Chapter 20 used 7 passages to enlighten the Biblical view of “The Will”, as follows:
John 3:10-21
Luke 11:14-28
Matthew 26:36-46
Luke 9:57-62
Mark 8:34-9:1
Luke 5:1-11
Luke 13:22-30
Prayer:
“If Jesus believed that his life was to be spent doing ‘the will of the Father,’ then our task is to be no less. Pray for his will to be accomplished in your life; that you may bring glory to him as Jesus did.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 20 was “My Jesus, As Thou Wilt” by Benjamin Schmolck. (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 Mother Teresa, Emilie Griffin, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Evelyn Underhill, Georgia Harkness, George Fox, Thomas R. Kelly, Richard J. Foster, and Andrew Murray. (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:
· “Our progress in holiness depends on God and ourselves – on God’s grace and on our will to be holy. We must have a real living determination to reach holiness. …and make myself a willing slave to the will of God.”
· “There is a moment between intending to pray and actually praying that is as dark and silent as any moment in our lives. …It seems, then, that the greatest obstacle to prayer is the simple matter of beginning, the simple exertion of will, the starting, the acting, the doing. …we can approach the abyss that lies between us and prayer and retreat from it under cover of being-too-busy or having-family-obligations or even serving-God-in-other-ways. This seemingly justified retreat makes the approach more difficult the next time… .”
· “Man is constantly producing words and deeds, giving them over either to God or to the forces of evil.”
· “Real power is the result of inner harmony… .”
· “…motives, desires, and the spirit’s use of bodily powers will be in harmony with the will of God. If prayer did only this, it would do for us the most important thing that could be done.”
· “…there remained in me an unsubjected will…”
· “…we cannot take Him by storm. The strong man must become the little child, not understanding but trusting the Father.”
· “What freedom corresponds to submission? It is the ability to lay down the terrible burden of always needing to get our own way. …almost all church fights and splits occur because people do not have the freedom to give in to each other. …Only in submission are we enabled to bring that spirit to a place where it no longer controls us. Only submission can free us sufficiently to enable us to distinguish between genuine issues and stubborn self-will.”
· “…Jesus called us to self-denial without self-hatred. Self-denial is not the same thing as self-contempt. …Jesus made the ability to love ourselves the prerequisite for our reaching out to others.”
· “Jesus in His prayers on earth, …makes this His first objective – the glory of His Father. Is it so with us too?”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 20 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Friday, December 12, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Chapter 19 - Faith In The Process
Chapter 19 cited 7 scripture passages to spotlight the faith demonstrated in a number of situations in the Bible, as follows:
Hebrews 11:1-12:3
Genesis 22:1-19
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Nehemiah 6:1-9
Philippians 3:17-4:1
1 Peter 5:1-11
Romans 8:28-39
Prayer:
“Ask God to reveal himself to you this week in his form or way. Promise him that you will not ask him to speak to you in any certain images; but that you want to be open to all of his entreaties to you. Ask him to show you that these experiences of today are part of his processes for your life.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 19 was “Day by Day” by Lina Sandell and Oscar Ahnfelt. (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 Lloyd Ogilvie, John Claypool, Al Bryant, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Ernest Boyer, Jr., Bob Benson and Frederick Buechner. (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:
· “What can you do when you’ve failed and denied what you believe? …the basic message of the story is this: the Lord’s love does not fail however much we fail him.”
· “…I had come to the conclusion that it was the nature of God to speak to us in the language of events, and that it was the nature of the Church for men to share with each other what they thought they heard God say in the things that had happened to them. …I have found the challenge to go on living even though I have no answer or any complete explanation.”
· “How different is the case, how vast the preeminence, of those who ‘walk by faith!’ … Those who live by faith, walk by faith. But what is implied in this?”
· “Many of us are willing to embark upon any adventure, except to go into stillness and to wait… Faith is the fruit of a seed planted in the depth of a lifetime.”
· “It is the bland and repetitious part of life at the center that seems its greatest defect; the reality of a life of care often seems as far from spirituality as possible. …Spirituality is anything that reveals how close God is to us – as close as our hands, as close as our heart.”
· “By examining as closely and candidly as I could the life that had come to seem to me in many ways a kind of trap or dead-end street, I discovered that it really wasn’t that at all. …Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is.”
· “To do for yourself the best that you have it in you to do – to grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at its harshest and worst – is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 19 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Hebrews 11:1-12:3
Genesis 22:1-19
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Nehemiah 6:1-9
Philippians 3:17-4:1
1 Peter 5:1-11
Romans 8:28-39
Prayer:
“Ask God to reveal himself to you this week in his form or way. Promise him that you will not ask him to speak to you in any certain images; but that you want to be open to all of his entreaties to you. Ask him to show you that these experiences of today are part of his processes for your life.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 19 was “Day by Day” by Lina Sandell and Oscar Ahnfelt. (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 Lloyd Ogilvie, John Claypool, Al Bryant, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Ernest Boyer, Jr., Bob Benson and Frederick Buechner. (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:
· “What can you do when you’ve failed and denied what you believe? …the basic message of the story is this: the Lord’s love does not fail however much we fail him.”
· “…I had come to the conclusion that it was the nature of God to speak to us in the language of events, and that it was the nature of the Church for men to share with each other what they thought they heard God say in the things that had happened to them. …I have found the challenge to go on living even though I have no answer or any complete explanation.”
· “How different is the case, how vast the preeminence, of those who ‘walk by faith!’ … Those who live by faith, walk by faith. But what is implied in this?”
· “Many of us are willing to embark upon any adventure, except to go into stillness and to wait… Faith is the fruit of a seed planted in the depth of a lifetime.”
· “It is the bland and repetitious part of life at the center that seems its greatest defect; the reality of a life of care often seems as far from spirituality as possible. …Spirituality is anything that reveals how close God is to us – as close as our hands, as close as our heart.”
· “By examining as closely and candidly as I could the life that had come to seem to me in many ways a kind of trap or dead-end street, I discovered that it really wasn’t that at all. …Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is.”
· “To do for yourself the best that you have it in you to do – to grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at its harshest and worst – is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 19 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Chapter 18 - Fasting
Chapter 18 used 7 scripture passages to highlight the Biblical foundation of fasting as a useful tool in our spiritual life, as follows:
John 4:31-38
Matthew 9:14-17
Matthew 6:16-18
Luke 4:1-13
Exodus 34:27-28
Matthew 4:1-4
Luke 5:33-39
Prayer:
“I heard a godly man remark when asked if he got hungry while fasting. ‘Of course! But then I remember that I’m fasting for God and not for me, and the hunger goes away.’”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 18 was “Fill Me Now” by Elwood Stokes. (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 Richard J. Foster, Tilden H. Edwards, Ponder Gilliland, Rainer Maria Rilke, “An Anthology of George MacDonald” edited by C. S. Lewis, Andrew Murray and “the Message of the Wesleys” compiled by Philip S. Watson. (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:
· “One issue that understandably concerns many people is whether or not Scripture makes fasting obligatory upon all Christians. …Jesus was giving instruction on the proper exercise of a common practice of His day.”
· “My own and others’ experience leads me to recommend not a full fast, but a ‘juice fast’: vegetable juice (preferably freshly made) and especially fruit juice (which will provide more energy sugar) three times a day. …If you want to undertake a fast, it is easiest to do so with others.”
· “On the matter of prayer and fasting, all you need to do is to follow the inner promptings of the Lord. …There is no set pattern in all this. …It may be that God would only direct you to fast one meal. Or one day. …The important thing is not just the fasting, by why you are fasting.”
· “Prayer needs fasting for its full growth… . Prayer is the one hand with which we grasp the invisible; fasting, the other, with which we let loose and cast away the visible.”
· “Not that we are to imagine that performing the bare outward act will receive any blessing from God. If it be a mere external service, it is all but lost labour.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 18 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
John 4:31-38
Matthew 9:14-17
Matthew 6:16-18
Luke 4:1-13
Exodus 34:27-28
Matthew 4:1-4
Luke 5:33-39
Prayer:
“I heard a godly man remark when asked if he got hungry while fasting. ‘Of course! But then I remember that I’m fasting for God and not for me, and the hunger goes away.’”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 18 was “Fill Me Now” by Elwood Stokes. (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 Richard J. Foster, Tilden H. Edwards, Ponder Gilliland, Rainer Maria Rilke, “An Anthology of George MacDonald” edited by C. S. Lewis, Andrew Murray and “the Message of the Wesleys” compiled by Philip S. Watson. (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:
· “One issue that understandably concerns many people is whether or not Scripture makes fasting obligatory upon all Christians. …Jesus was giving instruction on the proper exercise of a common practice of His day.”
· “My own and others’ experience leads me to recommend not a full fast, but a ‘juice fast’: vegetable juice (preferably freshly made) and especially fruit juice (which will provide more energy sugar) three times a day. …If you want to undertake a fast, it is easiest to do so with others.”
· “On the matter of prayer and fasting, all you need to do is to follow the inner promptings of the Lord. …There is no set pattern in all this. …It may be that God would only direct you to fast one meal. Or one day. …The important thing is not just the fasting, by why you are fasting.”
· “Prayer needs fasting for its full growth… . Prayer is the one hand with which we grasp the invisible; fasting, the other, with which we let loose and cast away the visible.”
· “Not that we are to imagine that performing the bare outward act will receive any blessing from God. If it be a mere external service, it is all but lost labour.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 18 not quoted) mean to you?
Please post your responses to the blog site:
(http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Chapter 17 - Spiritual Partners
Chapter 17 referenced 7 scripture passages to highlight “accountability partners” as an aid in your personal spiritual growth, as follows:
John 13:1-35
1 Timothy 3:1-7
Philemon 1-25
Philippians 2:19-30
1 Samuel 20:16-42
Acts 9:10-19
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Prayer:
“Begin to pray that God will lead you to someone with whom you can be open and prayerful about both the efforts and progress in the spiritual life. For someone with whom you can begin to be mutually accountable for each other’s journey in faith.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 17 was “I’ve Found a Friend, O Such a Friend” by James G. Small. (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 M. Basil Pennington, Tilden H. Edwards, Frederick Buechner, Glenn Clark, Thomas R. Kelly and Philip S. Watson’s compilation from “The Message of the Wesleys”. (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:
· “Anyone who has been graced with true friendship knows the cost and knows the worth.”
· “When someone else knows and cares, then we pay that much more attention to what we’re doing.”
· “Whom you should see or respond to will depend on many things, including your age, sex, experience, personality, spiritual path, …faith tradition.”
· “Do you love the spirit of your friend, or do you just love the outside of him? Each person has a slightly different quality of personality, a different soul through which he expresses the great God Spirit. If you penetrate to that inner soul and love it …then he is really and truly your friend.”
· “It is as if the boundaries of our self were enlarged, as if we were within them and as if they were within us. Their strength, given to them by God, becomes our strength, and our joy, given to us by God, becomes their joy.”
· “The (Wesley’s) Class Meetings … were Christ-centered fellowships. …they could go on to share their Christian experience with one another – their troubles and triumphs on the Christian way, or on their quest for that way. …always with the aim of helping one another grow in grace, in faith and hope and love.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 17 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site (http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
John 13:1-35
1 Timothy 3:1-7
Philemon 1-25
Philippians 2:19-30
1 Samuel 20:16-42
Acts 9:10-19
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Prayer:
“Begin to pray that God will lead you to someone with whom you can be open and prayerful about both the efforts and progress in the spiritual life. For someone with whom you can begin to be mutually accountable for each other’s journey in faith.”
Hymn:
The hymn for Chapter 17 was “I’ve Found a Friend, O Such a Friend” by James G. Small. (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 M. Basil Pennington, Tilden H. Edwards, Frederick Buechner, Glenn Clark, Thomas R. Kelly and Philip S. Watson’s compilation from “The Message of the Wesleys”. (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:
· “Anyone who has been graced with true friendship knows the cost and knows the worth.”
· “When someone else knows and cares, then we pay that much more attention to what we’re doing.”
· “Whom you should see or respond to will depend on many things, including your age, sex, experience, personality, spiritual path, …faith tradition.”
· “Do you love the spirit of your friend, or do you just love the outside of him? Each person has a slightly different quality of personality, a different soul through which he expresses the great God Spirit. If you penetrate to that inner soul and love it …then he is really and truly your friend.”
· “It is as if the boundaries of our self were enlarged, as if we were within them and as if they were within us. Their strength, given to them by God, becomes our strength, and our joy, given to us by God, becomes their joy.”
· “The (Wesley’s) Class Meetings … were Christ-centered fellowships. …they could go on to share their Christian experience with one another – their troubles and triumphs on the Christian way, or on their quest for that way. …always with the aim of helping one another grow in grace, in faith and hope and love.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 17 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site (http://lhcndeeperlifeclass.blogspot.com/).
Thanks for your participation.
John
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Chapter 16 - Journaling
Chapter 16 used 7 scripture passages to encourage the use of journaling as a tool for personal spiritual growth, as follows:
Ephesians 6:10-18
Jeremiah 17:5-10
2 Corinthians 4:7-5:5
2 Corinthians 10:11
1 Chronicles 16:8-16
Luke 2:8-19
Luke 1:1-4
The hymn for Chapter 16 was "I Must Tell Jesus” by Elisha A. Hoffman. (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.)
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Edward J. Farrell, Madeleine L’Engle, Susan Annette Muto, Elizabeth O’Connor, Morton T. Kelsey and Ira Progoff. (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:
· “One of the ways I have learned to pray is by writing.”
· “A help to me in working things out has been to keep an honest – as honest as the human being can be – unpublishable journal.”
· “The journal is not so much an integral part of the building as a scaffolding which is needed to construct the building and then needed later to repair the structure. But the size of the building one can construct without scaffolding is limited indeed.”
· “A journal is not only a record of events that touch and transform us; it is a private space in which we can meet ourselves in relation to others and God.”
· “Writing stops the flow of experience so that we can look at it again and gain insight into what was really occurring…”
· “…there is not a right way or wrong way to keep a journal.”
· “The keeping of a pilgrim journal requires a conscious, unswerving commitment to honesty with one’s self… This takes a lot of courage, a lot of endurance, a commitment to press on when we want to shrink back. The goal is to make Jesus Christ the Lord of our life.”
· “Among our primary tools for growth are reflection, self-observation and self-questioning. The journal is one of the most helpful vehicles we have for cultivating these great powers in ourselves. …Journal writing is enforced reflection.”
· “The journal not only gives us a way of dealing with the feelings that are often ready to burst out of us, but offers us objectivity about them as well. How different ideas seem as they lie naked on the page before us than in the moment of ‘inspiration’. Sometimes they appear less and sometimes even more inspired.”
· “The keeping of private journals has played a particularly important role in the history of religion… The individual uses the journal as a means of measuring his progress… Journals are used especially in those situations where a person is having difficulty in attaining his goal. A private journal is … for recording and then for evaluating how far he has attained his goals and to what degree he has failed. It is helpful up to a point in providing a means of reflection for the contents of the life.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 16 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site.
John
Ephesians 6:10-18
Jeremiah 17:5-10
2 Corinthians 4:7-5:5
2 Corinthians 10:11
1 Chronicles 16:8-16
Luke 2:8-19
Luke 1:1-4
The hymn for Chapter 16 was "I Must Tell Jesus” by Elisha A. Hoffman. (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.)
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Edward J. Farrell, Madeleine L’Engle, Susan Annette Muto, Elizabeth O’Connor, Morton T. Kelsey and Ira Progoff. (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:
· “One of the ways I have learned to pray is by writing.”
· “A help to me in working things out has been to keep an honest – as honest as the human being can be – unpublishable journal.”
· “The journal is not so much an integral part of the building as a scaffolding which is needed to construct the building and then needed later to repair the structure. But the size of the building one can construct without scaffolding is limited indeed.”
· “A journal is not only a record of events that touch and transform us; it is a private space in which we can meet ourselves in relation to others and God.”
· “Writing stops the flow of experience so that we can look at it again and gain insight into what was really occurring…”
· “…there is not a right way or wrong way to keep a journal.”
· “The keeping of a pilgrim journal requires a conscious, unswerving commitment to honesty with one’s self… This takes a lot of courage, a lot of endurance, a commitment to press on when we want to shrink back. The goal is to make Jesus Christ the Lord of our life.”
· “Among our primary tools for growth are reflection, self-observation and self-questioning. The journal is one of the most helpful vehicles we have for cultivating these great powers in ourselves. …Journal writing is enforced reflection.”
· “The journal not only gives us a way of dealing with the feelings that are often ready to burst out of us, but offers us objectivity about them as well. How different ideas seem as they lie naked on the page before us than in the moment of ‘inspiration’. Sometimes they appear less and sometimes even more inspired.”
· “The keeping of private journals has played a particularly important role in the history of religion… The individual uses the journal as a means of measuring his progress… Journals are used especially in those situations where a person is having difficulty in attaining his goal. A private journal is … for recording and then for evaluating how far he has attained his goals and to what degree he has failed. It is helpful up to a point in providing a means of reflection for the contents of the life.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 16 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site.
John
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Chapter 15 - Bible Reading
Chapter 15 referenced 7 scripture passages to heighten our understanding of the imperative of reading and knowing the Bible:
John 8:31-32
Hebrews 4:12-13
1 Peter 1:13-25
Deuteronomy 30:11-14
John 5:31-47
2 Peter 1:3-21
2 Timothy 3:10-17
The hymn for Chapter 15 was "Lamp of Our Feet” by Bernard D. Barton. (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.)
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of William Johnston, Edward J. Farrell, Gretchen Gaebelein Hull, Frederick Buechner, Ira Progoff, Martin E. Marty, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, George Cornell, and “A Compend of Wesley’s Theology” edited by Robert W. Burtner and Robert E. Chiles. (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 force and power in the word of God is so great that it remains the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her children, the food of the soul, the pure and perennial source of spiritual life.”
· “It is Scripture, the Word of God that is the reality-depth of our prayer, for ‘we speak to Him when we pray: we hear Him when we read the divine sayings.’ …What would happen to us if we would more deeply believe the truth – God speaks! God speaks to me! …God is speaking directly to me in Scripture.”
· “Maintain at all costs a daily time of Scripture reading and prayer.”
· “What I began to see was that the Bible is not essentially, as I had always more or less supposed, a book of ethical principles, of moral exhortations, of cautionary tales about exemplary people, of uplifting thoughts… I saw it instead as a great, tattered compendium of writings, the underlying and unifying purpose of all of which is to show how God works through the Jacobs and Jabboks of history to make himself known to the world and to draw the world back to himself. …Until you can read the story of Adam and Eve, of Abraham and Sarah, of David and Bathsheba, as your own story, you have not really understood it.”
· “…God’s word whether written or spoken may be compared to a mirror. Spiritually, the eyes of your soul are your reason, your consciousness is your spiritual face. …if you have a dirty spot on your physical face your eyes cannot see that spot … without a mirror … ; so it is spiritually … that without reading or hearing God’s word it is not possible for a soul blinded by habitual sin to see the foul spot upon his consciousness.”
· “The Bible has to be plundered and searched for what has to do with one’s promise.”
· “…this word which sets us at once to work and obedience, is the rock on which to build our house.”
· “The Bible is the record of those divine breakthroughs into human history. ‘God’s search for man,’ it is described, rather than being our search for God. …Unlike most religious literature, it is not chiefly a collection of noble sayings, but a drumroll of events, people, struggles, great and terrible, of frailty, doubts and heroism, of the ultimate might of right. …It is ‘salvation history,’…a vivid…account of God’s persistent, unrelenting quest for us and our stumbling, often faithless response.”
· “I want to know one thing – the way to heaven: how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach the way… . He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! …here is knowledge enough for me.”
· “We are to hear. All of us. That is what the whole Bible is calling out. ‘Hear, O Israel!’ But hear what? …The Bible is hundreds upon hundreds of voices all calling at once out of the past and clamoring for our attention… . And somewhere in the midst of them all one particular voice speaks out that is unlike any other voice… . Come, the voice says. Unto me. All ye. Every last one.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 15 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site.
John
John 8:31-32
Hebrews 4:12-13
1 Peter 1:13-25
Deuteronomy 30:11-14
John 5:31-47
2 Peter 1:3-21
2 Timothy 3:10-17
The hymn for Chapter 15 was "Lamp of Our Feet” by Bernard D. Barton. (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.)
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of William Johnston, Edward J. Farrell, Gretchen Gaebelein Hull, Frederick Buechner, Ira Progoff, Martin E. Marty, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, George Cornell, and “A Compend of Wesley’s Theology” edited by Robert W. Burtner and Robert E. Chiles. (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 force and power in the word of God is so great that it remains the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her children, the food of the soul, the pure and perennial source of spiritual life.”
· “It is Scripture, the Word of God that is the reality-depth of our prayer, for ‘we speak to Him when we pray: we hear Him when we read the divine sayings.’ …What would happen to us if we would more deeply believe the truth – God speaks! God speaks to me! …God is speaking directly to me in Scripture.”
· “Maintain at all costs a daily time of Scripture reading and prayer.”
· “What I began to see was that the Bible is not essentially, as I had always more or less supposed, a book of ethical principles, of moral exhortations, of cautionary tales about exemplary people, of uplifting thoughts… I saw it instead as a great, tattered compendium of writings, the underlying and unifying purpose of all of which is to show how God works through the Jacobs and Jabboks of history to make himself known to the world and to draw the world back to himself. …Until you can read the story of Adam and Eve, of Abraham and Sarah, of David and Bathsheba, as your own story, you have not really understood it.”
· “…God’s word whether written or spoken may be compared to a mirror. Spiritually, the eyes of your soul are your reason, your consciousness is your spiritual face. …if you have a dirty spot on your physical face your eyes cannot see that spot … without a mirror … ; so it is spiritually … that without reading or hearing God’s word it is not possible for a soul blinded by habitual sin to see the foul spot upon his consciousness.”
· “The Bible has to be plundered and searched for what has to do with one’s promise.”
· “…this word which sets us at once to work and obedience, is the rock on which to build our house.”
· “The Bible is the record of those divine breakthroughs into human history. ‘God’s search for man,’ it is described, rather than being our search for God. …Unlike most religious literature, it is not chiefly a collection of noble sayings, but a drumroll of events, people, struggles, great and terrible, of frailty, doubts and heroism, of the ultimate might of right. …It is ‘salvation history,’…a vivid…account of God’s persistent, unrelenting quest for us and our stumbling, often faithless response.”
· “I want to know one thing – the way to heaven: how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach the way… . He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! …here is knowledge enough for me.”
· “We are to hear. All of us. That is what the whole Bible is calling out. ‘Hear, O Israel!’ But hear what? …The Bible is hundreds upon hundreds of voices all calling at once out of the past and clamoring for our attention… . And somewhere in the midst of them all one particular voice speaks out that is unlike any other voice… . Come, the voice says. Unto me. All ye. Every last one.”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 15 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site.
John
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Chapter 14 - Study
Chapter 14 used the following 7 scripture passages to sharpen our appreciation for the value of Bible and devotional study:
Philippians 4:8-9
1 Timothy 4:6-16
Deuteronomy 17:18-20
2 Peter 1:3-8
Psalm 119:97-104
Luke 8:16-18
Proverbs 2:1-22
The hymn for Chapter 14 was "How Blest Are They Who Hear God’s Word” by Johan Nordahl Brun. (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.)
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Anthony Bloom, Evelyn Underhill, Susan Annette Muto, Richard J. Foster, Norman Cousins, Paul Tournier, Thomas Merton, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Henri J. Nouwen, and Philip S. Watson’s compilation of “The Message of the Wesleys”. (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:
· “So there is need for some sort of prayer which is not spontaneous but which is truly rooted in conviction. …It is a question of learning by heart enough meaningful passages, from the psalms or from the prayers of the saints. …one day when you are so completely low, so profoundly desperate that you cannot call out of your soul any spontaneous expression, any spontaneous wording, you will discover that these words come up and offer themselves to you as a gift of God, as a gift of the Church, as a gift of holiness, helping our simple lack of strength.”
· “The question of the proper feeding of our own devotional life must of course include the rightful use of spiritual reading. And with spiritual reading we may include formal or informal meditation upon Scripture or religious truth: the brooding consideration, the savouring – as it were the chewing of the cud – in which we digest that which we have absorbed, and apply it to our own needs.”
· “Formative reading thus involves a shift…from ‘form-giving,’ in which we are inclined to impose our meaning on the text, to ‘form-receiving,’ in which we let its meaning influence us. …The text is like a bridge between the limits of our life here and now and the possibilities awaiting us if we open our minds and hearts to God.”
· “Many Christians…may be faithful in church attendance and earnest in fulfilling their religious duties and still they are not changed. …Why? Because they have never taken up one of the central ways God uses to change us: study. Jesus made it unmistakably clear that it is the knowledge of the truth that will set us free.”
· “I have learned to distrust speed reading and instant knowledge. Few joys of the mind can compare with the experience of lingering over deft character description, or hovering over a well-wrought passage.”
· “Countless writings underlie the urgency…of rediscovering the value of meditation, of silence, of prayer, of devotion. …The religious life must be fed. …If we bring our minds back again and again to God, we shall by the same inevitable law be gradually giving the central place to God, not only in our inner selves, but also in our practical everyday lives.”
· “Spiritual life is not mental life. …Nor…a life of sensation, a life of feeling… Nor does the spiritual life exclude thought and feeling. It needs both. …If man is to live, he must be all alive, body, soul, mind, heart, spirit.”
· “It cannot be that the people should grow in grace unless they give themselves to reading. A reading people will always be a knowing people. A people who talk much will know little. …Fix some part of every day for private exercises. …Whether you like it or not, read and pray daily. …there is no other way else you will be a trifler all your days….”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 14 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site.
John
Philippians 4:8-9
1 Timothy 4:6-16
Deuteronomy 17:18-20
2 Peter 1:3-8
Psalm 119:97-104
Luke 8:16-18
Proverbs 2:1-22
The hymn for Chapter 14 was "How Blest Are They Who Hear God’s Word” by Johan Nordahl Brun. (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.)
The meditation selections included excerpts from the writings of Anthony Bloom, Evelyn Underhill, Susan Annette Muto, Richard J. Foster, Norman Cousins, Paul Tournier, Thomas Merton, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Henri J. Nouwen, and Philip S. Watson’s compilation of “The Message of the Wesleys”. (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:
· “So there is need for some sort of prayer which is not spontaneous but which is truly rooted in conviction. …It is a question of learning by heart enough meaningful passages, from the psalms or from the prayers of the saints. …one day when you are so completely low, so profoundly desperate that you cannot call out of your soul any spontaneous expression, any spontaneous wording, you will discover that these words come up and offer themselves to you as a gift of God, as a gift of the Church, as a gift of holiness, helping our simple lack of strength.”
· “The question of the proper feeding of our own devotional life must of course include the rightful use of spiritual reading. And with spiritual reading we may include formal or informal meditation upon Scripture or religious truth: the brooding consideration, the savouring – as it were the chewing of the cud – in which we digest that which we have absorbed, and apply it to our own needs.”
· “Formative reading thus involves a shift…from ‘form-giving,’ in which we are inclined to impose our meaning on the text, to ‘form-receiving,’ in which we let its meaning influence us. …The text is like a bridge between the limits of our life here and now and the possibilities awaiting us if we open our minds and hearts to God.”
· “Many Christians…may be faithful in church attendance and earnest in fulfilling their religious duties and still they are not changed. …Why? Because they have never taken up one of the central ways God uses to change us: study. Jesus made it unmistakably clear that it is the knowledge of the truth that will set us free.”
· “I have learned to distrust speed reading and instant knowledge. Few joys of the mind can compare with the experience of lingering over deft character description, or hovering over a well-wrought passage.”
· “Countless writings underlie the urgency…of rediscovering the value of meditation, of silence, of prayer, of devotion. …The religious life must be fed. …If we bring our minds back again and again to God, we shall by the same inevitable law be gradually giving the central place to God, not only in our inner selves, but also in our practical everyday lives.”
· “Spiritual life is not mental life. …Nor…a life of sensation, a life of feeling… Nor does the spiritual life exclude thought and feeling. It needs both. …If man is to live, he must be all alive, body, soul, mind, heart, spirit.”
· “It cannot be that the people should grow in grace unless they give themselves to reading. A reading people will always be a knowing people. A people who talk much will know little. …Fix some part of every day for private exercises. …Whether you like it or not, read and pray daily. …there is no other way else you will be a trifler all your days….”
What do any of these quotes (or any of the meditations in Chapter 14 not quoted) mean to you? Please post your responses to the blog site.
John
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