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.

Ascension of the Lord

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            Jesus was taken up to heaven.  Christians label this significant event as the “Ascension of the Lord.”  It is hugely important for followers of Jesus because it means that Christ is now presently sitting at God’s right hand offering continual prayers on our behalf to the Father.  We have an advocate, a champion who has gone before us and secured deliverance from sin, death, and hell.  This is no small thing.  On top of it all, Christ’s ascension means that Jesus is the universal ruler; he commands a kingdom which will never end.  This is no small deal.
 
            So, why does a day set aside on the Christian Calendar celebrating the Lord’s mighty and redemptive ascension over all creation, done for us, garner such little attention from the church?  Perhaps the clue is the disciples’ response when Jesus ascended.  “’The Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power.  Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.’  After Jesus had said this and while they were watching, he was taken up into a cloud.  They could not see him, but as he went up, they looking up into the sky.  Suddenly two men dressed in white clothes were standing there beside them.  They said, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here and looking up into the sky?  Jesus has been taken to heaven.  But he will come back in the same way that you have seen him go’” (Acts 1:8-11).
 
            The picture that Luke paints for us in the account of our Lord’s ascension is a group of guys looking up into the sky slack-jawed and shoulders hunched.  It took a couple of angels to come along and, in essence, ask them what in the world they were doing just standing there.  Now is not the time to stand and gawk at the clouds.  Jesus will come back when he comes back; you aren’t going to know when.  So, now is the time to get busy with what Jesus just told you two minutes ago to do:  Tell everyone about me.
 
            The Ascension of the Lord is a deeply theological event; it is freighted with major implications for our prayer lives; and, it means that Christ is the King to whom we must obey.  And he is coming again.  In the meantime, there is to be no cloud-gawking.  There is to be world evangelization.  There is to be talking to not just a person or two here or there, a once-in-a-while when the feeling of guilt strikes me and I puke out the gospel of Jesus on some poor unsuspecting pagan because this is what I should be doing.  No, rather it is to be such a well-developed and well-cultivated connection with Jesus that what (super)naturally comes out of our mouths is the gracious good news that Christ died, rose from death, and ascended to heaven for mine and your forgiveness of sins and a new clean slate on life.
 
            The church is not to be found standing in the parking lot gawking at the clouds at the Lord’s return.  They are not to be looking up into the sky having those destructive parking lot discussions after a church meeting.  The church is not to be in some earthly holding tank with stained glass windows just waiting for Jesus to come back and beat up everyone we don’t like and take us to heaven.  Rather, we are to be telling everyone about Jesus.
 
            We are Christ’s church.  The Ascension of the Lord means we are God’s people blessed with salvation from sin, confident in the hope of ultimate deliverance, and seeking to realize all of creation coming under the rule and reign of the Lord Jesus.  The Heidelberg Catechism, question and answer 49, says:
 
How does Christ’s ascension to heaven benefit us?
 
First, he is our advocate
            in heaven
            in the presence of his Father.
Second, we have our own flesh in heaven
            as a sure pledge that Christ our head
            will also take us, his members,
            up to himself.
Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth
            as a corresponding pledge.
            By the Spirit’s power
                        we seek not earthly things
                        but the things above, where Christ is,
                                    sitting at God’s right hand.

 

Amen. 

Acts 1:1-11

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            This is Ascension Day.  It is the fortieth day after Easter, and marks the time when Jesus was taken up to heaven right in front of his disciples’ eyes.  It is rather unfortunate that Christ’s ascension often gets overlooked.  When getting into the book of Acts, this redemptive event of Jesus may get quickly passed over to get to the supposedly juicier parts of thousands being converted and apostolic miracles taking place.
 
            But this Christ event is loaded with significance on its own merits.  Since Christ has ascended and is sitting at the right hand of the Father, he intercedes for us and prays on our behalf for us.  The ascension reminds us of the hope that we, too, will experience bodily resurrection.  Christ’s ascension means that he is the sovereign ruler who reigns in heaven.  Unpacking each of these grand theological truths is a treasure trove of help for the contemporary believer.
 
            So, today, let us remember the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us keep in mind and not forget that since Jesus is our risen and ascended Lord, we no longer have to fear or be controlled by sin, death, and hell.  Let us retain the memory of Jesus ascending in the clouds so that we will continually anticipate his coming again by telling everyone about him in the power of the Holy Spirit.
 

Lord Jesus, you are the crucified, risen and ascended King of the universe.  I humbly submit to your benevolent and merciful rule and pray that many will have the spiritual eyes to see your truth and reality.  Amen.

2 Chronicles 34:20-33

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Today’s Old Testament lesson is both very sad and quite joyful, all at the same time.  When God’s temple was undergoing repairs, the Book of the Law was found.  What is sad is that it was lost to begin with.  Somewhere along the line a king, a priest, some people, they all just plain forgot about God’s Word to them.  But what is joyful about it is that King Josiah had God’s Word read to him and he and his officials responded by promising “to faithfully obey the LORD and to follow his laws and teachings that were written in the book.”  What is more, Josiah asked the Israelites to make that same promise.
 
            It is likely that you are reading this because you are a person committed to listening to God’s Word.  It is likely that you don’t need to go on an archaeological dig inside your own house in order to find an old dusty Bible to read.  God’s Word is important enough to you to read and obey.  So, maybe you need to take the next step, like Josiah of old, to not only listen and obey yourself, but to ask and invite others to make the same promise.
 
            You and I both know that Bible reading often does not take place within the homes and even the churches of many confessing believers in Jesus.  Take the next step.  Invite others to read with you.  Ask your fellow Christians to read Scripture, make observations about it, apply it to their lives, and base prayers upon it.  Ask them to make the same promise that you have made to God:  to listen to God’s Word and do what it says.
 

 

            Patient God, you continue to wait for people to read your Word and obey it.  May I not simply attend to your laws in isolation from others, but freely ask others to make the same promise I have:  to obey Jesus Christ, my Lord by living and loving like him in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Psalm 93

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
Our Lord, you are King!
Majesty and power
are your royal robes.
You put the world in place,
and it will never be moved.
2     You have always ruled,
and you are eternal.
3 The ocean is roaring, Lord!
The sea is pounding hard.
4 Its mighty waves are majestic,
but you are more majestic,
and you rule over all.
5 Your decisions are firm,
and your temple will always
be beautiful and holy. (CEV)
 
            Soon it will be the Ascension of our Lord (Thursday) and the church will celebrate the grand redemptive event of Jesus ascending to heaven from earth after his resurrection.  So, then, today’s psalm is quite apropos to the season.  Jesus is our King.  Since Christ is the rightful ruler of the universe, nothing will move him; he will not be swayed by any earthly power of humanity or of nature.  When God decrees something, it will happen.
 
            Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  His kingdom is eternal.  His grace is limitless.  His decisions cannot be compromised.  Let us praise God with heartfelt thanksgiving because of his character, power, and wisdom.  We can never be reminded too much that God is in control and mightier than anything in heaven or on earth.  Let’s put today’s worries and situations in their proper perspective in light of Christ’s benevolent rule.
 

 

            Mighty God, you rule the nations and everything in all creation.  You are beautiful and holy and I worship you.  Help me to always put my life’s circumstances in your hands so that I might confidently trust in your power to save, heal, and thrive.  Amen.