by Dale Tedder

Ezra 7:6 – this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

Ezra 7:9-10 – He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. [10] For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.

You may not know much about Ezra, though you’ve probably heard of him. He has a book of the Old Testament named after him. For me, he exemplifies much of what I believe my own purpose is as a pastor. More than that, however, I believe he’s a model for all Christians.

Ezra was a descendent of Moses’ brother, Aaron, the chief priest. Ezra was a teacher, we’re told, who was well versed in the Law of Moses (Ezra 7:6). The end of verse 9 tells us that the hand of God was on Ezra. Why? Because, according to verse 10, Ezra “devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord as well as to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.”

In other words, Ezra passionately STUDIED God’s Word, LIVED God’s Word, and TAUGHT God’s Word to others.

A pastor, or any Christian for that matter, must first STUDY God’s Word. This is obvious. This is where the pump is primed and fresh water is poured into the soul. This is where the renewing of the mind takes place so that it will become fertile ground for transformation later.

This leads to the next point – LIVING God’s Word. If you don’t believe the teachings of God’s Word and are not practicing it’s laws and principles each day, then one might ask why you are studying it in the first place. The Word of God makes us wise for salvation, teaches us, rebukes us, corrects us, trains us in righteousness so that we may become thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:15-17). We don’t study it to win Bible trivia contests or to impress our congregations. We study it so that we might become more and more like Christ.

But Ezra did more than study it and live it – He TAUGHT it. He passed along his knowledge to others. He added value to their lives from what he learned. And it’s the fact that he did faithfully study it and live (or practice) it that brought credibility and integrity to his teaching. You see, the goal of any disciple of Jesus Christ is to reproduce himself in the lives of others. This is accomplished through learning what it means to be a disciple of Christ, faithfully living that calling out each day, and then passing it along to others. It’s what I call “pouring your life into another person.” Jesus put it this way in the gospel of John,

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:24)

In a sense, we die to ourselves as we diligently study God’s Word, conform ourselves to it’s standards, and pass it along to others – even at personal cost. But any sacrifice offered is more than worth it because, as Jesus put it, it produces many seeds.

How do we pass along God’s Word to others? This can be done in a variety of ways. You can teach others God’s Word from the pulpit, in a classroom, in a hospital room, in a counseling session, over lunch with a friend, around the family table at breakfast or dinner, or written correspondence. The list could go on and on.

Finally, I love how Ezra did all of this. The text says he devoted himself to it. He gave his life to it. He was committed to God’s Word in all of its life-transforming fullness. And because he was so devoted, we learn that God’s hand was on him. God has appointed his Word as a primary means of grace (as it works with his Spirit) whereby we are enabled to intimately know God and his Son Jesus Christ, know about the character, attributes, and works of God, learn how to love and serve God, discover how to become more Christlike in our daily lives, as well as how to spend eternity with him.

God’s Word: Know It – Live It – Teach It To Others.

Not a bad purpose statement for all of us. I want to be like Ezra. How about you?

Stand Firm,

Dale

The discovery this month of the remains of Michael “Scott: Speicher, the Navy pilot who was called the first casualty of the 1991 Gulf War, sparks some thoughts in many of us about death, grief, and funerals. At last, Speicher’s family and friends will be able to work though their grief appropriately. But, as times change and our spiritual needs for grieving change, how can the church help? What is appropriate, helpful, and wise?

The first funeral I performed as a young pastor was for a 19 year old man who died in a motorcycle accident. I hadn’t enough experience to know what would help and what wouldn’t, so I was in a sense freed to become an observer of loss and what ministry worked, what didn’t. During the course of the funeral, I noticed two things. First, as you might guess, the worship area of the church was filled beyond capacity. The overwhelming fact, that anyone could observe, was that in the midst of tragedy, people cared, and went out of their way to demonstrate it. That was my observation as I carefully said the ancient prayers for the occasion, preached a sermon, and suffered with everyone else through the un-air conditioned summer day.

The second thing I noticed was that the ushered closed all the doors and windows. Why this happened is still a mystery to me, unless the reason was that they wanted to achieve some control over a woefully uncontrollable situation. I had had those feelings myself, working with the grieving family, preparing for the funeral and life beyond. It would have been nice to have some control over the event, the emotions involved, and the outcome. Unless I’ve missed something, there is no control over life lived through a death. Caring and compassion, as awkward as they make most of us feel, are a healing substitute for control.

I couldn’t possibly count the numbers and different kinds of funerals I’ve done in my three decades of ministry. There was the indigent funeral, a woman from a nursing home with no family. The nursing home employees had washed and ironed her nightgown for her to wear because she didn’t have a dress. No one came to the ceremony we had for her, and I felt the lack when I could not say anything personal about her, or tie her life in with God’s promises. There and then, something about funerals was confirmed that I long expected: that an expression of the personality of the deceased be accompanied by an equally strong expression of the ongoing love of God. When both happen side by side tied together in a ceremony, grief is addressed and life is renewed.

One of the most painful times in my own life of faith was when I was asked to help with the funeral of one of my best friends. I flew across the country to be there, arriving just in time. I found myself in the position of a friend speaking at a funeral, not the pastor.

This is an increasingly popular trend, I guess: any number of people offering reminiscences and statements of faith at the funeral of someone they loved. Sometimes it makes the occasion more memorable. Sometimes the occasion expands beyond reasonable time limits, as everyone finds something to say. In closing, offer some advice. Your presence speaks as loudly as words, so keep your words short so they may speak for themselves.

I ended up writing some remarks on the back of a bulletin for my friends’ funeral, standing in front of the church office copier. I made three points. One was something funny about my friend’s life, because he was essentially a humorous person.

One was something about his health struggles, because that was reality for him, and you can’t say anything about God that sounds even vaguely real unless you are realistic about other things. Then, third, I said something about God’s presence in my friend’s life, and said that I believed that presence wouldn’t end with death. Afterwards, my friend’s widow whispered something in my ear that I couldn’t hear. Her tears and her quick hug told me everything I needed to know about funerals, friendship, and God.

Rev. Richard W. Dow, Senior Pastor
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

by Dale Tedder
Psalm 1:2 – But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Nothingness is that which sleeping rocks dream of. That, or something close to it, was purported to have been said by Jonathan Edwards a couple hundred years ago. I believe he was right on the money. We can’t imagine absolute nothingness, even for a nanosecond. Our minds are always turned on…always in gear. In other words, we’re always meditating on something. We’re thinking creatures after all, and therefore, our minds are always turned on – even when we’re sleeping.

Because this is true, some good questions to ask yourself are: “What do I think about when I’m not being intentional in my thought-life?” – Or – “Where do my thoughts wander when I’m sitting at a traffic light? Or when I’m climbing into bed? Or when I’m taking a walk early in the morning?”

Meditation can help us think God’s thoughts after him. Or, as Brother Lawrence put it, meditation can enable us to practice God’s presence all throughout the day. Meditation is a good and biblical concept. It is therefore a shame that many Christians think of it purely in terms of eastern mysticism and its American cousin, the “new age movement.” To be sure, there are numerous wrong ways to practice meditation. But there are godly ways to understand and practice it as well.

One of the first things we must understand about meditation, biblically understood, is that it is the process of filling your mind with God’s Word and it’s perspective on life, not emptying your mind. Donald Whitney points out that the Bible speaks of four areas that believers are called to meditate upon…

The first is on God’s Word. The Psalms are saturated in references to the blessed person delighting in the law, precepts, decrees, word, statutes, ways, and commands of God and meditating on them. Read Psalm 119 and you will immediately get the idea.

The second object of our meditation is God’s creation. Psalm 143:5 declares,

I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.

The third proper focus of meditation is God’s providence. Scripture points out God’s mighty deeds throughout history and directs his children to reflect upon them.

The last area of meditation is God himself. Psalm 63:6 tells us that King David meditated on God himself during the night watches. Whitney sums this up by saying…

“These four, however, could be condensed to only two categories: meditation on the content of Scripture and meditation on the perspective of Scripture. In other words, meditation can focus either on the words of the Bible itself or on another subject from a biblical point of view. I refer to one as ‘meditation on Scripture’ and to the other as ‘mediation on life from a scriptural perspective.’” (Donald Whitney, Simplify Your Spiritual Life, p. 64)

Life is too short for followers of Christ to be asleep at the wheel of our thought-life. There are too many things in the world competing for our mental loyalty. As a former mentor of mine once put it, “the world will define you by default; the word will define you by discipline.” Meditating on God’s word takes effort and intentionality.

Don’t be afraid of meditation. It has been in the biblical lexicon for a few thousand years. It can be a wonderful means of grace to draw us closer to our Lord…to help us know him more clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly.

Stand Firm,
Dale