In January and February, I blogged about different pathways into reading scripture. Here is another, one I preached about 6 years ago.
Application of Two Spiritual Disciplines, study
and meditation, to the reading of Scripture
Rob Tennant, Sunday, April 13, 2008
I want to pick up right where we left
off last week. We read 1 Peter 1:16,
where God says, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
I spent 20 minutes describing a process in which those who are born
again, saved from sin by putting faith in the crucifixion of Jesus, are then
commanded to live holy lives. That was
the bulk of the message. If a person
received Jesus, then that person is called to be holy.
At the end of the message, I cited 5
spiritual disciplines that all Christians should submit to in order to be
conditioned for holiness. The Holy
Spirit is who will truly enable us to lead holy lives. The Holy Spirit comes at His own initiative,
not ours. We don’t control Him. But, I do believe, He comes more often than
we know. We miss Him, because we aren’t
ready to receive Him when he comes.
Submitting our lives to these
disciplines increases our readiness.
There are many disciplines that can prepare a person to walk in the way
of Christ and have a heart that is ready to receive the Spirit. Dallas Willard writes, “A discipline is any activity
within our power that we engage in to enable us to do what we cannot do by
direct effort”.[i] Slide 1
He’s speaking specifically of exercising the disciplines to condition oneself
so that one is able to live as a disciple of Jesus. I fast or I worship or I undergo the discipline
of silence to refocus my mind and heart so that I can live as Jesus would have
me live.
Willard’s description is helpful, but
there is more to it. Richard Foster
writes that the disciplines “invite
us to explore the inner caverns of the spiritual realms”.[ii] Slide 2
He says the “purpose of spiritual discipline is spiritual growth.”[iii] I think a better way of putting it is growth in the spirit, and the
spirit awakening in me. Slide 3 The
Holy Spirit is in all places and in all people.
But not all people are full of Spirit, because most of us are not
attentive. We don’t listen and we don’t
ask God to come in. If we did, He
would. He would fill us with the baptism
of the Spirit and we would walk in holiness.
No Slides
This is the next step after salvation. One is saved from the bondage of sin by
confessing faith in Jesus. And thus
being born again, one is called into holiness, living set apart from the world
and to God. Willard says the 4 essential
disciplines for discipleship are solitude and silence, and study and
worship. Last week, when we talked about
holiness, I suggested that there are 5 disciplines every Christian should apply
on a regular basis. Slide 4
-
Prayer
-
Witness (by this
I meant lifestyle witness; our actions, words, thoughts and treatment of
people, especially nonbelievers, emits the very fragrance of Christ)
-
Worship
-
Study
-
Meditation
Worship is a corporate discipline. A person can worship alone and that is
encouraged. But here, I am specifically
thinking of worshipping with the body of believers. This should be done weekly, without fail,
save for illness. Witness is a
discipline in the world, in our engagement with people who have no connection
with Jesus. We live in the Heavenly
Kingdom even as we live in our daily surroundings. In this morning’s reading, 1 Peter 1:17, we
are reminded that we are exiles in this place.
Heaven is our home, but we are here for God’s purpose. Worship is corporate, a disciple practiced
with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Witness is evangelical, a discipline practiced among the unsaved.
The other three disciplines I mentioned are solitary –
prayer, study, and meditation. These a
person does alone and in fact it would be hard to do these in crowds and where
there is commotion. Quiet and solitude
are needed for focus. We talked
frequently about prayer in the weeks leading up to Easter. Those messages included mention of Jesus
removing himself from the crowds and going away so he could be alone for
prayer. This morning, we’re going to deal
with two other disciplines also done alone - study and meditation.
No
Slide
Because we are taking the journey through 1st
and 2nd Peter, we’ll treat these disciplines as they relate to
specific passages of scripture. You
could study a topic, like resurrection.
You’d go through the Gospels and the letters of Paul and Peter and John
and James, and you’d write down all the texts related to resurrection. Maybe read several of them side by side and
draw conclusions and apply those conclusions to your life. That’s a topical study. Or, there are book studies. Maybe you’re part of a group that is reading
Warren’s The Purpose Drive Life, or
Yancey’s What’s So Amazing About Grace. Your study would certainly engage the Bible
at some level, but you’d be under the guidance of the author.
Those are fine ways to study, but what we will deal
with this morning is study of a particular passage. Likewise, we will deal with meditation upon a
particular passage. There are numerous
forms of meditation. Our focus is meditation
upon scripture.
I felt it was necessary to discuss these things, and
my thoughts were confirmed after the worship time last week. Someone approached and joyfully,
enthusiastically said she was going to commit to all five disciplines I
mentioned. I believe her. I believe she has spent this week doing just
what she said she would. It’s a joy to
know that our people are engaged in developing their spiritual sensitivity and
in listening to the Lord. However, her
comment reminded me of my own enthusiasm when I attend conferences.
I sit in a conference or a workshop and I am fired
up. I write down a million ideas that I
am determined to apply so that I will know God better, see more of Jesus, and
represent Him well in the world. But
then I get home from the conference, and toss the packet and the books I bought
on the shelf. I get caught up in the
cares of daily life. And those
commitments I was so excited to make are quickly forgotten.
When I got home last week, I imagined someone from
HillSong at his home on a Monday morning.
“OK, Pastor Rob says we’re supposed to study the Bible. So, I am going to study the Bible.” And the good hearted Christian gets up early,
while the house is still quiet. He sits
in a living room chair. The only light
is the lamp. The steam rises from his
coffee. He stares at his Bible. And boy does it look thick! Where should he begin? “Well, the sermons are on 1st
Peter. Maybe I’ll study 1st
Peter.” So, he opens and begins
reading. At the end of chapter 1, he
stops. Now what? He’s read
the Bible. But, there’s more to study
than that, isn’t there?
The process I am recommending to you is one you can
apply in about 45 minutes. You can do
this early in the morning, which is a great way to start the day. And, then, you can review for about 5-10
minutes before bed at night. If your
time for study and meditation will be more profitable at night or during a
lunch hour, do it then. Parents of young
children will probably have to do this while the kids are in bed. Folks with roommates might have to do this in
a quiet place away from the dorm room or apartment. Find the time when your energy can be
focused. Find the space where you will
not be interrupted by outside sounds.
What materials do you need?
(Slide 5)
What Materials?
1) Bible
2) Colored Pens or Pencils
3) Notebook
4) 1 bland note card (3 x 5 or 4 x 6)
(slide 6)
Bible
Versions
Not to
Use (For Study)
1) Not a Paraphrase (The Message,
The Living Bible)
2) Not the King James Version
** These are wonderful for meditation
(Slide
7)
Some Good Translations
New International Version
(NIV)
English Standard Version
(ESV)
Holman Standard Christian Bible
(HSBC)
New King James Version (NKJV)
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Good News Bible: Today’s English Version (TEV)
OK.
Now, you’ve got the quiet time in a secluded space. You’re comfortable. You have your Bible in a good translation. You have notebook and a couple of pens. What do you do first? Set the notebook, Bible, and writing
implements on the floor. Close your
eyes. Set your hands comfortably on your
knees. You are sitting in a comfortable
posture, but also an alert posture. Do
the best you can to quiet your mind.
Invite the presence of God. “Holy
Spirit, please come into this place.
Fill my heart, and speak to my mind, and enable me to hear what you are
saying.” Imagine the spirit slowly
filling you from your feet, up your legs, up your torso and arms, all the way
to your head. You are covered in the
spirit.
I know this feels meditative. We aren’t to meditation yet. But, we begin study meditatively because our
study isn’t for the purpose of expanding our knowledge. That will happen. But the purpose of our study is to meet God in His word, to
know His word, and to be affected by His word. I asked a friend who is someone committed to
Biblical scholarship why study is so important.
He said, “God has
spoken. We need to know what he has said.”[iv] We need to know so we can obey. Obedience is the reason we do this. We want to conform our lives to God’s word.
So, after a minute of quiet time, open
to your text and read the passage all the way through. Our text for today is 1 Peter 1:17-23.
Slides 8-9
17If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially
according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile.
18You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from
your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,
19but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without
defect or blemish.
20He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at
the end of the ages for your sake.
21Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead
and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
22Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so
that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.
23You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed,
through the living and enduring word
of God.
Slide 10
As you read, be attentive to ideas that pop into your
mind. Write them down in the
notebook. Be aware of questions and
write them also. If something in the
passage evokes a memory or an image; write it in the notebook. If another scripture comes to mind, write
that down. If you think of relationships
or encounters you have in your life lately, write it. This is kind of a brain dump, a free flow of
ideas. The scripture is interacting with
everything else that’s in here. You’ve
spent a minute at the beginning quietly emptying yourself. That doesn’t mean your experiences and
memories are dormant. It just means now,
they are informed by God’s word and we see our lives in light of God’s word.
Slide
11
Taking our example, I read in verse 17, “Live in
reverent fear during your time in exile.”
I write “reverent fear?”
“Exile?” I might wonder, what
does it mean to live in reverent fear?
What does the Biblical author mean to say believers are in exile? I don’t know what exile is like. I am an American. I live with freedom and democracy. I can drive from here to San Diego and back
without any complicated border crossings.
I don’t know exile.
If you have read about people in other parts of the
world who have been sent into exile, or if you have had experience with
refugees, you may want to pause and write extensively about this in your
notebook. It could be that in your study
today, you don’t get past 1 verse, 1 Peter 1:17. That’s Ok.
Verse 18 will be there tomorrow morning.
Today, the ideas flow and your write about it. Or, verse 17 doesn’t catch your attention at
all.
No
Slides
You’re captivated by verse 18 & 19. “You were ransomed from the futile ways
inherited from your ancestors … with the precious blood of Christ.” Maybe you underline in your bible in blue or
red, “Ransomed from the futile ways” because it evokes in you strong emotion
about some things that feel like useless baggage that is dragging you
down. As you think about it, you are
overwhelmed by your sense of the grip of sin.
And you stop right there and confess.
Write your confession and your feelings in your notebook. Write the thoughts that rise up as your read
that you are ransomed by the blood of Christ.
You see, you go through verse by verse listening to
the scripture. Perhaps your questions
are analytical. How does this compare
with what the Apostle Paul wrote about salvation from sins? How is what I find here influenced by the
sayings and life of Jesus? As you
compile questions, you might note some that you will ask of the pastor or some
friend whom you know is well versed in the Bible. Or, you may work on your own, coming back
later and reading commentaries or Bible dictionaries. That’s all later. This is a 45-minute time of engagement with
the Bible.
After you have been at it for about 30 minutes or so,
stop writing and reading. As I said, you
may not get all the way through the text, but that’s OK. You’re trying to come face to face with the
word of God, and you may spend a day or several days on just a few verses. When I kept a notebook of my reading of
Genesis, it took me almost a week to get through chapter 1. When I did Philippians in this way, it took
nearly 3 weeks, and that letter only has 4 chapters. Take your time and allow the words to fix
themselves on your mind.
This is not academic study. That involves engaging the text in its
original language and that takes much more than 45 minutes. What I have prescribed here is flexible
depending on your knowledge of and experience with scripture. You can do this if you are novice or if you
have read the Bible all your life. I had
already read the Bible through twice when I began this practice.
When you’ve completed 30 minutes of engagement and
initial response, then take about 5 minutes to write some conclusions. Perhaps from this passage you are led to
rest on verse 22. “22Now that you
have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have
genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.” You read that and conclude that life in the
community of people ransomed by the blood of Jesus, in other words, life in the
church, is defined by love. God loved us
enough to send Jesus to shed his own blood on our behalf. And our response to Him is to live in
holiness. And one of the marks of
holiness is love among each other in the community. So today, in order for me to live in holiness, I have to express the love
of Jesus to people. And as it
says in verse 22, this is a deep love, a love that is from the heart. Slide 12
Now, you have a page full of notes and you’ve done
some real thinking on these words of scripture.
Again, it’s not the study you’d do in a seminary course, but we aren’t
in a seminary course. You still have to
shower, and go to work as a teacher or as a pharmacist, or when the kids wake
up, you are full-time mom! This is study
of God’s word you do as a spiritual discipline so that God’s word will speak in
your life. That’s why it is so necessary
to add another discipline – meditation.
No Slide
Meditation is different than study. It only occupies the last 5 or 10 minutes of
our 45-minute set aside time. But,
meditation speaks throughout the day.
Richard Foster says that meditation is where we move from “theological dogma [or from our
conclusions about scripture] to the radiant reality” of God speaking to us.[v] As my friend said of why we study, because
God has spoken and we need to know what he said, I would of meditation, the reason we do it is God is
still speaking. We need to hear Him.
The open Bible is there, as is the page of notes
you’ve worked on. Now, for a moment,
close your eyes, relax your body, and take a deep breath. Then pray,
Slide 13
“O Lord, by your abundant grace, put in me the desire to hear you, know
you, obey you, and follow you. Put in me
the deep desire to see Jesus. Give me
the gifts of grace and the full revelation of the Holy Spirit.”
We
won’t have this desire naturally, but it’s OK to ask for it.
So we once more look at our passage in 1 Peter because
the bridge from study to meditation is a Vacation Bible School exercise that is
as powerful for adults as it is kids – scripture memorization. Look at your notes and your reading and
choose a verse to memorize. Write it out
on the index card. Based on what we’ve
said about 1st Peter this morning, I’d try to memorize the last part
of verse 22.
“Love one another deeply from the heart.”
Slide
14
With eyes closed, speaking in your heart, repeat this phrase. “Love one another deeply from the heart.”
“Love one another deeply from the heart.”
As you softly repeat this phrase so that it dances through your
consciousness to the rhythm of your heartbeat, allow the people you will see in
the day to come across your mind. You
children who will be getting up soon; “love one another deeply from the
heart.” The boss who is unfairly hard on
you at work; “love one another deeply from the heart.” The girlfriend who has threatened to break up
with you; “love one another deeply from the heart.” The friend at church who is going through
such pain as he watches his father die of heart failure; “love one another
deeply from the heart.”
Stay with this meditation upon this simple phrase from
God’s word in 1st Peter for a few moments. Then, when you know it is time, say,
AMEN. No Slide Put your pen, your Bible,
and your notebook away. Put your index
card with your memory verse with your wallet and your keys. This goes with you through out the day. Pull it out while waiting at a red
light. Let it speak in your heart at
stressful moments, in periods of boredom, and in celebrations. And when the day is done, look at the verse
one last time before the lights go out and you’re off to sleep. “Love one another deeply, from the heart.”
This is one way of committing to the disciplines of
study and meditation. There are many
others and there are other equally valuable disciplines. Do what you need to do to structure life and
condition the heart to be ready to meet Jesus and receive the Spirit. And we will continue to encounter the truth
next week in 1st Peter, chapter 2.
AMEN
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