Abbey of The Way

01/06/2026

snooze button

The snooze button is 70 years old. It was developed for post-war generations seeking a more leisurely reveille. The snooze is 9 minutes since early clock gears couldn't mesh for 10. This button became a staple device 20 years later, when I was in my twenties.
So when a Christian speaker at that time spoke of obedience, saying, "obedience means when the alarm goes off, your feet hit the floor," we were stunned and thought of the older speaker as hopelessly out of touch with her audience. We were accustomed to allowing ourselves a little leeway to snooze in the morning and to stall in the obeying. And so my practice of obeying God's call and command continued in that vein. I obeyed, but not in that regimented, snap-to manner. Instead, I tended to respond to God within a reasonable amount of time.
But the other day, as my alarm went off at 2:50 AM, my feet hit the floor—no snooze button. Since God has invited me to pray the canonical hours on weekdays, including 3 AM, and since I invite others to join me on Zoom at www.tinyurl.com/zoomtheabbey, when God calls with that alarm, I respond immediately.
As I reflect on other invitations, calls, and commands of God, I realize that I'm no longer that sleepy follower, slow to respond. I'm not like the person in Proverbs who says, A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest (Proverbs 6:10). I'm more often the eager disciple, ready to do whatever The Master requires of me and, like Peter, sometimes stumbling in the responding. Or I'm like the servant whom Jesus spoke of who immediately said "yes" to his master but sometimes fails to follow through (Matthew 21:28-29).
On the whole, however, over intervening decades, I have joyfully proved the truth of Isaiah 1:19: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. And today I give a hearty thumbs up to my elder sister, who, 50 years ago, spoke of my wayward feet eventually hitting the cold floor of obedience.

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12/24/2025

too much is too much

I was recently reading yet another warning about the harmful effects our screens are having on our brains, bodies, and behaviors. This is particularly so for those who are young, as healthy neurological pathways are being disrupted, obesity is on the rise, and antisocial patterns are deepening. It's likely that, eventually, there will be a move to find ways to curb our enthusiasm for ingesting ever-increasing volumes of data, images, and virtual experiences.
It seems as if human beings are always getting into trouble with novelties, from eating forbidden fruit to subjugating foreign peoples to splitting the atom to creating a novel intelligence. Novelty is worth exploring, as it can be part of God's mandate that we fill the earth and subdue it, utilizing our image-bearing characteristics of curiosity and imagination. But we have always needed to curb our enthusiasm, as God's Word advises.
The venerable Book of Proverbs is a good guide for our pursuit of novelty. Proverbs 25:16 warns seekers after sweetness - a novelty in ancient cultures - if you find honey, eat just enough - too much of it, and you will vomit. Enjoy the sweet delicacy, but don't puke on it. A few verses later, we're reminded of the honey problem - it is good not to eat too much honey - but then warned about overindulging our current appetite for knowledge - nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep (25:21).
That ancient virtue of temperance - note, not abstinence - is what is advised. We need to know our God-given limits, to ask Him to remind us of them, and to encourage one another to live within them. David shows us how: My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child, I am content. Like weaned children, as we explore the novelties of the big, wide world, and its web, let's find ways to be content in the Presence of The One Who mothers us along the novel way.

12/17/2025

liberty in law?

I wish that our national anthem weren't our national anthem. It's essentially un-singable (often mangled in sports arenas), features a poem about a bombardment in the War of 1812 (our second military engagement with Great Britain), and honors our flag rather than the nation it represents. Compare that with "America The Beautiful", describing the natural and noble beauties of our land and our people, punctuated by a repeated prayer: America, America, God shed His Grace on Thee, God mend thine every flaw, May God thy gold refine. Perfect!

Except, perhaps, for this phrase: thy liberty in law! America sees itself as" the land of the free (and the home of the brave", the best part of the national anthem). We tend to think of freedom or liberty as being freed from something or someone, including laws imposed on us by others, even by God Himself. So "liberty in law" is, for some, an oxymoron, two things put together that shouldn't be. If this is your perspective, perhaps you need to be reminded of what happened to the first humans who sought freedom from God's Law about the one fruit they couldn't eat.

For believers, this phrase may present problems as well. Paul writes that the law kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6). And so some would say that true liberty only comes from the Spirit, Who encourages us to shake off the "dead letter" of The Law to find real freedom in Christ. If this is your take on things, remind yourself that Jesus said I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfil it (Matthew 5:17).

Psalm 119:45 reads: I will walk at liberty, for I seek your commandments. Walking in liberty, being truly free, is a gift given to believers by The Holy Spirit, Who frees us from the law of sin and death, and then enables us to be free, not from God's Law, but rather free to fulfil it. As "America The Beautiful" prays, confirm [our] soul in self-control (a fruit of the Spirit) such that [our] liberty [can be] in law".

Let's join in that prayer for ourselves and our nation.

12/10/2025

a good affliction

Every Tuesday at 3 PM, in the None Prayer Office, I and others read these words from Psalm 119: Before I was afflicted I went astray (vs. 67). This psalm has sometimes troubled me with its persistent emphasis on what seems to be works-righteousness (but actually is not) or the writer's boastfulness in phrases like I have more insight than all my teachers and I have more understanding than my elders (vss. 99-100). But this teaching about how going astray can lead to afflictions, which, in turn, can lead us back to God, is not troublesome to me.

However, several verses later, we read It is good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees (vs. 71). At first glance, this is double-troublesome. Is God's Word saying that the tuition for the school of God's decrees is affliction, whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual? I believe not, as this is simply a testimonial from the writer, not a prescription for everyone. But can affliction, particularly of the excruciating kind, actually be good? I remember my late wife once saying, "you and I don't really know what is good, or bad: only God does, and His Word shows us His perspective on things."

Let's take her own example, and mine. Hallie suffered for 15 years with a debilitating neuro-muscular disease, eventually losing the ability to move or talk before she died. I walked with her in this affliction, which was heartbreaking to watch in its relentless progress. Was this a good thing?

In a word, "no". As we said to one another (when we could communicate), we wouldn't wish this on anyone. But we also added, "we're not sure that we would trade it". For, in fact, it was good that we were afflicted, since we did learn God's decrees, we grew closer to Him and to each other than we ever imagined possible. As I think about Hallie's life now in glory, and mine in an ever-closer communion with God and others, I see how all of that goodness derived from our long season of affliction. Does it fully compensate for her suffering, and mine? Not fully, or at least not yet. But I'm beginning to see bright glimmers of that goodness in this life now, a foretaste of the Goodness that Hallie now sees in all of its brilliance.

12/03/2025

Abbey Waymark - Full Speed Astern

As much as I rejoice in the good news of The Good News being embraced enthusiastically by those in Gen Z and Alpha, I am concerned. And though 62% of U.S. adults identify as Christian, and the decline in that number seems to have bottomed out, I'm still a skeptic.

If those statistics are accurate, one would expect to see a commensurate increase in the character of our church and nation. Though such things are hard to measure, it doesn't appear to be happening on the whole, yet.

In many ways, I suppose I could see us as a barren tree, like the one Jesus parabled about in Luke 13:6-11. Its frustrated owner looked for fruit for years, but found none. He asked the gardener to cut it down. But the wise steward advised patience, promising to add some spading and fertilizing. So perhaps I need to exercise patience in judging myself and others as, apparently, God does, and pick up my shovel and Miracle-Gro.

And yet, we do have a problem with a key aspect of developing a fruitful faith. It's described aptly by C.S. Lewis:

Man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track, getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor - this is the only way out of our "hole". This process of surrender - this movement full speed astern - is what Christians call repentance.

Perhaps this is how we need to move with Jesus in these troubling days - full speed astern.

11/26/2025

I grew up in a kneeling church. Attached to the back of the bench seating in the church building were kneelers, devices unheard of in most worship settings today. It was a hinged 2 X 4 covered with padded cloth, which was flipped down during those parts of the service dedicated to prayer. One was supposed to kneel on it - hence the name - and it was almost impossible not to, given how, as it was brought down, it would scrape the shins of those choosing to remain seated.

I remember telling a believing friend about this custom, to which he replied, "I don't kneel for anyone." That confession struck me, given the many references in the Bible to kneeling, for example: The prophet Elijah knelt as he prayed for rain (1 Kings 18:42); Daniel kneeled to pray three times a day (Daniel 6:10); Jesus knelt in prayer (Luke 22:41); and Paul writes of bowing his knees to the Father in prayer (Ephesians 3:14). Eventually, every knee in heaven and on earth will bow at the Name of Jesus (Philippians 2:10).

It would appear that kneeling is not some quaint custom practiced by our ancestors at their bedsides or in old church buildings. Rather, kneeling is an expression of the heart's devotion and submission to God. It's an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace which, when practiced faithfully, points us to The One Who is both our Savior and our Lord. This posture can encourage us to call upon Him to save us from our sins and lead us in obedience, and to do the same for others.

It's surprising that many worship gatherings have little opportunity to pray, let alone to do so on our knees. Prayer is the Breath of The Holy Spirit, bringing Life to His People and conveying that Life through His People as they pray.

So perhaps we can start a mini-revolution of kneeling in prayer during appropriate times in our gatherings, such as arriving early to pray for those leading worship and for ourselves to enter into it, or praying during the songs of worship. You don't need a kneeler to do it. With a small amount of contortions, you can find the space. And I'm sure someone would be glad to help you get down and get back up. Who knows? They might even join you as, together, in the words of Manasseh's Prayer (Manasseh 1:11), you bend the knee of your heart to The Lord.

11/11/2025

conscious amnesia

I'm at the stage in life where kind people tell me stories about something good I did for them, and I have zero recollection of what they're talking about. In all likelihood, this is simply amnesia, or a more pointed term for my age bracket, senility, a word that literally means "old". I'll call it "unconscious amnesia", in which I'm forgetting some things without intending to, due to advancing years.

However, unconscious amnesia could also refer to my living unconsciously, for the moment only, a value highly advocated by our culture, which discourages us from engaging in serious reflection. I suppose there could also be some "conscious amnesia", in which I conveniently forget what I've acted like, particularly if the picture is negative, like those who look into the Mirror of God's Word but then immediately forget what they look like (James 1:24). Either way we can end up like those amnesiac old goats (and not "the greatest") who ask The King, " When did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help You?" (Matthew 25:44)

So it's a good idea to practice "conscious amnesia", asking God daily to search us out to make us conscious of any sins of commission or omission (Psalm 139:23-24), which we can then acknowledge, confess, be forgiven for, and forget about. Then we can consciously press on to now and to what lies ahead (Philippians 4:13).

As we look into the past to ask God for wisdom to learn from it, or look to the sometimes-scary future to seek His Encouragement to prepare for it, we reflect the Image of the Eternal God who inhabits time and eternity, and receive grace to live conscious of Him in the present moment, and less conscious of ourselves. Then we can discover that blessedly conscious amnesia which is ours in Christ, when our left hand doesn't know the good that our right hand is doing (Matthew 6:3).
Someday, however, we may be reminded by one of our fellow servants, "as you did it to one of least of these, you did it for Him." And surely One Day, Jesus will personalize it: " You did it for Me."

11/10/2025

Abbey Work Day this Saturday, November 15

Thanks for visiting this new page for The Abbey of The Way. We're grateful for the support of many in New England and beyond. This Saturday, November 15, we'll be hosting our bi-annual Work Day, when friends of The Abbey are invited to stop by any time between 9 and 3 to help get the place ready for winter, inside and out. Tasks will include ranges for all ages and abilities. Join us for lunch at 1PM if you can.
And for those not in our area, we'd be grateful for your prayers for The Abbey on this day, and every day.
May The Triune God draw us evermore deeply into Him so that we can go evermore deeply outward for Him.

11/10/2025

rocky resistance

In Stephen's message given in his defense before the Sanhedrin, he says of his people, "You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: you always resist the Holy Spirit!" (Acts 7:51). And indeed, the record of the Hebrew people as recorded in the Scriptures depicts stony hearts resisting The Presence and The Will of God. The hearts of the Sanhedrin are also hardened towards God and Stephen, as they resist God's message from one whose tender heart prays for their forgiveness even as they stone him.

Sad to say, you and I are afflicted with the same rocky resistance. How often has God given us some clear direction from His Word and/or Spirit, only to have us resisting? I'm not talking about the questioning resistance of the Virgin Mary when she was asked to bear the Son of God, or that of Ananias when he was sent to pray for the murderous Saul. Such questioning, even "doubting," is understandable, even welcomed by God in order that we might come to true faith in Him and His Call. What I'm talking about here is full-out resistance, a clear "no" to what God is asking for.

If so, we're still in good company. On three occasions, the Apostle Peter, "The Rock" of faith, flat-out said "no" to Jesus. When Jesus told His disciples that He would suffer and die, Peter responded, "Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!" (Matthew 22). Later, when Jesus intended to wash Peter's feet, Peter said, "No, You shall never wash my feet!" (John 13:8). And after Jesus' Ascension, when Peter received a vision in which Jesus commanded him to kill and eat non-kosher food, Peter said, "Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean!" (Acts 10:14).

Now, if I were God, I might have been tempted to blast Peter for such impetuousness. Perhaps this is one more reason why you can be glad that I'm not the Almighty. For in each case, God responds firmly but gently, redirecting Peter's resistance in such a way that he comes not just to comply but to assent to what God is asking for. In fact, as Jesus said of Nathaniel's joke about how no Messiah could come out of Nazareth, it's just possible that God is blessed by Peter in whom there is also no guile (John 1:47). It may be that, in Peter's case, and perhaps in yours and mine, God may turn our rocky resistance into softened hearts that demonstrate that rock-solid faith in The One Who is The Rock on Whom we can stand.d