August 14th, 2008
In the last blog entry I tried to outline the broad contours of what it means to meditate on Scripture. Now let’s come in for the close-up. I’ll share with you what works for me. In fact, this has helped me as much as anything in my Christian life.
Meditation on Scripture, is, for me, simply a matter of preaching the truth to myself. I take a biblical verse or paragraph or promise or precept and preach to myself about it in the presence of God. I just talk to myself with the truth, remind myself of the truth, and seek to apply the truth to my own life.
This takes a couple of forms. One is that I will often memorize a verse for the day - often it is the same verse for several days in a row. I bring it to mind at different points throughout the day, and “chew on it” as I’m driving, in between different tasks, etc… The other form is when, for instance, I am going for a walk, run, or long drive. In those cases I have found it extremely encouraging to spend some extended time in this kind of meditation on a passage of Scripture.
Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that the chief problem with most defeated believers is that they spend too much time listening to themselves rather than talking to themselves with the truth.
In the next entry, I will share more about what Dr Lloyd-Jones had to say about this. In the meantime, quit listening to yourself and start preaching the truth to yourself. I think you’ll be delighted with the results!
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July 31st, 2008
It is hard to overestimate the value of certain things. Such is the case when it comes to meditation on Scripture.
According to Hebrews 4:12, “The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword…”
Ephesians 6:17 informs us that the Word of God is “the sword of the Spirit.”
So how does this sword get used to maximum effect? Not by staying in its sheath…or shelf. No, we have to take it up and read it.
But if we are simply reading the Bible to “get through it” each day, it is like water flowing through a pipe. We become like the man James describes, who looks at himself in the mirror, but then walks away and forgets what he looks like. Our Bible reading gets lost in the flood of information we take in each day.
No, instead of water flowing through a pipe, we need our minds to be like water with a bag of tea steeping in it. When a bag of tea is immersed in hot water, it unleashes its soothing contents. We want God’s Word to steep in our minds into our minds, so that the faith-building, hope-producing, sin-killing power of God’s Spirit will be unleashed.
That happens when we meditate on the Word of God. But what does that mean? What is Scriptural meditation? I’ll do my best to talk about that in my next post. In the meantime, what do you think it means?
Dr. Thurman R. Hayes, Jr.
Senior Pastor
Bethel Baptist Church
1004 Yorktown Road
Yorktown, VA 23693
(757) 867-8082
www.bbcyorktown.org
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July 5th, 2008
Over the past couple of days it has been a deep encouragement to view a DVD on the life and ministry of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian who was martyred by the Nazis in 1945.
Hebrews 13:7 says, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”
This verse teaches us the importance of studying the lives of faithful witnesses of Christ who have walked the path before us. We are inspired by those who were faithful to the end. As the writer of Hebrews says of Abel, “…through his faith, though he died, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4).
Faithful witnesses like Bonhoeffer still speak to us. In the case of martyrs like Bonhoeffer and Jim Elliot, they have undoubtedly had a far greater influence upon the church because of their manner of death than they ever would have had if they had lived. This is what the church father Tertullian meant when he said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.”
Bonhoeffer and Elliot – a missionary who was martyred in 1954 in Ecuador – have had incalculable influence since their deaths. Only heaven knows the numbers of those who have been inspired to become pastors and missionaries by their writings and the inspiration of their lives and their deaths. Only heaven knows the numbers of Christians who have been inspired to live more radically for Jesus by these men.
I count myself among that number. I thank God for these two brothers. I look forward to meeting both of them in glory.
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June 23rd, 2008
This morning as I got up to do a final “run through” of the morning message - which for me means simply going over it in my mind - the Lord touched me in such a tender way I want to share it as a way of bringing glory to him.
For some reason, I had a hard time getting to sleep last night, so I wasn’t my usual super energetic self first thing. But after grinding some fresh beans and opening my Bible and sermon notes, I found myself lost in the sheer JOY of doing what I was born to do.
It caused me to just quietly thank the Lord for calling me to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. Never do I feel more alive than when I am studying the text and preparing to feed God’s people. It is a labor of pure
love.
Once when the Scottish Olympian Eric Liddell was questioned by a skeptical sister about the spiritual value of running, he said, “When I run I feel his pleasure.” That is precisely how I feel about preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Thurman R. Hayes, Jr.
Senior Pastor
Bethel Baptist Church
www.bbcyorktown.org
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June 23rd, 2008
This morning our faith family concluded our Sunday morning study on Paul’s
letter to the Ephesians. I have come to associate each sermon series with
different events in church life and my own life. When we look back on our
time in Ephesians years from now, what will stand out to us?
We can remember that it was during this time that God brought Phil Gifford
to serve with us. It is impossible to overstate what Phil means to our
staff. His tireless work, great attitude, and servant’s heart are evidence
of God’s smile on our congregation.
I will personally look back on these months as a time of great growth in my
walk with the Lord - perhaps the greatest since I became a Christian. It
was painful at times. It always is when God breaks you and refines you.
But he breaks us to heal us. He refines us to produce pure gold. As the
Puritan prayer, “The Valley of Vision” expresses it:
Let me learn by paradox
That the way down is the way up,
That to be low is to be high,
That the broken heart is the healed heart,
That the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
That the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
That to have nothing is to possess all,
That to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
That to give is to receive,
That the valley is the place of vision.
Dr. Thurman R. Hayes, Jr.
Senior Pastor
Bethel Baptist Church
1004 Yorktown Road
Yorktown, VA 23693
(757) 867-8082
www.bbcyorktown.org
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