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Apr 28, 2019

122 Abide in My Love, A Guided Christian Meditation on John 15:9-11

I’m Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina:

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.

We have our guest back today! We have been working hard this week to make a meaningful podcast episode together so I hope you enjoy.

Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:

Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.

Bible verses for Meditation:


ESV
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

NABRE
9 As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
11 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation:

What a powerful statement. As the Father loves Jesus, so He loves us. I don’t know if we can fully understand how profound that is. We struggle to grasp even the depths of human love. Can anyone truly explain or understand the love of a mother for her children? Yet how much more the Father loves the Son. And with that same intensity he loves you. Abide now in this love.

One of the things that I often counsel with people about is how to balance acceptance and determination. In other words, when something bad happens should we fight with all that we have and never stay down, or do we accept the will of God? Both choices seem like they are worthwhile at times. This scripture hints at another option. Abide in the love of God.

It seems cliche to say that love is the answer but it is. Knowing this intellectually is not enough. We need to abide in it. Keep his two greatest commandments, which are love. Then will our joy be complete. As we learn to embrace the love of God and truly let it fill our hearts we will feel this joy of God. This can displace the need to fight while also moving us forward on His path for us. We don’t need to choose a false dichotomy of faith and works. The only work is love. Every good work is love. Without love we miss the whole point.

If you feel fearful, anxious, tempted, angry. Love. Don’t lust for the love of others or the love of the world. Abide in God’s love.

Meditation of Prayer:

Pray as directed by the Spirit.

Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him.

Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:
I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials.

Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life:

This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast

Updates:

Final Question:
How can you more fully embrace the Love of God?

Final Thought:
With this understanding our whole lives should be tied up in inviting love into our hearts. Not as an infrequent guest but as the host of our soul. The good news is that we dont do this alone. God himself has loved us first. He loves us as he loves his only begotten Son. In a way you will never fully understand, he loves you. He loves you forward. He loves you toward improvement. Embrace this love. Find time to sit in stillness with him and just feel this love. Embrace it. Dont grasp at it with clenched fists but with an open heart letting it come and go as God sees fit. Feed love and He will come.

FIND ME ON:
Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com
Voicemail - (602) 888-3795
Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com
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