Scriptural Meditations…

…by Chuck Long

 

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight,

O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”  -Psalm 19.14

 

Friday, March 17, 2006

 

Greetings in the wonderful name of our Great God and Savior, Christ Jesus!

 

After a long hiatus from writing I am now ready to start back up.  My purpose in writing these is to both encourage you and to challenge you. First, to encourage you in the faith – to build you up and help you grow in your walk with God, by sharing thoughts that I have gleaned from the Word.  Secondly, I hope to challenge you to grow in the discipline, the art, of meditating on the Scriptures. 

 

SCRIP'TURAL, a. [from scripture.]

 

1. Contained in the Scriptures, so called by way of eminence, that is, in the Bible; as a scriptural word, expression or phrase.

 

2. According to the Scriptures or sacred oracles; as a scriptural doctrine.

 

SCRIP'TURE, n. [L. scriptura, from scribo, to write.]

 

1. In its primary sense, a writing; any thing written.

 

2. Appropriately, and by way of distinction, the books of the Old and New Testament; the Bible. The word is used either in the singular or plural number, to denote the sacred writings or divine oracles, called sacred or holy, as proceeding from God and containing sacred doctrines and precepts.

 

There is not any action that a man ought to do or forbear, but the Scripture will give him a clear precept or prohibition for it.

 

Compared with the knowledge which the Scriptures contain, every other subject of human inquiry is vanity and emptiness.

 

MEDITA'TION, n. [L.meditatio.] Close or continued thought; the turning or revolving of a subject in the mind; serious contemplation.

 

MED'ITATE, v.i. [L. meditor.]

 

1. To dwell on any thing in thought; to contemplate; to study; to turn or revolve any subject in the mind; appropriately but not exclusively used of pious contemplation, or a consideration of the great truths of religion.

 

2. To intend; to have in contemplation.

 

Many people, when they hear the word ‘meditate’ or ‘meditation’, immediately think of some eastern religious guru or some new age mystical teaching.  Even Christians tend to shy away from the use of these words because of the negative connotations they think comes with them.  Rarely do you hear brethren saying “I have been meditating” or asking one another “What have you been meditating on?” and yet, this is the very thing that we should be doing.

 

There are many things that we think about during our day, there are many things that occupy our minds and thoughts, some good and some bad.  But there is one thing that we should discipline ourselves, our minds, to do daily and that is to meditate on the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God.  It has been said that we become what we think (see Proverbs 23:7a) and if we want to become more like Christ then we had better begin to think on and like Christ.  The only way that this can be done is to meditate on the Scriptures.

 

More than likely, most Christians are disciplined in the practice of reading the Bible (and if not disciplined they realize that they need to be).  Reading the Scriptures is one of the highest priorities for those who claim to be Christian (with prayer as a second).  While reading the Scriptures and prayer are good and important practices, our efforts often fail to have any lasting effect in us because we neglect the discipline of meditation. 

 

To read the Bible is good but if we do not meditate on what we are reading it will be of no effect.  We will never grow as we should in our walk with the Lord unless we take the time to stop, think, and ponder on His word and how it applies to our lives.  Also, meditating on the Scriptures is one of the greatest ways to improve your prayer life, to deepen your walk with the Lord, for it requires us to call out to Him for wisdom, discernment, and understanding and then to wait on Him to give it.  Too often, we subvert this necessary practice and deprive ourselves of intimate communication with God by going to what others have gleaned from His Word.  Don’t be satisfied to eat crumbs off the floor which others have dropped when you can eat at the very banquet table of God itself.

 

Meditating on the Scriptures, receiving the benefits from doing so, does not come easy – especially for us today.  To meditate on the Scriptures requires us to slow down our busy lives.  We can’t be hasty, or demand God to be like a fast food service.  To meditate on and glean from God’s Word, it is necessary for us to stop, focus, think, ponder, and wait on the Lord.  O, the joy that comes when we do!  For God, the Holy Spirit, Himself reveals truth to us and fills our soul with heavenly food that satisfies and increases in us the hunger, the desire, to know Him more and to be fed by God Himself.

 

Please, do not these writings (mine or anyone else’s for that matter) replace what you can and should be doing yourself.  My hope is that in these writings you will see and realize that if I, an untrained and uneducated man by the world’s standards, can glean things from God’s Word, then so can you. 

 

Scriptural meditation is not for a select few; it is for all who call on the name of Christ Jesus.  If you are not a Christian it will not be of any benefit to you as only those who are in Christ will be taught by the Holy Spirit Himself.  If you are in Christ then you will discover the abundance of riches, the joy and delight that comes as you meditate on His Word.  Then when you are asked “What have you been meditating on?” you will have something to share that can encourage and challenge others as well.

 

 

By God’s Grace, Through God’s Word, For God’s Glory!

 

Chuck Long

Acts 20:32

 

©God’sGWG
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do NOT alter the wording in any way, and you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction.  Your cooperation is greatly appreciated and God will be very pleased with your honesty!  Thanks.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Chuck Long. ©God’sGWG. Website: www.Godsgwg.com. Email: Chuck_Long@juno.com.

 

If you would like previous Scriptural Meditations go to: http://www.Godsgwg\Scriptural Meditations\Index.htm

 

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R),

Copyright (C) 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995

By The Lockman Foundation.

Scriptural Meditations Index Page