meditation – La Vista Church of Christ

Are You Too Busy to Meditate?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 22:12:51 +0000

by Ross Statham
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 22 No. 1, March 1996

Americans are known in other countries as busy people, and for the most part it’s true. My co-workers and customers at work all share the same refrain as my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus: they all tell me how “incredibly busy” they are. Why? Don’t we Americans have more labor-saving devices than ever? Fewer work hours? Enjoy more leisure time? (Statistics say that we do.)

Most of us get up early every morning, get the kids to school, commute to work, work all day, and drive home. But what do we do when we get home and get settled? Most of us turn on the television, sit down, and be entertained until bedtime.

Dr. Denis Waitley, the well-known behavioral psychologist and author of The Psychology of Winning, says each person's values result from what goes into their brain day in and day out. (Sound like scripture?) He strongly condemns most television, and he particularly condemns our getting sucked into watching the news. “Good news doesn’t sell,” says Dr. Waitley. “We subconsciously enjoy seeing failure in others, because it makes our own failures look minor.” He says that we should find “more productive and less entertaining” things to do with our leisure time.

Ten years ago I was in another city on business one Wednesday evening, and I attended mid-week study at a congregation that had been recommended. During the auditorium class discussion, the subject turned to ‘the low quality of what’s on television.’ I listened as seven or eight people complained, moaned, and groaned, wondering when the teacher would steer the discussion toward the biblical view.

I finally had to raise my hand. “Please excuse me for saying this,” I said. “I’m in the electronics industry, and I’ve learned that when a piece of equipment isn’t doing what I want, I find the switch and turn it off. Rather than complain about what’s on television, why don’t you turn it off and do something more positive instead?” and mentioned a few scriptures. Unfortunately, my observation wasn’t taken in the spirit in which it was intended, as about a third of the class actually turned around in their pews and stared hard at me. I was pointedly snubbed after church.

What does God say we should be doing? In Philippians 4:8 we read:

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things."

Brothers and sisters, we aren’t going to get “truth” from The Discovery Channel, “noble thoughts” from PBS, “justice” from A&E, or “purity” from the O.J. Simpson trial on CNN Headline News. We won’t learn about Godly “love” from Fox Television, and we won’t learn “virtue” or “praiseworthy” things from watching the ball game. All of these things (including the news) are entertainment.

I’m sure that you’ve noticed the improper words that have somehow slipped into your vocabulary. Where did those words come from? You’ve probably noticed that the young and not-so-young aren’t dressing as modestly as they did ten years ago. You may have had to confront firsthand a problem with fornication and adultery among our own young, our own middle-aged, even our own elders, deacons, and evangelists. Where did these evil influences come from?

I maintain that we are addicted to this evil, wicked influence, and I challenge you to a simple experiment. Unplug your television for only one month. Read your Bible. Pray. Meditate. Talk to your spouse. Play with your children, or better, read the Bible with them. Am I being too extreme? Jesus said in Matthew 5:29, "And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."

When the month is over, allow yourself one to two hours of television each week if you still think you’ve “gotta have it...” Know what you’ll be able to do with all of that time you’ll have on your hands? Grow in the Lord.

Meditation

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 27 Oct 2024 18:53:22 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Meditation.mp3

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by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

Text: Psalms 119:145-152

I. It is one of those minor points brought out by the Bible; a seemingly incidental detail that you almost overlook - Genesis 24:63

A. Isaac took a stroll in the evening in a field to meditate.

1. We are given a hint as to why in Genesis 24:67. The death of his mother still weighed heavy on his soul.

2. He was out for some quiet time

B. We don’t often talk about meditating.

1. Eastern religions have made it an essential part of their religion.

2. We think about the guru on the mountain top, looking within himself, to gain better understanding of himself.

a. But it is only a “truth” as you or I would perceive life.

b. It might lead you to a better understanding of your wants or desires, but such ideas would hardly be the Truth

3. Of course, western religions have their meditators.

a. But joining an order of monks in seclusion from the world cannot equip a person for life.

b. Real life has its sorrows and trials, but I doubt managed discomfort can give us greater understanding of life’s problems.

C. Meditation is mentioned frequently in the Bible.

1. It was not reserved for the religious class but was practiced by everyday people.

II. Meditation is to dwell upon a subject in thought

A. There are several Hebrew words which are translated as meditate

1. Suwach, as Isaac did, means to muse on a matter

2. Siyach means to ponder, to talk to one’s self, to rehearse a matter in your mind. (No, it is not a sign of senility!) Psalms 145:5 (“speak”)

3. Hagah means to murmur as you ponder. Talking under your breath, so others don’t understand what you are saying.

a. The thoughts of your heart - Psalms 49:3

4. Higgayown means to make a whispered sound

a. In other words, meditation through music

(1) Psalms 92:3 - “resounding sound”

(2) Psalms 19:14 - “mediation” of the heart

5. Chazah means to contemplate a mental image, to see something in your mind. Sometimes used in conjunction with meditation

a. Psalms 27:4 - to behold the beauty of the Lord and meditate in his temple

b. Proverbs 24:32 - To see and consider

B. In the Greek, words that are translated mediate

1. Meletao - to resolve a matter in your mind

a. I Timothy 4:15

2. Logizomai- To take inventory. To reason a matter to a conclusion

a. Philippians 4:8 - “think” on these things

C. As you can see meditating doesn’t mean chanting a word over and over or humming a monotone sound. It is giving a matter deep thought. - Psalms 77:1-15

1. Meditation in eastern religions aims to think of nothing

2. Meditation in the Bible is to think of something deeply

III. It is done in quiet places because you don’t want any interruptions

A. Isaac going out into a field in the evening

B. Meditating on your bed - Psalms 4:4

C. Looking forward to the night watch to do some serious thinking - Psalms 119:147-148

D. It is not restricted to these times. It can be done at anytime there is a need - Psalms 55:17 (NASB is not well translated - should be meditate and cry aloud)

IV. What requires our deeper thoughts

A. God’s work

1. Considering the aid God has given in the past - Psalms 143:5-6

2. Speak of (meditate on) God’s wondrous works - Psalms 105:1-5

B. More often, though, the Bible speaks of meditating on God’s law

1. Psalms 1:1-2 - The righteous meditates on God’s law

2. Psalms 119:14-16 - A delight to meditate on God’s law

3. Psalms 119:47-48 - Because he loves God’s law

4. Man so often despises any restriction that the very idea of laws are what many detest.

a. Can you imagine anyone waxing so eloquently about the IRS codes?

b. There is a beauty in God’s law which makes it like no other - Psalms 19:7-11

c. David loved the laws of God - Psalms 119:97

C. Righteous and pure things - Philippians 4:8

V. What meditation does for us

A. Meditation is a part of our learning process

B. It gives us deeper insight - Psalms 119:97-104

1. It makes us wiser. It gives us experience without the age.

C. It gives us understanding - Psalms 49:3

D. It helps us not to forget - Joshua 1:8

1. If something is going to be firmly planted in your brain, you need to go over it again and again.

2. This is why Timothy was to be “absorbed” by these things - I Timothy 4:13-16

VI. Do not let God’s words slip out of your thoughts. Ponder them. Learn from them. And apply them to your life.

Things to Remember

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 04 Sep 2022 19:24:39 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Things-to-Remember.mp3

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

Text: Ecclesiastes 1:3-11

I. There are so many things to remember!

A. Need to tie a string around my finger, but then I wouldn’t be able to bend it – there would be so many strings tied there.

B. Then there are organizers: paper and electronic, for the technically inclined, which work so long as you remember to bring them and keep them up-to-date.

C. But there is the convenient excuse: “I’m getting older”

D. However, no matter how hectic our lives become, there are things we need to always remember.

II. Remember God

A. Ecclesiastes 12:1 - Build a habit of remembering God early in life

B. Showing a strong desire to remember God - Isaiah 26:7-10

C. God built many memory aids into the Old Law

1. Tassels to remember to be obedient - Numbers 15:38-41

2. Sabbath day to remember freedom from slavery - Deuteronomy 5:15

3. The feast of Unleavened Bread was remember the exodus - Deuteronomy 16:3

D. Young people were to ask their elders about the past - Deuteronomy 32:6-7

E. Parents were to teach and thus help their memory - Deuteronomy 4:9-10; 6:4-9

F. Why? Because complacency breeds forgetfulness - Deuteronomy 6:10-12

G. We need to remember too - II Timothy 2:7-9

H. Israel managed to forget God - Judges 8:34

1. They forgot for countless days - Jeremiah 2:32

2. The result is condemnation - Psalm 9:17

I. God authority is eternal and His memory will last - Psalm 135:13

1. Man may forget, but God will not forget - Isaiah 49:15-16

2. Though man doesn’t deserve salvation, it is why God offers it - Hebrews 2:6

III. Remember God’s Word

A. Don’t forget, as it will benefit us - Proverbs 4:1-9

B. Paul taught to remember Christ’s words - Acts 20:35

C. Remember the words of the apostles - Jude 17

D. Israel was destroyed by forgetting - Hosea 4:6

E. We must not be forgetful hearers - James 1:21-25

F. The 119^th Psalm is filled with the phrase “I will not forget.” - Psalm 119:16, 61, 83, 93, 109, 141, 153, 176

1. How do we remember? By considering God’s word - II Peter 1:15

2. By doing God’s word - James 1:25

IV. Remember others

A. Others’ kindness and service

1. Paul remembered others in his prayers - Philemon 4-7; I Thessalonians 1:2-4; Ephesians 1:15-16; Philippian 1:3-6

2. When was the last time you prayed thanking God for those around you?

3. Remember those who work for your good - Hebrews 13:7

B. Others’ who need help

1. Hebrews 13:2 - Don’t forget to entertain strangers

2. Hebrews 13:3 - Remember those imprisoned for Christ

3. Hebrews 13:16 - Don’t forget to do good

4. Galatians 2:10 - Remember the poor

5. Galatians 6:10 - Do good as we have opportunity

C. Others might forget, but God remembers - Hebrews 6:10

V. Remember God has offered forgiveness

A. When we don’t grow, we forget - II Peter 1:8-11

B. This is why we are urged to remember Christ’s death - I Corinthians 11:23-26

Rules for Prosperity and Success

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 10 Jan 2021 20:32:46 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Rules-for-Prosperity-and-Success.mp3

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

Text: Joshua 1:1-9

I. Moses had died and Joshua now finds himself the leader of a nation about to conquer a land to claim as their own.

A. God appears to Joshua and offers words of encouragement - Joshua 1:7-9

B. The advise was excellent for Joshua, but it is also useful for you and I - Romans 15:4

C. This is the time of year when many graduate, leave home, and begin their own life

1. In some ways, it too is a daunting task

2. There are so many possibilities, both good and bad

3. There is excitement, but there is an element of dread or even fear

D. How can a person succeed? The answer is still the same.

II. God’s advice

A. Be strong

1. It must be important, it is mentioned four times in just this one chapter - Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 18

2. As David approach death, he told his son the same thing - I Kings 2:2

3. Christians receive the same advice - I Corinthians 16:13

a. It is not telling us to go lift weights

b. It is not telling us to be strong headed or stubborn

4. “Be strong” appears 31 times in the Scriptures

5. You see, a man of moral character is going to face a lot of opposition in this world.

a. After all Satan is seeking to bring good men down - I Peter 5:8

b. You will find that when faced with opposition, most people seek appeasement

(1) They don’t want trouble. They don’t want the boat rocked.

(2) “Can’t we just somehow get along?”

c. And so in the name of peace, they will a satisfactory compromise.

d. The problem is that right and wrong are not considered. If you are in the right, any compromise compromises the integrity of truth

e. Governments saw this lesson with Hitler.

(1) The more the European nations tried to reach a compromise, the more Hitler took.

(2) It took the strong leadership of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt to conquer

f. Ronald Reagan illustrated this principle when he bluntly took a stand that communism and the Soviet Union were evil.

(1) Oh, the horrors of it all! People were certain that World War III would begin any moment.

(2) But strangely, his strong stand directly led to the Soviet Union’s collapse and communism as an economic system became unpopular for decades.

6. It is not just strength in you position, but a firm confidence that you are doing what is right - Ephesians 6:10

a. We need to be naive about sin, but knowledgeable and confident about what the Lord want from us - I Corinthians 14:20

b. Have a faith that is acceptable to God and live it without doubting yourself - Romans 14:22-23

7. You do not have to compromise what is right to succeed in life.

a. People will be appalled.

b. You’ll be seen as a trouble maker

c. But in the end, you will still be right

B. Be very courageous

1. What better illustration of courage than Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego? - Daniel 3:12-18

2. Or Daniel? - Daniel 6:3-10

3. Christians were told - II Peter 1:5

a. Just what is virtue?

b. Greek: arete means manliness in doing what is right

c. It is taking a stand that is worthy of praise - Philippians 4:8

d. It is the courage to do what is right.

4. When it comes to moral principles, ethics, and religion, we have a lot of nervous Nellies

a. The cowardly will not reach heaven - Revelation 21:8

b. God did not give us the spirit of timidity - II Timothy 1:7-14

C. Observe to do according to all the law

1. Taking a firm stand is useless if you are not standing up for what is right

2. The apostles showed this courage - Acts 4:18-20; 5:27-29

3. And it cannot be a partial obedience. We have to do it all. - Matthew 28:19-20

4. Colossians 3:17 - Everything with God’s approval, with God’s authority behind it.

5. Partial obedience is not obedience, Saul found out - I Samuel 15:20-23

6. Partial truth is not truth - Psalm 119:160

D. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left

1. Oh, that the world would see this! People build religions to suit themselves and not God - Galatians 1:6-10

2. Romans 16:17-18 - Change is a deception, serving man and not our Lord

3. II John 8-11 - Not staying within the bounds set is call an evil deed!

E. Meditate in it day and night

1. How do you get to be a good piano player? You practice, practice, practice and then you practice more. You think about it constantly. It haunts your dreams.

2. How do you succeed in staying with the Truth and thereby serving God? You practice it, practice it, practice it, and then you practice it more. You think about it constantly until you even dream about it - Hebrews 5:13-14

3. Psalm 1:1-3 - The blessed man mediates on God’s law day and night.

4. It pays off - Psalm 119:97-99

5. Think! - Philippians 4:8

F. Do not be afraid

1. If we must fear anyone, it ought to be God - Matthew 10:28

2. Fearful people do not work - Matthew 25:24-29

3. Right cannot be stopped - Hebrews 13:5-6

G. Do not be dismayed

1. In other words: Don’t give up! Don’t quit!

2. Quitters don’t succeed. They don’t make it to the finish line - Hebrews 3:11-12; 4:1

3. Steadfast, immovable - I Corinthians 15:58

III. Does this mean that following these rules will give us fame and fortune here on this earth?

A. No; but then, who wants temporary fortune? - II Peter 3:10-14

B. Paul’s example - II Timothy 4:6-8

C. Will you be able to say the same?

Reflecting on the Day

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 23:24:03 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Reflecting-on-the-Day.mp3

by Raymond Warfel

Should I be “in the moment” or constantly thinking?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Fri, 01 Sep 2017 02:10:00 +0000

Question:

How should a Christian think? I myself am a deep thinker and catch myself in my head thinking about eternity and thinking about heaven, and sometimes I am not present when talking to people -- I am a million miles away. I have heard all these eastern things about being "present." I'm not going to follow their advice because I believe it is not of God. But how should a Christian think? Should I be "in the moment" or constantly thinking?

Answer:

"There is an appointed time for everything.
And there is a time for every event under heaven --
A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace" (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

This is not so much a right or wrong question but a realization that timing is important. When you are talking with people, then you need to be listening. "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak ..." (James 1:19). It is rude to be pretending to converse with someone but not actually listen to what the other person is saying. How can you know what to say next if you have not heard? "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one" (Colossians 4:6).

This is not to say that you can't spend time thinking deeply. You just have to select times when it is appropriate.

"Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still" (Psalms 4:4).

"One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple" (Psalms 27:4).

"When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches" (Psalms 63:6).

"O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day" (Psalms 119:97).

"My eyes anticipate the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word" (Psalms 119:148).

Pick idle times, boring times, and times when there isn't anything particular you need to focus on at the moment for your meditations.

How do I meditate on God’s word?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 02:00:00 +0000

Question:

Please, can you teach me deep insight about meditating on God's Word and how to meditate?

Answer:

"My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word" (Psalms 119:148).

The term means nothing more than learning God's word and then thinking about it during the day (or night). David said he used to think about the teachings in the Bible while on guard duty at night -- it helped him stay awake.