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MEDITATION:

Written by Brian Tome, a contemporary American pastor.

To have a life of impact, I need to be three things: a fighter, a finisher, and faithful. This sound advice was written by Paul near the end of his life, in a letter to his young protégé. Paul elevated these three attributes as being honorable, achievable, and necessary. Church people are okay with “keeping the faith,” but they scratch their head at “fighting” and “finishing.” Fighting sounds too violent for the enlightened, soft American who has never been punched in the mouth. Finishing is a noble concept but not something we’re actually skilled at doing. We prefer the entrepreneurial buzz of starting something new to the labor of finishing strong — because finishing is a fight. A new relationship brings a buzz, but a long-term marriage is a bloody fight. “Keeping the faith” sounds serene and easy enough, but only because we don’t understand it.

Most of us believe faith is a mental checklist of things we agree on. But faith is not just a doctrine or creed. It’s not just giving mental assent. It’s not choosing to believe stupid things that science says aren’t true. Faith is choosing to move. It means taking a step forward without a guarantee that it’s going to work out the way you want. It means doing the things you know your God would approve of, even if other people question you. Paul never stopped moving. He never stopped improving. He never stopped chasing his goal of becoming more like Christ and introducing as many people as possible to Him. In reality, “keeping the faith” is just as backbreaking as fighting or finishing. It’s hard to fight, finish, and keep the faith. That’s why so few people do it. This time last year, a ministry hero of mine was publicly disgraced. I have no idea what his relationship with Christ is right now. What I do know is that he stopped fighting against his sinful urges. He didn’t finish strong for the thousands of people who looked up to him. He didn’t keep the faith of honestly admitting to his struggles and finding help. Decades in the same post and no warm farewell, no final words, no future contact with the next generation of leaders. So sad and so sobering. All because he stopped fighting, didn’t finish, and wasn’t faithful. Some types of sharks have to keep swimming in order to stay alive. Once they stop moving, they begin to suffocate. That’s also true for followers of Jesus. We have to keep moving to stay alive. We have to want more in our relationship with Christ. We have to want more for our future. We have to want to be different or we will be like everyone else who falters.

PRAYER:

Written by Brian Tome, the author of today’s meditation.

Father, I want to fight for the things that You care about. I want to finish the race that You’ve set before me. I want to keep the faith, continuing to move and grow no matter my age or stage of life. Thank You for the call and the challenge of this. Amen.  

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MEDITATION:

Written by Joni Eareckson Tada, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “Diamonds in the Dust.”

The Old Testament kingdom of Judah needed a kick in the pants, a shot in the arm, a knock on the head. They had rebelled against God, for which God plainly and directly judged through the prophet Isaiah and through foreign nations. They deserved to be scolded or punished, but God was as wise then as He is now. He simply opened their eyes. “Your vision is too small because of your pain,” He said, “You’ve focused on your lack—lack of a nation, lack of power, lack of unity, lack of an army. Hang it all! Expand your tent pegs out a few notches and live as if you have it all. Because you do! You have my prophecy of a mighty nation. You have my undying love. My forgiveness. My power. You have me!”

There are days when I need such a vision. I tire easily at times. And when I tire, I want to go in my “tent” of pity and frustration and anger. My small tents are comfortable. Though it’s dark and cramped, I feel a sense of comfort. But not for long. God tells me in Isaiah 54:5 that my Maker is my husband, and He desires my company under a larger tent that I might expand His kingdom with Him. And as I do so, I find the fresh breeze of new strength to deal with my pity, frustration, and anger. I am renewed.

PRAYER:

Written by Joni Eareckson Tada, the author of today’s meditation.

Lord, expand my vision today. Let me see the light of day from Your perspective. Drive home the tent pegs of hope deep and far. Stretch my life to conform to the potential You see. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

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

Learning to manage your emotions is the key to peace of mind. In other words, you need to learn to deal with what you feel! Here are four important reasons why you need to manage your emotions: 1) Emotions are often unreliable. Your gut is often wrong… Your intuition is often flawed. Your emotions often lead you down a blind alley. You can’t depend on everything you feel!  You don’t have to accept everything you feel, because not everything you feel is right or authentic or will lead you in the right direction. 2) You don’t want to be manipulated. If you don’t control your emotions, they will control you, and you will be manipulated by your moods. And if you’re always guided by your feelings, other people will take advantage of you. Worst of all, negative emotions are Satan’s favorite tool. He will use fear, resentment, and worry to wreak havoc in your life…3) You want to please God. God cannot rule your life if emotions rule your life. If you make your decisions based on how you feel, then you’ve made your feelings your god, and then God can’t be God in your life… 4) You want to succeed in life. Study after study has shown that your emotional quotient is far more important than your IQ when it comes to success. How many people do you know who ruined their reputation because of something said in anger? Or missed a job opportunity because of their lack of self-control? …When you choose to follow Jesus, that decision includes your emotions. Jesus wants to be Lord of how you feel, not just what you think and do. He wants to be Lord of your emotions.

PRAYER:

Written by Aaron Brown, a contemporary writer, teacher, and visual artist.

Lord, I know that today is for me and tomorrow is for you, but sometimes I can’t help but be afraid. I grow weary of wondering what will happen in the world, this country? What new calamity will we face tomorrow? This year has brought many unforeseen challenges to myself and others spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I’m afraid that life will get worse. I’m afraid that I have nothing to hope in anymore. Please help me to maintain my trust in you. Please help me to remember all the ways you have supported me throughout my life up until this point. Help me to not forget all that you have done. Lord, you are my refuge. Your love does not change even when my circumstances do. Help me to not forget…I can trust in you always. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Max Lucado, a contemporary pastor and author. This is an excerpt from his book “You Can Count on God.”

We did a lot of shouting on our elementary school playground. All the boys marched around the playground shouting, “Boys are better than girls!” In response, the girls paraded around the school announcing, “Girls are better than boys.” We were a happy campus. Shouting feels good. But does it do any good? It seems to me there is a lot of shouting going on. On the airwaves, on bumper stickers, on social media…It is one thing to have an opinion; it’s something else to have a fight. Let’s reason together. Let’s work together. And if discussion fails, let love succeed. If love covers a multitude of sins, can it not cover a multitude of opinions? Resist the urge to shout.

PRAYER:

Written by Debbie McDanniel, a contemporary Christian writer.

Dear God, we pray for your protection as one nation under God. We ask that you surround this country and cover us with your mighty hand. We pray for unity in our land, that in spite of our differences, we would be willing to stand strong together and live out our days with compassion and grace. We ask that no weapon formed against us will prosper and that you would thwart the attacks of the enemy hurled our way. Thank you that you are rich in mercy and full of grace. Thank you that you are forgiving and merciful. Thank you that you are strong and mighty. Thank you that you are for us and that you fight for us still today. Wake us up, Lord! Remind us to live aware, to redeem the time, listen to your words, and be willing to make a difference in this land. Give us courage to speak out. Help us not to stay silent but to do all things through your wisdom and love. We pray for your great healing on our land. Shine your face on us dear Lord. Give us courage to go into all the world and take the message of the Gospel of peace. We need you just as much now as we ever have before. Our times are in your hands. Bring honor to your Name today, for You alone are worthy. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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MEDITATION:

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

To offer a sinner the gift of salvation based upon the work of Christ, while at the same time allowing him to retain the idea that the gift carries with it no moral implications, is to do him untold injury where it hurts him worst. Many evangelical teachers insist so strongly upon free, unconditional grace as to create the impression that sin is not a serious matter and that God cares very little about it. He is concerned only with our escaping the consequences. The gospel then in practical application means little more than a way to escape the fruits of our past. The heart that has felt the weight of its own sin and along with this has seen the dread whiteness of the Most High God will never believe that a message of forgiveness without transformation is a message of good news. To remit a man’s past without transforming his present is to violate the moral sincerity of his own heart. To that kind of thing, God will be no party. We must have courage to preach the whole message. By so doing we shall undoubtedly lose a few friends and make a number of enemies. But the true Christian will not grieve too much about that. He has enough to do to please his Lord and Savior and to be true to the souls of all men. That may well occupy him too completely to leave much time for regrets over the displeasure of misguided men.

PRAYER:

This is a prayer from the Sarum Primer, a book of prayers and Christian worship resources from the 1500s, collected at the Salisbury Cathedral.

O Lord,

look mercifully on us,

and grant that we may choose the way of peace.

Rescue us from the captivity of the sins which have oppressed us,

that we may attain the dwellings of the heavenly Jerusalem, through Jesus Christ. Amen.   

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MEDITATION:

Written by Phil Togwell, a contemporary writer and leader of the Anglican Diocese of Durham’s Prayer Project.

Born in Northern Ireland in 1867, Amy Carmichael felt the call to mission at a young age. She served in Japan and Sri Lanka before ending up in India—all before intercontinental air travel! The focus of her work was rescuing young women from prostitution, and she developed a community that provided sanctuary for over a thousand children. Amy was a prolific writer, publishing at least 18 books. “Blessed are the single-hearted,’ she wrote, ‘for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is.’”

In the midst of the complexity of life as a missionary in another culture, and in the midst of the intensity of front-line justice work, Amy prioritized the pursuit of God’s presence and peace. She understood that in order to have a wide impact, she needed to cultivate a deep spirituality. I ask myself, am I single-hearted? Have I allowed the complexity of my life (and the notifications on my phone) to crowd out God’s presence and drown out God’s still, small voice?

PRAYER:

Written by Phil Togwell, author of today’s meditation.

Father, help me to live this day to the full, being true to You in every way. Jesus, help me to give myself away to others, being kind to everyone I meet. Spirit, help me to love the lost, proclaiming Christ in all I do and say. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Suzanne G. Farnham, a contemporary author and founder of Listening Hearts Ministry.

Learning to listen within our hearts may not come easily. We muse, Does God call ordinary people like us? And if so, to what? How can we distinguish God’s voice from all of the other voices that clamor at us—those of our culture, peer pressure, our careers, our egos? Amid our secular lives, where can we find support for our calls? And how can we remain faithful and accountable?

Christians have always struggled to understand what God would have them do. In 1835, Soren Kierkegaard wrote in his journal, What I really lack is to be clear in my mind what I am to do, not what I am to know…The thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wishes me to do…What good would it do me to be able to explain the meaning of Christianity if it had no deeper significance for me and for my life?

PRAYER:

Written by Carla Harding, a contemporary Christian author and director for 24-7 Prayer across Great Britain.

 Jesus, open my eyes to perceive You, realign my mind to believe You, and reawaken my heart to receive You, now and throughout the day to come. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), an English writer and pacifist known for her works on religion and spiritual practice. This is an excerpt from her book “Concerning the Inner Life.”

There are two movements that must be plainly present in every complete spiritual life. The energy of its prayer must be directed on the one hand towards God, and on the other toward [people]. The first movement embraces the whole range of spiritual communion between the soul and God; in it we turn toward Divine Reality in adoration, bathing, so to speak, our souls in the Eternal Light. In the second we return, with the added peace and energy thus gained, to the natural world; there to do spiritual work for and with God for [others]. Thus prayer, like the whole of  the inner life, “swings between the unseen and the seen.” Now both these movements are of course necessary in all Christians, but the point is that the second will only be well done where the first has the central place. The deepening of the soul’s unseen attachments must precede, in order that it may safeguard, the outward swing towards the world.

PRAYER:

Written by Ken Boa, a contemporary teacher, writer, speaker, and President of Reflections Ministries.

Heavenly Father, You have chosen me to obey Jesus Christ by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. In Christ, You have granted me everything we need to manifest the fullness of life that is empowered by Your indwelling Spirit. I know that it is impossible to live out the spiritual life in my own resources and power and that only as I abide in Jesus and walk by the Spirit is it possible for me to display a life of godliness and righteousness. As I live by the Spirit, may I bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. May I be strengthened with power through Your indwelling Spirit so that I can live a life that will be pleasing to You and edifying to others. May the love of Christ overflow in my thoughts, words, and deeds this very day. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996), a Dutch priest, professor, writer, and theologian. This is an excerpt from his book “Making All Things New.”

Simplicity and regularity are the best guides in finding our way. They allow us to make the discipline of solitude as much a part of our daily lives as eating and sleeping. When that happens, our noisy worries will slowly lose their power over us and the renewing activity of God’s Spirit will slowly make its presence known. Although the discipline of solitude asks us to set aside time and space, what finally matters is that our hearts become like quiet cells where God can dwell, wherever we go, and whatever we do.

PRAYER:

Written by John Baillie (1886-1960) was a Scottish theologian and a Church of Scotland minister.

Show your loving kindness tonight, O Lord, to all who stand in need of your help. Be with the weak to make them strong and with the strong to make them gentle. Cheer the lonely with your company and the distracted with your solitude. Prosper your church in the fulfilment of her mighty task, and grant your blessing to all who have toiled today in Christ’s name. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by John Ortberg, a contemporary author, speaker, and former pastor. This is an excerpt from his book “The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God’s Best Version of You.”

God made you to flourish—to receive life from outside yourself, creating vitality within yourself and producing blessing beyond yourself. Flourishing is God’s gift and plan, and when you flourish you are in harmony with God, other people, creation, and yourself. Flourishing is not measured by outward signs such as income, possessions, or attractiveness. It means becoming the person He had in mind in creating you. Flourishing means moving toward God’s best version of you. As God helps you grow, you will change, but you will always be you. An acorn can grow into an oak tree, but it cannot become a rose bush. It can be a healthy oak or it can be a stunted oak—but it won’t be a shrub. You will always be you—a growing, healthy you or a languishing you—but God did not create you to be anybody else. He pre-wired your temperament. He determined your natural gifts and talents. He made you feel certain passions and desires. He planned your body and mind. Your uniqueness is God-designed. Some people think that if they seek to grow spiritually, they will have to become someone else. But God won’t discard your raw material. He redirects it. Before Paul met Jesus, he was a brilliant, passionate zealot who persecuted people. Afterward, he was a brilliant passionate zealot who sacrificed himself for people…God doesn’t make anything and then decide to throw it away. He creates and then if there is a problem, he rescues…Here is the good news: When you flourish, you become more you. You become more that person God had in mind when he thought you up. You don’t just become holier. You become you-ier. You will change; God wants you to become a “new creation.” But “new” doesn’t mean completely different; instead, it’s like an old piece of furniture that gets restored to its intended beauty.

PRAYER:

From the Mozarabic Breviary, a liturgical rite of the Latin Church once used in the Iberian Peninsula in what is now Spain and Portugal. Developed during Visigoth rule in the 500s.

O Lord,

make us flourish like pure lilies

in the courts of your house,

and make us display to your people

the fragrance of good works

and the example of a godly life;

through your mercy, O our God,

you are blessed,

and live and govern all things, now and forever. Amen.

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