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Dec 31

Daily Dose 65: Home Library

Over a hundred years ago a Dr. Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard, made the statement that anyone could give himself or herself a quality education by reading fifteen minutes a day from classic writings that could all fit on a bookshelf five feet long.

Any book lover knows five feet does not hold a lot of books, but sad to say, it is a great deal more space than many homes give to books. An enterprising publisher put Dr. Eliot to the task of actually compiling a series of volumes that would meet his criteria, and the result became known as the Harvard Classics, 51 volumes covering ancient history, scientific principles, classic literature, religious readings, poetry, historical documents, and essays. Other such series, including the Great Books (my mother-in-law led a discussion group for the Junior Great Books for many years) followed in its substantial wake. Read more

Dec 30

Daily Dose 64: Behavior Sequence

Untold millions of times each day it happens. Indeed, over the course of your own family life, it may occur millions of times. Unlike breathing or heart beating, it will never be an autonomic response. Each sequence requires distinct, conscious attention. The accrued benefits are Everest-sized; the effort required before the benefits kick in, virtually insurmountable–and buried. Hidden under the debris of daily living, its value is constantly assaulted by schedules, expectations, activities, culture, and peer-pressure. It requires, literally, a twenty-four seven on-call focused expert to attend consistently to even a majority of the sequences. It is the obedience behavior sequence and it goes like this: Read more

Dec 29

Daily Dose 63: Year End Review

The most wonderful time of the year includes the most wonderful night to stay home. New Year’s Eve. For our early married years, we were left alone on New Year’s Eve. Our church never had a service, so we weren’t torn about missing it. We could sit around and review passages we had memorized through the year and spend a long time praying for our families, our friends, plans we had. We could talk about what we wanted to do in the coming year around the house. We could decide what we needed to save money for. We could look over the calendar and see what was coming: when we could schedule our anniversary trip, when Christmas fell the following year, when David might be gone. Read more

Dec 28

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Heavenly Conversations

  1. God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2. in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

 3. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4. having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

 5. For to which of the angels did He ever say,

“You are my son,
Today I have begotten you”?

And

“I will be a Father to Him and He shall be a Son to me”?

6. And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says

“And let all the angels of God worship Him.”

7.  And of the angels He says,

 “Who makes His angels winds
and His ministers a flame of fire.”

8. But of the Son He says,

 “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His Kingdom.
9. “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore Go, your God, has anointed
you with the oil of gladness above your companions.”

10. And,

“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the Heavens are the works of your hands;
11. They will perish, but you remain;
and they all will become old like a garment,

12. And like a mantle you will roll them up;
like a garment they will also be changed.
But you are the same,
And your years will not come to an end.”

13. But to which of the angels has He ever said,

“Sit at my right hand, Until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

14. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

Hebrews 1: 1-14, NASB

Dec 27

Eternal Temporality

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.

8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)

16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side he has made him known.

John 1: 1-18, ESV

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