by Dries Cronje on May 26, 2009
I recently listened to an audio version of Eugene Peterson’s Eat this Book. It’s excellent work (as we’ve come to expect from Eugene) and I can highly recommend it to anyone serious about the bible. Much of what I discuss here I learned from that and similar books.
Lectio Divina, or spiritual reading, is an ancient discipline that we (the church) have lost somewhere along the way. We approach the bible with our own agendas in mind, like ‘What can I learn?’, ‘How can I change, or get over this?’, or ‘What is God’s will?’. However, the bible is God’s living Word. We shouldn’t just read it, but allow it to read us. We should approach it on God’s terms and we should allow God to reveal Himself to us and allow his Holy Spirit to work on us through what we read. [click to continue…]
by Dries Cronje on May 21, 2009
Thelma Hall writes in her excellent little book, Too deep for words: rediscovering Lectio Divina…
For the prospect of transformation to a life of love has for us the intimation and attraction of an ultimate truth: it is in the surrender of my false self with its claim of full autonomy, and in letting love become the dynamic central reality of my life, that my true self will be most fully realized. But this means beginning to follow Jesus along a path which must take me in a direction directly opposite to my instinctive self-oriented choices. It is “shifting my center,” away from my self, to self-giving, in love. This is precisely Jesus’ meaning — that I only discover who I am and possess my true identity by “losing myself” for his sake.
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by Dries Cronje on May 12, 2009
I play golf. And… sometimes my fellow followers of Jesus frown on this with remarks like “It’s a game Freud would have played.” Nonetheless, as someone who always fared better at solo sports, I find great enjoyment, relaxation, and inspiration in the game of golf.
Imagine this scenario… You want to start playing golf, and knowing that I play golf, you come to me and ask me how to go about this game. I reply, “It’s simple. Just visit your nearest course, walk up to the first tee box, place your ball on the tee, and hit the perfect drive down the middle of the fairway. Then, take your four iron, and hit an approach shot that lands really close to the flag. All that now remains is to tap the ball into the hole for a birdie, and to play the other seventeen holes in a similar fashion.” [click to continue…]
