Guided Christian Meditation Week Four of Advent; December 22, 2013 PATIENCE

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Asher Lyons
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1 Guided Christian Meditation Week Four of Advent; December 22, 2013 PATIENCE A SCRIPTURE that speaks of Biblical meditation: Psalm 37:7a Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him EXERCISE: Settle into a relaxed position with eyes closed and repeat this verse slowly several times. Then pray it this way: LORD I am stilling myself and waiting patiently for You. Repeat it and don t rush on. Deliberately move all thoughts that compete with the verse and your praying it to a side pocket for consideration at a later time. SONG: Slow Me Down by Robbie Saey Band on album, Rich and Poor Help my heart to hear Your sound Speak into my life Lord speak now Clear my mind oh Lord clear my mind Bring me peace that I cannot find Take my worldly thoughts break my pride Clear my mind oh Lord clear my mind Wake my soul oh Lord wake my soul With this mess I ve made make me whole Of this life called mine take control Wake my soul oh Lord wake my soul Help my heart to hear Your sound Speak into my life Lord speak now Listen as often as possible finding peace and patience. Sing along if you can. Go back and pray the prayer, LORD I am stilling myself and waiting patiently for You. Stay in the quiet as long as you can.

2 PRAYER/POEM: this is called an invocation written by Pamela Hawkins in Simply Wait Holy Patience, that deep, calm resistance against the riptide of the season s hurry, While swell upon swell of Christmas laps at every edge of our lives, You call us to an Advent way of living; Deep calling to deep; Love bearing love; Word becoming flesh; Slow, labored, beloved Patience, come, teach us to trust in Advent s buoyancy; Suspend us, outstretched, for the coming of Christ. Amen. EXERCISE: Read this invocation a couple times slowly and even if you don t usually resonate to prayer in poetic form, look for a line or two that speaks to your. Repeat it a few times and determine why it has meaning to you. Expressing that in writing could be meaningful. Try it. SCRIPTURE: From cover to cover the Bible speaks of God providing His Son to provide relationship with Him and all people who believe and receive Him. There are several passages to consider this week. You can do these in one sitting or spread them out over several days. Before Jesus Christ, God s only begotten Son, was born, the people descending from Abraham heard the promise and waited and waited. Patience was born in some and unbelief became the stance of others. Here is a passage from the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament that speaks of His coming: Isaiah 9, 6,7 For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. His ever-expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule with perfect fairness and justice from the throne of his father David. He will bring true justice and peace to all the nations of the world. This is going to happen because the Lord of heaven s armies has dedicated himself to do it! Pamela Hawkins writes this about this passage: The prophet calls upon the deep imagination of God s people to watch patiently for signs of change. In the dark seasons of exile, life signs have seemed dormant, dried up, and closed off. But in a new season of light, like spring after winter, life signs will break through for all who have held fast patiently through the darkness. With hindsight we can see that the first advent (coming of Jesus Christ to earth) some of this prophecy has been fulfilled; and yet obviously another advent is needed to complete it. Select the titles and activities of the child that we know of from reading the New Testament. Then pick out those that are yet to come. And what of these titles and activities are you patiently waiting for in your life? Read this Scripture and pray its meaning for you personally: Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for God to help me; then he listened and heard my cry.

3 SCRIPTURE: New Testament At the time that Jesus Christ was born, we are told of two people who believed the prophecies and were waiting patiently for the first advent. Anna and Simeon. Luke 2:21-38 When the eighth day arrived (after Jesus birth), the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived. Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they (Mary and Joseph) took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God as commanded in God s Law: Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God, and also to sacrifice the pair of doves or two young pigeons prescribed in God s Law. In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God: God, you can now release your servant; release me in peace as you promised. With my own eyes I ve seen your salvation; it s now out in the open for everyone to see: A God-revealing light to the non-jewish nations, and of glory for your people Israel. Jesus father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother, This child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel, A figure misunderstood and contradicted the pain of a sword-thrust through you But the rejection will force honesty, as God reveals who they really are. Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem. EXERCISE: What did these two people say about Jesus that you know has been fulfilled? As Anna spoke about Him to others, who do you know that is trying to wait patiently for help for their real life? Would it be you that could offer encouragement based on what Jesus has already done and will come again to bring? Bringing a gift of loving and hopeful words in this season?

4 SCRIPTURE: New Testament When Jesus Christ left the earth to return to His Father in heaven, angels affirmed His earlier promise to return at the right time. And in the book of James we read that all believers are told to wait patiently for the second advent. James 5:7,8 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord s coming is near. EXERCISE: Express your thoughts about this in a prayer from your heart. SONG: Oh, Come, On Come, Emmanuel sung by the Robert Shaw Chamber Singers Listen using this link: Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, oh Israel. Oh come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer our spirits by Thine advent here. Disperse the gloomy cloud of night and death s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, oh Israel. Oh come, thou key of David, come and open wide our heavenly home. Make safe the way that leads on high and close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emanuel shall come to thee, oh Israel. EXERCISES: Can you hear in this song the longing of the people before Jesus Christ s first advent? And ours for His second one?

5 Let s turn it into a closing heart felt prayer. God in this season of advent, I want to celebrate as fully as possible your birth so many years ago. I rejoice that You came to live with people in this real world and to die for us and to conquer death! And reading that You left us with Your Spirit to comfort, sustain, and guide me, gives me strength. I need You to grow my patience as I wait for you to come back to take me to Your heavenly home, to end misery of every kind yes, even that which invades my life right now and of those around me, and, yes, that of this whole world. Help me to keep my eyes on You, author and finisher of my faith. Amen.

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