Posted on 01/18/2011 11:27:13 AM PST by wmfights
In a few days we’ll discard the old calendar and open up a new one. We’ll get used to a new date when we write our checks, and last year will soon be a memory. Time marches on, but one thing remains constant — the Word of God.
Those of us who are serious about Christian living are always looking for some new technique or truth that will make us stable, mature Christians. We have all read books with titles such as: The Secret of the Deeper Life. We’re hoping to find a shortcut, some effective way to become holy in a hurry. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had an infusion of spiritual power during our sleep? Then we could wake up in the morning and be spirit-filled Christians without any effort at all.
But right living depends on right thinking. And right thinking demands discipline. If we are serious about growth in the Christian life, we have to experience what Paul called “the renewing of our minds.” And that can only happen through a determination to receive God’s Word into our hearts. And that takes effort.
Our mind shapes our life —“as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” As the saying goes, “You aren’t what you think you are, but what you think, you are.”
Stay with us as we investigate the power of Scriptural meditation and how it can change our life this year.
Without the discipline of meditation it is not possible to grow in our Christian experience. Just think of what the Bible can do for you if you absorb its contents into your mind.
“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners. Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3).
What are some of the benefits of meditation? First there is stability. “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.” As you visualize this tree in your mind, notice that it has the signs of life in the midst of drought. Where did the fruit come from? “By His own will He begat us by the word of truth” (James 1:18). In other words, the spiritual life that gives us stability was implanted in us by God. His Word begat life and that’s why we become so different from our surroundings. The same Word of God that created the heavens, created the life of God in our hearts.
Also, this tree has stability because it has deep roots. Horticulturalists tell us that the roots beneath the ground are the same size as the trunk and branches above the ground. A tree that has its roots firmly planted beside a stream can withstand the winds of adversity. In fact, the more powerful the wind, the deeper the roots.
When the wife of a friend of mine was dying of cancer, he accepted this tragedy with a sense of calmness and peace. His wife endured such excruciating pain that not even the doctors wanted to treat her. So I asked my friend, Tom, the secret of how the both of them were able to handle the anger and anxiety that normally accompanies terminal illness. He told me that he would read the Bible to his wife, page after page; then they bought the New Testament on tape and played the Word of God in their home throughout most of the day. In his own words, “The Word of God squeezed out the fear, the anxiety, and the anger from our lives.”
“A tree planted by the rivers of water.”
A second benefit of scriptural meditation is fruitfulness. “A tree that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.” What is fruit? Fruit is the expression of an inner nature. You don’t have to be a horticulturist to recognize an orange tree; just look for oranges. Apples grow on apple trees and pears on pear trees. The fruit that God seeks in our lives is the expression of His inner nature—love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance, faith, etc. Fruit cannot be manufactured; it can only be grown.
Notice that the fruit is seasonal — the tree “brings forth his fruit in his season.” Although we like to see results overnight, fruit is a process. The season in which we need love means that love is available; when we need joy, it in turn should be available.
And of course, growth needs both sunshine and darkness. During the day trees derive energy from the sun; at night the energy is conserved and the tree given rest. Similarly, we need periods of sunshine and darkness; times of encouragement as well as pain.
Thankfully, the fruit we bear is lasting. Jesus said that we can “bear fruit that remains.” When we die, we will have something that will survive into eternity. And apart from bearing such fruit, there is no other purpose in life. That’s why Christ said that those branches that did not bear fruit were thrown into the fire and burned.
Of course such fruitfulness demands pruning. The sharp knife cuts back the twigs and the leaves in order to increase the strength of the branch. You see all the waste lying on the ground, and you can’t help but think of the pain the branches endured. But all this was necessary that the true fruit might be manifest.
Third, there is perseverance. “His leaf also does not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Even when the drought comes, the tree planted close to the stream can survive. When we are between jobs; when we have been unjustly fired; when our expectations have been dashed to the ground — even then our leaf can continue to stay green. When we are disappointed by our friends; and when we have had to live with broken promises — even then we have inner strength to cope.
We can even survive the hail and the final windstorm. When the doctor tells us things about ourselves that we thought could only be true of someone else; when our children bring us news that we hoped to God we would never have to hear — even then God is with us.
Survival is possible when we stay close to the stream. And the stream is there even when the climate changes. The person who has found hidden resources can survive. I called a friend of mine who is in a difficult marriage and asked him how he was doing. He responded, “All that I can do is persevere.” That, my friend, can only happen because he has found inner resources to cope with the outward pressures.
Those are the benefits of meditating in the Word, but how do we do it? It is not true to say, “A chapter a day keeps the devil away.” Often we can read the Bible and forget what we have read. D. L. Moody said that when he hoed potatoes he always had to mark how far he had come because he did such a poor job that his work was not noticeable. In the same way we have to mark our Bibles because we forget what we have read.
Two words come to mind when I think of meditation. The first word is mull which means “to ponder, to think about.” When we read, we must ask the text questions: What does it teach me about God? What does it tell me to do? What thought can I take with me for the day? Unless we answer such questions and take some thoughts with us for the day, very probably we have read it in vain.
In Europe a couple bought a jewelry box that they were told would glow all night. When they brought it home, they were disappointed because it did not seem to glow at all. Then they sought a friend who was able to read French and told them that the instructions read, “Put me in the sunshine all day and I will glow in the night.” They discovered that the box was as good as the promises made about it. The truths that we absorb into our minds and hearts will stick with us throughout the day if we absorb God’s promises and principles.
Second, we must memorize the Scriptures. Many people think they can’t memorize, but of course they can. Imagine if someone were to say to you, “I will give you $100 for every verse that you memorize next week.” We might be surprised at how much Scripture can be memorized by any one of us. We can begin by memorizing the Psalms, or select verses that relate to temptations and problems that we encounter in our lives.
If our problem is anxiety, we memorize verses about faith and peace. If we are filled with fear, we memorize verses that assure us of God’s presence and His love. If our problem is moral impurity, we learn those verses that speak about a clean heart. Such memorization will help us to be pure and focused on Christ.
And whenever necessary, we must use Scripture against Satan even as Christ did. Three times He said, “It is written...” And Satan returned. And in the end we read, “The devil left Him waiting for a more opportune time.” Satan never gives up on us; but the more consistent we are in rebuking him, the more his power will be diminished.
My friend, is your life planted beside a stream of water? Some years ago I read about a group of men who went door to door selling evergreen trees that they promised to plant in the boulevard along the street. The neighbors accepted their proposal so that the entire street might be lined with these beautiful trees. As agreed, the men came and did their work and were paid for planting the trees. But weeks later, despite repeated watering, all the trees began to wither. In desperation one of the neighbors pulled one out of the ground only to discover that it had no roots at all. The men had not planted trees, they had only pushed branches into the ground.
Christ said, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted.” If we have not been planted by God, we shall prove to be shallow, even as the chaff which the wind drives away.
Blessed are those who are planted beside a stream so that they might bear fruit even in a time of drought.
I'm reading the bible straight through this year and this time I want to take this advice to heart.
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