“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” — Psalm 5:3 Last week we explored the evening practice of reflecting back upon our day asking, “How was God with me today?” It’s a practice loosely based on the Ignatian idea of the Examen … Continue reading In the Morning
Over recent weeks, we’ve been exploring the idea of contemplative prayer, with the idea being that we’re seeking to become aware of God’s presence. That’s not an easy thing. Our minds wander. Thoughts and feelings crowd in. We’re constantly challenged with distraction. How can we do better? One approach is to take the time at … Continue reading Our Hearts Burned Within Us (Luke 24:13-35 )
The story of the widow’s two mites (Mark 12:41-44) has an important lesson to teach us about contemplative practice: What we see depends on where we look. At first, only Jesus who sees the widow. But then he invites his disciples to look and so they also see. Then he invites them to look closer. … Continue reading Seeing As Jesus Sees (Mark 12:41-44)
Mark 10:46-52 tells the story of the healing of Bartimaeus. It’s not really an unusual story, Jesus performs many healings in the Gospels, even restoring sight to the blind as we see here. But there is one detail which strikes me as a little strange, and it’s the question that Jesus puts to Bartimaeus: “What … Continue reading “What Do You Want Me To Do For You?” (Mark 10:46-52)
As I wrote last week, when we read the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) we tend to focus on actions: the “go and make disciples” part. This can make it seem as though mission were a task to be added on top of discipleship. But in giving the Great Commission, Jesus frames it with two declarations … Continue reading Apart from Me You Can Do Nothing (John 15:1-8)
The Great Commission (Mat. 28:16–20) is often taken as a rallying cry for action: “get out there and tell people about Jesus!” But have you ever noticed that it also calls us to a deep dependence on Christ? Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, captured these two truths in the memorable phrase: “go … Continue reading I Am with You Always
