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 119:113-128

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Some people try to avoid sin.  Others sin with impunity.  Most try to steer clear of the biggie sins while indulging in so-called minor ones.  Sin is messy business.  But no matter the form or the attempt at dealing with or without sin, the bottom line is that we all sin because we like it.  We might not like the consequences of sin, but it tastes good while doing it.
 
            That is why we need a complete re-orienting of our hearts to hate every way that is contrary to God.  The psalmist proclaimed: “I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way.”  If we sin because we like it, the way to avoid sin is to learn to hate it – to loathe it so badly that it is like a nasty stench in our nostrils.  Hating sin comes from the acquired taste of loving God’s commandments.  When we come around to cherish and desire God’s Word above everything else, then sin gradually becomes so odious to us that we want nothing to do with it.
 
            The reason the psalmist could proclaim such an extended love song to the commands of God is that he tasted how good they were.  And it caused him to forsake every false path to human enjoyment.  The reason I constantly encourage myself and others to read Scripture every single day with a solid plan is that it really does have the power to change our taste buds.  Sustained, consistent, daily eating of the psalms will teach us to want God and his ways while forsaking the dark path of insolence and oppression.
            God Almighty, I pray that you will deal with me according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes.  I am your servant; give me understanding so that I might know and live by your commands and forsake the evil of the world.  Amen.

1 Samuel 18:6-30

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Anxiety tends to warp our thinking.  Maybe that statement seems a bit harsh.  After all, everyone is anxious at some time or another.  Anxiety is part and parcel of the human experience; it is something we all have in common.  However, when anxiety takes root in the heart it bears the fruit of unholy fear.  Today’s Old Testament story illustrates the insecurity and irrationality that an unchecked anxious heart can produce.
 
            King Saul was jealous of David’s success in battle.  Behind Saul’s anxiety was the concern that David was in the limelight.  It made Saul angry that David was getting all the attention.  Since he was the one in charge, Saul kept putting David in situations where it seemed that he would certainly fail.  But instead of failure, David had wild success in everything he did.  The text makes it clear that this was because “the LORD was with him.”  This made Saul even more anxious and afraid to the degree that he had malevolent motives behind everything he did toward David.  Even though it might not have looked evil on the outside, in reality the interior life of Saul was a mess, and it made him stupid.
 
            When Saul saw and knew that God was with David, it only reinforced his fear and led him down a dark path.  In contrast to Saul, David had a character developed in the lonely place of the pasture.  Genuine integrity is always forged in the secret place where no one is looking.  If we are only concerned for outward performance and/or perfectionism, all kinds of anxieties can develop and warp our sense of reality.  But if we pay attention to the inner person and allow God to create a deep faith within, then we can stand strong even when there are those who have ill will against us.
            Search me, O God, and know my heart.  Test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  Amen.

Confronting Courage

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
David and Goliath is one of the best known stories in the entire Bible (1 Samuel 17:1-50).  It is a classic example of what can be accomplished through one person who chooses to exercise the courage of faith.  This story has served as one of the greatest inspirations for believers down through the centuries to see God give victory to his people against dramatically overwhelming odds.  The New Testament exhorts us to live by faith; but this Old Testament chapter demonstrates to us what can happen when a person of faith chooses to put that faith into action.
 
            In the ancient world, a typical tactic of warfare was that, when the battle lines were drawn, a champion from each side was chosen and they would fight together, just the two of them, on behalf of the entire army.  It was a fight to the death, and the losing side would submit to the winning side.  This was a way of preventing the terrible carnage of war.  It also created some incredible individual champions.  A champion would be selected not only for his ability to fight, but also for his impressive stature so that there was an intimidation factor to it all.
 
            Saul was the King of Israel.  He was the logical choice for the combat since he was a head taller than all the other Israelites, and was a rather impressive looking soldier.  But compared to Goliath, Saul looked like a midget.  The intimidation factor worked.  Saul was downright afraid and was not about to put himself out there to face a giant.
 
            The explanation for the two contrasting responses between David and Saul toward Goliath is simple:  David was brave because of faith in God; Saul was fearful because he was not a man of faith in God.  The opposite of faith is not unbelief; it is fear.  As the muscle of faith grows and develops through trusting God in the daily stresses of life, fear begins to melt away.  The development of faith is a process, and it takes much time.  Through daily spiritual disciplines of Bible reading and prayer; and, putting what we read into practice; the faith muscle begins to grow large and strong so that God is preparing us to face down some pretty big giants.
 
            Men, in particular, need to confront two great fears:  being found inadequate; and, being controlled by another person or circumstance.  Those two fears were evident in Saul.  He felt inadequate because he compared himself to Goliath.  He felt controlled by the situation because the Philistines were picking a fight.  So, he did nothing.  There are many men who would rather do nothing in the church than be labelled as inadequate or controlled.
 
            David, in contrast, had practice at facing down foes, the bear and the lion, who threatened the sheep.  David was often out in the countryside all by himself as a shepherd, and his skills were developed in the place where no one was looking.  So, the way to deal with our development of faith is to be assertive in owning our relationship with God on a daily basis, as well as stepping out and serving the local church with courage. 
 
            It was not just Saul that was intimidated by Goliath; the entire army of Israel was hiding behind the battle lines cringing in fear.  In contrast, David discerned that there was no reason to avoid a big bullying blowhard.  It appears that David was the only person able to see Goliath as he really was:  a small person in comparison to a big God.  By faith, David understood that Goliath is no match for God.
 
            One person full of faith can accomplish the improbable while an army full of fear cannot accomplish a thing.  We might have a tendency to think that everything in church ministry has to be large with a big splash to it.  Somehow if we had an elaborate program with lots of people, then we could accomplish big things for God.  Yet, we need to step out in courageous faith.  Oftentimes we want an army of people because then we can still hide behind other people’s bravery while continuing to nurse our secret fears and insecurities. 
 

 

            Here is a reality check:  No other person can do our faith and relational work for us.  The Beaver Cleaver philosophy of life works something like this:  if I get in trouble or in a pickle of some sort, I’ll just ignore it and hope it goes away.  But Goliath is not going anywhere.  He will still be there tomorrow.  But if we will own the spiritual boot camp that God wants to put us through, then we will be prepared like David to take on the giant.  The greatest single element every church needs is people full of faith who have the wisdom to confront the true problems it faces.  Let that one sink into your forehead….

Renovation of the Heart

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            This past week, my wife and I enjoyed several days at our denomination’s annual meeting.  It was a wonderful time of worship, fellowship, making new friends, and discovering resources for church ministry.  Embedded into the time was, of course, the matter of business that goes into any kind of church or denominational apparatus.  At its best, church polity concerns itself with deep discernment, focused prayer, and intentional listening to God’s Spirit.  At its worst, church political structures clunk along with loud opinion-making, the dysfunction of personal agendas, and an inability to understand what others are truly saying.
 
            I appreciated the decorum of my denomination’s delegates and the leadership that went into ensuring that policy and procedure were carried out with decency and order.  Yet, as critically vital as church polity is in carrying out the business of the church, policies and procedures alone cannot bring a total transformation of life – only the Holy Spirit of God can do that.  As I sit and write today, a church shooting in South Carolina last night took the lives of nine black parishioners.  It seems clear that the tragedy was racially motivated.  Here is the point I am making:  even though an Emancipation Proclamation was passed in this country 150 years ago; even though Jim Crow laws have been upended; even though African Americans have equal access and opportunity according to the laws of this country; none of those laws, political triumphs, and policy making we have experienced in the United States has the ability to do a thorough renovating of any person’s heart from one of malicious bigot to benevolent citizen.
 
            We all desperately need faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to even begin addressing the profound brokenness of the human experience.  Apart from the Spirit, there will be individuals who continue in soul crushing stances of justifying their racism, excluding the LGBTQ community from their list of acquaintances, and insisting that their ideas are the only decent ones worth hearing. 
 
            Jesus preached his Sermon on the Mount in order to upend such proud thinking. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).  Only those who are spiritual beggars recognizing they have nothing to stand on in and of themselves are worthy of Christ’s righteousness.  In a world where pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps is hailed and validated, the biblical virtues of humility and meekness seem almost like concepts from some bygone era.  Yet, like a church building devastated by a tornado, until we can come to the end ourselves and admit how much our hearts are in chaos and need Jesus in the presence of the Holy Spirit, there will continue to be an endless stream of posturing and positioning to get what we want so that the other who seems so different from us will not get what they want or even need.  Indeed, there will be no mercy, purity, and peacemaking apart from identifying the deep depravity of our own hearts and inviting God to do an extreme makeover of our interior lives.
 

 

            While I applaud and laud every policy and law that turns the tide away from injustice and puts a death nail into systemic evil, I am realistic enough to discern that only the gospel of grace can bring human hearts in line with the kind of society that will truly be characterized by peace.  I hope that you will join me in praying for the shalom of God to takeover this broken world so that our hearts of stone are replaced by hearts of flesh by the Spirit who alone transforms both culture and church, society and self, law and life.  Soli Deo Gloria.