Friday, January 20, 2012

Heavens Light 1-20-12 Daily Delighting in the Word

 

Daily Delighting in the Word

Jeremiah 15:16

Thy words were found and I ate them, And Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;

For I have been called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts. NASB

 

Abiding in the Word

The first basic discipline of Christian life is daily meditation in the Word of God. This is because the Word is how God reveals Himself to us, where He speaks to us, and how He nurtures the divine life that is in us through regeneration. God has shown us some of His divine attributes through the natural revelation that we see in the creation around us. When we look at the creation we learn some things about God’s beauty, His creativity and almighty power. But in the Scripture God has given us a very special revelation of Himself in hundreds of very specific ways designed to reveal His character and nature to us. In fact, His Word so comprehensively reveals His nature that it is like God speaking to us about Himself, about ourselves, and about the nature and purpose of our existence as His creatures. This is why He calls it His Word, because it is in the Bible where God speaks to us. Now this is no small thing. Indeed the Word of God is also the way that God nurtures the divine life that is in the believer that he or she received when they were born again by the Spirit. God has chosen to nurture our spiritual life through the Word as we partake of Him through reading it, meditating on it, and praying through it, as if it were the very food that sustains God’s life within our soul. This happens by the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, who teaches us and imparts the divine life to us through the Word. Without a regular time of meditation and prayer in the Word, our spiritual life will surely be deficient and undernourished. Because of these truths about the Word of God, it is therefore the most important and basic discipline to regularly experience our relationship with God through the Word, where He will reveal Himself to us, speak to us and impart His divine life to us.

2 Peter 1:3-4 - seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

1 Peter 2:1-2 - 2 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, NASB

Daily meditation – a renewed mind

The Bible is an amazing book. It is not just a book you read for information, it’s a book you read for transformation. The Words of the Bible are the very Words of God and they powerfully change your heart and life as you consider and meditate upon them. The Bible enlightens us with God’s wisdom and it changes the way we view our world and thereby transforms our thinking to be consistent with reality. It penetrates our hearts and like a sharp knife that cuts out the cancer of sin from our lives causes us to discern good from evil. It judges the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, whether they are good or evil and thereby conforms us to God’s goodness in the very inner part of our soul. The Word is nourishment to our soul and equips us and makes us grow spiritually. The Bible comforts us with its magnificent promises, fills us with joy, and gives us hope and encouragement to persevere even in through the toughest of times. The Bible teaches us about God’s amazing character and His divine attributes so that we will properly fear Him, praise Him and worship Him according to the honor that is due His great name. Through it we learn to know and experience God and His Son Jesus the Christ, for whom all things exist. The Word of God is the wellspring from which all of God’s blessings flow into our life.  The Bible is the living Word of God.

Psalm 119:11 - Thy word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against Thee.

Psalm 119:104-105 - From Thy precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path.

Psalm 119:128-130 - Therefore I esteem right all Thy precepts concerning everything, I hate every false way. Thy testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul observes them. The unfolding of Thy words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

Now it is of utmost importance that a Christian disciple learn to meditate on the Word. This is an important priority for Christians, and we should be on a weekly reading plan and making daily progress in the Word, learning to know God. Because of the life transforming power and supernatural wisdom of the Word, it takes much concentration and thought to ingest, absorb, and understand it. In fact, we can only truly understand it as the Holy Spirit gives the understanding to us. This He does as we humbly come to Him seeking His face and desiring to learn and draw from the divine Light and Life that is in the Word. It is important that while meditating we do so with a humble heart of faith and trust combined with an attitude of prayer and communion with God. When we come to God in the Word, we must expect to meet Him there where He will speak to us by His powerful Word. This will have a powerfully transforming effect on our life which will grant us everything we need for life and to be like God, and will become the fountain of God’s blessing in our life. It is therefore of utmost importance to do this daily so that God’s truth and divine mercy through the Word are new to us every day.  A Christian disciple must learn to feed themselves upon the Word through daily meditation. One major priority for the Christian is to develop a habit of daily meditation.

Joshua 1:8 - This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

Psalm 1:1-3 -  How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. NASB

 

 

 

If you would like to know how to know Jesus Christ and be ransomed from your sins and enter into eternal life…..click here to find out how..... http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/2425

 

 

If you have comments or questions, please do respond to shaan@heavenslight.org

 

 

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Shaan Sloan

Heritage Christian Fellowship - ABQ

505-348-5092

The Lord is the Strength of My Life

 

 

 

 

 

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