janbear
04-13-2009, 09:11 AM
Peace Be Still - Mediatation and Quietude
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.
Mark 1:35, Holman Christian Standard Bible
The New Agers came around, talking about focusing, finding their center, pondering their navels (and stuff like that), and made us define meditation as some heebie-jeebie, hippie holdover that feels at home on a PBS special but not on our living room sofas.
But just because someone misuses God's gift doesn't diminish its importance. Meditation is a much-needed Christian discipline. When you seek a silent place away from the pull of the newspaper or the approaching drumbeats of a work deadline, when you feast on a single verse of the Scripture, letting the Holy Spirit bring to your mind new lessons to learn, new twists on the truth, new insights to gather . . . you will learn to recognize God's voice and grow in your relationship.
You certainly don't have to go out looking for demands and distractions. They'll find you -- enough to fill every second of your life with noise and activity, yet still leave you restless and dissatisfied. Come quietly -- deliberately -- before God. Meditate on His Word. And enjoy His satisfying rest.
This Week's Look-Up Verse
Mark 1:35-37
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.
Mark 1:35, Holman Christian Standard Bible
The New Agers came around, talking about focusing, finding their center, pondering their navels (and stuff like that), and made us define meditation as some heebie-jeebie, hippie holdover that feels at home on a PBS special but not on our living room sofas.
But just because someone misuses God's gift doesn't diminish its importance. Meditation is a much-needed Christian discipline. When you seek a silent place away from the pull of the newspaper or the approaching drumbeats of a work deadline, when you feast on a single verse of the Scripture, letting the Holy Spirit bring to your mind new lessons to learn, new twists on the truth, new insights to gather . . . you will learn to recognize God's voice and grow in your relationship.
You certainly don't have to go out looking for demands and distractions. They'll find you -- enough to fill every second of your life with noise and activity, yet still leave you restless and dissatisfied. Come quietly -- deliberately -- before God. Meditate on His Word. And enjoy His satisfying rest.
This Week's Look-Up Verse
Mark 1:35-37