Seek God through Meditation

Often as Christians we can be fearful of the word meditation. Perhaps we envision people sitting on mats with crossed legs making low humming noises. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Meditation comes from God! The Psalmist describes the one who is blessed by God as a person who meditates on God's word day and night (Psalm 1:2-3). Likewise, the Lord reminds Joshua to meditate on God's word continually so that he will be careful to obey it (Joshua 1:8). In both Psalms and Joshua, the Lord promises to prosper those who keep their minds focused on him. Meditation is not emptying our minds, rather it is filling our minds with God's word.

Try this exercise in meditation...

• Sit in a quiet place maybe in your home or outside in creation. Silence your cell phone, TV, radio, iPod, etc. so that you are not distracted.
• Open your Bible to our April Scripture Memory passage Luke 19:10. Ask God to speak to you through his word.
• Say the verse aloud slowly.
• Say the verse aloud again emphasizing the key words.Think about the key words as you say them.
• Ask yourself: Who is the Son of Man? What two things does he do in this passage? Who does he do it to? Who is lost?
• Voice this verse as a prayer back to God: Thank you, God, for sending Jesus, the Son of Man, to seek and to save me when I was lost from you.

To learn more about meditating on God's word, check out the following resources:
The Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
Soul Shaping by Jim L. Wilson
http://www.lifeway.com/Article/how-to-have-a-quiet-time

I'd love to hear what God is teaching you through meditation!

Seeking God through Scripture Memory

As a church family, we are learning to SEEK GOD in 2013 through Bible study, prayer and worship. A key practice of God-Seekers is Scripture memory. Our pastor has identified twelve SEEK GOD verses for us to memorize as a church family. As teachers, we need to actively teach our students whether preschoolers or elementary students to hide God's Word in their hearts. Below is the post that I wrote in our Heritage Parents Facebook Group. We need to follow the same principles in our classes. Posters of the Scripture verses will be in your rooms so that you can help your children memorize God's Word. I have also included a link to Five Bible Memory Games that you can create to make Scripture memory fun. God's Word is life-changing. Thank you for leading our children to SEEK GOD!

 

From Heritage Parents Facebook Group:

SEEK GOD 2013 is a great time begin memorizing Scripture as a family. As our pastor taught us yesterday, memorizing God's Word is essential to seeking God and finding him. As soon as a child can talk, he or she can begin memorzing and quoting God's Word. Preschoolers have an amazing capacity for remembering what they hear repeatedly--just think about the movie lines they can quote or the books they can "read." Elementary children can begin to not only memorize God's Word, but apply his word to their daily life. One of our preteens gave us a great example of that last night in our service. Here are some tips to help you teach your kids to memorize Scripture...
1. Choose the verse to memorize. Our pastor has given us a challenge to memorize 12 SEEK GOD verses this year (one a month). You can pick up... a copy on the table outside the worship center.
2. Post the verse where you and your kids can see it regularly. Write it on post-it notes for the fridge or use a wax marker to write it on your bathroom mirror.
3. Say the verse together daily. Divide the verse into small phrases. Personalize the verse with the child's name. Create motions for the words or ideas. Remember to say the reference.
4. Talk about the verse. What does it mean for your 3 year old or your 3rd grader? How can they seek God as a child? How does your family seek God?
5. Share the verse. Encourage your child to say the verse to other family members or teachers at church or me (I would LOVE to hear your little one quote Scripture!)
Memorizing Scripture as a family is life-changing! Remember what Bro. Teman says, "This is the Word of God and it will change your life." I can't wait to hear your family's life change stories. Send them my way. I love you all!