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MEDITATION:

Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013), an American philosopher and author known for his writings on spiritual formation. This is an excerpt from his book “The Divine Conspiracy.”

Anger and contempt are the twin scourges of the earth. Mingled with greed and sexual lust…these bitter emotions form the poisonous brew in which human existence stands suspended. Few people ever get free of them in this life, and for most of us, even old age does not bring relief. Once you see those emotions for what they are, the constant stream of human disasters that history and life bring before us can also be seen for what they are: the natural outcome of human choice, of people choosing to be angry and contemptuous. It is a miracle that there are not more and greater disasters. We have to remember this when we read what Jesus and other biblical writers say about anger. To cut the root of anger is to wither the tree of human evil. That is why Paul says simply, “Lay aside anger.” Yet influential people tell us today that we must be angry, that it is necessary to be angry to oppose social evil. The idea goes deep into our thinking…A leading social commentator now teaches that despair and rage are an essential element in the struggle for justice. He and others who teach this are sowing the wind, and they will reap the whirlwind, the tornado. Indeed, we are reaping it now in a nation increasingly sick with rage and resentment of citizen toward citizen. And often the rage and resentment is upheld as justified in the name of God. But there is nothing that can be done with anger that cannot be done better without it. The sense of self-righteousness that comes with our anger simply provokes more anger and self-righteousness on the other side. Of course, when nothing is done about things that are wrong, anger naturally builds and finally will break into action, whether in a family or a nation. That is inevitable and even necessary outside the Kingdom Among Us. But the answer is to write the wrong in persistent love, not to harbor anger, and thus to right it without adding further real or imaginary wrongs. To retain anger and to cultivate it is, by contrast, “to give the devil a chance.” (Ephesians 4:26-27). He will take the chance, and there will be hell to pay. The delicious morsel of self-righteousness that anger cultivated always contains comes at a high price in the self-righteous reaction of those we cherish anger toward. And the cycle is endless as long as anger has sway.

PRAYER:

Written by Rebecca Barlow Jordan is a contemporary Christian author.

As I start this day, help me remember that I belong to you, and my desire is to act accordingly. Keep my feet from stumbling and my mind from wandering into distractions that could steal precious time and energy from the most important things you have designed for me. I’m proud to be your child, Lord. And I’m so grateful that you died for me—rising again on your own new morning—so that every day could be filled with the wonder of your love, the freedom of your Spirit, and the joy of knowing you.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Be Kind to Yourself:  Performed by Andrew Peterson

This song,  composed by songwriter/performer Andrew Peterson in 2015, was written for his pre-teen daughter about God’s love and his love for her.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Joanne Melton.

Mother-in-law….three simple words and two hyphens.  For some, this “threesome” can represent angst, discomfort and disagreement.  To others it can mean companionship, friendship and true blessings. My “true blessing” is my mother-in-law, Elsie Aline Black Melton. Elsie was born and raised in Georgia, married, and raised two daughters and a son. While Robert and I were dating, Elsie graciously included me in many a Saturday or Sunday on the porch to enjoy a home cooked meal prepared by her hands.  There were homemade biscuits, sliced ripe red tomatoes, creamed corn fresh off the cob, butter beans, a fruit cobbler and always sweet tea! Elsie and I would sit together on the porch and shuck corn, string the beans, and hull peas. This was our time.  We got to know one another pretty well.  This true Southern Lady would share stories about growing up, things about her children, what was happening at Sunday School classes, and her adventures of traveling to many wonderful places. She was an accomplished seamstress and each Easter and Christmas she would make dresses for her granddaughters.  It gave her such joy to know how proud they were that she made them! Elsie was an elegant, charming woman who spoke with a soft Southern accent. She showed such grace and humility in all that she did. My mother-in-law blessed my life in ways I still hold dear.  Elsie remains a true blessing now and forever.

PRAYER:

This prayer is transcribed from the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Father, God, in Thy mercy, in Thy love,

Be Thou with us now.

For we know and we speak of Thy love.

And help us then to put away, for the hour,

The cares of this life; that we may know in truth

That the spirit and the lamb say, “Come.”

Let them that hear also say, “Come.”

Let all that will, come and drink of the water of life.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

The Holy City:   Performed by Stanford Olsen and the Tabernacle Choir

The hymn was written in 1892 by Frederic Weatherly (1848-1929) It became the single most popular song of the 19^th century, selling a million copies in sheet music. This was a favorite hymn of Elsie Melton of today’s meditation.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Valerie Hess, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “Spiritual Disciplines Devotional.”

One fall my daughter participated in an exchange program, living in a small village in rural Alaska that was a primarily subsistence culture. The family she lived with made only twelve thousand dollars a year but was generous to a fault. They insisted on paying for everything. They had little, but they treated my daughter very well.  At the same time, another student I knew was in an exchange program and lived with a wealthier family. This family was stingy even with things like toilet paper and light bulbs. They wouldn’t even give this student a ride to school, which was a half-hour walk away, but they would wave as they drove past on the way to town! This is not to say all rich people are selfish and all poor people are generous because we know that isn’t true. The point is that our culture encourages us to acquire all we can while ignoring the needs of the people around us. All of us have things we can share with others, regardless of where we are in the economic strata. It is truly a question of attitude and not plentitude.

PRAYER:

Written Mary Leonora Wilson, a contemporary nun and author.

Humble Savior, grant me the grace to see beyond the visible and to recognize your hidden presence in every person before me. Impress your virtue on my heart.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Make Room:  Performed by Community Music

This song was written by Community Music’s husband and wife worship leaders Lucas Cortazio and Evelyn Heideriqui and songwriters Josh Farro and Bekah White in 2018. It is a prayer for God to take the place that is rightfully His in our lives.

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MEDITATION:

Written by C.S. Lewis (1898-1960), a British writer and lay theologian.  This meditation is an excerpt from the book “Readings from C.S. Lewis.”

People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, “If you keep a lot of rules, I’ll reward you, and if you don’t I’ll do the other thing.” I do not think that is the best way of looking at it. I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a Heaven creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is Heaven: that is, it is joy, and peace, and knowledge, and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.

PRAYER:

This prayer is from the Book of Common Prayer used by the Anglican church

Merciful God,

we confess that we have sinned against you

in thought, word, and deed,

by what we have done,

and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you

with our whole heart and mind and strength.

We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

In your mercy forgive what we have been,

help us amend what we are,

and direct what we shall be,

so that we may delight in your will

and walk in your ways,

to the glory of your holy name.

Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Love God and Love People:  Performed by Danny Gokey

This song was written by the performer in 2019.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Becky Jessen.

The first person I think of when I hear “loving and just” is my dear grandmother. She was one of ten children (9 girls and 1 boy) born on a small farm in south-central Pennsylvania. Since they were poor, she was “hired out” at age 8 to a wealthy family in the city. She was let go at age 9 because she ate half of a strawberry while fixing a lunch for others. She then was moved to another family. All her life she “made do” and never ever complained. She was always the first to take something from the garden or bake something for someone in need. She was never resentful, but always uplifting in her quiet respectful way. She taught by her example all five of her grandchildren her deep faith in her loving, righteous God. Even at the end of her life, she was singing her favorite hymns with my sister. In my opinion, she was the epitome of kind, loving, and just. I strive to be like her.

PRAYER:

This prayer is a traditional Celtic blessing.

May you have

Walls for the wind

And a roof for the rain,

And drinks bedside the fire

Laughter to cheer you

And those you love near you,

And all that your heart may desire

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Wonderful Words of Life:   Performed by Fountainview Academy

The hymn was written by the American revivalist song leader Philip Bliss (1838-1876).

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MEDITATION:

Written by Timothy Keller, a contemporary pastor and author. This is an excerpt from his book “Generous Justice.”

In the 1980s Nora Ellen Groce was researching hereditary deafness on Martha’s Vineyard. In the seventeenth century, the original European settlers were all from a region in Kent, England, called “the Weald” where there was a high incidence of hereditary deafness. Because of their geographical isolation and intermarriage, the percentage of deaf people increased across the whole island. By the nineteenth century, one out of twenty-five people in the town of Chilmark was deaf and in another small settlement, almost a quarter of the people could not hear. (Today, because of the mobility of the population and marriage with off-islanders, hereditary deafness has vanished. The last deaf person born on the Vineyard died in 1952). In most societies, physically handicapped people are forced to adapt to the life patterns of the nonhandicapped, but that is not what happened on the Vineyard. One day Groce was interviewing an older island resident and she asked him what the hearing people thought of the deaf people. “We didn’t think anything about them, they were just like everyone else,” he replied. Groce responded that it must have been necessary for everyone to write things down on paper in order to communicate with them. The man responded in surprise, “No, you see everyone here spoke sign language.” The interviewer asked if he meant the deaf people’s families. No, he answered, “Everybody in town—I used to speak it, my mother did, everybody.” Another interviewee said, “Those people weren’t handicapped. They were just deaf.” One other remembered “They [the deaf] were like anybody else. I wouldn’t be overly kind because they, they’d be sensitive to that. I’d just treat them the way I treated anybody.”  Indeed, what happened was that an entire community had disadvantaged itself en masse for the sake of a minority. Instead of making the non-hearing minority learn to read lips, the whole hearing majority learned signing. All the hearing became bilingual, so deaf people were able to enter into full social participation. As a result of “doing justice” (disadvantaging themselves) the majority “experienced shalom”—it included people in the social fabric who in other places would have fallen through it…Deafness as a “handicap” largely disappeared.

PRAYER:

Written by Winfield Bevins, a contemporary seminary professor.

O God, the King of righteousness, lead us in the ways of justice and peace, inspire us to break down all tyranny and oppression, to gain for every person what is due to them. May each live for all and all care for each. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

I Won’t Let Go:   Performed by Rascal Flats.

Written in 2009 by Steve Robson and Jason Sellers.

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MEDITATION:

Written by David Nowell, a contemporary author, speaker, and President of Hope Unlimited for Children. This is an excerpt from his book “Dirty Faith.”

In Brazil an estimated fourteen thousand children are incarcerated in unspeakably subhuman conditions. In the Congo, three thousand children live behind bars, food supplies are sporadically provided by family from the outside—otherwise the kids just go hungry. In Yemen, a U.N. report found that even when children held in Sana’a Central Prison finish their sentences, they remain in prison due to their inability to pay court-imposed fines. In Russia’s sixty-plus children’s prison camps, an estimated fourteen thousand kids live under inhumane conditions behind concrete walls and barbed wire. Often, they do not have proper shoes or clothes to endure the harsh Russian winters. Worldwide, UNICEF tags the number at 1.1 million children behind bars. Are these bad kids? Yep. Murderers? Yes. Rapists, drug dealers, kidnappers? Without question. And we are called to be the hands of the Christ who loves them.

PRAYER:

Written Janet Perez Eckles, a contemporary author and inspirational speaker.

Lord, how wrong I have been to act as if Christ had never been born. As if He didn’t perform miracles. As if He didn’t take my every tear, my daily worries, my sin and insecurities on that cross. As if the tomb wasn’t empty and the throne wasn’t full of His presence and grace. It’s that grace that gives meaning and power to your promises. I know that your Word prevails even when our world turns black. I trust that your healing comes in different forms, stages, and ways. I believe that you promised to provide all we need. Seeking you doesn’t require physical vision, complete health, or a life free of troubles. But instead, a heart full of devotion and obedience, which I offer you. No matter how many seasons sweep by, Lord, your reminders remain the same. Each tear we cry has a purpose. Each trying stage has a divine reason. And in your capable hands, each icy rain of adversity is transformed into the warmth and sparkle of your grace. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Ain’t No Grave:   Performed by Johnny Cash.

The music was recorded shortly before his death in 2003 and released posthumously in 2010. The song was originally written by Claude Ely, a songwriter and preacher from Virginia. He composed the song while sick with tuberculosis in 1934 when he was 12 years old.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Kathy Loftman.

Russ and I have been incredibly touched by God’s love over the past few months. In October, Russ fell outside our home, which led to cycles of pain, the inability to walk, and eventually to hospitalization for two weeks around Thanksgiving. Although it was a tough time for us, our church friends became clear signs of God’s hope for us. We received calls, emails, texts, and words of encouragement which strengthened our resolve and resilience. In particular, we felt God’s healing presence through the kindness of others. One of our church members took Russ to an important doctor’s appointment, lent us a wheelchair, and gave us great advice and suggestions. One of our Bible Study couples emailed us weekly checking in on us and offering to help. Other church friends called and emailed us offering assistance. Our pastors visited Russ in the hospital. We felt the strength and encouragement through all the prayers from our church’s prayer chain and the congregational prayers. And when asked by one of our parishioners how we were doing, I made an off-hand comment that we were in need of a walker. In less than 24 hours, a walker was at our front door with a warm greeting. Russ has greatly improved now and we are forever grateful for the kindness and love of our church family. God’s love shows His presence and promise through others. Thank you!

PRAYER:

Written by Debbie McDaniel, a contemporary Christian writer.

Dear God, thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you for your great love and care. Thank you for your sacrifice so that we might have freedom and life. Forgive us for when we don’t thank you enough, for who you are, for all that you do, for all that you’ve given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on you afresh. Renew our spirits, fill us with your peace and joy. We love you and we need you, this day and every day. We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

When I Survey the Wonderous Cross:   Performed by Rosemary Siemens.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross was written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748) in 1707. It was innovative because it departed from the early English hymn style of only using paraphrased biblical texts.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Marianne Williamson, a contemporary spiritual leader, political activist, and author. This is an excerpt from her book “Everyday Grace.”

Once, when I was in my early twenties, I lived in a house in San Francisco with several other people. In the dining room overlooking the city, there was a very long table at which there were always people drinking coffee and engaging in lively conversation at almost any time of the night or day. That was a period in my life in which I thought of my future as more important than my present—surely in my future I would find the secret to happiness. But now that I’m living what my younger self thought of as the future, I look back to that table and think, “That was it!” There at that table, I remember having my first and still one of my most potent experiences of community. My house today is nicer, to be sure. Like others of my generation, I “graduated” into my own this, my own that. But also, like others of my generation, I sort of miss the old days when there was more connection and less competition, more community and less isolation, more conversation and less TV. Today, when we think about people joining together, it’s not always for such wonderful purposes. We know about “terror cells,” made up of terrorists joined for the purpose of wreaking havoc on our world. We get chills as we realize the power of two or more terrorists joined together, exerting greater power than the sum of the individuals. Yet the power of joining together applies as much—in fact, much more—to those who love than to those who hate. For there is a cosmic propulsion behind love that is not behind hate. Our problem is not that hate is more powerful than love, because indeed it is not; our problem is that hatred today is more energetic and active than love. It’s time for our generation to allow ourselves not only the satisfaction of deep love and community, but also the power of deep love and community. It is the greatest antidote to the darkness of our times….God did not create us individually, but as one; that is the esoteric meaning of “only one begotten Son.” The awareness of our oneness, while foreign to the ego, is clear to the heart. And that’s why unity is the key to our happiness. Spiritually we do not exist in isolation. It is unnatural for us to perceive ourselves as separate. We’re like sunbeams of the same son and waves of the same ocean. Imagining ourselves as separate waves, we feel that we are tiny and powerless, when in fact we are integral to the immense power of the sea.

PRAYER:

Written by Janel Breitenstein, a contemporary author.

Lord, thank You for the diverse personalities, abilities, passions, and ways of seeing the world that you’ve placed around me. I beg you today for unity in this town/city/country. We are highly divided. You alone are the Prince of Peace; you alone are the One whose name is Love. Cover our community with Your peace. Teach us—teach me—to love. Show us the ways of forgiveness, of loving our neighbor—even those most outcast—as ourselves. Open our eyes to those who are rejected, powerless, oppressed, or overlooked. You have such great promises for us when we shoulder their burdens with them (Isaiah 48)! Let us be a voice for the voiceless.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Blest Be the Tie That Binds:   Performed by Fountainview Academy.

This favorite hymn by John Fawcett (1740-1817) was written in 1772 for his congregation. He was going to leave for another position but decided to turn down the call at a larger church and remain with his flock.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Ken Shigematsu, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from his book, “God in My Everything.”

My friend Elizabeth was a nationally ranked javelin thrower in college. As an undergraduate she would sometimes walk around the Stanford campus with her javelin perched on her shoulder—even when she wasn’t headed to track practice. Elizabeth also carries a “javelin” with her in her personal relationships: the ability to speak well-aimed, incisive truths that her friends need to hear. Not only does Elizabeth see and name good things in me that I don’t see clearly or have forgotten, she just as regularly points out rough edges such as my tendency toward workaholism. After the birth of my son, she urged me to spend more time at home with my wife and him. I remember her saying to me, “Others can travel and speak, but no one else can be a husband to Sakiko and a father to Joey.” When she sensed that I was slipping into a place of unhealthy emotional vulnerability with someone, she charged me to make sure I had appropriate boundaries in place. The book of Proverbs tells us the wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of any enemy. I am blessed to be wounded by a friend as candid as Elizabeth.

No one has a 360-degree perspective on their life. Just as there is a blind spot in the retina of the eye, there is also a blind spot in the soul where we cannot see the truth about ourselves. A spiritual friend will identify our blind spot with love, but they will identify it. If they see us walking down a path of over- (or under-) committing to work, making poor financials choices, or placing ourselves in a compromising relationship, they will care for us by naming these things. A true friend will name the attitudes and actions that are causing us to drift from God even as they actively point us to God.

PRAYER:

This prayer is from the Gregorian Sacramentary, a 10th century illuminated Latin manuscript ascribed to Gregory 1.

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your  holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

What a Friend We Have In Jesus:   Performed by Alan Jackson.

This hymn was written by Joseph Scriven (1819-1886) in 1855. An Irish immigrant to Canada, his life was filled with grief and trials and he often needed the solace of the Lord described in this famous hymn.

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