"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
Philippians 4:8
This is the second post in this series on spiritual discipline, and it is on meditation. However, before I go on, you should know that meditation seems to be one of my gifts. Meditation on anything but Scripture. You can be assured that I am always meditating on something, and you can probably also be assured that it is not true, honorable, just, pure, lovely...Actually, it is probably the opposite of these descriptors or just something utterly unimportant. I confess that my thought life is not full of meditation, but I hope that it will become more centered on God's Word. I need God's grace in so many ways, and this is yet another. Well, despite my apparent lack of discipline in this area, I will still share what I learned last weekend about meditation, all the while praying that it will take hold in my heart and grow.
Meditation: deep thinking on the truths and spiritual realities revealed in Scripture, or upon life from a Scriptural perspective, for the purpose of understanding, application, or prayer.
Dr. Whitney compared meditation on Scripture to making tea. If you simply dip the tea bag in the water, it will not change the water. This is what happens when we just read the Bible in the morning, leave for school (or work), and by 9:00am cannot even recall what we read. On the other hand, if you meditate on the verses throughout the day (like letting tea brew), Scripture will color your attitude, thinking, view of yourself, and beliefs. It will also add flavor. Notice that to dwell on Scripture all day, you must first meditate on it enough to remember it for more that five minutes. Well, why does this matter? Meditation leads to obedience and obedience leads to blessing.
"But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."
James 1:25
"Blessed in the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."
Psalm 1:1-3
I am often discouraged that I am not growing more like Christ, but most days I ponder what clothes I will wear, food I should cook, or notes I should study more than I do Scripture. I am usually wondering if what I said came across the way I meant it or if what someone else said really meant something different. These thing are in no way uplifting, and I know I must direct my thoughts to Scripture. Dr. Whitney gave several methods for meditation, but I will not list them here (I think they are probably on his website). He emphasized that it is an active process, not one in which we clear our minds (worldly meditation), but one in which we fill our minds. He also emphasized that the blessings we will receive are not necessarily worldly blessings. Like James, we must "count it all joy, my brothers, wehn you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-3) What we see as a trial may be a blessing.
So, may our minds be filled with Scripture as we tread through our days this week. May we think on Christ's blessings and our undeserved salvation. May we rejoice in the small steps of sanctification we see in our lives and may we pray for grace to love God and others more.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Spiritual Discipline
This weekend my church had our biannual "Spiritual Formation Institute." Dr. Don Whitney (www.BiblicalSpirituality.com) taught on spiritual disciplines, so I thought I would share some of what I learned. I think I will divide it into a couple different posts on the different subjects we discussed. I am hoping this will help me remember these things better and also be a means of accountability.
The first two sessions were on prayer and meditation, followed by sessions on fasting, silence and solitude, journalling and learning. In the session on prayer, Dr. Whitney explained a common problem in the Christian's prayer life: "We pray the same old thing about the same old things." The latter part is not the problem because obviously we are going to pray about the "same old things" for these are the things about which we are most concerned (family, future, church/ministry, current crisis, etc.) The problem, he said, is that we pray about these things in the same way, and often we lose focus or wander from praying to worrying or day dreaming. Dr. Whitney stressed the fact that the solution to this problem (and other problems dealt with during the conference) must be a simple one because all Christians are called to pray and, therfore, all Christians must be able to pray. Here is his solution: Pray through Scripture. Praying throught Scripture allows us to use God's inspired word in our prayers, and we have fresh prayers everyday. Dr. Whitney recommended praying through the Psalms. Read through a Psalm and pray whatever comes to your mind. Praying this way gives purpose to your prayers, and using the Psalms is helpful because through them God has revealed to us how he wants us to praise him.
I found this session particularly beneficial because I do often lose focus when I am praying. I usually write down my prayers because it seems to be the only way I can not either fall asleep or get distracted. I do think that writing prayers down helps because I see God's kindness in any growth I have or in the way He answers prayers (Dr. Whitney talked about writing prayers in the session on journalling so I will probably get to that in a later post.) I hope praying through Scripture will be a method that will help me have a more focused and God-centered prayer time.
Here is some Scriptural evidence for praying Scripture:
Matt. 27:46
Acts 4: 23-26
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." Romans 8:15-17
The first two sessions were on prayer and meditation, followed by sessions on fasting, silence and solitude, journalling and learning. In the session on prayer, Dr. Whitney explained a common problem in the Christian's prayer life: "We pray the same old thing about the same old things." The latter part is not the problem because obviously we are going to pray about the "same old things" for these are the things about which we are most concerned (family, future, church/ministry, current crisis, etc.) The problem, he said, is that we pray about these things in the same way, and often we lose focus or wander from praying to worrying or day dreaming. Dr. Whitney stressed the fact that the solution to this problem (and other problems dealt with during the conference) must be a simple one because all Christians are called to pray and, therfore, all Christians must be able to pray. Here is his solution: Pray through Scripture. Praying throught Scripture allows us to use God's inspired word in our prayers, and we have fresh prayers everyday. Dr. Whitney recommended praying through the Psalms. Read through a Psalm and pray whatever comes to your mind. Praying this way gives purpose to your prayers, and using the Psalms is helpful because through them God has revealed to us how he wants us to praise him.
I found this session particularly beneficial because I do often lose focus when I am praying. I usually write down my prayers because it seems to be the only way I can not either fall asleep or get distracted. I do think that writing prayers down helps because I see God's kindness in any growth I have or in the way He answers prayers (Dr. Whitney talked about writing prayers in the session on journalling so I will probably get to that in a later post.) I hope praying through Scripture will be a method that will help me have a more focused and God-centered prayer time.
Here is some Scriptural evidence for praying Scripture:
Matt. 27:46
Acts 4: 23-26
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." Romans 8:15-17
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Christ is our Captain...
My Great Captain is Christ,
but I am not conquering Canaanites.
The evil here is not so apparent;
my neighbors are not killing their children
or prostituting them to small gods of wood and stone.
I do not have a city to protect;
I do not have a gun.
But, with Christ as my Captain,
my battle is not with flesh and blood,
and I cannot see my enemy.
I can see my neighbors dying, already dead in their sin,
prostituting themselves to small gods of money and comfort.
I have no earthly city to protect,
but I have a gun.
Christ, my True Captain, he is my strength
against cosmic powers over this present darkness
against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Not fighting against my neighbors, but for their very lives,
showing them that their small gods are their destruction, not their food
leading them to the lasting city,
where Christ is the Sun.
Christ Jesus, my captain, you are my life.
Give the me your whole armor;
keep me alert to the evil that abounds.
Remind me that my neighbors are dying, their children with them,
even though their small gods seem to keep them full.
My city is not here, but I forget.
When, O Christ, will you come?
And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" And he said, "No, but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
Joshua 5:13-15
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Ephesians 6:11
but I am not conquering Canaanites.
The evil here is not so apparent;
my neighbors are not killing their children
or prostituting them to small gods of wood and stone.
I do not have a city to protect;
I do not have a gun.
But, with Christ as my Captain,
my battle is not with flesh and blood,
and I cannot see my enemy.
I can see my neighbors dying, already dead in their sin,
prostituting themselves to small gods of money and comfort.
I have no earthly city to protect,
but I have a gun.
Christ, my True Captain, he is my strength
against cosmic powers over this present darkness
against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Not fighting against my neighbors, but for their very lives,
showing them that their small gods are their destruction, not their food
leading them to the lasting city,
where Christ is the Sun.
Christ Jesus, my captain, you are my life.
Give the me your whole armor;
keep me alert to the evil that abounds.
Remind me that my neighbors are dying, their children with them,
even though their small gods seem to keep them full.
My city is not here, but I forget.
When, O Christ, will you come?
And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" And he said, "No, but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
Joshua 5:13-15
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Ephesians 6:11
Friday, September 08, 2006
I need some newness...
School has once again descended upon our home (uninvited and unwelcomed). My apparent spiritual growth in the area of anxiety has all but vanished with the onset of tests and studying. However, I can see God's gracious hand at work to point out my sin, and for that I am grateful. Please pray that God will sanctify me to trust his timing and provision. If you are still reading my blog, thanks for being patient with my sporatic posting. I am hoping to write more consistently once I get settled into school life again.
Here's a poem on the lighter side...I just thought I'd try something different.
New
Again
I am here
and what I want
is not what I do
there are holes in my skin
where Christ's seering grace seeps through
and when the holes all join
I will at last do
all that I want
I'll be home
Holy
New
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Threfore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Here's a poem on the lighter side...I just thought I'd try something different.
New
Again
I am here
and what I want
is not what I do
there are holes in my skin
where Christ's seering grace seeps through
and when the holes all join
I will at last do
all that I want
I'll be home
Holy
New
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Threfore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
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