Transcript & Slides: Meditate like Mary

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Meditate like Mary
By David Feddes

Meditate like Mary. Luke 2:19 says, Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19). And if you read a little later in Luke 2, after an incident at the temple where Mary and Joseph have lost track of Jesus and don't find him until three days later, then Mary again has reason to do some thinking. And the Bible says, His mother treasured all these things in her heart (Luke 2:51).

Let's think about meditating like Mary. Now, as we do that, we want to focus, first of all, on the importance of Mary—honoring Mary—the importance of meditation. Value meditation. And then, having seen that Mary is worthwhile as a model and that meditation is very important, we'll go into a little more depth about what it's like to meditate like Mary.

Honoring Mary is not something that everybody thinks it's appropriate to do, and others go way over the top on. Meditation is something that some people have unhelpful notions about, and others just say, "Ah, meditation—that's something that I don't even want to think about or bother with." So it's important that we look at Mary's importance, and then at the importance of meditation, and then at our theme: Meditate like Mary.

When we think about Mary, there are some people who have gone overboard. Mary is someone they virtually worship. She's called the Queen of Heaven, the co-mediator with Christ—somebody whom you pray to, somebody who, like Jesus, was conceived in a miraculous way and never committed a sin in her life. The Bible says none of these things about Mary. She's not to be worshiped or prayed to or set alongside of Jesus as our mediator. She was not revealed by the Bible to be conceived in any special manner or to have been sinless throughout her life.

But having said all of that, that does not mean that therefore we don't honor Mary. And the Bible gives some important reasons to recognize Mary. For one thing, Mary is called blessed in the Bible. The angel Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, said to Mary, Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you... you have found favor with God (Luke 1:28, 30). She was somebody who received special grace and favor from God.

When her relative Elizabeth met up with Mary, then the baby within Elizabeth—the little John the Baptist—leaped within Elizabeth's womb, and Elizabeth said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear (Luke 1:42). And Mary herself, when she heard the announcement from the angel Gabriel, said, From now on all generations will call me blessed (Luke 1:48). And so we should speak of blessed Mary—the one whom God favored and used in wonderful and mighty ways.

She’s the mother of our Lord. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, said the angel, the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Elizabeth calls Mary the mother of my Lord (Luke 1:43). And we read that she gave birth to her firstborn son (Luke 2:7). The creeds say that Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary; that he was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary. His very flesh was taken from her flesh. She is the holy mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And Mary is very important as an eyewitness, as one who knew Jesus deeply and intimately, who was there in many of the great events of Jesus’ life and who is part of the community of believers. The Gospel according to Luke has this great Christmas story with the shepherds and the angels, and earlier with the announcement to Zechariah of the birth of John the Baptist, and all these great stories. Well, where do they come from?

Well, maybe the Holy Spirit tipped Luke off, but we know from Luke’s own account that he talked with a lot of different people and did some research. And we know that Luke, even though he lived far from Israel growing up, visited Jerusalem with the apostle Paul during the time when Mary and other disciples of Jesus were still living. And it is very, very likely that Luke met with Mary and got some of his stories straight from her, and then was inspired by the Holy Spirit to record them.

The Gospel of John is written by the disciple who was closest to our Lord Jesus Christ—his dearest friend, the beloved disciple. And this beloved disciple, on the cross, was told to take Mary as his own mother, and he took her into his home. And Jesus’ best friend and his own mother spent the rest of her life together. And so that Gospel of John, which is so intimate, so close to the heart of Christ—it’s no wonder, because it’s written by the man who leaned on Jesus’ shoulder at the Last Supper, by the man who lived with the woman who held Jesus in her own arms and gave him birth.

We are privileged in the Scriptures and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to hear the voice of God—and the voice of God sometimes coming through the voice of Mary and John and those people who were so close to Jesus. And so we honor Mary as that one who gave birth to Christ, as that blessed woman, as that eyewitness. You can't get any closer up than having the Son of God growing inside you. And we take her as a model. If she pondered these things in her heart, they are worth pondering.

So we honor Mary, and we value meditation.

Thomas Brooks, one of the old writers from Puritan times, said, “They usually thrive best who meditate most.” Another author from the same era said, “The reason we come away so cold from reading the Word is because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation.” We open the Bible, we read our chapter, we shut it, and we’re on with our business.

Meditation means that you take a while, that you think, that you ponder, that you spend time with the text, with the truth, with the reality that you’ve been encountering.

Some people say, “Well, I don’t know what meditation is.” I always like the statement that says, “If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate.” You got something stuck in your mind, and you're just thinking about it over and over and over and over again. That’s negative or bad meditation—but it is meditation. Meditation is having something stuck in your mind and just thinking about it repeatedly.

Maybe some of you know what it’s like to have a song stuck in your mind. If it’s a good one, then that’s a great thing. If it’s kind of a stinker but it’s stuck anyway, then you hate having that song stuck in your mind. But having a song stuck in your mind is meditation.

Basically, meditation is having something stuck in your mind—or else, if it’s not stuck there, sticking it there and paying attention till it is stuck in your mind and until you’re really beginning to derive something from it.

Here’s a statement to consider: Anything wrong in your life is either because you don't have Christ or you don't realize what you have in Christ.

I believe that statement to be true, and that statement itself is a call to meditate, to ponder, to think. Because if it's true that something is badly amiss in my life, and it means that I'm either without Christ or that I have Christ but don't realize what I have and who I have, then I need to start paying very, very careful attention. I need to meditate on what it means to receive Christ. And if I don't have Christ, then I need to think about my condition and my situation and say, well, the Bible says that the Word was God, the Word became flesh, and to all who received him he gave the power to become children of God. And so I can receive him.

And so thinking about how we receive him—by faith, by praying to him and opening the door of our heart and life and welcoming him to come in—that's worth thinking about. If you're without Christ, then ponder that and seek him till you find.

But if there's something amiss in your spirit and in your life, and you have received Christ, then it's very likely that you don't fully realize who you've received or what you've received in him. And that means that you spend a lot of time thinking about who Jesus is—as the Word, the eternal Word of God, the second person of the Trinity; who Jesus is as the one who became one of us. And what we receive in him—we receive forgiveness of sins, we receive a right standing, and his obedience is credited to us. We receive freedom from the power of the devil. We receive the ability to live a new life. We receive the right to be children of God, to call God our Father, to have Jesus as our brother, to inherit all of his riches, all he's come to bring us.

And one of the great purposes of our lives here on earth is to discover more and more of who Jesus is and who he is for us and what we've received in him. And there are no shortcuts for that. We'd like to say, "Well, I received Christ on thus and such a day, and now I've got him." Well, and so that may be. But you keep receiving Christ afresh as you're paying attention to him and dwelling on him and who he is and meditating upon him and realizing afresh just how much you've received in him and through him.

Well, how do you meditate, really? What we read of Mary is a key to that. She treasured up all these things, and she pondered them. She stored them up in her memory, and then she kept recalling them and mulling them over and deriving more and more nourishment and joy and insight from the things that she was thinking about.

So there's two aspects, at least, of meditation. One is memorizing; the other is actual meditating and paying attention to what you've memorized. The Bible says, I've stored up your word in my heart (Psalm 119:11). I will not forget your word (Psalm 119:16). That's one reason why, as a church, we emphasize and encourage memorization of the Bible. Because you hide God's Word in your heart. It's one thing to say it's on your phone and in your pocket. It's quite another thing to have it in your heart.

Some people say, "Why would I memorize anything? We've got Google. You know, if there's a verse I want to look up, I can remember one or two words of that verse and just hit Google, and boom, I'll have my verse." Yeah, uh-huh. Try that when Satan is tempting you. When Jesus was being tempted, he quoted the exact Scriptures that would send Satan packing, because he had that Word already in his heart and mind.

When it comes to what to memorize, the Bible's a very big book. Unless you're a phenom, you're not going to memorize all of it. But choose the verses that you need the most. Sometimes truths about Christ and God—realities that you need to store away in your heart. Verses of praise that really help you to worship him. Promises of God that encourage you and keep you going. Guidance that helps you to know what steps you need to take.

And this involves finding just frequent time slots. And they don't have to be hours long to memorize. Just times to say, "Okay, I'm going to look at my verse. If I'm driving, if I'm brushing my teeth, if I've just got some down time, I'm going to think about it and memorize." Keep your verses nearby—on your phone, a piece of paper, whatever—and review them and meditate on them.

For the coming year, I've chosen some verses for the church to do in Bible memory. That's a start. It's certainly not the limit of what you can do in your own Bible memory. But those Bible verses all come from John. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God... and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14). That’s the first verse that we're going to memorize.

For some of you, what we memorize will be review. It's not going to kill you. It's going to help you. Because once you know these things, they live in you more and more. The wonderful verses—the “I am” sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John—those are the things we're going to be memorizing in the year to come.

But have a plan. Because if you say, "Well, memorizing—that’d be a good thing," and then you have no plan or pattern for it, it doesn’t happen. So you do need to have some sort of approach where you're storing more and more of God's Word in your heart and mind.

And then meditate. That means, once it is in your mind, you keep thinking about it. That's one advantage of Bible memory. When you can't sleep, you have something worthwhile to think about. When you're worried, you have something else in your mind and heart that you can turn your attention to.

On the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works I will meditate (Psalm 145:5).

On the majesty and the wonder of who God is—who Christ is—and also on the things he's done. Who he is, what he's done. And meditating, as I said, is just worrying over it, running it through your mind, having it stuck in your mind. Keep thinking about it, running it through your mind over and over and over again. You ponder who God is as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—one God, three persons. You ponder all that God has done as Creator and Savior and the one who's involved in your life. You ponder his words that he's spoken and revealed. But you make meditation a part of your life.

You don't kind of do the old flap-clunk method of Bible reading where you look at your passage—boom—and now I'm out of here. Remember, one reason why we're cold is that we don't warm ourselves at the fire of meditation.

J. I. Packer wrote the book Knowing God, and there are many memorable and valuable things that he says in that book. But one of the most important is very early. He says, “How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God?” We turn each truth that we learn about God into a matter for meditation before God. We're thinking about it in the presence of God, and that leads us to prayer and praise to God.

When you read the Bible and you meditate, it spills over into prayer. And when you meditate and pray, it spills back over into the Bible that you've been studying. And your conversation with God becomes more and more real and meaningful to you.

So I hope that you'll get the message that meditation is not just for monks in monasteries. It's not just for people from Eastern religions—Buddhists or Hindus. There is a godly, biblical way of meditating that we neglect at our peril.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor who was executed by the Nazis during World War II, said, “The word of Scripture should never stop sounding in your ears and working in you all day long, just like the words of someone you love. Accept the word of Scripture and ponder it in your heart as Mary did until it has gone right into you and taken possession of you.”

Where God—you there. You've heard of demon possession. That's bad. But God-possession is what we seek—until God and his Word has gone right into you and taken over and taken possession of you.

So honor Mary. Value meditation. And then meditate like Mary. Think about some of the things that she thought about.

Perhaps you’ve heard the song Mary, Did You Know?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new
And this child that you delivered will soon deliver you?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod
And when you kiss your little baby you've kissed the face of God?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak the praises of the Lamb.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb
And this sleeping child you're holding is the great I AM?

“I AM.” That is the answer God gave when Moses asked, “Whom shall I say is sending me?” God said, I am who I am. You shall say 'I am has sent me to you' (Exodus 3:14).

Hear the voice of Jesus:

I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty (John 6:35).

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12).

I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture (John 10:9).

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11).

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die (John 11:25–26).

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

Before Abraham was born, I am! (John 8:58).

I am who I am (Exodus 3:14).

That is the baby that Mary held in her arms. It is staggering. It is inconceivable. We cannot wrap our minds around what it means that the eternal Word became flesh. All we can do is pay attention and meditate upon these things.

Mary, when she meditated, serves as a model for our meditation. So I want to encourage you, like Mary, to meditate on the incarnate Word—Jesus Christ. To meditate on the written Word—the Bible, the Holy Scriptures. To meditate on the marvel of having Jesus in your life and in your family. Because Mary is not the only one with Jesus in her life and in her family. All who receive him have him in your life and in your family. Meditate also on the life events that you're experiencing and your unique relationship with Christ. There are things that we have in common with others in having Jesus as our Savior, but each of us has our own unique personality and path that Jesus walks with us. And meditation will help us to discern and to delight in those individual things.

When Mary was meditating, she was meditating on the incarnate Word. She treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19). What sort of things was she pondering? Well, she had heard an angel of God tell her that she would give birth to a Savior who would be the Son of the Most High God and who would have a kingdom that never ends (Luke 1:31–33).

Mary, did you know? Yes, she knew. She’d been told by the angel Gabriel himself that she would be bearing the Son of the Most High God. She may not have understood fully all that was involved—but she knew.

Simeon, that old saint, took baby Jesus in his arms and said, My eyes have seen your salvation (Luke 2:30). But then he turned to Mary and said, A sword will pierce your own soul too (Luke 2:35). So Mary knew that something wonderful and something terrible lay in her future with Jesus.

Mary had wise men come, and they were bearing gifts of gold and incense and myrrh. And she knew they came because a star was operating, and that star was pointing to her Son. And she knew what they said. They said he’s the King of the Jews (Matthew 2:2).

When the shepherds came, they spoke of angels who had spoken and had given them the message that this is a Savior, Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11), and had sung Glory to God in the highest (Luke 2:14). Mary treasured up all these things and thought about them and thought about them and thought about them (Luke 2:19).

When she had to flee, she knew that God has enemies. When Herod tried to kill her child, she was a refugee in Egypt along with her husband and son for a time (Matthew 2:13–15).

When she lost her twelve-year-old, she had some thinking to do then too. She went to the temple with Joseph, with Jesus, and other relatives and family members. And Jesus accidentally got left behind, and they assumed, “Well, he’s traveling with some other relative.” And he wasn’t. So they had been traveling a day, and they check around—and there’s no Jesus to be found. And so they say, “Oops. Where is that kid?” So they make a U-turn and head back to Jerusalem. And they look for another full day. Well, it takes them a day, of course, to travel back again, and then another full day. So it’s three days since they’ve seen their twelve-year-old last. And they find him in the temple. Mary is upset. She says, “How could you do this to us?” And he said, Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house? (Luke 2:49).

You may wish that your kids were perfect. But it was sometimes hard for Mary to raise a perfect kid. The Bible says, after that incident, she again treasured all these things in her heart (Luke 2:51). She was constantly thinking about what it meant to have this Son and to bring him up.

Mary’s there when Jesus does his first miracle and changes water to wine (John 2:1–11). Mary is there at the foot of the cross, seeing her Son suffering for the salvation of the world (John 19:25). Mary is there when the disciples are praying together for the Holy Spirit to come after Jesus’ ascension. The Bible specifically says Mary the mother of Jesus was with the disciples, praying (Acts 1:14). Mary, all through her Son’s journey, was there—observing, pondering, meditating on the meaning of his life and what is going on that God is doing in this Child.

The Bible doesn’t tell us all that Mary said or thought about Jesus. There are not a lot of cute stories about his childhood. I’d like to know—what’s it like bringing up that particular boy? What did he do? What was he like? How did you and your husband handle all that? I wonder whether when we get to heaven, we can have a conversation with Mary and say, “Mary, what was it like? Can you fill in some of the blanks?” Maybe she’ll oblige us and tell us more. And maybe she’ll smile and say, “That’s between him and me.” There was a lot that was just between Jesus and Mary.

The same is true of the apostle John. John is Jesus’ closest friend, and he writes the Gospel of John. We’d like to learn all kinds of details about Jesus from his best friend. But the first thing John says is in his gospel is this: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). John is not giving buddy details here. He’s telling us what we need to know—that we can receive and believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord. What we have in the Bible is certainly not every detail that we’d be curious about. But it is all that God wants all of us to know—that we may know Christ as he is, and know him as Savior, and keep growing and flourishing in him.

Mary meditated on the incarnate Word. And when you meditate, whatever else you might meditate on, think a lot about Jesus. Think a lot about the various things the Bible does say about him—his miracles, his teaching, who he is as the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity.

Our biggest help in this is meditating on the written Word. Mary and John don’t share every detail we’re curious about. But the written Word has what we need to know. John says there were countless other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written (John 21:25). But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31).

So there are things that we don’t know, that we wish we could know about Jesus’ life on earth. There are also things that we simply cannot know because they’re too big, and they are hidden in the depths of God.

When you read in Revelation chapter 19, there is a vision of Jesus Christ—great and terrible—with his eyes shining like fire, and with a sword, and in all his majesty and his many crowns. And the Bible says that his name is Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11). He is called King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). He is called the Word of God (Revelation 19:13). So it says these things about the great Jesus and the names he's given, and it says one more thing: He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself (Revelation 19:12). There are things about the divine reality of Jesus Christ that nobody knows, nobody will ever know, nobody can know—because God is beyond knowing.

So whether it’s the interesting or curious details of his human life or the hidden vast depths of his divine life, there are things that we don’t know and we won’t know and we can’t know.

But praise God for what we do know. Because he has not kept silent. He didn’t tell us every little thing about his life, but he told us that the Word became flesh (John 1:14). He told us about what he did in some of his miracles and his mighty teachings. He tells us that he died for our sins, that he rose from the dead, that he came to make us like himself.

That’s a lot to know—a lot to think about. And as we think about those things, we can also marvel and say, “It’s wonderful to know that there’s a lot we don’t know,” and just worship Jesus rather than figure him out. So meditate on the written Word, the Bible, and it will lead you more and more into knowledge of the incarnate Word, Jesus.

Then meditate on the marvel of having Jesus in your life and in your family. I mentioned what happened at the temple when Mary got kind of frustrated with Jesus. Meditate on God's purposes in your life. And if you have children, what might be some of God's purposes in your children's lives? And how can you recognize what is unique and special about your child, and how you can aid and encourage and move them along the path that Jesus has them on?

That takes some attention. That takes some meditation on “Who is this kid, anyway?” And you probably have asked that for other reasons sometimes. But “Who is this kid, anyway?”—sometimes, maybe even when you're frustrated and peeved, it's worth asking, “Who is this kid, anyway?”

Because when Mary was ticked off at Jesus, she pondered. And she thought, “Well, I guess, you know, I know who he is. So I can't say he's wrong.” But there was something about him that doesn’t fit in comfortably with how I want things to be. There’s more to him. And of course that’s supremely true of Jesus. But that’s often true of your own kids too.

They are inconvenient by not being you. They are inconvenient by not being the imagined version you have of them. You have to pay attention to who they really are and then ask God’s help to make you who you need to be to help them along that path. That’s a very great and challenging calling for each of us. And it calls for attention, for pondering, for meditation, for praising God that he's given you children.

The Bible—Jesus says, Anyone who receives one of these little children in my name receives me (Mark 9:37). Bring him up the way you’d bring him up with the same attention, with the same meditation, with the same love that Mary and Joseph gave to their Son. Ponder that child’s identity and God’s plans for that child.

And remember what Jesus also said. One time, somebody said, “Oh, blessed is your mom. Blessed is the womb that gave you birth and the breasts that nursed you.” And Jesus said, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it (Luke 11:27–28). He wasn’t trying to diss his mother. He was saying, “You know, my mom—blessed as she was—is not set apart from the whole rest of the human race. In coming in her, I became part of the human race. And anybody who’s connected with me is my brother and my sister and my mother.”

Think about that. If you want to meditate about something, take that one for today. You are his brother, his sister, his mother—when you do the will of God (Matthew 12:50).

Meditate on the wonder that you have the eternal Son of God involved in your life on an ongoing basis. And then meditate on the events of your life and your unique relationship with God.

I emphasize most of all, of course, meditating on who Jesus is as the incarnate Son of God and the written Word of God. And I don’t want to encourage a bunch of navel-gazing and thinking about “wonderful old me.” But there is a uniqueness also to your walk with God.

In Revelation, Jesus says, To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it (Revelation 2:17). There is something unique about every person’s relationship with God—things of Jesus that you may know in a somewhat different way than anybody else who knows Jesus has experienced. There is too much of Jesus for any one of us to fully appreciate and display his wonders. But each of us has certain things that are part of our relationship—part of my relationship.

Maybe an example would be just the way that different kids in a family relate to a parent. I think of my kids, and one of them might say, “You know, my dad—he really likes to read books with us. He read this and that book with us and with the grandkids.” And another one might say, “Well, I think of Dad more as the one who liked to watch figure skating.” And that, of course, provokes a few snickers from others—because a dad watching figure skating. Another: “Oh, but my dad—he’s the one who’s good at math. He helped me a little bit on my math.” “My dad likes coaching basketball—that’s his thing.” “No, my dad loves to talk philosophy on long car rides—and theology.” And I suppose there is some truth to all of that.

Various kids: “My dad is the one who likes editing my books.” Or “My dad’s the one who would always put me to bed and sing my favorite hymn.” And—well, yeah, all of that’s kind of true. That is true. But they may say, “Now, Dad loves doing ________.” They may think that’s a fact about me, but it’s just as much—maybe more so—a fact about them.

Do you think I really loved figure skating that much? I liked watching figure skating because I love the person who likes figure skating. I loved doing some of those other things, and maybe I enjoyed them myself. But the biggest part of the enjoyment is doing it with the people I love.

And so it is with Jesus—only much, much more so. And he knows you a lot better than I know my own kids. But Jesus has something going with each person whose heart he’s living in and whose life he’s involved in. And he enjoys doing those things with you—but mainly because he enjoys you.

And meditation is paying attention. You know, this week one of my kids had plumbing problems. And part of plumbing problems is, “Well, what is the Lord up to in this?” You think, “The devil’s out to get me.” Yeah, well maybe he is. But maybe the Lord’s got a purpose in all that too.

There are a lot of different events in our life where you think about it—what is really going on with this? The trials you go through, the joys you have, the birth of a new baby—all of these things are events that Christ has sent into your life for reasons. Because you’re precious to him.

And so meditate on the life events. When you think about the Word of God, the Holy Spirit will bring to your mind events in your life that that Word of God you're meditating on will apply to. On the other hand, when you're thinking about this or that event in your life and meditating on what's going on with that, the Lord will often bring to your mind words from Scripture that shed light on that thing that’s going on in your life.

And so in all of this, we receive that white stone with a name written on it, known only to the one who receives it (Revelation 2:17). There may be people in heaven who ask you, “Well now, what was Jesus doing in your life?” And you may share some things and say, “And that’s about enough. The rest is between me and him.” You know, it’s not a snotty, exclusive little thing. But there are things that are meant for public testimony and sharing. There are other things that are a precious secret between you and Jesus.

I know for myself, meditating is part of my job. It just is. And that’s an occupational hazard—because then the only time you meditate is when you’ve got another sermon to crank out. So you take your passage, you think about it, you think about it some more: “Okay, now what am I going to say to other people?”

But the most precious part of meditation and of memorization for me are the passages that I memorize that I never recite to you. Are the insights and the joys and the tears in meditation that I say nothing about to you—because, well, it’s not your business. I have a calling to talk, and I also have a calling to shut up and relate to God.

Not all of you have the same occupational hazard I have of meditating for a living. But I encourage you: meditate on Jesus. Treasure him and all of who he is. Meditate like Mary. Ponder in your heart who he is in the Word, who he is in himself, who he is in your family situation, and who he is to you—you especially and uniquely.

Prayer

Father, help us to learn from the holy mother of Jesus. Help us, Lord Jesus, to treasure you, to ponder you, to realize more and more who you are and what we have in you. Help us to receive you as Savior—and then to keep on receiving, and receiving. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Meditate like Mary
By David Feddes
Slide Contents

Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19)

His mother treasured all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:51)

Meditate like Mary

• Honor Mary
• Value meditation
• Meditate like Mary

 

Blessed Mary

Gabriel: Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you… you have found favor with God. (Luke 1:28, 30)

Elizabeth: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! (1:42)

Mary: “From now on all generations will call me blessed.” (1:48)

Mother Mary

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will over-shadow you; so the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. (1:35)

… the mother of my Lord (Luke 1:43)

She gave birth to her firstborn son. (2:7)

Eyewitness Mary

• Luke likely met Mary (Acts 21:7) and drew upon her memories and meditations. (Luke 1:2-3)
• John became Mary’s son and lived with her (John 19:26-27). His writing flowed from being Jesus’ closest friend and knowing Jesus’ mother.

Meditate like Mary

• Honor Mary
• Value meditation
• Meditate like Mary

Value meditation

They usually thrive best who meditate most. (Thomas Brooks)

The reason we come away so cold from reading the Word is because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation. (Thomas Watson)

Anything wrong in your life is either because you don’t have Christ, or you don’t realize what you have in Christ.

Receiving Christ

• Who we receive
• How we receive
• What we receive

Memorize & meditate

Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19)

His mother treasured all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:51)

• Treasured: stored in memory
• Pondered: meditated long and often

Memorize

I have stored up your word in my heart... I will not forget your word. (Ps 119:11, 16)

• Choose verses you need most: truths, praises, promises, guidance
• Find frequent time slots
• Keep verses nearby (phone, paper)
• Review regularly; meditate on verses

Meditate

On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. (Ps 145:5)

• Dwell upon, keep thinking about, run through mind over and over
• Healthy meditation ponders the Trinity’s being, works, and words.

Knowing God
How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? We turn each truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God. (J. I. Packer)

Possessed
The word of Scripture should never stop sounding in your ears and working in you all day long, just like the words of someone you love… accept the Word of Scripture and ponder it in your heart, as Mary did... until it has gone right into you and taken possession of you. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Meditate like Mary

• Honor Mary
• Value meditation
• Meditate like Mary

Meditate Like Mary

• Meditate on the incarnate Word.
• Meditate on the written Word.
• Meditate on the marvel of having Jesus in your life and family.
• Meditate on life events and your unique relationship with Christ.

As you meditate on the Word, the Spirit shows applications to life events. Christ enters more deeply into your life.

As you meditate on your life events, the Spirit will bring Bible truths to mind. You enter more deeply into Christ’s life.

The Spirit shows your spirit which thoughts and emotions are from Christ.