More from Charles Brown

A well-put exhortation to feast on the Word of God:

"Dwell ever among the green pastures of the Word of God. Make it indeed your bosom companion. Feed on the Scriptures till they come to be incorporated with your spiritual being. Not only pray and read, but pray reading, with your Bible open before you, gazing into its exceeding great and precious things, waiting till you apprehend them, or rather, till they apprehend you - literally 'getting them by heart' (as our expressive phrase is) longing to say with David, 'I rejoice at thy word as one that findeth great spoil', and with Jeremiah, 'Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and they were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart' (Psa. 119:162; Jer. 15:16)."

Weariness and worship

I've been reading a great little book recently called The Ministry, by Charles Brown, a Scottish pastor in the 1800s. Much of what he says applies directly to ministers, but also has relevance for all Christians. I might string together a few great quotes over the next few days for your edification.

This first one jumped off the page at me and got me thinking about its implications not for public worship (which was Brown's intention) but for private worship (personal Bible reading, prayer, meditation on the Bible reading, etc.). In speaking about the inordinate length of some public prayers, Brown cautioned, "When weariness begins, devotion ends." When weariness begins in the worshipper (due to "unduly prolonged prayers"), it dampens a devotional spirit in the worshipper.

Boy is that true in private worship as well, and in all of life. When we are weary and tired, it is so much harder for us to be attentive to God's Word and to be earnest in prayer. We are more prone to be downcast, and to listen to the inner sermon of unbelief rather than the refreshing and reinvigorating truth of the Word. I think we should praise God that our access to Him is based not on our physical or emotional condition, but on the finished work of our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). And when we are weary, we should recognize our heightened vulnerability to fleshly-mindedness, and lean hard into the grace of God for help and strength.

Of Walmart and God's Calling

Our Super Walmart is a crazy place. Mysteriously, it is always crowded. It is a cross-cultural experience. It is a great training ground for virtues like patience and humility.

However, the one time (it seems) that it is not busy is early on Monday mornings, and therefore that is the time that Kristen and the boys typically do the weekly grocery shopping for our family. We usually have our regular morning routine all together, and then I leave for work at the same time they leave for the store (just before 8am). Kristen pulls out, then I pull out, and I follow them out of our court, down Gayton Road about a hundred feet, and then down Blue Jay Lane about a hundred feet, at which time Kristen turns right, and I keep going straight. That moment is often a defining moment in my week.

It's at that moment that I'm often awakened to the fact that we are called by God to do the things we are doing. In God's wise providence, He has called me to be a pastor (among other things), and He has called Kristen to be a mother/homemaker (among other things). She goes right, to Walmart. I go straight, to the church. We go our separate ways, but our ultimate purpose is not separate, but aligned: to glorify and enjoy God through the Spirit-empowered fulfillment of our God-given roles. Both callings, by God's appointment, are vital in the expansion of God's kingdom and are thus significant in His eyes. There are a million implications of this, but I'll leave that to you to think through.

Like I said, that moment is often a defining moment in my week. I'm grateful for it as a continual reminder, because boy do I need it.