Christian Meditation Podcast

204 Give Us of Your Oil a Guided Christian Meditation on Matthew 25:8-10 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be change d by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: Matthew 25 KJV 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. NRSV 8 The foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise replied, 'No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Meditation on Scripture: This is an excerpt from the parable of the 10 virgins in which there are ten young women who are invited to a wedding. The groom comes much later than expected and the oil burning lamps they brought had run out of fuel. The half that brought extra oil didn't have enough to share. The most clear metaphor is that the oil represents our spiritual development and relationship with God. This cannot be borrowed from anyone else And also cant be given by anyone else. The scripture shows how the women were directed to those people that sell oil. Where is this metaphorical oil obtained? I can only come from God. Even though I do this podcast that reaches hundreds of thousands, it actually cant do anything to give new oil to anyone. The only way that we can obtain spare oil is to open our hearts to God and to receive it from Him. only place to get that Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: What are you doing to ensure you have extra oil? Final Thought: Jesus has stated that He will return. We cannot wait to prepare to meet Him until the end. We cannot wait to draw our hearts near to the Lord. I hope and pray that each of us are more able to so this each day. I deeply supplicate the Lord that these meditations can provide some context for us to be able to do that. Spend the emotional energy required to make sacred space and time in your life. Part of God's initial covenants with Abraham was that He will be our God and we will be His people. Make your heart available to do that. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com App Store App: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

Bible verses for Meditation: 1 Peter 3 NRSV 3 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; NABRE 13 Now who is going to harm you if you are enthusiastic for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, 15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, Meditation on Scripture: FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com App Store App: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

202 Do Not Fear What They Fear a Guided Christian Meditation on 1 Peter 3:13-15 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be change d by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: 1 Peter 3 NRSV 3 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; NABRE 13 Now who is going to harm you if you are enthusiastic for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, 15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, Meditation on Scripture: Do you fear the world? How much do you stress? Do you fear an evil influence in the world or in your life? What about stress over other things in your life. Do you fear about money or relationships? Chances are if you are listening to this then you spend a lot of time thinking about or combatting against stress. Stress can feel debilitating. As part of my work I follow the research on stress and how it impacts us as humans. I was participating in a multi day training on trauma and PTS this week. Some of the most important and compelling research about stress that I have seen is summarized in in a TED talk called "How to Make Stress Your Friend." By Kelly McGonigal Although she does indicate that stress can lead to negative health outcomes however, this effect is entirely stopped for people who think that stress is good for them. Let me say that another way. If you believe stress has a positive roll in your life then it does not have the negative health effects in your life. I feel that this touches the same concept represented here. Wether we are talking about stress or suffering for Christ, the truth is that we can use our brain to change the way we perceive this. We can learn to rejoice that the Faithfulness of Jesus and that our faith in God is strong enough to get us over hardship just as we can trust that our physical stress responses in life can lift our focus and attention to help us rise to the challenges of life. If we do this we can feel the paradoxical peace of courage. As an example I preached in front of a new church. As I was getting ready to stand up, my heart began to race at the prospect of public speaking I embrace that as a blessing from God to help me hone my focus. We can literally reinterpret suffering and stress in our lives as signs of greater purpose and function. God can help us find more peace by helping our hearts be courageous. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: What message is written on the tables of your heart? Final Thought: The irony of our defense of God is that is referenced here is that it does not require a fearful heart. Our response to any challenge can be an opportunity to life as Jesus did. Remember this as you feel stress. Stress is your body's response to challenge that helps you rise to the ocassion. I have found that as I learn to not fear my stress response that it is oddly less stressful and fear inducing. Our faith in God can help us come to realize God will lift your heart as you embrace and trust in God's ability to help you overcome the fear in your heart that harms your ability to overcome. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com App Store App: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

Bible verses for Meditation: 1 Peter 1 NIV 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ESV 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,[e] and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers,[g] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com App Store App: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

200 Confirm Your Calling a Guided Christian Meditation on 2 Peter 1:5-10 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be change d by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: 1 Peter 1 NIV 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ESV 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,[e] and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers,[g] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. Meditation on Scripture: Purpose in life comes from living according to the manner God has asked us. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: What message is written on the tables of your heart? Final Thought: I believe profoundly in the redemptive power of God. Not only to consign our souls to eternal reward or punishment but also to change us here, to make our lives a closer approximation of the kingdom of God. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com App Store App: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

Bible verses for Meditation: Genesis 15 NABRE 9 He answered him: Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10 He brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up. 17 When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. NIV 9 So the Lord said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. Meditation on Scripture: How did God determine that there would be a need for the Cross? Are we blessed to have wandered into the most eternally convenient coincidence that Jesus died for us? This is a very dense section of scripture. I picked it for a unique reason. At first glance this section is confusing. The strangeness of it causes us to gloss right over it sometimes. I have a possible interpretation. In the period of Abraham, roughly 2 thousands years before Jesus, there was a unique practice performed by powerful kings. It was a type of covenant and submission that was performed by a lower king called the assal who were serving under the power of a greater king called Suzerain. They would take animals and cut them in half and take the halves and separate them then the lesser king would walk between them. This was a symbol that if the vassal king did not live up to the covenant than he would be divided in two as the animals were. In this scripture it appears as though Abraham is being set up as the Vassal King yet Abraham is not what passes between the Animals but a smoking fire and a flaming torch. Some have interpreted this to be a representation of Jehovah. In other words, as part of the Covenant of Abraham Jehovah himself placed himself as responsible for the failure of Abraham and his posterity to maintain faithfulness to the Covenant. My goal with this scripture is to help us ponder on the mystery that is God's preparation to save us and the inevitability of our need to be saved. Despite our best intentions of positive change, if we do it alone and without God, it will not provide lasting change. As you continue to work toward improvement realize this, without God all change is incomplete at best or worse yet, pointless. Involve God in the goals for positive change that you have. We have evidence thousands of years ago that God has been preparing to bless us. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: What is involved with your covenant with God? Final Thought: Long before Abraham had his son, long before Jacob's name was changed to Israel, before the Sons of Israel entered egypt, before the Exodus Jehovah was giving signs and prophecy of the need for the Cross. God was not surprised in an eternal sense that we would need a Savior. His plan to send His Son was not a last minute decision. It was because he cared for you and I before we were ever born. When we fall short of our potential at times, and sin, this is not a surprise to Him either. The Good News of the gospel is that despite our failure that God can and will forgive us if we believe in Jesus and follow His path. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com App Store App: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

198 The Covenant of The Smoking Fire and Flaming Torch a Guided Christian Meditation on Genesis 15:9,10, 17 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be change d by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: Genesis 15 NABRE 9 He answered him: Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10 He brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up. 17 When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. NIV 9 So the Lord said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. Meditation on Scripture: How did God determine that there would be a need for the Cross? Are we blessed to have wandered into the most eternally convenient coincidence that Jesus died for us? This is a very dense section of scripture. I picked it for a unique reason. At first glance this section is confusing. The strangeness of it causes us to gloss right over it sometimes. I have a possible interpretation. In the period of Abraham, roughly 2 thousands years before Jesus, there was a unique practice performed by powerful kings. It was a type of covenant and submission that was performed by a lower king called the assal who were serving under the power of a greater king called Suzerain. They would take animals and cut them in half and take the halves and separate them then the lesser king would walk between them. This was a symbol that if the vassal king did not live up to the covenant than he would be divided in two as the animals were. In this scripture it appears as though Abraham is being set up as the Vassal King yet Abraham is not what passes between the Animals but a smoking fire and a flaming torch. Some have interpreted this to be a representation of Jehovah. In other words, as part of the Covenant of Abraham Jehovah himself placed himself as responsible for the failure of Abraham and his posterity to maintain faithfulness to the Covenant. My goal with this scripture is to help us ponder on the mystery that is God's preparation to save us and the inevitability of our need to be saved. Despite our best intentions of positive change, if we do it alone and without God, it will not provide lasting change. As you continue to work toward improvement realize this, without God all change is incomplete at best or worse yet, pointless. Involve God in the goals for positive change that you have. We have evidence thousands of years ago that God has been preparing to bless us. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: What is involved with your covenant with God? Final Thought: Long before Abraham had his son, long before Jacob's name was changed to Israel, before the Sons of Israel entered egypt, before the Exodus Jehovah was giving signs and prophecy of the need for the Cross. God was not surprised in an eternal sense that we would need a Savior. His plan to send His Son was not a last minute decision. It was because he cared for you and I before we were ever born. When we fall short of our potential at times, and sin, this is not a surprise to Him either. The Good News of the gospel is that despite our failure that God can and will forgive us if we believe in Jesus and follow His path. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com App Store App: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast

NRSV 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; 3 and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, 6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com App Store App: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

196 You Are A Letter of Christ Written on The Heart a Guided Christian Meditation on 2 Corinthians 3:3-6 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be change d by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: 2 Corinthians KJV 3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. 4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. NRSV 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; 3 and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, 6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Meditation on Scripture: One thing that I hope you grasp about the purpose of this podcast is that it is not meant to simply help you feel a little more calm. Although I belive that is a deep and intentional side effect. The goal is to help us connect with the source of peace, truth and love who is Jesus Christ. Feeling peaceful is not what saves us. The state of mind or heart should not be the end goal. If you notice yourself feeling better as you do these meditations I hope you see that as a valuable stepping stone to a more profound relationship with God. A relationship that invariably will change us. One key difference that is often mentioned in podcasts such as the Being Well Podcast by Dr. Rick Hansen is moving from the focus of state to trait. In other words trying to develop tendencies toward positive emotions within us. Our relationship with God has the ability to do that, but for all eternity. Our goal should be to write the new covenant of Jesus upon our hearts and that our lives will be a living embodiment of the gospel of Jesus Christ. My hope is that as we hear of these aspirations that we don't feel fear or guilt. It is God who makes us competent enough to do the things He asks us to do. As you are making righteous desires to live your new commitments and goals I ask you to trust God one step more. Instead of being content to have good habits that produce good feelings, look for the deeper change inside of you. It will often be iterative, happening stronger with successive progress. My hope for you is that these changes take root deep inside of you and write God's law on the fleshy tables of your hearts Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: What message is written on the tables of your heart? Final Thought: I believe profoundly in the redemptive power of God. Not only to consign our souls to eternal reward or punishment but also to change us here, to make our lives a closer approximation of the kingdom of God. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com App Store App: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

NRSV 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant. 14 "Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

194 As For Me and My House, We Will Serve the Lord A Guided Christian Meditation on Josua 24:13-15 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: Joshua 24 NIV 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.' 14 "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." NRSV 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant. 14 "Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Meditation on Scripture: Each of us have blessings in our lives and many things which we do not deserve. Things which were prepared for us without our forethought and action. The very resurrection of our Lord is an example of this. This is the situation we find ourselves in. Despite this many of us face challenges. Perhaps even things things can be what is referred to here. Perhaps our fields do have some vicious weeds in them. Regardless, we have a life ideally suited to give us the experiences we need to grow and choose faith in God. During this time of introspection that follows the new year I hope that we can take this message to heart. It is natural and helpful to look deep inside ourselves for improvement. We can look deep in our hearts as thoughtfully as possible. We can ask ourselves in my home and in my heart, who do I truly serve. When confronted with temptation what do I choose? When confronted with doubt, what do I choose to do and to believe? I think an important concept here is who do we choose this day. You live only today. When tomorrow arrives it will be today then. When we die someday it will feel like a today. When we go to our final spiritual reward that will become our eternal new type of moment. In this moment we can choose. In this moment we can serve. As we made new goals and objectives may we not experience them with the fear and weight of the future. We can't carry the weight of all future decisions in this moment. All we have to do is choose God this day, this hour, this moment. Set your goals to be big and then focus on what you need to do today. If one day you find yourself struggling against the weight of continuing your new habit or stopping old habbits bring your focus in and focus on just this moment. Today I can live a pure life. This moment I can choose God. This second I can release all inappropriate desire and urges. We can make goals for the future then live in this moment continually toward their fulfillment. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: What can you decide to do in this moment? Final Thought: I have found that something that gets in the way of our positive intentions is the worry of the future. How could we possibly do this forever? That is too much stress and pressure. I have found it immensely helpful to powerfully commit to the new behavior I seek or the new goal but not get burdened by the weig

NABRE 20 That is not how you learned Christ, 21 assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, 22 that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

192 Be Made New in the Attitude of Your Minds A Guided Christian Meditation on Ephesians 4:20-24 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: Ephesians 4 NIV 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. NABRE 20 That is not how you learned Christ, 21 assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, 22 that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth. Meditation on Scripture: Rejoice in newness. Not novelty of possessions or situation in life but something more profound. Many times as we continue our walk with Christ we forget some of the passion that drives us when we first feel forgiven and renewed. It can be extremely important that we rejoice in this awareness even years and decades later. We have been created to be like God. God has already extended to us a pardon for our trust in him. Yet why is it important that Paul reminds these people of their conversion? Why does he need to tell them of their original and strong testimony of transformation? Was it not enough? What it not genuine? Was your conversion enough? This question is of course meant to be rhetorical. The answer to this question is much less important than what we experience by asking it. The answer is of course no and of course yes. If it was enough we could keel over and die the moment we profess faith in Jesus Christ. Yet we don't. We could also have perfect visions of the outline of the rest of our lives, but interestingly very few people could claim such a gift. We are left in our faith, in other words we are left to spend the rest of our lives attempting to walk in God's spirit and continually receive this transformation. As we begin the new year and you ponder what aspects of your life you could improve upon consider this, Christ can continue to transform you. Your change is not reliant solely upon your own willpower. Trust that God can help you make progress toward your worthwhile goals. Give up your corrupted desires. Refresh in your mind the truth of Jesus you have learned and trust and allow that this truth can guide your life toward continual improvement. This improvement does not need to be through force of white knuckled will but it can be the calm assurance that a loving God will continue to work in those who believe and trust him and continually try to follow. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: Do you live your life purposefully with Jesus as your King? Final Thought: I deeply hope that during this season that you will find deeper devotion to the relationships that are most important. My greatest hope for you is that you draw nearer to God both in good times and in bad. Both in busy times and lonely ones. In times of mourning and times of celebration. In times of light and while walking through the dark. Remember that Jesus is your king. He understands your needs better than you do. As the passage of time washes away the confusion and absolutist assumptions that we wrongly hold at times I truly believe that this life will be the greatest school house for Grace that we could have imagined. As we attempt to walk with God we may not feel Him by our side the whole time, but when it is all done and we are kneeling before Him we will finally come to u

Bible verses for Meditation: KJV 37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. 39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

190 For This Was I Born A Guided Christian Meditation on John 18:37-39 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: KJV 37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. 39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? NIV 37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." 38 "What is truth?" retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?" Meditation on Scripture: I have loved this passage of scripture for a long time. As we remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ this scripture puts it into focus. His birth had a purpose. The light came into the world and the world did not receive it. Something that we can ask ourselves this season is an amended version of what Pilate asked. Instead of trying to figure out if Jesus is a king. We should try and figure out if he is THE king, more specifically, is he YOUR king. This can be a heavy yet deeply meaningful question. Do we live in such a way that shows that Jesus is our king? If we claim to trust and believe Him but then don't follow him he isn't much of a king. Regardless of how we interpret the role of the spirit in our purification one thing is clear from scripture, Jesus wants us to follow him. It is not enough to philosophically be comfortable with God's truth. We need to embody it. You can almost here the futility in Pilates words when he questions what is truth. He tries to free Jesus in some vague way but when it comes down to it, he does not accept Jesus as HIS king. Another thing that strikes me about this scripture is the certainty that Jesus had about his own purpose. As he was being falsely accused he firmly understood that that current hardship was part of his purpose. This passage inspires me to seek resolution of purpose. I have a deep desire to know what God would want for my life. In the meantime we take the best action we can or the best action we are motivated to. During this time of celebration I ask that you spend some time with God in prayer and meditation. Wrestle with the question, is Jesus your King, and if so how could you show that? It is my belief that as we make the best efforts we are capable of in our fallen state, that God's grace moves in us and can fill us with purpose to carry us through. I encourage you to seek from God to know how to more purposefully live your life. In the absence of any hard answer take the 2 great commandments as your guide. Love God, and love your neighbor. By love we dedicate ourselves to service to God and our fellow humans. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: Do you live your life purposefully with Jesus as your King? Final Thought: I deeply hope that during this season that you will find deeper devotion to the relationships that are most important. My greatest hope for you is that you draw nearer to God both in good times and in bad. Both in busy times and lonely ones. In times of mourning and times of celebration. In times of light and while walking through the dark. Remember that Jesus

NABRE 5 So I thought it necessary to encourage the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for your promised gift, so that in this way it might be ready as a bountiful gift and not as an exaction. 6 Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

188 God Loves a Cheerful Giver A Guided Christian Meditation on 2 Corinthians 9:5-8 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: NABRE 5 So I thought it necessary to encourage the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for your promised gift, so that in this way it might be ready as a bountiful gift and not as an exaction. 6 Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. ESV 5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. 6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. Meditation on Scripture: As our lives become increasingly complex we can feel worn and defensive. I have heard numerous commercials about the need for people to get themselves Christmas presents. By no means do I want to suggest that buying things we need is misguided, I think the increasingly prevalent mindset of thinking of ourselves as the most deserving recipients of our own gifts is. In my experience the more we think about how we gain from a situation, the less effective we are at doing what is most important, to give our love and help to those who need it. I will use a recent example. As many of you know I was at the Navy Chaplain school recently. I was there for a little less than 2 months. During that time I was stretched physically and organizationally. It was hard work but I made a decision early on to make every effort to make meaningful friendships with everyone I could and to treat them with the Love of God above all else. I gave up all goals of advancing my personal reputation in their eyes but instead focused on being supportive and caring. At the end of the class I was voted by my classmates for the student leadership award because of this. I dont share this as a humble brag but because I have spent many hours trying to wrestle with this. It was a complete surprise to me. I removed recognition from my goals. I attempted to give others what they most need, love. During this Christmas season I want you to consider how you can give of what is most meaningful in your heart. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: How can you give more openly? Final Thought: As we reflect on the purpose of Christmas we are reminded that we are truly celebrating light coming into the world. We celebrate the example of love offered by Jesus. Resist getting emotionally caught up in the expectations of this time of year and just enjoy those around you, even as you encounter their flaws up close nad personal. When this life is over and we are dead, none of the things we buy, give, and receive will make any difference. The thing that will make a difference is how we learned to relate to each other in love. As you take these deep breaths, let go of the fear of loving others. Let go of the apathy that holds you back from caring for others. Think in your mind how you can bless the lives of the humans who happen to be sharing the earth with you this day. Let us all join together in a spirit of loving companionship as we bless the poor with physical blessin

Christian Meditation on John 11:22-26 ESV 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

186 I Am The Resurrection and The Life A Guided Christian Meditation on John 11:22-26 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: John 11:22-26 KJV 22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. 23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? ESV 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" Meditation on Scripture: With such a great season of rejoicing and celebration our memories are created with great strength. Many times these memories are good, other times they are not. Between the months of November and December people connect tragic events to this season for the better part of 20 percent of the year. This may be from death or any other type of separation. As Christians our goal should be to remember the Christmas season as an opportunity to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The tender scene at the manger is so meaningful because of who that baby was and what he would do. Many people I have met have lost people around the holidays. Their loss is felt more intently at this time of year. As an example, when I worked in the ICU in the hospital I attended to the families of 4 patients who were removed from life support. I am keenly aware that Thanksgiving will be forever changed for those families. My heart goes out to people who have lost someone during the Christmas season, including some who have written me messages. In this same moment we reflect on the words of Jesus. He is the resurrection and the life. We can trust and rely on the word of God. We shall live again with Him. Any loss we currently experience will not be forever. According to the sovereignty and mercy of God we can trust that our common faith will reunite us. We can trust in the mercy of God. Despite this I don't feel that our normal human feelings should be anything to fear. Earlier in this same passage, Jesus himself wept over the death of Lazarus even though he knew he was going to raise him. All things combine for the good of those who love God. As we follow the example of Jesus Christ we can emulate the way He loved and trusted in the Father. May we continually prepare our hearts this Christmas season to rejoice in the glory of God while dealing with our human feelings. God loves us and loves every person we have known. Even death cannot separate us from His love. . Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: How has suffering built endurance and character in you? Final Thought: This week I was out in the field. I was in the northern US in Massachusetts and it was very cold. I was sleeping in a tent and performing a lot of very challenging physical events such as hiking with fully loaded packs of gear, obstacle courses, and a wide variety of strength tests. When it was over I arrived back at my lodging here at the schoolhouse the day before Thanksgiving. I was sore and bruised all over. I was missing my wife and kids who are across the country. It was an antithetical way of realizing my blessings. My life is so overwhelmingly blesse d. Suffering and blessing are integrally connected. It is because of our challenges that we realize our ble

NRSV 1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

184 Suffering Produces Endurance, Character, Hope A Guided Christian Meditation on Romans 5:1-5 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: KJV Romans 5 1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. NRSV 1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Meditation on Scripture: As humans we feel like we need to understand the world. We feel out of control if we dont understand things. This feeling has challenged many people to the point were they question wether God is all knowing or all powerful. Although I think this is a natural place to move through in our development of faith, I have seen people get stuck on this question. This scripture is so meaningful because it talks about justification connected to but not identical to the development of our character. I think this gives insight into the questions of purpose of suffering. I was listening to an interview with Dr. James Gordon on the Being well Podcast. He spoke about how he works with people who grow through their trauma. One girl, who witnessed her family killed in a war learned a deep lesson of compassion for her own suffering. As we learn to endure our character become stronger and enhances our hope in redemption through Jesus Christ if we remain open to God's spirit as our character grows. Each of us have our own challenges. There are seasons of life filled with challenges and other seasons less so. But the fact that remains is that we are challenged. I invite you to let go of your demand that suffering must make sense in the immediate future. Allow it to be an enigmatic question that God is working to enhance and change eternal character. God is good and full of love. For this reason he offers us the ability to grow in hope this way. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: How has suffering built endurance and character in you? Final Thought: This week I was out in the field. I was in the northern US in Massachusetts and it was very cold. I was sleeping in a tent and performing a lot of very challenging physical events such as hiking with fully loaded packs of gear, obstacle courses, and a wide variety of strength tests. When it was over I arrived back at my lodging here at the schoolhouse the day before Thanksgiving. I was sore and bruised all over. I was missing my wife and kids who are across the country. It was an antithetical way of realizing my blessings. My life is so overwhelmingly blesse d. Suffering and blessing are integrally connected. It is because of our challenges that we realize our blessings. Our blessings help support us through our challenges. The greatest blessing of all is the love and grace of God. God loves you. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMedit

182 I Stand All Amazed A Guided Christian Meditation on Hebrews Hebrews 13:15-16 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: NIV 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

182 I Stand All Amazed A Guided Christian Meditation on Hebrews Hebrews 13:15-16 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: NIV 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. ESV 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Meditation on Scripture: The message of Thanksgiving I feel today is represented in a quote from "I stand all amazed" by Charles Gabriel I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me. I tremble to know that for me he was crucified, That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died. I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine, That he should extend his great love unto such as I, Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify. I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt! Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget? No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat, Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet. The above verses of Hebrews teach how Jesus was the replacement for the temple sacrifice. He is also a replacement for the sacrifice of our souls also. Let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God for His marvelous mercy and grace. Take this moment and give thanks to God. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: How can you more actively praise God with praise and thanks in your life? Final Thought: Thanksgiving season is a wonderful time to give thanks for all the things we have. If we are not careful we can fall into the trap of looking around at surface level blessings. Perhaps we can even be more thoughtful and be grateful for those loved ones that surround us. None of this compares to the greatest blessing of all that we have receive. That is the grace of God. In the greatest of eternal ironies God loves us fallen creatures. He loves you. Thanks be to God for that love. Let us spend this week receiving his grace and love, giving thanks for it, and passing it on to all the people we come in contact with. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. NIV 18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?" 19 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

180 On That Day They Will Fast A Guided Christian Meditation on Mark 2:18-20 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: NIV 18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?" 19 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. NABRE 18 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to him and objected, "Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day Meditation on Scripture: Fasting is an ancient tradition. It is used the world over and has a deep tradition in Christianity. When Jesus was baptized he engaged in 40 day fast afterward. This is known as the temptation of Jesus. He suffered hunger and was tempted by Satan to give in to his body of flesh. He knew the appetites of the flesh. Many of the sins that we fall into in our lives are motivated by our human physical appetites. I think this is why fasting can be such a powerful spiritual tool. It helps us set aside even legitimate cravings for food as we learn to trust in the strength of the Lord. If done with moderation, fasting can be a powerful way of brining our creature desires into perspective. I think God has asked people to fast for spiritual benefits. There are also health benefits to fasting that modern science is still catching up to understand but these are side effects not the main motivation. One thing that is clear from scripture is that fasting is very often coupled together in scripture with prayer. When we fast it should be as an act of religious devotion, not as a diet strategy. We can begin with prayer, pray throughout, and end with prayer. In the great cosmos of God's creations the clump of atoms that we put into our mouths does not change much. God is not impacted by us not eating, but we are. Our devotion can be focused inside ourselves as we become willing to give up our human desires. This month we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States and we are preparing to celebrate Christmas next month. As we eat from abundance may we also recognize that our human physical desires do not have to dictate what we eat. We can learn to discipline ourselves as we rejoice in the goodness of God to us. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: Could fasting be a periodic part of your worship? Final Thought: As you begin to celebrate abundance may you also consider those who do not experience such abundance. One practice we can get into is to use fasting as a way to increase our offerings. As we fast we can symbolically dedicate that food to the poor as well. In other words we can provide an offering of cash equal to what we would have eaten in the meals we skip during our fast. In this way we can bless others while also engaging in a powerful spiritual discipline. I suggest you engage wisdom and prudence as you consider your fasting practice also. Exerting our extreme will in either extreme of indulgence or deprivation can distract us from our goals of submitting our will to God. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/Christi

NIV 33 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

178 Love One Another as I have Loved You A Guided Christian Meditation on John 13:33-35 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: KJV 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another NIV 33 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Meditation on Scripture: How do you do at loving others? This is the greatest question we can ask. I ask myself this question often. I fail. I try really hard to bot be angry at others when I am treated badly. I dont always succeed. When others are kind it makes it much easier. The reason why this is so important is because this is the greatest mandate we have. Of all the commands Jesus gave the greatest of all was love. It seems like this is a great thought when we hear it church. When we go into our lives we sometimes don't apply that message. We get some idealized version of a person in out mind but tjay annoying person from school isn't included. The person we don't get along with at the office somehow doesn't count. Once we identify this tendency in ourself the question is how do we deal with this? For cases that are more intense such as abuse it is important to involve trusted helpers such as a pastor or counselor. When we fall short of what Jesus asks of us we can pile on the shame or we can realize that what God truly wants is that make things right and learn to love. In this moment focus on releasing anger from your heart. Let hate go from your heart. Let the love of God into your heart. As you ponder those you struggle to love breathe slowly and deeply. Ponder on how to bring the love of God into their life. Breath in calm and peace. Breath out anger and hate. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: Can you let go of hate? Final Thought: the mandate of God to learn to love is central to life. If you struggle with this it means you are human. The more we can learn to love the more we are learning from Jesus. The more we are learning to be like Jesus. As you go through your day make note of who bothers you the most. When you have an opportunity to pour your heart out to God, ask Him to help you learn how to love that person. Practice some meditation and release the tension of anger and hate. As we learn to overcome that we will be closer to the image of Christ which we seek. If you have been harmed or abused by someone this guidance is not meant to diminish the very real and understandable struggle you suffer with. Find someone to walk with you on this process. Love helps our hearts which is why Jesus asks is to do it. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." 24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." 25 The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. 26 He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." 27 "Yes it is, Lord," she said. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." 28 Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed at that moment. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

176 Even the Dogs Eat the Crumbs A Guided Christian Meditation on Matthew 15:23-28 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: NIV 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." 24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." 25 The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. 26 He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." 27 "Yes it is, Lord," she said. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." 28 Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed at that moment. NRSV 23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." 24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." 26 He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." 27 She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 28 Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly. Meditation on Scripture: Few things are as delicate, yet resilient, as human pride. In this passage there is an interesting and somewhat confusing exchange that goes on between Jesus and this Canaanite woman. She was an outsider, someone who was not of the people chosen by God. In the account of this story that remains with us we do not understand everything about the situation. Many people spend a lot of effort and time trying to explain away Jesus' response in these verses, yet as they remain, people interpret them differently. Anyone who has written enough emails, or text messages knows the danger of miscommunication. Many times what is received is much different than what is intended. Sometimes we interpret malice where none was meant. Yet when this happens we rarely see ourselves in the wrong. Yet here this woman is begging Jesus for help and he provides her with a response that could have easily been interpreted as scorn or hate. She chose to look past that for the saving power she was duplicating. How many of us have been harmed by someone at church? How many have heard some word from a pastor or fellow believer and had our church participation affected based on offended pride. In an age when there is so much offense given and taken we can seek to know God's desire for us. We can overcome our human feelings that drive us away from God and from each other in church. When we are called dogs or the equivalent we can keep our focus on what is truly important, the saving power of Jesus to help us overcome sin and death. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: Why do you take offense? Final Thought: Earlier today I was with a chaplain friend of mine and we encountered someone who was wearing a clothing item with a particularly provocative and inappropriate message on it. Somehow in the small talk it came us and the person was somewhat apologetic about it. His response was "Its OK I happen to be a sinner." When others try and give offense, or do it on accident we can take the mindset that this all works together for our good and helps us appreciate the saving power of Jesus. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

174 We Were Ready to Share Our Soul A Guided Christian Meditation on 1 Thessalonians 2:6-8 ESV 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

174 We Were Ready to Share Our Soul A Guided Christian Meditation on 1 Thessalonians 2:6-8 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: KJV 6 Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: 8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. ESV 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. Meditation on Scripture: Jesus' command to love is deep. It should rock our core continually. If you love me keep my commandments. The two most important included loving God and loving each other. Many times in the work that I do I see people in their worst moment in the hospital or similar context. Often I feel a deep and emotional connection, yet at the end of the day I drive home to my loving family. As I have struggled with some troubling cases I have to let them go to the care of God. The context does not allow for continued support. The problem is that this can become our default position. If there is someone sick we wish them well, pray for them, and maybe even drop food off to them if we are ambitious. But do we really share our souls? I have found the most success in helping relationships when I give up all pretense of expertise and expert status. When I drop the search for the "right" answer and just make my soul bare in the middle of their struggle. Our goal should not be to feel good about ourselves or to seek praise for serving others but to connect at our core. As we share the gospel of Jesus Christ do we share ourselves or do we share a version of the story we have created for ourselves or that someone else gave us? As we attempt to be in communion with God and others do we share ourselves or do we curate the image we present them? Do we hide behind the perfection we aspire to? The reality is that among all churches, work environments, schools, homes, there are profoundly broken people. You and I are not above that either. We all desperately need each other's help. If you are not connected with a community of people where you can truly share yourself along with the gospel, keep searching. As Paul says, love blossoms into a desire to be real about who we are, while at the same time, trying to be a better version of ourselves. I trust that God's desire for us is to learn how to use His help and His spirit to do this. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: Who do you truly share your soul with? Can you increase that circle? Final Thought: When I read this scripture I was both inspired and convicted. You may have heard in the past that I experience the world from an introverted lens. I have always been a very private person. I feel a tension between being comfortable in my shell and putting my deepest thoughts out into the internet. Over the last couple years of doing this podcast I have seen very directly how this message has blessed people. While I am humbled by this, I also feel it is time to rise to greater transparency. Paul's comments here show me that my love has been inspiring me, in wisdom, to share more about myself. This is my intention with the podcast going forward. May God bless me with the courage to do this more. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602)

Bible verses for Meditation: Mark 8:34-37 NIV 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

172 Take Up Your Cross and Follow A Guided Christian Meditation on Mark 8:34-37 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: Mark 8:34-37 NIV 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? NRSV 34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Meditation on Scripture: At the risk of being too inwardly focused I am pondering today this scripture in my own context. The day this comes out I will be on an airplane going to the Chaplaincy School for the Navy. I have spent many years in preparation for this opportunity and I feel is is something God has been calling me to. I am in the process of getting all my uniforms altered for my new designator as a chaplain. I am quite literally taking on the cross on my uniforms. I have been thinking about this in a more practical way that I have in the past yet there is little difference from the cross of Jesus that I have been asked to take up for decades in the past. Many times when I talk to people who are not in the ministry they speak of this work with a tone of mystery. In a way are we not all called to serve God and be His ministers in the various capacities in our own lives? When I was teaching physics was God expecting less of me? When I was working in other fields did God not expect me to love Him and others? What about you? Do you see your role in life as a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ? Perhaps not as a preacher, or pastor of a congregation, but the path God has you on is no less important. You can bring peace and joy into people's lives around you and your own. There are many members in the body of Christ and they all have different functions, yet they are all important. If we think we get to operate at a lower standard because we are in industry then we misinterpret what Jesus is calling us to do. God loves us just how we are and he wants the best for us. For this reason he will always help us improve and overcome the sins that we fall into. On top of that he will help to mold us closer to His image as we draw near to Him. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: What is the ministry you can dedicate your life to? Final Thought: Taking on the cross of Jesus is not without problems. Those who were closest to the Savior found there to be real challenges to this. It will not always be easy to learn to Love as He did. There are times when those who we most want to help will respond in ways that make it hard, yet this is the life we are called to. God's strength accompanies His commands. When he asks us to follow Him, we can do it because we will be strengthened by Him. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

170 Beware of False Prophets A Guided Christian Meditation on Matthew 7:15-17 Matthew 7:15-20 NIV 15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ESV 15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

170 Beware of False Prophets A Guided Christian Meditation on Matthew 7:15-17 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: Matthew 7:15-20 NIV 15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ESV 15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Meditation on Scripture: The word here translated as false prophets is psuedopropheton. Pseudo is an imitation or deceptive version of something and propheton is for prophet, "a person gifted at expositing divine truth." Rightly so, I think most discussions of this scripture deals with guarding against false leaders; however, when I think back the bad theology I am exposed to, it is much more likely to come from conversation with someone not a formal church leader of any organization. I have been thinking a lot about this because I think it is a delicate subject. Perhaps it is not accidental that Chapter 7 of Mathew also includes a warning that we will be judged as we judge. For this reason, my main goal is to help us be thoughtful about how we receive truths of God not to disparage people who share things that may not be consistent with what I believe, even if their intentions are not the best. In statements like this Jesus is clearly asking us to be mindful of what we receive from others to help us stay spiritual safe. We can learn to be critical of ideas we let into our hearts and evaluate them based on their effect. Do they yield good fruit? Do they draw us nearer to Jesus? On the flip side, people can have a great effect without having true theology. I can directly tie the creation of this podcast to someone from a non Christian religion. If it wasn't for him I never would have discovered the rich tradition of Christian Meditation. I have had countless people reach out to me to tell me how they feel much closer to Jesus when they listen to this podcast. People have literally told me they have become Christians and accepted the way of Jesus, or returned to it, due to this podcast. This was all based on a seed that was planted by someone who does not recognize Jesus as the only way back to the Father. I consider the friendship of this man to be dear to me and, although we differ on how to understand God, I feel I have come to have a better relationship with Jesus because of him. By your fruits you will know them. I am a better Christain for having known Him, which I consider a good fruit. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: What do you consider to be good fruit? Final Thought: Perhaps this is the best paradigm we can. Does the idea in question bring me closer to my Savior Jesus Christ? That may not mean it makes us more comfortable but does it reconcile us more to Him? Are we closer to Jesus as a result? FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

1 Samuel 3:7-11 NABRE 7 Samuel did not yet recognize the Lord, since the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me." Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the youth. 9 So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'" When Samuel went to sleep in his place, 10 the Lord came and stood there, calling out as before: Samuel, Samuel! Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 11 The Lord said to Samuel: I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it ring. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

168 Speak Lord, Your Servant is Listening A Guided Christian Meditation on 1 Samuel 3:7-11 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: 1 Samuel 3:7-11 NABRE 7 Samuel did not yet recognize the Lord, since the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me." Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the youth. 9 So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'" When Samuel went to sleep in his place, 10 the Lord came and stood there, calling out as before: Samuel, Samuel! Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 11 The Lord said to Samuel: I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it ring. ESV 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears." 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. Meditation on Scripture: The context of this scripture is helpful. Eli was a man of God and devoted to his service. Samuel had been entrusted to his care as a young boy, as an offering to God. While Samuel was young one night and the voice of the Lord came to him in the night. He thought it was Eli and so he woke him up and Eli said to go back to bed. On the third time Eli finally realized that the Lord was speaking to Samuel. Samuel responded with the refrain: "Speak Lord for your servant is listening." Interestingly enough the message that Samuel received was about the pending consequences for Eli for not living up to what he should have. This Many times I deal with people who struggle to accept the current reality they face. When they talk to their nurse and doctor they hear only what they want to and miss what the true message is. I feel that we do this with God too. Sometimes we ask him questions about life. We seek direction. We seek to know the will of God. Then we listen really hard for what we want to hear or we listen for God to answer in the way that we want instead of trying to discern his will. He communicates His will differently to each of us. Even the prophets of old received messages from God differently. Ezekiel would make dramatic metaphorical demonstrations to show Gods will. Isaiah proclaimed it as the will of God. Revelations is full of deep symbolism that modern believers and scholars continue to wrestle with. Our Savior spoke in parables. God can speak to us through the scriptures and also through life circumstances. God has a message for you. We can listen patiently for the will of God and then obey as best we can. Be patient with yourself and God as you attempt to discern His will for you. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: How good are you at showing genuine loving pity? Final Thought: I think one of the most valuable things I do which prepares people for pastoral counseling is genuine pity. What I mean by that is that I show people that I deeply desire to hear of how bad they feel and that I will not be damaged by their feelings. I try and make people feel understood without trivializing their suffering. Above all I gently let them teach me how bad it is to be them for a littl

166 I Found No Pity A Guided Christian Meditation on Psalm 69:18-20 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Bible verses for Meditation: Luke 17 KJV 17 And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. 18 Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies. 19 Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. 20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. NRSV 17 Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress, make haste to answer me. 18 Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies. 19 You know the insults I receive, and my shame and dishonor; my foes are all known to you. 20 Insults have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

166 I Found No Pity A Guided Christian Meditation on Psalm 69:18-20 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: Luke 17 KJV 17 And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. 18 Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies. 19 Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. 20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. NRSV 17 Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress, make haste to answer me. 18 Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies. 19 You know the insults I receive, and my shame and dishonor; my foes are all known to you. 20 Insults have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. Meditation on Scripture: Do you like to have other people pity you? In my experience most people would answer no to this question. The idea of someone gloating over your sadness is too hard to deal with; however, this demonstrates a cheap form of pity. The actual definition of the world pity has to do with a feeling of compassion. Yet somehow in our language pity has taken on negative baggage and unintended meaning. I imagine two different situations. You are experiencing something challenging and someone responds with pity. They feel sorry for you but you have no feeling that they understand you or even that they are listening or care and it frustrates you. Now in a second situation you are going through something difficult and someone responds to your hurt with genuine kindness and compassion. They let you tell them about it or not, depending on what you may need in that moment. After ten minutes in either of these two situations it is likely that the pity without compassion would make things worse, and the compassion would likely make you feel better. The truth is, all of us would like to feel understood and accepted. Psalm 69 is considered a Messianic Psalm in Christianity. In other words it is foretelling aspects of the ministry and life of Jesus, the Messiah. This scripture was quoted in multiple places in the New Testament. Early Christians saw this whole Psalm in the context of Jesus. Here the Psalmist, who also refers to Jesus, shares their sadness that there is nobody to give them pity and comfort them. Jesus would have welcomed pity at the cross. So perhaps what we really want is compassion, love, and acceptance, and what we don 't want is judgement, selfishness, and condescension. Im my work with those who suffer, pity, in the true sense of the meaning, is actually something that most people desperately crave. It is the thing that I have spent the most time refining and correcting in my own tendency. Avoiding patronizing or minimizing language as I share suffering with people through pity, or compassion if you prefer. So as we look to follow the example of the cross here as Jesus was mocked and offered vinegar. When Jesus perceived that the face of the Father was turned from him, he just wanted pity. He wanted someone to show him compassion. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: How good are you at showing genuine loving pity? Final Thought: I think one of the most valuable things I do which prepares people for pastoral counseling is genuine pity. What I mean by that is that I show people that I deeply desire to hear of how bad they feel and that I will not be damaged by their feelings. I try and make people feel understood without trivializing their suffering. Above all I gently let them teach me how bad it is to be them for a little while. The surprising thing is that when people feel that you are

164 We Have Only Done Our Duty A Guided Christian Meditation on Luke 17:7-10 Bible verses for Meditation: Luke 17 NIV 7 "Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8 Won't he rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

164 We Have Only Done Our Duty A Guided Christian Meditation on Luke 17:7-10 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: Luke 17 NIV 7 "Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8 Won't he rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" ESV 7 "Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? 8 Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" Meditation on Scripture: Many times in this podcast I have talked about the amazing love that God has for us. For you. At times many people struggle with accepting that love and feeling it deeply. For that reason it is valuable to reflect on that. It is important that we are able to believe God when he tells us that. Equally valuable is that we realize that our position is one of grace. The love God extends to us is due to His decision to love us. His decision to do what is not required or necessary. We find ourselves in the middle. We realize that God's forgiveness and the offer to allow us to live with Him comes from His heart while at the same time that in His eyes we are worth it. It can be tempting when we hear outpourings of His love so often that we may lose the feeling of newness with it. At times the wonder that fills our hearts when we first hear of it may fade or worse we may think that it is a nice thing for others but not for us. In the deepest way this scripture speaks to those people who struggle with this idea. If God loves us because we are really so perfectly lovable then God's grace doesn't amount to much. If God only loves perfect people or people who are good enough, why is the central message of Jesus that of forgiveness and grace. Why does Paul teach over and over of the need for forgiveness? God's grace can allow us to make peace with our inner nature. We are worse than servants in the grand cosmos. These physical bodies were created from the dust of the earth and will go back to it as it says in Genesis. This doesn't mean that we don't ever do anything that God asks. Jesus uses this metaphor because the servant is asked to do many things and is expected to do them. In this way we are God's servants. Yet when we follow, he blesses us. The things we do never truly earn the payment we receive from God. As we reflect on this I pray that your heart is filled with gratitude instead of shame or guilt. The point of scriptures like this is not to make us feel bad but to help us recognize the love of God. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: In what ways are you a servant of God. Final Thought: In an indirect way God's statement that we are His servants represents a commission from God to serve. It is our duty. We can own that identity. We are servants of God yet we struggle to do what he asks us to do and we are unworthy if we expect to earn what we have not earned. The marvel is that God's love, grace, and forgiveness are extended to us who trust Jesus and follow Him. You are a child of God and if you follow the path Jesus has laid out for us then we will truly be blessed in spirit.

NIV 8 Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion's cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. ESV 8 "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Meditation on Scripture: FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

162 The Lion of Judah A Guided Christian Meditation on Genesis 49:8-10 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: NIV 8 Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion's cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness' who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. ESV 8 "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Meditation on Scripture: How do you respond to challenges? When you feel failure staring in you in the face what do you do? As you think about the things you have to do or the things you fear many times we want to burry our head in the sand until God fixes it. Or even better we want to sit in blissful silence until then. The challenge of this mindset is that it is not the only manifestation of God. In this scripture Jehovah is referred to as a lion. He is known as the lion of Judah. Many other scriptures show God as a mighty warrior who will destroy our enemies and be our literal savior. Jesus rebuked the evil spirits that he encountered. There was incredibly violence and force in the creation of the earth. God's work is not devoid of ferocity. I propose there is a different option to trying to relax away our stress and fear. We can embrace the strength of the Lion of Judah. In your heart at this very moment God resides. The same God who is referred to as a lion is in your heart. Yet he is not advocating for us to do violence to each other but to overcome fear. In May I had reached the end of an 8 year journey where I was actively working to become a US military chaplain. I had poured myself into this goal. I had dedicated thousands of hours in training and preparation and it all came down to a face to face interview with a room full of senior officers and chaplains. I flew to Washington DC and was sitting inside the pentagon which was just as intimidating as its sounds. As I sat in the hallway I realized that I could not force myself to be calm in that moment. So I decided to retell myself the story that I was not fearful but excited. In this moment my relationship to the anticipation changed. I was not calm but I was also not afraid. I felt the twinge of anticipatory excitement and that made a huge difference for me and I felt completely different about it. The next time you feel fear, recognize that the God of heaven is not afraid to stand mightily in your heart. Part of our walk with God is learning how to live with the Lion. When God comes again the greatest joy is how we will experience the Lamb of God laying down with the Lion of Judah and we will realize that there is no contradiction in this. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: In what way are you a warrior of God. Final Thought: You are a warrior of God. Not against other people on earth, but against the worst part of yourself, against your fear, against sin, against those things that would cause you to violate the two most important commandments of loving God and loving our neighbor. Take strength in knowing that the same God who created the universe in an explosive miracle can lead you to overcome fear. Jesus said that if we have faith then we can move mountain

Bible verses for Meditation: 1 Kings 19:11-13 NIV 11 The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 1 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

158 The Still Small Voice of God A Christian Meditation on 1 Kings 19:11-13 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: 1 Kings 19:11-13 NIV 11 The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 1 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. KJV 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? Meditation on Scripture: When we turn to God it is often in desperation. Something happens to remind us of our need of Him. Sometimes we realize a distance between Him and us and we may with to bridge it. As we find ourselves in this state of deep spiritual need we often reach out to God for guidance and comfort. We may even approach Him with faith asking for him to do some grand gesture for us to make sure we know when He answers us. Elijah was a prophet of God in the Old Testament, long before the birth of Jesus. He was serving the Lord faithfully and had commanded incredible miracles to be done. One of which involved the fire of heaven coming down to consume the enemies of the prophet. This did not go over well with the earthly government and they were trying to kill Him. He escaped into a cave in the mountains as he prayed. He was seeking the guidance and blessing of God. He wanted an answer regarding what he was to do. As someone who had seen the fire from heaven, he knew God could be mighty and command the elements. Finally he received an answer "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by" There was a catastrophic set of things that happened, yet this was not God's answer. What his answer was came in the form of a gentle whispering. I think this is an important thing that we can encourage and foster inside of ourselves. I anticipate that this is the most frequent way in which we receive guidance from God. A gentle prick of our conscience, a gentle warmth of having our faith corroborated. As you seek God and His answers for your life remember this lesson. You don't have to wait until you receive some profound sign or test of your faith. You can allow it to steadily and constantly grow by increased intimacy. We need to practice listening to this small whisper of the Spirit for there are the beginnings of the mysteries of God. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: Do you need to understand your hardship? Final Thought: FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Scripture for meditation NRSV 53 Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. Meditation on Scripture: In preparing for this week's message I am absolutely certain that this is the message I need to cover today. Because this is what you need. God has been very clear about this one. I think you understand. This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: Do you need to understand your hardship? Final Thought: FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

158 A Man of Sorrows, and Acquainted with Grief A Guided Christian Meditation on Isaiah 53:1-3 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: KJV 53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. NRSV 53 Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. Meditation on Scripture: In preparing for this week's message I am absolutely certain that this is the message I need to cover today. Because this is what you need. God has been very clear about this one. I think you understand. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross "The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths." Each one of us sees ourselves as somewhat of an expert on our own suffering. Not how to get out of it, or how to fully understand it, or even exactly what we feel at any given time. Yet somehow we feel we understand how bad our suffering is. The truth is all we possibly understand is one perspective at one given time. That is all we can ever have. This is even more clear as we look at the whole world. Of the other 7 billion people on earth at this moment we understand what they are going through even less. We don't understand our own feelings most of the time, much less the feelings of others. We don't understand why we perceive things so bad. The thing that I am reflecting on today is how we could possibly be useful to each other during suffering. If we don't fully understand our own emotions, how could we possibly be helpful to others? The reason is because suffering does conform to reason. Our perception of suffering does not have anything to do with objective facts. What we really want is for life to make sense. We want unending goodness for ourselves and those we care about, our whole lives long. Yet God has a different plan. It's not like He is being hypocritical about it either. When Jesus came he did not come to live as a detached royal in a large palace. He came to life as one of the people and to suffer and die. He was betrayed, he was hated, he was tortured, and the only thing He ever did to deserve it was to do miracles and to speak truth to those who needed repentance. Even his Apostles did not understand the purpose of His suffering until it was hindsight. Our life contains suffering, not because a life without suffering could not have been manufactured by God, but because this is the plan he laid out. Just as Jesus' disciples, most of the time we won't understand the purpose of our suffering until it is over and then some. I promise you this. No hardship will be wasted if it draws us nearer to God and helps us develop. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: Do you need to understand your hardship? Final Thought: FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/

ESV 2 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

156 The Kindness of God Leads to Repentance A Guided Christian Meditation on Romans 2:1-4 I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate. Bible verses for Meditation: Romans 2:1-4 ESV 2 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? KJV 2 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? Meditation on Scripture: When the scriptures talk of Grace it is active. The grace of God causes us to act and to return to Him. Sometimes we hope that we can passively sit and watch God do the miracle in our lives. We are so interested to destroy the pride of the law that we can become too passive to realize the commands he gives us to love and to follow. What do we do when we make an error? Do we sit and wait for God to fix it? What do you feel when you hear God tell you to not judge? We need to learn to love the truth and virtue of God and embrace it with every heartbeat while also loving those who fail to live it with ridiculous abandon. Meditation of Prayer: Pray as directed by the Spirit. Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him. Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm: I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials. Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life: This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Updates: Final Question: What stories and identities do you cling to perhaps too tight? Final Thought: FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

Bible verses for Meditation: John 8:9-11 KJV 9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. FIND ME ON: Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Android App Store: Recenter with Christ Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: [email protected] Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/ChristianMeditationPodcast Youtube.com/ChristianMeditaitonPodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod