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MEDITATION:

Written by Jerry Bridges (1929-2016), an author and speaker. He was a staff member of The Navigators, a college ministry.  This is an excerpt from his book “The Fruitful Life.”

When Paul lists those godly traits he calls the fruit of the Spirit, he puts Love first – very likely to emphasize its importance. Love is the overall grace from which all the others grow. Indeed, love binds all the other virtues together in perfect unity. Devotion to God is the only motivation acceptable to God for the development and exercise of Christian character. But devotion to God finds its outward expression in loving one another. Or to state it another way, our devotion to God is validated by our love for other people…We cannot truly love God without loving one another. To recognize that there is someone I do not love is to say to God, “I do not love you enough to love that person.” This is not to deny the reality of spiritual struggle in loving a particular person, because it often exists. I am referring to the attitude of not even wanting to love the person, of being content to allow a lack of love for someone reside in my heart unchecked and unchallenged.

PRAYER:

Written by Jill Weber, is a contemporary spiritual director and the director of Houses of Prayer.

God, may I be an agent of your scandalous love and mercy toward all who don’t deserve it — which includes me. I receive your mercy. I yield myself to your grace, and I am blessed.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Danny Lehmann, a contemporary author, speaker, and director of Youth With a Mission.

I have discovered, through personal experience and from biblical example, that human effort, self-assertion, positive thinking, and willpower are of little use in the quest for godliness. Throughout my years at elementary school, I was a straight “C” student. I barely squeaked through high school and was forced to abandon any hopes I had of going to college, because of a lack of discipline. Instead of school, I told my family, “I’m going surfing,” and for the next four years, lived the life of a California beach bum, regularly blowing out my brains on drugs. At age twenty-one, a longhaired, broken, burned-out freak with barely enough discipline to hold down a job, I landed at the foot of the Cross, and was gloriously saved. Since that time, God, through His mercy and grace, has helped me to discipline my life – not because I had any natural endowment of sticktoitiveness, but because His Holy Spirit came and took up residence in my life when I surrendered to Him and trusted Him. Trust, spelled with a capital “T,” is the key. If we want to better our devotional life, we must trust Him…All of God’s dealings with man, Christian and non-Christian, are for one purpose: to bring us to a point where we can trust Him.

PRAYER:

Written by Francis de Sales (1567-1622), a Bishop of Geneva. He was known for his deep faith and gentle approach to the religious divisions resulting from the Reformation. He wrote on the topic of spiritual direction and formation.

Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then. Put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations, and say continually: “The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart has trusted in Him and I am helped. He is not only with me but in me, and I in Him.”

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MEDITATION:

Written by V. Gilbert Beers, a contemporary author of biblical reference books.

I’m a father of five wonderful grown children, one now already in heaven, and the grandfather of eleven awesome grandchildren. For more than half a century, my wife Arlie and I have made it a crusade to bless our children, their mates, and their children. It is the Christian thing to do, isn’t it? We always expected the blessings to flow “downward” through the generations. But increasingly we have discovered a reverse flow of blessings. The more we try to bless the next generations, the more we discover greater blessings from them. We who thought we were the “blessers” suddenly become the blessed, and those we expected to be the blessed have become the “blessers.” Those we blessed with wise counsel, love, generosity, role modeling and a hundred other gifts, now bless us with wise counsel, love, generosity, role modeling and a hundred other gifts. Perhaps we can carry this thought upward a bit. We expect that God is always the “blesser” and we are always the blessed. But is it not true that when we return our gifts to God we bless God? What an awesome thought that we, those blessed by God, can return blessing to Him?

PRAYER:

Written byFrancis 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.

Whoever shall observe these things may he be filled in heaven with the blessing of the most high Father, and may he be filled on earth with the blessing of his beloved son, together with the Holy Spirit, the Consoler, and all the powers of heaven and all the saints. And I, brother Francis, your worthless servant, as far as I am able, approve this most holy blessing both internally and externally. We adore You, O Lord Jesus Christ, in this Church and all the Churches of the world, and we bless You, because, by Your holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Laura Georgakakos, a contemporary editor, writer, and speaker. This is an excerpt from her book “Grace Notes.”

After missing a shot in an important water polo game, my son angrily yelled at himself, “You idiot!” and was promptly thrown out of the game for misconduct. “I was talking to myself!” he protested to the ref. “You were disrespecting a player in this game. You are a player, are you not?” And out he went. How do you respond when you mis a shot? Does your reaction take you out of the game? Mind did recently. I had asked the Lord to show me anything in me that needed confessing. And then He did! And I was so surprised and distraught by what He showed me that instead of taking it right to Him in confession, I curled up in shame and for days refused even to look in His direction. When my eyes dropped from Who God is and settled firmly onto who I am in my sin, my prayer life and effectiveness for the Lord came to a grinding halt. Days later, with eagerness and relief, I was able to hurry to Him in confession only when I remembered that God’s love for me is undiminished by my sin; His love for me is not linked to my performance.

If you make a mistake do you get locked into regret? Where do you allow your thoughts to settle? We need to be as quick and careful to force our minds away from dwelling on our confessed sin as we are quick to turn our minds from inappropriate sexual thoughts or hateful thoughts of others. All are equally unworthy of God, all are equally unfaithful and dishonorable to Him. When the Lord shows us something unlovely in ourselves, it can be tempting to give in to hopelessness or self-recrimination or breast beating. But we have to keep our focus on Him and remind ourselves of Who He is. His ways are not our ways. The Lord points out our faults not with the voice of condemnation but with the compassionate intention of empowering us to overcome them. He is reaching out a hand and offering to pull us up to a new level of living without that particular encumbrance. His pointing it out to us now says, “It is time. You are ready to face this. Together, My hand in yours, let’s lay it down.” May each revelation of our sin lead us into immediate confession, and then praise at Who He is and at His great love rather than despair over how unfit we are for that love, or how undeserving. Be faithful to confess. As soon as we do so, He has moved on and He graciously invites us to do the same. Let us not hang back in regret, but keep in step with Him Who is our Life.

PRAYER:

Written by Laura Georgakakos, author of today’s meditation.

Father, help me to trust Your love for me and to rest in it. Protect me from the enemy who so longs to entrap me in despair and hopelessness. May I be quick to confess what You bring to my mind and to leave that sin behind as I walk on with You in new life. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Dania Yadago, a contemporary spokesperson for Samaritan’s Purse and author. Dania grew up in the Middle East before her family moved to the United States.

I spent most of my childhood doing my homework in the dark under a burning gas lamp. As war erupted in my Middle Eastern country, we had electricity only 8 hours a day, and then it was dark. Not only was my country physically dark, it was also spiritually dark. We were the only Christians in our village. When we shared the gospel with our neighbors, we received heavy persecution and death threats urging us to stop, or my father would be killed. I experienced darkness at my school as well, where I was bullied for my faith. Often, my heart sank deep within me as I felt the rejection from those around me. Persecution was affecting my family from the outside, but from the inside, poverty was taking over. We often lacked food. We lived in a small apartment with no furniture or beds… Yet, my parents continuously encouraged me to be content and to keep my eyes on Jesus… During this season of darkness, Christian resources were limited. Aside from finding other Christians to meet, a Christian radio station broadcasted two hours a day. My family desired to have access to the station, but we could not afford a radio. Being a family of prayer, we brought this need to God. Then God pierced through our darkness. Amid the war, poverty, and persecution, I was given the gift of a beautifully wrapped shoebox packed by someone halfway across the world who wanted to show me God’s love. My family gathered to open the shoebox. As I opened it, my heart was filled with joy! I found many things that were an answer to my prayers and reflected my innermost self so well. As we rejoiced over each item inside the box, there was another surprise awaiting us. Inside the shoebox was a smaller box, and inside that box we found a mini radio! Out of millions of boxes, God orchestrated that box to come specifically to my family with what we needed and had prayed for. That day, as I sat in our room holding my box, the darkness did not go away, but it was overcome by God’s light…From that day forward, every time I turned on the radio, I was reminded that God is the God of details. In a unique yet ordinary way, He pierced through the surrounding darkness and showed me that I am seen and loved by Him, even when rejected by many. There are times when darkness seems too overwhelming and blinds us from seeing God’s presence in our lives…But God is not deterred by the darkness around us. Continue to seek God even when everything is dark. God is actively working behind the scenes. He is still the God of love, the God of peace and the God of answered prayers.

PRAYER:

Written by Dania Yadago, author of today’s meditation.

Heavenly Father, sometimes I am too overwhelmed by my situations and don’t see or feel You. Would You pull me into Your light and allow me to see You shine through my darkness? Help me trust what You’re doing in my life even when I do not know all the details. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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MEDITATION:

The meditation is from Reflections (October, 2003), which is published monthly by the C.S. Lewis Institute.

Prayer is God’s idea, not ours. It is his gift to us, and it has a specific role in his plan for our lives and the world. C.S. Lewis certainly believed and taught this. On several occasions, when talking of prayer, he quoted with approval the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal’s famous statement that God “instituted prayer in order to give his creatures the dignity of causality.”  Some of us may find it hard to believe that God allows human beings to cause real events to happen through prayer. Lewis had no such misgivings. “It may be a mystery why he should allow us to cause real events at all; but it is no odder that he should allow us to cause them by praying than by any other method.” We may well ask: How can God answer our prayers without introducing chaos into his plans for the world? After all, he alone knows what is best in all circumstances and has set his plan accordingly. But, as Lewis notes, “He made his own plan or plot of history such that it admits of a certain amount of free play and can be modified according to our prayers.” Lewis, of course, is just telling us in his own words what the Bible has long told us about prayer. He is also telling us what he had discovered about prayer in his own experience. And it was mainly from his experiences that he learned about prayer, for he found little help in books on prayer. We, too, can discover these things in our experience if we will learn to pray. Developing a healthy prayer life is not easy in the modern world; but neither is it impossible. Busyness, distractions, spiritual laziness, material abundance, self-sufficiency and a host of other things tend to push prayer to the margins of life. But there is a sure way forward. If we wish to embrace the “dignity of causality” and discover the power of prayer in our lives and the world, we will need first of all to recognize afresh the importance of prayer—not just in emergencies but also for all of life. Reading what the Bible says about prayer can help us here. Then we will need to come to a firm decision to make time for daily prayer—not just two or three minutes before rushing off to our busy day but quiet, unhurried time in God’s presence each day. Finally, we will want to follow the example of Jesus’ disciples, and ask, “Lord, teach us to pray…”

PRAYER:

Written by Debbie Przybylski, founder and director of Intercessors Arise International.

Lord, I pray that I might realize my authority in prayer. Teach me to pray with Your strength and power. I want to work together with You in prayer. I want to pray with authority.I thank You that there is hope for the future because You are seated at God’s right hand. Teach us to take hold of prayer and pray down blessings on our world. Thank You for the power of prayer that is available to us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Rick Warren, a contemporary evangelical pastor, author, and speaker.

God’s timetable is rarely the same as yours. You’re often in a hurry—but God isn’t. It can be frustrating when it feels like the progress you’re making is slow. But remember this: God is never in a hurry, but he is always on time. He will use your entire lifetime to prepare you for your role in eternity. The Bible is filled with examples of how God uses a long process to develop character, especially in leaders. He took 80 years to prepare Moses, including 40 in the wilderness. For those 14,600 wilderness days, Moses kept waiting and wondering, “Is it time?” But God kept saying, “Not yet.” Great souls are grown through struggles, storms, and seasons of suffering. Be patient with the process. James advised, “Don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed” (James 1:4 The Message).

Don’t get discouraged. When Habakkuk became depressed because he didn’t think God was acting quickly enough, God said: “These things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!” (Habakkuk 2:3 TLB). Remember how far you’ve come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be. Years ago people wore a popular button with the letters PBPGINFWMY. It stood for “Please be patient. God is not finished with me yet.” God isn’t finished with you either. Be patient with him and with yourself. And keep on moving forward. Even the snail reached the ark by persevering!

PRAYER:

Written by Alicia Bruxvoort, a contemporary writer and speaker.

Dear Jesus, I know Your timing is perfect, but my faith is not. Help me to trust You more. I want to experience Your nearness in my waiting and Your comfort in my aching. Help me to recognize Your presence today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by N. T. Wright, a contemporary New Testament scholar, theologian, and Anglican bishop. This is an excerpt from this book “Simply Christian.”

Despite what many people think, within the Christian family and outside it, the point of Christianity isn’t “to go to heaven when you die.” The New Testament picks up from the Old the theme that God intends, in the end, to put the whole creation to rights. Earth and heaven were made to overlap with one another, not fitfully, mysteriously, and partially as they do at the moment, but completely, gloriously, and utterly. “The earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.” That is the promise which resonates throughout the Bible story, from Isaiah (and behind him, by implication from Genesis itself) all the way through to Paul’s greatest visionary moments and the final chapters of the book of Revelation. The great drama will end, not with “saved souls” being snatched up into heaven, away from the wicked earth and the mortal bodies which have dragged them down into sin, but with the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth, so that “the dwelling of God is with humans.” (Revelation 21:3).

PRAYER:

Written by Kathryn Shirey, a contemporary Christian author.

My Father, who art in heaven, I submit myself to you as the ruler of my life. All I have is yours, Lord. Help me to live according to your rules. Establish your kingdom here on earth, Lord, so others may know you too. May your kingdom spread throughout our land and bring more of you to this world so in need of  your loving rule. Help me to be faithful in helping advance your kingdom here. Show me the path you have set before me, so I may follow in your way. Lord, may thy kingdom come. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), a German-Dutch priest and author of one of the most popular and best known Christian devotional book, “The Imitation of Christ” of which this is an excerpt.

When Jesus is near, all is well and nothing seems difficult. When He is absent, all is hard. When Jesus does not speak within, all other comfort is empty, but if He says only a word, it brings great consolation…Of all those who are dear to you, let Him be your special love. Let all things be loved for the sake of Jesus, but Jesus for His own sake. Jesus Christ must be loved alone with a special love, for He alone, of all friends, is good and faithful. Love Him, therefore, and keep Him as your friend; for when all others desert you, He will not abandon you, nor allow you to perish at the last. Whether you wish it or not, you must in the end be parted from them all. Hold fast to Jesus, both in life and death, and trust yourself to His faithfulness, for He alone can aid you when all others fail…He desires your heart for Himself alone, and to reign there as King on His throne.

PRAYER:

Written by Emilie Griffin, a contemporary American author who writes about religious experience and spiritual life.

 Father in Heaven, thank you for the deep friendships you have given me, and for the wisdom to appreciate them. Thank you also for the presence of your Son. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Pete Greig, a contemporary writer and church planter. This is an excerpt from his book “How to Pray.”

Long before anyone talked about human trafficking, a remarkable Irish missionary called Amy Carmichael was rescuing children from forced prostitution in India’s Hindu temples. With extraordinary resilience, this single woman, who described herself as a “wild-bird child,” stood up to the powerful temple priests and established two homes—for girls and boys—in the city of Dohnavur, in the Tamil Nadu state. She also started a hospital funded by the Queen of England. Amy Carmichael lived in India for 55 years and died there without returning to Northern Ireland.

She was also a prolific writer, and poet, penning some 35 books. Her devotional works, which are mystical and challenging, are also startlingly honest about her own personal struggles. They often take the form of conversations with God. As a little girl, Amy would sometimes spread out her sheets at bedtime and invite the Lord to come and sit down beside her. These intimate moments with God only seemed to deepen throughout Amy’s influential life as she became increasingly acquainted with the voice of God. Her writings have inspired countless others to further their own daily rhythms of prayer and listening. Amy Carmichael teaches us that listening to God does not cloister us away from reality but rather propels us out into wild adventures abandoned to what she referred to as “Calvary Love.”  She was buried in Dohnavur in a grave without a headstone, at her own request. But the children she had rescued placed a birdbath over her grave, inscribed with a single Tamil word: Amma, which means mother.

PRAYER:

The  prayer is written by Amy Carmichael and is from her book “If.”

Let us listen to simple words: our Lord speaks simply: “Trust Me, My child,” He says. “Trust Me with a humbler heart and a fuller abandon to My will than ever thou didst before. Trust Me to pour My love through thee, as minute succeeds minute.

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