Guard Your Heart - - Guard Your Meditation

 

Psalm 1:1, 2

Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law does he meditate day and night. 

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 

Meditate: ponder, muse

From the Hebrew word ' hagah' (pronounced daw-gaw'). A word with many meanings- to moan, growl, utter, speak, muse- but which in verse is defined as 'muse, ponder'. 

    In this crazy world we live in we are being told, even in some churches, to 'empty our minds' to reduce stress and the unhealthy consequences of stress. That's not what the Bible says to do. The Word of God tells us here to meditate on The Word of God. That's not emptying our minds, that's filling our minds and our hearts. 

    It's more than mere words: The Word of God has power. Power to change the heart, change the mind. Power to strengthen the weak. Power to fill the heart with a desire to overflow with the Word of God, the Love of God, the Power of God. Power to change first, the individual, then the multitude of individuals who meditate on God's Word. 

    In Joshua 1:7, 8 Joshua is being commissioned by God to lead God's people into the promised land.

7. Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.

8. This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.

    In Sunday School we learned a song that is still with me today "O Be Careful Little Eyes". A song warning each part of our bodies how to serve God best. 

Be careful little eyes What You See
Be careful little ears What You Hear

Be careful little mouth What You Speak

Be careful little hands What You Do

Be careful little feet Where You Go

    I would add one more: Be careful little soul How You Meditate. If we let our minds wander away from what is good and righteous to think on, then we are not thinking on The Word of God. We need to rein our thinking in. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8 to Think On: lovely things, true things, honorable things, pure things, right things, admirable things, excellent things and praiseworthy things. 

    Think On here means to meditate on these things, take into account and consider these things. What is more true, more honorable, more right, more pure, more lovely, more admirable, more excellent or more praiseworthy than the Word of God, the Law of the Lord?  

    It is more than memorizing Scripture. A person can memorize Scripture and neither know, nor apply the Word to themselves and their way of life. Memorizing mere words is not meditating on The Word. Just knowing the words within The Word does not change a person or a person's heart.  

    Praying over the Scriptures before we begin to read or study them or meditate on them opens our hearts to God's instruction, teaching, law. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to passages of Scripture to pray over and into your lives. 

    Proverbs 29:18 tells us that "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he." In other words, where the Word, the law of God, is not kept, people perish. They are alone, empty, vacant; unrestrained, out of control. But he that keeps (heeds, observes) the law, is blessed (happy).

    There's a lot of unhappy people out there today. They do not keep God's law near, to dwell on it, meditate on it. They see God as a last resort and not as a Priority, if they see Him at all. God wants to be first in our lives, especially in our hearts. He even tells us in His commandments to put Him first, to give Him our attention, our worship. 

    When I can't sleep at night, I open my Bible and begin to read and pray over what I am reading. I ask the Author to make plain what He wants me to know and He does. Though there are times when He wakes me to pray for specific people, most of the time when I am awake, I meditate on God's Word. Then sleep finds me and I rest. 

    Let us go now and meditate on The Word of God, on His law. Let us rest in His Word, gain strength in His Word, be blessed by His Word. Let us glorify God with a desire to be in His Word, live in His Word and allow His Word to live in us.  If you're happy and you know it, praise the Lord! If you're not happy, what are you going to do about it?

    

     

MEDITATE THE WORD MEDLEY

Directional Love

Every decision made in our lives is based on motivation. The immediate outcome is usually the only thing we see. We seldom see the 'big picture', the enduring consequences of our actions. And, yes, I myself am included in the 'we' of these statements. So, don't think I point fingers in any direction besides my own.

When I was a teenager, I blamed my parents for my inability to bloom and blossom. When I was in my twenties, it was my boyfriend's inability to commit. In my thirties, I still hadn't learned anything useful. It was my inability to accept change that kept me from growing up. How hard and painful is that to admit? It is change, after all, that allows growth in the first place.

I desired to be loved. Therefore, I went looking for someone to love me. My decision led me to men who wanted casual sex, but not a relationship. My decision to have sex outside of marriage led me to having a baby. My decision saw only the immediate need of self and not the enduring needs of others in my world. Every decision made after that had only a self seeking love as a base. Just sand, not solid foundation; meant to be shaken by the merest breeze of a storm and lost in the tides of life.

My desires were more important to me than God's desires. Had I had the inclination to study God's Word for myself and not just believe what I had been told, not only would the outcome have been vastly different, but the desires also. But I did not.

Many of us think we were raised by strict, hypocritical parents. We did not see from our viewpoint that they were just trying to be good parents. "Can't do this" and "Can't do that" because we are Christians. Unless we are at a wedding, then it's okay. Or a family party, then it's okay. I am referring to drinking and dancing. Now, did that make me want to not do either or just stoke the fire? Well, duh, stoked.

Sex, of course, was not talked about. In any form. Everything I learned, I learned from books and movies. And life. I would have rather been informed by Christian parents who knew the dangers of touching someone you are attracted to. I never saw either read the Bible at home. Or pray, at home. We never prayed together as a family. Or studied our Bibles together as a family. Religion was for church, not for home.

But I was always looking for someone to love me, someone I could love in return. And it was in my first marriage, at a church, that I accepted a relationship with Christ that became the foundation for a consuming, all or nothing, love. This love keeps me sane, keeps me sober, keeps me strong. This love caused me to want, to desire more than just what made me happy; I began to desire what makes God happy.

The Age

The Age

When we were children, we didn't know that we didn't know anything, and we were happy.

When we were teenagers, not only did we know everything, but we were definitely not happy. And we wanted everyone to know it.

In our twenties we started to learn a thing or two. And every new thing made us happy.

As we approached 30, we knew a thing or two about some things, but just enough to get by. Happiness was fleeting.

As 40 turned the corner, we knew we didn't know everything, and we wanted to know more. Happiness was a hit and miss.

Fifty arrived and not only did we not know everything, but we realized we really didn't know anything. And sometimes we were happy.

Sixty approaches and not only do we not know everything, we realize we never will. But we do know some things:

We know happiness is what we make it. Home is where the heart is. The world turns on its axis bringing us day and night. God loves us. Jesus died for us. The Holy Spirit leads and guides us. And the world turns.

We know enough to open our Bible and read it. We know enough to ask God to help us understand it, when we can't even begin to know what God is telling us.

When we were young, we were innocent.

At the age of awareness of what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil, we became accountable for ourselves. We became responsible for our actions and words; our inactions and things we left unsaid.

Seventy is not that far off and we realize that everything we have learned is leaving our brains. But it is the things we have learned with our hearts that will remain with us forever.

And we are happy.

( i wrote this dec 31, 2010 and posted it in my notes on facebook, but i wanted to share it here, too)