Dying to Self

We tried a visual meditation exercise with the Open Table group. I tried it on myself and actually put myself to sleep. Since you've already taken the time to open up the link, you might as well give it a try. Whatcha got to lose?

Picture yourself walking in the desert. It's hot and you're getting weary. As you struggle to take each step, you feel this heaviness on your back. That heaviness is all the shame and the sin that you've been carrying with you throughout your life.

You continue to walk and you notice that there are lots of people who are also going in the same direction. You look at their faces and you can see the hurt in their eyes.... you can feel that they are feeling exactly how you are.

Something catches your eye off to the right. You can see a pond and in that pond there is a man. Something is telling you to go towards it but you don't want to because everyone else is walking in another direction.

Slowly your feet lead you to walk towards the pond. As you get closer and closer, it is getting harder and harder to walk. With everything you have you reach the pond and realize that the man standing there is Jesus. He says " I know the hurt and the burden you have.... the sin and the shame that you have been carrying with you. I can take all of that away.... but first you have to die.

Think about it and ask yourself if you are ready to die.... Are you ready to let go of that sin and shame that you've been holding onto for so long?

If you said yes, you start to feel His hands holding onto yours. You start to feel yourself being lowered into the pond.  As the water is slowly surrounding your body, those heavy feelings of sin and shame that were once weighing so heavily on your shoulders suddenly feel lighter.  As you are completely submerged, the weight is no more.

In the darkness you find peace and quiet.... take a few seconds to feel that quietness....

Now you feel that you are being slowly pulled back up. Slowly you start to hear things again, slowly the water that once covered you is now falling off you. As you are coming up you feel lighter and at ease. You open up your eyes and Jesus says to you.... "Welcome to your new life."

Stay Classy