Archive for the 'Practical Christian Living' Category

Over the past decade or two, journal-keeping has been viewed in some quarters as a spiritual exercise, right up there with Bible reading and prayer. I realize that keeping a journal can be very positive, just like gardening or exercise or baking cookies, but it is not a spiritual duty or the key to super-spirituality. In fact, it may very well be a snare.

Let’s consider the subject of journal-keeping first. If a person is writing about the birds they are observing or recording the weather patterns or tracking the garden blooms or listing all the books they have read and what they thought of them, then hats off to them and their journals. If a mom is recording all the funny things that her kids do or say each day, all to bless them when they grow up, well done. I have no beef with that. If a person wants to be a writer and commits to writing a stimulating piece each day to hone her writing skills, kudos! All of that kind of journal-keeping is as good as bee-keeping, which is very good indeed.

However, some folks have a different bent when it comes to their journal. They view it more like a diary, a place to vent, a means of uncorking or brewing over things and introspecting. They write down their inmost thoughts, desires, temptations, Continue reading ‘Journal-Keeping’

Sometimes (well, let’s be honest, often) we find ourselves begrimed in spiritual sin. We’ve told a lie, broken a promise, passed on some gossip, snapped at our child, or committed  some other sin(s). Sin is falling short of God’s standard of holiness. And if we are used to keeping short accounts, we feel pretty sick about unconfessed sin. It’s awful. And we go to God to get cleansed. We repent. When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Forgiveness is like taking a wonderful soapy bath on the inside. Forgiveness cleanses, and we feel clean.

But there is another way to get grimy.  Sometimes you may be standing too close to someone else when they are spewing out sin all over the place. It could be at the office where all your co-workers are gossiping and backstabbing and taking the Lord’s name in vain. It could be at school where your classmates are lying and cheating and being disrespectful. Whenever we are in the presence of other people’s sins, we can get soiled. It’s kind of like walking too close to the curb when the big truck drives by and spatters mud all over you. You didn’t actually commit the sin yourself, but you were in the danger zone and got covered with mud. You  need a bath.

Sometimes this kind of spiritual dirt makes you feel like you have sinned yourself. But the truth is, someone else did. Maybe your boss blew up at you and said all kinds of rude things that were not true, and there you were, getting covered with mud. Maybe your friend unloaded on you, spilling out all her bitterness toward the world, and now you feel yucky. You may Continue reading ‘Two Kinds of Dirt’

It’s no doubt rather late in the evening for most of you readers to think about preparing for Sunday worship. You’re most likely doing some serious preparation right now by getting some sleep (and that is what my wise and weary husband is doing).  But here are some thoughts anyway, and maybe you can apply them next week.

Prayer is always a good way to prepare for Sunday.  So here are some suggestions.

Pray for your pastor. In fact, you can start praying for your pastor earlier in the week. My husband prepares his sermon on Wednesday, so you might find out when your pastor is working on his sermon, and make a point of praying for him that day.

Pray for those who are directly involved in the worship service: the music minister, the choir, the musicians, and for those who lead the congregation in prayer.

Pray for those behind the scenes: those who are preparing and serving the Lord’s Supper, the ones who are doing the set-up or clean-up, and for those who help with the sound system or who print the bulletins each week.

Pray for the congregation. Pray for the parents who are busy getting their children ready to worship the Lord. Pray for the moms and dads who will spend a good portion of the service in the cry room. They need our prayers! Pray that all the congregation will be spiritually as well as physically prepared to worship God robustly.

We are made to worship God. We are at our best when we are worshiping Him. What better thing can a creature do than worship the Creator? And that worship tunes us, re-sets us, straightens us out, and makes us fit to go back out into the world for another week. We had better also pray that our worship, however feeble and distracted, will glorify and bless our Creator God, and make us better creatures, more fit to worship Him next week.