Reading meditating praying and contemplating.. all of these things for me take focus. A quiet room, a clear-ish mind, a lack of distractions. Without my commitment to this scripture challenge I wouldn’t have continued with my pursuit of meditation, prayer, and contemplation after I read... I would have found myself distracted again. I think my biggest take away from this is to carve out time where I can be alone and uninterrupted (currently being interrupted by a 5 year old as I type... and now a 2 year old) I think I’m going to try and lock my closet door and sit in peace for a few minutes every morning and maybe Lectio Divina will have better chances of happening!
I chose day 14, Jesus Prays. I do find the Lectio divina method most meaningful, didn’t realize it was a “thing “ ,as I have used that method,though not exact ,in my bible reading. I was moved by the heartfelt prayers that Jesus offered for himself,his disciples and believers. He was aware of what was to come.
I looked at Day 13 just to pick one that had not been picked 😉
This is what I was ruminating on:
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Fear of exposure is what keeps people from the light. It reminds me of the Garden scene when Adam and Eve hide from God. Why did they hide? Because they were afraid and naked - fear of exposure
When do I try to hide from God or fear exposure? The whole idea of exposure gives me a sick feeling. I want to instinctively avoid that. Christ faced exposure head on at the cross, but even he had his moment when he wanted to avoid it. Right before these verses is the famous John 3:16 verse where Jesus is foreshadowing the plan to be crucified. It’s so brave, courageous and obedient what Jesus planned to do with God. It’s easy to see how standing in the truth is much harder than hiding in the dark. It’s why we need Jesus to show us how.
Meditation: My heart was drawn to the idea of unity Jesus prays for when praying for all believers. In my humanness, I immediately start thinking about what I can do to make this happen. (I like lists!) I realize that the only thing for me to do is stay connected to Jesus. Unity comes through our connection with Christ so there is nothing for me to do. God only asks us to stay close to Him.
Prayer: Thank you Jesus for Your presence in my life. Help me to stay close to You so that I may be one with other believers. Thank you for loving me so much that you prayed for me many, many years before I was even born! In Jesus name I pray, Amen
I read Day 14, and the phrase that stuck with me most was early on in John 17:
And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
It was the reminder I needed that the path to life is rooted in KNOWING GOD. Sounds so simple but yet I question sometimes how well I do know Him. Going deeper into reading and meditating on Scripture is just what I need.
Reading meditating praying and contemplating.. all of these things for me take focus. A quiet room, a clear-ish mind, a lack of distractions. Without my commitment to this scripture challenge I wouldn’t have continued with my pursuit of meditation, prayer, and contemplation after I read... I would have found myself distracted again. I think my biggest take away from this is to carve out time where I can be alone and uninterrupted (currently being interrupted by a 5 year old as I type... and now a 2 year old) I think I’m going to try and lock my closet door and sit in peace for a few minutes every morning and maybe Lectio Divina will have better chances of happening!
I chose day 14, Jesus Prays. I do find the Lectio divina method most meaningful, didn’t realize it was a “thing “ ,as I have used that method,though not exact ,in my bible reading. I was moved by the heartfelt prayers that Jesus offered for himself,his disciples and believers. He was aware of what was to come.
I looked at Day 13 just to pick one that had not been picked 😉
This is what I was ruminating on:
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Fear of exposure is what keeps people from the light. It reminds me of the Garden scene when Adam and Eve hide from God. Why did they hide? Because they were afraid and naked - fear of exposure
When do I try to hide from God or fear exposure? The whole idea of exposure gives me a sick feeling. I want to instinctively avoid that. Christ faced exposure head on at the cross, but even he had his moment when he wanted to avoid it. Right before these verses is the famous John 3:16 verse where Jesus is foreshadowing the plan to be crucified. It’s so brave, courageous and obedient what Jesus planned to do with God. It’s easy to see how standing in the truth is much harder than hiding in the dark. It’s why we need Jesus to show us how.
Lord help us to be brave and go into the light.
I also reread Day 14.
Meditation: My heart was drawn to the idea of unity Jesus prays for when praying for all believers. In my humanness, I immediately start thinking about what I can do to make this happen. (I like lists!) I realize that the only thing for me to do is stay connected to Jesus. Unity comes through our connection with Christ so there is nothing for me to do. God only asks us to stay close to Him.
Prayer: Thank you Jesus for Your presence in my life. Help me to stay close to You so that I may be one with other believers. Thank you for loving me so much that you prayed for me many, many years before I was even born! In Jesus name I pray, Amen
I read Day 14, and the phrase that stuck with me most was early on in John 17:
And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
It was the reminder I needed that the path to life is rooted in KNOWING GOD. Sounds so simple but yet I question sometimes how well I do know Him. Going deeper into reading and meditating on Scripture is just what I need.
I re read Day 12. I think the Lectio Divina approach is the closest to what I typically do during my daily devotional.
This time when I read about the Samaritan woman at the well, I was bombarded by COMPLETELY different thoughts!
-Jesus asks questions he already knows the answer to. It seems like he is giving us a chance to make the right decision and speak truth.
-We cannot hide our true selves from Jesus.
-Jesus doesn’t care what we’ve done or who we’ve been in our past. He wants us here and now. Come as you are.
I love your first and second points especially the first one. Jesus does seem to be letting her work it out for herself.
I think I understand what you mean in your third point but I wonder if you mean that he cares too much to let our pasts stop us from coming to him?