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.

Colossians 1:15-23

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Jesus is King; and, we are not.  A simple statement; yet, not easily engrafted into life.  The original sin of Adam and Even was rebellion – to break the bonds of loving authority that God provided for them.  We (especially us Americans) have this nasty anti-authoritarian strain that runs rather deep in us.  As a child, when my middle daughter was grappling with the implications of faith in Christ, she once blurted out an honest cry that we all can resonate with: “I just don’t want another person in my life telling me what to do!”  Indeed, Jesus is King; we are not.
 
            The New Testament lesson for today is rich with the pre-eminence and lordship of Jesus Christ.  By Jesus all things were created through him and for him.  Everything in all creation is held together by Jesus.  He is the head of the church.  In Jesus complete divinity exists and reigns.  Jesus made peace through the cross because he had the authority and the qualifications to do so.  Broken relationships and proper lines of authority are now restored and redeemed in Christ.
 
            We all can relate to indulging an illusion that we are in control and dictate the course of our lives.  But Jesus is Sovereign, and this is a good thing.  It is good because only in Christ can we find reconciliation and purity of life.  A healthy practice for Christians is to kneel.  I realize some Christian traditions do it as a part of their worship, and some do not.  Yet, bowing, even prostrating oneself (if you are physically able!) can be a powerful symbol of the heart’s desire and disposition to submit to the lordship and authority of Jesus Christ.  Crawling out of bed in the morning onto one’s knees and beginning the day looking to live into the will of God, and ending the day in the same manner, are a practical means of remembering who Jesus is and who we are.
            Sovereign God, in your mercy you have sent your Son, the Lord Jesus, who has brought reconciliation to a once broken relationship.  I bow before you in obedience, submission, and worship.  Let me live a cross-shaped life through enjoying the peace you have given me in Christ.  Amen.

2 Samuel 6:16-23

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            King David had one whopper of a worship procession when he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.  It was a great celebration filled with praise, generosity, and dancing.  Yet, David’s wife, Michal, was a by-stander to the entire event.  She critically watched the worship service from afar and judged her husband for his part in it.  Furthermore, Michal let David know it when he got home.  But David was undaunted.  He was committed to the worship of his God.  The story finishes with a cryptic note on Michal, that she had no children to the day of her death.  This is meant to convey both the physical reality of barrenness, and the sad fact that she was spiritually barren, bereft of the ability to praise the One true God.
 
            Far too many persons take the posture of Michal when it comes to worship.  They sit and watch, critically nit-picking the worship leader, the pastor, and all that takes place.  The problem, however, may not be the worship; it is perhaps more likely that there is a barrenness of soul preventing the person from genuine and passionate worship of God.
 
            We all have damaged souls simply from living in a broken world.  Worship can be a healing activity.  But it needs to be entered into.  There must be participation.  The wounds of the inner person will cause unhealthy patterns of criticism and bitterness unless they are addressed through the pilgrimage of a worshipful procession.  The most difficult journey of all is not an outward trip to another place; the greatest journey is to bravely enter the inner labyrinth of the soul and confront the shadows where old hurts hold onto with tenacity.  This is where worship begins.
            Great God Almighty, you are worthy to be praised.  Give me the courage to worship with abandon and be unconcerned with what others might think about it, so that I can be healed within and be generous without hindrance.  May Jesus Christ be praised.  Amen.

God Cares About Worship

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            The presence of God is both comforting and dangerous.  His holiness is like a fire, giving us light and warmth; but get too close to the flame and you will get burned, even destroyed.  The following statement should perhaps be obvious, but nevertheless needs to be said explicitly:  We as the church of Jesus Christ do not get to tell God what we are to be doing and how to go about it.  We have collective promises and blessings given to us as God’s people; but at the same time we have individual responsibilities to know the will of God and do it in the way he prescribes to do it (see 2 Samuel 6).
 
            God cares about his worship.  If we worship any old way we want without consideration of how God wants it done, or if we just critically watch worship without engaging in it, then the only thing we have to anticipate is the displeasure, even the judgment of God.  But if we will pay attention to God and his Word and are careful to do what God wants in the way he wants it done, then we will enjoy his divine stamp of approval.
 
            The church is first and foremost a worshiping community of redeemed persons through the blood of Christ, which are given to the world in order to glorify God before them.  1 Chronicles 16 gives an account of David’s worship service in bringing the ark to Jerusalem, which included a psalm of thanksgiving to God that he wrote himself to be sung by Asaph and his associates, the worship leaders.  Here is part of that psalm:
 
Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.  Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.  For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.  For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.  Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place.  Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength, ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.  Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness (1 Chronicles 16:23-29).
 
After the worship service, after the psalm had been sung by Asaph and the singers, the text says that all the people said ‘Amen’ and ‘Praise the LORD. But this was not the end.
 
            It goes on to say: David left Asaph and his associates before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister there regularly, according to each day’s requirements.  He also left Obed-Edom and his sixty-eight associates to minister with them….  David left Zakok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD to present burnt offerings to the LORD regularly, morning and evening.  And the text goes on to name the people who would be in charge of the musical instruments.
 
            Here’s the deal:  David instituted that in Israel the worship of God was to take place every day – not just one day a week.  What is more, David hired hundreds of musicians, singers, and worship leaders to minister before the Lord every single day, twice a day.  Most American Christians today do not even worship every Sunday, let alone every day.  While almost 40% attend church, on any given Sunday, only 17% of Americans are actually in church on Sunday.  That means that not only are fewer people worshiping together, the ones that do are doing it more infrequently.  American Christians might bemoan the morality and lack of spirituality in our nation, but when we as God’s people have no intention of being a worshiping community, then, we have nowhere else to look but our own individual lives and our own local church.  What is more, every conceivable instrument and voice was used to praise God in worship.  New songs were written continually by David, and arranged by Asaph, the lead worship person. 
 

 

While we have our plans and conceive of our ideas for our lives, God is waiting for us to worship him each and every day.  We might think of spending some time each morning when we arise, and each evening at bedtime, in worship doing the following spiritual practices, even if in brief:  remembering God, and who we are; singing to him; confessing sin; claiming forgiveness; reading the Word of God; and, prayer.  If we all devoted ourselves to worship in such a way, then we might begin to imagine God opening to us blessing upon blessing.

Numbers 10:11-36

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            These verses from the book of Numbers might, at first glance, seem irrelevant to contemporary worshipers of God.  Numbers matter-of-factly informs us of how the ancient Israelites set out in the desert by stages according to their respective tribes and how they proceeded when stopping their sojourns.  Yet, if we take the time to engage in pilgrimage with the Israelites, we observe the heart of worship and life for God’s people.
 
            The tabernacle, that is, the ark of the covenant with its accompanying tent and holy articles, was the primary symbol for Israel of God’s presence.  As such, the tabernacle was at the actual center of Israelite life, both physically and spiritually.  The tabernacle would leave first and be set up by the tribe of Levites before the other tribes came and encamped around it.
 
            Observing this constant ancient ritual in the desert begs several questions for us today:  Is God at the center of our life and worship?  Or, do we expect him to come and bless our already camped out thoughts, ideas, and practices?  If God is truly at the center of all we do, what is the evidence that this is so?  Are we patient to wait for God’s leading to present itself?  Or, do we act and then seek God to give his stamp of approval over it?  The wise believer will allow God to set the agenda and pace of our life journey, and not the other way around.
            Sovereign God, you always lead in a way that is good, just, and right.  Help me to slow down long enough to enter into the rest and connection with your will that I so desperately need through Jesus my Lord.  Amen.