This is the third in a series on the “Lost Art & Skill Biblical Meditation” which will deal with looking for short-cuts to peace and freedom in our fast pace world. There has been a real effort to find peace in our lives in ways other than a relationship with Jesus Christ. These so-called short-cuts are really counterfeits that mask themselves as genuine peace givers but, in the end, create bondage than we are ready for.
If our soul needs and craves peace in order to be healthy then the question is what will deliver the kind of peace we seek and need? Jesus said that in this world we will have tribulation and that he could deliver to us a special kind of peace that is so unique because it is the peace he operated in. Think about all the stress and hostility Jesus lived while never losing his temper or responding out of hate, insecurity or pride. Ever since Adam and Eve chose to trust themselves more than God, mankind has been searching for peace only to find it elusive in their true experience.
In the book of Job, which was written 400 years before Moses, Job is a key figure, much like Abraham was, and has some valuable insight into how people knew that true peace was connected to a healthy relationship with God. One of Job’s friends, who came to comfort Job in all his sorrows, pointed out a truth that seems obvious. Yet this wisdom seems to elude people today who don’t want a requirement of harmony with God to be a requirement for peace. Somehow religious teachers today have so bought into “Unconditional Love” that they think God is in a hurry to hand out both forgiveness and peace to any who asks for it. Old Testament scripture paints a far different view of God’s willingness to facilitate healing and peace without cooperation with His will.
Job 22:21 (Job’s friend) “Eliphaz” “Obey God and be at peace with him; this is the way to happiness
This peace is identified as something that comes from being in the will of God. Remember that Jesus said he didn’t do anything except what the Father showed him. For the most part, I find peace leaves me when either I get my eyes off of the Lord or Satan persuades me to be afraid of something or someone.
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
The coming of Christ was announced as something to bring peace to men with the condition of that they walk in harmony.
Luke 2:13-14
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
So the Lord sends his angles to announce that God is offering peace to all humanity and yet we carry on with our own plans despite our failure. At the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus starts to weep as he considers that Father God offers mankind peace but our appetite for self direction blinded our eyes to the offer of lasting peace.
Luke 19:41-42
When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.
In 2019, I don’t think we are in any different condition than the people who rejected the peace that God was offering during the time Jesus ministered. He said that even when we know the answer to this big question, “What Will Give Me Peace?”, we still grope in the darkness as if we have never heard of Jesus and his offer. True freedom comes from following, not just asking for help.
In the last article I talked briefly about Hinduism and Transcendental Meditation gaining traction in the west, and in particular America, that promised peace and tranquility without the requirement of following Jesus. Many discovered that the claims of such teaching didn’t measure up to reality and yet the foot print of these teaching affected people long after abandoning their ideas and practices. The Bible is full of people tormented by evil spirits without explaining how demons got foot holds in their lives. It is my opinion that demonic footholds of control occur when we entertain destructive paths that promise peace without surrender to the will of God.
Without the true transformation of our mind and heart, the information of scripture can go in one ear and out the other rather than having the change God desires. Biblical Meditation helps transfer the scripture we read and hear into usable tools the Holy spirit can use to spark change. Without biblical mediation, the scripture becomes “information” that floats around in our mind without any useful connection.
Joyce Meyer says in her book, “Battlefield of the Mind“:
“I went to church, and had done so for years, but I never actually thought about what I heard. It went in one ear and out the other, so to speak. I read some Scriptures in the Bible every day, but never thought about what I was reading. I was not attending to the Word. I was not giving any thought and study to what I was hearing. Therefore, no virtue or knowledge was coming back to me.”
In the next article I will explore how the deception of another Eastern religion/philosophy has corrupted people’s thinking and practices by promising peace through physical exercise and meditation. This blind worship of Hindu gods through physical exercises opens the door to demonic spirit. The practice we will discuss is yoga.
Questions
1) Have you done a study on biblical meditation yet? If not, why not?
2) Have you engaged in philosophies or practices other than Jesus to gain peace of mind? If you have you may want to consider renouncing such things lest Satan gets a foothold in your life and future.
Ephesians 5:6-8
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.
Pastor Dale
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