Here’s a basic question for you: How do you draw close to God?
If you’ve heard that one before, you might know some of the answers. The Church of God helpfully focuses on four big actions we can take to draw close to God: Christians can pray, study their Bibles, fast, and meditate.
It can be a little tricky to start doing these things regularly. Thankfully, the Church provides plenty of help on how to get the most out of prayer, study, fasting, and meditation. When I tried to start doing these activities regularly, it was a slow process, but I gradually felt myself get better at prayer, study, and fasting. Little by little, I felt like I was getting more out of these things. Some days were better or worse than others, but generally, these practices seemed to be going in the right direction in my life.
Meditation was different—I rarely felt like I was getting much better at it. I knew the basics: think about a godly concept deeply. True meditation is not emptying one’s mind, as some religions teach. Philippians 4:8 tells us that “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” That’s a great list, but what does it mean practically? How exactly are we supposed to think deeply about those things?
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Thomas Whitehttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngThomas White2022-06-10 11:02:062024-07-09 13:12:41A Couple of Tips on Meditation
The tragic event in Uvalde, Texas—and the political back-and-forth about it—had us thinking this week, and it seemed an appropriate topic for the podcast. In this episode, we try to think about the issue biblically, focusing on the solutions Christ surely longs to implement. We hope you find it helpful.
(In other news, many of you have requested that the podcast be made available in other formats, and we think the time has come to do just that! We hope to have more news on that front next week. Thanks for your patience with us as we’ve learned and the podcast has grown! Your feedback has been very helpful.)
P.S. After we posted this, we forgot that we had mentioned Mr. Weston’s telecast “Will God Forget Your Children?” We’ve added a link to it below. Also, we mentioned Mr. Mark Sandor’s upcoming article on false freedom & liberty, but it has not yet been published, so we can’t link to it. But look for it in the next Living Church News, due out in July!
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-06-03 22:02:452023-01-09 09:56:15Podcast: How Do We REALLY Prevent Mass Shootings?
Today (Friday), the Class of 2022 graduated from the on-campus Living Education–Charlotte program, and yesterday, we had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Jonathan McNair and pick his brain about both the program and his own long history of working with youth in the Church. Whether you are a teen or young adult with questions about Living Ed, a parent trying to decide how to guide your kiddos into their futures, or just someone wanting to know more about the program, this podcast answers all the questions. it was a real pleasure to sit down with Mr. McNair—who informed us, by the way, that there are still openings for the 2022–2023 year here in Charlotte! If you are interested in checking it out, listen to the podcast, and click on this link to apply.
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-05-27 13:54:332024-07-09 13:14:42Podcast: What can Living Education do for you?
Tomorrow’s World
A Couple of Tips on Meditation
/in Uncategorized/by Mark SandorHere’s a basic question for you: How do you draw close to God?
If you’ve heard that one before, you might know some of the answers. The Church of God helpfully focuses on four big actions we can take to draw close to God: Christians can pray, study their Bibles, fast, and meditate.
It can be a little tricky to start doing these things regularly. Thankfully, the Church provides plenty of help on how to get the most out of prayer, study, fasting, and meditation. When I tried to start doing these activities regularly, it was a slow process, but I gradually felt myself get better at prayer, study, and fasting. Little by little, I felt like I was getting more out of these things. Some days were better or worse than others, but generally, these practices seemed to be going in the right direction in my life.
Meditation was different—I rarely felt like I was getting much better at it. I knew the basics: think about a godly concept deeply. True meditation is not emptying one’s mind, as some religions teach. Philippians 4:8 tells us that “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” That’s a great list, but what does it mean practically? How exactly are we supposed to think deeply about those things?
Read morePodcast: How Do We REALLY Prevent Mass Shootings?
/in Podcast/by Wallace Smith & John RobinsonThe tragic event in Uvalde, Texas—and the political back-and-forth about it—had us thinking this week, and it seemed an appropriate topic for the podcast. In this episode, we try to think about the issue biblically, focusing on the solutions Christ surely longs to implement. We hope you find it helpful.
(In other news, many of you have requested that the podcast be made available in other formats, and we think the time has come to do just that! We hope to have more news on that front next week. Thanks for your patience with us as we’ve learned and the podcast has grown! Your feedback has been very helpful.)
P.S. After we posted this, we forgot that we had mentioned Mr. Weston’s telecast “Will God Forget Your Children?” We’ve added a link to it below. Also, we mentioned Mr. Mark Sandor’s upcoming article on false freedom & liberty, but it has not yet been published, so we can’t link to it. But look for it in the next Living Church News, due out in July!
Podcast: What can Living Education do for you?
/in Podcast/by Wallace Smith & John RobinsonToday (Friday), the Class of 2022 graduated from the on-campus Living Education–Charlotte program, and yesterday, we had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Jonathan McNair and pick his brain about both the program and his own long history of working with youth in the Church. Whether you are a teen or young adult with questions about Living Ed, a parent trying to decide how to guide your kiddos into their futures, or just someone wanting to know more about the program, this podcast answers all the questions. it was a real pleasure to sit down with Mr. McNair—who informed us, by the way, that there are still openings for the 2022–2023 year here in Charlotte! If you are interested in checking it out, listen to the podcast, and click on this link to apply.