No Complication in Meditation

Before I begin the content section of this blog, I would like to thank Jeremy for asking me to submit a guest post.  I am extremely thankful for the initiative toward spiritual depth and maturity that I see in Jeremy and Jana and all those who are on the "Promises to Move On" journey. Thankful to be growing right along with you!!

I have been asked to blog about meditation. The word "meditation" can conjure up all kinds of images, emotions, and defenses.  However, the practice of meditation is quite simple and quite biblical.  David meditated on God's law day and night.  Elijah listened for God's still small voice.  Even Jesus withdrew from everything and everyone to get alone with His Father.  

In a crazy and harried world that seems to never slow down, detachment and Sabbath are vital.  Our minds need to be at peace.  However, meditation is not just about detachment from the world.  That is more the premise of Eastern meditation. (In my best low meditative tone-  Hummmmmm)  Biblical meditation goes beyond detachment to attachment to our Father God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  It is a place where our relationship goes deeper and our connection stronger.

Time spent alone with someone is relatively important in getting to know them.  In the dating process, couples spend time alone to grow in intimacy and establish a love that is beyond infatuation.  This takes time.  Not many people decide to get married after the first date, or get engaged after a couple dates.  There are exceptions to this of course (Mike and Patsy), but to establish a foundation that will stand through sickness and health, better and worse, richer and poorer, an intimacy must be formed and that takes intentional time together.

The same is true with meditation.  The driving motive behind meditation can not be duty or obligation.  That doesn't lead to love.  That leads to slavery.  The motive is love, desire for intimacy, wanting to know our God deeper and better. To learn to recognize his voice and stay in a place of praying without ceasing.  To hear and obey.  To walk and talk with Jesus.  This can be a reality, but this type of relationship takes time to form.

I can't teach you how to meditate, but I can tell you that it won't be natural or easy at first.  To find quiet anywhere, especially in our souls, is a challenge.  But if you will work at this, it will become a lifeline for you.  To detach from the craziness and unrest of the world and attach to Jesus is a great tool to have an abundant and victorious life.  

I would like to challenge you to set aside time every day and go to the same physical place with your Bible and meditate.  This is not a time to read large portions of Scripture.  Read something and dwell on it.  Let it get into you.  Write it on a 3 x 5 card.  Keep it with you.  Ask Father what He wants to show you in that passage, or parable, or word.  Then wait.  Listen. Write down what He is saying.  Put your name in the passage.  Make the Word personal to you.

The passage this week we are moving on is a great place to start. Joshua 1:8-9 is the perfect "proff text" for meditation.  Take time to let it get in you.  Here is an example of how to make it personal to you:

Amanda, study this Book of Instruction continually. (wait. listen.) Amanda, meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. (wait. listen. stop there if you need to. that's a lot to take in.)  Only then will I prosper and succeed in all I do. (wow. wait. listen.)  

I am going to stop at verse 8.  The challenge this week is to meditate on these verses every day. Find time alone in a quiet place and allow Father to speak to YOU through His Word.

Blessings!

Week 7:Psalm 25:9

"He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way."

Psalm 25:9

 

Happy Monday everyone!  We are going to stick with the humility promise for one more week with Psalm 25:9.  I really like this promise.  I think that too many times, we Christians don't realize all that we have in the death and resurrection of Christ.  Romans 8:11 says, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."  Hillsong sings a song called "You Are Here (The Same Power)" that sums it up with this line: "The same power that conquered the grave lives in me, lives in me."

 

This promise is one that gets overlooked too often.  Christianity isn't easy.  There are hard teachings and moral questions that tend to fall in "grey areas" for some people.  The different answers to these questions are what have led to all of the different denominations that we have today.  How should we be baptized?  How should we take communion?  How should we worship?  These are just a few of the surface questions that have caused separation in the body of Christ.  So who has the right answers?

 

Loaded question...I know.  Jesus Christ has the right answers.  He has all of the right answers.  He has the only right answers.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.  In a world that is slowly trying to get rid of the concept of universal truth, trying to convince us all that "truth" is a matter of personal opinion or preference, there is still a voice of reason.  It is the same voice that spoke all of us into being, and He is still speaking.

 

That's what makes this promise so alluring.  Those who humble themselves before the Lord will be taught His way.  God Almighty Himself will teach us what is right if we will humble ourselves before Him and acknowledge that His way is indeed the right way - the only way.  That's all we have to do and He will teach us.  John 14:26 tells us, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."  I can promise you're not going to get any better education than that!

 

I want to add a little challenge to the end of this.  We started a group on Facebook for this little challenge and I shared this challenge with them last week.  I share it with you now because it ties in perfectly with Psalm 25.  In verse 12 this theme of being taught is extended, "Who is the man who fears the Lord?  He will instruct him in the way he should choose."

 

I set out last week to learn how to fear the Lord.  Job 13:11 says, "Will not His majesty terrify you, and the dread of Him fall on you?"  I realized that I had never been terrified in God's presence.  Tenth Avenue North has a song called "Hallelujah" that opens with this line, "At first I was afraid, but not because of fear.  But the Holy of Holies was drawing me near."  I wanted that.  It sounds like a crazy thing to want, doesn't it?  I want to be terrified.  That's how deep I wanted to be in God's presence though.

 

And He did it for me.  I was painfully aware of how great He is and how I am not.  The combination of all that God is plus all that I am not creates an atmosphere of complete awe.  It creates the perfect environment for humility and even terror.  I am going to ask the Lord to do it again this week.  I would challenge you to try it too.  Hit your knees and invite the Lord to humble you, even to the point of terror.  Then move on His promise that He will reveal His way to you.

 

What are you waiting for?  Get MOVING!

Week 6: 2 Chronicles 7:14

"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14

 

This is kind of the verse that started this whole promise moving thing.  I talked in our first post, Introducing The Promises, about how this whole thing was spurred on by a quote I received in a text message during National Community Church's experiLENT.  For the 40 days of Lent, we were to meditate on humbling ourselves before God at 7:14 every day, with this verse as the focus.  So while it wasn't this exact verse that ruffled me out of my comfort zone, in a round about way it was the catalyst.

 

I don't have a whole lot to write about here.  It's pretty much an extension of what I posted last week about 1 Peter 5:6-7.  Humble yourself before God.  Realize that He is God and you are not.  Obey Him.  Listen to Him.  Let Him have everything.  Humbling yourself means that you give up even the things that you are best at. 

 

For a great example of humility I like to look at John the Baptist.  He knew His role.  More importantly, He knew the role of the One who came after him.  He knew that Jesus Christ was the Messiah.  He knew that He was not.  It is no coincidence that all four Gospels record John's statement that he was not even worthy to remove Christ's sandals...the job of a servant!  One of my favorite passages is found in John 3 when John's followers question him about the fact that Jesus is now baptizing more people than John.  John's answer?  "He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all" (John 3:30-31).

 

He wasn't upset that the Lord wasn't using him as much as He used to.  He wasn't angry that his name wasn't being nominated for saint-hood or placed on a certificate of achievement.  He knew his role and he knew the role of Jesus Christ as Lord of his life.  That's humility.

 

So hit your knees with us this week and pray to the Lord.  Spend time this week completely losing yourself in adoration of the God of the Universe.  Give Him everything you have to give Him...even the things "you don't need help with". 

 

I told my wife last night that I have one goal Monday morning, one prayer that I am asking of God - that He would terrify me with His presence.  Job 13:11 says, "Will not His majesty terrify you, and the dread of Him fall on you?"  It is impossible to be anything but humble when you are faced with that kind of encounter with the Lord.  Tenth Avenue North has an outstanding song titled "Hallelujah", in which the opening lines states, "At first I am afraid, but not because of fear.  But the Holy of Holies is drawing me near."

 

That's what I want.  And I believe that humility will get me there.  Won't you join me?  According to 2 Chronicles 7:14, if we do God will hear us, forgive us and heal us.  What more could you ask for from a Promise Maker Who never fails?

 

MOVE!

God is Faithful! (Week 4 Testimony)

Hello all!

I wanted to share a testimony of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness. Just this past week we moved on the promise from John 15:7 which says, "If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." We took this promise to heart and asked for some specific things this past week!

First of all, as a teacher I have the benefit of snow days and two-hour delays on occasion. I really desired to have a delay on Monday and the Lord provided as I asked. I know it sounds simple and unimportant, but the Lord cares about things big AND small! In addition to that He blessed me with a two-hour delay on Tuesday also! I'm really thankful for the extra hours!

In addition to asking for something small like a two-hour delay, I asked for something a little bigger this past week. My fiance and I are planning to wed on the 23rd of March (next month!!) and we recently put an offer on a house. The original closing date was scheduled for on or before Feb 15. If closing occurred on the 15th, I would not be able to move into the house until March 15th to give the seller a month to move out. That would only give us a week to get things ready before the wedding and we did not like that. We prayed and God provided according to His word!! Instead of closing on the 15th, we asked the Lord to close the house on the first of February (last Friday). He gave us the clearing on Wednesday of last week and the closing happened on none other day than last Friday (the first)! This gives us two extra weeks to set up the house and get me moved in before my wonderful fiance, Liz, joins me after our wedding.

Liz and I are so blessed in how the Lord has moved over the past 6 months or so. He is super faithful and never ceases to bless those who follow Him. Be blessed today knowing the Lord is on your side and as you call upon Him He will answer and provide even greater things than you might imagine. Don't be afraid to ask God for specific things and trust that, according to His word and will, He WILL provide!!

Week 5: 1 Peter 5:6-7

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:6-7

Wow!  What a promise!  We humble ourselves before the Lord and He exalts us!?!  Seems a little backwards doesn’t it?  What exactly do we mean by exalted.  Webster’s Dictionary defines exalt as, “to raise in rank, power or character.” and “to elevate by praise or in estimation : Glorify”  Are you getting how ridiculous this idea is?  And as if that isn’t enough, we also have the promise that we can cast all our anxiety on Him because He cares for us!

The Lord of all creation.  The Creator of the heavens and the earth. I AM!  Everything that God was and is and is to come is going to exalt us!  Everything that God is and He cares about our anxiety and worries.  It should be the other way around!  We should be the ones exalting Him.  That’s not the promise though.

So what does it mean to humble ourselves before God?  It’s all about your heart.  We have to come to the realization that He is God and we are not.  I like this promise in 1 Peter because it says that God will exalt us “at the proper time”.  I think this is a huge part of being humble before God, realizing that He has everything under control, including the time line of things.  Being humble before God isn’t worrying about how we are going to get our schedules to work or why we aren’t being healed or delivered from something on our time table, but instead giving it all to God because He is worthy of having it all.

Humble is the opposite of proud.  It’s giving everything we have to God – our money, our talents, our relationships – and knowing that He can do it all better than we ever could.  It’s laying all of our trophies down at the feet of Jesus and no longer striving for human accolades, but only for the love of the Father.

Yesterday in church, our worship pastor, Pastor Amanda, talked about why we lift our hands during worship service.  She talked about how it is an outward showing of what is going on inside of our hearts.  The same happens for me when I am humbling myself before God.  I like to get on my knees to pray; not because it’s comfortable…it’s not…and not because God hears me better from that position, but because it is an outward showing of what’s going on in my heart.  There are even times when I become so humbled by God that my knees aren’t low enough and I find myself flat on my face, practically trying to dig a hole in the floor to get low enough before the Almighty.

You don’t have to do those things.  It can be a very good place to start for no other reason than to allow your body to mirror your heart.  Humbling ourselves before God isn’t an act though, it’s a way of life.  Just like abiding in Christ.  And just like the abiding we did last month, I am looking forward to humbling myself under God’s mighty hand until it becomes so natural that I am constantly living in a state of humility before God.

Have a great week MOVING!