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Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Devotions. Breakfast. 200th Post.

This is the 200th post on 9th Street Records. Thanks to everyone who's been checking us out!

I've decided that every (hopefully) morning for the next six weeks, I will write a brief post by 7:30am. Can I be honest for a second? I don't read the Bible. Well, not much anyway. I don't do devotions. I don't study. I'm lazy. I like my bed. I never liked reading the Bible and for the last year I've basically eliminated books in favor of "digital media." I'm so modern. Autographs to follow.

So this morning I read today's little entry in this book called "Daily Light" which kind of amalgamates all these scriptures along a theme and has an entry for each morning and each evening. Not really my preference, but it's what I've got laying on my desk, the evidence that all of us Christians leave out for any visitors looking for visual indicators of our faith. You know you're guilty too.

So, I'm taking suggestions on a "devotional." I'm really not wired for this type of thing, but I read so and so's article and thought it was a good idea. So, if you read this blog you know what I'm about. Got any suggestions? Drop a line.

p.s. - I read Psalm 139 in the Message after the "Daily Light" thing. There's a Delirious song that says "Investigate my life" and that's how the last stanza of the Psalm starts according to this translation. I like that. I wonder if God speaks with an Austrailian accent? God knows your native tounge.

4 comments:

Josh Frank said...

Ryan, have you ever used anything along the lines of a Daily Office? There are many versions of the daily prayers that have been handed down to us through the monastic tradition. My discipline is fleeting, but I find the regularity of saying prayers combined with time for silence and Scripture at regular intervals of the day helpful so often.

A very accessible way to get into this "devotional" practice is through the Northumbria Community's website. They have their version of a Celtic-inspired Office for Morning, Noon, Evening, and Compline (end-of-day). Morning and Evening contain scripture and written meditations. Check them out, and let me know what you think!

Anonymous said...

did u mean "tongue"???

Ryan K. said...

There are many good spellers out there. I congratulate them all. However, "Tounge" (pronounced "toon-jay") is actually a French word meaning "Juliet Lee is a dork."

Say La Vee. Ohv Wah.

MJ said...

I like devotionals that make me think long after I've read them. My favorites are CJ Mahaney's Cross Centered Life, John Piper's Taste and See or The Passion of Jesus Christ, DA Carson's For the Love of God, vol. 1 and a good prayer devotional is Matthew Henry's A Method for Prayer(the lanquage is old, but you could easily change it because it's mostly scripture).

It's not a matter of have a devotional time, but of living a life of devotion because you love Christ. It's carrying on a conversation with Him throughout the day about what you've learned in His work. Reading his stories and understanding his sacrifice are the only way to love Him. CJ Mahaney talks about the importance of remembering the cross each day and how that brings our focus on Christ and deepens our love for him. Charles Spurgeon said "Abide hard by the cross and search the mystery of his wounds."

Anything done other than for love of Christ is wasted time.
"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief...he was despised and we esteemed him not."

If the Son of God could humiliate himself by dying on a cross for you and me it's not much for us to give up personal time to know Him.

If you want to know God and see Him transform your world pray for love for Him and his Word.