MEDITATING ON GOD AND THE RESULTS

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MEDITATE ON GOD AND WHAT ARE THE RESULTS?

The double slit experiment in Quantum Mechanics has shown that a photon of light existing in a wave form changes into a particle form when observed.

 

In the same way, the Lord tries to get His messages to us. But they can be floating around, waving at us for days, even weeks and we don’t even know they are there. To get those messages from a wave, to a particle of concrete truth, we need to be able to observe the message. But how?

 

The answer is Meditation. Lots of Christians will balk at this answer, but remember, the Bible is an Eastern book. It was written in a culture where meditation was common practice. Though most people associate meditation with Hinduism or Buddhism, it’s just as much a Christian thing.

 

The dictionary defines “meditation” as “to think about, contemplate; reflect; ponder.” When the angel came to Mary to announce God’s words to her, Luke 2:19 tells us: “Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” The word “ponder” is one of the words that describes what it means to meditate, and ponder is defined: “to weigh in one’s mind, to consider carefully; to think deeply about.”

 

 

We will be able to capture more of those messages from our Lord if we will make the time to meditate. It doesn’t have to be a long period of time and we don’t have to get in a certain bodily position, wear special clothes or have special music going.

 

These things may or may not help to get us to a place of quiet thinking, depending on our different personalities.

 

The main thing is JUST DO IT. Even if we take only 5 minutes at the beginning or end of the day or even on a break in the middle of the day.

 

Genesis 24:63 tells us “Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide.” Eventide is early evening.

 

Psalm 119:148 tells us David meditated morning and night: “My eyes anticipate the night watches and I awake before the call of the watchman, That I may meditate on Your word.”

 

Notice in this scripture David also tells us what he is meditating on: God’s Word. I don’t think he had a scroll out there with him, so he was probably thinking deeply about, and reflecting on the scriptures he knew by memory. We have a written Bible available to us, but either way would be a good way to meditate.

 

We can also meditate on the work of God or the Lord Jesus Christ. How has He been working in your life lately? How has He worked before? How do we see Him working in the Bible? Psalm 77:12 says, “I will meditate also of all thy work.”

 

Joshua 1:8a tells us “Thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do.”

 

There’s three things going on here. First Joshua is to meditate. By reflecting upon, weighing it in his mind, and thoughtfully contemplating the words of God, he is making himself observe. In prayerful meditation, a person can read a verse or section from the Bible and be shown by the Lord the message He wants us to get. Then once Joshua observes the message, he is to do it.

 

That’s the goal for all of us: Meditate on the scripture, think about it, ponder it. Then we will catch what the Lord wants us to observe. We stop the fleeting wave and it becomes a particle. Then we do it, we apply it.

 

We want to grab those important messages the Lord is telling us, so let’s be like David: “I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways” (Ps 119:15).

 

Look at what the end of the verse in Joshua 1:8b says: “For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” What successes does God have for you in 2024? The Lord will individually show us what He has in mind, so we stay strong and continue to seek Him in everything we think and do.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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BE IT UNTO ME ACCORDING TO THY WORD

“BE IT UNTO ME ACCORDING TO THY WORD”

In the story of Christmas, the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her she would be having a child by a miracle of the Holy Spirit and this child would be Jesus, the son of God. Mary believed that if people would just stick with what God told them, His Word was always going to come to pass. “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).  She had heard of the miraculous things God did and totally believed that God’s Word was true. She believed that the Red Sea really did open up miraculously to let the Israelites cross over on dry land. She believed the story about the ax head that was lost, but then floated up out of the water, defying the natural laws of gravity (2 Kings 6:5-6). She believed what she heard about the Hebrews just looking at the brass serpent in the wilderness and getting healed of their snake bites (Num. 21:8-9).

 

So when the angel Gabriel told her that she was the one who would miraculously birth the Messiah, the son of God, the promised seed from the Bible, she believed it: “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).

 

Peter also was taught to believe the records of the many miracles God did. And he, like Mary, believed beyond what looked impossible by natural laws. Peter literally stepped out of the boat, after hearing and believing just one word from Jesus: “Come” (Matt. 14: 29). Peter saw that Jesus was walking on top of the water, even as the ship was being tossed around by the waves. When Jesus said, “Come,” Peter figured Jesus meant it, so he dared to do it.

 

We all have verses that mean a lot to our hearts. We can probably name a few right now. Those are the very ones the Lord has been trying to speak to us personally all along. If you’ve not done this before, you can take a slightly new approach to those favorite verses. Focus on the verse then be like Mary: Believe the miraculous and say, “Be it unto me according to thy Word.”

 

‘MARY’ MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!

 

Love, Carolyn

(painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner 1898)

 

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TAKING A MOMENT TO PONDER GOD'S WONDERS

TAKING A MOMENT TO PONDER GOD’S WONDERS

Many years ago, I received the above beautiful Christmas card from my friends, Wendy and John. I treasure it as one of my greatest possessions. I find it inspiring and have a copy hanging on the wall right across from my chair, where I sit to pray every morning. There are so many wonderful ponderings that come from just this one picture. If it touches your heart and sparks something in you, please share it.

 

My prayer today is that the light from God that this man on the camel is beholding comes through to illuminate something in us every day through this Christmas season.

 

And Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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PUTTING ON THE SPECIAL CLOTHING GOD GIVES US

PUTTING ON THE SPECIAL CLOTHING GOD GIVES US

God sent Moses to the Egyptian Pharaoh with a message: “Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, ‘Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, ‘Let my people go’” (Exod. 5:1). But the Pharaoh wouldn’t do it, so God sent plagues throughout the land, but the Pharaoh still wouldn’t give in. Finally, God told Pharaoh that if he didn’t let the Israelites go, all the firstborn would die. To protect the Israelites, God told them to put lamb’s blood on the top of their front door and on the sides.

“For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you”(Exod.12:23).

The blood was like a huge body wrap over the whole house, so that the destroyer would know it couldn’t touch that house.

“And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead” (Exod. 12:29-30).

The Egyptians were so scared, they rushed the Israelites out as fast as they could. “The Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, ‘We be all dead men’” (v. 33). The Egyptians saw that our God is a God of action, and if he could kill all the firstborn, he could kill them too!

Today, the blood over our houses is not that of lambs, but, the blood of Jesus, and it protects us same way the blood protected the Israelites in Egypt. Every day when Jane and I pray, we symbolically spiritually pour the blood of Jesus over our house, our property, our neighborhood, and our bodies.

The protection of Jesus is always close. It’s kind of like the inner garment Jesus wore himself, like a body wrap. It was a special undergarment that was worn next to the skin. It had no seams, so there was no breach in its protection. It was such a unique piece of clothing that even when he was crucified and the soldiers divided up his clothes, they were afraid to cut the inner garment, so instead, they gambled for it.

“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat[undergarment]: now the coat[undergarment] was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, ‘Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be’” (John 19:23-24).  

In Isaiah 61:1-3, we read this about some clothing Jesus would give us:  “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. . . to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”

The “garment of praise” is a protection from the spirit of heaviness. We put it on with righteous pride like the banner of victory Moses held up for Joshua when he was fighting the Amalekites. We praise God and continue to carry the banner of victory, claiming it high in our minds and in our mouths.

“And Moses said unto Joshua, ‘Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.’ So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

“And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

“And Joshua discomfited [overthrew] Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

“And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’ And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: 

The name Jehovah-nissi means “the Lord my banner, the Lord my victory.” (Exod.17: 9-15).

As God promised, He would wipe out all the Amalekites, and though they were not all destroyed in this battle with Joshua, the very last ones were destroyed by Solomon’s sons later in history.

Another important part of our attire is the shield of truth.

“His truth shall be thy shield and buckler” (Ps. 91:4).

The Hebrew word for shield indicates that it is a large shield that covers the whole body. It has fierce, sharp protrusions that are pointed like hooks. It guards by prickliness and is piercingly cold. It’s the “cold truth’ and people don’t like it, but we’ve found out that God’s truth isn’t always the cuddly kind, right? Look closely at the shield in the painting by Steve Gould, that I’ve included here. I think it’s pretty awesome!

So what do we look like today in our God clothes? We have the covering protection of the blood, the body wrap of Jesus, the garment of praise in our mouths to keep us from getting depressed, the powerful and prickly shield of truth, and we’re carrying the banner of God’s victory into every battle we enter.

Go get ‘em!

Love, Carolyn

 

FIRST STEP TO THE FINAL DESTINATION

FIRST STEP TO A FINAL DESTINATION

Do you ever feel like you’re being pushed into something bigger than you’re ready for? This week, I realized how much the Lord is involved in the painting I’m currently working on. He keeps giving me directions that make more work for me! I think I’ve had to change one particular section of the background at least five times, and yesterday, he showed me another change I have to make in that section, too. Since I was getting a bit frustrated, he explained to me why I needed to make the change. Of course, when I thought about it, he was perfectly right, and I saw how much better the painting would be because of that change.

 

There have been many changes in other sections of the painting, too. At one point, he told me to go out and get the folder that contains several cloud photos I’ve taken over the years. And another time, he told me to go out to the garage and grab a couple of books I have of paintings by N. C. Wyeth, who painted dramatic scenes that included clouds. I have to admit I didn’t really want to do all the extra research; I’ve already done tons of research, and I just wanted to paint! But yesterday, I realized that I don’t have to be in a hurry. The Lord is teaching me detail by detail, and I really like that, and I’m listening. The painting is a little daunting and honestly exceeds my skill level, but I was inspired to do it, so I’m going ahead with it.

 

There’s always a first step to a final destination, even if we don’t know what the destination is.

 

I just watched SOUND OF FREEDOM last night again—got it from the library since Jane didn’t get to see it in the theater. My favorite line in the movie was when Vampiro told Tim Ballard, “When God tells you what to do, you cannot hesitate.” I didn’t intend to start this detailed, and difficult painting, but when God pushes, you can’t say no. And did you know that Jesus faced the same thing? John 1 and 2 tell us the story.

 

Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist, marking the beginning of his ministry. John said of him: “ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me cometh a man which is preferred before me’. . . And John bare record, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. . . And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God’” (John 1:30, 32, 34).  

 

John the Baptist prepared the people for the coming of Christ, and when John baptized Jesus, he told his followers to start following Jesus. They did, and they got others to follow him, too, and Jesus began to teach them.

 

“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there” (John 2:1).

 

So what did Jesus’ mother do? She invited Jesus and his new disciples to the wedding. When they got there, they wanted to join the celebration, and they wanted a glass of wine.

 

“And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, ‘They have no wine’” (v. 3). They all knew that Jesus had been proclaimed as the Christ, the promised one who would save the world, and mom was no exception. She expected her son to find a solution to the wine problem, and she pushed him.

 

But, like us, Jesus wasn’t so happy about being pushed. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus went through every thought and emotion we go through, including being annoyed when we feel pushed to do something we may not feel ready for!

 

So Jesus basically told Mom to back off. “Jesus saith unto her, ‘Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come’” (v. 4). He was saying something like, “Hold on a doggone minute! I just got baptized the other day, or did you forget? I’m not quite ready for this stuff yet!” But his mother knew who he was, and she trusted whatever decision he would make.

 

“His mother saith unto the servants, ‘Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it’” (v. 5). Jesus’ mother was wise—she was a thinker. When it came to her son, she absolutely knew what God said about who her child was going to be. Remember in Luke 2 when Jesus was born, and the shepherds came and corroborated what the angel had told Mary about birthing the Messiah, “Christ the Lord.”

 

“And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:18-19).

 

So when Jesus was baptized into his ministry, she gave him a little shove, but left the decision totally up to him. And what did he do? He tapped into the spirit of God within him and took the first step, and immediately he was on the fast track to his destiny. Jesus did his first public miracle and made water into wine and it was the best wine they ever tasted!

 

When we feel like we’re being pushed a little too hard or a little too fast into something we feel we may not be ready for, if we’re pretty sure it’s of God, let’s not fight it, but just say, “Okay, let’s do this”. After all, we only have to take one step at a time and Jesus is always there, and our guardian angels too, to help and guide us to our final destinations. No matter how old or young you are, it’s a great journey!

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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