Meditating on Scripture

The poet, T.S. Eliot, once observed: “Everything we eat has some effect upon us. It affects us during the process of assimilation and digestion; and I believe exactly the same is true of anything we read.”

In other words, you are what you read. So reading without meditating is like eating without digesting. If you want to absorb the nutrients, you can’t just read scripture, you have to chew on it. You have to digest it. Meditation is the way we metabolize Scripture.

Are you metabolizing Scripture? I have to slow myself down, focus on my reading to meditate on what I am reading. This week I talked with someone about generating an appetite for God. I told them the main means by which God does that in our lives is the Bible, his word. But we cannot not just mindlessly read it and expect to be fed and nourished spiritually. We must think about what we are reading - engage with what the author is saying by what he wrote and what he means by what he wrote and then how that applies to me. That takes work! We can rake the ground for leaves or we can dig for gold. Digging take more effort but is more rewarding. We will never find gold raking for leaves.

Four Dangers Of Leadership Part Three - Pride

Four Dangers Of Leadership Part Three ? Pride :: Perry Noble | Leadership, Vision & Creativity

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Four Dangers Of Leadership Part Two - Ignorance

Here is another post on the dangers of leadership; this one grows out of the first, jealousy.

Four Dangers Of Leadership Part Two ? Ignorance :: Perry Noble | Leadership, Vision & Creativity

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The Gospel-Driven Church: First World Problems

Problems third world citizens can only dream about.
The Gospel-Driven Church: First World Problems

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Bible verse ban spawns 'wave of support for Christ' (OneNewsNow.com)

God frequently uses persecution to advance his kingdom (Acts 8:1-4).
Bible verse ban spawns 'wave of support for Christ' (OneNewsNow.com)

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re: four dangers of Leadership, part one

I am going to be posting a series of four articles I am reading on leadership. This first one is on jealousy. I have been guilty of it at times and thought it would be good to reflect on for those I know who are in leadership. One way of combating jealousy that he does not mention is the sovereignty of God. If God is indeed blessing another's ministry, in His wisdom, he is doing it for reasons that are unkown to us for good reason.

Reflecting on Death

My oldest brother Scott died last night of cancer. It came upon him suddenly and viciously. By the time treatment began, it had the upper hand. So I am thinking about death and my own mortality. Death can help me to think more clearly by facing the fact that I too will eventually die.

Death reminds of my own mortality. I could die at any moment from cancer or a car accident. Every breathe I take is given to me by God (Acts 17:28).

Death reminds me that sin is the source of all forms of evil. Adam led the human race into our fallen and sinful condition. Everything terrible about this world is because of sin. Our selfishness, crime, hate, war, disease, fear, and envy and everything else is because of sin.

Death reminds me that my condition from birth is sinful and alienated from God. I need someone else to reconcile me to God and that is Jesus Christ.

Death reminds me that this life is short lived and eternity is forever. I am to live to enhance my eternal condition, namely joy, and fight against the tendency to live to enhance this short life.

Death reminds me that because of Christ and his death on the cross for my sin death has lost its sting. I am not afraid of death because to die is gain (Phil. 1:21b).

Death reminds me that the goal of beating cancer is not because I value this life as ultimate but because I value my spiritual life as ultimate. The former is only significant because of the latter. The only life worth living is one where I can honestly say, ‘to live is Christ (Phil 1:21a).’

Death reminds me that I do not grieve as one who has no hope (1 Thes. 4:13).

Dear friends, consider the claims of Christ. My life has never made more sense nor been more meaningful and more joyful since I became a follower of Christ.