September 10, 2023

576 Having Begun in the Spirit Are You Now Perfected in the Flesh? A Guided Christian Meditation on Galatians 3:2-5 with the Recenter With Christ app

19 minutes

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

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

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 connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.

Scripture for Meditation

KJV Galatians 3 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the "law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. 5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

NABRE 2 I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard?[c] 3 Are you so stupid? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?[d] 4 Did you experience so many things[e] in vain?—if indeed it was in vain. 5 Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works mighty deeds among you do so from works of the law or from faith in what you heard?

Meditation:

Paul speaks powerfully to the Galatians. In some ways it could be seen as aggressive. He wants to ensure that the people really do maintain a proper focus on the role of Jesus Christ in their hearts. Jesus is not the intellectual leader of the law, he is the Savior and redeemer. He is the well of living water that springs up to eternal life.

I invite you to ponder the times when you have felt closest to God? What was going on? What was the source of that? As Paul says here, it is very likely that you living perfectly was not the root cause of that. Our closeness to God does not come after carefully examining our lives and finding them flawless and rejoicing with God. If we do that, then we miss substantive details about our lives.

It is a natural thing to want to bring our lives in union with what God asks. I don't think we need to resist efforts to live a Christ-like life. The point Paul is making is when we think we are perfected through these things. When we supplant the grace of God for the performance of the Law. We can rejoice in the grace of God while still embracing a life dedicated to serving God's commands.

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

Updates:

Final Question:

Final Thought:

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