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MEDITATION:

Written by Shilo Taylor, a contemporary youth pastor and Christian author. This is an excerpt from her book “A 40-Day Guide to Life in Christ.”

Have you ever said, “It’s my life. I’m free to do whatever makes me happy?” After a while, whatever you choose to pursue—popularity, alcohol, relationships, living selfishly, or trying hard to be perfect—becomes something that controls you instead of you controlling it. Soon the choice doesn’t feel like a choice at all. Instead of being free, you’re a slave. Before we commit our lives to Jesus we are slaves to sin. Even if we try to be good, we still aren’t free. Freedom is an illusion. We are tangled up in our sin, and it is impossible to set ourselves free. When we commit our lives to Jesus, we are freed from our slavery. Only God brings real freedom. He frees us from everything we’ve been controlled by. Only God—who is absolutely perfect and all-powerful—can make us his children and save us.

Jesus forgives us. Jesus heals us. Jesus makes us whole. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see instant change. The more you know God, the more you will become the person God created you to be. He knows what your purpose is, what is best for you, what you are good at, and how your experiences will be used in the future. He will help you get past what holds you back. He will make you whole.

PRAYER:

Written by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) , a Patriarch of Alexandria whose Coptic Liturgy  originated in the early Christian Egypt, forming the core of the historical Alexandrian Rite.

What blessing,

what praise,

what thanksgiving

can we give you, O God, lover of all?

For when we were in the darkness of death

and drowning in the depths of sin

you granted us freedom

and gave us this immortal and heavenly food,

and showed us the mystery kept secret for long ages.

Help us understand your supreme mercy

and the greatness of your goodness and Fatherly care for us. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by David Jeremiah, a contemporary Christian pastor and author.  This is an excerpt from his book “What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do.”

 “Patience” is not a passive term but an active one. It is not a resignation to whatever happens but a strong and tough resolution in the midst of very adverse circumstances. It would be better translated as “steadfastness,” “perseverance,” or “brave endurance.” Trials in the lives of believers refine their faith so that the false is stripped away and the genuine faith that continues to trust God can develop victorious positive endurance. William Barclay points out that the endurance of the early Christians was not a passive quality: “It is not simply the ability to bear things; it is the ability to turn them to greatness and glory. The thing which amazed the heathen in the centuries of persecution was that the martyrs did not die grimly; they died singing.”

Without durability in trials, believers have not yet fully matured. We are to persevere in our trials so that the work that God has begun in us may be brought to completion. It is possible for Christians to be fully grown or mature in most areas in life but be missing this ingredient of steadfastness in trials. Until this has been experienced , they are not yet complete.

PRAYER:

From The Mozarabic Rite, a liturgical rite of the Latin Church once used generally in the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania), in what is now Spain and Portugal.  Developed during Visigoth (Arian Christian) rule of the Iberian peninsula  in the 500s AD.

It is good for us to hold on to you, O Lord,

but increase in us our desire for your good,

that our hope in you may not be shaken

by any wavering of faith,

but may endure in steadfastness of love.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), an English Baptist preacher often known as the “Prince of Preachers.”

“On whom dost thou trust?” “I trust,” says the Christian, “in a triune God. I trust the Father, believing that he has chosen me from before the foundations of the world; I trust him to provide for me in providence, to teach me, to guide me, to correct me if need be, and to bring me home to his own house where the many mansions are. I trust the Son. Very God of very God is he–the man Christ Jesus. I trust in him to take away all my sins by his own sacrifice, and to adorn me with his perfect righteousness. I trust him to be my Intercessor, to present my prayers and desires before his Father’s throne, and I trust him to be my Advocate at the last great day, to plead my cause, and to justify me. I trust him for what he is, for what he has done, and for what he has promised yet to do. And I trust the Holy Spirit–he has begun to save me from my inbred sins; I trust him to drive them all out; I trust him to curb my temper, to subdue my will, to enlighten my understanding, to check my passions, to comfort my despondency, to help my weakness, to illuminate my darkness; I trust him to dwell in me as my life, to reign in me as my King, to sanctify me wholly, spirit, soul, and body, and then to take me up to dwell with the saints in light forever.”

Oh, blessed trust! To trust him whose power will never be exhausted, whose love will never wane, whose kindness will never change, whose faithfulness will never fail, whose wisdom will never be nonplussed, and whose perfect goodness can never know a diminution! Happy art thou, reader, if this trust is thine! So trusting, thou shalt enjoy sweet peace now, and glory hereafter, and the foundation of thy trust shall never be removed.

PRAYER:

Written by Francis of Assisi ((c1181-1226), an Italian Catholic friar, deacon and preacher. He founded the men’s Order of Friars Minor, the women’s Order of Saint Claire, the Third Order of Saint Francis and the Custody of the Holy Land.

Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily. To lean upon Thy great strength, trustfully, restfully. To wait for the unfolding of Thy will, patiently, serenely. To meet others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow, confidently, courageously. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), a Christian pastor, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor. This is an excerpt from his book “The Warfare of the Spirit.”

For some of us last year was one in which we did not acquit ourselves very nobly as Christians, considering the infinite power available to us through the indwelling Spirit. But through the goodness of God we may go to school to our failures. The man of illuminated mind will learn from his mistakes, yes even from his sins. If his heart is trusting and penitent, he can be a better man next year for last year’s fault-but let him not return again to folly. Repentance should be radical and thorough, and the best repentance for a wrong act, as Fenelon said, is not to do it again….

Brother Lawrence expressed the highest moral wisdom when he testified that if he stumbled and fell he turned at once to God and said, “O Lord, this is what You may expect of me if You leave me to myself.” He then accepted forgiveness, thanked God and gave himself no further concern about the matter.

PRAYER:

Written by Dan Jeremy, a 12^th century Christian.

O Lord Jesus,

grant us your grace and give us time for repentance.

We want to keep your commandments and do your bidding,

choose the better part and no longer follow evil.

Give us your strength to do this,

O loving Savior,

for your own name’s sake. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), a British writer and lay theologian. This is an excerpt from his book “The Screwtape Letters.”

Screwtape advises Wormwood on using time to wear down a soul:

The Enemy has guarded him from you through the first great wave of temptations. But, if only he can be kept alive, you have time itself for your ally. The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather. You see, it is so hard for these creatures to persevere. The routine of adversity, the gradual decay of youthful loves and youthful hopes, the quiet despair (hardly felt as pain) of ever overcoming the chronic temptations with which we have again and again defeated them, the drabness which we create in their lives and the inarticulate resentment with which we teach them to respond to it—all this provides admirable opportunities of wearing out a soul by attrition. If, on the other hand, the middle years prove prosperous, our position is even stronger. Prosperity knits a man to the World. He feels that he is ‘finding his place in it’, while really it is finding its place in him. His increasing reputation, his widening circle of acquaintances, his sense of importance, the growing pressure of absorbing and agreeable work, build up in him a sense of being really at home in earth, which is just what we want. You will notice that the young are generally less unwilling to die than the middle- aged and the old.

PRAYER:

From the Gelasian Sacramentary, a book of Christian liturgy, which is the oldest western liturgical book that has survived.  The book is linked to Pope Gelasius I. It was compiled near Paris around 750.

O God,

you make all things work together

for good to those who love you.

Fill us with the invincible power of your love

that the holy desires you have put in our hearts

may not be changed by any temptation;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Louis Evely (1910-1985), a Belgian Christian writer and Roman Catholic priest. This is from his book “In the Christian Spirit.”

To believe in God is to believe in the salvation of the world. The paradox of our time is that those who believe in God do not believe in the salvation of the world, and those who believe in the future of the world do not believe in God. Christians believe in “the end of the world,” they expect the final catastrophe, the punishment of others. Atheists in their turn invent doctrines of salvation, try to give a meaning to life, work and the future of humankind, and refuse to believe in God because Christians believe in him and take no interest in the world.

All ignore the true God: he who has so loved the world! But which is the more culpable ignorance? To love God is to love the world. To love God passionately is to love the world passionately. To hope in God is to hope for the salvation of the world. I often say to myself that, in our religion, God must feel very much alone: for is there anyone besides God who believes in the salvation of the world? God seeks among us sons and daughters who resemble him enough, who love the world enough that he could send them into the world to save it.

PRAYER:

Written by Timothy Keller, contemporary pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, author, and speaker.

Lord, I have been trying to earn my own salvation and weave my own righteousness. But you are my salvation and righteousness. I am accepted in your Son! All my problems come because I am forgetting how loved, honored, beautiful, secure, rich, respected, embraced and free in Jesus I am. All other ways of finding honor, respect, purpose and so on are vain. Let me be so ravished with your love for me that no other love can control me. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Anthony Bloom (1914-2003), Orthodox Christian writer and broadcaster on prayer and Christian life. This is from his book “Living Prayer.”

Basically, humility is the attitude of one who stands constantly under the judgement of God. It is the attitude of one who is like the soil. Humility comes from the Latin word humus, fertile ground. The fertile ground is there, unnoticed, taken for granted, always there to be trodden upon. It is silent, inconspicuous, dark and yet it is always ready to receive any seed, ready to give it substance and life. The more lowly, the more fruitful, because it becomes really fertile when it accepts all the refuse of the earth. It is so low that nothing can soil it, abase it, humiliate it; it has accepted the last place and cannot go any lower. In that position nothing can shatter the soul’s serenity, its peace and joy.

PRAYER:

Written by Ephraim the Syrian (AD 305-373), a Syriac Christian deacon and theologian who wrote a variety of hymns, poems,  sermons, and other theological documents.

O Lord and Master of my life,

give me not the spirit of laziness,

despair, lust of power, and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of sobriety,

humility, patience and love to Thy servant.

Yea, O Lord and King,

grant me to see my own transgressions

and not to judge my brother,

for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Rebecca Van Noord, a contemporary Christian author and editor of Bible Study Magazine. This is an excerpt from her book “Connect the Testaments.”

We sometimes jump on the bandwagon with politics. Yet if we put our full trust in political candidates or believe their rise to power is an indication of our future—a common campaign platform—we’re putting our hope in something transitory. No earthly person or kingdom has absolute rule. The book of Revelation portrays this in a surprising way. In the last book of the Bible, God’s judgment is loosed, and it can be overwhelming to read and interpret. Six trumpets, blown consecutively by angels, unleash God’s judgment. When the seventh trumpet blows, we expect judgment to be set in motion yet again. Instead, a loud voice from heaven announces a different, glorious event: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15). This seems like a strange turn of events, but it’s the culmination of plans and actions that have been happening all along. The initiation of God’s kingdom is prophesied throughout the Bible, and it is presented in John’s vision to bring hope. All of God’s judgments have a purpose. They terminate an old way of life to usher in a new one—a life guided by the eternal reign of God. In some ways, the arrival of God’s kingdom is a judgment—it’s a judgment on all other kingdoms. John’s vision would have been a comforting reminder to the early church that the kingdoms of this age are transitory. Their flawed, corrupt rule is not forever. And while the kingdoms of the world come and go, God’s kingdom will never end. We can be hopeful, then, in hopeless situations. We need not feel morose or hopeless when the factions and kingdoms of the world struggle and disappoint. God’s eternal kingdom—His exclusive, righteous rule—is our hope.

PRAYER:

From the Gallican Sacramentary, an historical version of Christian liturgy within the Latin church in the 1st millennium.

O God,

you have forbidden us

to be anxious about what we need for this life.

Move our hearts

to seek you and your kingdom,

that all good things may be given to us as well; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by William Law (1686-1761), a Church of England priest who refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the German George I to the English throne. This is an excerpt from his book “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life.”

Thus, one who makes it a rule to be content in every part and accident of life because it comes from God praises God in a much higher manner than one who has some set time for the singing of psalms. The person who dares not say an ill-natured word or do an unreasonable thing because he or she considers God as everywhere present performs a better devotion than the person who dares not miss the church. To live in the world as a stranger and a pilgrim, using all its enjoyments as if we used them not, making all our actions as so many steps toward a better life, is offering a better sacrifice to God than any forms of holy and heavenly prayers.

To be humble in our actions, to avoid every appearance of pride and vanity, to be meek and lowly in our words, actions, dress, behavior, and designs – all in imitation of our blessed Savior—is worshiping God in a higher manner than do they who have only stated times to fall low on their knees in devotions. Those who content themselves with necessities that they may give the remainder to those who need it; who dare not spend any money foolishly because they consider it as a talent from God, which must be used according to his will, praise God with something that is more glorious than songs of praise.

PRAYER:

Written by John Robinson (1576-1625), the pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers before they left on the Mayflower and considered one of the founders of the Congregational Church.

Through Christ, the only master and teacher of his church, to you be praise forever. God the Father, for your Son Christ’s sake, show your mercy every time we stray. Reveal our sins to us more and more. Keep us in, and lead us to your truth. Show us how to be faithful in everything we have received, whether it be less or more, and preserve us against all the scandals the whole world is filled with. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Excerpted  from a devotional written by Jill Weber, a contemporary Christian spiritual director and the Director of Houses of Prayer at 24-7 Prayer.

In his book, The Lord of the Ring, Phil Anderson tell us about 36-year old Johan Leonhard Dober and 26-year old David Nitschmann, “The two men were among the first missionaries to be sent out in Protestant church history, the first to go as lay workers rather than theologically trained ministers, the first to be sent by a church rather than a state body or society, and the first to work among slaves.” They left Copenhagen harbor for the Danish West Indies in 1732.

Backing them up was their Moravian community in Herrnhut, Saxony (now Eastern Germany), who were praying literally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. During the decades that followed, Moravians went to the slaves of the Caribbean, the Eskimos of Greenland and Newfoundland, the black South Africans, and the American Indians. They reached Ceylon, South America, the Far East, and the Russian and Arab worlds. By the end of the century, this tiny village of around 300 people was responsible for sending out over 1,000 missionaries to virtually every part of the known world.

Dober and Nitschmann had wanted to sell themselves into slavery. When they were prevented from doing so, they instead took manual jobs on plantations so they could have close access to the slaves they were trying to reach. I can just imagine these men considering their series of firsts. It’s never been done before. Well, high time that somebody did it then! They jumped out of the box, colored outside the lines, and they made Church history.

PRAYER:

Written by Jill Weber, author of the meditation.

God, I ask for creativity and courage to innovate. Even now, in the quiet, would You show me how we can break new ground together? 

Jesus, I give you my selfish pre-occupation and my instinct for self-preservation. Lamb that was slain, I fix my eyes and my heart on You. I offer up myself to You today that You may receive the reward of Your suffering. Here I am, Lord. Send me.

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