I was at the 7-eleven convenient store recently and I saw some instant meals that are being sold over the counter, the type that you pick and you place in the microwave and heat it up in order to be able to eat. And I saw that there were some Interesting kinds of meal there. There was macaroni and cheese, there was wantan noodles, and the packaging in particular captivated me because it wrote something very, very simple. It says, "Just 3 steps -- pick, microwave, enjoy!" It's as simple as that really! To pick one, to microwave it and you can now enjoy.

I see somewhat that pattern in 1 Timothy 4:15. The Bible says, "Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all." The first thing we think to do is to meditate. It means to reflect, to think, to seek to apply and it is to be able to chew upon the word of God in a sense we can now we can begin to live it out in our lives. Now we need to be concerned for truth because there is no change without the word of God and so it is important for Paul to tell Timothy first of all to meditate, to think, to reflect.

But number two, Paul also says, "Give thyself wholly to them." In another words, to commit, to devote, to give yourself wholly to the truths that you hear. It's not just that we are hearers but we must seek to be doers. So we must not just have truth but we must have truth applied to our lives. So you need to meditate, you need to give yourself wholly to them.

And thirdly, "Thy profiting may appear to all." That's the word that means to profit to progress, to grow. So in a sense it's like that -- convenient store, instant meal, you pick, you microwave, you enjoy. But here the Bible says you meditate, you devote yourself to applying them and then you will grow, you will profit, you will be blessed and you will enjoy it.

And in all these three steps let us be reminded to depend on the work of the Holy Spirit and your life will change, will progress. It will be obvious to all because it is the work of God in your life. God bless.

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