“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 NLT)
“Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” (1 Timothy 4:12-16 NKJV)
” Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 NLT)
The Bible makes a big deal about the way I think. How I think determines how I act. How I act has a huge bearing on the condition of my life, and the lives around me. I can “think and grow rich,” or I can “think and grow poor.” I can think myself into improved health, or I can think myself into increased illness. (I have read that up to 80% of all illnesses are psychosomatic – that simply means the sickness started in the realm of the mind, such as stress or anxiety, and impacted the body). I can think positive which in turn leads me to positive actions which improve the atmosphere and environment of my life, or I can think negative which will have the opposite effect.
When I made Jesus the Lord of my life I was given a brand new spirit that is just like Jesus. In my new spirit (the real me) I possess the mind of Christ that thinks just like Jesus. My soul includes my natural mind which has been corrupted by sin, and influenced by all of the negativity of this world. I am constantly confronted with the need to choose which mind I will listen to. The mind of Christ within me immediately takes hold of the Word, while my natural mind gravitates toward the ways, and thinking, of the world.
The Bible is clear that there is benefit in my studying the Word. However, when I make studying my only way of relating to scripture I am faced with inherent shortcomings. First, study is primarily done with my natural mind which has limited comprehension. It is “being saved” but is still colored by sin, and influenced by my surrounding culture (both in the world and the church). I have built up religious paradigms and theologies which are difficult to set aside. When I study I have a tendency to interpret what I am studying from my current doctrinal comfort zone. There is a constant temptation, and tendency, to change the Word by how I think. Even with these shortcomings studying the Word is valuable, but I believe it has to be enhanced, and improved, through memorization and meditation.
Memorizing the Word removes all of the possible pitfalls of exclusively studying the Word. My natural mind is not given the opportunity to get in the way, or change the meaning of the Word. The Word goes directly to the Mind of Christ which has no limitations, religious paradigms, or doctrinal comfort zones. I am simply receiving the pure Word into my spirit. When I meditate on what has been deposited, the Holy Spirit takes that Word, and from the inside out, renews my natural mind, changing the way I think. Memorization and meditation places the Holy Spirit in charge and allows Him to be my teacher. This in turn begins to break through my religious paradigms, correct or confirm my theology, and blow away my doctrinal comfort zone.
While I continue to “study to show myself approved,” for 100 days I am going to shift my attention to memorization and meditation. I am going to test…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 127: ” “Scripture Memorization and Meditation feed my spirit and renew my mind.” Part 3: Letting the Word change how I think stops me from changing the Word by the way I think.