Devotional Engagement with the Word

David Holmes

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Prepare your heart for the Word to minister.

Notes

Transcript

Isaiah 55:6–11 6 “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

General Engagement with the Word

The Bible has personal importance to us

If we really believe it is the word of God, it motivates us to want to know it so we can apply it to our lives

Jesus is the living Word, which is to say that he is the living embodiment of what we find in the Scriptures

John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

There are various ways we engage with the Word

Reading

Preaching

Bible Study

Exegetical

Topical

Biographical

Devotional Engagement

God’s Word is like a seed

Luke 8:11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”

It’s growth depends on the condition of the soil

God wants his Word to connect with our hearts

Deuteronomy 32:2 “My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:”

Devotional engagement with the word: the intent is for your spirit to be nurtured and cultivated by the Word of God.

Engagement of the heart with the Scriptures, and what God would want to speak to us.

Lectio Divina (Divine Reading)

Lectio Divina is a ‘traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase knowledge of God’s Word.’ ~ Wikipedia, “Lectio Divina”

Treats Scripture less like texts to be studied and more like a conversation to participate in.

Latin

Silencio (Prepare)

1 Kings 19:11–12 “11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”

Lectio (Read)

Read aloud if possible.

Meditatio (Meditate)

Psalm 1:1–3 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Oratio (Pray)

The book of Psalms is full of prayer

“You said”

Contemplatio (Reflect)

Alliterative English

Read

Reflect

Respond in prayer

Rest in silence

Conclusion

Isaiah 55:1–5 “1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. 4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. 5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.”

Isaiah 55:6–11 “6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Still the noise of life and prepare your heart to engage

Better to sit with a small passage than skim through a large one.

Treat Scripture as a conversation - talk back to God.

Let the word marinate in our hearts and shape our will and desires.

We become living epistles rather than just trying to ‘do’ the Word.

Let God’s word shape our nature, and we will ‘be’ Christian witnesses as a result.