John Koza

Dear friend,

St. Irenaeus was a Greek bishop, born in 130 AD, who is attributed with the quotation: “The glory of God is persons* fully alive.”  I have been pondering that quotation recently  to discern what it is that makes me fully alive?  One of the ways I feel fully alive is by reading, studying and reflecting on the scriptures.  We are so blessed to live in a time where there are so many resources to enhance our reading and studying scripture.  Listed below are just a few of these resources.  

 Forward Day by Day is a quarterly book of daily devotions, using the Daily Office readings for the day.  Executive Director of Forward Movement, Scott Gunn has preached at St. Philip’s in the Hills a few times in the past year.  There are a few copies of Forward Day by Day in the church office, including a few large print editions.  This and other resources are also available at www.ForwardMovement.org.  

 Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation is a daily email with substantial depth to enhance your faith journey.  Richard Rohr is a Franciscan priest with the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, NM.  He includes a wide variety of authors, scholars and teachers in the books, podcasts, events and other learning opportunities found on the website: www.cac.org.

 Jesus Calling is an app that you can purchase from the App Store.  It provides a daily devotional thought, written in first person from Jesus to you.  It is quite personal and a lovely way to start the day. It also usually includes three scriptural allusions.

 The Daily Study Bible by William Barclay are short books of commentary on each book of the New Testament.  Published in the 1950’s through the 1970’s, these are very informative and a very enjoyable read.  They can be purchased used from many online booksellers at reasonable prices. 

 These are just a few resources that I use as part of my faith journey.  There are many, many more resources available.  If you do not currently use resource to augment your scripture study, I recommend it.  They have provided me with a great deal of depth to my understanding and my faith.

 In Christ,

~john koza

 *originally “man.”