Oct 27, 2019

174 We Were Ready to Share Our Soul A Guided Christian Meditation on 1 Thessalonians 2:6-8

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:

KJV
6 Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.
7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.

ESV
6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.
7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.
8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

Meditation on Scripture:

Jesus’ command to love is deep. It should rock our core continually. If you love me keep my commandments. The two most important included loving God and loving each other. Many times in the work that I do I see people in their worst moment in the hospital or similar context. Often I feel a deep and emotional connection, yet at the end of the day I drive home to my loving family. As I have struggled with some troubling cases I have to let them go to the care of God. The context does not allow for continued support. The problem is that this can become our default position. If there is someone sick we wish them well, pray for them, and maybe even drop food off to them if we are ambitious. But do we really share our souls? I have found the most success in helping relationships when I give up all pretense of expertise and expert status. When I drop the search for the “right” answer and just make my soul bare in the middle of their struggle. Our goal should not be to feel good about ourselves or to seek praise for serving others but to connect at our core.

As we share the gospel of Jesus Christ do we share ourselves or do we share a version of the story we have created for ourselves or that someone else gave us? As we attempt to be in communion with God and others do we share ourselves or do we curate the image we present them? Do we hide behind the perfection we aspire to? The reality is that among all churches, work environments, schools, homes, there are profoundly broken people. You and I are not above that either. We all desperately need each other’s help. If you are not connected with a community of people where you can truly share yourself along with the gospel, keep searching. As Paul says, love blossoms into a desire to be real about who we are, while at the same time, trying to be a better version of ourselves. I trust that God’s desire for us is to learn how to use His help and His spirit to do this.

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: Who do you truly share your soul with? Can you increase that circle?

Final Thought: When I read this scripture I was both inspired and convicted. You may have heard in the past that I experience the world from an introverted lens. I have always been a very private person. I feel a tension between being comfortable in my shell and putting my deepest thoughts out into the internet. Over the last couple years of doing this podcast I have seen very directly how this message has blessed people. While I am humbled by this, I also feel it is time to rise to greater transparency. Paul’s comments here show me that my love has been inspiring me, in wisdom, to share more about myself. This is my intention with the podcast going forward. May God bless me with the courage to do this more.

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