October 27th

OCTOBER 27th 

So the Word of God is our sword, our very tactical weapon. We should be practicing so that we can use it well. We can’t use it if we don’t know it and we can’t know it if we don’t read it. But it is much more than just reading it. Throughout the Bible we are instructed to meditate on it day and night. Now this is not meditation as you might think. It is not like some guru sitting crossed legged on the floor trying to empty his mind. Consider these verses:

Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Psalm 1:1-2 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

Really our English word “meditate” doesn’t do it justice.

The Hebrew word is Hagah – it means to meditate, ponder, study, utter, declare, roar, growl, talk, moan, utter from the heart.

The same word shows up in Isaiah 31:4 “As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey” (ESV). The lion with its lunch and the blessed man of Psalm 1, who “meditates day and night”, are doing the same thing. Imagine a dog enjoying his bone as a lion growls over the lunch he is enjoying. This is much more than the meditating we think about in English. Hagah is mentally chewing on the words of the Scripture we are reading. Like enjoying a meal, savoring every bite. So to use the Word as our weapon we need to ponder it, consider it from all angles and commit it to memory, find other verses that are similar or support it, write it down, make notes, TELL SOMEONE about what we are learning.

When you mentally chew on the words, something happens in your brain, not just your mind. When you chew on the words of a verse your brain wires it in, much easier than when you simply read it and move on. When you read each word in the verse and spend time considering each word’s meaning, your brain lays down pathways that are more easily accessed when you need it next time. This is how you ensure that your weapon is handy for use when you need it.

How do we use it? When the enemy comes at you with a lie, you speak truth back at him. This is what Jesus did. We see that His response to each temptation of the enemy was to speak Scripture to him and He started with the words: “It is written…”

Luke Chapter 4:1-13 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ” The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ ” The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

I would say if that is good enough for Jesus it is good enough for me.

Lord, thank you for demonstrating for me how to defeat the enemy and temptation. Help me Holy Spirit to learn how to meditate on the Word, show me how to use it. Help me to remember that I have it available to me and help me to not neglect it. Show me the verses that you want me to learn first. Thank you for your help.