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MEDITATION:

Written by N. T. Wright, a contemporary New Testament scholar, theologian, and Anglican bishop. This is an excerpt from this book “Simply Christian.”

Despite what many people think, within the Christian family and outside it, the point of Christianity isn’t “to go to heaven when you die.” The New Testament picks up from the Old the theme that God intends, in the end, to put the whole creation to rights. Earth and heaven were made to overlap with one another, not fitfully, mysteriously, and partially as they do at the moment, but completely, gloriously, and utterly. “The earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.” That is the promise which resonates throughout the Bible story, from Isaiah (and behind him, by implication from Genesis itself) all the way through to Paul’s greatest visionary moments and the final chapters of the book of Revelation. The great drama will end, not with “saved souls” being snatched up into heaven, away from the wicked earth and the mortal bodies which have dragged them down into sin, but with the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth, so that “the dwelling of God is with humans.” (Revelation 21:3).

PRAYER:

Written by Kathryn Shirey, a contemporary Christian author.

My Father, who art in heaven, I submit myself to you as the ruler of my life. All I have is yours, Lord. Help me to live according to your rules. Establish your kingdom here on earth, Lord, so others may know you too. May your kingdom spread throughout our land and bring more of you to this world so in need of  your loving rule. Help me to be faithful in helping advance your kingdom here. Show me the path you have set before me, so I may follow in your way. Lord, may thy kingdom come. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471), a German-Dutch priest and author of one of the most popular and best known Christian devotional book, “The Imitation of Christ” of which this is an excerpt.

When Jesus is near, all is well and nothing seems difficult. When He is absent, all is hard. When Jesus does not speak within, all other comfort is empty, but if He says only a word, it brings great consolation…Of all those who are dear to you, let Him be your special love. Let all things be loved for the sake of Jesus, but Jesus for His own sake. Jesus Christ must be loved alone with a special love, for He alone, of all friends, is good and faithful. Love Him, therefore, and keep Him as your friend; for when all others desert you, He will not abandon you, nor allow you to perish at the last. Whether you wish it or not, you must in the end be parted from them all. Hold fast to Jesus, both in life and death, and trust yourself to His faithfulness, for He alone can aid you when all others fail…He desires your heart for Himself alone, and to reign there as King on His throne.

PRAYER:

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

 Father in Heaven, thank you for the deep friendships you have given me, and for the wisdom to appreciate them. Thank you also for the presence of your Son. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Pete Greig, a contemporary writer and church planter. This is an excerpt from his book “How to Pray.”

Long before anyone talked about human trafficking, a remarkable Irish missionary called Amy Carmichael was rescuing children from forced prostitution in India’s Hindu temples. With extraordinary resilience, this single woman, who described herself as a “wild-bird child,” stood up to the powerful temple priests and established two homes—for girls and boys—in the city of Dohnavur, in the Tamil Nadu state. She also started a hospital funded by the Queen of England. Amy Carmichael lived in India for 55 years and died there without returning to Northern Ireland.

She was also a prolific writer, and poet, penning some 35 books. Her devotional works, which are mystical and challenging, are also startlingly honest about her own personal struggles. They often take the form of conversations with God. As a little girl, Amy would sometimes spread out her sheets at bedtime and invite the Lord to come and sit down beside her. These intimate moments with God only seemed to deepen throughout Amy’s influential life as she became increasingly acquainted with the voice of God. Her writings have inspired countless others to further their own daily rhythms of prayer and listening. Amy Carmichael teaches us that listening to God does not cloister us away from reality but rather propels us out into wild adventures abandoned to what she referred to as “Calvary Love.”  She was buried in Dohnavur in a grave without a headstone, at her own request. But the children she had rescued placed a birdbath over her grave, inscribed with a single Tamil word: Amma, which means mother.

PRAYER:

The  prayer is written by Amy Carmichael and is from her book “If.”

Let us listen to simple words: our Lord speaks simply: “Trust Me, My child,” He says. “Trust Me with a humbler heart and a fuller abandon to My will than ever thou didst before. Trust Me to pour My love through thee, as minute succeeds minute.

MEDITATION:

Written by R. C. Sproul (1939-2017), an American Reformed theologian, broadcaster, and pastor. He was the founder of Ligonier Ministries. This is an excerpt from his book “The Race of Faith.”

The quest for glory is highly motivating. How often we will try harder or run farther when glory seems within reach. We are even willing to sacrifice personal comfort for a chance at glory. Repeating “No pain, no gain!”, we will fight to push further. We want our lives to count. We want to be celebrated for pursuing something worthwhile. There is a reason we experience this deep thirst for glory. In God’s Word, we discover that we were created for glory. He formed our bodies and breathed life into us so that we might know the greatness of His holiness and stand in awe of it. Our hearts and minds were meant to be so impressed with God’s goodness, that we would readily worship and obey Him. In this way, we would reflect the amazing glory of God. Yet, look around you. The world doesn’t shine with the glory of holiness, does it? Perhaps you have noticed how evil has deformed our world. There is suffering, bitterness, deceit and death. If we were created to know the glory of God, what went wrong? The answer provided by God’s Word points to our own hearts. We were created to rely on God and give Him glory. But we insist on seeking our own glory instead. We have substituted God’s will for our own desires and set out to make a name for ourselves. This is what the Bible calls ‘sin’ and it is the disobedience of God’s purpose for us. Sin tempts us to find satisfaction in our own frailty instead of God’s greatness.  Mistakenly, we try to find enduring glory in our identity, our work, or our dreams. But again and again, we find ourselves both empty and unsatisfied.

But the message of the Gospel is gloriously good news! “God so loved the world”, the Bible says, “that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”. Jesus Christ, the perfect son of God, took the form of man but without the sin of man. He lived among men yet without participating in their disobedience. He did not waver from pursuing God’s will and glorifying God’s name. He perfectly reflected God’s glory…The Bible phrases the good news like this: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” In Jesus, we are gifted with forgiveness, hope, peace and satisfaction. In Jesus, we are readily accepted before God’s presence and discover anew the beauty of His love and holiness. This is salvation. This is truly glorious. This is the Gospel.

PRAYER:

The  prayer is from the Mozarabic Breviary, a liturgical rite of the Latin Church in the 500s and  used generally in the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania), in what is now Spain and Portugal.

O Christ our God, you will come to judge the world in the humanity you have taken on yourself. Sanctify us wholly, that in the day of your coming our whole spirit, soul, and body may arise to a fresh life in you, that we may live and reign with you forever, to your honor and glory; you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Max Lucado, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker. This is an excerpt from his book “Outlive Your Life.”

Jim Wallis took some scissors to his Bible. He was a seminary student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School when he and some classmates decided to eliminate a few verses. They performed surgery on all sixty-six books, beginning with Genesis and not stopping until Revelation. Each time a verse spoke to the topic of poverty, wealth, justice, or oppression, they cut it ou. They wanted to see what a compassionless Bible looked like. By the time they finished, nearly two thousand verses lay on the floor, and a book of tattered pages remained.  Cut concern for the poor out of the Bible, and you cut the heart out of it. God makes the poor his priority. When the hungry pray, he listens. When orphans cry, he sees. And when the widows in Jerusalem were neglected, he commissioned his best and brightest disciples to help them…Jesus had a target audience. The poor. The brokenhearted. Captives. The blind and oppressed. His to-do list? Help for the body and soul, strength for the physical and the spiritual, therapy for the temporal and eternal.

PRAYER:

The  prayer is written by Max Lucado, author of today’s meditation.

Dear Lord, you promised we would always have the poor among us. Help me to make sure that the reverse is also true, that I am always among the poor – helping, encouraging, and lending a hand wherever I can. Enable me to love the invisible God by serving the very visible poor in my corner of the world. Help me to be creative without being condescending, encouraging without being egotistic, and fearless without being foolish. May the poor bless you because of me, and may my efforts somehow reduce the number of the poor. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Charles F. Stanley, contemporary pastor and broadcaster. He is the founder of In Touch Ministries. This is an excerpt from his book “Becoming Emotionally Whole.”

Everything that Jesus did was revealed to Him by the Father. We must ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the Father’s will to us. The emotionally healthy person may feel anger, for example, but by asking the Holy Spirit for guidance in how to channel that anger into positive behavior, the person is going to find an outlet for anger that results in blessing, not harm. The emotionally healthy person may feel disappointment or discouragement, but by asking the Holy Spirit for guidance, he will be led to new opportunities that result in hope. Continual reliance on the Holy Spirit takes the form of continual prayer. To pray is to talk to God, and you are wise to talk to God around the clock, every day of the week.

PRAYER:

Today’s prayer is written by an unknown author.

Heavenly Father, in your love you have called us to know you, led us to trust you, and bound our life with yours. Surround us with love and protect us from evil. Fill us with the holy spirit so we walk in the way of Christ and grow in our knowledge of your love.

MEDITATION:

Written by Lloyd John Ogilvie (1930-2019), a Presbyterian minister who served as Chaplain of the US Senate.  This is an excerpt from his book “Radiance of the Inner Splendor.”

A healthy forgetter is developed by forgiveness. We cannot erase the memory cards of our failures in our brain computer until we have a profound experience of forgiveness. The authentic mark of truly mature persons is the capacity to forgive themselves. But that is a rare commodity. Years of experience of seeking to be a whole person and helping others with their self-esteem has led me to the conclusion that one of the greatest miracles of life is self-forgiveness. I have never known a person who has been able to do it without a healing experience of Christ’s kindness.

PRAYER:

Written by Stormie Omartian, a contemporary author and speaker.

Lord, I know that You have forgiven me for my sins. I thank You for Your unconditional love and grace. I am truly repentant and wish to overcome these tendencies. Now, Father, help me forgive myself. Erase my guilt and create a new heart within me. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by James A. Forbes, Jr., a contemporary pastor in New York City. This is from an essay in “Living with Apocalypse: Spiritual Resources for Social Compassion,” edited by Tilden Edwards. 

The gospel calls us to count up the cost of our witness. Part of this process is the assessing of our power as well. In God’s grace the Church discovers that its members are not helpless victims of alien powers but bearers of gifts, competencies, and influence for effecting change. Just as Moses was told to use the rod in his hand and the disciples were bidden to feed the multitude with the lunch they had, so we are expected to use what we have. One of the functions of the Church is to helps its members discover and release their power in ways that promote the cause of the Kingdom. Professionals and non-professionals, trained and untrained workers, rich and poor – all are influencing their context either by reinforcing the status quo or promoting change. The issue is not simply one of getting power but of becoming aware of how we use the power we have, and then developing expertise to make an impact on our communities for good. The Church is the sleeping giant. What a powerful witness if the parts of the body came to a new awareness of the power that is at work within and around us!

PRAYER:

Written by Christina Patterson, a contemporary author and Bible teacher.

Dear Heavenly Father, Your ways are higher than my ways. I pray for power and strength to surrender my way and follow your best way. I trust You Lord. In Jesus Christ Name I pray. Amen.

MEDITATION:

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

Any serious-minded Christian may at some time find himself wondering whether the service he is giving to God is the best it could be. He may even have times of doubting, and fear that his toil is fruitless and his life empty. This is not as bad as it sounds and may actually prove to be an excellent thing for him—if he knows how to use it. Christian service, like every other phase of religion, can become a very hollow affair. The church has marked out certain work and approved it as service acceptable to God, and for the most part the church has been right. But is should be kept in mind that it is not the kind or quantity of work that makes it true service—it is the quality. Before the judgment seat of Christ, very little will be heard of numbers or size; moral quality is about all that will matter then. If we are wise we will give attention now to the quality of our service; it is obvious that it will be too late to do anything about it when the service is ended and the account rendered up.

PRAYER:

Written by Betty McElwee (1935-2011), an American author.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for this day.

Hold my hand and give me courage

to carry the cross You have chosen for me.

Let me never complain.

Let me smile and give strength

to my family and friends

and to all I come in contact with.

I accept what I have and will not ask, “Why me?”

I will fight until You take me

because it is my belief that I was made

to serve You on earth – and death is my final reward.

MEDITATION:

Written by Anthony Robinson, a contemporary pastor, speaker, teacher, and writer.

The old coach had been invited to give the high school commencement speech. He approached the podium, looked out on the graduates, and said slowly, “Never give up.” He paused and cast his eyes over the students once more, then said, a second time, “Never give up.” Another pause, another look, and for a third time, “Never give up.” Then he turned and walked back to his seat. Our times are such we may be tempted to give up. To give up on a nation so deeply polarized and divided. To give up on a democracy so vulnerable to manipulation of fear and by falsehood. To give on the hope of being and building a beloved community when bruised by acts and words of cruelty and callousness. 

Isaiah’s words in today’s reading are a kind of “Never give up.”  The people to whom the prophet spoke had plenty of reason for discouragement, for giving up. They dwelt in exile in a foreign land — strangers in a strange land. Their beloved homeland was now a waste land.  But the word of God came: Never give up. “Look to the rock from which you were hewn.” Remember who you are. “Look to Abraham your father and Sarah who bore you. He was but one when I called him, but I made him many.” Never give up. 

However discouraging the present moment, do not give up on people. Do not give up on the church. And never give up on yourself. God isn’t finished with you yet.   “For the Lord will comfort Zion, God will comfort all her waste places, and make her wilderness like Eden.” Never give up. “Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and voice of song.” God never gives up.

PRAYER:

Written by Anthony Robinson, the author of today’s meditation.

Gracious God, we’re concerned. Grant us sustaining hope, steady perseverance, and deep faith for the living of these days. Amen.