Skip to main content

Lectio Divina



There is a practice in the Benedictine monastic circles called "Lectio Divina." The point of this practice is to read God's Word (The Bible) and let it speak to you as the Living Word. What can happen is that the Scriptures can become relevant to you in a way you never imagined and you can receive an interpretation or explanation from the Holy Spirit that no one has gotten before!

I believe in Lectio Divina. While I revere the Holy Fathers who wrote the Four Gospels, Acts, and Epistles. I believe the same God, who is the Same revealer of all Truth and wisdom back then is revealing things to his people today! The radical truth is that St. Peter and St. Paul are no different from any follower of Christ today. I know, I may have just have alienated or ruffed feathers, but hear me out before offense takes root. What makes St. Peter and Paul special is their proximity to Incarnate Christ. Peter walked with Jesus in the flesh, while Paul had vision and expanded the Church all the way to Rome. But the same Holy Spirit that dwells in them dwells in us and subsequently can teach us and reveal the deep mysteries that baffle those who reject the Spirit.

I believe the canonized Bible is God breathed and has 99% of the answers regarding the Christian walk. However I believe 1% is reserved for the Jesus and The Holy Spirit to reveal to us the answers to the 99%! We have a direct link to the divine and can with His help devise the answers to questions that have baffled theologians and confused Christians throughout the centuries. To do this, we must study God Word (The Bible) and let the Lord's Spirit reveal as we reveal the spiritual realities and revelations hidden in parables and in even simple and straight forward words.

I was saddened the other day when I saw someone who was so intent to meet a priest and be taught. I wanted to say as St. Peter did, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God's special possession." (1 Peter 2:9). The concept that we need these special priests who go to Bible college and are ordained comes from the Levite priests of the Old Testament! Every Christian is a royal priest because the High Priest of Melchizedek dwells inside us (1 Corinthians 6:19, Romans 8:9) and His name is Jesus Christ! (Hebrews 7:17)

For Jesus was speaking about us when he said to His Disciples  on Resurrection Day, "Yes, you believe because you see me, but more blessed are those who believe without seeing." (John 20:29). There is a blessing upon us followers of Christ who believe without seeing. And yet, the Lord is kind and will reveal much to those who are his disciples of this day and time.

Lectio Divina divides into four practices. Firstly  there is "Lectio" which means read. Then "Meditatio" which means meditate on the reading. Then "Oratio" which means pray or speak the Word. Then finally "Contemplatio" which means contemplate the Word. Reading the Word of God can fall into deep study where like scholar you look up scriptures in Lexicons, or it can mean to read it simply and let it soak in your soul. meditating on the Word of God is the process of letting the words be "written on your heart and mind," (Hebrews 8:10, Hebrews 10:16). Praying the word of God can be powerful, for the enemy could not prevail against Jesus in Wilderness when He would say, "It is written.." (Luke 4). Additionally, praying the word or orating/reading aloud the word has an effect that just reading silently does not. For hearing learners it helps to read aloud, but the Word of God is powerful and to speak it is to invite the Lord's presence. Finally, contemplating can range from one word to a short sentence or paragraph. It is when something catches your attention, moves you, and you find your thoughts drawing back to that verse and those words.


I encourage every follower of Christ to read the Bible daily and let the Lord through Lectio Divna reveal to you something that will build your spiritual life, open your eyes, and even be a word to share with others. The Word of God is alive! It speaks because it comes from the Lord (Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Israel’s Conquest of Canaan: The Nephilim and Giants

  Christianity Today asserts that the conquest of Canaan can be a “stumbling block” for believers. This probably is because of a foolish idea of comparing it to a modern conquest happening in our world. The truth is that God had Israel conquer Canaan because it was ruled by evil giants, “We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers 13:33). These are Anakim or Nephilim, the children of angels and human women, “When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God (angels) saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. The...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dispensationalism

John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) was a man who did two things, he took 70th week of the Book of Daniel and stretched out to the End Times, and he was the father of  Dispensationalism , a belief system that God dispenses different peoples with separate blessings and covenants. According to Darb'ys doctrine of Dispensationalism, God dispenses different covenants. There are total of seven dispensations that divide the history of man: I. Dispensation of Innocence (prior to the Fall, "Do not east of the Fruit of Good and Eve, Eden), II. Dispensation of Conscience ( You must assuage guilt and sin with blood sacrifices.) III. Dispensation of Human Government (Multiply and Subdue the world, example the Tower of Babel Gen 11:1-9, and Genesis 1:28). IV. Dispensation of the Promise (Dwell in Canaan, Jerusalem) V. Dispensation of the Law ("Obey the Law of Moses and the Prophets"). VI. Dispensation of Grace (The Church, Jesus Christ has come...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jesus’ Name in Aramaic

There has been a trend to render Jesus’ name Hebrew, יֵשׁוּעַ , Yeshua. The problem is neither Christ nor his apostles, nor the Jews in 30-33 A.D. spoke Hebrew, they spoke Aramaic. A ramaic is the oldest language on earth and was the language Jesus spoke. In fact, the oldest Old Testament is the Septuagint a Greco translation around 132 B.C.E. (165 Years Before Christ)that was translated from Aramaic. The Masoretic Text, The Hebrew Old Testament most Bibles use, dates from 7th to 10th Century A.D. (Medieval Times).  This translation does not cross reference with the words of Christ in the New Testament which are Aramaic and Koine Greek.  If the Aramaic was what Jesus spoke, then by what name would have been called? Jesus’ name in Aramaic is Isho or Eesho, spelled ܝܫܘܥ . That is the name of our Lord in Aramaic! He would have heard his name in this dialect, “Hail Isho or Eesho!” as well as the Greek, Ἰ ησο ῦ ς , Iesous.  Aramaic is disappearing, only a few peop...
Post a Comment
Read more