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Sep 22, 2019

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