Helping Haiti

Many of you have expressed interest in how to help Haiti. LifePoint is encouraging people to give directly to the organizations that are first responders. If for some reason you are not able to give in this manner, we are happy to receive the money and direct it for you. Monies received by LifePoint designated for Haiti will be given to a partnership through our Acts 29 church planting network focused specifically on resourcing evangelical churches in Haiti to be strengthened and prepared to minister. You can get more information on this partnership at http://www.churcheshelpingchurches.com/.

• http://www.baptistglobalresponse.com/new/
• http://convoyofhope.org/
• http://www.samaritanspurse.org/
• http://www.compassion.com/
• http://www.convoyofhope.org/go/kits

Praying & Fasting: A Call Into God’s Image and Movement in Mission

Wednesday, October 7, is the first day of participation for a movement toward the heart and glory of God among LifePoint church. Without desiring a program or campaign, we are calling our people to pray and fast to seek the face and heart of God at this time in our church’s life. At our fifth anniversary, amidst all that we have to celebrate (and that we are doing), I am reminded that we are not all we need to be, we are not all God intends us to be, and we are not all that we are going to be, by God’s grace. But what we are is desiring to be as God would have us to be. I say this in this manner to emphasize that against the hyper-churched culture in which we live, we must repent of our idolatry of religion that perverts the world’s understanding of ‘church’ and return to Jesus as the consuming center of our lives.

We need the gospel to radically re-define the church; not in what we do, but in our identity and how we faithfully express that identity as a city of light in the city of the world. The city on a hill will be defined by four characteristics.

1. The gospel will shape us. No more offering to God what we think will best suit people in receiving the gospel. The gospel, as THE power of God unto salvation, is our beginning, means and end. What will reach people will be what the gospel shapes our lives for the glory of God. We will be counted worthy of God’s calling when we are made worthy to be called by the gospel.
2. The gospel will empower us. We do not need some form of entertaining appeal that loses power when the plug is pulled. We need a God-originating, Jesus-exalting, Word-driven, Spirit-filled revelation of glory and truth that only comes when Jesus is proclaimed as the good news of redemption for the reality of life. We need God to take the ‘bread and fish’ of our labor and make it into a movement that touches far more than our hands can.
3. The gospel will motivate us. The measures of success that drives people to compete and be recognized in the world will not measure before God. We will be measured by how we stewarded all that God has given to us; beginning with the gospel. When our stewardship begins with the gospel, the resources needed do not depend on what we have, but on what God will provide to fulfill the work he began. We must enter into the reality of life around us (brokenness, hurt, darkness, addiction, idols, busyness, procrastination, etc.) to reveal the power of the gospel through us; redemption through repentance and forgiveness.
4. We need the gospel to overflow from us. What is produced by the presence and labors of LifePoint is the fruit (sweet, enjoyable, nourishing) of eternal life in the hearts and lives of people. Our city should be different because LifePoint is present.

I look forward to all the God will do among our people. I’ve already heard one testimony that humbled me today. A mom prepared a lunch for her 16 year old son. When they prepared to leave for school she noticed it still in the fridge. When she asked what he was planning to do for lunch, he replied “LifePoint is praying and fasting today.” I know one mom that is big-time proud today!

Are you with us? Let us hear your stories of what God is doing either in the comment section of this journal entry, on facebook or by sending an email to us at info@lifepointozark.com.

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. —2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Impact Europe ’09: Reflections, Part 1

In late May, Micah Osborne and Chuck and Tiffany Replogle joined me for a 10-day vision trip to Rome, Italy, and Marseille, France, to consider new international impact work for LifePoint. The purpose of this trip was defined by three goals. One, identify potential partners to expand the international impact work of LifePoint Church in participating in God’s kingdom work around the globe. Two, engage dialogue to discern the best point for initial and ongoing partnership. Three, begin to create a strategy to engage the people of LifePoint in personal, international gospel impact work. We traveled with Upstream Collective, a collection of missionaries targeting newer churches to help and equip them to engage in global mission. Find out more about them at www.theupstreamcollective.org. The guys at Upstream Collective were excellent hosts for the trip. As well, Ed Stetzer helped lead the trip and offered some teaching. We joined several others from around the country to form our team for the week.

Arriving in Rome a day earlier than the rest of the team allowed us to get acclimated to the city. This was a great idea as it gave us time to spend together and discuss some of the specific goals that we wanted to accomplish, as representatives of LifePoint Church in Ozark, MO. Micah has considerable experience with short-term mission projects, and Chuck had only recently been on his first mission trip within the last year. Tiffany was our respective newbie. As I introduced them to the things I wanted us to accomplish for the week, a great sense of expectation rose among us. There is something about spending time with people in this setting that really encourages bonding: long layovers in airports, long flights, lots of walking together, unknown territory, etc. It’s always interesting to see how people react in different situations. Well, to an extent it’s interesting. At other times it’s just painful to endure. Thankfully, my traveling partners made this trip a blast. All three of these people are people I have met in the last five years in planting LifePoint Church.

Our first task after landing and getting our luggage was to find a map of the city and get transportation to our hotel. There was no shortage of those wanting to transport us. We just needed to make sure we would actually end up at our desired destination. Rome is a very tourist friendly city, so navigating the city was almost natural. This time was excellent for us as we saw a few sights, which is not difficult to do in Rome, ate at a local restaurant, enjoyed our introduction to gelato on the first day and immediately began conversing with a Romanian immigrant who left his family, including his 14-year-old daughter, to come to Rome for work because he could not find work in Romania. In our research prior to the trip, we learned that a great number of immigrants come to Southern Europe, especially Italy, every year in hope of work. Because of this we were not surprised when he told us. What really shook us was his response when Tiffany asked him, “Do you enjoy living in Italy?” “Enjoy?”, he responded. “Life is not to enjoy. I live to survive. I work so I can send money back to my family. I miss my family.” It was an abrupt welcome to this city for us, and one we thought and discussed all week. I look forward to sharing my thoughts about this trip and the future work of LifePoint church in Europe over the next several journal entries.

A Summer of Gospel Training

Men of LifePoint,
As LifePoint continues to grow and develop, the need for training and equipping to engage in mission grows exponentially. It is true that often when a church grows, vision suffers and is easily lost in the scramble to maintain. It is not the vision for LifePoint nor my desire to maintain anything. Advancement is the modus operandi of the gospel while faithfulness in fundamentals, expanding leadership for disciple-making, and broadening our scope of missional work is the rhythm of the gospel. We see this throughout Scripture, and LifePoint will continue to practice both. As we serve God’s kingdom to share the gospel with all peoples of the world, we must be clear we understand what the gospel is.

This summer will offer an opportunity for any man interested in clarifying and sharpening his understanding of the gospel. In June and July, I will lead a study every Tuesday and Friday morning for the purpose of training men in the gospel and preparing them to lead at LifePoint church. We will practice the disciplines of reading, study, fellowship, prayer, repentance, and encouragement. Tuesday mornings, 6:30 AM, will be in south central Springfield home of Lindy Massey (Maps will be available on Sunday). Friday mornings, 6:30 AM, will be in Ozark at Belgium Waffle House, Hwys. CC and 65. Both days of the week will cover the same material, so there is no need to attend both sessions. Choose the one that is most convenient for you and plan to join this time of fellowship, study, challenge, and training.

June’s study will use The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges. This book covers a basic explanation and understanding of the gospel. In addition, Pastor Lane will use the reading chapters for each week to discuss how gospel rhythms are used at LifePoint to lead and train more people for mission. Copies are available on the resource wall at LifePoint. Pick one up and read the first four chapters to prepare for our first week of meetings, June 2 and 5.

I look forward to experiencing the hand of God among our men this summer. Any man is welcome. Every man will be engaged. Join me.
Pastor Lane

LifePoint Sponsors Convoy of Hope Trailer

Convoy of Hope, a Christian ministry based here in Springfield, Missouri, is one of the frontline ministries in disaster relief today. Traveling all over the world, they are often the first responders on the scene of any major catastrophe or emergency. LifePoint has recently partnered with them to sponsor a project that will help them to expand their operations in disaster relief.

A member of LifePoint Church connected us with Convoy of Hope. Initially we met with them to explore ways of partnering in ministry through personal and family preparedness training in disasters as well as church preparedness training. They had recently been given a fifth-wheel camping trailer that was in good shape but needed to be remodeled and retrofit to accommodate their needs as a mobile operations command center. Many of the supplies they had provided, but not the skilled labor to do the work. LifePoint was able to sponsor the labor to provide the work and some custom flooring to finish the job so this trailer would be operational and ready to roll…literally.

On Sunday, May 3, Paul Coroleuski will join us in our morning worship experiences to tell more about how this trailer will be used by Convoy of Hope in disaster relief efforts. He will bring the newly remodeled trailer to LifePoint so everyone can see the finished product. Plan to join us on this morning to hear more about the work of Convoy of Hope. We look forward to partnering with Convoy of Hope in the future to meeting needs as they arise in our community and around the world.

A Man’s War for Sexual Purity, Part III

Sexual purity demands that a man engage his heart, mind, and body in the battle. In part one, we looked at the heart and part two, the mind. In this article we will more fully consider the area of the body or flesh. There is no doubt that men are wired with an acute sensitivity to this realm. What we see and touch, or are touched by, triggers a rush that is comparable to a locomotive at top speed. If a man only fights his war on this battlefield, he will either experience great shame and condemnation from defeat or he will be frustrated by the relentless nature of temptation when legalisms he imposes upon himself do not fully relieve or satisfy the temptation. The heart and the mind are essential battles that must be engaged prior to and along with the battle in the body. While none of these battles are completely separate from one another, the man will never experience victory in the battle for the body if a priority is not given to the heart and the mind.

Three specific weapons are to be used in the body to fight for sexual purity. First Corinthians 9:27 teaches that there is a purpose for exercising discipline in the body, to accomplish a greater goal, live for a higher purpose, and not be disqualified. Men, we must exercise discipline in our lives in order to live for the higher purpose of God’s glory. The glory of God is the supreme priority of our lives. As Christian men we live on mission for God, to share the gospel, and make disciples. We should allow nothing to master our lives but to live for the full reward of God’s glory. Disciplines are the practical expression in the body of what consumes our heart and mind. They align our actions in the flesh with our knowledge of God’s truth and motivations of his glory. We willingly give up immediate pleasure for God’s eternal glory.

When we indulge in practices that feed our urges and temptations, we only weaken the motivations of our heart for God and believe the lies of the evil one instead of God’s truth. Love for God and knowledge of God is to be fully expressed in the body by the way we live every day. Build godly disciplines into your life to feed and guard your heart, mind, and body. Understand where and when temptations most attack you and flee from the things that create them as much as you can. Stand courageously against temptations, trusting God’s faithful provision for your purity.

A second essential weapon for sexual purity is not just to oppose attacks, but to practice a healthy sexual relationship in marriage. Your wife is your greatest guardian for purity in the body. Entrust yourself to her. Communicate to her your needs and temptations, so she can pray and provide for you in order to guard you. Consume your heart, mind, and body with her, so there will be no desire or room for another woman or image. Work to build a strong marriage relationship in every way, so she can be the one woman that makes you a pure man. A strong marital relationship is critical in winning the war for sexual purity. Many men believe the lie that sexual temptation will disappear when they get married, only to realize the battle will intensify if the marriage relationship is not strategically utilized to engage the battle. Your wife should become your standard of beauty in which you fully delight (Pro. 5:18-19). She should be your constant meditation of gratitude unto God in the midst of temptation. She alone must be your guard as you fully entrust yourself sexually to her. May she consume your every sense so that when temptation comes it only reminds you of her all-consuming beauty.

A single man that struggles with sexual temptation and sin must engage the battle without this immediate guard in the body. If passion and desires consume him, he should entrust himself to wise counsel and do the hard work of pursuing, winning, and marrying a woman. Learning to live in purity is not an unreal goal. It is a vision for godliness that every man must discipline himself and train for.

Community among godly men for encouragement and accountability serves as another great weapon in the battle. Men, married and single, should encourage one another in the war for purity. Bravery, strength, and courage multiplies and spreads among men who are focused and surrendered to a common mission. Men who live with pretense around other men only serve to make cowards out of other men. Men, fight the temptation to hide in your struggle. This will only weaken you in battle. When your battle causes you to cower in this way, it is no solace to have other men cower with you. Invite them into the battle by speaking honestly and openly, wisely and authentically, truthfully and humbly.

May God bless us and use us as we trust Jesus’ redeeming work within us.

A Man’s War for Sexual Purity, Part II

Sexual purity never happens without a battle. The battles are often intense and may or may not be known to most people. But, until a man engages the enemy and wages war to kill it, he will find no rest and no peace. Sexual temptation and immorality is not something to be managed. It must be slain. An aggressive strategy is the only hope for a man to experience victory. The war rages. It is not easy, but the gospel gives hope and promise of victory. The war for sexual purity must be strategically fought on three battlefields: the heart, the mind and the body. In part one, we looked at the heart. Next we engage the mind.

The mind is the second battlefield on which a man’s war for sexual purity must be engaged. The mind is the most active battlefield in this war because every attack from the enemy begins here. How a man prepares for and engages this battle will determine much of his effectiveness in experiencing victory. If a man’s heart is not set on godly purity, his mind will not have the weapons required to win this battle. This is why the mind is the second battlefield. Second Corinthians 10:3-5 teaches, “We are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” If a man embraces a knowledge, thought pattern, rationale, or wisdom of this world, he will never know victory over sexual lusts and temptations that attack his mind. As well, any measure of victory he may achieve in his own strength will only serve as condemnation under the next defeat.

The man who sets his heart on Christ is set on growing his knowledge of God’s Word and living by faith in light of God’s truth. This man builds a storehouse of weapons in his mind ready to engage the enemy. When attacks come, they are measured against the truth of God’s Word and found to be meaningless, hopeless, deceptive, and false. The principle activity of the mind is not to focus on the enemy’s attacks, but the light of God’s truth. Philippians 4:8-9 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is noble, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” A man’s mind must be consumed with the things of God. When he exercises his mind in this manner, it will not accept the deception of Satan’s attacks. The mind that trusts in God captures the lie presented and destroys them.

For example, when a man trusts that his wife is God’s suitable helpmate for him, his mind and heart is grateful to God for her. When confronted with a tempting thought or situation, instead of capturing that thought to linger on self-gratifyng measures, he draws from the truth of God’s Word. He is reminded to thank God for his wife instead of betraying her for a false hope or deception. Even in his mind his wife serves as a guard of protection for him. If that man is not married, he trusts in God’s grace and goodness for the wife he will marry one day and the need to be pure for her. Any thought or fantasy that would dare linger becomes an attack against not only him, but his wife, for which he wars to guard her as well.

Are you believing the gospel of Jesus Christ for your life—that Jesus died for your sins and in forgiveness and cleansing, redeems you to live in righteousness by faith? Are you engaging the battle for sexual purity in your mind, consuming it with the truth of God’s Word? Are you taking thoughts captive that tempt you toward lust and destroying them by the truth of God’s Word? Take time to ask God to search your heart and reveal unconfessed sin in your life. Ask him to consume your heart with a love and honor for him. Meditate on Philippians 4:8-9. What is in your mind and heart that is not of these traits? Repent. Thank God for your wife. Ask God to purify your heart and set your mind on truth for his honor and glory.

A Man’s War for Sexual Purity, Part I

The UNIT is a television show about a group of army special operations soldiers. Their identities are hidden or falsified so their cover will not be blown. They perform military missions that no one else is trained to do or wants to know about. Their orders remain top secret and hidden, often even from the highest of ranking officials. Their work is rarely known, seen, or even acknowledged by others. But what they accomplish never holds less than a high significance for the safety and security of the country. Yes, it is just a television show, but it illustrates much about how the war for sexual purity in a man’s life must be engaged.

Sexual purity in a man’s life never comes without a battle. This war will be one of the toughest battles he will ever face. The enemy is relentless in pursuing and punishing him if he remains passive. Many men try to avoid the war while others simply try to ignore it. But the enemy will not retreat. The battles that have to be fought are often intense and may or may not be known to most people. But until a man engages the enemy and wages war to kill it, he will find no rest and no peace. An aggressive strategy is the only hope for a man to experience victory over sexual temptation and sin. The war rages and awaits every man to enter the battle. It will not be easy, but the gospel gives hope and promise of victory. The war for sexual purity must be strategically fought on three battlefields: the heart, the mind, and the body.

The heart is the first battlefield in the war against sexual immorality because it is the core where every major life component (mind, will, emotions, desires, etc.) converges to shape the defining motivations of life. This is the most intense ground for battle. Proverbs 4:23 teaches that we are to guard the heart above all else because it is the source of life. This is no small command. A Christ-follower must be vigilant in defense of their heart. This fight is for the health and well-being of their very life. That which controls our heart controls all of life. Until God’s grace so consumes the heart that sexual immorality finds no room for existence, a man will not only struggle with defeat and condemnation in this area but will experience little victory in mind and body.

Paul challenges the Christians in Thessalonica to continue grow in the way they were to walk in life in order to please God. The first mention Paul gives in sanctification is abstaining from sexual immorality in contrast to how people in the world who do not know God were living. God has not called Christians to impurity, but in holiness. Men who live for Jesus must be consumed with a vision of sexual purity for life. This call must first be rendered complete in the heart of a man in order to experience victory over sexual sin and condemnation. The only way this will happen is to believe, as Paul says in Romamns 6:11, I am “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” This is surely no passive reality but a truth to be firmly established within the heart by faith. A man must engage the battle for his heart with this truth. Sin does not go away or improve when left alone. It must be mortified. If a man is slack or passive in engaging the battle for his heart, sin will take root, grow, and consume him. When a man reckons in his heart that he has been crucified with Christ, that he no longer lives, but Christ lives in him (Gal. 2:20), then he will experience freedom from sin and will offer his body to God as an instrument of righteousness (Rom. 6:13).

Have you received God’s work in Jesus Christ on the cross for your life by faith? Are you laboring to lessen the condemnation of sexual sin, trying to overcome the urges and temptations by sheer force of your will alone? Is your heart full of desires that compel you to think and act in ways that you know are contrary to God’s will? Confess these desires to Jesus. Repent and ask him to forgive you. Read Romans 6:1-14. Ask God to establish the truth of his Word within your heart. Thank him that he is faithful to forgive and to cleanse (1 John 1:9). Share your prayer with a brother in Christ who can encourage you and pray for you. Do not forget. Take time to meditate on Romans 6:11 for the next several days. Let Holy Spirit lead you.

An Unassumed Entrance

Christmas is a special time. The celebration captures the hearts and minds of more people than any other time of the year. The message has such broad, sweeping appeal that it transcends mere hope of the moment and speaks to the hopes and dreams of all people of all times. At the center of the celebration and message is the greatest gift; God become man in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

When a gift of great worth is given, its wrap and presentation typically resembles that same value. This was not so with the birth of Christ. In every way, the event of his birth was the antithesis to his worth, value, power, and importance for all humanity. But that is exactly as God the Father planned in revealing himself through his entrance into humanity, unassuming in every way.

Unassumed Entrance
The way God revealed himself was simply unacceptable to some. Those who claimed to anticipate the coming of the promised Messiah were not looking in this direction for the entry of their king. The way Jesus was born was unexpected by most. The vast majority of people were much too consumed with life to care or even notice this obscure birth. Jesus’ birth is unthinkable by modern-day standards for royal or high-ranking officials. It has been said that for the President of the United States to leave the property of the White House requires over 800 people to plan, organize, and orchestrate. Jesus didn’t even get a small-town radio personality to blare his name over a poor sound system to a stadium of locals.

Jesus’ birth was unassuming in every detail. Mary and Joseph were poor. She a peasant virgin and he a manual laborer who held a socio-economic status far below most accepted norms of society in that day, much less by today’s standards. The details that surrounded the birth are unimpressive to say the least. Royalty was not the standard for planning this birth. It didn’t even beckon upon the basic necessities for human rights, being relegated rather to a cave reserved for livestock. This is surely not befitting the hopes and dreams of an expectant mom for where she will first cradle and nurse her newborn baby. The only people that the birth site was fitting for were some of the first guests, shepherds fresh from the fields. At least the smell of livestock was maybe not as offensive to them. Finally, this babe would be from an unknown village that would continue this unassuming theme throughout his life until the time of his earthly ministry. Nazareth was most noted for its lack of couth, culture, and moral character. Unmentioned in the Old Testament, it would become known only by its attachment to Jesus.

Proclamation of Good News
Unassumed entrance stands as an understatement for how God chose to reveal himself to the world. Most would agree that this is an accurate description of his status once upon the earth in human form. But that Jesus was born into poverty is really only significant by earthly standards. The greatest humility displayed in Jesus’ birth is that God became man. No amount of royal planning could have adequately prepared to rightly celebrate the entrance of God. God become man is the inconceivable yet fully-revealed truth proclaimed in Jesus Christ.

This good news is the irony of ironies. God, who is infinite in glory, power, and wisdom, who has no nature of need for humility but is fully worthy in every way, willingly and freely humbled himself to become the Savior for a sinner like me. And I, who by nature and being, am finite in every measure of life, even in the reality of my own understanding though maybe concealed by my outward appearance or persona, struggle to cease trusting in self and release control over life to receive what God has already done for me. The obvious question would seem to be, “Can I do enough to please God so he will accept me?” The real question is, “Can I release the pre-conceived visions of grandeur and glory for my life and the pretenses of sin that blind and deceive me to trust and receive the good news of this God-Man?” Every part of my nature fights against the goodness of every part of God’s gift and plan for me. But though my nature opposes God’s goodness, my heart and soul desperately long for the hope, peace, and joy that he proclaims.

God’s promise in Jesus Christ is the salvation for my soul! In Christ, God proclaims good news to the poor, liberty to the captives and the oppressed, sight to the blind, and the favor of the Lord. He has met every need for both now and all eternity in Jesus Christ. He ransoms from eternal damnation and rescues from hell. He renews my spirit to know and love him. He reconciles to my Father and redeems my life. The good news of Christmas is that God has made complete provision for salvation in Jesus Christ.

Invitation to Eternal Life
Many great gifts have been passed over because the wrapped presentation did not seem to reflect a gift of great value. Life teaches, even in small ways, that the gift cannot be measured by the wrapping or the presentation. But God’s gift is not like the world’s at all. The power of God’s gift is in its presentation as well. When God humbled himself, he modeled the means by which we must come to him, not in measuring up, but rather in bowing down. There is no one who is exempt from this invitation, except those who continue to perceive themselves to be above or beyond need for God. His invitation unto eternal life remains for now but will not remain forever. When the invitation is heard is the time it is to be received. Today, as you hear his invitation, do not harden your heart. Bow before him, repent of your sin, and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. Receive the gift of eternal life in the way God has revealed it, in humility. Experience the full power of the gift as only God can give it, for all eternity beginning today. May Jesus consume your life and may his birth be the good news of new birth in your life. I pray this Christmas season will reveal God’s gift of greatest worth for your life. I pray you will receive and worship Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Learning to Meditate on Scripture: Developing a Discipline for Spiritual Growth

Reading the Bible can be a challenge. This I have learned through years of encouraging people to develop this discipline in their life, not to mention learning and re-learning the discipline for my own life. I have learned that reading the Bible changes from one stage of spiritual growth to another. As I have grown in my relationship with the Lord, Bible reading has developed into reading a number of different ways for encouragement, understanding, and insight.

One of the most important ways to read the Bible, that seems seldom mentioned, is to read larger passages in a single reading, i.e. read a whole book in one or two sittings. This gives a much broader perspective of the content of the particular book, as well as encouraging the reader of the readability of each book. To begin this approach to reading Scripture, begin with the Gospel of Mark. This sixteen-chapter book will only take approximately 45 minutes to complete. The epistles of the New Testament are also great books to approach in this way. Then, as your comfort level grows with this approach, larger books in the Old Testament can be read in two or three sittings. New understandings and insights are sure to come from this plan of reading.

Second, reading Scripture for personal meditation should be practiced by every Christian. When a person approaches the Scriptures to meditate, an expanded time of interacting with the Scripture should be given so Holy Spirit can use the verses and passages to bring heightened illumination and deeper application for personal repentance and renewal. Colossians 3:16 instructs to “let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.” This is a mandate to spend time allowing the Word to saturate our minds, hearts, and lives by lingering over it in thought and reflection. This practice will immediately result in great value for any person who practices meditating on the deep riches of God’s Word. Proverbs 2:1-8 serves as a great guide for learning how to meditate on God’s Word. While there is no one right way, I will give a brief overview of how a time of meditation could flow as guided by this passage in Proverbs:

First, in all Scripture reading, the most important truth to glean does not begin with “what is the application of this passage for my life” or “what do I think this passage means for me.” First, one must seek to understand “what does this passage say?” or “what does this passage mean?” Once the clear meaning and message of a passage is present, then the Spirit of God will make specific personal application to life by convicting of sin and righteousness.

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. —Pro.2:1-8

Choose a passage that is not too lengthy, 5-20 verses, so you can spend time in each verse. As you come to the Word, begin to pray verse one and ask God to make your mind and heart receptive to his words. Pray that his Word, as the seed of life, would find good soil in your life to grow deep roots. Read through the entire passage for familiarity with its content. Then, go back to the beginning and begin to read each verse, sentence, or phrase and work through these questions. As you work through the questions, it is a good practice to record answers in a journal.

Begin with these questions about the passage: Do I understanding what this passage about? Who wrote it? Who was it written to? What is it saying? How would it apply to its target audience? What result was the author trying to accomplish by writing this passage?

Once these questions have been answered, read through the passage reflecting upon these questions:

1. Have I accepted these words as God’s revelation?
2. Have I stored up the commands of this passage in my heart, “turning my ear to wisdom” and “applying my heart to understanding?” What do I need to commit to memory in this passage? What area of my life is this passage dealing with? What area of unbelief in my life is God beginning to deal with in this passage?
3. Have I prayed for insight and understanding? Ask Holy Spirit to convict you of any hidden sin in regard to this truth you are studying, immediately confess and repent of it as he brings conviction. Record any specific actions that God instructs you to take.
4. Am I seeking this truth as an “eternal treasure” for my life? Ask God if there is any motivation, desire, or habit in your life that is preventing you from desiring a full and complete application of this truth in your life. How is God leading you to embrace this truth as an eternal treasure for your life?
5. How has my fear for God heightened and my awe of God increased? Do I know and understand God’s character better? Am I developing a deeper love for him because of an increased knowledge of him? How has my worship of God increased as a result of lingering on this passage?
6. Ask the Lord for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Have I thanked him that he gives these to those who ask?
7. Thank the Lord that he is our shield and guard, watching over his saints as we strive to live the Word in this world for his honor and glory.

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