Pathways Press.com

MEDITATION:

Written by Os Guiness. A contemporary Christian author and social critic. This is an excerpt from his work “Purposeful Living for Today and Beyond.”

I’m speaking from quarantine to all of you presumably in quarantine. I think the heart of the challenge of the pandemic is that it strikes at modernity’s love of control, mastery — control through reason, science, technology, management — and suddenly the angel of death arrives and we realize we’re not in control. So it’s an extraordinary time for reflection and self-examination. I’ve certainly tried to think of it that way. We can think of it in terms of, say, America and the Western world, or the global world, or we can think of it as we’re doing this today in terms of our individual, personal lives.

I start my book, Carpe Diem Redeemed, with a time when I was on the Eurostar, going from Brussels to London. As you come into St. Pancras station, there are a number of dilapidated Victorian buildings splattered with graffiti. One of them reads like this: “You only live once, and it doesn’t last. So live it up. Drink it down. Laugh it off. Burn it at both ends. You can’t take it with you. You only live once.”  Now that of course was the famous YOLO philosophy (“You Only Live Once”). Many people who followed — they knew it came from the Greeks: “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” But what many people forget is that one of the original formulations was “You only live once — if then.” In other words, life is short, life is fragile, life is vulnerable, and the question is, How do we live it well? And how do we make sense of it in order to live it well?  I think we have to start thinking it through for ourselves, each of us, and I include myself, because we’re all in this world where life is short and fragile and vulnerable. 

PRAYER:

From The Mozarabic Rite, also called the Visigothic Rite or the Hispanic Rite, is a liturgical rite of the Latin Church once used generally in the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania), in what is now Spain and Portugal in the 500s.

O God,

you are the well of life,

and in your light we see light.

Shine the light of your holy knowledge on us

and show us your flowing fountain.

Give our thirsty souls living water

and shine your light from heaven on our darkened minds;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Read Full Post »

MEDITATION:

Written by Lawrence W. Althouse, a contemporary Christian author. This is an excerpt from his work “A Distant Second,” published in the “Blount Countian.”

Freedom can be very elusive and fleeting because the dimensions of freedom evolve along with society. The Exodus from Egyptian slavery is one of the great liberation stories of all time. But, the world of 1300 BC (approximate date) was a radically different world from ours. The Israelite escapees made giant steps for human freedom, but they were limited to what was conceivable at the time… We are proud that dissident religious groups came here searching for religious freedom. But that pride must be tempered by the realization that many of the religious groups seeking freedom for themselves established colonies in which it was denied to others. Abraham Lincoln later commented in a letter, “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and under a just God, cannot long retain it.”

As William Lisle Bowles wrote, “The cause of freedom is the cause of God.” Tyranny, suppression, and injustice are abominations to the God who brought Israel out of Egypt. The conviction that “freedom is for me” must evolve into “freedom is for all.” We are getting there, but we are not there yet. The God who leads us to freedom is above all our human political institutions. Politics should be subservient to religion. Whether we are Republicans or Democrats, Liberals or Conservatives, our highest loyalty must be to God, not our party or ideology. In fact, Christians must be critics and watchdogs of all parties, starting with our own. We will support our party when it is responsive to God’s purpose and criticize it when it is not. The gospel will be our ultimate source of authority, not the ideology of our respective parties. Yet, despite our pretensions as a Christian nation, it is our party spirit and ideology, not the divine teachings of Jesus, that drive our governments at every level. Let Egyptians and Israelites know, as well as Democrats and Republicans: God first, party, a distant second.

PRAYER:

Written by Augustine of Hippo (354-430), an early Christian theologian, bishop, and philosopher.

Eternal God,

who are the light of the minds that know you,

the joy of the hearts that love you,

and the strength of the wills that serve you;

grant us so to know you

that we may truly love you,

and so to love you

that we may fully serve you,

whom to serve is perfect freedom,

in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Read Full Post »

MEDITATION:

Written by Ron Moore, contemporary American pastor and Christian author.

David was on the run through no fault of his own. Jealous King Saul was in hot pursuit intent on putting him to death. David’s ragtag army was no match for Saul’s elite soldiers. David knew that if they ever caught him. they would most certainly tear him apart like a lion.

Have you ever been unjustly accused…at work, by friends, or even in your home? You admit that you are not perfect. You know you can say things that others misunderstand. But this time, at least, you are innocent. Your accusers are not intent on ripping you to pieces like David’s, but they are out to get you nonetheless. What do you do? Retaliate? Make similar accusations? Spread rumors? Mount an all out social media attack? No. Do what David did.

David found protection in God alone. God was his refuge so he made his appeal to the One who will “judge the peoples.” He is the One who knows your heart and will bring vindication. He is the righteous and just God. Can you trust God with accusations against you? He is more than capable to deliver you and deliver justice.

PRAYER:

This is a traditional Welsh prayer.

Grant me, O God, thy merciful protection; and in protection give me strength, I pray; and in my strength, O grant me wise discretion; and in discretion, make me ever just; and with my justice, may I mingle love; and with my love, O God, the love of thee; and with the love of thee, the love of all. Amen.

Read Full Post »

 MEDITATION:

Written by Billy Graham (1918-2018), an American Christian evangelist.

Man hungers for food, and God sends the sun and rain upon the golden fields of grain. The grain is made into flour, and flour into bread, and man’s physical hunger is satisfied. Man hungers for love; and God ignites the fire of affection in another heart, and two hearts are made complete in the bonds of holy matrimony.

Man hungers for knowledge, and God raises up institutions of learning, calls men to be instructors, puts it into the hearts of the rich to endow them; and men are satisfied in their thirst for knowledge. Man hungers for fellowship; and God allows him to build cities where men can share their industry, and their knowledge, and their skills.

Don’t tell me that God can supply man with an abundance of everything material and yet will let him starve spiritually! . . . God will satisfy the hunger and thirst of those who desire His righteousness because He loves the world with an undying affection.

PRAYER:

Written by Robert Parker (1564-1614), an English Puritan clergyman and scholar.

Show me how to love the world, that my bold love for you would increase. Remind me that the fashions of the world pass away, and their momentary glory will vanish into emptiness and nothing. Draw my heart to you and set my mind on things that will last forever. Help me love you fiercely, and cleave to you with a perfect heart. May nothing here satisfy my soul. Protect me through the rest of this day, that I may fall into no temptation, and no danger of soul or body, for the sake of Jesus Christ my blessed Redeemer. Amen.

Read Full Post »

 MEDITATION:

Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013), an American philosopher known for his writings on Christian spiritual formation. This is an excerpt from his book “Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge.”

The unity of humankind is to be achieved by witness to truth in love, co-working with God. Paul repeatedly affirms human unity under Christ in his letters. The prophet Isaiah spoke long ago to Israel for the God of Israel: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (49:6). But this was not to be achieved by political or military power, though the Jews of Jesus’s day, including his own apostles, could think only of that. Many today have gone no further in their understanding.

By the force of truth and love alone—spoken and lived—the people of Christ, as they dwell in their part of the earth and move about on earth, “make disciples of all nations,” all ethnic groups, all kinds of people. But what that means must be rightly understood if it is to be effectual for good in the way Jesus intended. Most Christians of the Western world today take this directive to “make disciples” to mean doing “missionary work” in other parts of the world, especially in “underdeveloped” or “backward” countries. That is how it has been presented to them. Thus, they look to “the ends of the earth” from where they stand and forget that the process starts in “Jerusalem and Judea,” which in their case is precisely the Western world and its churches. It is right where they live. The “all nations” is above all our own “nation.” North America, for example, is the primary place for North American Christians to make disciples from the various human groupings, surround them in trinitarian reality, and “teach them to obey everything” Jesus commanded. The failure of the American church to do this is very obvious, but to fail here “at home” is to fail the need of the world as a whole.

PRAYER:

Written by Benedict (480-547), the father of Western monasticism and founder of the Rule of St. Benedict, a monastic community.

O gracious and holy Father, give us wisdom to perceive you, diligence to seek you, patience to wait for you, eyes to behold you, a heart to meditate upon you, and a life to proclaim you, through the power of the spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Read Full Post »

 MEDITATION:

Written by Louis Evely (1910-1985), Belgian priest and author on spiritual life. This is an excerpt from his book “In the Christian Spirit.”

Bad religion has always favored escape, passivity, irresponsibility. By dint of fixing one’s eyes on heaven above, one does not see what takes place on earth here below.  The upward looking must come to an understanding with the forward looking. We believe that our God calls us to go forward. Our faith in an absolute does not immobilize us in contemplation, but invites us to discover him according to our means of creating a world inspired by his love: a world where justice dwells and where people love one another.

PRAYER:

Written by Dominic of Osma (1170-1221), a Castilian priest and founder of the Dominican order.

May God the Father who made us bless us.

May God the Son send his healing among us.

May God the Holy Spirit move within us and

give us eyes to see with, and ears to hear with,

and hands that your work might be done.

May we walk and preach the word of God to all.

May the angel of peace watch over us and

lead us at last by God’s grace to the Kingdom. 

Amen.

Read Full Post »

MEDITATION:

Written by Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), a Roman Catholic nun and missionary in Calcutta, India.  This is an excerpt from her book “A Gift For God .”

Suffering is increasing in the world today. People are hungry for something more beautiful, for something greater than people round about can give. There is a great hunger for God in the world today. Everywhere there is much suffering, but there is also great hunger for God and love for each other.

PRAYER:

Written by Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), a Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and Christian theologian. He served as the archbishop of Canterbury from 1093-1109.

O Lord my God.

Teach my heart this day where and how to find you.

You have made me and re-made me,

And you have bestowed on me all the good things I possess,

And still I do not know you.

I have not yet done that for which I was made.

Teach me to seek you,

For I cannot seek you unless you teach me,

Or find you unless you show yourself to me.

Let me seek you in my desire;

Let me desire you in my seeking.

Let me find you by loving you;

Let me love you when I find you. Amen.

Read Full Post »

 MEDITATION:

Written by Aiden Wilson Tozer (1897-1963), an American Christian pastor, author, magazine editor and spiritual mentor.

Any serious-minded Christian may at some time find himself wondering whether the service he is giving to God is the best it could be. He may even have times of doubting, and fear that his toil is fruitless and his life empty. This is not as bad as it sounds, and may actually prove to be an excellent thing for him—if he knows how to use it. Christian service, like every other phase of religion, can become a very hollow affair. The church has marked out certain work and approved it as service acceptable to God, and for the most part the church has been right. But is should be kept in mind that it is not the kind or quantity of work that makes it true service—it is the quality. Before the judgment seat of Christ, very little will be heard of numbers or size; moral quality is about all that will matter then. If we are wise we will give attention now to the quality of our service; it is obvious that it will be too late to do anything about it when the service is ended and the account rendered up.

PRAYER:

Written by Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990), an English journalist, writer,  and satirist.

Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our fellow men throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give them, through our hands, this day their daily bread, and by our understanding love give peace and joy.

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace, that where there is hatred I may bring love; that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness; that where there is discord, I may bring harmony; that where there is error, I may bring faith; that where there is despair, I may bring hope; that where there are shadows, I may bring light; that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted; to understand than to be understood; to love than to be loved; for it is by forgetting self that one finds; it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life. Amen.

Read Full Post »

 MEDITATION:

Written by Mark Roberts, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker. He is the Executive Director of the Max DePree Center for Leadership at Fuller Seminary. This is an excerpt from his work “Another Great Omission.”

I’ve written about what might be called “The Great Omission.” It has to do with how we understand our salvation in Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 reveals the astounding good news that we are saved by grace through faith, not by our works. But all too often we omit that fact that our salvation is so much more than a “ticket to Heaven.” In fact, we begin to experience salvation in this life because we are “God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (EPH 2:10). We are not saved by good works but for a rich and full life of doing good works that God has prepared for us.

If the first “Great Omission” comes in Ephesians 2:10, I would suggest that the latter portion of Ephesians 2 might be called “Another Great Omission.” You see, Ephesians 2:11-22 reveals further dimensions of our salvation given by God’s grace. This passage shows how salvation transforms, not just our personal lives, but also our relationships, our lives in community with others. The cross of Jesus Christ is meant to transform social structures and even cultures. Salvation has everything to do with how we live together as well as how we live individually. In a day in which we are committed to ending racism and mending the damage it has done, we need Ephesians 2:11-22 now more than ever.

As you go through this day, keep your eyes open to seeing how sin is manifested in broken relationships and social structures. Allow the Lord to give you a new perspective on the world in which you live.

PRAYER:

Written by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), a minister and activist for the American civil rights movement.

Ever present God, you called us to be in relationship with one another and promised to dwell wherever two or three are gathered. In our community, we are many different people; we come from many different places, have many different cultures. Open our hearts that we may be bold in finding the riches of inclusion and the treasures of diversity among us. We pray in faith. Amen.

Read Full Post »

MEDITATION:

Written by Hannah Whitall Smith (1832–1911), lay speaker and author in the Holiness Movement.

Every advancing soul must come sooner or later to the place where it can trust God, the bare God, if I may be allowed the expression, simply and only because of what He is in Himself, and not because of His promises or His gifts. It must learn to have its joy in Him alone, and to rejoice in Him when all else in Heaven and earth shall seem to fail.

The only way in which this place can be reached I believe, is by the soul being compelled to face in its own experience the loss of all things both inward and outward. I do not mean necessarily that all one’s friends must die, or all one’s money must be lost: but I do mean that the soul shall find itself, from either inward or outward causes, desolate, and bereft, and empty of all consolation. It must come to the end of everything that is not God; and must have nothing else left to rest on within or without.

PRAYER:

Written by Clement of Rome (35-99), Bishop of Rome and considered one of the first Apostolic Fathers of the Church.

You did make to appear the enduring fabric of the world by the works of Your hand; You, Lord, did create the earth on which we dwell, – You, who are faithful in all generations, just in judgments, wonderful in strength and majesty, with wisdom creating and with understanding fixing the things which were made, who are good among them that are being saved and faithful among them whose trust is in You; O merciful and Compassionate One, forgive us our iniquities and offenses and transgressions and trespasses. Reckon not every sin of Your servants and handmaids, but You will purify us with the purification of Your truth; and direct our steps that we may walk in holiness of heart and do what is good and well-pleasing in Your sight and in the sight of our rulers. Yes, Lord, make Your face to shine upon us for good in peace, that we may be shielded by Your mighty hand and delivered from every sin by Your uplifted arm. and deliver us from those who hate us wrongfully. Give concord and peace to us and all who dwell upon the earth, even as You gave to our fathers, when they called upon You in faith and truth, submissive as we are to Your almighty and all-excellent Name. AMEN

Read Full Post »