Meditate on God and His Word

Psalms 63:6 NLT

I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.

This is what we should be doing when life is keeping us awake at night. Put your attention on God instead of your problems. Remember all the promises He has already filled knowing that the ones not yet fulfilled will come at exactly the right time.

Many of the things that keep us awake are things we can’t change. We can only change our point of view about them by learning to see them the way God does.

Psalms 1:1-2 NKJV

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

I shared attributes of God one at a time to allow for each nugget of truth to sink in. We cannot expect to want to follow God if we don’t know Him. Once we want to follow Him, we won’t know how to do so if we do not meditate on His word. Learning to do as He says is the way to live a fulfilled life no matter what the world might throw at us. God is not changing and never will, but the world changes all the time. I plan on standing firm with an unchanging God. The world is a fickle mistress.

Joshua 1:8-9 NLT

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Now there is a promise to grab onto and never let go of. People will not always be here. Material things all fade away or break over time. God never changes and if we take the time to have a relationship with Him, He will always be with us wherever we go. We have to reach out and make the effort to connect. Meditate on the Word to know what to do and how to do it per God’s plan. He is not silent. He is always there.

Gal 2:16 NLT

6 And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ — and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law."  

Remember this, God told us, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15).” We should be motivated to follow His Laws not because we are trying to earn something or to get our ticket to heaven, but simply because we love Him and want to please Him.

Phillipians 4:8 NKJV

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.

Stick to knowing what God finds as good, not what the world says. Do not neglect digging into His Word and reaching out to Him for understanding. He loves you and will help you. Let Him do so.

God of Hope

I did not have a full sense of hope before I accepted Christ. I hoped in a lot of things that proved temporary or did not fulfill a need like I thought. A hole remained within and nothing I learned in school could tell me what fit there. Actually schooling only made it worse because we supposedly randomly happened out of a sludge pool and may have evolved from apes. None of it explained why we were here and without a true purpose it is easy to flounder around.

God provided the hole inside, which is Jesus sized. It’s where we plug into Him and He can indwell us via the Holy Spirit. It’s this full relationship that can give us hope, which the world can never duplicate. I would have loved to known the Lord much better in my childhood instead of finally knowing Him in my thirties.

Psalms 71:5 NLT

O Lord, you alone are my hope. I've trusted you, O LORD, from childhood.

Now we can not only have hope, but confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul prays for this when he is writing to the Romans.

Romans 15:13 NLT

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Once we understand where this hope comes from, we realize we should also obey what God tells us. He did not make His regulations and laws to punish us. He made them so we could understand how to live and relate to everyone as He would. The following psalmist wanted to be sure that God’s word was never snatched from him or he would lose his hope.

Psalms 119:43 NLT

Do not snatch your word of truth from me, for your regulations are my only hope.

We can reach the point where we can rejoice over problems and trials. I get hung up on this though I’ve seen Him work things out in the most interesting ways right on time for myself and others. A lot of times we get stuck in our problem box and can’t see all the help outside it and the hope we could have. Realize we need God and grab onto Him for He will not disappoint.

Romans 5:3-5 NLT

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Ephesians 1:18 NLT

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

God is calling all of us if we will listen. What are you waiting for? The true and confident hope you want in life is waiting with Him.

God is Knowledge

There are a lot of things to know in this world. We could know a lot and be considered smart enough to go on Jeopardy, but are we wise enough to use our knowledge properly? The true knowledge comes from God and His Spirit will lead us into understanding it so we can use it wisely.

Isaiah 11:2 NKJV

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him,

The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The Spirit of counsel and might,

The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

Our fear of the Lord should be of awe and great respect. We should not be responding because we are afraid He’ll punish us. Sure, if we don’t accept what He says, at some point we will see the final judgment and be on the wrong side. However, God loves us and wants us all to understand and know who He really is. He has all the knowledge we need to lead lives that will be far more fulfilling than what we could do on our own. We will know how to live righteously and not destructively in sin. We will know how to operate in love rather than selfishness.

Romans 3:19-20 NLT

Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

The NKJV says, “by the law is the knowledge of sin,” for the ending of verse 20. The Law is there so man will know what God considers sinful. Without this knowledge we would never understand that we need Jesus Christ as a Savior. There are no excuses left once we know God’s law. It lays out where we went wrong; pointing at how most of us have broke the laws. If you lied, then you are a liar. If you took something you did not have permission to have no matter how small, you are a thief. If you never admitted a wrong you did so it could be reconciled, you are still a sinner under that law for those things. There are no excuses. There is nothing we can say to justify ourselves to a truly righteous and good God.

Even when we learn that Jesus is the way, the only way, to God, we want to rebel. Our Western culture is trained to make us believe there are many ways to heaven, that we are all gods. It’s to the point that if someone believes something that is obviously false, many will say, “Good for you.” What’s good about being obviously wrong? Nothing. If we don’t point out the truth and help people see it, we aren’t helping that person at all.

I’m definitely not the spokesperson for Jesus that will reach everyone. I could not even figure out the right way to tell a six-year-old something the other day because my brain wanted to work on the wrong intellectual level. However, it doesn’t stop me from letting people know what I believe and trying to make them think on the knowledge of God. I can’t make you believe. That will have to be your choice based upon the facts you learn. I can’t make you have a relationship with anyone you don’t want to, including God. However, He is definitely waiting for you to acknowledge Him and to start a full relationship. I know He won’t let you down like anyone else might.

Seek to know the truth even if it gets presented in the worse package ever. Take the time to digest it all and not take it just because so-and-so said so. A real belief is one worth dying for.

Liberty is Found with God

I looked up the definition of liberty to find the following that apply to how God and His Law work:

1)      The power of choice – God gave us free will.

2)      Permission especially to move freely within specified limits – we can traverse the world God created, but must follow His Laws and those of creation in order for things to work properly.

3)      Positive enjoyment of various social, political and economic rights and privileges – accepting Christ adopts us into His family as heirs and as his brothers and sisters with all the rights as Christ has.

Luke 4:18-19 NKJV

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;  19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Jesus read this in the synagogue one day and it was first written by Isaiah about Jesus. He came to tell the world how we could be set free, liberated, from the bondage of sin. Those of us who know we are poor spiritually and know we have sinned against God, know we need a Savior to fix us and help us live like God intended. We are the sick that know we need a doctor. We know we can’t keep the Law on our own and if we keep trying to do it ourselves, we are slaves to it rather than it helping us to know how to live free with God. We need the Holy Spirit to help us understand the Law and its proper place in showing us right and wrong in order to know we are sick with sin. We will find God’s liberty when we realize we need Jesus as our doctor and Savior against a life of sin.

2 Cor 3:17 NKJV

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Once we realize the truth of our sin and accept Jesus, we don’t throw the Law out. We need to understand it so we can live properly and to teach others of how it will set them free and become blessed in whatever they do. God will help all of His children grow up to be like Jesus and teach them how to spread the Gospel to the ends of the world as commanded.

James 1:25 NKJV

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

Ps 119:45 NLT

45 I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments.

Be a doer of the Word because you love Jesus, not because you want to earn your way to heaven. You can’t earn it because God is offering it as a free gift. We just need to reach out and take it properly with a humble attitude. Doing His Word should be a way of showing praise and thanks for Him setting you free from the bondage of sin. Stop trying to do it on your own, spinning your wheels in slavery.

Gal 5:1 NLT

So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.

Delight In The Lord

I’ve found many things that give me delight in this world, but nothing has lasted like my relationship with Jesus. I am still learning how deep and how wide His love is for me and that He delights in teaching me. I should be delighted every time He disciplines me because in the end things always work out best if I get out of the way and let Him teach me to do it His way.

Psalms 37:4 NKJV

Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

We should not be worrying about how we will pay our bills or that we can’t have something our neighbors have. If we walk hand-in-hand with Jesus, we will find the proper desires of our heart. We will be content even when the world tells us we shouldn’t be. We have an eternal delight due to our relationship with Jesus and nothing should take that away. Nothing should diminish that relationship. I’ve stumbled on this a lot, but I have become even closer to Him.

When I follow advice that does not align with God’s Word, our manual for living a blessed life, things get messed up. I don’t have to wonder why I’m in a dark place or some rut. I can look back and see where I did not wait for God or I just said, “No,” like some stubborn two-year-old. He never wants to bring bad on us. To be honest, I think we bring most of it on ourselves. Anytime things get rough or even if we were bad, we can turn to God for help, accept any discipline He wants to give us so we learn, and then watch how it turns out for the better. I kept slogging through life without Him and His very useful discipline for too long, and definitely had no delight in life even if I had far more worldly possessions and advantages at the time.

Psalms 1:1-3 NLT

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers.

2 But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants; day and night they think about his law.

3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper.

I rather do it God’s way like this psalmist says we should. Then we can prosper in ways that boggle the ideas of the world. Some of God’s ways are counterintuitive to the way our Western culture has taught us. I’m glad I could get my analytical mind past that and give Jesus a chance. I’m not turning back now.

Psalms 40:8 NKJV

I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart."

Keep God’s Word close. Let Him reveal all that He has already engraved in our hearts, so that we may learn what a delightful person He is and show the world the truth. Grab onto the relationship with all you have and never let go. The journey may have trials and tribulations, but there will be great delight as you see God working in your life and the world.

Where are you putting your desires today? If not in a full relationship with Jesus, I urge you to take a closer look and examine what His Word is really telling us about Him and how to live with Him. Every other delight is temporal and will disappear, possibly as fast as the flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow.

Understanding

Psalms 147:5 NLT

How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!

Psalms 119:73 NLT

You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands.

We will only see in part what God knows while we are here on earth. He is our mighty creator and gave us a free will to choose how we will face a life full of trials and tribulations. We can do it God’s way or our own way. Considering God created the world and everything in it, including you and me, I rather keep trying it God’s way rather than my own. He knows how it is supposed to work. I did it on my own long enough to know I definitely did not handle things the way I should. I keep striving to gain God’s understanding because despite all the bad issues going on in life, having His perspective of it helps immensely.

Proverbs 19:8 NLT

To acquire wisdom is to love oneself; people who cherish understanding will prosper.

This verse is not a self centered one for our own desires. If we truly love ourselves we’ll seek God’s wisdom first for our lives and then we will know how to prosper.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

Life is not easier because of following God, but learning to understand and do things His way will lead to far better outcomes. It’s having the right perspective to understand and move on with God even in the worst of times.

We should feel the same as the writer of the following psalms, not to be egotistical, but know we are living the way God wants us to and He is making us into the full creation He expects.

Psalms 119:97-104 NLT

97 Oh, how I love your law! I think about it all day long.

98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for your commands are my constant guide.

99 Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your decrees.

100 I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments.

101 I have refused to walk on any path of evil, that I may remain obedient to your word.

102 I haven't turned away from your laws, for you have taught me well.

103 How sweet are your words to my taste; they are sweeter than honey.

104 Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.

Having God’s understanding and seeing things from His perspective are freeing indeed. Once we understand how He meant the world to work and people are to be His children, we are liberated to be ourselves and find ways to do great things for Him. If you are still thinking of God’s rules as restrictive, you are not looking at them the right way. Ask God to help you gain understanding and He will definitely guide you through the process.

Merciful

2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT

All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us.

God truly wants to show us His mercy, comfort and love. He is the source of each of these attributes. We should be passing this fact on to others so that they can also see God for who He really is.

Exodus 34:6-7 NLT

6 He passed in front of Moses and said, "I am the LORD, I am the LORD, the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness. I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so I do not leave sin unpunished, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations.”

What people get hung up on is that God must punish sin. If we confess our sins, He will clean them away and not remember them. If we don’t, they are still in the way of our relationship with God. We need to let Him forgive us and clean us, and we do this by repenting with confession of our sins.

Matthew 23:23 NLT

"How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law — justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things.”

Jesus condemned the Pharisees harshly in this entire chapter because they were not properly following God’s Law, which led to the people not learning how to follow God correctly. All Christians should be telling the world about God and convincing them they need Jesus, but it will not work unless it is done God’s way. We are to be showing the world that God may have to punish sin, but He wants to show us mercy and love far more. He wants everyone to return to Him. We should respond to knowing we have sinned like Nehemiah did.

Nehemiah 1:5-6 NKJV

And I said: "I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments. 6 please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father's house and I have sinned.”

Nehemiah prayed this prayer for Jerusalem and the remnant left there because the walls were all broken down. The Israelites had been exiled from their land by God for not obeying Him, but Nehemiah knew that God could restore them if they submitted themselves to Him and confessed. Due to his prayer he found a way to get the wall built by following God obediently.

God will show us great mercy if we submit to Him. If we are holding out for a sin that we cannot give up, then we are causing a broken relationship with God. Despite all His mercy and love, He must also exact justice against the sin of the world. Where do you want to be standing when the time comes for justice to be served? I hope you chose the side where the Lord will call you a good and faithful servant rather than someone He never knew.