Phase 1 Week 3 Feb 2--Feb. 8 Door to Liberation & Meditation--Read, Richard Fosters—pages 1-32

[Steve Smith]

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A.   Comment on: the remark of Psychiatrist Carl Jung, “Hurry is not of the Devil; it is the devil.” 

B.   These were people who were close to the heart of God. God spoke to them not because they had special abilities, but because they were willing to listen.

C.   Eastern meditation is an attempt to empty the mind; Christian meditation is an attempt to fill the mind.

D.   In meditation we enter the word of God not as passive observers, but as active participants. Please remember to response to at least one fellow student. 

[Steve Smith]

Students, greetings! I hope you are reading the weekly material I look forward to reading your post. please remember to comment on a post by a fellow student.  

[(jlc126)]

[(jlc126)]

[prodigalson973]

Phase 1 Week 3

 

Hello saints,

Part 1

 

 

I agree with the author and the theory that hurry is of the devil. The opposite of hurry is patience, and therefore an opposing force to the fruits of the spirit.

 

Even the rocks beneath are feet will worship God if we won’t.  The reference made about it wasn’t the ability to hear God that allowed the people close to His heart to hear, but their willingness to listen, is in direct correlation with all of us today. We are being propositioned by God continually to seek his face so we will be able to hear Him and experience His covering over our lives, but personally I quite often am trying to fit God in my schedule, my game plan, or have Him play a part in my screen play. The portion of this chapter that gave some based instruction to a more intense experience with God, was like my kid in the candy store moment.

 

Christian meditation is an opportunity to be inundated in the anointing of God. Eastern meditation is an emptying of the mind, but your mind won’t stay empty in theory you are just choosing not to monitor what it will be filled with. Christian meditation is taking a intentional action to quiet your spirit to hear from God better, to seek details of how touching the hem of his garment feels.

Douglas Adams II

[prodigalson973]

Phase 1 week 3

Dear saints,

The information provided in this chapter was ground breaking for me. I have been the poster child for what a life on a rollercoaster looks like. God has released me from drug addiction, He saved me from eminent murder attempts, brought me out of unconscious suicide attempts, and guided me past many other self destructive tendencies. In between all these catastrophes, there were glimpses of what I thought was the ideal pattern for growth in my relationship with Christ. I had never given God the time of meditation he deserved, nor did I even know I needed to. As I read this chapter and I began to be equipped with the instructions for real life applicable ways to further develop my level of intimacy with my Father, I found myself excited beyond explanation. I felt like a child who had been struggling with overcoming a certain part of a video game. For whatever reason this same junction had been the cryptonite to my progression for years and now I was given the stragety of all strategies to stand victorious over what had set me back so many times before. The truths spoken in this chapter resenates with my soul. The author stated that even our body posture and tension level matters to our experience during our times of meditation. I guess my excitement comes from knowing how little I knew about offering myself to Him before and how far he brought me from where I was, and how much more I've been equipped to praise and worship him with now. I can't even fathom the work He will do in me now.

[dlt1906]

A. Comment on: the remark of Psychiatrist Carl Jung, “Hurry is not of the Devil; it is the devil.”

It is important we do all we can to eliminate hurry from our lives. If we don’t we run the risk of having a watered down intimacy with God.

B. These were people who were close to the heart of God. God spoke to them not because they had special abilities, but because they were willing to listen.

I believe we today can experience the same revelations as the bible witnesses by taking the time to spend time with God. God is willing and ready to speak to and commune with ALL who will listen.

C. Eastern meditation is an attempt to empty the mind; Christian meditation is an attempt to fill the mind.

Eastern meditation is where the participants seek to detach form everything and loose personal identity. The detachment is the final goal of eastern religion. However, Christian meditation attempts to lead us to inner wholeness and encourages a divine-human encounter.

D. In meditation we enter the word of God not as passive observers, but as active participants. Please remember to response to at least one fellow student.

As an active participant, who don’t just study the word for the sake of knowledge, we induct ourselves into the reality of what the words speaks by meditating.