Treasures New and Old

God's Story

Phil — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:13:31 +0000

Do adults get tired of fairy tales? I know I don't.

What I get tired of are children's stories that lack imagination, not the ones that are full of the "magic" stuff.

Lewis understood this when he commented on the importance of imagination and faith:

Someday you'll be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.

Rich Mullins, whom I love to quote, comments in a similar vein, "We have sinned, and grown old." (Click below to read more.)

Poetry and Piety

Phil — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:20 +0000

I reserve this space typically to comment specifically on biblical texts, but I found this essay at Reformation 21 inspiring and wanted to share it in a spirit of devotion.

What is it about poetry, and this includes, perhaps especially, the Psalms, that opens up avenues of experience and even spiritual dialogue with God?

I like this overview of George Herbert's poem and look forward to reading more.

Reading God's Unchanging Word

Phil — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:08:16 +0000

Every year I read through the Bible. This is a habit I started as a new Christian, but made a commitment to on the advice of a good friend of mine, and a mentor in my faith, when I was in my early 20s.

Some years its not easy; some days are dry, I admit. But through all the ups and downs of this discipline, I've seen some amazing things year after year in God's Word.

The best result of this habit, by far, is that I wind up constantly learning something new.

Don't Forget

Phil — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:00:14 +0000

Reading tdoay in Deuteronomy 8, I was struck by the fact that Moses warned the people not to forget who brought them to the promised land.

Apparently forgetting is not a new problem for believers!

Redefining Worship

Phil — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:57:06 +0000

Wordle image of the sermon "Redefining Worship."My sermon from Sunday May 31 at Desert Springs PCA in Tucson AZ sought to refocus questions of worship away from "what we do" in worship to "who we are" in worship. This image is the Wordle mashup of all the words in my manuscript. Get the audio and ms of the sermon here.

Day by Day with St. Augustine

Phil — Sun, 03 May 2009 19:00:59 +0000

Villanova, a Roman Catholic University outside of Philadelphia, PA, has a daily quote from St. Augustine on their webpage, here. I read it on April 29 and prayed with old Augustine for filling and satisfaction from Jesus. Will you join me in so praying?

"Please understand: the resurrection of the body will be an end without end. The body will die no more, will experience no more sufferings, no more hunger and thirst, and no more afflictions. Neither will it become aged or ill.

We shall be possessed by the Lord—his inheritance, and he will be ours."

Sermon 213, 9

Prayer: I have lifted up my soul to you, O Lord, as if I carried a jug to a fountain. Fill me, then, since I have lifted up my soul to you.

Commentary on Psalm 142, 15

Improving the Baptism

Phil — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:00:24 +0000

This blog by David Fitch discusses the Roman Catholic idea of mystagogy: "life after baptism." His ideas are helpful, and he bases them on an article that describes in some detail how important it is to have a Sunday-centered Christian faith, and to take seriously helping new Christians to become grounded in their faith.

But the overall emphasis of the article was living the life of a Christian after baptism.

While this article is steeped in Roman Catholic tradition, some with which a Protestant would take issue, not to mention some very dense language, it does raise some good questions.

My Ephraim, My Comfort

Phil — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:00:35 +0000

Dragged off at age seventeen by jealous brothers, Joseph was sold into the hands of Ishmaelite slave traders and given up for dead. He would spend much of the next thirteen years in jail, forgotten by those he helped, "cursed" by a dream of "such potential" that seemed to have no possibility of fulfilment. Until, one night, by God's grace, Pharoah had a dream no one could interpret.

Through a sequence of events that compares to the best of "plot twisting" movies today, Joseph who once found himself voted "least likely to succeed," now Prime Minister, with unlimited privileges in the realm of the king, married, and father of two sons.

The first he names "Manasseh," which means "I forget my old troubles," and what a name! The second is "Ephraim" which means, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." (See Genesis 41:52)

What he had accounted as a land of trial, God turned into a land of blessing, of fruit bearing--literally, in the case of the two sons which were bore to him. (Scripture speaks of children as the "fruit of the womb.")

But the blessing went beyond children to all manner of outward favors and possessions.

No fruit can compare, however,

God's Shimei

Phil — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:53:47 +0000

In the book of First Samuel, David goes from the heights of success to the depths of defeat before our very eyes.

The sea change takes place in the twelfth chapter where David has murdered Uriah the Hittite in order to conceal the fact that he stole Uriah's wife, Bathsheba.

In this single night's misstep, David's entire monarchy begins to unravel.

We see some of the threads of this unwinding in 1 Samuel 16,...

Distinguished Spirituality

Phil — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:23:22 +0000

No two of my children has the same relationship with me as the other. Yet, I'm the father of all six of them.

One of my children always makes me laugh--out loud. (I'll let you try to guess which one that is.) Another of my children always expresses deep personal emotion when speaking to me. (Again, can you guess who that one might be?) I love this diversity among my children's personalities.

In a similar way, each of us have a unique relationship with our Heavenly Father. Imagine...