Meditation for Spiritual Growth

Thoughts_About_God — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 08:01:04 +0000

“I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.” Psalm 119:15

There are times when solitude is better than community, and silence is wiser than speech. We will be better Christians if we take more time to be “alone” with God, and gathering spiritual strength through meditation on His Word, so that we will be refreshed to work in His service.

We should take time to ponder God’s word, because then we get real nourishment out of it. Truth is something like a cluster of grapes on the vine: if we want wine, we must work for it; we must press and squeeze it many times. The worker’s feet must come down joyfully upon the bunches, or else the juice will not flow. They must stomp the grapes well, or else much of the precious liquid will be wasted. So likewise we must, by meditation, work at God’s clusters of truth, if we really want to grow through God’s wisdom.

Our bodies are not sustained just by putting food into our mouths. The process which supplies our muscle, nerves, and bones is the process of digestion. By digestion the outward food becomes absorbed into our bodies. Likewise, our souls don’t become well-nourished merely by listening to this and that, to part here and there of divine truth. Hearing, reading, and learning require inwardly digesting to be useful, and this digesting of the truth requires meditating upon it.

We may wonder why some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make slow advances in their spiritual walk? It’s because they do not thoughtfully meditate on God’s Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it. They would eat the corn, but they will not go into the field to gather it. The fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it. The water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it.

Our prayer today is “Lord, help us overcome such foolishness.” And let this be our firm intention in response: “God, I will meditate on your precepts.”

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon.
Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2008.
Used by Permission

Overcoming Offenses

Devotionals — Sat, 21 May 2022 08:01:34 +0000

When we study what Jesus taught, it is obvious to me that He came to make us “unoffendable.” Consider: He says that if someone slaps you on one cheek, offer him the other (Luke 6:29). He said to love our enemies and bless those who curse us (Luke 6:27-28). What He’s really doing is showing us how an unoffendable heart of love overcomes all adversity.

We pray, “Lord, I want to change.” To answer our prayer, He sometimes must put us in situations that perfectly offend us. The offense itself awakens our need of grace. Thus, the Lord precipitates change by first offending the area of our soul He desires to transform. He does not expect us to merely survive this adversity but to become Christlike in it.

Ask Joseph in the Old Testament: the land of offense became the land of his anointing and power because he possessed an unoffendable heart. He never stopped trusting God in spite of the injustices and trials he faced.

Listen my friends: the destiny God has for us unfolds or withers at the junction of offense. How we handle offense is the key to our tomorrow.

“Those who love [God’s] law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble” (Psalms 119:165).

Lord, grant me that new creation heart that can walk as Jesus walked through a world of offenses without stumbling. I want to see everything as an opportunity to pray, everything as an opportunity to become Christlike. Lord help me to interpret offenses as opportunities that lead to transformations. Grant me, Lord Jesus, the pulse and beat of Your unoffendable heart. Amen.

By Francis Frangipane
Used by Permission

Francis Frangipane
info@frangipane.org
www.frangipane.org
www.icitc.org
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Psalm119 | Thoughts About God

Meditation for Spiritual Growth

“I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.” Psalm 119:15

Further Reading

Overcoming Offenses

Further Reading