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Going to church, reading the bible, listening to Christian music will not advance your spiritual life. These activities may give you more understanding but until you are ready to lay down your life and take up your cross this leads nowhere.

What I am talking about is the sacrifice of self to advance the cause of Jesus Christ in the world. There is a destiny that God had for each of us that only we can personally discover. We can discover it only by detaching from the world and making ourselves available for the Holy Spirit. By detaching from the world--now you have time--the commodity that most Christians are not willing to give.

Jesus said, "Self-help is not help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, to finding yourself, your true self. (Matthew 16:25)

"God has planted eternity in the human heart." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

"Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)

"The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me." (Acts 20:24)

"We have been sent to speak for Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:20)

"We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)

Albert Finch
www.thekeys2kingdom.com
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Finding Soul Satisfaction

Posted 08-27-2021 at 11:35 PM by Albert Finch


"My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice." Psalm 63:5-7

In this classic Psalm, David teaches us a method to calm the screaming soul and find satisfaction even in the most critical circumstances.

What is the method? -- Meditation.

It's important to know that David was in the wilderness running for his life when he wrote this. He wasn't meditating on his kingly bed with servants tending to his every need. He was in a tough time. Nevertheless, he meditated on God; therefore, he could worship instead of weep. As we meditate on God, we will too.

STAYED ON YOU


David delighted in the law of the Lord (see Psalm 1:1-2). The Hebrew word for meditation used here is "hagah" (Strong's #1897) and it not just a mental exercise. Hagah means: to reflect, to ponder, to muse. The effect is to get lost in communion with God

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. " - Isaiah 26:3

In the midst of trials, one of the things we must do is stop and see where our mind is focused. The enemy of our soul would love for us to continue looking at our circumstance; however, that will not provide us the perfect peace and soul satisfaction we are desperate for.

The harder the trial the more critical it is to get your mind focused on God.

What does it mean to "stay our mind"?

The Hebrew word for "mind" here is yetser (pronounced yay'-tser, Strong's #3336). The root of this word speaks of forming and fashioning, even squeezing something into shape.

We see the word first in Genesis 2:7 as the Lord "formed" man out of the dust...or in Hebrew -- the Lord "yester" man out of the dust. Through this example, we can see that it takes a CONSCIOUS EFFORT ON OUR BEHALF -- even "squeezing" our thoughts to be STAYED on God.

The Hebrew word for "STAYED," is samech (pronounced saw-mak, Strong's #5564).

Samech means to lean, lay, rest, support and it speaks of setting, placing or laying something upon something else so that it may be supported by it.

TAKING OUR THOUGHTS CAPTIVE

As we meditate and form or even squeeze our thoughts to focus on God instead of our situation, we are placing them on Him so that we may be supported by Him. That sheds more light on 1 Peter 5:7 - "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."

We are not merely meditating on the Lord because we trust Him. We are actually taking our thoughts captive and forming them, and setting them upon God. Through this purposeful process we will receive support, perfect peace, and the ultimate soul satisfaction.

Just as a circle has no beginning or end, neither does God. His love is from everlasting to everlasting.

This is what we can focus our thoughts on...the Lamb of God, the love of God. As we do that, we will be surrounded, supported, and kept in perfect peace in the heart of God.
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