The Importance of Meditation
photo by rachel_titiriga

When was the last time you spent fifteen minutes just thinking about God?

You know what I’ll say next:  For many of us, our lives are so busy, so full of things to do and people to see, that we often can’t imagine taking a quarter of an hour to meditate on our Lord.  When can we fit that into an otherwise packed schedule?  That line of thinking affects even how we talk about “spending” time, as if it were money – and everybody knows there’s only so much money to spend before it runs out.  The same is true of time!  Right?

Sometimes you can find interesting factoids about how often specific words are used in the Bible.  When I searched through the NIV for words like “meditation” and “meditate,” I was surprised to find that sixteen of the eighteen times the Bible mentions meditation are in the book of Psalms.  (That may be of interest to those of you who are currently in our new women’s Bible study group, which is focusing on a group of Psalms together.)  The other two times are (a) in Genesis 24:63, when Isaac is waiting to meet his new bride Rebekah, and (b) in Joshua 1:8, when God is calling Joshua to be the new leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses.

All of the other mentions of meditation in the Bible have to do with people meditating on God’s laws, decrees, wonders, works, and so forth.  From early on in the history of God’s people, they knew that life was not complete unless they took time to remember, reflect, and give thanks for all that God is and all that God does.

Friends, is meditation part of your regular spiritual diet?  Do you frequently allow your mind to wander in the vast expanse of God’s love?  Do you use something so valuable – your daily allotment of time – in such a way that keeps you connected to the God who gave that time to you?  Do you pause to remember the great sacrifice and great victory that we have in Jesus’s death and resurrection?

I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.  May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.  (Psalm 104:33-34, NIV)

–Pastor David

On “Leap Day”
photo by blinkingidiot

Today, as you are probably aware, is “Leap Day,” February 29, the day that only appears on the calendar every fourth year.  This is necessary because our 365-day calendar doesn’t line up perfectly with our planet’s full revolution around the sun.  One revolution takes a few hours longer than 365 days, so every four years we add a day to make up for the lost time.  But even then that’s not quite right, so every 100 years we don’t add the leap day, except for every 400 years, when we do add the leap day…!  Anybody confused yet?

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12 NIV)

On this particular day, when people (like me) feel compelled to talk about the passage of time, take a few minutes to read the full Psalm quoted above (here’s a link to Psalm 90).  If you think about our calendar confusion enough, you may realize that we live in a universe that is more complicated that we can fathom.  We cannot control everything around us.  Even the best of our days fly away before we realize it, and often our hardest days seem to last the longest.

In short, we are not God.  And that’s a good thing.

Psalm 90 reminds us of our dependence on God, our relationship to God, and our standing before God.  He gives us strength for every day’s labor, and he makes us glad with his love and compassion.  God is not bound by time; he is not confused by the rules for leap days; he does not even need to experience time like we do.  He is “from everlasting to everlasting.”  Before anything else was, and long after everything disappears, God is.

How good it is to be in relationship with this mighty one!  How amazing is his love, that he should die for us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth!  How wonderful it is that he walks alongside us, hearing us when we pray, listening to our needs and desires, giving us strength and peace in every circumstance!

Yes, Lord, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

–Pastor David

God’s End of the Bargain
Pastor David's stained glass gift

Remember Genesis 9:8-17, where God promises to Noah never to destroy the world again with a flood?  God’s sign of this covenant was the rainbow, a thing of beauty that many people enjoy seeing still today.  What does this have to do with God’s ultimate covenant with his people in Jesus Christ?  Click below to hear Pastor David’s sermon on 1 Peter 3:13-22.

Listen now!

Ash Wednesday
photo by Sarah Korf

Today is Ash Wednesday, which falls forty days (excluding Sundays) before Easter Sunday.  Traditionally, this begins the season called Lent, an intentional time of prayer, fasting, repentance, contemplation, and meditation on Jesus’s death and resurrection.  A broad majority of Christians begin that season today.

You may notice some folks with smudges on their foreheads; those are ashes that have been applied to believers’ foreheads as a sign of their repentance and humility before God.  I remember seeing a college student of mine some years ago come into math class with ashes in the shape of a cross on her forehead.  She was always kind and respectful in class, but her demeanor seemed even more sincere and thoughtful on that day.

The Church of God does not always make a big deal of Ash Wednesday.  In fact, this will be the second year that our movement engages in a new program called “Focus 40,” which begins next Wednesday and counts forty days (including Sundays) through Easter Sunday.  You will hear more about Focus 40 very soon!

Why is Ash Wednesday so important?  What’s the big deal about ashes on the forehead, anyway?  The whole practice has to do with a correct understanding of ourselves.  All of us have sinned, and we all fall short of God’s glory.  The death and resurrection of Jesus is an event to celebrate, to be sure, but it also encourages us to be mindful of ourselves as sinful people who have been redeemed at great cost.

Just after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, God sent them out of the garden and explained the curses that would follow them for the rest of their lives.  In Adam’s curse, God states that the man will have to toil and labor as he works the ground for food.  This is because Adam was taken from the ground; “for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19 NIV).

Friends, remember that our need to work hard in this world is a result of our sinfulness before God.  Our sins have real consequences that affect our lives.  And our sins had real consequences for Jesus, as well, who went to the cross on our behalf so that our sins might be forgiven and that we might live holy, God-pleasing lives.

Perhaps it would be good for us to wear ashes on our foreheads all the time, if that would help us remember our position before God.  Be blessed in this season of preparation for Easter.

–Pastor David

Focus 40 is coming soon!

I am writing this on February 10, but many of you will be reading this in early March when our monthly newsletters are printed and distributed.  By that time, the title above should read “Focus 40 has come!”

This is the second year in which the Church of God movement has put together this event, “Focus 40,” which is to be an intentional time of prayer and fasting during the 40 days leading up to Easter.  Last year’s emphasis was on prayer and fasting for spiritual renewal and revitalization; this year’s emphasis is on prayer and fasting for specific people to come to know the Lord.

Prayer and fasting often appear together in our scriptures.  Perhaps most notably, Jesus spent 40 days fasting (and presumably praying) in the wilderness just before beginning his ministry on earth (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13).  In the Old Testament, Moses fasted for 40 days on two different occasions while he received the tablets of the law of God (Deuteronomy 9:7-21).  In the New Testament, the apostles appointed leaders for young churches after praying and fasting to determine God’s will (Acts 14:23).

This year, we are gathering together as Church of God people in a concerted effort to pray and fast regarding those friends, family members, and acquaintances we have who are not in a saving relationship with Jesus.  This is surely very important work!  We cannot keep the good news of the kingdom of God to ourselves; we are called to make disciples and to instruct others to keep Christ’s commands.

I encourage you, friends, in the time leading up to Easter (and beyond!):  invest yourself in prayer for people who do not know the Lord.  If you are able, skip a meal once in a while and use that time and energy to come before God in prayer.  If you feel led to do so, fast for longer periods of time.  (Remember that you should discuss any extended fast – even for a few days – with your doctor ahead of time.)

Let us pray that we will see a new generation of believers come to know the Lord in our midst!

–Pastor David