Saturday, August 9, 2014

August 10, 2014

"I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against God" Psalm 119:11

God’s Word is light and life to those who believe. But it is only effective for those who know how to read it, study, it and apply it to daily living. The Psalmist knew how and it enabled Him to overcome sinfulness.

To hide the Word in your heart you need to know how to get it there. You don’t hide the Word by accident nor do you wake up one morning to find yourself Biblically literate. You can’t use your Bible for a pillow and hope it sinks in by osmosis.

How do I get it into my heart?

Meditate

Now what does this meditation involve? The word "meditation" in Hebrew means basically to speak or to mutter. When this is done in the heart it is called musing or meditation. So meditating on the Word of God day and night means to speak to yourself the Word of God day and night and to speak to yourself about it.

Max Lucado says that meditation is essentially the same process as worrying and if you can worry you have the ability to meditate!

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer” Psalms 19:14

"O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day." Psalm 119:97

"Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all". 1 Timothy 4:15

To meditate on God’s Word you must get alone in a quiet setting where you can read it and think about and pray and listen to the Holy Spirit. The goal of meditation is threefold:

1) To communicate with God

2) To convicted or inspired by it’s truth.

3) To conform your life to God’s truth.

Will you meditate on God’s Word so it can be hidden in your heart and revealed in your habits?

Memorize

Another important aspect of hiding His Word in your heart goes beyond meditating and on to memorizing it – storing it in your mind. Don’t say you have a bad memory or that you can’t memorize! The biggest barrier to memorization is that “stinkin’ thinkin’”. Memorizing requires more time and effort than some want to invest in it, but everyone CAN memorize.

Here is the process you can commit to:

1) Read it

2) Repeat it – say it over and over and out loud.

3) Record it – write in on a flash card or record it on a CD so you can listen while traveling to work and back.

4) Recite it

5) Remember it – if you can recite it verbatim you have memorized it.

The word hidden in your heart and in your mind will enrich your life and elevate it beyond your wildest dream!

Something is written on your heart. Something will affect your thoughts and influence your behavior. If that “something” is not the Word of God you evidently have not been meditating on it or memorizing it.

If you find yourself worrying you probably are not memorizing and if you are not memorizing you have good reason to worry!