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.

John 3:31-36

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            “The Son was sent to speak God’s message, and he has been given the full power of God’s Spirit.”  Well, there you have it.  This is a statement that every person on planet earth needs to contend with.  I, personally, have found in Jesus grace and truth.  I have come to believe the New Testament Gospel accounts of his birth, life, teaching, death, resurrection, and ascension.  None of that belief and faith came quickly or easily – it came as a result of primarily two things:  plain straightforward reading of the Bible; and, the wooing of the Holy Spirit.
 
            It really isn’t my job to convince you of the veracity of Jesus.  It is my task to point you to him and let God take over.  There is only one thing that I refuse to put up with in talking with people about Jesus:  If you haven’t read the Gospel accounts and you have rejected Christ, then, for honesty’s sake, have the gumption and the integrity to give Jesus an honest real hearing before you dismiss him with a slight of hand.  It is one thing to genuinely not know about Jesus, and it is another thing altogether to ignore him when you have some knowledge about how to find out about him.
 
            Everyone who has faith in Jesus has a life-giving connection with God.  Those who don’t, don’t.  If you do not agree with that statement, then contend with Jesus himself.  Give him a hearing.  Watch him in action.  Observe how he deals with people.  See if he lives up to his words.  Then, come back and we’ll talk.
 

 

            Blessed Father, Son, and Spirit, you are the Holy Trinity, the God whom I serve.  Lead me to those you are leading to yourself so that we can talk about Jesus, my Savior and Lord.  Amen.

The Humble Leader

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            In this Advent season as we anticipate Christmas, I have been reflecting on the great importance of humility.  Since Jesus humbled himself and became one of us, it seems to me that Christian leadership and church ministry really ought to take some cues from the posture of our Lord.
 
Humility is the queen of all Christian virtue, especially that of leadership.  Yet, humility is one of the hardest virtues to practice because it requires that we willingly put aside pride, ego, and personal agendas in order to embrace God’s agenda.  Being poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), becoming like a little child (Matthew 18:3), and thinking of others as better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3) are the cornerstones to becoming open to what God has for us.  To be a humble leader means to be obsessed with seeking God’s will and way in everything, and then to have the courage to lead others in God’s direction despite resistance and opposition from those who want to follow a different path.
 
            Therefore our task as Christ followers is to be consumed with seeking God’s direction rather than living purely according to our instincts, pragmatic desires, and personal views.  We continually need a radical openness to God.  We must work to develop an ever-deepening awareness of where God is leading us.  God is up to something and He has plans for us and our community.  Humility allows us to listen well to God’s Spirit.
 
            But being open to God is not quite as easy as it sounds.  We need to recognize that not everyone is open to God.  There are those, maybe even including ourselves, whom are closed to God.  If our focus is more on creating safety and security, trying to do enough good deeds to be recognized by God and others, and having the church be what we want it to be, then we have become closed to what God wants.  This comes out in a couple of different ways.
 
            First, people who want to maintain tradition at all costs may be closed to God.  When doing things the way we have always done them makes us feel safe and secure, then anything that threatens that security makes us angry.  This is the place where folks practice either fight or flight – they wage either a holy war or just leave.  Living with uncertainty and ambiguity is too much for them.  But that is what it takes if we are going to follow God.  Like Abraham, we are called to move and change without always knowing where we are going.
 
            Second, it is not just members trying to maintain traditions who can be closed to God.  Those who want to get rid of traditions can be just as closed off to God.  Sometimes folks who want new or different music, spiritual practices, and ministries desire to create a church of their own making to serve them and their needs, and not a church that focuses on what God is calling them to do.  Like Timothy, we are to hold onto the great deposit of doctrine and heritage given to us and not always be looking for the next new thing to turn things around.
 
 
 
            So, what to do?  Have the humility as leaders to continually and constantly ask the question: “What is God’s will?”  We need to practice leadership that is incredibly open to God.  This allows us to lead from a position of faith, and not fear.  This helps us to let God flow in and through us, rather than willfully insisting it should be our way or the highway.  This enables us to practice hope and love, and not rely on our own strength and desires.  Humble leadership which is open to God makes prayer and discernment the foundation of what we do, always seeking what God wants and then leading others in that direction by inviting them to the same kind of prayerful process.  We must read our Bibles as if our lives depended on it, and pray like there is no tomorrow.
 

 

            If we have humility and a deep openness to God; a conviction that we are primarily called to follow Jesus Christ; a willingness to let God’s power flow through us; and, a determined readiness to move people lovingly and graciously in God’s direction, then amazing things can happen in our churches.  Let our prayer together be this:  “I’m yours, God, no matter where you call me to go, what you call me to do, and how you call me to be.  I will seek your will and way as I lead others to do the same.”

Galatians 3:23-29

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            Ever since the fall of humanity those many millennia ago, people have had the predilection to organize themselves in groups that keep them distinct from other groups.  Whether it is high school peer groups or office politics; whether it is class warfare or church cliques; there has always been this tendency to think better about the groups we identify with, and to look down and believe the worst about those we don’t understand or just don’t plain like.
 
            But Jesus is the person that changes it all.  “Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman.”  I’m not sure the English translations of Paul’s phrasing here can truly capture his emphatic pathos about this issue.  For Paul, Christ’s cross has done so much more than bring personal salvation; it has completely eradicated prejudice, discrimination, and division.  The church is to be the one place on earth where divisions do not exist anymore.  It is to be a foretaste of heaven. 
 
            Since the ground is level at the cross, we are to live into Christian unity with an attitude of humility and meekness, and with actions of gusto.  One way of doing this is to simply walk across the room and meet a new person and engage them in some meaningful dialogue.  Walk across the street and talk with a neighbor for whom you think you have little in common with. 
 

 

            Gracious God, you have abolished barriers through the redemption of Christ.  Prevent me from erecting walls that would divide and use me to be a bridge so that others may experience equality in Jesus.  Amen.

Matthew 8:14-17, 28-34

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            When I was a kid, every evening after the news I watched a show called To Tell the Truth.  The show featured a panel of four celebrities attempting to correctly identify a described contestant who has an unusual occupation or experience.  This central character is accompanied by two imposters who pretend to be the real character.  The celebrity panelists question the three contestants.  The imposters are allowed to lie but the central character is sworn “to tell the truth.”  After questioning, the panel attempts to identify which of the three challengers is telling the truth and is thus the central character.  The host would then say, “Will the real _____  please stand up!”
 
            The four panelists would often miss the real person, mainly because they had certain expectations of what the real person’s occupation or experience would be like.  And their expectations just didn’t match reality.  The people of Christ’s day often missed who Jesus really was because their expectations chiefly centered in a Messiah who would beat up the pagan Romans and establish a strong political kingdom that benefited them economically.  And that is why they missed the real deal because Jesus did not fit their preconceived notions of Messiah.  The real Jesus is compassionate, cares about people, and brings transformation to people’s lives, irrespective of whether it can turn a buck for somebody.
 
            The real Jesus puts people before pigs.  That might sound like a no-brainer, but, believe me, in Iowa I knew of more than one farmer who treated his pigs better than his family.  Jesus continually put people first before anything else.  He delivered two men from a terrible demonic bondage with the result that an entire herd of pigs was lost.  However, the town didn’t rejoice over the transformation of the men.  They just begged Jesus to go away before he messed up their economy even more.
 
            Jesus did not come to boost the local economy and make sure the political system was all warm and fuzzy toward the local merchants.  He changed people’s lives brought deliverance from emptiness.  The irony in the story is that the farmers and farming community had their hearts revealed as the ones who were truly empty.  Will the real empty hearted people please stand up!  What do you expect from Jesus? 
 

 

            Jesus, you are the rightful King of this universe.  May I participate with you in your agenda for this world so that I might exhibit the same care, compassion, and concern for people that you did.  Amen.