KEY SCRIPTURE:”1Timothy 4:8 NET For “physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.”

According to our key scripture, physical exercise has benefits limited to the physical body, but godliness has benefits for now and the life to come. Godliness involves the practice of things of the spirit. This involves, prayer, Bible study, meditation on the scriptures, practicing the word, fasting and every other thing that trains your spirit. These practices basically instruct our minds. The mind is the door way to our spirit. When the mind is fully enlightened with the scriptures, the spirit of man has perfect control over the whole body. A mind that is not enlightened with the scriptures shuts up the spirit in. In such a case the body controls the whole being. The result is carnality,

 One major godly practice that brings the mind under the strong influence of the Spirit is meditation. Scriptural meditation is different from oriental meditation. Whiles oriental meditation seeks to achieve a state of a void in the mind, scriptural meditation, tries to let the scriptures fill the mind by either reflecting on it, or repeating it to yourself over and over again for some time. Apostle Paul instructed Timothy as follows: 1Ti 4:15 KJV “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all”. He asked him to give attention to the scriptures by reflecting on them. This form of meditation is quite silent.

In Joshua 1:8 the Lord asked Joshua to keep the laws of Moses in his mouth and meditate on them day and night. He was to practice the act of saying the scriptures to himself over and over again. The word meditates used in that scripture is the Hebrew word ‘hagah’. It means to growl, mutter, muse, speak, roar.  You could meditate by muttering the scriptures to yourself over sometime. Muttering the scriptures over and over again builds the image and a consciousness of the word in your mind and ultimately into your heart. Doing what has been established in your heart becomes very normal or simple.

CONFESSIION

 I feed my heart with the word of God. I meditate on the scripture’s day and night. My mind is fully enlightened by the word. My spirit then has total control over my whole body. I profit as a result and it appears to all.

FURTHER STUDIES

Psalms 77:6 ISV During the night I remembered my song.   I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.

Psalms 119:78 ISV “May the arrogant become ashamed, because they have subverted me with deceit; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.”