The sun came out a while ago this morning, though the temperature stays cool. The furnace has been kicking on through the night and part of each day.
Back in my Obsessive-Compulsive Spirituality phase, I used to thumb through the New Testament a lot, with the epistles especially taking a hit. I still have a finely crafted, black, leather-bound, onion skin Oxford King James Version Bible from those days and, looking at it just now I see that from Romans 8 to Revelations 3 pages are tattered and even falling out. But the Old Testament is fine. (Other parts of the NT are slightly more worn, but not tattered.)
The point of this is that during those years I glutted myself on certain scriptures while avoiding others. It's a perfect illustration of why it's necessary to be balanced and why, in my opinion, the healthiest churches tend to be those where preachers try to systematically cover everything in the Bible.
Having said that, I've mentioned again and again how I've been concentrating on just a couple passages (Romans 8, Isaiah 40) lately. (What I've not mentioned is that I've also been following one of those plans for reading through the Bible.) The Word isn't just another book and sometimes the Spirit brings alive portions for particular times and situations.
What's rather interesting, and the reason I bring up those tattered scripture portions from The Bad Old Days is the following: My new favorite books are from the aforementioned over-read part of the Bible. Specifically I'm talking about I and II Peter. How it started is that I'd gone to II Peter 1:3 to look at one of those all-purpose comfort verses. But I soon found myself reading through both epistles and seeing them in a new light. I was ready for them. Instead of feeling the writer was beating me over the head with exhortations to pull up my socks and be a better Christian, you idiot, I felt encouraged. It was a bit like one of those movies where a hysterical person gets slapped and says, "Thanks, I needed that." Or when you really, really want to improve as an athlete so you're prepared to listen carefully to the coach and do all the drills.
Here's the sentence in I Peter 4:7 that stopped me in my tracks today: "Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so you can pray." All of a sudden the purpose for the spiritual disciplines, for getting a hold of yourself and living "soberly" as the old KJV puts it, came into view. It's so you can pray: so you can connect with God, so you can see His kingdom established in your life, family, and world. You don't just discipline yourself so you can make yourself feel more spiritual or to make up for "being bad" in the past. No, it's so you can stay in contact with the Master of the Universe (to use the title for God given in a novel by Chaim Potok). Our God's not a far, far away God, as in some religions. If we come near, so does He.
Back in my Obsessive-Compulsive Spirituality phase, I used to thumb through the New Testament a lot, with the epistles especially taking a hit. I still have a finely crafted, black, leather-bound, onion skin Oxford King James Version Bible from those days and, looking at it just now I see that from Romans 8 to Revelations 3 pages are tattered and even falling out. But the Old Testament is fine. (Other parts of the NT are slightly more worn, but not tattered.)
The point of this is that during those years I glutted myself on certain scriptures while avoiding others. It's a perfect illustration of why it's necessary to be balanced and why, in my opinion, the healthiest churches tend to be those where preachers try to systematically cover everything in the Bible.
Having said that, I've mentioned again and again how I've been concentrating on just a couple passages (Romans 8, Isaiah 40) lately. (What I've not mentioned is that I've also been following one of those plans for reading through the Bible.) The Word isn't just another book and sometimes the Spirit brings alive portions for particular times and situations.
What's rather interesting, and the reason I bring up those tattered scripture portions from The Bad Old Days is the following: My new favorite books are from the aforementioned over-read part of the Bible. Specifically I'm talking about I and II Peter. How it started is that I'd gone to II Peter 1:3 to look at one of those all-purpose comfort verses. But I soon found myself reading through both epistles and seeing them in a new light. I was ready for them. Instead of feeling the writer was beating me over the head with exhortations to pull up my socks and be a better Christian, you idiot, I felt encouraged. It was a bit like one of those movies where a hysterical person gets slapped and says, "Thanks, I needed that." Or when you really, really want to improve as an athlete so you're prepared to listen carefully to the coach and do all the drills.
Here's the sentence in I Peter 4:7 that stopped me in my tracks today: "Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so you can pray." All of a sudden the purpose for the spiritual disciplines, for getting a hold of yourself and living "soberly" as the old KJV puts it, came into view. It's so you can pray: so you can connect with God, so you can see His kingdom established in your life, family, and world. You don't just discipline yourself so you can make yourself feel more spiritual or to make up for "being bad" in the past. No, it's so you can stay in contact with the Master of the Universe (to use the title for God given in a novel by Chaim Potok). Our God's not a far, far away God, as in some religions. If we come near, so does He.
posted by Ted | 7:45 AM
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