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

Guard Your Heart - - Fruitful Faith

 

2 Corinthians 5:7

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 

Faith: belief, trust, confidence, fidelity, faithfulness

From the Greek word 'pistis' (pronounced pis'-tis) and is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people. In Scripture, faith is God's warranty, certifying that the revelation He inbirthed will come to pass. Faith is Divine Persuasion. 

Romans 8:24

For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see?

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.

    We are always confident, not in and of ourselves, but in God and His promises to us. God keeps all His promises and there are thousands of promises in The Scriptures. His promises hold true whether you believe them or not. And if a person chooses to not believe God and not walk in His ways, there are promises regarding disobedience, as well. 

    As for this faith which God has given each person who believes on the name of Jesus Christ for salvation and life eternal, He places a 'measure of faith' (Romans 12:3) within each of us. It's up to us to exercise that measure, that portion,  and watch it grow, bud, bloom and be fruitful faith. 

    Who plants a fruit tree and expects fruit within that same year? No farmer who knows what he's doing, that's for sure. I love cherries. One year I planted three cherry trees along the length of the drive on a farm I lived on. Though I moved before seeing them bloom and then have fruit, I knew that someday they would. That's how faith works. 

    Fertile ground receives viable seed but only after the ground is dug up and prepared to receive the seed. Had I set the trees up on top of the ground, instead of digging holes wide enough for the trees to take root, the trees would have died. 

    So it is with our hearts. We need to be in a place where we are ready to receive The Word, that God may distribute the portion of faith which He has set aside for each of us into us. How do we get this faith? Romans 10:17 "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Faith comes to us from hearing The Word of God, whether that Word is spoken directly to us, or spoken by a preacher from the pulpit, or in a God-given dream or vision.     

    It's why we need to be in a God-centered, Full Gospel preaching, Holy Spirit-filled church. That we may hear what God wants to say to us and be able and ready to receive The Word of Faith into our hearts. Go to church expecting to receive this Word of Faith: pray for clarity in seeing God move, understanding what is being said, and wisdom to apply what you have heard.

    Go to the altar, the place of prayer and worship. Go obediently. "When the Spirit of The Lord moves in my heart, I will dance like David danced," is a song I learned about 25 years ago. But it talks about being obedient to the moving of The Holy Spirit. That's faith. 

    We can't see what is going to happen before it happens. But having lived without God for so long before we first came to Him there is no way I, nor many others, want to do anything we do apart from Him. So, by faith one night, I made my way down to the altar during a revival when I was seven years old. And I received Christ into my heart. But I received Him without discipleship, so I wandered away and for many years after that I did my own thing, 

    But God had placed a measure of faith within me. He was just waiting for it to grow. By faith, many years after that, I found myself making my way down to another altar. God found me in a very dark place and He made Himself known to me, lifting me up out of there and bringing me to a place of His choosing. And I declared my love for Him and wanting to live a righteous life. And just like that, I found myself divorced. With kids.

    But God. He led me to a sweet little church where I began to grow. Every tree requires both sun and water to grow efficiently. When the rain began to fall during a revival being held there, I found myself at the altar again; there He filled me with His Holy Spirit; there the Rain fell in my soul and the fertile ground where the Seed of Faith had fallen received it gladly. And my faith grew.

    The closer we are to God the greater our faith will grow. We are trees of righteousness, the planting of The Lord (Isaiah 61:3); it is He who causes us to grow in Him, in His Word, as The Word of Faith (Romans 10:8) grows in us.  We believe that this is true because "the Bible tells me so". 

     We know in our hearts the veracity of God's Word. We live in our lives the blessings of God's Word. We share with all the knowledge of God's Word. We pray God's Word when we pray. I like to pray Ephesians 3 over my children and the people they interact with. 

    Where we read John 3:16 and God so loved the 'world', I learned to insert my name there. God loves you and I so much that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus the Christ to this earth to minister to the people, die on the cross and rise from the dead that He might become Friend, Savior, The Resurrection & The Life for us! 

    I believe this and it is counted unto me for righteousness. I have a measure of faith that is greater than when I first received Christ into my heart. For with this hope of salvation rising up within me and filling me with Joy, I can pray in faith knowing that my faith in God's promises will be the faith of all who receive Christ. For my prayers will be answered. 

    Proverbs 15:29 "The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous."

    Proverbs 15:8 "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is His delight."

    Proverbs 10:24 "What the wicked man dreads will overtake him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted."

    Fruitful trees get pruned. Dead branches are removed to make room for more fruitful branches. Does this cause pain to the tree? Yes. But it's not only necessary, it's brief. The area cut heals and the tree keeps growing. So it is in our Christian walk with Christ. As we grow in Him, The Spirit removes what is not necessary for growth from our hearts and our lives that our tree may become increase with sweet fruit. 

    You better get ready for rain, 'cause I'm praying for you. 

 

HOLY SPIRIT RAIN DOWN   by Alvin Slaughter

LET THE WEIGHT OF YOUR GLORY FALL by Paul Wilbur

WHAT FAITH CAN DO by Kutless

INCREASE MY FAITH by Brian Courtney Wilson

CHANGING ME by Anna Golden

BROKEN THINGS  by Matthew West

EVEN WHEN IT HURTS by Hillsong United

BELIEVE YOU WILL by Jeremy Rosado

I know this is quite a list of songs today, but I was led to each one and couldn't stop until I reached the last one.