Biblical Meditation Can Bring us so much Joy!
My older sister tells a funny story about herself, one that involves a conference, a room full of attendees, water glasses, and a server’s tray. The story goes something like this.
She had attended the conference with colleagues (all females in her group), and they were seated at a table, waiting for one of the sessions to begin. Being helpful, she decides to get the group some water to enjoy, so she walks over to the long table near the wall where several glasses of water can be seen. Now, here is the funny part, and if you know my sister, this next part fits perfectly with her funny personality. She truly is someone who is sure to tell the family a story or a joke, one that makes us laugh. This is a treasured trait that she inherited from our beloved Grandma Hall.
On that particular day, my sister stood and walked over to the water table and began to place glasses of water on a server’s tray. As she recounts this story, we laugh as she explained how some glasses contained less water than others, so while standing at the table, she proceeds to pour water from one glass to another, helping all of the glasses she needed contain the same amount of water. Then she carried the water glasses over to her colleagues on the server’s tray.
Now, I know what you’re thinking because at this point in her story, I was thinking the same thing: These are USED water glasses, and you are absolutely correct. In my sister’s defense, she recounts how she never even considered how the drinking glasses were already USED when she walked over to get the group some water. She just focused on the task at hand. When the ladies in her group began to inspect their USED water glasses, they questioned aloud—
What is this red along the top rim of my glass?
Again, I know what you are thinking because I was thinking the same thing, and we are absolutely correct.
THE RED ALONG THE RIM OF THE GLASS WAS THE REMNANTS OF RED LIPSTICK.
Lipstick is something I rarely wear; nevertheless, there is a biblical truth we need to gain about our lips.
- WITH OUR LIPS, WE ARE TO PROCLAIM THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD.
- WITH OUR LIPS, WE ARE TO TELL OF HIS GOOD NEWS.
- WITH OUR LIPS, WE ARE TO SHARE THE BIBLICAL TESTIMONY OF GOD. &
- WITH OUR LIPS, WE ARE TO SPEAK THE WORDS WE HAVE STUDIED & RECEIVED FROM GOD’S HOLY WORD.
In the longest chapter found in the Bible, we find this truth as the psalmist proclaims—
“How can a young man keep his way pure?
(The Psalms 119: 9-16 NAS)
[“man” as in mankind, as in a person—both male and female]
By keeping it according to Your word.
With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
Blessed are You, O LORD;
Teach me Your statutes.
With my lips I have told of
All the ordinances of Your mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
I will meditate on Your precepts
And regard Your ways.
I shall delight in Your statutes;
I shall not forget Your word.”
Consider:
- There is a connection between our mouth and our lips, for with our lips, we proclaim.
- There is a connection between our mouths and God’s mouth, for with our lips we ‘metaphorically’ proclaim the Word of God!
Allow that to sink in for a moment; meditate upon this fact. When we read and study and memorize the Bible, then we are offered the divine gospel appointments within our days where we are able to share with our lips and mouths that which the Holy Spirit has given to us.
Biblical Meditation Can Bring us so much JOY!
Amazing—Right?!
Before we read more Scripture, let’s dance. Find your earbuds, push back the coffee table, find “Prayer and A Bible” by Megan Woods, and DANCE IN WORSHIP TO THE LORD!
- The LORD GOD speaks through His children!
- Our FATHER proclaims His Word through our mouths & lips!
Amazing, right?!
“So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
(The Book of Isaiah 55: 11 NAS)
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
When the Word of God is spoken by us in the world, & when Scripture is shared with those we are led to within our daily walk, the Bible tells us how powerful God’s Word is to the ones hearing—
“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword,
(The Letter to the Hebrews 4: 12-13 NAS)
and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit,
of both joints and marrow,
and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And there is no creature hidden from His sight,
but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
So, what are we waiting for?
- Are we daily in God’s Word, followers of Jesus?
- Are we searching out what the LORD would have us to know?
- Are we meditating upon His Holy Word? &
- Are we prayerfully seeking all that the Bible has for us to learn? &
- Are we sharing Jesus with the world of people surrounding us?
Biblical Meditation Can Bring us so much JOY!
However, there are many believers in Jesus who approach Bible study as Mahatma Gandhi, (Hindu activist who led India to freedom) said—
“You Christians have in your keeping a document with enough dynamite in it to blow the whole civilization to bits;
- to turn society upside down;
- to bring peace to this war torn world.
But you read it as if it were just good literature, and nothing else.”
Like me, did you feel the undeniable truth found in Gandhi’s words?
Followers of Jesus, help us to really see how our time here on earth is fleeting & we have a Great Commission to fulfill. Yes, time is short, so brief, and if we are not carefully marking our time, we will find ourselves wasting precious time.
Clearly, we have no time to waste in studying God’s Word and sharing with those He has given us to know, for—PEOPLE ARE DYING WITHOUT JESUS EVERY SINGLE DAY &
DO NOT YET KNOW JESUS AS THEIR SAVIOR!
CHRISTIANS—WE HAVE A COMMISSION.
We can believe this—for the Bible tells us so!