There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in His service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. Truth is something like the cluster of the vine: if we would have wine from it, we must bruise it; we must press and squeeze it many times. The bruiser's feet must come down joyfully upon the bunches, or else the juice will not flow; and they must well tread the grapes, or else much of the precious liquid will be wasted. So we must, by meditation, tread the clusters of truth, if we would get the wine of consolation therefrom. Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process which really supplies the muscle, and the nerve, and the sinew, and the bone, is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food becomes assimilated with the inner life. Our souls are not nourished merely by listening awhile to this, and then to that, and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning, all require inwardly digesting to complete their usefulness, and the inward digesting of the truth lies for the most part in meditating upon it.
Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord, and be this our resolve this morning, "I will meditate in Thy precepts." (C.H. Spurgeon)
Friends: persevere in the grinding, gathering, plucking, and stooping low to drink from the Well offered to us. May all the beauty + truth you find here in 2017 merely adorn what is most satisfying: Christ himself.
We can't drink from a cup that is already full of our agenda and striving, so to that end will you pray for me as I pray for you: That we would be emptied of our kingdom and filled up with His.
That's my commitment as I seek to steward this space well; thank you for beginning another year with me here.
In effort to grind the wheat this year, I'm beginning (again) another year-long reading plan with the ESV Bible App. You can choose from several plans, and read passages in app, or have it read to you. It'll track your progress and keep you working through the Scriptures in manageable chunks.
I'd love for you to join me. It's not going to be perfect, and some of us will have to set aside our ideas of a perfectly quiet house and unfettered time with all our commentaries open, plus endless hours to Bible journal -- let's be real; that's not going to happen every day. Some us won't make it all the way through without missing a single day, and it will drive us crazy, but that isn't the point. It's not about us, but about knowing Him and the promises of His Word, in its entirety. The point is to PERSIST:
I hear the app only has Bible reading plans for the iPhone version. If you're an Android user, I will post daily reading charts as often as I'm able in my Instastories in the mornings: Instagram.com/graelaced. Join me there for encouragement!
Sometimes it's not the words of my mouth that's the problem - I'm fairly good at guarding those; it's the meditations of my heart that can run unfettered, which in time, will reveal itslef in my speech too. I've been sharing on the blog and in Instastories about not just liking the bread, but #grindingthewheat in 2017. We do that by tethering the meditations of our hearts to the unfailing Word of God...not for a pep talk or for self-affirmation, but to align our desires with His. Our Rock and our Redeemer isn't just faithful for salvation but for every day we'll need hope for our tongues + minds in 2017!
By the way....Did you purchase last year's Garden of Truth calendar? Now that the year is over, are you re-purposing it and memorizing the scriptures? I hope so! Let me know how you are using last year's calendar, I'd love to know.
And if you haven't purchased a 2017 Hope In the Desert Calendar, don't wait! They are 50-70% off in the Shoppe, depending on quantity. My hope is that you will let the Word minister to your heart day by day, and that these scriptures will be hidden in our hearts as we preach the truth to ourselves!
Praying for you as you grind the wheat and grow in the Word in 2017. It's worth it...to persist and not give up. I'm standing and seeking along with you.
Because of grace,
