God's Word and the Discovery of True Freedom

 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth,   and the truth will set you free.”    John 8:31-32  ESV

    

    The importance of God’s living and active word to living a fruitful life of goodness, cannot be overstated. If we truly want to interact with God and experience his goodness living in us, we must be people who live in Scripture.  In fact, that is what the word “abide” means.  If we choose to just “visit” God’s word occasionally, then our interaction with God and our experience of the freedom of his goodness will be minimal.  If we are people who saturate our hearts and minds with God’s truth, we will be transformed in beautiful ways and discover true freedom.

   Do you believe this?  Is God’s Word important to you?  Does your current interaction with God’s Word reveal that it is important to you?  What can you do this week to more fully live in God’s truth?  Here are two ideas.  Choose one and do it every day this week.

1.Choose to read God’s Word twice a day instead of once.   Try “bookending” your day with God’s Word by reading it in the morning and close to bedtime.

2.Commit to memorizing Scripture and reviewing it each day.  The simple way of writing verses out on index cards and carrying them with you is very helpful.  There are also several good apps for smartphones , such as “Scripture Typer”.

Building and Sustaining Joy and Hope

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.   John 14:1-3  NIV

   Sometimes the struggles of this world are all too real and the joy of our future home in Heaven does not seem real enough.   Problems in this life can feel big  and insurmountable, while the pleasures of the next life can seem distant and almost nonexistent.   It becomes very easy to complain when this life is not going the way we want it to go. 

   Jesus knows our struggle is real.  That’s why He spoke the words above.  There really will be a day when we will be physically with him.  We will be amazed at his glory and ride high on the eternal bandwagon of his victory.  We will never again feel pain or doubt or confusion.

   One of the best ways to be inspired with the kind of hope that gives us strength to persevere with joy is to fill our heart with the truth of God.  This is what we call meditation.  We actually meditate every day of our lives. Unfortunately, we don't always meditate on helpful ideas.  Sometimes our meditation takes the form of worry because we focus on what could go bad rather than focusing on the good that God wants to produce in us.

 This week, write down the above verses on an index card or some other piece of paper and review them for a few minutes each day.  As you do, ask God to fill you with confident hope in Christ’s return and to help you remember that Jesus is looking forward to taking you to where He is.

Gaining the Treasures of Wisdom, Insight and Understanding

Your commands make me wiser than my enemies , for they are ever with me.  I have more insight than all my teachers for I meditate on your statutes.  I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.  
Psalm 119:98-100  NIV

   How much do you value wisdom, insight and understanding? They are among the richest treasures of this world because they empower us to fully enjoy life.  Unfortunately, they are highly undervalued by most people.  We tend to put much more energy into gaining the treasures of wealth and popularity, which provide far less help than we think for truly enjoying life.

   Wisdom, insight and understanding are not instant downloads.  They are planted in us as we meditate on God’s truth and they grow in us as we apply God’s truth in daily life.

   This week, practice this meditation and application process by taking these steps.

    1. Choose a command from Scripture.

    2. Write it on an index card, a piece of paper or type it as a 
        reminder in your phone.
    3. Review it and think about it several times a day.
    4. Ask God for opportunities to put them into practice.

For starters, I recommend Matthew 5:44; Philippians 2:3-4 or James 1:19-20.   

There Is No Progress Without Meditation

I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.

                                                                Psalm 119:15  ESV

   If we want to experience more of God’s gift of new life in Christ, it is important to make meditation on God’s character and ways a foundational part of our everyday life.  The natural tendency for us is to worry, obsess over and be distracted by the problems and difficulties in our lives.  While it is important to deal with these things, worrying and obsessing accomplish nothing.  Meditation, however, puts us in a positive frame of mind that empowers us to creatively overcome our challenges.

   How do we meditate?  It’s not complicated.  Meditation is simply choosing to fill our mind with thoughts about God’s character and ways and how these apply to our lives.  Meditating on God’s power and wisdom gives us confidence to tackle our problems.  Meditating on God’s love gives us hope because we will remember that he will bring good out of our bad times.  Meditating on the new life God promises us in Christ keeps us from settling for a less than holy life.  Meditating on all the good God has given us fills us with gratitude and helps us become generous to others.

   This week, set aside a few minutes every morning to reflect on God’s character and ways.  You may want to start with some of the ideas above.  Fill your mind with all of the potential goodness you can experience in Christ and you will find yourself moving toward that goodness and experiencing it more and more.

Two Key Spiritual Practices (and a warning)

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.  The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the Lord are right,giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.   Psalm 19:7-8   NIV

   Two key spiritual practices are memorizing Scripture and meditating on Scripture.  We often underestimate the power of Scripture and the life that comes to us through the words of Scripture, but these two practices help us experience that life and power.  When we memorize Scripture a seed of life is planted in our heart.  When we meditate on Scripture, it’s like feeding and watering that seed.  As that seed grows it produces life and wisdom in us.

   This week, write out the above verses on an index card or a piece of paper.  Seek to memorize them by repeating them to yourself phrase by phrase.  Even if you can’t memorize it completely, you will be meditating on it and it will increase your appetite for God’s truth in Scripture.  You might also want to write down the benefits of Scripture listed in these verses in a journal or in the margin of your Bible.

  * WARNING:  Be careful not to treat these practices, or any other spiritual practices, as required activities you must do for God to accept you.  If you fall into this thinking you will become discouraged, not encouraged.  God fully accepts us because of Christ’s work on the cross.  Spiritual practices are simply pathways to draw closer to God and strengthen our trust in him.  That’s what these SPAs are all about.

Finding Rest in God

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”        Jesus in Matthew 11:28  NIV

    Good rest refreshes us and reenergizes us.  In his book, Every Good Endeavor, Timothy Keller states,

       "Resting, or practicing Sabbath, is also a way to help us get perspective on our work and put it in its proper place. Often we can't see our work properly until we get some distance from it  and reimmerse ourselves in other activities.  Then we see that there is more to life than work.  With that perspective and rested bodies and minds, we return to do more and better work."

  Often We often make attempts at resting that are not at all refreshing or reenergizing.  The key to understanding this is the first three of Jesus’ words above, “Come to me”.   We discover the best rest when we come to Jesus.  Instead of plugging into TV or other electronic entertainment to escape from stress or feverishly pursuing a hobby that takes more energy from us, we can go to Jesus.

  Sometimes this may take the form of sitting or going for a walk by ourselves while we quietly acknowledge Jesus’ presence and  his sufficiency to refresh us.  Sometimes it may be a time of quietly meditating on Scripture or listening to Christian music.  Sometimes it may take the form of being with a group of friends with whom we can unload our burdens during a meal or through a time of encouragement and prayer with them.

    Whatever the case, if we want to find satisfying rest, we need to believe that Jesus is the best place to find it.  Hebrews 4:19 teaches us that it was a lack of trust that kept the people of Israel from finding the rest that God wanted to give them.  This week, set aside some time to come to Jesus for some refreshing and  reenergizing rest  by pursuing one of the pathways with him that is mentioned above.  If you need some Scripture for meditation, consider Psalm  23, Psalm 46 or  Psalm 36:5-9.