I
equip people to serve God and others in a way that is both fruitful and sustainable. I do this through teaching, writing, and coaching. This newsletter is part of that work.
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1. Personal Update
2. FEATURE ARTICLE: Meditation and Contemplation for Christians
3. Video: How we Grow Spiritually
4. Quote of the Week
5. How to Share -- and Sign Up for this :-)
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As I'm writing this, people are living on the edge of uncertainty about how the coronavirus pandemic will play out in the next few months. Schools are wrestling over plans for re-opening in the Fall, and many in larger cities are planning to do so only online. Many people are anxiously watching the trends of virus diagnoses, hospitalizations, and deaths, and wondering what will happen when the coronavirus blends into the cold and flu season.
As I wrote previously, my mom (who lives in a nursing home) was diagnosed with COVID19. We are very thankful that, after dealing with moderately severe symptoms, she has fully recovered! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.
I'm thinking a lot lately about how to help people experience spiritual transformation. That's what we need right now ... desperately! Our natural, human, sinful tendency, during times of stress and uncertainty, is to shrink back into our small self -- or old self -- which is characterized by fear, self-absorption, addiction, and anger. People are living on edge, with "hair triggers" that get set off by the slightest annoyances or disagreements. Social media, of
course, is as toxic as ever.
I hope, in the midst of all this, that you can find times, places, and people who can be islands of sanity and renewal. God is here with us, even though sometimes His ways are hidden, and presence is not obvious. I hope this newsletter helps.
Be blessed!
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“If you feel like it's time to level up your game, and make a bigger difference -- this book will show you how. Mark is someone who knows what he's writing about. He's lived it, and he's helped equip leaders around the world to maximize their impact.”
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- Paula Rizzo
Media consultant, former Fox News producer, author of "Listfully Thinking"
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2. FEATURE ARTICLE: Meditation and Contemplation for Christians
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"The end of study is information, and the end of meditation is practice, or a work upon the affections. Study is like a winter sun that shines, but warms not: but meditation is like a blowing upon the fire, where we do not mind the blaze, but the heat. The end of study is to hoard up truth; but of meditation to lay it forth in conference or holy conversation."
- Thomas Manton
"In place of our exhaustion and spiritual fatigue, God will give us rest. All He asks is that we come to Him...that we spend a while thinking about Him, meditating on Him, talking to Him, listening in silence, occupying ourselves with Him - totally and thoroughly lost in the hiding place of His presence."
- Charles Swindoll
It’s time to rescue the practice of meditation for Christians today. It’s time to be clear that meditation is not only for practitioners of Eastern religions — it’s something Christians have been doing for centuries.
Scientific articles seem to be coming out daily that demonstrate the benefits of meditation, and it makes sense why people are so interested in this practice today. We live in a stressful, media-saturated, anxiety-producing world! We need to learn how to still the mind and “find rest for our souls” if we are going to survive — let alone thrive in — our over-crowded lives. And meditation helps us to do that.
The good news is the Bible — and historical Christian practice — shows us exactly how to establish habits like meditation, contemplation, and what Christians in the Eastern Orthodox tradition call “the prayer of the heart.” The bad news is that these practices seem to have been abandoned by the Western church in the past several hundred years. Now we have a situation where contemplative practices have almost exclusive associations with Eastern religions,
and many Western Christians seem suspicious of them.
This is a tragedy. And it poses a huge danger for the well-being of the Church — and its members — today.
I’m becoming a major fan of the book, “ Into the Silent Land,” by Martin Laird. The book draws on historical Christian tradition to talk about the spiritual practices of silence, prayer, and
contemplation … practices which now seem to be only accessible for practitioners of Easter religions (mindfulness and meditation). Oh what a huge loss if Christians fail to embrace these practices!
What follows is an extended quote from the book:
“The practice of silence, what I shall call ‘contemplative practice’ or simply ‘practice’ cannot be reduced to a spiritual technique. Techniques are all the rage today. They suggest a certain control that aims at a certain outcome. They clearly have their place. But this is not what contemplative practice does. The difference may be slight but it is an important one.
“A spiritual practice simply disposes us to allow something to take place. For example, a gardener does not actually meditatgrow plants. A gardener practices certain gardening skills that facilitate growth that is beyond the gardener’s direct control. In a similar way, a sailor cannot produce the necessary wind that moves the boat. A sailor practices sailing skills that harness the gift of wind that brings the sailor home, but there is nothing the sailor can
do to make the wind blow. And so it is with contemplative practice, not a technique, but a skill. The skill required is inner silence.
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3. Video: How We Grow Spiritually
I shared the following video earlier this summer, but it's really important -- and I think people missed the earlier link to it -- so I want to share it again. In this case, I'm linking to a few seconds in, to eliminate part of the introduction. I talk about insights I've gleaned from the
writings of Jeanne-Pierre de Caussade. I tell the story of how his writings came to be, and then explain why I think they're so valuable. Enjoy ...
"When the solution is simple, God is answering."
- Albert Einstein
4. How to Share ... and Sign Up for This Newsletter
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Please feel free to send this newsletter along to someone who might like it. Obviously you can just forward this email ... you can also send someone a link to the newsletter archive:
Or ... here's a link to a quick sign-up form:
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I write and speak at events as director of Renew Resources. I also am leader and teacher at Bethel Church in Princeton, MN. If you're ever in the area, come join us on a Sunday morning! Places to find my writing:
The Recovery Journey
Check out my 90 Day program for starting (or renewing) your recovery from sexual addiction / compulsion called "The Recovery Journey". There's also a special program for the partners of addicts. Also check out my other Audio Product:
Read my latest book:
"Leaving Your Mark Without Losing Your
Mind"
This book focuses on the innate need we all have to make a difference with our lives ... and what gets in the way. Building a life of meaning and purpose is essential for our happiness, but many people get sidelined because of stress, overwhelm, and discouragement. This book will help you find strategies to overcome those challenges (and others).
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