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.

How Do I Read the Bible?

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

reading the Bible

With New Year’s almost here, maybe you are instinctively considering a fresh start and new beginnings.  It’s only human to think about having better health, both physically and spiritually.  Showing up and spending time with me here in this blog is just one small, simple, and helpful way of walking step by step into the wonderful and gracious world of the Christian life.

What I care about for you is that you and I keep thinking about and practicing with deliberate patience the construction of our souls.  The heart of that incredible adventure is exploring, discovering, and learning from the triune God himself – Father, Son, and Spirit.  It is as simple as spending time at the feet of Jesus, and as complicated as engrafting spiritual practices into your busy life.

If you will make the decision to read Holy Scripture every single day this next year, even if it is only for a few minutes, you can look back at the end of 2018 and see with amazing clarity that you are a different person now than you were a year ago.

But where do I begin?  The Bible isn’t exactly a novel to read from cover to cover.  Rather, Scripture is a wondrous revealing of God’s workings in history designed to connect you with the person and work of Jesus Christ.  And, I might add importantly, it is a compilation of books to be read over, and over again.

If Scripture leads us to Christ, then it only makes sense to start reading the first four books of the New Testament known as the Gospels:  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Each has a similar yet unique perspective on the words and ways of Jesus, designed to help us connect significantly with God.

Now, if you choose to read a chapter a day, or even a few verses a day, you will begin to see your soul responding differently – a greater attention to others’ needs; a larger sense of peace; the realization that you are not alone in your struggles; and, a desire to love as Jesus did.

Yet, if you want to really get even more out of your time with reading the Bible, there is a way to press the benefits even deeper and larger into your soul with greater results.  Just a few minutes of journaling your experience of reading the Bible amplifies and extenuates the construction of your soul and the enlargement of your heart.  It’s like moving from driving in an alley to speeding on the freeway – there is no comparison, once you have done it for the first time.

Where do I begin journaling?  What do I write?  The most important dimension to journaling is to listen well to the Holy Spirit of God.  This simple 4-part structure will help you connect, using the acronym S.O.A.P.

S is for Scripture.  Choose the chapter(s) or verses to read, and write the passage in your journal.  Read them over more than once, even several times.  The goal is not to check off a list to a reading plan.  The goal is to connect with God.

O is for Observation.  Make just one observation from the reading.  Is there something which really stands out to you?  Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in what he wants you to see and observe in the reading.  Simply write down the observation.

A is for Application.  Continue asking the Holy Spirit to help you.  How does God want you to apply this observation to your own personal life?  Again, write down your application in your journal.

P is for Prayer.  Write in your journal a simple prayer concerning the application you have gained.

Either short and succinct, or long and verbose journal entries are up to you.  The aim is not length, but connecting with God in Christ by the Spirit.

In a subsequent post, I will give an example of this practice of reading and journaling.  But, for now, just entertain the idea that you will read your Bible.  You will not let it just sit on the coffee table, or collect dust on the bookshelf.  You will make the time for it.  You will carefully, deliberately, and divinely read it with God’s Spirit at your side helping you all the way.  Begin today, even before the New Year, and start finding all that God has for you.

The Perpetually Upset Person

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog1 Comment

“Angry people must pay the penalty; if you rescue them, then you will have to do it again.”  –Proverbs 19:19

always upset

Dealing with upset people is a drag.  But there is such a simple solution to it that you might not even believe it.  If you learn to practice the one simple solution to dealing with angry people, your time will open much wider; your own emotions will calm down a great deal; and, you may find the kind of peace and settled conviction that you long for.

You know the type.  We have all dealt with them.  That chronically upset relative or in-law who demands your time and attention; the insecure co-worker who is constantly chirping about something he does not like in the company; or, the cranky neighbor who only talks to you when something infringes on his person or property.  These scenarios, and many more, you and I either have or will face.

I once was in a wedding in which a bridesmaid was constantly upset about something all throughout the rehearsal and into the wedding day.  It got so bad that, just as we were about to walk down the aisle, she became agitated about something she did not like, and angrily stormed away.

What would you do in such a situation?  What did I do?  Absolutely nothing.  I ignored her, told the rest of the wedding party to not follow her, and went about the ceremony.  When she saw no one was going to rescue her, she was in line at the last minute to participate.

If there is a person in your life who has frequent emotional meltdowns about most anything, here is a wisdom principle that can change your life:

Angry people get upset because it works – they get their way.  Someone will come to their rescue and fix their anger.  But if you will practice the simple solution of letting them just be upset and stew in their own juices without coming to their aid to make it all better, they will eventually stop sucking your time and energy into their angry vortex.

The angry person is typically one with some sort of entitlement mentality.  The bridesmaid didn’t like the way things were being done, and she felt “entitled” to have things go her way.  She wasn’t used to accepting “no” like most other people have to do.  She believed everyone else ought to adjust for her behavior.

The important point to note here is that it is not your job to fix their emotions; it isn’t your responsibility to smooth everything out so that everyone feels just fine and are calmed down.  Instead, it is my job and your job to practice self-control and be responsible for our own emotional well-being.  If you keep trying to calm an angry person and assuage their emotions to an even keel, you will have to do it again, and again, and again…. Until they figure out their anger doesn’t work, it just does not pay to be upset.

This means that, deep within your soul, you must move from the fear of negative emotions in others to positive possibilities in the right direction.  Not everyone is going to like you, no matter how hard you try.  Please understand that this does not mean we avoid helping others.  It just means we don’t enable their bad behavior by solving their problems for them.  We can walk beside them, encourage them, and teach them, but all without doing it for them.

Think about some ways you might deal with an angry person.  What can you say to them that will be positive and helpful, yet not take ownership of their problem?  Are you willing to be bold and tell them when they need to leave your office, home, etc.?  Can you live with their negative response to you for having firm boundaries in your own life?  How will you take charge of your own time without letting an angry person dictate how to use it?

God’s Goal for Your Life

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maturity-quote-1

Have you ever considered the question: “What is God’s goal for my life?”  If you think about it, this might just be the most important question you ever answer.  If we are people created in the image and likeness of God (which we are) and if we were designed for a purpose (which we have been), it becomes vital and necessary to know the aim, trajectory, and goal for your life.

But first, let’s consider why we might be out-of-touch with the answer.  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Man and woman were the apex and the pinnacle of God’s imaginative activity.  Only humanity has within them the ability and the special character to connect with the divine in a special fellowship relationship.  Yet, the original man and woman fell from their place in paradise.  Now, in this current broken world that we live in, apart from God there is fragmentation, disconnection, confusion, and separation in our relationships and even in understanding ourselves.

A healthy way of looking at the entirety of the Bible is that it is a revealing of how God graciously and patiently is wooing his wayward people back to himself.  The ultimate fulfillment of this re-connection is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  In Christ, what was once lost is found; what was separated is connected; and what was scattered into a thousand pieces is being put back together again.

So, then, let’s get back to the question of God’s goal for you and me.  Since we live in a fallen world, we have the need to deal with sin, death, and adverse situations.  But we can take charge of our lives and face reality with a Christian life that thrives and flourishes.  The Apostle James, the Lord’s brother, put the matter this way:

“My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble.  You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested.  But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking anything.  If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you.  God is generous and won’t correct you for asking.  But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt” (James 1:2-6, CEV).

Within the words of James is a very important purpose clause or statement:  so that you will be completely mature.  What is God’s goal for my life?  Maturity.

“Huh? Really? Maturity?  You’re telling me that being mature is what God wants out all the things he could expect of me?”  Yep.  That’s right.  Maturity means to be a whole person, not fragmented, a complete and healthy person with body, soul, mind, and spirit all aligned together in a total package of wise living.

Maybe that sounds too far from your own experience.  Perhaps you feel that you are all over the place, as if you could never have it all together.  James isn’t talking about having it all together.  He’s talking about you and me submitting to the adversity and bad circumstances of our lives as teachers that will lead us to connecting with God.

When things are going great, it’s too easy to attribute it to our own ingenuity, ability, or intellect.  But when things are rough and there is no apparent way out, we need something or someone outside of ourselves.  Faith is a muscle that must be stretched and used in order that we will grow and develop.  Trials to our faith and hard situations are the means of strengthening such a faith.  The result is maturity, completeness, and wholeness.  It is about connecting with a generous God who won’t chide us for our messiness and problems.  God delights in connecting with you and answering your prayer.

It could be that this sounds a bit too tidy, like you can just talk to God and he will pay attention and respond.  No, it isn’t tidy.  Yes, he will pay attention and respond… in his own good time.  Sometimes we need to learn that having a plan and having clear proven steps to move forward is not what we really need – instead, we need Jesus, to connect or re-connect with him.  We need to return to the garden, to simply be with God in Christ – to enjoy him.  Maybe our circumstances will change, and maybe they will not.  But the point is that you will change, and that your perspective will be different.

So, what will you do today, even right now, to take charge of your life and make a step toward maturity and healthy wholeness?  In truth, you know exactly what you should be doing; you just need the courage and the push to do it.  Will you?…

It’s About Grace

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment

Grace

The world spins on the axis of grace, whether you are aware of it, or not; without God’s mercy, life as we know it would cease to exist.  The terrible blights in this world of devastating circumstances, destructive forces, severe depression, and even death do not have the final say over the earth – grace is the word that changes it all and transforms the impossible into the possible.

The large biblical book of Isaiah is thick with the message of judgment for both Israel and the nations that surrounded her.  The sins of the ancient Israelites were chiefly: a calloused injustice toward the needy, the have’s taking manipulative advantage of the have-not’s; and, empty worship rituals toward God that were nothing more than keeping up appearances.  The very air of ancient Israelite society stank with corruption.  God pleaded with the people through his prophets to stop doing wrong and to start doing right in their justice system and in their business dealings.  The Lord of the universe wanted his people to encourage the oppressed, and to defend the cause of those who did not have the power to defend themselves (Isaiah 1:10-17).

Although God’s judgment was aroused, ripe and ready to act through the powerful Assyrian Empire, God would not annihilate his people.  God promised that a Righteous Branch would grow up from the seemingly dead stump of Israel.  A child would be born.  A Messiah would be given.  There would be hope in Israel.  Heartfelt authentic praise will again fill the air.  Proclamation of God’s great name will again be on the lips of Israel.

The remarkable thing about all this is God’s grace.  God made promises to Israel not based upon what they would or would not do; God made promises to his people by his own radically free love.  It was not a situation of making a deal – “if, Israel, you get your act together then I, God, will be good to you.”  No!  Before Israel even had a chance to return to the Lord, God was already choosing to be gracious and merciful.

If you miss the message of God’s grace in the Holy Scriptures, you have missed salvation because only grace can save us.  What we have in common with the Israelites of old is that we are totally dependent upon God’s amazing grace.  Without grace, we are lost.  Praise is a response to the incredible grace God gives which is completely undeserved (Isaiah 12:1-6).

Grace is the thing that is distinctive about Christianity – no other religion, no other place will you find grace amidst the awful muck of the world.  Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return.  Grace is ridiculously generous.  Grace does not use carrot sticks, scorecards, or power politics.  Grace does not demand – it only gives.

Grace is unconditional acceptance given to an undeserving person by an unobligated giver.

That is what God did for Israel.  That is what God has done for you.  And when we get a hold of this truth, even a little bit, there is a cascade of praise that comes rolling out of your heart and onto your lips.

The prophecy of Isaiah is an adventure of God’s determined love toward unlovable people.  That is why it is one of the most quoted books of the Old Testament by Jesus in the New Testament Gospels.  Jesus came because of grace.

Jesus came to release us from our obsessive need to be right, our compulsion to be rewarded, and all our anglings to be respected.  

Because Jesus came to set wayward captives free, life does not have to be a joyless effort to justify and validate ourselves before others.  The grace of God in Christ is a game-changer – and when we get a glimpse of it, we are forever altered and undone by its mercy.  Grace brings praise.

When grace takes hold of a person, a family, and a congregation there is no mumbling of songs – there is a shouting aloud and singing for joy because God is great!  Grace brings such joy and gladness that we do not care what we look like to other people; we are going to shout and sing and express our joy!  Yes, there is a very necessary and important place for contemplative, reverent, reflective worship… and, there is a place for completely letting go, becoming unhinged, and dancing before Jesus!

Advent, Christmas, and every season of the year is really all about God’s relentless and dogged pursuit of wayward people – the bringing of grace to a people living in darkness. Therefore, return to the Lord.  Be captivated by grace.  Renew your love for Jesus.  Lose yourself in praise and adoration of the One who gave everything just for you.  Worship Christ the King.  Proclaim his merciful Name as exalted over everything.