Thielicke on the Incarnation

From Helmut Thielicke, I Believe: the Christian's Creed.

Isn't love much more than what a person feels on his wedding day, when the
heavens ring with music and the honeymoon beckons? Then even the heart of
a would-be Cassanova is brimful of what he is sure is love. But whether or
not it was really love becomes apparent only as the rice-showered couple creep
year by year through the prosaic pages of daily life--when illnesses or problems
with the children occur, or when one hurts or disappoints the other. At
these times, a really loving person does not leave the scene. On the
contrary, the worse it gets, the tighter his loving hands hold on. One
partner does not want to have it better than the other; if one lies sick in the
hospital, the other suffers every pain too, at least in spirit.

For this reason, we may believe God's heart belongs to us. He doesn't
give us a friendly nod of goodwill from heaven, but he suffers the fate of a
refugee with us as an inhospitable manger receives him and the flight into Egypt
stretches before him...That is the extent to which God becomes man, the extent
to which he loves us and wills to experience unconditionally what it means to be
human. Therefore we can believe in this love of his and be sure that be is
completely for us.

Primal

"Is that what it is really all about?" Just Sunday, a new couple worshipping at Trinity for the last few weeks, with a strong religious background, asked something akin to this primal question, "What is life really all about?" They were uncovering layers of stratification. Years of veneer covering over what seemed a primal message. They were engaged in the difficult task of sorting out what was of the essence of the Christian story, and what was added over time. And of the stuff added over time, what was helpful, and what was obfascating.

Mark Batterson, best-selling author, has written a new book asking these primary questions. He makes a fantastic statement as he descends the stairs of history to the church's basement to see what we have forgotten, what we have devalued, what we have covered over. He says, "I've discovered that when I've lost my way spiritually, the way forward is often backward" (Primal 8). Batterson is a gifted question asker, and helps lead to at least a part of the primal Christian identity. Batterson is light on the primal creed of the Christian movement, emphasizing the primal deed (great commandment). His purpose is not to emphasize who God is, and who I am in Him, but to present primal Christianity as a way of life. He invites you to be motivated by grace, not paralyzed by it. You can test the first chapter at the link below.

http://reader.waterbrookmultnomah.com/2009/12/07/sneak-peek-primal-by-mark-batterson/

Revival and the Liturgy

From Bishop Bo Giertz,

This, then, is our program: to learn of the past that we may be prepared to
meet the coming day, to immerse ourselves so deeply in the great life stream of
the church that we may be equipped to proclaim the Word of God in a new age, and
to modern men and women, and to live His life in the manner which the new
century in the history of the church demands.

From Liturgy and Spiritual Awakening

More quotes:

Awakening is the fire that flames forth in dead souls.
Liturgy is the work of the same Spirit in preserving the flame which has
been lighted.
Probably we could express the difference between the two by saying that
awakening is like the fire of the Lord which fell upon the water-drenched altar
of Elijah. It is the uncalculable, sovereign invasion of God, which
reveals His power among the heathen. Liturgy, on the other hand, is the
fire which burns upon the altar in the temple and about which the Scriptures
proclaim that it never be extinguished. Awakening is lightning from above
that ignites a new fire. Liturgy is the flame of the Lord already burning
among us, lighting and warming the faithful.

Sad Prayers

I did chapel at Pacific Lutheran High School in Torrance this morning. I talked about strongholds--those things we habitually run too looking for protection, provision, life, relief, release... They are really false gods. We go to them because we trust them. The problem is, they are not trustworthy. Here are some examples of sad prayers to some strongholds.

Worry. "Dear Worry, in exchange for loss of sleep, health problems including ulcers, reflux, heartburn, and even divraticulitus, I ask that you would be my companion until all this works out, if it ever will, which I'm sure it won't with my luck. Amen."

Unforgiveness/Bitterness. "Dear Bitterness, you know I got the raw end of this deal. Its always going to be the same, I guess its my destiny to be the victim. Dear Unforgiveness, help me guard my heart, make me so hard that anyone who tries to get close will bounce off me. Amen."

Addiction. "Dear Addiction (materialism, booze, food, porn, gambling, amuzement, etc), my real life hurts so bad, that this made up life is my only refuge. All the stuff I can buy satisfies...for a while, the substance anesticizes...for a while, the beautiful, fake person on the screen or in a magazine, or in a book won't hurt me like the realy people in my life, and in my fantasy they will accept me for who I am. Amen."

Perfectionism. "Dear Perfectionism, I know if I dedicated my life to perfection nothing could harm me. If I keep trying harder and harder to get it right-everything will go right. I haven't been able to get it all right in the past, but maybe something will be different this time. I commit myself to at least a 4.0 grade point average, never being late (Please let there never be traffic), perfect musicianship and sporting ability, relationship where I never offend others and am never offended. I know you can find some other perfect people for friends and a future spouse. I haven't met them yet, but they must be out there somewhere. Amen."

Try Psalm 71:1 or 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 instead!

Wheat and Harvest

If you ever stood in a wheat field...

If you ever rode on a combine havesting wheat...

If you ever read about Jesus talking about wheat and harvest...

You might enjoy these words and pictures from Ann Voskamp, a woman of faith, a wife of a farmer, a gifted writer.
http://www.aholyexperience.com/2008/07/harvest-workers.html
http://www.aholyexperience.com/2009/08/like-wheat.html

After you read a couple of her blog posts you may want to bookmark her site and return often:
http://www.aholyexperience.com/

I think you will be glad you did.

Decay

Yesterdays prayer after devotion by Bishop Bo Giertz:

"We pray to You, Holy Spirit, that You let Your wind blow over the world. May it destroy and eliminate every that has decayed in Your church and everything that is parched and dead in Christianity. Fill every heart with a faith that can conquer the world and with joy that warms the children of the world and with peace that the world can not give..."

What would the church look like if God answered this prayer?

Help me out

Could you help me out by taking the following survey for fall ministries here at Trinity? Much thanks!
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/139674/fall-09-survey

Devotional Resourse Extraordinaire!

You may be interested in what I am using for my personal devotional life. In our weekly worship bulletin we make available a series of Bible readings throughout the week. That list can be found on pages 299-304 in our hymnal. A resource has been produced that includes all of those readings printed out, along with orders for daily prayer (for use as individuals or families or small groups), the small catechism, the whole Psalter, and numerous other prayer resources. This is all under one cover and is available this month for half price at the following website:

http://www.cph.org/dailyprayer

I use the morning prayer service which includes a "wake up call" verse to begin, Psalm 95, the Psalm for the day, and Old Testament Reading and and New Testament Reading (using this resource for the whole year gets you through almost the whole NT, and 1/3 of the OT). An additional reading from a trusted Christian source is also included. Then there is the morning canticle (the Benedictus - Zechariah's song from Luke 1). Then a time for prayer and petition, and a closing benediction. Just this morning the Lord had a clear communication for me from His word and through the prayer time.

A few evenings a week I use the Compline service (Night Prayer) which is a service of made up of various Bible verses that allow me to sleep in peace, pray for my family and home, and for those who work through the night, and for my fellow believers.

If you are looking for some structure for your daily prayer, this resource may help. It has helped me.

Let me know if you get this resource so we can support one another. Also, If you have another helpful discipline, comment below. Encourage us!

Also, the text included is the English Standard Version.