This Side of the Pulpit » Entries tagged with "devotion"
Little Legalists
In our hearts we are aspiring tyrants, everyone of us. Rules are to be applied, mostly to others, unless of course it’s inconvenient for us. Even when you get good Confessional Lutherans and Democrats who insist that legalism is wrong and freedom from rules and pieties is necessary, then, by God, it is Necessary, and you are wicked if you disagree. Yes, even bohemians ascribe to their own rule-book. Hippies and hipsters follow their code of behavior and thought-laws. There is no cure for this either. Only death gets rid of it. Some of us die earlier and get it over with. But even most of those still have their little legal code hiding away deep in their hearts, resisting the golden stake of wood planted once on the Hill of the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Tough Work
It’s hard work, reading the Bible. And it gets harder the more you do it. Ever try reading it straight through? That may be the toughest of all. It takes more than the dedication, say, of reading through War and Peace, or The New York Times. It’s tough because it requires discipline, but more than discipline, more than setting the goal. It’s confrontational. The more you read, the more you are confronted with yourself. It’s not just … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Jesus, Priceless Treasure
As I said on Sunday, I think this, coupled with the tune “Jesu, Meine Freude” is probably the antithesis of entertainment-driven, contemporary worship, “praise songs” so popular today. Jesus, priceless Treasure, Source of purest pleasure, Truest Friend to me. Ah, how long in anguish Shall my spirit languish, Yearning, Lord, for Thee? Thou art mine, O Lamb divine! I will suffer naught to hide Thee, Naught I ask beside Thee. In Thine arms I rest me; Foes who would molest me Cannot reach me here. Though the earth be shaking, Every heart be quaking, Jesus calms my fear. Lightnings flash and thunders crash; Yet, though sin and hell assail me, Jesus will not fail me. Satan, I defy thee; Death, I now decry thee; Fear, I bid thee cease. World, thou shalt not harm me Nor thy threats alarm me While I sing of peace. God’s great power guards every hour; Earth and all its depths … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
What to Expect this Lenten Season
I hate to put it like this, but it is almost a rule that when we “make progress” in our Christian life, we will be tempted. Well, I mean we are tempted at every moment, but it gets stronger and less subtle when we are disciplining ourselves. Ok, so what do I mean? Well, if you are fasting, be prepared for temptation. Not just for eating more food, or eating the food you are abstaining from. I mean you will be tempted with things you have long set aside. That itch for nicotine you hadn’t had for years? There it is again. That feeling of sowing your wild oats, like you did before you were married? Yep, that old “friend” may come back. Sometimes literally. Even if you are not participating in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
So…Where’s the Beef?
Everything has limitations. Remind yourself of this at the beginning, before you think that it will change the world. Because he won’t, and she won’t and that Thing, the Promised Thing, is not so promising in the cold light of dawn. But don’t worry. What you want is not bad. That ache to have it all work out, that Solution that is going to Make It All Right, you know, some people called it Hope, or Change. Some people call it by the name of a country, or a church officer, or a plan. I call it the name of a Tool sometimes, or look at the clock or calendar. No, whatever it is you call it is not bad. We were promised a Messiah. It was written in our bones. It is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Eucharisto
Perhaps the greatest single failure in the Christian life is the refusal to give thanks. Thanks that is dependent upon success or the fulfillment and pleasure of our own will is indeed thanksgiving – but is weak indeed. It is easy to give thanks for our pleasures and self-satisfactions (though even then we often forget to give thanks). Fr. Stephen Freeman (source) You could say that thanksgiving to God in every circumstance is the mark of a Christian; it is our daily activity, the source of our joy, the fountain from which our hearts beat and our days become something more than rote and given. They become life and joy and full. It is absurd and appears to be the height of foolishness to give thanks for the cancer, … Read entire article »
Filed under: The World
Dreams of Lonliness, Like a Heartbeat
I dreamed last night a terrible dream. It was one of those heart-pounders that, when you wake up disoriented in the darkened room, it takes a few moments to realize your mistakes and sins were not real, that you didn’t kill the person, quit your job in a colossally gruesome manner, that you didn’t abandon wife or child or make that phone call or say those things after all. I told my wife about it and she told me to repent. “But it was just a dream,” I said. “Repent anyway.” “But it wasn’t real. I would never do what I did in the dream.” “Repent anyway,” she insisted. But did I need to? Did I need to repent of what happened only in my mind while I slept? How could I be responsible for what … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
This is the Day
Here it is Holy Tuesday and what have we got? Me? Not much. This Lenten season was not so Great or Holy or marked by that much different for me. My fast has been puny and easily neglected. Having a lackluster Lent is not a bad thing, though, as long as we learn from it. We learn just how weak we are. Let’s face it: cutting down on food is pretty easy, all things considered. If we cannot do that, consider how hard it is to cut out the things that are in most important and dreadful, like judging and lust and coveting and sloth? It is the same with our positive Lenten devotions like increasing prayer and giving. So easy to say, so hard to do. “The spirit is willing, but … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Today’s To-Do
God is good and merciful and does not treat us as we deserve. Repeat as necessary several times an hour. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
Adaptable
It’s still frozen here. Three degrees this morning. Seven degrees yesterday morning, though when it got up to 2o yesterday afternoon it felt downright warm. I can’t imagine what 40 degrees is going to feel like. Shorts weather. It wasn’t that long ago that 40 was ice-cold and twenty unthinkable. It’s amazing how we get used to relative temperatures, how much and how quickly our bodies adjust to the environment. But it’s more than our bodies. We are adaptable creatures, for good or ill. When we surround ourselves with beauty and light and goodness, we adapt to it, grow more into it. The opposite is also true. Mom was right: he was a bad influence on you and changed you. And so St. Paul writes, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things … Read entire article »
Filed under: Theology
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