Bible Meditation

“You shall meditate in it (the Bible) day and night” (Joshua 1:8).

Moses was dead. Joshua was being commissioned to lead that great wilderness congregation of maybe a couple million. It did not matter that Joshua had seen the glory of God on Mt. Sinai, it did not matter that he had seen the Jordan split, it did not matter that at his word the sun stood still, it did not matter that God had told him no man could stand before him, Joshua had to keep his nose in the book to prosper in his calling. And the same goes for the Christian. It is a distinguishing mark of the true Christian (Psalm 1).

Meditation is not necessarily Bible reading, not necessarily Scripture memory, not reading good books and commentaries, not listening to good sermons, not prayer nor singing, but rather slow, easy, quiet contemplation on the Bible. It is spiritual cud chewing. It is looking for a fresh message from the book that will sink down in our ears (Luke 9:44) that will change our thinking, feed our soul, train our conscience and quicken our obedience.

But we will have to sacrifice time, sleep, and maybe even, like Martha, Christian service to choose this good part (Luke 10:38f). For sure, you will have to sacrifice your putterings. The devil would have you wax your lawn mower if you are not careful. The enemy is skilled in subtle distractions, anything to keep us from getting our batteries charged, thus rendering us fairly useless.

Do you love the Lord? Then why aren’t you pouring over His love letter daily? What is your excuse? Surely you are not busier than Joshua. What you lack is not time but heart.

(1949 - 2012)
Bob Jennings began a pastoral ministry in Kirksville, Missouri in 1978 in the church that now meets at Lake Road Chapel. In 1983 he moved to Sedalia, Missouri to pastor a small flock which God had raised up in that city (now meeting at Highway M Chapel). Bob spoke at many conferences both in the United States and Eastern Europe. He also did evangelism outreach on various university campuses over the years. The Lord blessed Bob and his wife Terri with five children. Bob is respected as a godly man by all who knew him, perhaps most by his family. You can find encouragement from his many messages online, and also from his online journal which he kept during his days with cancer. Bob fell asleep in the Lord November of 2012.