Jan 21, 2018
Begin by breathing in freely. It is a gift from God that you can
draw this breathe. If you notice a small feeling of gratitude for
this allow it to grow. Gently allow this moment to be fill of your
awareness on the goal of slowing your breath. All other concerns
fade away. You are preparing your heart and mind to receive the
peace of God. In order to prepare yourself let all worry go. The
only thing you have to do right now is breathe.
You notice that as you place your intention on slowing your
breathing that it becomes more calm. Breathe deeply softly, filling
your whole body down to your belly. Imagine the air you breathe in
goes farther than that. Imagine that the air you breathe in fills
every part of you. Imagine that your breath fills your legs and
feet, all the way down to your toes. Your breath similarly goes
around your back and down your arms to your hands and fingers. You
breathe also fills you head. As you continue to feel this breathe
filling your body you notice that without your effort this breathe
has been carrying away stress and anxiety. What is left is
calmness, and stillness.
Bask in this peaceful feeling. Allow your muscles to continue
relaxing.
Bible verse for meditation:
Matthew 12:25-30
KJV
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom
divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household
divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out
Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom
stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your
people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if
it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the
kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry
off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he
can plunder his house.
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not
gather with me scatters.
NABRE
25 But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every
kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or
house divided against itself will stand.
26 And if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself;
how, then, will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own
people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then
the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 How can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his
property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can
plunder his house. 30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and
whoever does not gather with me scatters.
What does this scripture mean?
What message materialized as you listened to this scripture?
How does this scripture make you feel?
Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation:
In the United States one of our Past Presidents Abraham Lincoln
referred to this scripture during a speech. The crowd found it too
divisive and caused him to lose an election. The ideas of God
surrounding division are not always popular.
Spend a few moments thinking about how we as humans are
divided.
How is this applicable on a personal level?
How is this applicable on a national level?
How is this applicable on an international level?
How is this applicable beyond this earthly existence?
When Jesus spoke them he referred to the casting out of devils as evidence that Satan would not do that to his own. This was a proclamation of the Condescension of God.
Think for a moment about the witness Jesus bore here of His
righteousness.
What can we learn from his witness?
Are there ever times when you feel the sting of division?
Last week in the podcast I talked about unity and the community
of God. I got an email from a woman who explained a family conflict
to me. It was sad to me. Not all of life is uniformly good.
Sometimes in our lives we may feel that it is not even mostly good.
As you have calmed yourself in this moment allow the feelings of
the peace of God to remain in your heart for a moment.
As gently as possible allow these words of Jesus speak truth to
your life situation.
Allow God’s light to illuminate your life on how you can change
things with His help.
Take this idea of a unified house and take the insights that you
have gained from this peaceful reflection and join me in
prayer.
Meditation of Prayer:
Pray as directed by the Spirit.
Pray now in a spirit of submission to Him.
Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:
I invite you to sit in silence feeling the strength from God and
those you care about.
Meditate and Visualize Positive Change in Your Life:
What insights did you gain during these moments?
What thing will change in your life after this moment?
Share this message :
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:
Print and use this scripture.
I release a new episode of this every Sunday morning at 1AM
Mountain time in the US.
You can get more information about my podcast by visiting my
website ChristianMeditationPodcast.com
I pray that each of you listening will be able to receive the
Spirit of God’s peace. I pray God’s that you will be able to
continually invite him into your life and thereby feel his peace.
Jesus is very clear in this scripture. He tells us that division
leads to insecurity and can be our downfall. After this scripture
he goes on to say that we can receive a forgiveness of even the
worst things we do in life, but not rejecting the Holy Spirit. Let
us heed this warning and always embrace God’s spirit and make room
for him.
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