From Todd |
| Posted by Bill Orf (billorf) on Apr 02 2008 at 3:12 PM |
Have you ever wondered why you don't experience more of the abundant life you hear about in scripture? I do, and I believe it is still attainable as we put into practice what our Father has given us. If you read Psalm chapter 1, you will discover one of the keys to this abundance.
Blessed ?a?is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ?1?ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
?b?Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But ?c?his delight is in the law of the Lord,
3 He shall be like a tree
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall ?f?prosper.
I highlighted the word meditate because I think many of us just assume we are no good at meditating, so what's the use. I want to challenge you on something. If you have ever found yourself feeling anxious, i.e. (stomach upset, increased pulse, sleeplessness, sweating), then you have mastered meditation. You have successfully changed your physiological condition because of what you have meditated on. Worry is meditating on the negative. If you are willing to accept this, I believe we spend to much time pleading with God to do things that he asked us to do. For instance we ask him to give us more peace and joy after he told us how to get it. He told us to take our thoughts captive (control what you think about 2 Cor. 10:5). He told us to quite being anxious and to present our requests to him and then tells us to meditate on everything that is good, true, just, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy. (Philippians 4:8) We find ourselves thinking like the world and he commanded us to quite forming our lives after the patterns of the world but instead, become new creations (ones filled with love, joy, peace, etc) by changing the way we think (Meditate) (Rom 12:2).
My encouragement to you is to ask our Father for the courage and the strength to make the changes necessary, then get to it. Begin to eliminate the sources of information that are feeding your negative thoughts (TV, radio, newspaper, negative relationships), what ever it takes. Take control of your thoughts and take control of your oneness with our Father. Begin to spend time reading his word, listening to encouraging music, start building relationships with Christ like people who will be your inner circle of influence. But make sure you remember that this renewed life must translate into your love for others and your willingness to be given to them.
Todd Pierce
