Prayer Series 4 - Divine Reading

 by Dina Sleiman

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you [live in you] richly in all wisdom.” 

~ Colossians 3:16

A few weeks ago in my prayer series post titled “You Have Spiritual Senses” I passed along this premise: we are all spiritually wired, but we are also spiritually challenged. We have spiritual eyes, and ears, and feelings, but we don’t know how to use them. We don’t trust them. They often get crowded out by our physical senses. And this is probably most true in the Western culture. Think about it. Why are there more miracles in third world countries? Is it simply because they need them more? Or might it be that without our Western logic and education, they are more open to mystery and wonder?

I find it helpful to go back before our current culture to traditions used by ancient Hebrews and medieval Christians to learn how to tap into our spiritual wiring. To use our spiritual senses. To discover the divine. 

I had the pleasure of being an editor on a book that focused on one specific technique called lectio divina. According to Wikipedia, “Lectio Divina is Latin for divine reading, spiritual reading, or 'holy reading,' and represents a traditional Catholic practice of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with God and to increase in the knowledge of God's Word. It is a way of praying with Scripture that calls one to study, ponder, listen and, finally, pray and even sing and rejoice from God's Word, within the soul.”

Excellent resource on Lectio Divina

In lectio divina, you don’t rush through scripture trying to meet your quota of chapters for the day. You relish it. You dwell on it. You read until you find that one word that really sparks something in you. That word that lights up, full of life. Then you pray about that word throughout the day. Meditate on it. Mull it over. Ask God to speak to you his truth about how this simple word or phrase should impact your life. In Hebrew the term is a rhema word.

Really, it’s just another method for finding intimacy with Christ. For awakening those inner senses and hearing from God. Because what good are lifeless words on a page without the Holy Spirit to help us rightly understand and divide the word of God. Without God’s direction and inspiration, we all know, people can read nothing more than their own prejudices and presuppositions into the Bible.

Lectio divina is only one of many techniques for tapping into God’s kingdom that dwells within you. In the coming weeks I hope to cover many more. But maybe, just maybe, this will be the one to spark you and bring your spiritual senses alive in a new way. If you’ve struggled with your quiet time, why not give it a try. Read just a few verses, and allow God to speak his rhema word to your heart.

Let me end with a quick little poem I wrote years ago on this topic.

 I am giddy with the words of God

 that flow like amber wine.

They are honey sweet, delicately spiced,

each one a world to itself,

alive and teeming, sparks flying,

glimmering in multi-faceted rays,

a rainbow of truth to touch each heart

with the idyllic shade of light.

Otherwise, too bright, white hot,

like gazing into the sun.

What scripture or specific word has stood out to you recently? What techniques have you found that enrich your quiet times with God? How do you tap into your spiritual senses?

Prayer Series 3 - Shut Up and Listen!

 by Dina Sleiman

You don't believe because you're not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind.  ~ John 10:25-30

 I don’t know about you, but I always had the impression that prayer was mostly about talking at God…with words. And this process, for reasons I’ve shared during my last few posts, didn’t work that well for me. So I’ve been blogging about different tools to add to our prayer and devotional times to help us better tune into the spiritual world and truly communicate with God.

 This week I want to talk about the simple process of listening to God with our inner ears. Considering the fact that God is all-knowing and all-powerful, you’d think we’d want to stop and hear what he has to say. I mean, I could spend hours talking to him about my problems. Maybe that would make me feel better. Probably it would just get me more worked up. Besides, he’s already intimately acquainted with me. So wouldn’t it be better to listen and hear what he wants me to know?

Yet don’t most people spend 90% of their prayer time spouting lists at God, or worse yet, trying to order him around and inform him how he should fix the world. I’m sorry, but this strikes me as a terrible plan.

So why don’t people spend more time being quiet and still and listening to God? Maybe because it can be a little scary. Maybe because we’re afraid we’ll fail. Maybe because it requires a loss of control. But listening to God is the most life-changing kind of prayer there is.

Meditating on words and phrases from scripture or imagining God can be helpful in listening prayer. Deep breathing, quoting short scriptures, soaking in quiet worship music, or time spent in nature can also be helpful. I'll go into some of these more in upcoming weeks.

Perhaps the most helpful tool is journaling. By writing down the thoughts, feelings, and impressions that bubble up from that well deep inside of us, we allow them to flow free. Choose not to analyze, but just to capture it all on paper. Then later you can compare what God has spoken to you with the word of God or share it with a spiritual advisor. What will God’s voice sound like? Fair enough question.

A great book on this subject

God rarely speaks in an audible voice. You have to quiet your own thoughts to hear his still quiet voice deep in your heart. And it does tend to feel as if it come from somewhere in your chest. God’s words will often take you by surprise and sound like nothing you could have come up with on your own. There is a sense of “flow.” They will bring peace and comfort. They will sound of authority. Even if they convict, they will do so with love and compassion. They will strengthen you and give you hope. They should always align with scripture and will sometimes even take the form of scripture.

Our own thoughts usually come from somewhere in the vicinity of our head. They tend to be logical and predictable. Sometimes critical and judgmental. Sometimes lenient on sin. Most of us are pretty familiar with our own thoughts. They often run in circles and get us nowhere.

Satan’s voice can be the trickiest, but you’ll quickly learn to tell the difference. This voice brings negative emotions: fear, anger, hopelessness, condemnation, bitterness etc… It might sound good on the surface, but you can tell it by the fruit it produces. It accuses and twists the truth. Satan loves to use words like “always” and “never” and work you into a frenzy, the opposite of the peace of God. His words twist in your gut and can feel like they come from that area. Rebuke the devil in the name of Jesus when these thoughts attempt to invade.

Don’t focus on Satan, though. Focus on God. He is the good shepherd and his children know his voice. Spend time with him. Learn to listen to him. Use the tools that best help you to relate to him and hear him speak.

So the next time you pray, remember, stop talking so much and listen already.

What helps you listen to God? How do you identify his voice? Have you ever tried keeping a prayer journal?

Prayer Series 2 - Eyes of the Heart

 by Dina Sleiman

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.  ~ Ephesians 1:18

In last week's post, I proposed that we have spiritual senses, but they are generally crowded out by our more powerful physical senses.

This week I would like to talk about a style of relating to God that has revolutionized my personal life more than any other. It is the simple practice of engaging the imagination, otherwise known as the eyes of our hearts, in encountering God.

For much of my life I had a hard time praying, meditating on God, and hearing from God. What would happen was basically this, I would try to talk to God in words. Meanwhile, my mind would be flooded with images, daydreams, feelings, and distractions. It was like I was trying to talk at God through a radio script while the television was blasting right in front of my face. And I didn’t know how to turn the dumb thing off. As far as listening to God in such a state, well…just forget it.

Then I finally learned the secret. While you can’t turn off that inner television set, you can change the channel. You can use that inner imaging system to focus on God. You can picture meeting with him. Looking into his face. You can tune your thoughts to a favorite image of God from the Bible. The shepherd. The king on his throne. The loving father. Jesus the carpenter. The dove. Or something in nature that speaks to you of God’s divinity. The ocean. The mountains. A sunset. A campfire. You name it. Perhaps you can even meet with God on that mountaintop or beach and have a conversation, or hug, right there.

Somehow I had never thought of that. It seemed too simple. Almost like make-believe. But it is the way to engage all of ourselves in the process of prayer. To focus our whole minds on God’s presence. And here I thought a vision would have to be all super-natural and block out my normal eyesight. Not that it couldn’t happen, I suppose. But don’t you find that God often moves in much gentler, simpler, harder to pin down ways that require a bit of faith.

The ancient Hebrews knew about this. They understood dreams and visions. They understood that we had spiritual eyes that needed to look into the face of God. Imagine is one definition for the Hebrew word for meditate. The medieval Christians understood this as well. They called it Visio Divina. Who knows, maybe every Christian in the world besides me somehow understood this. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow vaguely dim in the light of his glory and grace.” Seems like this idea has been around for a long time. Maybe I just missed it. But since I did, I want to make sure no one else misses it like me.

A great book on inner vision

In fact, while reading the Bible you can use this same inner imaging system. You can picture yourself living Bible stories. Imagine what it would have been like to walk with Paul, to listen to Jesus on the Mount of Olives, to go to battle beside King David. More importantly, you can engage your faith by picturing what it would look like if scripture were truer than your circumstances. How that would change your life.

I first stumbled upon this concept when my kids were small. I would worry when I left them with the babysitter, picturing all sorts of horrible things happening to them. Prayer didn’t seem to help. Quoting scriptures just felt like some fear-ridden attempt at Christian magic spells. Finally it hit me. I could pray, maybe quote those scriptures, then I would picture the kids safe at home playing happily with their babysitter and surrounded by the angels. What a difference that made. My fear would melt away, and I could enjoy my outing.

Maybe this isn’t the thing for you. Or maybe you aren’t as dense as I am, and you figured this out long ago. But for others of you, this simple technique might hold the key to deepening your awareness of the spiritual kingdom, relating to God, and hearing his voice. I hope for someone today, this is just the thing you’ve been searching for.

How do you picture God? Where is your favorite place to meet with him? If you could take a three day vacation, just you and God, where would you like to spend it?

Prayer Series 1 - You Have Spritiual Senses

 by Dina Sleiman

Over the next two months I will be doing reposts of my favorite series that I've written. Enjoy these thoughts on prayer and devotion. I hope they will help you discover God in a new and more meaningful way. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. ~ II Cor. 3:18

When I started to write this post, I intended to call it “Through a Glass Darkly” or even “Dark Glass Ponderings.” You see, these words have been rolling through my head. I’ve been ruminating on their definitions and their impact on my life. What does it mean to see through a glass darkly? To look into a dim glass and ponder? What do we detect? Over time do we begin to distinguish shadows and shapes? Do our eyes attune to something very real on the other side?

Perhaps this all started when I picked up a book called Mystically Wired by Ken Wilson. Don’t worry, I’m not about to go all New Age on you. Simply substitute the word “spiritual” for “mystical” and relax. Wilson’s basic premise is this: we are all spiritually wired, but we are also spiritually challenged. Our minds have actually been created by God to fellowship with him and to discern the spiritual kingdom in and around us. Scientists have proven that prayer stimulates a unique area of the brain and that spiritual interest is at least in part based on genetics. As the Bible describes, we have spiritual senses, spiritual eyes and spiritual ears, perhaps even more. However, we are also mystically challenged, meaning we do not typically know how to use them.

Our normal five senses for detecting the physical world are so much stronger and clearer than our spiritual senses that we tend to dismiss them. I like to say that God is always speaking if only we’ll be quiet enough to listen. Our physical senses tend to crowd out our spiritual senses. They clamor for our attention. In order to regularly and efficiently commune with God, we must go to that still quiet place and learn to engage our spiritual senses. We must attune that inner ear and that inner eye. Take time to stare into that glass until the shapes and patterns become familiar enough that they begin to make sense. Until we trust ourselves to detect and understand them.

 

 

A great book on this subject

Wilson takes this analogy even farther by talking about something called “blindsight.” This occurs when a person’s eyes work, but the processing center for sight in the brain is somehow inhibited. Although individuals experiencing this condition cannot “see” in the traditional sense, they show a remarkable ability to dodge unfamiliar obstacles. While their brain is not giving them the visual messages in a logical manner, they are in fact able to see on some sort of intuitive level, and can even learn to better use and trust their “blindsight."

Faith is like “blindsight.” Although we can’t quite grasp it with our minds, some part of us “knows,” and we must learn to trust in that knowledge and harness it to change our lives. Prayer can feel like “blindsight.” We can’t prove that God is speaking to us and giving us visions, yet we “know” that he is, and that awareness of God will transform us into his image.

I had planned to leave the post there. Looking into darkness. Then this morning, I was having devotional time with my sons and came across the scripture above in II Corinthians 3:18. It seems that when we were dead to sin our spiritual eyes were completely veiled, but that as we are transformed into the image of Christ we begin to see his glory more and more clearly. Perhaps that glass begins to shine and glow as we stare into it and are changed by it. Perhaps our spiritual eyes can be unveiled as we are transformed into the image of Christ. Perhaps things don’t have to stay so dark on this side of eternity.

Something new for you and me to ruminate about over the next few months.

I encourage you to pray about this scripture and ask God to reveal a new depth of meaning to you. Which word stands out? What might God want to show you about this word? So many good ones to choose from “unveiled,” “contemplate,” “transformed,” “ever-increasing,” “image,” “glory” just to name a few. Consider journaling about one of these words. Trust your inner senses and allow God to speak to you. And if you don’t mind, share with us as well.

Home Mission

 by Pastor Bill Heffelfinger

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ~ Acts 1:8

Go to any major Christian conference and it’s bound to happen.  You’ll hear a story of a lost soul in faraway (likely impoverished) land, and your heart will break.  Your soul will be stirred and you’ll find yourself asking, “God, is this for me?  Do you really want me to serve as a missionary?”

The answer, of course, is simple, yet not always what we expect.  You see, the answer could very well be that God wants you to serve as a missionary, either as part of a short-term mission or a long-term one. And, that mission could undoubtedly be to a part of the earth you never expected to visit.  These are the answers we often “hear” in that moment of high emotion.

But, if we really listen, or more aptly, read God’s Word, it’s easy to find a definitive answer.  You see, we are all called to be missionaries.  No matter where we are, or where we go, in some sense, we have been “sent” to our current location to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It seems that for some reason, we have created tiers of evangelism.  We hold the full-time missionaries in the faraway land at the top.  We put ourselves and our everyday lives talking to our friends, family, and neighbors about Jesus at the bottom.   And, as a result of this, we often ask ourselves, “God, can you really use me? I mean, I can’t give my entire life to the mission field, so maybe it’s just best for me to write a check for someone else to do it?”

But, perhaps, the reality is that God wants us to be a missionary right where we are.  Don’t get this wrong? In no way am I diminishing our responsibility to make disciples of all nations. Our commitment to reaching the lost includes going wherever they may go.  Our partnerships with missionaries and missionary organizations are of the utmost importance.  Our church-wide missions trip to West Virginia was a dream come true. However, as believers, we must understand Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8, when he said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

There are two major points in those words.  First, we are all called to be his witnesses.  We don’t need special powers, special education, or even a special “calling.”  We are all called.  Most of us, at least intellectually, get that.  The second point, however, is more often missed.  Much too frequently, we jump to the end of the verse and focus on “to the end of the earth.”  But, we miss that Jesus starts with our calling “in Jersusalem.”  That was an indication to the hearers of this word that they were to be witnesses at home, right where they were.

What if it is our neighbor down the street is needs to hear the gospel? Could it be the mom of your kid’s soccer teammate is your mission field? 

The real message of the gospel is that each of us have been saved by the grace of God alone, and with that, we are all called to be bearers of the Good News.  

If you have been called to go on an international missions trip, humbly submit yourself to God and watch him do powerful things in and through you.  We will partner with you. We will support you.  But, if your mission field is the street you live on, the school your children attend, or the soccer team you coach.  It’s no less of a calling. Humbly submit yourself to God and watch him do powerful things in and through you.  We will partner with and support you just the same.  We all have a calling.  It’s time for us to live like the missionaries He has called us to be.

Courage in the Everyday

 by Dina Sleiman

...Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you... ~ I Chronicles 28:20

Last week Acts 2 Church went Christmas caroling in a trailer park where we deliver food for our food ministry. This simple little excursion got me thinking about the courage needed to reach out to others in our everyday lives.

One of our caroling groups

Going door to door, knocking on a stranger's home, in a neighborhood that's a bit rough, takes some courage, especially when you have a bevy of children in tow. By the end of the Christmas cookie fellowship following the caroling, our kids were all running around in the pitch dark. We didn't know if we'd face rejection, harassment, or even drunken threats, but we went to spread Christmas joy and cheer nonetheless--to spread Christ's love. It would have been easy for someone to talk themselves out of going and facing those risks. But reaching out takes courage and inconvenience. Living life to its fullest involves taking risks.

These neighbors tagged along and joined in the fun.

And when God calls you to do something, those risks pay off! By the end of the caroling many wonderful neighbors had joined in with us to sing. We concluded the evening with a fellowship including a fire pit and Christmas cookies, and about 25 people from the neighborhood came to hang out with us :)

The Christmas cookie fellowship was a big hit.

I'm sure it would have been safer and easier for the Good Samaritan to have left the beaten man on the side of the road, but God calls us to a higher standard. Will you dare to reach out and take risks? Will you find the courage to live life to the fullest?

Advent - Preparing for Jesus

by Pastor Bill

²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way; ³The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.'" ~ Mark 1:2-3

It’s the Christmas season. Christmas lights are on the houses. Christmas songs are on the radio. And, department stores everywhere are open Christmas hours. Christmas is a joyful time of year.  Spirits are generally high. Christmas holiday parties with Christmas treats are held in offices all over the country. But, sadly, by mid-January, it seems that Christmas is just a faded memory.

Perhaps, as Christians, we need to worry less about the “war on Christmas,” and focus more on what the entire season is all about.  And, perhaps, we need to look no further than the liturgical roots of the season and come to a deeper understanding of Advent.

We’re right in the heart of our Advent series, and right in the heart of Advent.  But, for many of us, even many believers, our knowledge of Advent is very limited. In fact, despite the fact that I grew up in liturgical churches where there was great devotion to Advent colors and the Advent wreath, I assumed it was simply a celebration of the Christmas season.  What better way to prepare for Christmas than open a little window of an Advent calendar and get a piece of chocolate for 25 straight days!

 

Beyond the Advent calendar, I had never given much thought to the Advent season until a few years ago. It was then that I decided to really study Advent, what it meant, and why it was an important season (assuming it was).  

To make a long story short, the word “Advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming” or “visit.” As Christians, we are to prepare for celebrating the birth of Jesus by remembering the longing of the Jews for a Messiah. In Advent, we’re reminded of how much we ourselves also need a Savior, and we look forward to our Savior’s second coming even as we prepare to celebrate his first coming at Christmas. The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming” or “visit.” In the season with this name, we keep in mind both “advents” of Christ, the first in Bethlehem and the second yet to come.

While certainly the birth of our Savior is worthy of celebration, much like each of our birthdays, it’s far too easy to celebrate the remembrance of our birth on one given day, and quickly move on with the busyness of life. But, this should be a season of so much more.  Advent is a season of hope, a season of preparation, a season of joy, and a season of love. It’s a season of reflection of our deep need of the Savior who came some 2,000 years ago. It’s a season of expectation that He will return again to reign forevermore. 

Oh, that we would spend more energy on anticipating the return of Christ than we do worried whether the grocery clerk wished us a “Merry Christmas” or a “Happy Holiday!” Let’s take this season and reflect on why Christ came the first time and that moment when he returns. You see, when we focus not just on Christ’s birth, but also on his return, we don’t have to experience a post-Christmas letdown. Our excitement, our hope, and our anticipation can last, long past the “Twelve Days of Christmas.”