"On What Do I Meditate?"

He spoke the words with authority and gentleness.

"Be still and know"..

It sounded right....it seemed to soothe.

But something wasn't 'quite right'..

'For he, had chosen not to finish his sentence.'

As I sat alone with the remote at my fingertips, I surfed past several stations, before settling on a popular talk show.

Meditation was being discussed as the leader was sitting with legs crossed, and palms upward...

Before he began..

He encouraged the host and the chosen audience members 
to sit quietly with their minds open to the universe.

He reminded the hidden skeptics that all religions and cultures engage in some sort of meditation.

So, he quoted scripture..

That's when I heard him speaking..

"be still and know" he spoke toward the host.

It was his effort to underscore the acceptance of his meditative teaching...

However, he omitted the very essence of the scripture..by failing to finish.

"Be still and know", as found in Psalm 46:10.....is in fact followed...with these peace yielding words..
"that I am God"

And so there they sat...in a calm lotus position...waiting not for God...

But instead...
They waited,...for the universe.

Meditation is a time of stillness

and should never be taken lightly.

It is, very much encouraged throughout the Bible.

Over and over, we are told to meditate. 
(Psalm 119:15,48, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2)
In fact,... any time we find ourselves meditating, 
we would be wise to run the direction and purpose of our meditation through this scriptural filter.
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14)

Meditation is a time of refreshment.

But there is a key difference that we must not miss...*the intention of our mind!!!

On what exactly do we meditate?

The world teaches one thing, God teaches another.

Are we willing for these next few moments to challenge that which we may have bought into. (Zen, Tai-Chi, transcendental, mindfulness, or the even the mantra meditation's as used in Yoga, this is to name but a few)

The purpose of meditation throughout scripture is in discovering a deeper and liberating walk with Christ.

Jesus came for a time and purpose. 

He came to set us free.

However, with everything pure...there is always a counterfeit.

Something began to niggle at the back of my mind.

Everyone in the audience seemed entirely convinced and delighted.

I thought of all my friends and acquaintances who have heartily embraced Yogi inspired meditations...in their attempt at healthier living and in their search for a peaceful existence.

Sadly, meditation has been sweetly disguised...
as a harmless exercise left open to discovering the oneness of the universe, and a spirituality that includes, many paths to the creator.

The Holy Scriptures demands our allegiance to Himself, by challenging us, even in this very moment, to examine where our hearts and minds have been allowed to travel.

The Holy Word of God leads us to to Jesus, 
Who demands no less of His followers than undivided devotion, to follow Christ alone into perfect peace.

If you ascribe to the scripture as God's Holy Word, and as Truth, then you must remember that you are told explicitly to guard your heart and your mind. 

The scripture tells us..we are to be wise as serpents and as innocent as a dove.(Matthew 10:16)

So with this in mind, I began to think upon the purpose of meditation as man instructs vs. the instruction from God's Word.

The guru to whom I referred earlier encouraged an emptying of the mind.

While God's Word encourages us to meditate and fill our minds with His peace and His goodness, alone.

We are not instructed to empty ourselves without expressly seeking fulfillment from our Heavenly Father.

When we give the "universe" free reign to enter as it will, 
we are exposing ourselves to unchallenged deception.

We are told to surrender our thoughts to Christ...we are told to challenge thoughts and voices that present themselves as truth.

If we instead choose to escape into an altered, uncensored reality, all the while allowing the emptiness to soothe us as we search for peace, we are essentially exposing our hearts and mind to a dominion that will seek to be our fulfillment.

We have a choice...

So, I sat quietly..meditating on the whole of that scripture.

"Be still and know that I am God"

As I meditated, my fears and worries dissolved slowly within His Truth.

And that is indeed where they belonged.

The world really is meditating.

This much is true. 

But when we hold God's Word as our truth, we must ask ourselves, 

*To what lengths will I go?

*Am I willing to take man's version of meditation, and an unending search for temporal peace and essentially expose my soul and spirit to the prince of this world?

*Or am I willing to question what I may have unintentionally bought into 
and trade back the temporary peace that seeks fulfillment in me 
for the eternal peace and the unwavering truth of Gods Word?

There is One who speaks the Word with authority and gentleness.

And when He speaks, 

we can know that..

He always...finishes what He begins.

And HE always finishes His sentences.

"Be still and know....that I am God"

-Jesus

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts”  (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Challenge:

Am I willing to search the scriptures and go deeper?

Have I compromised my walk in anyway, by accepting truth, as promised by the world?

  http://youtu.be/ffnfN4rITiI

Remember:  We must be willing to stand up and walk away from the counterfeit...

"Let us not give the devil a foothold in our life! 

(Ephesians 4:27) 

Let us examine our ways and test them.

(Lamentations 3:40)

...making sure the meditations of our heart are truly pleasing to our LORD, our Rock and our Redeemer! (Psalm 19:14)


-J. Hampton Keathley III, wrote these words

'If I were the devil'...

I would do my best to divide and fragment the thinking of the church of Jesus Christ. I would try to get God’s people confused as to who they are and why they are here. 

I would try to get them preoccupied with other things. 

I would try to get them to live independently, 

to think like the world thinks, to think like the natural man thinks in the futility of his mind (Ephesians 4:17-18). 

In other words, 

I would like to keep people away from serious involvement with the Word of God. I would want to keep their relationship to God’s Word superficial and secondary.....'