Dear Disciple,

In the fourth beatitude Jesus once again pronounces blessing upon those who at first glance don’t seem to be blessed at all. Indeed, they seem to be rather pathetic. Jesus pronounces blessing upon the hungry and the thirsty. In Luke Jesus says “Blessed are the hungry…” He doesn’t there describe the nature of the hunger. Jesus fills in the blanks more here in this teaching in Matthew – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

            It would be too easy to separate out the meaning of these out too sharply. In order not to do that, we need to focus on the meaning of righteousness. Remember the Madeleine stories? Remember Mrs. Clavel? She’s lying in bed, something is bothering her, something is not as it should be, and she bolts up in bed, finger pointing upward, “Something is not right!”

            We live in a world made by a God who is a certain way, and His world is meant to be a certain way. When any part of His world is not the way it is supposed to be we say that it is not right.

            There are a whole group of English words used to convey the idea of things either being right or not being right. These words all have the word “right” right inside them -- righteous, righteousness, unrighteous, and unrighteousness.

            Righteousness exists when things are the way they are supposed to be. Sometimes you can just use the word “rightness” instead of “righteousness” to get this idea across more clearly. When things are right, as they are supposed to be, then you have rightness, or righteousness.

            Jesus came into a world that was, and is still, not right. Human beings who were made to be in close relationship with God are alienated from Him and under condemnation. Human beings who were created to have beautiful relationships with each other are separated from each other; they fight and quarrel and ignore and use and hate and gossip about and hurt each other.

            Human beings who were made to exercise loving dominion over the earth and its creatures instead abuse and exploit and make it ugly, and kill its creatures indiscriminately.

            Dear Disciples, something is not right!

            That is why we cannot put a strong line between the meaning of “those who hunger” and “those who hunger for righteousness.” The poor of the world, those who are literally hungry and thirsty and forgotten and despised and abused – they certainly know that the world’s not right. That are more ready to hear the word of Jesus.

            Yet, wanting food for one’s self on the one hand and wanting real rightness in one’s heart and in the world on the other are not ultimately the same.

            Do you want to be truly right with God? Do you want to be made new inside? Turn to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the King. Believe in Him and follow Him, and you will be right with God, and empowered to live a new life. Do you want to see the world made right? Do you long to see the God of Heaven honored and revered as the rightful King that he is. Do you long for the kingdom of God? Then do the work of the Kingdom. And pray “Thy kingdom come” everyday. Pray for Jesus’ return, when He will set all things right.

If you yearn and long for these things, you are blessed, for Jesus has made the pronouncement, “You shall be filled!” He alone can fill your soul. No one else can. No other person, movement, cause, medicine, or vocation – only Jesus can.

            As the Psalmist says:  “as the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

            As Jesus says in another place: “do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures unto eternal life.”

            And again:  “seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Dear Disciple,

We continue in our look at "The Beatitudes" in Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount." So far Jesus has pronounced good news and blessing on two kinds of folks that were in his time not normally associated with kingdom blessing, and certainly not with the expected blessing of the coming kingdom of God – the poor in spirit and those who mourn.

            In his third pronouncement of blessing he does the same, this time pronouncing blessing upon a group of people who are also not expected to end up in the winner’s circle – and that is "the meek." These first beatitude is full of blessing to the unexpected. The poor and poor in spirit are blessed. Why? They are blessed because to them belongs the kingdom of heaven. Those who mourn are also blessed. Why? They are blessed because they will be comforted. So far the kinds of folks singled out for the great news of kingdom blessing aren’t the leaders of the righteousness brigades, the truth warriors, the activists, the rich, the one’s who have made it, whether by hard work or by life’s lottery. The trend continues.

            Blessed are the meek. Who are the meek? What does it mean to be meek? What is meekness?

            Indeed, the Greek work translated here as “meek” is often translated as “gentle.” Sometimes the English word “meek” is better, sometimes “gentle.” Clearly here the better translation is the word “meek.” But what does it mean?

            Let’s approach its meaning from two directions. First, from the pattern of the beatitudes, and second from a Psalm, Psalm 37, which says pretty much the same thing about the meek inheriting the earth.

            We notice so far that these patterns are counter intuitive. They pronounce blessing on the wrong people. Specifically thinking of the first beatitude, the promise seems not to fit directly with the trait. Whom would we expect would inherit the earth? Well, we might expect those who take matters into their own hands and conquer to inherit the earth. Since we are talking about the kingdom of God here we might think of those who join ranks with the hoped for messiah in the great conquest of the last days.

            But instead, kingdom blessings, and the specific kingdom blessing of possessing the earth (this is the promise of the land in the Old Testament expanded), are for the meek, those who aren’t likely to lead battalions of army troops.

            The meek are those who let God take care of the business of being God. They are fully aware of evil, and do not crumble at the sight of it. The meek are strong. They are strong in faith. They are strong in prayer. They wait for God. They entrust their well being to God. Yes, they work hard, but they wait for God to deal with their enemies. They wait for God to deal with His enemies. The meek go about doing good, and trusting God to be God.

            Sometimes the meek have to make a stand and say “no.” The meek are active when it comes to caring for the weak and poor and oppressed. The meek can be very very stubborn. They can even be absolutely exasperating. They can refuse to be made to do a wrong thing but at the same time refuse to speak badly against anyone, or lash out, or be hurtful in any way. I want to be meek.

            The best biblical commentary on meekness is Psalm 37. It’s too long to quote here in full, but I hope you’ll read it. Here are a few lines:

Fret yourself not because of evildoers; be not envious of wrong doers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb (verses 1-2).

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness (verse 3).

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart (verse 4).

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act (verse 5).

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him (verse 6).

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it only tends to evil (verse 8).

In just a little while, the wicked will be no more…but the meek will inherit the earth and delight themselves in abundant peace (verses 10-11).

Wait on the Lord and keep his way, and will exalt you to inherit the land (verse 34).

Fellow disciple, I have pondered the meaning of this word for twenty five years, because I am very aware, in my natural state, that I am not a meek person. I want to lash out, fight evil (or perceived evil, or just people that bother me) with a sharp tongue and quick wit. I want to ACT! It’s hard to wait and trust and be still, especially in the face of injustice. But meekness recognizes that God is sovereign and will act in His timing. Meanwhile, I live in and interact with a world that is often dark and quite full of evil. I am not to fret over it. I trust God. But I don’t just sit there, passive. I go about doing good. I go about seeking justice. I go about helping the needy. I go about loving my neighbor. I leave dealing with the evil to God, and to His ordained civil authority.

            Indeed, this is the mantra of the meek – “trust in the Lord and do good.” Jesus is the King. His people, Kingdom people, are the meek. When Jesus comes back in His kingdom, those who will inherit it with him will be those who have trusted in and believed in Him, and who actively trust Him. “Trust in the Lord Jesus, and do good as His servant.” Do that, fellow disciple, and when the time comes, when Jesus comes back, the earth will be yours. You don’t need to try to take it, or anything else for that matter, by force.

            Trust in the Lord, and do good. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Greetings! Due to an out of town conference and a pile of backlogged administrative work, I took the week off blogging for the most part. Will look forward to re-entry into the blogging world next week. Peace. Joel.

Dear Disciple,

As we continue to look at these pronouncements of blessings which the church has come to call the “beatitudes,” we come to a very odd and seemingly contradictory pronouncement indeed – “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

I want to speak a word of encouragement today to you who are professed believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, to you who have responded to his invitation when he says “come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” and yet who find that the life of the Christian is not sugar and spice and everything nice, and who find that you often mourn amidst a world, it seems, gone mad.. People wonder what’s wrong with you. Maybe you’re depressed. Maybe you need medication.

An odd reality about being a follower of Jesus who is the Truth and the Life is that it tunes you into truth about yourself and about the world that otherwise you might just try to avoid or overlook. This is truth about things as they really are, not as a fallen and rebellious world would make things out to be. And this truth is often hard, and overwhelmingly sad, and burdensome. It causes the spirit, sensitive to the way things were meant to be, and one day will be again, to mourn. So Jesus says “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” No, Christianity is not just for sad or melancholy people. But it is for people who see and experience the real world as it is. There is little room for phony baloney when it comes to Christian life.

But as to our own experiences of life, what is this mourning and how do we know God’s blessing through it. In reality the most central cause of inner mourning, even for those who may not know it or recognize it, is the loss of or absence of relationship with God which comes through our sin. Even if we are restored to God through Christ and have the Spirit of God within, we are still not yet what we will be, and we still see through a glass darkly. Given the purpose for our being, that is, to know and love God, this state of “seeing through a glass darkly” can be very difficult indeed.  Not only that, but we are acutely aware of the ways in which our sin is displeasing to our father in heaven. We are upset by our own failure to live as we want to live as Jesus’ disciples. We hurt and disappoint others; we disappoint ourselves. So we seek forgiveness with sorrow and contrition. Blessed are those who mourn.

One the most common reasons for mourning would be that utter loss and desperate loneliness we feel when a loved one dies, especially one who has been a part of out lives a very long time, and who has been very close to us. This loss and loneliness of such a loss puts us in touch with the terrible reality of death, a reality not originally intended for God’s world or for our experience. Mourning such loss puts us in touch with the fundamental sorrow if creation itself, and with the truth that all creation groans, longing for the coming again of the son of God.

Another common kind of mourning has to do with loss of relationships due to conflict, abandonment, or migration/mobility. Just when you get close to a person, they move away, or they walk away. Life can throw very tough curve balls. Brokenness is everywhere. It was not meant to be so.

We mourn the loss of proper functioning of our bodies, whether through blindness, paralysis, deafness, muscle disease, or uncontrollable pain. We weren’t intended to experience this. It is the result of an abnormality that has invaded God’s world, the abnormality of sin and death.

We mourn as we face the horrible reality of sin and injustice all around us. It hurts us deeply to see our fellow human beings suffer. It hurts us deeply to see God mocked and dishonored. Some of us suffer the consequences of injustice and evil and mourn the unjust and horrible things that have been done to us in our pasts, and which we can’t just “forget” even if we can forgive. These things have impacted us deeply.

Some of us mourn as we stand face to face with environmental loss and the disfigurement of creation. It makes us mad and sad. We were supposed to take care of God’s world, not make it ugly!

We mourn also as we bear the sorrows of others who themselves are suffering. We are called to do this. It is right to do this. But as God makes us empathetic and sensitive to others, their suffering weighs upon us almost as our own.

There are godly and ungodly responses to all of these kinds of mourning. To those in their morning who would by God’s grace see their lack and their need and who would look to Jesus for their comfort, and who in their meekness would look to the promise of God’s comfort, and to His redoing of a world in desperate need of healing, to these the blessing of the kingdom is promised and given.

And so blessing is announced. Why are those who mourn blessed? How is it that they rest in God’s favor? Because they will be comforted. Because God Himself will comfort them.

When we think of having "every spiritual blessing in Christ," the first of these blessings is of course simply being included in the kingdom – “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” But there are particular blessings that go with being in the kingdom. And one of these blessings is that we will be comforted as children by a loving father. We are blessed when we mourn because we know that we will be comforted by the God of all comforts. But how is it that we will be comforted?

First, we come to know that Jesus, the man of sorrows, has born our sin. He has restored us to God and ended our separation from Him. That is a great comfort. But Jesus the man of sorrows has also born our sorrows. That is, he has in some way carried upon Himself all the hurts and brokenness of a world gone mad. He can “relate” to anything we have gone through. He has carried the sorrows of the world. He has been known the deepest darkness ever known. It comforts us to know that he knows what it feels like to be sorrowful.

Second, we are comforted by the presence of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls the Comforter, the one whom inwardly comforts and encourages us. He has come alongside to minister to and help us. He ministers to us in ways we are not even aware of. He translates our deepest groanings back to the Father when we just don’t what to pray. He is the presence of Christ to us, and He restores our souls.

Third, we are comforted by other people sent to bear our burdens and share our sorrows. How could we ever get through this world alone?

Fourth, we are comforted by God’s certain promise of future comfort. We know that one day Jesus will come back, and that death will end, and suffering and sickness will end, and there will be no more tears, and no more sorrow, and that all that is not right will be made right. The certainty of such future comfort is a present comfort.

So, dear disciples do not be ashamed that you mourn within. Look to Jesus in faith, and you will be comforted. This makes you blessed indeeed.

Dear Disciple,

If you know yourself to be bankrupt in yourself, to be sick in soul and spirit and in need of care from Jesus, then the first beatitude is just for you – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

            The kingdom of heaven is not for the self sufficient, the proud, the ones who esteem themselves highly, those determined to win the game of life and confident that thy will. They will get their reward in full. And it won’t be much.

            The kingdom of heaven is for those who know that within themselves there is not richness but poverty, not excess but need, not a rightful stake in the kingdom but an awareness of no rightful stake in the kingdom, not righteousness but sin.

            When Jesus came and preached the kingdom, he preached using words and phrases form the Jewish Scriptures that would provide clues as to what it was he was doing and who he thought he was. There were many of these Scriptures that the godly Jewish people looked in anticipation for further fulfillment in that great day when their God would act decisively to bring in His kingdom.

One great example of this is Jesus’ use of Isaiah 61:1-2 which he reads from the synagogue in Nazareth, quoted here from Luke’s gospel: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

            After he reads this passage Jesus says something truly extraordinary and, if not true, certainly blasphemous, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

            Jesus is saying is that the Spirit of YHWH, the God of Israel, is upon Him (Jesus), and that he has been anointed (same word for messiah) to preach the god news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, etc. In other words, the long awaited time has come, and has come in the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth!

            So, when Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for there is the kingdom of heaven,” He is starting of this manual on discipleship with a tremendous and utterly exciting announcement. The anointed of YHWH’s Spirit has come! Good news is at hand! It is the year of the Lord’s favor! The kingdom is at hand!

            And he has come to preach this good news to those who want to hear it, who, generally are not the power brokers, the moneyed class, the people who are doing just fien thank you, the folks working the system to their advantage, the guys whom have crawled to the top of the ladder, the politicos at the top of the food chain – but to the poor and the captive and the blind and the oppressed – all those folks who tend to know more their hopelessness and their need, and who are more ready to receive the good news of Jesus. Well, that good news has arrived. It is a happy time. Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! The kingdom of earth has not done much for them, nor will it, but Jesus and His kingdom will! It is a great day!

            John of Kronstadt, the 19th century Russian Orthodox priest, put it this way:

“The man poor in spirit sincerely acknowledges himself to be a spiritual pauper, having nothing of his own; whoever waits for everything from God's loving-kindness; whoever is convinced that he can neither think, nor desire anything good, if God will not give the good thought and the good desire, and that he cannot perform one truly good deed without the grace of Jesus Christ; whoever considers himself to be more sinful, worse, lower than everyone; whoever always reproaches himself and judges no one else; whoever acknowledges the garment of his soul to be defiled, dark, malodorous, worthless and does not cease to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to lighten the garment of his soul, to clothe him in the incorrupt clothing of righteousness; whoever unceasingly flees beneath the shelter of God's wings, not having safety anywhere in the world besides the Lord; whoever considers all his property to be God's gift and gives thanks for everything to the Bestower of every good thing and readily apportions his property to the those in need – this is he who is poor in spirit.”

If this describes you, then congratulations, for yours is the kingdom of heaven!

Dear Disciple,

Jesus’ “handbook on discipleship, the “Sermon on the Mount,” begins with the well known “beatitudes.” The word “beatitude” comes from the Latin beati (from beatus), the Latin Bible’s translation of the Greek word makarioi which begins each sentence of the “beatitudes” and which means blessed, fortunate, or happy.

            Jesus is speaking to that state of being which brings greatest good and blessing to the human person, and he is linking that state of being up to Himself and the coming of His kingdom. Remember that when Jesus began his public ministry he began by preaching the good news. What was this good news? Was it that God loved you and had a plan for your life? No. Was it that Jesus died for your sins? No. These things may well be true, but the good news, the “gospel,” that Jesus proclaimed was this: the time has come; the kingdom of God is near; repent and believe the good news!”

            Jesus isn’t just announcing that the kingdom of God is around the corner, but that it has arrived, and that it has arrived in Himself. He is the King of the Kingdom! He is the anointed! He is the Messiah!

            The beatitudes link the happiness or blessedness of mankind with the promises of the kingdom of God (which Matthew refers to as the kingdom of heaven) over which Jesus reigns as King. They point out the kinds of attitudes and actions that are consistent with life in the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom brought in by Jesus. But they also point out the promised blessings that go with such attitudes and actions of Kingdom people.

            As we shall see, the beatitudes also announce in their own way the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises, but one thing at a time.

            Are the beatitudes pronouncement, description, command, or promise? Well, in a sense they are all four. They are pronouncement of a great joy - that now is the long awaited time for Kingdom blessings to be poured out. The kingdom of God is here! They are descriptive of the kind of person upon whom the blessings of the Kingdom come. They point us, and thus command us, to the kind of life that is consistent with the Kingdom of God and its blessing. They promise blessings for those who would submit to Jesus and to His reign – kingdom blessings, blessings which fill every crevasse of need there is in the human heart and soul – theirs is the kingdom of heaven, they will be comforted, they will inherit the earth, they will be filled, they will be shown mercy, they will see God, they will be called sons of God. What else could any person desire?

            Dear disciple, Jesus has pronounced: the kingdom of God has come! Jesus has invited you to know and experience the deepest and richest of kingdom blessings. He calls you to a way of life consistent with those blessings.

            How can you know if He is speaking to you? Let me ask you. As far as you understand them, do you desire the blessings I listed above? And for yourself, do you desire to be poor in spirit, one who mourns, one who is meek, one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness, one who is merciful, one who is pure in heart, one who is a peacemaker, one who is persecuted, not for sinful and harmful actions, but because of your association with Jesus? Indeed, do you desire to be a disciple of Jesus the King? Then these beatitudes are for you.

I am currently maintaining this MSN Spaces “dear disciple” blog as a mirror to its new home, which is on a local blog server called Triad Blogs. The new URL is:

is http://triadblogs.com/deardisciple/.

Meanwhile I have two other blogs with MSN Spaces:

http://spaces.msn.com/members/joelblog

http://spaces.msn.com/members/greensboroblog

Dear Disciple,

Two thousand years ago a man named Jesus who was from a small town called Nazareth went about teaching, healing, and making very bold and occasionally outrageous claims about himself. In the process he called people to follow him. They were to be his “disciples;” he was to be their “teacher” or “rabbi.” But they were not just to be students. They we to leave behind their way of life and literally follow after him, walk with him be with him, day in and day out. This small band of “disciples” would later become the “apostles” (minus one and plus two) and through their proclamation the world would be turned upside down. I’ve always wondered if it would have been easier or harder to actually have Jesus physically present so as to physically follow after him. After all, when he says “follow me” at least I would know what direction to walk! I fancy it would have been easier. But I fancy lots of things!

            But Jesus is now raised from the dead and ascended to the Father, and we have His words as recorded by His disciples and Apostles, and we have the Spirit which The Father and He have sent as another Comforter/Encourager/Counselor to abide with us. The basic meaning and definition of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus has not changed. It is still counter to what the surrounding culture says and expects. It is still counter to what the predominant Christian culture wants to hear or expects. It is still demanding in the deepest possible way. It still asks everything of us. It is still the case, in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s words, that “when Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”

            Teaching about discipleship is all through the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation, and even of course the Old Testament. But there is one place where much of Jesus’ teaching about what it means to follow him is distilled and brought together, and that is in that teaching which we commonly call the “Sermon on the Mount.” The “Sermon on the Mount” is indeed a manual of Christian discipleship. It is not the only word, not the last word on the matter, but it is a profoundly significant word, and I have decided to begin my new “deardisciple” blog right here in this great manual of Christian discipleship.

            The Sermon on the Mount” is found in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7, fairly early in Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee, after his call of the first disciples, after a period of teaching and healing ministry and growing popularity, and after developing a significant following. It was time to speak freely and openly about what and was happening, about what God was doing, and about who he, Jesus was. As it says at the end of this teaching, the crowds were amazed, because as one who had authority.

            And Jesus, raised form the dead, ascended to the Father, is the same Jesus, and His word still speaks with the same authority. Listen to it, open your heart to it, and follow it. Until next time. Peace.

I am currently maintaining this MSN Spaces “dear disciple” blog as a mirror to its new home, which is on a local blog server called Triad Blogs. The new URL is:

is http://triadblogs.com/deardisciple/.

Meanwhile I have two other blogs with MSN Spaces:

http://spaces.msn.com/members/joelblog

http://spaces.msn.com/members/greensboroblog

I want to thank all you who have offered various encouragements along the way to this "dear disciple" blog. I am in the process of moving it to a different host in order to encourage more back and forth conversation/comment. My new web host will be a local host service in Greensboro North Carolina called Triad Blogs. I have set up a new deardisiple blog with them. the URL is http://triadblogs.com/deardisciple/. Feel free to check it out.

Meanwhile I have three other blogs with MSN Spaces:

blog 1: http://spaces.msn.com/members/joelblog

blog 2:

Heavenly Father, you are the Creator God, the Maker of heaven and earth, you are my Creator, my God, you made me, and you have redeemed me.

            Father, I want to claim the truth this morning that I am your child. Father, how great is your love for me, that I should be called a child of God.

            Father, I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me, and that I have been acquitted of guilt before you, and that you, my judge, have become my Father, and have adopted me into your family.

            Father, I believe the Scriptures that you chose me to be your child before the foundation of the world, that you predestined me to be adopted as your child through Jesus Christ.

            Father, I embrace the truth this morning that you love me more even than the best human father or mother loves their child, and that you will never stop loving me.

            Father, I desire in my inmost being to live and think and act as your child today.

            Father, I believe that you will go with me through this day, that you will provide for my needs, that you will watch over and protect me, and that nothing can happen to me that you do not allow for my good.

            Father, I know that you love me too much to let me go my own way. Father, I accept and desire those changes you need to bring about in me, and I accept the hardships of this day as loving discipline from your hand.

            Father, I thank you that you are present with me today through the Holy Spirit whom you have sent. I thank you that the Spirit will not only make your presence known to me, but will pray my unspoken prayers back to you, when I just don’t know how to pray.

            Father, I believe that I am an heir, a co-heir with Jesus, of the bounty of your kingdom, and I go forth into this day knowing that your future for me in your kingdom is greater than my highest dreams, so I wait patiently for that bounty to come.

            Father, I affirm that my adoption will not be complete until I receive a new resurrection body, and that even all creation longs and waits for that day. Give me patience today while I wait. Come Lord Jesus.

Dear Disciple,

Last time we got to see how serious the Apostle Paul was about this whole matter of putting away “that which is earthly in you.” On account of such earthly living, in contradiction to the nature and person of our righteous and holy and good God, his wrath is coming. So we can’t love Him and persist in living in such ways. But the Apostle knew that such living characterized the Colossians Christians before they came to Jesus Christ. For in verse 7 he says, “In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.” He introduces two new images or metaphors to describe the former way of life – that of “walking” and that of “living in.” To the Apostle Paul “to walk” was a way of talking about one’s way of life, one’s conduct. He is saying that before, that is, before they were raised with Christ, the Colossian Christians had lives characterized by these “earthly” things – sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed. Indeed, he says, they “lived in” them. They “inhabited” that way of life. They found their home there. They were at home being that way. But no more. They had been raised with Christ. A new life principle had come to empower them and they were no longer at home living the way they had lived before. Thus they could no longer walk that way, conduct their lives that way. Things had changed.

            But, there was still the temptation to turn back, to dabble, to return to what once was familiar. Old ruts are easy to slip into. Before he had said to put to death these things. Now he changes the image.

            “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.” These are things to be put away and put off, like discarding and throwing away old smelly clothes. These traits no longer fit the person who has been raised with Christ. They no longer fit the person who is setting his heart on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. These things are not consistent with having Jesus as one’s Lord and King and Master. They have to go. Next time we’ll look at this new list of “earthly things” in more detail. For now, dear disciple let me ask you. Have you taken this word to heart? Do you really believe deep in your soul that you MUST put these things away? Do you really understand that you cannot yourself at home living in these ways and yet still be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Sure we all slip up. But what characterizes your way of life? What characterizes your walk? Submit top King Jesus! Put away all these things! And just to give you a foretaste of what you are to replace them with, I’ll sign off by quoting form verse twelve to verse seventeen:

(12)  Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, (13) bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (14) And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (15) And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (16) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (17) And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Dear Disciple,

Last time we explored the last “thing that is earthly in you” from Colossians 3:5 that we are to put to death. All told the list contained five items – sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Again, what is the Christian, who is to seek the things above where Christ is, to do with these sins? He is to put them to death. There are many ways to kill something. When it comes to indwelling sin we must of course always pray that God by His Spirit would just take the inappropriate desires or impulses away. We also pray that God by His Spirit would give us the strength, due to our far greater love for the Lord Jesus, just to say “no.” We pray for growing disinterest in what is spiritually bad for us and growing interest in what is good for us. But we don’t and can’t pray and then be passive. Paul says to us that we are to put to death these things. This requires our thought and attention and planning. Often, when it comes to sin, the best way is by cutting off all lines of supply, everything which feeds the sin and keeps it alive. Direct frontal attack does not always work, though sometimes warfare prayer is our only recourse.

            We must grasp the seriousness of the battle. It is on account of things like these that the wrath of God is coming. In other words, God will judge the world for things like these. He will do so through the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who he has made to be king and judge. When the king returns, He will destroy that which is contrary to His nature and person and disloyal to His kingdom. So, again, this is the meaning of “seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” We are to seek to live in such a way that is consistent to Jesus being our King, our great King seated at God’s right hand, a King who is returning to reclaim his world. So, how can we indulge these things if we belong to Jesus Christ, if He is our King? We cannot. We must choose between them and our loyalty to Jesus Christ. We must do battle. We must fight. We must struggle even to the point of shedding our blood if we must. We will not win every skirmish. There will be times when we will fail. We are to continue, day to day, to repent and believe. But our lives must be characterized by walking in a manner consistent with Jesus being our King. This is what it means to repent, to turn to Jesus.

            In a similar letter the Apostle Paul put it this way, Ephesians 5:1-6:

            Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Dear Disciple,

The next thing in Colossians 3:15 that the Apostle Paul says that we are to put to death is Greed, or covetousness, which, he says, is idolatry. Now, you may notice that bibles will translate the Greek word here into English as either “greed” or “covetousness” In English today “greed” seems to mean the desire for an excessive amount of something and covetousness seems to mean the inappropriate desire for something which you don’t presently own or have. Both are far broader in meaning than sexual immorality, and either could be said to be tantamount to idolatry. Our word “covetousness” seems to fit the context better. Covetousness seems to be at the root of all the previous mentioned issues and sins. Covetousness places the object of one’s desire at the center of ones focus and devotion. One thinks much about the thing or person coveted, and plans and strategies as to how one might obtain it. All other considerations get put to the side. Anything and everything may be sacrificed at the altar of obtaining that which is coveted. The thing, the object, must be had. Covetousness and greed warp the brain, skew the heart, and twist the life focus. God gets pushed off the throne. Instead of “seeking the things above where Christ is” the object of the greed or covetousness is sought with greater passion and affection. It displaces Christ. It becomes a god. It is idolatry. Whether it be a nagging desire for whatever is bigger and better, a lustful want for a more perfect spouse, a focus on possession of a material object, it becomes the operating organizing principle of your inner life and it crowds God out. Dear disciple, look into your heart. What is that thing for you today? What is keeping you from setting your affections on things above where Christ is? Likely it is something you covet, which is eating away at your peace and contentment, and displacing Christ from being the center of your life.

We continue to look at Colossians 3:5, where we are told to “put to death what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

            We spent the last two days on the first of these things which we are to put to death, that is, sexual immorality. It may well be that the Apostle Paul, meant the second, third and fourth members of his list to unfold the leaning of the first, that is, that impurity, passion, and evil desire unfold further the meaning of sexual immorality, or he could be speaking more generally with these latter three words. The word “impurity” highlights the manner in which immorality contaminates the character of the person. Something “impure” is something tainted. We are not to be tainted inwardly by immorality. That is what living under the Lordship of Christ means; that is, seeking things that are above, where Christ is. There was nothing tainted about Jesus. There will be a day when nothing is tainted about us. And there is to be nothing tainted about us now. That is the "goal." This is not to say that we won’t be tempted, but to be tempted is not the same as to be tainted, and we are to resist actively the temptation to do something which will taint us, and make us look and be less like Jesus our master.

“Passion” or “lust” speaks of that driving force that carries us along to immorality. This negative internal energy for that thing which is not supposed to be ours can be very strong, and we are to resist it even to the point of shedding blood if need be. Once lust wins over our minds and hearts we will proceed down the path to sin until the lust or passion is satiated.

Even lust itself has a precursor, and that is “evil desire.” We know that we remain a mixed bag of good and bad inclinations inside of ourselves. Evil inclinations are any inclinations that lead us away from obedience to God and toward that which he forbids us. The potential impulse is always there for evil desire to become passion or lust. There is a thought that comes into the mind of something forbidden, and instead of it being rejected or denied, either outright or by changing our immediate circumstance and thus “changing the subject,” we nurture and fondle the thought until it blossoms forth as passion or lust. Lust then has a way of twisting our thinking, and we head down the road to darkness.

            To all of this Paul says “put to death.” We have to fight. And it is a fight unto death. How many times, despite known weaknesses, do we put ourselves into situations where latent desires can blossom forth into passion – whether it be for sexual pleasure or financial pleasure or ego pleasure or addiction pleasure. We think, “just this once,” and before we know it we are caught in a spiral into deeper darkness. Soon, we rationalize our actions and make the light into darkness and the darkness into light. As the writer to Hebrews encourages us, “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”

            We need each other in the battle against indwelling sin. We need a lifeline, a person to call for help, many persons to call for prayer and encouragement. We are not so strong as we think.

            Thanks be to God that we have not only the indwelling Spirit, but also the intercession of the Lord Jesus, who, though knowing no inward bent toward anything contrary to His Father’s will, yet was tempted as we are, though always without sin.

            “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:17-18).

            “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Dear Disciple,

Today we finish up the exhortation from Colossians 3:5 to put to death sexual immorality. 

            We live in a sex drenched culture. You can’t even buy produce at the grocery store without some sexual deal staring at you in the check out lane. It’s all over TV and movies. It’s a click away on the internet. So, it is hard to walk the path of purity. The Lord said that to look at a woman lustfully was to commit adultery in the heart with her. We are told to fell sexual immorality because it is a sin against our own bodies, in that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. We are to glorify God in our bodies. Have you ever wondered what God’s will is for your life? Well, I don’t even know you, but I know the answer. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor 91 Thessalonians 4:3-4).

            I know, people say we’re hung up about sex, we’re uptight, we’re repressed, we need therapists, etc. But the beautiful thing which our good and loving God has created has been perverted, and we would rather have it His way or not have it. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

            So, in body, mind, and heart, we are called to remain pure. And, if we are married, we are to be faithful in every way to our husbands or wives. Much works against us, inwardly and outwardly. Dennis Prager once said, and I think he was basically right, that men have an insatiable desire for sexual variety, and women have an insatiable desire for sexual intimacy. OK, so this is a generalization, but it speaks to what generally gets men and women respectfully into trouble. The denial of either desire causes pain, real emotional and psychic pain. There is no known cure for this pain. Dealing with and accepting this pain is part of what it means to grow up and become a true adult.

            Dear disciple, though there is no known cure for this problem side of death and resurrection, we do have the power of the indwelling Spirit, and we have the promise of God who says that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear. And if seeking to remain pure for our own good is not enough motivation, then the good of others should be. All sexual immorality, even private, involves sin against others. Some how, some way we are dehumanizing others or we are encouraging them to be untrue to their own need to be sexually pure. And so, to love our neighbor as ourselves means to uphold his or her integrity and purity in this regard, and never to treat him or her as a mere object of our fantasy or pleasure, and never in anyway to lead them down the road to sin themselves. Who knows what struggles they face to be true and to be pure, and there we are with our look, our flirt, our suggestion, and we may be undoing what they have worked so hard to do.

            And so, dear disciple, when the Apostle Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, and speaking the words of God to us, says put to death sexual immorality, he means it, and God means it. There is a better way, the way of love, which we will get to soon. Peace.

Dear Disciple,

Well, I’ve gotten a little off track with the Colossians study, and so I will just begin to jump back onto the track today. We were looking at chapter three verse five where it says that we are to “put to death what is earthly in you.” I waxed eloquent in previous posts about the active nature of the “put to death” process. So today I’ll begin to address the things we are to put to death. But note, first, that the Apostle Paul would not be saying this to the church at Colossai unless there was a need to, so, we are reminded, even in the really “good” churches like at Colossai, the young believers were still in process of becoming all that they were called to be. So, what is the first thing to put to death? Sexual immorality. "Sexual immorality" is a general translation of the Greek “pornea.” We are to put to death sexual immorality. It does not say we are to put to death sexual expression. God has designed a proper place for that. Remember, this is not about denying the physical aspects of human life, but the inappropriate or immoral aspects of physical human bodily life. So, there is a place for appropriate sexual expression, and the rest is “pornea,” is immorality, is sin. God has given sexual expression a proper place - within the boundaries of heterosexual monogamous marriage between a man and a woman, and only within those boundaries. It does not matter what our genetic pre-disposition may be. And I mean this not as a swipe against homosexual sexual expression. Many people undoubtedly have a genetic predisposition to heterosexually fornicate and spread their seed far and wide. But that is irrelevant. If we are bound by what our genetic inclinations are we are no different than the beasts. People are predisposed to all sorts of things. So what? The apostle Paul tells us to “put to death” sexual immorality, that is, inappropriate sexual expression. We do this negatively by denying opportunity, by fleeing, by saying no, by resisting temptation, by setting up daily patterns and structures of life which make such things improbable at best. So many people play with fire. They let themselves into situations of temptation when they should not. I will write next time about the positive aspect of this, but let’s remember; it is “on account of these things that the wrath of God is coming.” God made his world to be a certain way. We have rebelled. One way among many we have rebelled is in the area of sexuality. We must commit ourselves as those raised up with Christ to living lives that are consistent with His Lordship, and sexual immorality is not consistent with His Lordship. On account of such things, when our risen Lord returns, He will return in wrath and judgment.

We continue in our two day excursus on the St. James Daily Devotional Guide to the Christian Year. Please read yesterday’s post for Part I.

            In a recent sermon on spiritual disciplines I mentioned four disciplines of the Word – Bible reading/listening, Bible memorization, Bible study, and Bible meditation. I also have taught and preached about the spiritual discipline of prayer. I have tried to make the point that Word and prayer tend to go together, as we take in God’s Word and then respond to Him in prayer. We can easily see this “word and response” as our “conversation” with the God to whom we have been restored through Jesus Christ. I have used the word “devotional time” to express a time given both to the Word and prayer, and which allows this “conversation” to take place.

            There are of course several ways to pray, several different disciplines of prayer. Three prayer disciplines I have encouraged and written about are taken from the Old Testament, from Jesus, and from Paul respectively. They are “praying the Psalms,” “praying the Lord’s Prayer” (praying using the Lord’s Prayer as a guide), and “praying with thanksgiving.”

            The question is, how do we pull all of these different Word and prayer disciplines together into some coherent approach? It can be very challenging. For example, for myself, I simply cannot maintain focus for an extended time of “asking” prayer while just sitting down or kneeling or even just standing still. I do best at extensive intercessory prayer if I can move, if I can walk, or if I can pray out loud with others.  Plus, it is hard for me to memorize Scripture just sitting there, still. Movement helps me in that department too.

            But how can we get as many of these disciplines as possible into one devotional time? I think that both the reading schedule and the recommended flow in the St. James Daily Devotional Guide pull about as many of these strands together as possible. Simply reading the passages and saying a few short prayers can be done in about twenty minutes. Even at this minimalist level I still recommend using The Guide. But, if you wanted to weave other Word and prayer disciplines into a longer devotional time, then that is very doable as well. The Psalm reading can be done more slowly so that the Psalm is not merely read, but prayed. Or, using commentaries and other books about the Psalms, one can take fifteen to thirty minutes to study a given Psalm. The gospel reading, which is very short, can be done in about thirty seconds. Or it can be expanded into a ten to fifteen minute meditation time, using a journal. Or, using commentaries, it could be expanded into a half hour study time. The same could be said for the daily Old Testament chapter.

            The author of The Guide recommends a time of intercessory prayer after the gospel reading. He provides an excellent standard prayer which can be prayed slowly in 1-2 minutes. He also recommends praying aloud the Lord’s Prayer. What I recommend here is a time of “asking” prayer built around the Lord’s Prayer as a guide, and done “with thanksgiving.” I strongly urge the use of the Lord’s Prayer as a guide for our prayers, and this is a good place to fit that in while using this devotional guide. But there is so much to pray for, how do we have a decent prayer time that is not of impractical length? How can we possibly pray for everything every time we pray? Well, it is hard. Thus I suggest dividing the week up into themes for your intercessory prayer time. For example, On Mondays you could focus on your immediate and extended family, on Tuesdays on your church family, on Wednesdays on your community, on Thursdays on your nation, and on Fridays on missionaries. At any rate, The Guide allows for either a very short intercession or a very long intercession, depending upon what you can manage.

            And so we see how various of the Word and prayer disciplines can be woven into the use of the Saint James Daily Devotional Guide.

            In the introduction to The St. James Guide the author suggests an order of approach that would end up looking something like what I have laid out below. Of course, The Guide can be followed in a more cursory manner – I am just laying out the full suggested plan to show what is possible.  In doing so I am following the readings in the guide for Tuesday the 29th of January, 2002, which was the date I originally wrote this recommendation.

Morning Devotion

Opening Prayer:  standardized or spontaneous *

Psalm Readings:  read/prayed aloud or silently, or studied (Psalm 45 for January 29)

Following Prayer:  standardized or spontaneous (** see top of page for that date)

Gloria Patri:  See note *** below

Gospels Reading:  as prayerful reading only, or using meditation journal, or studied (Matthew 9:27-31 for January 29)

Intercessory Prayer:  beginning with thanksgiving, and using the Lord’s Prayer as a guide ****

Benediction:  Prayer of Commitment *****

Evening Devotion

Opening Prayer:  standardized or spontaneous*

Psalm Readings:  read/prayed aloud or silently, or studied (Psalm 47 and 48 for January 29)

Following Prayer:  standardized or spontaneous (** see top of page for that date)

Gloria Patri:  See note *** below

NT Reading:  as prayerful reading only, or using meditation journal, or studied (Acts 9:1-19 for January 29)

Intercessory Prayer:  beginning with thanksgiving, and using the Lord’s Prayer as a guide ****

Benediction:      Prayer of Commitment *****

OT Chapter

Read during morning or evening or at some other part of the day (Deuteronomy 33 for January 29)

            * The author suggests that morning prayer be begun with: “Lord, open Thou my lips, and mouth shall declare Thy praise” and that evening prayer be begun with “O God, make haste to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me.”

            ** The prayer for the week of January 27-February 2 is as follows: “We beseech Thee, O Lord, mercifully to correct our wanderings, and by the guiding radiance of Thy compassion to bring us to the salutary vision of Thy truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

            ***. The Gloria Patri  –“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end,  Amen.”

            **** The author suggests a time of intercessory prayer for personal needs and the needs of others. He includes in his notes a very nice general intercessory prayer that could be prayed in one or two minutes every day.  He encourages the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. I suggest using the Lord’s Prayer as a guide for a time of intercessory prayer.

            ***** The author provides a benediction taken from the NT both for morning and evening prayer respectively.

I need to tell you that the gentleman who has put together this guide, Reverend Patrick Henry Reardon, is himself pastor of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago. Yes, it is true, he is “Orthodox” in the sense of “Eastern Orthodox.” But he has put together this guide so that it would be of use to all those Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox folks who stand within the stream of historic Christian orthodoxy. He obviously holds to a very high view of Scripture, else why would he have us reading the Scripture so thoroughly. His view of Scripture also comes through in his study guide notes, which I have found to be both succinct and quite excellent. He is successful in making his notes useful and acceptable for the range of those folks using the guide. On rare occasion aspects of Greek Orthodox theology which differ from conservative Catholic or Protestant may come through, but I haven’t seen it in the notes yet. His introduction to the book Romans is short, to the point, and excellent, putting the doctrine of justification by faith at the forefront of Paul’s concern in the letter. Though his Orthodoxy does lend a liturgical flavor to the Guide, with the suggested set prayers and attention to the Christian calendar, it also puts him in touch with important aspects of our historic faith, aspects which in my view we Protestants have been too quick to throw away. The church of Jesus Christ has been around a long time, yes, even before Martin Luther. Many of Reverend Reardon’s suggested set prayers are drawn from the Anglican Book of Common prayer, and his schedule for Psalm reading is taken almost directly from the Book of Common Prayer. So he draws from Protestant sources as well as ancient sources.

I heartily recommend the St. James Daily Devotional Guide for the Christian Year, published four times per year by the Fellowship of S. James.

            You can order the guide by calling 1-800-783-4903. You can also learn more about the St. James Guide by going online to http://www.touchstonemag.com/docs/navigation_docs/products_dev-guide-sub.html. At the time of this writing (April 2005) subscription rates were $14 per year, the Guide coming out quarterly. Bulk subscriptions are also available. 

Dear Disciple,

Are you spending time each day alone with God, reading His word, praying to Him, listening to Him. I hope you are. But I know that as a discipline it can be hard, and if we would admit it, many of us are not very disciplined. Sometimes we need help!

            So, I am going to take a short break in the Colossians 3 series to recommend to all those who desire to read the Scriptures in a systematic fashion the best guide for devotions and bible reading that I have come across in my 25 years of being a Christian – the St. James Daily Devotional Guide for the Christian Year.

            Let me begin by giving a quick overview of the main features of the St. James Guide.

            First, there is a daily reading from the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) to be read in the morning. If you stay with the schedule you will read through the four Gospels once each year. The readings are pretty short, so if you get behind you can easily catch up.

            Second, there is a daily reading from another part of the New Testament other than the Gospels, to be read in the evening. Sometimes this New Testament reading is replaced by a special reading from the Old Testament. If you follow the St. James schedule you will read through Acts – Revelation once per year.

            Third, there are daily readings from the Psalms, both for morning and evening. If you stay with the St. James schedule you will read through the book of Psalms several times a year. The evening Psalm is marked by a cross symbol in The Guide.

            Fourth, there is a daily Old Testament chapter to be read morning or evening or whenever. Following the St. James schedule you will read though the entire Old Testament every two years.

            The readings are designed as well to correspond roughly with the Christian calendar. So, for example, the Gospel readings during advent are from the birth narratives in Luke and Matthew.

            Sometimes the readings are organized so that they will throw light upon one another.

            At the top of each page of the St. James Guide is a prayer that the author suggests be prayed after the Psalms are read/prayed in the morning and evening. These are eclectic prayers, taken from different parts of the historic orthodox Christian tradition. Many are very very old. Most all of them are quite beautiful.

            Sometimes the readings are introduced by commentary found in the latter part of the guide, and referenced by a notation in the schedule itself. This is usually the case when a new bible book begins in the reading schedule, or when the date has special significance in the liturgical calendar. For example, for January 31 of the year I originally wrote this recommendation (2002), there was a brief description of the book of Obadiah, because the book of Obadiah was the OT reading for that day. For February 1 there was an extended note for the book of Jeremiah, introducing Jeremiah’s life and ministry, because Jeremiah 1 was the OT reading for that day. There are often also special notes on the Psalms. The author of the St. James Guide, Reverend Patrick Henry Reardon, also has written a great book called Christ in the Psalms which I heartily recommend. His notes in The Guide on the various Psalms are outstanding.

            As mentioned above there are often also notes for special days in the liturgical calendar. So for example on February 2 there was a note about “Candlemas Day,” which falls 40 days after Christ’s birthday, the day according to the tradition of Moses that a male Hebrew child was to be presented at the temple. Thus the second NT reading on that day was the song of Simeon from Luke 2:22-38, when Jesus was presented at the temple. On February 17 there was an extended note on the historical background of Lent.

            In the introduction, the author of The Guide also provides suggestions for the actual flow of a morning and evening devotion time. I will try to reproduce this flow below with some comments. Obviously the use of such a guide will be customized by each person using it. But I find the suggestions helpful.

            The Guide can be used minimally or extensively. For example, if one could only fit in one devotional time per day, the readings can easily all be done in one sitting rather than in two. Or, since there is a cyclical nature to the readings, particularly the Psalms, which are read through several times in a year, on a given day when there is more than one Psalm, and time is pressing, one could just be skipped. You’ll get back around to it soon enough.

            But what about getting behind? After all, I have often said that I would discourage Bible reading schedules tied to the calendar, since one tends to get behind and then quit altogether out of discouragement. But now I am encouraging a reading schedule tied to the calendar. So what’s with that?

            I offer three suggestions for those times when you get behind or miss days. My first suggestion is simply to take a little extra time and catch up in the readings. They tend to be short, and catching up may not be too laborious. My second suggestion would be simply to pick up on whatever reading is there for the present date and just not worry about what you have missed. You’ll get around to it next time. My third suggestion is that you would not actually do the readings in a way tied to calendar dates. Rather than follow the calendar dates, simply read the readings in consecutive order checking off each day as you read it, and don’t worry about keeping with the calendar schedule at all. The readings will still provide a very well balanced diet, and so what if you end up reading the birth narratives in the summer or the resurrection passages in the fall!

If you are just too eager to get your hands on the St. James Guide and ca't wait until Part II of this post, you can order the guide by calling 1-800-783-4903. You can also learn more about the St. James Guide by going online to http://www.touchstonemag.com/docs/navigation_docs/products_dev-guide-sub.html. At the time of this writing (April 2005) subscription rates were $14 per year, the Guide coming out quarterly. Bulk subscriptions are also available.