{Monday Meditations} Colossians 1:16

My dad really encourages me to meditate on the Word of God. I used to think of meditate as something from yoga or something like this:

When Dad first told me to meditate, I envisioned my Dad as Rafiki
 and I looked like Timon :P

But now I understand what he means by meditating. Really, all meditating is is simply thinking and pondering on something. In this case, on God and the things of God. 

I hope to do a "Monday Meditations" this summer. It will be good accountability for me and perhaps an encouragement to you guys =D

I have a hard time remembering to meditate and getting into the habit of it. What I find that works for me is to write out my meditations. So over the past two years, I've collected a few meditations and thoughts. These thoughts were written back in 2014.

Colossians 1:16b “...all things were created by Him and for Him;” 

In my history lesson today, I saw this verse. The whole verse is a good one but  I just want to focus on the latter part. 

God is our Creator. Yes we know that, you say. Well look at the last three words of that verse. “And FOR Him.” We were created FOR God. God created us for His glory. 1 Corinthians 6:20a says “For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God...” God sent His only Son to save us. God created us as a people who are capable of doing what we want. We know right from wrong but we have the ability to choose. We are not robots who are perfect and do everything right. God gave us freedom to choose. But man went against God’s rules and fell into sin and now the whole world is cursed. 

However (you know the story) God sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross and now everyone has a way to get into heaven and spend eternity with God. If that isn't enough reason to praise and glorify God, here are some more verses. Deuteronomy 10:21 “He is thy praise and He is thy God, Who hath done terrible [awe-inspiring] things which thine eyes have seen.” Most of us have seen God work in our lives or seen Him work in the lives of others. We can clearly see God through lots of things in this world. Think about all the animals God created. I think of majestic horse with his billowing mane and graceful legs and rippling muscles. I think of the mighty lion with his mane and loud roar. I think of the bald eagle and his nobleness as he flies through the sky. Look at nature around you. Look at the vibrant flowers, the towering trees, the fluffy clouds, the sunshine...God created all of that! I’d say those things are all awe-inspiring.

Here is another verses Isaiah 12: 1 “AND in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise Thee; though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedest me.” We do so much to anger God but He still loves and helps us each day. There is another reason to praise and glorify God. But Isaiah doesn't stop there. In verse two he says “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and be not afraid; for the LORD even JEHOVAH, is my strength and my song; He is also become my salvation.” Just like God was the source of Samson's strength, God is the source of our strength too. God is the reason we have air to breath. He is the reason we are living today. If God wanted to, He could take your life right now. If He wanted to, He could wipe out the entire earth right now. God gives us daily strength and help if we allow Him too. God is patiently waiting for us to seek His guidance for help and strength and when we shut up and listen to God, He will kindly supply us.

Isaiah praises God again in chapter 25. There is so much more I could write but  I will just suggest for you to read it yourself. Basically what I’m trying to say here is we need to glorify God with our lives. We need to be God-pleasers not men-pleasers. Paul chose to stand up and be different from the others because he trusted in God. We need to stop living our lives to glorify ourselves but live our lives so that God is glorified. I speak from experience on glorifying myself and not God. I'm guilty of choosing to do something for myself and put off my prayer time or Bible reading for later. It's hard to deny the flesh, but it isn't impossible. Philippians 4:13!

Here is a hymn most of us are familiar with. Next time we sing it, let's put meaning into those words.

“To God be the glory, great things He has done;

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,

Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,

And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

Let the earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

Let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,

And give Him the glory, great things He has done.”