Day: July 15, 2015

Categories
Devotional Resources

Devotional Guide: Comfort

VISIO DIVINA – DIVINE SEEING

HEARING God’s Word, SEEING God’s Word, PRAYING God’s Word

The term, visio divina, is Latin for “divine seeing.” The practice of the visio divina is a method of connecting God’s Word with God’s creation using visual arts.

Theme: Comfort

"Come to me...and I will give you rest"
“Come to me…and I will give you rest”

Scriptures: Psalm 126; Isaiah 40:1-8; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7; Matthew 11:25-30

Suggestions for how to practice the visio divina

  1. Place the name of God on your forehead by making the sign of the cross and saying, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
  2. Pause for a few moments with your eyes closed and take five to ten deep breaths.
  3. Look at the picture and take notice of any figures, shapes, colors or textures appeal to you.
  4. Read one of Scriptures under the picture. It is helpful if you use the same Scripture for a few of days (there is no hurry to finish the visio divina). Do not read the Scripture for the purpose of study, but let it speak to your heart. Take note of the emotions as well as the thoughts this passage brings to mind.
  5. Connect the Scripture to the picture. Are there common or uncommon elements between the two? Are there godly desires that you find rising to the surface of your thoughts? What is God revealing to you about who you are, about who God is?
  6. Now pray the Scriptures and picture using what you have discovered during this visio divina time.
  7. Finish by saying (if you use the visio divina in the morning), “May God order and direct my day through Jesus Christ according to his word, ” or (if you use the visio divina at night), “Grant me, O God, a restful night in Jesus Christ according to your word.”
  8. Either go about your daily routine, or lay you head on your pillow in peace.

If you like to write, you might consider journaling your thoughts.

Click on the picture to view a larger version.

God bless this journey of divine seeing.

Copyright Douglas P. Brauner

Categories
Podcasts

PWTE Episode 005: United in Purpose

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of the Praying With The Eyes podcast Pastor Jeffrey Meinz and I interview Ricardo Hildago of Pucallpa, Peru about his work among the indigenous people on the Ucayali River, a tributary of the Amazon. Ricardo equips, trains and sends people as missionaries and pastors to remote villages on the Ucayali. As you listen to this podcast you will gain greater insight into what motivates Ricardo for this work, the challenges that are ahead of him, and what mission trips like ours means to this ministry. In the opening segment of this podcast I discuss a blog I wrote entitled, United in Purpose.

Ahuaypa, Peru
Ahuaypa, Peru

This is the picture for today’s podcast. The building in the background is the church that our team helped build. Our basic tasks were to put up the siding and help pour the concrete floor.

Our trip to Peru was sponsored by Lifetree Adventures. Click on this Lifetree Adventure link to find out more about their ministry and the places to which they travel. I highly recommend using Lifetree if you are thinking about such a mission trip.

 

untitled (145 of 624)This is a picture of Ricardo as we were carrying supplies into the Shipibo village of Ahuaypa.

Link to the blog, United in Purpose

Scripture:

Here is a link to episode 004

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

United in Purpose

Ahuaypa, Peru

Though complete unity among Christians will not be experienced until Christ returns, we are called to strive toward this unity now.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:11-13 New Living Translation

For some reason we think that divisions among Christians are recent phenomena, or at least the result of the Reformation in the 16th century, when in reality these struggles with unity date back to the book of Acts.

Ahuaypa, Peru
Ahuaypa, Peru

We see the first century Christians wrestling with unity in Luke’s account of this fledgling community, especially as it affected the relationship between Jewish and Gentile Christians.

This battle for unity continued through the early centuries of the church. There were divisions between churches in the east and west. There was division between bishops and their congregations. Councils were held in an attempt to bring unity.

These divisions were often caused by the same thing that separates Christians in the 21st century. They were divided over how to understand the Bible, especially as it relates to the person and work of Jesus.

I’m much more comfortable living with these divisions today than I was earlier in my pastoral ministry because I know the day is coming when God will unite his people ask we are gathered to him on the day of resurrection.

Yet, God calls us to strive after unity even if we might not realize it now. We are called to pray for unity and work toward unity with the Scriptures and message of the cross standing front and center.

My recent trip to Peru was a lesson in this struggle for unity. We built a church building together. We sang together. We prayed together, though in different languages. It would have been easy to let our differences separate us, but the purpose of proclaiming Christ in a remote village on the Ucayali River brought Christians together with different cultural backgrounds.

Ultimately, unity is not something we create, but a gift of the Holy Spirit. Even today, it is our faith in the crucified and resurrected Lord that brings us together.

May we celebrate this unity of purpose even as we anticipate the day when nothing will divide us in the body of Christ.

Copyright Douglas P. Brauner