Oct 31, 2021
382 In Him All Things Were Are Held Together, A Guided Christian Meditation on Colossians 1:16-20 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 connecting with God. Let your
stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.
Bible verses for Meditation:
Colossians 1
NIV
16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on
earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers
or authorities; all things have been created through him and for
him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold
together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in
everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to
have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile
to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
NRSV
16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for
him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold
together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to
have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of
God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to
reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by
making peace through the blood of his cross.
Meditation on Scripture:
Recently I have been thinking and focusing a lot on creation. This is a subject that has been deeply interesting to people of faith who are scientifically minded. This has always been a profound interest for me. My background is in science. I taught math at the University level and as well as in depth physics. I find that the wonders of the intricacies of the way our physical world works shows the glory of God. I recently gave a sermon on the evidence for God and intelligent design of the Cosmos. One powerful evidence for God’s creation considers how finely tuned the universe must be in order to allow for the possibility of creation. Even the precisions of the strength of gravity alone is a powerful testimony. The strength of gravity must be more specific than one in a billionth of a billionth. If gravity was stronger galaxies would have imploded in on themselves and our universe would not have expanded to make way for our galaxy and solar system. If it was weaker then molecules would have flown apart and no planets or stars could have been created. This is only one aspect of the fine tuning of the universe. Ove a dozen similar arguments exist. Creation is a fascinating subject.
This scripture talks about all things being created through God and how God was before them all. Immediately then it transitions to talking about authorities and thrones. So the question is when it says God holds things together, what does that mean? In some ways the intuitive understanding is that God holds together thrones etc. Additionally it may be that God holds all creation together. The way that the ideas of creation and authority pass back and forth may suggest that God does both.
God holds the universe together. God’s influence extends to Gravity and other fundamental forces such as the weak and strong nuclear forces as well as electrostatic force. Similarly God represents the highest form of order in every sense, including the puny organizations of human power. This means he holds all authority in the universe to govern as our Ruler. This is in terms of nature and our lives. The very existence of our earth and the nuclear reactions that occur in our sun are all guided by God holding them together. There is no chaos in your life that is beyond God’s authority. The same God who pulls together black holes is the same God that can draw our hearts together.
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:
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patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast
Updates:
Final Question: How does God’s grace empower you to be able to take accountability for your failings?
Final Thought:
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