Chewing the Cud

I was reading Psalm 1 the other day and a part of verse 2 jumped out at me. It says, "...and on his law he meditates day and night." What do you think of when you hear the word "meditate"? Perhaps the first picture that comes to mind is a person sitting with their legs crossed and their hands in the air chanting some type of mantra. Or maybe you see a monk isolated deep within a cave somewhere pouring over ancient scrolls.

A closer look at this word paints a much different picture. The word "meditate" is best translated as the English word "muse" which means to "become absorbed in thought". Interestingly, its main synonym is the word "ruminate" which comes from a Latin word which means "to chew the cud".

For those of you not familiar with chewing the cud, this is the process by which cows and a few other animals (goats, sheep, antelope) regurgitate their food repeatedly and chew on it. Without getting too complicated, the animals do this because they lack some of the necessary enzymes that most other animals have for digestion.

Now, back to Psalm 1. Biblical meditation has a lot to do with calling up (or regurgitating) God's Word that is hidden in our hearts. How's that for a word picture? I must admit, I am sometimes guilty of grazing (since we are using cow terms!) on God's word. Instead of taking the time to let God's word ruminate, I feed on appetizers and desserts. Let's face it, there is always so much competing for my time with God!

So why meditate on God's Word? Read the rest of the Psalm and you will find that this practice leads to blessing and fruitfulness. Grazing, on the other hand, leads to malnourishment. So the next time you read God's Word, take a lesson from the cow and keep on chewing.
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Sources: Webster's Third New International Dictionary, OT Hebrew Lexicon, Wikipedia

By Your Side

Fear. It's completely irrational. I've known this for much of my life, but this truth has become more real to me over the years as I've dealt with my son Zachary. For those of you who know him, Zachary is not afraid of much. In fact, he's one of the boldest 8 year olds you may ever meet! Nonetheless, there is something that scares him to death: thunderstorms.

Zachary begins to cry and will not leave my side during a storm. There is nothing logical that I can say to him that calms him down. We pray, we talk, I explain statistics about lightning strikes...nothing works, except....for me to stay by his side.

Interestingly enough, someone (with a lot of spare time!) has compiled a list of 530 known phobias. I must admit, there are some crazy ones on the list! How about...amathaphobia: the fear of dust or homoliphobia: the fear of sermons (not touching that one with a 10-foot pole!)...or numerophobia: fear of numbers (I definitely have this one!!). Find the full list here.

While our fear may not be as outlandish as some of the ones on the phobia list, we all struggle with fear at times. We fear losing our job or getting a life-threatening disease. We fear financial ruin or losing a good friend. Satan uses fear to terrorize us and keep us from living in peace. Whatever your fears are, I want you to know that you can overcome them with God's help.

Through my experience with Zachary, I've learned that overcoming fear does not come once we arrive at some logical understanding to the reason behind it. Instead, we beat our fear when we come to the place where we realize that God is with us and we can trust him to protect us. This is exactly why Zachary calms down when he's by my side.

Are you struggling with fear today? Draw near to God. You will find that He's right there by your side and He holds your life in his hands. Here are some great scriptures about all this: 2 Tim. 1:7 and 1 Jn. 4:18.

Holy Headlock!

Ever wrestle with God? I have. Wrestling with God usually takes place in the middle of a trial: a job loss, an unexpected death, an unrealized dream, a prolonged sickness. Recently, I read the account of Jacob's wrestling match with the Angel of God in Gen. 32:24-32. Take note of a few of the amazing things that take place in the middle of our God-struggles.

First, it's important to realize that God's ultimate purpose was to strengthen Jacob and not to crush him. God wanted to bring him to a higher level in his spiritual walk. And so, in order for all of this to happen...

1. God initiated the struggle. Notice that it says that the angel wrestled with him (not him with the angel). God had to bring Jacob to a point of yieldedness. In fact, it took all night! Jacob had to come to the end of himself. We must be emptied before God can fill us.

2. God refined him. I think it's interesting that the angel asks Jacob for his name. Obviously, God knew his name! Most likely, God did this because of what Jacob's name meant: deceiver. God wanted Jacob to come to grips with the sin in his heart. Spiritual greatness is always preceded by humility and a repentant heart.

3. God left His mark. After a long night of struggle, the angel touches Jacob's hip and knocks it out of socket. Ouch!! Why? I think he wanted Jacob to remember that his striving was worthless and that He was still much more powerful than him.

4. God blessed Jacob. God changed Jacob's name to Israel which means: "You have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." God's blessings didn't come in the form of great riches or status. Instead, God changed Jacob on the inside. He went from a deceiver to one who overcomes. Wow! Now that's blessing!

Are you currently in a holy headlock? If so, know that His heart is for you to experience His greatest blessing. He loves you. Yield to Him. He has great things in store for you!

My Bride!

Today is a very special day! It's my 13th wedding anniversary. I must say, I still can't believe that God paired me up with such an incredible woman!

For those of you who haven't heard the story, Cheryl and I have known each other for a very long time. In fact, we actually met in the 6th grade. We've been best friends ever since. We started dating officially in the 10th grade, went to the same college, and eventually decided to spend our lives together. She was 20 and I was 21 when we got married!

If you've spent any time with my wife, you know that she is an amazing person. Cheryl loves Jesus more than anyone or anything in this world and this is very evident in the way she lives her life. She is most passionate about her family. She also loves going on missions trips. Her first trip was to Guatamala when she was only 15. She was there for 10 weeks!! Boy, was I sad! Cheryl is avidly involved in MOPS and enjoys helping other moms to grow in their walk with God.

Here are a few more interesting fact about Cheryl:

-Cheryl is one of the fastest people I've ever met! She shops fast, drives fast, cooks fast, walks fast...well, you get the idea!

-Cheryl hates to cook.

-Cheryl was born in Wimbledon, England.

-Back when we were teenagers, Cheryl actually fell asleep one day while I was practicing my trumpet. My mom declared on that day that she would be my wife!!!

-Cheryl was the Children's Pastor at our church in Chicago for 8 years before coming to NC.

Well, as you can imagine, I could go on all day. Instead, I'll leave you with Proverbs 18:22 which says, "He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD."

This has definitely been true for me!

Flies Own Ants

Did you get a chance to read the article about the parasitic flies? According to a recent article in the Baltimore Sun, researchers in Texas are trying to combat fire ants by deploying parasitic flies that turn the pesky insects into zombies whose heads fall off. No joke! Called the phorid fly, this South American fly is native to a region where the ants originated.

Here's how it works. The flies lay eggs on the ant. The eggs hatch into maggots which eventually eat away at the fire ant's tiny brain. The ant begins to wander aimlessly for a period of 2 weeks until his head falls off. By then the maggot has become a fly which is ready to destroy another fire ant. This is absolutely hilarious!

While I laughed a good bit after hearing about the zombie ants, I couldn't help but see a parallel to the spiritual lives of believers. The truth is that there is one who has every intention of destroying us. His name is Satan.

The parasites that he sends our way are many: pornography, alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, adultery, bitterness, jealousy, etc. Unfortunately, the more we give in, the more we have the very life sucked out of us. We become spiritually useless, wandering around like zombies until we finally experience spiritual death.

Perhaps you've been attacked by a parasite or perhaps you are playing "host" to one right now. Unlike the ants, the good news is that God's power is greater than the battle you face. Confess your sin and surrender to God. Get help from others around you if you can't shake the parasite on your own. While this may be difficult, I can guarantee you that it will be much better than having your head pop off!

Here's a cool video showing the phorid flies at work (for strong stomachs only!).

God's Chisel

Click here to watch video!

The Package

Everything comes in a package. Everything! Think about it...the food you eat, the lyrics to the songs you hear, the car you drive, the commercials you watch on TV. It's all packaged a certain way for its intended purpose.

Packages exist for different reasons. Some are good and some are bad. Some packages are meant to protect; others to disguise. Some are designed solely for the purpose of making its contents look attractive.

Have you ever noticed that God's communication to us is often packaged? We are all familiar with the package of the Bible. But God speaks to us in other ways, too. Sometimes he speaks through the package of our circumstances--good and bad. Sometimes his package includes things said by people we love or a spiritual authority in our lives. We know it's Him when it lines up with the scriptures.

I'm convinced that there are times that I don't hear God completely because I get so hung up with the package. "Why would God use that person or that church or that pastor or this circumstance? I know better than them. I could do this better." Ever been there?

God is always speaking. In my life, I often have to ask him to help me to get past the "package". Once this happens, I begin to hear his voice much more frequently. Oh, by the way, it's good to remember, too, that all God's packages are ones that are rooted in his goodness and his love. He's not trying to keep you from hearing his voice nor is He trying to deceive you.

I encourage you to think about the "packages" in your life. Are you hearing what God is saying? If not, rip them open and look inside. You will not only find His words to you; you will find Him!