Monday, June 21, 2010

Meditation


On June 23 we will begin a 20 day study of Meditation.
Below you will find an introduction and outline for a study on meditation which begins on Wed the 23 of June.


This study of 20 days can be signed up for by joining the Passionate Participation in God Project group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237088564302
If you are not on Facebook and would like to be a part of this study email me before the 23rd so that I can add you to the email list that will get these lessons.


You must join by June 22nd to get all of the lessons and articles, if you join after the 22nd you will have to go to www.abbasglory.com to get back lessons.


This will be supplemented with articles and word studies to help us understand:
1. What Biblical Meditation is and is not.
2. What New age Meditation is and how it differs from Biblical meditation.
3. How Biblical Meditation can help us grow in God and be more effective as children of God.

MEDITATION
Prayerful rumination upon God, His Word, and His world.

Many of us worry that “meditation” has a ring of the occult or of Eastern religions. Yet the Bible is filled with references to God’s people meditating on His Word, pondering Jesus or “higher things,” reflecting on the beauty of creation. Unlike Eastern meditation, in which participants seek to empty themselves of attachment, in Christian meditation we seek to fill ourselves with God, to form a more complete attachment to Christ.


“Christian meditation involves, not emptiness, but fullness,” writes author Joyce Huggett. “It means being attentive to God.”1 Meditation is trying to focus on God with the aim of letting God direct our thoughts. Like so many of the disciplines, it is ultimately about seeking God’s voice. And while meditation is closely linked with prayer and study, it focuses more on listening than on talking, is more devotional than analytical. In meditation, our emotions and our imaginations are as equally engaged as our minds.


Just as Enoch, Moses, the prophets, and countless others walked and talked with God, so too we seek to listen for God—whether in the slow savoring of God’s Word, in silent meditation, or in contemplation of creation or events in the world around us. Meditation is countercultural for many of us who tend to want to learn and pray and read as quickly as we can, so we can get to the next item on our to-do list. Reading slowly, pondering a flower, thinking about God with no set agenda—these are often difficult tasks for us, which shows just how essential they are for our formation.


On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.—Psalm 145:5
Day 166 Spiritual Practice: Meditating on Scripture
Day 167 Holy Reading
Day 168 Meditate on It Day and Night
Day 169 Mary Pondered the Words in Her Heart
Day 170 The Beginning of Knowledge
Day 171 Give Me Understanding
Day 172 Knowing Jesus’ Voice
Day 173 Knowledge of God’s Mystery
Day 174 I Search My Spirit
Day 175 Musing on God’s Mighty Deeds
Day 176 Spiritual Practice: Setting Our Minds on God
Day 177 The Meditation of My Heart
Day 178 Think About These Things
Day 179 Resting and Reflecting
Day 180 Meditating in the Watches of the Night
Day 181 When Life Hinders Meditation
Day 182 A Walking Meditation
Day 183 Meditating on God’s Works
Day 184 Reflecting on Jesus
Day 185 Setting Our Sights on Jesus

No comments: