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.

Psalm 80:1-7

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


            Military defeat had come to the Israelites and they were in grief.  This psalm of lament is a prayer longing for God to come and restore Israel, to no longer look upon them with anger.  The people realized through their vulnerability that they needed God.  It is the Lord who would bring a revitalized nation.  “Stir up your power, and come to save us.  O God, restore us; light up your face and we shall be saved.”
             In an age when we have instant access to information occurring all over the world, it can be overwhelming.  Wars, famine, terrorism, displaced people, refugees fleeing and just trying to survive, women and children in danger, and governments only concerned with holding onto control – all these things (not to mention our personal challenges and adversity) lead us to cry out along with the ancient Israelites:  “Stir up your power, and come to save us.”
             Often in the midst of awful circumstances and emotional pain it is hard to focus with concentrated prayer.  This is where simple short prayers, breath prayers, can help.  Throughout the day we can utter “stir up your power, O God; come to save us.”  The intention of saying it over and over is not to get God’s attention; we already have it.  No, the purpose is to connect with the God who can truly deliver.  It is to be in constant touch with the One who can ultimately restore, renew, revitalize, and reform the world with justice and righteousness.  It is to be longing for the flourishing of the earth and its inhabitants again, and to enjoy walking with God in the garden of fellowship, peace, and goodwill.  Even so, come Lord Jesus.
             Mighty God, as I anticipate the coming of your Son, may your power be active so that there will a restoration of peace, security, and prosperity for all.  To the glory of Jesus, I pray.  Amen.

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All?

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
It was the prophet Micah who prophesied that the Messiah would come from the small village of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2-5).  In Micah’s day there was no “peace on earth, goodwill to all.”  It helps to have some historical context in order to understand and appreciate the promise of God.
 
            Ever since the time of Solomon the kingdom was divided between north and south:  the northern kingdom of Israel with Samaria as its capital; and, the southern kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem as its capital.  In the 8th century B.C. the powerful Assyrian Empire conquered the northern kingdom of Israel.  They deported many of the Israelites and re-populated the cities with their own people.  This is why the Jews in Jesus’ day looked down on Samaritans.  They pejoratively viewed them as “half-breeds” who were a mix of Jewish and Assyrian descent.
 
            The Assyrian takeover of Israel not only left the northern kingdom in shambles but had a large impact on the southern kingdom of Judah.  All of Judah and Jerusalem were in extreme duress.  Even though Judah had not been conquered and was intact, they were still forced to pay tribute to the Assyrians in order to keep them at bay.  The problem became even more exacerbated because the leadership of Judah wanted to maintain their power and lifestyle.  They expected the poor to shoulder the burden of the tribute to the Assyrians.
 
            In addition, thousands of refugees from Israel were flooding into Judah and Jerusalem.  They had lost their homes, their land, and had nothing but their lives.  So, the already scant resources in Judah were pushed to the brink.  Judah was a mess.  Those in authority and power, the ones with the resources that could make something of a difference, ended up taking advantage of the situation by buying fields and land at a fraction of its worth because people were just trying to survive.  In some cases the leadership leveraged their power by pushing people off their land and taking it over.  It was anything but a time of security, peace, and actions of goodwill.
 
            Into this terrible situation of hardship and survival Micah’s message was that a new kind of leader will come.  He will have humble origins, just like the common oppressed people of Judah.  The refugees, the displaced farmers, and the poor will have a champion.  He will feed them and shepherd them, leading them to green pastures.  This leader will serve the people instead of the people serving the leader.
 
            As Christians, we understand this prophecy to speak of our Messiah Jesus.  This is why we look at Scriptures like this one during the season of Advent.  Just as the ancient Jews needed hope and the promise of a different ruler, so today we, too, need hope and the anticipation of the leader who will come again with an agenda using power for security, peace, and goodwill.
 
            Jesus is the promised one to come.  His exercise of leadership and power is different than earthly politicians and officials.  Israel and Judah had been so filled with bad kings and self-serving leadership over the centuries that Christ’s disciples could barely conceive of a different kind of rule.  This is why Jesus called his disciples together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-43).
 

 

            The greatest Christmas gift we can give this season is the gift of our lives to Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah.  When we see that God always keeps his promises; when we gain the understanding that Jesus is the fulfillment of all those good promises; and, when we receive the gift of the Spirit, it is not a duty but a delight to give ourselves to the triune God who has orchestrated salvation for us.  Since Jesus loves and serves us, it is a small thing for us to give ourselves to him in return.  May this be the reason for your joy, peace, and goodwill this season, to the glory of God.

Hebrews 10:32-39

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


             I am something of a wordsmith who deals in language and stringing sentences together every day.  There are words in English that have become lost over the decades.  Some of them need to be recovered because, along with the word, the idea has become lost, as well.  One of those words is “pusillanimous.”  It means to have a cowardly spirit, or, more literally, it is a shrinking of the soul.  
             Few of us look upon humanity in this day and age as having souls which are flexible (if we believe people have souls at all).  The human soul is continually either in a state of enlarging or shrinking.  The soul is not a static thing; the inner workings of a person are always in flux.  The Christians for whom the author of Hebrews was addressing had begun their Christian lives with souls that grew and flourished.  But gradually, over time, they did not exercise faith on a continual basis, and they became pusillanimous – their souls began to shrink.  The author was so concerned for them that he realized they could shrink to the point of not enduring to the end and would experience a wholesale failure of faith.
             Faith is like the barbells of our Christian bodybuilding.  Unless we consistently and persistently use faith, our Christian souls will slowly but surely begin to grow small, to shrink.  A profound lack of courage, a pusillanimous spirit, will always be the result when in circumstances which require faith – unless we are on a daily regimen of spiritual exercise to expand the capacity of our souls.
             In a time when we are aghast at the soul-less actions of terrorists, mass killers, and cyber-bullies, we must realize that the inner workings of such persons have resulted in a terrible shrinkage of soul.  If we have such a small soul is it any wonder that evil actions are not far behind?  Daily altruistic actions of faith will counter such withering insides and expand the inner person so that love becomes the default response in each and every situation.
             Mighty God, you have created me in your image and likeness, unique among all your creatures.  Strengthen my inner person and expand my soul so that it may contain a greater capacity for faith, endurance, and love through Jesus Christ, my Lord.  Amen.

Hebrews 10:10-18

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
            As I sit here at my computer easily keyboarding my thoughts, it is almost inconceivable to me that I made it through my undergraduate college days in the early 1980s with a manual typewriter and notetaking with the old-fashioned pen and spiral notebook.  No cell phone, no tablet, no electronic devices aiding me through my education.  Typewriters are now obsolete, along with corded telephones and wringer washers.
 
            But even more incredible is the complete replacement of an old mundane system of ritual sacrifice to a religion of the heart in which God would remember people’s sins no more.  This is such a radical change that it would be like having self-cleaning dishes or total speech-to-text “writing” of “papers.”  It is much more than a labor-saving device; it is a completely different system that leaves the old system obsolete forever.  That is what Jesus Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice did on our behalf.
 
            We live in a New Covenant era in which God has put his laws on our hearts and written them on our minds.  No typewriter, no computer, no keyboard necessary because the blood of Christ has introduced a seminal change in how we relate to God.  There is now a thorough forgiveness that no longer requires any labor, ritual, or work.  Indeed, it is finished.  Now, we live into the new reality provided for us.  It is an era of great peace, joy, and goodwill.  It is so good that it would be absolutely ridiculous to go back to the old way.
 
            Slow down enough in this season to connect or re-connect with the most wonderful of truths:  Jesus Christ came to save sinners. 
 

 

            Saving God, you have completely taken care of the sin issue once and for all through the blood of your Son.  Forgive me for my predilection to retreat into old obsolete ways of trying to earn peace and joy, instead of adopting the new, which sometimes seems almost too good to be true.  Thank you for deliverance and new life in Jesus Christ.  Amen.