Today we practice reflection and biblical meditation.  I'll read an excerpt from one of my favorite devotionals by Graham Cooke called "Becoming the Beloved."  This has 6 incredible soaking readings.    What do I mean by soaking?   Simply listening with our heart and receiving in our spirit directly from the Lord.  We listen to how God is saying it to us and for His heart in it and how He wants us to feel .    

The title of the excerpt is "The Law of Christ within you". My hope is that you'll listen to it several times as if it's being spoken over you from the Father's heart.    My prayer is that as you feel God's heart you'll be strengthened.  This episode will explore the depths and heights of God's love.  It shows us how big the love of God is and how it must be our starting point in all things.   He sees us with so much love, so it's important that we do as well.    

Key Scriptures:  

Luke 15:11-32 (prodigal son)  

Matthew 13:44-46 (Hidden Treasure parable 

 Romans 8

Today we practice reflection and biblical meditation.  I'll read an excerpt from one of my favorite devotionals by Graham Cooke called "Becoming the Beloved."  This has 6 incredible soaking readings.    What do I mean by soaking?   Simply listening with our heart and receiving in our spirit directly from the Lord.  We listen to how God is saying it to us and for His heart in it and how He wants us to feel .    

The title of the excerpt is "Seeing what God Sees". My hope is that you'll listen to it several times as if it's being spoken over you from the Father's heart.  

  My prayer is that as you feel God's heart you'll be strengthened.  Seeing what God sees in us is a key to living from our heart and trued identity.  He sees us with so much love, so it's important that we do as well.   

 Key Scriptures: 

 Luke 19-Story of Zacchaeus

In this episode I'll share one of my favorite resources that has changed my heart in profound ways.  I'll share a breakdown of what biblical meditation is and give some practical insights on how we engage in this process to aid in our transformation.    The resource I'll be sharing from is called, "Becoming the Beloved" by Graham Cooke.  This is the first part in a series of soaking sessions Graham does.  It contains a book of 6 soaking devotions that you can work through and listen to.  It comes with a cd as well you can listen to. and really emphasizes the importance of listening to catch the heart behind what God is saying to you and how He's saying it to you.    The other two resources in this series are called, "Thinking with God" and "Living the Upgraded Lifestyle."  These resources can be found at www.brilliantbookhouse.com  

Key Scripture:  

Ephesians 5:25-27 (ESV)

Being present to our process of our transformation is key.  We often want our transformation to be quick and immediate, when God has a very intentional way of changing us according to His time frame.    One of the keys that I've learned is to slow down and become aware of all that God is doing in us and around us.  

We'll look at the art of biblical mediation and the power it has to change the culture and posture of our heart.  When our heart changes it becomes receptive to the Lord's voice and direction.   I'll also give you some great practical ways of what meditation has looked like in my life and expand some of the ideas I hit on in the previous episode like reading the Bible, prayer, placing ourselves in a loving and safe community, and seeking out mature voices of faith in our lives.    

Key Scriptures:  

Proverbs 7:3 

Psalm 45:1-2 

1 Samuel 16:7

Matthew 6 Beattitudes 

sermon on the mount 

ten virgins Matthew 25 

Prov. 4 

I'm sure we all know that life can be challenging and there will come set backs.  Today we'll talk about the ability to keep moving forward or what we might call enduring.  God's heart is for us to become like Him in every area of our life, but we know there will come failures and hardships because we live in a fallen world.    We can be thankful for the work of Jesus and who He is us.  

Paul gives us hope as he talks about the greatest aspect of his life is now knowing Jesus and what knowing Jesus does is empowers him to keep moving forward and forgetting what once was.    Strength is often produces by our ability to learn and grow from our former mistakes and hardships.  We'll look at Philippians 3, where Paul gives a great summary of his purpose and priority in life.    

I'll also share a great illustration from the life of Author Max Lucado that will help us understand the importance of a strong foundation in our life.  We must look at what we anchor our lives to and whether or not it'll hold up in the storms of life.    I'll also share some lyrics from two of my favorite songs.  The songs are Glorious Day by Passion and Cornerstone by Hillsong.  They both talk about Jesus being our foundation and hope.     

 Key Scripture:  

Philippians 3

When we look at the way God designed us there is a natural way of how He works in us that could be much easier and more accessible than we even realize.  I'll share a great illustration from David Takle's book, "Forming a work of grace," on how he contrasts  our spiritual formation between sailing and rowing.  Much of our time has been spent in our own effort to try and earn God's love and salvation, when in reality we are already accepted through the work of Jesus.    

Paul spends a lot of time communicating the difference between the old and new covenant.  We can be encouraged today that we are living in a new covenant relationship where God now lives internally within us.  We have constant access to His presence, we are to learn how to cultivate an interactive lifestyle with the Lord.    God gives us a clear plan and process for learning to walk with Him.  

When we commit ourselves to knowing God and discovering the ways He reveals Himself, we'll find that the deep desire we have for transformation is very obtainable.  Be encouraged that you are made new in Christ.    

Key Scriptures:  

2 Corinthians 3:3-6, 8-18 

2 Corinthians 4:1, 4, 6-18

It's important to value endurance.  Strength from the Lord enables us to endure hard things.  When we look at the life of Paul we see that he's not shy to let us know about all the things he had to suffer and endure in order to spread the good news of the gospel.  We often want to be removed or rescued from hardship however hardship can provide a significant opportunity for growth and dependence in the Lord.    

Paul teaches us that our weakness is a prime opportunity for the Lord to show His strength.  I'll share more from my own personal life of how I experienced more of God's grace and love in a very trying season.    When we go through difficult seasons we will encounter God's grace at a deeper level and Paul's life is a great testimony of that as we remember the incredible transformation Paul had.  Paul's journey was an ongoing transformation just as ours is as well.    

Key Scriptures:  

2 Corinthians 11:23-30 

2 Corinthians 12:5, 7-10

In this episode I share about my own healing journey.  I'll share how the Lord has connected parts of my past with my present through some of the heart healing networks I've been a part of.    Everyone of our healing journeys is different, because we all have different experiences.  The Lord loves to bring the healing and restoration that we desire, but it often comes in a very different and unexpected way that only the Lord can accomplish.    

The Lord loves to interact with us in our pain and brokenness.  The word of God tells us that He is our comforter, healer, and counselor.  He also tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us.    We can learn from each other's healing process and we are encouraged and comforted knowing that we are not alone in the things we experience in our life.  

By sharing our weaknesses we create an environment were we can be strengthened and we don't have to mask our weaknesses, project an image of what we're not, and pretend to be something we're not.