Today we move on to what the book refers to as the 'third coming' of Christ - that which most schemes call the 'second coming', and of how we might prepare ourselves for that.

Key to today's musings is the idea of a monastic 'rule of life' - more a 'rhythm' than a 'law', more a 'calendar' than a 'measuring stick'.  It is a helpful take on the much vaunted discipline of 'quiet times' or 'prayer times' that promotes commitment without inducing guilt... the rule is to help us, not to beat us up when (rather than if, I suspect) we fall short.  It's about a structure or framework, maybe more like a scaffold in which we can move around than walls to constrain us.

For many years now, I have struggled to find published Bible study notes that 'work' for me; forays in to PAYG or Northumbrian Community Daily Office are great for a while, and then it all kind of drifts.  What I am learning, over and over, is not to be legalistic, but to find a broad structure, such as 'set aside thirty minutes' or 'read a chapter of a book' or whatever it might be, recognising that God is active in it all, and that the rhythms that suit me may never be those in some published book!

Here's the prayer for today...

God of order and spiritual discipline, in my desire to live more focused on you and to become more like you even in the times when I do not feel like it, help me to keep the commitment to my rule, my way of life, so that I can be a ready for your return as I can be.  Amen.