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Bible Study Toolbox: Meditation
Bible Study Toolbox
Meditation
While it helps to discuss Bible dictionaries, concordances, and commentaries, Bible study must never be strictly academic. There are libraries written about the Bible by scholars who don’t believe the Bible’s message. I took a class at the University of South Florida called “The Bible as Literature.” The Bible is the most brilliant piece of literature in the world and it makes for a fascinating study, but to many that’s all it is. Let’s remember what we’re reading. “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (1 Thess. 2:13).
It’s God’s Word. Living, active, and designed to perform God’s work in us. But in order for it to perform its work, we’ll need to meditate on the Word, not just study it. “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night…” (Josh. 1:8). “I will meditate on all Your work, and muse on Your deeds.” (Ps. 77:12). “My eyes anticipate the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word.” (Ps. 119:148). “Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate on Your wonders.” (Ps. 119:27) “Whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (Philippians 4:8). To meditate means to muse, ponder, and consider. It’s not like eastern meditation which is all about clearing the mind. Biblical meditation is about filling the mind.
It means filling our minds with righteous thoughts from the Scriptures and pondering, chewing, and thinking deeply about them over and over again. In the movie “The Fellowship of the Ring,” after Gandalf saw the cursed ring again for the first time in years, he sat pensively at the fireplace, rocking back and forth in Frodo’s old wicker chair, staring off into the distance as if looking through the fire to something on the other side. “Riddles in the dark…” he muttered under his breath. Gandalf was mulling over the disturbing history of the ring.
After reading a section of Scripture, let’s not slam our Bibles shut and get back to our day. Let sit for a while and think about the power of what we read and why it’s so meaningful. “Jesus was in agony for me…” “God’s creation is so amazing…” “I can’t believe how deep God’s love is…” “Which heart am I in the parable of the sower?…” “If God asked me to sacrifice my son the way He asked Abraham, would I do it? God did it…” “I really want to go to Heaven…” Let God’s Word consume your thoughts. Let it consume your heart. Let it consume your life.
