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 John 14:27
22:45 | 01-20-2022
This is a biblically guided meditation and relaxation to use any time you need to relieve stress and tension in your body and refocus and rest into God’s presence and promises. Important: 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. Meditation is a time to listen and to speak to your whole person, including your body. Psalm 42:5 NIV “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God.” Biblically guided Imagination / meditation speaks God’s truth and implications to our “soul” — to our whole self – body and mind and spirit. The psalmist was aware his “soul” was downcast and disturbed within him because he listened to his body, mind, spirit. Then his meditation was to speak the realities of God’s presence and promise to his “soul.” So biblically guided meditation focuses on the inseparable connection between our body, mind, and spirit. It helps you experience your connection with God even at the bodily/cellular level. This is a time for you to meditate and take in the comforting, 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. To begin… Lie flat on your back or sit comfortably in a chair. Close your eyes. Try to relax your body by feeling the weight of every part of your body relaxing like falling water and being supported completely by whatever surface you’re on. Allow yourself to notice and feel how your body is supported. How you are being held from underneath. Your whole body is able to let itself be held. 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. Jesus says in John 14:27… “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. …Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Philippians 4:5-7 NIV “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Say aloud to yourself… “Because I have Jesus, the things that matter most are not threatened. I am not in danger. I am in the loving care of God my Father.” Just as the author of Psalm 42 spoke to himself in the second person, speak aloud to yourself beginning with saying your name… For example, I would say, “Dave, because you have Jesus, the things that matter most are not threatened. You are not in danger. You are in the loving care of God your Father.” Let’s say that again…Beginning with your name… “____, because you have Jesus, the things that matter most are not threatened. You are secure. You are not in danger. You are in the loving care of God your Father.” 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 Matthew 10:29-31
20:46 | 01-18-2022
This is a biblically guided meditation and relaxation to use any time you need to relieve stress and tension in your body and refocus and rest into God’s presence and promises. Important: 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. Meditation is a time to listen and to speak to your whole person, including your body. Psalm 42:5 NIV “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God.” Biblically guided Imagination / meditation speaks God’s truth and implications to our “soul” — to our whole self – body and mind and spirit. The biblical concept of the soul is your whole self – body, mind, spirit. That’s why there must be a resurrection of the body for salvation. Your whole body is part of you. You are your body. Embrace your body. The psalmist was aware his “soul” was downcast and disturbed within him because he listened to his body, mind, spirit. Then his meditation was to speak the realities of God’s presence and promise to his “soul.” So biblically guided meditation focuses on the inseparable connection between our body, mind, and spirit. It helps you experience your connection with God even at the bodily/cellular level. This is a time for you to meditate and take in the comforting, 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. To begin… Lie flat on your back or sit comfortably in a chair. Close your eyes. Try to relax your body by feeling the weight of every part of your body relaxing like falling water and being supported completely by whatever surface you’re on. Allow yourself to notice and feel how your body is supported. How you are being held from underneath. Your whole body is able to let itself be held. 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. 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.” You have every reason to feel at peace in God’s presence. Romans 5:1 “…[You] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus says in Matthew 10:29-31 NIV “…Not one [sparrow] will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” 1 Peter 5:7 NIV “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Say aloud to yourself… “I am relaxed in God’s attention and care. I am calm. I am not in danger. I am in a good place. I’m safe 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 Ezekiel 37:5-6
29:00 | 01-13-2022
This is a biblically guided meditation and relaxation to use any time you need to relieve stress and tension in your body and refocus and rest into God’s presence and promises. Important: 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. You can flag these episodes on biblically guided meditation and relaxation for you to return to over and over as needed. Each episode is a little different, so you may decide to favor one or two episodes as better for you. But give all of them a try. Meditation is as old as the Bible itself. Our secular culture is recently embracing the benefits of “mindfulness” and meditation for developing mental and physical health. But the Bible has been there all along, for thousands of years (see the show notes to the January 4 episode). Biblically guided meditation imagines the unseen realities of God as your Source of Life and Joy and Significance, and speaks these realities to your soul – your whole self. Meditation is a time to listen and to speak to your whole person, including your body. Psalm 42:5 NIV “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God.” Biblically guided Imagination / meditation speaks God’s truth and implications to our “soul” — to our whole self – body and mind and spirit. The biblical concept of the soul is your whole self – body, mind, spirit. That’s why there must be a resurrection of the body for salvation. Your whole body is part of you. You are your body. Embrace your body. The psalmist was aware his “soul” was downcast and disturbed within him because he listened to his body, mind, spirit. Then his meditation was to speak the realities of God’s presence and promise to his “soul.” So biblically guided meditation focuses on the inseparable connection between our body, mind, and spirit. It helps you experience your connection with God even at the bodily/cellular level. This is a time for you to meditate and take in the comforting, 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. To begin… Lie flat on your back or sit comfortably in a chair. Close your eyes. Try to relax your body by feeling the weight of every part of your body relaxing like falling water and being supported completely by whatever surface you’re on. Allow yourself to notice and feel how your body is supported. How you are being held from underneath. Your whole body is able to let itself be held. 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. Ezekiel 37:5-6 ESV “Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will …put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” Psalm 104:30 NIV When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. John 20:21-22 ESV Jesus said to them…“Peace be with you.” …And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18 — “Be filled with the Spirit.” Romans 15:13 — “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 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? Job 33:4 (NIV) The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of
A Christian Meditation with Genesis 1:1-3
25:02 | 01-11-2022
This is a biblically guided meditation and relaxation to use any time you need to relieve stress and tension in your body and refocus and rest into God’s presence and promises. Important: 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. You can flag these episodes on biblically guided meditation and relaxation for you to return to over and over as needed. Each episode is a little different, so you may decide to favor one or two episodes as better for you. But give all of them a try. Meditation is as old as the Bible itself. Our secular culture is recently embracing the benefits of “mindfulness” and meditation for developing mental and physical health. But the Bible has been there all along, for thousands of years (see the show notes to the January 4 episode). Biblically guided meditation imagines the unseen realities of God as your Source of Life and Joy and Significance, and speaks these realities to your soul – your whole self. Meditation is a time to listen and to speak to your whole person, including your body. Psalm 42:5 NIV “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God.” Biblically guided Imagination / meditation speaks God’s truth and implications to our “soul” — to our whole self – body and mind and spirit. The biblical concept of the soul is your whole self – body, mind, spirit. That’s why there must be a resurrection of the body for salvation. Your whole body is part of you. You are your body. Embrace your body. The psalmist was aware his “soul” was downcast and disturbed within him because he listened to his body, mind, spirit. Then his meditation was to speak the realities of God’s presence and promise to his “soul.” So biblically guided meditation focuses on the inseparable connection between our body, mind, and spirit. It helps you experience your connection with God even at the bodily/cellular level. This is a time for you to meditate and take in the comforting, 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. To begin… Lie flat on your back or sit comfortably in a chair. Close your eyes. Try to relax your body by feeling the weight of every part of your body relaxing like falling water and being supported completely by whatever surface you’re on. Allow yourself to notice and feel how your body is supported. How you are being held from underneath. Your whole body is able to let itself be held. 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. Genesis 1:1-3 NIV In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 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 Genesis 2:7
31:46 | 01-06-2022
This is a biblically guided meditation and relaxation to use any time you need to relieve stress and tension in your body and refocus and rest into God’s presence and promises. Important: 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. You can flag these episodes on biblically guided meditation and relaxation for you to return to over and over as needed. Each episode is a little different, so you may decide to favor one or two episodes as better for you. But give all of them a try. If you know of someone who you think might also benefit from these meditation and relaxation episodes, please share this link in a text or email or on social media. Meditation is as old as the Bible itself. Our secular culture is recently embracing the benefits of “mindfulness” and meditation for developing mental and physical health. But the Bible has been there all along, for thousands of years (see the show notes to the January 4 episode). Biblically guided meditation imagines the unseen realities of God as your Source of Life and Joy and Significance, and speaks these realities to your soul – your whole self. Meditation is a time to listen and to speak to your whole person, including your body. Psalm 42:5 NIV “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God.” Biblically guided Imagination / meditation speaks God’s truth and implications to our “soul” — to our whole self – body and mind and spirit. The biblical concept of the soul is your whole self – body, mind, spirit. That’s why there must be a resurrection of the body for salvation. Your whole body is part of you. You are your body. Embrace your body. The psalmist was aware his “soul” was downcast and disturbed within him because he listened to his body, mind, spirit. Then his meditation was to speak the realities of God’s presence and promise to his “soul.” So biblically guided meditation focuses on the inseparable connection between our body, mind, and spirit. It helps you experience your connection with God even at the bodily/cellular level. It focuses you on how your body depends upon God’s life-giving Spirit at every moment. This imagery/meditation can bring needed relaxation and relieve stress from your body and mind. To begin… Lie flat on your back or sit comfortably in a chair. Close your eyes. Try to relax your body by feeling the weight of every part of your body relaxing like falling water and being supported completely by whatever surface you’re on. Allow yourself to notice and feel how your body is supported. How you are being held from underneath. Your whole body is able to let itself be held. 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. Jesus said in John 10:27-30… “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. …And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” Psalm 46:10 [God] says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11 …You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 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/
Biblical Meditation
37:35 | 01-04-2022
Meditation is a very broad word. Biblically speaking, it’s a time of focused, intentional thought. Using your imagination to better see reality. Meditation embraces the importance of talking to yourself rather than just always listening to your brain’s chatter.Psalm 42:5–6 NIV5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. 6 My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you.Psalm 42:8 NIVBy day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.Psalm 42:11 NIVWhy, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.Genesis 24:63 (ESV)And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.Psalms 119:27 (ESV)…I will meditate on your wondrous works.Psalms 119:23 (ESV)Even though princes sit plotting against me,your servant will meditate on your statutes.Psalms 119:78 (ESV)…They have wronged me with falsehood; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.Psalms 119:148 (ESV)My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.Psalms 77:12 (ESV)I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.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 @davecoverFollow A Bigger Life on Twitter @ABiggerLifePodThis 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.
“Forever” | Psalm 119
18:51 | 12-30-2021
We’ve been looking through the imaginative paintings of God’s life-creating power in Genesis 1-3 as we read Psalm 119. (To understand more what makes Psalm 119 so unique in the Bible, read the show notes from the Dec 21 episode.) Imagine eating the fruit from the Tree of Life. What might it have tasted like? What would you feel like afterward? Genesis 2-3 tells us that its fruit was the ultimate superfood – the life-giving nutrient of “forever”! After Adam and Eve rejected the commandment of God, God banished them from Eden. One big reason was so that they could not eat from the Tree of Life and live forever in their state of brokenness and dysfunction. It was a mercy killing of sorts so that God could bring resurrection through the Offspring of promise in https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203%3A15&version=NIV (Genesis 3:15). Genesis 3:22 NIV And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” Genesis 3:24 NIV After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. The Tree of Life promises in Revelation. Revelation 2:7 NIV Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Revelation 22:2 NIV On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:14 NIV “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:19 NIV And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll. God’s word is the most tangible thing we have that’s a kind of Tree of Life. Imagine eating from the Tree of Life as you read and meditate on God’s word. Psalm 119 ESV 89 Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. 111 Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. 142 Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true. 144 Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live. 152 Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever. 160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. Abundance. Genesis 2:9-10 NIV The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden. Speaking of the wisdom of God’s word (the word for “wisdom” in Hebrew is femine in gender). Proverbs 3:13–20 NIV 13 Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, 14 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. 17 Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. 19 By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; 20 by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. God’s word (commandments, promises, etc) are eternal because they are entwined into the very fabric of the universe. Repeated throughout all of...
Help Me Treasure Your Word! | Psalm 119
25:48 | 12-28-2021
We’ve been looking through the imaginative paintings of God’s life-creating power in Genesis 1-3 as we read Psalm 119. (To understand more what makes Psalm 119 so unique in the Bible, read the show notes from the Dec 21 episode.) What’s your attitude toward the Bible? Not your beliefs, but your feelings about the Bible’s place in your life? If you’re like me, it’s kind of mixed. My good self thinks of it as water to my dry and parched soul. But often my more hardened-hearted self would rather read or watch something else instead. But once I start reading it something happens. My heart softens and it’s like a breath of God’s fresh air breathed into my soul. Sometimes that happens more than other times, but a little happens each time. That’s because God’s Spirit living within me is using the breath of God’s word to bring spiritual oxygen back into my spiritual blood stream. What I’ve just done there is imagine a picture that describes a deeper, more mysterious reality. And that’s what Psalm 119 does repeatedly regarding our need for God’s word. And that’s what Genesis 1-3 does as well. Imagery and Imagination are essential if you’re going to desire God and want to live by his promises and his word. God created us as powerfully imaginative beings, and it’s why the word of God is filled with compelling imagery and imagination. One of the most repeated images in Psalm 119 focuses us on the true delight of God’s word to our true self re-created in Christ and indwelt by God’s Spirit. For me, it just helps to remind myself why I really do delight in God’s word. It cuts through all the fog that gets me to ignore God’s word and even dread reading or hearing it. I think that’s the frontline of spiritual warfare in our lives. It is in mine. And why the repeated images and meditations in Psalm 119 on the value and treasure and delight of God’s word is so helpful for us to imagine. Let’s do that together in this episode. Psalm 119 ESV 14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. 24 Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors. 35 Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. 37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. 72 The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. 77 Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight. 103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 111 Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. 127 Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold. 143 Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight. 162 I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. 174 I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. Jesus says… Matthew 13:44–46 NIV “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. 72 The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. 127 Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold. 162 I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. Psalm 19:7–13 NIV 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the LORD are firm, and all of them are righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter...
Enlarge My Heart! | Psalm 119
28:28 | 12-23-2021
We’ve been looking through the imaginative, word-brushed paintings of God’s life-creating power in Genesis 1-3 as we read Psalm 119. (To understand more what makes Psalm 119 so unique in the Bible, read the show notes from the Dec 21 episode.) Genesis 3 is a powerful picture of the resulting dysfunctions in every human heart after the man and woman (Adam and Eve) chose to transgress God’s one commandment. Genesis 3 poetically paints the human story of how, now driven by insecurities and distrust, we hide from God behind all the trees and cover ourselves and our shame from one another while seeking to manipulate others for our selfish desires. But https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203%3A15&version=NIV (Genesis 3:15) also foreshadows that God will ultimately destroy the Serpent and our resulting dysfunction through the death and resurrection and victory of the male human offspring of the woman. We’re in the middle of that story right now, between Jesus’s death and resurrection and ascension, while we await his kingdom coming to bring a new, resurrected body and soul to his people, and to renew and restore all creation. And in the middle of this already/not-yet reality, God is progressively renewing and transforming his people through his Spirit (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%203%3A18&version=NIV (2 Cor 3:18)). https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%204%3A6&version=NIV (2 Corinthians 4:6) uses the poetic imagery of https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201%3A1-2%3A3&version=NIV (Genesis 1:2-3) as a picture of what God’s Spirit must do in the heart of every follower of Christ. Several Old Testament prophecies tell of this heart transformation that will come. Like almost all Old Testament prophecies, these promises are already but not yet, just as Christ’s coming is already but not yet. Partially now in the hearts of all followers of Christ through his Spirit, but not fully until Christ brings bodily resurrection when he brings his kingdom of heaven back to earth. Jeremiah 31:33 NIV “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Ezekiel 11:19–20 NIV I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. Ezekiel 36:26–28 NIV I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. One of the important themes throughout Psalm 119 is our need for God to open our eyes, enlarge our heart, and give us understanding – all by the Spirit’s life-transforming power in his word. Unless and until God does that, God’s word (the gospel/the Bible) will always seem boring and irrelevant to what matters to us most. (Show notes in the previous couple episodes shows how the Bible teaches that the work of God’s Spirit is inseparably linked to the work of God’s word – the Bible). What is the chicken and the egg here? Does God respond to our prayer for his Spirit’s transformation of our heart, or do we care enough to pray for God to transform our heart as a result of his Spirit’s work of transformation? The answer is Yes. We respond to him as his Spirit works in our heart, but as his Spirit works in our heart we must respond to him and ask him to continue to open our eyes and heart to him. And this is where the prayers and meditations of Psalm 119 are helpful to us. Psalm 119
Give Me a More Powerful Imagination! | Psalm 119
33:22 | 12-21-2021
We’ve been looking through the frames of the word-brushed paintings of God’s life-creating power in Genesis 1-3 as we read Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the entire Bible, and every verse is a mediation or prayer about our need for the power of God’s word. So the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible is about the Bible. But it’s not just information. It’s art. It’s arranged as an acrostic poem where each of the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet has 8 stanzas (verses), and each stanza begins with that Hebrew letter. It looks quite artistic when you look at the actual Hebrew text. Imagery and Imagination are essential if you’re going to desire God and want to live by his promises and his word. Advertisements appeal to your imagination because they know that imagination is more powerful than information in creating our desires. That’s why ads are heavy on image and usually absent of information. Almost all advertisements have this basic message: “Imagine having this or doing this or being this!” God created us as powerfully imaginative beings, and it’s why the word of God is filled with compelling imagery and imagination. One of the most repeated prayers throughout Psalm 119 is for God to “give me life” through the life-creating power of his word. And the ancient imagery from Genesis 1-2 provides a compelling, imagination-filled meditation on how God’s word gives us life by his Spirit. Genesis 1:1–3 NIV 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 2:7 NIV Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. But in this episode, we will bring alongside our Genesis imagery another Spirit-brushed painting of God’s life-creating word in Ezekiel 37:1-14. Ezekiel 37:1–14 NIV 1 The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. 11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will...