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MEDITATION:

Written by James C. Fenhagen, an Episcopal rector, author, theological educator, seminary president, and lecturer. This is an excerpt from his book “Invitation to Holiness.” ritten by Rick Warren, a contemporary evangelical pastor and author.

The biblical use of the word “righteousness” is the moral equivalent of what we mean when we speak of holiness. It incorporates such concerns as a passion for justice and a concern for truth along with the need to live an ethically responsible life. It involves reflecting in what we do the Christian moral vision by which we understand who we are. Righteousness is the human expression of holiness embodying a vision rooted in moral perspective. In the New Testament the same word is used for righteousness that is used for justification. As New Testament scholar John Koenig puts it, righteousness is God making things right.”

PRAYER:

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

O God of strength,

you surpass all understanding,

and you mercifully give your people mercy and judgment.

Empower us to faithfully love you,

and to walk this day in the way of righteousness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

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

Righteousness is a big word in the Bible. It’s used hundreds of times. The Bible says that God loves righteousness, and that God is righteous. It says that one day God is going to judge the world in righteousness. Psalm 23 says that God leads us in the paths of righteousness. So what in the world does this word mean? I once looked it up in a theological dictionary, and its definition went on for 27 pages! But I’ll boil it down to two things: Righteousness is a relationship and a lifestyle. Righteousness simply means being right with God. The Good News is that God made us right with himself through Jesus’ death as a payment for our sins. Because of Jesus’ death, we can have a personal relationship with God. Righteousness is also a lifestyle. It means living right as God intends.

So why should you care about being right with God? Because it’s the only way to live. When you are disconnected from God, you’re not really living; you just exist. Most people in the world aren’t really fully alive. They just exist, trying to make it to the weekend. But to be disconnected from your Creator who made you for a purpose is nonsense. Life is not about the acquisition of things or the achievement of goals. Life is about getting to know God—the one who loves you and made you for a purpose. You’re not really living until you’re right with God and have a relationship with him. You can’t blame God, because he gives you the choice right now to have a relationship with him. He wants you to choose to love him! And when you do, you will be made right with him. It will change your life—here on earth and for eternity!

PRAYER:

From the Roman Breviary, the book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic 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;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Timothy Keller, a contemporary pastor, speaker, and author. This is excerpted from his article “Authority.”

The root idea of modernity is the overturning of all authority outside of the self. In the 18th century European ‘Enlightenment’ thinkers insisted that the modern person must question all tradition, revelation, and external authority by subjecting them to the supreme court of his or her own reason and intuition. We are our own moral authority.  In spite of this tectonic philosophical shift, modern society nonetheless continued to be dominated by relatively stable institutions for a long time. People still were able to root their identities to a great degree in family and clan, in local civic communities, and in their work or vocation. All that seems now to be passing because of the ‘acid’ of the modern principle, namely that individual happiness must come before anything else. Marriage and family, workplace and career, neighborhood and civic community—none of these institutions now remain stable long enough for individuals to depend on them. …
 Many years ago as a young Christian my attention was arrested by an article on ‘Authority’ by John Stott. Stott asked, “Why should people believe that the Bible is God’s Word written, inspired by his Spirit and authoritative over their lives?” This was a big question for me. Stott answered that we do not believe it simply because we want to be dogmatic and certain about our own beliefs, nor because the church has consistently taught this (though it has), nor because we just ‘feel’ the Bible is true as we read it. “No. The overriding reason for accepting the divine inspiration and authority of Scripture is plain loyalty to Jesus…Our understanding of everything is conditioned by what Jesus taught. And that includes his teaching about the Bible. We have no liberty to exclude anything from Jesus’ teaching and say, ‘I believe what he taught about this but not what he taught about that.’ What possible right do we have to be selective?”   Stott’s question is like a hammer blow to our contemporary way of life. We feel strongly that we have the right, even the obligation to select what parts of Jesus teaching we can accept and what parts we cannot. But that makes no sense. Why should you trust in him as Savior if you are wiser and smarter than he is? Either he is who he said he is, and his views judge our views, or he was lying or deluded about being the Son of God. So Jesus’ authority and the absolute authority of the Bible stand or fall together.

PRAYER:

From the Mozarabic Rite, developed during the Visigoth rule of the Iberian peninsula in the 500s.

Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord,

that your Word may go forth

and give light and understanding

to nourish the hearts of the simple.

Set our desires on your commandments,

so that we may receive with open heart

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Adam York, a contemporary Christian author.

You could say that our culture has an authority problem. Fifty years ago, respect for authority was the rule rather than the exception. Job titles like president, senator, general, or reverend used to be enough to demand people be treated with authority. The reasoning was simple: Somebody thought enough of those people to put them in positions of authority so they could be respected and trusted. Respect for authority has eroded in the span of a few decades because of a lack of trust. People used to trust their authorities, then their authorities betrayed them (at least in popular opinion). In addition to the trust issue, we tend to see authority as an encroachment on our freedom to do what we want, when we want. If someone has authority, it means he or she is in a position to wield power and command over things, but we don’t like anyone–or anything, for that matter–to have power over us.

Authority is a word that comes up frequently when people talk about Scripture. When we say the Bible has authority in our lives, we mean what’s written in it establishes truth and determines how we are to live as Christians. But how can the Bible do that? And how do we not allow our personal authority issues to conflict with the role God’s Word is supposed to play in our lives? At the root of our objections to authority is our sense of entitlement. We believe we have the right to do anything we want to do, and we’re ready to cry “foul” the moment someone or something infringes on those rights. We’re kidding ourselves if we think that’s true. We were purposefully imagined and crafted into being by the God of the universe. He’s the One who made us, so His is the ultimate authority in our lives. As the One who made everything, God is really the only being in all the universe who can rightly claim “rights.” He’s the One with all the authority, and the Bible, as God’s Word, carries that authority in its pages. That means the Bible isn’t just a book. It’s not like Poor Richard’s Almanac or another book of wise sayings. It doesn’t contain merely suggestions or advice. To say the Bible has authority is to recognize its great differences from other books… Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we find that when we go to the Bible to read it, it actually reads us. We see ourselves measured against its commands. Our true motivations are revealed in its characters. And the goodness and grace of the gospel drips off its pages.

PRAYER:

Written by The Lasallian Brothers, a religious teaching organization founded by Jean-Baptiste de LaSalle (1641-1719) in France and is now based in Rome.

Let us pause and remember that the God Who created us, Who redeemed us, and Who calls us to holiness and wholeness, is forever with us. We are God’s people and we continually live in His presence. Glory to You, Source of All Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit. As it was, is now, and forever shall be. It is You Who nourishes us through Word and Sacrament. All glory and praise to You. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Toby Sumpter, a contemporary pastor and author. This is an excerpt from his article “A Brief Primer on God’s Ordained Spheres of Authority.”

In this world, authority is inescapable. The only question is whether human authorities will submit themselves to God—the origin of all lawful authority and power—and so limit their jurisdictions according to God’s word or whether they will make it up as they go along, blindly grasping and demanding and oppressing. Power is not evil, but power is only used for good when it ministers according to God’s creational design. The foundation for all right government and true liberty in this fallen world is self-government, and this is only possible through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. While God is free to cause great reformations working from the bottom of society to the top or from the top all the way down, He always works from the inside out, remaking people one at a time, saving them and empowering them for obedience in families, churches, and society. Families were designed to care for the health, welfare, and education of their members. Churches were designed to proclaim the gospel, administer the sacraments, and discipline their members. Nations were designed to adjudicate disputes, prosecute crimes, carryout just penalties, protect the innocent, and ensure equal weights and measures. These powers are the respective glories of these spheres of sovereignty. When each sphere does what it was created to do, the people of that land are happy and free.

PRAYER:

Written by Debbie McDaniel, a contemporary Christian writer.

Dear God, we pray for our churches, our workplaces, our schools, and our communities. We ask for your help in being a light in every place you’ve given us to walk. Give us care and wisdom as we live and work with one another. Help us to look to another’s needs before our own, and to always be ready to serve those around us by the power of your love within us. Even in every dark and broken place, for the times we feel like we’re barely making it through, give us your joy Lord, your grace, and the powerful presence of your peace.We pray for all those in authority, for every leader of our nation, that you would give them your wisdom and discernment as they lead. We pray that their hearts would be directed first to you, that they would recognize where their true help and strength come from. We ask that you guard their coming and going, that you would be their refuge and their peace. We pray that you would surround every leader with wise counsel, that they would be humble and kind, patient and loving through their actions and words. We pray that their faith in you would be unwavering, strong, resolute, and firm.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Allan Descheneau, a contemporary pastor and owner of the “Art of the Christian Ninja” blogsite.  This is an excerpt from his work “God’s Established Order.”

Part of fearing God means doing what He says, and none of us does that all the time. One of the most amazing things about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God sent His Son into a world full of rebels. We don’t want to do things His way, we hate Him to His face, we argue with His teaching and His plan, we corrupt His Law and His Word, and in our rebellion we become blind, lame, and deaf to truth. We can’t change our hearts. We won’t choose Him as our Lord. And God’s response was to send Jesus to break the power of sin and make it possible for us to come back to Him. He takes a world of rebels and invites them to admit He is King.

One of the main things that Christians recognize, that non-believers don’t, is that we absolutely need God to be our highest authority. We’re no good on our own. When humans set things up without listening to God, we end up creating all sorts of horrible and dangerous chaos…Christianity seeks to help the weak, sick, hopeless, helpless, downtrodden, poor, and outcast. We champion peace and humility…When humans abandon God’s rule and authority and set up our own kingdoms, we utterly mess things up. Why? Because in this world there are only two teams: Jesus and Satan. And where God’s Son is abandoned there is only one team left, and it isn’t a good one.

PRAYER:

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

Beloved Lover of humankind, soften our hearts so that we too may have compassion for those who suffer, so that we too may give gladly of our time and treasure to those in need. May nothing we do be done in strife, but in confidence and in  peace. May nothing we do be done in foolish pride, but in lowliness of mind let us esteem others as greater than ourselves. May we esteem the needs of others as greater than our own. May we look with kindness and compassion upon their burdens. May our hearts become as tender wombs prepared to receive your grace, that in due time may we bring forth the joyful fruit of your Spirit. May this mind be in us, which was also in Christ Jesus. That being God he made himself impoverished, and took upon himself the form of a servant, humbled himself, and was obedient unto death — yet a death that has brought all to life. May we suspect our own power to say yes to whatever our God asks of us. We ask this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Bobby Schuller, a contemporary Presbyterian pastor, author, and televangelist.

To have authority, we must live under authority. The Centurion didn’t have authority because he was tough, he had authority because he knelt to Caesar. Similarly, we have authority because we kneel before the throne of God. If we are not submitted to the authority of His Kingdom in our lives, we can’t act in His authority. This doesn’t mean that we have to be perfect; we live by grace, right? But we still should strive to live humble and holy lives in light of Jesus’ goodness to us. We should not live in blatant iniquity and pretend that everything is fine. Instead, we should really desire to do things God’s way!  Here’s an example. Imagine you were traveling internationally and you lost your ATM card. You have a bank account, conceivably with some money in it, but since you lost your card, you lost access to your money. It’s not that the funds were stolen or disappeared, it’s just that you couldn’t retrieve them. I think this is what happens when we are living in rebellion against God: when He presses something onto our heart to change and we continue to resist His truth, it’s like losing that ATM card. Jesus isn’t going to take all your cash, but you are going to lose access to it until you get your card back. Friend, I encourage you to “get your card back” and take told hold of your authority in the Kingdom of Heaven! Submit to Jesus and remember that His ways are not harmful, but helpful; they are designed to empower you to live your best life. God is a good Father and He loves you, so activate His strength in you by letting Him have your life — body, mind and spirit!

PRAYER:

Written by William Temple (1881-1944), a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury.

O Almighty God,

the Father of all humanity,

turn, we pray, the hearts of all peoples and their rulers,

that by the power of your Holy Spirit

peace may be established among the nations

on the foundation of justice, righteousness and truth;

through him who was lifted up on the cross

to draw all people to himself,

your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written  by Cindy Trimm, a contemporary speaker, author, and advocate. This is an excerpt from her work “Walking in Supernatural Power and Authority.”

The word for authority in Greek is “exousia”…which,  according to Strong’s Concordance means, “authority, especially moral authority, influence, (b) of a spiritual power, and hence of an earthly power: right or privilege, conferredpower; delegated empowerment (authorization): delegated power as in authority God gives to His saints.” So what can we glean from this word study?  Spiritual maturity gives you the divine right to exercise God’s divine might!  If I were to ask you, “How is the power of God being manifested in your life?”…what would your answer be? If you’re not seeing God’s power evidenced in your everyday life, I would challenge you to consider where you are in the spiritual maturation process. Consider whether your lack of answers or breakthroughs or whatever it is you need that isn’t transpiring is a power problem or an authority problem…God’s will is that you mature spiritually so you can walk in the kind of authority that allows you to wield the power He has made available through His death and resurrection, This type of spiritual growth is a process. It requires intentionality. It requires you to be deliberate about what you are thinking, studying, speaking, pursuing, and doing. You ware always one decision away from walking in the fullness God has for you.

PRAYER:

Written by Luci Shaw is a contemporary American writer of poetry and essays.

Lord Jesus, you gave away your divine power to become enfleshed–one of us. Help us to give away what power we receive from you, that we, though insignificant, may be like showers of refreshing water to those around us. Amen.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Joel Vande Werken, a contemporary American pastor.

The ascension changes the way God’s people understand history. As faithful Jews, Jesus’ first disciples knew Psalm 2 well. They understood how futile it was for humans to try to stand against God. They knew that someday God would call the world to account. And now they knew how. Originally, Psalm 2 probably celebrated the crowning of Israel’s kings. But those who knew Jesus saw more in its words: a prophecy of the reign of Christ. As the author of Hebrews notes, God did not even give the angels—much less human kings—the kind of authority we read of the Son having in this psalm. In the ascension and reign of Jesus, God proclaims that his Son is the “heir of all things,” appointed to rule over world history and the universe (Hebrews 1:2).

There is a warning in these words. If Jesus truly is God’s Son and Lord of all, we must take his power and authority seriously. We have to surrender our lives to him. He suffered the punishment for human sin, so Christ can rightfully pour out his wrath on sin and its effects and call on the world to resist it. But the goal is not merely for people to submit to Christ, but also for them to find refuge in the ascended Lord of all. Jesus is God’s appointed provider of salvation. Will you receive his refuge today?

PRAYER:

Written by Ambrose, a bishop in Milan in the 4th century (339-397).  He contributed to theology and doctrine of the early Christian Church and influenced Augustine of Hippo.

Creator God, O Lord of all, who rule the skies, you clothe the day in radiant color, bid the night in quietness serve the gracious sway of sleep, that weary limbs, restored to labor’s use, may rise again, and jaded minds abate their fret,  and mourners find release from pain.

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MEDITATION:

Today’s reflection  is an excerpt from the  book “Seeking God’s Peace in a Nuclear Age: A Call to Disciples of Christ.”

As members of churches we are also members of other groups and institutions –political parties, economic organizations, regional, and national associations. Each of these constituencies has its vested interests, its value systems, and its authority figures. We cannot deny our participation in these groups; in fact, it is of the utmost importance that these memberships be acknowledged, lest we become unconsciously possessed by them. But the challenge before us as followers of Jesus Christ is to make conscious decisions, as Christians, honoring our commitment to Him above the claims and assumptions of every other authority.

PRAYER:

Written by Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Bishop of Geneva. He was known for his deep faith and gentle approach to the religious divisions resulting from the Reformation. He wrote on the topic of spiritual direction and formation.

Lord, I am yours, and I must belong to no one but you. My soul is yours, and must live only by you. My will is yours, and must love only for you. I must love you as my first cause, since I am from you. I must love you as my end and rest, since I am for you. I must love you more than my own being, since my being subsists by you. I must love you more than myself, since I am all yours and all in you. Amen.

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