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
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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
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