Here’s another interesting, thoughtful message from the pen of Reverend Mark Adams, Pastor of Redland Baptist Church in Rockville, Maryland:
Walter Zimmerman has what can be described as a high-pressure job. He predicts the direction of movement on the world energies market for institutions such as airlines and oil companies. He’s well paid—earning about $500,000 per month—but his clients expect him to be worth his high fee. They expect him to be right.
A few bad calls on his part could destroy him professionally and financially. Zimmerman’s job is not for the faint of heart and he knows it: he’s watched most of his peers’ burn out long ago. But Zimmerman has a secret weapon that he claims enables him to remain calm and keeps his mind sharp and focused.
Actually, the weapon isn’t really a secret. It’s meditation. Zimmerman says that forty minutes of meditation in the morning and at night helps give him the clarity he needs to make quick, insightful (and accurate) analysis of the ever-changing market.
Steve May writes, “There’s a reason the Bible tells us again and again to meditate. It’s good for you. One recent study found evidence that the daily practice of meditation thickened the parts of the brain’s cerebral cortex responsible for decision making, attention and memory. The study was based on a type of meditation in which one focuses on a single image or sound, or simply focuses on one’s breathing. The result of this simple type of meditation is better health and mental acuity.”
With this in mind, imagine the result of a more Godly type of meditation … a meditation that focuses your thoughts on any aspect of our Heavenly Father: His Word, His promises, His presence, His power, His law, His love. How would that kind of meditation affect your life? The Psalmist answers this question: “Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on Your statutes.” (Psalm 119:97-99)
If you want to try meditation, may I suggest the following steps:
1. Sit, stand, or kneel … whichever you prefer.
2. Look up, look down, or close your eyes … whichever you prefer.
3. Breathe deeply and slowly. This helps you slow down your mind.
4. Think about God.Do this for two minutes or ten minutes, and you’ll experience the difference. With practice you’ll get better, but you’ll experience the difference right away. In prayerful meditation, we experience God’s presence, God’s power, and God’s peace.”
Follow May’s instructions and I think you’ll find that meditation is one way we can … KEEP THE SON IN OUR EYES!
© 2012 Mark Adams
Pentecost . . .
Sunday, May 27th marks the annual observance of Pentecost … commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ofJesus as described in the second chapter of Acts. For this reason, many consider this to be the birthday of our Christian church.
The first three verses of Acts Two describe the descending of the Holy Spirit this way:
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven
and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed
to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.”
