And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke 9:29-31 (read verses 28-50)

INTRO: Do you find it irritating when non-Christians try to explain, define, or describe Christianity?

– inevitably they miss something important and usually it is the essence of knowing Jesus
– they make this mistake because they stand outside of Christianity and are trying to prove a point

It is equally irritating when some Christians try to define contemplative prayer
– because they stand outside of it, they have only a superficial understanding of it
– that is why their observations sound nonsensical to those who take waiting on God seriously
(For example, “The purpose of contemplative prayer is to enter an altered state of consciousness in order to find ones True Self, thus finding God”) Continue reading →

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.  Matthew 15:26-28

What a cold response this woman received from the Lord when she first approached him, “This gift I have is not for you. You do not belong to the right race, because I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” His words are chilling because the way we have come to know Jesus through the Scriptures is that he is for everyone and anyone. The promise of God is open to “whoever believes in Him” (Jn. 3:16). But in this instance, Jesus ignored the woman because she was a Gentile.

Then what? Continue reading →

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.  Matthew 15:17-18

In our previous meditation in Matthew, we heard Jesus expose the way Pharisees and scribes neutralized the moral commandments of the law while spiritualizing and meticulously following ceremonial traditions. Jesus broke away from the mind-set of his religious culture so he could help his followers recover the will of God for their lives. Continue reading →

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread? Matthew 15:1-2

One of the most difficult obstacles to education is a student’s prejudice. The nature of prejudice is such that it is hidden from those who hold it. They do not realize their prejudice is merely a point of view, but take it to be reality. So to be  educated contrary to their prejudice, they must permit their reality to be broken down so it can be rebuilt in a form that is closer to the truth. Continue reading →