Hour of Devotion

Good morning room.
Let's fix you up a bit.
Let's see.
Open the blinds just a little,
the light of the morning beams through.
The clouds and blue sky greet me with a smile.

Hello chair, may I have a seat?
Plop down and gaze out the window,
wonderful.
Pause.
Inhale, exhale,
What a peaceful morning.

What treasures does the Word of God have today?
Open Her up.
Ahhh. David, what do you have to say?

That verse, I can't move past that verse.
It sticks in my mind,
It grabs at my heart,
It stirs my soul.
How wonderful is your Word!

God, you speak of things so true,
Its as if you are calling to something deep inside me.
In this moment, I would like to sit
and hold onto you forever.
That your Word would not leave my attention,
that your voice would linger a little while longer.

But it is time to go now,
the day awaits.
Thank you for speaking with me,
and may I honor You with what you showed me
this morning.

Christian Meditation

The goal of Christian meditation is to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Here are some words of depth from a Christian of the past on meditation, Madame Guyon:

"I believe the best manner of meditating is as follows: when, by an act of lively faith, you are placed in the Presence of God, recollect some truth wherein there is substance and food; pause gently and sweetly thereon, not to employ the reason, but merely to calm and fix the mind: for you must observe, that your principal exercise should ever be the Presence of God; your subject, therefore, should rather serve to stay the mind, than exercise the understanding."


I would add, when you are reading the Bible and a particular verse grabs your attention, don't hurry on past on the verse. Stop, pause, and reflect on it. Let it penetrate and provoke your wonder and awe.

When you see something wonderful in your family, when you see some moving act of love or patience, stop, pause, and reflect on it. Let your appreciation to God fill your heart.

When you are out doing your daily business or chores and you see something wonderfully created (tree, flower, clouds, etc), take a moment, pause, reflect on it. Let it penetrate and provoke your wonder and awe of God.

Think about Psalm 46:10, Be still and know that He is God.

At times, it is good for our soul to stop, be still, and know God is around us, active, and involved. It is good to acknowledge the wonder of God.

Be still.

Have you been still before God lately?

Getting more out of Devotions (Lectio Divina)

This post is about a practice that has assisted my time with God. If your devotional time has gotten a little stale, maybe this could help you.

The practice is an old one and has been called lectio divina. Basically, lectio divina is a practice which focuses on small passages of Scripture, slowly reading, silence, and using repetition.

SSSR :
Small Scripture passages
Slowly reading
Silence
Repetition

The reason it has been helpful for me is probably the same reason it will assist you. As Americans, we are fast-paced, noisy, and goal-oriented. Lectio Divina helps combat these traits by intentionally slowing us down, providing space to be quiet and hear the voice of God, and helping us rest in God's Word without some agenda or quota of large amounts of Scripture to read.

There are many different ways you can structure this practice. What I will share next does not necessarily have to be the only way, but is the way I learned and what I have enjoyed.

1) Select a time/place that is distraction free/quiet
2) Use 1-10 verses maximum.
3) Read through the passage slowly.
4) After reading, be quiet for 2-3 minutes. Enjoy God's Presence. Do not speak, or think prayers in your head (You will be tempted to talk to God and start praying in silence, or you mind will start thinking random thoughts-try to bring yourself back to focus if you stray or start talking, remember you want to listen and be still-NOT TALK), attempt to simply be still and listen.
5) Read through the passage again.
6) Highlight any verses that jump out to you or speak to you personally.
7) Be silent before the Lord again for 2-3 minutes. If your mind wanders recall the verse that jumped out at you or say out loud, "Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner." And then when focused again, continue to be silent.
-Another helpful thought that helps me get back on track if I am wandering is : I might pose the question, "What is the chief end of man, to enjoy Him forever." This seems to work well at bringing me back to the point of enjoying God's presence, not having to talk, not having to do anything, just enjoying Him.
8) Read through only the highlighted verses if you wish or the entire passage.
9) Repeat time of silence.
10) Read through fourth time highlighted verses or entire passage.
11) Repeat time of silence.

Play with this technique, mold it, shape it, own it. Make it your own with your own methods. If you are enjoying God, then you are doing it right. If you are not, give it up and don't use it.

Upon researching possible texts to use when beginning lectio divina, I ran across these passages which may be good to start with and from there I encourage you to explore on your own where God wants you to spend time in his Word:
Psalm 24 *(Remember, tackle only 1-10 verses at a time!)
Psalm 25
Psalm 84
Psalm 51 (Cleansing from sin)
Psalm 16:9-11 (Assurance in heaven)
Prov. 16:1-3 (Trusting in God's ways)
Matt 5:3-10 (Beattitudes)
John 17:6-19 (Jesus' prayer over disciples)
John 17:20-26 (Jesus' prayer over future believers)
Romans 12:9-13 (Love)
1John 5-9 (God is light, walk in the light)
Job 42:1-6 (Seeing God)
Genesis 1 (Creation)
Deut. 30:14-20 (Love God)
Exodus 4:11-12 (God will teach you what to say)
Psalm 119: 103-105 (Word of God)
Phil 3:7-14 (Pressing on toward the Goal)
2Tim 4:1-8 (Preaching charge)

* (I took liberty to summarize the verses under different categories to assist in selecting a particular passage. I wanted to have a general guide for my own selection in beginning this practice.)

Keeper of the spring

The following is an inspiring story about the need of daily meetings with God and the resulting purity of life that results through the power of the Holy Spirit. This story is an excerpt from Stephen Macchia's Becoming a Healthy Church: 10 Traits of a Vital Ministry:

The Keeper of the Spring was a quiet forest dweller who lived high above an Austrian village along the eastern slopes of the Alps. The old gentleman had been hired many years ago by a young Town Council to clear away the debris from the pools of water up in the mountain crevices that fed the lovely spring flowing through their town. With faithful, silent regularity,he patrolled the hills, removed the leaves and branches, and wiped away the silt that would otherwise choke and contaminate the fresh flow of water.

By and by, the village became a popular attraction for vacationers. Graceful swans floated along the crystal clear spring, the mill wheels of various businesses located near the water turned day and night, farmlands were naturally irrigated, and the view from restaurants was picturesque beyond description.

Years passed. One evening the Town Council met for its semi-annual meeting. As they reviewed the budget, one man's eye caught the salary figure being paid the obscure Keeper of the Spring. Said the Keeper of the Purse, "Who is this old man? Why do we keep him on year after year? No one ever sees him. For all we know the strange ranger of the hills is doing us no good. He isn't necessary any longer!" By unanimous vote, they dispensed with the old man's services.

For several weeks nothing changed. By early autumn, the trees began to shed their leaves. Small branches snapped off and fell into the pools, hindering the rushing flow of sparkling water. One afternoon someone noticed a slight yellowish-brown tint in the spring. A couple of days later the water was much darker. Within another week, a slimy film covered sections of the water along the banks and a foul odor was soon detected. The mill wheels moved slower, some finally ground to a halt. Swans left as did the tourists. Clammy fingers of disease and sickness reached deeply into the village.

Quickly, the embarrassed Council called a special meeting. Realizing their gross error in judgment, they hired back the old Keeper of the Spring . ..and within a few weeks the veritable river of life began to clear up. The wheels started to turn, and new life returned to the hamlet in the Alps once again.

The end.

I find within myself the same need to rehire the Keeper of my soul every day. Sometimes it may seem like everything is functioning perfectly and I can be tempted to think that meeting with God today is unnecessary. What I find from this experience is that what comes out of my life begins to stink. Only by allowing the Holy Spirit to cleanse me and keep me will what comes out of my life be a wellspring of life to others. It is not dependent upon my own industry, willpower, and gifts, but rather it depends on the power of the Holy Spirit.

How did Jesus do it?

There are many examples of Jesus asking the diciples to follow Him. In Matthew 8:22, Jesus says to follow Him, and let the dead bury the dead. In order to follow, it may be a good idea to look at what Jesus was doing on a day to day basis as recorded in the Scriptures.

Taking this perspective, I find it intriguing to see Jesus sneaking away "early" in the morning before light to be alone and pray. Just after the hustle and bustle of healing and having swarms of people all over Him, He finds it necessary to hide away alone in prayer with God.

Before the crucifixion, Jesus took a few friends and went to pray alone in the garden.

Jesus had a habit of solitude. He had a habit of being alone with God. One on one.

What does this mean for us? Television, radio, demands of work, family, and all the rest can so overwhem us that we never have a quite dedicated moment to feel the presence of God, to seek His Will, or just say thanks. Maybe it would be good to just sit and enjoy God and show some appreciation for the life you did nothing to earn. For all those talents you were born with, maybe a little appreciation might be appropriate?

Something else on my mind is this: how much Christian radio can a person fill their space with and never enter into the presence of God. Two-way communication requires silence on our part to listen for that small voice. Many people have so many messages for us to hear, but what is God saying? Yes He can speak through others, but isn't He so much clearer on His own?

Solitude. Prayer. Hmmm. Like Jesus. Follow Him into a spritual life.

Set your Gaze upon God!

O Loving-Kindness so old and still so new, I have been too late of loving Thee. You are young, my brethren; profit therefore I beseech you from my confession, that I cared too little to employ my early years for God. Consecrate all yours to His love. If I had only known Him sooner, if I had only had someone tell me then what I am telling you, I should not have so long delayed in loving Him. Believe me, count as lost each day you have not used in loving God.

Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

How many days have I wasted? How much time, how many moments? God stands with open arms every day, every moment hoping for all to seek Him, trust Him, to do His will. I think it is too easy to have too much radio, tv, internet, music, worship services, sermons, work to do, and phone calls to make, AND we can do it all without ever having fixed our souls gaze onto God Almighty. We can do so many things but never be in love with God. We can have so many things coming into our ears and eyes but never take the time in silence to enter into the presence of Almighty God. I declare all things a waste of time if the person involved never enters into the presence of God. After all, that is what this personal relationship with God is. The opportunity through grace that God has wanted us to spend time with Him. That we can find our peace and direction and strength from time with Him.

The words that live on past a life. The words that echo through time announcing the truths of God. Words of life, the Living Word Jesus Christ Himself. So precious are these Words that point us back to God.

One of the things Brother Lawrence based his life on was a continual practice of focusing his thoughts on God, of communing with God continually throughout the day while working. He saw it rather strange to separate out a prayer time from any other time, as God is more than capable of being with us always. I quite agree. But I find myself struggling to attain such a communion with God.