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Brennan Manning Conference | 1/23/99 |
What a blessing! Tonight was spent at a church conference with speaker and author Brennon Manning. All in all, it was a wonderful faith-building experience. This summary doesn't do justice to actually being there, but I hope you will find it a blessing.
We began with contemporary Christian music for a time of worship. Then Brennon spoke some inspiring words and shared some of his personal experiences. He is well aware of his own human frailty. He stressed hope for us all in the future. Here are some of the points that I remembered:
- Realize that God is love and you are the one He loves--"the beloved". 1 John 4:7-16
- Trust in God's love for you as you are. Believe that God truly likes you despite what mistakes you've made. Accept your sinfulness and hereditary faults. Believe that God forgives your sins.
- Spend time alone with God to grow and find your real identity. Pray "Jesus, help me to discover the truth about myself no matter how beautiful it is." This can be called (jokingly) conscientiously "wasting time" with Jesus or "holy loitering". It's an important part of our lives that can help us grow in graces and fruits of the spirit.
- As a goal, try to spend 20 minutes alone with God before breakfast and 10 minutes in the evening before dinner. This time can be in prayer and Bible meditation. Let God speak to you and learn to listen.
All 1000+ people scattered around the church for 30 minutes of solitude where we contemplated various scriptures and prayed. Following are some Bible verses suggested for personal meditation. You will find them enlightening and uplifting. Get a Bible and go to a place to be alone to look them up:
Isaiah 43:1-5
Matthew 14:22-32
Romans 8:28-39
1 John 4:16-19
Isaiah 54:6-10
John 15:9-17
Hebrews 4:14-16
Psalm 103
We took time to share thoughts and pray in groups of six where we discussed two questions: (1) Where are you on your spiritual journey? and (2) Where do you need help?
The evening ended with a prayer that tonight you will fall asleep in the peace of Jesus and awake in the morning with the joy of salvation in your heart.