Nov 22, 2020

284 is It Not Enough For You To Drink Clear Water, A Guided Christian Meditation on Ezekiel 34:17-19 with the Recenter With Christ app

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:

Ezekiel 34:17-19
NIV
17 “‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. 18 Is it not enoug for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

KJV
17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

Meditation on Scripture:

This scripture provides an amazingly clear analogy of people who four the clear and pure water by thoughtless action. Much of this chapter is devoted to calling out leaders. Some people may feel a little relieved to think that this scripture is not aimed at them. Perhaps it is only for those unspecific bad church leaders who are malicious in doing wrong.

That is not the only kind of people who cause the pure living water to be muddied. Jesus Called himself the living water. Our actions can make it harder for others to come into Christ. Each one of us in our way does things that are careless and muddy the clear waters and foul the pasture for others. The Pastor’s goal is that each sheep has clean water and good pasture that hasn’t been messed up by other sheep. Sometimes we are the trampling sheep. Sometimes our grass it trampled it. That may through thoughtless action that has harmed you or someone else. That may be through gossip, it may be through a variety of sins or inaction.

If you have spent any amount of time listening to this podcast you know I don’t delight in shame. So I invite you to embrace the love contained here. God wants us all to have access to pure water. The solution is by listening to the good shepherd be being directed by God. Then valuing the things of God enough to try and make sure we don’t make it more difficult for others to feast on the Love of God. Some people are in direct and obvious leadership roles. Others are leaders simply by believing in Jesus. If you believe in Jesus as your savior others may look to you as an example of how Christians behave. Let us not foul the water that others are drinking from.

Meditation of Prayer:

Pray as directed by the Spirit.

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

Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:

I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials.

Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life:
This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast

Updates:

Final Question: What can you do to help keep the waters clean for others?

Final Thought: The analogy is not complete. In other words there is nothing that you or I can do to truly muddy Jesus. He has already risen above our sin and carelessness through his Atonement. The metaphor I am applying is that there are things that make it hard for others to follow God and partake of the life giving water. We should be willing to take a look in the mirror and stop those things.

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