Scripture –
This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? No— but at least we don't take God's Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ's presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.
2 Corinthians 2: 16-17 (The Message)
Para éstos somos olor de muerte que los lleva a la muerte; para aquéllos, olor de vida que los lleva a la vida. ¿Y quién es competente para semejante tarea? A diferencia de muchos, nosotros no somos de los que trafican con la palabra de Dios. Más bien, hablamos con sinceridad delante de él en Cristo, como enviados de Dios que somos.
2 Corintios 2: 16-17 (NVI)
Reading - Slowly read the Scripture passage several times
Meditation - Take some time to reflect on the words and phrases in the text. Which words, phrases or images speak to you most?
Prayer - Offer the internalized passage back to God in the form of a personalized prayer of adoration, confession, renewal, petition, intercession, affirmation, or thanksgiving.
Contemplation - What word or image captures the spirit of the passage for you?
Showing posts with label God's Word. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Word. Show all posts
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Monday Living Water
Scripture-
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
2 Thessalonians 2: 16
Reading - Slowly read the Scripture passage several times
Meditation - Take some time to reflect on the words and phrases in the text. Which words, phrases or images speak to you most?
Prayer - Offer the internalized passage back to God in the form of a personalized prayer of adoration, confession, renewal, petition, intercession, affirmation, or thanksgiving.
Contemplation - What word or image captures the spirit of the passage for you?
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
2 Thessalonians 2: 16
Reading - Slowly read the Scripture passage several times
Meditation - Take some time to reflect on the words and phrases in the text. Which words, phrases or images speak to you most?
Prayer - Offer the internalized passage back to God in the form of a personalized prayer of adoration, confession, renewal, petition, intercession, affirmation, or thanksgiving.
Contemplation - What word or image captures the spirit of the passage for you?
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
How are you doing with the review? Have you had the chance to sit down and take it all in, maybe even reading it a couple times. Good! Pastor John at this point in his teaching paused and said, "I sensed that we need to remain once more soaking in Lectio, and seeking to make it a part of the Spirit's tool in our hearts." Lets read on and see what that involves.
"Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23)
Listen to what John Ortberg says about purity and God's Word:
A Transformed Heart, Mind & Life
It is a frightening thing to begin to see the truth about your own mind and its need for cleansing. This is why Martin Luther used to spend so much time in the confessional. He often spent several hours there for several days in a row. His fellow monks used to ask him what he was doing. (After all, he lived in a monastery. What did he have to confess: short- sheeting the other monks? chanting off-key?)
But Luther was frightened by his own cleverness at self-justification. He knew that the first commandment is to love God with heart, soul, body, and strength - and he couldn't even keep this injunction for five minutes.
Imagine having a mind cleansed of all the debris that blocks our best intentions. Imagine if each time you saw another person your first thought was to pray for him or bless her. Imagine what it would be like if, any time you were challenged or anxious, your reflexive response would be to turn to God for strength. Imagine, if you're a married man, that whenever you looked at any woman other than your wife you would see her as if she were your sister or your daughter. Imagine genuinely wishing your "enemies" well.
That's what it would be to have the mind "washed by the Word." This is what it means to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." This is how we are to be transformed by Scripture. This is our great need.
So the Bible is to help us learn how to live in the kingdom of God here and now. It teaches us how to morph. It is indispensable for this task. I have never known someone leading a spiritually transformed life who had not been deeply saturated in Scripture.
Paul writes about this role of Scripture in this famous statement: "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God might be proficient, equipped for every good work."
Paul does not say that the purpose of knowing Scripture is to enable us, when we go to heaven, to get a 100 score on the entrance exam. He says the purpose is for us to become equipped for good works. Or, to put it another way, it is for us to become transformed into the kind of people from whom goodness flows like an unceasing stream of water.
Buzzed or Drunk?
I made a statement that we shouldn't read God's Word just to get a 'buzz.' I apologize to those of you who I confused with this statement, because intimacy with God can be had in a moment, and it DOES involve all of our emotions and passions.But what I was trying to speak to was the taking for granted of that relationship, not disparaging the emotional side of it. On the contrary, we are called to be 'drunk' with His Spirit! In the imagery of 'chewing the cud' I was thinking of sticking His Word in our mouth for a moment and just spitting it out - as opposed to letting it's juices go deep into our soul.
The hope in all this process of meditation is not that we will become more informed, but that we will become people who live from the very depth of Jesus' heart.
Jesus said that we have not because we ask not. As you read and pray and live this week tell God that you want to be changed, that you want His Word to wash through your life and purify you. And then watch . . . and expect. Expect Him to speak as never before.
"Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23)
Listen to what John Ortberg says about purity and God's Word:
A Transformed Heart, Mind & Life
It is a frightening thing to begin to see the truth about your own mind and its need for cleansing. This is why Martin Luther used to spend so much time in the confessional. He often spent several hours there for several days in a row. His fellow monks used to ask him what he was doing. (After all, he lived in a monastery. What did he have to confess: short- sheeting the other monks? chanting off-key?)
But Luther was frightened by his own cleverness at self-justification. He knew that the first commandment is to love God with heart, soul, body, and strength - and he couldn't even keep this injunction for five minutes.
Imagine having a mind cleansed of all the debris that blocks our best intentions. Imagine if each time you saw another person your first thought was to pray for him or bless her. Imagine what it would be like if, any time you were challenged or anxious, your reflexive response would be to turn to God for strength. Imagine, if you're a married man, that whenever you looked at any woman other than your wife you would see her as if she were your sister or your daughter. Imagine genuinely wishing your "enemies" well.
That's what it would be to have the mind "washed by the Word." This is what it means to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." This is how we are to be transformed by Scripture. This is our great need.
So the Bible is to help us learn how to live in the kingdom of God here and now. It teaches us how to morph. It is indispensable for this task. I have never known someone leading a spiritually transformed life who had not been deeply saturated in Scripture.
Paul writes about this role of Scripture in this famous statement: "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God might be proficient, equipped for every good work."
Paul does not say that the purpose of knowing Scripture is to enable us, when we go to heaven, to get a 100 score on the entrance exam. He says the purpose is for us to become equipped for good works. Or, to put it another way, it is for us to become transformed into the kind of people from whom goodness flows like an unceasing stream of water.
Buzzed or Drunk?
I made a statement that we shouldn't read God's Word just to get a 'buzz.' I apologize to those of you who I confused with this statement, because intimacy with God can be had in a moment, and it DOES involve all of our emotions and passions.But what I was trying to speak to was the taking for granted of that relationship, not disparaging the emotional side of it. On the contrary, we are called to be 'drunk' with His Spirit! In the imagery of 'chewing the cud' I was thinking of sticking His Word in our mouth for a moment and just spitting it out - as opposed to letting it's juices go deep into our soul.
The hope in all this process of meditation is not that we will become more informed, but that we will become people who live from the very depth of Jesus' heart.
Jesus said that we have not because we ask not. As you read and pray and live this week tell God that you want to be changed, that you want His Word to wash through your life and purify you. And then watch . . . and expect. Expect Him to speak as never before.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Welcome
Welcome to this Creek Living Water Blog site! It is a place to visit and drink in God’s living Word.
2 Timothy 3: 16-17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
Pastor John has shared about experiencing God’s Word. The series opened with:
Pastor John has shared about experiencing God’s Word. The series opened with:
Study this Book of Instruction continually.
Meditate on it day and night
so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.
Only then will you prosper
and succeed in all you do.
Joshua 1:8
Spiritual disciplines are the practices God uses to change our inner lives. None of the ‘disciplines’ is more important than taking in God’s Word. Think for a moment as we reflect on our lives. Have you ever heard anyone say, “I’m empty and broken. I haven’t prayed since I don’t know when, and I haven’t really read my Bible in over a year.” Or maybe, “My devotional life is bankrupt.” We may not have time; we may think it is unnecessary. But what about when the storms do come? What about when our neighbor finally opens up and we have the opportunity to share hope? What about that teachable moment with our children? What about when we face the accusations of our boss? Are we ready? Do we have the foundation to lift above the circumstances?
How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart.
Psalm 119:2
There is an incredible need for each of us to feast on the Bible. So much of the time we read His Word like we are eating a Big Mac on a 15-minute lunch break. We choke it down in 30 seconds. He desires us to linger over and enjoy His Word like we would a 6-course 3-hour meal.
Welcome to the opportunity to do just that in a slightly different format than many of you are familiar with! We will focus on small portions with an in-depth process. This will allow the text to master us, and to shape us. It is a loving approach that can humble. It can be a mystery. Are we willing? Isn’t it exciting?
Psalm 119:2
There is an incredible need for each of us to feast on the Bible. So much of the time we read His Word like we are eating a Big Mac on a 15-minute lunch break. We choke it down in 30 seconds. He desires us to linger over and enjoy His Word like we would a 6-course 3-hour meal.
Welcome to the opportunity to do just that in a slightly different format than many of you are familiar with! We will focus on small portions with an in-depth process. This will allow the text to master us, and to shape us. It is a loving approach that can humble. It can be a mystery. Are we willing? Isn’t it exciting?
“Our world is hungry for genuinely changed people. Leo Tolstoy observes, ‘Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.’ Let us be among those who believe that the inner transformation of our lives is a goal worthy of our best effort.” (Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster)
Over the next few days we will review how this process works. We will review the four steps of Lectio Divina. Guidelines will be suggested on how to feast on God's Word.
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