MAY THE MEDITATIONS OF MY HEART PLEASE THE LORD

Proclamation:

“I will sing to The Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.  May my meditation be pleasing to Him, as I rejoice in The Lord.”  Psalm 104:33-34 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The psalm begins by repeating the phrase, “Bless The Lord, O my soul …” which the psalmist also began the previous psalm.  (Psalm 103:1)  This psalm of praise presents the glory and majesty of The Lord God and recounts some of His marvelous acts and creations.  David ends it by saying that he will praise The Lord as long as he lives, and he hopes that his thoughts and reflections on the awesomeness of God will be pleasing to Him.

Application:

We spend a lot of time thinking and talking about things which are really insignificant and unimportant.  What if we spent one whole day thinking and talking about the things which The Lord God has done, created, and caused to occur.  The sun and the stars; the place where rivers begin and how they flow; the cycle of water, clouds, and rain; the beasts of the fields and the fowls of the air; the blades of grass and the trees like the cedars of Lebanon; the majestic mountains, the fields of grains, and the sands of the deserts; the animals both large and small; and man, so similar and yet each is so different; these are all created by the awesome God that we serve.  It is humbling to think of how insignificant we are in comparison to all of God’s creations.  We ought to praise Him and thank Him for our very existence, as brief as it may be.  Try spending one day thinking only thoughts which would be pleasing to God.  Think on this, how long can you praise The Lord before you stop and do something else?  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart please The Lord. (Psalm 19:14)  We all should spend more time praising and pleasing The Lord.

BLESSED FOR READING THE WORD OF GOD

Proclamation:

"Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."  Revelation 1:3 (NIV)

Explanation:

The Bible Book of Revelation is the book of prophesy in The New Testament.  It was revealed to, and recorded by the Apostle John, under the divine inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God.  There is a special blessing in store for those who read this Book of The Bible.  There is also a special blessing for those who hear this inspired Word of God, believe it, take it to heart, and obey it.  John also warns those who read this that the end of time is near.

Application:

The Book of Revelation is a difficult book to understand.  It is a book of prophesy regarding twenty-first century events recorded by a man with a first century frame of reference.  It would also be helpful to understand this book if one had read the other sixty-five books beforehand, because it contains references to previously recorded scripture and biblical events.  However, this special blessing does not require us to understand all that we read in this book, we will be blessed for reading it.  There is also a special blessing for those who hear it preached, believe it, and follow it.  The truth is we are blessed when we delight in, and find joy in, reading and meditating on The Word of God. (Psalms 1:2)  So, let us read The Word of God daily, and let us attend worship services each week so that we can hear The Word of God preached. (Romans 10:13-15)  Let us also study The Word of God more frequently, so that we may increase our understanding of it. (2 Timothy 2:15)  Then let us be doers of The Word, and not just hearers of The Word. (James 1:22)  For there is a blessing in store for those of us who read, hear, believe, obey, and share The Word of God.

CONTINUING IN THE WORD

Proclamation:

“To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, ‘if you hold on to My teaching, you are really My disciples.’” John 8:31 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved.  On the day after His Sermon on the Mount Jesus went into the temple courtyard and spoke to the crowd which included Jews and Pharisees.  Jesus said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." (John 8:31 KJV)

Application:

It is easy for a Christian to “get into” The Word of God.  We can even occasionally behave, speak, and think in a Christ-like manner.  Our problem is not in doing it, but in continuing to do it.  Continuing in The Word implies being in it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, and moment by moment.  If we “continue” to be in His Word, then we would always be in it and we would never be out of it.  That sounds like we would have to be the perfect Christian, a goal which humans can’t reach but one that is well worth striving for.  Realistically, for us it means that we need to be firmly rooted in The Word of God and not be fickle, going outside of it frequently and regularly.  We need to spend time with The Word of God daily.  In a 24 hour day, one tenth of our time should be spent reading, studying, or meditating on The Word of God.  As a believer we owe, one tenth of our time, talent, and treasure to The Lord. (Genesis 14:20 and Malachi 3:8)  That means we should spend about two and a half hours in His Holy Word and then spend the remainder of the day living it.  Most of us don’t do that.  However, we can all spend more time daily “in The Word of God” by reading it and living it, with a goal of being continuously in His Word.