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Today’s prayer is a traditional Scottish blessing.

If there is righteousness in the heart,

there will be beauty in the character.

If there is beauty in the character,

there will be harmony in the home.

If there is harmony in the home,

there will be order in the nation.

If there is order in the nation,

there will be peace in the world.

So let it be.

I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly. [Psalm 40:10]

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Written by Junius Johnson, a contemporary philosopher, theologian, professor, and author.  This excerpt was written from a commentary on  C.S. Lewis’ book “The Great Divorce.”

So this whole book [The Great Divorce] is concerned with motivating the inescapable and irreducible truth that we must all of us make a choice. The choice can be ignored, but not forever; it can be delayed, but not indefinitely. In the end, to choose not to choose would still be to make a choice, because of the nature of the choice. It is not a choice between God and Satan, or even God and the self: it is the choice between submission to God or not. If we fail to choose to submit to God, eventually we will find that we have chosen not to submit.  This is the only true dualism in the universe, this is the only dichotomy that isn’t false. Absolutely everything is divided according to what is done about that choice. Lewis’ clearest and most famous example of it is the following passage: “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says in the end, ‘Thy will be done.” The divorce is the impossibility of avoiding or relativizing this choice.

The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.  [Romans 8:7]

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Written by Ruth Haley Barton, a contemporary author and spiritual director. This is adapted from Ted Loder’s “Guerrillas of Grace.”

Holy One, there is something I wanted to tell you, but there have been errands to run, bills to pay, arrangements to make, meetings to attend, friends to entertain, washing to do… and I forget what it is I wanted to say to you, and mostly I forget what I’m about or why. O God, don’t forget me, please, for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Eternal One, there is something I wanted to tell you, but my mind races with worrying and watching, with weighing and planning , with rutted slights and pothole grievances, with leaky dreams I keep trying to plug up; and my attention is preoccupied with loneliness, with doubt, and with things I covet; and I forget what it is I wanted to say to you, and how to say it honestly or how to do much of anything.

O God, don’t forget me, please, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Almighty One. There is something I wanted to tell you, but I stumble along the edge of a nameless rage, haunted by a hundred floating fears and … I forget what the real question is that I wanted to ask. and forgot to listen anyway because you seem unreal and far way, and I forgot what it is I have forgotten.

O God, don’t forget me, please, for the sake of Jesus Christ. O Father in heaven, perhaps you’ve already heard what I wanted to tell you. What I wanted to ask is forgive me, heal me, increase my courage, please. Renew in me a little of love and faith, and sense of confidence, and a vision of what it might mean to live as though you were real, and I mattered, and everyone was sister and brother. What I wanted to ask in my blundering way is don’t give up on me, don’t become too sad about me, but laugh with me, and try again with me, and I will with you, too. What I wanted to ask is for peace enough to want and work for more, for joy enough to share, and for a awareness that is keen enough to sense your presence here, now, there, then, always.

For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath. [Deuteronomy 4:31]

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Written by Meg Bucher, a contemporary author.

Jesus is love. The compassion overflowing in His heart for the people He came to save was displayed in all kinds of miracles! However, I imagine the comfort of His presence was miraculous as well, for those who had the privilege to befriend Him on earth. The apostle John was Jesus’ earthly best friend. And He wasn’t shy about it either! He refers to himself often as “the one whom Jesus loved.” In a final moment of compassion on the cross, Jesus tells John to take care of His mother, Mary.  In our everyday lives, there are people God has placed in our paths to care for. It’s important for us to move throughout our lives with awareness for others so that we can lend the same compassionate care to them Jesus does for us daily. His heart is moving on our account. The cross is all the proof we’ll ever need to remind us how He compassionately saved us for eternity. 

Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.”[ John 20:25] 

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Written by Mark D. Roberts, a contemporary author.

Gracious God, thank you for creating human beings in your image. Thank you for the value this gives us no matter how old we are. No matter how old I am, Lord, may I know that you have a purpose for my life. Moreover, may I also affirm the worth of others, whether they are young, old, or in between. 

I pray today for your church, Lord, that we will be a uniquely intergenerational community in our culture. May we know and love each other even if we are from different generations. And may we work together for your kingdom purposes.  To you be all the glory! Amen.

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time  [2 Timothy 1:9].

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Written by Matt Brown, a contemporary author.

The Bible is life–changing. Not only will reading and responding to God’s Word change your life today, but the Bible will continually change you as you keep coming back to it throughout your life. It’s not enough to sample the Word; you need to incorporate the habit of daily coming back to the Word into your life. R.A. Torrey shared what has become one of my favorite quotes, “People who pray for power but neglect the Bible abound in the church. But the power that belongs to God is stored up in the great reservoir of His own Word, the Bible. We cannot obtain or maintain God’s power in our own lives or in our work unless there is deep and frequent meditation on the Word of God.” Torrey was a longtime ministry associate of D.L. Moody who also had a passion for God’s Word and based his whole ministry on it. In one of my favorite stories about D.L. Moody, he shares: A quickening that will last must come through the word of God. A man stood up in one of our meetings and said he hoped for enough out of the series of meetings to last him all his life. I told him he might as well try to eat enough breakfast at one time to last him a lifetime. That is a mistake that people are making; they are running to religious meetings and they think the meetings are going to do the work. But if these don’t bring you into closer contact with the word of God, the whole impression will be gone in three months. If you really want to grow in your Christian life, you need to keep coming back to the Word of God.  It’s not enough to read the Bible once and then move on. Each of us need daily manna from heaven that God gives as we come back to His Word each day.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [1 John 1:1]

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This prayer is attributed to Nicetas of Remesiana (335-414), a bishop in the Roman province of Dacia Mediterranea. He composed sacred music and served as a missionary.

You, Christ, are the king of glory,

Son of the eternal Father.

When you took our nature to save mankind

You did not shrink from birth in the Virgin’s womb.

You overcame the power of death

Opening the Father’s kingdom to all who believe in you.

Enthroned at God’s right hand in the glory of the Father,

You will come in judgment according to your promise.

You redeemed your people by your precious blood.

Come, we implore you, to our aid.

Grant us with the saints

a place in eternal glory.

Lord, save your people

And bless your inheritance.

Rule them and uphold them

Forever and ever.

Day by day we praise you:

We acclaim you now and to all eternity.

In your goodness, Lord, keep us free from sin.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.

May your mercy always be with us, Lord,

For we have hoped in you.

In you, Lord, we put our trust:

We shall not be put to shame.

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. [Micah 7:7]

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Written by Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), a Spanish priest and theologian.

Love consists in sharing
what one has
and what one is
with those one loves.
Love ought to show itself in deeds
more than in words.

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” [1 John 3:18]

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Written by Mary Fairchild, a contemporary Christian pastor, writer, and editor.

Dear Jesus, please hear my prayer. I go along each day, trying to run my life my own way. I forget to let go and give you control. I wonder why things aren’t going the way I want them to go. I forget to stop and ask what you want, Lord. Please help me to give you control, Jesus. I want to follow you. I want what you desire for me. Help me to realize that when you close one door, you open the one you want me to walk through. Help me also to realize that what I desire may not be what is meant for me, or what is best for me. Maybe it will lead me away from what your great plan is for me. Lord, let me accept each day as a gift. Let me follow the path you choose for me. Help me to be thankful for what you give me and not to worry about my needs. I trust you will take care of all my needs. Remind me that my role is to care for those around me and focus on those who need my help. Help me not to be judgmental, as we are all equal in God’s eyes. Help me to see the good in all of your creations. Let me leave the judging to you, dear Jesus. Instead, I will concentrate on living to please you! Help me, dear Jesus, be who and what you want me to be. Give me strength, faith and hope, and most of all, give me guidance each and every day. I let go and give you control. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” [Psalm 119:105].

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Written by Macrina Wiederkehr (1939-2020), a spiritual guide, facilitator, and author.

Slowly
she celebrated the sacrament of letting go.
First she surrendered her green,
then the orange, yellow, and red
finally she let go of her brown.
Shedding her last leaf
she stood empty and silent, stripped bare.
Leaning against the winter sky
she began her vigil of trust.

Shedding her last leaf
she watched its journey to the ground.
She stood in silence
wearing the color of emptiness,
her branches wondering;
How do you give shade with so much gone?

And then,
the sacrament of waiting began.
The sunrise and sunset watched with tenderness.
Clothing her with silhouettes
they kept her hope alive.

They helped her understand that
her vulnerability,
her dependence and need,
her emptiness,
her readiness to receive
were giving her a new kind of beauty.
Every morning and every evening they stood in silence
and celebrated together
the sacrament of waiting.

“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming.” [James 5:7].

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