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 12:29-32

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


            We seek what we desire.  If we seek the kingdom of God, we will pursue the Lord Jesus and aim our love toward knowing him.  But if we seek materialism, wealth, and the accumulation of stuff we will never have enough because worry and fear shall always overwhelm the voice of God’s kingdom.  I make it sound easy, as if the choice were so clear.  On one level it is, but, like most things, it is complicated because we are all a weird hybrid of competing loves and desires.
             So, let’s make a few distinctions that might help us clarify our kingdom calling.  Materialism is not the same thing as hard work.  Materialism is a shield we lug around to protect us from failure and poverty; hard work is about healthy achievement and proper patient growth of assets.  Materialism puts us on a performance treadmill, tied to our self-worth; hard work seeks to improve and is satisfied with a job well done.  Materialism has a never-ending quest for security and protection, but hard work brings gratitude and joy.
             The pursuit of wealth seeks to avoid the criticism of others, seeks their approval, and wrongly believes that money will take away feelings of hurt, pain, and discomfort.  But seeking God’s kingdom as the passionate priority of our lives is the true path of taking away fear and worry.  Any worldly fool can make money; but only the wise and righteous person is able to manage resources in a way that glorifies God, builds up the church, and blesses others.  And it all begins with knowing the difference between depending on God versus depending on self.
             Merciful God, thank you for giving me everything I need for life and godliness in this present world.  Forgive me for every doubting your goodness and ability to provide for me.  Let my life bless the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Psalm 23

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            This is one of those days where sacred time needs to break into secular time and transform it.  April 15, as all Americans are quite aware, is tax day.  Those procrastinating souls who have hoped for the return of the Lord before this date are now faced with the reality of secular time.  But in this sacred season of Eastertide, a focus on new life can bring a transformation from fear to faith, from fretting to resting.  Psalm 23 is just the right message for this time.  Yet, because of its familiarity, we might only associate it with funerals and miss its relevance for now.  So, the following is my contemporized version of this most famous of psalms:
Jesus is my pastor, and I lack absolutely nothing because of it.
My merciful overseer is watching me while I rest secure on a nice soft bed of grace;
             he leads me into an unhurried life; he is thawing out my cold anxious soul.
He leads me in all the right ways for the sake of his great name.
Even though I get lost and find myself in a dark alley,
             I really have no fear of evil;
for I know God is with me,
             his Word and Sacrament – they are sufficient to comfort me.
I have a big ol’ appetite and hunger for you, God,
             and you satisfy it,
             even though I have enemies within arm’s length;
you encourage my mind with joyous thoughts,
             so that my heart overflows with hope.
I am quite sure that goodness and mercy will follow me for a lifetime,
             and I will live in peace despite any adverse circumstances my whole life long.

Ezekiel 11:1-25

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            Ezekiel is one of those Old Testament prophets that thoroughly uncovered the true state of the heart.  Through a series of visions given to Ezekiel for the Israelite exiles, one of the main messages of the prophet is that God would give them a new heart.  “I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them.  I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them.  And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.”
 
            The human heart is fallen, often dark with evil shadows of pride and selfishness.  At best, the heart apart from God contains a miniscule vestige of its ancient Creator’s image; at worst, the heart is desperately wicked and on a highway to hell.  The issue, then, is whether the heart only needs to be modified, or whether we need a complete heart transplant.  The prophet makes it quite clear which option must be done.
 
            Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross so that we could be transformed into new people.  He did not come to tweek a few things in your life and improve it – he came to change and transform your heart.  If all we needed was a motivational speaker who would inspire our hearts to live better and reach our personal goals, then we would have not needed an incarnation, a crucifixion, a resurrection, and ascension.  Jesus is the risen Lord and Savior who replaces our hard stubborn hearts with a soft new heart of flesh.  We need transformation of life, not life modification.
 

 

            Awesome God, you have graciously and surgically removed my old heart bound for destruction and replaced it with a new heart oriented toward living and loving like the Lord Jesus.  May my heart always be inclined to the doing of your will, in the power of your Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Luke 5:1-11

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            One of the most fundamental characteristics of God is that he is generous.  God’s benevolent generosity defines his basic stance toward humanity.  This may not seem overly remarkable with only a cursory thought about God.  Yet, when the infinite holiness of God intersects with the prideful arrogance of sinful people, gracious generosity is the quite unpredictable result.
 
            On one occasion, Peter was going about his business fishing in the Sea of Galilee.  Having not yet encountered Jesus, Peter met him and came under his teaching.  After Jesus was finished speaking, he told Peter to put the boat out and cast his nets.  Peter, an experienced fisherman and knowledgeable about the water, knew that he would not catch anything.  But, out of deference to Christ, he did so, anyway.  The result was such a large catch of fish that the nets nearly broke from the weight.
 
            Peter’s response is instructive.  He fell at the feet of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”  Peter understood that he had no faith in Jesus.  He rightly discerned that he did not deserve such generosity from Jesus, an overflowing abundance that was given to him despite his lack of belief.  In the face of such grace, in the vortex of an incredible mercy, having seen the generosity of God directed squarely at him, Peter left it all behind in order to follow Jesus.
 
            Jesus does not strong-arm us into faith.  His tactics do not involve manipulation through guilt, or mind-twisting others through shaming them.  Instead, God is beautifully and simply himself:  showing grace and generosity in places where one would least expect to find it.  When confronted with such love, what would you do?
 

 

            Gracious God, you sent your Son to me even though I was neither looking for him nor expecting anything from him.  Thank you for breaking-in to my life so that I could break-out for you with glory, honor, and praise.  Amen.