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 107:1-16

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            The psalmist calls upon others to give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.  He furthermore exhorts those who have been redeemed to say so, to declare God’s praises for delivering them from trouble.  Whatever the circumstances and however difficult the experiences may have been, the believer is not to remain in silence but is to publicly thank the LORD.
 
            Speaking our spiritual stories to others is important both for those who share them, and for those who listen so that the community of the redeemed will be strengthened in their faith and emboldened to also share.  Far too many Christians are reticent to talk about what God has done or is doing in their lives.  Shame or embarrassment or a host of other reasons might prevent us from being vulnerable enough to let others in on God’s work within.  But the psalmist does not let us off the hook, even if we feel we are not articulate or are too afraid to speak.
 
            We all likely have had the privilege of hearing another person share his/her heart and experience of hardship and God’s deliverance.  It was uplifting, encouraging, and helpful.  Let’s not keep our stories to ourselves.  Stories are meant to be told, not hidden.  Bringing to light our faith journeys is healing for all, as well as declaring that Jesus is the light of the world.
            Great God of deliverance, I praise you that I have a story to tell of your grace and faithfulness.  Help me to tell of your mercy in my life so that the name of Jesus will be exalted, and that your people might be built up in the faith.  Amen.

John 3:16

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
John 3:16 is perhaps the greatest summary of the gospel we have in the Bible.  Maybe a closer look at the good news of Jesus will impel believers and churches to share him and pass on his life-giving message not because we have to but because we want to.  Maybe the great message will inspire a great mission impulse.
 
“God” is the greatest subject ever.
 
            The Bible certainly contains lots of messages, promises, and commands.  But those are not the primary purpose for having the Holy Scriptures.  The Bible has been given to us as a revelation or self-revealing of God to us.  In other words, we have this Book in order to know God.  Every time we use it, read it, quote it, pray from it, preach it, listen to it, and learn it, God’s Word is designed for us to know God.  Anything short of knowing God falls short of the Bible’s intended purpose.
 
“So” is the greatest extent ever.
 
            There is a great wideness to God.  That is, God is big, expansive, and huge.  Nothing is outside of his reach.  So, when God decides he is going to do something, there is nothing that can stop him.  We might be limited in our strength and abilities to accomplish things.  But God’s extent is limitless.  Our extent is temporary and small.  But God takes our human prayers and uses them to accomplish his purposes on this earth.
 
“Loved” is the greatest demonstration ever.
 
            There is no greater demonstration of love than our triune God, who loved us with a sacrificial self-emptying love that saw our great need for deliverance and went to the greatest lengths possible to accomplish it.  Where there is a lack of love there is an absence of God.  Every single human on planet earth needs the love of God in Christ and without it we are all lost.  The greatest thing that could ever be said of you is that you are “loved.”  And it is the truth!  Whatever has happened, is happening, and will happen that tears you down, belittles you, hurts you, or causes you to feel like the north end of a southbound cow, is not what defines you.  All may be going to hell around you, but nothing will change the unalterable reality that in Christ you are “loved!”
 
“The world” is the greatest object ever.
 
            The Jews of Jesus’ day could easily understand that God loved the nation of Israel; they readily bought into the knowledge that God loved his chosen people; but to say that God loved the world was going too far.  It meant that God loved Gentiles, specifically, Romans who occupied their land and oppressed their rights.  To capture the punch of this, it would be like Jesus showing up among us and saying that God so loved I.S.I.S.  Certainly God hates evil and is opposed to all that destroys.  But God loves people for whom he placed his image and likeness within.  For God to love the world is an incredible and scandalous thought because there are so many unlovely people in the world.
 
“That he gave his one and only Son” is the greatest gift ever.
 
            God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  God did not give his leftovers.  He did not give his second-hand items.  God gave what was dearest to him.  God gave his best and most beloved gift he could ever give.  So, if it takes cajoling and exhortation for us to give the gift of Jesus, then the problem lies in our hearts.  It takes coming back to God’s Word and knowing the love of God in Christ through the Scriptures.  If you lack love, pray earnestly for it.
 
“That whoever” is the greatest opportunity ever.
 
            If the greatest gift a person could ever receive is Jesus, then the best opportunity one could take advantage of is Jesus.  If you only know Jesus as someone you hear about once in a while, then you have the opportunity today to know him as Lord, Savior, teacher, healer, and friend.  If you have been familiar with the name of Jesus all your life but it has not really gone much further than that, then the next point is vitally important….
 
“Believes in him” is the greatest commitment ever.
 
            Jesus does not want only your acknowledgment of him; he wants you.  Faith is not only recognition of certain truths; it demands action.  Whenever I go home, our dog, Max Power, gets extremely excited.  He is not really my dog, so I don’t really get excited about him.  Everyone in the family knows what I am going to probably say to him: “Yes, Max, I acknowledge your existence.”  I say it in hopes that he will just kind of leave me alone and let me go about my business.  But Max wants more.  He wants my affection, my love, and my commitment.  He wants a pet, a walk, food and water, and all the stuff dogs need.
 
            God does not want to be treated like an annoying puppy.  God wants our commitment.  He does not want us to show up for church once in a while and say to him, “I acknowledge your existence.”  The most common response I get from people when sharing the gift of Jesus is “Yes, I believe in Jesus.”  It is their way of saying that they acknowledge his existence.  It is their way of saying that they are not much interested in giving their lives to him because they just want to go about their business without God pestering them about anything.  But God does demand something from us – our very souls.
 
“Shall not perish” is the greatest rescue ever.
 
            We either believe or perish.  Those are the only two options.  People perish not because God is unloving but because we like our sin and we have no intention of changing to accommodate a holy God in our lives.  The Titanic lost so many hundreds of people not because there was not enough room on the lifeboats.  In fact, most of the lifeboats went into the water only about three-fourths full.  A good many people simply did not believe they were perishing.  They trusted in the “unsinkable” ship.  Only Jesus can save.
 
“But have eternal life” is the greatest promise ever.
 

 

            The promise actually begins now, not someday.  Life is having a life-saving and life-giving relationship with Jesus.  It can be had today.  If you have ever had the feeling that there is something more to life than what you are experiencing; if you have ever wished that you could start over; if you have ever felt that you just can’t do this on your own; then, I have the greatest news for you that you could ever hear.  God has made a way to take care of all your guilt, shame, and lack of direction.  He loves you deeply in the person of Jesus Christ.  You can have new life in Jesus.  The way to have real life is to give up your old one and follow Jesus….

John 3:1-13

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            “You must be born again.”  In the evangelical world this phrase is arguably the most famous and used statement in the whole of Holy Scripture.  Unfortunately, it is often reduced to a cliché, an almost formula-like approach to the Christian life.  Simply ask Jesus into your heart and you can be born again, that is, go to heaven.  The problem, however, lies in the fact that this is not really what Jesus said in John 3.  
             Jesus ministered in a religious world that needed deep transformation because it had become, uh-hem, reduced to formulas and clichés.  When Jesus stated that people need to be born again, he meant that there is a need for new life – not behavior modification, not re-arranging some things on the calendar, and not some more focused goals.  No, people need new life.  They need it so bad that it is like being born again.
             Just as a baby cannot create herself, make herself grow in the womb, and give birth to herself, so no one can experience total life change, being born again, on their own ingenuity, power, or ability.  We ought never to expect anything less than complete life transformation that comes through a total spiritual awakening, like being born again.  
             If that sounds downright radical, well, it is.  It is meant to be.  Jesus’ words to Nicodemus were so revolutionary to him that he had a hard time swallowing it.  But Jesus never dumbed-down spiritual truth in order to make it more palatable or understandable; he insisted on life change, and he taught it and lived it through preaching the kingdom of God and healing all kinds of people. 
             Only God can do such a work of bringing new life.  We are completely dependent upon the Spirit to birth us into a new reality through the person and work of Jesus.  We are also totally reliant upon the Spirit to use us as spiritual mid-wives, helping to birth new spiritual babies into God’s world.
             Saving God, you sent your Son, the Lord Jesus, to this world in order to give it new life.  Save me, O God, from myself and give me the change I need.  Help me to share this message of transformation with others who need to be born again, as well.  Amen.

Fitting In vs. Belonging

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            My family and I lived in an urban area of Michigan for fifteen years.  Then, we moved back to our roots in Iowa, cornfields and, well, more cornfields.  One of the first things my girls asked me after living in Iowa for a few days was, “Dad, where are all the Black people?”  They were simply struck with all the homogeneity – lots of white people… and corn.  Maybe you, like me, have strolled into a church on a Sunday morning and are immediately aware of how much the people are all alike, whether it is race or something else.  Typically, in any given church on any given occasion, the people talk pretty much the same; wear pretty much the same clothes; and, act pretty much the same.
 
            Too often we focus on fitting in rather than belonging.  We know how to talk, what to wear, and how to make the people around us happy.  We know what not to mention, what subjects to avoid, and how to be nice even though we fought like cats and dogs on the way to church.  After all, we want to fit in by appearing to have it all together, right?  Researcher and author Brene Brown does as good as job as anyone in making the critical distinction between fitting in versus belonging.  She says, “fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be in order to be accepted.  Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.”
 
            We all need a secure sense of belonging.  We do not all need to fit in.  Likely the reason for the presence of a Christian and/or Evangelical subculture lies in this tendency to want to fit in.  So, we learn how to wear gaudy t-shirts, place provocative bumper stickers on our cars, and be generally obnoxious to those who disagree with us because we want to fit in with our group of whatever-we-call-ourselves.  It is important to note, however, that we are not hardwired by God to fit in, but we are specially wired by him to be loved and to belong.
 
            Even within local churches, there can be cliques which focus more on a special issue or interest rather than Christ.  It was into such a situation that Paul said to the Roman church, “For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.  If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.  So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”  He went on to make this conclusion: “You, then, why do you judge your brother?  Or why do you look down on your brother?  For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat” (Romans 14:8-12).
 
            It is not our job as Christians or church leaders to force people into fitting in.  Rather, it is our responsibility before God to give people a proper sense of belonging in Christ.  We all have a desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.  As Christians, we long to see God’s kingdom come on earth and to see his will done here as it is in heaven.  We want to be a part of God’s grand work of spreading the good news of Jesus.  Fitting in to whatever is chic and seeking cheap approval are hollow imitations of the real deal.  True authentic belonging will only happen when we are real and open about ourselves to the people and the church to which we are committed.
 
            If we constantly fear what others think of us; measure our words in order to be accepted; or, swear at ourselves under our breath when we screw up; then, we have a problem with trying to fit in.  It is much better to be who we are and simply invite the Holy Spirit of God to do any kind of work in us that needs to be done, rather than being someone we are not in the false notion that people will reject us if they knew who we really are.  What is more, when others let us in and open ever so slightly their real selves, there needs to be unconditional love and empathy.  To sit and stare at another person like they are from Mars will not only shut down authenticity, it will push truth to the margins of the church.  If the truth will set us free, then we can only expect bondage when genuine sharing is not met with love.
 

 

            Practicing belonging instead of fitting in can be looked at as a spiritual discipline.  That is, honing-in on belonging to Christ and to one another are to be daily decisions of faith and commitment.  The church needs more Christians who belong, and less mindless conformity to cultural standards of fitting in.  We all need to give and receive love each and every day – the kind of love that Jesus displayed and practiced.  We do not need the second hand smoke of ornery believers who press others to be like them.  This is a conversation worth having with any small group or leadership team so that we foster a solid sense of godly belonging.  So, go for it and resist the temptation to be quiet and fit in.