Meditating On The Word Of God

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. – Joshua 1:8

Meditation is a prayerful reflection where we ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate our understanding of God’s word as Jesus did with the disciples on the Emmaus Road (They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us? – Luke 24:32). Meditation includes picturing, speaking, feeling and study, it is where the Holy Spirit use the abilities of our hearts and minds to know more about God.

The word of God is inexhaustible, no matter how many times you read it, study it, there will always be something new revealed in it.  This revelation you receive as a result of prayerfully meditating on Scripture, will allow you to see the light.  With your eyes fixed on Jesus, He grows within you and you become more like him.

When we meditate on the word of God, it is pleasing to Him and speaking from experience, it changes the dynamics of our lives.  Just think about how you feel when you take the time each day to read and delve into the meaning of the scripture.  It changes what was a mundane day to one filled with promise.

Some of my favorite scriptures deal with mediating on God’s words:

 

  • Psalm 104:33-34. 33I will sing to the Lordall my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.  34May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.
  • Isaiah 26:3 – 3You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
  • Psalm 119:11 – 11I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

 

A person who spends time in God’s word or memorizes God’s word will be thinking about parts of the bible daytime and nighttime. The Hebrew for meditate means “to ponder”.  When you are thinking about things such as “there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving”, you could ask yourself how do I know this is true? Is it really true that when I freely give from my heart it is more enjoyable than receiving gifts from people?  The bible gives you everything you need to understand what is and is not the truth.  Spend as much time as you need to gain a basic understanding of the words, then bookmark the verse for later; you’ll need to refer to it continually throughout your meditation. After you read through the passage, try reading through it again.

A simple application of this theory is to read the passage just before you go to sleep. Take time to scan through the passage and ask God to give you a thought that will help you live for Him the next day. Take this thought with you to bed.

Your subconscious mind will work on the thought while you sleep, and you will probably have the same thought in your mind the next morning. The writer of the Proverbs may be referring to this when he writes, “When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you” – Proverbs 6:22, NAS.

Take the time this new year to mediate on the word of God, there is only good that can come your efforts.   Delving into the word of God is pleasing to Him, it builds your relationship and helps you with problems that may arise in your lifetime.

 

Nurturing The Temple

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own – 1 Corinthians 6:19

 

I’d like to begin today’s message with a few questions. 1)  If you believe God’s word and truly understand this passage, wouldn’t you do a better job of taking care of your body?  OR 2) Would you like to live in a house that is filthy, hoarded with all sorts of stuff that’s best use would be the trash?  I think I know the answer to each of these questions, but let’s further explore these thoughts.  We were given a body that was so precious to God, He didn’t just speak mankind into existence, but actually formed man from the dust of the ground and breathe life into his nostrils. God breathe His spirit into humanity in a way that separates us from animals and God’s other creation, which He just spoke, and it was so.

So, now that we have this information in mind, we have to nurture what God has created.  How do we do this?

Nurture the mind – The mind is a powerful temple that holds information beyond our mindful capacity.  It is a life force, everything that we do and act on is a result of how it gets processed in our brain and filtered through our past experiences.

Stillness – To nurture your soul you need stillness – Stillness is an awareness of the inner world and consequently, the cleansing and healing of it, so that you may take it back as your kingdom, your vineyard, yourself.

Eating Healthy – Many foods, including fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and protein sources, have been shown to reduce inflammation, improve immune function, promote healing, and provide the fuel necessary for you to mend

Nurture Your Testimony of God – Allow our life to be a testimony of who we are in Christ.  Pray to God that He would help us to walk right and talk right.  We have to feed our spirit with things that uplift, not those things that open the door for the enemy to take up residence.  We must remember that what’s inside of us will come out of us.

Our bodies are a blessing from God, and it is important for us to take care of them. It is easier for us to serve others and honor God when our bodies are functioning properly. It is our responsibility to be good stewards of the body God has provided us with.

 

My challenge to you today is for you to strive every day to do what needs to be done to make sure your temple is nurtured, and it represents the Creator who took the time to make us in His own image.

Take care of your body, and your body will take care of you!!

New Year New Mind

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

How boring would be to do the same thing, every time, every day.  Never changing your way of thinking, the way you move or the way you speak.  The Lord is offering us a new outlook, not to be like everyone else but to be true to our self by changing the way we think.  Breaking free from the me-first pattern of the world and have our minds changed in order to be able understand what God wants, which will change the way we live.

What does a renewed mind look like, how is that obtained?  If someone told you to have a quiet time, you’d know what to do: read your Bible and pray. But what if they told you to renew your mind? Would you know how to renew your mind? Maybe not.  The renewing of the mind doesn’t have a clear protocol like a quiet time has. Maybe that’s because it can get scrambled by the agenda for the day.

In order for it to be a true renewing of the mind experience, our thinking needs to be transformed. And in order for our thinking to be transformed, our minds need to be fully engaged.

One of the things we need in this New Year is a renewed mind, thinking the way we have in years past will no longer suffice.  There are so many things we have to contend with, but when we renew our minds, we will be better equipped to Pray for healing and safety as well as the peace of Christ to rule and reign in the hearts of those affected the past two years by a nationwide pandemic or other tragedies that have plagued us.  A renewed mind would ask the Lord to use these things for His glory and bring revival around the world. A renewed mind would pray for supernatural protection by the blood of Jesus.

God doesn’t want us to think like the world thinks. His word is life and health, full of promises, abundance, healing, and deliverance. This is the life He wants for us. He wants us to change the way we think so you can access everything He has for us.

A renewed mind would worship, by becoming a living sacrifice to our God, giving up seeking what we want from life and learning to know and serve what God wants. That begins with using our spiritual gifts to serve each other. We must focus our expectation on those things eternal and wait with patience and prayer for our Father to provide. We must refuse to sink to evil’s level, giving good to those who harm us instead of revenge.  A renewed mind takes Philippians 4:8 to heart.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

How do you renew your Mind?

  • Study and apply the word of God – The Bible is God’s manual for us. It is a guide that will help us be successful in this world if we follow it. In order to know what the guide says, we need to study it.   Joshua 1:8
  • Control Your Thoughts – Many people think they do not have control over their thoughts. Well, the Bible clearly states that we can take captive or dismiss any thoughts that don’t align with the word of God. II Corinthians 10:5

  • Be Careful What You Feed Your Mind – We feed our minds with unintentional things which we allow in and they change us in ways that shape our lives, and we are not aware of.  What are you feeding your Mind?  Psalm 119:37

Charles H. Spurgeon writes “Whatever a man depends upon, whatever rules his mind, whatever governs his affection, whatever is the chief object of his delight is his god.”

New Year, New Mind should be our battle cry for 2022!

CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE, CHANGE THE WORLD!!

Kiss and Make-up

So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Luke 17:3

 

I struggled with how I would share today’s message. I worried. Would it require me to be too transparent?

There could have been many ways to share this reconciliation journey. One way would have been to share from the viewpoint of me as the 7th of 10 children. Because there was always a need for us to forgive one another for one thing or another and we did so many times. Today I choose to share the story of reconciling with a husband. We have been divorced for 10 years. In 2010 after many discussions and challenges I decided to leave the marriage of almost 7 years. I moved away from my husband, family, and friends. I built a life for myself away from everyone.

Fast forward to 2021, in February of this year, my son reached out to my ex-husband regarding a business venture. I hadn’t spoken to him for 10 years but as they talked my ex asked about me and told my son to tell me to call him. At first, I didn’t know why he would want to speak with me, and part of me wanted to say no. I didn’t want to relive the pain our divorce caused me, but I relented and called him. As it turns out it was the best thing I could have done. I was able to tell him all the things I had held in for all those years. He allowed me to talk about everything I had experienced because of the divorce. He allowed me to be real and often raw and because of this encounter, we have reconciled.  We are on a great path and have been seeing each other for the past 6 months. Here is where the transparency comes into play, we have literally kissed and made up. I can truly say that reconciliation is the restoration of friendly relations. That holding a grudge can end up hurting you as much as the person who inspired it.

We must remember that reconciliation is the final step in the forgiveness process, it is the “cherry on top”—an extra bonus when and if it happens. It takes two people to reconcile, but only one to forgive.

I leave you with this scripture – Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

The God Who Heals

JEHOVAH ROPHE – THE GOD WHO HEALS

“He said, ‘If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.'”

Exodus 15:26 NIV

 

Another name of God is Jehovah Rophe or Rapha, meaning “the God Who Heals,” The Hebrew word “rapha” translates to “to completely make whole, to thoroughly mend and repair.”

We’ve all needed healing at different times in our lives, whether it was physical, emotional, moral, or relational healing.  It didn’t always come easy when we tried to do it on our own.  The good news is God has been and still is here to help us; the Old Testament tells of many instances of God’s provision for healing and complete restoration.

  • Abraham prayed for Abimelech, his wife, and maids, and they were “healed” – Genesis 20:17
  • The psalmists prayed in their trouble and the Lord “healed them” – Psalms 107:20
  • My words bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body – Proverbs 4:22

New Testament also portrays the healing of Jesus

  • Jesus heals a Centurion’s Servant – Matthew 8:5-13
  • Peter’s Mother-in-law was healed– Matthew 8:14-17
  • The Woman with the issue of Blood was healed– Matthew 9:20-22

Jehovah God is the Great Physician; all creation relies on Him for existence. He has no need for anything from us to do what he does. His healing power at work leads us to discover that we are because He is.

 

PRAYER:

Dear Jehovah God, we pray that you will comfort us in our time of suffering, guide the hands of those who help us in our physical healing, and bless the means used for our cure. Give us confidence in the power of Your grace, that even when we are afraid, we trust You fully for healing in our body and in our mind.  It’s through Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!