Mar 18, 2023
526 Do Not Be Lukewarm, a Guided Christian Meditation on Revelation 3:15-19 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 3
NABRE
15 “I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I
wish you were either cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm,
neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you
say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet
do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and
naked. 18 I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that
you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful
nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your
eyes so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and
chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.
ESV
15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that
you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and
neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you
say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing
that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I
counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be
rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the
shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your
eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and
discipline, so be zealous and repent.
Meditation:
Much of the discussion and focus of morality is on performance and adherence to moral standards. This presents a specific challenge. If we ignore the law then we don’t live morally. If we ignore grace we have an unrealistic standard of guilt. We can attempt to find some arbitrary standardard in between that we can attempt to be happy with. We can seek to not be warm or hot.
The beauty of the Gospel that God has given. His good news is that this arbitrary balance of law and mercy is not the best way to resolve this moral quandary. Our goal shouldn’t be to be pretty good. Our goal should be to be like Jesus. Yet to do that we must change. This change need not be through some Herculean force of human will but a faithful following and trust in the source of perfect grace, Jesus Christ.
We shouldn’t spend time becoming complacent with good in order to ease our consciences. We don’t need to reset Gods moral standards in order to love ourselves or our neighbor. We should move toward Christ and let His atoning blood ease our conscience.
End of Revelation SeriesAs we are seeing, much of the guidance to the seven Churches in Revelation has to do with repentance. This is an incredibly valuable lesson throughout all time. In modern times there remains a challenge for each of us when we know what is the right thing to do. Do we do what we think is right? There are many things which we know to be right but struggle to do them. Eating healthy and working out, building our relationships, and religious activity among the examples. This is a constant human struggle. Sometimes we do what we know to be right and sometimes we don't. This is why it is incredibly valuable for us to reevaluate our actions from time to time and embrace the mercy of the Lord. Instead of crumbling under the pressure of being perfect, embrace the fact that God is willing to forgive us and help us realign our actions at all times.
An incredibly valuable lesson that God can teach us is regarding personal discipline, not as a method of earning God's love or ignoring God's grace but as a matter of living in God's love. As we learn to approach personal discipline from a lens of God's grace it helps us not accept a lukewarm mindset. Inevitably we fail in life but we don't need to accept our identity of failures because Christ takes away our shame. Christ corrects whom He loves. Sit now in the mindset of living hot in God’s spirit.
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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