Media Meditation: Yoked

Download your free Media Meditation handouts for the Get Revived Online Conference! I will be presenting Wednesday March 17 at 10:00am Central Time. The study is also available for download/print by clicking here! Be on the lookout for the second part of the series, Master Meditation, in a couple months!

There are two voices in the world today: The Voice of God and the Voice of the Enemy. The Voice of God can be compared to a soft whisper (1 Kings 19:12). The Voice of the Enemy can be compared to a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). Humans are merely receivers of these two voices, and we act in accordance to the one we fill ourselves up with most. We were created to be vessels of God's glory; however, we have free choice and we can choose to be vessels of the Enemy's deceit (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Jesus tells us to take His yoke upon us (Matthew 11:29-30). A yoke is a tool used to team two oxen together so that they may work in the same effort. In the book of Job, when Job's wealth is assessed, the animals are individually counted except for his oxen. The oxen are always counted in pairs (Job 42:12).

A yoke signifies room for two -- a pair. If we are not completely yoked to Jesus, then the Enemy is gaining access as well. If we are not 100% sold out to Christ, we will find ourselves at any moment yoked to the kingdom of the Enemy. Sadly, we become lukewarm Christians tossed back and forth by the waves of our culture (Revelations 3:15-16) & (Ephesians 4:14).

How can we have the abundant (overflowing) life that God promises when we our allowing ourselves to be yoked to the Enemy? If we are yoked to the Enemy, we won't be able to fully sow a bountiful harvest because he will assuredly force us to either stop, get distracted or completely mess up the plowing. Our necks will become tired and covered with soars. Our backs will begin hurting, and we'll fall over in exhaustion. Only Jesus' yoke is light and easy to bear.

I think many of us deceive ourselves into thinking that we are just neutral. We are not fully committed to God, yet we think that we are not committed to the Enemy either. Sadly, this is not true. We are either yoked to the Kingdom of God or we are yoked to the Kingdom of the Enemy. There is no middle ground.

God knows that we will make mistakes, and we are given unmerited favor (grace) because of His love for us. But it is my earnest cry to the Lord that I be yoked to Him! I don't want to be a puppet for the Enemy. I don't want to look back to moments in my past and realize that I was used by the kingdom of the Enemy to do his awful bidding. I hate the enemy, and I want to claim victory over his schemes.

How can I do that? I can I make an effort to yoke myself to the Holy Spirit so that the times I'm used by the Enemy become less frequent?

I have to listen for the soft voice of God. Psalm 19 says that the voice of God is everywhere. It is in the heavens and the earth, and all of creation shouts His glory. But we can't hear God's soft whispers when we are consumed by the roars of the Enemy.

The Enemy is loud and his roar echoes through our mainstream culture, especially the different channels of media. I hear his lies shouting through the TV and screaming through the radio. His roar is pulsating through mainstream magazines and yelling through books. The Enemy deafens our ears with the Internet, and we forget what the glory of God looks like.

My desire is that Christians shut the Enemy up! We need to stop listening to him in our homes, in our cars, at our work and with our friends. Our ears are becoming accustomed to his lies and our children are finding comfort in his voice. Ask yourselves these questions:

1) What am I allowing to enter my house through the television? Is it yoked to the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of the Enemy?

2) What music am I listening to? Is it yoked to the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of the Enemy?

3) What magazines am I flipping through? Are they yoked to the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of the Enemy?

4) What books am I reading? Are they yoked to the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of the Enemy?

5) What am I consuming on the Internet? Is it yoked to the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of the Enemy?

Whose voice are we allowing to enter into our hearts, minds, souls? Is it a voice declaring God's the glory or the Enemy's?

Let us cultivate our Media Meditation together. Join me at Get Revived Conference!

Media Meditation: Truth or Lies?

Join me at the Get Revived Conference!

When I was about 12 years old, my family and I went to Denali Park in Alaska. There was a beautiful glacier in the park that was roped off. However, many people were crossing under the ropes and climbing up the icy face of the frozen mountain.

I was excited! I wanted to climb a glacier. I ducked under the rope and began my trek up the slippery ice. As I started climbing, I realized that my t-shirt, jeans and Keds tennis shoes were not helping me. In fact, I kept slipping down the ice, and I almost fell into the deep blue ravines that cut through the glacier like giant bear claws.

I noticed other people were climbing the glacier with ease because they were prepared with climbing gear. They were focused and ready for the trials that they would face in order to experience the blessing of reaching the top.

I gave up trying to climb the glacier because I knew that I would never make it in my current state of helplessness. I missed out because I wasn't ready.

This memory reminds me of the abundant Christian life that God has planned for each of us. So many Christians want the blessings of God, but they are not ready to receive them. Living an abundant Christian life is riddled with trials and tests, and we must allow the Holy Spirit to equip us. Otherwise, we will slip down the ice and possibly fall into a ravine. We will be controlled with fear and frozen by our weaknesses.

God is able to prepare our hearts for an amazing adventure with Him through meditation. Joshua 1.8 (NIV) reads, "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 successful." We must mediate on God's truth, so that we can stand firm on His promises. Otherwise, we are doomed to failure.

Meditation is the filling of our hearts with either truth or lies. One of the biggest sources of meditation today is found through media. Christians need to be diligent about weeding out the many lies that pour out of media. Those lies make us vulnerable to the Enemy and keep us fearful, distracted and disinterested in crossing over to the abundant Christian life.

We only have one life. We need to make the best of it. Let us focus our hearts on God's truth and make our way up the glacier to His amazing blessings. It will be difficult, but it will be the thrill of a lifetime. . . guaranteed!

Download my conference worksheets for Media Meditation here.

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