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| Image courtesy of branham.org |
How can we be those things however when the reality is that sex is the theme of our TV screens? Loose tongues are on our radios today and hatred for the things that are of God is rampant in almost every inch of our society.
Every generation needs its revival. Every believer is meant to shine Christ's light and reflect his glory in this world. How can we overcome the world then? The word in 1st John 4:4 says "You dear children are from God and have overcome them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
Who is that one in us? Christ. He even reveals it in John 14:20. If you remember John1:1, you will recall that Christ is the word of God. In that light, I can safely rewrite 1st John 4:4 saying
"You dear children are from God and have overcome them because THE WORD that is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
You cannot walk in victory if there is no WORD in you. How do we get WORD in us? By spending time meditating on the word. In John chapter 15, Christ explains that unless we remain in Him we cannot do anything (verse 5).
Nothing? you ask. Yes, nothing. You see nothing is not the absence of something but it is the absence of Christ in anything we do.
We can serve in choirs, camp committees and in church ministries but if our relationship with Christ is dead and your motivation is your work then it is all nothing! There are many christians serving in ministries doing nothing. They have not cultivated their relationships with the one that saved them and continues to do so everyday. At times, being a Martha is not so far away from us. Jesus explicity tells us that it is better to be a Mary and sit at the feet of the Maker. So have you been doing nothing lately? If yes, get back to spending time meditating on the word. Joshua 1:8 says meditate on it day and night then you will be prosperous and successful. I call it quiet time because it is a time to shut out the worlds noises and be quiet in the presence of the Lord listening to Him.
Quiet time should never be legalistic. God will not love us more because we did our quiet time. He will not check on our schedule like a teacher if we did it or not. Quiet time is spending time with a friend. Jesus did call us friends in John 15. Quiet time is not to get certain blessings and benefits from God. Quiet time is done not because God is useful but because He is beautiful. Our perspective of God must cease from being a concept to being a reality. I encourage you to read the Persona and Power of God.
So when's the best time to do this, you ask. The morning. The word tells us let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way to go for to you I lift up my soul (Psalm 143:8 NIV) The morning sets the pace for the day. It prepares you for whatever comes your way. It is an act of love for our father as well, to meet him at the point of the day when we are most fresh and alert. The Bible tells us to meditate in the evening as well. Do you sleep with movies or music in your ears? Psychologists say that whatever you interact with last before you fall asleep is focused on heavily by the subconscious part of your brain throughout the entire night. One tends to remember detail about it in their conscious mind when they wake up. That's why you remember every detail of the movie you watched before you slept. You even dream about it. That's why you recall the lyrics of the album you slept listening to. God knew what he said when he said in Joshua 1: 8 to meditate in the evening as well. Meditate on the word in the evening and the word is your subconscious and later your conscious.
Well then, another question we may easily overlook; How do we meditate? In the Hebrew translation for Joshua 1:8 the word meditate and chewing cud are synonymous. A cow can chew cud for hours before moving on to the next piece of grass. God desires us to focus on even just a chapter for one morning and read it asking Him questions, finding it's relevance in our lives, underlining key words and highlighting thoughts that impress us and that are impressed on our hearts. The spirit convicts us and guides us as we meditate. He impresses in your heart what God requires from you from what you have read. We also must record what we learn each day. Get a quiet time journal to record the quiet times you have spent in the Lord and the application for you. And you will grow getting to know Him. By meditating on the word you are giving him time and devotion. We give time and devotion to those we love. There is a reason it's called quiet time. It is meant to be a moment between you and God alone. Get a place where people won't budge in and out every 5 minutes. That's another reason to do it early in the morning so that the bustle of daily activity does not catch up with you. Even Christ went to pray early in the morning to empower Him for what God had planned for him during the rest of the day. There is also a reason why the word says day and night. It also has the meaning of everyday activity. Your quiet time is personal. It is the heartbeat of your relationship as an individual with Christ. If your heart stopped beating for one day what would happen? The same does when your spiritual heart is inconsistent with devotion to its maker; It suffers. So find a book (Preferably start with John) and begin overcoming by getting charged up for the Kingdom. Set the fire ablaze.
Every generation needs its own revival. Revival begins with me, with my quiet time. I am that generation. I am today’s wakeup call. I am the vessel of Jesus that is going to be used to shine so bright in the darkness that obscures this world. I will be the hands and feet of Christ in this generation. I will walk in purity and work His will. I am the passionate vessel for Christ’s work with an unquenchable thirst for the word of God. I will worship in song, dance, and words and with all the life that’s within me. I am an overcomer! I am moving from glory to glory, worshipping in spirit, in truth for Him; the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega, the king of all kings, the lamb that was slain. I am not ashamed. I am not afraid. I am not forgotten. I am an heir to His kingdom. I am walking in the light. I am more than a conqueror! Hope is my portion! Love is my motion! I am standing up under all forms of temptation, deceit and lies from the one who masquerades as an angel of light! Not by my strength but by He who is in me. He who helps me overcome; he who hang on that tree for the wretchedness of you and me and for the blackness of my soul so wicked, He who took my all and gave me a brand new start with a brand new heart. I am in that generation! A Jesus people! A beacon of truth regardless of what they think of me. I am an overcomer!
Your quiet time will empower you to have all that as truth in your life.