The Words of Scripture Bring Joy

         Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  You may have a serving day or night, morning or evening….any time.  It’s always fresh and ready.

            When researching to write this week’s Joy Juice devotionals on “meditation” I came across an excellent article on the Institute in Basic Life Principles website.  The author of the article was not named, but he or she most definitely knew a thing or two about meditating on the Word of God.  The article states:

“The words of Scripture are living words. (See Hebrews 4:12.) They contain eternal wisdom held in the shell of human words. God wants us to ‘break open’ these human words and begin to discover the rich wealth of personal application and understanding that they hold. This goal can be accomplished as you memorize and meditate on Scripture.”

In Colossians 3:16, the Apostle Paul said, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom”.  In order for the word of Christ to “dwell” in us, we must learn to meditate upon it. How do we do that?  The author goes on to give us several keys:

1.      Worship God in your spirit as you quote God’s Word back to Him.

2.      Personalize the passage; turn the Scripture into a first-person prayer back to God.

3.      Give attention to each word of each verse

4.      As you memorize and meditate on a passage, look for Biblical concepts and patterns

5.      One of the most critical times to meditate on God’s Word is as you go to sleep each night.

6.      Respond to God as He teaches you. (That’s what leads to genuine joy)

 Mediate upon the Scriptures so that they may “dwell in you richly in all wisdom”.