Reading:
Read Wright's Trilogy by June 12, 2008.
To read a poem a day.
To Read The Crucified God by Moltmann in March
By July to have reread Cost of Discipleship, Luther on Galatians and on Christian Liberty, Benedict's Rule, and Spirit of the Disciplines by Willard.
To Read my septuagint grammar by September.
Health:
By the end of the year to have deadlifted 315 for at least 1 set of 3 reps.
To squat 300 pounds for a set of 20.
To do 12 Chinups with 45 pounds on my chinning belt.
To do a set of 12 on Incline Press with 185 pounds.
Prayer:
To spend more time learning to pray by psalm reading by reading a selection from the psalms each day.
To spend more time learning to pray by experience.
To talk to people about prayer as a means to talking about that faithful Jesus who is God's yes to our cries of help.
Academic:
To get an A in Hebrew.
To translate some from my greek new testament each day.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
On Taking Oneself Seriously
As Christians it is obvious that we have an important vocation. In organizing the people of God forever around himself Jesus gave the Shema and a command like unto it. The vocation of Christians is to love our God with our whole selves and to love others as ourselves. This is serious business. Love for God and others is why messiahs die, apostles suffer, why Christians are to marry, why some are to stay single, why we dip people in water, and why we partake of the Lord's supper together. This is our calling. Failure to love is why nations go into exile, why simony occurs, why pastor's fear having small churches, and why children are neglected for the sake of some nebulous individualistic progress.
The point of all this is to say that our job as Christians is serious. The one who assigns us this task is serious. I contend that our vocation and the giver of that vocation is so serious that we can not afford to take ourselves serious. Case in point, the chief cause of judgemental attitudes that I have percieved in myself and others, comes in those who think that they are incredibly important because they are so busy or at least perceive themselves to be. This means that any action that offends them personally or is something that they themselves do not do becomes a point of self-assigned superiority over this other.
Here is a case study on the adsurdity of being judgemental, from the mouth of Jesus, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."
That's a joke. If you are judgemental you are the butt of Jesus' joke. The hilarity of it all is that as far as I can tell this whole attitude comes from thinking that you can't be the butt of a joke and yet the resulting actions make you into a joke, in all seriousness you are made a spectacle of by Jesus on the cross dying for those you judge. But back to the point, I think that for many a sure fire cure for being wrathful and judgemental is to think of oneself as a joke. Take the God of the gospel seriously, take your vocation to love him and others seriously, but not yourself, you can't afford it.
The point of all this is to say that our job as Christians is serious. The one who assigns us this task is serious. I contend that our vocation and the giver of that vocation is so serious that we can not afford to take ourselves serious. Case in point, the chief cause of judgemental attitudes that I have percieved in myself and others, comes in those who think that they are incredibly important because they are so busy or at least perceive themselves to be. This means that any action that offends them personally or is something that they themselves do not do becomes a point of self-assigned superiority over this other.
Here is a case study on the adsurdity of being judgemental, from the mouth of Jesus, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."
That's a joke. If you are judgemental you are the butt of Jesus' joke. The hilarity of it all is that as far as I can tell this whole attitude comes from thinking that you can't be the butt of a joke and yet the resulting actions make you into a joke, in all seriousness you are made a spectacle of by Jesus on the cross dying for those you judge. But back to the point, I think that for many a sure fire cure for being wrathful and judgemental is to think of oneself as a joke. Take the God of the gospel seriously, take your vocation to love him and others seriously, but not yourself, you can't afford it.
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