Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life with Pastor Dave Cover
Christian Meditation can help refocus your mind and recalibrate your body to get the stress, anxiety and anger out of your heart and out of your body. Spend about 23 minutes to "be still" with God as each episode uses a different biblical image to e...
Recent Episodes
A Meditation to Envision Having Gratitude Instead of Grumbling from Philippians 2:12-13
12:54 | 10-17-2024
This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I’m Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God’s presence through biblically guided imagination. If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.Philippians 2:14-15 NIV14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky….Philippians 1:6 ESVAnd I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.Philippians 2:13 NIVFor it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePodOur audio engineer is Matthew Matlack.This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Meditation to Envision God Working In You from Philippians 2:12-13
14:09 | 10-15-2024
This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I’m Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God’s presence through biblically guided imagination. If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.Philippians 2:9-13 NIV9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePodOur audio engineer is Matthew Matlack.This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Meditation to Embrace the Mindset of Humility from Philippians 2:3-5
13:52 | 10-10-2024
This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I’m Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God’s presence through biblically guided imagination. If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.Philippians 2:3-5 NIV3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.If you want to flourish in God’s universe, always choose humility. Here’s how Paul defines humility. 1Not using others to bring a sense of value and significance to yourself. Rather, humility wants to show other people their value. 2Not using others to advance your own interests. Rather, humility cares first about the interests/needs/story of others. 3And what will always ruin relationships is selfish ambition and trying to bring recognition and glory to yourself. But all this is impossible if we don’t have the sense of our value and significance and future glory that’s already ours in the gospel of Christ. When we believe/trust the gospel, we don’t have to use others to get what we already have. We’re freed to be humble.Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePodOur audio engineer is Matthew Matlack.This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Meditation to Replace Selfishness with Humility from Philippians 2:1-5
11:53 | 10-08-2024
This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I’m Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God’s presence through biblically guided imagination. If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.Philippians 2:1-5 NIV1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePodOur audio engineer is Matthew Matlack.This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Meditation to Experience God’s Presence with Your Biblically Guided Imagination in Psalm 16:8-9
12:35 | 10-03-2024
This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I’m Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God’s presence through biblically guided imagination. If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.Imagination is your mind’s God-given ability to form powerful images of things not physically seen. It’s part of being created in the image of God. Remember in the first chapter of the Bible we see over and over how God first imagined (let there be) and then it was so. If you lay in bed at night and think about having a conflict with someone, your imagination will make your body prepare for a conflict. That’s its power. Your body will believe the real and the unreal just as quickly, depending on what your imagination is focused on. That’s why our imagination can be a tool of our spiritual enemy to deceive us. Often the devil’s slander happens in our mind through our imagination. When we ruminate on past offenses against us. Or ruminate on our shame. Or we imagine a future where God cannot be trusted.But also our biblically guided imagination can be a powerful weapon in our spiritual warfare. Our mind operates primarily through images. And so does the Bible. So much of the Bible gives us imagination more than information. Our biblically guided imagination allows us to enter into an experience of God rather than just intellectual knowledge. A great example of this is what David writes in Psalm 16:8-9.Psalms 16:8-9 (NIV)8 I keep my eyes always on the LORD.With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure.Today you can envision and embrace the joy, thankfulness, and security of “seeing” God’s near presence. Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePodOur audio engineer is Matthew Matlack.This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Meditation to Remind Yourself that Jesus is Worth It from Philippians 1:27-28
12:25 | 10-01-2024
This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I’m Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God’s presence through biblically guided imagination. If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.Philippians 1:27 NIV“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”Another English translation captures the literal Greek…Philippians 1:27 CSB“Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.”Philippians 3:20 CSB“Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”Philippians 1:28 NIV“without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.”Philippians 1:6 NIV“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePodOur audio engineer is Matthew Matlack.This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Meditation to Experience God’s Grace and Peace in Your Body from Philippians 1:2, 6
11:10 | 09-26-2024
This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I’m Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God’s presence through biblically guided imagination. If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.Job 33:4 NIV“The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”Acts 17:25 NIV“…He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”Acts 17:28 NIV“For in him we live and move and have our being.”Philippians 1:1-2 NIV“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi…. 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”Philippians 1:6 NIV“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePodOur audio engineer is Matthew Matlack.This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Meditation to Envision Yourself as One of God’s Holy People from Philippians 1:1
15:08 | 09-24-2024
This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I’m Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God’s presence through biblically guided imagination. If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.Philippians 1:1 NIV“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi.”1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePodOur audio engineer is Matthew Matlack.This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Meditation to Envision Yourself Alone with the I AM in Psalm 37:7
15:24 | 09-19-2024
This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I’m Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God’s presence through biblically guided imagination. If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.Psalm 46:10 (NIV) “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’”The verb in the ancient Hebrew (that this was originally written in) for “be still” can also be translated as, “let go; relax; let drop.” We can let go of our tension and self-guarding in our body when we remember to “know” what it means that God is God.Psalm 37:7 (NIV) “Be still before the LORD.”“LORD” in all uppercase letters in our English Bibles indicates that in Hebrew God’s name, Yahweh, is used (for example, Exodus 3:14-15; Isaiah 42:8). Yahweh is the ancient Hebrew verb form for “HE IS.” God’s name, Yahweh, is used more than any other term for God in the Hebrew scriptures. More than “God” is used. When we survey the various truths associated with God’s name, HE IS, in the Hebrew scriptures (what we call the Old Testament), four important aspects of God are emphasized. HE IS the Creator and Sustainer of ALL that exists, including this entire universe (Ps 33:6; Isa 40:26; Isa 42:5; Isa 44:24). HE IS the Giver and Sustainer of ALL life everywhere always (Num 27:16; Job 12:10; Acts 17:25). HE IS eternal and forever God (Isa 40:28; Isa 57:15) HE IS ALWAYS infinitely 100% present with you and in control of everything in your life at every moment (Ps 31:14-15; without being any less present or focused anywhere else in the universe, because HE IS infinite). See Jesus’s words in Matthew 10:29-31. We often meditate on God‘s name in this podcast because it is the key to experiencing God as HE IS. God’s name is filled with wonder and mystery and transcendence for us to meditate on using our biblically guided imagination.So imagine – envision – this reality. He is the Source of all being; he is the Giver of your life and sustains your life at every moment; he is the one who “inhabits eternity” (Isaiah 57:15), and so has the eternal perspective in all your life’s circumstances; and he is infinitely, intimately, 100% present with you at every moment and in control of every circumstance in your life.Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePodOur audio engineer is Matthew Matlack.This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Meditation to Let Go of Self-Guarding By Knowing that God is God
08:58 | 09-17-2024
This is Christian Meditation for A Bigger Life – a time for you to relax your body, refocus your mind, and to re-imagine and re-narrate your life to a truer reality. I’m Dave Cover. I want to help you with Christian meditation where you can break through all the distractions and experience God’s presence through biblically guided imagination. If your podcast app is set to skip the silent sections, disable that in your podcast app for this podcast.Psalm 46:10 (NIV) “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’”The verb in the ancient Hebrew (that this was originally written in) for “be still” can also be translated as, “let go; relax; let drop.” We can let go of our tension and self-guarding in our body when we remember to “know” what it means that God is God.Psalm 100:3 (NIV) “Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his.”Psalm 100:5 NIV“For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it.Follow Dave Cover on X (Twitter) @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on X @ABiggerLifePodOur audio engineer is Matthew Matlack.This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.