The Psalmist tells us it begins with a "NO." That is, there are some things we must put OUT of our life if our life is to receive God's blessings. The blessed man/woman says NO to wickedness is all it forms and degrees.
The way to blessing? DO NOT compromise with sin! Don't fool yourself into thinking you can get near and remain unaffected. "Fear the Lord and turn away from evil" Proverbs 3:7. How serious are you about keeping your distance from evil? What TV or cable or satellite stations do you watch? What do you read? What do you listen to? What friends do you spend primary time with? We cannot live in this world and stay completely away from evil. But we can choose to LIMIT the influence of evil coming into our lives and our homes. We DO NOT have to watch shows that mock God and righteousness. We DO NOT have to watch violent movies. We DO NOT have to attend movies that are laced with sexual provocation. We DO NOT have to read detailed descriptions of violent crimes. We CAN say NO. And...WE MUST!
But the blessed life does not come with just saying NO. There must be something that we DO pursue, that we do purposefully put INTO our life. The Psalmist says the "put on" of the blessed man is "his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night" v.2. Do you "delight" in God's Word? To "delight" means that it brings you pleasure. It means that your heart bends towards it like a plant toward the sun or roots towards water. Our delight shows the true condition of our heart. It shows evidence of a saved-heart (Romans 7:22). What does the blessed men/woman's heart-delight do? It moves him to "meditate in the law of the Lord day and night."
To meditate means to murmur. That is, it means to talk to yourself about the Word. It means to ask the Word questions, seeking to draw out its nourishment. It means you carry on a conversation with God about what HE is saying in any particular passage of the Scriptures that you are thinking over. Meditation asks these kind of questions:
- What does this teach me about God?
- What does this instruct me to do?
- What does this instruct me to stop doing?
- What does this tell me to believe?
- What attitudes does this address?
These questions and others are meditation type questions.
Meditation has a GOAL. The goal of meditation is APPLICATION. We meditate so that we can know God and please Him by acting, thinking and believing in a way that pleases Him. It is meditation that bridges understanding of the Word into obedience to the Word so that the grace of God can flow into our lives.
Now, in v.3 of Psalm 1 the writer tells us the results of this saying NO to wicked influence and YES to the Word of God: fruitfulness. "He is like a tree planted by streams of water..." Much of Israel is arid. Water has to be brought into the land by irrigation. Fruit trees are planted by these canals of life-giving water ON PURPOSE. There the roots can pull up all that is necessary for life and fruit-bearing. The lesson is clear. The Word of God is to our souls like water is to the roots of a fruit tree. If we want to bear fruit, if we want stay healthy and green, if we want whatever we do in our lives to prosper and succeed in God's ways WE MUST STAY IN THE WORD. We must "plant" ourselves daily in waters of the Word.
Do you have a Bible-reading program? What will you do to take in the Word in 2008? Will you spend at least some time each day meditating in the Word? As absurd as a man dying of thirst on the edge of a clean, freshwater lake is a Christian shrivelling up spritiually with Bibles laying around their house.
God WANTS to bless our lives in 2008. He WANTS to give us patience when times are trying...He WANTS to give us love when we are being attacked...He WANTS to fill us with kindness for others when the whole world is living for self...He WANTS to make us fruitful witnesses to Christ and the gospel with our family and friends. He WANTS to. How will He? As we PLANT ourselves in His Word day by day, meditate on it, and live it out in the power of the Holy Spirit.
We MUST do this in dependence on Him and in relationship with Him. When we live in the Word, God reveals Himself to us in ever fuller ways.
"For the Lord KNOWS the way of the righteous..." v.6. That is, He watches over, cares for, is involved with, blesses with all that is needed.
I plan to plant myself in the Word in a deeper, more faithful, more obedient way in 2008. I pray that you will, as well.
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