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MEDITATION:

Written by Greg Laurie, a contemporary pastor and author.

Remember what it was like when you first learned how to drive a car? You were so excited, but then you got behind the wheel and realized there were so many things to remember. When you’re coming to a turn, for example, you have to remember to signal your turn. Then you have to remember to turn the signal off afterward. But once you’ve driven for a while, you don’t even think about these things because you’ve developed a conditioned reflex. A conditioned reflex is something we’ve learned to do. On the other hand, a natural reflex is something we feel immediately without being told that we should feel it. For instance, if I put my hand close to a fire, I’ll immediately pull it back because it’s hot and hurts. That’s a natural reflex. Now let’s apply this to worry. We need to develop a conditioned reflex and get into the habit of turning to God when we feel worried. When trouble comes our way, and it will, our first inclination—our natural reflex, if you will—is to worry. We need to teach ourselves to pray instead. The moment you start to panic, turn your panic into prayer. Turn your worry into worship. Turn to God immediately. That is what the apostle Paul was saying when he wrote, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). We pray about the big things, but let’s not forget about the little things. Little problems can turn into big problems, especially if we neglect them. Maybe you’ve thought, “I can handle this, and it will never be a problem for me.” But then one day you realize it’s a big problem. Little things turn into big things. So, the next time you’re tempted to worry, pray instead.

PRAYER:

This prayer is a traditional Celtic prayer of peace.

Calm me, Lord, as you calmed the storm; still me, Lord, keep me from harm.

Let all the tumult within me cease, enfold me, Lord, in your peace.

Calm me, Lord, as you calmed the storm; still me, Lord, keep me from harm.

Let all the tumult within me cease, Lord, enfold me in your peace.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Dr. Charles Stanley, a contemporary pastor, author, and founder of In Touch Ministries.

Are you living thoughtfully and intentionally—or automatically? It’s so easy to get up each morning, do our work, enjoy some relaxation or entertainment, and fall into bed each night without giving any thought to God’s involvement in our lives. But to be ignorant of how He has blessed, guided, protected, and warned us is a foolish way to live. Just consider the benefits of keeping our spiritual eyes and ears open throughout the day. Those who are aware of the Lord’s presence during their daily activities enjoy the peace of knowing that He is always in control and working to accomplish His good purposes. Every day’s experiences with Him teach them to know and love Him more. When we learn to see God’s footprints in our days, we will become aware of the scope of His involvement in our lives. Maybe He strengthened you for a task or opened a door of opportunity. Perhaps He guided your decisions or helped you respond in a godly way to a difficult person. If our ears are open to the Lord’s warnings and instructions, we won’t repeat the same mistakes again and again. But those who are deaf to His voice will continue in unhealthy thought patterns, negative emotions, and foolish responses. Each night before you go to sleep, take some time to reflect on the day’s activities. The Lord is constantly with you, guarding and guiding your way. He wants you to see Him in everything and understand life from His perspective as you rely on His wisdom and power to face any challenge.

PRAYER:

This prayer is from the Roman Breviary, a book of the Latin liturgical rites that was published in 1482 and became known as the Liturgy of the Hours.

Almighty and merciful God,

you give your faithful people

the grace that makes every path of this life

the straight and narrow way which leads to life eternal.

Grant that we,

who know that we have no strength to help ourselves,

put all our trust in your almighty power,

and by the assistance of your heavenly grace,

always prevail in all things,

against whatever arises to fight against us;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Dean Deppe, a contemporary pastor, seminary professor, and author.  

One afternoon a boy planted a package of seeds to start a garden. The next day he returned to look for the new plants, but they hadn’t sprouted yet. So, he dug them up to understand what had happened. We are a lot like that. We expect immediate results. Maybe you have heard the American prayer for patience: “Lord, give me patience—and I want it now!” But only when the fruit of patience is allowed to mature slowly will we ever taste its sweetness. In “The Way of Christian Living,” a book on the fruit of the Spirit, John Timmerman relates his discovery of the essence of patience. He grew up in a house with a drafty bedroom, and his parents would close that room in the winter and use it only to store Christmas presents. John would sneak into that room and delicately shake each package to guess the contents. But whenever he went into that room, his mom and dad would notice the rush of cold air in the house, and they would catch him in the act. The presents had to wait until Christmas morning. John learned to wait even though he didn’t feel like it. Patience involves waiting with anticipation. Just as the farmer waits for the rains to help grow his crops, so we wait with expectation for God’s promises to be fulfilled. Patience involves awaiting God’s time without doubting God’s love. This means waiting without worrying, complaining, or demanding that God should satisfy our timetable.

PRAYER:

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

Oh my Lord, keep me from frustration and impatience when I see little evidence of your living and growing in me. Reassure me that waiting time is not wasted time. That your purposes for us all are large and all-embracing enough to hold firm and prevail, no matter the obstacles or distractions. You have told us that “now is the accepted time…now is the day of salvation.” But perhaps your “now” is different from ours. You see our lives from the infinite perspective of eternity, of kairos. We want immediate action, change, growth in chronos, in “real time.” We want to see our problems being resolved. Now. Help us to realize, as those who love and believe in you, that we, too, are pregnant with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that day by day we are being enlarged. Augment our hope, widen our imagination, and nourish our anticipation that the astounding fact of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” will turn true in each of us in your good time. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), a pastor, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor.

The Scriptures tell us the whole story. Not only have we sinned, but our moral revolt has alienated us from God. Some people still like to protest God’s right to banish the transgressor from His presence forever. They insist upon forming and holding their own humanistic views of God. For that reason, I say, let’s clear away some of these weeds! First, there is the old idea that Jesus Christ, the Son, differs from God the Father. People conceive Christ to be a loving Jesus on our side while an angry Father God is against us. Never, never in all of history has there been any truth in that notion. Christ, being God, is for us. The Father, being God, is for us. The Holy Spirit, being God, is for us! That is one of the greatest thoughts we can ever hope to think. That is why the Son came to die for us. That is why the risen Son, our great High Priest, is at the right hand of the Majesty on high, praying for us. Christ is our advocate above. The Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts is the advocate within. There is no disagreement between Father, Son and Spirit about the Church, the body of Christ.

PRAYER:

This prayer is a collect, traditionally associated with Trinity Sunday.

Almighty and eternal God,
you have revealed yourself
as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
and live and reign in the perfect unity of love:
hold us firm in this faith,
that we may know you in all your ways
and evermore rejoice in your eternal glory,
who are three Persons in one God,
now and forever. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Os Hillman, a contemporary speaker and author. This is from his devotional “Today God is First.”

Elisha was counseling the nation of Israel against the impending attack of the king of Aram. The Lord supernaturally gave Elisha the plans that the king was implementing, and in turn, Elisha warned Israel of each intended attack. The king could not understand why his plans were continually foiled. It seemed there was a secret informer in his midst. He was furious when he was told it was the God of Israel who was to blame for this inside information. The king decided the only way to resolve the situation was to get rid of the problem – kill Elisha. The king’s forces arrived and surrounded Elisha and his servant. Elisha’s servant became upset and fearful when Elisha was not upset. Elisha immediately prayed that his servant’s eyes might be opened to see that there was no need to be afraid, because the angels were protecting them. And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people with blindness.” So, He struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

Who is the Elisha in your life? Do you have a mentor friend who can see the activity of God in your life when you cannot see it? We all need to have somebody we can trust to help us see the activity of God. It is often difficult for us to see what God is really doing because we are so consumed by the circumstances of the moment. Ask God today to help open your spiritual eyes that you might see Him in your circumstances.

PRAYER:

Written by Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009), a Christian cleric and writer.

Open, we pray you, heavenly Father, our eyes to see and our ears to hear your Word, who is Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Send your Spirit upon us. Embrace us and hold us close within the Trinity of your love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus may we, according to your gift of faith, trust the fulfillment of all your promises. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Sheri Rose Shepherd, a contemporary pastor, speaker, and author.

David loved God with all his heart, but he blew it. He took another man’s wife, got her pregnant, then had her husband murdered. He hid behind his sin, thinking it would just go away on its own. But God loved David so much He sent a prophet to confront him so David could be forgiven and freed from shame. David paid a painful price for what he did when his first son with Bathsheba died. God’s grace was with David, however, and the second baby he had with Bathsheba is known today as King Solomon.

Don’t wait another day bound up in shame. Whatever makes you ashamed, confess it to your Father in heaven and let Him cleanse your soul. Your Father is waiting to free you from shame. He sent His one and only Son to prove His love and to cover our sin, our shame. We can’t make ourselves clean or become a new creation in our own strength. Our loving Father longs have us confess to Him so He can tenderly cleanse our soul of sin and make us as white as snow. If you are holding on to something, it’s time for you to see the cross as more than a symbol of your Savior’s death. When our Lord died and rose again, He broke forever the power of sin on our lives. Right now, take a moment to invite the Lord to search your heart for any unresolved sin from your past that continues to torment you. You can experience cleansing and freedom from this day forward! There is nothing else you need to do right now except rejoice. Now let faith rule your heart and your head, and whenever you begin to look back at who you were or feel shame again, speak out loud, “I am a new creation.” Then continue to ask God to help you receive all He has for you. You are forgiven whether you feel like it or not. So embrace it! Leave your past where it belongs…nailed to the cross.

PRAYER:

This is a Puritan prayer from “The Valley of Vision,” a Puritan book of prayer.

I was dead in iniquities, having no eyes to see thee,

no ears to hear thee

no taste to relish thy joys

no intelligence to know thee;

But thy Spirit has quickened me,

has brought me into a new world as a new creature…

thou hast drawn me with cords of love.  Amen.

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MEDITATION:

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

It is exceedingly beneficial to our souls to mount above this present evil world to something nobler and better. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches are apt to choke everything good within us, and we grow fretful, desponding, perhaps proud and carnal. It is well for us to cut down these thorns and briers, for heavenly seed sown among them is not likely to yield a harvest; and where shall we find a better sickle with which to cut them down than communion with God and the things of the kingdom? In the valleys of Switzerland, many of the inhabitants are deformed, and all wear a sickly appearance, for the atmosphere is charged with miasma, and is close and stagnant; but up yonder, on the mountain, you find a hardy race, who breathe the clear fresh air as it blows from the virgin snows of the Alpine summits. It would be well if the dwellers in the valley could frequently leave their abodes among the marshes and the fever mists and inhale the bracing element upon the hills. It is to such an exploit of climbing that I invite you. May the Spirit of God assist us to leave the mists of fear and the fevers of anxiety, and all the ills which gather in this valley of earth, and to ascend the mountains of anticipated joy and blessedness. May God the Holy Spirit cut the cords that keep us here below and assist us to mount! We sit too often like chained eagles fastened to the rock, only that, unlike the eagle, we begin to love our chain, and would, perhaps, if it came really to the test, be loath to have it snapped. May God now grant us grace, if we cannot escape from the chain as to our flesh, yet to do so as to our spirits; and leaving the body, like a servant, at the foot of the hill, may our soul, like Abraham, attain the top of the mountain, there to indulge in communion with the Most High.

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 Father, most merciful, in the beginning you created us, and by the passion of your only Son you created us anew. Work in us now, both to will and to do what pleases you. Since we are weak and can do no good thing by ourselves, grant us your grace and heavenly blessing, that in whatever work we engage we may do all to your honor and glory. Keep us from sin and empower us daily to do good works, that as long as we live in the body we may always perform service to you. After our departure give us pardon of all our sins, and receive us to eternal life; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Wendy Miller, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “Learning to Listen.”

We do not come to be with Jesus because we are righteous or strong. The people gathered around Jesus because they were needy. In his sermon, Jesus begins to explain the profound difference between the religious leaders’ teaching about attaining righteousness through their interpretation of the Law and traditions and the greater righteousness that moves beyond the Law to a relationship with God in Jesus Christ. Our sinful, restricted self is uncomfortable and fights being revealed. But deeper within us is the longing for God, placed within our true self by God. We come to God as we are: caught by sin and longing for God, and we are always met by God’s grace and mercy.

PRAYER:

Written by Allan Sabroso, a contemporary liturgy coordinator.

Father in heaven, our hearts desire the warmth of your love, and our minds are searching for the light of your Word. Increase our longing for Christ our Savior and give us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of his coming may find us rejoicing in his presence and welcoming the light of his truth. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Gary Chapman, a contemporary pastor, author, and radio talk show host.

The French artist Pierre Auguste Renoir was a leader in the early Impressionist movement of the nineteenth century. For the last two decades of his life, Renoir had to adapt his painting style to accommodate debilitating rheumatoid arthritis. He sometimes strapped a brush to his immobile, deformed fingers in order to continue his work. He also took up sculpting, directing others to act as his hands. He completed some of his most famous works when he was in the advanced stages of his illness. One of Renoir’s closest friends was the artist Henri Matisse. On one occasion, as Matisse watched his friend struggle to apply each brushstroke, Matisse asked, “Why do you continue to paint when you are in such agony?” Renoir replied, “The beauty remains; the pain passes.” Renoir’s words remind us of the hope God offers when we are patient in the face of disappointment and pain. One of the two Greek words translated as “patience” in the New Testament is hypomone, which means “to remain under.” This kind of patience speaks of being faithful to God’s calling even when things seem hopeless and loving others even when they seem unlovable. It speaks of trusting that our pain will pass but the beauty of God’s work in us—and through us—will remain for eternity.

PRAYER:

Written by Adrian Rogers (1931-2005), an American pastor and author.

Lord, I am weary and don’t know when this “race” will end in my life. I feel like I’ve been running forever, trying to outrun this trial. Help me to stop trying to outrun my pain but rather run with endurance the race you have set before me. I know that because of you I am ultimately a victor over the trials in my life. I know that nothing in this world can separate me from your steadfast love. Please give me a measure of your love today; give me the strength to endure this trial. Thank you for your love for me that never ends! And thank you for the crown of joy that awaits me forever in your Kingdom!

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MEDITATION:

Written by George Young, a retired missionary and pastor.

Again and again, the Bible calls us to share with people in need: in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, in Jesus’ teaching, and in the letters of Paul. The command to work hard, “doing something useful with [our] own hands,” earning enough that something might be left over, goes hand in hand with being compassionate. Paul presents working and sharing as a way to climb out of a dishonest way of life. There’s something clean and good about doing something useful—and then giving the surplus away. It reverses the old way of life in which a person would steal from unsuspecting, innocent passers-by, often by lurking in dark places and waiting to prey on them. Paul calls us back from the abyss of a corrupt life to the truth that our first ancestors had God-given work to do. How good to plant seeds, water them, and see them send up shoots; how good to tend and prune and sweep, taking care of the garden of creation we were given. Paul shows us a way of life that is characterized by growth in Christ, in a loving community of believers who do something good and useful—not sitting around idly gossiping, sniping at each other, fueling conflict and bitterness. How wonderful is the fellowship of loving, kind, compassionate people redeemed by Christ!

PRAYER:

Written by George Young, the author of today’s meditation.

God, help us to see the needs of others not as interruptions to our day, but rather as opportunities to reflect the love of Christ for people who need it. In his name, Amen.

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