The Big Step (3 Options)
You are my son, whom I love.
- Mark 1:1
This is my son, whom I love.
- Mark 9:7
In the four Gospels, we do not hear the voice of Almighty God very often. Just twice. And God says the same thing both times - it’s a blessing on Jesus, about his belovedness.
We don’t have this information available to us, but it’s not hard to imagine that these words from Almighty God were spoken to Jesus throughout eternity as a sort of mantra that Jesus could hear and internalize, which would have shaped his soul thoroughly.
Our goal with learning scripture this week is to allow it to be that sort of blessing mantra for our souls. So we meditate on it (or, ‘interiorize’ it) - allowing it deep into the core of our being where we define ourselves. The past couple of days we’ve reflected on our need to be healed from the unhealthy mantras we’ve learned and have chosen into the path of healing. There’s no quick fix on this journey (those verses cited above were at least a couple of years apart, for example, demonstrating that Jesus’s process of receiving the blessing occurred over a long period of time), but there’s definitely ways to move forward.
Three Options
To move forward on this path of healing, these are three ways you might consider taking. You may start with one and over time add another. It’s best to start small and build on it.
“Read the stories of Jesus” (These were the last words that Pastor Jason Brown spoke over City Church before his departure in 2016). Spend time each day in the Gospels - either reading or listening to the stories about Jesus in the Gospels. Let his character, his practices, his values, his power flood you over and over and over again on this journey of being formed to become more like him.
Lectio Divina - this is the ancient practice of ‘holy listening’ when you allow time and space for God to speak to you through scripture. One of our favorite resources is the Pray As You Go App - download it and listen to their gentle, 10-14 minute devotion each day. There’s some scared music, plenty of quiet to reflect, and a couple of good questions to direct you.
Pick a scripture or two to internalize. Ideally, it would be a passage that would dismantle whatever unhealthy mantras you’ve got running in the background of your mind. Plan some regular times (when you wake up/lunch time/sunset/bedtime) to reflect on those scriptures, letting them deep into your heart and soul.
You’ll probably want to practice each one of these intentionally for at least a year (yes, a year) before really evaluating whether it’s “working” or not. And it may be helpful to have a friend or two on the journey with you to share your joys and successes, your sorrows and failures.