Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Word of God: meditation on it



I want to share with you some material I was reading recently: It is from Joel R. Beeke and this section deals with the means of grace: the Word of God, I pray it will provide some helpful information/insight into the grace that is the Word of God.

When we come to God with the very words God provides in the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit works faith in the heart's of God's elect. Then, if we fall into sin and therefore compromise that faith, the Word of God restores our faith when we return to the Lord. God's children are not only begotten by the "word of truth" (James 1:18), they are also given "the sincere milk of the word" to drink (1 Peter 2:2). "Thy words were found and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me joy and rejoicing of mine heart" (Jeremiah 15:16). When many are falling away, the Word of God binds us to the Savior so that we say, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6:68)

There are several scriptural disciplines that enable us, by by the Spirit's grace, to get the rich blessing available in the Word:

* Hearing it preached regularly
* Reading through the Bible day-by-day
* Sharing regular devotions with your family
* Learning a good Scripture-based catechism
* Memorizing particular verses and passages
* Reading Bible-based doctrinal and practical books from solid authors
* Studying the Scriptures yourself on important topics.

But there is one discipline that underlies them all:
* Meditation on the Word.

"Psalm 1:1-2 tells us that "Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law doth he meditate day and night."

The goal of meditation is to cultivate that inner "life and peace" found in the practice of being spiritually minded (Romans 8:6)

John Owens explained such spiritual-mindedness as mental activity empowered by grace to engage the heart with truth, so as to produce holy joy and contentment in God.

The Puritans were masters of meditation. Let me sum up their advice.

* Begin with prayer for the Spirit's help (Psalm 119:18).
* Focus on one verse or doctrine - something clear and applicable to your life,
* Repeat the verse or doctrine to yourself several times and think about it carefully
* Preach it to yourself
* Turn it into prayer and praise
* Make specific application.

Feed and inflame your soul with the Word. Don't just chew on the Word, but digest it and incorporate it into your life.

Joel R. Beeke


Peace and Grace to you all in and through Jesus Christ!

 

No comments:

Post a Comment