I like Lectio Divina. Go to this link to hear about it.
Lectio Divina basically means divine reading.
So, according to me, what is Lectio Divina? What does it mean for/to me? It is a connecting with Christ. It isn't Bible study. That is something entirely different. No, it is allowing Christ to connect, speak with and to me. There is no right or wrong way. It is not an exam I have to pass. It is me connecting with Christ and Christ connecting with me, through His word.
The short version. It is in four parts.
1. Lectio - the reading of a very small passage of scripture. Sometimes only a few verses. Reading aloud and very slowly.
2. Meditatio - chewing on the passage. What is the passage saying to me? Perhaps I will need to read it again until it becomes evident that Christ high lights a word or verse.
3. Oratio - talk with the Lord. Prayer if you will. For me there is no right way or wrong way to pray. For prayer is essentially talking with God.
4. Contemplatio - contemplate what Christ has shown you. Bask in His love and glory.
I guess one could think of lectio divina as being part of our spiritual journey. If it has a down side it would be that it is very time consuming. From past experience I would venture that a minimum of 15 minutes, preferably 30 minutes to get the best from it. I found it hard at first.
Something to think about.
There is another form of reading of the Bible for personal time. it is called Speak The Word, or something like that.
Friday, 30 October 2009
Monday, 26 October 2009
Monday 26th October 2009 Please consider.
The image of who You are that You want me to be. What's that got to do with anything, do I hear you say? Well, ponder this. Who are we? What are we? What is our purpose? The list goes on. God created man in His image and likeness, in the image and likeness of God created He man. Male and female created He them. So, therefore, I am to convey the Image of Got that He created me to be. My prayer would be then, that I would be the image of Who You are that You, God, want me to be.
Now the image of God that He wants me to convey will be different to the Image of God that He wants you to convey.
Now let me get on my soap box. It occurs to me that there is a certain element in society that wants to pull down parents and destroy any authority that they may have with their children. This same element tells children that they, the children, can do what ever they want. If we discipline our children they will say that we don't have the right to do that.
Recently a family was informed that they were not permitted to discipline their child with a wooden spoon. The merits of the incident I am not going to debate. However, this was done publicly and in the media. The underlying message that was sent to the child was that their parents are unfit as parents, that the parents don't know how to bring up and raise a child and that the child is supreme. It is no wonder that parents are lacking in confidence where bringing up and disciplining their children is concerned. My Bible tells me that I am responsible for my child's upbringing and that God will hold me accountable for my child.
Let me quote a bit of scripture that is so true:
Romans 1:21 For when they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God, nor were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Ouch.
And this:
verse 25 They changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.
And this: verse 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not fitting.
How does the state get a hold of our children? By destroying the credibility of the parent in the eyes of the child. And by destroying the parent's confident in their parenting ability. So the state gets the parent to think the state can do better and knows better than the parent. The state isolates the parent by creating a society in which both parents need to work in order to survive and so the child becomes a ward of the state by default and the state can then indoctrinate the child to think the way the state wants the child to think.
And there is a section of Christianty which unwittingly plays into the hands of the state by telling the parent that physical punishment is not God's way.
Well that is wrong. In my Old Testament of my Bible, God did. He is rather a bloody God as I read it. Then along came Jesus, by design of course.
Where are we at not? Read Romans chapter 1 and we have a very accurate description of where we were at and where we are at right now.
Ouch, ouch and double ouch!
Now the image of God that He wants me to convey will be different to the Image of God that He wants you to convey.
Now let me get on my soap box. It occurs to me that there is a certain element in society that wants to pull down parents and destroy any authority that they may have with their children. This same element tells children that they, the children, can do what ever they want. If we discipline our children they will say that we don't have the right to do that.
Recently a family was informed that they were not permitted to discipline their child with a wooden spoon. The merits of the incident I am not going to debate. However, this was done publicly and in the media. The underlying message that was sent to the child was that their parents are unfit as parents, that the parents don't know how to bring up and raise a child and that the child is supreme. It is no wonder that parents are lacking in confidence where bringing up and disciplining their children is concerned. My Bible tells me that I am responsible for my child's upbringing and that God will hold me accountable for my child.
Let me quote a bit of scripture that is so true:
Romans 1:21 For when they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God, nor were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Ouch.
And this:
verse 25 They changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.
And this: verse 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not fitting.
How does the state get a hold of our children? By destroying the credibility of the parent in the eyes of the child. And by destroying the parent's confident in their parenting ability. So the state gets the parent to think the state can do better and knows better than the parent. The state isolates the parent by creating a society in which both parents need to work in order to survive and so the child becomes a ward of the state by default and the state can then indoctrinate the child to think the way the state wants the child to think.
And there is a section of Christianty which unwittingly plays into the hands of the state by telling the parent that physical punishment is not God's way.
Well that is wrong. In my Old Testament of my Bible, God did. He is rather a bloody God as I read it. Then along came Jesus, by design of course.
Where are we at not? Read Romans chapter 1 and we have a very accurate description of where we were at and where we are at right now.
Ouch, ouch and double ouch!
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