Friday Frivolity: Atheist Hymnal
Here is Steve Martin singing from the Atheists’ Hymnal…
Fall down seven times stand up eight
I have a confession.
At the beginning of the year I announced that one of my New Year Resolutions was to read the Bible from cover-to-cover in a year. It was all going so well… I had managed to get through the hard bits: the genealogies of Genesis, the battles of Exodus and even the liturgical rubrics of Leviticus. In fact, at the halfway point of this year I was even a little ahead of schedule in my daily reading.
Ah, but then things went awry… I had a couple of tough, busy weeks and it all went to pot. I got out of the habit of reading my Bible each day. The habit was broken and before I knew it, two months had passed and I hadn’t done any of my set reading.
As of yesterday, I was miles behind on my assigned schedule and hadn’t done any devotional reading in ages. Today that changed. Today I set aside some time. I read my Bible for about half an hour. It was long overdue. It was a small beginning, but at least it was a start.
This struggle to re-establish the habit of daily Scripture reading got me to thinking about a similar struggle in the Spiritual life…
Failures
Times of failure are so hard. It’s always tempting to think “Well, I’ve screwed this up. There’s no point trying again”. If you’re working towards a goal, failures and setbacks can be so demoralizing. There is the temptation to give up, particularly when the final goal seems so far off.
If you’ve ever tried dieting and ended up binging one evening, you’ll know the temptation just to throw in the towel. Starting again just seems too hard and helpless. I’ve heard people express something similar in reference to Confession, choosing to forgo Confession entirely rather than repeatedly confessing some habitual sin.
Wise Words on Wednesday: Selfishness Test
If you want to find out how selfish you are, don’t ask for anything the next time you pray. See how long you pray
– Lifestories
Baptism Series Update
In response to some recent conversations regarding infant baptism, last night I updated one of the posts in my series on infant baptism, in an attempt to explain more clearly the implications of the link between Old Covenant circumcision and New Covenant baptism:
Music Monday: Where Feet May Fail
This weekend I was at the Steubenville conference in San Diego hosted by All For God. I had a great time serving over the course of the weekend. It was breathtaking seeing all the teenagers engaging in their faith and I’ll endevour to write about it in a couple of weeks. Over the course of the weekend one song was repeated a few times which really spoke to me. The song “Oceans” by Hillsong is a beautiful song about trusting the Lord:
You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery, in oceans deep my faith will stand
And I will call upon Your name and keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise my soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now
…
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior
Ragamuffin: The Movie
Today I stumbled across the movie “Ragamuffin“, which is based on the story of Rich Mullins. The trailer looks rather intriguing. Has anyone out there seen it? Was it any good? Christian movies have something of reputation…
Mormonism and The Apostasy
I’ve posted a few links to Soul Device articles recently, so I thought I’d do another. I’d like to invite you to check out the great article about the Mormonism and the Great Apostasy:
