Cross Training with Jacob's Well

Cross Training with Jacob's Well

Now that you've spent a week letting your feet take you closer to God (see Greg's spiritual practice from last week), I want to challenge you to add another layer to your training.  This week's spiritual practice involves reading the Bible...and if you're like a lot of people, you might be tempted to stop reading right now.  But stick with me!  This method of reading the Bible moves beyond all of the contextual and cultural challenges, and paves the way for you to have a direct encounter with God in a way that intersects with your life right now.  This spiritual practice is powerful in its simplicity.  Find a quiet place, light a candle if you feel like it, and then choose a passage from the Bible and do the steps listed below.  I'll give you a passage to try it on today, but there's not a right or wrong way to choose which part you read...just find a  manageable chunk (like maybe a story from one of the gospels...Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and go for it!  If you weren't at Jacob's Well Field on Sunday, try Matthew 14.22-33.  Otherwise, try Luke 7.36-50.  Here are the four easy steps:

READ the verse or passage a few times with a listening heart filled with unhurried expectations.
REFLECT on this question: "What are you saying to me in this passage today, God?"
RESPOND to this reading by honestly pouring yourself out to God.  Let God hear whatever feelings, thoughts, questions and doubts you may have.
REST in God's word by simply, deeply being in the presence of God that you have found in this experience.

Let me know how this goes for you.  I'd love to hear how God entered training with you today!  Dawn