The dross is being removed so that you are ready ...

You are the message of victory to the people you encounter.

The burning before the moving ...

Your fresh alignment will yield greater works IN Him!

Turnaround ... out of the wilderness

This is an interesting thought in light of my circumstances ...

Release God's Open Heaven!

 See yourself through God's Eyes ...

The unfolding of your destiny...

The season of transition and change ...

Our next series will simply be one thought-provoking image daily - 

initially from the website of Doug Addison ...

dougaddison

My life is a little out of kilter at the moment!

Sorry! I missed this introduction to our next series!

Personal revival and refreshment ...

Please pray for Trevor who is currently in the Concordia Hospital ER being treated for a 'heart attack' suffered last evening.

Meditations—points to ponder

When we read with the heart, we slow down, breathe deeply and read 

thus following a long and time honoured approach to the sacred text called Lectio divina: 

Latin for spiritual or divine reading. Lectio divina means listening to the text of Scripture—

really listening—being yielded and still; submitting to the text; allowing its message 

to flow into us rather than our attempting to master us.

It means ...

·         Reflecting on the text: permitting ourselves to become fully engaged 

(mind and heart) by the drama of the passage …

·         Praying the text: allowing the Biblical reality of this with-God life give rise 

to our heart cry of gratitude or confession or complaint or petition …

·         Applying the text: seeing how God’s Holy Word provides a personal word for our life circumstances …

·         Obeying the text: turning, always turning, from our wicked ways and into the way everlasting …

Psalm 139:23–24 (The Message) — 23 Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about; 24 See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life.

In this with-God kind of life, we see in the Bible the very life to which we are called.

 It is exactly the life Jesus is referring to when He declares ... 

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. [John 10:10b]

The Spiritual Disciplines are the God-ordained means by which each of us is enabled 

to bring the individualised power-pack we all possess—the human body—

and place it before God as a living sacrifice …

Romans 12:1 (The Message) — 1 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: 

Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—

and place it before God as an offering. 

Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.

By this process we become, through time and experience, the kind of person 

who naturally and freely expresses ...

Galatians 5:22–23 (The Message) — 22 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, 23 not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way.

Richard Foster with Kathryn Helmers Life with God: a life-transforming new approach to Bible Reading pp12-13

John 15:5 (The Message) — 5 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. 

Separated, you can’t produce a thing.

Meditations—points to ponder

Our practice of the Spiritual Disciplines is kept on course by our immersion in Scripture. 

It is that this reading, studying, memorizing and meditating 

is totally in the service of the life that really is life…

1 Timothy 6:19 (NRSV)  thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation 

for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

1 Timothy 6:19 (The Message)  If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, 

gaining life that is truly life.

We long with all our hearts to know for ourselves this with-God life that Jesus brings in all its Fullness. 

We will discover the Footprints of God in our daily existence—

we will venture out with God into areas where we have previously walked alone or not at all. 

The aim is not external conformity (whether to doctrine or deed) 

but the re-formation of the inner self—of the spiritual core, 

the place of thought and feeling, of will and character ...

Richard Foster with Kathryn Helmers Life with God: a life-transforming new approach to Bible Reading p10

Psalm 51:6 (NRSV)  You desire truth in the inward being; 

therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Psalm 51:10 (NRSV)  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

2 Corinthians 4:16 (NRSV)  So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature 

is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16 (The Message)  So we’re not giving up. How could we! 

Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, 

on the inside, where God is making new life, 

not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.

Meditations—points to ponder

The Bible is all about human life with God. It is about how God made this with God life 

possible and will bring it to pass ... Immanuel—God with us. 

This title given to Jesus reflects that He is the One and Only Redeemer because it refers to God’s everlasting intent for human life ... i.e. that we should be a dwelling place of God.

The various stories of God’s interaction with His chosen people illustrates how 

the with God life works in all circumstances of human existence. 

This mosaic suggests a beautiful design for the way in which we view the Scriptures. 

The Immanuel Principle is a cosmic principle that God has used all along

 in creation and redemption. 

It is the wellspring of the River of Life flowing through the Bible surging 

with the gracious words of God to all humankind I am with you. 

This River pours into the thirsty wastelands of the human soul inviting us to enter 

with its insistent call Will you be with Me?

Richard Foster with Kathryn Helmers Life with God: a life-transforming new approach to Bible Reading pp6-9

Ephesians 3:17 (NRSV) and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, 

as you are being rooted and grounded in love.

Ephesians 3:17 (NLT) Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. 

Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

Meditations—points to ponder

There are multiplied millions of people who say, sincerely, 

that the Bible is the guide to life but who still starve to death 

in the presence of its spiritual feast. 

The source of this problem lies in the fact that too many people study the Bible 

for information or knowledge alone and/or seek a formula 

to solve a pressing life-problem.

What we must face up to about these two common objectives for studying the Bible 

is that they always leave us or someone else in charge. 

In fact, they are simply ways of controlling what comes out of the Bible 

rather than entering the process of the transformation of our whole person 

and of our whole life into Christ-likeness. 

If we want to receive from the Bible the life with God that is portrayed IN the Bible, 

we must be prepared to have our dearest and most fundamental assumptions 

about ourselves and our associations called into question.

Richard Foster with Kathryn Helmers Life with God: a life-transforming new approach to Bible Reading pp4-5

2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT) — 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

Meditations—points to ponder

The purpose of this learning to live with God is to transform us into the likeness 

and character of Jesus. God’s everlasting intent for human life 

is that we should be in every aspect a dwelling place for God. 

We are, in God’s time and in God’s way, to be set free from the list in 

Galatians 5:19-21 and we are in God’s time and in God’s way to take on 

the spiritual fruit of Galatians 5:22-23.

This is an inner process of transformation. 

The heart is deeply and surely healed, restored and redirected by God alone. 

Old affections of hate, guilt and envy are simply gone. 

New affections of faith, hope and love are in their place. 

Love, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit seem to flow from us—

simply and naturally—supernaturally in fact.

Q: How does such a transformed life come into being?

Through vision; intention and means—these three operating under the Grace of God 

will immerse us in a life that is penetrated throughout by love, 

that responds to everything in the light of God’s overriding governance for good, 

that has Power to overcome evil with Christ-likeness. 

We will increasingly live the with God life. 

Living the with God life will see us catch the vision of …

Isa 43:19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

But the intrinsic power and greatness of the Bible does not make it easy for us 

to receive the LIFE it offers. 

We must grasp the Bible for it to be adequate to our needs.

Richard Foster with Kathryn Helmers Life with God: a life-transforming new approach to Bible Reading pp2-3

Jeremiah 15:16 (NRSV) — 16a Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; …

Meditations—points to ponder

Scripture identifies two types of life: (i) bios—the physical, created life; and 

(ii) zoë—the spiritual eternal life. 

Likewise there are two types of death: (i) teleute—physical death; and 

(ii) thanatos—spiritual death. 

Thus it is entirely possible for a person to be physically alive (bios) 

whilst being spiritually dead (thanatos).

But the salvation that is in Jesus Christ immerses us into the hidden reservoir 

of Divine Love and Power.

 Jesus declares that LIFE = zoë ...

John 10:10 (NRSV) — 10b … I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

1 John 5:11 (NRSV) — 11 And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, 

and this life is in his Son.

Romans 5:10 (NRSV) — 10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, 

will we be saved by his life.

LIFE! LIFE! LIFE! It is all about life- imperishable, unceasing zoë. This is the en route to our Destination. We must seek out this life, pursue it, turn into it—

because there is also a principle of death within us—which stems from the fall. 

Therefore we must be constantly saying yes to life and no to death. 

We must always be discerning Life-giving actions and attitudes 

from those that are death-giving.

Richard Foster with Kathryn Helmers Life with God: 

a life-transforming new approach to Bible Reading Preface

John 11:25 (NRSV) — 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,

Today we begin a new series authored by Richard Foster one of the outstanding leaders 

and writers of books relating to prayer and spiritual formation.

I invite you to check out his website at

https://renovare.org/people/richard-foster 

It is a plethora of rich resources for you to explore.

Meditations—points to ponder

Just as God was saying in ancient times, He is saying today: 

I am with you in all the love, terror, pity, pain and wonder that is your life. 

I am with you ... are you willing to be with Me? 

This is the Immanuel Principle—the dynamic of spiritual transformation 

intertwining divine action and human reaction. 

As we allow the Scripture to lead us into the process of transformation, 

we discover that it is not a matter of religious beliefs and behaviour. 

Rather we are entering into a dynamic, pulsating life!

When Paul writes in Col 3:3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

He uses a very specific word to identify the secret of our life hidden with Christ in God—Zoë—the eternal, uncreated life that originates in God alone.

Richard Foster with Kathryn Helmers Life with God: a life-transforming new approach to Bible Reading Preface

Colossians 3:3 (NRSV) — 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:9–10 (NRSV) — 9b … seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10 and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.

Meditations—points to ponder

The 'lost' must be willing to hear of and recognise their own ruin before they can 

find how to enter a different path—the path of eternal life

 that leads into spiritual formation in Christ-likeness. 

Spiritual formation is not something that may or may not be added on 

to the gift of eternal life as an option. 

Rather, it is the path that the eternal kind of life should naturally take. 

It is not a project of ‘life enhancement’ to one’s current without God lifestyle … 

rather it is the process of developing a different kind of life—

the life of God Himself—sustained by God as a new reality 

in those who … have confidence that Jesus is the Son of God …

John 20:31 (ESV) — 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name.

... and are caught up in Christ’s life, 

in what He is doing by the inward gift of new birth,  …

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) — 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

The old stuff no longer matters 

for here in this new creation is the radical goodness 

that alone can thoroughly renovate the heart.

Dallas Willard Renovation of the Heart—putting on the character of Christ p15

Romans 5:5 (NRSV) — 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Meditations—points to ponder

Paul is describes lost people in his letters. 

We’re not lost because we are going to wind up in the wrong place … 

we are going to wind up in the wrong place because we are lost. 

To be lost means to be out of place. 

When we are lost to God we are not where we are supposed to be in His world 

and hence are not caught up into His Life. 

We cannot participate in His very great Promises …

2 Peter 1:4 (ESV) — 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Essentially, 'lostness' causes us to be our own god and our god can’t help us. 

When we are lost to God we are lost to ourselves—

we do not know where we are or how to get where we want to go. 

The lost in Christian terms are precisely those who mistake themselves for God. 

They falsely identify and cannot recognise what is closest to them—

namely themselves. Then, as we have noted, they really do think 

they are in charge of life … 

although admittedly, to manage it successfully they may have to bow outwardly 

to this or that person or power … but they are not in charge 

and they have no confidence in the One Who really is God.

Dallas Willard Renovation of the Heart—putting on the character of Christ p12-13

Romans 1:20–21 (NRSV) — 20 Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; 21 for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.

Meditations—points to ponder

Paul describes in Romans 1 the progressive departure from God 

that leads to life as we know and see all around us. 

Human beings have always known (and still do) that there is a God 

and have had some degree of understanding of Who He is and what He is like …

Romans 1:19–20 (ESV) — 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

The first Commandment deals with this inclination away from God …

Exodus 20:2–3 (ESV) — 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

In a world apart from God the power of denial is absolutely essential 

if life is to proceed. The will or spirit, psychologically cannot, sustain itself 

for any length of time against what it clearly acknowledges to be the case. 

Therefore it must deny and evade the truth and delude itself.

Paul’s inspired insight into the root of human evil, 

'there is no fear of God before their eyes', 

must never be forgotten by anyone who wishes to understand spiritual formation.

Dallas Willard Renovation of the Heart—putting on the character of Christ p9-10

Romans 3:18 (NRSV) — 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Meditations—points to ponder

You begin to get smart when you acknowledge God for Who He is and fear 

being on the wrong side of Him! Intelligent people recognise that 

their well-being lies in being in harmony with God and what God is doing. 

Knowledge in biblical language never refers only to what we today call

head knowledge, but always to experiential involvement with what is known—

to engagement with. 

Thus when Jesus defines the eternal life that He gives to His People as …

John 17:3 (ESV) — 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

He is speaking of the grace of constant, close interaction with God that Jesus brings into the lives of those who seek and find Him.

Dallas Willard Renovation of the Heart—putting on the character of Christ p8

Hebrews 11:6 (NRSV) — 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.