How to Meditate, Part 3

The scriptures need to be the centerpiece of your meditation, second only to Jesus Himself. Since meditation is all about changing the attitudes of our hearts, we need a measuring rod to tell us what needs to be changed. This is the role of scripture, to teach us right from wrong, so we can prayerfully, humbly, and confidently approach the Lord and ask Him to minister to our hearts in these areas.

Finally, Christian growth is a process that starts when we come to know God and ends when we finally see Him face to face. Either by death or the rapture, that is the only way to achieve perfect maturity as a Christian.

"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure." 1 John 3:2-3, ESV

Mditation, then, is an ongoing process of growth that the Christian should embrace. It incorporates the mind as well as the heart and spirit, and it is all about growing closer to Christ. It is about submitting different aspects of our lives to Him, one by one, until our entire hearts have been completely submitted to Christ and He rules over every single area.

"Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass. And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday." Psalm 37:5-6, AMP

Like the rising of the sun described in Psalm 37:6, this process takes time, starting slowly, and shining brighter until it reaches its peak. So, I encourage you to be patient with yourself. Likewise, this process is very systematic. So, I encourage you to device a "meditation plan". Identify the major areas of your life that need to be submitted to the Lord, make a list of them, prioritize them, and then start applying the scriptures to them one by one. Once the list is complete, make another one, and start the process all over. You will never run out of things to put on the list, and if you do, just ask the Lord for His guidance. He will be able to fill your list.

Make room in your plan to go back and review those items that you have completed. This is called "maintenance." As we go through life, our environment, the people that we come into contact with, and the hurts and pains of life, will all have an effect on our minds and hearts. So, this, along with repentance, is a vital part of our growth. The continual washing of our feet as we walk through this dirty world (see John 13:10).
Keep in mind, however, that the goal is never to become sinless or perfect. The goal is simply to grow closer to Jesus and to build a closer and more intimate relationship with Him. To open your heart to His love and grace and train your mind and heart to trust in Him regardless of the outward circumstances of this world. After all, we are called to "be in the world, not of it".

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13, ESV

How to Meditate, Part 2

Once we have identified those areas God is leading us to work on, we need to understand the underlying needs from which this issues stem. Is it a desire to be loved that is causing this problem? Is it a lack of trust in God? Is it a need for attention? Is it selfishness? Is it a combination of these or other aspects? This is what I think the Lord was trying to tell us when he said:

"Consider well the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established and ordered aright." Proverbs 4:26, AMP

Once the underlying heart issue is identified, then we can start to meditate on those attributes of God that address that need. Even though all the different aspects of God should be studied and meditated upon, I have found that there are three major areas of the character of God that I tend to focus on. I do not know if these would help everyone in the same way they help me, but they certainly do seem to address most of my heart problems. They are:

The Goodness  of God: His love and kindness, good intentions, and plans towards us (including the way in which he disciplines us).
The Wisdom of God: His knowledge of what was, is, and is to come. His knowledge of the things that are hidden in our hearts, even from ourselves. His knowledge of our past and future and what He wants for us. His way of thinking and making decisions that include this knowledge that escapes our understanding.
The Power of God: His ability to perform and bring to pass that which he has purposed. His control over ever situation, at every time, everywhere, in every way. His omnipresence.

These three can then be applied to each area of your life to produce change in our hearts. This list is by no means an exhaustive list of God's character. This could not be done in such a short essay. For a better study on God's character, let me suggest a book called "The Attributes of God."My small group and I are going through it at the moment and it has proven to be a very beneficial study.

If you would like to start meditating but need guidance, let me suggest that you start by looking at the sermon of the Mount (Matthew 5-7). If you read these few chapters carefully, you will notice that they do not speak specifically about our behavior but of the attitudes of the heart. Inspect your actions and your heart and identify one or two of the areas mentioned in this sermon that the Lord would have you improve upon. This should not be hard to do. You probably already know what they are because the Lord has been convicting you about them. Then dig a little deeper and try to understand what your heart is looking for. Once you understand that, just meditate on the attributes of God that will minister to that need.

Romans 12:2, Philippians 4:8, Isaiah 26:3, Proverbs 4:23-26, Romans 12:1-2, Proverbs 17:22, Deuteronomy 4:9, Deuteronomy 6:6-9

-G

How To Meditate, Part 1

To some, meditation is something done sitting cross legged at the top of a mountain by highly spiritual people. But this is not exactly the Biblical idea of meditation. So what do the scriptures say about this?

"And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then]  You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.  And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets (forehead bands) between your eyes.  And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:6-9, AMP

From the Deuteronomy scripture above, we can see that meditation should be a way of life. Something that we do throughout our lives. A similar concept can be found in Philippians 4:8, where we are told to keep thinking about everything that is excellent and praiseworthy. and at the beginning of Romans 12, where we are told to sacrifice the entirety of our being as "spiritual worship" to God,  and then to be transformed by renewing our minds.

First and foremost Christian Meditation should always be done in communion with God. It is Him who produces change in our hearts. Knowing Him and building intimacy with Him is what will produce those results that our hearts yearn for so desperately. So the change of our heart's attitudes can not exclude God. It is something we do with Him and with His leadership. He knows our hearts better than we do. So meditation always start with asking God to reveal the sinfulness within us and show us those areas that He wants to change in us. The scriptures say:

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom)." 2 Corinthians 3:17, AMP

When we meditate we are opening our hearts and lives to the spirit of God. When our heart, which are in bondage to sin come into contact with the spirit of God, they are set free. From His Spirit, love, peace, joy, and every good thing flows into our hearts. To the point where this overflows into every aspect of our lives and becomes a blessing for everyone we come into contact with.

"The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45, AMP

-G

How To Change Your Heart

I admonish you to use wisdom with what I am about to say. If you have not done so, please read my article on Religion vs. Relationship and keep that in mind as you read through this section.

Lets just start by saying that nothing can be done with absolute perfection. Attempting to have a perfect heart is setting yourself up for failure, so I would suggest that if you decide to apply what we will be talking about today, that you do so with an attitude of grace and patience towards yourself. On the same note, regardless of how much you change, it will never be enough to attain salvation or any degree of righteousness on your own strength.

Having said that, even though we might not reach a state of perfection, that does not mean that we should not work towards improving our relationship with God. Though the effects from meditation and changing your heart will produce a mindset and perception that will make your life much more pleasant and enjoyable, I encourage you to not let that be the sole motivation behind your meditation. You should approach this as an act of worship towards God (see my article on What is Worship). The results that will follow will be just that, the results that come from a closer relationship with Him.

Christian meditation has one objective, only one, an no more than one. The objective is to become closer to God, growing in intimacy with Him, and learn to love and trust Him more. Everything else flows out of that. Sinlessness can not be produced from meditation. Righteousness can not be produced from meditation, that can only be obtained by faith alone. Likewise, peace can not be directly produced from meditation, however, this will be a byproduct of meditating on the right things. Christian meditation will help you build your intimacy with God as you change your perceptions of God, yourself, and the world. That is where peace and joy come from, as a byproduct of meditation, but not as a direct result of it. Some will argue that we can not do anything to build our intimacy with God, but the bible is clear that some level of initiative is expected from us in this area.

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." James 4:7-8, ESV

With emphasis on "draw near to God, and he will draw near to you", one can conclude that we should at least, attempt to draw near to Him. Personally, I believe that if there really are any result that can be achieved, they are because he caused them to happen, not me. But I also believe that my initiative is a way of expressing to Him my desire for a closer relationship, and that is what He is really looking for to begin with.

There are a lot of concepts about meditation out there. Most of those concepts have some sort of spiritual aspect to them, rightly so. Meditation should involve all aspects of the person Spirit, Soul, and Body. But, what is Christian Meditation? If you are a regenerated (born again) Christian, your spirit has been re-made in the image of God, and the spirit of God is actually living in you, but your mind and your flesh have not been re-made. Meditation is training you mind and heart to work in a way that is pleasing to God in order to bring it into agreement with the Holy Spirit living within you. This is what I believe the Lord is trying to tell us in Philippians 4:8.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8, ESV

Whether you realize it or not, you meditate on a very regular basis. Worrying is one form of meditation. I should know, I do a lot of that. Worrying (which is different than concern, in my mind) is meditating on the wrong things. When you worry, your mind as well as your heart are involved. Meditation involves both the mind and heart. It involves your thoughts as well as your will, your emotions, and your attitudes. The result is a changed heart, which leads to changed behavior.
Today, I want to challenge you to start meditating on those aspects of your life that the Lord has convicted you about.

Lord, I ask that you reveal to us our sins, our idols, and that you help us submit those to you. Guide us as we seek to do your will and worship you, change our hearts so they may be pleasing to you. Make us men and women (respectively), after you own heart! Amen.

How to Keep the First Thing First

There are so many things fighting for our attention, some are very worthy, such as family and your spouse, children, work, ministry, friends. Some are not as worthy of our attention, but we give it to them anyways. Such as entertainment, material stuff, and hobbies. Notice that non of these things are sinful or bad in and of themselves, and some people would argue that they are needful, with which I would agree to some degree. But they are not Jesus. So how do we keep Jesus First in our lives?
There are no problems with any of these things. As a matter of fact, everyone should have all of the things mentioned earlier, to some degree or another. Entertainment, friends, hobbies, material things, are all good things. All of them were created by God. And He does want us to have and enjoy them. It is when they take and exaggerated place of importance in our hearts and lives that they become bad things. They become idols!!!

The key to keeping Jesus first is not necessarily in what we do, but in how we do it. It is a matter of heart attitude. I can keep Jesus first when I am spending some quality time with my friends, or doing our monthly budget with my wife (in which case I not only need to keep Him first, but I need to hold on to Him, by faith, with all my strength), or while I am at work, or church, or lunch, or at any other point in life.

"In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:6, ESV

Note that this passage says "in all your ways", not some, not most, but all of them. Whether you are at work, church, with friends, family, being serious, or entertaining, all of them. I fully believe that it is possible to keep Him first in any area of life, as long as it is not sin, of course.

"But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7, ESV

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am working at becoming free from a perpetual sense of fear, anxiety, and insecurity that is mostly related to finances. As part of this struggle, I often find myself stressing and worrying at an unconscious level. I can be sitting at my computer, doing the best job that I know to do, with the intentions of achieving the best results I can, and I am still anxious and worried. It seems that I am just anxious as a matter of Habit. This is a heart issue. When God looks at me, he can see that I am working hard, and that I am focus, everyone can see that. That is the "appearance" that verse is speaking of. However, God can see much more than that. He can see my heart, and He can see that I am not working for Him or for His Glory. He can see that I am working for myself, for money, for stuff, for food and shelter, for all those things that I should be trusting Him with. This heart issue that I struggle with is also know as idolatry. I am literally worshipping money, and worshipping myself. Worshipping money because I am trusting in money and what money can buy instead of trusting that God is my provider. Worshipping myself (also known as pride), because I am trusting in my own skills and ability to provide for myself. Needless to say, as often as I find myself in this condition, I repent and ask God for His help in overcoming this sin.

This attitude is not keeping God first, this is keeping myself first. If I were keeping Him first, I would be working to bring Glory to God. My work would be an expression of Love for God, instead of an attempt at providing for myself. When I do something for my wife, with the purpose of expressing love towards her, there are feelings directed towards her that accompany my actions. When I do something for God, with the intention of expressing my love for him, there should also be feelings and attitudes directed towards Him to accompany those actions.

That is how we keep God first. By keeping the right attitudes in our heart while we go through life doing whatever it is we are doing. Which produces, in my mind, another question: If, as a Christian, I need to keep Jesus First. And keeping Jesus First is a matter of the attitude in my heart then, How do I change the attitudes in my heart? How do I approach life with a heart that seeks to continually express love towards God?

We will discuss the answer to that question on the next post. In the mean time, think about and post your answer to these questions:
What are the benefits from keeping Jesus first in your everyday life?
What is keeping you from doing it?

Related articles: What is worship?, All about Grace Part 1 and Part 2
-g