BOOK REVIEW - HEARING GOD'S WORDS: EXPLORING BIBLICAL SPIRITUALITY (NEW STUDIES IN BIBLICAL THEOLGY) BY PETER ADAM

What does spirituality in Christianity look like? Is it primarily emotional, or is it more rational? Is it expressed in making pilgrimages or celebrating certain days?

Peter Adam's Hearing God's Words: Exploring Biblical Spirituality looks at how spirituality is shown in a brief study of 13 Biblical books (Genesis, Deuteronomy, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Jeremiah, Luke, Romans, Colossians, Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 John, and Revelation), as well as dealing with historical approaches, such as Calvin's Theology of Revelation and the Puritan/Quaker debate on whether God speaks through the Bible or through the Spirit.

As an artist and novelist, I found chapter 5 interesting as it looks at various issues. Adam provides a defense for those who believe that paintings/statues of Christ are a violation of the 2nd Commandment, and that there is no New Testament instance of holy days for the Church or holy places. I'm not sure I completely agree, and I might reread this book to deal with the issue better. For example, one of my favorite novels ("An Unholy Communion," Monastery Murders book 3, by Donna Fletcher Crow) dealt with a pilgrimage; for me, the interest is not so much the destination as the travel with fellow believers.

If you want a book that looks at Spirituality and that may challenge your presuppositions, I highly recommend this book. After all, we DO need our assumptions challenged every now and then.

 

SUNDAY PSALMS PART 17 OF 48 - PSALM 84

Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Christian Church, Indianapolis

1   How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!
2  My soul longs, yes, even faints
    For the courts of the Lord;
    My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3  Even the sparrow has found a home,
    And the swallow a nest for herself,
    Where she may lay her young--
    Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    My King and my God.
4  Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
    They will still be praising You.
                                             Selah

5  Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
    Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6  As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
    They make it a spring;
    The rain also covers it with pools.
7  They go from strength to strength;
    Each one appears before God in Zion.
8  O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
    Give ear, O God of Jacob!
                                            Selah

9   O God, behold our shield,
    And look upon the face of Your anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
    I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    The Lord will give grace and glory;
    No good thing will He withhold
    From those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
    Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
                                        Psalm 84:1-12, New King James Version

At some point in this series, you'll be expecting me to say, "This is my favorite Psalm." Well, we're at that point.

Why is this my favorite Psalm? While there are several reasons, the verse that stands out to me is "Blessed is the man whose strength is in the Lord, who has set his heart for pilgrimage." That section touches my heart.

One of my favorite series is the Monastery Murders by Donna Fletcher Crow. Of course, when my favorite fictional character (Father Antony) is part of the story, of course I enjoy the series. But it seems like more often than not the main characters are on a pilgrimage of one sort or another. In the third story, An Unholy Communion, a major part of the plot is that Father Antony and Felicity are taking a group of teens on a pilgrimage.

Of course, we need to remember that our home is in the House of the Lord, not in the tents of this world.