Aphoristic Commentary: Numbers 27:16-17

What Moses said to God when looking for a successor: Numbers 27:16-17, Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.

Moses was a shepherd over the flocks of Jethro in Midian (Exodus 3:1) before becoming the shepherd of Israel (Exodus 3:10). Moses was a true shepherd, he was concerned that the flock would still be shepherded when he was gone.

Prayer of Allegiance

"The Lord's Prayer is training in how to understand the political significance of God's Messiah, Jesus. It is a pledge of allegiance to a king and his kingdom that throws all other allegiances into crisis" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 96).

Prayer: Getting Ready for a Fight

"Satan masquerades as an angel of light and resists being unmasked. Get ready for a fight" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 91).

Emily Dickinson: Envelope Poem - A 128

A 128

All       men       for        Honor
hardest        work
But            are      not      known
to     earn -
Paid      after        they   have
ceased     to        work
In          Infamy           or   Urn -

(Marta Werner and Jen Bervin, Emily Dickinson: The Gorgeous Nothings [a collection of Dickinson's "envelope poems"], 28).

Save Us!

"Christians are those who ask to be saved" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 87).

George MacDonald - The Girl That Lost Things

The Girl That Lost Things by George MacDonald

There was a girl that lost things—

Nor only from her hand;

She lost, indeed—why, most things,

As if they had been sand!

She said, "But I must use them,

And can't look after all!

Indeed I did not lose them,

I only let them fall!"

That's how she lost her thimble,

It fell upon the floor:

Her eyes were very nimble

But she never saw it more.

And then she lost her dolly,

Her very doll of all!

That loss was far from jolly,

But worse things did befall.

She lost a ring of pearls

With a ruby in them set;

But the dearest girl of girls

Cried only, did not fret.

And then she lost her robin;

Ah, that was sorrow dire!

He hopped along, and—bob in—

Hopped bob into the fire!

And once she lost a kiss

As she came down the stair;

But that she did not miss,

For sure it was somewhere!

Just then she lost her heart too,

But did so well without it

She took that in good part too,

And said—not much about it.

But when she lost her health

She did feel rather poor,

Till in came loads of wealth

By quite another door!

And soon she lost a dimple

That was upon her cheek,

But that was very simple—

She was so thin and weak!

And then she lost her mother,

And thought that she was dead;

Sure there was not another

On whom to lay her head!

And then she lost her self—

But that she threw away;

And God upon his shelf

It carefully did lay.

And then she lost her sight,

And lost all hope to find it;

But a fountain-well of light

Came flashing up behind it.

At last she lost the world:

In a black and stormy wind

Away from her it whirled—

But the loss how could she mind?

For with it she lost her losses,

Her aching and her weeping,

Her pains and griefs and crosses,

And all things not worth keeping;

It left her with the lost things

Her heart had still been craving;

'Mong them she found—why, most things,

And all things worth the saving.

She found her precious mother,

Who not the least had died;

And then she found that other

Whose heart had hers inside.

And next she found the kiss

She lost upon the stair;

'Twas sweeter far, I guess,

For ripening in that air.

She found her self, all mended,

New-drest, and strong, and white;

She found her health, new-blended

With a radiant delight.

She found her little robin:

He made his wings go flap,

Came fluttering, and went bob in,

Went bob into her lap.

So, girls that cannot keep things,

Be patient till to-morrow;

And mind you don't beweep things

That are not worth such sorrow;

For the Father great of fathers,

Of mothers, girls, and boys,

In his arms his children gathers,

And sees to all their toys

Housekeeping

"The true economy of housekeeping is simply the art of gathering up all the fragments, so that nothing is lost. I mean fragments of time as well as materials" (Lydia Maria Francis Child, The American Frugal Housewife, 3).

Forgiveness

"Forgiveness is not natural. That's why we have to pray, 'Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us' every day" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 85).

Prayer: Rediscover the Joy of Being a Creature

"Prayer is the essential practice, the gift that God has given us to help us rediscover the joy of being a creature, of being out of control" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 80).

History and Self

"Your father said I should read Jewish history. He said the first important step in anyone's education is to know your own people" (Chaim Potok, The Chosen, 154).

God Meets Us

"When we want to meet God, we Christians do not go up some high mountain, do not rummage around in our psyches, do not hold hands, close our eyes, and sing "Kum Ba Yah" in the hope of revelation. We gather and break bread in Jesus' name. That's where he has chosen to meet us, that's where our eyes are opened and we recognize him" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 73).

Defiant

"Note that the Lord's Prayer is meant to be prayed aloud, as a public gesture. Rarely do we mumble this prayer quietly. It is meant to be a very audible, very public event. As we have said, this is one of the most defiant, politically charged, public things we Christians can do--pray the Lord's Prayer" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 69).

God's Will, God's World: God's World, God's Will

"No corner of creation has been abandoned by God to sin and the devil. We pray, praise, and eat together in order to show the world that there is no corner of creation (even here!) where God's will is not being done, even in those areas where God is not acknowledged as God. The world, sinful as it often is, is still God's world where God's will is being done" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 68).

Hope Schooled by Patience

"We have just prayed, 'your kingdom come,' a petition full of hope. Now we are taught to say, 'your will be done,' a petition for patience. That the virtues of hope and patience should be so joined is not surprising for a people on a journey called kingdom. Indeed our hopes as Christians can make us dangerous if they are not schooled by patience" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 65).

LOL: Fashion Tip

I've read mounds by Peter Leithart; he is a genuine polymath writer. Theology, check. Literature, check. Sociology, check. Cultural critic, check. History, check . . . but this is the first time that I am aware of where he dabbles in fashion.

The Christian Future: Leaning Forward! Leaning Forward!

"The Christian faith is eschatological, always leaning into the future, standing on tiptoes, eager to see what God is bringing to birth among us. We are created for no better purpose than the praise of God. This is our true destiny. Yet any fool can see that the world is not like that, at least not yet. So Christians, in the Lord's Prayer, are busy leaning forward toward that day when all creation shall be fulfilled in one mighty prayer of praise" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 57).

I've often talked about "leaning together into the Christian future." Now I remember where I picked up that thought-and-phrase.

Also, note their optimism: "Yet any fool can see that the world is not like that, at least not yet. At least not yet, indeed.

Reading Notes: Disciplines of a Gody Man, Chapters 6-9, by R. Kent Hughes

Reading Notes for Introduction and Chapters 1-5.

 

Chapter 6 - Discipline of Mind

• Christians are called to the renewal of their minds, e.g., "But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16 & Rom. 12:2).
• God uses "means" to accomplish this. We should not despise the "means" that God uses. Specifically, Phil. 4:8--Whatsoever is true/noble/right/pure/lovely/admirable/excellent/praise-worthy . . . think about such things.
• The author suggest focusing your mind on such things by leveraging 1) Scripture and 2) Christian Literature.
• The thing to beware of when applying Phil 4:8 is Legalism. Don't be a prude and don't stick your head in the sand like an ostrich. Phil. 4:8 is applied to your life by doing more than merely controlling what you focus on. You discipline yourself regarding what you focus on and how you focus.
• Christians need to know how to Discern and Decide. This is wisdom. Know how to interrogate and analyze current events, your local community, a movie, a novel, the facts of your own life, etc.
• What you focus on, and How you focus, exercising Discernment and Decision-making, etc., all of this requires Disciplining our Minds.

I am aware of the wise warnings against using words like "all," "every," and "always" in what I say. Absolutizing one's pronouncements is dangerous. But I'm going to do it anyway. Here it is: It is impossible for any Christian who spends the bulk of his evenings, month after month, week upon week, day in and day out watching the major TV networks or contemporary videos to have a Christian mind. This is always true of all Christians in every situation. A Biblical mental program cannot coexists with worldly programming. . . . Not watching TV will liberate so much time, it will become virtually impossible not to become a deeper person and a better Christian. . . . I am not suggesting a new legalism which forbids TV and the cinema. . . . But I am calling for believers to take control of their minds--what comes in and what goes out (p. 75).

 

You can never have a Christian mind without reading the Scriptures regularly because you cannot be profoundly influenced by that which you do not know (p. 77). 

 

Chapter 7 - Discipline of Devotion

• Devotion begins with listening. Devotion is meditation that listens to God's Word.
• Regarding Scripture: Like the righteous man that Psalm 1 describes -- "Murmor it. Memorize it. Pray it. Say it. Share it" (p. 86).
• Where the rubber meets the road: "How much time do you generally spend in conversation with God?" (p. 93)

Chapter 8 - Discipline of Prayer

• Praying "in the Spirit" occurs through the indwelling Holy Ghost, see Rom. 8:26-27.
• Convicting questions -- Have you learned the discipline of continual/persistent prayer? Do you have tenacity and persistence in praying for your family? For your church? Do you have a written prayer list for use during disciplined prayer?
• The following quote is a modest but excellent goal -- the author recommends:

Better to commit yourself to a total of fifteen minutes and maintain it--with perhaps five minutes of Bible reading, five minutes of meditation, and five minutes of disciplined prayer. A regular time of devotion and prayer will become a habit, and the habit of prayer will give wings to your spiritual life (p. 105).

Chapter 9 - Discipline of Worship

• The author highlights the meaning and importance of worship.
• See page 111 for a survey of worship in the Bible.
• Worship is to be God-centered.
• Worship is the priority of man's life, e.g., What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
• The author says that worship takes discipline. "Many Christians have never though through the meaning and importance of worship" (p. 100).
• The author provides practical direction for prayer/preparation on Saturday evening, as well as on Sunday morning, for Lord's Day Worship (see pages 118-119). God uses these spiritual disciplines to prepare us to worship God "in spirit and in truth."

There is no getting around it: worship requires discipline. We are to worship God "in spirit and in truth," and this is impossible without discipline. We must discipline ourselves to know God's truth so we can worship Him in truth. We must discipline our human spirit, so that authentic affections pour in spirit from our hearts to God. We must discipline ourselves in preparation for corporate worship, and that does not begin with the thirty seconds after we have breathlessly sat down (p. 118).

Baptism's Call

"Baptism is a call to come be citizens of Israel, to become part of God's weird way of saving the world" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 54).

"Blessed are those who . . . What kind of world is this?"

"Perhaps the elusiveness of the kingdom is why most of Jesus' teaching was teaching about the kingdom. Imagine a sermon that begins: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:3-5). Blessed are those who are unemployed, blessed are those suffering terminal illness, blessed are those who are going through marital distress. The congregation does a doubletake. Blessed? Fortunate? Lucky? What kind of world is this? . . . In this topsy-turvy place, our values are stood up on their head. Little in this kingdom comes naturally. It comes because God is in charge and because we are invited to be part of God's rule" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 55-56).

Christian Concern

"There may be some faiths that detach the individual believer from concern about earthly matters, who strive to rise above outward, visible concerns like swords and shields, wine and bread, politics and power. Christianity is not one of those religions. We want you, body and soul. Indeed, we believe that your body is your soul. So we've got opinions about the way you spend your money, invest your time, cast your ballot" (William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life, 52-53).