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
How to Pray Using a Psalm | Psalm 80
19:17 | 03-25-2021
Let’s say you want to have a conversation with God using a Psalm. You open to Psalm 80. You start reading and quickly realize it doesn’t really resonate with you. Honestly, you don’t think you understand much of what you’re reading. So what can you do? One option is to just close your Bible and do something else because that didn’t work. Another option is to use https://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Theology-Study-Hardcover-Comfort/dp/0310450403/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2PDUXKI85PZEM&dchild=1&keywords=niv+biblical+theology+study+bible.+zondervan%2C+2018&qid=1615915078&sprefix=zondervan+theoloog%2Caps%2C208&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyOVNOR0NWNlFWT1JDJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjM1ODY2WlhBWjZFSVJDQjA3JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1MTYxNzJURFFMTjFGVUNMOVgmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl (a good study Bible) that will help explain what you don’t understand. But a third option is the best one: just focus on what you do understand. You’re not doing a Bible study. You’re just wanting to have a conversation with God. So find words and phrases in the Psalm that do resonate with you and stop and use your imagination and pray using those words. Change “we” and “us” to “I” and “me.” Psalm 80 is filled with great phrases you can use to have an awesome conversation with God. Let’s do it. Psalm 80:1–4 ESV 1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. 2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us! 3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! 4 O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? Psalm 80:7–8 ESV 7 Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved! 8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. Psalm 80:17–19 ESV 17 But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! 18 Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name! 19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved! Numbers 6:25–26 NIV The LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace. Psalm 67:1 ESV May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us. 2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 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. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.
When Life Has Taken a Bad Turn | Psalm 77
19:58 | 03-23-2021
Maybe you’re in one of those times. Your life has taken a turn for the worst. Perhaps just temporarily. Perhaps permanently. Maybe you’re grieving the loss of something or someone. Or you’re doubting your future. Is there anything left to look forward to? Maybe isolation has taken its toll. Perhaps you’re not sure where you stand with God, or worse, where God stands with you. But you’re coming to this podcast because you want to look up. It’s for these times that the Holy Spirit has given us Psalm 77, so you can put your life back into the bigger and better story. Let’s do that together right now in this episode. Psalm 77:1–15 ESV 1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. 2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. 3 When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. 4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5 I consider the days of old, the years long ago. 6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search: 7 “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? 8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” 10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.” 11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. 12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. 13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? 14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. 15 You with your arm redeemed your people…. Romans 8:34–35, 38-39 NIV 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? ...38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 1:18–21 NIV 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. Hebrews 4:14–16 NIV 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 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. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.
Waking Up From a Spell | 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
18:01 | 03-18-2021
I’ve become a believer in spells. Supernatural illusions or delusions put upon a person’s mind so that they can’t see reality, or they see non-reality as reality. And that’s what the New Testament is talking about in 2 Corinthians 4:3-6. Like the Psalms, it uses highly illustrative and picturesque language to help us imagine an unseen reality. As a pastor for many years, I’ve seen this reality over and over again in people's lives. I’ve seen them come under what can best be described as a kind of “spell,” and I’ve seen them wake up from a spell in ways that can best be described as God breaking that spell. I am convinced it’s real. Where something so irrational and self-destructive suddenly seems “rational” to them. The Bible often speaks in language like this, and I think it’s the only way to understand the spiritual realities our own lives are in and how we need God to break that spell in our lives. Let’s talk about it in this episode. 2 Corinthians 4:3–4, 6 NIV 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ... 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 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. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.
When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed by Troubles | Psalm 69
25:18 | 03-16-2021
Written a thousand years before Jesus was born, Psalm 69 is one of those psalms of David that seems to be a favorite of the New Testament authors. It also seems to have been a favorite of Jesus because he quotes from it in John 15:25. It's quoted by the apostles Paul and Peter. And it's quoted by the gospel writers. All of them quoting different parts of this psalm. So why did this psalm so heavily resonate with Jesus and the New Testament authors? Because all of us go through times when we just can't get troubling circumstances off our mind, whether it's problems in relationships, or problems at work, problems with money, problems in our family, or problems with our health. Times when we just can't get our mind off of our worry, anxiety, fear of the future, fear of what is going to happen because of our past. That was David in this psalm. So what does he pray? Psalm 69 ESV Of David. 1 Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. 3 I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. 4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? 5 O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. 6 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. 7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. 13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. 14 Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. 15 Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. 16 Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. 17 Hide not your face from your servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me. 18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies! 19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. 20 Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. 29 But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high! 30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. 32 When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. 33 For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners. 34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them. 35 For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it; 36 the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in 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. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.
Imagining God As Your Living Water | Jeremiah 2:11-13
21:57 | 03-11-2021
What we are learning to do in this podcast is to live more vertically and not just horizontally. To lift up our eyes throughout our day, in the moments of anxiety, worry, fear, tension, conflict, temptation, unforgiveness. And in the good moments as well because those are perhaps the most dangerous times for our heart and soul. For me, highly imaginative passages in the Bible motivate me in this. Jeremiah 2:11-13 has been one of those passages. It is highly imaginative language. You have to use your imagination to get the full force of what God is trying to say. And when I imagine this passage as God intends, I more fully see the reality of my life and choices the way God sees. Jeremiah 2:11–13 NIV But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the LORD. “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” 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. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.
Bringing God’s Power Into Your Life | Psalm 68
28:28 | 03-09-2021
The Psalms come back to repeated themes for emphasis. We forget what matters most because we get hijacked by the smaller horizontal stories that bombard us everyday. But when we lift up our eyes vertically through praise to God and his bigger story for us, we bring God’s power and strength deeper into our lives today.. But just for today. It has to be repeated, like daily manna in the desert. Which is why the Psalms repeat this story in different ways for us to imagine. Like in Psalm 68. Let’s have a conversation with God together through this psalm. Psalm 68 ESV To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. 1 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him! 2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God! 3 But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! 4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him! 18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. 19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah 20 Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death. 24 Your procession is seen, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary— 26 “Bless God in the great congregation, the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!” 32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah 33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. 34 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. 35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God! 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. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.
Five Words to Pray for Anyone | Psalm 67
16:22 | 03-04-2021
Do you ever want to pray but you’re not sure what to pray? Whether for yourself when you want to pray for yourself. Or when you want to pray for someone else. “I’ll pray for you,” you say to a friend, but what will you pray? What should you pray for? Psalm 67 gives us some great phrases to use when praying for others and for ourselves. You just have to remember five words: gracious, bless, face, praise, joy. Let me tell you how in this episode. Psalm 67 ESV 1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him! 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. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.
Learning to Pray More Dramatically | Psalm 61
27:11 | 03-02-2021
Are there times in your life when you don’t want to pray? You can just barely muster up the focus on God enough to barely pray. You want to pray in the sense that you know you need to pray and you don't want to drift away from God. But your heart is not in it. We all have times like that. Sometimes it's because our heart has become hardened, or discouraged, or anxious, or we're just in a place where we're lethargic spiritually. And in those times you want to wake yourself up, or have God wake you up. And so you just want to approach God in prayer and hope something happens. My freshman year in college, before I learned to pray the Psalms back to God, Christian music was a spiritual lifeline for me. A contemporary Christian artist named Matthew Ward sang this psalm. He had an incredible voice. Very dramatic. And I think he really captured the emotional drama of these first few verses of David’s psalm. He sang it so dramatically that I still remember the opening words to this psalm all these years later. And I think that’s what David is doing in this psalm. I'm thankful that the Holy Spirit has given us this prayer in Psalm 61. Psalm 61 ESV Of David. 1 Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; 2 from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, 3 for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. 4 Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah 5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations! 7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him! 8 So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day. 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. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.
What About Our FOMO? | Psalm 49
22:35 | 02-25-2021
Do you struggle with FOMO sometimes? Welcome to being a Christian. Our Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is NOT new to the human condition. And it’s certainly not something new to the life of faith. I’m amazed how often 3,000-year-old psalms, inspired by the Holy Spirit, talk honestly about it. It’s a real fear for God’s people, and it always has been. For good reason: lots of people who don’t concern themselves with living by the will of God seem to be doing really well in life. They advance in ways that people of faith cannot. People of faith in Christ must make certain sacrifices for obedience (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2016:24&version=NIV (Matt 16:24)). Sacrifices of certain sexual freedoms. Sacrifices of money and wealth and vacations in order to give generously. Sacrifices of people’s praise and approval and friendships when we don’t just conform to all the beliefs of the crowd. Life often seems easier without such restrictions. But only when seen through a small window of time. This psalm wakes us up and puts it all back inside the real story. The bigger story. Let’s explore it together. Psalm 49 ESV 1 Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor together! 3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. 5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? 7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, 9 that he should live on forever and never see the pit. 10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. 12 Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah 14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. 15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah 16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. 17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. 18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed — and though you get praise when you do well for yourself — 19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. 20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. 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. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.
Lifting Our Eyes | Psalm 47
22:15 | 02-23-2021
While all the Psalms were written centuries before Jesus was born, Psalm 47 (much like we saw in our last episode on Psalm 45) brings the future reign of Jesus into our present praises. And in doing so it helps us to lift up our eyes to see the bigger horizon of our bigger story. It really is amazing how the Holy Spirit inspired these psalms with prophetic insight to see a future better detailed in the last two chapters of the Bible. Of course, all the Bible gives us glimpses into this story, as Jesus says in https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024%3A44&version=NIV (Luke 24:44). Including (if not especially) the Psalms. Again, if we can see the bigger story our life is in because God became Jesus and lived and died and rose again and is returning with his resurrection kingdom — there is a life-lifting power in that. Like with Psalm 45, at first pass we may not think this psalm has much to offer us in worshiping God. But it is another amazing Holy Spirit inspired prophetic announcement of the bigger story our life is in. Psalm 47 ESV 1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! 2 For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. 3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. 4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah 5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! 7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! 8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. 9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted! 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. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.