Lectio Divina: Part 12
To be walked through the practice of Lectio Divina for this scripture, click the play button above.
If you are going to do this practice on your own, there are 4 movements in Lectio Divina as you read a scripture portion 4 times through.
1. Listen…for a word or a phrase as you read, that catches your attention.
2. Apply…how does that word or phrase apply to your life today.
3. Respond…to God’s invitation to you.
4. Rest (1 Thessalonians 5:24)
May you hear God’s voice speak to you today.
1 John 3:18-24 (Message)
18-20 My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.
21-24 And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.
For more in this series and on Lectio Divina, click here.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
