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MEDITATION:

Written by Christopher D. Hudson, a contemporary writer and teacher. This is an excerpt from his book “Following Jesus.”

Most people use the word hope as a synonym for wish. They say things like, “I know we’re down by forty-five points, but I sure hope our team can pull off a win!” or “I hope one day someone actually finds Sasquatch out in the Pacific Northwest.”  This is a far cry from the hope the prophets and apostles wrote about. Biblical hope isn’t crossing your fingers and engaging in wistful daydreaming about outcomes that are highly unlikely. Biblical hope is confident expectation. Hope involves waiting. In fact, the Old Testament word for hope is also often translated as wait. And this waiting involves the settled assurance that the thing being waited for is just around the bend. What’s the real hope for Christians? That Christ our Lord is coming back to make the world right. Things may seem hopeless. They’re not. Our God is “the God of hope.”

PRAYER:

A prayer of Paul the Apostle from Ephesians 1:17-19.

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious father, give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Joan Puls, a contemporary author.  This is an excerpt from her book “Every Bush is Burning.”

True freedom, as true love, rids us of fear. In the economics of the kingdom, faith is sufficient. Faith the size of a mustard seed. The faith that is confident assurance concerning things we hope for and conviction about things we do not see. The faith that recognized the nobility of the poor and the beauty of the arthritic. In the spirit of such faith, one comes to a certain self-possession. And it is security and currency enough for life’s transactions. If we possess ourselves, in truth and in humility, we need not fear what might be taken from us. For all else is bonus and non-essential. Anyone who has been given the kingdom need not fear the loss of lesser goods and more tangible riches.

PRAYER:

Written by Megan Bailey, a contemporary author and content producer.

Father, I am grateful for Your gracious offer to give me a new heart, one that loves You, one that is tender and responsive to Your voice and one that reflects Your love back to everyone in my life, friend and foe alike. How can I access this heart? Through faith – just the same way I received my salvation in the first place. So in faith, I take You at Your word. I receive today a new heart and a new spirit. I will walk with this new heart and care for this new spirit by my commitment to Your Word and by seeking Your face through prayer and worship. Praise You! I receive a new ME! Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Matthew Dickerson, a contemporary Christian author and professor of Computer Science at Middlebury College in Vermont. This is an excerpt from a devotional he wrote for the Fuller DePree Center  “Life for Leaders.”

It’s easy to ridicule those who have a different religious, moral, or even political viewpoint than we have, using derogatory or dismissive terms for those we disagree with. In doing so, we build barriers that may prevent people from hearing the Gospel. Perhaps instead we should follow Paul’s example: trying to understand those around us who do not hold the same views we have, and looking for evidence of spiritual hunger, wisdom, and God’s ongoing revelation. Paul’s sermon at the Areopagus to the people of Athens is a watershed moment in Christian history. It’s the first time we read of Paul preaching in a public non-Jewish setting…Paul, in this message, starts by affirming them, noting how they are “very religious.” It would have been tempting for a devout Jew like Paul to see only the false beliefs of their pagan religions and to dismiss everything the Athenians believed—perhaps with a tone of ridicule or disdain… Paul does not begin his message by telling the people of Athens how awful they are, or how terrible their culture is, or even how wrong they are…Instead, he finds something about the Athenian culture he can affirm: a glimmer of wisdom and truth even in a false belief system…Rather than building more barriers through antagonistic language, Paul seeks to break down barriers and open doors of understanding…It’s easy for Christians to look at our culture and ridicule those who don’t hold our worldview—who have a different religious, moral, or even political viewpoint. It’s common in our culture to use derogatory or belittling terms to describe those we disagree with. Sadly, even those who seek to serve Christ can fall into this behavior. When we do so, however, we build more barriers that make it harder to have real communication and understanding; such language and dismissiveness may hinder people from hearing the very Gospel we want them to hear. Perhaps instead we should follow Paul’s example: trying to understand those around us who do not hold the same views we have—looking for and affirming evidence of spiritual hunger, and even a type of wisdom.

PRAYER:

Written by Matthew Dickerson, the author of today’s meditation.

Thank you, Lord, for how you revealed truth about yourself to the people of Athens even through their pagan myths, helping to prepare their hearts for the true Gospel that would be preached to them by Paul. Thank you for Paul’s gentleness in preaching the good news of Jesus in a secular setting, and for his example of getting to know something about the secular culture to which he was bearing witness of the truth. Help me to learn from Paul’s example. Give me a deeper understanding of those around me that will enable me to build bridges rather than walls. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by James I. Packer (1926-2020), an English-born Canadian evangelical theologian, cleric and writer. This is an excerpt from his book “Knowing God.”

We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.

PRAYER:

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

Oh! dear Savior, we come to You and we remember what our state is, and the condition we are in encourages us to come to You  now as beggars, as dependents upon Your heavenly charity. You are a Savior and as such Your are on the outlook for those that need saving, and here we are, here we come. We are the men and women You are looking for, needing a Savior.

MEDITATION:

Written by Craig Denison, a contemporary Christian author and speaker. This is an excerpt from his daily devotional “First 15.”

Not only do unity and harmony provide a better life for all involved, but they also glorify Jesus.  When we love each other well and offer grace and forgiveness, we demonstrate Christ’s power to change hearts to the world. When we live in harmony together, we worship with our lives in one beautiful, unified voice. The power of the gospel is that God will always love us in our pride and transgressions, but he doesn’t intend to leave us there. God works in the hearts of his people, knitting them together in harmony like a beautiful tapestry of transformed lives. You and I are written into the pages of God’s beautiful narrative. We have an important place in his eternal story of redemption. Spend time in God’s presence today allowing him to fill you with the desire and ability to pursue harmony with others. Pursue unity with the people God’s placed in your life. And experience transformation in your relationships as God works through you to produce unity and joy.

PRAYER:

Written by Emilie Griffin, a contemporary American author who writes about religious experience and spiritual life.

Dear God, help me to know that I am your child. Teach me to weigh the meaning of this title “Children of God.” Show me the power of your purifying love, and make me patient for my own transformation. Amen.

MEDITATION:

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

Humility is not thinking less of yourself. You can be confident and humble at the same time! Humility is thinking of yourself less. When you stay focused on God and helping other people, you naturally think about yourself less. That’s not an easy way to live. Why would anybody choose to think of others more than they think of themselves? Because God makes many promises in the Bible for Christians who will humble themselves. Humility is a big deal to God. Here are four things God will do in your life when you work on being humble. 1. If you’re humble, God will guide you.If you don’t know which way to turn—whether to get in or get out, hold on or let go—then get humble. When you humble yourself, God will make your next step clear. You’ll make fewer mistakes in life! “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (Psalm 25:9). 2. If you’re humble, God will bless you. These promises are all through Scripture, like Isaiah 66:2: “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts”. God doesn’t bless egotistic or prideful people or those who secretly think they’re better than everybody else. He blesses the humble. 3). If you’re humble, God will give you the power to change. The power to change is called grace. Maybe there are things in your life you’d like to change. Perhaps you’ve tried to change, but you can’t or you won’t. You need grace! How do you get God’s grace and the power to change? “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Every time you’re prideful, you’re on the opposite side of God—and you don’t want to be there. The humbler you are, the more grace God gives you. 4) If you’re humble, God will reduce your stress. If you’re prideful, your stress is going to go up. Instead, listen to Jesus: “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).  When you’re tapped out and feel like you have nothing left to give, surrender to Jesus. Spend time in the Bible, learning how to choose gentleness and humility by his example. Pray, and ask him for the grace to change. Then you’ll find the rest your soul has been craving.

PRAYER:

Written by Kevin Halloran, a contemporary pastor and writer.

 Merciful Father, In my battle against pride, keep me from a false humility that fails to recognize Your gracious gifts. Rather, help me steward what you have given me as a faithful servant—a servant ready to wear the garment of humility and serve you in whatever way would most help Your Kingdom and bring praise to Your Name. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Brian Doyle (1956-2017), an author, editor, and contributor to “Guideposts.”

A haunted day, September 11, here in the States that are still United in the wild idea that interdependence is possible and glorious. A shivering day. It always will be. I pray it never becomes a mere anniversary, an event only to remember murder and terror and fire and fear—or even worse, a day only to celebrate vengeance. No, I pray it becomes a day to remember courage and grace and love. I pray that will someday be the story of September 11.

To remember right is to pray right, says my dad, and he knows about murderous souls; he fought against Hitler. He says to remember the roaring courage of the people who rushed to help, and the people who helped others out of the fire and ash, and the people who used their last minutes on earth to call their families and say “I love you. I love you. I will love you forever,” is to pray for them and us and even for the poor silly murderers, themselves just lanky, frightened boys, in the end, bloody boys terrified of a free world. He says to remember the firemen who ran up, knowing they would never come down, the passengers storming the cockpit, the sergeant who ran out of the Pentagon to catch women leaping from high windows is the way to erase the name of the chief murderer. He says that if we remember right, if we pray with our hearts in our mouths, maybe someday no one will remember the architect of ruin, but everyone will remember a day when the courage and mercy and glory of human beings rose to such a tide that no one will ever forget. That could happen, says my dad, and who will gain says my dad? Not I.

PRAYER:

Written by Brian Doyle, author of today’s meditation.

Dear Lord, for the murdered, our prayers. For the murderers, our prayers. For us, frightened and muddled, prayers. For the courage to remember right, to witness and sing grace under duress, to someday find the country of forgiveness, prayers. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Christine Caine, a contemporary Australian activist, evangelist, author, and speaker.

For more than twelve years, I had been wounded by abuse. All that pain made me seal away a part of my heart and soul in what I thought was a safe, protected place. I desperately craved close relationships but feared them too—because I never wanted to be hurt again. Maybe you’ve been there too. An overbearing boss crushes your spirit. An unfaithful spouse betrays your trust. Cruel friends trample your heart with spiteful words. Insensitive parents strip your confidence. Unthinking teachers call you stupid and tell you that you will never amount to anything, squashing your self-worth. Rebellious children stomp all over you. Abusers try to take your soul. Whatever the source of the attack on your body, soul, and spirit, the hurt stings and the damage goes deep. And of course, you remember the exact moment of the damage—how the earth seemed to stop spinning, how the world came to a halt. You can’t forget the sights, smells, a song playing, what you wore, who else was there. These things freeze in memory, and a part of you freezes with them, forever stuck in that place, unable to move on. You may have been delivered from your situation, but you still aren’t free. That was true for me. Though I was no longer in bondage to my abusers, I had shuttered my heart. I didn’t trust anyone, not even God. I kept him at a distance by giving him my time, but not all of myself. I didn’t trust him to take care of me. Nor could I forgive the men who hurt me, not even myself for being abused. Worse, I realized that I hadn’t forgiven God. Where was he, after all, when I was a helpless child and those men laid hands on me? How could I compel others to love God with their whole hearts when I kept a part of my own from him? Although I was shocked by this revelation, God was not. Since he knows everything, he knew that if I were to be truly free, I needed to deal with my wounds. He was able to heal me—but I had to choose that healing. I had to accept that I needed help. I had to reach up to God and out to others as part of the healing exercise of a whole heart.

PRAYER:

Written by Debbie McDaniel, a contemporary Christian writer.

 You remind us over and over in your Word that you are always with us. You tell us not to fear and you draw us close into your Presence. You’re the only place we find refuge in the storms that surround us right now Lord. You’re the only place we can find peace and strength. So we ask you for your words of truth and power to strengthen us in our inner being and life our hearts to you. Thank you for your goodness, thank you that you know the way we take and you have a plan. We look to you today our Lord and Savior, it’s your face we seek.

MEDITATION:

Written by Paul Estabrooks, a contemporary writer and speaker who focuses on persecuted Christians. This is an excerpt from his book “Standing Strong Through the Storm.”

Romanian pastor, Dr. Paul Negrut, was visiting an old friend in Romania named Trian Dors in his humble home. As Paul entered, he realized that Trian was bleeding from open wounds. He asked, “What happened?” Trian replied, “The secret police just left my home. They came and confiscated my manuscripts. Then they beat me.” Pastor Paul says, “I began to complain about the heavy tactics of the secret police. But Trian stopped me saying, ‘Brother Paul, it is so sweet to suffer for Jesus. God didn’t bring us together tonight to complain but to praise him. Let’s kneel down and pray.” “He knelt and began praying for the secret police. He asked God to bless them and save them. He told God how much he loved them. He said, ‘God, if they will come back in the next few days, I pray that you will prepare me to minister to them.’” Paul continued, “By this time I was ashamed. I thought I had been living the most difficult life in Romania for the Lord. And I was bitter about that.” Trian Dors then shared with Paul how the secret police had been coming to his home regularly for several years. They beat him twice every week. They confiscated all his papers. After the beating, he would talk to the officer in charge. Trian would look into his eyes and say, “Mister, I love you. And I want you to know that if our next meeting is before the judgment throne of God, you will not go to hell because I hate you but because you rejected love.” Trian would repeat these words after every beating. Years later that officer came alone to his home one night. Trian prepared himself for another beating. But the officer spoke kindly and said, “Mr. Dors, the next time we meet will be before the judgment throne of God. I came tonight to apologize for what I did to you and to tell you that your love moved my heart. I have asked Christ to save me. But two days ago the doctor discovered that I have a very severe case of cancer and I have only a few weeks to live before I go to be with God. I came tonight to tell you that we will be together on the other side.”

PRAYER:

Written by Geevetha Mary Samuel, a contemporary Christian author.

I come to You in prayer, asking You to teach me. Guide my heart to love my enemies, even the ones who have hurt and harmed me. Though my wounds could be deep, help me forgive. May I remember the many times I have sinned against others and how I would seek forgiveness. Because You have always graciously forgiven me I pray to forgive those who have terribly hurt me in the past. May I be one who practices your agape love to everyone. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Valerie E. Hess, a contemporary speaker and author. This is an excerpt from her book “Spiritual Disciplines Devotional.”

Sometimes in a relationship, the only service we can render is to love the other person. Whether it is a friend or a child in a tough circumstance, a family member in crisis, or a neighbor who dislikes you, loving actions may be all we can do. I am a fix-it person. Whenever my children or friends have problems I want to swoop in and make everything OK. Many times that is not only impossible, but it’s not wise. We may need to let our children, our friends, and our family members learn hard lessons, even though it is difficult for us to stand back and watch. Those of us who have dealt with adolescents knows that in the desire to be independent (a healthy quality, by the way), they often do not want help, which they view as interference. In those cases, all we can do, as parents or teachers, is stand back and find ways to love them by the things we do (or don’t do) and say (or don’t say). This is a form of godly service. Remember, in self-righteous service, we do things for others because it will make us feel better. In true service, we do things for others because it will make them feel better.

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.

Therefore, once for all this short command is given to you: “Love and do what you will.” If you keep silent, keep silent by love: if you speak, speak by love; if you correct, correct by love; if you pardon, pardon by love; let love be rooted in you, and from the root nothing but good can grow.