838 Bone of My Bone and Flesh of My Flesh, A Guided Christian Meditation on Genesis 2:21-25 with the Recenter With Christ app

The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.
You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:

Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.

Scripture for Meditation

NABRE
21 So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 The Lord God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When he brought her to the man, 23 the man said:
"This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
This one shall be called 'woman,'
for out of man this one has been taken."
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.

ESV
21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man."
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Reflection on Scripture:
The final stage of creation that God did was to create Man then Woman. Eve was the final act of creation. In our modern society we have totally lost the unity this was meant to entail. With a fallen perspective man and women are in competition for power, influence, and dominance. This was not what we were created to be. We were meant to be united as husband and wife as one flesh. Adam said bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This is the biblical basis for man and woman cleaving to each other and becoming one flesh.

I invite you to ponder what your perspective is on this? Do you embrace the perspective of the world? Do you feel that all men or women have certain characteristics that are the source of relationship conflicts? The truth is that both men and women are fallen. Many people have had such poor exposure to marriage, either parents or personally, Dont allow the fallen world destroy your perspective of what marriage should be.

Regardless of the experience you have had so far with the marriage relationships or not, know this, the world is seeking to destroy faithful families greater than any single thing. Challenge any notions that would favor one gender above the other. Yield your understanding of sexual ethics, gender ethics, and goodness overall, yeild them all to God. Trust in Him to direct you toward what God wants for you.

Meditation of Prayer:

Pray as directed by the Spirit.

Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him.

Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:

I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials.

Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life:

This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast

Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?

FIND ME ON:
Download my free app: Recenter with Christ
Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com
Voicemail - (602) 888-3795
Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com
Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast
Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast
Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast
Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

836 Worshiping with Fasting and Prayer Night and Day, A Guided Christian Meditation on Luke 2:36-38 with the Recenter With Christ app

The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.
You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:

Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.

Scripture for Meditation

RSV
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phan′u-el, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, 37 and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

NAB
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. 38 And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

Reflection on Scripture:

The prophetess, Anna, dedicated her life to God. This scripture outlines her frequency in the temple as well as prayer and fasting. She was where God's presence was represented to be. As a result she was able to see the redemption of God and was able to share it. Catholics and Orthodox Christians hold Anna in reverence as a Saint. It is such an interesting micro story that is shared here. The woman is called a prophetess and it references her father as though we are supposed to know who he is. Or perhaps symbolically because his name means "Face of God"

One fact that is hard to deny is that if we spend our time where godly things happen, we are more likely to encounter godly things. If we want to encounter God more in our life we should ponder on going to the places where His presence is represented for example church and making our home a sanctuary to the Lord. I sometimes reflect on the nature of this dedication. Obviously us as fallen and sinful humans don't get to decide where God goes based on what we dedicate to Him. God can choose to go anywhere God wants to go. With that said, when we dedicate places to God and set it apart, such as the Temple, we put ourselves in the kind of mind where we look for and see God more. Perhaps it is because he chooses to bless us with His presence to encourage us to do more of the things that He wants.

So the invitation stands for us to dedicate our homes as sanctuaries to God and treat them as such, not making habits of sins that would challenge that dedication. Also spending time with Godly music, and also spending time in community with others in church attendance and worship. Also making prayer and fasting a part of our process of building a relationship with the Lord.

Meditation of Prayer:

Pray as directed by the Spirit.

Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him.

Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:

I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials.

Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life:

This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast

Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?

FIND ME ON:
Download my free app: Recenter with Christ
Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com
Voicemail - (602) 888-3795
Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com
Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast
Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast
Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast
Twitter - @ChristianMedPod

RSV
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phan′u-el, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, 37 and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.