Feasting on the Word

I’ve recently been introduced to different styles of Bible reading that I’d like to share with you. Originally established within certain denominations, they are by no means exclusive. I find them not only intriguing, but believe they are intended to deepen one’s prayer/bible reading time and walk with the Lord. At times I, too, have experienced such exhilaration after reading God’s Word, and I know that I have spent precious moments with the Lord. These are the times when I walk away feeling energized because God has personally spoken to me by illuminating my mind and even giving me a specific message. Other times, my Bible reading time has produced little to no results, because I simply read out of an obligation to do so. As a Christian, I believe in the power of God’s Word, but if I am not fully focused and present with God, I can allow distractions, selfishness, and even un-enthusiasm to impact my time with God. I’ll either rush through my devotions, or give up on them altogether, and then I wonder why I'm so easily irritated and my day does not go as well as it could.

When I learned about Lectio Divina and Midrash, I was intrigued. Yes, I wanted to make my time with the Lord more meaningful. Yes, I wanted to get more from my Bible reading. And above all, Yes, I wanted to be fully present with the Lord receiving His love and grace which He so freely desires to give.

Lectio Divina, is a Latin word for divine reading and represents an ancient practice of prayer and Scripture reading which is intended to promote intimate communion with God as well as increase knowledge of God’s Word. It is a slow and thoughtful way of reading Scripture that causes one to study, ponder, listen, pray, and even rejoice from God’s Word deep within one’s soul. This practice was originally established and used by Catholic Benedictine monks centuries ago. It has also been referred to as “Feasting on the Word.” The four parts are first taking a bite (lectio), then chewing on it (meditatio), next, taking the opportunity to savor its essence (oratio), and finally, the Word is digested and made part of the body (contemplatio).

There is a natural progression involved in this type of practice that goes from reading, to meditation (thinking about significance of text), to prayer (responding to God), to quiet stillness in the presence of God (contemplation). This type of Biblical reading requires a commitment to time, space, and solitude, and is far superior to just reading for reading sake. It promotes an intimate dialogue with God Himself, and as you remove yourself from distractions, you hear God speaking to your spirit. In prayer, you respond to God with an open and trusting heart.

The steps are as follows:

1. First, read the Scriptural passages slowly, attentively, maybe even several times. Write down any words that stick out or grasp your attention.
2. Next, simply meditate or think about what you have read and what the text means. Don’t worry—the Holy Spirit will impart spiritual understanding which will enable you to grasp the revelation contained in the passage.
3. What follows is prayer or conversation with God. He has invited us into His embrace and now we allow the Word that we have taken in to touch and change our deepest selves. This is the time when we openly commune with our Maker. In honest dialogue, we give our most pain-filled and difficult experiences to God, believing in His power and provision. We recite over all our concerns the healing words or phrases God has given us in our sacred reading. Through this consecration-prayer, we allow the Word of God to touch, heal, and transform us.
4. Lastly, contemplate or focus, on our loving Father. As your soul is satisfied, and in the quietness, fix your gaze upon Jesus as you rest and enjoy His presence. Knowing that you have been “filled,” allow His grace to give you the strength to endure whatever comes your way. It is a peaceful and tranquil state of being.

Midrash, is steeped in Jewish tradition. Likewise, it is a rich, ancient tradition which invites deeper exploration of the Scriptures through study, reflection, and even debate. In Hebrew, Midrash means to search out. It invites the reader to find those hard-to-understand or even quirky Scriptures and try to make sense of them before God. It reads the Hebrew Bible, not for the familiar, but for the unfamiliar, and then wrestles with the text, passionately and reverently. It views the Bible as one side of the conversation, started by God, and invites the reader to keep the conversation going by taking hold of a passage, wrestling with it, and not letting it go until he understands it. This process allows one to trade in a “surface understanding” for a “deeper grasp” of God’s Word. Reading the Bible this way can certainly be time-consuming and challenging, but I believe the rewards are well worth it. Again, it leads to a more intimate knowledge of God, and greater communion with Him.

There is no right way to practice Lectio Divina or Midrash—it is merely an invitation to go deeper into God’s Word by allowing the Holy Spirit to illuminate and enlighten your mind and heart. When we take the time to pursue and deepen our prayer life in this way, not only will we gain a deeper knowledge of Scripture, oneself, others, and above all, God, but He will align our hearts and minds with His as we ever-increasingly grow in our faith. And that should be the goal of every believer, shouldn’t it?

"It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 2:22

Spirit-Led Christians

I was so excited when our pastor announced that he would be preaching a series on the Holy Spirit. I vividly remember in my Christian walk wondering what all the hoopla was about the Holy Spirit. I had always believed in God as Creator of heaven and earth, and I knew that Jesus, His Son, died for my sins. But as I began to study God’s Word more intently, the question kept coming up, “Who and what is the Holy Spirit?” I must confess that I did not even know that the Holy Spirit was a Person. In fact, I thought He was an “It” or just some kind of powerful force. Thankfully, my curiosity led me to the Christian bookstore where a myriad of books lined the shelves on that very topic. One of my favorite eye-opening books about the Holy Spirit was written by Charles Stanley—The Holy Spirit Filled Life. I even memorized his definition of being filled with the Spirit—“A moment by moment sensitivity to and dependence on the initial promptings of the Holy Spirit.” These books, along with the most important book of all, the Bible, are what opened my eyes to the power of the Holy Spirit that is available to all Christians. Unfortunately, far too many Christians are not aware of His power, and, therefore, not living Spirit-led lives.

So, can you guess what the difference is between a Christian and a Spirit-led Christian? Of course, a Christian is someone who has surrendered his life to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He believes in the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he knows that he is a sinner in need of forgiveness and grace. He is typically a church-goer, worships and prays to God on a somewhat regular basis, and may have even been baptized. He is a normal person with many of the everyday struggles that are common to everyone. He tries to be a morally upright person, and he has the assurance that if he died tomorrow, he would be guaranteed entrance into heaven. Sounds pretty good, right? What else is there to being a Christian? Well, if that is as good as it gets, no wonder so many Christians don’t live their lives any different than unbelievers do. These Christians have neglected the power source that lives within them—the Holy Spirit. That is probably why statistics report higher divorce rates among Christians, and why so many continue to struggle with the same issues and addictions that plagued them before they gave their lives to Christ. If this is the case, is there anything about a Christian that would even attract an unbeliever to God?

A Spirit-led Christian, on the other hand, is someone who not only has surrendered his life to Christ, worships and attends church services, prays and read his Bible, but has learned the art of staying connected to the true power source—the Holy Spirit. He has experienced hardship and trials and realizes that independent of the ongoing power of the Holy Spirit, he is incapable of doing anything worthwhile. He knows the vital difference between being a believer and living his life empowered by the Holy Spirit. He has learned that in his own strength he will burn out, and that it is absolutely necessary to draw on the power of the Holy Spirit in order to make it through this world’s temptations, struggles, and hardships.

The Bible teaches us a lot about the Holy Spirit. Not only does He convict the world with regard to sin, He guides us in truth, and He brings glory to God as He works in harmony with the Father and the Son. Nothing He does is ever contradictory to the Word of God. In fact, He uses the Word of God to illuminate truth into our hearts and enables us to recall what we have read. There is no limit to what the Holy Spirit can and will do through a believer who is faithfully dependent on His continual guidance and empowerment. He continually intercedes, comforts, teaches, corrects, encourages, and leads us in living our lives to bring honor and glory to God. His mission is to bring all men unto Himself and He uses Spirit-led Christians to help fulfill this enormous task. The Holy Spirit cannot be fully fathomed nor can He be adequately described. He is experienced. One thing we know—He is the reason we can have a vibrant relationship with our Heavenly Father. He knows God’s thoughts and makes them known to us. He gives us the mind of Christ.

As Spirit-led Christians, there must be a difference between us and the world. If we just blend in with the rest of the world, there will be nothing different about us to attract others to Christ. We are to be set apart, to be holy. We are to live in the world, but not be of the world. Some thought provoking questions you might ask yourself—“Is the Holy Spirit active in my life? Does He own all of me?” Instead of asking, “How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?” make your question, “How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?” Is there anything I need to do, confess, or surrender? Maybe I need to give up control over a certain area of my life. Do I need to forgive someone who has hurt me? How can I become more proactive in my relationship with Jesus?

The beauty of having a relationship with Jesus is that you can come to Him just as you are—flaws and all. You don’t have to have it all together first, and you don’t have to fix yourself or be perfect. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. When you surrender your life to Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your spirit. He is your helper, comforter, and advocate. It is so comforting to know that you don’t have to change yourself on your own. In fact, you can’t. He is the one who is at work in the deepest places of your heart teaching, guiding, and even disciplining you. He is the one responsible for changing your perspective as He continually leads you through the process of sanctification. As you stay connected to the Lord through prayer and His Word, you will make progress day by day. You are literally being changed into the likeness of Jesus. This is the Holy Spirit in action—He’s busy at work changing you from the inside out.

Yes, you need Jesus for your eternal life, but you need the Holy Spirit for your internal life. He is the One who initiates, enables, and sustains your relationship with God. He is often compared to the wind—you can’t see Him, but you can feel His presence. Now isn’t it time to give Him the attention He deserves? Make it your goal to walk with an ever- increasing awareness of God’s power that is available to you every single moment of the day through His Holy Spirit. There is simply no need to walk around in defeat, for our victory has already been secured by Jesus on the cross. Now, let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, because He who promised is faithful. And may the eyes of our hearts continue to be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which He has called us, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe (Ephesians 1:18-19).

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

But the counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26

If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17

..because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba,Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:14-16