Chapter 38 amplified our understanding on The Mind of Christ using 7 Bible passages, as follows:
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
Philippians 2:1-11
Hebrews 5:11-6:3
Isaiah 11:1-5
1 Peter 4:1-6
Romans 8:5-11
Matthew 13:10-17
(Note: If you would like to look up these passages online, there are many online Bibles you could use. Here is one link: http://www.studylight.org/.)
Invocation:
“You, O Christ, who were tempted in all points like as I am, yet without sin, make me strong to overcome the desire to be wise and to be reputed wise by others as ignorant as myself. I turn from my wisdom as well as from my folly and flee to You, the wisdom of God and the power of God. Amen.” (A. W. Tozer in The Knowledge of the Holy)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 38 was “I Want to Be Like Jesus” by Thomas Chisholm. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“O Christ, I want the Spirit within me to duplicate nothing – nothing except You. For I want no manifestation that doesn’t manifest You – manifest You in Your sanctity and Your sanity. For You are life. Amen.” (E. Stanley Jones in The Way to Power and Poise)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Oswald Chambers, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Charles R. Erdman, William F. Orr and James Arthur Walther, H. Orton Wiley, W. Paul Jones, Karl Rahner, Gayle D. Erwin, and Alec Motyer. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “By sanctification the Son of God is formed in me, then I have to transform my natural life into a spiritual life by obedience to Him. …When He begins to check, do not confer with flesh and blood, cleanse yourself at once. Keep yourself cleansed in your daily walk. I have to cleanse myself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit… Is the mind of my spirit in perfect agreement with the life of the Son of God…? Am I forming the mind of Christ? …by degrees Jesus lifts me up to where He lived – in perfect consecration to His Father’s will.”
· “We have to learn to maintain an unimpaired state of character up to the last notch revealed in the vision of Jesus Christ. …To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you.”
· “God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.”
· “The gift which the Holy Spirit creates in us is not uncertainty, but assurance and discernment. Thus we are enabled to walk in the Spirit and to walk in assurance.”
· Facilitator’s question: Is the mind of Christ the metric we should use for every spiritual issue?
· “Paul proposed that there should be no censorship nor obstruction to the systematic search for truth. This implies that the spiritual man is capable of evaluating properly the good and evil he confronts…”
· “Christ Jesus … made himself nothing. He made himself nothing, emptied himself – the great kenosis. He made himself no reputation, no image. …Reputation is so important to me. …But Jesus made himself of no reputation.”
· “If a friend does something which puzzles us, we might ask what it was that he ‘had in mind’ in doing it. …There is great stress (in Philippians 2) that the great change (from God to man) came about by voluntary decision. Verse 7 says he emptied himself, and verse 8, he humbled himself. In each case the reflexive expression points to personal decision and action.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 38 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Chapter 37 - Simplicity
Chapter 37 simplified our view on Simplicity using 7 Bible passages, as follows:
Luke 18:18-25
Matthew 6:25-34
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Luke 9:18-27
3 John
Matthew 18:1-4
Luke 12:22-34
(Note: If you would like to look up these passages online, there are many online Bibles you could use. Here is one link: http://www.studylight.org/.)
Invocation:
“Strengthen me, O God, by the grace of your Holy Spirit; grant me to be strengthened with might in the inner man, and to put away from my heart all useless anxiety and distress, and let me never be drawn aside by various longings after anything whatever, whether it be worthless or precious; but may I regard all things as passing away, and myself as passing away with them. Amen.” (Thomas à Kempis in Little Book of Prayers)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 37 was “Close to Thee” by Fanny J. Crosby. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know, to love what I ought to love, to praise what delights You most, to value what is precious in Your sight, to hate what is offensive to You. Amen.” (Thomas à Kempis in Little Book of Prayers)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Gontran de Poncins, Evelyn Underhill, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Albert E. Day, E. B. White, A. W. Tozer and Jean-Pierre de Caussade. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “… He lived, he sustained himself, by prayer. Had he been dependent only upon human strength he would have lived in despair, been driven mad. But he called upon other forces, and they preserved him.”
· “Consider that wonderful world of life in which you are placed, and observe that its great rhythms of birth, growth and death – all the things that really matter – are not in your control. That unhurried process will go forward in its stately beauty, little affected by your anxious fuss. … Discern substance from accident. Don’t confuse your meals with your life, and your clothes with your body. Don’t lose your head over what perishes. … The simpler your house, the easier it will be run.”
· “The life of discipleship can only be maintained as long as nothing is allowed to come between Christ and ourselves – neither the law, nor personal piety, nor even the world.”
· “Simplicity means ‘absence of artificial ornamentation, pretentious styles, or luxury.’ It is ‘artlessness, lack of cunning or duplicity.’ … Simplicity does not mean ‘easy to understand.’ … Paul was not always easy to understand. Nor was Jesus. … Their intention was not to confuse or deceive but to clarify and illumine.”
· “Acquisition goes on day and night – smoothly, subtly, imperceptibly. I have no sharp taste for acquiring things, but it is not necessary to desire things in order to acquire them. Goods and chattels seek a man out; they find him even though his guard is up. … Under ordinary circumstances, the only stuff that leaves a home is paper trash and garbage; everything else stays on and digs in.”
· “Our Lord referred to this tyranny of things when he said to his disciples, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’ … Jesus called it ‘life’ and ‘self’, or as we would say, the self-life. Its chief characteristic is its possessiveness…”
· “There is nothing more certain to resist the wiles of the flesh than simplicity…”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 37 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Luke 18:18-25
Matthew 6:25-34
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Luke 9:18-27
3 John
Matthew 18:1-4
Luke 12:22-34
(Note: If you would like to look up these passages online, there are many online Bibles you could use. Here is one link: http://www.studylight.org/.)
Invocation:
“Strengthen me, O God, by the grace of your Holy Spirit; grant me to be strengthened with might in the inner man, and to put away from my heart all useless anxiety and distress, and let me never be drawn aside by various longings after anything whatever, whether it be worthless or precious; but may I regard all things as passing away, and myself as passing away with them. Amen.” (Thomas à Kempis in Little Book of Prayers)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 37 was “Close to Thee” by Fanny J. Crosby. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know, to love what I ought to love, to praise what delights You most, to value what is precious in Your sight, to hate what is offensive to You. Amen.” (Thomas à Kempis in Little Book of Prayers)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Gontran de Poncins, Evelyn Underhill, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Albert E. Day, E. B. White, A. W. Tozer and Jean-Pierre de Caussade. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “… He lived, he sustained himself, by prayer. Had he been dependent only upon human strength he would have lived in despair, been driven mad. But he called upon other forces, and they preserved him.”
· “Consider that wonderful world of life in which you are placed, and observe that its great rhythms of birth, growth and death – all the things that really matter – are not in your control. That unhurried process will go forward in its stately beauty, little affected by your anxious fuss. … Discern substance from accident. Don’t confuse your meals with your life, and your clothes with your body. Don’t lose your head over what perishes. … The simpler your house, the easier it will be run.”
· “The life of discipleship can only be maintained as long as nothing is allowed to come between Christ and ourselves – neither the law, nor personal piety, nor even the world.”
· “Simplicity means ‘absence of artificial ornamentation, pretentious styles, or luxury.’ It is ‘artlessness, lack of cunning or duplicity.’ … Simplicity does not mean ‘easy to understand.’ … Paul was not always easy to understand. Nor was Jesus. … Their intention was not to confuse or deceive but to clarify and illumine.”
· “Acquisition goes on day and night – smoothly, subtly, imperceptibly. I have no sharp taste for acquiring things, but it is not necessary to desire things in order to acquire them. Goods and chattels seek a man out; they find him even though his guard is up. … Under ordinary circumstances, the only stuff that leaves a home is paper trash and garbage; everything else stays on and digs in.”
· “Our Lord referred to this tyranny of things when he said to his disciples, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’ … Jesus called it ‘life’ and ‘self’, or as we would say, the self-life. Its chief characteristic is its possessiveness…”
· “There is nothing more certain to resist the wiles of the flesh than simplicity…”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 37 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Monday, September 14, 2009
Chapter 36 - Obedience
Chapter 36 focused our attention on Obedience in 7 Bible passages, as follows:
Matthew 8:18-22
Luke 1:26-28
Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Matthew 10:32-42
1 Samuel 15:12-15
Matthew 19:16-30
Acts 15:17-29
Invocation:
“…Grant that I may direct all my knowledge, my whole capacity, all my happiness, and all my exertions, to please you, to love you, and to obtain your love for time and eternity. Amen.” (Thomas à Kempis in The Imitation of Christ)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 36 was “Trust and Obey” by John Sammis. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Speak, Lord, for your servant hears. Grant me ears to hear, eyes to see, a will to obey, a heart to love; then declare what you will, reveal what you will, command what you will, demand what you will. Amen.” (Christina Rosetti in Little Book of Prayers)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Phillips Brooks, Emilie Griffin, Stephen F. Winward, Georgia Harkness, Tilden H. Edwards, Thomas R. Kelly, C. S. Lewis, Oswald Chambers and Thomas à Kempis. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “The great danger facing all of us … is that we may fail to perceive life’s greatest meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most abiding happiness, be unable to render the most needed service, be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God – and be content to have it so.”
• “Prayer is, after all, a very dangerous business. For all the benefits it offers of growing closer to God, it carries with it one great element of risk: the possibility of change.”
• “… to define prayer is no simple matter. … Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to His will.”
• “Come and taste the fruit of obedience.”
• “Begin where you are. Obey now.”
• “Do at once what you must do one day. … Duty is imperative; it must be done. … (Do not) compel God to compel you.”
• “The golden rule of understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. … spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey.”
• “ ‘Ye call me Master and Lord’ – but is He?”
• “Independence belongs to God, who has made man dependent on others that his subordination may be to him the means of his sanctification. I will therefore form myself upon the model of my submissive, dependent, and obedient Saviour, and dispose of nothing in myself, not even of my own will.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 36 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Matthew 8:18-22
Luke 1:26-28
Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Matthew 10:32-42
1 Samuel 15:12-15
Matthew 19:16-30
Acts 15:17-29
Invocation:
“…Grant that I may direct all my knowledge, my whole capacity, all my happiness, and all my exertions, to please you, to love you, and to obtain your love for time and eternity. Amen.” (Thomas à Kempis in The Imitation of Christ)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 36 was “Trust and Obey” by John Sammis. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Speak, Lord, for your servant hears. Grant me ears to hear, eyes to see, a will to obey, a heart to love; then declare what you will, reveal what you will, command what you will, demand what you will. Amen.” (Christina Rosetti in Little Book of Prayers)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Phillips Brooks, Emilie Griffin, Stephen F. Winward, Georgia Harkness, Tilden H. Edwards, Thomas R. Kelly, C. S. Lewis, Oswald Chambers and Thomas à Kempis. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “The great danger facing all of us … is that we may fail to perceive life’s greatest meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most abiding happiness, be unable to render the most needed service, be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God – and be content to have it so.”
• “Prayer is, after all, a very dangerous business. For all the benefits it offers of growing closer to God, it carries with it one great element of risk: the possibility of change.”
• “… to define prayer is no simple matter. … Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to His will.”
• “Come and taste the fruit of obedience.”
• “Begin where you are. Obey now.”
• “Do at once what you must do one day. … Duty is imperative; it must be done. … (Do not) compel God to compel you.”
• “The golden rule of understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. … spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey.”
• “ ‘Ye call me Master and Lord’ – but is He?”
• “Independence belongs to God, who has made man dependent on others that his subordination may be to him the means of his sanctification. I will therefore form myself upon the model of my submissive, dependent, and obedient Saviour, and dispose of nothing in myself, not even of my own will.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 36 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Chapter 35 - Humility
Chapter 35 referenced 7 Bible passages to focus our attention on Humility, as follows:
Jeremiah 10:23-25
Romans 1:1-17
Isaiah 6:1-8
Matthew 23:1-12
Acts 10:1-48
Matthew 3:1-17
Galatians 6:11-18
Invocation:
“O Christ, your blessed faith in me sends me to my knees. I am humbled at your confidence in me. Now help me to be in some measure worthy of your faith. Amen.” (E. Stanley Jones in Mastery)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 35 was “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go” by George Matheson. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“O Father, I thank you that I can stand before you neither above or below any person. Help me to take that privilege and give it to every other person. Amen.”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Susan Annette Muto, Thomas Merton, an anonymous Mother Superior, William Barclay, Albert E. Day and Madeleine L’Engle. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “Humility opens our inner ears. …Humility withstands any arrogant tendency to reduce the word to our purposes.”
· “Humility is a virtue, not a neurosis. …A humility that freezes our being and frustrates all healthy activity is not humility at all, but a disguised form of pride.”
· The quote from the anonymous Mother Superior should be read in its entirety, so I will not excerpt any of it here.
· “The first barrier to meekness arises whenever we claim as our own what is really a gift of God. …The second is the tendency to dominate others. …The third is the tendency to see only what is wrong in a situation and never to affirm the good.”
· “The way to knowledge begins with the admission of ignorance. The one man who can never learn is the man who thinks that he knows everything already.”
· “So humility is not weakness but strength, for it receives the strength of God. It is not folly, but wisdom, for it is open to the ever available wisdom of God. It is not nothingness but fullness, for into the vacuum created by the demolition of human pride and self-sufficiency, pours the fullness of God.”
· “Right prayer is a time of great, genuine humility.”
· “Humility is throwing oneself away in complete concentration on something or someone else.”
As an extra feature in the study of this chapter on humility, Elaine Roberts synopsized the Humility Chapter from Bruce Marchiano’s book The Character of a Man. The synopsis is too lengthy to quote here, but I recommend you get a copy of the book and read the chapter if you wish to further expand your understanding of humility.
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 35 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Jeremiah 10:23-25
Romans 1:1-17
Isaiah 6:1-8
Matthew 23:1-12
Acts 10:1-48
Matthew 3:1-17
Galatians 6:11-18
Invocation:
“O Christ, your blessed faith in me sends me to my knees. I am humbled at your confidence in me. Now help me to be in some measure worthy of your faith. Amen.” (E. Stanley Jones in Mastery)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 35 was “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go” by George Matheson. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“O Father, I thank you that I can stand before you neither above or below any person. Help me to take that privilege and give it to every other person. Amen.”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Susan Annette Muto, Thomas Merton, an anonymous Mother Superior, William Barclay, Albert E. Day and Madeleine L’Engle. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “Humility opens our inner ears. …Humility withstands any arrogant tendency to reduce the word to our purposes.”
· “Humility is a virtue, not a neurosis. …A humility that freezes our being and frustrates all healthy activity is not humility at all, but a disguised form of pride.”
· The quote from the anonymous Mother Superior should be read in its entirety, so I will not excerpt any of it here.
· “The first barrier to meekness arises whenever we claim as our own what is really a gift of God. …The second is the tendency to dominate others. …The third is the tendency to see only what is wrong in a situation and never to affirm the good.”
· “The way to knowledge begins with the admission of ignorance. The one man who can never learn is the man who thinks that he knows everything already.”
· “So humility is not weakness but strength, for it receives the strength of God. It is not folly, but wisdom, for it is open to the ever available wisdom of God. It is not nothingness but fullness, for into the vacuum created by the demolition of human pride and self-sufficiency, pours the fullness of God.”
· “Right prayer is a time of great, genuine humility.”
· “Humility is throwing oneself away in complete concentration on something or someone else.”
As an extra feature in the study of this chapter on humility, Elaine Roberts synopsized the Humility Chapter from Bruce Marchiano’s book The Character of a Man. The synopsis is too lengthy to quote here, but I recommend you get a copy of the book and read the chapter if you wish to further expand your understanding of humility.
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 35 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Chapter 34 - The Jesus Prayer
Chapter 34 employed 7 Bible passages to educate us about The Jesus Prayer, as follows:
Luke 18:35-43
Colossians 1:15-23
Ephesians 1:1-14
Philippians 2:1-11
Romans 6:1-23
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Matthew 8:1-17
Invocation:
“Dear Lord Jesus, may my prayers this day be bounded by my deepest needs on one side and by your greatness on the other. And may their expression be in simple longings and words that would lift my soul into your presence. Amen.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 34 was “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” by John G. Whittier. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. Amen.” (The Jesus Prayer)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Igumen Chariton of Valamo, Anthony Bloom, Morton T. Kelsey, Ira Progoff, Tilden H. Edwards and C. S. Lewis. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “Ten words in English…. Yet around those few words many Orthodox over the centuries have built their spiritual life, and through this one prayer they have entered into the deepest mysteries of Christian knowledge.”
· “…the Jesus Prayer brings together, in one short sentence, two essential ‘moments’ of Christian devotion: adoration and compunction. …It is a way of praying that anyone can adopt: …simply begin.”
· “We profess the Lordship of Christ, His sovereign right upon us, the fact that He is our Lord and our God, and this implies that all our life is within His will and that we commit ourselves to His will and to no other way.”
· “The beautiful thing about this particular type of meditation is that it can be practiced while we are typing a letter, cooking a meal, or driving the car.”
· “And just as this little word ‘fire’ stirs and pierces the ears of the hearers much more quickly, so does a little word of one syllable do the same when it is not only spoken or thought but secretly intended in the depth of the spirit. …It pierces the ears of the Almighty God more than does any psalter thoughtlessly mumbled in one’s teeth. This is the reason it is written that short prayer pierces heaven.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 34 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Luke 18:35-43
Colossians 1:15-23
Ephesians 1:1-14
Philippians 2:1-11
Romans 6:1-23
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Matthew 8:1-17
Invocation:
“Dear Lord Jesus, may my prayers this day be bounded by my deepest needs on one side and by your greatness on the other. And may their expression be in simple longings and words that would lift my soul into your presence. Amen.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 34 was “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” by John G. Whittier. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. Amen.” (The Jesus Prayer)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Igumen Chariton of Valamo, Anthony Bloom, Morton T. Kelsey, Ira Progoff, Tilden H. Edwards and C. S. Lewis. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “Ten words in English…. Yet around those few words many Orthodox over the centuries have built their spiritual life, and through this one prayer they have entered into the deepest mysteries of Christian knowledge.”
· “…the Jesus Prayer brings together, in one short sentence, two essential ‘moments’ of Christian devotion: adoration and compunction. …It is a way of praying that anyone can adopt: …simply begin.”
· “We profess the Lordship of Christ, His sovereign right upon us, the fact that He is our Lord and our God, and this implies that all our life is within His will and that we commit ourselves to His will and to no other way.”
· “The beautiful thing about this particular type of meditation is that it can be practiced while we are typing a letter, cooking a meal, or driving the car.”
· “And just as this little word ‘fire’ stirs and pierces the ears of the hearers much more quickly, so does a little word of one syllable do the same when it is not only spoken or thought but secretly intended in the depth of the spirit. …It pierces the ears of the Almighty God more than does any psalter thoughtlessly mumbled in one’s teeth. This is the reason it is written that short prayer pierces heaven.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 34 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Chapter 33 - The Parables
Chapter 33 used 7 Bible passages to challenge our understanding of The Parables, as follows:
Mark 4:1-34
Matthew 13:10-17
2 Samuel 12:1-25
Romans 10:1-21
John 16:1-16
Proverbs 6:20-23
Isaiah 48:14-22
Invocation:
“O Eternal Christ, understandable to even me, I thank you for putting the latchstring so low I can reach it. I can reach the Highest, for you are the Highest become lowly, reachable. And so I come, for in you I ‘see’ – see everything I need. I thank you. Amen.” (From The Way by E. Stanley Jones)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 33 was “Wonderful Words of Life” by P. P. Bliss. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“O gracious Christ, you have so lavishly given yourself to every part of all that surrounds me. Let me hear you, see you, know you. Cleanse me of the sin of inattention. Amen.”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of A. Berkeley Mickelsen, A. M. Hunter, Glenn Clark, Frederick Buechner, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Martin E. Marty, Douglas Beyer, G. A. Buttrick and Elie Wiesel. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “Jesus used parables to teach spiritual truths. The condition of each hearer determines whether that aim is realized or not.”
• “Every parable of Jesus was meant to evoke a response and to strike for a verdict.”
• “The form that He used most frequently to convey spiritual truths to the unripened mind was the parable. By this method He could keep the inner experience concealed from those whose hearts were hardened and unprepared … for the planting. Yet at the same time the parable shell was … hermetically sealed, so to speak, …ready for instant immolation and growth the moment the soil opens to receive it.”
• “We are so used to hearing what we want to hear and remaining deaf to what it would be well for us to hear that it is hard to break the habit. …If we listen with patience and hope, … his word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling.”
• “Jesus had a way of putting things that time does not wear out.”
• “Texts do their disclosing best when they are capable of upsetting the reader’s world. … The parable discloses because it is different from our contemporary experience.”
• “One of the differences between great art and mediocre art is that with great art you can never get all that is there. …The parable of the prodigal son is one of the best-known stories of all time. Read it again, and see what you missed the last time.”
• “They (the parables) are based on things seen, and they awake immediate and vivid images which are seen again in the mind. …The parables did not bring alien information; rather they focused and called into action what people already half knew was so, and now suddenly could fully see.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 33 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Mark 4:1-34
Matthew 13:10-17
2 Samuel 12:1-25
Romans 10:1-21
John 16:1-16
Proverbs 6:20-23
Isaiah 48:14-22
Invocation:
“O Eternal Christ, understandable to even me, I thank you for putting the latchstring so low I can reach it. I can reach the Highest, for you are the Highest become lowly, reachable. And so I come, for in you I ‘see’ – see everything I need. I thank you. Amen.” (From The Way by E. Stanley Jones)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 33 was “Wonderful Words of Life” by P. P. Bliss. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“O gracious Christ, you have so lavishly given yourself to every part of all that surrounds me. Let me hear you, see you, know you. Cleanse me of the sin of inattention. Amen.”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of A. Berkeley Mickelsen, A. M. Hunter, Glenn Clark, Frederick Buechner, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Martin E. Marty, Douglas Beyer, G. A. Buttrick and Elie Wiesel. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “Jesus used parables to teach spiritual truths. The condition of each hearer determines whether that aim is realized or not.”
• “Every parable of Jesus was meant to evoke a response and to strike for a verdict.”
• “The form that He used most frequently to convey spiritual truths to the unripened mind was the parable. By this method He could keep the inner experience concealed from those whose hearts were hardened and unprepared … for the planting. Yet at the same time the parable shell was … hermetically sealed, so to speak, …ready for instant immolation and growth the moment the soil opens to receive it.”
• “We are so used to hearing what we want to hear and remaining deaf to what it would be well for us to hear that it is hard to break the habit. …If we listen with patience and hope, … his word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling.”
• “Jesus had a way of putting things that time does not wear out.”
• “Texts do their disclosing best when they are capable of upsetting the reader’s world. … The parable discloses because it is different from our contemporary experience.”
• “One of the differences between great art and mediocre art is that with great art you can never get all that is there. …The parable of the prodigal son is one of the best-known stories of all time. Read it again, and see what you missed the last time.”
• “They (the parables) are based on things seen, and they awake immediate and vivid images which are seen again in the mind. …The parables did not bring alien information; rather they focused and called into action what people already half knew was so, and now suddenly could fully see.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 33 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Monday, June 15, 2009
Chapter 32 - The Beatitudes
Chapter 32 helped us enlarge our understanding of “The Beatitudes” using 7 Bible passages, as follows:
Matthew 5:1-12
Luke 6:20-23
Matthew 7:28-29
Luke 4:14-21
2 John 9
Mark 13:28-31
John 6:66-69
Invocation:
“…Be in me increasingly that your Kingdom, your rule, may guide my decisions, inspire my will, and determine my actions. Amen” (From Deep Is the Hunger by Howard Thurman)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 32 was “Sitting at the Feet of Jesus” by Asa Hull. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Bless the Lord, O my soul. All that is within me bless his holy name. Amen.”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Edward Farrell, Susan Annette Muto, Oswald Chambers, John R. W. Stott, Archibald Hunter and Leslie F. Brandt. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “The beatitudes are Jesus’ self-portrait, the most personal description we have of Him in the Gospels.”
• “…the Beatitudes are foundational attitudes of the spiritual life… and … they give form to it as a whole. …When we live the Beatitudes in and with the Lord, we become liberated persons in the fullest sense. We follow the path of purgation until, with Jesus, we are filled with the peace of surrender to the Father and led by his Spirit to new depths of intimacy with the Indwelling Trinity.”
• “Beware of placing Our Lord as a Teacher first. …when I am born again of the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come to teach only: He came to make me what He teaches I should be. …The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces despair in the natural man – the very thing Jesus means it to do. ‘Blessed are the paupers in spirit,’ that is the first principle in the Kingdom of God. The bedrock in Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possession….”
• “…He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him – a very different thing.”
• “…the beatitudes are Christ’s own specification of what every Christian ought to be. All these qualities are to characterize all his followers. Just as the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit which Paul lists is to ripen in every Christian character, so the eight beatitudes which Christ speaks of describe his ideal for every citizen of God’s kingdom.”
• “The Beatitudes are not so much ethics of obedience as ethics of grace.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 32 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Matthew 5:1-12
Luke 6:20-23
Matthew 7:28-29
Luke 4:14-21
2 John 9
Mark 13:28-31
John 6:66-69
Invocation:
“…Be in me increasingly that your Kingdom, your rule, may guide my decisions, inspire my will, and determine my actions. Amen” (From Deep Is the Hunger by Howard Thurman)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 32 was “Sitting at the Feet of Jesus” by Asa Hull. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Bless the Lord, O my soul. All that is within me bless his holy name. Amen.”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Edward Farrell, Susan Annette Muto, Oswald Chambers, John R. W. Stott, Archibald Hunter and Leslie F. Brandt. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “The beatitudes are Jesus’ self-portrait, the most personal description we have of Him in the Gospels.”
• “…the Beatitudes are foundational attitudes of the spiritual life… and … they give form to it as a whole. …When we live the Beatitudes in and with the Lord, we become liberated persons in the fullest sense. We follow the path of purgation until, with Jesus, we are filled with the peace of surrender to the Father and led by his Spirit to new depths of intimacy with the Indwelling Trinity.”
• “Beware of placing Our Lord as a Teacher first. …when I am born again of the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come to teach only: He came to make me what He teaches I should be. …The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces despair in the natural man – the very thing Jesus means it to do. ‘Blessed are the paupers in spirit,’ that is the first principle in the Kingdom of God. The bedrock in Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possession….”
• “…He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him – a very different thing.”
• “…the beatitudes are Christ’s own specification of what every Christian ought to be. All these qualities are to characterize all his followers. Just as the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit which Paul lists is to ripen in every Christian character, so the eight beatitudes which Christ speaks of describe his ideal for every citizen of God’s kingdom.”
• “The Beatitudes are not so much ethics of obedience as ethics of grace.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 32 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Friday, May 29, 2009
Chapter 31 - The Lord's Supper
Chapter 31 helped us better understand “The Lord’s Supper” using 7 Bible passages, as follows:
Mark 8:1-21
Matthew 26:17-30
John 6:25-58
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Philippians 2:1-11
Matthew 27:32-56
Luke 22:14-22
Invocation:
“Father, it is humbling to be died for. …” (The Prayers of Peter Marshall)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 31 was “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Father, let the mystery of your love, as portrayed in the bread and the wine, melt the coldness of my heart and soften the stubbornness of my will. Let it make me wholly yours. Amen.”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of A. W. Tozer, Julian of Norwich: Showings, Frederick Buechner, Jurgen Moltmann, William Barclay, Thomas Howard and Martin E. Marty. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “Then our Lord put a question to me: Are you well satisfied that I suffered for you? …for if I could suffer more, I would.”
• “A sacrament is when something holy happens. …Sacramental moments can occur at any moment, any place, and to anybody. …If we weren’t blind as bats, we might see that life itself is sacramental.”
• “The mysticism of the passion (of Christ) …can be summed up by saying that suffering is overcome by suffering, and wounds are healed by wounds. For the suffering in suffering is the lack of love, and the wounds in wounds are the abandonment, and the powerlessness in pain is unbelief. And therefore the suffering of abandonment is overcome by the suffering of love, which is not afraid of what is sick and ugly, but accepts it and takes it to itself in order to heal it.”
• “…the only definite instruction regarding the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is: ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’ …The Risen Lord is universally present. He is not present in the sacrament any more than He is present anywhere else. …He is not specially present, but we are made specially aware of His presence. ..But the sacrament is the place where memory, realization, appropriation end in encounter, because we are compelled to become aware of Him there.”
• “…the thing that lies at the root of all life; namely, the principle of exchange. My Life for Yours. …We are receiving life by chewing and swallowing the life of something else. …We are participating in the holy mystery. …This food really is exchanged life; but it is only in the eucharist vision that this becomes apparent. …we have no life except that we owe to the laying down of some other life… .”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 31 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Mark 8:1-21
Matthew 26:17-30
John 6:25-58
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Philippians 2:1-11
Matthew 27:32-56
Luke 22:14-22
Invocation:
“Father, it is humbling to be died for. …” (The Prayers of Peter Marshall)
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 31 was “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Father, let the mystery of your love, as portrayed in the bread and the wine, melt the coldness of my heart and soften the stubbornness of my will. Let it make me wholly yours. Amen.”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of A. W. Tozer, Julian of Norwich: Showings, Frederick Buechner, Jurgen Moltmann, William Barclay, Thomas Howard and Martin E. Marty. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “Then our Lord put a question to me: Are you well satisfied that I suffered for you? …for if I could suffer more, I would.”
• “A sacrament is when something holy happens. …Sacramental moments can occur at any moment, any place, and to anybody. …If we weren’t blind as bats, we might see that life itself is sacramental.”
• “The mysticism of the passion (of Christ) …can be summed up by saying that suffering is overcome by suffering, and wounds are healed by wounds. For the suffering in suffering is the lack of love, and the wounds in wounds are the abandonment, and the powerlessness in pain is unbelief. And therefore the suffering of abandonment is overcome by the suffering of love, which is not afraid of what is sick and ugly, but accepts it and takes it to itself in order to heal it.”
• “…the only definite instruction regarding the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is: ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’ …The Risen Lord is universally present. He is not present in the sacrament any more than He is present anywhere else. …He is not specially present, but we are made specially aware of His presence. ..But the sacrament is the place where memory, realization, appropriation end in encounter, because we are compelled to become aware of Him there.”
• “…the thing that lies at the root of all life; namely, the principle of exchange. My Life for Yours. …We are receiving life by chewing and swallowing the life of something else. …We are participating in the holy mystery. …This food really is exchanged life; but it is only in the eucharist vision that this becomes apparent. …we have no life except that we owe to the laying down of some other life… .”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 31 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Chapter 30 - The Lord's Prayer
Chapter 30 gave us a multi-faceted view of “The Lord’s Prayer” using 7 Bible passages, as follows:
Matthew 26:40-41
John 16:23-24
Luke 11:1-14
Matthew 6:6-15
Luke 18:1-8
John 17
John 12:23-28
Invocation:
“Lord Jesus! Reveal me to the Father. Let His name, His infinite Father-love, the love with which He loved Thee, according to Your prayer, be in me. Then shall I say aright, ‘My Father?’ Then shall I apprehend Your teaching, and the first spontaneous breathing of my heart will be: ‘My Father, Your Name, Your Kingdom, Your Will.’ Amen.” (Andrew Murray in With Christ in the School of Prayer)
Prayer:
“The only lesson that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them was how to pray. And recorded in the Lord’s Prayer is the model which Jesus incorporated to teach them how to have sweet communion with the Father. Let is shape your prayer life, and be the model of communion for you.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 30 was “The Lord’s Prayer”.
Benediction:
“Father, what can I say in this hour but to cry out as these disciples cried out, Lord, teach me how to pray. Teach me my need. Tear away this veil from my eyes that makes me think I have any adequacy in myself. …Give me rather, this conscious sense of dependence, this awareness that nothing I do will be of any value apart from a dependence upon you. In Jesus name. Amen”
(Ray C. Stedman in Jesus Teaches on Prayer)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Evelyn Underhill, Georgia Harkness, Oswald Chambers, Frederick Buechner, Andrew Murray and Norval Geldenhuys. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “Every just man, says Osuna, needs the seven things for which this prayer – or this scheme of prayer – asks.”
• “It is not part of the life of a natural man to pray. …Prayer is the way the life of God (in us) is nourished. …We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; the Bible idea of prayer is that we may get to know God himself.”
• “According to Jesus, by far the most important thing about praying is to keep at it.”
• “In true worship the Father must be first, must be all. The sooner I learn to forget myself in the desire that He be glorified, the richer will the blessing be that prayer will bring to myself. No one ever loses by what he sacrifices for the Father.”
• “The prayer for bread and pardon must be accompanied by the surrender to live in all things in holy obedience to the Father’s will…”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 30 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Matthew 26:40-41
John 16:23-24
Luke 11:1-14
Matthew 6:6-15
Luke 18:1-8
John 17
John 12:23-28
Invocation:
“Lord Jesus! Reveal me to the Father. Let His name, His infinite Father-love, the love with which He loved Thee, according to Your prayer, be in me. Then shall I say aright, ‘My Father?’ Then shall I apprehend Your teaching, and the first spontaneous breathing of my heart will be: ‘My Father, Your Name, Your Kingdom, Your Will.’ Amen.” (Andrew Murray in With Christ in the School of Prayer)
Prayer:
“The only lesson that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them was how to pray. And recorded in the Lord’s Prayer is the model which Jesus incorporated to teach them how to have sweet communion with the Father. Let is shape your prayer life, and be the model of communion for you.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 30 was “The Lord’s Prayer”.
Benediction:
“Father, what can I say in this hour but to cry out as these disciples cried out, Lord, teach me how to pray. Teach me my need. Tear away this veil from my eyes that makes me think I have any adequacy in myself. …Give me rather, this conscious sense of dependence, this awareness that nothing I do will be of any value apart from a dependence upon you. In Jesus name. Amen”
(Ray C. Stedman in Jesus Teaches on Prayer)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Evelyn Underhill, Georgia Harkness, Oswald Chambers, Frederick Buechner, Andrew Murray and Norval Geldenhuys. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “Every just man, says Osuna, needs the seven things for which this prayer – or this scheme of prayer – asks.”
• “It is not part of the life of a natural man to pray. …Prayer is the way the life of God (in us) is nourished. …We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; the Bible idea of prayer is that we may get to know God himself.”
• “According to Jesus, by far the most important thing about praying is to keep at it.”
• “In true worship the Father must be first, must be all. The sooner I learn to forget myself in the desire that He be glorified, the richer will the blessing be that prayer will bring to myself. No one ever loses by what he sacrifices for the Father.”
• “The prayer for bread and pardon must be accompanied by the surrender to live in all things in holy obedience to the Father’s will…”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 30 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Chapter 29 - God's Absence
Chapter 29 illustrated the illusion of “God’s Absence” in 7 Bible passages, as follows:
2 Corinthians 1:1-11
Deuteronomy 7:1-9
Hebrews 12:1-13
Job 19:1-27
1 Peter 4:1-19
Job 23:1-17
Isaiah 40:12-31
Prayer:
Rest your prayers in the love of an ever-present God. Remember that he is not present because you feel he is present nor is he absent because you feel he is absent. He is always present because he has promised to be. Speak to him because he is there.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 29 was “Under His Wings” by William O. Cushing. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Almighty God, you are ever present in the world without (outside of) me, in my spirit within me, and in the unseen world above me. Let me carry with me through this day’s life a most real sense of your power and your glory. Hallowed be your name. Amen” (John Baillie in A Diary of Private Prayer)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Thomas R. Kelly, Paul Tournier, Richard J. Foster, Tilden H. Edwards and Hannah Whitall Smith. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “Either the world is holy or it’s not. Either the creator’s work is a sign of himself or it’s a sham. …We try to hedge in the holy… we take the big black crayon in our hands and draw these little islands where we will let God live in the world. …We draw more lines around Bibles and sanctuaries, thus adding a few more islands to this archipelago of the holy, and there you have it. Little concentration camps for Christ.”
• “If we are really listening, we shall know that the one who is eternally young never passes (comes) in the same way more than once. He is inexhaustibly inventive.”
• “It is difficult to undo our own damage, and to recall to our presence that which we have asked to leave. …What have we been doing all these centuries but trying to call God back to the mountain…?”
• “I can never say, ‘God is there and I am here,’ as if I were separated from my Source. For God is the core of my being and the core of all beings.”
• “Adam sinned and, in his panic, frantically tried to do the impossible: he tried to hide from the Presence of God. …If God is present at every point in space, if we cannot go where He is not, cannot even conceive of a place where He is not, why then has not that Presence become the one universally celebrated act of the world?”
• “There is here no measuring with time, no year matters, and ten years are nothing. …like the tree which does not force its sap and stands confident in the storms of spring without the fear that after them may come no summer. It does come. But it only comes to the patient, who are there as though eternity lay before them …patience is everything!”
• “The truth is this: He wants to make us in His own image, choosing the good, refusing the evil. How should He effect this if He were always moving us from within, as He does at divine intervals, toward the beauty of holiness?”
• “…the scientist-philosopher Pascal said ‘All things are the veils which cover God.’ If that is the case, and everything masks God, then everything also speaks of him….”
• “One of the experiences of prayer is that it seems that nothing happens. But when you stay with it and look back over a long period of prayer, you suddenly realize that something has happened.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 29 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
2 Corinthians 1:1-11
Deuteronomy 7:1-9
Hebrews 12:1-13
Job 19:1-27
1 Peter 4:1-19
Job 23:1-17
Isaiah 40:12-31
Prayer:
Rest your prayers in the love of an ever-present God. Remember that he is not present because you feel he is present nor is he absent because you feel he is absent. He is always present because he has promised to be. Speak to him because he is there.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 29 was “Under His Wings” by William O. Cushing. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Almighty God, you are ever present in the world without (outside of) me, in my spirit within me, and in the unseen world above me. Let me carry with me through this day’s life a most real sense of your power and your glory. Hallowed be your name. Amen” (John Baillie in A Diary of Private Prayer)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Thomas R. Kelly, Paul Tournier, Richard J. Foster, Tilden H. Edwards and Hannah Whitall Smith. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “Either the world is holy or it’s not. Either the creator’s work is a sign of himself or it’s a sham. …We try to hedge in the holy… we take the big black crayon in our hands and draw these little islands where we will let God live in the world. …We draw more lines around Bibles and sanctuaries, thus adding a few more islands to this archipelago of the holy, and there you have it. Little concentration camps for Christ.”
• “If we are really listening, we shall know that the one who is eternally young never passes (comes) in the same way more than once. He is inexhaustibly inventive.”
• “It is difficult to undo our own damage, and to recall to our presence that which we have asked to leave. …What have we been doing all these centuries but trying to call God back to the mountain…?”
• “I can never say, ‘God is there and I am here,’ as if I were separated from my Source. For God is the core of my being and the core of all beings.”
• “Adam sinned and, in his panic, frantically tried to do the impossible: he tried to hide from the Presence of God. …If God is present at every point in space, if we cannot go where He is not, cannot even conceive of a place where He is not, why then has not that Presence become the one universally celebrated act of the world?”
• “There is here no measuring with time, no year matters, and ten years are nothing. …like the tree which does not force its sap and stands confident in the storms of spring without the fear that after them may come no summer. It does come. But it only comes to the patient, who are there as though eternity lay before them …patience is everything!”
• “The truth is this: He wants to make us in His own image, choosing the good, refusing the evil. How should He effect this if He were always moving us from within, as He does at divine intervals, toward the beauty of holiness?”
• “…the scientist-philosopher Pascal said ‘All things are the veils which cover God.’ If that is the case, and everything masks God, then everything also speaks of him….”
• “One of the experiences of prayer is that it seems that nothing happens. But when you stay with it and look back over a long period of prayer, you suddenly realize that something has happened.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 29 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Monday, April 13, 2009
Chapter 28 - Guidance
Chapter 28, in 7 Bible passages, enlarged our understanding of God’s “Guidance”, as follows:
1 Samuel 3:1-10
Exodus 13:17-22
John 10:1-15
Genesis 24:1-67
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Judges 6:11-40
John 16:5-15
Prayer:
The Christian life has often been compared to the taking of a journey or pilgrimage. And this is so. There is a sense in which we are but “passing through this land.” But we must always remember that we are never the Guide. We never blaze an uncut trail; Christ has gone before. In your prayer this week think of God as Guide, and ask him to direct your path.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 28 was “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” by William Williams. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Father, you alone know what lies before me this day, grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you. Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand. Suggest, direct, control every movement of my mind; for my Lord Christ’s sake. Amen” (John Baillie in A Diary of Private Prayer)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Thomas R. Kelly, Paul Tournier, Richard J. Foster, Tilden H. Edwards and Hannah Whitall Smith. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “…this total Instruction proceeds in two opposing directions at once. We are torn loose from earthly attachments and ambitions. – contemptus mundi. And we are quickened to a divine but painful concern for this world – amor mundi. He plucks the world out of our hearts, loosening the chains of attachment. And He hurls the world into our hearts, where we and He together carry it in infinitely tender love.”
• “God guides us, despite our uncertainties and our vagueness, even through our failings and mistakes. …He leads us step by step, from event to event.”
• “…that basic insight found scattered throughout Christian literature that each of us is a child of royal lineage. Royal means a status that cannot be earned, only given. …Christian spiritual guidance in all its forms exists to reveal this condition in us and encourage our reconciliation with transforming power to our royal Source…”
• “You must recognize the fact that God’s thoughts are not as man’s thoughts, nor His ways as man’s ways; and that He who knows the end of things from the beginning alone can judge of what the results of any course of action may be.”
• “There are four ways in which He reveals His will to us – through the Scriptures, - through providential circumstances, - through the convictions of our own higher judgment, - and through the inward impressions of the Holy Spirit on our minds. …And in all true guidance these four voices will necessarily harmonize, for God cannot say in one voice that which He contradicts in another.”
• “God’s promise is, that He will work in us to will as well as to do of His good pleasure. …The way in which the Holy Spirit, therefore, usually works in this direct guidance is to impress upon the mind a wish or desire to do or to leave undone certain things.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 28 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
1 Samuel 3:1-10
Exodus 13:17-22
John 10:1-15
Genesis 24:1-67
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Judges 6:11-40
John 16:5-15
Prayer:
The Christian life has often been compared to the taking of a journey or pilgrimage. And this is so. There is a sense in which we are but “passing through this land.” But we must always remember that we are never the Guide. We never blaze an uncut trail; Christ has gone before. In your prayer this week think of God as Guide, and ask him to direct your path.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 28 was “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” by William Williams. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Father, you alone know what lies before me this day, grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you. Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand. Suggest, direct, control every movement of my mind; for my Lord Christ’s sake. Amen” (John Baillie in A Diary of Private Prayer)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Thomas R. Kelly, Paul Tournier, Richard J. Foster, Tilden H. Edwards and Hannah Whitall Smith. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
• “…this total Instruction proceeds in two opposing directions at once. We are torn loose from earthly attachments and ambitions. – contemptus mundi. And we are quickened to a divine but painful concern for this world – amor mundi. He plucks the world out of our hearts, loosening the chains of attachment. And He hurls the world into our hearts, where we and He together carry it in infinitely tender love.”
• “God guides us, despite our uncertainties and our vagueness, even through our failings and mistakes. …He leads us step by step, from event to event.”
• “…that basic insight found scattered throughout Christian literature that each of us is a child of royal lineage. Royal means a status that cannot be earned, only given. …Christian spiritual guidance in all its forms exists to reveal this condition in us and encourage our reconciliation with transforming power to our royal Source…”
• “You must recognize the fact that God’s thoughts are not as man’s thoughts, nor His ways as man’s ways; and that He who knows the end of things from the beginning alone can judge of what the results of any course of action may be.”
• “There are four ways in which He reveals His will to us – through the Scriptures, - through providential circumstances, - through the convictions of our own higher judgment, - and through the inward impressions of the Holy Spirit on our minds. …And in all true guidance these four voices will necessarily harmonize, for God cannot say in one voice that which He contradicts in another.”
• “God’s promise is, that He will work in us to will as well as to do of His good pleasure. …The way in which the Holy Spirit, therefore, usually works in this direct guidance is to impress upon the mind a wish or desire to do or to leave undone certain things.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 28 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Chapter 27 - Place
Chapter 27 clarified the “Place” to meet God in our lives in 7 Bible passages, as follows:
Hebrews 10:19-27
Mark 1:35-39
Acts 1:1-11
Genesis 13:1-18
2 Samuel 24:18-25
Luke 14:7-14
Matthew 6:5-14
Prayer:
Let your prayers this week be that God will direct you to some particular place for your regular prayer and that he will make it a sacred and holy place for you.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 27 was “Near to the Heart of God” by C. B. McAfee. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Father, teach me your Kingdom is all about (around) me, teach me it is within me, teach me so that I may withdraw into it and so that I may live my life centered there. Amen”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of M. Basil Pennington, Henri J. Nouwen William Law, E. Stanley Jones, Thomas Howard, Oswald Chambers, Morton T. Kelsey, Madeleine L’Engle and Jane Howard. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “…the place where one enjoys God.”
· “…to pray always in the same place … would have an effect upon your mind … as would very much assist your devotion.”
· “…a prayerful life … is not a life in which we say many prayers, but a life in which nothing, absolutely nothing, is done, said, or understood independently of him who is the origin and purpose of our existence.”
· “The Holy Spirit came upon the waiting group not in the Temple nor in a synagogue but in the upper room. …Religion was put where it belongs – in the human heart. Her (the Temple’s) holiness had shifted from places to persons. And rightly so.”
· “I would like to suggest that at least one place (among others) which may be hallowed anew as the place where … all of life may be offered up in oblation to the Most High, is the family household.”
· “… ‘enter into thy closet’; and remember, it is a place selected to pray in, not to make little addresses in, or for any other purpose than to pray in, never forget that.”
· “…find a place where the outer confusion can be shut off… . The purpose is not to create, or make something happen, but to allow it to happen, and where it takes place is an individual matter.”
· “My special place is a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet from which there is no visible sign of human beings. …If I sit for a while, then my impatience, crossness, frustration, are indeed annihilated, and my sense of humor returns.”
· “…a sense of place…these days is not achieved easily. …all the old symbols are gone. …So what are we to do…? …Live here, wherever here may be, as if we were going to belong here for the rest of our lives.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 27 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Hebrews 10:19-27
Mark 1:35-39
Acts 1:1-11
Genesis 13:1-18
2 Samuel 24:18-25
Luke 14:7-14
Matthew 6:5-14
Prayer:
Let your prayers this week be that God will direct you to some particular place for your regular prayer and that he will make it a sacred and holy place for you.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 27 was “Near to the Heart of God” by C. B. McAfee. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Father, teach me your Kingdom is all about (around) me, teach me it is within me, teach me so that I may withdraw into it and so that I may live my life centered there. Amen”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of M. Basil Pennington, Henri J. Nouwen William Law, E. Stanley Jones, Thomas Howard, Oswald Chambers, Morton T. Kelsey, Madeleine L’Engle and Jane Howard. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “…the place where one enjoys God.”
· “…to pray always in the same place … would have an effect upon your mind … as would very much assist your devotion.”
· “…a prayerful life … is not a life in which we say many prayers, but a life in which nothing, absolutely nothing, is done, said, or understood independently of him who is the origin and purpose of our existence.”
· “The Holy Spirit came upon the waiting group not in the Temple nor in a synagogue but in the upper room. …Religion was put where it belongs – in the human heart. Her (the Temple’s) holiness had shifted from places to persons. And rightly so.”
· “I would like to suggest that at least one place (among others) which may be hallowed anew as the place where … all of life may be offered up in oblation to the Most High, is the family household.”
· “… ‘enter into thy closet’; and remember, it is a place selected to pray in, not to make little addresses in, or for any other purpose than to pray in, never forget that.”
· “…find a place where the outer confusion can be shut off… . The purpose is not to create, or make something happen, but to allow it to happen, and where it takes place is an individual matter.”
· “My special place is a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet from which there is no visible sign of human beings. …If I sit for a while, then my impatience, crossness, frustration, are indeed annihilated, and my sense of humor returns.”
· “…a sense of place…these days is not achieved easily. …all the old symbols are gone. …So what are we to do…? …Live here, wherever here may be, as if we were going to belong here for the rest of our lives.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 27 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Chapter 26 - Time Management
Chapter 26 illustrated “Time Management” in 7 Bible passages, as follows:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Psalm 90:12
2 Corinthians 5:18-6:2
Job 7:1-10
Psalm 39:4-6
James 4:13-17
Ephesians 5:10-17
Prayer:
The hassle with being a better manager of your time is making the decisions about what is now most important and what is no longer important. But if you ask God what he’d remove if it were his life, he would gladly tell you.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 26 was “Take Time to Be Holy” by William D. Longstaff. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“O Christ, when I look at you I see that you were never in a hurry, never ran, but always had time for the pressing necessities of the day. Give me that disciplined, poised life with time always for the thing that matters. For I would be a disciplined person. Amen”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Anthony Bloom, M. Basil Pennington, Evelyn Underhill, Susan Annette Muto, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, James Stewart, and Henri J. Nouwen. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “There is absolutely no need to run after time to catch it. It does not run away from us, it runs toward us.”
· “…when you can use five minutes, three minutes or half an hour for leisure and for doing nothing …you sit down and say, ‘I am seated, I am doing nothing. I will do nothing for five minutes,’ and then relax and continually throughout this time (one or two minutes is the most you will be able to endure to begin with) realize, ‘I am here in the presence of God, in my own presence and in the presence of all the furniture that is around me, just still, moving nowhere.’ …you must (then) decide that within (these two or five minutes) which you have assigned to learning that the present exists, you will not be pulled out of it by the telephone, by a knock on the door, or by a sudden upsurge of energy that prompts you to do at once what you have left undone for the past ten years.”
· “There is in the lives of most of us a good bit more freedom and flexibility to organize (a time of apartness), if we really want to.”
· “Spiritual achievement costs much, though never as much as it is worth.”
· “Once we begin wisely allotting time for reading and reflection, wondering and writing, we shall soon notice the reward. Life becomes less pressured. Christ, not the clock on the wall, becomes the center of our lives. Amazingly, we seem to accomplish more…”
· “Since meditation on the Scriptures, prayer, and intercession are a service we owe and because the grace of God is found in this service, we should train ourselves to set apart a regular (time) for it… This is not ‘legalism’; it is orderliness and fidelity…”
· “But look at Jesus. Busy and crowded as our days are, his were emphatically more so. …and yet the harder the days were, the more time did Jesus make for prayer.”
· “The only solution is a prayer schedule that you will never break without consulting your spiritual director. Set a time that is reasonable, and once it is set, stick to it at all costs. …Let everyone know that this is the only time you will not change and pray at that time.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 26 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Psalm 90:12
2 Corinthians 5:18-6:2
Job 7:1-10
Psalm 39:4-6
James 4:13-17
Ephesians 5:10-17
Prayer:
The hassle with being a better manager of your time is making the decisions about what is now most important and what is no longer important. But if you ask God what he’d remove if it were his life, he would gladly tell you.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 26 was “Take Time to Be Holy” by William D. Longstaff. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“O Christ, when I look at you I see that you were never in a hurry, never ran, but always had time for the pressing necessities of the day. Give me that disciplined, poised life with time always for the thing that matters. For I would be a disciplined person. Amen”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Anthony Bloom, M. Basil Pennington, Evelyn Underhill, Susan Annette Muto, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, James Stewart, and Henri J. Nouwen. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “There is absolutely no need to run after time to catch it. It does not run away from us, it runs toward us.”
· “…when you can use five minutes, three minutes or half an hour for leisure and for doing nothing …you sit down and say, ‘I am seated, I am doing nothing. I will do nothing for five minutes,’ and then relax and continually throughout this time (one or two minutes is the most you will be able to endure to begin with) realize, ‘I am here in the presence of God, in my own presence and in the presence of all the furniture that is around me, just still, moving nowhere.’ …you must (then) decide that within (these two or five minutes) which you have assigned to learning that the present exists, you will not be pulled out of it by the telephone, by a knock on the door, or by a sudden upsurge of energy that prompts you to do at once what you have left undone for the past ten years.”
· “There is in the lives of most of us a good bit more freedom and flexibility to organize (a time of apartness), if we really want to.”
· “Spiritual achievement costs much, though never as much as it is worth.”
· “Once we begin wisely allotting time for reading and reflection, wondering and writing, we shall soon notice the reward. Life becomes less pressured. Christ, not the clock on the wall, becomes the center of our lives. Amazingly, we seem to accomplish more…”
· “Since meditation on the Scriptures, prayer, and intercession are a service we owe and because the grace of God is found in this service, we should train ourselves to set apart a regular (time) for it… This is not ‘legalism’; it is orderliness and fidelity…”
· “But look at Jesus. Busy and crowded as our days are, his were emphatically more so. …and yet the harder the days were, the more time did Jesus make for prayer.”
· “The only solution is a prayer schedule that you will never break without consulting your spiritual director. Set a time that is reasonable, and once it is set, stick to it at all costs. …Let everyone know that this is the only time you will not change and pray at that time.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 26 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Monday, March 16, 2009
Chapter 25 - Consciousness
Chapter 25 framed Biblical “Consciousness” in 7 passages, as follows:
Isaiah 32:14-20
1 John 3:19-4:6
Philippians 4:2-9
Romans 8:26-27
1 John 5:1-12
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
Acts 9:1-9
Prayer:
Everything is clamoring to become a part of you. You must carefully choose the things and thoughts you will allow to get inside. Ask God to begin to cleanse your consciousness. Then determine in prayer that you will guard the threshold of your mind.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 25 was “Prayer Is the Soul’s Sincere Desire” by James Montgomery. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Father, protect me from the onslaught of things, both good and evil, that will bid for my attention this day. Make me to remember that all that I allow inside my heart will become some part of me as I pray. Let me come to you in singleness of heart and purity of desire. In the name of Christ. Amen”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Albert E. Day, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Howard Thurman, M. Basil Pennington, Thomas R. Kelly, and Henri J. Nouwen. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “… the consciousness of man can enter into a living, knowledge-communicating, life-transforming relationship with God. … the consciousness of such a relationship would not be possible if the human consciousness can be aware only of what the eyes see and the ears hear and the hands touch and the tongue tastes and the nostrils smell. … God is a legitimate inference from events. …But God may also be an immediate object of consciousness.”
· “If God does not have power to speak to us, how should we possess the power to speak to Him? Thus, prayer is part of a greater issue. It depends upon the total spiritual situation of man and upon a mind within which God is at home (blogger’s emphasis). … The issue of prayer is not prayer; the issue of prayer is God.”
· “When a pool is greatly agitated by the breezes and the wind, one can throw in a pebble or even many pebbles and there is no noticeable effect. When a pond is perfectly at peace and one casts a pebble into it, the gentle waves spread in every direction till they reach even the farthest shore. … when we come to achieve a deeper inner quiet, then we are much more discerning.”
· “How, then, shall we lay hold of that Life and Power, and live the life of prayer without ceasing? … offer your whole selves, utterly and in joyful abandon, in quiet, glad surrender to Him who is within.”
· “‘In the beginning,’ John Eudes said, ‘your thoughts will wander, but after a while you will discover that it becomes easier to stay quietly in the presence of the Lord.’ … When you are faithful in this, you will slowly experience yourself in a deeper way.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 25 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Isaiah 32:14-20
1 John 3:19-4:6
Philippians 4:2-9
Romans 8:26-27
1 John 5:1-12
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
Acts 9:1-9
Prayer:
Everything is clamoring to become a part of you. You must carefully choose the things and thoughts you will allow to get inside. Ask God to begin to cleanse your consciousness. Then determine in prayer that you will guard the threshold of your mind.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 25 was “Prayer Is the Soul’s Sincere Desire” by James Montgomery. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Father, protect me from the onslaught of things, both good and evil, that will bid for my attention this day. Make me to remember that all that I allow inside my heart will become some part of me as I pray. Let me come to you in singleness of heart and purity of desire. In the name of Christ. Amen”
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Albert E. Day, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Howard Thurman, M. Basil Pennington, Thomas R. Kelly, and Henri J. Nouwen. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “… the consciousness of man can enter into a living, knowledge-communicating, life-transforming relationship with God. … the consciousness of such a relationship would not be possible if the human consciousness can be aware only of what the eyes see and the ears hear and the hands touch and the tongue tastes and the nostrils smell. … God is a legitimate inference from events. …But God may also be an immediate object of consciousness.”
· “If God does not have power to speak to us, how should we possess the power to speak to Him? Thus, prayer is part of a greater issue. It depends upon the total spiritual situation of man and upon a mind within which God is at home (blogger’s emphasis). … The issue of prayer is not prayer; the issue of prayer is God.”
· “When a pool is greatly agitated by the breezes and the wind, one can throw in a pebble or even many pebbles and there is no noticeable effect. When a pond is perfectly at peace and one casts a pebble into it, the gentle waves spread in every direction till they reach even the farthest shore. … when we come to achieve a deeper inner quiet, then we are much more discerning.”
· “How, then, shall we lay hold of that Life and Power, and live the life of prayer without ceasing? … offer your whole selves, utterly and in joyful abandon, in quiet, glad surrender to Him who is within.”
· “‘In the beginning,’ John Eudes said, ‘your thoughts will wander, but after a while you will discover that it becomes easier to stay quietly in the presence of the Lord.’ … When you are faithful in this, you will slowly experience yourself in a deeper way.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 25 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Chapter 24 - Anxiety
Chapter 24 challenged us with 7 Bible passages to help us discern the presence of “Anxiety” in daily life situations, as follows:
Philippians 4:6-7
Matthew 5:25-34
Luke 12:1-12
Matthew 13:1-23
Luke 11:38-42
Luke 21:34-36
1 Peter 5:6-7
Prayer:
Can you identify your greatest fear? And could you confess it to God? If you keep it hidden within you he can never cleanse it, much less use it to his glory. Offer your fears and anxieties to him this week.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 24 was “Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus” by Charles Wesley. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“O God, who is the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: I thank you for the timely blessings of the day, and humbly beseech your merciful protection all the night. Bring me, I pray, in safety to the morning hours; through him who died for me and rose again, your Son my Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.” (The Book of Common Prayer)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Howard Thurman, Annie Dillard, Thomas à Kempis, George MacDonald (edited by C. S. Lewis), Andrew Murray, Hannah Whitall Smith, Anthony Padovano, Joshua L. Liebman, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Philip S. Watson, and Henri J. Nouwen. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “There is a sense of wholeness at the core of man … That warms the depth of frozen fears …”
· “I meant to accomplish a good bit today. Instead I keep thinking: Will the next generations of people remember to drain the pipes in the fall? I will leave them a note.”
· “To preserve peace in time of trouble our will must remain firm in God …”
· “The next hour, the next moment, is as much beyond our grasp and as much in God’s care, as that a hundred years away.”
· “Troubled soul, thou art not bound to feel but thou art bound to arise. God loves thee whether thou feelest or not. …Heed not thy feeling: Do thy work.”
· “All growth in the spiritual life is connected with the clearer insight into what Jesus is to us. …the more I learn to live the real life of faith, which, dying to self, lives wholly in Christ.”
· “…there are two things which are more utterly incompatible than even oil and water, and these two are trust and worry.”
· You find no difficulty in trusting the Lord with the management of the universe, and all the outward creation, and can your case be any more complex or difficult than these, that you need to be anxious or troubled about His management of you?”
· “Prayer is successful not in terms of what it logically produces or pragmatically achieves but in terms of what it forces reality to experience.”
· “… I set down my inventory of earthly desirables: health, love, beauty, talent, power, riches and fame… With a pencil stub he crossed out my entire schedule. …Then … he wrote down three syllables: peace of mind.”
· “Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking that they can provide security and freedom from anxiety. …The fetters which bind us to our possessions prove to be cares themselves.”
· “I have always been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I slowly discovered that my interruptions were my work.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 24 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Philippians 4:6-7
Matthew 5:25-34
Luke 12:1-12
Matthew 13:1-23
Luke 11:38-42
Luke 21:34-36
1 Peter 5:6-7
Prayer:
Can you identify your greatest fear? And could you confess it to God? If you keep it hidden within you he can never cleanse it, much less use it to his glory. Offer your fears and anxieties to him this week.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 24 was “Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus” by Charles Wesley. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“O God, who is the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: I thank you for the timely blessings of the day, and humbly beseech your merciful protection all the night. Bring me, I pray, in safety to the morning hours; through him who died for me and rose again, your Son my Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.” (The Book of Common Prayer)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Howard Thurman, Annie Dillard, Thomas à Kempis, George MacDonald (edited by C. S. Lewis), Andrew Murray, Hannah Whitall Smith, Anthony Padovano, Joshua L. Liebman, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Philip S. Watson, and Henri J. Nouwen. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “There is a sense of wholeness at the core of man … That warms the depth of frozen fears …”
· “I meant to accomplish a good bit today. Instead I keep thinking: Will the next generations of people remember to drain the pipes in the fall? I will leave them a note.”
· “To preserve peace in time of trouble our will must remain firm in God …”
· “The next hour, the next moment, is as much beyond our grasp and as much in God’s care, as that a hundred years away.”
· “Troubled soul, thou art not bound to feel but thou art bound to arise. God loves thee whether thou feelest or not. …Heed not thy feeling: Do thy work.”
· “All growth in the spiritual life is connected with the clearer insight into what Jesus is to us. …the more I learn to live the real life of faith, which, dying to self, lives wholly in Christ.”
· “…there are two things which are more utterly incompatible than even oil and water, and these two are trust and worry.”
· You find no difficulty in trusting the Lord with the management of the universe, and all the outward creation, and can your case be any more complex or difficult than these, that you need to be anxious or troubled about His management of you?”
· “Prayer is successful not in terms of what it logically produces or pragmatically achieves but in terms of what it forces reality to experience.”
· “… I set down my inventory of earthly desirables: health, love, beauty, talent, power, riches and fame… With a pencil stub he crossed out my entire schedule. …Then … he wrote down three syllables: peace of mind.”
· “Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking that they can provide security and freedom from anxiety. …The fetters which bind us to our possessions prove to be cares themselves.”
· “I have always been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I slowly discovered that my interruptions were my work.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 24 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Chapter 23 - Distractions
Chapter 23 referred to 7 Bible passages to help us focus on the subject of “Distractions”, as follows:
Luke 6:46-49
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Proverbs 3:1-18
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 5:1-15
James 3:13-18
Luke 10:38-42
Prayer:
Try to use some of the ways of adoration and meditation to aid you in freeing your mind from all the things that would invade your mind as you would pray.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 23 was “Sweetly Resting” by Mary D. James. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Father, you are full of compassion. I commit and commend myself unto you, in whom I am, and live, and know. Be the Goal of my pilgrimage, and my Rest by the way. Let my soul take refuge from the crowding turmoil of worldly thoughts beneath the shadow of your wings; let my heart, this sea of restless waves, find peace in you, O God. Amen.” (St. Augustine in Little Book of Prayers)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Igumen Chariton of Valamo, Evelyn Underhill, Henri J. Nouwen, M. Basil Pennington, Andrew Murray, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Morton T. Kelsey, George MacDonald (edited by C. S. Lewis), and Brother Lawrence. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “You must not allow your thoughts to wander at random, but as soon as they run away, you must immediately bring them back…. St. John of the Ladder says of this, ‘You must make a great effort to confine your mind within the words of prayer.” (Ed. Note: St. John of the Ladder is quoted in honor of Bill Schmidt. LOL)
· “Most of our conflicts and difficulties come from trying to deal with the spiritual aspects of our life separately instead of realising (sic) them as parts of one whole.”
· “Moods are worth attention. I am discovering … that I am subject to very different moods, often changing very quickly.”
· “… ‘Think glorious thoughts of God – and serve Him with a quiet mind!’ …the more glorious and more spacious our thoughts of Him are, the greater the quietude and confidence with which we do our detailed work will be.”
· “How completely we are dependent on the coming and abiding presence of his grace.”
· “… I lack the urgency and desire to pray. … so also will I deliver you from the sin of prayerlessness – only do not seek the victory in your own strength. … Be assured of this – I will teach you how to pray.”
· “… the privilege of prayer, the supreme opportunity of friendship with God kept vital by deliberate communion…”
· “One has to set aside time for silence and then turn toward it with composure, letting go of immediate things a little at a time in order to enter a world where dreams and also the energy for life are born.”
· “… the pilgrim must be headed back from the sidepaths into which he is constantly wandering.” · “Let it be your business to keep your mind in the presence of the Lord. … the will must bring it back in tranquility.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 23 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Luke 6:46-49
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Proverbs 3:1-18
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 5:1-15
James 3:13-18
Luke 10:38-42
Prayer:
Try to use some of the ways of adoration and meditation to aid you in freeing your mind from all the things that would invade your mind as you would pray.
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 23 was “Sweetly Resting” by Mary D. James. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Benediction:
“Father, you are full of compassion. I commit and commend myself unto you, in whom I am, and live, and know. Be the Goal of my pilgrimage, and my Rest by the way. Let my soul take refuge from the crowding turmoil of worldly thoughts beneath the shadow of your wings; let my heart, this sea of restless waves, find peace in you, O God. Amen.” (St. Augustine in Little Book of Prayers)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Igumen Chariton of Valamo, Evelyn Underhill, Henri J. Nouwen, M. Basil Pennington, Andrew Murray, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Morton T. Kelsey, George MacDonald (edited by C. S. Lewis), and Brother Lawrence. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “You must not allow your thoughts to wander at random, but as soon as they run away, you must immediately bring them back…. St. John of the Ladder says of this, ‘You must make a great effort to confine your mind within the words of prayer.” (Ed. Note: St. John of the Ladder is quoted in honor of Bill Schmidt. LOL)
· “Most of our conflicts and difficulties come from trying to deal with the spiritual aspects of our life separately instead of realising (sic) them as parts of one whole.”
· “Moods are worth attention. I am discovering … that I am subject to very different moods, often changing very quickly.”
· “… ‘Think glorious thoughts of God – and serve Him with a quiet mind!’ …the more glorious and more spacious our thoughts of Him are, the greater the quietude and confidence with which we do our detailed work will be.”
· “How completely we are dependent on the coming and abiding presence of his grace.”
· “… I lack the urgency and desire to pray. … so also will I deliver you from the sin of prayerlessness – only do not seek the victory in your own strength. … Be assured of this – I will teach you how to pray.”
· “… the privilege of prayer, the supreme opportunity of friendship with God kept vital by deliberate communion…”
· “One has to set aside time for silence and then turn toward it with composure, letting go of immediate things a little at a time in order to enter a world where dreams and also the energy for life are born.”
· “… the pilgrim must be headed back from the sidepaths into which he is constantly wandering.” · “Let it be your business to keep your mind in the presence of the Lord. … the will must bring it back in tranquility.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 23 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Monday, February 2, 2009
Chapter 22 - Temptations
Chapter 22 used 7 Bible passages to illuminate the subject of “Temptations”, as follows:
1 Corinthians 10:11-21
Matthew 4:1-11
James 1:2-4
Mark 14:66-72
Matthew 16:21-24
Hebrews 2:10-18
1 Peter 2:19-25
Prayer:
“To share his victory we must share in his suffering. And this includes sharing in his temptations. Temptations can serve to strengthen us as they strengthened Jesus. Inquire of him how you might benefit in such circumstances.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 22 was “Yield Not to Temptation” by Horatio R. Palmer. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel, Ernest Boyer, Jr., George Fox, M. Basil Pennington, Elizabeth O’Connor, James Stewart, Thomas Merton, Hannah Whitall Smith and Thomas à Kempis. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “We do not refuse to pray; we abstain from it. We ring the hollow bell of selfishness rather than absorb the stillness that surrounds the world… the secret stillness that precedes our birth and succeeds our death. …Why do we not set apart an hour of living for devotion to God by surrendering to stillness?”
· “…the soul is matured only in battles. And when temptations started up again he did not pray that the struggle be taken from him, but only said: Lord, give me strength to get through the fight.”
· “We are programmed to see temptations as something evil: Lead us not into temptation. It comes as a bit of a surprise then when we read in St. Matthew’s Gospel: ‘Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.’ This is not quite what we would expect the Holy Spirit to do.”
· “These are moments God uses to put in the heart and the mouth the question, ‘Is there another way?’ …from learning there are two ways – one that leads to death and one to life – it does not follow that we enter by the narrow gate. The facts about the gate are starkly simple. One, it leads to life…Two, it is a hard way, and Three, few find it. …We do not ask for courage, because we do not know we have need of it. …This is where the religious lose out on the Kingdom. They assume that because they are aware of the two ways, and because they have chosen the second, they are on it. This is to fall comfortably into the sleep of the crowd again. It may well be a ‘religious’ crowd, but it is nonetheless a crowd.”
· “How did the story come to be in the Gospels at all? The Master’s fight with Satan happened out in a desert, far from the beaten track and the eyes of men. …Jesus was utterly alone… Clearly there is only one explanation: the story came direct from the lips of Christ himself. Why did Jesus tell it? …First, Jesus shared this experience with his disciples in order to help them through their own tempted hours. …second, …the titanic struggle of the desert days and nights had marked his soul forever… He could see and feel it … as if it happened only yesterday … the grace of God and the angels that had brought him through.”
· “Christian life is to be throughout a warfare. …temptations generally increase in strength tenfold after we have entered into the interior life, rather than decrease. …Strong temptations are generally a sign of great grace, rather than of little grace.”
· “…Let us, therefore, humble our souls under the hand of God in all temptations and tribulations, for the humble in spirit He will save and exalt.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 22 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
1 Corinthians 10:11-21
Matthew 4:1-11
James 1:2-4
Mark 14:66-72
Matthew 16:21-24
Hebrews 2:10-18
1 Peter 2:19-25
Prayer:
“To share his victory we must share in his suffering. And this includes sharing in his temptations. Temptations can serve to strengthen us as they strengthened Jesus. Inquire of him how you might benefit in such circumstances.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 22 was “Yield Not to Temptation” by Horatio R. Palmer. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel, Ernest Boyer, Jr., George Fox, M. Basil Pennington, Elizabeth O’Connor, James Stewart, Thomas Merton, Hannah Whitall Smith and Thomas à Kempis. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “We do not refuse to pray; we abstain from it. We ring the hollow bell of selfishness rather than absorb the stillness that surrounds the world… the secret stillness that precedes our birth and succeeds our death. …Why do we not set apart an hour of living for devotion to God by surrendering to stillness?”
· “…the soul is matured only in battles. And when temptations started up again he did not pray that the struggle be taken from him, but only said: Lord, give me strength to get through the fight.”
· “We are programmed to see temptations as something evil: Lead us not into temptation. It comes as a bit of a surprise then when we read in St. Matthew’s Gospel: ‘Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.’ This is not quite what we would expect the Holy Spirit to do.”
· “These are moments God uses to put in the heart and the mouth the question, ‘Is there another way?’ …from learning there are two ways – one that leads to death and one to life – it does not follow that we enter by the narrow gate. The facts about the gate are starkly simple. One, it leads to life…Two, it is a hard way, and Three, few find it. …We do not ask for courage, because we do not know we have need of it. …This is where the religious lose out on the Kingdom. They assume that because they are aware of the two ways, and because they have chosen the second, they are on it. This is to fall comfortably into the sleep of the crowd again. It may well be a ‘religious’ crowd, but it is nonetheless a crowd.”
· “How did the story come to be in the Gospels at all? The Master’s fight with Satan happened out in a desert, far from the beaten track and the eyes of men. …Jesus was utterly alone… Clearly there is only one explanation: the story came direct from the lips of Christ himself. Why did Jesus tell it? …First, Jesus shared this experience with his disciples in order to help them through their own tempted hours. …second, …the titanic struggle of the desert days and nights had marked his soul forever… He could see and feel it … as if it happened only yesterday … the grace of God and the angels that had brought him through.”
· “Christian life is to be throughout a warfare. …temptations generally increase in strength tenfold after we have entered into the interior life, rather than decrease. …Strong temptations are generally a sign of great grace, rather than of little grace.”
· “…Let us, therefore, humble our souls under the hand of God in all temptations and tribulations, for the humble in spirit He will save and exalt.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 22 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Monday, January 19, 2009
Chapter 21 - Doubts
Chapter 21 referred to 7 Bible passages to address the subject of “Doubts”, as follows:
Luke 7:1-10
Hebrews 10:19-25
Matthew 14:22-36
Genesis 18:1-15
John 6:60-69
Romans 4:1-25
John 20:24-31
Prayer:
“Sometimes we all are in need of praying as the father of the demon-possessed boy (Mark 9) who said to Jesus, ‘I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.’ Do not be afraid to pray in this way if it reflects your needs.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 21 was “Oh, for a Faith That Will Not Shrink” by William H. Bathurst. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Hans Kung, Georgia Harkness, Andrew Murray, Rainer Maria Rilke, James Stewart, John Powell, Madeleine L’Engle and Ernest Boyer, Junior. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “Questions of faith are not like riddles or crossword puzzles: with things of this sort it may take some time to find the solution, but once it’s found, everything is clear and simple. …With faith…we have, not human truth which men can state and understand, but God’s truth, which goes far beyond any statement or understanding of man’s. The faith never becomes clear. The faith remains obscure. Not until we enter glory will it be otherwise. …Doubt is the shadow cast by faith.”
· “To deny that God acts to give us moral and spiritual help is an implicit atheism.”
· “…I began to understand that I must lay aside all my efforts, and simply trust the Lord Jesus to bestow on me His life and peace, and He did it.”
· “…be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart…. Do not now seek the answers…. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
· “Jesus never argued for the validity of prayer anymore than he argued for the existence of God. …God was simply there…. Just so, prayer was not something to be proved by argument; prayer was there…. Did any disciple – Thomas, for example – have doubts about prayer, genuine, honest doubts? Nothing was more likely to vanquish his doubts than the sight of Jesus upon his knees…. The praying Christ is the supreme argument for prayer.”
· “In the process of faith, doubts and crises must occur. …We lose sight of the fact that faith can mature only because of these crises. …One thing is certain, that passage through the darkness of doubts and crises, however painful they may be, is essential to growth in the process of faith.”
· “…the Lord…knows our heart…and how easily we are inclined to rest in prayer as a religious work without an answer.”
· “For many people faith means nothing more than a set of beliefs to which they may either agree or disagree. …God is not a belief to which you give your assent. God becomes a reality that you know intimately, meet every day, one whose strength becomes your strength, whose love, your love.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 21 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Luke 7:1-10
Hebrews 10:19-25
Matthew 14:22-36
Genesis 18:1-15
John 6:60-69
Romans 4:1-25
John 20:24-31
Prayer:
“Sometimes we all are in need of praying as the father of the demon-possessed boy (Mark 9) who said to Jesus, ‘I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.’ Do not be afraid to pray in this way if it reflects your needs.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 21 was “Oh, for a Faith That Will Not Shrink” by William H. Bathurst. (If you are not familiar with the song, just Google the hymn name and you will get multiple sources to read and/or hear it, as well as its history.)
Meditation Selections:
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Hans Kung, Georgia Harkness, Andrew Murray, Rainer Maria Rilke, James Stewart, John Powell, Madeleine L’Engle and Ernest Boyer, Junior. (Googling their names may give you some insight into their backgrounds and experiences, if that's of any interest to you.)
Some of the interesting quotes from the meditations included:
· “Questions of faith are not like riddles or crossword puzzles: with things of this sort it may take some time to find the solution, but once it’s found, everything is clear and simple. …With faith…we have, not human truth which men can state and understand, but God’s truth, which goes far beyond any statement or understanding of man’s. The faith never becomes clear. The faith remains obscure. Not until we enter glory will it be otherwise. …Doubt is the shadow cast by faith.”
· “To deny that God acts to give us moral and spiritual help is an implicit atheism.”
· “…I began to understand that I must lay aside all my efforts, and simply trust the Lord Jesus to bestow on me His life and peace, and He did it.”
· “…be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart…. Do not now seek the answers…. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
· “Jesus never argued for the validity of prayer anymore than he argued for the existence of God. …God was simply there…. Just so, prayer was not something to be proved by argument; prayer was there…. Did any disciple – Thomas, for example – have doubts about prayer, genuine, honest doubts? Nothing was more likely to vanquish his doubts than the sight of Jesus upon his knees…. The praying Christ is the supreme argument for prayer.”
· “In the process of faith, doubts and crises must occur. …We lose sight of the fact that faith can mature only because of these crises. …One thing is certain, that passage through the darkness of doubts and crises, however painful they may be, is essential to growth in the process of faith.”
· “…the Lord…knows our heart…and how easily we are inclined to rest in prayer as a religious work without an answer.”
· “For many people faith means nothing more than a set of beliefs to which they may either agree or disagree. …God is not a belief to which you give your assent. God becomes a reality that you know intimately, meet every day, one whose strength becomes your strength, whose love, your love.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 21 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
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