Pursuing our Destiny, Part 4—Being with God in His Word

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word. (Psalm 119:9-16, ESV)

Eugene Petersen titled one of his latest books, Eat This Book. It’s a book about how to read the Bible. And that’s what this particular article is about: how to read the Bible. So many of us have used various reading plans, and so many of us struggle to remain consistent in fulfilling those plans. I’d like to offer a different way of reading today. It’s not a new way; it’s almost 2,000 years old. But it’s probably new to many of us who have grown up in the American church.

To frame our thinking, I’d like to offer you a premise, a practice, and a precondition that will help us and encourage us to be with God in his Word, not just read his Word.

The premise is this:

The Spirit of God,
Uses the Word of God
To conform the child of God,
Into the image of the Son of God.

Consider three different pieces of Scripture:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16&17, ESV).

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12, ESV).

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect
(Hebrews 4:12, ESV).

The Scriptures are God-breathed, living and dynamic, and transformative in nature. God designed them to live in us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He uses them to help us live our destiny—to become living icons of Jesus (Romans 8:29). Remember the premise:

The Spirit of God
Uses the Word of God
To conform the child of God
Into the image of the Son of God.

How does this happen? Think with me about how we live out the premise through the use of a centuries old practice.

Have you ever wondered if old dogs can really learn new tricks? When it comes to being with God in his Word, I can tell you that this old dog learned a new trick about six years ago—actually a new way to come to Scripture—actually a really old way to come to Scripture that was new to me.

I began meeting with a spiritual director, a retired Presbyterian pastor. His name was Hugh Smith, and he was one of the godliest and wisest men I’ve ever known. He introduced me to a way of reading scripture called Lectio Divina, which means Divine Reading.

Lectio consists of four movements—four ways we engage the small passage of Scripture we’re reading. They are lectio (reading), meditatio (meditating on what we’ve read), oratio (prayer driven by what we’ve read and meditated upon), and contemplatio (living with and living out the text we’ve read, meditated, and prayed.)

One of the early church fathers called this way of being with God through his Word, “listening deeply with the ears of the heart.” There is no hurry.  There is no intellectual effort to figure out just what the text means. We simply wait quietly on the Holy Spirit as we read, listening for the “still small voice” of the Lord to speak personally through his Word.  Remember the premise:

The Spirit of God
Uses the Word of God
To conform the child of God
Into the image of the Son of God.

There is one more thing. We can never experience God fully in his Word  while using the practice of lectio divina without one precondition.

One of the most dangerous things a Christian can do is study the Bible without submitting to God. Lectio Divina—Divine Reading—requires that we come to God’s Word with humility, in submission, and with a heart open to hear what the Spirit wants to show us from the Word.

One writer has described it this way: We approach the living Word of God ready to hear the Lord speak to us, anticipating that the historical and inspired text will be freshly applied by the Holy Spirit to the personal text of our lives today.

We open our hearts to be with God in his Word so that . . .

The Spirit of God
Can use the Word of God
To conform the child of God
Into the image of the Son of God.

Amen.  (For more information on the practice of lectio divina, check out this website: http://www.soulshepherding.org/2012/07/lectio-divina-groups/  While the focus is on groups, the principles work for individual reading as well)

Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 20-11; Matthew 24:1-28

Quote of the day: The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home. Augustine

Bible Memory: Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end. Psalm 119:111-112 ESV