Celebration of Discipline (Richard Foster) This paper presents a critical ana

Meditation is said by Foster to consist of contemplative thought focused on God's Word. It's entire purpose is to hear from God and obey His lead. It is this focus on faithfulness to hearing and obedience to what is heard from God that is said to distinguish Christian mediation from eastern meditation which has a focus of reaching a more "cosmic" consciousness.

The Biblical foundation for meditation is that of reaching Jesus who even now speaks for us and acts on our behalf. He is alive and still performing miracles. As we allow Him to teach us, rule over us, and guide us, He changes our inward personalities conforming us to think as He thinks and behave as He would behave.

According to Foster, there are different forms of meditation but all of them should be thought of as natural, simple and easy to perform rather than as some complicated process only "spiritual giants" can accomplish. The different forms of meditation discussed by Foster are: (1) Meditation on scripture wherein one analyses some passage from the bible; (2) Re-collection meditation which involves centering the mind and releasing all to God; (3) Meditation on creation in which one contemplates the glo

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e to make sure that submission does not become destructive. Acts of submission inform about what or who we are to submit. Examples provided by Foster include submission to: God, Scripture, and to our family, neighbors and the community. Also, we should submit to the needy and to the world. Here submission arises out of a sense of compassion for the plight of others. Discipline # 8: Service Service emphasizes being of help and assistance to others. This includes being of help not only with the momentous or important matters but also with their more trivial and mundane concerns. Foster cautions against human-initiated service noting that true service comes through divine guidance. This form of service is unconcerned with ego boostings because one has served another; nor is affected by moods or whims. It is a lifestyle rather than any given action or actions. The discipline of service brings the grace of humility, transforming worldly or carnal desires. It rids the emotions of pride and arrogance. It is transforming. To fruitfully engage in the discipline of service, Foster states that we free ourselves of the fear that others will taken advantage of us. This freedom comes with the understanding that our service is
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Approximate Word count = 4184
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page)