Category: Church

Mar 11

Searching for Prayer

Over the years, I’ve said the Lord’s Prayer thousands of times.  I’ve taken part in study groups that discussed it.  The consensus being: we frequently tend to simply recite it without thinking about the meaning of the words.  The second factor being: it was never meant to be an actual prayer, but an example of how to pray.  I was looking for a book that would take this idea and expand upon it. 

This month, I’ve been using “Lord Teach Me to Pray in 28 Days” by Kay Arthur for a kind of devotional study.  I bought this book a couple of years ago and this is my third attempt to finish it.  Each time before, I’d get bogged down or distracted, start letting it slide and, eventually leave it on my nightstand to be buried under other books.  This time, I made a commitment, as part of my Lenten observance, to finish it.  I am nearly there.  The book has 28 chapters, obviously, plus four sets of group discussion questions at the back.  Perhaps I would have gotten more out of it in a group setting.

This time, I scanned quickly through the earlier chapters and my notes on each.  As I looked back over them, I found the Lord’s Prayer breakdown I have studied before in Days 3 through 5. It didn’t vary much from previous classes, but it didn’t really expand on them either.  Days 6 through 8 seemed to be general information about the names of God and why we should worship Him. Interesting, but not what I was looking for. Day 9 is where I started to part ways with Arthur.  It was here that she first said, basically, that non-Christians have no right to pray (page 53). The furthest I ever made it before was Day 9. I think this idea may have been the reason I quit reading last time.  I decided that I should give her a fair hearing.  Even though the book wasn’t what I hoped for, I am strong enough in my belief to listen to other points of view.

After my quick review on Tuesday, I started with Day 10 on Ash Wednesday.  I am now on Day 18 and, while I still intend to finish it, I am not in agreement with much of what I’m reading.  Arthur makes some interesting points and I have found some value in what she is saying, but, during this last section, I find myself frequently disagreeing with her premises. I don’t mean to say the book isn’t valuable or that what she says is, necessarily, wrong.  I am simply saying that I don’t agree with some parts of it and, overall, I am not finding it helpful to my current purposes.

I was looking for something that gave me guidance on constructing prayers, on breaking down that Lord’s Prayer “outline” and using it to make my own prayers more meaningful.  Arthur’s purpose seems to be more about getting measurable answers to prayer.  Knowing that God answers prayers is great.  Being able to point to a given situation and say, “Here’s God’s answer!” would be amazing.  But, that’s not what I’m looking for and, as I said, I find myself disagreeing with her opinions at times.  

I know she is a well respected religious teacher and award winning author but, I was raised with the idea that we are not to have blind faith in our leaders.  Each of us is responsible for reading the Bible and drawing our own conclusions.  At the end, we are the ones who must answer to God and He will not excuse us for our sins because we listened to someone else’s interpretation of His Word. So, by my understanding, I have, not only a right, but a duty to disagree.  

First of all, I don’t believe that God doesn’t listen to sinners, that “prayer is a privilege reserved for those that are truly children of God.”  I believe that we are all children of God.  Some of us have a better relationship with Him than others, but He still listens even to those who have turned their backs on Him.  Such is what Jesus meant when He told the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 3-32).  He wanted so much for us to understand this precept that he gave us all three examples on one occasion. 

Secondly, I believe that God hears all prayers.  I can even say I believe that He answers all prayers.  It’s just that we don’t pay enough attention and that we don’t want to accept that sometimes He says, “NO.”  Arthur quotes several verses that, basically, say “Ask and ye shall receive,” but she seems to gloss over the “Thy will by done” aspect.  She appears to think that, if we don’t get the answer we want, it’s because we aren’t real Christians. I can’t begin to address how wrong that seems to me.

I am not finished with the book.  I still have ten more days to go.  Perhaps she will address my conflicts later on but, what I’ve read so far doesn’t seem to agree with my ideas of what the scripture teaches us.  Nevertheless, as I have said, I have found value in some of what I’ve read.  The fact that I disagree with some of her conclusions means she has made me define more clearly my own beliefs and that also has value.

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Mar 01

Beginning My Lenten Journey

Today is Ash Wednesday.  I’ve begun my Journey to draw closer to God.  I am no expert, but I humbly offer my feelings and interpretations of the current study.  The Lectionary readings for today are: Isaiah 58:1-12, Psalm 51:1-17, 2nd Corinthians 5:20-6:10, and Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.  

Isaiah speaks to looking for the spirit of religious practice instead of simply following the “traditional” forms.  For me, this hit a political note.  It’s how I feel whenever someone says, “Make America Great Again,” while striking at the foundations of the things that have made us great, like freedom of the press, free speech, support for the poor, and equal rights.   

In my opinion, America is still great.  Those “good old days” weren’t really all that good.  We just hid all the problems behind closed minds.  The results of this election may be a blessing in disguise.  Perhaps we were becoming too complacent.  We thought all those bad old prejudices had been overcome.  Now we see they were just being hidden behind “political correctness.”  Apparently, a large percentage of our citizenry still held to those hateful ways of thought and feeling, they were just afraid to speak out because it was unpopular.  The festering boils of their bigotry, anger, and hatred needed to be lanced and drained.  Hopefully, this will lead to a healthier America.   

The Psalm passage is about the need for God’s forgiveness, the necessity of cleansing ourselves of sinful ways so that we can be forgiven.  This also touched home since we, as a nation, obviously need to cleanse ourselves of prejudice and selfishness.  

2nd Corinthians tells us that we, as Christians, are to be Ambassadors for God.  That it is our job to set examples wherever we go as to the way Jesus taught us we should live.  America has always set an example of equality and opportunity for the world.  We were a symbol of hope.  Lately, we seem to be the opposite.  We need to once again exemplify the words on the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Matthew tells us not to perform acts of charity or worship in the hope of public acclamation.  Christ said, if we go about seeking praise from mankind for how religious we are, then we’ve gotten our reward in this life and have none in the life to come.  He urges us to pray in private and to keep our charitable contributions to ourselves so that we “lay up treasures in heaven.”  We are to be humble and serve the Lord, not bragging about what we do for others.

I’m sure there are deeper philosophical meanings buried in the text.  I know that I am not adequately prepared to understand the full meanings.  I still feel the sting of Literature classes that dug symbolism and allegory out of what seemed to me to be simple stories.  This is one of the reasons I am embarking on this journey.  I need to make an effort to more fully understand the scripture.   I still intend to go back to school and finish my religious studies degree but, that will have to wait until all my grandchildren are all old enough for school.  In the meantime, I will struggle along on my own.  I have many resource books.  I’ve been collecting them for the past four years.  It’s time to stop collecting and start studying.

 

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Feb 25

Lent Is Upon Us

The Easter season has slipped up on me this year, in spite of the fact that it’s later than usual.  It’s hard to believe that Lent starts on Wednesday.  The year is flying by.   My time is usually freer now, but I’ve gotten so used to not having time to write that I’m still letting things slide.  I have, however, been reading again lately.  I usually have two books going at once.  One in the living room for when I’m sitting there with the kids as they play and one beside my bed for winding down at night.  I also have something open in my Kindle app on my phone for when I’m stuck somewhere away from home with nothing much to do.

I’ve got more than a dozen books I’ve downloaded from Amazon or Overdrive this past year that I haven’t read.  As part of my effort to get myself more organized and back to writing, I’ve started working on them.  Some of them are fiction or self-improvement things, others are religious research materials, or cookbooks.  One I’ve just finished is “Confessions of a Prayer Slacker”  by Diane Moody.

The title of this book hit home for me.  I frequently feel guilty because I don’t spend enough time with God.  He gets pushed aside with my busy schedule.  It’s not that I don’t think about Him or try to follow His rules and live by His precepts.  It’s just that I tend to do it all while multitasking.  I know I need to focus and listen sometimes, but it’s usually second, or third, or fourth….and somehow it doesn’t really happen.  To emphasize how bad it has gotten, I downloaded this book on March 16, 2016.  Yes, nearly a year ago.  

So, I finally got around to reading it at a time when I was thinking I’d do a devotional series as part of my Lenten commitment.  I tried something similar last Easter with “Made to Crave” by Lysa Terkeurst.  Some time ago (I really don’t remember how long) I bought “Lord Teach Me to Pray in 28 days” by Kay Arthur.  Yes, this has been a long term struggle.  

The Terkeurst book was a daily devotional covering 60 days.  I did manage to finish it in a timely manner, although, there were times when I had to combine several days together to catch up.  The Arthur book has been on my nightstand for, at least, three years.  I have started it over twice.  I still haven’t finished it.  So finishing Moody’s book in less than a week seems like a big step forward.  Now am working on putting it into practice. 

I own a medium sized Dayrunner that I used for notes and keeping track of meetings when my brother, Jim, and I were actively working our web design business.  It’s a really nice binder in brown leather with a zipper.  I loved using it, but it’s been laying on my desk for a while now.  I have ordered new calendar pages and dividers and I intend to use it for my Lenten devotionals.  I spent nearly $60 on the daily calendar pages, monthly dividers, notes pages, and pockets for storing odds and ends.  I am hoping the expense will give me the added incentive to stay the course.  

I’ve printed out the Lectionary  for March on note pages so I can keep it in the binder.  One thing that Moody recommends is to read a portion of the Bible each day with a goal of finishing the whole thing.  I thought I had read it all, but recent Bible study groups have brought passages to my attention that I don’t remember reading or even hearing before, so I’ve been thinking I need to go there again.

Although this is starting as a Lenten commitment, I hope to develop it into a year long, then a lifetime habit.  As part of that, I plan to do a weekly summary here of what I have discovered along the way, about the Bible, God, and myself.   My plan is to post here on Wednesdays.  Join me, if you are so inclined.  Let’s see if we can build a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father. 

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Jun 17

Learning How Little I Know

study_5932cWhen I decided to register for the Religious Studies program at WKU, I was looking for classes on other religions.  In my somewhat arrogant opinion, I knew all I needed to about Christianity.  I did register for a class called Christianity last semester, thinking it would be an easy A.  When the main subject matter turned out to be about the writings of the early church and the format mostly group discussion, I dropped it.  The readings were difficult and time consuming.  I have a strong dislike for group projects.  I decided I wasn’t going to get enough new or important information from it to be worth the time it was taking.  I am 70 years old.  I’ve attended church all my life.  As a child, our family didn’t just offer thanks at the dinner table.  We had a daily devotional time before we ate every evening.  When my children were growing up, I taught Sunday School and Bible School.  I haven’t memorized the Book.  I cannot quote chapter and verse for random scriptures, but I know what Christianity is all about.  Do you see where this is going?  

Recently I decided that I wanted to make this blog about my spiritual journey.  Not exactly a theological thing.   Not a preachy thing or a missionary thing….more like a witness to the world kind of thing.  I feel I have something to say.  You can agree or disagree, I won’t get upset.  I don’t think it’s necessary for everyone else to see God the same way I do.  I do feel called to try and explain my own experience and where it has led me.  

As a part of the process, I had begun reading Bishop Spong’s, Sins of Scripture, but I got sidetracked.  I began to research the differences between the mainline denominations.  As a result, I have come to the humbling conclusion that I know very little about Christianity.  I know about my own denomination, the church where I grew up.  I know what I’ve come to believe over the years through various study groups and my own personal Bible study, but I know very little about other churches and what they preach.  I know a little bit of the history of the church.  Maybe more than the average person, but not all that I should.  

So, this summer, I am doing independent research and study.  I have purchased several books and I’ve been doing a lot of reading.  At the moment, I’m working on The Dovekeepers, a fictional story about Masada that I borrowed from the library.  I had heard about the refugees from Jerusalem who barricaded themselves into Herod’s stronghold and held off the Roman Army for three years.  Who chose, at the end, to die rather than surrender.  It’s usually thought of as a Jewish story.  The thing is, in 70 BC, Christianity was considered a minor Jewish sect.  So some of the people at Masada were probably Christians, they just weren’t answering to that name yet.   In any case, those early Christians definitely lived through the destruction of Jerusalem and fled as refugees into the surrounding deserts.  To understand ourselves, we need to understand the founding fathers.  Understanding them, requires learning about their history. ( Read more )

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Apr 21

40 Days of Meditation

ascensionI had never thought of the day of Jesus’ Ascension as a holiday until this year.  I’m not all that familiar with Catholic holidays, but I don’t think very many Protestant churches in the United States celebrate the Ascension.  Oh, the minister preaches about it.  We know it happened between Easter and Pentecost, and we don’t deny its importance, but it just kind of gets lost somehow.

This year, probably because of my Religious Studies courses, I feel the need to spend some time meditating on our Christian rituals and holidays.  Several people of my acquaintance have annoyed me with their attitudes about Easter.  They have suddenly discovered that most major Christian holidays match up time wise with pagan festivals and also share many rituals.   Because of this fact, they think the Christian worship is being degraded.  They are re-enforced by the reaction of many conservative Christians who are horrified by this “news.”

Christians who delve more deeply into their faith than childhood Sunday School lessons already know this, have always known this and see it for the irrelevancy that it is.  We know that Easter has nothing to do with any pagan god or goddess anymore.  The word may have come from there originally, but that “god” died with its last believer.

As pagan people were converted to Christianity, they brought their traditional ways of celebration with them.  The people and the new focus of their worship were the important feature, not the origin of the activities.  Christians today, know they are not worshiping Ishtar and the timing of Easter is tied to the Jewish Passover season, not some pagan fertility rite.

As I dug into research to prove my thoughts on this, it occurred to me that we seem to be missing a very important day in our holiday lineup.  The day that Jesus ascended into heaven should be more important to us.  We should be paying more attention to it.  What it represents is a major part of our faith.  Without his Ascension, our hope of an afterlife would be a very different proposition.

There is no way for us to know for sure, at this point, what the actual date is, but tradition tells us it was 40 days after Resurrection Day.  So our Easter season should extend from Ash Wednesday, through the 40 days of Lent, to Easter and then another 40 days to Ascension Day, which is supposed to be on a Thursday.  This year that will be May the 29th.  Like Easter, it will move every year along with Passover.

During the 40 days between Resurrection and Ascension, Jesus did not go into the city or countryside to make new converts.  He spent his time in meetings with his Disciples instructing them on how they were to carry out His teachings.  On the 40th day, they watched Him ascend into Heaven.  Ten days later the Holy Spirit descended on them at Pentecost.

So, I am making a new commitment.  A promise to spend this time studying and meditating on my religion and what it means.  I recently bought a book by Bishop Spong titled The Sins of Scripture.  It seems like a good place to start.  I also have many other religious books that I and my mother before me have collected over the years.  I am sure I will have no problem finding material.  I’ll keep you posted.

 

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