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Written by Matthew Dickerson, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from his work “Leading with Intimacy, Even When it Hurts.”

Lord, I thank you for the intimacy we have with you, through the Holy Spirit. We know that our restored relationship with you was entirely your work, reaching out to us. We thank you for what Jesus did on the cross to restore our intimacy with you, and also for the example he set. Give us the strength to follow Jesus’ example of honesty and vulnerability as we seek to deepen the relationships you have called us to. Amen.



Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. [Revelation 3:20].

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Written by Jennifer Tucker, a contemporary professor and author. This is an excerpt from her book “Breath as Prayer.”

Anxiety. Some of us fight it, some of us deny it, and some of us may need help managing it — but I don’t think there’s a single one of us who hasn’t experienced its suffocating grip at some point in our life… when God tells us to not be anxious or fearful, it is not with a voice of judgment and condemnation, but with a voice of gentleness and compassion. He knows we will experience anxiety. He knows we will worry. He knows we will be afraid. These are common human emotions. So, He comes to us as, not as a harsh judge, but as a kind Father, gently scooping us and all our worries into His arms, and lovingly reminding us, “You don’t need to worry. You don’t have to be afraid. I’m here. I’ll take care of you.” I have two daughters, and I think of all the times they came to me in the middle of the night, afraid of the dark or a noise or their own scary dreams. I didn’t get angry because they felt afraid. I let them climb into my bed and curl up in my arms, and I held them and gently told them they didn’t need to be afraid, that they were not alone, that they were safe and loved and held. That’s what God does with us.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. [Deuteronomy 31:16]

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Written
by Ian Wooldridge, a contemporary pastor and guide on the Dwell app.

The philosopher and master teacher of the Way of Jesus, Dallas Willard, once said, “The main thing God gets out of your life is into the achievements you accomplish. It’s the person you become.” Our world is so accustomed to measuring value, worth, and esteem on the outward and the externals…But what if actual success looked a whole lot differently than how the world would define success? You see, in the ancient mind, to be successful had more to do with virtue than it did with talent or skill. The writer David Brooks differentiates between what he calls “resume virtues” and “eulogy virtues.”  What if the great invitation before you and me as followers of Jesus is to greatly consider our “eulogy virtues?” That is, how we want to be remembered when we die? Rarely, if ever, are people’s accomplishments praised at their funeral. Usually, it’s the kind of person who they were and became that gets remembered. How do you want to be remembered? These are the kind of things that God sees, honors, and blesses. And we have the power today, through our choices, to give shape to these eulogy virtues. Ironically enough, we do our best work and produce our best accomplishments when we remember that our heart, not our hands, is where we must first invest.

The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  [1 Samuel 16:7]

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Written by Timothy Keller (1950-2023, An American pastor, theologian, and Christian Apologist. This is an excerpt from a talk he gave in 2019.

Here’s four reasons why we’re very ineffective when it comes to sharing our faith. One is pride. We actually don’t like people who disbelieve and we get argumentative when we talk to them and we get irritated with them. So one’s pride. One is fear. Especially in a place like New York where relationships are everything. It’s scary to open your mouth in a place like New York. It could really hurt you vocationally. It could really hurt you, reputationally. It really could. So one is pride, one is fear, and one is pessimism. You look at some people and you say, why should I stick my neck out and risk what I’ll be risking when this person will never become a Christian. This isn’t the kind of person to ever become a Christian. And then the last is just simply indifference. In many cases, you just say, I’m tired. It’s difficult, and my life is hard enough. What Jesus is saying is in all cases, it’s a lack of joy.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  [Romans 15:13]

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

Many of the great evangelists who have touched the world for God, including such men as Jonathan Edwards and Charles Finney, have declared that those who insist on Christianity being made “too easy” are betraying the Church. Jesus laid down the terms of Christian discipleship, and there are some among us who criticize, “Those words of Jesus sound harsh and cruel.” This is where we stand: receiving Jesus Christ into your life means that you have made an attachment to the Person of Christ that is revolutionary in that it reverses the life and transforms it completely! It is complete in that it leaves no part of the life unaffected. It exempts no area of the life of the total man. By faith and through grace, you have now formed an exclusive relationship with your Savior, Jesus Christ. All of your other relationships are now conditioned and determined by your one relationship to your Savior. To receive Jesus Christ, then, is to attach ourselves in faith to His holy person, to live or die, forever! He must be first and last and all!

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. [Matthew 10:38]

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Written by the Lead Like Jesus team, an organization founded by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges that promotes a transformational leadership model based on following Jesus.

Jesus, please train me in living life the way You lived. Teach me to seek the Father; shape my heart, head, hands, and habits. Make me like You, I pray in Your name, amen.

Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.  [1 Timothy 4:7-8]

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Written by Sarah Young, a contemporary writer. This is an excerpt from her book “Jesus Calling for Moms.”

Stop your incessant worry-planning! Draw your mind back from the future to the present moment, where My Presence lovingly awaits you. Seek My Face with a smile in your heart, knowing that I take delight in you. Talk with Me about all that concerns you and the tasks that are weighing on you. Call out to Me for help as you set priorities according to My will. Then keep returning your focus to Me and to the work at hand. Inviting Me into your activities increases your Joy and helps you to be more effective. When you need to take a break, remember that I am your resting place. My everlasting arms are always available to support you and hold you close. When you relax in My company — waiting with Me for a time — this demonstrates genuine trust in Me. As you prepare to return to your tasks, make the effort to include Me in your plans. This protects you from worrying; it also helps you stay close to Me, enjoying My Presence.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? [Luke 12:25-26]

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Today’s meditation was posted by the pastors at K-LOVE, an organization created to distribute media that inspires and encourages people to have a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ.

Waterloo, New York, is widely recognized as the birthplace of Memorial Day as a state and federal holiday. The purpose was to honor the sacrifices made to preserve the freedom, peace, and future of this nation. The tradition keeps the memory of thousands who have made the ultimate sacrifice. There are thousands of heroic stories that can be shared on this day. These are stories of lives cut short and families losing spouses, siblings, children, and parents. The losses have been enormous, and the freedom that has been preserved is priceless.  Our freedom has come at so high a price we dare not squander it by seeking only to serve our own interests. We are free to live at liberty and pursue the happiness found in seeking to do the will of Almighty God. We can use our freedom as an opportunity to bless and serve others rather than using it to gratify our own desires.  The freedom we enjoy was not purchased with gold or silver but with the blood, sweat, and tears of the ones that we honor today. They died so that we might live!  …There is no greater love than sacrificial love. Therefore, it is suitable to honor our loved ones and their sacrifice. So may we use the freedom that they bought to proclaim the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus!  As you remember the lives of those, who sacrificed for your freedom, ask God how you can be an instrument of His love. 

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. [John 15:13]

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Written by Jared Wilson (1988-2019), a pastor and author.This is an excerpt from his book “Unparalleled: How Christianity’s Uniqueness Makes It Compelling.

Love is not God. But God is love. So what does it mean for God to be love? It does not necessarily mean that God is simply loving. Judaism and Islam and Mormonism teach a God who loves. But when Christians teach that God is himself love, they are saying that real love itself has its origin and its essence in God. And this cannot be true unless God is a Trinity. Think about it: A solitary god cannot be love. He may learn to love. He may yearn for love. But he cannot in himself be love, because love requires an object. Real love requires relationship. In the doctrine of the Trinity we finally see how love is part of the fabric of creation; it is essential to the eternal, need-nothing Creator. From eternity past, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have been in community, in relationship. They have loved each other. That loving relationship is bound up in the very nature of God himself. If God were not a Trinity but merely a solitary divinity, he could neither be love nor be God!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. [2 Corinthians 13:14].

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Written by Uli Chi, a contemporary technical entrepreneur and executive.

To be wise requires the essential virtue of humility. And that means being willing to learn wisdom wherever it is found, even when it is found in our theological and political enemies. Humility is as difficult for those of us who follow Jesus as for anyone else. Our inability to recognize and receive genuine wisdom, particularly with regard to the treatment of the vulnerable and marginalized, betrays a lack of humility on our part. And that has serious consequences.  May we be humble enough to receive the wisdom that is the gift of the world for the church today.

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. [1 Peter 5:5]

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