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
Monday, September 28, 2009
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
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