Author: Tim Ehrhardt

I'm just a common ordinary pastor, chaplain, father, grandfather, and dog owner who loves the smell of a genuine leather Bible and the aroma of its message. I'm on a quest to track down the best Bibles, how to best read and use them, and to discover the encouragement inside.

Luke 13:18-21 – What is the Kingdom of God Like?

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
A mustard seed

Jesus asked, “What is God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it to? It’s like a mustard seed that someone planted in a garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds nested in its branches.”

He asked again, “What can I compare God’s kingdom to? It’s like yeast that a woman mixed into a large amount of flour until the yeast worked its way through all the dough.” (God’s Word Translation)

I grew up on a rural Mid-West America farm. Working with seeds was our livelihood. And making bread was second nature to us. Even though my parents worried incessantly about the weather and the price of groceries, there were two things they were never anxious about: seeds and yeast.

My dad knew that when we planted seeds in the Spring, there would be a harvest in the Fall. That’s because he knew the seed already has within itself everything it needs to germinate, take root, grow, and produce a harvest. His role was simply to tend to it all by keeping the fields free of weeds, worms, and critters.

My mom knew that when she put the bread in the oven, it would bake and rise into a glorious loaf. That’s because she had full confidence that the little bit of yeast she worked into the dough would do it’s job. Her role was simply to ensure the proper amount of ingredients and oversee the time and temperature of baking.

Since I was the youngest, I typically got the grunt work of our massive garden. I was always excited when we planted things because I knew what was coming in a few months: some delicious veggies on my dinner plate which were fresh from the garden I tended. I never wondered whether there would be food on the table, or not.

Seeds are, of course, small. If you think about it, they appear quite unimpressive. Yet, we know better. We understand that when planted, watered, and cultivated, those seeds turn into amazing plants. 

But it takes time. Even as dumb little kid, I clearly knew that my planting seeds would not result in seeing anything above ground the next day. I understood it would take a few weeks before new growth would break the ground.

The kingdom of God, Jesus told us, is like a mustard seed – a very small seed which can grow into a tree big enough for birds to nest. Unlike the mighty Roman Empire, or contemporary powerful national governments, the kingdom of God had humble beginnings. It grows, over a long period of time, to become a force greater than anything the world can produce.

While our world races forcefully on with the speed of the hare, Jesus is carefully and patiently building his church at the pace of a tortoise. In the end, the kingdom of God will rule over all creation, while the kingdoms of this world shall no longer exist. 

Even though many of us now live in a society where the quick, the fast, and the strong dominate everything, still the best things in life come as a result of tedious perseverance over an extended period of time. 

We are in such a hurry to accomplish our goals, make as much money as we can, and keep constant vigilance over our work. And for what purpose?

“What an unspeakable comfort it is to know that in the midst of humanity’s mischief, in the midst of their scheming and bad speculations, their shaping and misshaping, their activism and their failures, there is still another stream of events flowing silently on, that God is letting divine seeds grow and achieving divine ends.” 

Helmut Theilicke

Quiet, humble submission to King Jesus is at the heart of the kingdom. God is working-out good purposes in and through us with all the care of the farmer expecting to eventually reap a harvest. To get ourselves into the groove of God’s unforced rhythms of grace, we must learn to slow down, so as to not miss Christ’s benevolent kingdom. So, how do we do that?

  • Listen to yourself. Our bodies send us signals all the time, telling us what we need. There is a time for work and a time for rest, a time to hurry and a time to slow down. If we continually stressed, it could be that we are trying to force God’s kingdom into our lives or the lives of others.

But if you listen to me,
you will be safe and secure
    without fear of disaster. (Proverbs 1:33, CEV)

  • Practice gratitude. Count your blessings. Keep things in proper perspective. Sit with joy and happiness. Whenever something really good happens, slow down and savor the moment – don’t just quickly move on to the next thing. The kingdom of heaven revolves on thankfulness, not criticism.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1-3, NRSV)

  • Use breath prayers. Take some deep breaths. While inhaling, pray, “More of you, Lord.” And exhale saying, “Less of me.” Or inhale, praying, “Fill me with your Spirit,” then exhaling, “So that I may be a blessing.” Go ahead and develop your own prayers, as well.

“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10, NRSV)

  • Say, “no.” If we are in the habit of helping others, it can be hard to say “no.” But if we are working to understand how to slow down, learning to say “no” is a skill we need to develop. We must set boundaries and manage our time responsibility. That means leaving plenty of time to slow down, rest, observe, and relax.

Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong. (Matthew 5:37, MSG)

  • Walk outdoors. Nature walks are an opportunity to stroll through God’s creation and notice the wonder that is all around us.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world. (Psalm 19:1-4, NLT)

  • Ask for help. To ask for what we need and want is neither selfish nor a sign of weakness. Rather, piling on responsibilities only causes us to run ragged and never get around to slowing down. Asking for help requires humility, which is the very thing needed to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8, NIV)

Spiritual formation and development are dependent upon slow growth over a long period of time. Don’t short circuit the process through accumulating more and more responsibility and constant busyness. Let God’s grace do its work and sense the kingdom of God near you.

Lord God, everlasting Father, you have brought me to this point in time.  Preserve me according to your unassuming power so that I might not be seduced by worldly might, nor be overcome by the rantings of politicians, but in all things daily direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose, through Jesus Christ, my Lord.  Amen.

Romans 2:12-16 – Doing, Not Just Hearing, Makes the Difference

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Exploring Church Ministry Blog, Year CLeave a comment

If you sin without knowing what you’re doing, God takes that into account. But if you sin knowing full well what you’re doing, that’s a different story entirely. Merely hearing God’s law is a waste of your time if you don’t do what he commands. Doing, not hearing, is what makes the difference with God.

When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God’s yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ considers all these differences. (The Message)

Every single person on planet earth has been created by a good Creator in the image and likeness of God, without exception.

Because we are all stamped with the Lord’s divine image deep within us, there is a universally inherent sense of justice, rightness, fairness, integrity, morality, and love. Particulars of ethics may differ from culture to culture, yet all persons and societies have a broadly similar innate understanding of right and wrong.

Within the ancient Roman Church were a mix of Jews (the historical people of God who were given the law and the covenant through Moses) and Gentiles (non-Jewish persons). The Apostle Paul wrote his lengthy and probing letter to them because the two groups of Jew and Gentile were at odds with one another.

The Gentile Christians could not understand the Jewish Christian fondness and insistence on ancient rules and particular commands, and so, they looked down on their brothers and sisters in the faith as being hopelessly locked into outdated traditions and practices.

Conversely, the Jewish Christians could not understand the Gentile Christian affinity for a freedom that seemed to not care about the religious importance of food and eating, seasons and holy days, and outward signs of Christianity, and so, they tended to look down on their brothers and sisters in the faith as ignorant, immature, and in need of ritual practices.

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Romans 3:22, NLT

The Church back then was almost like putting a group of people with O.C.D. (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) with a group of people with A.D.D. (Attention-Deficit Disorder). At the least, it’s going to very interesting to watch them try to live and worship together; at the worst, it’s going to spark an all-out battle for supremacy.

Paul was intervening somewhere in the middle between the interesting situation and the pitched battles so that the Church would not turn into total war. The last thing he wanted was two churches: one Jewish and one Gentile. No, there is one church, just as there is one God. Paul was determined that these knuckleheads are going to have to learn to get along.

Since Paul himself was a Jewish Christian, he tended to get pretty testy with his fellow Jews. Although Paul often went back-and-forth throughout his letter to the Romans, addressing Jews, then Gentiles, he most often had more to say to the Jewish brothers and sisters.

And that is what’s happening in today’s New Testament lesson. The Apostle Paul is directing his words chiefly toward the Jewish believers. He is lifting the Gentile believers and placing them on the same level as the Jews. Although the Gentiles weren’t the ones who received the law, they’ve always had that law deep inside them.

God is not only the God of the Jews. He is also the God of those who are not Jews. There is only one God. He will make Jews right with him by their faith, and he will also make non-Jews right with him through their faith.

Romans 3:29-30, ERV

Not only ought the Gentile Christians to be respected because of their inherent sense of God’s law, but this also makes them accountable for their own words and actions. In other words, there’s no excuse for any sinful talk or behavior.

What’s more, the real issue isn’t whether one group has the law, or not. The rub is whether one actually obeys and does the will of God. It doesn’t matter whether one hears the law read aloud in a Jewish synagogue or whether one hears the law spoken in the individual conscience. All are responsible for acting on that voice and engaging in deeds of justice, peace, and love. All must connect with the stamped image of God within us.

I’m not sure what is worse: committing overt sins or observing the sin and doing nothing about it. Indifference is at the core of most sin – both for the perpetrator and the passive spectator seeing it. Each one is living against both their conscience and by what they’ve heard and been taught.

The Word of God has not been truly received until it is put into practice. This is a consistent theme in the New Testament: 

Jesus said, “The people who are really blessed are the ones who hear and obey God’s message!”

Luke 11:28, CEV

Obey God’s message! Don’t fool yourselves by just listening to it. If you hear the message and don’t obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirrorand forget what they look like as soon as they leave. But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don’t just hear and forget. (James 1:22-25, CEV)

Listening to the Word without obedience is just that – it is mere hearing.

Profession of faith in Jesus means nothing without a practice of that faith.

Learning the Bible is useless without living it.

Acceptance of the Word is nothing more than a mental exercise without action to back it up.

Profession, knowledge, and acceptance alone does not satisfy God’s plan for our lives. 

The danger is that we have the potential to deceive ourselves into thinking we are okay just because we know the right things and believe the right things. Christianity is a vital love relationship with Jesus, and, so, is not merely a matter of hearing and affirming orthodox truth; it also involves orthopraxy, that is, having right practice, the doing of truth.

Whenever the Gentile Christians in Rome refused to love the Jewish Christians, they were not hearing God and doing his will.

Whenever the Jewish Christians listened to law and gospel, but then had no intention of changing to accommodate the Gentile Christians, they were being disobedient.

And whenever we hear about how God forgives us in Jesus’ name, but then we insist on not forgiving another person, we are not being doers of the Word.

So, let’s take a lesson from the ancient Roman Church: Live by faith. Be attentive to all persons in the Body of Christ. Include them and care for them. Pay attention to God’s Word. Include it and engraft into your life. Because care of the Body and care of the Word go hand-in-hand together.

May the God who created a world of diversity and vibrancy,
Go with us as we embrace life in all its fullness.

May the Son who teaches us to care for stranger and foreigners,
Go with us as we try to be good neighbors in our communities.

May the Spirit who breaks down our barriers and celebrates community,
Go with us as we find the courage to create a place of welcome for all. Amen.

Romans 2:1-11 – Against Criticism and Judgment

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

Some of you accuse others of doing wrong. But there is no excuse for what you do. When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things. We know that God is right to judge everyone who behaves in this way. Do you really think God won’t punish you, when you behave exactly like the people you accuse? You surely don’t think much of God’s wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don’t you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him?

But you are stubborn and refuse to turn to God. So, you are making things even worse for yourselves on that day when he will show how angry he is and will judge the world with fairness. God will reward each of us for what we have done. He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor, and life that lasts forever. But he will show how angry and furious he can be with every selfish person who rejects the truth and wants to do evil. All who are wicked will be punished with trouble and suffering. It doesn’t matter if they are Jews or Gentiles. But all who do right will be rewarded with glory, honor, and peace, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. God doesn’t have any favorites! (Contemporary English Version)

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”

Carl Jung

Since it is the Christian season of Lent, the Revised Common Lectionary freights the readings with biblical sections about repentance. It can be a hard slog, this inner work we are called to do. Yet, it leads to the peaceable fruit of righteousness for those spiritual athletes who train their souls for the will of God.

One of the first lessons we learn in our desert journey through Lent is that judgment belongs to God, not us.

Claiming the moniker of self-appointed Judge will, ironically, get one judged. There is only one true Judge. And Judge Jesus renders decisions which are always right, just, and fair, with no favoritism, cronyism, or malice.

A critical spirit is an evil spirit. It vaults oneself over and above others who are viewed as inferior, unworthy of love and belonging. It is the very antithesis of Christ’s way of being in the world with others.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Church at Rome, merely upheld the teaching of his Lord Jesus, who said:

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make, you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” (Matthew 7:1-2, NRSV)

Although most people would affirm that showing favoritism is a bad thing, in practice we have a difficult time avoiding it – especially in polarizing times such as ours. Political mudslinging is (unfortunately) a time-honored American tradition. And so is religious judgmentalism.

Some of the most emotionally laden vitriol comes from folks who are so heavily entrenched in their religious convictions that they believe any deviation from their way of belief is worthy of scathing criticism.

People, however, do not change because someone criticizes or judges them. They experience transformation through basic divine and human kindness.

As a hospital chaplain in a behavioral health unit, I wholeheartedly affirm this to be true. Many patients have been told repeatedly by family or friends to stop their destructive behavior or thinking, get their lives together, move on, wake up, etc. – all with the condescending edge of criticizing judgment.

Yet, when someone takes notice, is curious about them, treats them like a fellow person, offers helpful encouragement, and a listening ear without trying to fix, souls become open to receiving the healing grace of love and truth.

God shows no partiality, and neither should we, period.

God is right, just, and fair in all dealings with everyone. The Lord judges according to divine standards of righteousness and mercy – no matter one’s race, ethnicity, gender, economic status, or social standing. And it is all laced with the love and compassion of Christ.

Christians are not exempt or given a pass on being judgmental, as if owning multiple Bibles or giving lots of money exempts one from a wagging tongue and an insensitive spirit.

Our own unhealthy practices, bad habits, and angry outbursts will be treated just like any non-Christian by God. In a time when decrying the moral condition of our world is nearly a spectator sport, the New Testament lesson for today reminds us that we must first be concerned for the condition of our own hearts before we can point the finger at another.

If we want revival in the land and repentance from others, then it must first be directed and practiced by oneself.

We all equally stand in need of God’s grace in Jesus.  There is a symbiotic relationship between our actions and the state of our hearts.  A soft and tender heart toward God leads to obedience; disobedience hardens the heart and leads to God’s wrath, no matter the individual.

So, it will help if we all faithfully engage in daily spiritual practices which keep our hearts attentive and alert to God’s will and way. 

No matter how busy we are, or how we feel, to forego or ignore the Word of God and prayer on a regular basis will slowly calcify our hearts and render them unable to respond rightly to grace. Instead, we can drink deeply of the gospel throughout every day so that we may experience peace.

A critical spirit begins to melt away when the tools of empathy, compassion, understanding, and acceptance are used to forge connections and provide support.

It takes no training to bludgeon someone with condemning criticism. However, it takes repeated practice to speak and act with grace, mercy, and peace, especially when we are stressed and/or anxious about our surrounding circumstances.

“Be curious, not judgmental.”

Walt Whitman

Instead of judgment, observe and be curious. Seek more information. Ask clarifying questions. Expand the gap between observation and conclusion.

The ability to have an awareness of one’s own emotions, to be mindful of self and surroundings, and to do it all with neither criticism nor judgment is perhaps the highest form of intelligence and spirituality.

Kindness is what leads others to repentance, not condemnation. Grace has the final word, not judgment. So, let us be blessed through a gentle spirit which spreads the goodness of God throughout the world.

Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, we have sinned against you, through our own fault, in thought, and word, and deed, and in what we have left undone. For the sake of your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, forgive us all our offenses and grant that we may serve you in newness of life, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Jesus Will Have None of It

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

Welcome, friends. As we journey with Jesus through this Lenten season, Christ is challenging four false assumptions about sin and guilt. Through parable and direct teaching, he insists we all must change – rather than simply looking for others to do so. Click the videos below, as we discover together that, when it comes to scapegoating and blame-shifting, Jesus will have none of it.

Pastor Tim Ehrhardt, Luke 13:1-9

Almighty and ever living God,
you invite us deeper into your world, your people, your Lent.
May this time be one of outward focus;
seeking you in those we often ignore.
Help us live a Lent focused on freedom, generosity, and encounter.
Give us hearts hungry to serve you
and those who need what we have to give. Amen.