So this is not a podcast where you can multitask while you listen. I’m not trying to give you new information or things to consider like other podcasts. I love those kinds of podcasts. But in this podcast I’m wanting to give you an experience. I want you to learn to reintegrate your body with your mind’s awareness so that you can notice the “red flag” when you feel tension or anxiety in your body. It’s a red flag that you’re experiencing a vertical disconnect with God. And I want you to experience what a vertical connection feels like through envisioning the unseen reality of God’s presence in this moment and his presence in your body by his Holy Spirit.
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Romans 11:36 - 12:2 (NIV)
We now know that that verse is neurologically true.
Neuroplasticity. Neurons that fire together wire together.
We now know through recent neuroscience and advanced imaging technology that our brains are constantly re-wiring to match our experiences and our environment. And what we do, what we see, what we say, what we think, how we react or respond to perceived threats is always changing our brain in our neurons and connections between neurons. This is why we can get good at a new skill like typing on a keyboard or playing scales quickly on an instrument or playing a sport. And we can change our brains to get better and better at responding to perceived threats with stress and anxiety. Or we can get better and better at perceiving God’s presence in all his ruling power and goodness and steadfast love in those situations instead. All by being transformed by the renewing of your mind — the rewiring of your brain. The Bible has been telling us this all along even if neuroscience is only recently discovering it.
“Being transformed by the renewing of your mind” is literally, physiologically, rewiring your brain — which in part happens through the practice of Christian meditation — to see each moment in your life through the lens of the reality of who God is and what it really means that he is always 100% present in each moment you face.
And the fundamental truth with which to renew your mind is Romans 11:36, “From him, through him, and for him are all things.”
Vs. the pattern of this age — “My life is my own. Living for ME.” Almost every cultural influencer in this age is going to try to convince you to shape/form yourself and your life after that pattern.
But is it true? Is it real? Are you the creator of yourself? Is your life really from you and through you and for you?
If you’re a follower of Jesus, deep inside you know the answer to that. And you need to actively renew your mind by meditation on the true answer — and if you do you will experience transformation instead of conformity.
The other passages we’ve looked at:
Revelation 4:11
Hebrews 2:10 (NIV)
Acts 17:25 (NIV)
Acts 17:28
1 Corinthians 8:6 (NIV)
Colossians 1:16-17 (NIV)
Psalms 119:73 (NIV)
Daniel 5:23 NIV
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Our audio engineer is Diego Huaman.
This podcast is a ministry of The Crossing, a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.