Feb 4, 2023

514 Remember Your First Love - Letter to Ephesus, a Guided Christian Meditation on Revelation 2:2-5 with the Recenter With Christ app  

The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ. 

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 connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.

Scripture for Meditation

Revelation 2

NIV
2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 

KJV
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Meditation:

Remember your first love. What a poetic and beautiful way for God to call these people to repentance. He points out things they are attempting to do good for him but then he reminds them to repent. In our modern society people have little patience for repentance. It is not favorable in or out of the church. People often wish to be forgiven of their wrong-doing but true repentance is often overlooked. As God’s people we should embrace opportunities to repent. There are times when, even as faithful followers of Christ, that we will fail to live up to the commands of Jesus to go and sin no more.

When we learn to embrace repentance as an act of love it changes the experience. We can see repentance as joyfully giving up things that are separate from God and embracing His love and peace, which He offers. Here Jesus demands the people repent and we can take that literally that he wants them to return to their first Love. When we change the frame of repentance to see how Christ offers it, it become sweet and joyous.

Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ repentance does not need to be an emotional flogging where we are whipped bloody for our wrongdoing. It can be a time when we reconcile our faults with God’s desires and return to His love. Ponder perhaps in what areas you can return to that Love and repent. 

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 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 do you thirst for God?

Final Thought:  

Saint Fransis said preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words. One of the most powerful ways we can reflect the light and life of God is by imitating Christ in our life. 

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