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Theologicus

June 30, 2020 New Format for Family Devotions

I would assume that when you write Family Devotions, one might want to use said Family Devotions for Family Devotions.

In the past, I have only done one devotion per week. I don’t know what I was really thinking. Now that my kids (ages 7 & 5) have gone through the greatness that is The Jesus Storybook Bible more than a few times, I think they are ready to go through what they call, “Papa’s Bible”.

So going through my own devotions has been really encouraging and I am so glad I put in little questions to help the think process start. But since my blog only post one per week and I am reading once per day, I am quickly running out of devotions.

Enter in a new format for devotions: Series per Post.

After doing the same work in the Gospel of Mark, what becomes apparent is that the gospel writers will string together, for the lack of a better word, a series of thoughts to express their thoughts on Jesus Christ. I compare it to a sermon series that your local pastor might do topically.

New Format for Family Devotions in Luke
New Format, Who Dis?

So instead of stringing out tiny little devotions week to week, starting with the four-part series Who Heralds the Kingdom of God Luke 3:1-20, I decided to post one series per post. The singular post is broken up but the thread of thought is still there. You can do one at a time or string them all together for kids that might be able to follow along.

I hope this helps you out.

Sidenote: While reading through Luke to two little ones, the sometimes awkward readability of the ESV really comes to light. It was enough to switch to the CSB for these devotions. I have seen too many positive reviews to ignore and decided to read CSB all year long. I have yet to be disappointed. And if I am honest, the CSB has been giving me real life. I could convert over if I needed to. But that is another post for another time.

June 7, 2020 Introducing ‘Thinking Through Ministry’ series on Wednesdays

I just started a mentor relationship with an older retired pastor. I know what I have is one of the most incredible blessings and treasures in the world. Considering…

  • I am 45 years old - And to be honest, most of my pastors, even lead pastors, are the exact same age or younger. Don’t get me wrong, I am fortunate to have nothing but blessed relationships being mentored and trained by pastors 10 years younger. Most of those guys, however, have told me that they were a tad intimidated by me in the relationship espeically when they needed to press on me. (By God’s grace, they overcame that intimidation and pressed in. And by God’s grace I received it well–per their account.)
  • I am not in vocational ministry - but I think I have been called to it and I highly desire this work.
  • Having an older minister to mentor you is rare - they do not grow on trees.

Here’s the blessing of God on my life in whatever he has called me:

Old mentor - was a counseling pastor at my old church. His entire ministry was literally pointing every single one to Christ. No fixing your behavior. No trying to get to root sin. No nothing. And he dealt with sexual sin in the church. And he and his wonderful wife just kept pointing people to Christ season after season.

But God is moving them from the rural, countryside of Boomer Sooner Norman, Oklahoma to the wet, concrete, impersonal, super competitive people of Seattle.

And what God did was have a mentor that could install in me every ounce of the pastoral gift that I could hold. I have no gifting in such things. I tend to be too direct and have to work so hard on being empathetic and in the moment. By the Spirit alone, I can do these things.

New mentor - Much older than me. Retired from as a Senior Pastor due to cancer of the throat. And our gifts are so similar, is eerily coincidental. And by eerily coincidental, I mean God.

So the first thing we came up with is walking through the pastoral epistles. He mentioned it and it confirmed in me since MacArthur’ challenge to examine your church’s philosophy of ministry to 1st and 2nd Timothy. So I am going to take the letters to Timothy and Titus and let the word examine me.

In other words, my new mentor doesn’t really know if I believe in the Bible or I am heavily influenced by every wind of doctrine because I read the latest books and social media and decided the atonement of Christ was not really necessary.

I am going to use this series to examine my own theology, doctrine and philosophy of ministry.

May God be glorified.

Note: My Memoir series is ongoing but wrapping up.

May 9, 2020 Introducing Sundry Saturdays

So I wanted to split lists between spiritual and mundane items that I enjoy. Mostly, I can fill up five points on Friday easily. I wanted to keep Fridays serious and move more not-so-serious stuff to Saturday.

So…

Sundry Saturdays

May 1, 2020 Keeping it Chill

I post Monday through Thursday. It always bothered me that I didn’t have anything on Friday. I used to quote from the Valley of Vision (after realizing copying verbatium was a copyright violation.) It was nice but didn’t feel the same. But I got this idea from Nate Claiborne, who confessed he ripped the idea off from Tim Ferriss. It goes to show that no idea is original.

For the sake of timing, I went ahead and posted my first one for May 1st: Star Wars & Deadlifts Edition

Here’s now the weekly lineup:

Monday - Commentary on Romans
Tuesday - Prayers according to the Psalms
Wednesday - Memoir tentatively titled “A Life of Compromise”
Thursday - Family Devotions in the Gospel of Luke
Friday - A Few Points

April 14, 2020 Hitting My Limit

Right about the time I began the audacious task of writing two (2) commentaries at the same time and the untimely death of my brother, all of my writing stopped. I am still grieving over his loss (and thus why I am choosing to process my trauma in writing form). But I am admitting that I cannot write two commentaries at the same time.

So for the time being, I am going to hold of writing and posting Commentary on Mark and have removed it from the blog.

Here’s the weekly focus:

Monday - Commentary on Romans
Tuesday - Prayers according to the Psalms
Wednesday - Memoir tentatively titled “A Life of Compromise”
Thursday - Family Devotions in the Gospel of Luke

March 18th, 2020 Working Through Past Trauma

My testimony, tentatively titled, “A Life of Compromise” will be written and uploaded in the weeks to come. A memoir of a life being unprotected, unloved, and unwanted while being abused and raped all before the age of twelve. Furthermore, it is a witness of what happens when you don’t get the help you needed and trying to navigate through love and relationships in the most disasterous ways. I hope, in my story, that you will see that God is the only one who redeems our past, makes right what went horrifically wrong, and how to go forward from here–no matter the world, others, nor Satan throws your way.