Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life Chapter 3 - Cameron Jungels - Wed, September 17, 2014

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

by Donald Whitney

 

“Bible Intake” (Part 2): Chapter 3 

Means of Taking in the Bible

 

Hearing the Bible Reading the Bible Studying the Bible Memorizing the Bible Meditating on the Bible Applying the Bible

Memorizing God’s Word

Ø  Benefits

ü  Supplies Spiritual Power

ü  Strengthens Your Faith

ü  Prepares Us for Witnessing and Counseling

ü  Provides a Means of God’s Guidance

ü  Stimulates Meditation

 

Ø  Methods

ü  You Can Memorize Scripture

ü  Have a Plan

ü  Write Out the Verses

ü  Draw Picture Reminders

ü  Memorize Word-Perfectly

ü  Find Accountability

ü  Review and Meditate Daily

 

Meditating on God’s Word

“Meditation is deep thinking on the truths and spiritual realities revealed in Scripture or upon life from a scriptural perspective, for the purposes of understanding, application, and prayer” (46-47).

 

Ø  Benefits

ü  God’s Blessing and Success

ü  Meditation leads to obedience and obedience results in God’s blessing.

ü  Greater Affection for God

ü  Greater Loyalty to God.

ü  More powerful prayer life w/ God

 

Ø  Methods

ü  Select an appropriate passage

ü  Select a method of meditation

1.        Emphasize different words

2.      Rewrite in your own words

3.       Formulate a principle

4.      Think of an illustration/picture

5.      Look for applications

6.      How does this text point to Law or Gospel?

7.      How does it point to Jesus?

8.      What question is answered or what problem is solved?

9.      Pray through the passage

10.   Memorize the text

11.     Create an artistic expression of the text

12.    Ask the Philippians 4:8 questions

 

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8, NLT)

 

13.    Ask questions of the text?

14.   Set and discover a minimum number of insights from the text.

15.    Find a link or common thread through paragraphs or chapters

16.   Does it relate to your situation?

17.    Use Meditation Mapping

 

ü  Don’t Rush – Take Time

ü  Go Deeper and Avoid Distractions

 

Applying God’s Word

Ø  Benefits

ü  Blessing of God (James 1:22-25)

 

Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them. (John 13:17, NLT)

ü  Growth in Godliness

 

Ø  Methods

ü  Expect to Discover an Application

ü  Understand the Text

ü  Meditate to Discern an Application

ü  Ask application-oriented questions

ü  Respond specifically

 

Final Words

Ø  Will you begin a plan of memorizing God’s Word?

Ø  Will you cultivate the discipline of meditating on God’s Word?

Ø  Will you prove yourself an applier of God’s Word?

 

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” (James 1:22–25, NIV)