Thursday, November 26, 2009

Your advice and recommendations?

What's the best lesson, advice, book, website, Bible reading notes, etc
... in fact anything that you've ever found that has helped you in your spiritual disciplines?

Tools to help you?

What can we build around our teaching to help you to develop a discipline in some of these areas?

Bible reading plans to follow together for a while?
Prayer Guide/Diary?
Bible Study outlines on a theme?
A cookery book for fasting?

Teaching needs?

Help us to be helpful.
We want our teaching to hit the target.

In the list of Spiritual Disciplines, what areas do you feel the need for teaching?
(Bible Study; Meditation; Prayer; Fasting; Giving; Solitude; etc)

Let's be honest!

Honest feedback;

How easy do you find Bible Study/Meditation/Prayer as a daily discipline?
What do you see as your ideal routine?
How well do you live up to it?

How do you keep discipline and grace hand in hand
......... without creating guilt feelings when you miss a day, a week or 2.3 years?!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Meditation Simplified Notes (2nd attempt!!!)

►Spiritual Disciplines:


SIMPLIFIED VERSION!!!
BIBLE STUDY REFERENCES & CONCLUSIONS
HOME GROUP QUESTIONS

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO BLOG IN RESPONSE
IT WILL HELP US TO KNOW WHAT TO TEACH



Bible Meditation:
►Recommended book:
'Celebration of Discipline' by Richard Foster, which draws on all Christian traditions.

BUT I would recommend caution in the Chapter on Meditation, which unfortunately
happens to be the first chapter. It draws on a mystical Catholic background – nothing especially wrong with that, as he remains very Biblically focussed, but then he outlines some example meditative exercises that use the imagination and imagery in such a way that if you have experienced meditation outside of the Christian tradition, and haven't been a Christian very long, then it could have unhelpful echoes of 'spiritual' experiences which were not Holy Spirit led, and could lead you back towards those practices in a negative way.

So, while recommending the book as a whole, I'm going to avoid that chapter,
and look simply at Biblical definitions.



►Biblical meaning of meditation:
The word 'meditation' has become so attached to an activity linked to Eastern, New Age, mystical experiences, that in order to focus on what should be meant by meditation, we have to call it 'Biblical meditation,'

In fact, meditation has VERY old roots within the Christian Biblical tradition, as well as in different Christian traditions.



Here are 10 references to meditation, and observations based on them:

NB: Hebrew 2 words:
1: Think, ponder;
2: Ruminate, Chew, Digest.


1: ►Genesis 24: 63
And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.

Alone, separate from distractions – except camels, deliberate.



2: ►Joshua 1: 8
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Meditate on God's Law/God's Word/Scripture, and it translates into action and 'success.' (NB: Be careful how you define 'success' or 'prosperous.' God doesn't mean the size of your bank account.)



3: ►Psalm 1: 2
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,and on his law he meditates day and night.

It should be a delight, not a chore. It is a pattern, a rhythm, that takes in day and night.



4: ►Psalm 63: 6
When I remember you upon my bed,and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

A good activity both deliberately as final thoughts before sleeping, and during insomnia, which can be frustrating and stressful, or could be God's invitation to draw closer.



5: ►Psalm 77: 1-12
...... "Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart."
Then my spirit made a diligent search ......
...... 11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.

A good response to problems or trouble.
Based on remembering, recalling, God, His Word, His actions, and His Creation.
It takes a decision, it doesn't necessarily come naturally.
It involves pondering, slow deliberate recollection, thinking, and drawing conclusions.
It involves the imagination, bringing events back to mind.
Somewhere in between (the connection) Bible Study and Prayer.



6: ►Psalm 119: 15
I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.

Deliberate decision not to be distracted, but to focus on God's character and actions.



7: ►Psalm 119: 23
Even though princes sit plotting against me,your servant will meditate on your statutes.

A good response to opposition of God's purposes in your life.



8: ►Psalm 119: 27
Make me understand the way of your precepts,and I will meditate on your wondrous
works.

Meditation helps you to understand God's ways.



9: ►Psalm119: 48
I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,and I will meditate on your statutes.
►Psalm 119: 78
Let the insolent be put to shame,because they have wronged me with falsehood;as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
►Psalm 119: 148
My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,that I may meditate on your promise.

A good activity as first thoughts when waking, to have a Godly mindset for the day.
cf. TV/Radio/Facebook/Noise!!! = me.



10: ►Psalm 143: 5
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done;I ponder the work of your hands.
►Psalm 145: 5
On the glorious splendour of your majesty,and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

Recalling God's activity in your life.
Recalling God's activity in History.

►Full list of the 17 (slightly repetitive!) lessons from those passages:
1. Deliberate, Alone, separate from distractions (except camels)
2. You can Meditate on God's Law/God's Word/Scripture, and it translates into action and 'success.' (NB: Be careful how you define 'success' or 'prosperous.' God doesn't mean the size of your bank account.)
3. It should be a delight, not a chore. It is a pattern, a rhythm, that takes in day and
night.
4. A good activity both deliberately as final thoughts before sleeping, and during insomnia, which can be frustrating and stressful, or could be God's invitation to draw closer.
5. A good response to problems or trouble.
6. Based on remembering, recalling, God, His Word, His actions, and His Creation.
7. It takes a decision, it doesn't necessarily come naturally.
8. It involves pondering, slow deliberate recollection, thinking, and drawing conclusions.
9. It involves the imagination, bringing events back to mind.
10. Somewhere in between (the connection) Bible Study and Prayer.
11. Deliberate decision not to be distracted, but to focus on God's character and actions.
12. A good response to opposition of God's purposes in your life.
13. Meditation helps you to understand God's ways.
14. A good activity as first thoughts when waking, to have a Godly mindset for the day.
15. Recalling God's activity in your life.
16. Recalling God's activity in History.
17. Thinking and marvelling at Creation.


Home Group Questions:

Read Psalm 77: (1-12 at least!)

1: Ask the Group for Honest feedback:
How easy do you find Bible Study/Meditation/Prayer as a daily discipline?
(On the run is OK, but only on the basis of set aside time as well.)

What's the pattern you follow – time, place, how long, how often, methods, tools.
How well do you really stick to this?

2: Teaching needs?
In the list of Spiritual Disciplines, what areas do you feel the need for teaching?
It would be good to get feedback via the series Blog:
http://jezsblazeblog.blogspot.com/

3: What's the most helpful lesson, advice, book, etc you've ever had that has helped you in your spiritual disciplines?

This would also be good to get feedback via the series Blog:
http://jezsblazeblog.blogspot.com/

4: Word search 'meditate' in a good translation:
Use a Concordance or word list at the back of someone's Bible.

Hope this is helpful and gets more useful as we (especially me) learn how to use it!!!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

►Spiritual Disciplines:

22/11/09 NB: Home Group Questions on Spiritual Disciplines & Meditation at the end.

THESE OUTLINE NOTES ARE PROVIDED MAINLY TO HELP YOU GO THROUGH
THE BIBLE REFERENCES YOURSELF AND SEE WHAT LESSONS YOU LEARN.

MY 17 LESSONS FROM THE 10 QUOTED PASSAGES ARE NEAR THE END.
SEE IF YOU AGREE, OR FIND MORE LESSONS, AND POST THEM ON THE BLOG.

This series should lead to individual actions, should make a difference, should not just be knowledge about the subject, but should be skills for your walk with God.

Hence the need to take notes and dig, develop your own Bible Study, not just learn from teaching on Sundays.

The subjects this encompasses:
►Bible Study;
Meditation;
Prayer;
Fasting;
Giving;
(Sermon on Mt)
Worship;
Silence/Solitude; etc.

NB: Be honest – We all feel rubbish at all of these, the preachers are not 'experts.'

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Blaze Teaching Blog: Spiritual Disciplines

Hi there world of Blaze!

This is where teaching notes will appear, for you to contribute comments and questions.

If you all join in it will help us to gear our teaching to your needs.

More to follow,

Ta, Jez