You might not think that in the midst of the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic my first blog post in nine months would be about the sin that dwells in our hearts, but you’d be wrong.
Tag: christian life
Oh, the vapor of it all
I love a good written procedure.
Whether it’s because I’m type A, ISTJ, Enneagram 6w5, or just because, I like to have all the steps neatly laid out, one by one, in a clear and logical manner. I was asked recently what’s one of the accomplishments I’m proudest of at work, and my honest answer was completing a policies and procedures manual for my unit. Continue reading “Oh, the vapor of it all”
A seeming void becomes a solid ground. The sight I lost becomes the faith I’ve found.
“You can’t take it with you.”
I’ve heard those words so many times. We came into this world with nothing, and when we die, we will leave with nothing. Everything we gain will be left behind. That’s true not only of material possessions–house, clothes, books, and all the daily items we use or enjoy–but also of our jobs, our relationships, and our ministries. We will be gone, and someone else will take our place. A Josh Ritter lyric comes to mind: “That’s the sad thing with life. There’s people always leaving just as other folks arrive.”
While this is difficult to reckon with, I find it harder perhaps to reckon with the fact that even during my lifetime, hardly anything is meant to last the entire length of my days. Continue reading “A seeming void becomes a solid ground. The sight I lost becomes the faith I’ve found.”
The Blessing of Ritual
Can I just say how much I love calendar alerts? They’re a saving grace in my busy and often over-extended life. This one popped up Tuesday right on time to remind me to do my Philippians review, just as it does every Tuesday night at 8:00pm on the dot.
While I’m grateful for the technology that enables weekly reminders, in all actuality, the calendar alert isn’t the star here. That honor belongs to the event itself.
If you kept up with my earlier posts, you may recall I memorized the book of Philippians last year. I don’t want those nine months of hard work to go to waste, so I review Philippians weekly. That involves me reciting it from memory every Tuesday in order to keep in practice and hopefully move the text into long-term memory. Every other week or so, I read the letter after reciting it to make sure I haven’t forgotten words, phrases, entire verses or scrambled the order of different passages.
Most of the time, I’m excited to review. It takes about 20 minutes if I go straight through without interruption. Since I’m making much slower progress through 1 Peter than I had hoped, going through a completed text encourages me that this is doable. By the grace of God, I can get an entire epistle committed to memory. On Philippians, the work is done, so now I’m just enjoying the fruit. (Brief aside: I don’t mean to imply the only or even the main fruit of memorizing a long passage of Scripture is the satisfaction you feel from having memorized said passage; that’s just one of the benefits, and it’s the one that’s relevant to my discussion at this particular point.) So when the calendar alert pops up, I usually smile and go, “Oh, right! It’s my day to review Philippians. Let’s do this!”
Confession: Tuesday night when the alert popped up, I immediately burst into tears. Continue reading “The Blessing of Ritual”
What joy, what joy for those whose hope is in the name of the Lord
In my last post I mentioned 1 Peter 1:8. Every time I recite it, it catches me. [You] rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. Joy is such an important word to me because I lived without it so long. I was what celebrated Welsh pastor D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones referred to as a “miserable Christian”. Honestly, I still struggle with joy, and I’m sure I’m not alone. For me, part of the reason for the struggle is found in King David’s words from Psalm 51.
My sin is ever before me. Continue reading “What joy, what joy for those whose hope is in the name of the Lord”
Ok. Ok. Ok. 1 Peter project. I know, but…
I’m reading a new devotional: Nailed It. 365 Sarcastic Devotions for Angry or Worn-Out People by Anne Kennedy. Don’t you love that? I bought copies for myself and my sisters based solely on the title and a couple Twitter recommendations. I’m only 3 devotions in, but it’s good. Yes, Kennedy uses sarcasm, but she’s also serious about pointing readers to truth about God and themselves.
The third day jumped off from Genesis 2:26-27, when God says he’s going to create man in his image.
Continue reading “Ok. Ok. Ok. 1 Peter project. I know, but…”
Sun in the Shadowlands 