118 Draw Near To God and He Will Draw Near to You, A Guided Christian Meditation on James 4-6-8

Apr 14, 2019

118 Draw Near To God and He Will Draw Near to You, A Guided Christian Meditation on James 4:6-8

I’m Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina:

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.

We have our guest back today! We have been working hard this week to make a meaningful podcast episode together so I hope you enjoy.

Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing 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 contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.

Bible verses for Meditation:

NIV
James 4
6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

NABRE
James 4
6 But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:

“God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”

7 So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds.

Meditation on scripture / bible verse meditation:

Something that I work on both professionally and personally perhaps more than any other thing is forming and improving a personal relationship with God. I talked with a woman this week who told me of her son who is always praying but never receiving an answer from God. I would never supposed to declare that all people who experience this have the same problem that causes it all, but if you find yourself in a place where you feel you don’t feel God’s presence in your life then it is natural to wonder why.

Ultimately we cannot expect God to do the magic of salvation to us passively. He does it “with” us. James knows the value of Grace. He clearly states it here. I don’t think James and Paul would disagree about grace when talking together. Perhaps in presentation but not in the concept that we are saved by God. Here James says that grace is poured out on the humble.

For a moment consider this question. What is the difference or similarities between humility and faith? The way that humility is portrayed in scripture seems to be very close to faith. We trust God. We believe what He says. We trust His desires for us more than our own will. To draw near to him we cleanse our hands. We leave behind our double mind and join with the mind of God.

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 being 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:

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Updates:

Final Question:
Are you truly humble before God.

Final Thought:
When we don’t get the response from God that we want our natural human response is often laced with rebellion. The more we can let that part of our nature go and truly draw near to God, the greater we will feel his presence in our life. If we want him near we need to be willing to repent of our sinful nature and humble ourselves before God. Not because He wants to make us feel inferior, but because the process of his grace is learning to trust him, to have faith in Him. We cannot separate these two things. Faith and a humble heart are the process by which we receive God’s grace. We trust to follow God and God does the amazing work in us that we cannot.

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