Introduction to Biblical Meditation (VI)

The last sentence in the book of Matthew is Jesus Christ making a promise to us, “I am with you always even to the end of the age,” Matthew 28:20. We tend to look at this as a salvation promise; but when we really break it down, it is so much more. Jesus is making a promise to the living today. He is wanting to make sure we are aware of His love for taking care of us right now. This is why Jesus in the gospel of John declares His intention is not only for those He was with currently, but also those who would come to know Him later in human history. John 17:20-26 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 “that they all may be one, as You, Father, [are] in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 “O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare [it,] that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Why is this important? Because God has created the tools necessary for His personal interaction with us on a daily basis. He is with us now just as much as He was with the disciples! He is more deeply intwined into the very fabric of our life than we could possibly imagine. This is why Biblical meditation is so vital in the life of the born again Christian. We are saved through faith, there is nothing we can do in order to attain such a perfect gift, but in salvation we are set free to pursue the Lord in ways that He intended us to be able to use.

I hope this series on Biblical meditation has helped you understand the reality of what meditation really is about. Remember, God is not far from us. He is begging to be part of our life in more than just salvation. He wants to help you in every stage, aspect, and event that we find ourselves in. He has a plan and a purpose for your personal life; all we have to do is slow down, get into His word, and truly seek after Him. Remember the promise Jeremiah 29:11-14  “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD.”

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-post Friday

A study on what tools we have as Christians. Read it HERE!

A Flavorful Life

If you have been a follower to Mill House Ministries for any amount of time, you have probably heard us state that we are ambassadors for Christ here on earth and have heard us quote Matthew 28:16-20 a number of times. If you do not know what that passage is regarding, it discusses the Great Commission, the call for all Christians to spread the gospel among all people and nations. While the fact that we have been commanded by Jesus Christ to do this places this commission on a standard that we must strive to meet, I feel as if we often forget how we are to do this. Today I want to discuss another standard that Christ has set before us in regards to our call of being ambassadors for Him.

“13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 5:13-16

For only being three verses, this passage packs a powerful meaning. In this passage we see not only how Christ views His followers, but also how we need to be acting. I want to point out here that the disciples Jesus Christ is addressing is not the twelve disciples that we know, instead Jesus Christ is addressing this statement to the large crowds that have followed Him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan (Matthew 4:25). I want to state that with this knowledge, we can automatically assume that the passage in Matthew 5:13-16 is meant for anyone who is a born-again believer in Jesus Christ. It is not a statement that has lost its meaning to us today.

Before we get into the meaning of this passage, I want to point out that verse 13 is not a passage arguing that we can lose our salvation. When we become followers of Christ there is nothing that can separate us from Him, “38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 “28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” John 10:28-29 are just two verses that dispel all argument that we can lose our salvation.

This passage begins by describing His disciples as salt of the earth. If anyone has spent any amount of time cooking, you can attest that the right amount of salt adds to the flavor of a dish, while too much ruins it and too little leaves the flavor falling flat. To be described as salt, Jesus is stating that those who follow Him are to add flavor to the world. Oftentimes, the worldview of Christianity is a boring life, the world would have us believe that to follow Christ is to live a life without flavor. That is not true, to follow Christ is to have a life full of adventure with the knowledge that we have someone backing us when we are struggling. A Christian does not walk through life alone. This is how our walk can be described as salt, for the unbeliever is subconsciously or consciously looking for something to fill the void that they are feeling. Many Christians have come to know Christ when they are at their lowest points in life, they then place their trust in Jesus Christ and begin to see that flavor in life that He has to offer.

I feel that verse 13 describes a Christian who has been walking in the faith for a larger amount of time, the person that Jesus is describing here is not a new believer but someone who has been involved in showing others Christ but has in short become burnt out by the world. Christians today are meant to walk amongst the world to show the lost that we have meaning to our life. We are meant to walk with our heads held high and our eyes focused on Jesus Christ so that when people reflect on our behavior they know that there is something different about us. We are meant to point them back to Jesus Christ by our behavior. The second half of verse 13 is meant as a warning. Again not that we can lose our salvation, but instead that when we walk around with our heads low and distracted by the fears of this world, we are not pointing others to Christ. They see someone without hope just as they are. This is how we lose the “saltiness” and by doing so we are not fulfilling the purpose that God has for us to lead others to Him.

The second description that Jesus Christ uses for His disciples is that of a light. To me this description is of a new believer. When you light a candle you create a new flame, something that was not there before. For a new born-again Christian, we become a new creation in ourselves, “17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Just as it would be foolish to place a candle under a basket, thereby hiding the light from it, it would be foolish of a new Christian to hide what Christ has done for them. We are called to shine among men and light their way. This means again that our behavior should be pointing to Christ. We should not hold back in sharing what God has done for us and the promises that He has for His followers. The “good works” described here is not anything that we can do on our own, but rather the post salvation actions we do in accordance with the Lord to further point those to Christ. Our behavior thus our actions and works need to be continuesly pointing people back the Christ. Let them see the adventure and the light that we have in Christ.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Introduction to Biblical Meditation (Part V)

As we continue our study of biblical meditation, we need to come to grips with the Christian philosophical aspects behind why God created this practice. God very much wants us to understand His ways and His intentions, Proverbs 23:26, “my son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.” This is why Paul, through the power of the Holy Spirit, gives a marvelous foundation and helps the reader and those who would aspire to worship the Lord in such a manner understand its practicality.

1 Corinthians 2:6-16 states the following, “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden [wisdom] which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed [them] to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know [them,] because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is [rightly] judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

  Here we see Paul break down the true understanding of why there is biblical meditation. Paul identifies that there are multiple types of wisdom, “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.”

This clearly identifies that there is wisdom to be sought after by those who are not following the Lord. If you want more evidence, just look at the harlot written about in the book of Proverbs. Nevertheless, the destination of such wisdom comes to folly, for nothing this world has to offer can compare to what the Lord has to offer us.

  However, Paul gives greater credence to not only the destination of such wisdom, but also its origins. “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden [wisdom] which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” We see that God’s wisdom cannot be found in man’s feeble attempts at religion, or through the craftiness of our own desires; but rather through God’s ordained foreknowledge. But why did He do this? Paul answers it clearly, “for our glory” which is why if the world truly understood, they would not have crucified the Lord. Ironically, Paul makes a rather remarkable statement by revealing the current absolute truth of Jesus Christ. The world crucified Him, He gave up His own life, He took it back up again. No one killed the Son of God, no one stole His life away but rather, Jesus willfully and perfectly laid it down. As if the crucifixion was not evidence enough of God’s love for us, He also has provided an eternal supported effort to help us understand His glory through biblical meditation. “9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed [them] to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”

God wants and desires to teach and reveal to us the mysteries of the universe, the answers to all the questions we could possibly muster. But first, we must have a relationship with Him. It is why Paul ends this section of scripture reflecting on the source of biblical meditation. “13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know [them,] because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is [rightly] judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

  You see, biblical meditation is crafted and designed around a God who loves and cherishes you and I. He has made this unique tool to build a better and more real relationship with us rooted in a living and breathing connection that He predestined before literal time began. How cool is that? Knowing that God crafted the very discussion and methodology practices for you and I to connect with Him in our daily life. He cared so much for you that even before time began and the fall of man had even happened, He was preparing the very knowledge we would seek to better understand Him and what His will is for us.

  So next time someone asks why biblical meditation is different than all other meditation rituals, practices, and other religious ideas; just explain to them what God did before time began. Biblical meditation is just another daily sign of God’s ever-present availability and love He has for His children.

God is not a distant God, and neither should we be. It is why biblical meditation is designed for two people together, God and you.

 Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A look back at how Jesus came before His humble arrival as a baby! Read it HERE!

An Unseen Witness II

Last week I had originally wanted to discuss Colossians 4:2-6. However, when I read through the passage I noticed that there was in fact two different subjects discussed. I am curious if you have noticed the two subjects as well.

“2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Colossians 4:2-6

The first subject is found in verses 2-4, which is what we discussed last week. This is that we can be an unseen witness to unbelievers. When we know of someone who is sharing the gospel to another, we don’t need to physically be there to have an impact. Our prayers are just as important; therefore we need to be praying for God to provide a door and the knowledge of scripture to witness effectively.

However, verses 5-6 hold another aspect that we need to take notice of. I ask that you read it again, “5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

While the verses 2-4 focus on the prayer life of the Christian, verses 5-6 focus on the conduct of the Christian. We need to be wise in the way that we act around “outsiders” in this sense, be wise in how we act around nonbelievers. Proverbs describes wisdom as the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10), these means that to have wisdom we recognize that we are sinners, and it is only through God’s grace and mercy can we be reconciled to Him. Our actions need to show this. We should not revile in sin because it not only brings harm to us, but tarnishes the name of the Lord for those who we are around. If our actions do not show that we belong to Jesus Christ, how can we convince others that they should have a relationship with the Lord of Lords and King of Kings?

This does not mean that we become like the Pharisees who held tradition over everything else. We need to meet the sinner at their level, relate to them but not be complacent in the sins. Paul describes it in this way, “20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the Law, I became as one under the Law, though not being under the Law myself, so that I might gain those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are without the Law, I became as one without the Law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might gain those who are without the Law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak; I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:20-22. Paul became like those around him in order to win them to God. He never lost his salvation in the process and by meeting them at their level, Paul was able to win them over to God. He did as Colossians five states, he made the most of every opportunity to present the gospel.

Verse six also describes the conduct of the Christian. When we talk we need to do so with the knowledge of scripture. While it is true that the Holy Spirit will guide us in our conversations with nonbeliever, we need to have knowledge of the scripture ourselves so that we can answer questions that are posed to us. When I first became a Christian, my husband joked that my favorite question regarding anything Biblical was “Why”. He states that I forced him to look at things to examine if it was “Christianese” something based out of church tradition, or if it was actually something Biblical. I had a lot of bad Biblical ideas to work around and this meant a lot of questions. Thankfully my husband had studied the Word and was able to answer my questions, those that he couldn’t he was able to help me find the answers. We need to be able to defend our faith, if someone poses a question regarding why we believe what we do, we need an answer. We aren’t going to be able to answer every question simply because of our limited understanding of the Word of God, this is when the Holy Spirit steps in. However, we should know the scripture well enough that we can answer the majority of the questions we are confronted by.

I hope in the last two weeks this has shown you more about the power that prayer has, but also that we need to be spending time in the Word of God. When we do, our conversations will be well seasoned and our actions will be able to point everyone around us back to our Savior Jesus Christ.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Who Are We?

I thought it prudent today to write you an encouraging word of who we are as a ministry. Mill House Ministries is unique in that our reach is global with readers coming from all aspects of life. However, at times we need to take a step back and remember that many of our readers might be new to the blog.

Mill House Ministries was started during the pandemic to fulfill what Christ calls us to do in Titus 2:11-15.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you”

We want to help encourage believers to keep their eyes on the Lord. But also point non-believers to their only true salvation being Jesus Christ. This world is increasingly dark and God has called all born-again believers to step up and proclaim the gospel and help those searching come to know Jesus as their blessed hope and savior as well.

If you are wondering about the name “Mill House” the name came out of a discussion regarding what wheat goes through to be made into something unique like bread. A Mill House is a place where wheat goes and is transformed. We want this blog to be a place for those to find the word of God and be transformed. As Titus 2 states, we want to “speak and exhort and reprove.” We will never be a replacement for daily scripture readings, but we want to be an additional encouragement reminding you that you are not alone! God’s Church is alive and while the signs of the times is very much apparent, God has given us a voice to proclaim the truth which is what we at Mill House Ministries want to do.

Mill House Ministries has a resource page which will help direct you to wonderful books about the Bible. We also have a Monday, Wednesday, and Repost Friday, every week. We want to walk each step of your journey with you, encouraging and uplifting you through God’s Word.

Finally, we want to help answer your questions. We have a contact page and we are more than happy to help answer Bible questions (if we do not know the answer we will attempt to find the person who will).

Here at Mill House Ministries, we want to be a resource in your journey following the Lord. No matter where you are in this journey we want to help.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A look back at Peter’s rejection of Jesus Christ. Read it HERE!

An Unseen Witness

We have all heard of the great commission given in Matthew 28:16-20, which born-again believers are called to go and make disciples of all nations and teaching the Word of God. When we are presented with the opportunity to witness to someone, that is exactly what we need to be doing. When I am reminded of Matthew 28, I am also reminded of Luke 12:11-12, “11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Matthew 28 talks of our duty as followers of Jesus Christ while Luke 12 encourages us not to be afraid that we won’t know what to saw when we are witnessing. However, I do believe there is another section that needs to be reviewed when we are considering witnessing. 

“2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way that I ought to proclaim it.”

Colossians 4:2-4

Often times when we are tasked with the idea of witnessing to someone we immediately believe that the only way to be effective is to have that one on one relationship with an individual to discuss Christ. All to often we feel that the only way to complete Matthew 28 is through teaching others of Christ. However, I do not believe that is the case and I believe that Colossians 4 shows this.

  We are all called to make disciples, there is no getting around that. We should not love someone to death and not teach them of Christ, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” 1 Corinthians 1:18. However, there will come times when we are not in the position to witness to someone. We could simply be made aware of the act of witnessing by someone who confides to us in situations such as life groups. This is where Colossians 4 comes in. If we are made aware that a fellow brother or sister in Christ is witnessing to someone, we need to approach the situation with prayer. If you are struggling on how to pray for that situation look again at Colossians 4. Pray that the door is open for the believer to witness and pray that God gives them the words to use to help lead someone away from their own eternal doom.

  Prayer is the artillery in a Christians life, it is why prayer is included in the armor of God described in Ephesians 6:10-19. And I fully believe that Christians do not use prayer as much as they should when it comes to witnessing to others. I know this is true for myself; both in the sense that I need to pray more for those around me who are witnessing to non-believers, but I am also proof that praying for those who are witnessing is effective. Before I came to know Jesus, I had my soon to be husband witnessing to me. However, unknown to me, he also had the men’s group that he met with praying for me. I can assure you that those praying were living out Colossians 4 and I encourage you now to live it out as well. You don’t have to be the one teaching someone about Christ; you can be just as effective in using the armor given to us by praying for their salvation, and praying that the one who is teaching the nonbeliever is able to accurately portray the Scriptures.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Introduction to Biblical Meditation (Part IV)

  As we have been looking at the Christian’s true practice and significance of meditation, we need to review one of the most well known and basic forms of meditation for the believer. Psalm chapter 1 helps us understand the holistic aspects of what God designed medication to do.

 Psalms 1:1-6 “1 Blessed [is] the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 4 The ungodly [are] not so, But [are] like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

  Let us break this down.

  Right at the start we see that God is connecting a blessing to those who meditate on His Word, and a warning on what not to focus on. Psalms 1:1 “Blessed [is] the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” To understand the blessing, we must first understand the warning. God’s warnings in verse one help identify the blessings.

  “Blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the ungodly”, this means there is ungodly people who are taking council together. This word “Council” in Hebrew means “ay-tsaw” which means to advice, implications, and plan. So God is telling us that we are not to seek advice from the ungodly.

  “Nor Stands in the path of sinners.” The word “stands” comes from the word “aw-mad” in Hebrew which means to stand in various relations, abide, appoint, arise, cease, confirm, continue to dwell, and be present with. Now you might quickly think, “How can we not be near those who are sinners in this world?” We know from scripture that Jesus Christ recognized that we would be in this sinful world, John 17:14-15 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” So what does this mean? Simply put, we are not to practice or stand with them in their sin. If someone was to say “All those who are drunkards please stand, we should not be accounted in that fellowship.” When they practice sin, we should not be a part of it.

  When we are not part of these two groups, we see that God immediately blesses the person.

  Yet, now we come to the aspect of which the heart of a Christian is revealed. “But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” There is a key part that we need to understand. Meditation does not make you a friend of God. You see that before meditation the Christian has already found their delight in the law of the Lord. This implies they know the Word, that they understand that they are sinners, and are in need of a savior: Jesus Christ. It is only here do we start to pursue meditation. This process is further backed up with Proverbs 9:10“The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One [is] understanding.” You see, meditation is something that will not bring about salvation of the person, it is something for those already saved to use as a building utensil for furthering their understanding of God. However, what does meditation do? For that we come to verse three.

  “He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.” Here we see that those who meditate day and night, continuously keeping focused on the Lord, and wanting to understand and apply God’s word in their daily lives are planted. This word “planted” comes from the Hebrew word, “Shaw-that” which means to be a root transplanted. This is the first time in the Bible this word is used, and God identifies that we were not naturally placed next to the source of life. This implies our history of not being saved, of not having the source of life with us. Yet, as a believer we are transplanted and are saved. This underscores the first rule of Christian meditation; that the individual must be saved prior to proper meditation. Meditation does not contribute in any way towards salvation.

  Mediation does bring forth fruit in its season. Fruit here is talking about the Hebrew word, “per-ee” which directly means fruit. The fact the description of “season” strengthens the argument the writer is describing fruit as the image the reader should understand. What does this mean to you and I? It means, that like different kinds of fruit; when we study God’s word and meditate on it, the fruit is diverse but practical for the season we are in. This is a promise that God’s word is practical in any time of our life. We can find something that will help us in any stage, environment, and/or event we are facing. God’s word is alive. When we come to understand this, we see why the second part of the blessing is so unique, “whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper.” When the fruit comes to blossom in its season, God will make sure it is adequate for you and I. It is why John 16:7, 12-13 states, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you…I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear [them] now. 13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own [authority,] but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

  When we meditate on the word of God we find ourselves with fruit for the precise moment that we need it in life. God continues to encourage this practice by establishing a comparison between those who cannot meditate because they are not His.

Psalms 1:4-6 “The ungodly [are] not so, But [are] like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

  The ungodly cannot stand in the presence of what life brings, and are blown away because of it. Now you might be wondering, “I see ungodly all the time and they look like they are doing just fine.” But remember the next part of this verse, “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” This is also a promise of God. Judgement here is discussing the Bema Seat Judgement which Paul gives greater details throughout His epistles, but sinners will not be given this opportunity nor have the luxury of being with the righteous. God is promising that while it might appear they are doing well, and even though you can walk in their council or stand with them it is not recommended since their end result is already sealed. God cares for mediation, but not at the expense of salvation, it is why He ends the chapter with Psalms 1:6 “For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Meditation if used inappropriately, can cause a self assurance of righteousness. God wants to make sure that we know meditation is for those who are already saved in Jesus Christ. Meditation helps us bring fruit in the right time of our life. So the next time you hear of meditation practices or hear about someone’s experience, take it back to the word of God and see if it connects to what we see here in Psalm 1.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A look back at Genesis 32. Read it HERE!

A Matter of the Heart

There are many different instances of Jesus performing healings all throughout the New Testament. When you sit and read through the gospels, it would be good to spend some time reflecting on the different occasions that Jesus either heals the blind, mute, or demon possessed. On the surface we are able to see the power of God to heal when others cannot. At another level, we can see Jesus’s authority over demons, but there are even deeper meanings that can be seen in these healings when we allow the Holy Spirit to show it to us. I believe that Luke 14:1-6 is one of those where there is more than what meets the eye.

“ One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they could not reply to these things.”

At first glance we see that Jesus was invited into the home of a Pharisee where He was closely watched. The reason for this is there was a man present who was ill; if you believed as the Pharisees did, you should not heal on the Sabbath. In short, this was a set up to accuse Jesus of not following the law. However, Jesus was aware of what the Pharisees were trying to do and so He presented to them a question, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? Jesus also presented the question of if a child or an ox was stuck in a well, would they not help it? For both of these questions the Pharisees had no answer. If the Pharisees said no, they would show that they were inhumane religious leaders who valued tradition over human life. If they said yes, they would break their own traditions regarding the Sabbath; and so they simply did not answer.

  On the surface level, this passage shows Jesus’ authority not only over illness, but also shows Jesus’ authority over mankind by being able to know what it was the Pharisees were thinking. However, I believe there is more to this passage and a deeper meaning begins with one simple word. Dropsy.

  If you were to research what dropsy is, you would see that it is a disease that causes excessive swelling of the soft tissue due to excess water. However, if you were to look at what dropsy does to a person you would find that dropsy has been seen in people suffering from heart disease. What I find interesting about this is that when we place our faith in Jesus we receive a new heart. “7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” Jeremiah 24:7. The man who was suffered from dropsy was in short given a new heart, and I believe that this is because while the Pharisees meant to use him to trick Jesus, the man truly believed that Jesus was the Messiah. He had a heart that knew God and as a reward, he was made well!

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Introduction to Biblical Meditation (III)

I wonder if you and I are the same in this, but when my mind first hears the word meditate I think of sitting quietly controlling my breathing and attempting to clear my mind. I envision reciting a Mantra over and over, images of monks and other so called experts come to my mind. How tragic, since these images are contradictory to what the word “meditation” truly means and was designed for. We get a glimpse of the true meaning in Websters dictionary 1828 edition which states, “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. His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”  The word in Hebrew is Hagah which Strongs reveals more to the source, “to murmur, to ponder imagine, mourn, roar, speak, study, talk, utter.”

What is unique about this definition? It is an action that involves two people. Webster and Strong’s both point to a characteristic that is forgotten by many. Meditation is the act of two working through the subject together. It takes two people to talk, to utter, to bring forth something in conversation. The Greeks understood this, and it is why we see that the writing of Socrates and other philosophers was a discussion. For the born again child of God, we can see the intimacy of this with studying scripture. Jesus Christ is with us, His Spirit and the Father are with us as we study. The Holy Spirit guides and orchestrates the word for us.

John 16:7, 12-15 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you…I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear [them] now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own [authority,] but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare [it] to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare [it] to you.”

Meditation is the act of us coming together with the Lord and studying His Words, talking to Him and having Him reveal more of who He is to us. Over the next couple weeks, I want to show you how this was exemplified by those in the Word. We will also see how we can, as fellow believers, meditate togther. God believes in fellowship and has orchestrated the most sacred aspects of learning more about Him in this manner. It is why meditation is so unique when used accurately. So let us shed the preconceptions of meditation and what the world says we should do, and let us go back to the source and see what God’s Word says.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A look back on one of the two choices we are all presented with. Read it HERE!

A Question of Unbelief

Not all that long ago, I wrote a post regarding how faith is hope in things that are unseen. However, what about the times when that hope must be faced with things that you can see? This was a question that was brought to Jesus’s attention by one man. How can we have faith in God when we are routinely faced with visible aspects that are out of our control? This is the scenario that we find in Mark 9:15-27.

“As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” Mark 9:15-18.

Here we see a father who had brought his son to Jesus’s disciples for help. His son had been possessed by a spirit that caused him physical pain as well as the inability to speak. The father had seen this happen to his son day in and day out with no help. I am sure this father sought out any way that he could to have his son helped and now he has come to the disciples, but even they are unable to help. There is no doubt in my mind that the father was probably thinking that the disciples were his last best chance to help his son. I can only imagine the pain and heartache that he was going through. Which makes the father’s response to Jesus in the next passage understandable even though it is misguided.

19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Mark 9:19-21.

“If you can”, the father was in the presence of the Son of God Himself! And yet, because he had seen so many others fail, the father was unsure if even Jesus could help his son. While we do not know the age of the son, I do believe that he was at least in his teens to early adulthood based on the father stating that this has been occurring since his son was a child. So for years the father had been seeking out help for his son and was routinely disappointed. For years the father watched his son struggle and be in pain, and there was nothing that anyone was able to do for him. It is unsurprising that the father would expect another disappointment, and yet in the next passage you can see that the father was still holding out hope that his son could be healed.

  23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-24. Jesus points out blankly to the father that everything is possible for those who believe. The father replies that he does believe. My impression of the father’s response in verse 24 is that he does believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but the father had been let down so many times that he was unsure if God would listen to him. I don’t believe that the father was doubting that God was able to heal his son, but perhaps doubting if God cared enough about him to do this.

  This is a scenario that I feel many face in their Christian walk. We have come to a point where we have been disappointed so many times by mankind that we doubt if God is able to help us. We become so disheartened that we forget that God is bigger than our problems that we are facing day to day without end. It is in these times that we must remember Jesus’s response that “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23. In these times we must ask just as the father did for help with our unbelief. We must pray that God gives us the strength to face the challenges we are in so that our hope is not diminished. When we do, we will see just as the father did, how God will work and bring a resolution to our situation. For the father, this meant a restored son (Mark 9:25-27). For us, it means that our faith grows stronger in God’s power to defeat the trials that we see and are experiencing. But do not forget, our faith is built on a trusted source, it is Jesus Christ who we have faith in, and it is Him who saved the boy and will also save you. Our faith might be in the unseen, but it is not blind, when Jesus is the center of such trust, our faith is secure.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Introduction to Biblical Meditation (II)

Shoppers and merchants consumed the crowded street on both sides. Mouth-watering smells of sweet ginger and beef lingered in the air. The clouds displayed dark hues of grayish charcoal, in contrast to the bright crimson red of the Chinese buildings. The buildings were all in unison; decoratively embroidered with golden tassels and trimming, with statues of dragons on corners, and architecturally important places. What started as an early walk in the cold crisp air had turned into a morning exploration wanting to see the new environment of where I had found myself. This was my first time to China and I was determined to spend every waking moment seeing the sights, culture, and people. What I did not realize I would find while I was there, was the very realistic understanding of difference in opinion with meditation. By coincidence or fate, I happened to cross a Buddhist temple. The fragrance of light smoke coming over the gateway through their courtyard cut through the merchant aroma as a knife through butter. The Buddhist monks dutifully about their responsibilities, traditions, and obligations. Ironically, the sight quickly brought my attention back to my days living on the reservation and being a eye witness to the practices of the medicine men. Like the Buddhist monks, the medicine men dutifully performed their traditions and obligations. The beat of the moose hide drums were almost in unison with the swirling Buddhist scent. Both experiences were almost a decade apart on two different continents, and yet I realized the same uneasy feeling had crept into my stomach, “This was man’s attempt to meditate.” Mistakenly, I assumed all meditation was wound up into one of these two distinct differences and yet to my shame I did not immediately search out God’s Word for what the true answer was.

  Years would pass by and not a thought towards the subject had come across my mind, until I was walking in a rather large church and I recognized the meditation smell coming out of a room. Now to my bewilderment I did not understand why I was smelling such an aroma in a church. Following the scent, I found myself next to a room dedicated to Yoga, and “Christian Meditation.” I quickly asked myself, “Why on earth was this being allowed in the Church?” To my utter amazement the church (which will be nameless) was encouraging and training Christians to meditate in this manner. They called it Christian Meditation. My question to the church leadership was, “If this is Christian, why did my mind immediately race to Buddhist and Native American Medicine Men practices?” The leadership attempted to persuade me this was well grounded in Biblical truth and supported by main stream Bible organizations. However, they could not provide any solid contextually supported Bible verses for the very thing they were endorsing and training Christians to do. It was here that I finally realized my need, desire, and recognition of duty to fully understand what true Biblical Christian Meditation (BCM) really is. My goal is to help warn my brothers and sisters of the encroachment that has been found in the Church and to help encourage real BCM in our daily walk. God has made meditation for a unique purpose so that we can learn and draw near to our Heavenly Father. However, Satan like in other topics, has taken what was designed to be good and manipulated, polluted, and poisoned it into something that now hurts and pushes us away from our God. A.W Tozer once said, “Christianity at any given time is strong or weak depending upon her concept of God. And I insist upon this and I have said it many times, that the basic trouble with the Church today is her unworthy concept of God.”[1]

  Many Christians are too afraid to utilize meditation due to the word and images that cross into our mind. We think immediately of the negative ideas and other religious practices that focus intensive energy into meditation practices. I respect your cautiousness and want to help you come to a better understanding of what God’s Word says about meditation. For others, they might already be put off due to their daily practice of Yoga or their church might also have adopted some of these religious practices. If you are in this group, I would encourage you to also stay around and see how God’s Word can help us understand what is right and what is wrong in practicing meditation. BCM can be something that helps enrich the soul for better understanding of Christ. It can lead us into visualizing a challenge of scripture that we are wrestling with and allow us to see it from a different perspective. BCM can calm the nerves, heighten the spiritual awareness, and bring focus to our lives that is desperately needed. What I ask for is patience and a spirit of the Berans, “And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.” Acts 17:11. Take everything I say back to the Word of God and examine it for yourself. As we continue on this journey together, let us come to the feet of Jesus and learn what it truly means to repeat what is found in Psalm 1:2, “but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.” Because as we will learn through scripture, when we meditate on God’s Word we can see His Word come to life in our lives  Joshua 1:8, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

[1] A.W Tozer The Attributes of God Volume 1 Pg. 41.

Re-Post Friday

Our second look at one of Jesus Christ’s arrivals before His birth. Read it HERE!

A Music Challenge

Have you ever been listening to a worship station, and it suddenly occurs to you that some of the songs being played you would find on secular stations? Have you realized that the stations that are meant to play songs that glorify God and remind the believer that He is our hope, are playing songs that either don’t mention God at all, mention Him as an afterthought, or are even heretical? I certainly have. In today’s world where more and more “Christian” musicians and even pastors are coming out and stating that they actually do not believe in God, I have a challenge for you. When you turn on the radio or whatever you use to listen to worship music, I ask that you really sit and reflect on the words of the songs. Which is what I am wanting to do today, I want to look at a song that is commonly played on the Christian station. The song that I want to discuss is the song “Breakup Song” by Francesca Battistelli.

In order to not have the song take up the majority of this post, I am only going to show the chorus of the song but ask that you look at the rest of the lyrics yourself to see that I am not pulling it out of context.

“Fear, you don't own me
There ain't no room in this story
And I ain't got time for you
Telling me what I'm not
Like you know me well guess what?
I know who I am
I know I'm strong
And I am free
Got my own identity
So fear, you will never be welcome here”

When you listen to this song, you see that the artist is stating that she is “breaking up” with fear. Now when you hear the song it is rather ambiguous about what is causing the fear. Is it an abusive relationship that they finally have the strength to leave? Is it just normal fears and doubts that are weighing the artist down? You don’t really know and so this song can be relatable to different people in different stages of life. This in and of itself is not a bad thing and I am not saying that this song is bad, however, when you look at the lyrics you see that the song is very “me” centered. The artist states that she has “her own identity” but does not specify what that is. For the born-again believer, our identity is not in ourselves, but in Jesus Christ the Son of God. This is a fact that the artist overlooks throughout the entire song. The born-again believer does not need to be worried because Jesus has overcome the world and everything in it, “33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”” John 16:33

Now my second issue with this song, the artist states over and over again that they are freed from fear. While this may sound like an encouraging thing, it is overlooking the fact that we are supposed to have fear of God. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10. Now this fear of God is not a bad thing and often our minds associate the word “fear” as to be afraid of something. The “fear of the Lord” is more so of an acknowledgment of the awe that born-again believers should have in regard to a God who has every right to judge us and yet He frees us from sin. Our fear of Him is knowing we should be condemned and so we surrender to God and His will.

Now as an act of comparison, I ask that you randomly open a chapter in the book of Psalm. This is exactly what I have done for this post and so I landed on Psalm 67.

“May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known on earth,
    your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you judge the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

6 The earth has yielded its increase;
    God, our God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us;
    let all the ends of the earth fear him!”

Psalm 67

Can you see the difference? In some worship songs out there it is very “me” centric but true Biblical worship has the focus on God. In this very short psalm, the focus is on God and we can find so much encouragement in it. This is why I ask you all to look at the songs that are being played and sung; not just on the radio, but in our churches as well. If you find a song that is being ambiguous about if it is worshiping God, bring it up to your pastor. Take the Biblical references found in songs back to the word of God! This is why the Berean’s received such praise, “11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11

Being a Berean is not just in regards to checking on Bible verses ourselves, but it is also in regards to knowing what we are singing. If we are setting aside time to worship God through music, the music needs to glorify Him. King David did this very well as we can see in the psalms that he wrote. The psalms were meant to be played to music and when you look through them, you see in every one there are verses dedicated to glorifying God, praising Him, and even psalms that are designed to ask God questions. We cannot simply assume that because a song is being played on a “Christian” station, that it is in fact a song that is honoring God. In fact many of today’s so called Christian worship leaders are wolves in sheep’s clothing, causing the true born again believer to sing songs that have no business being used in Church or any other time worshiping our God. I challenge you to not be passive in this area of your faith; sit and listen to the words and the meaning behind the songs, take them back to scripture to see if it would be similar to what is found in the book of Psalms or is it being played because the artist supposedly claims to be a Christian? I hope that if you do this challenge, you will find songs that truly worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Introduction to Biblical Meditation

Today I wanted to do a second recap on the Basics Course that we just finished and had been doing for over a year. However, for those who don’t know, the Basics Course was designed around a quick review of the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. This was a crash course, something designed to help someone who had virtually no clue come to see what each book was about and give them an idea of what to expect when reading. Moving forward, I thought it would be prudent to remind the readers that the Word of God is not a “scheduled read the Bible in a year” that should be done all the time. In fact, there are times in our life when God’s Word might need to reside for a period of our life. We need to have a basic understanding however, we should not stop there. God calls us to meditate. Over the next several weeks I would like to go on a journey with you and see what it means to truly meditate as God sees meditation. Remember that no matter the topic, we take everything back to the Word of God and see what God says. By doing this, we can see the richness and guidance that He has carefully crafted in our life. God’s Word is applicable and we should see how it can be placed in our life, 2 Timothy 3:16 states,
”All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness.” But how do we know when to apply and if we are applying the right aspects of God’s Word? For this reason, I want to go on this journey with you and find out.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

The first in our two part series on the choices that everyone faces. Read it HERE!