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 Christian Meditation with 1 Corinthians 6:19
19:35 | 02-24-2022
Meditation is an essential practice God’s people have been doing for thousands of years, just as King David wrote over 3,000 years ago in Psalms 19:14, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” What meditation? Well, what he just meditated on in this psalm. So “this meditation of my heart,” as David puts it, is like what the apostle Paul calls, “the eyes of your heart” in https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%201%3A18&version=NIV (Eph. 1:18). Meditation is imagination more than information. In this podcast episode, we’re carving out a quiet time to be alone with God. Using meditation to reintegrate and recalibrate your mind and heart AND your body with the vertical reality of God’s presence with YOU, and God’s promises for YOU. Our body is an important part of who we are. And it is a common place where we store our stress and anxiety and insecurity. In Psalm 38 David talks about how being out of sync with God affected his body. The guided meditation in this episode is a time set aside to experience God in a way that reintegrates your mind, heart, and body connection and replaces stress and anxiety and worry and insecurity with the peace and joy and assurance of God’s love and promises for you in Christ. Personally, I actually listen to one of these episodes first thing each morning, and then another one at the end of my workday. That might be too much for you. But if you can find a rhythm that works for you, you’ll notice a difference in your mind, heart, and body over time. (But first, if your podcast app is set to skip silent sections, disable that now.) To begin… Lie flat on your back …or sit comfortably in a chair. You might want to close your eyes so you can focus your thoughts and imagination better. Try to be in a place without a lot of lights and loud sounds. Begin to take in slow, deep, relaxing breaths through your nose. As you exhale, focus your mind on relaxing your body a little more with each breath. This kind of breathing has been shown to signal to your brain that you’re calm and at ease. Each time you breathe and relax, you’ll find that you can even relax a little more with your next exhale. There’s always a little more tension in your body that you can let go of with each breath. Continue with this kind of relaxed, deep breathing all throughout this meditation. While you're focusing on this kind of breathing, let me read a verse written by the apostle Paul in… 1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? We often read verses like that and just move on. But meditation helps us stop and focus on the amazing reality of this truth. As you continue to breathe, meditate on this biblical truth and focus your mind on feeling the reality of this amazing truth in your body . If you’re a follower of Jesus, the Bible says you have received, from God, the Spirit of God in you. In your soul, yes, but that means also in your body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? Remember, your body is an important part of who you are. While this is certainly a mysterious reality no one fully understands, this is how God wants you to think of his connection with you. And you can think of and experience these realities through this kind of meditation. Just try to imagine now what this verse says — you’ve received God’s Spirit into you — into your body. Your body is an important part of your relationship with God. Embrace your body as part of you. In meditation, use your imagination to feel God’s Spirit in your body. This is mysterious, but it’s also real. The same Spirit who hovered over the darkness and created light in Genesis 1:2 is IN your body right now. Imagine...
A Christian Meditation with John 7:37-39
20:57 | 02-22-2022
Too often our minds get trapped living merely in the horizontal realities of life where we’re focused on our circumstances, jobs, people’s approval, chronic pain, and life’s uncertainties. And we forget the vertical realities of God’s presence and loving care and control over our circumstances and our future. In this meditation you’ll be using your biblically guided imagination to see your life and your body with these vertical realities so you can experience God’s presence and promises to you in a way that replaces stress, tension, and anxiety with a calm and confidence of God’s peace and joy and assurances. This kind of meditation/contemplation is something God’s people have been doing for thousands of years. It brings transformation by recalibrating your whole self, including your body, with the life-giving, rejuvenating inner presence of God’s Spirit. Let’s take time to do that now. But first, if your podcast app is set to skip silent sections, disable that now. Let’s begin by putting your mind and body in a disposition to be able to listen to and feel the life-giving, rejuvenating inner presence of God’s Spirit in meditation. Lie flat on your back …or sit comfortably in a chair. You might want to close your eyes so you can focus your mind better. Try to be in a place without a lot of lights and loud sounds. But wherever you are right now, just make the best of it and you can benefit from this time of meditation. Begin by taking in deep, slow breaths through your nose. Bring your mind’s awareness on feeling the fresh air coming in through your nose. And as you exhale, try to relax your body a little bit more with each breath. Sometimes it helps to Imagine your body relaxing with each exhale like slowly letting the air out of an air mattress a little more with each breath. Feel your body getting more relaxed as you let out each breath. Each slow, deep breath. Focus your mind’s awareness on feeling your whole body becoming more relaxed. It’s important to use meditation to bring your mind and body back into a oneness where you embrace your whole body as an important part of who you are eternally. That’s why you will have a bodily resurrection in your eternal salvation. Not a new body, but a transformed body without decay or sin or mortality. When you embrace your body as part of who you are, you are able to live as God intends. And you’re able to present your entire self, including the members of your body, to God’s Spirit. Focusing on breathing and relaxing the entirety of your body in meditation helps you reconnect your mind with your body. If there is a part of your body that can’t relax, that’s OK. For now, just focus on the other parts of your body than can and ignore the parts that can’t. Take some time now to bring your mind’s awareness on relaxing your whole body with each breath. Sometimes it helps to have a home base for relaxing your body. For me it’s the back of my head, down my neck to the ball at the base of my shoulders and neck, and out to the rest of my shoulders. I focus on relaxing that first and keeping that part relaxed as I then focus on the rest of my body. Maybe for you it’s another place: your gut and diaphragm. Or your eyes, cheeks, and forehead. For some it’s their feet. Try different places and see where it feels like a kind of home base for feeling relaxed. Let’s meditate on Jesus’s words in… John 7:37-39 (ESV) …“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. The apostle John whispers to his readers and says that Jesus was talking about the Spirit that those who believe him will receive. This is how Jesus inhabits our lives — by his Holy Spirit....
A Christian Meditation with Psalm 36:8-9
20:27 | 02-17-2022
Christian meditation can help refocus your mind on God's presence using biblical imagery to get the stress, anxiety, and anger out of your heart and out of your body. Take about 20 minutes to meditate with this episode. By listening to this podcast episode, you’re carving out a quiet time to be alone with God. Using meditation to recalibrate your mind and heart and even your body with the vertical reality of God’s presence and God’s promises. Using your biblically guided imagination to experience God’s presence and promises to you in a way that replaces stress and anxiety and worry and even shame with God’s peace and joy and assurances. This is something God’s people have been doing for thousands of years. Remember what Paul writes in… 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) And we all, who … contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. A synonym for contemplate is to meditate. Biblical meditation is a focused imagination that “contemplates the LORD’s glory” (2 Cor 3:18), and brings transformation by recalibrating your whole self, including your body, with God’s Spirit. Let’s take the time to do that now. (But first, if your podcast app is set to skip silent sections, disable that now.) Biblically guided meditation gives you a quiet time with God — where you can contemplate the Lord’s glory by meditating on biblical pictures — images — of God for you to experience God in a deeper way by using your imagination in meditation. The eyes of your heart. A common image for God in the Bible is a clear, abundant stream of life-giving water. Like when God calls himself “the fountain of living waters” in Jeremiah 2:13. That’s a picture for you to set your imagination on in mediation so you see God and experience God in a deeper way. So David meditates on this, speaking of those who take refuge in the LORD… Psalms 36:8-9 (ESV) They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life… Let’s meditate using this same biblical image…picture this! Focus your mind on imagining this reality. The I AM is a river of delights — a fountain of life — that your whole self – including every cell in your body — is satisfied by. Feel this image in your body. Try to feel your whole body (every cell) bathing and drinking from the I AM who is the river of delight and fountain of life. Only God can give life-giving “living waters” to your body. Your soul. Your mind. Your whole being. Using the eyes of your heart, see this reality as true for you — picture yourself drinking in delight from the abundance of God’s fountain of life. Feel your body floating in God’s river of delight. David’s imaginative meditation is ultimately prophetic in that he gives a poetic picture of what will ultimately be true when heaven comes back to earth when Jesus returns. Revelation 7:17 (ESV) For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water… Revelation 22:1 (ESV) Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb… Psalm 46:4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. But there is a reality to this you can experience now through a kind of mental time travel — meditation is a way to feast on the abundance of God’s house. A way to drink from the river of his delights. A way to experience God now as our “fountain of life.” Because it’s true now. The I AM inhabits eternity. Who he will be for you when heaven returns to earth in Jesus is who he IS for you now by his Holy Spirit. This is a meditation on an image with a promise. Picture this — “springs of living water” — “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal,...
A Christian Meditation with Psalm 63:1
26:54 | 02-15-2022
In biblical meditation, you’re intentionally focusing your inner voice and thoughts on God’s presence and promises in your life. When you try to meditate, you’ll discover that this is hard to do. Your mind will wander into other imaginations. Other stories. This is normal. Don’t get frustrated with yourself when it happens. Just pick right back up with where we are in our meditation. By listening to this podcast episode, you’re carving out a quiet time to be alone with God. Using meditation to recalibrate your mind and heart and even your body with the vertical reality of God’s presence and God’s promises. Biblically guided meditation is using your imagination to experience God’s presence and promises to you in a way that replaces stress and anxiety and worry and even shame with God’s peace and joy and assurances. This is something God’s people have been doing for thousands of years. The apostle Paul writes in… 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) And we all, who … contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. A synonym for contemplate is to meditate. Biblical meditation is a focused imagination that “contemplates the LORD’s glory” (2 Cor 3:18), and brings transformation by recalibrating your whole self, including your body, with God’s Spirit. One way to experience this kind of transformation is by replacing built-up tension and stress and anxiety in your mind and body with a rejuvenating and relaxing experience of God’s presence and promises. Let’s take the time to do that now. (But first, if your podcast app is set to skip silent sections, disable that now.) A common image for God in the Bible is a clear, abundant stream of life-giving water. Like when God calls himself “the fountain of living waters” in Jeremiah 2:13. That’s a picture for you to set your imagination on in mediation so you see God and experience God in a deeper way. So David meditates on this image in… Psalms 63:1 (ESV) O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. “My soul thirsts…my flesh faints for you” — in the OT your soul is your whole being, including your body. Even your body thirsts for God — “the fountain of living waters.” In David’s meditation, he is presenting his entire self — spirit, mind, and body – to God as HIS God and the only satisfaction for his thirst. Let’s meditate using this same biblical image…picture this! Let’s meditate on Jeremiah’s meditation in… Jeremiah 17:13-14 (ESV) …the LORD [is] the fountain of living water. Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved… This is a meditation on an image with a promise. Picture this. A “fountain of living water” that brings life and complete healing. Washing and bathing in God as your healing waters. Drinking from him as a pure flowing fountain. This is the I AM. Jesus uses this image of the I AM as a picture of who he is… John 4:14 NIV …Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Say quietly to yourself… “Because I have Jesus, the forever God is my God forever!” 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 Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Christian Meditation with Psalm 46
24:19 | 02-10-2022
People today are discovering all kinds of benefits of meditation. That’s a good thing. And the Bible’s been here all along. But biblical meditation is more than simply a form of mindfulness. It’s not less than that, because it is a form of learning to focus and discipline our minds in a way that blocks out the typical chatter in our brains. This voice in our head that is constantly wandering into the past or the future in ways that typically either ruminate on past conflicts or hurts, or worry about future conflicts or troubles (this is using the power of our imagination in anxiety-building ways). And as the teachings of Jesus and the rest of the Bible repeatedly emphasize, these kinds of wandering thoughts and imaginations usually do more harm than good. They make us embittered victims and put us in a disposition of hostility and anxiety. This puts even more stress and anxiety in our bodies as well. In biblical meditation, you’re intentionally focusing your inner voice and thoughts on God's presence and promises in your life. When you try to meditate, you’ll discover that this is hard to do. Your mind will wander into other imaginations. Other stories. This is normal. Don’t get frustrated with yourself when it happens. Just pick right back up with where you are in your meditation. This is where this podcast is helpful. Try to focus your mind on what’s being said as best as you can. In this podcast episode, we’re carving out a quiet time to be alone with God. Using meditation to recalibrate your mind and heart and even your body with the vertical reality of God’s presence and God’s promises. Using your biblically guided imagination to experience God’s presence and promises to you in a way that replaces tension and stress and anxiety and worry with God’s peace and joy and assurances. This is something God’s people have been doing for thousands of years, just as we read in Psalm 119:148. Psalms 119:148 (ESV) My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise. Let’s take the time to do something like that now. (But first, if your podcast app is set to skip silent sections, disable that now.) To begin… Lie flat on your back …or sit comfortably in a chair. You might want to close your eyes so you can focus your mind better. Try to be in a place without a lot of lights and loud sounds. Jesus says in Matthew 6:6 NIV “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” It’s just you and God alone together. Jesus says he is unseen, but with you even behind closed doors alone in your room. The I AM is always infinitely present with you. Imagine you are alone with the I AM who created the entire universe! This is God’s promise to you everywhere in Scripture. Even in his very name — I AM. God’s presence is always in the present tense — always present with you fully. Let’s meditate on Psalm 46… V.1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Focus your mind on imagining this promise. Let’s meditate on v. 7… The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Let’s meditate on one more verse, v. 10… He says, “Be still, and know that I am 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 Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Christian Meditation with Deuteronomy 31:8
24:35 | 02-08-2022
Psalm 119:148 says, “My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise” (ESV). Biblical meditation is finding time to be alone with God. It’s using meditation to recalibrate your mind and heart and even your body with the vertical reality of God’s presence and God’s promises. Using “the eyes of your heart” — your biblically guided imagination — to experience God’s presence and promises to you in a way that replaces stress and anxiety with God’s peace and joy and confidence. This is something God’s people have been doing for thousands of years. Let’s take the time to do something like that now. (But first, if your podcast app is set to skip silent sections, disable that now.) This is a time for you to meditate and focus your thoughts and imagination on the light-giving, life-giving presence of the I AM. There'll be other times to think about things. Plan things. Do things. To fix things. You can do all that later. But put all that aside for now and focus on God being present with you right now 100% — focused on you 100% — without being any less present and any less focused anywhere else. This is God’s promise to you everywhere in Scripture. Even in his very name — I AM. God’s presence is always in the present tense — always present with you fully. Let’s meditate on God’s promise in… Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV) The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. He is the Giver of your life. The Source of rest and peace. Shalom. Imagine God’s Spirit speaking his word in that verse to YOU — “The I AM with you. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you.” God says this in his word to his people. So imagine him saying it to you… Now imagine him saying the rest of that verse — “Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.” Imagine every part of your being — every cell in your body — resting in that verse. Anxiety is a kind of fear. A kind of discouragement. Instead of listening to anxiety, listen to God’s promise — “I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. So do not be afraid.” The New Testament quotes that verse in Deuteronomy 31 that we just read and directly applies it to all those who believe in Jesus. Let’s meditate on a New Testament promise found in… Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV) God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.” There’s a kind of inner confidence that comes when we decide to believe God’s word. A kind of calm even in the chaos of life because we remind ourselves we can trust that he is always present with us 100%. Nothing touches us without his presence and love and care in control of everything. Fear comes when we imagine the worst. But confidence comes when we imagine the best because we’re trusting that God is committed to our best. God promises you ultimately the best. That verse in Hebrews was also quoting… Psalms 118:6-7 (NIV) The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. …The LORD is with me; he is my helper. In all your uncertainty about your life, you can trust and rest in God’s promise to you. Say quietly to yourself… “The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. …The LORD is with me; he is my helper.” Say quietly to yourself… “Because I have Jesus, the things that matter most are not threatened. I am not in danger. I am secure forever because the forever God is my God forever.” And when you’re done, you can get up and walk with all the confidence that, because you have Jesus, the forever God is your God forever. 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 Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A...
A Christian Meditation with Job 33:4
21:10 | 02-03-2022
When the Bible uses the word meditate, it’s talking about focusing your thoughts and your imagination on experiencing God’s presence and promises in a deeper way — a more vivid way — what Paul calls using the eyes of your heart in Ephesians 1:18. Meditation focuses “the eyes of your heart” to see with your imagination how God is present and acting right now in your life. This kind of meditation can relieve stress and anxiety in your soul: your mind and body and spirit. It helps you imagine and experience your connection with God’s presence and promises even at the cellular level. Let’s take the time to do something like that now. (But first, if your podcast app is set to skip silent sections of the podcast, disable that now. We want to use silence as part of our meditation.) To begin… Lie flat on your back …or sit comfortably in a chair. Perhaps close your eyes. Your whole body is part of who you are — part of who God made you to be forever. There will be a resurrection of your body in your salvation. So as you take deep slow breaths, embrace your body now as part of you. Now imagine every part of your being — every cell in your body — being giving its life force from the presence of the I AM. The Source of all being. The Giver of all life. Let’s meditate on… Job 33:4 (NIV) The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Notice the poetic parallelism here between the Spirit of God and the breath of God. God’s Spirit is like his very breath that made you and gives you life. At every moment, God’s Spirit is breathing life into you —your body — every cell in your body. Picture this. Imagine this. Imagine breathing in the breath of God — the Spirit of the I AM who gives life to your whole being — and then letting go of stress and tension and anxiety as you exhale. Continue to take slow deep breaths and let’s meditate on… Psalm 104:30 NIV When you send your Spirit, [life is] created, and you renew the face of the ground. Picture this. God sending his Spirit into you to breathe his life and renewal into your body. Your cells. Your soul. Your life. Say to God… “Breathe into me your Spirit of life and new creation.” Continue to take slow deep breaths and let’s meditate on… 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV …If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Say to yourself… “I am a new creation in Christ. My slate has been wiped completely clean. My past has passed away. My future is new and good because I have Jesus.” Say aloud to yourself… “Because I have Jesus, I am secure forever because the forever God is my God forever.” 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 Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Christian Meditation with Psalm 63:6-8
23:46 | 02-01-2022
David meditates in Psalms 63:6-8 “I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me” (ESV). This is imagination. Mental imagery. This is what David calls meditation. It sounds attractive, doesn’t it? Let’s take the time to do something like that now. If your podcast app is set to skip silent sections of the podcast, disable that now. We want to use silence as part of our meditation. This is a time for you to meditate and focus your mind and your body on the life-giving, peace-giving presence of the I AM. There'll be other times to do things. To fix things. Think about things. Plan things. You can do all that later. But for now put all that aside and focus all your mind and imagination on God being present with you 100% — focused on you 100% — without being any less present and any less focused anywhere else. He is the Giver of your life. The Source of comfort and peace. Shalom. When the Bible uses the word meditate, it’s talking about focusing your thoughts and your imagination on experiencing God’s presence and promises in a deeper way — a more vivid way — what Paul calls using the eyes of our heart in Ephesians 1:18. Biblically guided meditation focuses you on how everything about you — including your body — depends upon God’s life-giving Spirit at every moment. This kind of meditation can relieve stress and anxiety in your soul: your mind and body and spirit. It helps you imagine and experience your connection with God’s presence and promises even at the cellular level. Your whole body is part of who you are — part of who God made you to be forever. There will be a resurrection of your body in your salvation. So as you take deep slow breaths, embrace your body now as part of you. Imagine this reality. Every part of your being — every cell in your body — at rest in the presence of the I AM. As you’re breathing and imagining and experiencing your complete dependence on God’s breath/Spirit in every cell of your body — your necessary connection with God even at the cellular level… Let’s meditate on… Psalms 63:6-8 (ESV) 6 …I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. Picture this. The I AM is your help. And you’re secure in the “shadow of his wings.” Meditate on this. Use your imagination to picture yourself doing this. God doesn’t have wings, but it’s a picture he uses to show you his protective presence over you. Say to yourself… “I am secure in the protective shadow of God’s wings. I am joyful because the I AM is my protector and my help.” Imagine this reality. Every part of your being — every cell in your body — at rest in the protective presence of the I AM. In your imagination, see yourself under the wings of the I AM who created this entire universe. He’s 100% present with you right now. Picture this. Let’s meditate on… v. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. Picture this. God’s arms supporting every muscle and cell in your body right now. Imagine surrendering your entire being into God’s arms — God’s care — God’s love. See yourself doing this with every cell in your body. Every anxiety in your heart. Giving it all to him. Trusting it all into his hands. He created you. There is no life apart from him. So surrender your whole being into his arms. His perfect will. Say to yourself… “I am calm and my body is calm and at rest in the arms of God.” Say aloud to yourself… “Because I have Jesus, the things that matter most are not threatened. I am not in danger. I am secure forever because the forever God is my God forever.” Who can you share this podcast with? If you...
A Christian Meditation with Exodus 33:14
20:16 | 01-27-2022
Genesis 24:63 says, “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening.” When the Bible uses the word meditate, it’s talking about focusing our mind and imagination to experience God’s presence in a deeper way — what Ephesians 1:18 calls using the eyes of our heart. In some way Isaac was going out into the field at sunset to do exactly that. Focusing his mind and imagination to be alone with God in the field at sunset. It sounds nice, doesn’t it? Let’s take the time to do something like that now. If your podcast app is set to skip silent sections of the podcast, disable that now. We want to use silence as part of our meditation. Biblically guided meditation and relaxation uses your imagination to focus on your body-mind connection. It helps you imagine and experience your connection with God even at the cellular level. It focuses you on how your body depends upon God’s life at every moment. Your whole body is part of who you are — part of who God made you to be forever. There will be a resurrection of your body in your salvation. So as you take deep slow breaths, embrace your body now as part of you. Begin to take in deep, slow breaths and with each exhale relax the muscles in your body a little bit more. Each slow, deep breath. This is a time for you to meditate and focus your mind and your body on the life-giving, peace-giving presence of the I AM. There'll be other times to do things. To fix things. Plan things. You can do all that later. But for now put all that aside and focus all your thoughts on God being present with you 100% — focused on you 100% — without being any less present and any less focused anywhere else. He is the Giver of your life. The Source of comfort and peace. Shalom. This is a time to listen and to speak to your whole person, including your body. Let’s meditate on this… Exodus 33:14 (NIV) The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Imagine this reality. Every part of your being — every cell in your body — at rest in the presence of the I AM. Say to yourself… “I am calm and your body is calm and at peace in the presence of God.” Imagine surrendering your entire being to God’s will — God’s care — every cell in your body. Every anxiety in your heart. Giving it all to him. Trusting it all into his hands. He created you. There is no life apart from him. So surrender your whole being to him. As you’re breathing and imagining and experiencing your complete dependence on God’s breath/Spirit in every cell of your body — your necessary connection with God even at the cellular level… Let’s meditate on this… Matthew 11:28 (NIV) Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Imagine this reality. Every part of your being — every cell in your body — at rest in the presence of the I AM. In your imagination, see yourself coming to Jesus with all your weariness and with all your burdens — handing it all to him. Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Picture this. Say aloud to yourself… “Because I have Jesus, the things that matter most are not threatened. I am not in danger. I am secure forever because the forever God is my God forever.” 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 Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.
A Christian Meditation with Acts 17:28
19:27 | 01-25-2022
Psalms 119:27 says, “…I will meditate on your wondrous works.” Let’s take the time to do that now. If your podcast app is set to skip silent sections of the podcast, disable that now. We want to use silence as part of our meditation. Biblically guided meditation and relaxation uses your imagination to focus on your body-mind connection. It helps you imagine and experience your connection with God even at the cellular level. It focuses you on how your body depends upon God’s life at every moment. Begin to take in deep, slow breaths and with each exhale relax the muscles in your body a little bit more. Each slow, deep breath. This is a time for you to meditate and focus your mind and your body on the life-giving, peace-giving presence of the I AM. There'll be other times to do things. To fix things. Think about things. To work on things. To organize things. To talk to people. Plan things. You can do all that later. But for now put all that aside and focus all your thoughts on God being present with you 100% — focused on you 100% — without being any less present and any less focused anywhere else. He is the Giver of your life. The Source of comfort and peace. Shalom. This is a time to listen and to speak to your whole person, including your body. As you’re breathing and imagining and experiencing your complete dependence on God’s breath/Spirit in every cell of your body — your necessary connection with God even at the cellular level… Let’s meditate on this… Acts 17:28 (NIV) ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ Imagine this reality. Every part of your being — every cell in your body — depends upon God to live and move and have your being. Let’s meditate on this… Colossians 1:16-17 (NIV) For in him all things were created…all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Imagine this reality. Every part of your being — every cell in your body — depends upon God to live and move and have your being. Imagine surrendering your entire being to God’s will — God’s care — every cell in your body. Every anxiety in your heart. Giving it all to him. Trusting it all into his hands. He created you. There is no life apart from him. So surrender your whole being to him. 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 Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.