Meeting God in Scripture: A Hands-on Guide to Lectio Divina. 40 guided meditations

by Jan Johnson

Publisher:

Monarch Books

, 2016

Lectio divina is a practice of Scripture reading that treats the Bible not only as a text to be examined, but also as the living Word of God spoken anew to us. Traditionally, Lectio Divina has four separate steps: read; meditate; pray; contemplate. Experienced Bible teacher Jan Johnson presents forty Scripture meditations organised topically, giving us the tools we need to practice Lectio Divina on our own. Each meditation can be used both individually and in group settings, and includes: An introduction to the meditation encouraging a time of quiet preparatory exercise; the complete passage from Scripture with explanations, context, and background to the text, help to enter and absorb the text; space to contemplate the passage, respond to God in prayer and rest in his presence; and an exercise to implement the ideas of the passage in our daily lives. Meeting God in Scripture moves us beyond merely understanding what the text meant in its original context to a direct spiritual encounter with Christ.

Contents

Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Why Meditate on Scripture? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Part One: What Does God Think of Me?
1 Knowing God as Love 21
2 Sought After, No Matter What 26
3 Knowing I Am Loved . 30
4 God’s Compassion for the Rebellious  34
5 God’s Compassion for the Outwardly Compliant  . . . . 38
Meditation Is Different from Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Part Two: Who Am I and How Do I Fit In?
6 Blessed with Every Blessing  . . . . . 43
7 One in Whom Christ Dwells . . . 48
The “Sanctified” Imagination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
8 An Identity Completely Changed . . . . 53
9 Life in the Spirit  . . . . . . . . . 58
10 Blessed to Be a Blessing . . . 63
Scripture Study and Meditation Work Together . . . . . . . . . . 68
Part Three: Living in the Reality of God’s Kingdom

11 Relying on the Kingdom of God  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
12 Relying on the Kingdom, Illustrated . . . . 74
Openness to the Spirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
13 The Hidden Yet Powerful Kingdom of God . . . . . . . . .82
14 The Hidden Yet Powerful Kingdom of God, Illustrated  . . . . . . .  87
15 The Good and Peaceable Kingdom of God  . . . . . . . . . 93
Am I Hearing God or Making Things Up?. . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Part Four: Being Transformed into Christ’s Likeness
16 Abiding in Christ . . . . . . . . . 99
17 From Gangster to Giver (. . . . . . . 105
When Your Mind Wanders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
18 Letting Go of the Old Self . . . . . 111
19 Embracing the New Self . . . . 116
20 Dying to Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
A Huge Maturity Gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Part Five: Facing Fears, Frustrations and Discouragement
21 Finding Courage in the Storm . . . . 128
Diving Board Lectio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
22 Moving Through a Fearful Journey . . . . . 134
23 Seeing Jesus in Anger, Grief and Mercy . 140
24 Moving from Cynicism to Hope  . . . . . 145
What If Nothing Comes to Me?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
25 Hearing God in the Midst of Discouragement  . . . . . . . 151
Part Six: Healing Life’s Wounds
26 Being Freed from Infirmities  . . . . . 158
27 Knowing That God Hears Me . . . . . 163
28 Are You Willing to Be Healed?  . . . . 169
Writing Your Prayers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
29 Moving from Mourning to Dancing . . . . 174
30 Receiving Jesus’ Words to Caregivers  . . 180
Part Seven: Having the Heart of Christ for Others
31 Loving Others in Truth and Action  . . 185
32 Moving from Self-Absorption to Humility  . . . . . . .  . . . 190
Meditation Leads to Transformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
33 Loving the “Stranger”  . . . . . . . . 197
34 Choosing Relationship over Judgment  . . . . . 203
35 Stepping Out in Compassion . . . . . . .  . . . 209
Part Eight: Partnering with God in Ministry
36 Cooperating with the Power of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
37 Responding to the Passion God Puts in Our Hearts . . . .. . . . 220
38 Relating to God in Failure . . . . 226
39 Drinking the Cup of Suffering  . 232
40 Doing Nothing on My Own  . . . . . 237
How to Meditate on Your Own. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Product Details

• Title : Meeting God in Scripture: A Hands-on Guide to Lection Divina
• Author: Johnson, Jan
• Publisher: Monarch Books
• Publication Date: 2016
• ISBN: 9780857218063

About Jan Johnson

Jan Johnson enjoys speaking at retreats and conferences, hoping to ignite within listeners a burning desire to know God in an authentic way and to live out a kingdom life in the daily companionship of Jesus. Unwilling to minimize the mystery of God or the human struggle, Jan presents biblical principles and characters in down-to-earth ways so that people can connect with God and become more thirsty for God. Her observations about life’s dilemmas give listeners a lot to study, ponder, and laugh about. As an author and spiritual director, Jan holds degrees in Christian education and spiritual direction, which along with many years of Bible teaching, have equipped her to write hundreds of published Bible study sessions. She is also the author of 16 books and more than one thousand newspaper and magazine articles. Jan is the author of 13 books and more than one thousand Bible studies.