The Pause that Refreshes

So, what's in it for me? That seems to be the bottom line
for modern Christians! Biblical Meditation is a way
to connect with God through His language, His heart,
His Word. The Holy Spirit is eager to give all those
who take the time to search for HIM through His
Word, insights and understanding--and then there are
these specific promises:

Refreshment of spirit
Great fruitfulness
Success in the living, working routine of life

Psalm 1:3
(the one who meditates in God's Word) shall be
like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that
bringeth forth fruit in its season; his leaf also shall
not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Reader, is it not worth 20 minutes of your day to sit
with pen and paper and your Bible open? Put away
your devotionals where someone else has heard
from God, and see what He will say to you personally.
I was introduced to the practice of Biblical Meditation
back in 1982. It has transformed my quiet times and
has brought forth fruitfulness in my life. It connects
me with the Vine from which all Life flows.
I continue to read large chunks of the Bible but the
practice of lingering is the pause that refreshes!

Suggestions for where to start:
Psalm 139; Psalm 23; Psalm 19; John 1; Ephesians 1;
Romans 5,6; 1 John 1-5; Revelations 1-3.

Be Transformed

How can we avoid being conformed to this world?

How can we be transformed?

How can we renew our minds?

These questions rolled around my mind after posting

the last verse in the last blog:

'Do not be conformed to this world,

but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that ye may prove what is that good, 

and acceptable

and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1,2)

David says in Psalm one:

'Blessed is the man...whose delight is in the law of 

the Lord: and in his law does meditate day and night.'

Meditation is big in the church today, but the package

comes with an empty mind waiting for someone to fill 

it. That 'someone' is not necessarily our God. No 

David is very specific on what to meditate on and how 

often. Biblical Meditation comes, first of all, with a

delight in God's Word. It is a pleasurable thing to do,

not an ought! It is letting a small portion of scripture--

a verse, a line, fill your thoughts throughout the day.

I read the Bible in basically two ways. I read it in 

large junks, but if something grabs me, I go back to

it and ponder. I have done chapters and even books

one or two verses at a time. For me it is important to

get my thoughts down on paper, read it over, add to it,

 then take the things I'm learning and bring it to mind 

during the day.

Reader, there are huge benefits to taking the time to

wallow in a verse of scripture. That is where I'm

going tomorrow...

To Resist or Surrender?

Back in college I read a small book by this title. It
matched the questions deep within. 'When do I
resist and when do I surrender?' I really didn't want
to look at this too closely. Scripture tells us to obey
and to surrender to God in everything. Frankly, I
often applied the resistance to things I did not like,
things that hurt, things that were straight from the
hand of God whose desires us to be conformed to
His image. He Himself is our shield and nothing can
reach us unless He opens the way: sickness, poverty,
loss, betrayal? YUK! I just want to be happy and
have a worry free life.

What are we then, to resist? The enemy of our souls,
who constantly misrepresents God and accuses us
of failure. Blah, blah, blah.

Peter says:
'Be sober, be vigilant; 
because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, 
walketh about
seeking whom he may devour: 
whom resist 
steadfast in your faith. (2 Peter 5:8,9)

Paul says:
'I beseech you therefore, brethren, 
by the mercies of God, 
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable, unto God 
which is your reasonable service. 
And be not conformed to this world, 
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, 
that ye may prove what is 
that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God. 
(Romans 12: 1,2)

Righteousness In Him

For the past few days and the last couple of blogs,
I have been pondering 2 Corinthians 5:21:

'For he hath made him to be sin
for us,
who knew no sin,
that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him.'

The righteousness of God? Me? Come now, how
can that be true? God can't mean this? Maybe a
mistake in translation? Maybe after I die?

Think of it from this point of view: God, the Holy
God, the Father, made His Son to become sin
for us...What a radical statement! What a radical
outcome!

The phrase, 'he hath been made' is the active voice
in Greek. This means that the act is accomplished
by the subject of the verb, and that what was
accomplished, continues.

God is the subject, and what He accomplished
continues to radically change lives down through
history.

How should we then live?
'Who his own self bare our sins in his own body
on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should
live unto righteousness...'

If we comprehend what God has accomplished for
us, we will live a changed life!

Re-Visit

For He (God) has made Him (His Son) to be sin for 
us, who knew no sin. 2 Cor 5:21

'He was smitten of God and afflicted'
'The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all'
'It pleased the Lord to bruise Him.'

God initiated and carried it out. Jesus was the
object of His wrath, the 'Isaac' who was bound
to the altar.

Reader, I can't sweep this under the rug with a flip
comment. Nor can I ignore the sovereignty of God
in my own life when bad things come. If we can
only keep our suffering in context with the BIG
picture, we will go from a grumble to genuine praise!

Our greatest need is to have a far greater revelation
                    of our Lord.

The Gift

He made Him who knew no sin
to be sin for us,
so that we might become 
the righteousness
of God in Him. 
2 Corinthians 5:21

Through identification with His death I can be freed 
from sin, and have His very righteousness imparted
as a gift to me. The teaching is not Christ for me
unless I am determined to have Christ formed in me.
(OC)

Reader, the above is one of the most incredible
verses in the Bible. It is an easy read. The first
phrase is comprised of one syllable words, the
second half is also a simple construct. When do
we become the righteousness of God? When we
identify with His death, His righteousness is
imparted to us as a gift. Tell me, when have you
heard this clearly explained to you? Have you
ever heard that salvation is not for you unless it
is your determined desire that Christ be formed
in you? How does this happen? Through letting
go and letting God have His way regardless of
the cost. It cuts across all that I want for myself!

He--
the Creator of all,
the King of kings,
the Lord of Lords,
the Holy One,
became sin...

Sunny

'I am shut in so that I cannot escape.'
Ps 88:8

If all of life were sunshine,
Our face would long to gain
And feel once more upon it
The cooling splash of rain.
Henry Jackson Van Dyke

Reader, I have seen very little of rain in the past
three months--lots of sunshine and highs in the
triple digits. This poem caught my eye. Some of
you are also longing for a cool rainy day!