Meditations with Jesus: For Those Wishing to Experience the Loving Kindness of Jesus and His Word.

Copyright © 2012 by Portia Reading.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Cover artwork by Portia Reading, Copyright ©1991 Portia Reading

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-5289-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-5290-3 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-5288-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012908857

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/25/2012

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE MEDITATIONS: DIRECTIONS FOR USE

THE GIFT OF JESUS’ PEACE SERIES

Preface

Part 1 Freedom From Anxiety: The Shoes Of Peace

Part 2 Living In Jesus’ Peace

Part 3 Transformed By The Renewing Of Your Mind

HEALING IN THE SUPERNATURAL SERIES

Preface

Part 1 The Healing Miracles Of Jesus

Part 2 We Shall Be Like Him, For We Shall See Him As He Is!

Part 3 Surely He Took Up Your Infirmities And Removed Your Diseases!

Part 4 Renewal: DNA Re-Boot

HEART’S DESIRE SERIES

Preface

Part 1 Washing Your Desires Into The Will Of God

Part 2 King Solomon’s Dream

PROVISION

Pouring The Oil

THANKFULNESS

Give Thanks To The Lord, For His Love Endures Forever

APPENDIX 1

Resources

APPENDIX 2

Acknowledgements

APPENDIX 3

About the Author

ENDNOTES

NOTES

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True… and his name is the Word of God.

 (Rev 19:11-14 NIV) 

For Jesus

‘May my meditation be pleasing to Him, as I rejoice in the LORD.’

(Ps 104:34 NIV)

‘May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.’

(Ps 19:14 NIV)

The following meditations are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any illness or medical condition.

If you have any health concerns, please consult a qualified health care professional.

INTRODUCTION

The following meditations are rich in God’s word.

They are all about what God has to say and not about what man has to say, for the word of God is living and active, ¹ and all Scripture is God-breathed.²

God’s word is meticulously woven into each meditation to activate a specific outcome in you and in your life.

The style of meditation is designed to allow you to read a little and then close your eyes, settle back and let His word come to life within you, simply by relaxing and engaging the suggestions of contemplation. Then when you are ready, read on to relax and meditate again, all while resting in and becoming still before your Lord.³

These meditations are also available as recordings, giving you the option to glide effortlessly upon the spoken word into the beauty and majesty of scripture. With the help of these meditations, let the power contained in God’s word activate His solution, His authority and His influence into your life—then, renewed in strength, you can hope in the Lord and soar on wings like eagles.⁴

The meditations are also designed for non-Christians to meet the Lord and Saviour and to come to know: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’⁵

My intention is for you to be so saturated in and activated by God’s word that scripture resounds within you from the moment you rise until you retire, and influencing your dreams as well. Imagine God’s word living in you and flowing out according to the situation at hand to give life and activate His will into every aspect of your life. And His will for you is forgiveness, healing, redemption, loving kindness, compassion, satisfaction and renewal.⁶

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—

Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,

Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(Ps 103:1-5 NIV)

In addition, these meditations offer a means of defence against the enemy. When battered by the wiles of the world, your defences worn down, Satan loves to barge in and taunt you with lies and deceptions. He loves to haunt you with accusations, self-doubts and doubt in the Lord Himself. He does this specifically to disconnect you from God—your very solution to every problem. Like a veil cloaking your spiritual awareness, you can descend into a fog of despair and forget to use your greatest weapons of praise, thankfulness and the word of God—your sword of the spirit.

But with His sword (the word) activated within you, God will cut through the web of lies and reach down His hand from on high to deliver you and rescue you.⁷ Remember that God’s word penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.⁸ His word can dissect Satan and all his influences right out of you and your life.

Let God’s word lift the veil as you behold Jesus and, by His spirit, be transformed into His likeness.

Thank Him and Praise Him, for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.⁹

Meditate on His word and relish in the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never whither, and they prosper in all they do.¹⁰

It is my heart’s desire that in some small way these meditations facilitate your walk with Jesus, for He is your way, your truth and your life.

THE MEDITATIONS:

DIRECTIONS FOR USE

When reading these meditations, please take time ‘for pause’ and to fully integrate the concepts and images in your mind before going on.

When first reading the meditations, skip over the indented scripture so as to maintain the flow. You can come back later and meditate further on these expanded parts of scripture.

LEGEND

Text in italics is the word of God.

Indented text in italics is expanded scripture for later meditation.

PEACE

THE GIFT OF JESUS’ PEACE SERIES

Preface

It is well understood that stress is one of the major blights of our modern day, so much so that it has become clichéd. Yet with this cliché comes acceptance, and we often forget how far reaching the effects of stress can be. Stress impacts our health, relationships, work performance, time spent with family, time spent with God, and the simple ability to stop and appreciate the beauty of His creation all around us.

Stress impacts us physically by activating the ‘fight or flight’ response in our bodies via the sympathetic nervous system. Guyton’s ‘Textbook of Medical Physiology’ tells us that when the sympathetic nervous system is activated, blood pressure rises, circulation to the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys decreases, blood sugar rises, clotting tendency increases and elevated metabolism consumes nutrients and resources in the body.

Guyton writes, ‘The sympathetic nervous system is especially strongly activated in many emotional states.’ This response is called the sympathetic alarm reaction (SAR) or the fight or flight reaction (FFR). In this state, one decides almost instantly whether to stand and fight or to run. In either event, the SAR/FFR prepares us for vigorous activities.

This stress response is completely appropriate, normal and required for the rare life-threatening situations where we either escape the proverbial tiger to live another day or are eaten. In modern society however, these extreme events are rare; rather, the tiger lurks in the form of exams, work deadlines, bills, mortgages, traffic, relationships and the like—and they are ever present!

As the various triggers activate the SAR/FFR, we can find ourselves in a perpetual state of preparation for flight or fight. This does not bode well for the body and the effects of chronic stress are evident throughout society: elevated blood pressure, digestive disturbance, elevated blood glucose, concomitant insulin resistance, increased clotting tendencies, infertility (the body is not in reproduction mode when fleeing the tiger) and insomnia (it does not help survival to take a snooze while being pursued). The list goes on.

Even some of the short-term benefits of stress, such as increased mental activity, can cause burnout over time. This is because during times of stress, the resources in our cells are mobilised and used to fuel the increased physical and mental activity. Long-term, this depletes our cells. A state of peace and calm permits resources like vitamins, minerals, glucose, potassium, etc. to flow back into the cells to repair and regenerate them.

So, stress depletes your body of nutrients and resources. A state of peace and centred calm facilitates repair and regeneration. Which would you prefer?

Once the SAR/FFR is activated it has to run its course. When a trigger activates the sympathetic nervous system, signals are transmitted along various nerves to the end organs and the physiological response proceeds. One way to prevent the end organ effects is to avoid the trigger. But save living on an island surrounded by an abundance of food, water, shelter and people who agree with everything you think and say, the only other option available to you is to change your emotional response to the triggers around you.

This is easier said than done—if it were as simple as telling yourself not to get stressed, then the world would be full of composed and centred individuals! But the following meditations will introduce to you to some tools to help you change your emotional state. Most importantly, they will give you the opportunity to receive the spirit of God’s peace wherein you can dwell, safe and protected by Jesus. Like a shield, Jesus’ living presence will help dissolve your emotional triggers and bestow upon you a state of serenity as you go about your life. His peace will teach you new ways of responding so that you can remain calm and centred. Less energy and resources will be spent on the SAR/FFR and tranquility will influence your entire nervous system. Imagine living your life in a state of grace, energetic and free from the ravages of the stress response.

The deeper you live in this ‘sweet spot in time’ with Jesus, the more you will see transformation in all areas of your life. Empathy and compassion will grow as you respond to situations with grace, and you will find that you can rise above emotional turmoils to invest your energy in constructive endeavours, thoughts and attitudes. Love, kindness and gentleness will flourish from within you.

Mentally and emotionally, you will make decisions and perform your daily activities with greater wisdom under spiritual guidance.

Spiritually, as you live in Jesus’ peace, divine channels will fly open to God’s manifold grace, and His living waters (spirit) will flow more effortlessly from within you as the blockages caused by stress are washed away.

Physically, with the peace of God ruling your heart, your nervous system can remain balanced and calm, facilitating signals for healing and repair rather than fight or flight. Blood pressure can normalise and circulation to vital organs can improve, carrying with it precious oxygen and nutrients. Reduced adrenalin and cortisol levels can support deeper and more refreshing sleep, and reproductive and immune capacity can improve. Improved blood sugar management can mitigate dysglycaemia. Your entire body can repair and restore itself as the direction of flow of nutrients moves into the cells for regeneration, rather than being used up for fight or flight. As a result, energy and resources will be