How do you communicate with God? This spring quarter the Young Adult Sunday morning class is going through John Ortberg's book "An Ordinary Day with Jesus." The first session was titled Living in Jesus' Name and brought up the idea that we are called to live our daily ordinary life with Jesus in mind.
Colossians 3:17 (God's Word) Everything you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Part of the deal is to realize that God is ever present in our 24/7 lives even though we often miss seeing him (think: the two men on the road to Emmaus and how they did not recognize Jesus although he was right there with them). An exercise that Ortberg believes is helpful is to review the events of the day in our mind before going to sleep. I thought it was a very practical idea and so below is the exercise for you to try. Let me know if it is helpful to living your ordinary life in Jesus' name.
Review the Day with God
1. Be still and quiet your mind of distracting thoughts.
2. Acknowledge Jesus' presence and invite him to guide you.
3. Recall the beginning of the day when you first awoke and review that scene as if on video. What is your reaction to it? Talk to God about you reaction.
4. Do this same review going from scene to scene through out that day and reflect on each one (some scenes may fill you with gratitude and others with regret). Whatever your reflection reveals to you talk to God about it and those involved.
5. End your review by thanking God for his mercy and love and ask him to refresh you with a good night of sleep.
Two results should come to anyone who does this exercise:
. You will become aware of any recurring negative patterns that will
--cause you to grow tired of the regrets
--increase your desire to mature and change.
. You will begin to be awed by His presence in the ordinary moments of your life.
Roger, over and out!
2 comments:
Meditating with God. Never thought about it before, but it sounds like something to try out. I will let you know how things go. BTW I am so glad that the Army has decided that yours and Tuck's blog are not a threat to national security. I miss all of you. Still working on returning to Eustis. Talk to you soon.
I've done it a couple of times now and have found it to be a good thing to do. Now, it seems the first thing i think about is God and not myself. Not too shabby for starters.
Len, it is good to hear from you and i and excited that you are doing fine and looking to returning to the Denbigh area. We miss not only you but your family too! Friday night group is not the same without you guys. I trust Anna Caroline and Abby are well.
Take care and let God work through you in your service.
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