I try to champion biblical meditation every way that I can. If you're new to this idea of "biblical meditation," here's a brief summary: Biblical meditation is choosing to intentionally direct our focus. Specifically, we focus ON God's Word - the Bible - and what we learn there about who God is and what He's doing. We focus FOR Christ-like transformation - so that we slowly and increasingly think and act in a Christ-like way. For a whole post I wrote on biblical meditation, click here. And before we write this off as a spiritual discipline for the "super saints," I want to quickly point out that we all choose to direct our focus somewhere. (In other words, this habit of meditation is very doable, because most of us are already doing it often. The variable is WHAT we are meditating upon.) In his very worthwhile book, Minding the Heart: The Way of Spiritual Transformation, author Robert L. Saucy suggests that "If you know how to worry...then you know how to meditate" (p. 155). I, for one, agree. For all of us who have ever re-played scenarios over and over in our mind, or focused intently on some puzzle that needed to be solved, we have practiced "meditation," i.e. the art of focusing our thinking on something. What followers of Jesus Christ need to do is learn to direct our focus towards the Bible and its Author, rather than being slaves to stray thoughts. We need to fill our minds with small chunks of the Bible - specific verses and short passages - that we choose to think about (i.e., meditate upon) as we're stopped at a red light, performing a mundane task, waiting in line somewhere, or going for a walk. Looking for some verses and short passages you can start meditating on?Below I've included a small handful of suggestions. I encourage you to write 2 or 3 of these down on an index card or input them into your phone so they're handy, and then keep returning to these and filling your mind with biblical truth:
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I'm a fan of Jerry Bridges. I've been benefiting from his books for years, and have repeatedly recommended (and returned to!) such books as his The Pursuit of Holiness, The Practice of Godliness, Transforming Grace: Living Confidently in God's Unfailing Love, The Discipline of Grace: God's Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness, The Joy of Fearing God, Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate, The Bookends of the Christian Life, and more. Just this morning over a breakfast with some other guys, we were talking about how we should never grow casual towards God's grace. Jerry Bridges' writings came to mind again then, as he helped me appreciate the "bigness" of God's grace in Jesus Christ, and how that grace should fuel my own pursuit of holiness and practice of the spiritual disciplines. And that is likely how I'll continue to remember Bridges - as one of my "author-mentors" who helps me never grow casual towards God's grace. Recently Jerry Bridges passed away at the age of 86, after serving for decades with the Navigators ministry. The grace that was the focus of so much of Bridges' writings has now become for Jerry the reality of God's glorifying grace, as Jerry lives on in the presence of our Lord. Jerry Bridges' life and his writings are another example of the truth that theology should never remain abstract. What we believe shapes who we are. To learn a bit more about Jerry Bridges click here. To view his Memorial Service held on March 11, 2016, click here. Or, read an excerpt from Jerry Bridges' own writings, in this article "4 Essentials for Finishing Well." If you liked this post, you may also be interested in
Yes. Yes. And Yes! I Love What JT English Says about Making Theology Accessible in the Church3/8/2016 Recently JT English, Pastor of Training at the Village Church in Texas, sat down with Dan Darling of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) to talk about something I LOVE to champion: Making theology accessible in the local church. If you want to watch something that overlaps with A WHOLE LOT of what the Brookside Institute is about, take 7 min and watch the video. (Please!) Here are a few notes I was scrambling to type as I watched the video - these may pull you into watching, if you're still on the fence:
Every now and then, I get the chance to explain what I do as the "Director of the Brookside Institute" at Brookside Church. When most people hear this title, their mind goes to "Adult Sunday School," and I get that. Classes are part of what we do. (However, in my experience "Adult Sunday School" classes are often heavy with stereotypes that I often want to work against — think unprepared teachers, mediocre content and presentation, and lots of people hanging out drinking stale coffee.)
But classes only capture part of what the Institute does to build and reinforce foundations of the Christian faith. (Along with everything else other Brookside ministries do to equip the church and lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ!) Therefore, when I explain the Brookside Institute to people, I try to zoom out a bit and give people a picture of ALL of the innovative ways the Institute is laying foundations and equipping the church in the areas of biblical literacy and theological formation, for the purpose of living on mission. For people at Brookside, this helps them connect the dots a bit, and see the intentionality we're trying to bring to this important "equipping arm" of the church. For people outside of Brookside — perhaps ministry leaders in other churches, for example — I hope this gives them a vision for creatively multiplying important "equipping/adult Christian Education touchpoints" in their own local churches. So how do we multiply touchpoints for this sort of biblical and theological equipping in the Institute? Here's a "zoomed out" view of a lot of what we currently offer: I love Psalm 1. It grabs me every time I read it. The picture is paints for us is attractive and compelling - just listen to this selection from the first three verses: Blessed is the one… whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers. Most people I talk with (including myself!) are drawn to the sort of life we see pictured here. We're drawn to the flourishing and the fruitfulness the psalm depicts. But we also need to take careful note of HOW this sort of full life is cultivated . We see an answer in the selection I've included above - we need to meditate on the Bible. A life that is full of God's Word will flourish in all the right ways and bear fruit for God.
So if meditation is such a big deal, what IS biblical meditation? Theology never stays abstract. What we believe should and must shape who we are.
Earlier this month I posted how theologian Wayne Grudem is one example of "theology taking shape" as he responds to and lives in light of his recent diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Not long after I posted that, I learned that theologian J.I. Packer is ending his "formal ministry" of writing and regular preaching due to his failing eyesight. I've posted on J.I. Packer before (check out some of the posts here and here), and his Knowing God is one of the books I return to repeatedly. Packer is the first formal theologian that gave me a taste for all that the study of theology offers the Church and the individual Christian. Therefore, I was all ears as I read through a Gospel Coalition interview with J.I. Packer about his failing eyesight and what that means. Here's a link to the interview. I encourage you to take some time in the next day or so (or right now) and read through what Packer has to say, and how he's one more example of "theology" taking shape. And don't just read it. Reflect on it. Learn from it. Absorb it. My oldest brother has started something of a "tradition" for his kids' birthdays when family gets together to celebrate - piñatas. He gets a piñata, and then all the cousins line up and do the "piñata thing": they put on a blindfold, grab a blunt stick, everyone backs away out of swinging distance, and the child takes a few swings in the hopes of connecting with the piñata and getting some candy. After plenty of whiffs and unsuccessful attempts, someone finally makes a crack in the piñata and all the kids rush forward for a no-holds-barred struggle for tootsie roll pops, snack-sized candy bars, and gum.
I wonder how often our attempts at spiritual formation - Christian growth - are something like this scenario I just described. We don't really have a clear picture of the target we're aiming for (like being blindfolded with a piñata in front of us), and so we exert a lot of effort and swing wildly in hopes that we'll connect with something - knowing that when (or better, if) we actually make contact we'll get something worthwhile. The process can feel unguided, discouraging, and exhausting. I don't think it has to be this way. As we'll see, Scripture gives us a clear picture of our "target" - we're not swinging blindly. That will be the focus of this post. And neither is our "tool" a blunt stick that's not designed for what it's being used for. There are plenty of good books out there that help us grow in our understanding and practice of spiritual disciplines - not as an end-in-themselves, but as divinely-appointed means by which we can authentically grow in Christ-likness. Let's now hone in on the focus of this post: What is the picture of spiritual formation we're pursuing? As we practice godly disciplines over the course of our lifetimes, what should they be cultivating? Many of you have heard the acronym "FOMO" (Fear Of Missing Out) - an anxiety or fear that something is going on somewhere that you're missing out on. Well, have no fear. In case you're experiencing "Brookside Institute FOMO," I've helpfully included all of the "top 5 blog posts" for each month, for the last six months (July-December 2015). If you're brand new to the Brookside Institute, be sure and check out our "About" page, our "Classes Overview," and our most recent "Speed Dating the Brookside Institute" as well.
Click on any of the posts included below to revisit posts you've already enjoyed and catch up on anything you may have missed! I love these words attributed to 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon: The word of God is like a lion; you don't have to defend it, you just turn it loose. Of course, we still work to help people read the Bible well on their own, and this doesn't mean we ignore other study resources that can help us mine the riches of God's Word. But what this quote communicates that I love is the "livingness" and "activeness" of the Bible - that it is "sharper than a two edged sword" and able to penetrate to the innermost depths of our hearts and attitudes (check it out in Hebrews 4:12). God's Spirit uses God's Word to point us to God's Son and accomplish God's work in us and through us. That's AWESOME.
All of that is why I'm all about spending myself to help people feel the warmth of God's Word and see its light, so they can experience the life God offers us in Jesus. That's why the Brookside Institute values biblical literacy so highly - not as an end-in-itself, but because of what biblical literacy should do in us (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and Who it should point us to (John 5:39). And that's why I'm so excited about this "365" emphasis Brookside Church is leaning into in 2016 - where we're encouraging the whole church family to consider reading the Bible in 2016, and where we're facilitating ways for this to happen individually and in our Community Groups. I'm confident there will be more to come, but for now, be sure and check out our "365" page online and begin ramping up for this. 2016 is just around the corner! I recently got the just-produced NIV (New International Version) Zondervan Study Bible. I've had a chance to glance through it, and am eager to add it to a list of Bible study tools I recommend. In just a second I'll list some "quick reasons to consider" this latest NIV Study Bible (just in time for Christmas lists!), but let me first mention two prefatory comments.
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Tim WiebeChristian. Husband. Father. Pastor. Learner. Contributor. Reader. Categories
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