Good evening and welcome to meditation time.
Tonight we will start with prayer and then some breathing to slow ourselves down.
Then I will be reading a selection of verses from the book of James to help calm your heart and mind before sleep.
I will be using the New Living Translation.
After the verses,
The music will continue.
Have a peaceful and pleasant sleep.
Let's pray.
Dear God,
Thank you for giving us another day on this earth.
Thank you for sending your Son so we could be closer to you.
Help us to work towards changing for the better every day.
May we have the strength to persevere and grow.
Protect us as we sleep and give us a peaceful and restful night.
Speak to us as we rest.
May we have the strength and motivation for the coming day.
Calm our hearts,
Calm our minds,
Calm our bodies and calm our breath.
In Jesus name,
Amen.
Let's do some breathing.
In through your nose,
Long and deep.
Out through your mouth,
Long and slow.
In through your nose,
Long and deep.
Out through your mouth,
Long and slow.
Gently close your eyes.
In through your nose,
Long and deep.
Out through your mouth,
Long and slow.
In through your nose,
Long and deep.
Out through your mouth,
Long and slow.
In through your nose,
Long and deep.
Out through your mouth,
Long and slow.
In through your nose,
Long and deep.
Out through your mouth,
Long and slow.
Let your breathing return to its normal rhythm.
James 1,
2-27 Dear brothers and sisters,
When troubles of any kind come your way,
Consider it an opportunity for great joy.
For you know that when your faith is tested,
Your endurance has a chance to grow.
So let it grow,
For when your endurance is fully developed,
You will be perfect and complete,
Needing nothing.
If you need wisdom,
Ask our generous God,
And He will give it to you.
He will not rebuke you for asking.
But when you ask Him,
Be sure that your faith is in God alone.
Do not waver,
For a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled As a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Their loyalty is divided between God and the world,
And they are unstable in everything they do.
Believers who are poor have something to boast about,
For God has honoured them.
And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them.
They will fade away like a little flower in the field.
The hot sun rises and the grass withers.
The little flower droops and falls,
And its beauty fades away.
In the same way,
The rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.
Afterward,
They will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
And remember,
When you are being tempted,
Do not say,
God is tempting me.
God is never tempted to do wrong,
And He never tempts anyone else.
Temptation comes from our own desires,
Which entice us and drag us away.
These desires give birth to sinful actions,
And when sin is allowed to grow,
It gives birth to death.
So don't be misled,
My dear brothers and sisters.
Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father,
Who created all the lights in the heavens.
He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true Word.
And we,
Out of all creation,
Became His prized possession.
Understand this,
My dear brothers and sisters.
You must all be quick to listen,
Slow to speak,
And slow to get angry.
Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.
So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives,
And humbly accept the Word God has planted in your hearts,
For it is the power to save our souls.
But don't just listen to God's Word.
You must do what it says,
Otherwise you are only fooling yourselves.
For if you listen to the Word and don't obey,
It is like glancing at your face in a mirror.
You see yourself,
Walk away,
And forget what you look like.
But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free,
And if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard,
Then God will bless you for doing it.
If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue,
You are fooling yourself,
And your religion is worthless.
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress And refusing to let the world corrupt you.
James 4,
7-8 So humble yourselves before God,
Resist the devil,
And he will flee from you.
Come close to God,
And God will come close to you.
Wash your hands,
You sinners,
Purify your hearts,
For your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
James 5,
13-18 Are any of you suffering hardships?
You should pray.
Are any of you happy?
You should sing praises.
Are any of you sick?
You should call for the elders of the church to come pray over you,
Anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.
Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick,
And the Lord will make you well.
And if you have committed any sins,
You will be forgiven.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other,
So that you may be healed.
The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Elijah was a human as we are,
And yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall,
None fell for three and a half years.
Then when he prayed again,
The sky sent down rain,
And the earth began to yield its crops.
The Lord was a human as we are.
And yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall,
None fell for three and a half years.
Then when he prayed again,
The sky sent down rain,
And the earth began to yield its crops.
Then when he prayed again,
The sky sent down rain,
And the earth began to yield its crops.
The Lord was a human as we are.
And yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall,
Nonetheless,
Through the Repentance of university he brought to me.
But the Lord was a human as we are.
And yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall,
Still,
The difficulty of his God fearing is not that pious,
You You You You You You You You You You You You You
