John and Kathy Deisher

One Call, One Harvest, 50 Teams

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Weary

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Man sitting in the water reading a book

weary

adjective

  1. Physically or mentally tired.
  2. Expressive of or prompted by tiredness.
  3. Having one’s interest, forbearance, or indulgence worn out.

Some weeks are simply longer than others. They are not necessarily busier; they are simply longer. For those weeks, the word “weary” works much better than “tired”. Or maybe it is that “weary” describes tired taken to a different place.

Weary weeks do not come around very often. Most of the time they are simply the result of an overload of accumulated tasks that have to be completed. I think most of those weeks are not anyone’s fault. They are the intersection of multiple calendars landing on your own. It happens.

So when I have had a weary week, I refresh by reading. The genre is less important than the act. Reading restores my spirit. That is what I will be doing in a couple of days when this weary week (actually about 10 days) comes to an end.

Had a weary week? Then read and refresh!

What I’ve Been Reading – April 2, 2022

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  • The good news of your God-given limits – Acton Institute PowerBlog– “McGever argues that the basic problem with the productivity genre is not that it doesn’t adequately account for our limits. It’s that productivity authors “fail to account for theological anthropology—or to put it simply, they don’t consider what it means for human beings to be created by a Creator.”
  • The Centrality of Communication in the Missionary Task – OutreachMagazine.com – “Evangelism is the most basic and radical ministry possible to a human being. This is true not because the spiritual is more important than the physical, but because the eternal is more important than the temporal.”
  • Arianna Huffington On Cancel Culture and the Need for Redemption – “But true change at the systemic level has to be accompanied by change at the personal level. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn put it, “the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart.” Dr. King knew that, which is why he had made it clear that to change society, “you’ve got to change the heart.”
  • How Suffering Can Save Us All – Warrior Poet Supply Co – “Our primitive selves see suffering as a threat to our survival. But really, comfort, not suffering, is what’s causing us to crumble and melt like snowflakes. The right kinds of suffering, though, make us tough as nails—physically and spiritually. The right kinds of suffering can save us all.”

What is in Us?

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[A note to my readers. During this time of “shelter-in-place” I thought I would write a series of devotionals aimed for those in vocational ministry. I recently re-read Eugene Peterson’s book “Working the Angles” and thought that this would be a great time to refocus on my ministry priorities. There is some good stuff in there for those who are not in vocational ministry, but it is geared particularly to those who are. –jd–]

  • Read

Colossians 4:16 (ESV) “And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.”

  • Meditate

Paul probably never imagined that 2000 years after he wrote the words above to the church that we would still be reading his letter. But he did know one thing, what he was writing was important and needed to be read. It was not important because he wrote it, though. What he wrote was important because it called us to attend to God in his speech and in his actions.

As vocational ministers, we know that reading the scripture is important. After all, we need to preach and teach a couple of times a week. And when we talk to people, a good Bible verse goes a long way to help bring the right level of piety to our words.

But the truth is that reading scripture is not enough. We need to listen to the scriptures. This is an important part of our role as members of the community of faith. 

For when we come to Scripture, we find out what is going on in us. From the original speaker, the Book comes to us, the listener, and tells us how God is interacting with us.

Listening to scripture is not the same as reading scripture. It moves us from seeing the words on the page to seeing God at work in our lives.

Reading scripture is good. Listening is better.

  • Pray

Father, as I read your scriptures, let me truly listen to what you are doing in my life. Let me see you at work, interacting with me today. Amen.

  • Contemplate

1. As you read scripture today, pause after each thought and see if you can find where God is interacting in your life the same way he was interacting with the original speaker.

2. As a vocational minister, read Paul’s letter to the church at Colossi. As you read, look for how God is interacting with your life just as he interacted with Paul as he cared for God’s people.

(This devotional series is based on my notes from “Working the Angles” by Eugene Peterson)

Reading

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“If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skull, why then do we read it?” Franz Kafka

One of my favorite questions to ask people is “What are you reading”?

It is hard for me to comprehend why someone would not want to read. But more difficult for me is why someone would read some of the things they read.

We spend time reading the next new thing, the “latest and greatest” that will show us how to do whatever it is we need to justify doing. Books become an affirming, comfortable whisper in our ears that says, “Everything is alright.” The latest self-help book takes the place of spiritual disciplines as we look to have a happier, healthier life.

But when we read C.S. Lewis (who wrote more than “The Chronicles of Narnia”) or G.K. Chesterton or Teresa of Avila or Blaise Paschal or Stanley Hauerwas or N.T. Wright, there is no coddling, no slumber, no cozy blanket of self-affirming satisfaction.

They bring a Holy Spirit driven fist, forcing us to cover-up, to counter punch, to think deeply and long on whether our position will stand the true test—a life lived well in Christ.

Go to the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for some great books online. Read “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence. Read “Orthodoxy” by G.K. Chesterton. Read “Pilgrims Progress” by John Bunyan.

Then prepare for battle.