Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 248 BOCNEWS.com SEPTEMBER 2016 Meditation In America "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and suc- cessful." — Joshua 1 :8 (NTV) This is a companion article to Prayer in America (Body of Christ News­August 2016). Like love and marriage, meditation and prayer have deep­ seated connections in the Bible. Regarding meditating, the purpose of the practice is to offer devotion to God, to obtain a profound under- standing and to garner genuine peace and understanding by thinking about the Creator. Many who engage in meditation do so to reach a spiritual presence and union with God. As the psalmist wrote: "Oh, how I love Your Law! It is my meditation all the day ... I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation" (Psalm 119: 97,99). In addition to mentioning God's commandments, other psalms refer to meditating on God's work-His mir- acles and creative power-and His glo- rious splendor (Psalms 143:5; 145:5). Focusing on our great God helps us keep ourselves in perspective. And God remembers those who rever- ently meditate on His name-signify- ing His qualities and characteristics. Under God's inspiration, the proph- et Malachi wrote, "Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one anoth- er, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remem- brance was writ- ten before Him for those who fear the LORD and who medi- tate on His name" (Malachi 3: 16). The following information, about the frequency of Christian meditation in the United States (2014 Pew Forum Research Center religious landscape study), inspired the writing of this narrative. ■ ■ At least once a week: 40%. ■ ■ Once or twice a month: 8%. ■ ■ Several times a year: 4%. ■ ■ Seldom/never: 45%. In addition, motivation to pen this writing came from a disturbing blog on Christian meditation written by Michael Bennett. Bennett said: "Our 21st century is not likely to go down in history as the age of thinking. The age of distrac- tion, of entertainment, of 24/7 tech- nological connectivity, perhaps. But deep thinking? Not much." He added, "Many people would rather inflict pain on themselves than spend 15 minutes with nothing to do but think., accord- ing to researcher at the University of Virginia and Harvard University. Two- thirds of the men and a quarter of the women in the study decided to shock themselves rather than just sit and think. Most people do not enjoy 'just thinking' and clearly prefer something else to do (obtained from a report published in the journal Science)." Bennett closed by saying "Yet the Bible encourages a type of deep think- ing that is very beneficial in this life- and even more in preparation for the next life. God wants us to meditate- to focus our thoughts on important things for an eternal purpose. He shows us how and why a follower of Christ should learn the art of biblical meditation." Here is what three well-known Christian leaders have said about meditation: ■ ■ Jim Downing in his powerful book 'Meditation:' "God considers medi- tation a vital exercise of the minds of His children." ■ ■ Rick Warren states in one of the best selling Christian books in modem times, 'The Purpose Driven Life,' "Meditation is focused on thinking. It takes serious effort. You select a verse and reflect on it over and over in your mind ... you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate." Adding, Warren goes on to say: "No other habit can do more to transform your life and make you more like Jesus than daily reflection on Scripture ... If you look up all the times God speaks about medita- tion in the Bible, you will amaze at the benefits He has promised to those who take the time to By Ben L. Walton, Cnl, US Army (Ret.) Ben L. Walton Continued on Page 11 SERMON