The Righteous Ponder

 

 

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers.

(Psalm 1:1-3, NASB, bold added)

 

The righteous ponder …

The righteous repeat …

The righteous utter in a low sound …

The righteous meditate on the Word of God!

Psalm 1:1-3 gives a picture of a righteous person who meditates on God’s law. Verse 1:2 says that a righteous person “meditates day and night.”

Holman’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines the word meditate as,

 

The act of calling to mind some supposition, pondering upon it, and correlating it to one’s own life. Meditation by God’s people is a reverent act of worship. Meditation is the repetitious going over of a matter in one’s mind because it is the chief concern of life. In Hebrew, it means to be “to utter in a low sound” and to “be occupied with,” or “concerned about.”

I purposely highlighted in bold all of the action verbs in this definition of Meditation to show what meditating is … calling to mind, pondering, correlating, repeating, worshiping, uttering, occupation, and concern.

What might this look like when meditating on a passage of Scripture?

• Bring your chosen passage to mind and ponder it during the day. Think about it.
• Write your passage on an index card and carry it in your pocket so that you can pull it out while you are at work, exercising, or taking a walk. Repeat this throughout the day and week.
• Think about your passage. What does it mean and how does it apply or correlate to your life? Think of one way you can put it into practice.
• Utter your passage! Say it out loud. It doesn’t have to be loud for everyone to hear, but just loud enough for your ears to hear.
• Occupy yourself with the passage. Take 30 minutes out of your day to be concerned about the passage. Journal about it and record any ideas or insight the Holy Spirit gives to you.

This is how Christian’s are to meditate on Scripture and the things of God. The world see’s meditation as the emptying of the mind. However, Scripture teaches that meditation is actually the filling of the mind! Fill your mind with God’s word today! Store it in your heart so the Holy Spirit can bring it up to you when needed.

God bless and have a great weekend!

Are You Naive?

 

Would you consider yourself a naïve person? Most people would say no. 

Paul uses the word naïve at the end of his letter to the Roman church. It is here that he gives the following warning to the Romans in passage 16:17-18: 

 

“Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.” (ESV, emphasis added) 

 

Paul warns believers that people will come and try to deceive those who are naïve with smooth talk and flattery. So who are the naïve? 

I decided to do a word study on the word naïve. My goal was to see if different words were used in other Bible translations to describe naïve people. I found that in many Bible translations the word unsuspecting was also used in the place of naïve. After this, I looked up the word naïve in a thesaurus and found out that the words unschooled and unstudied were considered synonyms of naïve.  

To my conclusion, those who are most likely to be deceived and considered naive are the following: 

• People who do not suspect or look out for others who would lead them astray from correct biblical teaching. Instead, they blindly believe what others tell them and do not test new ideas and teachings against the Bible.
• People who do not spend time studying Scripture. They are not schooled on the basic foundations of the Christian faith. 

How would rate yourself? Do you spend time reading the Bible everyday? Are you making an effort to meditate on the Word and let it dwell in your heart? Do you test new teachings against Scripture?  … Are you naïve? 

I encourage you this week to set aside at least 15 minutes each day to read and study Scripture. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and protect you from people who seek to deceive the hearts of the naïve.