"Hope for Lousy Evangelists"

As we approach our focused celebration of the resurrection, we might find more opportunities to share the gospel. I found this podcast episode  "On Overcoming Fear in Personal Evangelism" to be encouraging. It is from the "Pastor's Talk" podcast (by 9Marks), but it is not aimed mainly at pastors.

Here is the description of the episode:

As Christians, we know we should share the gospel, but many of us feel discouraged—either about our lack of evangelism, or the lack of fruit from our evangelism. What can we do about this? Where can we lousy evangelists find hope?

Methods of Meditation

Meditation can sound quite mystical to some people. Biblical meditation is, as Don Whitney puts it, "deep thinking on truths and spiritual realities revealed in Scripture for the purposes of understanding, application, and prayer” (Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 48). The question is, how do we do this deep thinking?

Below is a list of some methods and practices that might help you slow down, read carefully, and think deeply about what you see in God's Word. There is nothing magical in these methods. They are simply ways to help you meditate. Click here for a downloadable pdf version.

Methods of Meditating on Scripture

An adapted summary of the methods of meditation on Scripture taught by Don Whitney

1. Repeat the verse or phrase with emphasis on a different word each time (reflect on what each word adds to the meaning and possible applications).

Whatever He says to you do it (John 2:5).

Whatever He says to you do it.

Whatever He says to you do it.

Whatever He says to you do it.

Whatever He says to you do it.

Whatever He says to you do it.

2. Rewrite the verse or phrase in your own words.

3. Look for applications of this text – what should you do in response to it?

4. Formulate a principle from the text.

5. Pray through the text.

6. Ask the Philippians 4:8 questions.

What is true or what truth does it exemplify?

What is lovely about it?

What is honorable about it?

What is admirable or commendable about it?

What is right about it?

What is excellent about it?

What is pure or how does it exemplify purity?

What is praiseworthy about it?

7. Ask the “Joseph Hall” questions [abbreviated by me].

What is it (define and/or describe what it is)?

What are its qualities and attachments?

What are its divisions or parts?

What is contrary, contradictory or different to it?

What causes it?

What compares to it?

What does it cause (its fruits and effects)?

What are the testimonies or examples of Scripture about it?

8. Discover a minimum number of insights into the text (set the number in advance).

9. Find a link or common thread between all the chapters of paragraphs you’ve read.

A few additional methods I’ve used over the years

1. Write out each phrase of the verse separately and spend time making your own “commentary” on it, including word meanings, logical connections, applications, questions you have, etc.

2. Write a poem reflecting the beautiful truth you observed in the passage (your poem might not be great, but it is an expression of the beauty you see and experience). Ex. You might do this with the “I am” statements of Jesus. Study them in depth. Then write a poem expressing one facet of the reality.

3. Write out the verse in a way that attempts to show its structure (main points and supporting points). You might also use spacing, underlines, capital letters, and various colors to emphasize things.

Isaiah 41:10

FEAR NOT

                For I am with you;

BE NOT DISMAYED

                For I am your God

                I will  strengthen you

                I will  help            you

                I will  uphold       you

                                With my righteous right hand

Warm Yourself at the Fire of Meditation

Why do we often leave our time of Bible reading just as spiritually dull as when we first sat down? I suppose there are several possible answers to that question.* For now, I want to consider one such reason. Thomas Watson captured it well when he wrote, "The reason we come away so cold from reading the word is, because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation” (Quoted by Don Whitney in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 49). Let me define meditation and then come back to consider Watson's point.

What is meditation? I found Don Whitney's definition helpful. Meditation is "deep thinking on truths and spiritual realities revealed in Scripture for the purposes of understanding, application, and prayer” (Whitney, 48).  Meditation is not an emptying of the mind but a filling of it with God's thoughts which we find in his Word. And this takes mental effort. We must think deeply about what we read. The goal of all this is being made happy in the Lord as we know more of him and his ways and apply what we read. We don't want to be those who simply glance into the mirror of God's truth and walk away. Instead, we want to stare into it intently and deal with the problems it reveals in us (James 1:22-25).

Watson's illustration of warming ourselves at the fire of meditation is thus an apt illustration. If I read the Bible, I might just walk past what it says. Like a person walking past a blazing fireplace in the winter, I feel the warmth, but I am not warmed by it. I am not defrosted. Meditation is sitting in front of the fireplace on a freezing morning and letting the warmth of God's word penetrate the whole body. It works the warmth of the word into the bones.

So, if you find yourself leaving your Bible reading with a spiritual dullness, perhaps the solution is making time to meditate on the Word. Maybe you add 10 minutes to your morning devotional time to do this. If you can't prioritize an extra 10 minutes, perhaps you substitute 10 minutes of your reading the Bible for 10 minutes of meditating.

The point is, we need to not only read the Bible but to enjoy the sweetness of God's word. We want to say with the happy Psalmist, "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Ps 119:103). And this will only happen as we meditate on Scripture. "Reading Scripture is like collecting pollen. Meditating on it is like making honey" (Bruce Waltke quoted by Kelly Kapic in A Little Book for New Theologians, p 118). To elaborate on this illustration, Thomas Brooks wrote, "It’s not the bee’s touching of the flower which gathers honey—but her abiding for a time upon the flower, which draws out the sweet. It’s not he who reads most—but he who meditates most, who will prove the choicest, sweetest, wisest, and strongest Christian." If we don't make time to meditate, then we won't leave refreshed.

I'll plan to post some suggested methods of meditation (all borrowed of course) to help you get some ideas of how to meditate effectively. So, be on the lookout for that.


*Other reasons for leaving our time of reading the Bible with a spiritual dullness could include things like: Not being a child of God, being physically exhausted, not being a good reader, walking in unrepentant sin, etc.. 

CS Lewis on Pride

In God, you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that - and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison - you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.

CS Lewis in Mere Christianity, quoted by Kelly Kapic in A Little Book for New Theologians, pg. 73.