Christian Meditation Podcast

ChristianMeditationPodcast.com ChristianMeditationPodcast.com/contact Patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Meditate with me on the lyrics of the Song "Be Still My Soul" which forms the backing track to my podcast each week.

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christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Bible verse for meditation: KJV 1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord. 2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits. 3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. NIV 1 To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue. 2 All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. 3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: I was listening to a podcast today and I heard something summarized that I have heard today but he said it so clearly. Goals can come and go but establishing consistent habits is what leads to lasting change. For those who follow the way of Jesus, we are on a path of improvement with peaks and valleys. As we feel inspired to follow him, at times we get discouraged, we get distracted, we lose focus. The good news is that regardless of where our hearts wander, our faith shows us we are still on the path. We can continue to trust that he will not only save us from the worst version of ourselves but that he will transform us over the course of our lives. There is a tricky balance between perfectionism and complacence. When we fail to live up to what God expects us we can take an honest look at ourselves and feel the gentle twinge to allow us to take accountability while at the same time accepting God's grace. He weighs the motives of our hearts. He will establish our plans as we trust in him and fully commit. This commitment need not be full of fear and anxiety but a calm assurance that as we remain committed to improvement that we will improve and some day, perhaps in a few million years, we will reach some of the goals he has for us. Drop the fear and continue to commit to him with faith in His power and mercy. 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Details: Greatest number of downloads. Final Question: How can you recommit to God? Final Thought: The statistical chance that you have messed up on some of the righteous desires you have for yourself is extremely high. I know I have already. The Good News of Jesus is that we are transformed through our faith in Him. The work he does through us can be mighty. Although you and I both have a long way to go we can rejoice in the goodness of our God. Our mighty God has the power to cast galaxies into supermassive black holes. He has the power to transform ashe into life. He is not limited even by time or our concepts of weakness and strength. This same being is the one who has declared to us that He loves us enough to show us the way and that he is patient with us as we make our best efforts to follow. Keep committed to the Lord and improving in him. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Edit: This scripture is in John chapter 15. It was originally listed as the wrong chapter. ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Bible verse for meditation: NIV 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. ESV 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: Jesus is the vine we grow on. We are the branches on that vine and the things we do is the fruit. A few verses before this the Father was introduced into the metaphor as the gardener that prunes branches that produce some fruit to get them to produce more. If you have faith in God that is some fruit. Even when we don't live up to our potential, we know that God can prune us to help us improve. As he prunes us and cuts back the parts that are not helpful to us, we can provide more fruit. The repeated command here is to abide in him and he abides in us. Abiding in him is a simple thing but challenging. We can immerse ourselves in his word. We can dedicate ourselves in prayer. Above all we can trim those thoughts inside of us that are in contrast to our faith. We can silence the lusts, desires, and weakness as we yield to God. Our goals of being more healthy, and improving our spiritual life can help move us closer 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Details: Greatest number of downloads. Final Question: Which of your personal goals most overlap with the Glory of God? Final Thought: God's Glory is to bring fruit through us, those who believe in him. With him abiding in us we truly can bear much fruit as this scripture says. There is great overlap with the righteous goals we set for ourselves and the fruit we can bring. As we spend time in opening our hearts to him through meditations like this one, we can more fully abide with him and have more fruits. May we stay humble as we feel him pruning us and trust that with His careful hand we can bear more fruit than ever before FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Feel free to reach out to me at ChristianMeditationPodcast.com/contact I am working to resolve my email but until then this contact page will email directly to my inbox. I hope this meditation inspires you to reach your new years resolutions.

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Bible verse for meditation: KJV 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. NRSV 28 "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: What a powerful message. Many people at this time of a year feel exhausted. Engaged with work, activity, and even charitable acts we may feel overwhelmed by all that we have committed to. When Jesus speaks of the heavy laden or those carrying heavy burdens he is addressing each one of us in a way. It may be burdens of sin and guilt, or anxiety and depression, or physical work, or a combination of many of these. I find it interesting that Jesus' recommendation to those who carry heavy burdens is to take HIS yoke upon us. A Yoke is a type of harness that links together multiple animals to carry some heavy weight so that they weight is shared between them. What this means is that we share the weight and don't carry it along. In other places in scripture Paul recommends that we equally yolk ourselves with other believers. We can rely on each other and help each other. Most importantly though of all is the role that Jesus plays in this. In the struggles of our lives, Jesus is the one that carries the heaviest weights. He is not a task master with a whip sitting behind us or guiding us with a rope from in front, but he walks beside us and pulls our weights when we are weak. 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Details: MERRY CHRISTMAS! Final Question: What burden can you give to the Lord? Final Thought: With the Christmas season behind us, the new year is upon us. As we prepare to refresh our efforts and goals for improvement, may we feel guided by peace and hope instead of obligation and guilt. As we take on the yolk of Jesus our burdens are eased, because he helps us focus on his path and what he wants for us and he carries us. In this way, his burden is truly light. As you commit to working toward goals of self improvement may you be comforted and guided along the way of the Lord for you. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Bible verse for meditation: KJV 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: When I worked in the hospital, one of the areas I was assigned was in the labor and delivery floor. I was there to pray with new mothers and comfort families when things didn't go well. It still causes me to pause and reflect that average people today have such high tech support when the Savior of the world, the very Son of God, was born in so humble circumstances. It is hard for me to imagine these shepherds coming to this common place. Not a hospital but a place where livestock lived. Jesus was not born in a sterile room. Despite the humble circumstances of his birth, angels declared to the shepherds of his saving role. I can only imagine these shepherds seeing a whole sky full of angels singing praises to Jesus. That the angels appeared to shepherds was interesting. Shepherds are a constant metaphor in scripture. Jesus himself said that he is the good shepherd. He said that his sheep hear his voice and follow and obey him. Those of us who have heard the word of Jesus become shepherds and stewards of that word. The Magi or wise men also were shown the way to God but it doesn't say anything about angels guiding them. They read of prophecies and the new star. God can and does use our own strengths and weaknesses in guiding us along the path He has in mind for 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Details: MERRY CHRISTMAS! Final Question: What will you do on Christmas day to hark to the message of these angels and honor the birth of Jesus? Final Thought: God can guide each of us in the way that we need. The common factor is a willingness to be guided by God. Each of us may receive his guidance differently. It may be through study, meditation, prayer, bearing witness and testimony of what we know. Most likely it will be many of these things. One thing is certain though, it will come as a result of faith. May this Christmas be full of faith and God's spirit of peace and love. May whatever unpleasant or dark memories of this season be replaced with the true joy of His birth. May our reflections on the whole nativity scene remind us that God can guide any humble heart to Him if we have faith and trust in Him. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

I would love to hear your feedback at ChristianMeditationPodcast.com/contact Find peace and comfort this Christmas season by meditating on God's word.

I'd love to hear your feedback. Visit me at christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact to send me an email to my inbox. Bible verse for meditation: KJV 41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. NABRE 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: The Book of John represents a higher representation of Jesus. The birth of Jesus represents the coming of the light. The Word, being Jesus Christ, was from the beginning. The birth of Jesus is the coming of the Word into this world which chased out the darkness. It was this action 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Details: During the time when Mary was pregnant with Jesus she went to visit Elisabeth. Luke doesn't say exactly why Mary visited Elisabeth but it was when Elisabeth was 6 months pregnant with John the Baptist. Mary was not as far along her pregnancy and it seems possible that she was doing it to avoid others discovering her pregnancy further demonstrating the shame Mary had to endure for carrying the Son of God. I really love this scripture because it speaks of spiritual conviction which comes through the Spirit. Not only this but John the Baptist, who was a baby in Elisabeth's belly, recognized it. This is one of the first witnesses of the Divinity of Jesus. Both women and children were not considered to be viable witnesses in Jewish courts and yet here they were testifying of the divinity of Jesus. This testimony Elisabeth received through testimony of the Holy Ghost. There were many people who could not recognize the divinity of the Adult Christ, yet Elisabeth was able to feel the conviction of Jesus' divinity. Not through Angels or Visions of Glory but the spirit speaking to her heart. Similarly you and I can receive a testimony of the Divinity of Jesus and any other truth of God, through the Holy Spirit. My hope is that this same conviction that burned in Elisabeth's heart will be revived in ours as we reflect on Jesus this Christmas Season. Final Question: Final Thought: As we navigate through this life we often seek guidance. Many times there are questions we have in our lives that we ask to God. It is important to note that God is the one who determines when the answer comes but I believe that it is equally important that we put spiritual oil in our own lamps so that when we most need the answers, that we are ready to receive the answers he would provide. May we continue to humble ourselves and approach God seeking His wisdom and witness. 39 During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord[n] should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed are you who believed[o] that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

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Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Bible verse for meditation: NIV 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me! NABRE 4 At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 He touched my mouth with it. "See," he said, "now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged." 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am," I said; "send me!" What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: Sometimes I find myself wishing I could understand God's will for me better and clearer. According to the writings of many prophets God can speak clearly through messengers or any way he chooses. Sometimes we overlook the duty and responsibility that rests on these prophets. Most of them had very difficult lives where the people were not receptive to God's will. Despite this, God asked the prophets to share the message. Many of them were persecuted and killed for fulfilling their duty to God. Each of us have a role to fill in our own lives. I am not Isaiah. Nor am I Moses. I am just me, but that is still something. I can imagine these prophets wondering why God would pick them. Isaiah is very disturbed to find what the Lord is asking of him. He feels unworthy. In Moses' account he also states his inadequacies. Both of these accounts have an underlying theme of why me. As we go through our own rough periods, this question can easily come to the surface. The simple answer is, why not me. God does not seem to intend on saving us from hardship. Jesus didn't choose someone else to save us all despite how much he feared drinking from the bitter cup of his duty. So it can be with each one of us. Our goal then of course is to navigate the challenges of life well. There is no problem to have a desire to avoid hardship and pain for ourselves and others. It is not reasonable to expect complete success in this goal though. What God does tell us though, is that he will walk with us in the most trying times and he will never stop loving us and he never wants us to give up trying to do his will. 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Details: Final Question: What is a way that you can respond to the call of God? When challenges come our way, when we feel overwhelmed we can realize that with God's help, we can do hard things. Instead of wondering why these things happen to us, we can ask ourselves what the next step forward is realizing that it won't defeat us. I pray that we can have the clarity and help Isaiah received and stand up and say. "Here am I. Send me." FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Bible verse for meditation: KJV 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. NRSV 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. 6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: Throughout Christian history the first Sunday in December has marked the beginning of Advent which is a Latin word which means "Coming." Not only does it represent the Birth of Jesus and his coming into the world but we also can celebrate his coming into our hearts. Many people focus on hope during the first week of advent. It is appropriate that the Christmas season follows Thanksgiving. This feeling of gratitude can carry through our whole Christmas season and help us feel the hope and joy of the Gospel. If God has been good to us as we realize our blessings we learn to trust that he always has and always will be good to us. For unto us a Child is born unto us a Son is given. His name is wonderful. Gratitude is the purest form of Hope. It is a hope free of expectations. I think many people realize that we could be more grateful Instead of looking at gratitude as one more thing we know we should do and feel guilty that we don't do it well enough let me rephrase it. Gratitude can be more deeply felt as we learn to enhance passing feelings of enjoyment of the world around us. The Book "Hardwiring Happiness" By Dr. Rick Hansen shows a tangible way to do that. Throughout the day whenever you notice even the smallest thing that brings you joy. Spend 15-30 seconds really living that happy feeling. As you do this it creates a habit of finding joy and you can stay in that feeling for longer. This can form the basis for genuine gratitude. 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Details: "Hardwiring Happiness" By Dr. Rick Hansen Final Question: What is a way you can increase your gratitude? As you continue to find ways to experience genuine and lasting gratitude it becomes a habit. You can experience the hope and faith in God's blessings in your life, and feel more happy. God doesn't ask us to shower him with gratitude because he needs that. He knows that this is yet another way to bless us. As we learn to rejoice in what He has given us, we can feel lasting peace and happiness in His creation. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Bible verse for meditation: ESV 9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. KVJ 9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: As I have walked many sad paths with those people I visit, I have found gratitude to be the most meaningful way of finding joy. Gratitude for all things helps This scripture was recommended to me by someone who emailed me through my website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com/contact. I really love it. It summarizes a very powerful message. Regardless of our own failings, weakness and desire to sin, God can inspire our minds with clarity so that we can take action. As we take action consistent with His spirit we can be worthy. 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Final Question: When is a time where you have most felt the Love of God? Very few people are given a glimpse into heaven. Perhaps this is a blessing because then our hearts would constantly yearn to feel more of that love in this life. Fortunately or unfortunately, most of us rely on faith. As we learn to live with God and open our hearts in faith to Him, we can feel touches of this in this life until we can proclaim as this scripture does that we would willingly serve as the most lowly servant in heaven just to be able to spend time with him. As we ponder how wonderful this will be we better understand the love of God. He invites us to have all that He has. I know from so many different interactions, that when we die we will finally understand how much he loves us. We will see those we love and we will see God and be caught forever in His love. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Bible verse for meditation: Luke 17:12-16 KJV 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. NABRE 12 As he was entering a village, ten lepers met [him]. They stood at a distance from him 13 and raised their voice, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" 14 And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; 16 and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: In the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving this week. I find it so meaningful to have a day dedicated to giving thanks. The man in this scripture was grateful for being cleansed of a horribly disfiguring disease. Although horrible leprosy only has reach on people during this life. What each of us have been offered by God is far greater. We have been offered redemption from all that is wrong inside of us. Each fault, flaw, and sin we have can be redeemed and corrected. God's great plan for us is to heal us as he healed this leper. Gratitude is a huge missing link the counseling work that I do. As we let go of our own need to control outcomes, as we learn that we can be happy even when our own expectations are not met, we can find ourselves asking: How can we keep hope for happiness alive? The most profound answer to this question is Gratitude. Spend more time in gratitude and your life will become more joyful almost without exception. So as you reflect on what you are grateful for this week, in addition to all the amazing physical blessings, like his words in scripture, more meaningful still is the mercy he offers 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Final Question: What Is something you can do to focus more on gratitude? Sometimes when we read this story we think how the other lepers were ingrates. They didn't show Jesus enough gratitude. It seems that Jesus was teaching in this scripture is the natural inclination of people to not show gratitude, and that includes us. Try and catch yourself as many times as possible in an attitude of gratitude to God for his infinite gifts to you and me and may we be able to employ them to help us take part in his great work. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Bible verse for meditation: NIV 10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. 12 Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you. KJV 10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: A perplexing fact of spending so much time near the veil between life and death is that people catch glimpses to the other side. When I worked in the hospital people would tell me of what they experienced when their body was temporarily dead. I head things that had never been told to another living person. Now in my work in hospice I see people reaching out to people who can't be seen. Just this week I watched as a man who is preparing to transition to the next life through death spoke to beings that I couldn't see. This has spurred my interest in learning more of the near death experiences of others. One thing that I have head is that as the spirit leaves the body that the person is filled with peace. As the approach the light, that is God, they experience a profound and inexplicable love. Many people are changed by this experience with such pure and incomprehensible love. When I read things like this scripture I reflect on this experience of love. Even moments with God are better than a lifetime on this earth without him. The most glorious thing of all is that we don't have to choose. God has offered us a seat in His kingdom. Because of the the Love of God we have been made joint heirs with Christ. He will not withhold any good thing from those on whom His Spirit dwells. 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Final Question: When is a time where you have most felt the Love of God? Very few people are given a glimpse into heaven. Perhaps this is a blessing because then our hearts would constantly yearn to feel more of that love in this life. Fortunately or unfortunately, most of us rely on faith. As we learn to live with God and open our hearts in faith to Him, we can feel touches of this in this life until we can proclaim as this scripture does that we would willingly serve as the most lowly servant in heaven just to be able to spend time with him. As we ponder how wonderful this will be we better understand the love of God. He invites us to have all that He has. I know from so many different interactions, that when we die we will finally understand how much he loves us. We will see those we love and we will see God and be caught forever in His love. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Bible verse for meditation: NRSV 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ESV 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: Fasting is something that is used in some faith communities and not in others. In these moments consider how fasting is represented in the scriptures. How is it represented in your life? The Scriptures show the effects of fasting. The Apostles were guided at times by fasting like in this scripture. They received guidance for their missionary efforts. That is something we can do as well as we attempt to share the word of God and bring people to Christ. At other times Jesus recommended fasting as a means of strengthening the power of the Apostles like when the failed to cast out the devil he stated "this kind cometh not out but by prayer and fasting." It appears that Jesus was teaching them that they would be more able to draw on the power of God by fasting. In episode 75 we talked about how the temptation of Jesus occurred during his fast. Fasting in and of itself introduces physical challenges. It is hard to overcome our appetites. In fact this kind of control over our desires can be applied to many areas of our lives. When we feel strong urges we can learn that we can control them. Fasting gives us a laboratory for learning to overcome our physical urges. Fasting can train us to rely on God and draw near him to overcome the things of this world. Spend some moments in reflection on 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Final Question: Have you applied fasting in your spiritual routine? Since each person has unique physical needs and challenges I would suggest asking your doctor before you fast since it can be very harmful for some people for example people with diabetes. However if you are healthy enough for fasting there are various ways to perform a fast. I would recommend that you start with with short fasts. Perhaps a meal or two. At the beginning of your fast you can have a deep and personal prayer with God explaining what you hope to experience with this fast and your dedicated purpose. When you feel your body's strong urge to eat and at other times. When you break you fast offer a prayer and talk to God about how it went again dedicating the fast to a specific goal and consider if you have been blessed by the fast. If you are healthy enough for fasting it can be a powerful way to connect with God. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Bible verse for meditation: NIV Psalms 46:9-11 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. KJV 9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. 10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: I love this scripture. Be still and know that I am God. It's message is so profound. I was talking with Carter this week and he brought up this scripture in our conversation. I thought I had covered it previously because of how much I love it. When I found that I hadn't covered it I was touched deeply in my heart in that unmistakable way that I have come to recognize as the spirit of God moving in my heart. What I believe that means is that we need this scripture right now. Many times we feel great exhaustion when we spend so much mental and spiritual energy fighting the good fight. We weary ourselves in this effort. We find ourselves stressed fearful and downright exhausted. He will end all wars, this includes the war in our hearts. He breaks the weapons we use in war. When we have done all we can and it is not enough to overcome, we can Be still and know that He is God. He existed before the formation of our universe, he existed before our galaxy, before humans lived on earth. He will be exalted for all time and beyond. And what is even more miraculous than that is that he has stated that he wants to be with us. The Lord of Hosts is with us. Be still. Know that He is God. Open your heart to Him so that you can feel that the Lord of Hosts is with you, right now. 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: Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Final Question: How can you be blessed by being still? Our lives are not meant to be universally easy. Above that, we are not meant to be still our whole lives waiting for God to do His work. In the scriptures he lovingly invites us to participate in his great work. I am humbled by this because I know so many of my weaknesses. Despite this, we go to work in his vineyard as best as we can. When we get stuck we can trust that he is the one who carries us. We can rely on him in faith. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Bible verse for meditation: Matthew 4:1-4 KJV 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. NRSV 4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." 4 But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: My New Testament professor pointed out to me the important placement of the temptation of Jesus. She lamented the chapter selection that separated the preceding verses. Matthew chapter 3 talks of the Baptism of Jesus. Interestingly the last verse right before these ones here says 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." The time of great temptation in the life of our Savior was not due to his weakness but rather due to his preparation and ability to progress beyond it. Later in chapter 4 Jesus calls his Apostles. How interesting that he is baptised, then tempted, then he overtly kicks off the organization of the church. What I have noticed is that when I make attempts in my own life to make spiritual progress, that is when I am most severely assaulted with temptation. Our common enemy can sense future progress. For this reason he assails us even harder before times of great growth. Ironically it is this very temptation that gives us a context for observing the mercy of God and learning how to trust in him and overcome it. I love how Jesus is quoting his own words to Satan. Deut 8:3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. This scripture similarly shows that it is our great need that both tempts us and prepares our hearts to learn from the hand of God. Temptation is not punishment but an opportunity to grow. When we are tempted we can reach out to God and feel a deep gratitude for his mercy and willingness to help 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Final Question: How can you change the way you perceive temptation? When we are tempted, we can reject the ideas in our minds that this demonstrates weakness and place or faith squarely on God's word. He has caused our great hunger so he can feed us mana and teach us to trust in him. Jesus Christ himself showed us that to be tempted is to learn to overcome. We can follow his example by truly absorbing the scriptures in our hearts so that they can be a defense. I have a humble hope that this podcast can do just that for you. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Bible verse for meditation: Luke 1:11-13 KJV 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. NIV 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: John the baptist was considered a great prophet. He became very influential in preparing the hearts of many people to receive the message of Jesus as the lamb of God. Jesus himself showed spoke of how important John was. He was so important that his birth and naming were declared by the voice of an angelic visitation to his father Zacharias. He doubted the proclamation of the angel and was made to not be able to speak until he wrote out that his Son's name would be John, as stated by the angel. Despite the great plans that God had for Zacharias in the form of his son, this didn't mean that he was ready to live the plan God had for him. Also it didn't mean that John's life would be easy or that the life of His parents would be great. It did however mean that God had a plan for them, as he does for us. Zacharias was doubtful about the declaration from the spirit. Despite having a prominent religious position, he was not ready to receive God's will. This unwillingness was accompanied by a shortage of faith. It is quite interesting that God shows us in this scripture that despite what role we have in His church, or despite what we know or can do, if we are not trusting in God then we can miss the blessings that he has lined up for us. Humility and faith can work together to help us overcome. God certainly has a blessed path for each one of 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Sue donated on Patreon and selected the scripture. Thanks Sue! Final Question: Has there been a time when you missed Gods plan for you? Each and every one of us have a life that allows us to learn and grow. The blessings and challenges we face can benefit for us if they draw our hearts to God and help our faith develop. As you have felt peace in your life during this meditation you have felt God's spirit. As we let God's spirit reign in our life we can experience joy regardless of what happens in our lives. Life is always improved as we trust God and trust his word for us. I encourage you to trust in God and as we do this we will be more aware of the blessings of God. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Bible verse for meditation: 1 John 4:4-6 NIV 4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. NRSV 4 Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: This scripture is in the context of an Epistle of John teaching his audience how to identify good spirits. The guiding influence in that determination is based on faith in Jesus Christ. Spirits aligned with God, acknowledge that Jesus was and is the Messiah. In this sense faith in Jesus as the savior is permanent. With that said now comes this scripture which states that God has overcome the world. This includes spirits. The way in which this scripture meets where we are at is shown in the scripture. As we take the name of Jesus upon us through faith, repentance, baptism, and by receiving his spirit, he is with us. His spirit resides in us. As this is true, how can we fear anything in this world? If God is with us, who can be against us. Despite this understanding there are times when we feel fear. There are times when we let our human emotions run wild and we become afraid. There are so many things we can grow to fear. Everything from death, to social rejection, to financial matters. Fear is a normal human emotion. I don't think that it is helpful for us, when we feel fear to pile on guilt for not having faith, but I do think it can be instructive and even faith promoting to recognize that fear is a human emotion and a normal weakness common to all of us. This scripture teaches not only how to be more discerning and wise regarding the truth of God but also how to overcome fear. If we recognize that God is with us while also recognizing that fear is a human emotion we can learn to not let its distracting effects overcome 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Sue donated on Patreon and selected the scripture. Thanks Sue! Final Question: How does the knowledge that God is in you help? Final thought - Many people who have reached out to me talk about stress. What is stress if not a pervasive form of fear. In this moment know this, God is greater than any struggle you are dealing with. He is more powerful than any spirit on earth. He is more powerful than any hardship. He is great. If we learn to continually be sensitive to His spirit within us then we can receive power to overcome fear and have it be replaced with faith. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

This is a continuation of episode 38. Feel free to listen to that one first then this one if you want continuity. Bible verse for meditation: 1 Corinthians 13:3-7 NIV 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. KJV 4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most profound scriptures on love. In Episode 38 I covered the first three verses. We can't be what we truly are meant to be if we don't have love in our hearts. Love is the center of the two greatest commandments: loving God and loving each other. This scripture points out some important aspects of how to love and things that get in the of our love. It is easy to see the the connection between kindness and love. If we can learn to be kind with a heart open to love this is an important step in learning to love more deeply. As we love and attempt to love we inevitably experience difficulties and challenges. If we express patience we can overcome ourselves to draw near to each other and God. Pride and envy can turn our hearts away from even the desire to love. As we let go of these feelings we are more able to love. A concept that is falling out of fashion in today's world is honor. With a Godly focus honor is a powerful aspect of a Christian walk. We can honor each other and those we love by being loyal and faithful to them. A Christian life is an honorable one. We can honor each other as children of God. Even as we feel wronged, we feel anger at real and perceived disrespect. And we don't keep track of the faults of others. Above all our hearts rejoice in truth and reject evil. Rejoices in truth 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Sue donated on Patreon and selected the scripture. Thanks Sue! Final Question: What principles do you hold to on the sabbath? Final thought - As we spend time with God's spirit we feel his calm and peace. This is even more possible when we spend time to reflect on His word and dedicate time to Him. In this framework we can see the sabbath as the greatest gift of God. If we dedicate this day to worship and peace, it can help us draw nearer to him. Over the next couple days perhaps you can consider how you can better harness the sabbath in your worship to help you draw nearer to God. Consider things like avoiding unnecessary work, or causing others to work unnecessarily. Ultimately though, God loves us. He created the sabbath for us and not the other way around. We can be thoughtful on how best to benefit from this gift, by drawing nearer to Him. I know that as we do this we can be more sensitive to His spirit. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Bible verse for meditation: Mark 2:23-28. NRSV 23 One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?" 25 And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions." 27 Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath." KJV 23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. 24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? 25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? 26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: In the Old Testament, God placed serious focus on establishing the sabbath day. From the creation of the Earth, God established the sabbath. Exodus 20 shows that one of the ten commandments is even to keep the Sabbath day holy. Not only that but this command extended to servants and evern animals. In the law of moses the consequence for not honoring the sabbath was death. In Numbers 15 a man was put to death for collecting sticks on the sabbath. In Isaiah 56 the keeping of the sabbath was a sign of the covenant which was also correlated to the temple. Even the blessing of manna from Heaven, which was from God, conform to the sabbath during the 40 years the Israelites stayed in the desert after the exodus. Suffice it to say that the sabbath was not made light of by God. It is understandable then, that the Jews would want to honor the Sabbath. They attempted to take the scriptures and determine very specifically what it means to honor the sabbath. When Jesus came healing with the Power of God on the sabbath, this appeared to violate God's law. This example is yet another example of it when his disciples picked and ate the food on the sabbath. Jesus taught that he was fulfilling the law of Moses. We should not take this to mean that the sabbath is no longer important to him. Some people have suggested that the translation of the above scripture states that the sabbath was created 'on account of' us. In other words, God knew what we needed and established his holy day of rest for our benefit not as another punishment. As Christians we can experience deeper knowledge of God and greater connection with Him by honoring His holy day. He longs to be closer to us in our lives, and the sabbath is an amazing opportunity to do just that. How do you weekly activities align with God's concept of the sabbath? Take a few moments to reflect on this message and how it applies to your own life. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Sue donated on Patreon and selected the scripture. Thanks Sue! Final Question: What principles do you hold to on the sabbath? Final thought - As we spend time with God's spirit we feel his calm and peace. This is even more possible when we spend time to reflect on His word and dedicate time to Him. In this framework we can see the sabbath as the greatest gift of God. If we dedicate this day to worship and peace, it can help us draw nearer to him. Over the next couple days perhaps you can consider how you can better harness the sabbath in your worship to help you draw nearer to God. Consider things like avoiding unnecessary work, or causing others to work unnecessarily. Ultimately though, God loves us. He created the sabbath for us and not the other way around. We can be thoughtful on how best to benefit from this gift, by drawing nearer to Him. I know that as we do this we can be more sensitive to His spirit. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Bible verse for meditation: Revelations 21:4-6 NIV 4 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ESV 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: A fact that is common to all of us is loss. Sooner or later each of us will be touched by massive loss and death. Unfortunately many people I talk to are so uncomfortable with dealing with loss that they put off thinking and talking about it until it becomes disruptive in life. Our faith in God is not intended to be a long string of perfecting sprinkled with rare occurrences of loss. Our life is meant to be full of loss. In fact it is impossible to love and not experience loss eventually. The scriptures do not shy away from this idea and even more more important than just telling us we will suffer, God tells us how to overcome the loss of this world. It is through learning how to have hope through Him. He is the source of comforting our suffering. By developing a relationship with him we realize that happiness comes by the ability to acknowledge our pain and to move through it and beyond it. My young family has experienced a recent loss. This week we had to put down my dog. He suffered a massive stroke. He was 15 years old. My wife and I have had this little dog in our lives since before our children were born. We have moved more than a dozen times and he is one of the few constants in our lives. He was always there. My children grew up with him always in the home. I helped walk my children through opening the floodgates of their emotion and they cried harder than I have ever seen them cry. We also talked about how to receive comfort from God. We talked about His plan and heaven. The strange thing is that in the days that have passed since those first two days their sadness has been much more moderated. We continue to talk about him and the loss but the bitter sting has been eased by their willingness to walk through challenging emotion while not intentionally wallowing in it, but letting it surface and be what it is without catastrophizing it and then letting God heal their hearts. In subsequent waves of grief we focused on the gratitude that we have for having so many years with this dear sweet pet. I hope my example is not insensitive. By no means do I compare the value of a human life to that of a dog so please take these words as an allegory or metaphor. Because God is the beginning and the end he is able to make all our loss right. Eventually death will be no more in our eyes as it is already no more in his. He has an eternal solution filled with love. Take a few moments to reflect on this message and how it applies to your own life. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Sue donated on Patreon and selected the scripture. Thanks Sue! Final Question: what is the light of God. Final thought - What causes you the most tears, and how can God help heal that in your life? In this podcast I talked only of one kind of loss, which is death. In truth we suffer from many types of loss including divorce, betrayal of friendship, job loss, even empty nesting. God's power is not only reserved for death but every tear we ever let loose. Although overcoming such deep sadness is not simple I think great benefit can be gained by plainly acknowledging the pain, then realizing that it is temporary, then trusting in God to help. After this when we are struck with further evidences of it we can repeat the cycle and replace our sadness with gratitude for the good times we have had. God will dry every tear and all loss will be understood and I truly believe that we

Bible verse for meditation: KJV 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. NABRE 18 Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. 21 But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: In the last few days I was watching a science program that attempted to explain why moths fly toward light. One hypothesis for how this happens is that bugs use light as a reference to fly straight. Bugs are used to using a consistent light source such as the moon, to fly. So in reality they attempt to fly past the light but since it is so short a distance compared to the moon, it causes them to fly in a spiral toward the light. Another hypothesis is that the moths fly toward the light. The simple fact is that nobody knows exactly why bugs fly toward the light. This is surprising because humans have observed this since humans first controlled fire and we still don't have an answer. The human struggle to draw near to the light are probably just as old as this. This scripture teaches us the reason for this. Our drawing close to the light of Jesus is related to our love of the Light, or Loving God. Those who hate God's light will do evil. John chapter 1 states that the Truth, that is Jesus, gives light to everyone. But not everyone responds to that. This scripture states why. Those who hate the light are not those than benefit from it. God has created in us the ability to love the light and to follow it. This is why he taught that the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our hearts mind might and strength, including in our mind and with our actions. Evaluate your life. Do you love the light? Are you living in such a way that shows that you love the light? 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Sue donated on Patreon and selected the scripture. Thanks Sue! Final Question: what is the light of God. Final thought - We can find many reasons to follow God. The lowest level of spiritual maturity is to do God's will in an attempt to avoid going to hell. This is how ancient Israel operated. The next level up is because we want some reward, perhaps because we want a gift, like an eternal heaven, then we follow from trust. The highest level of Spiritual maturity is that we do what God wants because of a deep love for him and a desire to be like him. May our lives be guided by this desire. May you and I have success in loving him with all that we are.

Bible verse for meditation: KJV 28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. NIV 28 "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' 29 "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. 31 "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: This scripture speaks to us. Often times we deny ourselves of the full blessings of hearing God's word. Here he teaches that we can return to His work regardless of how long we have stopped listening. No matter how much we rebel and struggle. God is not asking us for perfection and he certainly is not reserving heaven only for those who follow immediately without struggle. He wants us, rebellious nature and all. He will take our faith and create a new being in us as we remain dedicated to turning back to him. He will use us to do His work. For over a year I have been doing these meditations focusing on bringing peace through God's word. I want to be careful that I am not suggesting that we should expect a life of unending tranquility. We have no shortage of opportunity for suffering and stress in daily life. For this reason taking time to slow down and focus on God's will can be such a blessing, however, we cannot hope to have a life devoid of energy and work. It is moments of tranquility that invigorate us again to take up the yoke of Jesus and draw nearer to Him. One way this work may show up is in the form of harnessing our faith to bring about tangible changes in our lives. As we work in faith on our shortcomings we can be filled with energy of spirit to experience lasting changes. Wherever you are in your life at this moment. May we consider how we are like the first son and determine to return to work with God in one of the most challenging endeavors we can experience, that of improving upon our fallen nature. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Sue donated on Patreon and selected the scripture. Thanks Sue! Final Question: What work can you return to? Final thought - My hope and prayer is that, just as in this scripture, that we can continually exert our faith in God. So in moments like this, when we experience the slowness and peace of God we can be recharged to continue on in life invigorated by loving and Godly work. When we go to work with Him, we can do so with increased focus with more faith, hope, and charity. Let our times of tranquility be mingled with times of concerted effort.

067 Do Not Let Me to Be Put to Shame - A Guided Christian Meditation on Psalms 25:1-5 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 to be changed by the Spirit of God. by using a centuries old form of Christian Meditation called Lectio Divina. It consists of: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation, Visualization Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should 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. Bible verse for meditation: Matthew 6:19-21 NIV 1 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. 2 I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. 3 No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause. 4 Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. 5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. KJV 1 Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. 3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. 4 Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. 5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: This scripture makes an interesting connection between shame and trust. This scripture mentions shame 3 different times. Shame can mean different things but it often can hound us for things. When we violate our conscience we feel the twinges of guilt. Many times I have heard people talk about guilt as wrong. The truth is that if we do something horrible and harmful to others we may feel our conscience disturbed. It is right for us to be directed to correct things based on our conscience. This can help us be good to each other and treat each other like neighbors. We should not seek to avoid any response to our conscience but we should seek to learn from it as much as we can. We can search our hearts honestly knowing that God wants us to improve and will help us become new creatures in him. The flip side of this is when we are overcome and constantly barraged by feelings of shame. When we feel constantly burdened by overwhelming feelings of shame this can be disruptive to personal growth. I have a couple different friends who have OCD and they feel shame for things that might happen. For example they worry that they could have done something harmful to someone else (but didn't). These feelings are not the result of actual violations of their virtue. The challenge can be to determine the difference. The guiding principle can be, growing in the Lord. Our goal is not to make ourselves feel good or bad but to conform ourselves to the image of Christ in us. When we feel the light of Christ speak in our hearts we can listen and make course corrections that are needed, repent and then trust that God will help us make it right in so far as we can. We can overcome shame by focusing on trusting in God who will save those who believe him and follow his path. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Sue donated on Patreon and selected the scripture. Thanks Sue! Final Question: What is some specific thing that you want to place more focus on in your life? Final thought - I have heard people make a difference between shame and guilt. Perhaps this is a false splitting of words but there are two separate concepts. One is a feeling that can lead us to change and improve. Another feeling degrades us and discourages us from growing. We should allow guilt to work its benevolent course without resistance and with full trust in God, our savior while at the same time not being overburdened by Shame. As we trust more fully in God we can overcome shame. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

The scripture is a continuation of the scripture from Episode 37 Bible verse for meditation: Matthew 6:19-21 NIV 19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ESV 19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: What is treasure? What is important to you right now?For faithful followers of Christ, heaven is the greatest treasure that we seek. It can be very instructive as we ponder what we spend our time doing. Where are our hearts. The scriptures teach that the love of money is the root of all evil. When we place our hearts anywhere but on the Love of God we waste our focus and our lives. As we learn to let go of ambition and the things of this world, we prepare our hearts to be open to God and the things of heaven. By having this kind of Godly focus we also end up serving and loving each other while forming meaningful bonds. This week I am going to be at a funeral of a man who was on hospice as well as a US Navy veteran. In hearing of his love for family I was moved. He and his wife had a tradition of giving each other the same candies each year for their birthdays ang going out to diner. As he was not able to leave the house he had others buy the candies for him and people from our hospice company helped them share a dinner date. This man had spent a life of dedication to others. This is a fulfilment of Jesus' second great commandment. We can't wait until the end of our life to start placing our focus on what is important. We must begin now. We can exert and develop our faith in God. We can learn to trust him and then, with his help, do everything in our power to live his Gospel. With this focus he can mold us in his image. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:2 People who have dedicated artistic talent to help move the podcast along. Schedule Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: What is some specific thing that you want to place more focus on in your life? Final thought -Faith in God is not a single act but a principle of power. It is lived in a life of trust in Him and concerted focus. As we have faith in God, we can then put Him first in our lives. In the coming days, keep this thought in your mind. Allow it to guide you. Accept His guidance of your focus. God can heal us of sin and all suffering and guide our path to lay up in store treasure in heaven. Where are hearts are, there is our treasure. May our treasure always be God and His glory.

Bible verse for meditation:KJV 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: This scripture is known as the story of the good Sameritain. In the verses that are right before it. There is a lawyer tempting Jesus asking what he has to do to inherit the earth. He states to Jesus the same that he had heart Jesus tell others were the two greatest commandments: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." Jesus answers saying, this do, and thou shalt live. To justify himself the man continues by asking who his neighbor is. Jesus' response was even more meaningful because of the long-standing relationships between the Samaritans and the Jews that we talked to in episode 63. When I read this scripture I think about how amazing this level of care and love is. It both reassures me of how we can care for each other but I also realize how profoundly I don't live up to what Jesus is really asking. It is hard to truly devote ourselves so fully to every person who could be considered our neighbor. On the flip side, it is amazing to be so well cared for. I imagine that this is what heaven would feel like. Often when we think of Heaven we consider that it will be filled with people who will be willing to serve each other so purely. Jesus taught that the The Kingdom of Heaven is brought to earth by heavenly actions inspired by the Love of God. As we love God and each other we bring. When we place self righteousness, fear, or anything else above Love, we truly are not living the way of the kingdom of heaven. May this story inspire us to recommit to each other that we will serve and love each other as well as to love and serve 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:Thanks to Patrons I got a craft cutter to be able to make T-shirts, bookmarks, and sticker etc. for Patrons in the future. Patrons: Alana, Cristina, Drew, Katherine, Kay, Lindsay, M, Michelle, Paula, Rebecca, Ron, Sandy, Thomas, Tommy, Yvette, and Zack. Your donations help pay for hosting and for fun projects that will help spread the message of peace that comes from God's word. Dani - Designing the logo.Alana - Lettering Patreon.com/ChristianmeditationpodcastT-Shirt, stickers, interests you. Final Question: Who is your neighbor? Try to put deep thought into it. Who is your neighbor? Final thought -I hope that God blesses you. I was thinking about the hours I spend on this podcast. My former economics mind got curious and I added up the opportunity cost. I spend several hours each episode for over a year which adds up to nearly 10 thousand dollars. I then divide that by the number of downloads it means that for each listener It costs me less than a dolar to reach you. Compared to the good samaritan story that return on investment is pretty amazing. It warmed my heart to know that I could be a small blessing in your life. Just as the traveling man who has fallen by the road each of us have struggles at times. I pray that the healing balm of God's love and His word will heal your heart. It is the hard times that allow the greatest blessings in service and will yield the greatest improvements in us. May we be thankful to God for them. FIND ME ON:iTunesFacebookChristianMeditationPodcast.comYoutubeTwitterP

Bible verse for meditation: 1 Corinthians 15:9-11 KJV9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. NABRE9 For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God [that is] with me. 11 Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: This scripture is made more interested considering that the most prolific human writer for the New Testament was Paul, yet here he called himself the least of the apostles and not even fit to be called apostles. This is not because he doesn't believe in his own call. When Paul contends with other people who claim to be apostles without having been called, he declares his call and defends it. The sentiment he expresses here is something I think we all feel at times. He is expressing his awareness of his own human failings while also recognizing the power of God. As I have mentioned before I am a hospital chaplain. Part of my work involves visiting people in the hospital during the last moments of life. This week I visited a woman who was dying and had no visible consciousness. Her large catholic family was silently gathered around the bed. Their grieving was complicated by the fact that this woman was relatively young but she was dying because of complications from a life of drug abuse. I stood by her bedside gently stroking her arm and consoling the family regarding God's sovereignty and that we can never know the hearts of others regarding their faith. As I looked down on her to pray. I saw her shaved head from where they had attempted life saving surgery that did not work and saw her face shrouded in the veil of death. This common thought returned: that could easily have been me in that bed. I haven't used drugs but none of us are impenetrable from the effects of sin. I could have made other choices in my life. By the grace of God I am what I am. And now I hope that her life blesses you with this insight and by the grace of God she is what she is. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:2 People who have dedicated artistic talent to help move the podcast along. Schedule Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: What could you do in your life to search for God with all your heart. Final thought -The doors of life swing on small hinges. Not only have choices in your life brought you to where you are, more importantly the choices you make today tomorrow and the next day will greatly influence your tomorrow. As we yield to God through faith He can make far more of our lives than we can. This day resolve to allow God to change your life. It may require large decisions or many small ones but I know that if we follow him and allow him to Guide us we will see him work miracles in our lives. FIND ME ON:iTunesFacebookChristianMeditationPodcast.comYoutubeTwitterPintrist

Jeremiah 29:11-13Jeremiah 29:11-13 NRSV11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. 12 Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. 13 When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, ESV11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[b] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: Normally I don't get too heavy into heavy into history in this podcast but I feel that this is really important for a metaphor for our time. During the time of the Old Testament God warned the people to repent or they would be overthrown. The didn't listen and paid the consequences. At that time the people of Israel were divided into the northern and the southern Kingdom. The northern Kingdom retained the name of Israel and the Southern Kingdom retained the name of its principle tribe of Judah. Jeremiah was a prophet to the Southern Kingdom. Both the North and the South Kingdoms had prophets foretelling their demise. For the northern Kingdom this happened around 721 BC. They never regained their status as the people of God. Because their religious practice and culture had been mixed with other nations they were regarded very lowly by the Jews at the time of Jesus. One name used to represent a subset of these people during the time of Jesus was Samaritans who Jesus taught and spoke of. In the time of Jeremiah the Southern Kingdom had been overthrown also. They had been brought into Babylon but here God lays out a way for them to return. A way for them to remain the people of God. That way is to search for him with all their heart. Jeremiah tells them that in 70 years the Lord will deliver them back out of Babylon. Other parts of the Old Testament show how the people were able to return after a time. For you and I in our time God has continued to tell us how to be saved by him. He has taught us how to overcome death and sin. The answer is the same. Search for Him will all our heart. When Jehovah told this to Jeremiah to tell to the people, he knew that he would come and die for us all. He knew that we stood no chance to be redeemed through the Law. Our only hope is to search for Him. May we humble our hearts and search for God will all our 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:2 People who have dedicated artistic talent to help move the podcast along. Schedule Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: What could you do in your life to search for God with all your heart. Final thought -We can be delivered only by seeking God. One powerful way to do that is to engage in meaningful prayer. I make this podcast to assist you and me in maintaining a prayerful and God centered mindset but it is not enough to listen and feel calm. We need to search for Him through deep and meaningful prayer. My greatest desire with this podcast is that it inspires each of us to do just that. And to develop a relationship with God that drives us ever closer to him, a relationships that constantly strengthens our faith and guides our actions to abide by what He has taught. FIND ME ON:iTunesFacebookChristianMeditationPodcast.comYoutubeTwitterPintrist

Bible verse for meditation: Psalms 34:3-9 KJV3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.9 O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. ESV3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,and let us exalt his name together!4 I sought the Lord, and he answered meand delivered me from all my fears.5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.7 The angel of the Lord encampsaround those who fear him, and delivers them.8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,for those who fear him have no lack! What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: The language of this scripture is interesting. The thing that magnifies is the psalmist and us by extension. This theology is interesting. If we consider that God is the source of light and we also consider what a magnifying glass does with regards to light. When I was a kid I was always interested in the the effects that a magnifying glass has when used to focus the light of the sun. I would burn leaves and be surprised how intense the focused beam of sun can be. Although sunlight surrounded me the small lens focused that light to perform an amazing thing. The magnifying glass doesn't make the light nor does it carry the energy of the light. With that said it must be pointed in the right direction. The lens must be directed with conscious effort. In a way our seeking the Lord can be compared to us seeking sunlight. The light of God fill all things. As we seek the Lord then we are not really discovering the light but learning how to recognize it and focus it. We are like sunflowers that turn their faces toward the sun. We can magnify the power of God's light to bless our lives and the lives of others. The unique difference between the sun and God's light is that God's light seeks us and represents the will of God. In other words, as it says here, when we seek the Lord, he brings his light to find us. As we learn to turn ourselves and our actions to face His light, we feel His answers to our prayers. He will always supply what we truly need. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:2 People who have dedicated artistic talent to help move the podcast along. Schedule Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: What is an action you can take in your life to focus the light of God? Final thought -During our efforts to find and be directed by the light of God, we are blessed. This scripture compares these blessings to a good taste. God certainly can and will bless our efforts to magnify His light. In addition to this is says that the Angel of the Lord will encamp around us to assist in these efforts. May God continue to guide us as we live in his light.

Bible verse for meditation: John 8:33-36 NABRE 33 They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" 34 Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. NIV 33 They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" 34 Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: For the first time I feel inspired to make this episode a continuation of last weeks discussion. As a short refresher, Jesus was talking to the covenant people of israel. As he was talking with them he told them that being his true0 disciple and following him will give them truth which will set them free. It is interesting to note that their first response was that they had never been slaves and they needed no freedom more than they had. Here I think is another similarity to our lives. I have noticed that we as human beings, alternate between catastrophe and complacence. We either feel we are having the worst day ever or we blow it off and don't think much of it. Sometimes we are shown our weakness and we are compelled to receive God's help and at others we feel that we are doing pretty good all by ourselves, thank you very much. These people seem to be feeling the second way. When we fail to see our servitude of sin, we fail to see the miracle of God. As we preach, read, learn, and praise God for his grace we can be tempted to feel that we have always been free or that sin was never much of a difficult thing to overcome to begin with. We may find ourselves metaphorically thinking that we have never really been slave to sin. Jesus teaches us that this is not true. We cannot become what He wants of us unless we are willing to completely abandon our own complacence and feel his love fill us and change 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion: 2 People who have dedicated artistic talent to help move the podcast along. Schedule Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: What can you do in your life to live as a child of God this week? Final thought - How is it that sin causes us to be in servitude. We may feel that it is enough to serve God and try to be good but that won't do. He wants all of us. He wants us fully committed as a son or daughter. We can become joint heirs with Christ only if we are willing to take up the role of Children of God's covenant. We cannot hope to keep one foot in Babalon and work a part-time servant for Jesus we must give ourselves up and truly become children of God. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Set this moment apart in your mind for preparing to receive God's word. As you prepare you become aware of all your body. To become aware of your body allows you to become aware of any distractions in your body that prevent you from opening up to connect to God and receiving his answer. As you feel your body allow any distraction and tention to release. As you do this, you can feel the tension leaving your body and calmness replaces it. What a great blessing from God that this moment allows you the freedom to take slow and calming breaths. Bible verse for meditation: John 8:28-32 ESV28 So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him." 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." KJV28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: During this week we in the US celebrated Independence Day. As many other countries, we celebrate independence and freedom. As humans we have various ideologies and regional interests but one need that we all share is the need for truth. This scripture points out the greatest truth of all. Our need for God. In the previous verses of this scripture Jesus was testifying of his actions and how he was following the Father. Not only this but he prophesied his death on the Cross. When the people heard his witness, they began to believe Him. Jesus teaches them that those who believe should follow, and those that follow are disciples. These disciples who believe and follow what Jesus says are those who will know the truth, which is that his sacrifice overcame death and hell. He teaches what frees us. It is faith that leads to following Him. This is by far the greatest need we have to be freed. In this world many millions of people have had their freedoms taken. Many people suffer and have suffered. Many people receive severe punishments for following their conscience. As tragic as this is, Jesus teaches that the far greater tragedy is when we fail to be freed by Jesus, from sin. In Matthew 10:28 Jesus teaches that we don't need to fear other people who do not stand as our Judge in this life, but to recognize this role pertains to God. It is His will that carries eternal judgement and reward beyond our deserving. Ours is to to the best we can with what we have. Perhaps then an argument could be made that the greatest Independence Day we could possibly celebrate would be Easter Sunday where Jesus provided all of us the opportunity to be eternally free. As we celebrate freedoms (or perhaps contemplate how they are restricted for us) we can draw connections to the greatest freedom we enjoy as a result of Jesus: Freedom to live with Him in heaven. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:Each week. Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: What is a way that you can increase your faith in God? Final thought -I want to present my cautions on the way I cover individual scriptures. I hope it is clear that my goal is not to perform deep analysis on the scripture and provide the only lesson from it. My goal is to provide insights which I believe are true and are represented in the scripture. Equally important lessons could be taught from this scripture about honesty, faith, humility, absolute truth, and various other doctrinal points. For example, the con

Bible verse for meditation: Matthew 23:25-27 NIV25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Kjv25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: This scripture was chosen by my daughter. Why did this scripture stick out to you? When we read about those who persecuted Jesus it becomes painfully obvious how they missed the mark. They didn't believe him. Even those Pharisees who did believe often didn't truly trust in him. The reason that these verses were included in the Scripture is not just to show us how in error these people were so many years ago, but for us to examine our hearts. We have much more in common with these people that we would care to admit most of the time. Do we truly trust God? Do we allow him to cleanse us by believing in his gracious goodness and approaching him as the way. Early Christians, before they were called Christians, would refer to the community of Christians as "the way" in reference to what Jesus asks from us. We can only have our inner cup cleaned by Jesus. If we spend our whole lives only focusing on how to make ourselves look clean, but never truly invite God into our hearts to clean the inside of our cup then we will always have a contaminated cup that results in sickness and disease. This is not to say that we should attempt to be the same as the world. We should remember what God has asked of those who follow him. As we accept our need for God to help clean our hearts and minds, then we are ready to continually work and improve. Ultimately a Gospel of Jesus Christ without a realization of sin and the forgiveness of that sin will leave our hearts full of dirt. The time we spend in God can be in gratitude for his blessings and grace, and also in repentance for the errors that we acknowledge before him and determine to improve with His help. This scripture teaches that as we clean this inner cup, the outer cup gets cleaned in the process. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:Each week. Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: What is a way that you can increase your faith in God? Final thought -Even these people who put such trust in God and maintained that hope throughout life, did not receive the payout in this life. Think about that for a moment. These prophets were so close to receiving God's word and many heard his voice directly and saw visions. Yet even they went to their graves without perfect understanding but they had full trust, and hope that God would be faithful. And he was for them and he will be for you and me if we have faith in Him. We can have hope that he will guide us, redeem us, and justify us, allowing us into the Kingdom of Heaven. FIND ME ON:iTunesFacebookChristianMeditationPodcast.comYoutubeTwitterPintrist

KJV1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. NRSV1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.13 All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, 14 for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them. Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: I think at times we confuse the power of faith with faith itself. I love this scripture because it demonstrates faith to be what it is. It is not a perfect knowledge of something. It is not getting what we want. It is not redemption and salvation. Those things are the power that God has given to faith, but faith itself is just the hope that we as believers hold in the God, his power and word. If we become uncomfortable with faith and instead desire only sure knowledge, we will never be able to hang on to faith. Think for a moment. How important is perfect understanding in your relationship with God? If we become overly obsessed with assurances and not concerned enough with hope then we will miss what Paul teaches us here. He lays out stories from the prophets and shows how they moved forward, not understanding the end. It is easy for us to look back on their stories as bedrock, but most of the time the prophets walked by faith, many times they had no idea what would come text. They had one step to take and they trusted God and had hope in His guidance. Take the next few moments and take stock of the state of your faith. As your faith grows and matures you will gain hope in all the different aspects of what He teaches us in scripture but if you are finding yourself in doubt of what you truly have faith in. I suggest that you ask God to strengthen your faith and hope in his role as your savior. Once we trust that he will care for us, we are prepared to become what he wants us to become. We become ready to change through his spirit, which is part of the power of God through faith. If we find ourselves in need of deeper fulfillment, it comes through trusting God to help us become more than we are today. If we don't want to always be only what we have been, we must be willing to become something more. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:Each week. Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: What is a way that you can increase your faith in God? Final thought -Even these people who put such trust in God and maintained that hope throughout life, did not receive the payout in this life. Think about that for a moment. These prophets were so close to receiving God's word and many heard his voice directly and saw visions. Yet even they went to their graves without perfect understanding but they had full trust, and hope that God would be faithful. And he was for them and he will be for you and me if we have faith in Him. We can have hope that he will guide us, r

NRSV 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. 15 But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever. NIV 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 5 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'" Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: I want to share a short experience I had last week. One of the assignments I have in the Navy is with the Military Funeral Honors Detail. In connection to this detail I go the the graveside of Navy veterans who have recently died. There is a playing of taps and we fold and present the American flag. Well last week I arrived early to a funeral. The funeral was at the same cemetery where my father had been buried over thirty years ago. As I approached the grave I realized that the grave of this veteran was within sight of my father's grave. As I approached the spot, the mortuary company had already set up a speaker and some music was softly playing. As I walked closer I recognized the hymn as "Oh My Father." In this moment I felt closer to my earthly father than I have in many years. Today we celebrate Father's Day in the United States. I know a good number of you are outside of the US but I find this message is very applicable to everyone. As I reflect on the vacuum that was left by the death of this great man, I realize that each person has a unique and different experience with their earthly parents. Some people have tragic relationships with their fathers, or no relationship. It is more than coincidence that our personal history with our earthly fathers can have a dramatic influence on how we perceive our Heavenly Father. People with loving and connected relationships to their fathers seem to have an easier time understanding God the Father as A loving father. For those of us who did not grow up in the presence of a loving father, this can be somewhat harder. Regardless, we can all benefit from some focused thought on the difference between our earthly relationships and our relationship to God. Although I think it is a natural human response to experience this connection between our earthly and heavenly parents, it is not the most accurate comparison. Since I am a father now I am aware of the deep divide between the father I want to be and who I am. Even the best fathers are imperfect and can disappoint at times, whereas God is perfect. His love for us is also perfect. Although we face nearly constant trials and opportunities for growth in this life, God loves us perfectly. It is because of this perfect love that he helps us grow by helping us overcoming our trials. Take a few moments now and consider if you connect your feelings for your earthly father and your heavenly father. Open your heart to the idea that God is a perfect and loving eternal Father and loves you beyond what you can imagine. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:Each week. Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast Final Question: How is your relationship with God the Father different compared to your relationship with your Earthly Father. Final thought -I am older now than my Father was when he died. When I was young I could onl

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation, Visualization If you enjoy this meditation I ask you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or whatever podcast app you prefer. You can find links at my website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for 20 minutes. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:Consider what is written on the tablet of your heart. Bible verse for meditation: Proverbs 3:3-6 ESV3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.4 So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. NABREDo not let love and fidelity forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.4 Then will you win favor and esteem before God and human beings.5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely;6 In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths. Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: This scripture was suggested By one of my Patreon supporters named Sandy. Thank you for that. The proverbs are often known for having isolated snippets of wisdom. Many times we isolate sections but I really like how these verses go together. Let not love and faithfulness forsake you. This is something many people strive for most of their lives. Many times we feel lonely, and full of fear. This scripture answers a question of how to not let love forsake us. The way we do that is in the verses that follow. We are to bind love around our neck and to write it on the tablets of our hearts. It is not enough to simply want others to love us or to want a certain feeling. We need to imagine that, if we have hearts of stone, that God will replace them with hearts of flesh as it talks about in Ezekiel 32:26. In 2 Corinthians 3:3 where paul talks about us as believers be the letter of Christ that is written on the fleshy tables of our hearts. When we do this, we find favor with God and everyone else. This represents what it says in luke about Jesus' years growing up, that he found favor with God and man. This seems like a great direction to go in but sometimes we don't know how to do it. The next verse provides an insight in how to do that. This scripture prescribes trusting in the Lord. It is impossible to truly follow Him if we do not trust him. If we are lukewarm followers, we won't demonstrate the faith we will need. Many times we can get distracted by our own doubts or thoughts. Human intelligence in inherently limited. Having formally studied logic as an undergraduate math major, I have walked along the edges of the powers of human logic. There are things we definitely will never be able to prove or understand. Godel's incompleteness theorem shows us that. So what should we do then? Not overly commit to the religion of self importance. When we make intellect more important than anything else it becomes an idol for us to worship and we stop worshiping at the feet of the Almighty God. I hope you receive my intended meaning that logic is valuable and has its place. It's just that we are limited and unable to know everything. One way we can challenge this is as it says: In everything we do we can be mindful of Him and Acknowledge him. In many meditations we can be distracted to think about nothing or the universe or our own importance. Forms of mindfulness seem to suggest that all we need to do to find peace is to learn a certain skill of focus on ourselves. Ultimately this can help us but scripture teaches that we must be mindful of God at all times and then we will make our paths straight. When we learn to trust him and are mindful and focus on Him, then we will build the faith necessary to follow that path that he has laid out for 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:Each week. Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Question: what joy has God brought you as you have approached him in meditation? Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast Final Que

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:Each time you relax you get better at it. You'll notice as you are able to Bible verse for meditation: Romans 14:7-11 NRSV7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written,"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God."12 So then, each of us will be accountable to God KJV7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: Many of the misunderstandings that e have with other people are because we fail to recognize what we have in common, our amazing ability to see the world from only our own perspective. In preparing for this meditation I was doing research for this episode I found a large amount of search results on how to deal with difficult people. It seems that when we have a disagreement with other people we immediately assume that resolving the problem involves us learning to deal with someone who is flawed and is in the wrong. What we often fail to realize is that they are viewing the world from their perspective and we are viewing it from our perspective. Our nature is to see ourselves at the center of focus. When we slow down and begin to imagine how we are all the same before God, we realize that our perspective is not magic or absolute in any way. It is just the perspective we have by default. As Paul says, none of us live to ourselves and none of us die to ourselves. We are not the center of our universe. We are interconnected with other children of God in a way to bless and challenge each other. It is interesting to think that my life may be most meaningful, not for what I do, but for what circumstances I create in other people's lives that allows them to grow closer to God. I may never change the world in a significant way, but perhaps my life will overlap with someone who will. Each of us are, at the same time invaluable to God, while also we are nothing special. This realization allows for the height of Christian focus. Whether we live or die, we do it unto the Lord. This scripture states quite clearly that this is why Jesus came to earth and died. He is the Savior and God of the living and of the dead. As we begin to realize that our own importance is not how we should evaluate our lives a paradoxical thing happens. We realize that to constantly focus on increasing our own perspective of our own self worth may not be the most satisfying pursuit. Instead we can focus on playing whatever role we can in the God's great human theater. As we are committed to living for God and living according to our deeply held Christian values, we serve and worship in true and genuine ways. Praise be to God for allowing us to learn from each other and to teach each other, both directly but more often indirectly. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:Each week. Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Question: what joy has God brought you as you have approached him in meditation? Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast AlanaChristinaDrewMichelleRon Sandy Thomas TommyYvette Final Question: Whose perspective would you stand the most to gain from understanding and how can you do that? Final thought - I have come to believe t

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:Imagine flying Bible verse for meditation:NABRE 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?The Lord is God from of old, creator of the ends of the earth.He does not faint or grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.29 He gives power to the faint, abundant strength to the weak.30 Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall,31 They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles' wings;They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. ESV28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation:This particular scripture was recommended by a new friend of mine named Sue. I am so glad to cover it because this has often been such a beautiful scripture. Humans have long envied the flight of birds. Through different machines we have gained a perspective of the world as never before. I watched the launch of a shared Mission of NASA and the German Space program. During the launch a camera on the rocket captured the view of the earth as grew ever more distant from the rocket. In a matter of minutes the rocket provided a view of the curvature of the earth and then the air around the rocket grew darker blue and finally black. It is amazing to see such a dramatic change in perspective. We gain a new perspective about our place in the word. Perhaps this is why flight has been so compelling for us as humans. I imagine how amazing it would be to fly as free as an eagle. From that height you could see for miles, distant mountains. High clouds, observing the earth grow small. As I think about this view as well as that from the rocket, I imagine how limited this view is compared to the perspective God has of our earth. This scripture points out that he is the creator of this earth. He observed the foundations of this world and its change over time. Isaiah is careful to point out the vast difference in the powers of God. Despite his role as creator and his ability to see the whole world at once he never tires. Despite this, as humans even in our prime we tire from doing nothing more than moving slowly along the surface of the earth while running, we are not able to move mountains with our strength or fly or any other things. Any truly great things we aspire to are through the power of God. Through his power we can run beyond our own strength and accomplish things that we could never conceive of. To those who have no power he gives power to overcome. He makes the weak mighty and how fortunate we are to have such a creator and such a 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:Each week. Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Question: what joy has God brought you as you have approached him in meditation? Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Final thought - it is impossible for me to express how surprised I have been by the growth of this podcast. I know so many of you have shared this message. I have heard from your friends and family who have been blessed because you were willing to share. I feel like you all have made this journey with me. You trust me to speak soft words of peace into your ears. Many of you been financially supporting the show at Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast If you are living through a period of sadness, know this.it will pass. Take the yoke of Jesus upon you. For his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Our best hope for joy in this life is by committing our whole soul to doing what we truly believe that God wants us to. We grow under His faith driven support. And with His glory lighting out way we will continue to walk with him eternally in peace love and joy.

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation, Visualization If you enjoy this meditation I ask you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or whatever podcast app you prefer. You can find links at my website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for 20 minutes. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:Focus on being encircled by the love of God. Bible verse for meditation: KJV 3 The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. 4 Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. 5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. NIV 3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. 4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. 5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. 6He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him. Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation:Today's episode Mark's a year of producing this podcast. I feel as David says here. God has been good to us and we are full of joy. During this first year of the podcast I have heard from so many people expressing deep profound challenges and trials. Horrible sadness brought on Suicide, death, terminal illness, domestic violence, depression, anxiety, financial strain and many other issues. Each of you in your way has reported feeling blessed by these simple recordings. I also feel blessed by them. I am encouraged and strengthened by making this podcast. I am grateful to a God who can take someone of such average ability such as myself and do a marvelous work in the lives od so many thousands of people. There were 15,000 people who listened in April, most of which are through podcasting apps. The podcast has spanned the globe and been downloaded in over 117 countries last I checked a few weeks ago. These countries include Russia, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, over 15 countries in Africa, Almost every country in Europe and half the countries in South America. I never thought that I had anything to say that would be meaningful to such a wide group of believers. For this reason I focus myself grateful to God to take a lump of clay like me and to bring joy and peace to those who have sowed tears. It is not through what words are contained here but for the relationship that you are developing with God as you study His words and pray directly to Him after stripping away all distractions. If toy heater these words and still find yourself overcome with sadness. If you still are metaphorically planting seeds of tears, know this. God is faithful. He will have your testa grow into mighty trees of faith and glory being filled with joy. Thanks be to God for his everlasting mercy on you and on me. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion:Each week. Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Question: what joy has God brought you as you have approached him in meditation? Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Final thought - it is impossible for me to express how surprised I have been by the growth of this podcast. I know so many of you have shared this message. I have heard from your friends and family who have been blessed because you were willing to share. I feel like you all have made this journey with me. You trust me to speak soft words of peace into your ears. Many of you been financially supporting the show at Patreon.com/Christianmeditationpodcast If you are living through a period of sadness, know this.it will pass. Take the yoke of Jesus upon you. For his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Our best hope for joy in this life is by committing our whole soul to doing what we truly believe that God wants us to. We grow under His faith driven support. And with His glory lighting out way we will continue to walk with him eternally in peace love and joy.

Dedicate this moment to preparing your heart to receive the peace of God. Whatever worries you have put them on hold and allow your mind and your heart to calm. Bible verse for meditation: KJV 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.19 We love him, because he first loved us.20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. ESV 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot[a] love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: What is fear? What purpose does fear play in our lives? It is not enough just to say that fear is bad and that we should not feel it. God has made a place in our hearts for fear. The Old Testament also uses the term fear for how we should consider God. Fear can motivate us but it is the basest of urges. As we mature spiritually we should look far beyond being motivated by fear. Fear does not have the power to change us into what God truly wants from us. He wants us to be full of love. He wants us to love him purely and to love each other with that same passion. If we are motivated by fear then we cannot truly experience that love of God. This scripture states that this type of perfect love casts out fear. Fear and pure love do not coincide in our hearts together. As we learn to experience the pure love of God and His mercy and charity, we become more able to respond to this love instead of fear. This makes fear inert, and useless to us. When we feel fear we can realize that God's love can cast it out as we pursue him in pure love. If we claim to be in the pure love of God but secretly guard anger or resentment towards others than we reserve a place in our hearts for fear to rule. We can try and justify this foothold for fear but the consequences of it do not go away. As we allow the pure love of God to penetrate our hearts, then we root out these secret dark alleyways where fear thrives. As we allow the love of God to penetrate us it sanitizes and cleanses our hearts of fear. Please join me in prayer. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion: Weekly Episodes Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contactMerch/PatreonMultiple episodes in a week. Questions: What thing in your life requires more planning? Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Final thought - Witness about prayer. I hope you will feel this relaxation all through the rest of the day. Have a good rest of the day.

Bible verse for meditation: KJV 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. NIV 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: When you picture the Armor of God, what image comes to mind?I've seen many different artist renditions of it. The ones that I have seen usually depict the armor of God either as a medieval plate mail or some version of Roman armor from the period of Paul who is writting this. I have enjoyed these images but somehow I think they don't fully represent the difference of the armor of God. Later in this chapter Paul lays out the elements of the armor of God. Loins girt or the belt of truthBreastplate of righteousnessFeed fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.Shield of faithHelmet of salvationSword of the Spirit which is the word of God The descriptors that Paul uses do not sound like preparation for war, but for defense and preparation. The only offensive element to this is the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Paul states that we are against the powers of darkness. Raging angrily against darkness does not seem like a recipe for success. If we trust in God's ways we can much more successfully defend ourselves against the darkness that seeks to destroy us. If we try to throw on God's armor and then act as a vigilante we will not succeed. Our concept of the armor of God is not what will save us. It is God's.The other day I came across some interesting information. I want to make it clear that this is not what paul was talking about but it adds an interesting metaphor to Paul's metaphor. Gambison was a type of armor used hundreds of years after Paul wrote this but it helps to change our paradigm. Gambison is a type of armor that is made from taking multiple layers of cloth and creating a thick material that resists sharp objects. It looks more like a big coat than it does armor. However, in terms of its ability to protect the wearer, it is very effective. It is actually much more effective than butted chainmail. It looks fairly useless but it is far from it. I imagine by comparison to worldy armor God's armor would be like this.In the battles in our lives it is God's protection, that will come in forms that we do not expect, that will save us and teach us. God's protection is mainly intended to teach and craft us and help us grow into what he has in mind for us. Look in your life for what the armor of God is. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion: Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Questions: What does the armor of God look like in your life and how can you continually put it on? Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Final thought - FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

050 Count the Cost - A Guided Christian Meditation of Luke 14:28-30. I work as a Hospice Chaplain and having worked as an ICU chaplain in a busy hospital, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open to be changed by the Spirit of God. by using a centuries old form of Christian Meditation called Lectio Divina. It consists of: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation, Visualization If you enjoy this meditation I ask you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or whatever podcast app you prefer. You can find links at my website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for 20 minutes. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:Focus on being encircled by the love of God. Bible verse for meditation: ESV28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' NABRE28 Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? 29 Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him 30 and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.' Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation:In this scripture Jesus outlines an important theological thought. If you have listened to this podcast for a while, you have heard many scriptures outlining our dependence on God's spirit. So much of scripture talks about this. This scripture lays out the need for us to plan. St Augustine said: "Pray like everything depends on God, then work like everything depends on your." This quote perhaps is an oversimplification but it demonstrates a complex dichotomy. We should plan and work while at the same time trusting in the province of God. This seemingly contradictory command brings humility to us and also enhances our drive to follow. To accomplish great things, we do the best we can. This involves planning on our own and consulting God in prayer. Having faith in God does not excuse our lack of focus in working toward positive goals. We cannot do difficult things without truly pushing ourselves. I hope this comes across the right way, namely in a spirit of humility and gratitude. As you probably know, I graduated from my Masters Program in Religious Studies. I have also completed the requirements for another MA program in MFT. This required a lot of sacrifice and work by me and my family. God can certainly Anything important does. You will have time to reflect on this in a moment, for now, please join me in prayer. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion: Weekly Episodes Christianmeditationpodcast.com/contact Merch/PatreonMultiple episodes in a week. Questions: What thing in your life requires more planning? Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Final thought - Witness about prayer. I hope you will feel this relaxation all through the rest of the day. Have a good rest of the day. FIND ME ON D ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:Focus on being encircled by the love of God. Bible verse for meditation:1 Cor 7KJV22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. ESV22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. 24 So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: Today I was on the battlefield of Fredricksburg, a Civil War of the United States. I stood at the top of a ridge where there is an old wooden building that still has civil war bullets lodged in it from over 150 years ago. The scars of war are still visible. These scars can still afflict us as humans also through tradition or culture. As humans we think we're have more power than we do. Even the worst that we can do cannot control the ultimate destiny of another person. Here Paul recognizes a profound truth. Regardless of our circumstances in this life, through Christ we have freedom of we become His bondservants.Now as we're consider how to apply these concepts we can consider our reliance on God, as well to use all of our earthly power to help each other and to serve God. I think of the battle hymn of the republic which was popular during the civil war In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.As He died to make men holy, let us die* to make men free,While God is marching on.Glory, glory, hallelujah! 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion: Weekly Episodes ContactCHRISTIAN MEDITATION JOURNALKickstarterMerchPatreon Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Final thought - Witness about prayer. I hope you will feel this relaxation all through the rest of the day. Have a good rest of the day.

Bible verse for meditation:2 Corinthians 4: 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. ESV 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion: Weekly Episodes ContactCHRISTIAN MEDITATION JOURNALKickstarterMerchPatreon Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Final thought - Witness about prayer. I hope you will feel this relaxation all through the rest of the day. Have a good rest of the day. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist

Bible verse for meditation:NIV4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 9 If you say, "The Lord is my refuge," and you make the Most High your dwelling,10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. KJV4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion: Weekly Episodes ContactCHRISTIAN MEDITATION JOURNALKickstarterMerchPatreon Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Final thought - Witness about prayer. I hope you will feel this relaxation all through the rest of the day. Have a good rest of the day.

This podcast episode is unique in that it is not a normal episode but is intended specifically to demonstrate two other meditation styles. 1) Mantra meditation 2) Mindfulness

I work as a Hospice Chaplain and having worked as an ICU chaplain in a busy hospital, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open to be changed by the Spirit of God. by using a centuries old form of Christian Meditation called Lectio Divina. It consists of: Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation, Visualization If you enjoy this meditation I ask you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or whatever podcast app you prefer. You can find links at my website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for 20 minutes. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:Feel the air come in and out of your lungs. Don't force the air in and out of you. If you feel stressed just think of the God and how he has made himself known to you and let Him sooth you as you feel calmed. If you have tense muscles just try and feel the love that God has for you and know that you are on His earth. You are breathing His air into your lungs right now. Know that He loves you and suffered for your sins and he knows you and loves you. On that note we are going to appreciate 1 thing he has done for us. Bible verse for meditation:KJV2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. ESV2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion: Weekly Episodes ContactCHRISTIAN MEDITATION JOURNALKickstarterMerchPatreon Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Final thought - Witness about prayer. I hope you will feel this relaxation all through the rest of the day. Have a good rest of the day.

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation, Visualization If you enjoy this meditation I ask you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or whatever podcast app you prefer. You can find links at my website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com. Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for 20 minutes. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:Feel the air come in and out of your lungs. Don't force the air in and out of you. If you feel stressed just think of the God and how he has made himself known to you and let Him sooth you as you feel calmed. If you have tense muscles just try and feel the love that God has for you and know that you are on His earth. You are breathing His air into your lungs right now. Know that He loves you and suffered for your sins and he knows you and loves you. On that note we are going to appreciate 1 thing he has done for us. Moment of gratitude: HEAL. Rick Hanson "Hardwiring Happiness." Bible verse for meditation: KJV 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ESV 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you?Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past?How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: Peter teaches to let go of the desire to control others, and to instead attempt to live as Christ would, in Love. I find it important here that Peter connects the ideas of humbleness and anxiety. The world tells us that we need to build our own self importance up and only through that will we be able to cast of insecurity. Here Peter connects the ideas of submitting ourselves to God with casting our anxieties on him. Although this is not the only cause of anxiety it is certainly one source. When we are obsessed with a mindset of comparison we cannot truly approach the Lord in humility. When we want so desperately for others to see us as smart or attractive or worthy, we miss something far more important. God already loves you. He already cares for you, and it is for this reason that we can give all our cares to him. All our anxieties can be unburdened on Him and he is glad to do it. On the Cross he took on him our sin. He quite literally took on him the most anxiety causing thing of all, rebellion to God. In your heart experience what this feels like. What does it feel like when you hear that your anxieties have already been carried by the Lord? What thoughts do you have about that? Soak in this moment of gratitude for a glorious God who loves us enough to save us from all, from our sin, imperfection,We can return to God in an embrace of Love. What is there that can harm us when we realize that our enduring of this life can inspire others to find Him also and when it is all done, we can return to Him in unending peace, love, acceptance, and a complete absence of these earthly anxieties. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:Implement the kind of change you want to see in your life. Length, Intensity, Modality, Freshness, Conclusion: Weekly Episodes ContactCHRISTIAN MEDITATION JOURNALKickstarterMerchPatreon Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Final thought - Witness about prayer. I hope you will feel this relaxation all through the rest of the day. Have a good rest of the day.

Feel the air come in and out of your lungs. Don't force the air in and out of you. If you feel stressed just think of the God and how he has made himself known to you and let Him sooth you as you feel calmed. If you have tense muscles just try and feel the love that God has for you and know that you are on His earth. You are breathing His air into your lungs right now. Know that He loves you and suffered for your sins and he knows you and loves you. On that note we are going to appreciate 1 thing he has done for us. Moment of gratitude: HEAL. Rick Hanson "Hardwiring Happiness." Bible verse for meditation: James 1:5-8 NABRE 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom,* he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.c 6 But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.d 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways. KJV 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Notice the similarities and differences in the translations presented. What does this scripture mean to you? Has it had a different effect this reading as compared to times past? How does this scripture make you feel? Continue breathing deeply as you ponder this meaning. Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation: Last week's discussion focused on the verses that immediately preceded these verses. James taught that we should be willing to accept the temptation or trials which we find our lives in. It seems very intentional that one of the most direct scriptures that has us ask understanding from God is prefaced by this idea. Learning from God's word is not something we can casually stroll by and grab on our rush to something else. Many times it is the trials and temptations that we experience that put our hearts in a place to be ready to receive from God. If we are mindful, no trial needs be waster. No question squandered. This scripture says that God will teach as long as we come to him humbled with a broken heart and a contrite spirit as David says, as well if we let your trials teach us patience. When we are in this place we are ready to ask God and James teaches that he will be generous and will not get us in trouble for our questions. He will bless us with understanding. James also says that another factor that influences how God chooses to answer is our faith. When there are things about God that we don't understand and we hubly approach Him in faith, He can guide us. Take a moment to reflect on your current and past trials. In what way have these trials prepared you for the questions you consider? Do you believe that God will answer? The answers of God many times do not come in the ways that we request or expect but He can teach us powerful truths through overcoming trials as well other movings of the Holy Spirit. 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. Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life: This part is very important. It is no accident that scripture is so full of narratives. Our minds connect with narratives. Imagine a visualization of a Narrative of your life knowing the truths from this scripture. Now visualize someone or a group of people who need this message. Imagine what their face would look like as they receive this scripture in their hearts. Imagine how you can share it with them. Conclusion: Homework: What question do you have, and how can you be patient for God's answer? Feedback: I have been working through several episodes over the last few months. I am enjoying the meditations tremendously. I have been a Christian Counselor for 30+ years. I very much need a few minutes regularly to center my spirit in Christ, breathe in his love and strength, and let his Word sink in. You have created a beautiful method- and I thank you. I have sent many of my clients to your website, and they giving me great feedback about their experiences. Bless you, your work, and your family. - Barbara Privacy Patreon Website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com contact. Final thought - Witness about prayer. I hope you will feel this relaxation all through the rest of the day. Have a good rest of the day. FIND ME ON: iTunes Facebook ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Youtube Twitter Pintrist