Comments on Chapters 15-18 (Part 5- Deepening My Relationships)
from John Ortberg's The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God's Best Version of You
1. Chapter 15 speaks about inviting Jesus into our personal "holy of holies"- the space in our soul where no one else has access. Speaking of prayer, can you relate to Ortberg's frustration at not being able to be fully present when praying (ie.- being so easily distracted). Comment on his prayer coach's advice, who said to John, "simply invite Jesus to come with you". An example of this is when John invited Jesus to run with him- his conversation with the Lord started to happen naturally.
2. Invitations are important. What to you think of invitations that begin with "negativity"? See Ortberg's comment on p. 177- "any piece of paper (DAS adds 'email also') that causes distress can be an invitation to prayer, a candidate to be spread out before the Lord." Note also that "mind wanderings" may actually be an invitation to prayer as well. Have you ever seen "mind wandering" as authentic prayer prelude?
3. God uses other people to form people. God is at work in your life through other people if you open up your eyes to take notice. Take the connectedness survey at the end of this chapter (page 193). are there any insights that emerged from taking this survey; ("aha moments" or moments of thanksgiving). I would suggest taking some time to pray about the answers/insights from that survey.
4. One of the great sins of the church is that we often have a hard time being honest about human sin. It's almost as if we have to be 'cleaned up' before we arrive for some reason. Chapter 17 reminds us of the need to be 'human' and that sometimes the change we need in life will involve genuine confession of our flaws. we are often afraid of that because we are afraid of looking bad.
My favorite part of this chapter was the reality that in scripture people were not put on pedestals. Even those we consider 'great' or 'pillars' were painted with flaws. Examples were shown of serious flaws where these pillars took great steps backward in their faith (consider peter denying Jesus or stepping out in the boat) which Ortberg described as the "J curve" (page 200). The step backward is sometimes necessary in order to eventually move forward in our faith. Please comment on the section "recognize the J curve".
Have you experience the J curve in your life?
5. Chapter 18 is a difficult chapter in many ways- or at least it is for me. In this chapter, Ortberg remarks that difficult people in our lives may actually reveal how God can use them to help us become the people God is calling us to be. We may see them as roadblocks, brain drains, depressing and scary, and people who fuel our anger-- but. . ..if we can open our eyes they may teach us a great deal! What do you think of the comments from Ortberg "if God wants to grow some quality in you, he may send you a person who tempts you to behave in just the opposite way. If you need to develop love, then some unlovable people will be your greatest challenge. If you need to develop hope, maintaining it in the face of discouragers will make it strong. If you want to grow in your ability to confront a hard-to-confront intimidateor will give you serious practice." Please comment.
Also- is it humbling to admit that "we personaly may be the difficult person he is sending to shape somebody else"?
1. and 2. I've been experimenting or trying meditation over the last few months in an effort to try and focus my energies. It has much the same feel for me as prayer does many times, in that I wander! Knowing this is normal is comforting and the idea of just bringing Him along and talking on a drive is a helpful idea.
ReplyDelete3. I am lucky in that I think I have several people who could allow me to say yes to all of those questions. I think my biggest problem is really accepting that. I tend to keep most things to myself, or burden it all on my husband, which may not be all that fair either. I would like to make better use of my friends in this area.
4. I completely agree with the idea of everyone being 'cleaned up' at church. It's a shame this is the case, but it's really true. I would be reluctant to express many things in the place that I should feel most comfortable.
And yes, I liked the J curve idea. I need to remind myself of that constantly, especially when it comes to my kids. I need to expect and accept a lot more J curve in my life.
5. Yeah this is hard. I know who my difficult people are, and I'm not so great at embracing that idea. The only different thing is that I also see who I am the difficult person for. I hate it, but accept it somehow, although to be absolutely honest, if i could change this I would in an instant. I have yet to figure out how to love someone and not try and help them, even if makes me the difficult person. Even if ultimately I am in the wrong unknowingly. This is a very tough one for me.
Great recap! I've been leading this study for my adult SS class. It's a little frustrating that the book is so full of good ideas and examples, but the study guide focuses only on a sliver of the material. I like what you pulled out of the chapters. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. Glad you found this resource. If you like you might "like" our church Facebook page as I may do other books this summer. Exploring.
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Blessings