2023-01-10
Psalm 119:97 NKJV
Bible meditation is different from meditation as we know it in our society. Meditation, as popularly taught by the Eastern philosophies, tells you to empty your mind. That’s the exact opposite of what the Scriptures say! Bible meditation means filling your mind with the truth God has revealed. David was a king. Imagine the pressures and problems, demands and decisions he faced each day. Yet he said, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.”
Have you observed that we waste an awful lot of time doing mundane things such as holding on the phone, waiting in line, driving to work? In big cities, people often spend an hour or more going to work, and the same coming home. That’s ten hours a week. Forty hours a month. Four hundred eighty hours a year. That’s an extraordinary amount of time!
The question is, what are you doing with your mind during this time? Just driving along with your mind in neutral? Or listening to the radio or a CD or music on your smartphone? Or getting angry at all the drivers around you? What a great time to get your mind in gear! What an opportunity to grow spiritually and mentally!
What exercise does for your body, meditation does for your soul. The Bible says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV). A sign on someone’s office wall read: “You are not what you think you are. But what you think – you are!” If you want your life to be different, start thinking different thoughts; meditate on God’s Word!
Soul food: Isa 26-29; Luke 2:1-7; Ps 46; Prov 1:32-33
2023-01-09
Joshua 1:8 NAS
Bible meditation has fallen out of favour. Why? Because we live in an instantaneous society, and a preoccupied society. We have so much stuff coming at us from TV, cell phones, email, texts, snail mail, satellite links, cable news feeds, and podcasts that we hardly have a moment to react – much less reflect.
Get real! You can’t “download” spiritual maturity by hitting a few keys on a computer. That’s why the Scriptures speak so often about meditation. God, the author of the Bible, gave Joshua the formula for succeeding in your career and prospering in whatever you put your hand to: “This Book of the law shall not depart from your mouth [speak the Scriptures every chance you get], but you shall meditate on it [when?] day and night, so that you may be careful to do [not just know, but do!] according to all [you can’t pick and choose] that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (v. 8 NAS).
Note the words “you will make.” To succeed in life, you must do something. Do what? Meditate in God’s Word! How often? “Day and night.” So what portion of Scripture were you thinking about this morning as you started your day? Or while driving to and from work?
For that matter, when was the last time you consciously reflected on any Bible truth or principle? If you can’t remember, start making some changes right away. Paul told Timothy: “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all” (1 Timothy 4:15 NKJV). And that’s still the rule!
Soul food: Isa 22-25; Luke 1:67-80; Ps 42:6-11; Prov 1:28-31
2023-01-08
Isaiah 28:13 NKJV
Let’s take this meditate-percolate idea a step further. (If you’re a tea drinker, substitute the word “brew.”) Maybe this will help you ease into meditation instead of feeling overwhelmed by the thought that you don’t have the time or discipline to do it. This is not an all-or-nothing challenge. Take small steps. If you have only ten minutes, maximize each one of them. You don’t have to read ten chapters of your Bible. You’re not doing a book report for school, and you’re not going to be graded on a test.
Read this verse and it will help you: “But the word of the Lord was to them, ‘precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little'” (v. 13 NKJV). God’s Word is so rich with truth that you can take one phrase or one idea and let it percolate and brew in your mind, whether you have ten minutes or two hours. Instead of watching TV or constantly checking your iPhone for messages, just sit still, drink your coffee or tea, and let God’s indwelling Spirit interpret, enlarge, and enrich His Word as you roll it over and over in your mind. Think about it during your drive time, or your lunch or coffee breaks.
Some days you will feel like you have hit the jackpot spiritually; other days you will just feel like you have added a little more to your basic Bible knowledge. Consistency is the key. Do this for one year, and you will have 365 scriptural insights to draw on. Can you see how this could change your life for the better?
Soul food: Ecc 11:7-12:1; Acts 9:1-25
2023-01-07
Colossians 3:16 NKJV
Meditating in Scripture is one of the great keys to spiritual growth. In Psalm 1, David writes, “In His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2 NKJV). But the word “meditation” is not one that a text-and-Twitter generation relates to very well. We imagine sober-faced monks wearing hair shirts and chanting on bended knees as the sun comes up every morning. As a result, we want to run in the opposite direction.
We admire such people, think God has to call us to such a thing, and conclude that He certainly hasn’t called us to do it. Or we think meditation is a discipline that requires hours of uninterrupted time, and time is the one thing we don’t have any more of. And the result? We live busy but spiritually barren lives.
Some of us actually think meditation is a fine thing, but we believe that there are too many other areas of spiritual growth and character development we need to work on first. What’s the problem?
We don’t understand what it means to meditate, or the rich benefits it will give us. A spoon of instant coffee is okay if you just want the basic taste of coffee. But if you want more – if you want to enjoy the flavours of the coffee in all their richness – you have to let it percolate. So, we could paraphrase the Scripture this way: “In His law he percolates day and night.” That is what Paul meant here: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” Today, enjoy the aroma, taste the flavour, and experience the strength.
Soul food: Isa 17-21; Luke 1:57-66; Ps 42:1-5; Prov 1:20-27
2023-01-06
Genesis 50:21 KJV
If you have read the story of Joseph, you realise he had every reason to be angry, bitter, and vindictive for the despicable way in which his brothers treated him. But what does he do? He doesn’t get enraged and he doesn’t even get even. He helps Egypt, the land that enslaved and falsely imprisoned him, to survive famine. He feeds his family when they come begging for food. He forgives, and in doing so, he is freed from his negative emotions. He resolves the issues of the past, does not allow them to deter his destiny, and stays in the favour of God.
As second-in-command in Egypt, Joseph held the power of life and death over those who had hurt him. Yet he told them: “Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them” (vv. 20-21).
We all have emotional reactions in our relationships; the problem isn’t the anger or the disappointment – unless you are controlled by your emotions. Anytime anger causes you to damage the things God has given you charge over, your emotions are being mismanaged. You give territory to the devil when you fail to manage your anger. “‘Don’t sin by letting anger control you.’ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27 NLT).
So the word for you today is – learn to manage your emotions.
Soul food: Isa 12-16; Luke 1:39-56; Ps 10:12-18; Prov 1:17-19
2023-01-05
Genesis 37:9 NIV
Joseph had two dreams, and the second was bigger than the first. His first dream was a field of sheaves; the second dream was a sky full of stars. So the word for you today is – dream one size bigger! Henry Curtis said: “Make your plans as fantastic as you like, because twenty-five years from now they will seem mediocre. Make your plans ten times as great as you first planned, and twenty-five years from now you will wonder why you did not make them fifty times as great.”
There is only one way to keep growing: make your goal a step beyond what makes you comfortable. That will force you to keep growing! And it will also set you up to believe God for greater things.
Most people want their lives to keep improving, yet they value peace and stability at the same time. They forget that you can’t improve and stay the same. Growth means change, and that means challenging the status quo. Thinking “possible” means you can’t settle for what you have now. There will always be people around you who want you to give up your dream and embrace the status quo. Love them, but don’t be led by them.
As you begin to believe God for greater things and others try to throw cold water on you, remember that right now, as you read this page, other people around the world are thinking about curing cancer, developing new energy sources, feeding the hungry, improving the quality of life, and winning whole nations for Christ. They are bucking the odds and challenging the status quo – and you must, too.
Soul food: Isa 8-11; Luke 1:26-38; Ps 10:1-11; Prov 1:10-16
