Simple Kingdom Theology

I was first introduced to Lectio Divina a little less than a year ago in a college class on prayer. Since then, I have used Lectio Divina to move from intellectual knowledge about scripture into an encounter with the Divine One. Lectio Divina is Latin for “Divine Reading” and is a practice which combines prayer and scripture reading. This method of meditating on scripture is rooted in the Benedictine order of Catholicism, and it emphasizes reading the word of God to know the one who is the Word (John 1:1). In his letter to the Romans, Paul wonderfully illustrates the heart behind Christian prayer which consequently is also the heart behind Lectio Divina. Romans 8:26–27 Paul states:  Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of Go...

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, For the sake of your steadfast love and faithfulness," (Ps 115:1–2) In the year 1610, Galileo Galilei was looking through his telescope and noticed that Venus has full phases of orbit similar to the moon. This observation led him to discover the common understanding today that the earth revolves around the Sun. Galileo had the realization that the planet he lived on, with him included, was not the proposed center of the universe. Sometimes I think we can spiritually be in a place similar to 1609. Maybe I am alone in this, but I love being in control. I love having power and being complimented on the individual skills I hold. Does it not feel good to win a competition? The throne of power is immensely tempting to sit on. However, I know for sure two things happen when I sit on it. First, I view myself more highly than others, an...

Last week, Eric Blessing devoted his post to the Incarnation of Jesus; he looked specifically at the opening prologue of John's Gospel, which is perhaps the greatest presentation of the Incarnation that we find in Scripture. However, John's prologue is not the only place in which the Incarnation is discussed in detail in the New Testament. The Text As Paul is under house arrest, he pens a letter to the community of believers in Philippi. After establishing the preliminaries of his letter (i.e., a greeting [1:1-2]; a prayer and thanksgiving for the Philippians [1:3-11]; and an explanation concerning his own circumstances [1:12-30]), Paul dives into the heart of his message at the outset of chapter 2. He exhorts the Philippians to "[d]o nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves" (2:3), and to look out for "the interests of others" (2:4). The foundation of Paul's commands in these two verses is...