Most Prudent

July/Holiness

30 July 2010

Who is most prudent? He who praises before death what he fears after death.

- Colman mac Beognai, Aipgitir Chrabaid (Irish, 7th century)

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

- Matthew 10.28

I onced asked a group of men why we should praise God. There was a long silence, then one of the group spoke up and said, "Well, I praise God for all the good things He does for me, all the ways He's blessed me."

"And what," I asked, "if He never did any of that? Would He still be worthy of your praise?" I had to answer my own question. Which simply points to a problem in contemporary Christianity that is so common and subtle that we might not even notice when it begins to affect us.

It's the problem of Me. Is God really worthy of praise primarily because He does something for me? Is Christianity all about me and whatever happiness or good things come to me because I'm a Christian? I thought Christianity was about knowing God and, in knowing Him, finding fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore?

Certainly there is much in God - in His being, attributes, and unceasing work - that is worthy of praise. We can never exhaust the many reasons we have to give praise and thanks to God, quite apart from anything He ever does for us! Thus, it is most prudent for us to praise Him, increasingly, day by day.

Is there enough praise in your life? If not, it may indicate not so much an ignorance of how to praise as a very shallow knowledge of Him Who is worthy of all your praise, all day long. Let us praise God, beloved, all we can, as often as we can. It's a good warm-up for dwelling with Him forever.

July Exercise Part 4: For the rest of this month let's work on developing a plan, following the free the brochure, Called to Be Witnesses and the My Personal Mission Field brochure, for pondering our paths more purposefully, and with greater Kingdom results.

Today in ReVision: Not God's Will? - Good news: God doesn't want you to be sick (sorry, I'm having a little trouble letting this go).

Also at the website, we have begun our next Kingdom Civics series on the "Founding Documents" of the Kingdom, and Every Thought Captive Satan, Bound (soon to be a Waxed Tablet book!) features the next installment of

This Month's Download: Called to Be Witnesses - Give a copy to your friends and begin talking together about how you can become more serious about piety.

We hope you'll visit our book store and check out the resources available to help you live the Christian life. And let us hear from you.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Wanderers for Christ

August/Peregrinatio

2 August 2010

St. Columban...was born on the island of Ireland...Here lives the race of the Scots, who, although they lack the laws of other nations, flourish in the doctrine of Christian strength, and exceed in faith all the neighbouring tribes.

- The Monk Jonas, Life of St. Columban (Italian, 7th century)

They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated - of whom the world was not worthy - wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

- Hebrews 11.37, 38

Irish Christians were known for peregrinatio, the practice of wandering about under the leading of the Lord, looking for people who needed the Gospel of the Lord. Columban, or, Columbanus, was only the best known of the multiplied thousands of monks and priests who left their native country to walk around Europe, bringing the Good News of Jesus, throughout the 7th century.

It would be difficult to calculate the impact for good such people made. Thomas Cahill suggests the magnitude of that impact in the title of his book about the Celtic revival, How the Irish Saved Civilization. These were not wealthy people. They were, however, men of faith, learning, and deep conviction. They had experienced the power of the Gospel at first hand, and they knew it was the great need of every human being.

These peregrini subsisted on meager food; their only possessions were the clothes on their backs and the books in their sacks. They taught, preached, counseled, and served the people they met wherever they went. They embodied the "as you are going" spirit that our Lord commands of all His followers about as well as any ever have in the history of the Christian Church (Matt. 28.18-20).

What can we learn from them? We, too, are peregrini - wanderers - in our own journey with the Lord. We are called to "flourish in the doctrine of Christian strength" and to "exceed in faith" all those around us, so that we might convince others, by our words and deeds, that Jesus has, indeed, been raised from the dead.

In your "wandering," whom do you meet? Who are the people who cross your path week-in and week-out? Do you know their names? Where they stand with the Lord? And are you prepared to begin reaching out to them with the love of Christ and the truth of the Gospel?

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Mentored Well

August/Peregrinatio

3 August 2010

When [Columbanus] left his native place, he betook himself to a holy man named Senilis, who at this time was distinguished among his countrymen for his unusual piety and knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. And when the holy man saw that St. Columban had great ability, he instructed him in the knowledge of all the Holy Scriptures.

- The Monk Jonas, Life of St. Columban (Italian, 7th century)

So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left his oxen and ran after Elijah...

- 1 Kings 19.19, 20

Who are your companions in this journey with Jesus Christ? With whom do you associate to keep yourself sharp and on the growing edge of faith and ministry? The apostle Paul reminded us that bad company corrupts good manners (1 Cor. 15.33). The opposite is true as well: good company, holy company, Biblical-steeped company makes you a better person in following the Lord.

Celtic Christians understood this. No one would be foolish enough to go off on peregrinatio without first spending a significant amount of time with a holy and knowledgeable mentor. Typically, such mentoring was done in a school or monastery, and focused on learning Scripture, growing in piety, mastering the disciplines of growth, and learning ministry skills.

Columbanus studied first with Senilis before going to the monastery at Bangor where Comgall was his master. At the age of 50 Columbanus, by then a renowned scholar and teacher, determined that his time for peregrinatio had come, and he set off with a handful of companions for the continent.

There he faithfully replicated what he had learned: win men to Christ, teach them to follow Jesus, ground them in the Word, and thrust them our for mission.

Do you have someone in your life to do this for you? Who is your primary teacher? Does he or she insist that you grow closer to Jesus each day? That you take up the challenge of Gospel ministry with everyone in your life? That you press on to bring holiness to completion in the fear of God?

If you have no one like this, ask the Lord to bring someone your way. And, while you're praying, ask Him whom you might begin to mentor in this way as well. We all need a mentor, and we should all be seeking to mentor others. This is the way the Gospel accelerates, as it did in Columbanus' day, to reach and renew people in the grace of the Lord.

Exercise for the Month: We'll be working on this all month long. This week begin making a list of all the people you meet, day-by-day. Start praying for them, using some of the promises of Scripture. Pray daily and throughout the day, asking the Lord to give you a heart to reach out to these people whom you encounter throughout your peregrinatio. All this week, just concentrate on prayer. Drop me a line and tell me how it's going.

Today in ReVision: Ethics - Remember ethics?

This Week's Download: Coming this week, stay tuned.

Don't forget to visit our book store to discover the resources available there.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Crucified with Christ

August/Peregrinatio

4 August 2010

Then he endeavoured to enter a society of monks and went to the monastery of Banchor. The abbot, the holy Comgall, renowned for his virtues, was a faithful father to his monks and was held in high esteem for the fervour of his faith and the order and discipline which he preserved. Here Columban gave himself entirely to fasting and prayer, to bearing the easy yoke of Christ, to mortifying the flesh, to taking the cross upon himself and following Christ.

- The Monk Jonas, Life of St. Columban (Italian, 7th century)

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

- Galatians 2.20

How I long to be able to say that: "It is not longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." It's true, in part, but certainly not entirely, not by a long shot. There is still much in me that needs to be trampled under the advancing feet of my heavenly King.

Doubtless we can all say the same. But we must not allow ourselves to become complacent: "Oh, well, what can you do?" We must discover precisely what to do in order to lay down more of our old life and be clothed anew with Jesus. We are called to this; it's where full and abundant life is to be found.

This being crucified with Jesus is full-time work. Even in the monastery at Bangor Columbanus knew struggles with his flesh, disagreements with his peers and colleagues, doubts and fears, frustrations and disappointments. And doubtless many of those could be traced to failings on his part. But he persevered, as we must persevere, ever seeking new ways of dying to the old person and being raised in the newness of Jesus Christ.

This is work for all our waking moments, for every situation in which we find ourselves, and for every aspect of our lives. Oh, to be able to say with Paul, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me"! Make this your aim and strive for it all your waking moments. Together we just may realize some progress, little by little, day by day.

Exercise for the Month: We'll be working on this all month long. This week begin making a list of all the people you meet, day-by-day. Start praying for them, using some of the promises of Scripture. Pray daily and throughout the day, asking the Lord to give you a heart to reach out to these people whom you encounter throughout your peregrinatio. All this week, just concentrate on prayer. Drop me a line and tell me how it's going.

Today in ReVision: Ethics - Remember ethics?

This Week's Download: Go get the Impact and Understanding of the Bible: A Questionnaire and start becoming familiar with it. We'll be using it a little later this month.

Don't forget to visit our book store to discover the resources available there.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Kindled?

August/Peregrinatio

5 August 2010

After he had been many years in the cloister he longed to go into strange lands... Accordingly he confessed to the venerable father, Comgall, the burning desire of his heart and the longing enkindled by the fire of the Lord, concerning which the Lord says, "I am come to send fire on the earth..."

- The Monk Jonas, Life of St. Columban (Italian, 7th century)

"I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled."

- Luke 12.49

Jesus came to cast fire on the earth. What kind of fire? Fire that separates things from one another, as He goes on in this passage to explain. I grew up in a steel town and there fire was used to separate pure metal from useless slag. The metal, separated from the slag by fire, was put to thousands of uses benefiting people in all kinds of ways. The slag was piled up on the mill grounds, useful for nothing.

When Jesus casts His fire - the fire of the Gospel, of the Word, of His Spirit - against our souls, does any separation occur? Do you feel yourself being jolted free from the banality of the world? The insipidity of pop culture? The meaningless of materialism? The shallowness of everyday relationships? The fears and doubts that haunt so many of your neighbors? Do you feel a fire kindled in your soul, creating a desire for holiness and a passion to reach out to the lost?

Make no mistake about it: Jesus is casting fire on the earth. He said so. And that fire is either purifying and preparing us for strong uses in advancing the Kingdom of God, or it is setting us aside in the slag piles of postmodern American life. When Columbanus experienced that fire, he knew he had to leave his comfortable professorship and go among the backslidden Christians and lost pagans of Europe, proclaiming and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a holy and perpetual glow.

Oh, friends! Where are the believers today who are thus affected by the fire of Jesus? Are we so encrusted in comforts and convenience that the fire of the Lord simply bounces off the hard worldly shells of our lives? Or have we even known that fire for the first time?

Jesus is casting fire on the earth. Don't you want to be consumed by that holy conflagration?

Exercise for the Month: We'll be working on this all month long. This week begin making a list of all the people you meet, day-by-day. Start praying for them, using some of the promises of Scripture. Pray daily and throughout the day, asking the Lord to give you a heart to reach out to these people whom you encounter throughout your peregrinatio. All this week, just concentrate on prayer. Drop me a line and tell me how it's going.

Today in ReVision: Ethics - Remember ethics?

This Week's Download: Go get the Impact and Understanding of the Bible: A Questionnaire and start becoming familiar with it. We'll be using it a little later this month.

Don't forget to visit our book store to discover the resources available there.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Embark

August/Peregrinatio

6 August 2010

Having collected a band of brethren, St. Columban asked the prayers of all...and, under the guidance of Christ, went to the seashore with twelve companions. Here they waited to see if the mercy of the Almighty would allow their purpose to succeed, and learned that the Spirit of the all-merciful Judge was with them. So they embarked...

- The Monk Jonas, Life of St. Columban (Irish, 7th century)

And Peter answered, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come."

- Matthew 14.28, 29

Columbanus was fifty years old when he left his post at Bangor and, with twelve of his students, sailed from Ireland to Gaul. Fifty then was probably the equivalent of 65 or 70 today. The fire of Christ kindled in his soul, causing him to separate from everything familiar and comfortable and to embark on a curragh to sail for unknown lands.

Jesus called Columbanus to embark; Peter, on the other hand, He commanded to disembark. Both men were called to go out on the waves in obedience to the Word of Christ, for whatever He might wish to do with them. Embark, disembark - "Come."

However we look at it - getting in a boat for mission or leaving the comforts of one for the storm-tossed seas of life - we are all called to "Come." Jesus calls us every day anew to take up our cross and follow Him. He calls us to deny ourselves, to fear nothing in this life, to be His witnesses, and to make disciples. And He calls us first thing in the morning, every day, all day long.

Tomorrow as you arise, pause on the edge of your bed and listen. Do you hear it? Do you hear His unfaltering, unfailing mandate? "Come." Come to Jesus, every day anew, and then go where He sends you, to the people He wants you to bless and the situations He wants you to transform for His glory. Get in the boat of your own mission field, or out of the boat of your familiar comforts, and go after the Word of Jesus.

You will never regret it. And you will never do anything more meaningful or more exhilarating.

Exercise for the Month: We'll be working on this all month long. Have you made your list of the people to whom Christ is sending you? Are you praying for them? What are you praying? Is the Lord beginning to answer your prayers? Drop me a line and tell me how it's going.

Today in ReVision: Great - It's been a difficult week for US global strategic policy.

This Week's Download: Go get the Impact and Understanding of the Bible: A Questionnaire and start becoming familiar with it. We'll be using it a little later this month.

Don't forget to visit our book store to discover the resources available there.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Preached and Lived

August/Peregrinatio

9 August 2010

Everywhere that he went the noble man preached the Gospel. And it pleased the people because his teaching was adorned by eloquence and enforced by examples of virtue...So great was his humility and that of his followers, that just as the children of this world seek honour and authority, so they on the contrary vied with one another in the practice of humility...

- The Monk Jonas, Life of St. Columban (Italian, 7th century)

Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments, from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.

- Psalm 110.3

Jonas wrote, "the Christian faith had almost departed that country," referring to the very place Columbanus and his troop began their ministry. "The creed alone remained," Jonas lamented. The Church was still staffed and members were present, but the pastors were mainly into keeping their jobs, not upsetting the royalty, and not being too hard on the people. They preached but little, shepherded even less, and, for the most part, busied themselves with keeping their little fiefdoms in tow.

Such formalism and shallowness received a shock when the Irish peregrini arrived. The manner of their lives and the power and eloquence of their preaching immediately began to result in converts to the true faith. They preached without compromise and lived in full conviction of the truth of what they preached. They turned their world upside down for Jesus Christ.

The Church is never so sick or dying that it cannot be revived. But it takes men and women filled with the Spirit, devoted to holiness, and fervent in talking about the Gospel to help the sleeping saints realize just how much they are missing. The Church in our day, in this country, at least, has become quite comfortable and content with its spiritual status quo. We're not disturbing anybody with our faith, least of all ourselves.

We're not turning our world upside down for Jesus, either. Nor does that seem to bother us - unless, of course, it bothers you. If it does, then pray for revival. Pray that God will revive His Church, renew her mission, and awaken the nation and the world to the truth of Christ and the glory of the Gospel. Live the faith of Jesus and talk about Him as often as you can. What God did through the ministries of those Irish peregrini He may be pleased to do yet again.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

The Might of Virtue

August/Peregrinatio

10 August 2010

Modesty and moderation, meekness and mildness adorned them all in equal measure. The evils of sloth and dissension were banished. Pride and haughtiness were expiated by severe punishments. Scorn and envy were driven out by faithful diligence. So great was the might of their patience, love and mildness that no one could doubt that the God of mercy dwelt among them.

- The Monk Jonas, Life of St. Columban (Irish, 7th century)

"Whom do you seek?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he."...When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground."

- John 18.5, 6

Rembrandt has some really wonderful etchings of this scene in the garden, where Jesus, radiant in glory, announces His name, and the crowds tumble and fall back at the might of His virtue.

Something like this was Columbanus' experience in Gaul, early in the 7th century. The monks with Columbanus learned virtue through a disciplined life in community during their time of study and service in Bangor. The pursuit of holiness was, if not quite second nature, nonetheless their daily preoccupation. They worked hard at it individually, and they helped one another along this road as of the highest priority.

As a result, they demonstrated Christian virtue such as the people of Gaul had never seen, though they'd been in church most of their lives. These were truly devout men, humble and meek, deferring to one another, and treating all people with sincerity and love. The might of their virtue opened the hearts of people to hear the power of their Gospel.

Both of these - virtue and proclamation - are seriously lacking in today's Church. Not only have we become complacent about the pursuit of holiness, we've traded in our calling to bear witness for a faith that doesn't make waves. No wonder the world is listening to us less and less.

But God can renew us, beginning with each one of us. Seek the Lord for renewal in virtue and boldness in witness. Plead with Him daily, and don't be surprised when you begin to find Him working mightily in your soul.

Exercise for this Month: You have been praying for the people in your Personal Mission Field. Now, make the effort to get to know some of them a little better. Reach out with a friendly word, and interested question, a helping hand. Lead with love as you continue praying.

Today in ReVision: Hip, Hip - Two cheers for unlikely subjects.

This Week's Download: Impact and Understanding of the Bible: A Questionnaire - Get it, get familiar with it, and begin to pray about using it with the people around you.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

The Influence of Piety

August/Peregrinatio

11 August 2010

The holy man was reverenced with so great gratitude that where he remained for a time in a house, all hearts were resolved to practice the faith more strictly.

- The Monk Jonas, Life of St. Columban (Italian, 7th century)

And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again.

- Acts 20.37, 38

I rather imagine Paul as somewhat like Columbanus. To be in his presence was to sense something transcendent, something so firm and heavy that it made you want to do better, work harder, be a more sincere Christian. No wonder those elders from Ephesus cried at the prospect of not seeing him again.

We have seen examples of such piety in our own day. Mother Teresa comes to mind, of course. Malcolm Muggeridge filmed a documentary on the Albanian saint and reported that, during one segment, when they had to tape without lights because the bright light was just too painful for the many dying inmates, an ethereal glow accompanied Mother Teresa the entire time and lit up every bed she visited.

Do we light people up for the Lord like this? Peter wrote that the hope of glory which we cherish so deeply should have such a powerful effect on us that it will show through in our lives. People will see the hope that dwells within us. They will sense something different, something attractive, and they will ask a reason for it.

But this only happens when the hope we entertain, of being with God in His glory, becomes the hope we live - showing His beauty, goodness, truth, compassion, and love to the people around us. When His glory shows through us like this - like it did in Paul and Columbanus and Mother Teresa - then others will be influenced by the work of the Lord in us, and in very powerful ways.

Do we aspire to this? Dare to pray for it? Live as if it could really be true? If we will, God will meet us, fill us, and show Himself through us in ways that others will not be able to deny. What a glorious prospect to seek!

Exercise for this Month: You have been praying for the people in your Personal Mission Field. Now, make the effort to get to know some of them a little better. Reach out with a friendly word, and interested question, a helping hand. Lead with love as you continue praying.

Today in ReVision: A Glimpse into the Future? - Is the Church in Europe merely a foretaste of what the Church in America is becoming?

This Week's Download: Impact and Understanding of the Bible: A Questionnaire - Get it, get familiar with it, and begin to pray about using it with the people around you.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Finally, the reports about Columban spread to the court of King Sigibert...

Having now fasted for three days and having nothing to refresh their weary bodies, suddenly they saw

While the holy man was wandering through the dark woods and was carrying on his shoulder a book of Holy Scripture,