January 2021 - When God Captures Your Imagination
Dear Partner,
MEDITATION: WHEN GOD CAPTURES YOUR IMAGINATION
The power of God’s Word upon the imagination of a believer can create change - it doesn’t matter what is against you - it can change. We see this in the story of Jacob in Genesis 30 and 31. Jacob had been working for his father-in-law Laban and was ready to go out on his own. The agreement between them was that when Jacob left he could take all the streaked and spotted animals as his payment, but Laban broke the agreement and kept them for himself.
So, Jacob took fresh branches and peeled the bark so that they looked streaked and spotted. He placed them in the water where the animals came to drink and to mate. The young born to his solid-colored animals were streaked and spotted.
Jacob “saw” in a dream how to get God’s best. He was dreaming or meditating. The image of the spotted and streaked branches made an impression on the animals and on Jacob, too. What was impossible came to pass as the image of what was possible was imprinted on their minds. Jacob’s streaked and spotted herd kept multiplying until he became very wealthy. Gen. 31:10 AMP says, “And I had a dream at the time the flock conceived. I looked up and saw that the rams which mated with the she - goats were streaked, speckled, and spotted.”
God’s Word is Spirit and it is life. It is creative and as we sit before His promises, they paint a picture on the canvas of our minds that turns our doubt to faith and makes new things come to pass. When you meditate on the Word, God, who is one with His Word, captures your imagination. Peter uses the phrase, “the loins of your mind” in 1 Peter 1:13, referring to your creative mental ability. “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”
TRANSFORMING POWER
There is transforming power in meditating on God’s Word because the Holy Spirit works with the Word. The word transformation in the Greek is metamorphoo, which means transform, change, transfigure. It means being changed from the inside out. Two examples of transformations or a metamorphosis are a frog and a butterfly. In Mark 9:2, Jesus was transfigured or transformed. The glory that was in Him shined upon Him, on His face, His clothes. Another example of being transformed is Romans 12:2, “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Now it’s time to be made new by every revelation that’s been given to you. And to be transformed as you embrace the glorious Christ-within as your new life and live in union with him! For God has re-created you all over again in his perfect righteousness, and you now belong to him in the realm of true holiness.” Ephesians 4:23-24 (TPT)
When you meditate on the Word of God, you are transformed mentally and physically. You are glorified as God captures your imagination!
Joshua attributed his success to meditation on God’s Word day and night (Joshua 1:8).
David delighted in the Word continually. Each verse of Psalm 119 refers in some way to the delight and power David found as he meditated on the Word. “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day,” (Psalms 119:97).
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night; and He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 1:2,3 KJV
You thrill to God’s Word, you chew day and night. You’re a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, never dropping a leaf, always in blossom. (The Message Bible)
It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:7,8 AMPC
He is like a tree planted along the riverbank, with its roots reaching deep into the water-a tree not bothered by the heat nor worried by long months of drought. Its leaves stay green…. (Taylor)
Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season. (Message Bible)
It has no worries in the year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit. (Jerusalem)
David said his delight was in the Law of the Lord. What are those laws? They are the Law of Faith (Romans 3:27); the Law of Love (1 Corinthians 13); the Law of the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2); the Law of Sowing and Reaping (2 Corinthians 9:6-11). Every Christian is personally responsible to tap into the power of God through meditation, prayer and action.
HOW TO MEDITATE
The dictionary defines the word meditate as this: to talk with yourself, mutter, cogitate; it is an inward and outward conversation; it means to study, chew over, think over, ponder, excogitate, muse, reflect, mull over, speculate. The word cogitate means to think deeply, think out, think up, dream up, and to hatch. Excogitate is to invent; create mentally. Meditation is a relationship with the Word of God. Philippians 4:8 tells us to meditate or think about things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and begin praising instead of worrying.
For Christians, there is an escape from the corruption around us. Through the new birth, God has given “exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:3,4) But the opposite is true also. Romans 8:6 says, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” When your mind is under the influence of the Word and the Spirit, it produces life and peace. The Word becomes engrafted in you as you meditate in it and the Word is able to save or restore your soul, which is your mind, your will and your emotions (James 1:21). When you are speaking God’s Word, pondering, muttering, turning it over, digesting, and dreaming about all of these great promises that are given to you, you begin to draw up divine power, just like a tree draws water out of the soil it is planted in.
In the natural, digestion begins in the mouth and doctors say you should chew your food 32 times before swallowing. God’s Word is faith food and is meant to digested spiritually through meditation. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found and I did eat them and they were to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” -The Message Bible says, “Your words showed up, I ate them - swallowed them whole. What a feast!” Jerusalem Bible says, “I devoured them.” Taylor translation says, “Your words are what sustained me, they are food to my soul.”
In Mark 4, Jesus taught the importance of hearing the Word and compared it to seed. The most important thing was for the roots of the seed to go down into the soil, causing growth and fruit to come forth. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Wherever you have a need in your life, begin to gather seeds of the Word so that you can plant them in your heart and grow a crop of healing, peace, finances and even your family’s salvation. While meditating on the Word of God, you are taking your medicine and your faith will grow. He sent His Word to heal you (Psalm 107:20, Proverbs 4:20-22).
When God’s thoughts get in your eyes, your ears, your mouth, they will show up in your life. Paul practiced meditation. In 1 Timothy 4:15, he said, “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all.” Those around you can see the results of the Word working in your life. 1 Corinthians 3:6 says, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” The planting occurs when you first hear the Word and then must be watered by repetition. Some reject the watering process and get no results from the Word they heard. If you don’t see increase, check out your watering or your meditation on the Word.
Meditate in the Word until the light of revelation comes. “The entrance of Thy Word giveth light,” Psalm 119:130. David Yongii Cho said, “The language of the Holy Spirit is visions and dreams. We should always try to visualize the end result as we pray...If you have not visualized clearly in your heart exactly what you hope for, it cannot become a reality for you...Vision is the mother of faith.”
ALLOW GOD TO CAPTURE YOUR IMAGINATION IN 2021!
This month we want to offer you a wonderful tool that will help assist in your study of the Word of God. The Spirit Filled Scripture Study Guide is loaded with scriptures from over 120 different translations. The Study Guide has sections such as faith, healing, righteousness, the Holy Spirit and more that will help you meditate on the Word. For your offering of $35 or more, we will send you this study guide so you can feed your faith on the Word of God.
We want to thank you for your continual and faithful partnership with us in World Missions. We are continuing to teach the Word in our daily LIVESTREAM Bible School and DAILY TELEVISION. We are also moving forward with new BOOK TRANSLATION PROJECTS in new languages. We are so thankful for your partnership with us as we continue to distribute the Word of God through every available way possible. We are so close to breaking ground in our new CONFERENCE CENTER. We are meeting with builders and just recently got the Fire Marshall approval. Thank you for your generous giving toward this GLORY BARN!
In Christ,
Mark and Trina