Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
About 30 years ago, I got married out in Gillette Wyoming and if I remember correctly, it was the same weekend that they had a huge chili cook-off going on in town. A lot of people who have known me over the years, understand that I really enjoy extremely spicy food, so we decided to take a drive over to the gymnasium where the festivities had already begun. We had to pay an entrance fee in order to get in, one that I felt was a little bit pricey for an event like that, but after I paid the clerk I was shocked even more when they gave us these tiny plastic teaspoons, and a miniature plastic medicine cup to eat from. We looked at each other with a puzzled look because we weren’t sure how we would ever get full, but we smiled at the hostess and began following the rest of the people in the long line that had already formed. Like busy little bees collecting honey, we would go from table to table, tasting a tiny little sample of various types of chili everywhere that we went. I think there were over a hundred different vendors that day, but you know what? I don’t think I got 2/3 of the way through them, because I was so stuffed that I simply could not eat any more.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Sometimes we want a big meal of food all at one sitting, so we can quickly get up and go and do other things, but a lot of times we can get just as full by eating a little bit at a time throughout the day. Our hearts are the same way, and rather than taking big gulps of scripture, many times it’s much better to take smaller bites at a time. This gives us the opportunity to digest what we have learned more slowly, so we can focus our mind better on the true meaning of God’s will, and meditate very deeply, one nibble at a time.
1 Timothy 4:13-15 (KJB) Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
Sometimes a true Christian tends to frown when they hear the word meditate, because a lot of times we associate it with false religions, but to meditate simply means to think very deeply and focus one’s mind for a period of time on a specific topic. It is to contemplate, ponder, and to put great thought into something. Think about all of the complex blueprints that a commercial architect will draw for a huge building project. They don’t just whip these things up on a napkin overnight, because they can take months of serious thought and preparation to complete. Even after work when they are lying in their bed, they might still be thinking about their project, and quickly jot down a few things that they forgot to do. That is called meditation, because they are devoting serious time to think each day about the things they are involved with.
One time I was failing a course in school, and the only way to pass was to get a good grade on the final, so I crammed as much information into my little brain in the shortest amount of time possible. I did nothing but eat, breathe and sleep economics for an entire week and was constantly quizzed by my friends in both the lunchroom and on the school bus. To my amazement, I managed to squeak out a good score on the final exam, and pass the course so I could graduate. But you know what? All the information that I had learned so rapidly, couldn’t even be remembered 6 months later. I had forgotten it all, simply because I didn’t soak it in slowly over the course of the entire school year. In my own opinion, we understand things better when we learn at a slower pace, taking the time to really think about what we are learning, rather than shoving it in as fast as we possibly can.
Psalms 63:5-6 (KJB) My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
So again, to meditate is to think deeply about something, but in order to be successful in the Christian Life requires changing the worldly things that one thinks about, and redirecting the heart and mind to diligently seek after the Spiritual things of God.
Philippians 4:8 (KJB) Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Our thoughts and our minds have to be retrained, and it begins by making a decision about what you are going to put inside of it. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul teaches us in the following passage.
Romans 8:5-8 (KJB) For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Some people have spent their lives listening to worldly music, filling up their minds with wicked lyrics and worldly thoughts that completely destroy the soul. Each morning a person can choose what they are going to listen to simply by turning the dial on the radio. Rather than pumping so many rebellious and carnal words into one’s heart, we must fill up our minds with thoughts of obedience, thankfulness, and love for our precious Lord Jesus.
Ephesians 5:19 (KJB) Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Colossians 3:16 (KJB) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
When we mind something, it will be in the forefront of our thoughts each day. One of my absolute favorite meals is beef jerky, but I normally don’t eat much of it because it’s so expensive. Beef jerky tastes great, but it also lasts a really long time. It’s just a little nibble of meat, but the flavor can last for hours on end. Well, this is very similar to the way that we must come at the scriptures, taking little nibbles of them, and savoring them all day long. A lot of people might sit down for a few minutes in the morning and try to quickly cram in a chapter of the Bible, but to really grow in the faith is more than just reading, it is absorbing the things that you learned. It is savoring the knowledge that you have been given. It is tasting the food, rather than just consuming it.
Many times we retain things much better by taking little bites at a time, a lesson that I learned so many years ago, when I was walking around at…….
……..The Gillette Chili Cook-Off
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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