Author: Randy

Given that we are called to hear His voice, how do we do that? A better question might be, ‘How have we done that?’ If we are His sheep then He has been speaking to us. I invite you to set aside some time to sit and reflect on how Jesus speaks to you and how He has spoken to you in the past? I don’t know what your list will look like, as we are each called to a unique relationship with Him. For illustration purposes below are some ways He has spoken to me over the years.

–      Scripture (This is for me the most important method. It may be verses or passages He highlights or a ‘sudden understanding’ of a passage or verse.)

–      Impressions (A sense to call someone or pray for them, their face may suddenly come to mind. Looking at someone and knowing their need or the calling on their life – this is very common for me. This are often a call to prayer/intercession.)

–      Dreams (For myself or others.)

–      Signs (Messages on billboards, road signs or messages on vehicles that come with a sense of His presence resting on the message.)

–      Birds (Types or behaviour.)

–      Numbers (Some numbers have great significance in my life and Jesus has highlighted them in a great variety of ways.)

My purpose in providing the above list is to highlight both the variety of ways the Holy Spirit may speak to us and the need to recognize when He is speaking. Once we believe He is speaking to us an important component is discerning what to do with the message. There are three aspects to a message – Revelation, Interpretation and Application.

In the above examples the revelation would be the scripture passage, the dream, the impression, etc. The next step is interpreting what the message means and then how we apply it. When the Holy Spirit speaks to us we do not always know what to do with what He has spoken to us. That is intentional on the Lord’s part because we are parts of a body and He wants us to learn to depend on one another. Paul illustrates this in 1 Corinthians.

²⁶  How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. ²⁷  If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. ²⁸  But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. ²⁹  Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 1 Corinthians 14:26-29 (NKJV)  

So when we receive something form the Holy Spirit a general practice should be to share with others that we have a trust relationship with to determine how to interpret and apply it. This deepens our relationships and our spiritual understanding and we grow in the process, which means by extension that His body is maturing through hearing His voice.

In our busy culture how do we find time to hear God’s voice? We don’t. Though ‘finding time’ is a common expression in our culture do you know anyone who has found time laying around in the street or forgotten somewhere by someone else? Recently at work I went to use the washroom and to my surprise found a very nice cell phone in the stall. The previous occupant must have been trying to ‘find time.’

What does wisdom tell us about time? We need to set priorities with the time Yahweh has given us. One thing that has become clear to me over the years is that what we can easily discern what we truly value by how we spend our time. It would be even clearer if our bank accounts were revealed and others saw where our money went. Our true values are expressed in how we invest our time and money.

If I put all of my activities in my calendar for others to examine I hope they would find that I value my relationship with Jesus, my family and other relationships, health/exercise, and the outdoors. These things are not always in the balance I would like but that is the balance I seek to maintain by paying attention to how I invest my time. Yes, time has been given to us as a resource to invest in the bank of the present for a return on our investment in eternity.

Given that the Holy Spirit sees our real calendars, what would a dialogue with Him about our schedules sound like?

In examining time and schedules one way we are called to invest our time is in hearing His voice. This truth is plainly evident in the scriptures and below are a few examples with some portions emphasized. In John 10 Jesus began His teaching describing how natural sheep respond to the voice of their shepherd then applied it to Himself as our Shepherd.

¹⁶  And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:16

(NKJV) ²⁷  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:27 (NKJV)

⁸  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8 (NKJV)

¹⁴  For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it. ¹⁵  In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds, ¹⁶  Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction. Job 33:14-16 (NKJV)

Given that He wants to speak to us there are two questions;

1. Are we listening?
2. How do we train our hearts to hear?

It is easy to see that the visible part of a house needs something supporting it, a foundation. In a similar manner other things need something supporting them. For example, a throne holds up a ruler, but what holds up the throne, not the literal throne but the right to rule? The answer is of course found in the scriptures. The scriptures describe the foundation of Yahweh’s throne. Have you ever considered what constitutes this foundation?

¹⁴  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face. Psalm 89:14 (NKJV)

Yahweh’s throne is built upon righteousness and justice because they are manifestations of His character. We live in a tumultuous time in the earth and we need His righteous and justice manifest in our lives, homes and communities to walk through what is coming upon the earth. To walk in righteousness and justice requires wisdom. Proverbs 8 is the wisdom chapter and tells us something very interesting about wisdom.

¹  Does not wisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her voice? ²  She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, Beside the way, where the paths meet. ³  She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, At the entrance of the doors: ⁴  “To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men. ⁵  O you simple ones, understand prudence, And you fools, be of an understanding heart.” Proverbs 8:1-5 (NKJV)

²⁰  I traverse the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice, Proverbs 8:20 (NKJV)

Wisdom is accessible and crying out for our attention. What is most interesting is that we find that in the very things that are the foundation of Yahweh’s throne, wisdom is found. There walking about with righteousness and justice is wisdom.

So when we pursue righteousness and justice we encounter wisdom. The qualifier is that it is righteousness and justice from Yahweh’s perspective. We live in a time where much that passes for justice is simply misguided sentimentality. When we choose to not do the right thing because someone may feel bad or be offended we are no longer exercising justice and righteousness and by extension are not demonstrating wisdom. The scriptures must be our standard, not our feelings or reasoning.

Knowing that to walk in righteousness and justice requires wisdom it is helpful to hear from Proverbs and 1 Corinthians.

³³  Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, But what is in the heart of fools is made known. Proverbs 14:33 (NKJV) ³⁰  But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption– 1 Corinthians 1:30 (NKJV)

If wisdom rests in the heart of those with understanding, and if Jesus became our wisdom from God then walking with Jesus should produce righteousness and justice. When we embrace righteousness and justice our behaviour becomes aligned with Yahweh’s thrones and thus His kingdom.

Enjoy your walk.

So given that we have the Law of the Spirit of Life in Jesus how does it work? If we reflect on laws we discover that while laws are put in place they need to be enforced. The speed limit, parking laws, the criminal code, all require enforcement. What about gravity and the speed of light? Yes they too require enforcement and the scriptures tell us how they are enforced. Jesus is both the source of these laws and the one who enforces them. They are built into creation.

¹  God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ²  has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; ³  who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴  having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:1-4 (NKJV)

¹⁵  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. ¹⁸  And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. Colossians 1:15-18 (NKJV)

Do you see the enforcement of gravity and other laws in the passages above? For example, there is a little phrase in Hebrews 1:3 “upholding all things by the word of His power.” Some translations say ‘powerful word’ but I believe miss the point. The Greek meaning of ‘word’ in the phrase above speaks to a present and ongoing release and could be translated as ‘u[holding all things by the utterance of His power.’ The point being made in Hebrews is that everything we see in the physical realm is held together by the ongoing release of Jesus power! Colossians 1:17 tells us that “in Him all things consist.” He made all things, visible and invisible. The universe, angels, everything. In in Him they ‘consist’ or are ‘held together.’ Jesus continually enforces the laws He built into creation by His ongoing life and presence.

The word ‘firstborn’ in verse 15 above refers to position or standing, not birth order. Jesus has the ultimate authority, which takes us back to the ‘law of the Spirit of life’ in Him. How is it activated in our lives? The answer is simple but difficult. Simple to say, sometimes hard to do.

²  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2 (NKJV)

Another aspect of law is that some aspects of the legal system have authority over others. A higher court can overturn the ruling of a lower court. This is how the ‘law of the Spirit of life’ functions. It takes precedence over the law of sin and death. Imagine dropping a ball. The law of gravity takes over and it drops to the floor. However, if you put your hand under it and catch it you cancel the effect of the law of gravity.

In a similar manner the law of the Spirit of life can interrupt and negate the effects of the law of sin and death. It is issued by the highest court, the heavenly one! However, for it to be effective in our life we must believe it. If we focus on the power of His life in us rather than on the power of sin and death we find ourselves increasingly walking in freedom. After all, what we focus on grows. What are we giving our energy and attention to?

How do we understand laws? Have you ever considered the different types of laws? Think about the speed limit. It is a law made by man through legislation and different jurisdictions set different laws based on their authority. For example, in Canada we have laws that are federal in nature. They are established by the House of Commons and apply to everyone in the country. Provinces have some degree of autonomy and set laws like provincial building codes and taxes because they fall under their authority. Towns and cities set bylaws around parking and municipal speed limits because they fall under their authority.

If we think more broadly we have laws that we refer to as ‘laws of nature.’ They are laws like gravity, the effect of the sound barrier, the speed of light and others. We often refer to things done by ‘mother nature’ and mention things like the ‘laws of nature.’ As a side note I find it both sad and amusing that many people who claim to not believe in God turn around and deify nature without even thinking about it.

For example, one time I ended up in a discussion with a fellow at the fitness centre who it turned out was a biology professor. When I pointed out in our dialogue that when he referred to the things that ‘nature’ was doing he and others were just replacing God with ‘nature’ the way he used the term and the powers he ascribed to nature. He was a bit taken back, however he saw what I was talking about and it did open the door to some sharing about the gospel.

So, why am I going on about the law? Primarily because we tend to view laws as restrictive. However legislation is generally written in two ways, as either restrictive or enabling and the overarching purpose is generally intended for the good of the populous. If we think broadly of the Mosaic Law in terms of the Ten Commandments “(see Ex. 20:1-17) we find most of the commandments are restrictive.

In the New Testament we find something new introduced in relation to law. While we are told that the whole of the law is to love the Lord and our neighbour we are not given the strength to do so, that is until after Jesus resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 1:8, 2:1-4). As we move further into the New Testament Paul explains what happened on the day of Pentecost when the church was birthed; a new law was introduced and he tells us what it is.

²  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2 (NKJV emphasis mine) 

The new law we are called to live under and by is the ‘law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.’ I invite you to meditate on the significance of this law. More to come…

Gyroscopic faith may sound like a strange title but I want to tie it into the concept of heavenly help from the real realm, the unseen realm. If you are unfamiliar with gyroscopes please see the links below.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Gyroscope&view=detail&mid=002E87FB2A86BBD37BF8002E87FB2A86BBD37BF8&FORM=VIRE3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyroscope

In essence when a gyroscope is spinning it seeks to remain upright no matter how you tip it. So what does this have to do with faith you may wonder? I had a dream recently where I was explaining to a large group at a church how a gyroscope was connected to our faith and it inspired me to write this post. Some familiar objects where we see a gyroscopic effect are motorcycle or bicycle tires. The spinning effect of the wheels seeks to pull the bikes upright. However, like an actual gyroscope, the effect is dependent on movement. Hence it is easier to keep a fast moving bike upright than a slow one as the gyroscopic effect is more pronounced at higher speeds.

Now to faith. Paul made a statement that is a theme in the New Testament. He is below speaking of the aim of salvation.

²¹  And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled ²²  in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight– ²³  if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. Colossians 1:21-23 (NKJV, emphasis mine)

Neatly slipped into this statement is the qualifier I highlighted above, “if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast…not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” Importantly, Jesus said the same thing.

³¹  Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” John 8:31 (NKJV)

The word ‘abide’ is translated as ‘continue’ in other versions and the concept of continuing is in many places in the NT. What is my point? Just as movement is what keeps a bicycle upright, so moving forward in our faith enables heaven to be engaged on our behalf. The Holy Spirit leads us rather than pushing us and it is easier to redirect a moving object that to overcome inertia. I don’t believe these statements are about being saved, they are what Peter referred to.

¹¹  for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:11 (NKJV)

Peter laid out how to grow in our faith. Intentionally moving further into our faith is what will ensure a great welcome when we step from time into eternity. We can limp in or run in. Are we embracing the gyroscopic effect of our faith here on earth?

The song below is about moving with Jesus.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=rita+springer+moving+with+the+lamb&view=detail&mid=C875AB57953A93F969F8C875AB57953A93F969F8&FORM=VIRE1

Have you ever thought about the impact angels have or can have in our lives? I raise the question not because I am, or think we should be, enamoured with angels. Rather I think that we may find it helpful to understand the source of grace, peace, healing and other thing in our lives and the reality of the unseen realm that surrounds us. While there are forces of darkness all around us, we are also surrounded with a great cloud of believers who have gone on before (Heb. 12:1) and a large array of other beings. Daniel refers to the ‘watchers’ more than once. Jeremiah refers to the Lords council (Jer. 23:18). In chapter 6 Isaiah referred to 6 winged creatures called Seraphim. Ezekiel describes winged living creatures with different faces, eyes in wheels, fire and other attributes. The Ark of the Covenant had winged cherubim modeled on the real cherubim in heaven.

If at any time we feel overwhelmed and oppressed we can ask our Father to release help on our behalf! We may be surrounded by the enemy but our Father has His host surrounding them. Look at the experience of Elisha described in the scriptures.

¹⁵  And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” ¹⁶  So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” ¹⁷  And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. ¹⁸  So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.”

And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 2 Kings 6:15-18 (NKJV)

The context suggests that while Elisha prayed to Yahweh, the angels rendered the opposing army blind. This is similar to what it says in Revelation.

⁴  John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, Revelation 1:4 (NKJV)

John describes this grace and peace as coming from Jesus and from the seven Spirits before the throne. This is also supported elsewhere in Hebrews where it says of angels,

¹⁴  Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14 (NKJV).

We generally understand that grace and peace come from Jesus, which they do, but sometimes it helps to understand the other means and the unseen realm. We may wonder; why is all of heaven arrayed and aligned for our help? Why are these numerous creatures seeking to draw our hearts more deeply into Him? I suggest we meditate on this simple answer.

Because He loves us!

In my first two posts for this year I talked about what we were carrying in our spirits and what we might be chewing or meditating on. So now that have some language for seeing things we are waiting for already accomplished in the eternal realm, and having looked at scriptural meditation, how do we build on this foundation? I believe meditating on scriptural truth is what shifts our view to see from an eternal perspective. After all we each have the ability to engage eternity built into us (Eccl. 3:11, ‘He has put eternity in their hearts’). So how do we engage?

We live in a very busy world where we are easily distracted. 150 – 200 years ago most people went to bed and got up with the sun. They engaged in the natural rhythm of life. Given we cannot do that I believe we need to intentionally build silence and quiet into our lives. I have a friend who very regularly tramps around the mountains and talks with our Father. He hears a lot because it is a dialogue. Given that is not an option for most of us how do we build it into our ‘busyness?’

The answer is simple, the practice often difficult. We need to create a spot and time to just sit with Jesus. Practically find a spot and sit and relax and focus on His presence (He is there whether or not we feel Him). Then hold a scripture or scriptural thought before Him (His throne of grace is also there).

We are to then hold this in our mind and deeply reflect until it becomes a reality in our spirit and then becomes externally visible. I’m not suggesting this happens immediately, the practice is the antithesis of rushing. Rather as we sit with His word in His presence we are changed (see 2 Cor. 3:18). As our inward reality changes our outward reality and experience change and others experience us differently.

I know when I began to function in spiritual gifts like a word of knowledge (⁸ for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12:8 (NKJV) it was the fruit of praying, pondering and thinking about at times during the day. This meant I was regularly holding it before the throne of grace. An internal idea expressed in prayer became an external reality. I still needed to exercise faith to operate in the gifts but they were stirred up in me through holding them before Him.

I was basically doing what Jesus said, I was asking, seeking and knocking, expressing the desires of my heart. If you want to enter further into this how about bringing these two verses and your desires before Him, then meditating deeply on them while believing that, outside of time they are already accomplished?

⁴  Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. ⁵  Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37:4-5 (NKJV)

I planned to continue on my perspectives journey with shorter posts, which I will do, but a friend emailed me a question that I thought deserved a broad response and is in fact about perspective. There is a false view that is circulating fairly broadly and seems quite popular in the body of Christ in the Western church. It seems to be primarily based on the misapplication of the two scriptures below.

³  But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 1 Corinthians 14:3 (NKJV)

⁴  Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4 (NKJV)

Tied to these scriptures is the oft repeated expression, “God is good all the time.” The scriptures and the statement in and of themselves are both true. However, we also need to interpret and apply them, which is where things often go wrong. In this case, because our Western church is so conformed to the surrounding culture we tend to interpret ‘goodness’ and ‘edification and exhortation and comfort’ as things that make us feel good. This gets further translated into any talk of ‘judgement’ being viewed as negative and false.

The problem with this view is that it is easily demonstrated to be wrong from even a cursory examination of scripture. I am not suggesting that prophetic words won’t make us feel good at times, I have had a few, in fact some very encouraging ones in a prayer ministry time just this past week that focused things in my life in a very good way. However part of the prayer time included a message of difficult trials that would strengthen me. So given that is not an enjoyable prospect do I throw that part out because it didn’t make me feel good? It did encourage me.

Let me go back to the scriptures above. In 1 Corinthians 14:3 the NKJV uses the term ‘exhortation,’ while the NIV says ‘encouragement.’ They simply translate a Greek word into English differently. The meaning of the word is just as it says. Below is another usage of it in the NT.

¹⁸  And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. Luke 3:18 (NKJV)

If you read Luke 3:1-17 you will find the exhortations referred to in verse 18. Not a lot of them were heart-warming and comforting but a proper response to John’s preaching would bring comfort, it just may have been painful to get there. John as a prophet was practicing what 1 Corinthians 14:3 encourages us to do.

What of Romans 2:4, does the ‘goodness of God’ lead to repentance? Absolutely! However, read the context. The verses before and after are warnings of judgment and wrath. The point is that God in His goodness convicts us of our sin (read, makes us feel guilty, not happy) so that we will repent and not experience judgement and wrath. That is the context.

If we apply our feel good theology to the NT we need to remove some of the writers. That John guy in Revelation sure predicted a lot of judgement, we better not listen to him. The other John, you know, the first Baptist, he wasn’t warm and fuzzy. In fact he was downright negative and abrasive, we better not listen to him. O yes, what about that Jesus guy? Well Matthew 24 certainly isn’t all that encouraging and uplifting, and in Matthew 23 He had the gall to call people fools, hypocrites and blinds guides! Far too negative, better not listen to Him.

Obviously I am being sarcastic but that is the end this false theology leads us to, we just don’t seem to see or realize it. I just read something this week from the editor of a large charismatic magazine who seemed to echoing the views I have just lampooned – do we not see?

How about some real life examples in our day?

I had an aunt who died a number of years ago. She had stomach pains and went to her Dr. who reassured her everything was fine, so she felt better, in fact even encouraged I think. However the pains persisted and got worse so she went back. The Dr. again reassured her everything was fine. However, this time she didn’t fell reassured and since she worked in a hospital she pulled aside a Dr. that she knew. He examined her and told her that he thought she had stomach cancer, which she did, and died of a few months later. Was the first Dr. being good when he reassured and encouraged her? Might she have lived if she had been given a proper diagnosis, painful news and the issue addressed when she first raised it?

I had a similar experience. At 23 I went to the Dr. with a strange lump. The Dr. reassured me it was an infection and put me on antibiotics. In fact the Dr. was nice and reassuring enough to say to me, “Don’t worry, it’s not cancer.” Now, to this point that idea had not occurred to me and I gave it little thought after. Someone messed up. I don’t know whether the Dr. or the pharmacist but I ended up on half the recommended dosage of antibiotics for twice the length of time. When I finally returned to the Dr. because the antibiotics had no effect I was referred to a specialist and had my first surgery shortly thereafter, because I did in fact have cancer.

My point in both stories is the issue could have been dealt with sooner with an accurate diagnosis. For our eternal condition the best diagnostic tool is the scriptures. However if we are fixated on only reading the parts that make us feel good, or reinterpreting the ‘negative’ parts so that we feel good, we will not arrive at an accurate diagnosis and thus apply the wrong remedy.

Current reality is that we as the Western church need to mature, and quickly. The moral compass of our culture is broken and sadly in many places it seems to be broken in the church as well. Our culture is desperately in need of effective salt and light. For too long we have abandoned our responsibility to be just that for our culture. There are many encouraging and comforting things in the scriptures, as we generally define encouragement and comfort, things that make us feel better. However, that is not all that is in the scriptures. We are in a season where we need to move beyond milk and partake of some solid food (see Heb. 5:12-14).

Are we in the time of which Paul wrote? Would we recognize it if we were?

²  Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. ³  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; ⁴  and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 2 Timothy 4:2-4 (NKJV)

My final exhortation in this post. Read the scriptures! However, first try to set aside preconceived notions and read them in the context in which they were written. In fact, pray first and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth in them so that we can bypass our biases!

What role does meditation on the Word play in new spiritual perspectives and our spiritual growth? I suppose the first step in answering the question is looking at scriptural meditation by examining some Old Testament verses.

⁸  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8 (NKJV)

²  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2 (NKJV)

¹⁴  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 (NKJV)

We are clearly called to meditate on the word but how do we do that? The meaning of the Hebrew word meditate, or meditation, refers to pondering, imagining, muttering and speaking. In essence, biblical meditation includes thinking deeply on something, particularly scripture, and speaking it to ourselves. We essentially chew on the scripture until it becomes part of us. The best image is that of a cow chewing its cud. Since most in our modern culture may not be familiar with farm imagery let me explain. A cow has four stomachs so it thoroughly digests its food to get every bit of nutrition out of it. Initially it chews and chews a wad of food (a cud) over and over again to break down the plant material and release the nutrition. This is what we are called to do with the scriptures so that they move from our heads to our hearts. We are to ponder them and chew on them until they come alive in us.

Lest we think this is only an Old Testament practice, Jesus was clear about our need to live by the word

⁴  But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4 (NKJV) 

If we see the source of our life as the scriptures, as we move further into this new year, this new season, we need to consider something. What are we chewing on before Him?