Hi Brian!

THAT was a fantastic game on Sunday! I apologize for the lateness of this post. I had to replace my router and it took most of the day yesterday, then I had to get ready for the New Year's Eve party last night! Your word for t his week is "meditate". We'll be looking at three different words, two in the Old Testament and one in the New. Here are the verses:


Josh 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success. AMP

Ps 119:15 I will meditate on Your precepts and have respect to Your ways [the paths of life marked out by Your law]AMP

1 Tim 4:15 Practice and cultivate and meditate upon these duties; throw yourself wholly into them [as your ministry], so that your progress may be evident to everybody. AMP

In Joshua it is the Hebrew word "hagah". Strong's Concordance says: to murmur, to ponder. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon says: to moan, to growl to utter, to mutter, to meditate, to devise, to plot, to speak. Vine's Expository Dictionary adds: sounds made while one is musing. This gives the idea of speaking to yourself or others while you think about His Word and what it means to you in your own life. 

In Psalm 119 it is the Hebrew word "siyach". Strong's concordance says: to ponder, i.e. converse (with oneself and hence, aloud) or utter. Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon adds: to put forth, to meditate, to muse, to commune, to speak, to sing, to put forth thoughts. The silly picture we've been given of meditation is of someone sitting there with their eyes closed and mind empty going "hummmmmmmm"! It really involves active thought and both of these verses imply obedience or action! 

In 1 Timothy it is the Greek word "meletao". Strong's Concordance says: to take care of, to revolve in the mind. Thayer's Greek Lexicon adds: to care for, to attend to something carefully, to practice. Vine's Expository Dictionary says: to care for, denotes: a) to attend to, practice, be diligent in. b)to ponder, imagine. This one is referring to the things mentioned in verses 13-14:

13 Till I come, devote yourself to [public and private] reading, to exhortation (preaching and personal appeals), and to teaching and instilling doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift which is in you, [that special inward endowment] which was directly imparted to you [by the Holy Spirit] by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you [at your ordination]. AMP

I believe that the Lord is speaking to each of us and telling us that 2013 is the perfect time to spend even just a little more time in His Word so that we can continue to think, speak and act like Him and have His results in every area of life! We continue to pray for you and your family to be blessed beyond measure and to continually know Him more! We love you and appreciate you! Happy and very Blessed new Year! Here is a song to help meditate on the great love that He has for us,   Hillsong's Love So High":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys! 

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "merry"! Proverbs 15:13 says this:

13 A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. KJV

Proverbs 17:22 says this:

22 A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones. KJV

This is the Hebrew word "sameach". Strong's Concordance says: blithe (Dictionary: happy, carefree, lighthearted), or gleeful. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon says: joyful, glad, showing joy. The Theological Workbook - Old Testament says: being glad or joyful with the whole disposition. Wishing someone a "Merry Christmas" is much more than just a saying! You are blessing them with cheerfulness, joyfulness and great health! What a wonderful thing we've been saying without even realizing it! Keep sowing those great seeds into the lives of others and you and your family will reap a tremendous harvest of joy and health! Have a VERY Merry Christmas and a most-blessed 2013! Here is another Merry Christmas song from Hillsong's new album. It's a fun new take on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "still". Many different Hebrew words are translated still in the Old Testament, but we will only be looking at one and it is found in Psalm 46:10:

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. KJV

This is the Hebrew word "raphah". Strong's Concordance says: a primitive root; to slacken. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon says: to sink, to relax, to let drop, to refrain, to let alone. Last week we saw that we are supposed to shout to the Lord! In order to be in a position to be able to shout, we must first learn to "let go, and let God"! The Amplified Bible says this:

10 Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth! AMP

One of the most difficult things for a professional person to do is to let go! You and Kristine are so good at what you do because you have discipline, diligence, motivation, intelligence, organization and many other strong skills, some natural and some learned, but all developed to a high level. The key to letting go with God is to have a proper understanding of what your responsibility is and what only God can do! The Word of God, with the Holy Spirit teaching us, reveals those things to us! When we are able to let God do His part, the shouting is easy! Have a wonderful week! Here is my favorite new Christmas song, from Hillsong Live, called "We Have A Savior":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "shout". We'll be looking at these verses:


Ps 5:11 But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over them and defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits. AMP

Ps 32:11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you [uncompromisingly] righteous [you who are upright and in right standing with Him]; shout for joy, all you upright in heart! AMP

Ps 35:27 Let those who favor my righteous cause and have pleasure in my uprightness shout for joy and be glad and say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. AMP

This is the Hebrew word "ranan". Strong's Concordance says: to emit a stridulous sound; to shout usually for joy. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon says: to be overcome, to cry out, to give a ringing cry. 

Another Hebrew word translated "shout" is found in Psalm 47:1:

Ps 47:1 O CLAP your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph and songs of joy! AMP

This is the Hebrew word "ruwa`". Strong's Concordance says: to split the ears (with sound). Whichever Hebrew word we use, it will still be LOUD! God is not timid and we shouldn't be either! Here is Hillsong Kids with "Shout Your Fame":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The word for this week is "abide". We have used this word before, but it was translated from a different Greek word than the one we'll be looking at here. This "abide" is found in only one place in the New Testament. John 14:16-17:

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but ye know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you. KJV

This is the Greek word "eimi". Strong's Concordance says: I exist (used only when emphatic). This is the same root word that was used in John 18:5 when Jesus said "I am he". It is also equivalent to the Hebrew word translated "I AM" in Exodus 3:14:

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. KJV

The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, IS God, just as the God the Father and God the Son are. Together they make up the Godhead, or the Trinity, as some say. It is comforting to know that He will never leave us, but remain with us and in us, as the first "abide" we looked at. It just becomes far more powerful when we meditate on just WHO it IS that is in us! He IS the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible, in the person of the Holy Spirit! God Himself, in all His glory, with all of His power and all of His Wisdom, lives on the inside of us! We truly are, as born again believers, the Temple of God! I have not met a single believer that is walking in the fullness of what this means, but many of us are getting closer every day! My prayer for you and your family is that He will continue to show Himself real and powerful to you as He confirms His Word in your lives! Here is Hillsong Live with "Endless Light":

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!