Written by Louie Giglio, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker. This is an excerpt from his book “Seeing God as a Perfect Father.”
Our understanding of our new identity changes everything for us. By nature, we are not lost spiritual pilgrims. We are not simply churchgoers. We are not trying to be “do-gooders.” We are not merely shined-up sinners. Who we are now at the core is this: We are born of God. He is our perfect Father. We have received Christ, and we believe in His name. We are new creatures whose DNA is being transformed by the One who made us. When we wake up to our true identities in Christ, we are no longer bound by the chains of our earthly burdens.
Prayer:
Today’s prayer is from “The Vally of Vision” – a book of Puritan 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…
Written by L. B. Cowman (1870-1960), a missionary and author.
People so often say, “How do you get the voice of the Lord?” Here is the secret. They heard the voice when they stood and let down their wings. We have seen a bird with fluttering wings; though standing still, its wings are fluttering…Do we not sometimes kneel or sit before the Lord and yet feel conscious of a fluttering of our spirits? Not a real stillness in His presence. A dear one told me several days ago of a certain thing she prayed about, “But,” said she, “I did not wait until the answer came.” She did not get still enough to hear Him speak, but went away and followed her own thought in the matter. And the result proved disastrous and she had to retrace her steps. Oh, how much energy is wasted! How much time is lost by not letting down the wings of our spirit and getting very quiet before Him! Oh, the calm, the rest, the peace which come as we wait In His presence until we hear from Him!
Prayer:
Written by L. B. Cowman, the author of today’s meditation.
“Be still! Just now be still! Something thy soul hath never heard, Something unknown to any song of bird, Something unknown to any wind, or wave, or star, A message from the Fatherland afar, That with sweet joy the homesick soul shall thrill, Cometh to thee if thou canst but be still.
“Be still! Just now be still! There comes a presence very mild and sweet; White are the sandals of His noiseless feet. It is the Comforter whom Jesus sent To teach thee what the words He uttered meant. The willing, waiting spirit, He doth fill. If thou would’st hear His message, Dear soul, be still!”
Written by authors Brent Curtis (1947-1998) and John Eldredge. This is an excerpt from their book “The Sacred Romance.”
Satan’s strategy is to disconnect us from our heart and the heart of God toward us by any means possible. He wants to kill the desire that would lead us back to the One who loves us, using all the forms of shame, contempt, apathy, numbing, and perversion at his disposal. He wants to get us to question whether God has anything good in mind in His plans for us. He does this through the wounds we have received from life’s arrows. He dismantles our true worship and replaces the love affair with a religious system of do’s and don’ts that parch our hearts.
Prayer:
Today’s prayer is from the North America Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church.
God in heaven, you have helped my life to grow like a tree. Now something has happened. Satan, like a bird, has carried in one twig of his own choosing after another. Before I knew it he had built a dwelling place and was living in it. Tonight, my Father, I am throwing out both the bird and the nest.
Written by Adam Dooley, a contemporary pastor and author. This is an excerpt from his book “Hope When Life Unravels.”
Surveying the various good outcomes God frequently produces from our agonies requires a careful word of caution. Because knowing the mind of God is impossible (Romans 11:33-34), discerning His intentions demands humility. Though it is true that God may have a singular goal for our afflictions, His desired end is often multifaceted and complex. You may understand something of God’s design for your hardships, but the full breadth of His intentions is often incomprehensible. Grasping for understanding of what God might be teaching you is commendable, but speaking dogmatically for Him is not. We should be proactive in order to grow, without being presumptuous regarding the Lord.
Prayer:
Written by Kenneth Copeland, a contemporary pastor, evangelist, author, and speaker.
Father, in the Name of Jesus, I thank You that You have plans for Me exceedingly, abundantly above what I can even imagine—plans for good that will give me a future and a hope. I praise You and thank You that this is Your will for me! God, I know You want to prosper and bless me in every way possible, and I desire to fully put my trust in You and relinquish my will for Yours. I submit my will to Your will in Jesus’ Name, and I thank You that Your plans for me are beyond my imagination. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Written by Robert J. Morgan, a contemporary pastor and author. This is an excerpt from his book “Then Sings my Soul.”
The Bible contains promises for every problem and a word of assurance for every need. When faced with anger or anxiety, we can always find a word from God to nudge us onward and upward — if only we’ll open His Book. That’s what Darlene Zschech did one dark day in 1993. Darlene was born in 1965 in Brisbane, Australia, and she grew up singing. When she was about fifteen, her father, who had recently given his life to Christ, enrolled her in a Christian scouting program; and through that program she received Jesus Christ as her Savior. Years later, one day in 1993, Darlene faced a daunting and discouraging personal problem. In her heaviness, she entered the study of her home and sat at the old and out-of-tune piano her parents had given her when she was five. Opening her Bible, she started reading Psalm 96. As Darlene meditated on that psalm, her fingers pressed the keys of the piano, and the music and words began to flow. In about twenty minutes the song was done. For several days she sang it to herself as the truths of the song ministered to her own heart. She had not previously called herself a songwriter, so Darlene was reluctant to share it with anyone. But mustering her courage, she finally asked the music pastor at her church to listen to it. She was so nervous she kept stopping and apologizing. She even asked him to stand over by the wall and turn away from her while she sang it. He assured her the song was wonderful, and shortly afterward they sang “Shout to the Lord” during the offering at church. The congregation took to it quickly, standing and joining in the song, though the words hadn’t been prepared for bulletin or screen. Darlene’s pastor, Brian Houston, predicted it would be sung around the world. And so it has.
Prayer:
Written by Darlene Zschech, a contemporary Australian worship leader and singer-songwriter. These are some of the lyrics to the song “Shout To the Lord.”
My Jesus, my Savior Lord there is none like You All of my days I want to praise The wonders of Your mighty love.
My comfort, my shelter Tower of refuge and strength Let every breath, all that I am Never cease to worship You.
Shout to the Lord all the Earth, let us sing Power and majesty, praise to the King Mountains bow down and the seas will roar At the sound of Your name.
I sing for joy at the work of Your hands Forever I’ll love You, forever I’ll stand Nothing compares to the promise I have In You. Amen.
Written by Albert Benjamin Simpson (1843-1919), a Canadian preacher, theologian, and author. This is an excerpt from his book “Days of Heaven Upon Earth.”
Some of us are shivering and wondering why the Holy Spirit does not fill us. We have plenty coming in, but we do not give it out. Give out the blessing that you have, start larger plans for service and blessing, and you will soon find that the Holy Spirit is before you, and He will present you with blessings for service, and give you all that He can trust you to give away to others.
Prayer:
Written by Natalie Regoli, a contemporary Christian author and lawyer.
Heavenly Father, Your Word tells us that as You are, so are we in the world. Your Holy Spirit lives in us, and through His power, we are Your representatives. Jesus, You said that we would do the same works that You did, and even greater, through the power of Your Spirit. As we make ourselves living sacrifices, pour out the power of Your Holy Spirit on us and enable us to do Your works on earth. Amen.
Written by Brother Lawrence (1614-1691), a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery in Paris. This is an excerpt from his book “The Practice of the Presence of God.”
May all our energy be devoted to knowing God. The more one knows Him, the more one desires to know Him. Knowledge is commonly understood as a measure of love. The deeper and more extensive our knowledge is, the greater will be our love. If our love of God is great, we will love Him equally in pain and pleasure. Let us not amuse ourselves by seeking God or loving God in order to receive blessings from God, no matter how lofty those blessings may be. Such blessings, however great, cannot bring us as near to God as one simple movement of faith. Let us seek Him by faith often. He is within us; do not seek Him elsewhere. Are we not rude and blameworthy, if we leave Him alone and busy ourselves with trifles, which do not please Him and may even offend Him? These trifles will one day cost us dearly. Let us be devoted to Him earnestly. Let us cast away everything else from our hearts. He desires to possess them exclusively. Beg this favor from Him. If we do our part, we shall soon see the transformation within us that we desire.
Prayer:
Today’s prayer is from the Roman Breviary ,a book of the liturgical rites of the Latin Church. Published in 1482, it became known as the Liturgy of the Hours.
Most gracious God,
to know and love your will is righteousness,
enlighten our souls with the brightness of your presence,
that we may both know your will and be enabled to perform it;
Written by Brian Morykon, a contemporary writer and director of communication for Renovare (an organization for spiritual formation).
The modern cultural consensus is that people fail to flourish because they have low self-esteem. But the opposite belief prevailed for much of human history: people don’t flourish because they think too highly of themselves. Which is it? Do we need more self-esteem or less? … In his book The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, Tim Keller … points out that most of us derive our self-worth from others or ourselves, from how well we measure up to their standard or to our own. But the gospel of Jesus offers us something altogether different: your worth and identity come from God. You are who God says you are. And because of the work of Jesus—because we are adopted into God’s family and share in Jesus’ inheritance—you are, incredibly, who God says Jesus is: the beloved in whom he is well pleased. Our identity and worth is in Jesus. That’s fantastic news. So why is it so hard to live from this new-life-in-Christ? Because of ingrained habits of thought and action. Because of little and big “T” traumas. Because of any number of other things that actively fight against who God says we are. But it is possible, with God’s help, to grow into an accurate picture of self that leads to the freedom and joy of self-forgetfulness. Another word for this healthy self-identity? Humility. James Bryan Smith suggests a simple practice to help move us in this direction. You might try memorizing this phrase and saying it aloud, perhaps with your hand on your chest: “I am one in whom Christ dwells and delights. And I live in the strong and unshakeable Kingdom of God.”
Prayer:
Today’s prayer is from the PC-USA Book of Common Worship.
More than ever I find myself in the hands of God.
This is what I have wanted all my life from my youth.
But now there is a difference;
the initiative is entirely with God.
It is indeed a profound spiritual experience
to know and feel myself so totally in God’s hands.
Written by Chris Webb, a contemporary Benedictine Anglican priest, author, speaker, and teacher. This is an excerpt from his work “To Bear the Character of God.”
The great twelfth-century Dominican writer Thomas Aquinas … made the startling assertion that love was more than the goal of Christian perfection: it is the fundamental power behind the created order. Just as physicists probe sub-atomic structure to identify the basic forces and particles that make up this physical universe, so Aquinas probed to the depths of Christian theology to identify the driving energy behind creation itself. In the end, Aquinas argued, everything is grounded in love, since all creation reflects the character of the one who made it. He suggested that we are not only made to love, we are made of love. Everything we do is driven by this divine quality: all we can do is love. But Aquinas had no illusions about the terrifying human capacity for sin. He wrote about the lethal power of sin, that “turning away from our last end which is God.” He came to see love as having the kind of awesome power we see in nuclear fusion. Well-ordered and directed to the right ends, love can transform lives, inseparably unite people with one another and God, and act as the harmonious and creative power which holds all creation in being. But misdirected – allowed to turn in on itself, allowed to run wildly on the heels of any and every desire of our misguided hearts – love can become a horrifyingly destructive force, tearing apart the world from under our feet. Love, rightly ordered, will be the foundation of the kingdom of God. But grotesquely disordered love, inordinate self-love which swirls in on itself like a fierce tornado, has the capacity to shape tragedies like Auschwitz or the Rwandan genocide. Sin – love disordered – is horrific. But holiness – love rightly ordered – is life in all its abundance.
Prayer:
Written by Mark D. Roberts, a contemporary author and speaker.
Gracious God, thank you for being a good, good God, a God whose love for us never gives up, never expires, never fails. Thank you for making your love known to us in so many different ways. Your work, Lord, shows us your love. You have made the heavens and the earth for us, filling them with beauty and fruitfulness. You have delivered us from bondage to sin and death, saving us through Jesus Christ. Your steadfast love, O God, endures forever. As I do my work today, may it be an expression of love. Help me, I pray, to love my colleagues, my customers, my students, my neighbors, my family, and my world through my work. Most of all, may my work be a response to your love. May I love you this day as I work for your glory. Amen.
Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013), an American philosopher and writer known for his works on spiritual formation. This is an excerpt from his book “The Divine Conspiracy.”
This is a God-bathed and God-permeated world. It is a world filled with a glorious reality, where every component is within the range of God’s direct knowledge and control — though he obviously permits some of it, for good reasons, to be for a while otherwise than as he wishes. It is a world that is inconceivably beautiful and good because of God and because God is always in it. It is a world in which God is continually at play and over which he constantly rejoices. Until our thoughts of God have found every visible thing and event glorious with his presence, the word of Jesus has not yet fully seized us.”
Prayer:
Written by Lesli White, a contemporary author.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for being good and for blessing my life with good. Even when bad things happen, I know that You are good and You do good. I cling to You, and pray that You will continue to perform in me that which is good, for Your glory. Amen.
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