This week's focus has been on Luther's suggested "rules" for meditating upon the Scriptures and growing in understanding of them and God's work. These three rules are prayer, which asks God to show His intention and meaning, meditation, in which we read and reflect upon what the word or section of Scripture means, and then the struggle, when we discover that we don't do what God says, don't like it, or are tempted to downplay, thinking that God cannot really be that serious. This is when we truly begin to discover how different God is and thinks as opposed to us.
Today, I simply want to present two thoughts. The first is how important it is that we don't confine ourselves to this practice all by ourselves. God created people to be in community with one another. He even works by His Spirit to give insights into His Word that may not occur to us on our own. For this reason, God's people gather together to share in what God says and how they see that working out in their lives.
Next, I want to challenge you to practice this on a small part of God's Word. I have been practicing these three rules on the words of Psalm 4. I suggest that you choose a similarly short text, and simply follow these three rules. It may only take a few minutes a day, but practice it for a week. See where God's Spirit guides your thinking. See what thoughts and struggles come to mind. If you would like, feel free to share them through the blog here.
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