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.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            The past few weeks, the Lectionary readings have brought us a steady admonition of passing on to future generations the necessity of covenant, faith, and law.  Obedience is the key to it all.  But the problem entered that Israel was not faithful to God’s commands; they kept disobeying and following other gods. God always had a faithful remnant of people devoted to him, but the nation as a whole simply did not follow through with the teaching given to them.
 
            But where Israel failed in obeying the covenant stipulations and passing them on to their progeny, God forgives.  God’s answer to repeated human failings was not just to pronounce a judgment, but to rectify the problem altogether through the establishment of a new covenant.  God will put his law in their hearts, and they will know him in a direct and immediate kind of way. “For they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD.  For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
 
            From a New Testament (that is, New Covenant) perspective, Jesus is the fulfillment of all God’s good covenant promises to his people.  And God’s Holy Spirit serves as the continuing presence of Jesus within us, teaching us and guiding us in the ways of God.  Our only task, then, is to live into those promises – to know them, claim them, and bank on them.  We are most obedient when we believe the promises of God and place all our hope in them.
            Lord God, thank you for your promise of a new covenant.  Thank you for Jesus.  Establish his presence so firmly in my heart by means of your Spirit that obedience is always my default mode of living.  Amen.

Are You Prepared?

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
We prepare for things we really care about; we anticipate things that are important to us.  Those persons that really care about hunting make careful preparations for the season and anticipate opening day.  People who have season tickets to the Green Bay Packers and care about football make appropriate preparations for attending games at this time of year and look forward to game day.  And weddings are events that take all kinds of preparation because families care about the marriage that will occur; in fact, since I raised three girls, I can testify first hand that wedding plans begin in 3rd grade for females.
 
            People come to the things unprepared largely because they do not value the event enough to be ready for it.  Casual hunters and fair-weather footballs fans go home when it gets too cold because they are not adequately prepared for the conditions.  Quickie weddings happen in Las Vegas where two people are not prepared to have a marriage that lasts a lifetime.  In other words, unprepared people tend to drop out of things when it gets too hard.  If they do not value the event enough, they just do without it.  But if they really care about it, they prepare for it, have patience through it, and persevere in it when things get tough.
 
            Just because someone professes Jesus as Savior and Lord does not necessarily mean:  that the person has Christ as their ultimate value; that they care enough to live into their baptism; that they will avail themselves of the means of grace at the Lord’s Table; that they will value the event of worship each Sunday; or, that they will continually make it their aim to love God, each other, and their neighbors.  The true test of authentic commitment comes when things are not easy and it takes blood, sweat, and tears to see something through.
 
            There are few human events more freighted with emotion and preparation than weddings.  Parents invest heavily in time, energy, resources, and love in order for their kids to have a nice wedding.  And there are all kinds of potential for disaster to occur at a wedding.  Since I have done my share of weddings, I can tell you that a lot of things go awry in the preparation process and at the wedding itself.  I have had bridesmaids pass out, grooms forget the ring, and families fight like cats and dogs in the narthex just as the bride is ready to come down the aisle.  All kinds of crazy stuff can happen with a wedding.  At my own wedding, Mary’s bridesmaids were literally sown into their dresses by the seamstress just hours before the wedding; one of my groomsman did not show up because, it was found out, he was in jail; and, we were married on the hottest day of the year – it was 100 degrees, which did not go so well for a bunch of women who were trying to have their best ever hair days.
 
            But we got married anyway.  The wedding happened because it was important to us.  I think it is interesting that Jesus chose to tell a parable using a wedding in order to tell us what the kingdom of God is like (Matthew 25:1-13).  The bottom line about this particular parable from Jesus is that the five foolish virgins were not ready because they did not care enough to be prepared.  This, at face value, might seem harsh.  But not having the oil they needed for their lamps in that day would be like in our day having half of your bridesmaids show up at the wedding at the last minute in jeans and t-shirts without having done their hair and expecting to stand up with the bride.  No bride or groom or family in our culture is going to roll with that kind of behavior.  And the reason it is not going to be allowed is because bridesmaids who show up not prepared in the way they should is deeply offensive to the bride and groom.
 
            The five wise and five foolish virgins point to the mixed nature of the church.  The church consists of both faithful authentic disciples of Jesus, as well as wedding crashers.
 

 

            Jesus tells us to keep watch, because we do not know the day or the hour when he will return.  So, the big question for every professing believer in Jesus is:  Are you prepared?  We are to be in a state of constant vigilance, being always alert for Jesus to show up.  It is one thing to profess Christ; it is quite another thing to live each and every day doing God’s will and being prepared for Jesus to return.  Let us live in the light that Christ’s Second Coming is immanent and be ready for his glorious appearing.

Nehemiah 8:1-12

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            Under the leadership of Nehemiah, many of the Israelite exiles returned to Jerusalem from captivity.  Nehemiah did an incredible work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem so that the people were safe once again.  But that was only the physical dimension of the massive rebuilding effort; the people needed to be spiritually restored, as well.  The priest and scribe, Ezra, was at the forefront of a great revival.  At the center of the Jewish renewal was the Law of God.  The people gathered in order to hear Ezra read God’s Word to them from early morning to midday.  While Ezra read the Book of the Law, other priests were among the throng of people and helped them to understand it while they listened.  As the ESV puts it, these priests “gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”
 
            The people clearly needed help in making sense of God’s Word.  And as they understood the meaning of what was read, they wept and repented and dedicated themselves afresh to faithful living before their God. The need for all of God’s people to make sense of the Bible is no less true today.  The path to living intelligent and informed Christian lives will come by having clear insight into God’s Word so that we may walk with clarity and confidence, knowing the will of God in all things.
 
            A craving to know the revealed words of God is at the heart of any church revitalization.  An ardent desire to understand the Bible will be at the center of spiritual revival in our own time and place.  A longing for knowledge of the Scriptures is imperative to contemporary renewal.  Committing ourselves to a daily regimen of Scripture-reading is most necessary to a healthy spiritual life.  Teachers who help bring God’s Word to light are a great gift to the Body of Christ.
            O God, raise an entire generation of people who seek to know you and your Word.  Set apart gifted men and women for your service so that there will be teachers who help others make sense of what you want us to do.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Joshua 6:1-16, 20

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            Today’s Old Testament lesson is the famous account of the Israelites taking the city of Jericho.  The LORD gave his people the unusual instructions of marching around the city once each day for six days.  On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times and then give a loud shout and the walls would come down.  The Israelites followed the command to the letter and, as a result, saw a great work of God.
 
            There are two words in this text that are repeated frequently and stand out:  “seven” and “shout.”  Seven priests with seven trumpets march around the city seven times on the seventh day.  And the people were not just to shout on that seventh day – they were to give a great big ol’ shout together.
 
            The number seven shows up a lot in the Scriptures.  Maybe it is God’s favorite number.  Whenever we see the number seven it is in reference to something God is up to.  The Psalmist makes a reference to seven in Psalm 119:164 and says, “Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.”  The ancient Israelites took this verse literally and seriously by instituting a daily offering each and every day of prayer and worship and spaced it out over the course of a twenty-four hour time period.  The early church continued the practice, and even today many liturgical traditions still hold to the “Daily Office” which are seven distinct times in the day (and night) of intentionally connecting with God.
 
            In our contemporary evangelical climate of once-a-day quiet times (if that!) perhaps we need to re-connect with the number seven.  Maybe we would see God do the miraculous if we committed to prayer to the degree that the ancient Israelites were attentive to it, and to meticulously following God’s instructions.  And maybe if we followed our prayers with a great shout together that was a confident expression of faith in God we would see the LORD do mighty works in our lives and in our churches.
            O God, seven times a day I come to you.  Surround my enemies and bring them down so that Your great promises will be fulfilled in and through my life to the glory of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.