MEDITATION.
MONDAY
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There's no such thing as a perfect life.
So come as you are, broken and scarred.
Lift up your heart and be amazed
And be changed by a perfect God..."
- fearing the LORD
- earthen vessels and transformation
- loving the LORD
- the blessed life
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Here are these four thoughts/summaries/concepts that I got yesterday from the Brecheen's for meditation:
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1. SMITTY on...
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Fearing the LORD:
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Smitty addressed the fact that we had 5 different age groups of women, all with varying needs. Yet, she said, "all need to fear the LORD!" For years, she has met with the same group of women to pray. The mission statement of her prayer group is this scripture from Malachi 3:16-18 that she emphasized in separate points:
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- A SISTERHOOD OF WOMEN WHO FEAR THE LORD SHOULD SPEND TIME TALKING TO EACH OTHER: "Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another..."
- THE LORD PAYS ATTENTION TO WHEN HIS FAMILY TALKS TO EACH OTHER AND HE LISTENS: "...and the LORD gave attention and heard it..."
- GOD KEEPS A "SCRAPBOOK" OF HIS CHILDREN WHO FEAR HIM AND ESTEEM HIS NAME: "...and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name..."
- THOSE WHO FEAR THE LORD AND ESTEEM HIS NAME ARE HIS CHILDREN WHO HE WILL SAVE: "...'And they will be Mine,' says the LORD of hosts, 'on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.'
- THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOD'S FAMILY AND THOSE WHO ARE NOT GOD'S FAMILY: "...So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him."
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Not only did I love the "book of remembrance" being a "scrapbook", but Smitty also referred to Revelation 5 where our God (who is to be feared) has bowls full of the prayers of the saints sitting on His table. (So, instead of a bowl of fruit or a bouquet of flowers, God has my prayers decorating His table. Sobering! Encouraging!)
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2. Smitty on...
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Earthen Vessels and Transformation:
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2 Corinthians 4:7-18
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the surpassing greatness of the power
may be of God and not from ourselves...
...knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus...
For all things are for your sakes,
that the grace which is spreading to more and more people...
...Therefore we do not lose heart..."
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Smitty encouraged us to:
- be empowered by God
- be intimate with God (come to Him broken, scarred, poured out)
- pray!
- discover GRACE!
- have faithful women friends who fear the LORD (our sisterhood)
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3. Carl on...
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Loving the LORD...
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Carl and Smitty are both very practical teachers. Carl shared the Shema as the most important scripture in the Old Testament. For many years, Carl has gotten up early to spend time with the LORD. This is the scripture that He starts out each new day with:
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Deuteronomy 6:4-9
"Hear, O Israel!
The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!
And you shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your might.
And these words, which I am commanding you today,
shall be on your heart;
and you shall teach them diligently to your sons
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house
and when you walk by the way
and when you lie down
and when you rise up.
And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand
and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house
and on your gates..."
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To help us make this practical, Carl shared that He and Smitty made it a point to sit in a circle with their children everyday to learn/discuss:
- scripture
- prayer
- song
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When they put scripture to memory, they actually memorized it in two specific ways:
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a. Separating a scripture in sections and repeating it 4 times in those sections, such as, the first 2 verses of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5, might be separated and memorized like this....
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- SIX WORDS: "And when He saw the multitudes, (read 4 times; quote 4 times)
- SIX WORDS: He went up on the mountain; (read 4 times; quote 4 times)
- FIVE WORDS: and after He sat down, (read 4 times; quote 4 times)
- FIVE WORDS: His disciples came to Him. (read 4 times; quote 4 times)
- FOUR WORDS: And opening His mouth (read 4 times; quote 4 times)
- FIVE WORDS: He began to teach them, (read 4 times; quote 4 times)
- ONE WORD: saying..." (read 4 times; quote 4 times)
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At this point, Carl says that not only can your kids tell you a lot about what is happening but they have the scripture put to memory. (Oh, you know how much I love Matthew 5!)
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b. Carl and Smitty also presented, studied, discussed, memorized a Proverb for the day to their children. On the first day of the month, it would be a proverb from Proverbs chapter 1. Today, since it's July 13, it would be a proverb from Proverbs 13, like verse 1:
- "A wise son accepts his father's discipline, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke."
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4. Carl on...
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THE BLESSED LIFE...
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You got it! The Sermon on the Mount! Yup! Carl had my attention. Do you know what? I learned some new things. We've spent a lot of time on this blog on this topic, but last night Carl gave me more to meditate on...new things...and things that I hadn't thought of in a while:
- A disciple is a learner.
- Some scholars use these words in the Beattitudes in place of "blessed" or "happy": "TO BE CONGRATULATED" .... what a great thought... God says, "Way to go! You are to be congratulated! You 'get it'!"
- Here, let's try it...
- To be congratulated are the poor in spirit (the humble)...
- To be congratulated are those who mourn over sin...
- To be congratulated are those who are meek/gentle and allow God to harnass them (bit/bridle/lead) for His task/glory...
- To be congratulated are those who hunger/thirst for righteousness much like someone who is drowning is "hunger/thirsting for air"...it's Christ's righteousness we need...
- To be congratulated are the merciful... (not giving people what they deserve)...
- To be congratulated are the pure in heart...the heart of Christ...the only heart with no contaminants...
- To be congratulated are the peacemakers...who work toward an absence of hostility between people and their God and mankind...
- To be congratulated are those persecuted for righteousness sake...
- To be congratulated are those who have been insulted, persecuted, and lied about because of their lives in Christ...
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The next time your kids walk out the door, say to them, "Be a blessing!!!!" If they choose to be a blessing, they are to be congratulated! They have been SALT and LIGHT to a flavorless and dark world.
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Thank you, Carl and Smitty! I can't wait until tonight! I like this kind of VACATION Bible School!
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"There's no such thing as perfect people.
There's no such thing as a perfect life.
So come as you are, broken and scarred.
Lift up your heart and be amazed
And be changed by a perfect God..."
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