Greg wraps up our series on spiritual disciplines by showing us the importance of meditating on God’s word. He explains how God’s word is foundational to our formation and then concludes with specific actions that can help us get God’s word inside our very essence. 
Everything we do and think that develops our character in the direction of Jesus Christ is an investment in eternity. Whatever unloving and sinful aspects of our character remain at the end of this age must be addressed before one can enter the eternal kingdom because nothing is allowed in the eternal kingdom that doesn’t reflect God’s love. This is why spiritual disciplines are so important. Our character isn’t transformed by God magically snapping his fingers. We are transformed as we cooperate with God’s Spirit by engaging in spiritual disciplines.
In the final sermon of this series, Greg focuses on the discipline of meditating on God’s word. We read in the focus scripture above that the word separates soul from spirit, joints from marrow, and thoughts from the intentions of the heart. This means that from God’s point of view, we are defined from the top-down, inside-out. By contrast, Satan seeks to define us from the bottom-up, outside-in. This is why the Bible stresses the importance of getting the word of God’s revealed truth in our minds. Truth changes us from the inside out. In Deuteronomy 6:6-9, God tells his people to make God’s word central to their lives. In Psalm 1, we read about the blessings that God’s word can bestow on those who delight in it. We are to be a people who get the truth of God inside our very being so that we can put it on display in every part of our lives.
This same point is also made throughout the New Testament. In Romans 12:1-2, we read that transformation comes by the renewing of our minds. Jesus says in John 15:7, that if his words remain in us, we can ask whatever we wish and it will be done. This is more than a mere understanding of what a passage means or what the authors of the Scriptures intended by their words. This is about allowing God’s truth to ruminate within us to the point that it shapes who we are, how we think, and the ways that we act.
Practically, we can develop this spiritual discipline in four specific ways. First, we can think about what we think about. Our brains are always at work, but only when we examine how we think can we stand against the common patterns of thought in our culture. Second, meditate on the truth of who God is. This is rooted in the revelation of Jesus Christ, and specifically the ultimate revelation that God looks like Jesus hanging on the cross. Third, meditate on the truth of who we are in Christ. The Bible makes it clear that God embraces us as his children and therefore this reality defines who we are.
Fourth, let the Spirit speak through the Scripture. We do this as we read the Bible with an open heart to the Spirit. We are not reading to analyze the meaning of a passage. We are reading to pay attention to what the Spirit might be communicating. What stands out? What is going on within our spirit as we reflect? How are we being stirred to pray through what we are reflecting on? These are some simple questions that can cause us to commune with the Spirit as we read the Bible.
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