“I have reached, she thought, a human being’s lowest ebb; I have no curiosity about the future. I know what the future will be; the Rule sets it out for me.”
I read this at a time when I was contemplating my own future, having just turned 50.
Prayer: A Collect from John 15:1-8 /
O God, our Father, who takes away the unfruitful branch, prune us of our faults and sins, that we may bear much fruit and so prove to be true disciples; through Jesus Christ the True Vine. Amen.
And There Remember /
So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ~ Matthew 5:23-24 (ESV)
If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ~ Matthew 18:15 (ESV)
You’ve experienced a wounded relationship before, I’m sure, and found nothing pleasant in it. Jesus gives us some good instruction for healing those wounds. Notice who is to take the initiative - we are. Whether we are the one who is wrong or the one who has been wronged, Jesus expects us to make the first move. Notice also that we are to go to the other person, not a third person (or social media for that matter). This short circuits embarrassment and gossip by keeping the circle of those affected at a minimum, at least initially.
Are you willing to acknowledge your own wrongdoing? Are you willing to give someone a chance to apologize before you air his or her shortcomings publicly? Just think how much emotional turmoil could be avoided by practicing a little humility in our dealings with others.
The True Sense /
“The true sense of our sinfulness does not come from measuring the distance between our own conduct and the grandeur of the moral law. Oh no, it is only in the overwhelming presence of the Holy One Himself that we sinners know how utterly sinful we are.”
Pastor Reardon continues, “This overwhelming holiness of God, the source of profound repentance, is particularly related to the coming of the Holy Spirit, for it is our pride and sinfulness that grieve and impede the operation of God’s sanctifying Spirit.”
Prayer: A Collect from Luke 15:1-10 /
Lord God Almighty, who rejoices over the repentance of sinners, bestow upon us humble and contrite hearts, that we may be quick to confess and turn from our sin; through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.
What I Mean Is /
What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? ~ 1 Corinthians 1:12-13
Paul came to Corinth from Athens and preached in the city for some eighteen months before resuming his missionary travels. Apollos, the skilled Alexandrian orator, also spent some time in Corinth and had an effective ministry there. Even Cephas, also known as Peter, appears to have made Corinth a stopping place during his travels. Unfortunately, the believers in that city had begun to identify themselves by the ministers under whose preaching they were converted, even placing their favorite preacher on level footing with Christ. The leaders sent representatives to track down Paul and get help with this crisis. Through Paul’s letters and additional corrections along the way, the Corinthian church has survived to this day - two thousand years of unbroken witness to Christ. But the church so influenced by Paul, Apollos, and Cephas is, somewhat ironically, named St. John’s
Tacitus /
“The desire for security stands against every great and noble design.”
Being risk-averse myself, I need to be reminded of this routinely.
Prayer: A Collect from Mark 5 /
Most High God, who has mercy upon the sick, grieving, and oppressed, direct our hearts in faith to your Son that, being made whole in him, your name may receive due praise; through Jesus Christ our Healer. Amen.
A Being Of This Nature /
“The best instance of a human male is not a glorified walking pack of urges, but a man who for the sake of the highest and greatest goods commands himself, strengthens his brothers, defends his sisters, and regards even the meanest of women a lady. You may say that this is not natural... I say it is natural in the sense that only in this way does a being of this nature flourish.”
So said J. Budziszewski in his presentation What Makes Men Men? at the 2018 Touchstone Conference.
Prayer: A Collect from Ephesians 2:19-22 /
God our Father, who has made us to be members of your household by faith, grant that we be joined together in all devotion and holiness, so as to be a fit dwelling place for your Spirit, through Jesus Christ the Cornerstone. Amen.
By Their Fruits /
Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. ~ Matthew 7:20 (ESV)
Be careful when you quote the Bible. Back in 2006, Republican Senator Sam Brownback found out the hard way that you can’t depend a general level of biblical literacy these days. During an interview with Rolling Stones magazine, Brownback quoted the above verse while criticizing countries like Sweden who had already legalized gay marriage. The author of the article, Jeff Sharlet, inferred from the quote that the Senator was calling homosexual Swedes “fruits”. After an uproar from several gay and lesbian advocacy groups, the Senator clarified his remarks saying, “this biblical passage was pertinent to our overall conversation about faith and deeds”. So if you decide to quote a scripture during a conversation, don’t assume you will be understood.
My Personal Prayer Liturgy for 2019 /
I’ve been keeping a prayer journal in one form or another for the past ten years (2009-2018). Not a personal journal or diary, mind you, but a record of passages read and prayers written in response. The first three years were hit and miss, and are contained in one volume. But in 2012 I began using the Sunday readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, which consist of passages from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the Epistles, and the Gospels. Although the Lectionary intends for all the passages to be read on Sunday and has other passages for the rest of the week, I used the four Sunday readings for Monday through Thursday instead, reading one passage each day. Friday and Saturday were used to catch up if a day was missed during the week. I achieved more consistency this way. I also began using the journal to keep track of the sermons I preached, the books I read, and any ideas for sermons I had while reading.
The Lectionary is set up on a three-year cycle, so in 2015 I had to decide whether or not to repeat the Lectionary or do something else. The Sunday readings expose the reader (or listener if read aloud during a worship service) to portions of scripture from across the breadth of the Bible, but do not cover the entire Bible. Therefore, rather than go through the Sunday Lectionary readings again, I devised my own five-year Bible reading plan. With this plan, the Old Testament (except the Wisdom writings) would be read once over the five years, the Wisdom writings (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) would be read once each year, the Gospels twice each year, and the remainder of the New Testament once each year. However, since I also want to have time to meditate on what I’m reading, this proved to be too much to read per week for me. So while I’m on track to complete the Old Testament in 2019, I’ve slowed down my other readings and will finish the New Testament at the same time at the Old Testament.
This experience has deepened my grasp on the interrelatedness of the Scriptures, has given me a better understanding of the landscape of the Scriptures (how to find my way around the Bible), and has given me richer language for prayer from within the Scriptures.
During the last week of each year I set up my journal for the next year. I use a black journal, recently from Ricco Bella (5.7 x 8.4 inches), that looks similar to the Moleskine journals, but has paper that allows the ink to dry quicker (I tend to smudge). I devote the first section to a calendar that I rarely use, but it’s there just in case. The next section is for the fifty-two weeks of the year, with week 1 beginning on the first Sunday of the year. Each week has two facing pages, left and right. I label the week in the upper right corner of the right-hand page. After that section comes the sermon log, book log, etc. There are always some pages left at the end of the journal, but I use most of it.
The left page is for scripture gleanings and the right page is for prayer responses.
My normal pattern is to read the passage of scripture for the day and ponder it, seeing if any concept or phrase in the text speaks to me in some way. I write down that verse or phrase on the left page in blue ink. After pondering it for a few minutes, I write a brief prayer in response on the right page in black ink. My response prayer may be one of thanksgiving, of supplication, or of confession depending on what the text is prompting in me.
Sometimes I go back into past journals and read the prayers there. When I see blank pages I try and remember why I missed that week. Usually its because of vacations, but sometimes I remember that it was a difficult week with a significant crisis that used up all my energy. I believe that the missing weeks were made bearable by the weeks not missed and the scriptures have shaped my response to life’s challenges to be more Christ-like.
If you don’t currently have such a system for Bible reading and prayer, find something that works for you.I can truly say it’s been a life-changer.
Live Free /
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. ~ 1 Peter 2:16 (ESV)
Have you ever heard the statement “It’s a free country” used as an excuse for bad behavior? As if freedom is worthless unless you exercise it in all possible directions, both good and bad. That’s assuming the categories of good and bad can still be recognized in our societal sea of lifestyle choices. Many in our culture lack basic moral discernment and cannot (or will not) distinguish between what is allowed and what should be preferred. Is the freedom of the smut-peddler, excuse me, the adult entertainment provider, used as wisely as, say, your local grocer?
It’s a free country. Choose the good.
The Structure Of A Collect Prayer /
The Collect is a short, tightly structured prayer that makes only one petition and serves to “collect” all the voices of the individual congregants into one prayer. A Collect usually has the following elements:
Address - the invocation is to God the Father
Acknowledgement - the quality of God upon which our request is founded
Petition - the request being made to God to meet a basic need
Aspiration (not always included) - a reason or purpose for the petition beyond the need itself
Pleading - the way to the Father is through the intercession of his Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ
Here’s an example taken from the Book Of Common Prayer, see if you can identify all the elements:
Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Reference - The Collects of Thomas Cranmer compiled and presented by, Fredrick C. Barbee and Paul F. M. Zahl.
Even As /
…even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. ~ Matthew 20:28 (ESV)
Parents want the best for their children. The mother of James and John asked Jesus to grant her sons positions of prominence in his kingdom. Jesus told her, and his disciples, the secret to greatness - be a servant. A servant does the work, bears the load, and performs the unpleasant task. But this was not an aloof order of “Serve me well and I will reward you”. Jesus himself set the example of serving for them, and us, to follow. If we would have our own children be great, let us teach them to trust in the saving work of Jesus and then to serve others, setting an example ourselves as we follow Jesus.
Glenn T. Stanton /
“A man does the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reasons.”
This is the way that Stanton, Director of Family Formation Studies at Focus On The Family, defined manhood in his presentation Manhood Is Not Natural given at the 2018 Touchstone Conference. Just prior to giving this definition, he also said of manhood:
“Manhood does not exist in passivity or stasis. It exists only in action. It must be demonstrated. It is not conceptual. Manhood is never assumed. It must be demonstrated and it must be proven in order to be actual.”
Dante /
“Here must you put by all division of spirit and gather your soul against all cowardice.”
This is the warning given to Dante just before passing the gates of hell. I think it apt for the encountering the challenges of every new day.
For The Moment /
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. ~ Hebrews 12:11 (ESV)
The author is speaking here about the fatherly discipline of God in the lives of believers. Discipline is different from punishment. Punishment seeks to exact retribution now for a wrong done in the past. Discipline, by contrast, seeks to instill a change now that leads to a better outcome for the future. If we yield to the short-term unpleasantness of the discipline of God today, we can expect to taste the sweet fruit of peaceful right-living tomorrow.
General George Washington /
“Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.”
If you are familiar with the history of the American Revolution then you know that many times perseverance and spirit were all that the Continental Army had at their disposal.
The Church of England Publishes Guidance For Gender Transition Services /
I was tipped off to this event by a headline on The Federalist website and decided to check it out for myself. I found the article on the Church of England’s website. The guidance document, officially titled “Pastoral Guidance for use in conjunction with the Affirmation of Baptismal Faith in the context of gender transition”, has been approved by the House of Bishops and is the official outcome of a motion adopted at the Church’s General Synod in 2017.
The guidelines were developed in consultation with three Church of England ministers who, according to the article, have a “personal interest in this matter”. A brief Google search revealed the nature of the personal interest involved. The Reverends Tina Beardsley, Sarah Jones, and Rachal Mann are trans women who said, “Collectively, we have sought to ensure that these new Pastoral Guidance notes provide a rich and generous space for trans people to locate their lives in the existing liturgy for the Affirmation of Baptismal Faith.” And here is where it gets interesting (for me at least).
The liturgy for the Affirmation of Baptismal Faith is a service that provides a way for those baptized as infants to reaffirm the commitments made in their baptism. The core of the liturgy, called The Decision, is where the candidates seeking to affirm their faith are asked the following questions and give the appropriate answers.
Do you reject the devil and all rebellion against God?
I reject them.
Do you renounce the deceit and corruption of evil?
I renounce them.
Do you repent of the sins that separate us from God and neighbour?
I repent of them.
Do you turn to Christ as Saviour?
I turn to Christ.
Do you submit to Christ as Lord?
I submit to Christ.
Do you come to Christ, the way, the truth and the life?
I come to Christ.
In this liturgy, the candidate pledges to conform his or her life to Christ as Lord, Savior, the way, the truth and the life. The focus is on Jesus Christ. However, the reasoning behind the inclusion of Gender Transition as a sufficient reason to invocate an Affirmation of Baptismal Faith is not focused on Jesus Christ. Instead, the focus is on the candidate’s transition, not on conforming to the will of Jesus Christ.
Here are some examples of what I mean…
“…the House of Bishops commends the rite of Affirmation of Baptismal Faith as a central feature of any service to recognize liturgically a person’s gender.”
“The minister should be guided by the wishes of the candidate regarding the way in which past experiences may be mentioned or reflected upon…”
“In the journey of a trans person this liturgy will probably constitute a watershed in their Christian discipleship.”
“For a trans person to be addressed liturgically by the minister for the first time by their chosen name may be a powerful moment in the service.”
The key phrase is “to recognize liturgically a person’s gender”, which is to say to use the official power of the Church of England to solemnize the mental and emotional confusion of the trans person. One can only hope that God truly answers the prayers offered in the liturgy on behalf of the candidates.
God of mercy and love,
in baptism you welcome the sinner
and restore the dead to life.
You create a clean heart in those who repent,
and give your Holy Spirit to those who ask.
Grant that these your servants may grow
into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
Equip them with the gifts of your Holy Spirit, [like repentance]
and fill them with faith in Jesus Christ
and with love for all your people,
in the service of your kingdom. Amen.