I’ve been talking about the three levels of Scriptural meditation. It’s something that the body of Christ needs to once again focus on. In my last post I talked about the first level.
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
Psalm 63:6
The next step takes the thinking process deeper into your heart. In the above verse think of is the Hebrew word Hagah. This word is a strengthened form of the verb Hagag. It means to intensely think about.
Meditation at this level requires memorization of the Scripture. You have to become intimate with the Word of God.
At this level you begin to obsess on the Scripture. You dwell on it. You imagine the sights, the smells, and the textures. If it’s a teaching Scripture, then you imagine yourself obeying it. Get inside the Word. See it as written in you and about you. This starts to give you a deeper understanding of the application.
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Joshua 1:8
We all want prosperity and success. But are we willing to do what it takes to achieve the level of excellence necessary to lay hold of them? In order to develop a spirit of excellence, it will require you to use at least this level of meditation.
This is what the LORD says to me: “As a lion growls, a great lion over his prey – and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against him, he is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor – so the LORD Almighty will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.”
Isaiah 31:4
You may wonder what this verse has to do with meditating on the Word of God. Scripture describes it as a lion meditating on its prey. Hagah is the word growl in the above verse.
It doesn’t matter that a band of shepherds are trying to distract this lion. His focus remains fixed and unbroken. He has one thing in mind – lamb chops!
We need to obsess over the Word of the Lord the way a lion does over his prey. Don’t let the devil or the world distract you from your objective.
The question isn’t whether or not you have to do this. You can get by in your Christian walk without meditating on the Word of God. Even if you’re in the full-time ministry, there are enough books and tapes around to keep you in sermons and Bible studies for the rest of your life.
We should always desire something fresh from the Word. A major portion of what you’re preaching and teaching must come from your walk with the Lord. You can’t build a ministry of excellence if all you do is rehash what everyone else is saying.
When you allow the Holy Spirit to meet with you in the place of meditation, you’re in communication with the Author, Himself. In this way, you will gain insight you never thought possible.
This is something you must desire and go after. The choice is yours. You can stand before the people with a nice teaching; or you can come to them with a Word from God.
In my next post I’ll move on to the highest level of godly meditation.
Question: How often do you purpose to memorize Scripture?
© Nick Zaccardi 2014
This series is adapted from my book, Breaking Free from the Pack – How to Develop a Spirit of Excellence.
Tags: Bible, distractions, excellence, meditate, meditation, memorization, obsession, prosperity, Scripture, success, word of God, Word of God your obsession
Godly meditation upon the Word of God is one of the lost arts of the body of Christ. It’s one of the most powerful tools you could ever use in your study of God’s Word.
The Bible is a spiritual book. You can’t expect to use natural study methods to receive the supernatural revelation and knowledge God desires you to have.
There are always those Scriptures that, when read, seem to “jump out” at me. Through my meditation on the Word of God, I’ve gained insight into many of these portions of Scripture. I’ve found that I can use the tool of meditation to take me into the deep places of the Word of God. By meditating on the Word anyone can find the deeper truths of Scripture, and you’ll also come across some hidden gems that you never knew were there.
There are basically three levels to meditation. Each level revolves around an Old Testament Hebrew word. In this post I want to talk about the first.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
Meditation starts in our mind. The Hebrew word for this is Hagag. This word is used throughout the Old Testament and means to think about. That has got to be our starting point. We need to first think about the Word we’re studying. What does it mean? What did it mean to those to whom it was written? What does it mean to me?
Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.
Psalm 5:1
The word sighing, above, is the word Hagag. In both of the above verses David asks the Lord to consider his meditation. He wants the Lord to be pleased with what he thinks about. What a challenge!
One of the biggest battles we face is in our thought life. One of the side benefits to the discipline of meditation is that it starts to take our thoughts under control as we focus on God’s Word.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2
We’re told that we’re to renew our minds. It’s through godly meditation that this is done. By thinking God’s thoughts, we’re “reprogramming our internal computers.” I believe this is what Paul meant when he wrote that we’re made clean by the washing with water through the Word.
This, then, is the first step, the starting point in our trip to supernatural revelation from Scripture. Before we can go any deeper, we must train our thoughts to focus upon the Word of God. We must begin to think about the Word. Only then are we ready for the next, deeper stage of meditation.
My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue.
Psalm 39:3
As I have just stated, this form of meditation just gets the ball rolling. It’s merely the starting place. It ignites the fire that will bring you further into the Word. Now you’re ready for the second level. I will talk about that in my next post.
Question: How often do you simply think about the Word of God?
© Nick Zaccardi 2014
Tags: Bible, God's word, godly meditation, meditate, meditate on the word of God, meditation, revelation, Scripture, spiritual, study, supernatural, thought life, word of God
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18
In this verse, Paul is referring to Moses. When he was leading the children of Israel through the desert, they stopped for a while at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Moses went up to meet with God. As he spent time in the presence of God, he started to soak in some of the glory. At one point, upon his return, the people couldn’t look at his face because it shone like the sun.
The glory of God was reflecting off his face. Moses had to wear a veil until things were back to normal. It’s interesting that way the Bible relates it. It sounds like Moses wore the veil so that the Israelites wouldn’t see the glory fading. His experience was great, but it didn’t last a long time. He had an incredible encounter with God, but it eventually faded back to the way it was.
Understand this, the Lord has greater plans for us. The Holy Spirit is working in us to make us like Christ. Each day we are becoming more and more like Him, if we submit to His plan for our lives. This is the glory of God in us.
This glory that God is clothing us with is different than that of Moses. First of all, it doesn’t fade. It’s a glory that’s always on the increase. My prayer in the presence of the Lord is that throughout my life people will see more of Jesus and less of me.
This is a wonderful thought. God is doing greater things in us than He did in Moses! We sometimes look to the pages of Scripture and wish we were a part of what God did back then. In reality, there’s no need to go back. God is working just as powerfully today – if we let Him.
Another aspect of this glory is that we reflect it with unveiled faces. It’s not a glory that frightens others and pushes them away. It’s the warmth of love and freedom that draws men and women to the cross. Don’t ever use your walk with Christ as an excuse to condemn or put down other people. That’s not what the glory of God is about.
We are here to draw men to Christ. It’s the love, patience and passion of the Lord that brings people to a knowledge of His grace. We need to use the same tactics that He does.
What should our goal be? We must desire to spend time in the presence of this glory. Let it continue to do its transforming work in us. By doing this we are making it our goal to reflect more of His beauty. That’s what will attract people to Christ.
Question: How much quality time do you spend in God’s presence?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Bible, Christ, draw men to Christ, fading, glory of God, God's glory, Holy Spirit, increase, Jesus, love patience, Moses, Mount Sinai, passion, pray, prayer, presence of God, reflecting, reflecting God's glory, unveiled faces
I’ve been posting about the first great move of God after the Dark Ages. The Lord was using His people to restore the Bible as the foundation for faith and practice in the church.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4
It’s obvious from the lives of these people, that they were able to endure beyond the normal experience. It was their reliance on the Scripture that brought them to this level.
Who were these dedicated believers?
There were the Cathari in France. They believed that tradition, alone, is not a basis for faith. So they started printing and circulating Scripture. Pope Innocent III actually called for a crusade against them. Not only did he wipe them out, but the entire local population as well.
Another name to remember was Peter Waldo. Around this time he started preaching the Word of God and circulating Scripture. His followers were called the Waldensians. They fared a little better. When the order was given to kill them all, they were able to flee. This community of Christians escaped to the mountain caves of Northern Italy, where they still exist today.
One of the more famous names of this move was John Wycliffe, from England. Again, his goal was to preach the Word and get the Scripture into the hands of God’s people. His followers were called the Lollards. Unfortunately, they had to give up their lives for the faith. They were martyred by Kings Henry the IV and V.
In many cases, the problem with our humanity is that we don’t want to know that we’re wrong. The fact is that I need Scripture to correct me and then show me how to get back on solid ground again. Many don’t want to admit their need for change. Especially when there’s political power involved. That was a big reason that they crucified the Lord.
The list goes on and on of those who started preaching a new way of following Christ – using the Scripture as the standard of their lives. It includes such men as St. Jerome, John Huss, John Calvin, and Martin Luther. Many people don’t know that Luther was actually working on a German translation for the common people to read. Most of these saints of God were persecuted and killed.
Their commitment is summed up pretty well in a line from the dedication page of the KJV Bible: “So that if, on the one side, we shall be traduced by…persons at home or abroad, who therefore will malign us, because we are poor instruments to make God’s holy Truth to be yet more and more known unto the people, whom they desire still to keep in ignorance and darkness;”
I am eternally grateful for their sacrifice so that I could have a foundation for my faith. And, so that you could know the truth of God for yourself.
Question: What’s the best way to show our gratefulness to God for our unlimited access to the Scripture?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: access to Scripture, Bible, Cathari, caves, change, correction, crusade, dedicated, endurance, endure, foundation of faith, grateful, John Wycliffe, King Henry, lives laid down for the scripture, Lollards, martyrs, move of God, need for change, Peter Waldo, political power, Pope Innocent, restoration, restoration of truth, revival, sacrifice, Scripture, truth of God, Waldensians
In my last post, I talked about the church’s descent into the Dark Ages. It was a horrible time in history. Many people ask, “How could all this have happened?” What about all that the Bible teaches?
The bottom line is, that at that time, the Church was the ultimate authority in the life of the believer. Their teaching was viewed as infallible. The clergy would not allow the common people own a Bible.
“We’ll explain to you the truth you need to know.”
Around 1300 A.D., it seems that God finally said, “Enough – I’ve got to prepare my bride for my coming.” The Lord had to rearm his church. As I look at the flow of history, I see that God was restoring the armor of Ephesians 6. The bride had to be dressed and ready for the Lord.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,
Ephesians 6:14a
First thing that was needed to be restored was the Belt of Truth. This is what the church desperately hungered for at that time. We need a foundation of truth.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
I would never have known truth without Scripture. I need to be taught the principles of God.
It seems that the church was without hope at this time. The door to heaven was locked and the priests had the only key.
I think that it’s no coincidence that the printing press was invented during this period. I also believe that it was a direct result of the move of God. The first book printed with this new technology was the Bible.
The above verse tells me that sometimes I need to be rebuked, to be told when I’m wrong. It’s how I react that tells whom I serve. Am I willing to listen to the Holy Spirit and change, or am I hard-hearted and rebellious?
Thus, some of the greatest persecution of God’s people began. Unfortunately it was not from unbelievers, but from the organized church, itself.
God started moving in the lives of His servants. It was small at first. Believers who wanted to read and study the Bible for themselves.
It’s hard for us in the United States to fathom this. Most Christians have more than one Bible in their home. We have access in stores and online. We’re free to read Scripture whenever and wherever we want.
Throughout history this has not always been the case. In my next post I’ll wrap up this series by recounting some of the precious saints of God who laid down their lives for us to have the abundance of Scripture that we now enjoy.
Question: How much do you appreciate your access to Scripture? How do you show it?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: armor of God, authority of the church, belt of truth, Bible, Bible teaching, church, church history, dark ages, first move of restoration, foundation of truth, history, Holy Spirit, hopeless, move of God, organized church, persecution, principles of God, printing press, rebuke, restoration, revival, Scripture, truth, without hope
Ungodly. The word usually makes us think of the unsaved. The problem is that there are many ungodly Christians that are totally unaware of their condition. Are you one of them? Check out what the Bible says about it.
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you — unless, of course, you fail the test?
2 Corinthians 13:5
Paul tells us that we are to examine our lives. This word literally means to scrutinize how we live.
Do you know Christ is in you? Most Christians understand this concept. They realize that Christ is in them. When they asked Him to be the Lord of their lives, Christ made their heart His home. Most believers will pass this test.
Does it matter to you? This is where the test starts to get tough. It’s surprising that many who belong to Christ really don’t give Him a second thought. They go throughout the day without ever acknowledging Him.
It seems that they’re oblivious to the fact that Jesus is accompanying them wherever they go. He’s a silent listener of every conversation. If this was a reality to us, we would probably behave much differently.
Do you want to know God’s will? Not only is Christ with us at all times, but He has a plan for our lives. The question really comes down to; whose will is more important – mine or the Lord’s? Many don’t want to know God’s will for their lives because they’re afraid it will interfere with their plans.
Do you want to accomplish God’s will? Knowing God’s will is not the end of it. What we really need to do is accomplish it. Not only is Christ with us wherever we go, He expects us to represent him and His kingdom to the world. What many don’t realize is that unless we answer “yes” to this question, God will not reveal His will to us.
Are you seeking God’s approval? This is the final and greatest test of godliness. Who are we seeking to please? Are we after our own pleasure? That of our friends or family? The Bible is clear that unless we’re “God-pleasers” our lives will be worthless – there will be no reward at the end.
How do these questions play out in your life? A “no” to any of the highlighted questions should be a warning that you’re in danger of ungodliness. If so, then repent of it and move on with the Lord.
It’s time for God’s people to live like they truly understand the Lord’s presence in their lives.
Question: What signs of godliness do you see in your life?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: accomplish God's will, acknowledging Christ, Bible, Christ, Christ in you, danger, examine, God's approval, God-pleaser, godliness, heart, Jesus, kingdom, know God's will, presence, presence of God, repent, repentance, represent, reward, scrutinize, test, the Lord's presence, ungodliness, ungodly, ungodly Christians, unsaved, warning, warning signs of ungodliness
This post is the last in a series about our relationship to the Word of God.
The Book of Revelation mentions synagogues of Satan (Revelation 2:9). These are places where the teaching of Scripture was done by satanic influence. I need the Holy Spirit to help me interpret the Bible. Yet, there are those who listen to the demon’s view of it.
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
1 Timothy 4:1
There are those who teach the Bible, but not the Word of God. This is a great deception. Of course no one would listen if a minister got up and said, “Satan says to do this.” But if he reads a Scripture verse and puts a demonic twist to it, the church seems to fall for it most of the time.
Just because someone quotes Scripture doesn’t mean that what they’re preaching is of God. I need the discernment of the Holy Spirit to protect me from false teaching. How can I tell the difference between Satan’s teaching, man’s teaching, and the true Word of God?
Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Mark 16:20
This verse literally says that the Lord was a co-worker with them. They did their work – proclaiming the Word of God. God did His part – confirming the Word that was proclaimed. Miracles were commonplace. As the disciples went out, the Word of God spread, and there were signs and wonders everywhere they went.
When Satan quoted the Bible to Jesus (Luke 3:9-11), he used it to try and convince the Lord to jump off the highest point of the Temple. If Jesus had jumped, would God the Father have confirmed that “word”? Of course not.
Just because I quote the Bible, it doesn’t put God under any obligation to confirm it. Even if I’m preaching from a text on healing, there’s no confirmation unless it’s a Word God wants preached at that moment.
There are questions I need to ask myself. Is God working with me? Am I proclaiming the Word of God for these people? If the answer to both of these is “yes”, then I can expect a move of God.
We may not like it, but the truth is plain and simple. If there are no signs following, then it wasn’t the Word of God that was preached.
When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.
Acts 8:6
Scripture is very clear as to relationship between the preaching of the Word, and the response of the hearers. When the Word of God is confirmed, there is a supernatural manifestation that draws people’s attention.
America needs a revival of hearing the Word of God. It will only come from those who have received and planted the Word into their lives.
Questions: How hungry are you for a revival to sweep our nation? Are you willing to seek God for it?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: America, Bible, Christ, church, confirming the word of God, deceived, deception, discernment, false teaching, God's word, healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus, last days, last-days deception, man's teaching, miracles, proclaim, revival, satanic influence, Scripture, spiritual discernment, synagogue of satan, teaching, truth, word, word of God
In my last post I talked about those who minister without the Word of God. We are experiencing an epidemic of this in our American Christian experience. Jude wrote about this problem almost 2000 years ago.
These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm – shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted– twice dead.
Jude 1:12
This rebuke describes a growing segment of the church. What an appropriate editorial on many of the “ministers” we see on Christian cable and radio.
Jude describes them as shepherds who feed only themselves. They preach messages that excite people in order to keep their cash flow going strong. They’re clouds and wind with no rain – autumn trees with no fruit.
If there’s no fruit, then there are no seed to plant. But that doesn’t matter. With no rain they couldn’t water them either.
It’s a sign of the times that we live in. There’s an abundance of the Bible being preached in America these days. How much of it is a Word from God? How much of it speaks what God wants said to this generation for this time in history? How much planting and watering is being accomplished?
For the amount of Scripture being sent through the airways and over the internet, there is very little fruit to harvest.
“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.”
Amos 8:11-12
The prophet Amos predicted the days when there would be a famine of the Word of God. What is a famine? It’s usually a dry weather pattern. As a result there’s no rain, no crops, and no new seed. This must go on for years to qualify as a famine.
During the time of spiritual famine that Amos wrote about, Israel had many synagogues. These were places where the Scripture was taught. There were people teaching the Scripture all over Israel. Scripture reading abounded – but not the Word of God.
It grieves me to look at the United States in light of this Scripture. We are in that exact same place. An abundance of the Bible is being preached and taught from every possible media outlet. Yet for all of this, the church of Jesus Christ is, for the most part, marginalized.
We need to hunger and thirst for a revival of the Word of God in us. Of course we need Scripture as our foundation – to keep us on track. But we must seek God Himself so that we can receive the Living Word to burn within us.
Questions: What could America look like with an abundance of the Word of God going forth? What could your life be like?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: American Christian experience, Bible, Christ, Christian radio, Christian TV, church, epidemic, famine, famine of the word of God, fruit, harvest, Jesus, minister, planting, rain, revival, revival of the word of God, Scripture, scripture without the word of God, shepherds, televangelist, watering, word, word of God
In many of my posts I talk about the relationship between the Word of God and the Scripture. The Bible is the written Word of God. But we also need to hear the Word from the Holy Spirit. This is where the power of God intersects with our lives.
For a few posts I want to write about how the Word of God relates to us. The Bible teaches that we must correctly handle the Word of Truth. In order to do that I must be studying the Scripture – the written record of God’s Word – so that I can handle the Word I receive from God today.
In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
Acts 19:20
The Bible uses many terms in relation to the Word of God. It uses language such as spread, increased, grew, reached and multiplied. In the above verse we’re told how. The verse says in this way. If you read through this nineteenth chapter of the Book of Acts you’ll get a taste for the effects of the Word.
We see the gifts of tongues and prophecy being manifested. There was boldness in preaching. Handkerchiefs and aprons that touched Paul were taken to the sick and they were healed. Demonic spirits were confronted and expelled. There was widespread repentance such that a group of new believers burned the equivalent of $5,000,000 worth of satanic sorcery books.
That’s the way the Word of God is described as growing. Literally, the above verse says that the Word became a force to be reckoned with. The Word of God is alive and it grows. That’s the aspect that I want to discuss in this series of posts.
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
1 Peter 1:23
We’ve been saved by the living Word of God. That Word is a seed that’s growing inside of us. It will never decay or diminish. It’s there forever.
Somewhere along the line somebody spoke God’s Word to you. It doesn’t matter whether they used the Bible or not – you heard a Word from God that changed your life. It might have been a Bible verse, a word of prophecy, or a statement of divine truth. Either way, you received it, it grew inside of you, and eventually you accepted Jesus Christ and were born again.
That’s how the Word of God starts its work in you. The fact that you’ve established Christ as your Lord and Savior is proof that the Word has taken residence in you. Now it’s up to us what we do with that seed.
Question: What was the Word of God that brought salvation into your life?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: a force to be reckoned with, Bible, born again, Christ, correctly handle, God's seed, God's word, grew, Holy Spirit, increased, Jesus, multiplied, saved, Scripture, seed of the word, spread, word, word of God, word of truth
I’ve been posting about Jehovah Jireh – God my Provider. Specifically, I’ve been talking about how to enter that place of provision in Him. I’m using Abraham as our example as he was taking his son Isaac to the mount of sacrifice.
After days of walking through the wilderness, the Lord showed him the mountain he was to ascend. Abraham, Isaac, and his servants made camp at the base of the mountain. As he stands looking up at it he realizes that this is the place where he will offer up Isaac to the Lord.
What happens next goes beyond my comprehension.
He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together…
Genesis 22:5-6
Abraham tells his servants to wait by the goods. Then he says, “WE will worship and then WE will come back to you.” I believe that this is one of the most incredible statements of faith in the entire Bible.
The only thing that he had to go on was the original promise of God. The Lord said that it was through Isaac that Abraham’s descendants would become as numerous as the stars in the sky. As a matter of fact, the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us (In the 11th chapter) that Abraham believed that if he actually came to the point of killing his son, God would raise him from the dead.
What Abraham believed and what he spoke where in perfect agreement. He had the boldness to declare what was in his heart. We need to learn this lesson. If we are to be victorious under trials and see God’s provision for our needs, then we must learn to speak our faith, just as Abraham did.
Please understand that I’m not talking about denying our circumstances, as some do. I’m not talking about positive thinking, mind control, or wishful thinking. It’s not about speaking what you want to happen, or what some preacher has told you, but what God has already spoken.
We must speak what the Word of God says is true. This is a lot harder. It requires me to spend time reading the Bible and listening to the Holy Spirit. Only then can I declare what I’ve heard from the Lord.
As I spend time in His presence, I begin to understand what I’m called to do in His kingdom. This is important because my provision is intimately attached to my calling.
Abraham knew God’s will for his life and the life of his son. That’s why he could say, “We’re both coming back.”
Boldly speak what you’ve heard from God, and leave the provision in God’s hands.
Question: What has God called you to do? Are you trusting Him to provide for it?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Abraham, believe, Bible, calling, denying circumstances, faith, God my Provider, God's provision, Holy Spirit, Isaac, Jehovah Jireh, listen to the Holy Spirit, mind control, positive thinking, provision, speaking the word of God, the time to speak your faith, trust, wishful thinking
I’ve been talking about the three levels of Scriptural meditation. It’s something that the body of Christ needs to once again focus on. In my last post I talked about the first level.
The Spirit and the Word 