From the Inside Out

      This is the first post of a series entitled "From the Inside Out."  I will be dealing with a variety of topics in this series, which will demonstrate that our spiritual growth in Christ truly does occur from the inside out.  In other words, we cannot display our faith in Christ in the arena of life unless we are growing in our faith in Christ internally.  We will be unable to demonstrate Christlike attitudes, actions, and speech unless we are devoted to Christ.  Therefore, the first thing that I want to share in this series is that we must be devoted to meditation.  I know that the first thing that comes to many of your minds is that meditation is not something that Christians do, but rather something that mystical, Eastern religions practice.  However, there is a distinct difference between the meditation that I suggest Christians should practice from that of all other religions.
      Meditation to many means to empty one's mind, but the meditation that we need as followers of Christ involves filling our minds with God's Word.  In Psalm 119:97, the psalmist wrote, "O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day."  Meditating on God's Word is to literally fill our minds with the voice of God and His truth.  This includes the following acts:  listening to God, reflecting on God, and becoming more like Christ.
      So, why should be compelled as followers of Christ to meditate on God's Word?  The first reason involves intimacy.  We have the opportunity to fellowship with God through Christ, and we can become more familiar with the God who created us and saved us (if we have received Christ).  The second reason involves the transformation of our minds.  All of us have minds that are prone to regress back to dwelling on the things of the world, but when we meditate on God then He fills our minds with righteous thoughts and an imagination of the infinite ways that He desires to use us.  If we are confused about what God wants to do through us then we should meditate on Him and His Word.  The third reason involves obedience.  If we are close in fellowship with God and our minds are focused on God then we are much more likely to obey God in our lives.
      Psalm 1:1-2 lets us know that a "blessed" man is one whose "delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."  A blessed life full of intimacy, transformation, and obedience can be experienced.  However, it begins with a relationship with Christ. We must desire and love Him, and if we do we will meditate on Him and His Word.