Learn To Meditate On Gods Word

Part 3 on Obedience
     What does meditate mean in this context?  I am not talking the lotus position, chanting or finding your happy place.  I am referring to saturating your mind with God’s Word.  Lets look at it from a different angle.  You wake up and turn on Sports Center or the news or your Tivo’ed episode of House.  Any God there?  Do they mention Jesus?  If so it’s with a “damn” or “Christ” after them.  Then you get in your car and crank some Hank.  Or maybe you don’t listen to country, maybe you like rock or rap or oldies.  Maybe you turn on Howard Stern or one of a thousand morning shows.  Then you get to work and unless you work in a church (and sometimes even at a church) God is not mentioned once in a flattering way.  Back to the house, radio blaring.  Get home and any one of a million shows are on, most with no mention of God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit.  Or if they do mention Him it is in a negative light.  Finally it is night-night time, we say a quick prayer to God and fall asleep.

Let me ask something, how can you have a relationship with someone that you never spend time with?  Before I go any farther, let me say that I don’t spend every living moment talking to God.  I wish I did but I don’t.  I watch House, CSI, Still Standing and an assortment of Disney shows.  I love Sports Center.  Football is one of my passions.  I read non-Christian books.  I listen to various music and watch movies where God is never mentioned.   I am not throwing a Holier-than-thou at you.  I am just stating a fact.  Most of us spend more time with the TV than we do our kids, our spouse and our God.

Why is this so important?  Charles Stanley wrote in his book, Living the Extraordinary Life that “Meditation and prayer are key elements in resisting temptation.  When you saturate your mind with the Word of God, you will gain God’s viewpoint concerning your life and situation.  Therefore, when temptation comes, you will know right from wrong and can act accordingly.  Never underestimate the power of God in your life.”

It is kind of a “garbage in- garbage out” way of thinking.  If you put nothing but violence, hate and sex in your mind, thats what you will think about.  Again, I am not suggesting we all move to a commune in the mountains and sing Kumbyeya or anything, but the more junk in the more junk out.  Just like you can’t eat Snickers all day everyday and expect to be healthy, you can’t put MTV into your noggin all day and expect to be Billy Graham or Mother Theresa.

Philippians 4:8-9 says it pretty clearly, take a gander- “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”  I especially like the last part- ‘his most excellent harmonies.”  Kind of has a Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure feel to it.  OK, thats random.  Anyway, do you see what I mean though.  God is saying, upload good things, not bad things.  Put in things that help you and others, not bring them down.  Build Godly morals in you life.

So what does this have to do with obedience?  Simply this, how can you obey someone that you don’t know?  You can’t.  Obedience is  dependent on relationship.  Not only how but why would you obey someone that you don’t know?  I wouldn’t (excludes military and anyone that works for a living).

Remember- Whatever seed you plant in the soil of your mind is the kind of crop that you will grow.  You can’t plant apple seeds and grow squash.