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.

Exodus 5:10-23

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


             It was God who called to Moses out of the burning bush.  It was God who told Moses to go to Egypt because he heard the groaning of the Israelites in their slavery.  It was God who promised Moses that he would deliver the people from their awful bondage.  But the promised vision of release from captivity ran into the harsh buzz-saw of reality.  Moses did exactly what God told him to do with the result that Pharaoh forced the Israelite slaves to make bricks without being supplied with the straw to do it.  Now the people’s situation is even worse than it was before Moses showed up on the scene.  What’s up with that!?
             Since we know the end to the story, we might understand where all of this was going.  But when we put ourselves in the sandals of Moses, it is anything but clear about what was happening.  It is quite understandable that Moses questioned God:  “LORD, why have you treated this people badly? And why did you send me?  From the time I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has treated this people badly, and you have done nothing to rescue your people.”  
             There have been many times in my life when I have questioned whether I was really sent by God to be a certain place or to do a certain thing.  Maybe I didn’t really hear God.  Maybe it was my own voice in my head.  Maybe it was an emotional decision.  But there is something we must all realize:  Just because things go from bad to worse does not necessarily mean God isn’t in the thing.  We are not always, even usually, privy to the mind of God in the big picture of what he is doing.  In the midst of trouble we might think God is not at work, not paying attention, and slow to act.  Yet, God knows exactly what he is doing and sometimes we need to discern that things will get worse before they will get better.
             Wise God, I trust you that you know what you are doing even though I don’t see what in the world is going on.  Help me to see all things from your perspective so that I might have the wisdom to move forward in faith and patience.  I’m out on a limb for you; please do not let it break!  Amen.

Psalm 51:1-17

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            Today is Ash Wednesday, the first of forty days in Lent (six weeks) on the Christian Calendar which is designed to remind us of our mortality, God’s grace, and the great need for repentance and faith in Jesus.  There is perhaps no better place in Scripture to go than this psalm of David.  It is the consummate prayer of confession and repentance.
 
            If we struggle to know how to respond to our sin when we become aware of it, then this psalm is meant for us.  We are to use it and adopt it as our own.  The words of Holy Scripture are not simply ancient texts for a bygone era; they are living words to be read, prayed, meditated upon, memorized, and engrafted into the soul.  “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.”  Notice that David asked for mercy based upon God’s character, and not on the ground of the quality or intensity of his confession.
 
            If we trust only in our hearts, then our hearts will eventually condemn us because they can be desperately wicked.  But if we throw ourselves headlong into the vast ocean of God’s mercy, then we shall receive forgiveness of sins and assurance of pardon because God’s steadfast love never changes.  Ashes upon the forehead today are to be a reminder of our frailty and propensity toward sin; they are a symbol of repentance and desire for mercy.  Of all days, today is the day to set aside the pride of achievement and the pretense of appearing to have it all together, and humbly submit to God in repentance and faith.
 

 

            Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.  In Jesus’ Name I pray.  Amen.

Ash Wednesday

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
Each year Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Christian season of Lent, a six week (40 day) period that climaxes in Holy Week and the great celebration of Easter Sunday.  These weeks on the Christian calendar are meant to remind us of a very important truth:  the grace of God in Christ forgives us of all our sins, and it came at great cost; there must be suffering before glory. 
 
            It is vital for us to never forget all God’s work for us as individuals – forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, compassion, and satisfaction.  This all has its fulfillment, for the Christian, in Jesus who accomplished this through his cross and resurrection.  It is by his stripes that we are healed; it is through his suffering that there is glory and praise.  Twenty-one years ago at this time of year, my wife was on total bed rest due to her pregnancy with our youngest daughter.  Having gone into labor only three months into her pregnancy, she was immediately confined to staying flat on her back for four months.  We lived every one of those days with the very real possibility of losing a child, having been told by doctors that we needed to brace for the worse, since our unborn girl was only given a 17% chance of making it to the outside world alive.
 
            In a very real sense my wife had to die to herself so that our daughter might live; and, the result of her months of suffering led to the glory of a beautiful and healthy baby girl.  We will not forget all of God’s benefits toward us, redeeming our suffering and replacing it with great joy.  Great praise arises out of great suffering.
 
            God remembers that we are dust, that we are mortal humans.  Sometimes we lose sight of our mortality.  We do not remember that death awaits us and that in some ways a good life is really preparing for a good death.  I once read that each morning a group of monks, when walking to breakfast, take one shovel-full of dirt and remove it from their potential graves.  The younger monks have shallow graves, and the older monks must take the time to get down into their graves and climb back out.  It is a daily reminder that life is to be lived to the full because it will not last.   God sees our mortality and is slow to anger, choosing to abound in love and compassion.  He acts by removing our transgressions completely, even though we do not deserve it.  Some day we will all die, but God’s love will still be here because God’s love is permanent.
 
In order to remember our mortality, and to offer our lives as a sacrifice of praise, in this season of Lent we are encouraged to prepare for the glory of the resurrection by feeling something of the suffering, however small it is, of our Lord Jesus.  In doing so, it is to be a daily reminder that Jesus gave his life for us so that we might have life.  The ash applied to the forehead on this day is symbolic of the thing or things that we are giving up.  Perhaps time is an idol for you; it is the thing precious to you and you want to hold on to it and serve it.  Perhaps there are possessions that you grasp and hold onto in such a way that you can’t imagine living without that certain thing.  Maybe there is an activity that you enjoy to the point of allowing that certain thing to shape and center your day.  This is the time to identify those things, and to make a choice to fast, to abstain from that thing or activity in order to remember Jesus and to worship him only.
 

 

The ministry of the church is to assist us in being aware of the movements, rhythms, and seasons of Christian time.  Now is the time of repentance.  Today is the day to be reminded of our sin and mortality, and God’s grace and immortality.  Let us experience death so that we will experience life.

Ezekiel 1:1-2:1

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            If anyone ever tells you they are certain about everything in the book of Ezekiel, don’t believe them.  This chapter and initial vision of God seen by Ezekiel is an incredible view.  It almost defies description.  In fact, it does.  It is as if Ezekiel was trying to somehow communicate with the limitation of words exactly what he saw. 
 
            But even though we might not understand or comprehend everything in this vision does not mean we can lose sight of the big picture of what was happening.  Ezekiel got a glimpse of God in his glory, which would explain why it is such a mysterious vision.  Reading over the vision slowly, one can gain the sense of immensity, hugeness, grandeur, and awesome glory.  The Hebrew word “glory” literally means “heavy.”  In other words, God is so large, bright, and holy that he carries a great deal of weight.  As we used to say back in the ‘70’s: “Heavy, man, heavy!”
 
            This was much more than just a neat experience for Ezekiel.  It completely had him undone.  Ezekiel fell on his face because that is about all one can do when encountering such an incredible appearance.  Sneaking a peek of God in his glorious splendor is an awesome sight.  So, when God speaks from the place of his glory, there is nothing to do but listen and obey.
 
            Meeting God, this same God whom Ezekiel encountered, is no small thing.  When we truly catch a glimpse of this holy God, it will forever change us – and this is a good thing.  If we want to hear the call of God upon our lives we need to see God’s glory, otherwise we can too quickly forget him and neglect doing what he says.  May the Lord be gracious in allowing you a glance into his throne room – and may you never be the same again because of it.
 

 

            Glorious God, you carry such great weight that all creation bows to your every word and each move.  I bow before you, and I will stand up so that I might hear what you have to say to me.  Speak, Lord, for I am listening to you.  Amen.