a Jerry Springer worthy family drama: The Herod family was rich, proud, and downright violent. They tended to marry within their own clan to hold their power and possessions for themselves. Herodias married her uncle Herod Philip; Salome was their daughter.

Later, Salome married Philip the tetrarch, half-brother to Herod Philip. Through marriage, Salome became both aunt and sister-in-law to her mother. Then the Herod in our story married Herodias, who had been married to Herod’s half-brother, Herod Philip. Having fallen in love with Herod Antipas, Herodias divorced Herod Philip to marry Herod Antipas.

Sheesh, nothing quite like complicated family drama.

Orthodox icon of John the Baptist

Into this violation of Old Testament marriage laws (the Herod’s were Jewish) came John who made no bones about the fact this was not right (Leviticus 18:16, 20:21). Herodias nursed a grudge against John for speaking out against her and Herod’s choices.

Hell, hath no fury like a woman’s scorn, and when Herodias found an opportunity to get rid of John, she coached her daughter into asking for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. Herod, too insecure to take back his ridiculous promise and look like a fool, consented to the execution of John.

In contrast to all this tragic theater is John the Baptist. John was a messenger of God and a preacher of repentance. As one who was preparing the way for Jesus, his message was simple and to the point: Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.

John got into trouble and lost his life because he spoke truth to power by meddling in the life of King Herod and his family. The Herod’s were the political establishment of the day, and John did not temper his words when dealing with them.

There is a refreshing integrity about John. He was always the same, no matter where he was, and no matter who the people were around him. In contrast to Herod, John was bold, courageous, confident, unafraid, and secure enough in his relationship with God to engage in ministry without thought to the consequences. 

John was unconcerned for what others might think of him, if he proclaimed truth in the public square, and it ended up costing him his life.

John the Baptist Rebuking Herod, by Giovanni Fattori (1825-1908)

The story of John the Baptist’s death speaks about the hostility of this world. And it prefigured and foreshadowed the death of Jesus:

  • Like John, Jesus was executed by the civil authorities.
  • Herod, like Pilate after him, hesitated to execute and was swayed by the crowd.
  • Herodias, like the chief priests toward Jesus, finally got her way through scheming and manipulation.
  • John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it, just like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus did for Jesus.

These stories, on the surface, appear to be only gloom and doom. Yet, there is a message of hope and joy. The absurd is working out itself in deliverance from sin, death, and hell. Through death, Jesus conquered death. We now have no fear of death; its sting has been taken away. Without fear of death, we have no reason to fear life with its troubles and tribulations.

The fork in the road is between the way of John or Herod. It’s a values-based decision. If worth is derived from what we do, what we have, and/or other’s opinion of us, we will likely identify more with Herod and his choices. If there is a preoccupation with hoarding power and control, this is the path of Herod. 

Conversely, if the ultimate value is in knowing Christ crucified and the power of his resurrection, then we identify with John as our spiritual ancestor. If security and worth is derived from being in Christ, then there is boldness to speak truth to power and give grace to the powerless.

Herod saw no further than his immediate needs and safety; he failed to discern his own heart. Because of his spiritual blindness, Herod did not look away from himself and look to God. Faith in Jesus comes when persons look away from themselves and look to Christ who holds the power to free all from spiritual bondage.

Consider the example of John the Baptist. He consistently sought to do the will of God as best as he understood it. Together with all God’s people past and present, we declare that God is with us, the kingdom of God is near, and the love of Christ brings faith and hope.

Almighty God, through your providence John the Baptist was wonderfully born and was sent to prepare the way of your Son, our Savior, by the preaching of repentance. Lead us to repent according to his preaching and, after his example, constantly to speak the truth, boldly to rebuke vice, and patiently to suffer for truth’s sake; through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.