Description
Book Synopsis40 guided scripture meditations practising the Lectio Divina on the theme of knowing Christ deeper.
Table of ContentsContents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Why Meditate on Scripture? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Part One: What Does God Think of Me?
1 Knowing God as Love 21
2 Sought After, No Matter What 26
3 Knowing I Am Loved . 30
4 God’s Compassion for the Rebellious 34
5 God’s Compassion for the Outwardly Compliant . . . . 38
Meditation Is Different from Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Part Two: Who Am I and How Do I Fit In?
6 Blessed with Every Blessing . . . . . 43
7 One in Whom Christ Dwells . . . 48
The “Sanctified” Imagination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
8 An Identity Completely Changed . . . . 53
9 Life in the Spirit . . . . . . . . . 58
10 Blessed to Be a Blessing . . . 63
Scripture Study and Meditation Work Together . . . . . . . . . . 68
Part Three: Living in the Reality of God’s Kingdom
11 Relying on the Kingdom of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
12 Relying on the Kingdom, Illustrated . . . . 74
Openness to the Spirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
13 The Hidden Yet Powerful Kingdom of God . . . . . . . . .82
14 The Hidden Yet Powerful Kingdom of God, Illustrated . . . . . . . 87
15 The Good and Peaceable Kingdom of God . . . . . . . . . 93
Am I Hearing God or Making Things Up?. . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Part Four: Being Transformed into Christ’s Likeness
16 Abiding in Christ . . . . . . . . . 99
17 From Gangster to Giver (. . . . . . . 105
When Your Mind Wanders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
18 Letting Go of the Old Self . . . . . 111
19 Embracing the New Self . . . . 116
20 Dying to Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
A Huge Maturity Gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Part Five: Facing Fears, Frustrations and Discouragement
21 Finding Courage in the Storm . . . . 128
Diving Board Lectio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
22 Moving Through a Fearful Journey . . . . . 134
23 Seeing Jesus in Anger, Grief and Mercy . 140
24 Moving from Cynicism to Hope . . . . . 145
What If Nothing Comes to Me?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
25 Hearing God in the Midst of Discouragement . . . . . . . 151
Part Six: Healing Life’s Wounds
26 Being Freed from Infirmities . . . . . 158
27 Knowing That God Hears Me . . . . . 163
28 Are You Willing to Be Healed? . . . . 169
Writing Your Prayers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
29 Moving from Mourning to Dancing . . . . 174
30 Receiving Jesus’ Words to Caregivers . . 180
Part Seven: Having the Heart of Christ for Others
31 Loving Others in Truth and Action . . 185
32 Moving from Self-Absorption to Humility . . . . . . . . . . 190
Meditation Leads to Transformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
33 Loving the “Stranger” . . . . . . . . 197
34 Choosing Relationship over Judgment . . . . . 203
35 Stepping Out in Compassion . . . . . . . . . . 209
Part Eight: Partnering with God in Ministry
36 Cooperating with the Power of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
37 Responding to the Passion God Puts in Our Hearts . . . .. . . . 220
38 Relating to God in Failure . . . . 226
39 Drinking the Cup of Suffering . 232
40 Doing Nothing on My Own . . . . . 237
How to Meditate on Your Own. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
