Lectio divina is a practice of Scripture reading that treats the Bible not only as a text to be examined, but also as the living Word of God spoken anew to us. Traditionally, Lectio Divina has four separate steps: read; meditate; pray; contemplate. Experienced Bible teacher Jan Johnson presents forty Scripture meditations organised topically, giving us the tools we need to practice Lectio Divina on our own. Each meditation can be used both individually and in group settings, and includes: An introduction to the meditation encouraging a time of quiet preparatory exercise; the complete passage from Scripture with explanations, context, and background to the text, help to enter and absorb the text; space to contemplate the passage, respond to God in prayer and rest in his presence; and an exercise to implement the ideas of the passage in our daily lives. Meeting God in Scripture moves us beyond merely understanding what the text meant in its original context to a direct spiritual encounter with Christ.

40 guided scripture meditations practising the Lectio Divina on the theme of knowing Christ deeper.

__Contents__  
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11  
Why Meditate on Scripture? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20  
__Part One: What Does God Think of Me?__  
1 Knowing God as Love 21  
2 Sought After, No Matter What 26  
3 Knowing I Am Loved . 30  
4 God's Compassion for the Rebellious 34  
5 God's Compassion for the Outwardly Compliant . . . . 38  
Meditation Is Different from Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . 42  
__Part Two: Who Am I and How Do I Fit In?__  
6 Blessed with Every Blessing . . . . . 43  
7 One in Whom Christ Dwells . . . 48  
The "Sanctified" Imagination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52  
8 An Identity Completely Changed . . . . 53  
9 Life in the Spirit . . . . . . . . . 58  
10 Blessed to Be a Blessing . . . 63  
Scripture Study and Meditation Work Together . . . . . . . . . . 68  
__Part Three: Living in the Reality of God's Kingdom__

11 Relying on the Kingdom of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69  
12 Relying on the Kingdom, Illustrated . . . . 74  
Openness to the Spirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80  
13 The Hidden Yet Powerful Kingdom of God . . . . . . . . .82  
14 The Hidden Yet Powerful Kingdom of God, Illustrated . . . . . . . 87  
15 The Good and Peaceable Kingdom of God . . . . . . . . . 93  
Am I Hearing God or Making Things Up?. . . . . . . . . . . . 98  
__Part Four: Being Transformed into Christ's Likeness__  
16 Abiding in Christ . . . . . . . . . 99  
17 From Gangster to Giver (. . . . . . . 105  
When Your Mind Wanders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109  
18 Letting Go of the Old Self . . . . . 111  
19 Embracing the New Self . . . . 116  
20 Dying to Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121  
A Huge Maturity Gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127  
__Part Five: Facing Fears, Frustrations and Discouragement__  
21 Finding Courage in the Storm . . . . 128  
Diving Board Lectio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133  
22 Moving Through a Fearful Journey . . . . . 134  
23 Seeing Jesus in Anger, Grief and Mercy . 140  
24 Moving from Cynicism to Hope . . . . . 145  
What If Nothing Comes to Me?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150  
25 Hearing God in the Midst of Discouragement . . . . . . . 151  
__Part Six: Healing Life's Wounds__  
26 Being Freed from Infirmities . . . . . 158  
27 Knowing That God Hears Me . . . . . 163  
28 Are You Willing to Be Healed? . . . . 169  
Writing Your Prayers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173  
29 Moving from Mourning to Dancing . . . . 174  
30 Receiving Jesus' Words to Caregivers . . 180  
__Part Seven: Having the Heart of Christ for Others__  
31 Loving Others in Truth and Action . . 185  
32 Moving from Self-Absorption to Humility . . . . . . . . . . 190  
Meditation Leads to Transformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196  
33 Loving the "Stranger" . . . . . . . . 197  
34 Choosing Relationship over Judgment . . . . . 203  
35 Stepping Out in Compassion . . . . . . . . . . 209  
__Part Eight: Partnering with God in Ministry__  
36 Cooperating with the Power of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214  
37 Responding to the Passion God Puts in Our Hearts . . . .. . . . 220  
38 Relating to God in Failure . . . . 226  
39 Drinking the Cup of Suffering . 232  
40 Doing Nothing on My Own . . . . . 237  
How to Meditate on Your Own. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242  
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243  
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Jan Johnson

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

Why Meditate on Scripture?

Part One: What Does God Think of Me?

1 Knowing God as Love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

2 Sought After, No Matter What (Luke 15:1-7)

3 Knowing I Am Loved (Isaiah 43:1-7)

4 God's Compassion for the Rebellious (Luke 15:11-24)

5 God's Compassion for the Outwardly Compliant (Luke 15:25-32)

Meditation Is Different from Application

Part Two: Who Am I and How Do I Fit In?

6 Blessed with Every Blessing (Ephesians 1:3-14)

7 One in Whom Christ Dwells (Ephesians 2:13-22)

The "Sanctified" Imagination

8 An Identity Completely Changed (Luke 8:26-39)

9 Life in the Spirit (Romans 8:1-11, 14)

10 Blessed to Be a Blessing (Genesis 12:1-5; 21:1-7)

Scripture Study and Meditation Work Together

Part Three: Living in the Reality of God’s Kingdom

11 Relying on the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:10, 25-34)

12 Relying on the Kingdom, Illustrated (Daniel 6)

Openness to the Spirit

13 The Hidden Yet Powerful Kingdom of God (Matthew 13:24-32, 36-40)

14 The Hidden Yet Powerful Kingdom of God, Illustrated (2 Kings 6:15-23)

15 The Good and Peaceable Kingdom of God (Isaiah 11:1-9)

Am I Hearing God or Making Things Up?

Part Four: Being Transformed into Christ’s Likeness

16 Abiding in Christ (John 15:1-11)

17 From Gangster to Giver (Luke 19:1-10)

When Your Mind Wanders

18 Letting Go of the Old Self (Colossians 3:1-11)

19 Embracing the New Self (Colossians 3:12-17)

20 Dying to Self (John 13:1-14)

A Huge Maturity Gap

Part Five: Facing Fears, Frustrations and Discouragement

21 Finding Courage in the Storm (Mark 4:35-41)

Diving Board Lectio

22 Moving Through a Fearful Journey (Psalm 91)

23 Seeing Jesus in Anger, Grief and Mercy (Mark 3:1-6)

24 Moving from Cynicism to Hope (Psalm 27)

What If Nothing Comes to Me?

25 Hearing God in the Midst of Discouragement (1 Kings 19:3-18)

Part Six: Healing Life’s Wounds

26 Being Freed from Infirmities (Luke 13:10-17)

27 Knowing That God Hears Me (Mark 5:24-34)

28 Are You Willing to Be Healed? (John 5:1-9)

Writing Your Prayers

29 Moving from Mourning to Dancing (Psalm 30)

30 Receiving Jesus' Words to Caregivers (Mark 9:14-29)

Part Seven: Having the Heart of Christ for Others

31 Loving Others in Truth and Action (James 1:19-27)

32 Moving from Self-Absorption to Humility (Philippians 2:1-16)

Meditation Leads to Transformation

33 Loving the "Stranger" (Luke 10:25-37)

34 Choosing Relationship over Judgment (Luke 6:36-38; Matthew 5:43-48)

35 Stepping Out in Compassion (Luke 7:11-17)

Part Eight: Partnering with God in Ministry

36 Cooperating with the Power of God (Ephesians 3:14-21)

37 Responding to the Passion God Puts in Our Hearts (Nehemiah 1–2)

38 Relating to God in Failure (Matthew 14:22-33)

39 Drinking the Cup of Suffering (Matthew 20:20-28)

40 Doing Nothing on My Own (Proverbs 3:5-8)

How to Meditate on Your Own

Acknowledgments

Notes

40 guided meditations on scripture practising the Lectio Divina with exercises on the theme of knowing Christ more deeply.

Lectio Divina - Latin for 'Divine Reading' - is a practice of Scripture reading that treats the Bible not only as a text to be examined, but also as the living Word of God spoken anew to us. Traditionally, Lectio Divina has four separate steps: read; meditate; pray; contemplate. Experienced Bible teacher Jan Johnson gives us forty Scripture meditations organised topically, giving us the tools we need to practice Lectio Divina on our own. Each meditation can be used both individually and in group settings, and includes: An introduction to the meditation encouraging a time of quiet preparatory exercise; the complete passage from Scripture with explanations, context, and background to the text, help to enter and absorb the text; space to contemplate the passage, respond to God in prayer and rest in his presence; and an exercise to implement the ideas of the passage in our daily lives. Meeting God in Scripture moves us beyond merely understanding what the text meant in its original context to a direct spiritual encounter with Christ.

Jan Johnson is a US writer, speaker and spiritual director with degrees in Christian education and spirituality. She has written seventeen books, including Enjoying the Presence of God, When the Soul Listens, and many magazine articles. She is also a frequent retreat and conference speaker.

Meeting God in Scripture

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