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 3:7-15

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Several years ago, when I attended seminary, I got to know several persons from around the world who came to study theology and ministry.  One of those people was a man from India whom I became good friends with.  His name was P.J.  I asked P.J. one day what the initials stood for.  He replied, “No one in the West is able to pronounce my real name, so I simply go by the initials P.J.”  
             When Moses asked God what his name is, God gave him an answer similar to my friend P.J.  He replied to Moses, “I Am Who I Am.”  Okay.  That was not exactly what Moses was looking for, but he did get an answer to his question.  It was as if God knew that his name was much too wonderful to ever pronounce, so he gave Moses a name that people could actually call him.  
             “Yahweh” is the name in Hebrew.  It is only one word, but is difficult to exactly translate; it certainly cannot be translated into one word in English which is why we need to have an entire phrase in order to even begin to make sense of the name “Yahweh.”  Other Bible translations (i.e. NIV) capitalize all the letters of “LORD” in order to cue the reader that the name “Yahweh” is being used.
             A phrase in vogue today to communicate something that is hard to make sense of but is nonetheless real is, “It is what it is.”  That perhaps is as close as we get to understanding “Yahweh.”  He is who he is; God will be who he will be.  The LORD is so far above us that he must communicate to us in a kind of baby language, much like a parent who simply bends down and utters coos over the crib of her infant.
             God has been gracious to stoop to us and reveal something of himself to us.  The fullest expression of this love is the sending of the Son, the Lord Jesus, to be with us so that we can know this God who is who he is.  The proper response to this grace from Yahweh is gratitude, praise, and trust.
             Yahweh, the great I AM, you have graciously entered my life especially through the person of Jesus Christ, your Son.  Guide me each day to explore and know you so that my faith will be strengthened and my path righteous, through the power of the Spirit.  Amen.

Exodus 2:11-25

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Faith is not some static phenomena that one possesses or not.  It is more like a muscle that must be exercised and developed in order to be strengthened.  Moses needed to learn and grow in faith just as much or more than the rest of us.  The fact that he was eighty years old before he became the human agent of God’s deliverance, after a forty year stint in the backside of the desert, tells us that it took him awhile to mature.  Even though Moses may have had a sense that the Israelites needed freedom from slavery, and acted on that sense by killing a ruthless Egyptian, his sense of timing was not good.
 
            There is a time for everything, said the writer of Ecclesiastes.  Wisdom, the ability to apply faith in concrete situations, is often in the timing of things.  To know when to speak and when to listen, when to act and when to wait, is an important facet of faith.  The ancient Israelites were slaves in Egypt for a long time.  Moses knew they were suffering and he acted.  But it was not yet time.  Eventually, the Jewish cry came up to God, and God heard them.  He remembered his covenant with them.  Why God did not act sooner, or use Moses earlier, is information that is only privy within God himself.
 
            What this means for us is that if we are to develop in faith and gain a wise sense of timing, we will need to rely on God.  Trusting in ourselves, our own efforts, and our own perceived timing of how things ought to proceed will usually not end well.  We may find ourselves taking a “time out” from God in obscurity until we learn to wait on him.
 
            In the fullness of time, Paul said to the Galatians, Jesus came, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law.  God knows what he is doing, even though it might seem like he is sometimes slow to act.  God sees.  God delivers.  But he does it in his timing – not ours.
            Redeeming God, you control all things, including the clock.  Give me wisdom so that my sense of timing might reflect your will and your way.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

Hebrews 11:23-26

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            The Lectionary readings for today draw our attention to the life of Moses.  The unique circumstances of his birth turned into a distinctive adult life.  By faith, Moses, when he was a grown man, chose to be mistreated with God’s people rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.  Instead of looking for a temporary reward or immediate comfort and satisfaction, Moses saw the end in sight and ordered his life’s trajectory accordingly.
            Because Moses had his priorities arranged in light of the future eternal inheritance, he was able to influence others appropriately in the present.  It would be easy for us to simply live for the day, to get lost in the daily demands of deadlines and duties.  But keeping the end in view is both helpful and necessary to having peace of mind, faith in heart, and purpose through action for today.
            The kind of reward we are looking forward to will determine what we set our affections upon.  If, like the Pharisees of old, we want an immediate recognition of our work and spiritual effort now, we may get it – but nothing more.  However, if we look ahead to an eternal reward, considering the reproach of Christ as greater wealth than the treasures of this world, then we will receive it, even though our present situations may not be pleasant.  It is the wise person who works today for a reward that will come another day.
            Eternal God, since you see all of history from beginning to end, help me to have a proper perspective of my circumstances, my relationships, and myself so that I might rightly order my loves and point them in the direction of Christ.  Amen.

Ephesians 3:1-12

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            On this first day of celebrating Epiphany (which means “manifestation” or “appearing”) it is quite appropriate to drink in the wonderful teaching of the Apostle Paul on the subject of mystery.  The term “mystery” as used by Paul is not so much like reading a Sherlock Holmes novel in the sense that we need to do some detective work to solve a murder.  Mystery for Paul is something that was once hidden or obscure, but is now revealed. 
 
            The great mystery that lurked in the shadows of the Old Testament but is now fully revealed in the New Testament is, in Paul’s words, “that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”  Perhaps that truth come to light does not seem very bright or astounding to you and I.  Yet, back in Paul’s day, this was momentous.  Yes, most Jews understood that many Gentiles could and would come to worship God, but none of them saw it coming that those Gentiles would actually be completely grafted into life with them and be formed into a new society, the church, the community of the redeemed.  Jew and Gentile would cease to be separate peoples and would now become fellow heirs as one people in Christ.
 
            As non-Jews, maybe we take for granted that we believe and are full participants in Christ and full-fledged members of Christ’s Body, the Church.  But because of the faithful ministry of people like Paul and Peter and the other original apostles, the vast majority of believers throughout the world are us Gentiles.  This is, then, to be a day of celebration and gratitude that God has included us through the person and work of the Lord Jesus.  No longer are we shrouded in mystery.  We share in Christ and are partakers in all the good promises of God.  Let us, therefore, punctuate this day and season with thanksgiving to God for his gracious outreach to us.
            Revealing God, you have included us in Christ by grace through faith so that your wisdom might now be made known to all.  Thank you for your gracious wooing us to your church, and giving us your very great and precious promises to us in Jesus Christ.  Amen.