Verse of the Day 4/10

Verse of the Day 4/10

Psalm 1:1-2     Blessed is the man

    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.     English Standard Version (ESV)

Yesterday we considered how Paul challenged his readers, then and now, to think, think about good things, things worthy of praise and act upon those thoughts.  In today's psalm in verse two we read where the "blessed man" meditates on God's Word. 

In this day and age where there are tweets and instagram posts with limited character, thoughts and messages are sent out in short bursts that often come in through our eyes and most often stay in our minds for as long as they are on the screen in front of us.  We live in a world of fleeting thoughts, yesterdays new, yesterday's tweets are long gone.  It should not be this way for us as Christians as it relates to our thoughts towards God.  He should permeate our thoughts which will lead to better actions throughout our days.

A.W. Tozer writes, "Let the old saints be our example. They came to the Word of God and meditated. They laid the Bible on the old-fashioned, handmade chair, got down on the old, scrubbed, board floor and meditated on the Word. As they waited, faith mounted. The Spirit and faith illuminated. They had only a Bible with fine print, narrow margins and poor paper, but they knew their Bible better than some of us do with all of our helps.  ...Let's practice the art of Bible meditation.... Let us open our Bibles, spread them out on a chair and meditate on the Word of God. It will open itself to us, and the Spirit of God will come and brood over it.....I do challenge you to meditate, quietly, reverently, prayerfully, for a month. Put away questions and answers and the filling in of the blank lines in the portions you haven't been able to understand. Put all of the cheap trash away and take the Bible, get on your knees, and in faith, say, "Father, here I am. Begin to teach me" The Counselor, 136-137.

Isaiah 40:31 states that "those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength".   As Tozer said of the old saints, "as they waited, faith mounted".  May we spend time today and each day, meditating, thinking of God, and as we meditate as we wait on Him, may our faith mount and prepare us for the day.

Isaiah 40:31 English Standard Version (ESV)

³¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Psalm 1:1-5 The Message (MSG)

1 How well God must like you—
    you don't hang out at Sin Saloon,
    you don't slink along Dead-End Road,
    you don't go to Smart-Mouth College.

^2-3 Instead you thrill to God's Word,
    you chew on Scripture day and night.
You're a tree replanted in Eden,
    bearing fresh fruit every month,
Never dropping a leaf,
    always in blossom.

^4-5 You're not at all like the wicked,
    who are mere windblown dust—
Without defense in court,
    unfit company for innocent people.