Category: Lectio Divina

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Lectio Reflection 12/17/13

Verse
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for . They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:1-6 ESV)

My Word or Phrase
Overcome

My Image
I remember running my only marathon and being nagged by physical problems, but I overcame them and finished the race. We at times are nagged by the world but with the help of the Spirit we can overcome the world’s nagging.

My Invitation
To quit worrying about what the world thinks and push forward guided by God through the Spirit to do what God is calling me to do.

My question for you is who are you listening to, God or the world? Are you distracted by what the world is telling you? Remember, “he (the Spirit) who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

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Lectio Reflection 12/14/13

Verse
If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God. (1 Peter 3:13-18 MSG)

My Word or Phrase
With heart and soul

My Image
I see people like Nelson Mandela or Mother Theresa who gave fully of themselves for their cause – heart & soul – despite the hardships and suffering it caused them.

My Invitation
I need to discover or perhaps just develop what it is God is calling me to give my heart and soul to. Or is it that all I do I should give it all I have? What kind of life message would that send to the world? What does this look like?

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Lectio Reflection 12/12/13

Lectio is the spiritual practice of meditating on a section of scripture and allowing God to speak to you though it.

Verse
I can’t tell you how happy I am to learn that many members of your congregation are diligent in living out the Truth, exactly as commanded by the Father. But permit me a reminder, friends, and this is not a new commandment but simply a repetition of our original and basic charter: that we love each other. Love means following his commandments, and his unifying commandment is that you conduct your lives in love. This is the first thing you heard, and nothing has changed. (2 John 1:4-6 MSG)

My Word or Phrase
unifying commandment

My Image
What comes to mind when I think of something being unified is a suspension bridge. Though a single strand of wire could not hold up the bridge, a unified bundle of wires can hold tens of thousands of pounds and not be broken.

My Invitation
Love, that is God’s love flowing through me allows me the the opportunity to live out all my beliefs and values and minister to those around me. I simply need to listen and follow God’s promptings. I also need to remember that I don’t need to do it all, I am but a single strand in the cable that is God’s love, holding us all together.

As you reflect upon this verse what is God inviting you to do?