Month: January 2018

Romans 9:6-13

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            I want to break this to you as gently as possible, but as straightforward as I can:  My friend, you are not in control!  Any semblance of control we think we have is only a delusion.  Now, before you push back on this its important to make the distinction between control and taking charge.  Taking charge of your life means that you own your decisions and take responsibility for their outcome.  The Bible describes this as “self-control.”
            But “control” is not your job – never was, isn’t, and never will be – that’s God’s business.  God makes his choices.  This was the Apostle Paul’s point to the church at Rome.  The congregation was a volatile mix of both Jew and Gentile.  There was some bad history between them that stretched back centuries.  Yet, here they were together in one church worshiping Jesus.
            Paul made his choice to step into the mess between them and let each group know something important: It is neither their choice about who’s in and who’s out as God’s people, nor their choice about how someone gets in to start with.  Again, this is God’s choice.
            The Jews needed to know that Gentiles are in because God did his work of calling and including; Gentiles are chosen just as much as Jews.  The Gentiles needed to know that they were not replacing Jews as chosen people.  The point? God chooses whomever he darn well pleases to choose, and its not up to you, my friend.
            This speaks on so many levels about how to conduct ourselves with one another in the church.  The foundation of all good church dynamics is the recognition that God is the one who calls and gathers people together in the church.  This needs to be the starting point in our relations with each other.

 

Sovereign God, you choose whomever you will to include in your kingdom.  Allow me to see Jesus in each person you call and save so that I can love and encourage them in the faith which is mutually and graciously given to us all; through Christ our Lord, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Create New Experiences

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

trail riding horses

My wife grew up around horses.  They’re almost second nature to her.  When she was young, each kid had their own horse.  It was a daily ritual to go riding when the weather permitted.  After we were married and had kids of our own, horse culture was still important.  I learned to enjoy watching rodeos, bull riding, and barrel racing.  Even though we lived in the city, the annual sojourns back to the country led to our own girls learning to ride.  My father-in-law, while not the horse whisperer, knows horses quite well.  He knows a lot about what it takes for any person to ride and care for such powerful and majestic animals.

To ride a horse means to learn, and to learn means falling off the horse and/or being thrown from a horse.  I never saw my father-in-law so adamant and tough than when each of my girls fell off the horse for the first time.  They didn’t want to get back on.  But Grandpa more than insisted – he commanded them back on that horse with some very firm instructions on what to do.

Grandpa knew, as all horse people do, that its important to get back on for two reasons:

  1. You have got to create a new experience with the horse so that you will overcome the bad experience; and,
  2. The horse needs a new experience with the rider so that he doesn’t get the idea that the old experience is the norm.

I don’t pretend to be a horse guy, but I’ve come to appreciate how to ride and how necessary it is to not let old experiences and spirited horses dictate the way things are going to go.  I’ve learned to take charge of a powerful animal and discovered the enjoyment of being in rhythm with a horse.  If you have a bad experience – whether it’s with a horse, a person, an event, a group, or a circumstance – it is vital you create new experiences.

Daily chronic bad situations and experiences is not healthy.  I’ve come to discover, and maybe you have, too, that emotional vitality and health will only come with some good solid positive new experiences that strengthen and reinforce your faith and spirituality. 

The Apostle Paul mentored Timothy (and numerous others) in the teachings of Jesus and the craft of ministry.  He did it because he knew that young persons need new experiences under the tutelage of an experienced mentor.  Paul also did it because Jesus intensively mentored twelve disciples, not to mention an entire coterie of men and women who followed him.

People, no matter where they’re from, need the encouragement to begin a new experience, and someone to come alongside and help them when it’s needed.  That’s important because every one of us has fallen off the horse at one time or another.  Some people have fallen badly and required surgery with a long time of healing or convalescence.  They especially need new experiences.   Its more than understandable that they’re afraid.  Yet,

Fear cannot dictate what needs to happen any more than a horse should call the shots about what happens when riding.

Even when you have a bad experience, you can look at it, learn from it, and celebrate the new knowledge of things.  Then, you have the choice to move on.  You can be, and maybe should be, ruthless about purging things, including experiences, that don’t serve you well.

Find new ways and experiences that do serve you well.

That will take some experimentation and the freedom to allow yourself to fail and fall off the horse.  Maybe it means saying “yes” to something you’ve been saying “no” to.  Maybe it means taking the step of doing something you’ve wanted to do for a long time, but haven’t had the gumption to do.  Maybe there is just some old negative stuff cluttering your mind and rambling around in your heart, and you, like me, need to do some early Spring cleaning with some new thoughts and experiences.

Today is the day, my friend.  Go ahead and walk with me.  Let’s take some small steps.  Tomorrow, we’ll take some more.  The next day, we’ll get rid of some more stuff and take another step.  I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.  You just need somebody telling you, commanding you, to get back on that horse and create a new experience.  Do it to the glory of God, for the blessing of others, and to serve yourself well.

Proverbs 8:1-21

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Maybe you, like me, are wary of get-rich-quick schemes.  Those marketing strategies typically involve some path to becoming a millionaire in a short amount of time.  Sometimes it works.  If you look more closely to the success stories, you will almost always find a person who had a laser focus to acquire wealth, and a dogged commitment to seeing it happen.
            There is a get-rich plan in the Bible.  It’s called the book of “Proverbs” and it has something a whole lot more valuable than earthly riches.
“I can make you rich and famous, important and successful.  What you receive from me is more valuable than even the finest gold or the purest silver” (verses 18-19). 
 
Interested?  It’s a great headline.  It’s also very true – no scam.
            So, who can do this? How does it happen?
Wisdom is the genuine path to a wealth that transcends dollars and cents, stocks and bonds, cash and credit, gold and silver. 
 
Wisdom in the book of Proverbs, and throughout the Bible, is the ability to take the truth about God and his world and apply it to actual concrete situations in life.  Just think about that for a moment… Have you ever wondered what in the heck you’re going to do? Do you have times when you just don’t know what your life is supposed to be about?  Are you ever uncertain about how to deal with someone, or a group of people?  Wisdom has the answers.
            How do I obtain this biblical wisdom?  She speaks to that question:
“I always do what is right, and I give great riches to everyone who loves me” (verses 20-21). 
 
There you have it.  Consider that statement from Wisdom for a minute… When we love someone, we desire to spend time with them, to have an intimate relationship, to do anything for that person.
            There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs.  One way of moving through this book of Wisdom is to read one chapter a day for a month.  I do this exercise in reading at least once a year.  I typically pick out one or two verses a day to meditate and contemplate.  The goal is to simply let Wisdom have her way with you – into your heart, mind, and soul – so that she is with you always.  When that happens, you will find the kind of wealth and riches which are far beyond what you could ever dream.

 

Ever-Wise God, you call out at every crossroad and on every hill.  Yours is not a secret wisdom – it is for all to hear and learn from.  May Wisdom fill me to the full, so that I might live wisely, knowing how to live well; to the glory of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

"And"

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment

 

            Such a small word.  Such a big word.  So freely used, yet so little used.  It’s as common as dirt.  It’s as rare as a green diamond.  You can find it in every discussion, every conversation.  You can intently search for it because it’s hard to find.  Just a few short letters.  Three letters which can renew the church, even the world.
            “And…” It’s the word that changes everything.  To intentionally use this most important of words can reform not only the way you talk; it can transform the way you do ministry.
            “A woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came up behind Jesus and barely touched his clothes. She had said to herself, ‘If I can just touch his clothes, I will get well.’ Jesus turned. He saw the woman and said, ‘Don’t worry! You are now well because of your faith.’ At that moment, she was healed.” (Matthew 9:20-22, CEV)
            “Jesus went to the [dead] girl’s bedside.  He took her by the hand andhelped her up.” (Matthew 9:25, CEV)
            “As he was going into a village, ten men with leprosy came toward him. They stood at a distance and shouted, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’ Jesus looked at them andsaid, ‘Go show yourselves to the priests.’ On their way, they were healed. When one of them discovered he was healed, he came back, shouting praises to God. He bowed down at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.” (Luke 17:12-16, CEV)
            A nifty biblical exercise would be to read the Scriptures, paying close attention to the little word “and.”  Think about what would be different without that one word.  What if the woman with the bleeding issue came up to Jesus, but never touched him?  What if Jesus saw the woman, but did not say anything to her?  What if the men with leprosy stood at a distance, but never shouted?  What if Jesus looked at them, yet said nothing?  What if the healed leper bowed down, but never gave thanks?
            Jesus is Lord of the word “and.”  Christ our Savior doesn’t just see – he acts.  He does not only meet a need – he sees the person he helps.  The Lord Jesus does not only take one by the hand – he uses that hand to heal.  Anyone desiring to see God act, heal, and forgive must not only observe from a distance – they must touch him, shout to him, and thank him.
            In this divided age of polarized speech, the church is not immune from the impetus to take sides and avoid the word “and.”  Instead, let’s take up our privilege to use the sacred “and:”
Me and you – hand in hand, and not separate.
Speak to you and come alongside and help you – words of encouragement and acts of compassion.
Men and women – using their gifts in the world and the church.
Straight and gay – sitting in the same pew and worshiping Jesus.
Pentecostals and Presbyterians – acknowledging one another and serving the entire Body of Christ.
Republicans and Democrats – working for the common good of conservatives and progressives.
Pro-life and Pro-choice – concerned for the rights of baby and mother.

 

In the Name of the Father, and the Son, andthe Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.