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MEDITATION:

Written by Randy Frazee, a contemporary pastor and author.

The first order of business is to identify the difference between joy and happiness. For many folks today, being happy is fully dependent on whether life is “all good.” … Problems rise; happiness goes south. Troubles begin to go away; the happy scale starts to climb. Joy, however, is not dependent on circumstances, and, in fact, ironically, can become strongest when trouble comes. Joy has more to do with remaining in the presence of Jesus than with avoiding problems and struggles in our lives. We know that joy is always available to us when we remain in Christ, through whatever life brings. Happiness is a state of mind, while joy is a mind-set. Happiness comes and goes, while joy can be constant, Happiness is dependent, while joy is independent. Happiness is conditional, while joy is unconditional. Joy becomes a filter through which we view life. We’re not talking about rose-colored glasses, but about actually having brand new eyes! Joy can change our perspective and our perception of negative circumstances. We aren’t simply in denial, sticking our head in the sand, but rather we choose to rise above the circumstances and adopt an eternal mind-set. Stress can come from many different factors today. We can worry and fret because we feel we’re not in control. Joy is an ongoing reminder that God is in control — that He is in charge of the outcome. Joy lifts others up, just as despair brings them down. If you choose joy on a regular basis, you will not only be a far more approachable and relatable person, but your attitude will rub off on others and make a big impact on all the environments you are in. When those around us can look at us and see that we choose to express joy, no matter whether life is good or bad at the moment — therein lies the strongest testimony we can offer, even without words. Notice the path we have taken here — from an inward focus of ending personal stress to an internal transformation to an outward attraction of people to Christ. As joy grows in the heart and mind of the believer, it infiltrates the soul and then moves outward to impact others. Loving God and loving neighbor. We all will have good and bad days. We will all experience life’s ups and downs. But has life robbed you of your joy, or are you growing in this virtue? What does your face reflect to others? What does your attitude communicate about your faith?

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.

O Lord Jesus Christ, who art the ineffable joy of Christians, take away from us whatever is not Thine, and make us Thine in all things. We beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord. AMEN.

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MEDITATION:

Written by F. B. Meyer (1847-1929), a prominent English minister.

“The sad heart tires in a mile,” is a frequent proverb. What a difference there is between the energy of the healthy, joyous heart and the forced activity of the morbid and depressed one! The one leaps to its task, the other creeps to it. The one discovers its meat and drink in self-sacrifice, the other limps, and stoops, and crawls. If you want to be strong for life’s work, be sure to keep a glad heart. But be equally sure to be glad in the joy of the Lord. There is a counterfeit of it in the world, of which we must beware—an outward merry-making, jesting, and mad laughter, which hides an aching and miserable heart…Ours must be the joy of the Lord. It begins with the assurance of forgiveness and acceptance in the Beloved. It is nourished in trial and tribulation, which veil outward sources of consolation, and lead us to rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus…It lives not in the gifts of God, but in God Himself. It is the fruit of the Spirit, who begets in us love, joy, peace, long-suffering. Get the Lord Himself to fill your soul, and joy will be as natural as the murmur of a brook to its flow.

PRAYER:

A traditional Irish Blessing

May God give you,

For every storm, a rainbow,

For every tear, a smile,

For every care, a promise,

And a blessing in each trial.

For every problem life sends,

A faithful friend to share,

For every sigh, a sweet song,

And an answer for each prayer.

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MEDITATION:

Written by C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), an English Baptist preacher, highly influential among Christians of various denominations. This is from his work  “Morning and Evening.”

God’s great design in all His works is the manifestation of His own glory. Any aim less than this would be unworthy of Himself. But how shall the glory of God be manifested to such fallen creatures as we are? Man’s eye is not single in its focus; he always has a side glance toward his own honor, has too high an estimate of his own powers, and so is not qualified to behold the glory of the Lord. It is clear, then, that self must stand out of the way, that there may be room for God to be exalted. And this is the reason why He often brings His people into straits and difficulties, that, being made conscious of their own folly and weakness, they may be fitted to behold the majesty of God when He comes to work their deliverance. He whose life is one even and smooth path will see but little of the glory of the Lord, for he has few occasions of self-emptying and hence but little fitness for being filled with the revelation of God. They who navigate little streams and shallow creeks know but little of the God of tempests; but they who are “doing business on the great waters” see “his wondrous works in the deep.” Among the huge waves of bereavement, poverty, temptation, and reproach, we learn the power of Jehovah, because we feel the littleness of man. Thank God, then, if you have been led by a rough road: It is this that has given you your experience of God’s greatness and loving-kindness. Your troubles have enriched you with a wealth of knowledge to be gained by no other means: Your trials have been the crevice of the rock in which Jehovah has set you, as He did His servant Moses, that you might behold His glory as it passed by. Praise God that you have not been left to the darkness and ignorance that continued prosperity might have involved, but that in the great fight of affliction you have been qualified for the outshinings of His glory in His wonderful dealings with you.

PRAYER:

Written by Charles Spurgeon, the author of our meditation.

We worship from our hearts the Three in One, the infinitely glorious Jehovah, the only living and true God. We adore the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. We are not yet ascended to the place where pure spirits behold the face of God, but we shall soon be there, perhaps much sooner than we think, and we would be there in spirit now, casting our crowns upon the glassy sea before the throne of the Infinite Majesty and ascribing glory and honor, and power and praise, and dominion and might to Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Terrell Curry, who works with the Salvation Army. This is an excerpt from The Salvation Army’s Releasing God’s Glory devotional series.

How do we begin to see each other as brothers and sisters? How do we begin to be the Good Samaritan? I believe it starts with an encounter with God’s Glory (Selah)! God’s manifested presence in our lives. The Glory of God, when released, enters into the hearts of people that read, “Do not disturb, Road closed, Dead end, Divided Highway or Danger keep out.” Those are the places in the heart God wants to access in all of humanity. Without the change of heart, the conversion becomes superficial in the life of an individual. God wants our hearts to be fixed on the Eternal not the external. The scripture reminds us to set our heart, on things above and not on things below. It was not until Saul of Tarsus encountered God’s Glory on the road to Damascus, that his heart was changed from being the persecutor of the Church, to becoming the Preacher for the Church. It was not until the Woman at the well encountered God’s Glory, that her life began to drink from the living water, her life adopted a new lifestyle, and her life became a testimony to many. God’s Glory is the remedy to what America and the entire world is facing. God’s Glory has the ability to show you, then touch you and then change you! It was not until God’s Glory was revealed to Isaiah the Prophet, that he saw himself as undone and unclean. But God’s Glory is able to remove all guilt, shame, insecurities, brokenness, abusiveness, deceit, pride, arrogance, hypocrisy, racism, hate, false doctrine, and false teaching. You ask how can God’s Glory be released? I am glad you asked! We have to lift up our heads toward Righteousness, Goodness, Justice, Equity, Love, and Unity. Things will not change until the Church shows up; our communities will not change until the Church shows up; our government and laws will not change until the Church shows up and the injustice will not change, until the Church shows up. It is our response to the wickedness in the world that creates the platform for God’s Glory to be released. In order to release the Glory of God, we must have first experienced it for ourselves.

PRAYER:

Written by Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), a cardinal and archibishop of Milan.

Almighty God, you have generously made known to human beings the mysteries of your life through Jesus Christ your Son in the Holy Spirit. Enlighten my mind to know these mysteries which your Church treasures and teaches. Move my heart to love them and my will to live in accord with them. Give me the ability to teach this Faith to others without pride, without ostentation, and without personal gain. Let me realize that I am simply your instrument for bringing others to the knowledge of the wonderful things you have done for all your creatures. Help me to be faithful to this task that you have entrusted to me. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Timothy Keller, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker. This is an excerpt from his book “Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God.”

You’re glorifying something when you find it beautiful for what it is in itself. Its beauty compels you to adore it, to have your imagination captured by it. This happened to me with Mozart. I listened to Mozart to get an A in music appreciation in college. I had to get good grades to get a good job, so in other words, I listened to Mozart to make money. But today I am quite willing to spend money just to listen to Mozart, not because it’s useful to me anymore but because it’s beautiful in itself. It’s no longer a means to an end. And when it’s a person you find beautiful in that way, you want to serve them unconditionally. When you say, “I’ll serve, as long as I’m getting benefits from it,” that’s not actually serving people; it’s serving yourself through them. That’s not circling them, orbiting around them; it’s using them, getting them to orbit around you…To glorify others means to unconditionally serve them, not because we’re getting anything out of it, just because of our love and appreciation for who they truly are.

PRAYER:

Written by Robert Benson. a contemporary author.

Deliver us from the service of self alone,

that we may do the work You have given us to do,

in truth and beauty and for the common good,

for the sake of the One who comes among us as One who serves.  Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by N.T. Wright, a contemporary theologian, author, and former Bishop of Durham.  This is an excerpt from his book “Reflecting the Glory: Meditations for Living Christ’s Life in the World.”

God’s “glory:” the phrase means, no doubt, that when people eventually see God the sight is astonishingly bright and dazzling. But beyond that it also means that it is surpassingly lovely and beautiful. We don’t talk as much about the beauty of God as we do about the glory of God, but glory surely embraces beauty, and a sense of awe and delight, as well as simply a sense of utterly dazzling light. And this is because God’s glory, ultimately, is the revelation, the shining of who God actually is. In the gospel we discover that God is at Heart the God of total self-giving love. The experience is a bit like traveling alone, away from the people we love, and having nobody around with whom we can relax, with whom we can be friendly. And then somebody we know comes to meet us, in an airport or railway station, or when we finally arrive back home. Our hearts are warmed, deeply comforted, by this sudden presence of somebody with whom we can be truly ourselves. someone who will give themselves to us.

That is a very pale illustration of what it’s like when you are away from God, not knowing who you are, not knowing who God is, and then you discover that the God who made the world is the God of utter self-giving love who longs to be there for you; to give himself to you and help you discover who you are. All of this is contained in the remarkable claim that “God has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.” We can know God deeply inside ourselves, in the face of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen one. When Paul says the word “Jesus,” he never forgets that this is the Jesus who died on the cross. If we want to know who God really is, we don’t discover it by forgetting that Jesus died on the cross, by skipping past that and going on to what, seems to obviously like “glory.” We discover it as we look at the face which is crowned with the crown of thorns.

PRAYER:

Written by Patrick (AD 385-461), a Christian missionary and bishop who served in Ireland.

Lord, be with us this day,

Within us to purify us;

Above us to draw us up;

Beneath us to sustain us;

Before us to lead us;

Behind us to restrain us;

Around us to protect us.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Craig Denison, contemporary speaker, writer, and author of First 15, a daily devotion.

To declare the glory of God is to put all things in their proper place. Chaos and struggle are always the result of humanity trying to gain glory for ourselves. God alone is worthy. God alone. We were made to declare the glory of God. We were made to proclaim through word and deed the majesty, splendor, and worthiness of the God of heaven and earth.

Proclaiming God’s glory to the world always begins by taking a look at our own hearts. We can’t declare that God is above every other name if we’re still on the throne of our hearts. We can’t proclaim his excellencies and then seek to gain success, approval, and affirmation from others. Declaring God’s glory starts with our own humility. It begins with living a life of sacrifice to the one who’s given up everything for us. When we remove ourselves from the throne of our own hearts we are set free to magnify Jesus. It’s when we set our eyes on our Savior King that we are freed from the weights and pressures that come from living selfishly. And in this freedom, we find the life we were always meant for—a life of continual, incredibly satisfying worship.

PRAYER:

This prayer is from Psalm 72:18-19.

Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,
    who alone does marvelous deeds.
 Praise be to his glorious name forever;
    may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Mark D. Roberts, a contemporary author and Executive Director of Fuller Seminary’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership.  This devotion was published by The High Calling and Theology of work Project.

If you spend much time in church, you hear God’s glory mentioned all the time. Contemporary songs and classic hymns celebrate God’s glory. Traditional worship services often include the Gloria Patri: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit … ” Preachers tell us we should seek to glorify God in all we do. In my Reformed tradition, we are often reminded that the chief purpose of our lives is “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” But, have you ever wondered what the glory of God really is? When we speak of God’s glory, what are we talking about? If someone were to ask you, “What is glory?” would you know how to answer?  Ezekiel 10:4 helps us to glimpse and understand God’s glory: “Then the LORD’s glory rose from above the winged creatures and moved toward the temple’s threshold. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the LORD’s glory.” The word translated here as “glory” is kabod in Hebrew. Curiously, this word is derived from a root with the basic meaning of “heavy.” From this root came, among other things, a word meaning “rich.” Speakers of ancient Hebrew would refer to a rich person as “heavy in wealth,” much as we might say someone is loaded. A similar extension of the literal sense of kabod included being loaded with power, reputation, or honor. It’s from this use of the word that we get the meaning of glory. God’s glory is God’s weightiness in wonderful qualities such as might, beauty, goodness, justice, and honor. When it comes to these characteristics and so many others, God has them in superabundance. Thus, when we think of God’s glory, we remember that God has all good things in greater quantity and quality than we can ever imagine. Notice, too, that God’s glory is solid and substantial. It isn’t mere reputation. It isn’t dependent on anyone or anything else. God’s glory reflects his essential nature. Moreover, God is the source of all good things. He actually shares his glory with us. When we receive his plentiful gifts with gratitude, when we use them to enhance his honor, when we acknowledge him as the source of all goodness, then we are glorifying him.

PRAYER:

From the Book of Common Prayer.

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, king of the nations,

to you be praise and glory forever.

From the rising of the sun to its setting

your name is proclaimed in all the world.

As the Sun of Righteousness dawns in our hearts

anoint our lips with the seal of your Spirit

that we may witness to your gospel

and sing your praise in all the earth.

Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Blessed be God for ever. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, contemporary authors (father and son) and leaders at Blackaby Ministries International.  This is an excerpt from their book “Experiencing God.”

The glory of the Lord is His presence. When God occupies a place, His glory is unmistakably evident! God has high standards for where He will make His presence known. He does not respond to our whims or come on our terms. Solomon longed for God’s presence to be obvious in the temple that he had painstakingly built for Him. Solomon had spared no expense or effort in building this magnificent temple as a house for the Lord. Yet he understood that constructing a spectacular building was no guarantee that God would choose to inhabit that place. So Solomon prepared himself and the people in the hope that God would look upon them with favor. The priestly choir sang and played instruments in reverent praise to God. The priests sacrificed so many animals on the altar that they could not count them. Solomon prayed, and when he finished, fire came down from heaven and consumed their offering. The glory of the Lord filled the temple! God’s glory was so overpowering in Solomon’s temple that the priests could not carry on their normal activities.

There is no mistaking when God inhabits a place. God’s glorious presence fills a place, and it is impossible to carry on business as usual! The New Testament teaches that our lives are temples because Christ abides in us (1 Cor. 3:16). We cannot assume by this that our lives are pleasing to Him. Like Solomon, we must thoroughly prepare ourselves so that God will choose to reveal His presence in our lives. When He does, there will be no doubt that it is God!

PRAYER:

Written by Luci Shaw, a contemporary American writer of poetry and essays.

Oh, my Lord, I long to be fruitful, to know myself growing in likeness to you. Often, I feel sterile, not fertile. I need your loving water, the sun of your blessing, the wind of your Spirit, the grace of your presence. I year to recognize your likeness in my mirror, a reflection that will come only from the daily awareness of “God with me.” Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Rick Warren, a contemporary pastor and author.

Not every goal is a good goal or the kind of goal that God gets behind and helps you accomplish. So, what kind of goals does God bless? The Bible says, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) That means if you are going to set some goals, they need to be goals that bring glory to God. Now, it says whatever you eat – honestly, if I sit down at a restaurant I don’t naturally think which food will bring the most glory to God. I’m not thinking that one at all. Would I probably be healthier if I did? Of course. But there is a bigger point and that is that everything can be done for the glory of God — eat, drink or anything that you do. Does that mean I can close a sale for the glory of God? Yes. Does that mean I can sweep the house for the glory of God? Yes. Does that mean I can program computers for the glory of God? Yes! You can do anything to the glory of God. I can macramé to the glory of God. You say, ‘Well, how do I do that? It requires the right attitude and the right motivation. The right attitude is ‘I do it out of gratitude.’ The right motivation is ‘I do it to honor God.’ How do you know if it’s going to bring glory to God?  Any goal that causes you to love God more brings glory to God. Any goal you set that causes you to trust God more, brings glory to God. Any goal you set that causes to you obey God, to love God, to serve God, any goal that causes you to want to brag on God and tell unbelievers, ‘Look what he did for me’ — that’s the goal that brings glory to God.

PRAYER:

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

Gracious and Holy Father, please give me: intellect to understand you, reason to discern you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, a spirit to know you, a heart to meditate upon you, ears to hear you, eyes to see you, a tongue to proclaim you, a way of life pleasing to you, patience to wait for you and perseverance to look for you. Grant me a perfect end, your holy presence, a blessed resurrection and life everlasting. Amen.

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