So, one area of my life that I always feel like there is a need for improvement is my prayer life. I'm currently going through the devotional, "Gospel Transformation" by World Harvest Mission, and they had a great mini-teaching on "Lectio Divina."

I thought it would be great to share a summary, if you are looking for ways to pray through Scripture as well. Blast back here for a Wikipedia article on it if you like as well.

Lectio Divina, responding to Scripture through prayer.
This includes four key moments: Lectio, Meditatio, Oratio, Contemplatio

1. Lectio: the slow reading of the text
-read aloud, 2-3 times
-listen for the gentle whisper of the Spirit (1 Kings 19:12)

2. Mediatio: meditating on the text
-note what stands out to you
-how doest it speak to you- to your hopes, fears, or desires? What thoughts or memories come to mind? What is God saying to you in this moment? What is God saying about Himself, yourself, your situation?

3. Oratio: praying the text
-the text forms the basis for a conversation with your Father
-talk to Him about what is on your heart
-pray the text as a response

4. Contemplatio: putting the text into practice
-putting the text into action; live it
-may be described as a restful activity
-living before God and enjoying His presence
-the incarnation of the text in your life


Example: Luke 1:26-38
Lectio- 1:28 personal word to Mary. Mary in a position to hear
Meditatio- 1:29 greatly troubled. Mary ponders words
Oratio- 1:34 responds. Dialogues with questions of the heart
Contemplatio- 1:38 the words now live. "I am the Lord's servant" (Col 3:16)


A great place to do this for yourself might be the Lord's prayer: Matt 6:9-13

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Where else can you witness a dump truck plummeting out of the fourth floor of an abandoned building?

My buddy, Steve, was able to capture some of the action and passed the story on to the Wall Street Journal.

I live just around the corner from the Packard plant. Oh, Detroit. :)

Enjoy-

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125745924791631907.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_RIGHTTopCarousel

It's strange. I turn onto Fischer from W Vernor and I feel like I've driven into a different city- a different culture.

This is my neighborhood. East Detroit.

It is where bicycles are ridden, not for recreation but because it's the only vehicle had.

It is where at 5p a gathering happens at the local liquor store. Soft drinks and chips for everyone.

It is a place where a car looks abandoned but then someone gets into it and drives off.

It is a place where a house looks abandoned but then someone hobbles out the front door to sit on the porch.

A place where during my afternoon jogs, I pass by drug houses, burned out houses, children with no father, and prostitutes.

It is a place where at night, the conversations with my roommates are interrupted by one of two things: the sound of loud music from cars passing by or the sound of gunshots in the distance.

It is a place where a red light means, "slow down, if clear then go" and any part of the street is a crosswalk.

While I've grown up on the Northwest side of the city. It is different here. I'm not really sure, yet why God has led me here. And, I don't really know, yet, what sharing my faith looks like here, but I know God is near, and He desires to move. Prayer.

Driving home, listening to UBC Canada:

Yes, I realize that it is 3 months into the New Year already, but it's my personality to take some time to think about things.  Here's my list (in no particular order):

The Gospel
Daily, I encounter situations in which I need to be rescued- seeing in my life and around me the results of the Fall.  Jesus is faithful.  He rescues me!

Words
From the words that spoke creation into existence to the encouraging words that lift me up, I am beginning to understand the power of words.  "Life and Death are in the power of the tongue" Proverbs 18:21

Community
It is here that I have experienced much of the Gospel and Words.  Whether it be family or close friends- or new friends, it is such an amazing way that God created for us to interact.  Truly, a glimpse of the perfect community that the Trinity experiences.  I love people!

The Bible
It's incredible how off-kilter I can get as I attempt to seek the Lord.  Thanks be to God for how he reveals himself through His word.

Culture
Diversity.  It's just so beautiful.  God has used culture to rough and shape me.

Meeting Jacqueline Kirby
Through this dear friend, I have been able to experience God's grace in such an amazing and unique way.  Blew my mind.

Technology
Why am I so appreciative of my iPhone...and the internet...and movies...and Skype...and the built-in camera on my Macbook?  Perhaps they give me an outlet to experience community in a deeper way.

Music
I think music has been in my soul since a youngster.  Recently, my mama told me how I used to make up songs as a kid.  I would suffocate without rhythm!  Portishead, LeCrae, Thrice, Andrew Osenga, Jeremy Casella...too many first-time hears to list from 2008.

Got a list, too?  Leave a comment.



"No guilt in life; No fear in Death from life's first cry to final breath"

Have your worlds ever collided?  I'm talking when the books you read intersect with the music you listen to intersect with the conversations you have with friends, and you find they are all point to the same thing: the thing which you are learning.

The Natasha I speak of is Natasha Bedingfield.  I've got respect for this woman.  And, I think she is the first celebrity that I've ever really prayed for with earnest.

Over the summer, my dear friend, Carrie, let me borrow, "Pocketful of Sunshine" from her.  I was dazzled by the beats and arrangements, and then I began to listen deeper to the lyrics.  This is when the collisions happened.

Collision 1: What causes someone to walk away from the faith?
On "Soulmate" Natasha sings,

Who doesn't long for someone to hold/
Who knows how to love you without being told/
Somebody tell me why I'm on my own/
If there's a soulmate for everyone

Woah...deep.  Natasha is searching, I thought to myself.  She needs Jesus!  Wikipedia tells me (under "Early Life) that she actually used to write songs for Hillsong London.  Had she met Jesus before?  Where is she at with the Lord now?  Looking on the surface of her life- the rest of the lyrics, causes that she stands for, is there fruit of Jesus' touch in her life?

A topic I've been discussing with friends over the last few months.  2 Peter 1:3-15 does an awesome job of helping to approach this topic.

Collision 2:   Women want and need men that are emotionally present!

One thing that really amazes me about Natasha is the way she sings about relationships- so real and honest about her thoughts.

On "Piece of Your Heart" Natasha sings,

When the craziness begins to get to me/
Just need a hand to hold, just be that somebody/
It's your tenderness that's gonna make it right/
I wanna piece of your heart, not a piece of your mind

She's saying she doesn't need so much a man that solves every single emotional problem in her life.  Sometimes she just needs someone to be there for her and listen- to be the shoulder she can lean on.  A topic that the incredible book, "For Men Only" covers in chapter 2.  This, too, is something that I've been talking with friends.

Perhaps I'm looking too deeply into this album.  Or, maybe there are real issues that Natasha ponders with that we do as well.

So, Natasha if you ever read this, I pray that you would experience the power of Jesus' love in your life.  Would you consider His love for you?  He wants so bad to become your perfect soulmate.

I'm sitting here in the seat on my Turkish Airlines flight- so far the best airline company I have ever flown. It's July 28th and I'm flying from Istanbul from Rome. Currently, the plane is passing over Thessaloniki.

My forehead is resting against the window and I stare at the ground below me, mesmerized by everything that I see. Such beautiful islands. Such beautiful coasts and land masses and mountains that have formed. i notice the beautiful greens and browns. Buildings and tress cannot even be made out because of the height that we're at.

I notice something more in addition to the wonder. There are portions of light and dark on the ground. Some parts of the Island enjoy full sun while some only see dimly. It's partly cloudy. I wonder what it's like for the people under the cloud cover. Is it a bit colder? Those that are reading the paper, are they squinting a bit more because of lack of light? But the cloud won't always be over them, it will pass.

I realize now that the plane is flying above the cloud line. I try to stare into the magnificent glow of the sun. There are no clouds to block the sun. it's always there, never changing. I think about those down there on Thessanolik, while their level of light may change depending on the clouds, the sun has never stopped giving off its light. It has never changed.

Indeed, when I am faced with hardship. When I am under my cloud. I can take comfort that the cloud will pass and that there is no problem with my sun. The sun is always shining.

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield;" Psalm 84:11

Milan, Italy.  I was standing in line at McDonald's slowly becoming frustrated at how long the particular line I had chosen was taking.  I was in line behind a gypsy.  Quickly the cashier asked her, "What will you take?"
"The menu (equiv. to a combo meal in the States)," she responded just as quickly.
"Which menu?"
"The menu," gypsy lady responded again.  By now the cashier was frustrated.
"Which menu?  Which sandwich?  We have cheeseburger menu, hamburger menu, BigMac menu."  The cashier was now looking at her customer with raised eyebrows and hands on her hips.  It was by now that I began to pay closer attention to their conversation.  Gypsy lady glanced quickly up at the menu then blankly at the cashier her mouth now open slightly.  Her body language was obvious that she didn't know what else to say.  In a revolt, the cashier dug for something underneath the counter.  She produced a packet of plastic silverware.
"Do you want this?" said the cashier rather sharply now using the packet as a pointing instrument.  She pointed to the cheesburger.  "Do you want this?"  She pointed to the McToast.  "Do you want this?"
"That!" the gypsy said.
"Which? This." the cashier pointing back to the cheeseburger.
"No, the one below."
"The McToast?"
"Yes.  I'll take three."  The cashier quoted the price.  Took her money.  And shouted the order in the microphone.

I was stunned at this interaction.  The gypsy lady was happy with what she got, but it was nothing like what she asked for in the first place, a menu.  It was a sandwich.  And, she asked for one menu at the start, but now she asked for three sandwiches.  I could only come up with two answers: gypsy lady had never been to McDonald's or worse, she was illiterate.

Later, in the seating area, I saw her sitting with what looked like her mother and younger sister.  All three of the munching happily on their three McToasts.  I noticed the innoculation scar on her left shoulder.  I wondered where she had been born.  Someone loved her enough as a baby to give her a shot so she wouldn't get sick.

Istanbul, Turkey.  The night was quickly turning into a "man's night."  No, it's not what you think.  My friends and I had heard of some outrageous (according to an American worldview) foods in Istanbul and had challenged each other to eat.  Our foods of choice this night: spicy pickled beet juice and goat's stomach.  We were up for the challenge and mowed down on both.

It was on our way back to the boat dock that I saw her.  A sweet little girl bounding towards us.  I have been missing my nieces and nephews these past months, so it was always a delight when I could exchange a smile with a young one.  As she came closer, however, my smile turned to a look of confusion quickly followed by sheer sadness.  She wore no shoes and only two-thirds of a dress.  Her legs were filthy with dirt which also matched the dirt on her now smiling face.  She was like a precious little princess playing in the mud during a raid on the castle, unaware of the situation around her, just content to be playing again.

She offered me a packet of tissues.  She offered it like it was something so precious to her but she wanted to give me some, too.  I looked around, praying that some sort of guardian could be found.  An older man or older woman sitting on the nearby corner holding a dish begging please.  But, there was no one.  No one.

"...the human soul was built for worshiping and enjoying the true God, and all truly human life flows from that. In this world, all of humanity, even those who have turned away from God, still are supported by 'kindly providences' or 'common grace' (Acts 14:16-17; Psalm 104:10-30; James 1:17) keeping us still capable of wisdom, love, joy, and goodness. But when we lose God's supportive presence all together, the result is hell."

"Jesus suffered infinitely more than any human soul in eternal hell, yet he looks at us and says, "It was worth it." What could make us feel more loved and valued than that? The Savior presented in the gospel waded through hell itself rather than lose us, and no other savior ever depicted has loved us at such a cost."

Excerpts from Tim Keller's article, "The Importance of Hell."  Read the rest of the article here.

 Colossians 1:15-20

-He is the image of the invisible God (v. 15)
-He is the firstborn over all creation (v. 15)
-By him, all things were created (v. 16)
-All things were created for him (v. 16)
-Christ is before all things (v. 17)
-In him, all things hold together (v. 17)
-Christ is the head of the church (v. 17)
-Christ is the beginning (v. 18)
-He is the firstborn among the dead (v. 18)
-In everything, he has supremacy (v. 18)
-All of the fullness of God dwells in him (v. 19)
-Through Christ, all things are reconciled to God (v. 20)
-He has made peace through his blood shed on the cross (v. 20)

I'm struck at all of these incredible claims, the many superlatives.