Simon Ponsonby on Judgment

In "And The Lamb Wins," author Simon Ponsonby identifies seven key points about judgment:

1) History will be wrapped up by Christ coming in judgment.
2) Each person must pass through this judgment.
3) The standard by which our sins are judged is the perfection and glory of God.
4) Judgment is God's final word, but mercy was his first.
5) Judgment will manifest the majesty of Christ.
6) Judgment for the unbeliever brings condemnation for sin; judgment for the believer reveals sins as forgiven in Christ.
7) There is only one way by which we may pass through judgment unscathed and enter from it into Heaven.

NT Wright on Renewal

"The great claim of Revelation 21 and 22 is that heaven and earth will finally be united. This is the polar opposite of all kinds of Gnosticism with their ultimate separation of heaven and earth ... eventually heaven and earth will be impregnated with each other ... God's heaven, God's life, God's dimension, impregnating, permeating, charging the present world, eventually producing new or renewed heavens and new or renewed earth integrated with each other."

The Power of the Cross

From Thomas a Kempis:
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"In the Cross is health, in the Cross is life, in the Cross is protection from enemies, in the Cross is heavenly sweetness, in the Cross strength of mind, in the Cross the joy of the spirit, in the Cross the height of virtue, in the Cross perfection of holiness. There is no health of the soul, no hope of eternal life, save for the Cross."

Reading About Prayer

From Lauren Winner:

"Because it is easier to read about praryer than to pray, I have selves full of books: meditations on the Lord's Prayer by a dozen different authors; scholarly accounts of prayer in the twelfth century, the eighteenth century ... sometimes I think that all this reading gets in the way, that the books become excuses, something to do in lieu of praying."

Hope for the Next Generation

A devotion from James H. Kurt:

"You are our hope. You come down from the mountain, from the glory on high, to dwell with the likes of us and save us from the devil's grasp, which has such a dire hold upon us and upon our children. Only by the grace of Your presence will this generation be saved. I'll not leave till this generation be saved."

N.T. Wright on Worship

From his book, Simply Jesus:

"All kingdom work is rooted in worship. Or, to put it the other way around, worshipping the God we see at work in Jesus is the most politically charged act we can ever perform. Christian worship declares that Jesus is Lord and that therefore, by strong implication, nobody else is."

When God is in Charge

From N.T. Wright:

"When Jesus healed people, when he celebrated parties with all and sundry, when he offered forgiveness freely to people as if he were replacing the Temple itself with his own work -- in all these ways it ws clear, and he intended it to be clear, that this wasn't just a foretaste of a future reality. This was relaity itself. This was what it looked like when God was in charge."

Our New Vocation

From N.T. Wright:

"Jesus thereby leads the way to a new vocation. Instead of the frantic pressure to defend the identity of people, land, and Temple. Jesus's followers are, through the renewal of hearts and lives, to recover the initial vision of being a royal priesthood for the whole world, which is the Messiah's inheritance and now will become theirs as well."

2012 Devotional Plan

Every year I "shake up" my devotional plan, trying to avoid slipping into a rut, doing an activity simply because I have done it in the past. This year, I am adding a mid-day devotion, and continuing to add ancient practices and disciplines into my life.

For 2012, my plans are:

Morning devotion -- Daily Audio Bible podcast, going through the entire Bible (a range of translations) in a year.

Mid-day devotion -- All from thehe Evangelizo app. Praying through the daily Gospel and reflection, a saint of the day, and prayers from liturgical readings.

Evening devotion -- Night prayer from SQPN PrayStation Portable podcast, daily reflection and occassional saint readings from the BreadCast podcast.

Weekly (usually on Saturday) -- Lectio Divina, via the weekly podcsat presented Rev. Todd Spencer.

2012 Priorities

In deciding what to prioritize for my spiritual life in 2012, my focus has been on the "new monastic" and "urban monastic" movements, and I have tried to discern what of those areas I should try to integrate into my life. I have decided on 5 priorities, tht I think summarize key aspects of these that I can commit to.

S olitude
S tillness
S ilence
S implicity
S ervice

I have not worked out how each of these will be integrated into my life, but I have confidence that I'll figure it out. I have a destination.