Bonus Blooper Blog *Corrected Link*

Just for fun...here is a blooper from the video blog I did yesterday. Of course the topic was meditation.....

Meditation Experience

Here is my video blog on my meditation experience.

Please note, Christian meditation is not without controversy. However, even if this was purely imagination, it is not against scripture - that God is love, and wants me to love him, and that he loves me, so I can rest comfortably either way. Reading God's word is the best way to hear from him, and prayer is the best way to communicate with him.

Meditation

Just mention the word meditation to a Christian, and you're liable to see them get all worked up. After all "we" Christians shouldn't meditate...should we?

What does the psalmist say?

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2

I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.Psalm 77:12

I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. Psalm 119:15

These are just a few of the references to meditation in scripture. This is not to be confused with Eastern meditation which focuses on clearing or emptying your mind. Christian meditation is all about focusing your mind on God, his word, and his law.

In my Sunday School class, last week we did a meditation exercise. We read a story from scripture, and then focused on it. Everyone had their own quiet time. In this case, we read John 6, Jesus feeds the 5000. Some people may have imagined themselves as the boy who donated his lunch, others as one of the disciples, still others as a member of the crowd.

Another option, was just to imagine yourself as you, but imagine that you had an encounter with Jesus. Imagine that he says, "What can I do for you?" Meditate deeply on what you would answer. Then imagine you say to Jesus, "What can I do for you?" Meditate on his answer to you.

Some might call this pure imagination. But Robert Foster (who wrote Celebration of Discipline - The Path to Spiritual Growth, the study we are working from) says, "To believe that God can sanctify and utilize the imaination is simply to take seriously the Christian idea of incarnation."

I had a pretty exciting experience (to me anyway), and will share that on Friday. I don't know whether it was my imagination or God's Holy Spirit in me, but I got a very real message! Can't wait to share it with you all.

See you Friday!

Knock, Knock, Knock....

Think I better knock, knock, knock on wood.
Think I better knock, knock, knock on wood.
Think I better knock.
Knock on Wood, Amii Stewart, 1979

Have you ever prayed for something and not gotten it? Chances are very real this has happened to you. It can be confusing, especially if what you're asking for seems like a good thing. Why wouldn't God heal a child or redeem a marriage? After all, doesn't the Bible say "“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Matt 7:7). Then why don't we get it?

I read a different translation of that verse (other than the NIV above) the other day, and I really liked it. It said, "Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you." It's not just asking or seeking or knocking once. We need to keep at it. Think I better knock, knock, knock....

Still even with persistent knocking, seeking and asking, we don't always get what we want. That is when we need to trust that our God is still a good God. Sometimes it's hard. But we must believe he loves us. Like the song says, "it's like thunder, lightening, the way you love me is frightening." God loves us so much, but His ways are not our ways.

There aren't any easy answers. But God does tell us His will for us. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thes 5:16-18).

Be joyful always. Pray (ask, seek, knock!) continually. Give thanks in all circumstance.
How are you following God's will for you?