TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 17,
2013.
MEDITATION
DEFINITION:
Continued or extended thought;
thoughtful and careful contemplation; devout religious or spiritual
introspection.
SCRIPTURE:
Finally brethren, whatever things are
true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are
pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there
is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.
Philippians 4:8.
But the way of the righteous is in the
law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2
The book of the Law shall not depart
from your mouth, but you shall meditate in 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
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
When you are out walking, riding the
bus, driving the car or just sitting and relaxing, where does your mind wander
to? Are you thinking about all your problems, family issues, all the work
stacked up on your desk, someone or something that annoys you, envy, jealousy
of someone who has something that you do not have, the frustration of traffic
and the aggressive drivers who are always cutting you off or just plain day
dreaming? You, no doubt, have a list of your own.
These verses that we have listed above
remind us to meditate on God's Word day and night. This means thinking about
what you read in the Bible. Of course, you must first read God's Word before
you can meditate on it. Please do not pass over this statement. Again we say
--- as a believer you must read the Bible each morning before you can meditate
on it during the day. How else can God speak to you? Each day after you read
the Bible take a few minutes to think about what you have read and apply it to
your life. As you meditate ask yourself how the life you are living stacks up
against God's principles that you have read about. You cannot miss His
principles because they are on every page of the Bible. You need to take a hard
look at what changes you need in your life.
After the death of Moses, Joshua became
Israel's leader and had the responsibility to lead two million people to the
Promised Land. God spoke to Joshua and reassured him that just as He had been
with Moses, He would be with him. In Joshua 1:8 (as written above) God gave a
commandment to Joshua to be obedient to God's law and instructed Joshua to
meditate on God's Word day and night. God expects the same from us today.
Most believers would agree it is
important to read God's Word but many do not really meditate on the Word of God
and think about how it applies to their daily life. When you read God's Word do
you take time to really understand what you have read and reflect on what God
is saying to you? God speaks to us through His Word.
Our thoughts have a profound influence
on the way we live our lives. What we allow to occupy our minds will sooner or
later come out in what we say or do. If we dwell on our anger eventually we
will erupt with angry words or even worse with angry actions. If our thoughts
are evil our deeds will be evil. Our thoughts reflect our character and
meditating on God's Word will make a difference in our thinking, our attitudes
and our actions.
Paul, before he found Christ as his
Savior, had allowed his hate for those who believed in Jesus to drive him to
persecute them and to have them thrown into prison. Paul well understood how
thoughts influence what we do and how they determine the kind of person we
really are. If you want to change your life, Paul after he found Jesus, offers
a solution as to how to change our thinking. In Philippians 4:8 (above) we are
given his list of things that will lead us to a God honoring thought pattern
which will lead to a positive change in how we live our lives. When we have God
in our life and we are meditating on His Word, God changes "things"
because He changes us.
Just think how your outlook on life
might change if you would spend your time meditating day and night on God's
Word instead of worrying about all the things that are troubling you.
Would your life style change? Would your
thinking change? What would happen to all your problems in life? What role
would worry play in your life? How would your family treat you and how would
you treat your family?
The Apostle Paul tells us that we are to
spend our time thinking on things that are pure, noble, just, lovely,
praiseworthy and things of good report. Your life will change if you would
meditate day and night on these things.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found
in Luke 9:23.
And He was saying to them all, “If
anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross
daily and follow Me.”
PRAYER:
Help me today to learn how to meditate
on Your Word and make my heart receptive to Your instruction. Thank You for
changing my thought patterns so that I can think on those things that honor and
glorify Your name.
