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 8

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
As we embark on yet another new year, Psalm 8 helps to remind us of who we are and the possibilities that exist for the future.  This little psalm grounds us in reality by dealing with the ultimate questions of our existence:  Who am I?  Why do I exist?  What is the purpose of my life? 
 
            Living on such a big planet actually makes some people feel quite small and wondering how they fit in.  With such a large universe we may ask along with psalmist, “What is man that you are mindful of him?”  This question forms the center of the psalm.  Hebrew poetry is typically set up to have the front and the end of the poem point to the middle as its main focus.  That is, the psalmist purposely wrote this psalm so we would consider this great question of what God thinks of humanity within the scope of this very large universe.
 
            Out of the billions of galaxies in the universe, what is the planet Earth that God should care about it?  On our planet there are billions of creatures.  Yet out of all of those bugs, animals, fish, and birds, God has a special relationship with us, humanity, and cares for us deeply.  We know that God cares for us, according to this psalm, because he has entrusted us with the responsibility to care for creation.  We are the only creatures who have the charge to steward all that God has created.  To put it another way, we, as people created in the image of God, have a job that is befitting of a king, and it is not just a duty for us, but a delight.
 
Only we as people have the self-awareness and perspective of the world that is needed to govern the world.  So, then, we can only find our true purpose and belonging in the stewardship of creation.  Caregiving is actually at the heart of being a person.
 
            So, in this next year we have the possibilities of engaging in good stewardship of all that God has given us.  We have the opportunity to use our words in ways that care for others and build them up, rather than saying uncaring things that are not helpful.  We have the chance to be attentive to all the little things of life, whether gardening, building a bird house, working with diligence and care at our jobs, or keeping our community clean and its citizens healthy and happy, it is all important and has a significant place in God’s wondrous world.
            Let us, then, continually improve what we do, no matter what it is, so that it befits us as God’s people crowned with honor.  May this year be one of joy and contentment in knowing the majesty that you share with God as a human being in his wondrous world.  

The Good Enough Pastor

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
            I got into this gig of pastoral ministry because I love the church, wanted to teach and preach God’s Word, desired to make a difference, and to help people move along in their path of discipleship with Jesus.  Sounds noble; yet, if I am honest, behind those words is not just some genuine altruism, but a significant dose of hubris that thinks I can, even ought, to change people’s lives.  Eee gads!  Even as I write that statement I hear the pride that believes church ministry success is up to me.  I have come a long way, but still have a winding and stretching journey ahead.
 
 
 
            I think many of us need to confess that our dreams for the church are this strange gooey mix of godliness and selfishness.  I’ve always thought it weird that many pastors, para-church ministry leaders, and church elders’ aspirations for the Body of Christ line-up so well with God’s will for their lives.  I just want us to entertain the notion that our dreams of lots people in attendance, big budgets, slick programs, and hungry disciples eating up the crumbs that come from our well-dished teaching may not exactly be what is in the mind of God for our ministries.
 
            Allow me, instead, to introduce an alternative thought for us:  being a good enough pastor.  Yep, I said it.  Just be good enough for the people in your charge.  And if you are a parishioner, allow your pastor to be good enough without having to be the next Tim Keller or Billy Graham (or whomever your favorite celebrity preacher is).  If we dwell with this fantasy of attaining some sort of great and impactful ministry long enough, we will inevitably be disappointed.  And when that happens, the next prideful step is the belief that if I just do things perfectly, everything will turn out the way I, uh-hem, I mean God, planned all along.  Oh, I certainly believe in the God of miracles and that Jesus is Lord over all.  But I don’t always believe that God is into the dramatic.  He seems more likely to show up, like with Moses in the cleft of the rock, in a still small voice in the quite ordinary and mundane quiet of the daily grind.
 
            Not every sermon has to be a home run.  Every conversation does not need to be a powerful encounter.  Not every meeting and decision really has to be researched and prepared to death so that there is some sort of wow factor that impresses everyone with my superior skills… that is, God’s mighty power.  You and I can do a good enough job in order to be faithful stewards of the gifts God has given, and obedient followers in the way of Jesus.  Give everyone a break and let the Holy Spirit show up and do his job; we don’t have to do it for him – he is competent to accomplish what he wants to do whether we are awesome or not.
 
            If this makes you worry, then you are not alone.  But we all do have a choice.  We can lay aside the anxiety and perfectionism and simply ask God for help to change what needs changing, especially in our own hearts.  God cares a whole lot more about our humility; he can work with that.  But if we hold onto our stubborn pride, God might end up breaking our wills, maybe even destroying our “godly” dreams before he will finally use us.
 

 

            Can you be a good enough church worker?  Can you live your life without everything having to be at the highest level of performance?  Will you invite the work of God into your life so that he can bring the deep change he wants to bring?  For this next year, let’s agree to drop the resolutions and sheer willpower, and allow God to make us into the leaders he wants us to be.

1 Kings 3:5-14

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Solomon was a very wise king.  In this Old Testament lesson for today we understand the reason for this.  At the outset of his reign Solomon could have asked for anything from God; he might have chosen to focus on the perquisites or the power of kingship.  But instead Solomon asked for wisdom, and this pleased God.  “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this, your great people?”  This was Solomon’s prayer, and all these millennia later he still has the reputation of being the wisest king that ever lived.
 
            As a pastor, I think there is no greater prayer I could pray than this.  Rather than choosing to focus prayers and ministry on bigger budgets, more attendance, and adding on building space, I can make the choice to pray for wisdom.  Solomon’s request was borne out of a clear realization of who God is (the One who shows steadfast love) and who he himself is (“I am but like a little child”).  God’s greatness and Solomon’s humility collided in a wonderful prayer for discernment to carry out God’s will on earth.
 
            In this time of year in which it is vogue to make New Year’s resolutions based upon the individual’s willpower, let us take a different approach.  Let us pray and invite God to do the kind of deep change in our lives that is needed in order to live well and do God’s will.  May we pray for discernment to serve well, and ask for wisdom to be good stewards of our callings from God.
            O LORD, my God, give me a mind and heart of wisdom so that I might rightly discern good and evil, right and wrong, and the best decisions to made in every situation.  I choose to walk in your ways to the glory of Jesus Christ through the power of your Spirit.  Amen.

Proverbs 9:1-12

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            Wisdom personified is portrayed in this chapter of Proverbs as calling out to us as people.  Wisdom’s message is a passionate appeal to take the path of insight through God’s revealed will.  “Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”  Wisdom in Scripture is the ability to apply God’s Word to concrete situations in our lives.  In our day to day lives, choosing to listen to wisdom and follow her instructions is vital to experiencing success in the Christian walk.
 
            The fact of the matter for too many people is this:  we are too impatient to let wisdom teach us her ways.  Idolatry and running after other gods often results from the inability to wait on the lessons that wisdom wants to impart.  Wisdom is not something that is gained quickly; her teachings must be learned slowly with careful application over time.  We are much too prone to finding simple solutions to complex problems.  But wisdom calls us to leave such simplistic thinking and take the high road.
 
            Rather than rush to Google for answers to our questions; instead of allowing another person to make decisions for us; in place of implementing sheer pragmatic plans, allow wisdom to penetrate the mind and heart so that what comes out is thoroughly godly and biblical.  Where is the place to start?  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”  There is no substitute to committing oneself to the regular and daily regimen of reading God’s Holy Word, and seeking to put it into practice.
            All-Wise God, the One who is never in a hurry, create in me a wise mind and heart.  Help me to sit still long enough for wisdom to bring biblical and spiritual maturity to my life, through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.