I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways Psalm 119:15

Volume 13, Episode IX

September 2012

Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Lets PRAY: For all the students/disciples currently enrolled in the ADT offered by URFM. For the NEW seed of Spiritual Formation to find good soil and to grow exponentially. For NEW provisions to continue the Great Commission God called us to do. For the NEW students ready to enroll in ADT. Amen! Psalm 4:4 Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

Wow! The summer is over and we are stepping into the beautiful fall season; the season of harvest, as some people like to call it. In June, I wrote about cultivating genuine intimacy with the Ho-

Spiritual Christian Meditation

ly Spirit by putting aside quiet time for this spiritual discipline. Have you tried it? Isnt it awesome? In this newsletter, I would like to direct our attention to another important spiritual disciplineSpiritual Christian Meditation. Meditation should be an important holy habit for Christs disciples. God told Joshua that if he desires success he must meditate day and night on His precepts. Can we expect anything different? I dont think so. Lets take a look at this discipline and set our minds to start practicing it in our walk as disciples of Jesus. (i) Christian (Biblical) Meditation: One definition states that, Christian meditation is meditation in a Christian context. I like Adele Ahlberg Calhouns definition, Meditation is a long, ardent gaze at God, His work and His Word (Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, p.172). We dont have the space here to go in depth about meditation. For those of you who are interested in learning more about this discipline, please refer to Richard Foster classic bookCelebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, and Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun. In terms of definition, I would like to provide you with a simple one to make sure that no one confuses Christian mediation with Transcendental Meditation or other New Age practices. We, as disciples of Christ, are familiar with reading and studying the Bible, which are terrific spiritual disciplines. Bible reading is a matter of gleaning wisdom from the Word of God, in contrast, Bible meditation opens up communication and oneness between us and God. Through Christian meditation we are actively contemplating, examining and striving to understand the concepts of Meditation is a long, ardent gaze the Bible, and our minds are being transformed by divine at God, His work and His Word.

- Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

understanding. Paul puts it this way: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2). Adele Ahlberg Calhoun nails it when she wrote, Slowing down and giving ones undivided attention to God lies at the core of Christian meditation. If we de-

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VOLUME 13, EPISODE IX

sire to get deeper in the Word of God, we need to take time and chew the verses that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention. Chewing is how the cow makes sure it digests the cud thoroughly. We live in such a superficial culture. One avenue to fight superficiality is Christian Meditation. Foster counsels us: If we hope to move beyond the superficialities of our culture, including our religious culture, we must be willing to go down into the recreating silences, into the inner world of contemplation (Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p. 15). With this brief background in mind, lets take some practical steps in making Biblical medita- tion (or contemplation) part of our lifestyle as Christs disciples.

There are three things that must go together in biblical meditation: (i) reading, (ii) reflection, and (iii) responding. The ultimate purpose of these coincide with the three great purposes of Bible study: (a) observation, (b) interpretation, and (c) application. In summary: OBSERVATIONWhat does the text say? INTERPRETATIONWhat does the text mean? APPLICATIONHow does the text apply to my life? This is exactly what God told Joshua to do in Joshua 1:8: This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and everywhere in the world. Anyone then you will have success. Isnt this amazwho is interested may contact us for ing? If we develop the habit to meditate on the Word of God, contemplate on the wisdom of God, more details and to register. and gaze (day and night) within our hearts towards Gods heart, God promises that our ways will be prosperous and we will have success. Then, go ahead and be successful!

PLEASE PRAY for VALY: Protection, provisions, blessings, and NEW OPEN DOORS Mission TRIP: (Aug Sept 2012) = Seattle, WA & Portland, OR

If you are interested in becoming more like Jesus, URFM offers ADT

Advanced Discipleship Training

It is obvious that biblical meditation involves the whole process of reading and observing a specific portion of Scripture in order to get both its meaning and application. Therefore, reading the text of Scripture reflectively is a part of the process of biblical meditation. A.W. Tozer writes, God dwells in His creation and is everywhere indivisibly present in all His works (Tozer, The Pursuit of God). Sometimes, being alone in nature, in the middle of Gods creation, having the Bible in our hands and the heart open to the Holy Spirit can be a good place where we can connect at a deeper level with the Creator. If you want to learn more about these subjects and many others consider enrolling in our Program called Advanced Discipleship Training (ADT) provided ONLINE by URFM. During the 2-year span of ADT, you are going to be exposed to several spiritual disciplines such as: Studying the Bible, Quiet-Time, Prayer, Meditation, Journaling, Fasting, and many others. With LOVE in HIS Service,

God dwells in His creation and is everywhere indivisibly present in all His works. - A. W. Tozer

Valy Vaduva
PS: For more on similar topics you can order some audio sources we have created for you: DONATE ONLINE (1) Discipline Spirituale si Prioritati, [ Using Visa or PayPal ] ($35 + $7 S&H). Go to www.urfm.org (2) Flamand dupa Cuvantul Domnului, ($40 + $7 S&H). Click << DONATE >> Both resources are in Romanian language. Fill out your information We will be happy to mail them to you.

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