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MEDITATION:

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

In Lydia’s conversion there are many points of interest. It was brought about by providential circumstances. She was a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, but just at the right time for hearing Paul we find her at Philippi; providence, which is the handmaid of grace, led her to the right spot. Again, grace was preparing her soul for the blessing–grace preparing for grace. She did not know the Savior, but as a Jewess, she knew many truths which were excellent stepping-stones to a knowledge of Jesus. Her conversion took place in the use of the means. On the Sabbath she went when prayer was wont to be made, and there, prayer was heard. Never neglect the means of grace; God may bless us when we are not in his house, but we have the greater reason to hope that he will when we are in communion with his saints. Observe the words, “Whose heart the Lord opened.” She did not open her own heart. Her prayers did not do it; Paul did not do it. The Lord himself must open the heart, to receive the things which make for our peace. He alone can put the key into the hole of the door and open it and get admittance for himself. He is the heart’s master as he is the heart’s maker. The first outward evidence of the opened heart was obedience. As soon as Lydia had believed in Jesus, she was baptized. It is a sweet sign of a humble and broken heart, when the child of God is willing to obey a command which is not essential to his salvation, which is not forced upon him by a selfish fear of condemnation but is a simple act of obedience and of communion with his Master. The next evidence was love, manifesting itself in acts of grateful kindness to the apostles. Love to the saints has ever been a mark of the true convert. Those who do nothing for Christ or his church, give but sorry evidence of an “opened” heart. Lord, evermore give me an opened heart.

PRAYER:

Written by Augustine of Hippo (354-430), an early Christian theologian and philosopher. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern day Annaba, Algeria) and is viewed as one of the most important church fathers in Western Christianity.

O Lord my God, I believe in you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Insofar as I can, insofar as you have given me the power, I have sought you. I became weary and I labored. O Lord my God, my sole hope, help me to believe and never to cease seeking you. Grant that I may always and ardently seek out your countenance. Give me the strength to seek you, for you help me to find you and you have more and more given me the hope of finding you. Here I am before you with my firmness and my infirmity. Preserve the first and heal the second. Here I am before you with my strength and my ignorance. Where you have opened the door to me, welcome me at the entrance; where you have closed the door to me, open to my cry; enable me to remember you, to understand you, and to love you. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

PRAYER:

Written by Kathleen Norris, a contemporary American poet and essayist.

Bless us, Lord, as we seek Christ in the lowly mangers of this world, bless us, as we seek to honor the mystery of the Incarnation in our midst, remembering always that you made us, and all humanity in your divine image. Help us to gladly welcome today and all days, your Wisdom, your Power, your Emmanuel, your Prince of Peace. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Gary Chapman, a contemporary author, speaker, and counselor. This is an excerpt from his book “Love as a Way of Life.”

Our newspapers and television screens are filled daily with reports of our inhumanity toward one another, much of it perpetrated in the name of religion or out of personal greed. Watch any talk show and you will see that we have lost the art of meaningful dialogue. Any news program will remind us that we have little respect for those who disagree with us. Politicians and religious leaders seem to be in attack mode most of the time and rarely are willing to listen to one another. I believe that not only does love stand a chance in the world, but in fact it is our only choice. If we can come to respect one another as fellow humans who need one another and choose to look out for one another’s well-being, the potential for good is unlimited. If we fail to do so, we shall lose our dignity and we shall use the technological advances of the last fifty years to destroy one another. If we are going to solve the problems in our global society, we need the respect and meaningful dialogue that flow from love.

Is buying a homeless woman a bowl of soup or taking your daughter to the park or driving a co-worker to the mechanic when his car breaks down really going to make a difference in the world? The answer is an overwhelming yes. We might have loftier ideas of what it means to love, such as making a grand sacrifice of time or money or even giving our lives, but why should we be willing to die for someone when we won’t fill up the gas tank for her? Every trait of authentic love begins with small things. If all of us become authentic lovers, we can make a difference in a world of turmoil. Love is not only realistic but our only hope of survival.

PRAYER:

Written by Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), a Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and Christian theologian.

O fountain of love,

love our friends and teach them to love you with all their hearts,

that they may think and speak and do

only what is pleasing to you;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Mollie Schairer, a contemporary Christian author. This is an excerpt from her devotion “The Power to Love.” Jesus spoke the words, “love each other,” to his disciples just hours before his death on the cross. As he speaks them to me today, I am filled with eagerness to keep his command. Then discouragement washes over me. Jesus’ words convict me of my failures: impatience with my husband, anger toward my beautiful child, irritation with fellow believers, avoidance of others who need my love. How can I possibly show true love, Christ-like love, in every circumstance, to everyone whom God has placed in my life? Yet Jesus did not give this command without also making it possible for me—and for you—to fulfill it. Jesus spoke these words during his last Passover meal with his disciples, the night before his crucifixion. After having loved perfectly everyone he encountered throughout his life, he was about to show the world the extent of his love. He would be taking on himself all our failures to love and paying for those sins on the cross. Now, through faith in Jesus, God sees in us not the failures, but rather Jesus’ track record of perfect love. What a tremendous gift! Yet God gives us even more. We can love as Christ commanded, because we have the gift of God himself inside us, powerfully and wonderfully at work in our hearts. Jesus assured the disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit—the Counselor and Encourager. The Holy Spirit transformed the disciples from loveless deserters of Christ into bold lovers of God, distinguished from the rest of the world by their sacrificial love for one another and for those who hated them. Jesus’ promise is fulfilled for us today. As we study the Word, the Holy Spirit comes to us and transforms us into bold lovers of Christ and of everyone God places in our lives. Jesus also promised that he and the Father “will come to [the believer] and make our home with him.” God has taken up permanent residence inside us! God’s power is ours, every day, in every situation we face. It never runs out. It never fails. When we feel we have no strength and cannot manufacture a loving thought, let alone act accordingly, let us remember who resides in us. The almighty Creator of the universe even now is creating in us the desire to love others as Christ loved us. The Provider of everything necessary for the world’s welfare even now is producing through us the acts of love that serve the needs of those around us. Yes, we can love as Christ loved us. We can fulfill Jesus’ final command before his death on the cross. The power for such constant, complete, and sacrificial love resides in us, because our God resides in us. Jesus assured his disciples of this truth in so many beautiful ways. With boldness, with joy, with the power of our almighty, triune God working in us, let us love each other!

PRAYER:

The author of this prayer to the Holy Spirit is  unknown.

Come Holy Spirit dance in our souls.

Come as the fire of love and burn in our hearts.

Come, O Breath of God blow through our lives.

Come, O come, Dove of peace and beat your strong wings

above all that we do in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Les Parrott, a contemporary professor of psychology at Northwest University and co-founder of the Center for Healthy Relationships. This is an excerpt from his devotion “Love Like That.”

I’m not a softhearted poet. I’m not a people-pleasing idealist. I live with full-throttle ambition and no shortage of self-interest. I’m impatient and sometimes insecure. I jockey for position, and I like exclusive privileges. I can be judgmental, insensitive, petty and resentful. Oh, and I can be cheap and stingy. But I want to love like Jesus. Why? Because I know it’s the best way to live. When we love like Jesus, we’re lifted outside ourselves. We shed self-interest — with our spouse, our kids, friends, everyone. His brand of love sees beyond the normal range of human vision — over walls of resentment and barriers of betrayal. When we love like Jesus, we rise above petty demands and snobbish entitlement. We loosen our tightfisted anxiety and relax in a surplus of benevolence. Most of all, the Jesus model of love inspires us in following the best way to live, “the most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31b, NIV). I want to love like that.

But can anyone really love like Jesus? After all, He raised the bar of love to extraordinary heights. Love your enemies? Walk the extra mile? Turn the other cheek? Seriously? This is love beyond reason, isn’t it? Of course. And that’s the point. To love like Jesus, we need to think and feel. We need reason and emotion. Both head and heart, working together. It’s the only way to bring perfect love into our imperfect lives. Here’s the truth: When you open your heart, love changes your mind. Let that sentence soak in. Your mind can do an about-face and be transformed when it receives a divine impulse from your heart. You’ll experience a revolution in your thinking when you allow your heart to enter the conversation.

PRAYER:

From The PC-USA Book of Common Worship.

God of love,

as in Jesus Christ you gave yourself to us,

so may we give ourselves to you,

 living according to your holy will.

Keep our feet firmly in the way where Christ leads us;

make our mouths speak the truth that Christ teaches us;

fill our bodies with the life that is Christ within us.

In his holy name we pray. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Alicia Stanton. The following was an excerpt from a commencement speech she gave as a representative of her graduating class.

Once upon a time there were two men named James Watson and Francis Crick. They went on a quest to discover the structure of DNA, arguably the most important molecule in the universe. As you might guess, there were also other people on that same quest. There was a physicist named Max Delbrück, who had made some speculations based on quantum physics, and there was a biochemist named Erwin Chargaff, who was studying the chemical makeup of the molecule. There was also Rosalind Franklin, an X-ray crystallographer who was focusing on visualizing the crystal structure of DNA. All of these scientists contributed important information to the discovery, but none of them was actually able to figure it out. So, back to our heroes, Watson and Crick. These two connected the dots between all the pieces of information from the other scientists and correctly solved the puzzle. Because they made connections between different branches of science, they were able to see a bigger picture that nobody just working within their own narrow fields could have ever seen. Brilliant, right?  Now let me share my experience. It is somewhat related. I was a molecular biology major finishing my first semester when my attention was caught by a paper taped to one of the doors where I attended church. It was an advertisement for the editing minor, and it changed my life…For  me, the most rewarding things I have done at school  have come as I have found opportunities to combine my diverse interests—like working on writing curricula for science classes and writing magazine articles for the College of Life Sciences magazine. Connecting the ­different parts of my education has been a huge blessing for me. That brings me to the thought that I would like to share with you. I think that making our lives as connected as possible is helpful. This doesn’t just apply in the academic world, where we make connections between ideas and disciplines. It also applies in our daily living, in the way we connect truths we know in our hearts with decisions about our words and actions. It is not easy. I don’t think any of us will go through life without facing situations in which we will feel tremendous pressure to disconnect our words or our actions from our knowledge of what is right—whether it be a high-stakes social situation, an important business deal, or an uncomfortable question from an angry accuser…Are you the same person wherever you are and whatever you are doing—the person our Heavenly Father wants you to be and the person you know you should be?  I think there is a lot of spiritual safety and peace in being able to answer yes to that ­question—in knowing that all the parts of your life are firmly connected back to the most important truths of Christ’s gospel. In summary, when we make connections between different aspects of living—the physical, the intellectual, the emotional, and the spiritual—we see the big picture more clearly. When we integrate our different talents and interests, we find unexpected opportunities to do good. And, perhaps most important, when we apply the gospel to all aspects of our life, when we avoid compartmentalizing our roles or compromising our values, we stay true to ourselves and connected to our purpose for living.

PRAYER:

From the Mozarabic Rite, a liturgical rite of the Latin Church once used generally in the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania), in what is now Spain and Portugal.  Developed during Visigoth (Arian Christian) rule of the Iberian peninsula  in the 500s AD.

Make us, O Lord, to flourish like pure lilies in the courts of Your house, and to show forth to the faithful the fragrance of good words, and the example of a Godly life, through Your mercy and grace. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Craig Denison, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt  from his devotional First15.

The world is an exhausted place. We search constantly for what should be most important or what deserves our attention from moment to moment. As the tides of societal values ebb and flow, so do our affections. We invest value and love into that which offers us nothing in return. And unfortunately. the cares of this world have creeped into the people of God. Our gatherings are often marked by complexity and exhaustion. With program goals and achievements, we make complex what God intended to be so blessedly simple. We give our attention, energy, and love to that which isn’t always rooted in simply loving God…All of Christianity boils down to this one pursuit. And because we are to pursue loving God in all we do, every single thing we do, whether it involves work, family, friends, church, entertainment, school, or solitude, is meant to be marked by the simplicity of loving God. At the end of our days, the way we loved our heavenly Father will matter most. Our love for God matters more than any achievement, success, or program. It matters more than any possession, status, or relationship. And when we align our perspective with the first and greatest commandment, everything else comes into focus. When we pursue loving God above all else, all other pursuits fall into their proper places. We were not created to offer our affections to anyone or anything but God first and foremost. To do otherwise is simply idolatry, and it will ruin the heavenly peace and simplicity God intends for his children. We create our own golden calves and ask them to satisfy us in ways only God can. We look to the world to offer us love it never had to begin with. But your heavenly Father is a wellspring of love and affection for you…You will never be satisfied until you rest in the powerfully simple truth of Scripture that God has loved you and will always love you. And you will never experience the fullness of what Christ died to give you until you respond to his ceaseless love by crowning him Lord and loving him with every fiber of your being. May you come to realize the beauty and fulfillment of a life lived in pursuit of God above all else as you spend time in prayer.

PRAYER:

Written by Natalie Regoli, a contemporary Christian author and lawyer.

Father, my Miracle-Worker, I have been so focused on things of this mortal world that I have neglected the life inside of me. Transform my mind and spirit and dig up the treasure You have planted deep within me. Change my thoughts so that I treat my body like a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in me. Guard my lips and make only Your words come from my mouth. Lead me by Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Jimmy Tai-On Lin, a contemporary ministry leader of “The Back to God Hour.” He has ministered to over 1.3 billion Chinese speaking people around the world through radio, literature, CD/DVD, Internet, and text messages.

Our relationships change and become more complicated as we grow. We start out as children with parents and (probably) siblings and cousins. Then, as time goes on, friends, neighbors, coworkers, spouses, in-laws, and more come into the picture. As relationships change, we need time to adjust to new roles. It is not always easy to look up to a new boss who used to be your peer, nor for a newlywed to appreciate the close bond that his or her spouse may have with family. Paul says, “In your relationships with one another, you should have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” Christ gave up his glory in heaven and humbled himself to become a human being like us. As a result, we have a Savior “who has been tempted in ­every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin”; therefore, Christ can “empathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). Since he understands how we feel in different relationships, we can approach the Lord “with confidence” to “receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). For a relationship to work, both parties need to follow Jesus’ example of standing in the other’s shoes. Are we willing to humble ourselves and submit to others “out of reverence for Christ”?

PRAYER:

Written by Mollie Schairer, a contemporary Christian author.

Dear Jesus, I confess to you my failures to love. I thank and praise you for your work of paying for all those failures, and loving perfectly in my place. I trust your promise that the Father will give me anything I ask in your name. I now pray for greater and greater Christ-like love in all my relationships. Work in me to bear more and more fruit, to your glory. In your saving name, I confidently pray. Amen.

PRAYER:

Written by Mollie Schairer, a contemporary Christian author.

Dear Jesus, I confess to you my failures to love. I thank and praise you for your work of paying for all those failures, and loving perfectly in my place. I trust your promise that the Father will give me anything I ask in your name. I now pray for greater and greater Christ-like love in all my relationships. Work in me to bear more and more fruit, to your glory. In your saving name, I confidently pray. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Joey Bonifacio, a contemporary pastor. This is an excerpt from his book “The Lego Principle.”

Open any LEGO box and you’ll find a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. There are red, blue, green, brown, yellow, orange, white, black, gray, and other color pieces. There are fat, flat, rectangular, round, square, thick, thin, long, and short pieces. Though there is a wide assortment of LEGO pieces, they are all designed to do one thing:  connect.  To connect means to attach, to associate, to bond. LEGO bricks and pieces are designed with studs on top to interlock with the bottom of each piece. While LEGO bricks are so varied, they all have one purpose: to connect at the top and at the bottom. Just like LEGO pieces that connect at the top and at the bottom, discipleship is about connecting to God with one another. This is the LEGO Principle: Connect first to God and then to one another. It does not matter what one’s skin color, social background, age, or denomination is – God designed us all to connect to Him and then to one another. Jesus said the foremost commandment is about connecting with God: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. Then He said, “The second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” These two commandments combine to become the LEGO principle: Connect to God. Connect to one another. This to Jesus was what it meant to be His disciple.

PRAYER:

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

Father, help me to be all you want me to be. No matter how odd I appear in this world. You know me like no one else. You knitted me together in my mother’s womb You want to walk with me, to talk with me, as you did with Adam and Eve. I want this very much. Apart from living my life with you, connected to you like branches in a vine, I can do nothing. But with you all things are possible. Please, as your servant Paul wrote, “let your mind be in me.” Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Dallas Willard  (1935-2013), an American philosopher and writer on Christian spiritual formation.  This is an excerpt from his work “Renewing the Christian Mind: Essays, Interviews, and Talks.”

Every person should have regular periods in life when he or she has nothing to do. Periods of solitude and silence are excellent practices for helping us learn how to do that. The law that God has given for our benefit tells us that one-seventh of our time should be devoted to doing nothing—no work, not by ourselves or any of our family, employees, or animals. That includes, of course, religious work. This is Sabbath. What do you do in solitude or silence? Well, so far as things to “get done,” nothing at all. As long as you are doing “things to get done,” you have not broken human contact. So don’t go into solitude and silence with a list. Can we enjoy things in solitude and silence? Yes, but don’t try to. Just be there. Don’t try to get God to do anything. Just be there. He will find you. Even lay aside your ideas as to what solitude and silence are supposed to accomplish in your spiritual growth. You will discover incredibly good things. One is that we have a soul. Another, that God is near and the universe is brimming with goodness. Another, that others aren’t as bad as we often think. But don’t try to discover these, or you won’t. You’ll just be busy and find more of your own doings.

The cure for too-much-to-do is solitude and silence, for there we find that we are safely more than what we do. Thus, the cure of loneliness is solitude and silence, for there we also discover in how many ways we are never alone. When we go into solitude and silence, we need to be relatively comfortable. Don’t be a hero in this or in any spiritual discipline. You will need rest. Sleep until you wake up truly refreshed. And you will need to stay there long enough for the inner being to become different. Muddy water becomes clear only if we let it be still for a while. You will know that this finding of soul and God is happening by an increased sense of who you are and a lessening of the feeling that you have to do this, that, and the other thing that befalls your lot in life. That harassing, hovering feeling of “have to” largely comes from the vacuum in our soul, where we ought to be at home with our Father in his kingdom. As the vacuum is rightly filled, we will increasingly know that we do not have to do many of those things—not even those we might want to do.

PRAYER:

Written by Ray Simpson, a contemporary author. The prayer is from his book Liturgies from Lindisfarne, which are drawn from early and contemporary Celtic devotion, Anglican, Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholic resources.

Eternal Spirit of God, breathe on us that we may know quiet and contented minds and lay all our burdens on Christ; take from us all anxiety and disquiet and draw our hearts to the Father by the power of your love; lead us to the peace that passes all understanding, to the silence which reveals you among us. Amen.

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