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.

Ephesians 4:7-16

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
 
 
            The Body of Christ without love as its skeletal structure would be as ridiculous and silly as a boneless chicken ranch.  “We must stop acting like children… Love should always make us tell the truth.  Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head of the body.  Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love” (CEV).
 
            When Jesus ascended to heaven, ten days later the day of Pentecost occurred.  The Holy Spirit came upon the small band of believers and the church became a full-fledged phenomenon, growing and expanding.  The gracious gifts of the Spirit are given to each and every Christian in order to grow and strengthen the Body of Christ in love.  Each gifting might be different from person to person, but every one of them is meant to be used in love for the benefit of the entire church.
 
            The church will be weak and ineffective without any bones or skeleton.  It might look like a church, but will not be able to do anything in the world.  It is quite necessary that every single Christian in the church learn his/her spiritual gift and use it in love to build up the Body.  This is the only means of realizing a mature and functional church. 
 
What is your passion and desire for Christ’s church?  What issues stir you emotionally?  What group of people do you feel most attracted to reach?  What area of your church’s ministry would you most like to influence?  Are there people whom you notice that others seem to ignore?  Will you step out in faith and learn how God has wired you for ministry?  Will you speak and serve in Jesus’ name?
 

 

            Loving God, you have graced me with spiritual gifts for the sake of Jesus Christ.  Use me for the loving strengthening of the church, and for positive influence in the world.  Amen.

The Need for Courage

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
People are not naturally courageous.  Ever since the fall of humanity, none of us has to work at being afraid – but we all have to work at being brave and having the courage to face our fears.  Sometimes we adults think we have to teach kids not to fear because we believe they are afraid of the dark, high places, and monsters in the closet.  But I think most of that is our own adult fear projected on kids.  Actually, I think it is the other way around.  Some of the bravest folks I have ever known are children.  They do not understand near as much as we adults do, yet they conquer their fears every day by facing the world with courage.  If you were to go to any children’s hospital today, I believe you would be amazed at the kind of courage you would find amongst kids.  It seems to me that adults have a whole lot to learn about being brave because:
 
We have become far too sophisticated in hiding our fears and avoiding courage.
 
            This is why the most repeated exhortation is all of Holy Scripture is to not be afraid.  We all need courage to live life in the way that God wants it to be lived.  Jesus had to remind his disciples to not be afraid; and, God the Father himself had to exhort the fearful followers of Jesus to have the courage to listen (Matthew 17:1-7).  We all need courage to listen well to God the Father; to live by the words and ways of God the Son; and, to follow God the Holy Spirit wherever he prompts us to go.
 
We need the courage to love people without needing their kudos (John 2:23-25). 
 
Jesus did not get carried away with his own press.  Whether people responded to him by the hundreds, or whether they refused him altogether and tried to throw him off a cliff, Jesus was consistently always the same.  He did not need people’s response or the lack of it to do his mission on this earth.  He continually loved people and did not do things in order to get them to love him in return, like insecure and fearful people do.
 
            The most read book in my library is The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.  It was written five-hundred years ago by a Dutch priest who was training others in the ministry of Christ.  The reason I keep coming back to that book again and again is that Thomas understood the need for the courage to love the unlovely.  He understood that perfect love casts out fear.
 
            This is what Thomas had to say about loving others:  “We should not only love our brothers and sisters, but also not consider ourselves better than them.  Instead, we should show compassion and acceptance to others.  We want to have others strictly reprimanded for their offenses, but we will not be reprimanded ourselves.  We are inclined to think the other person has too much freedom, but we ourselves will not put up with any restraint to our freedom.  There must be rules for everyone else, but we must be given free rein.  It is seldom that we consider our neighbor equally with ourselves. Yet:
 
 If everyone was perfect, what would we have to endure for the love of God?
 
            Thomas is always good for a solid spiritual slap to the sinful flesh.  Hear him again:  “Look at yourself and see how far you are from real love and humility.  It is of no test of virtue to be on good terms with easy-going people, for they are always well liked.  And, of course, all of us want to live in peace and prefer those who agree with us….  However, in this mortal life, our peace consists in the humble bearing of suffering and contradictions, not in being free of them, for:
 
We cannot live in this world without adversity. 
 
Those who can suffer well will enjoy the most peace, for such persons are brave, courageous, not afraid of pain, have Christ as their friend, and heaven as their reward.”
 
            Imagine yourself, fully aware of the mission and vision God has placed in your heart to advance his kingdom in this world, yet held hostage to phobias, irrational worries, and destructive fears of failure, harm, or rejection.
 

 

If you and your church don’t fulfill the mission God assigned to you, who will?

Proverbs 4:1-9

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            “My advice is useful, so don’t turn away… Be wise and learn common sense.”  Wisdom is personified in proverbs as a sage counselor for whom we must pay careful attention to listen and heed.  Wisdom in the Old Testament is the practical application of knowledge and understanding.  It is the ability to take the knowledge of God and use it in everyday life in a way that leads to human flourishing.
 
            Thus, there are really two important aspects to wisdom.  First, the individual must possess some body of knowledge.  We cannot employ knowledge that we do not even possess.  So, it is absolutely imperative for us to seek understanding, to strive to see life from God’s perspective, and to put ourselves in other people’s shoes.  We must become readers, listeners, and devoted learners because without books, the ability to hear well, and the humble posture of discovery, we will never realize wisdom.
 
            Second, the individual must use knowledge in order to act, to live well.  Knowledge by itself, apart from relevant use, only produces puffed-up pride.  The reason for accumulating understanding is to use it for the benefit of others in love.  We have quite enough preening peacocks in this world with snappy opinions and answers for every earthly problem.  This world needs much less of them, and more of those who seek the humility that comes from biblical wisdom.  As the Apostle James once put it, we must be doers of the Word and not hearers only.
 
            When wisdom is realized, there is learning through both head and hands.  The book of Proverbs is perhaps the best place to begin constructing a life of wisdom.  Reading a chapter a day for one month will get you through the entire book.  Make a wise plan to carefully go through Proverbs sometime this spring or summer.  You will be very glad you did.
 

 

            Wise God, I love wisdom.  I desire it more than money, fame, or power.  Help me to use biblical common sense and learn the ways of Jesus through the enablement of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Ephesians 4:1-6

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


             “I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:  one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (NAB).
             The whole unity thing is quite important to God.  It isn’t just an ancillary or side issue to the real work of the church and the Christian life; it is very much at the center of Christianity.  Christians have been fashioned through the Holy Spirit into a single harmonious religious community of redeemed people, called to exemplify a counter-cultural presence in the world.  There is a solid theological reason for this:  God is one.  Just as the triune God exists as one deity in three persons, so the church is to reflect God’s image through its unified oneness.
             Although unity has been accomplished through the finished work of Jesus on the cross, the practical implications must be daily worked out.  This is why we are to strive, or to put significant effort, into having unity.  Simply getting along but harboring animosity is not unity.  Because two people are not at each other’s throats does not mean there is peaceful unity.  Unity only occurs when the Body of Christ works together in its diverse gifts toward a common goal of knowing Christ and making him known.  
             Yesterday, I laid down the challenge of praying chapter one’s prayer daily for two weeks – doing it with another person in the church will bring about a common unity of purpose, mind, and heart.  If there is to be church revitalization, personal renewal, and national revival, it will begin in the prayer rooms of unified believers.
             Blessed Holy Trinity, the God whom I serve, may your church on earth be one as you are one.  I pray our unity of love and purpose will transform individuals, churches, organizations, systems, and the entire world for the glory of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.