MEDITATING ON GOD'S WORD

                                      
Meditation is an almost-forgotten discipline in the Christian Church, but it is a practice that draws us closer to the Lord. When we meditate upon His Word, it transforms our lives so that we are more like Him.

What does “meditation” actually mean? It means: “to murmur, speak, moan, mutter, babble, talk, sing, discuss, or ponder verbally.” God told Joshua to meditate on His Word both day and night. God said that his way would be prosperous and successful if he did so. (See Joshua 1:8.) So shall it be for you. Meditation places the Word of God in your heart. It is a deliberate process of communing with God by quietly studying, singing, and reflecting on His Word again and again—over and over, and over again—and over again. In this way you are strengthening the Word of God in your heart, mind and soul.

The process of meditation is like a sheep’s digestion process. When a sheep first swallows, the food passes to the first of its four stomachs. Later, the sheep brings up the digesting food as “cud” and chews it again. Again the sheep swallows, passing the cud to the second stomach. The sheep brings it back up a third time, chews it, and swallows it again. Eventually the cud will go through all four of its stomachs.

In the same way that the sheep is nourished by food, you receive sustenance from the Word of God. Jesus explained, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). As the sheep chews its cud, you, too, chew on God’s Word. Meditating on His Word maintains your spiritual health and elevates you to receive revelation from Him.

Meditation helps you have the mind of God. It disciplines your thinking so that you may know God better. God said:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “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).

Meditating on God’s Word renews your mind and transforms your life. It allows you to replicate the mind of Christ within you. (See Romans 12:2 and 1 Corinthians 2:16.) Likewise, it enables you to bring every thought under obedience to His Word repeatedly until you automatically think, say, and do it. It is then that you experience Kingdom living and enter a heavenly realm of blessings in the here and now!

Satan knows the power that comes from meditation on God’s Word. He also knows that when you grow in the knowledge of God’s Word and faith, you are able to subdue and take dominion over him. His greatest fear is that this will happen and you will multiply your knowledge and faith to other men and women, inflicting severe and heavy casualties upon his kingdom and his activities. His purpose, therefore, is to thwart you from obtaining your divine potential. He will do all he can to prevent the Word of God from richly dwelling in you. Resist him by submitting to God’s revelation of His Word in your life. Then declare God’s Word over satan’s lies, which are always contrary to the truth.

Be very careful about how you think. If you allow it, your thoughts can cause you to separate yourself from God and negate the force of His power being manifested in your life. Your thoughts can also cause you to turn your focus away from God and toward a worldly mentality. This is why we’re told to take captive every thought that is contrary to the Word of God. (See 2 Corinthians 10:5.)

When your thoughts are focused on God’s Word, He’s obligated to direct your path into the way of knowledge that is necessary to accomplish His will in your life. The amount of time you give to meditating on God’s Word is in direct proportion to the increase you receive, multiplied back to you.

                        

Muslim who converted to Christianity will speak in Edmond

Nabeel Qureshi, who converted to Christianity from Islam, says he wants to build bridges of understanding between Muslims and Christians. Qureshi will speak Feb. 9 at First Presbyterian Church of Edmond.

By Carla Hinton Published: February 1, 2014

EDMOND — A former Muslim on a search for Allah said he found the Christian savior instead.

Nabeel Qureshi, Ph.D., said he put his life experiences and the events surrounding his conversion from Islam to Christianity in his book “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus.”

Qureshi, 30, of Atlanta, said he grew up in a devout Muslim family and had read the Quran in Arabic by the time he was 5. He said he was proud of his Islamic identity, but a close college friend presented Christianity to him, eventually leading to his conversion.

With his book set for release Feb. 11, Qureshi, who holds master's degrees in Christian apologetics and religion, will share excerpts from his spiritual journey during a presentation set for Feb. 9 at First Presbyterian Church of Edmond. He is a member of the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries speaking team, traveling around the world to discuss his perspective of Islam and Christianity.

First Presbyterian's senior pastor, the Rev. Mateen Elass, Ph.D., who also converted to Christianity from Islam, said he hopes Qureshi's presentation will “encourage respectful dialogue and learning about other religious beliefs.”

In a recent telephone interview, Qureshi discussed his mission as a member of the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries speaking team:

Q: Why do you make it a point to speak to different audiences about your life experiences and conversion?

A: I feel that Christ is an important truth; the Christian message is important. It's not just something I believe, it's something that has the power to shape and change the world. That's why I share with people what happened to me.