A Minute Meditation

A brother known for his ability to motivate others was confronted one day by an angry sister who said, “I don’t believe in all this motivational talk because it does not last.” Someone else who overheard the conversation replied, “Well, neither do baths, but they are good to take just the same.”

Just because a thing does not last, is no justification for not doing it again. Almost everything worthwhile requires repetition. Most people believe in weeding their garden and mowing their lawn but they know it will need doing again soon.

To the tried and true saying about, “Anything worth doing, is worth doing right,” we might add, “Anything worth doing must be done over and over again.”

This must be the reason that Paul instructs us that we are “by patient continuance in well doing, [to] seek for glory and honor and immortality.”

Our acceptance by the Lord Jesus Christ will not be based upon the fact that we did one great spectacular good deed for him, but rather, that we patiently continued in well doing every day.

This is the reason we use the Bible Companion daily to lead us in our systematic reading of the Scriptures. We need to realize that we are all leaky vessels and if we do not constantly replenish ourselves with the oil of the word, then we will surely run dry and our lamps will go out while we wait for the bridegroom to come.

We need to be motivated to do right, and we need to do it over and over again. We remember coming home from the Bible school and returning to work just bubbling over with enthusiasm for the Truth. One of our associates observed how pumped up we were and commented that we seemed to be “glowing.”

A few days later, after being buried in the day to day work that piles up when one is away, he passed by our office, looked in, and cupping his hands around his mouth whispered in a loud voice, “the glow has gone.”

The glow does go, and we must constantly do those things that bring back the glow. When Moses had been on the holy mount with the LORD, he returned to the people and he did not know that “the skin of his face shone.” We read that “the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone.” Since we are to be the light of the world, we ought to work to do those things over and over again that will make our face shine with the reflection of our LORD.

Those out in the sun soon find their faces shining from its rays. If we allow the Son of God to shine upon us, then we should also reflect that fact in our countenances. Even after having been in the sun, the glow will go if we stay out of its rays.

Our glow will also fade if we do not continually pursue those things that help us to reflect the glory of God. The daily reading of the Word, prayer, the memorial service, Bible classes, Sunday school and Bible school are all important helps and must be repeated over and over to keep us glowing.

Let us resolve patiently to continue in well doing so that “the LORD will make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us.”

If you think meek is weak, try being meek for a week. True meekness is not a sign of weakness. It takes a really strong person to be truly meek.

Moses, we are told, was the meekest man on the face of the earth and he certainly was not a weak individual. To face the rigors of putting up with some two and a half million people who were constantly complaining took a lot of courage as well as patience.

Unger’s Bible Dictionary tells us that “meekness in the scriptural sense is an in wrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly toward God. The Greek term expresses that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us without disputing and resisting; and it is closely linked with humility.”

The Lord Jesus invites us to “come unto him…and to take his yoke and learn of him for he is meek and lowly in heart.” Jesus Christ would certainly qualify as the meekest man who ever lived and yet he was also the most powerful man who ever lived.

It takes great strength of character to be reviled and revile not again. Peter tells us that when Christ “suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.”

It takes great strength to be meek, “to resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

Jesus not only told us to do this. He did it!!!! It is one thing to know what is right. It is quite another thing to do it.

Since we are promised that “the meek shall inherit the earth” we had better begin practicing meekness. The world despises the characteristics that please God. This is why the world equates meekness with weakness.

We need to understand that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” We need to listen to Peter who tells us that the “ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is in the sight of God of great price.”

It was Peter who also told us to “be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time.”

We must realize that humility and meekness are kindred spirits and the opposite of doing “what comes naturally.” We should accept the challenge of being meek for a week and observe the startling change that will take place in us. Being meek for a week will convince us that meekness is not weakness.

James asks us a question: “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you?” The answer to James’ question should interest us because we ought to try to be that person who is wise and endued with knowledge. To be this person, James tells us that we should “by our good life show our works in the meekness of wisdom.”

Isaiah tells us that “the meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD.” David declares that “the LORD taketh pleasure in his people; he will beautify the meek with salvation.” Meekness is beautiful and salvation is the result, for truly “the meek shall inherit the earth.”

If you received a dime every time you said a kind word and had to pay a nickel every time you said an unkind word, would you be rich or poor?

Paul tells us, “be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

Wouldn’t it be interesting if every evening a computer printed out how many dimes we had earned by saying kind things and how many nickels we owed for the unkind words we had said during the day?

Kind words lead to kind deeds and unkind words usually precede unkind acts. All our actions start as thoughts, and the way for us to be kind is to think kind thoughts.

In Paul’s love chapter, he tells us that “love suffereth long, and is kind.” Just how kind are we? We may say something that is unkind and take comfort in the fact that it is true. It is important that what we say is true, but it must be more than true. It should also be kind.

There is the story about the captain of a ship sailing on the high seas who was so drunk one day that he could not write in the ship’s log. The first mate wrote in the log that day that the captain was drunk. The next day when the captain had sobered up he was angry to find that the first mate had written this in the log. The first mate justified his position by saying to the captain, “But sir, it was true.” So that day the captain wrote in the log saying, “The first mate was sober today.” The captain’s entry was also true but was it kind? It inferred, without saying so, that the first mate was not always sober.

We can be guilty of this type of speech. What we say may be technically true but it fails the kindness test. Love is kind. “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how to answer every man.”

Have you ever known someone who seemed always to have a kind word to say about everyone? Have you an acquaintance that never has anything good to say about anyone? Which person would you rather be around? Which person are you more nearly like?

An easy test to give yourself before you speak about someone is to ask yourself this question –Would I like someone to say this about me? Had the captain asked himself that question first, he would not have written in the log that the first mate was sober that day.

The Lord Jesus Christ warns us that “by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

We may not gain our riches in this world’s goods by receiving a dime every time we say a kind word, but there is a record being kept of what we say, and by our words we are laying up for ourselves a reward.

Are the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts laying up for us a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give us at that day? In the parable of the pounds, the Lord Jesus told us, “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee.”

May our prayer be that “the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in the sight of our LORD, our strength and our redeemer.”

The governor of a southern state was touring the state penitentiary interviewing the prisoners. Each one he interviewed was bitter and showed no remorse. They all blamed their incarceration on someone else. One said that it was not his fault, it was the judge who was prejudiced against him. Another complained that it was his attorney who had let him down. One young man blamed his mother, while another said his teachers at school had failed him. When the governor spoke to George, he was surprised to hear him admit that he had committed a crime and had been caught. He explained that he was sorry for what he had done and hoped someday to prove to society that he had learned his lesson for the mistakes he had made.

The governor was so impressed with this confession that he returned to the state capitol and wrote out a full pardon for George. In his note that he sent to the prison warden, he explained that he was giving George a pardon to get this guilty man away from all those innocent people still in prison.

It is interesting how every man is right in his own eyes, just as Solomon said. Few people can be forgiven because few are willing to admit that they were wrong in the first place. John tells us that “If we confess our sins (only if we confess them), he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

When God confronted Adam, he immediately blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. This is one of the reasons why the false doctrine of a supernatural personal devil is so popular. “The devil made me do it” is appealing, but it is a lie.

We need to accept the responsibility for our own lives and actions. The Lord’s prayer teaches us to confess our sins. Instead of blaming others, we should ask God to be merciful to us, for we are sinners.

Jesus described two men who went into the temple to pray. One only prayed with himself. He told God how wonderful he was. His prayer was filled with I’s. The other man’s prayer began with God and asked for forgiveness. His prayer was answered while the other man’s was not. The Pharisee’s prayer did not even require an answer for he was simply bragging.

We need to remember that there is none righteous, no, not one. “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, 0 Lord, who shall stand?”

Let us thank God that He is willing to separate us from our sins as far as the east is from the west. Had He said, the north from the south, there would have been a limit to His mercy because we can travel west forever and never run into the east.

Soon Jesus will return. He will reject all those who are bitter and blame others for their sins. Only those who have confessed and been forgiven will be granted his full pardon and be invited to live and reign with him on this earth forever.