Read the Large Catechism with me.
Ten-minute studies on short readings from the Large Catechism.
Let's do this.
Click on the link below and read the short assigned reading. Then, if you have time, check out what I have to say about it. If not, no problem. Just soak up the goodness of the LC.
Introduction Part 2: Read paragraphs 7-13
The basics:
- Luther recognizes his own high education and yet inability to master even the LC.
- Luther suggests reciting the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, the Psalms, etc. every day or more!
- The Holy Spirit is present in our repetition and meditation of the chief parts of our faith.
- You cannot find a greater stench for the devil than the daily reading of God's Word and recitation of the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, the Psalms, etc. He despises this and is unable to be near you because of it.
- Luther is hilarious, and says awesome things like, "pelted with dung." He is serious. This stuff is serious.
My thoughts today:
Luther is truly amazing at making me realize what a poor miserable sinner I truly am. One of the ways he does this is by not smoothing over my sin of neglecting the daily meditation of God's Word.
Life is really busy. We all fail at this, right? So, no big deal, right? It is just part of our sinful nature!
NO! It is a big deal. It is a "deserving of dung throwing" kind of big deal.
And it isn't like God says, "Yes, read this stuff because I want to make your life even more difficult. I want to give you one more thing to do and one more thing to feel bad about not doing." No. He says, "Hey, this stuff will make the devil hate you. It will fill you with the Holy Spirit. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the devil has no power over you."
There is a large group of Christians who spend a lot of energy trying to figure out how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Luther reminds us here that we need look no further than the daily recitation of things as "simple" as the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Psalms.
