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MEDITATION:

Written by L.B. Cowman (1870-1960), an American author. This is an excerpt from her book “Glimpses Through Life’s Windows.”

There is a poem called “The Changed Cross.” It represents a weary one who thought that her cross was surely heavier than those of others whom she saw about her, and she wished that she might choose another instead of her own. She slept, and in her dream she was led to a place where many crosses lay, crosses of different shapes and sizes. There was a little one most beauteous to behold, set in jewels and gold. “Ah, this I can wear with comfort,” she said. So she took it up, but her weak form shook beneath it. The jewels and the gold were beautiful, but they were far too heavy for her. Next, she saw a lovely cross with fair flowers entwined around its sculptured form. Surely that was the one for her. She lifted it, but beneath the flowers were piercing thorns which tore her flesh. At last, as she went on, she came to a plain cross, without jewels, without carvings, with only a few words of love inscribed upon it. This she took up and it proved the best of all, the easiest to be borne. And as she looked upon it, bathed in the radiance that fell from Heaven, she recognized her own old cross. She had found it again, and it was the best of all and lightest for her. God knows best what cross we need to bear. We do not know how heavy other people’s crosses are. We envy someone who is rich; his is a golden cross set with jewels, but we do not know how heavy it is. Here is another whose life seems very lovely. She bears a cross twined with flowers. If we could try all the other crosses that we think lighter than our own, we would at last find that not one of them suited us so well as our own.

PRAYER:

Written by Paige Deane, a contemporary author.

Lord, you are so good to me. I don’t deserve your love and grace but I am so thankful for it. Your ways are higher than my ways and your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. Please help me submit fully to your lordship in my life. Give me the strength to resist the desires of my flesh. Help me to deny myself, and relinquish all that I have, and all that I am for you. Destroy my attachment to this world so that I can fully rely on you in every situation. I want to develop a strong relationship with you and to be your disciple. Help me to continue to pursue this goal every day, and to help others do the same. I give my entire self over to you Lord. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Samuel Hart (1845-1917), an Episcopal clergyman, classicist, and liturgical scholar.

Is it any wonder that, when we stagger at any promise of God through unbelief, we do not receive it? Not that faith merits an answer, or in any way earns it, or works it out; but God has made believing a condition of receiving, and the Giver has a sovereign right to choose His own terms of gift.

PRAYER:

Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013), a theologian, author, speaker,  and professor at USC School of Philosophy. His writings have changed forever how thousands of Christians experience their faith.

Lord Jesus Christ, we are so thankful  to you that you have said, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  We are thankful for the ease with which you walked upon this earth, the generosity and kindness you showed to people, the devotion with which you cared for those who were out of the way and in trouble, the extent to which you even loved your enemies and laid down your life for them.  We are also thankful to believe that this is a life for us, a life without lack, a life of sufficiency. It’s so clear in you, the sufficiency of your Father and the fullness of life that was poured through you, and we’re so thankful that you have promised that same love, that same life, that same joy, that same power for us. Lord, slip up on us today. Get past our defenses, our worries, our concerns. Gently open our souls and speak your Word into them. We believe you want to do it, and we wait for you to do it now. In your name, Amen.

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MEDITATION:

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

Job had comforters, and I think he spoke the truth when he said, “Miserable comforters are ye all.” But I dare say they esteemed themselves wise; and when the young man Elihu rose to speak, they thought he had a world of impudence. Were they not “grave and reverend seigniors?” Did not they comprehend his grief and sorrow?…But they did not find out the cause…It is a bad case when the doctor mistakes a disease and gives a wrong prescription, and so perhaps kills the patient. Sometimes, when we go and visit people, we mistake their disease; we want to comfort them on this point, whereas they do not require any such comfort at all, and they would be better left alone, than spoiled by such unwise comforters as we are. But oh, how wise the Holy Spirit is! He takes the soul, lays it on the table, and dissects it in a moment; He finds out the root of the matter. He sees where the complaint is, and then He applies the knife where something is required to be taken away, or puts a plaster where the sore is; and He never mistakes. Oh, how wise is the blessed Holy Spirit; from every comforter I turn, and leave them all, for thou art He who alone gives the wisest consolation.

PRAYER:

Written by Anne Peterson, a contemporary poet, speaker, and author.

Lord, I thank you for who you are. I thank you that no matter what happens to us on this earth, you are with us. God, we look forward to the day that we will see you face to face, but for anyone who is struggling, we pray that you strengthen them, meet their needs, and let your Holy Spirit comfort them. We pray this in your Son’s precious and Holy name. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by R.C. Sproul (1939-2017), an American Reformed theologian, pastor, radio broadcaster, and founder of Ligonier Ministries. This is an excerpt from his book “Essential Truths of the Christian Faith.”

The apostle Paul declared that he was determined to know nothing save Christ and Him crucified. This was the apostle’s way of emphasizing the extreme importance of the Cross to Christianity. The doctrine of the Atonement is central to all Christian theology. Luther called Christianity a theology of the Cross. The figure of a cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. The concept of atonement reaches back to the Old Testament where God set up a system by which the people of Israel could make atonement for their sins. To atone is to make amends, to set things right. Both the Old and New Testaments make it clear that all human beings are sinners. As our sins are against an infinite, holy God who cannot even look upon sin, atonement must be made in order for us to have fellowship with God. Because sin touches even our best acts, we are incapable of making a sufficient sacrifice. Even our sacrifices are tainted and would require a further sacrifice to cover that blemish, ad infinitum. We have no gift valuable enough, no work righteous enough to atone for our own sins. We are debtors who cannot pay their debts. In receiving the wrath of the Father on the cross, Christ was able to make atonement for His people. Christ carried or bore the punishment for the sins of human beings. He atoned for them by accepting the just punishment due for those sins. The Old Testament covenant pronounced a curse upon any person who broke the law of God. On the cross, Jesus not only took that curse upon Himself, but He became “a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). He was forsaken by the Father and experienced the full measure of hell on the cross. Orthodox Christianity has insisted that the Atonement involves substitution and satisfaction. In taking God’s curse upon Himself, Jesus satisfied the demands of God’s holy justice. He received God’s wrath for us, saving us from the wrath that is to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). A key phrase in the Bible regarding the Atonement is the phrase, “in behalf of.” Jesus did not die for Himself, but for us. His suffering was vicarious; He was our substitute. He took our place in fulfilling the role of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. While the Father’s wrath is real, it should be noted that the atonement Christ made was not a case of the Son working against the Father’s will. It is not as if Christ were snatching His people out of the Father’s hand. The Son did not persuade the Father to save those whom the Father was loathe to save. On the contrary, both Father and Son willed the salvation of the elect and worked together to bring it to pass. As the apostle Paul wrote, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

PRAYER:

Written by Debbie McDaniel, a contemporary writer.

Dear God, We remember today, the pain and suffering of the cross, and all that Jesus was willing to endure, so we could be set free. He paid the price, such a great sacrifice, to offer us the gift of eternal life. Help us never to take for granted this huge gift of love on our behalf. Help us to be reminded of the cost of it all. Forgive us for being too busy, or distracted by other things, for not fully recognizing what you freely given, what you have done for us. Thank you, Lord, that by your wounds we are healed. Thank you that because of your huge sacrifice we can live free. Thank you that sin and death have been conquered and that your Power is everlasting. Thank you that we can say with great hope, “It is finished…” For we know what’s still to come. And death has lost its sting. We praise you for you are making all things new. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by John Woolman (1720-1772), an American merchant, journalist, Quaker preacher, and early abolitionist in the colonial era. This is an excerpt from the book “The Journal and Major Essays of John Woolman.”

The sense I had of the state of the churches brought a weight of distress upon me…It appeared to me that through the prevailing spirit of this world the minds of many were brought to an inward desolation and instead of the spirit of meekness, gentleness, and heavenly wisdom, which are the necessary companions of the true sheep of Christ, a spirit of fierceness and the love of dominion too generally prevailed. From small beginnings in error great building by degrees are raised and from one age to another are more and more strengthened by the general concurrence of the people; and as men of reputation depart from the Truth, their virtues are mentioned as arguments in favor of general error, and those of less note, to justify themselves, say “Such and such good men did the like.” By what other steps could the people of Judah arise to that height in wickedness as to give just ground for the prophet Isaiah to declare in the name of the Lord that none called for justice nor pleaded for the Truth? Or for the Almighty to call upon the great city of Jerusalem, just before the Babylonian captivity, to find a man who executed judgment and sought the Truth and he would pardon it? The prospect of a road lying open to the same degeneracy in some parts of this newly settled land of America, in respect to our conduct towards the Negroes, hath deeply bowed my mind in this journey; and though to briefly relate how these people are treated is no agreeable work, yet after often reading over the notes I made as I traveled, I find my mind engaged to preserve them…They who know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent, and are thus acquainted with the merciful, benevolent Gospel Spirit, will therein perceive that the indignation of God is kindled against oppression and cruelty, and in beholding the great distress of so numerous a people will find cause for mourning.

PRAYER:

Today’s prayer is from the Book of Common Prayer.

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from thy ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of thy Word, Jesus Christ thy Son; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013), an American philosopher, theologian, and author.  This is an excerpt from his book “The Divine Conspiracy.”

The advantage of believing in the reality of the Trinity is not that we get an A from God for giving “the right answer.” Remember, to believe something is to act as if it is so. To believe that two plus two equals four is to behave accordingly when trying to find out how many dollars or apples are in the house. The advantage of believing it is not that we can pass tests in arithmetic; it is that we can deal much more successfully with reality. Just try dealing with it as if two plus two equaled six.  Hence, the advantage of believing in the Trinity is that we then live as if the Trinity is real: as if the cosmos environing us actually is, beyond all else, a self-sufficing community of unspeakably magnificent personal beings of boundless love, knowledge, and power. And, thus believing, our lives naturally integrate themselves, through our actions, into the reality of such a universe, just as with two plus two equals four. In faith we rest ourselves upon the reality of the Trinity in action—and it graciously meets us. For it is there. And our lives are then enmeshed in the true world of God.

PRAYER:

Written by Scott Cairns, a contemporary American poet, professor, librettist, and spiritual  essayist.

May the Father,

who created all things in the beginning, bless you.

May the  Son of God heal you.

May the Holy Spirit enlighten you,

guard your body, save your soul,

direct your thoughts,

and bring you safe to the heavenly country,

where he lives and reigns,

God, in a perfect Trinity,

forever and ever. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Cyprian (?-258), a bishop of Carthage and early Christian writer. This was an excerpt from a letter written to his friend Donatus.

It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people, who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians . . . and I am one of them.

PRAYER:

Written by Billy Graham (1918-2018), an American evangelist minister who was internationally known.

Today, Lord God, I remember all those Christians who have gone before me and thank You for the inspiration of their memory. May I never take for granted the heritage I have in Christ Jesus.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Douglas V. Steere (1901-1995), an American Quaker ecumenist. This is an excerpt from his book “Dimensions of Prayer.”

A discussion of Christian prayer that leaves out the final movement of forgiveness would be a travesty. There is nothing that God cannot heal, and God’s forgiveness is given before we even approach God. Nowhere is this more tellingly described than in the Old Testament story of the father King David weeping over his son Absalom who has perhaps come to his death because he did not believe his father could ever forgive his treason…Forgiveness is a condition in which the sin of the past is not altered, nor its inevitable consequences changed. Rather, in forgiveness a fresh act is added to those of the past, which restores the broken relationship and opens the way for the one who forgives and the one who is forgiven to meet and communicate deeply with each other in the present and the future. Thus, forgiveness heals the past, though the scars remain and the consequences go on…It is taken into the fresh act of outgoing renewal and there it is healed. The whole witness of Jesus’ life and death is to the unfathomable depts of God’s forgiveness. English poet and author William Blake cites the capacity of Jesus to forgive another, and to reenter vulnerably into the deepest relation with another, as the strongest evidence of his being God in the flesh. For only so could someone be truly able to forgive others.

PRAYER:

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

Dear Lord, I thank You for the power of forgiveness, and I choose to forgive everyone who has hurt me. Help me set them free and release them to You. Help me bless those who have hurt me. Help me walk in righteousness, peace, and joy, demonstrating Your life here on earth. I choose to be kind and compassionate, forgiving others, just as You forgave me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Marjorie Thompson, a contemporary parish minister, author, teacher, and retreat leader. This is an excerpt from her book “Soul Feast.”

The one condition that precedes every kind of prayer is being present to God with conscious awareness. God is always present with us, whether or not we can feel this reality. In a very real sense, then, the foundation of all prayer is being present to the presence of God. Quaker writer and teacher Douglas Steere speaks of “being present where we are” and “not too elsewhere.”

PRAYER:

Written by Sheri Dursin, a contemporary writer, speaker, and retreat presenter.

Loving God, I come to you as I am,

Rushed and frazzled, electricity buzzing from my fingertips,

Or sluggish, plodding through the mud, footsteps heavy and slow.

Whatever my pace, I have arrived at this precise moment with you.

Lord Jesus, I rest in the knowledge that you will meet me here,

At the crossroads of sorrow and joy,

Of confusion and clarity,

Of stress and serenity.

Heavenly Father, help me to pause.

To listen, and pray, and sit in the quiet

With you, my song blending with yours

In beautiful harmony

God of love, I pray for the inspiration to put away my own plans,

And discover what you have in mind for me

I am listening, I am here with you.

I will be present.

I will just BE.  Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013), an American philosopher, theologian, and author.  This is an excerpt from “Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge.”

The unity of humankind is to be achieved by witness to truth in love, co-working with God. In a remarkable continuity with Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15, and Paul’s repeated affirmations of human unity under Christ in his letters (Colossians 3:11), the prophet Isaiah spoke long ago to Israel for the God of Israel: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (49:6). But this was not to be achieved by political or military power, though the Jews of Jesus’s day, including his own apostles, could think only of that. Many today have gone no further in their understanding. By the force of truth and love alone—spoken and lived—the people of Christ, as they dwell in their part of the earth and move about on earth, “make disciples of all nations,” all ethnic groups, all kinds of people. But what that means must be rightly understood if it is to be effectual for good in the way Jesus intended. Most Christians of the Western world today take this directive to “make disciples” to mean doing “missionary work” in other parts of the world, especially in “underdeveloped” or “backward” countries. That is how it has been presented to them. Thus, they look to “the ends of the earth” from where they stand and forget that the process starts in “Jerusalem and Judea,” which in their case is precisely the Western world and its churches. It is right where they live. The “all nations” is above all our own “nation.” North America, for example, is the primary place for North American Christians to make disciples from the various human groupings, surround them in trinitarian reality, and “teach them to obey everything” Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19–20). The failure of the American church to do this is very obvious, but to fail here “at home” is to fail the need of the world as a whole.

PRAYER:

Written by John Birch, a contemporary author on Celtic and other prayer.

 Lord, you have said

that to truly love you

then I must also

love my neighbor,

which can be difficult

when we disagree

or lifestyles clash.

Yet in overcoming

those difficulties

it is possible to see

the miracle that you

love someone like me.

Teach us to love, Lord,

as you have loved us

that this world might be

a better neighborhood

in which to live and share.

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