Collateral Bloggage

I only got one book for Christmas…but it’s a good one. It’s called If You Will Ask: Reflections on the Power of Prayer, a collection of his writings/speakings on Prayer. So far, it’s wonderful. Here’s a quote about the proper attitude of prayer:

More miscellaneous rambling

I still haven’t finished book 53 yet (Orson Scott Card’s Empire). But I thought that, even allowing for that, I should report on one more of my Reading Resolutions this year. What were they?

The suspense may not kill you

Since I’ve run out of Bible to read this year, and my church is on Revelation in their Word Traveler program, I thought I’d read along.

At this point I’m going to plug a book. It’s called Revelation: Four Views, edited by Steve Gregg. Mr. Gregg is a Bible Teacher I respect tremendously. He doesn’t have any higher education in the formal sense, but I fully believe he could out-knowledge the best Biblical Scholar.

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Since I’ve run out of long-winded pontifications for the year, I thought I’d post the list of books I read this year, with a few comments (BTW, this is just print, not audio). First, the raw list:

53 Items in the List!

My last blog entry was a book recommendation for St. Athanasius’ “On The Incarnation.” I second that post, although my enthusiasm for it waned a bit in the middle of the book. However, the initial chapters are still well worth the read.

But in my edition of this little book, there is an appendix in which Athanasius advises a friend on the use of the Psalms. So, for this blog entry, I just wanted to include a quote from it.

Referring to using the Psalms in prayer…

And to that I say, “Amen.”

This is why I think that daily Psalm reading should be a priority for believers. Yes, read the rest of the Scriptures, too, but the Psalms are thick with practical nuggets for the everyday life.

A few years ago (2004, I think), with an Amazon gift-certificate, I purchased On The Incarnation, by St. Athanasius, with full intent of reading it that Christmas. Unfortunately, my reading schedule was quite packed, and Christian Classics are not always light material.

A year passed. Schedule…even more packed. Couldn’t squeeze it in with the other 67 books I read in ‘05. This year, I stopped looking for new reading material in October, with the hope that I would be able to read the little book.

Now I’m glad I did that. True, I still have two books from the library (Next, by Michael Crichton, and Buried Treasure: Secrets For Living From The Lord’s Language, by Rabbi Daniel Lapin). But I’m focusing on Athanasius. As C.S. Lewis points out in the Introduction to the book, it’s really quite a transparent work.

I suspect that if I went to Christian Supply and tried to find a contemporary work on the Incarnation, I wouldn’t find anything so delightful.

So, I’m recommending it to all my loyal readers. Both of you. If you’re for buying it, here’s the link to the same edition I have:

http://www.amazon.com/Incarnation-Treatise-Incarnatione-Verbi-Dei/dp/0913836400

And if you’re for reading it online, the same version (including Lewis’ introduction) can be found here:

http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm

On an entirely different note, pursuant to fulfilling my Resolution to read something in the Bible every day, and owing to the fact that I’ve already read the whole thing this year, I’m now going through Revelation: Four Views again, reading the Spiritual interpretation. That’s another book rec, BTW. It’s a wonderful resource, by a teacher I respect tremendously.

I had several things on my heart this morning. In the shower. I had a very short prayer-closet time this morning, and I wanted to connect with God a little more before heading to work. So, since I had a little more “alone” time in the shower, I figured I’d pray.

But I had no idea how to pray. There are three things I’ve been praying for lately, and I struggle for the words every time. I have no idea what’s required in the lives of these folks in order to bring about the good I’m praying for. What do I do?

Of course, being raised Pentecostal, I remembered a passage in Romans.

The standard Pentecostal interpretation for this verse is that this is where Praying in Tongues comes into the picture. I’m not sure what I think about this anymore. When I was a teenager, I went forward at camp and attempted to get baptized in the Holy Spirit, and then attempted to speak in tongues. Didn’t take.

At this point, I’m open to whatever gifts God has for me. I have absolutely no issue with the idea that God may want me to pray in tongues. Here’s the problem: I don’t know how to pray, in tongues or any other language.

So this verse doesn’t really help me. Do I just start babbling “Ramalamadingdong” and hope that this is my “prayer language”? Actually, I recall my attempted language: “ickabrickastickabrick”.

I don’t want to belittle the things of God. But if this is such a vital gift (which some believe is an essential for salvation), why is there so little instruction in it?

So now I’m left with the next verse.

I want whatever God wants for me. I want victory. So, for now, I claim the promise that the Spirit intercedes for me, even without me babbling like a baby.