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MEDITATION:

Written by Timothy Keller, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker. This is an excerpt from his book “Generous Justice.”

Justice is not just one more thing that needs to be added to the people’s portfolio of religious behavior. A lack of justice is a sign that the worshippers’ hearts are not right with God at all, that their prayers and all their religious observance are just filled with self and pride. In Isaiah 29:21, when the people are charged with “depriving the innocent of justice,” God’s conclusion is that “these people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Jesus’ criticism of the religious leaders in Mark 12 was identical…Behind their excessive religious observances are lives that are insensitive to the vulnerable classes. In Jesus’ view, this revealed that they did not know God or his grace at all…Jesus taught that a lack of concern for the poor is not a minor lapse but reveals that something is seriously wrong with one’s spiritual compass, the heart…Biblical scholar Joel Green explains it this way: “The disposition of one’s possessions signifies the disposition of one’s heart.” The purification of the heart through grace and love for the poor are a piece; they go together in the theology of Jesus.

PRAYER:

From the United Church of Christ Book of Worship.

Pray for those who are hungry. Pray harder for those who will not feed them.

Pray for those who struggle each week to pay their bills. Pray harder for the wealthy who do not care.

Pray for those who are homeless. Pray harder for those who deny them shelter.

Pray for the sick and lonely. Pray harder for those who will not give them comfort.

Pray for those who cry out for dignity. Pray harder for those who will not listen.

Pray for those oppressed by unjust wages. Pray harder for those who exploit them.

Pray for those who bear the yoke of prejudice. Pray harder for those who discriminate against them.

Pray for those whose basic needs are denied. Pray harder for public officials who cater to the greedy and ignore those bound unjustly. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by John Piper, a contemporary theologian, pastor, and educator.

I long for God to be glorified in our pursuit of holiness and love. But God is not glorified unless our pursuit is empowered by faith in his promises. And the God who revealed himself most fully in Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our sins and raised for our justification, is most glorified when we embrace his promises with joyful firmness because they are bought by the blood of his Son. God is honored when we are humbled for our feebleness and failure, and when he is trusted for future grace. So unless we learn how to live by faith in future grace, we may perform remarkable religious rigors, but not for God’s glory. He is glorified when the power to be holy comes from humble faith in future grace. Martin Luther said, “[Faith] honors him whom it trusts with the most reverent and highest regard, since it considers him truthful and trustworthy.” The trusted Giver gets the glory. My great desire is that we learn how to live for God’s honor. And that means living by faith in future grace, which, in turn, means battling unbelief in all the ways it rears its head.

PRAYER:

Written by Basil the Great (330-379) of Caesarea, an influential theologian and pastor. He was one of the Cappadocian Fathers. This is a prayer from the Coptic Liturgy of St. Basil.

O Lord our God,

you are great, eternal,

and wonderful in glory.

You keep your covenant and promises

for those who love you

with their whole heart.

You are the Life of all,

the Help of those who flee to you,

the Hope of those who cry to you.

Cleanse us from our sins,

secret and open,

and from every thought displeasing to your goodness.

Cleanse our bodies and souls,

our hearts and consciences,

that with a pure heart and a clear soul,

with perfect love and calm hope,

we may venture confidently

and fearlessly to pray to you;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Sarah Young, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “Jesus Lives.”

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. I want you to trust in My protective Presence even while deep waters of affliction are rising around you. Remember that you are precious in My sight and I love you. I will never, ever abandon you! Though you may lose sight of Me, I am constantly aware of you and your circumstances. When you cry out to Me for help, I am already fully apprised of your situation. So you don’t need to take time telling Me what is happening or what you think I should do. In the midst of emergencies, short pity prayers are extremely effective: “Help me, Jesus!”  “Show me Your way.”  “Your will be done.” 

Do not be overly concerned about your feelings during emergencies. The most important thing is that you turn to Me, trusting that I am indeed with you. When you cannot sense My presence, it is enough to know that I love you with compassionate, unfailing love. If your heart is sinking under waves of panic, don’t focus on those feelings. Instead, look up to Me! As your soul clings to Me, My right hand will uphold you – keeping you safe in turbulent waters.

PRAYER:

Written by Jill Weber, a contemporary spiritual director and the director of Houses of Prayer.

Father God, thank you that you do not remain on mute forever. You speak; in so many ways and at just the right time. I choose to stop to be quiet and listen today with great expectation. Holy Spirit, thank you that you do not leave me to pray alone, but you pray with me and through me. Jesus, I am “open-eyed with wonder” that you’re with the father, right now, praying for me. Choose to put your trust in me today. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), an English preacher. This is an excerpt from the devotional “365 Days with C.H. Spurgeon.”

Faith makes the crown of eternal life glitter before the believer’s eye; it waves before him the palm branch. Sense pictures the grave, loss, suffering, defeat, death, forgetfulness: but faith points to the resurrection, the glorious appearance of the Son of Man, the calling of the saints from every corner of the earth, the clothing of them all in their triumphant array, and the entrance of the blood-washed conquerors into the presence of God with eternal joy. Thus, faith makes us out of weakness to become strong. Let me remind you that the essential ingredients of faith’s comfort are just these: faith sees the invisible and beholds the substance of that which is far off: faith believes in God, a present, powerful God, full of love and wisdom, effecting his decree, accomplishing his purpose, fulfilling his promise, glorifying his Son. Faith believes in the blood of Jesus, in the effectual redemption on the cross, it believes in the power of the Holy Spirit, his might to soften the stone and to put life into the very ribs of death. Faith grasps the reality of the Bible; she does not look upon it as a sepulcher with a stone laid thereon, but as a temple in which Christ reigns, as an ivory palace out of which he comes riding in his chariot, conquering and to conquer. Faith does not believe the gospel to be a worn-out scroll, to be rolled up and put away; she believes that the gospel instead of being in its dotage is in its youth; she anticipates for it a manhood of mighty strugglings and a grand maturity of blessedness and triumph. Faith does not shirk the fight; she longs for it, because she foresees the victory.

PRAYER:

This prayer is from the Gelasian Sacramentary, a book of Christian liturgy, which is the oldest western liturgical book that has survived. The book is linked to Pope Gelasius I and was compiled near Paris around 750.

Almighty and eternal God,

the Comfort of the sad,

the Strength of sufferers,

hear the prayers of those who call to you in any trouble,

that they may rejoice to know

your mercy is with them in their afflictions;

through Christ our Lord. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897), a French Carmelite nun popularly known as “The Little Flower of Jesus”

If I did not simply live from one moment to the next, it would be impossible for me to keep my patience. I can see only the present, I forget the past and I take good care not to think about the future. We get discouraged and feel despair because we brood about the past and the future. It is such folly to pass one’s time fretting, instead of resting quietly on the heart of Jesus.

PRAYER:

Written by Juanita Ryan, a contemporary nurse and author.

Help me to live in the present. Allow me to be present to you, as you are always present to me, each moment of each day. Allow me to be present to the gift of each moment, no matter how ordinary, so that I can be present to the joy and wonder of your loving presence each moment of each day.

MEDITATION:

Written by Max Lucado, a contemporary pastor and excerpted from his book “Traveling Light.”

PRAYER:

When Lloyd Douglas, author of The Robe and other novels, attended college, he lived in a boardinghouse. A retired, wheelchair-bound music professor resided on the first floor. Each morning Douglas would stick his head in the door of the teacher’s apartment and ask the same question, “Well, what’s the good news?” The old man would pick up his tuning fork, tap it on the side of the wheelchair, and say, “That’s middle C! It was middle C yesterday; it will be middle C tomorrow; it will be middle C a thousand years from now. The tenor upstairs sings flat. The piano across the hall is out of tune, but, my friend, that is middle C.” You and I need a middle C. Haven’t you had enough change in your life? Relationships change. Health changes. The weather changes. But the Yahweh who ruled the earth last night is the same Yahweh who rules it today. Same convictions. Same plan. Same mood. Same love. He never changes.

This prayer is an ancient collect from the 6th century.

Be present, O merciful God, and protect us through the silent hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the work and the changes of this fleeting world may rest upon Thy eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

MEDITATION:

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

It is little wonder that Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God first and foremost with all our hearts. He longs for authentic relationship with us, not a mere religious obligation or empty ritual. God is not at all impressed by empty words or heartless platitudes. In fact, it makes him angry when our words and actions are not sincere. We must take care that our Christianity does not become mere lip service or hollow actions. God wants genuine relationships that stems from our hearts. When we embrace God and his purpose wholeheartedly, it is easier to stay passionate about our faith, our spiritual disciplines, and every other aspect of our spiritual walk. All of our actions and activities flow from our love relationship with God rather than from an obligation to fulfill a Christian requirement. We possess a love for others, for church, for reading our Bibles, for praying and for giving and serving. We love what God loves and desire to do what he does; it is the natural outflow of our hearts. Because love is so important, we must ensure that we continually strengthen our hearts, this core spiritual muscle. We can do this by spending quality time with God, staying in close communication with him, and remaining obedient to his Word. It is through an intimate and daily relationship with God that we are able to give him our whole hearts. Does God have your complete devotion? Until he does, you will not be able to love yourself or others fully. You will always feel like a pretender, a phony, and you will never fully know God’s love for you. But when God is first and foremost in your heart, soul, and mind, all your other relationships will fall into place.

PRAYER:

This prayer is from the Mozarabic Rite, a liturgical rite of the Latin Church once used generally in the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania), in what is now Spain and Portugal. Developed during Visigoth (Arian Christian) rule of the Iberian peninsula in the 500s AD.

O Lord, our redemption. Be our protection. Direct our minds by your gracious presence. Watch over our paths and guide us with your love through the hidden snares of life. Fix our hearts on you as we go forward, and following in faith, arrive at your goal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

MEDITATION:

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

The ability to let go, to abandon oneself in faith and obedience, creates a heart that is docile and humble. Both notions are fairly foreign to our independent, stubborn, self-reliant spirits. Both virtues are fairly absent in our assertive, self-confident, self-indulgent circles. But uncovering their meaning and their message to us twentieth-century [and twenty-first century] Christians is crucial for the spirituality of our times.

PRAYER:

Written by Margaret Grun Kibben, contemporary Chaplain to the US House of Representatives and former Chief of Chaplains for the US Navy.

God our shepherd, You have entrusted us with the responsibility to tend Your sheep, to feed them and watch over them. May we be worthy of this mantle of awesome responsibility and live wholeheartedly into this task. May nothing we do be done simply out of obligation. But having received Your tender mercies in our own lives, may we be eager to serve You and those whom You have commended to our care. And if we lose sight of Your claim on our lives and waver in our duties, call us to examine the multitude of instances where You have showered Your grace upon us. How then can we help but be so transformed that we would want nothing else but to give of ourselves from the depths of our souls? May we then be examples of what it means to serve You. May we live lives of kindness and humility, not lifting ourselves up, but waiting with patience for the moment when, in the fullness of time, You reveal the purpose for all our efforts and energies, in Your gracious plan. In the meantime, we cast ourselves––our anxieties, our best intentions, and our most fervent hopes on You––in sure and certain hope of Your steadfast love for us. It is in the strength of Your name we pray. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Dr. John Koessler, a contemporary author and retired professor from Moody Bible Institute.

It seems like more people than ever before are talking about justice. Once the province of social activists, a few religious leaders, and some politicians, justice is now a primary concern for many. But what exactly do we mean by the word? Everybody agrees that justice is important. We do not agree on what justice should look like in practice. Justice was a major concern in Zechariah’s day too. In Zechariah 8:14-17, the Lord provides a snapshot of what justice should look like among God’s people. First of all, justice is grounded in truth. Acts of injustice are always rooted in deceit. This emphasis on truth is coupled with a command to “render true and sound judgment in your courts.” True justice is impossible in a culture that does not value truth. Perhaps this is why the injunction about giving false testimony against your neighbor is included in the Ten Commandments. Although the primary context of this command may be legal, it also has implications for ordinary relationships. A community that thrives on gossip will never be a just community. Even in those few instances where gossip is not an exaggeration or outright falsehood, it aims to condemn rather than correct. Biblical truth, on the other hand, is always motivated by love (Eph. 4:15). The third mark of justice is relational. Those who are committed to justice will not “plot evil against each other.” This command is all about intent. Those who value biblical justice not only look out for their interests, they also seek after the well-being of others (Phil. 2:4). The fourth mark, a hatred of false swearing, may seem out of place in this list or at least redundant. However, false swearing isn’t only about the truth. It is about keeping our commitments. How do you live out God’s value of justice? Jesus captured the way we are to practice justice in a single command: loving your neighbor as yourself. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12). Consider how you can live justly today.

PRAYER:

Written by John C, Birch, contemporary author on prayer and founder of the Faith & Worship online community.

You call us to service; to be your eyes and ears, hands and voice in this your world. To open our eyes not only to the beauty and love which you create, but the injustice, hate, and suffering that mankind generates. To open our ears not only to the chattering of this coming week, but the searching, fears and questioning of all whom we shall meet. To open our hands not only to those we choose our lives to share, but in welcome, love and fellowship to all who you draw near. To open our mouths not only to speak platitudes and simple words, but the truths you lay upon our hearts. Your Word for this your world. You call us to service, to be your eyes and ears, hands and voice in this your world.

MEDITATION:

Written by A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), an American Christian pastor, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor. This is an excerpt from his book “The Root of the Righteous.”

The idea that God will pardon a rebel who has not given up his rebellion is contrary both to the Scriptures and to common sense. How horrible to contemplate a church full of persons who have been pardoned but who still love sin and hate the ways of righteousness. And how much more horrible to think of heaven as filled with sinners who had not repented nor changed their ways of living. A familiar story will illustrate this. The governor of one of our states was visiting the state prison incognito. He fell into conversation with a personable young convict and felt a secret wish to pardon him. “What would you do, “ he asked casually, “if you were lucky enough to obtain a pardon?” The convict, not knowing to whom he was speaking, snarled his reply: “If I ever get out of this place, the first thing I’ll do is cut the throat of the judge who sent me here.” The governor broke off the conversation and withdrew from the cell. The convict stayed on in prison. To pardon a man who had not reformed would be to let loose another killer upon society. That kind of pardon would not only be foolish, it would be downright immoral.

PRAYER:

Written by Cheryce Rampersad, a contemporary Christian author

Jesus, Lamb of God, worthy is your precious name. I lift you up and bless your Holy name. Father, you mean everything to me. I love walking in obedience to Your Word. Without you, I can’t do anything. You are my King, the ruler of everything and none can compare to you. You are my heart’s desire. Oh Lord, I give you my mind, body, and soul. I want to be so lost in your presence, that I can’t even begin to comprehend what’s happening. Lord, I hunger and thirst for you. Be my guide, Oh Lord, and help me to be obedient to your Word. Help those who are disobedient to find you, Oh Lord and forgive them, for they know not what they do. Give me wisdom where I lack knowledge, so I can understand how to trust and obey. Lord, you made it clear that if I walk in obedience, I will live a full life with you. Being obedient will cause an overflow of abundant blessings within my life. Help me to not be as King Saul, for he lost everything through disobedience. Help me to be like Jesus. I declare that obedience will fill my mind, heart, and actions on this beautiful day and abundant blessings will rain down upon me. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen! Remind me, Oh Heavenly Father, that disobedience is a form of rebellion towards you and, as you have clearly stated, if I reject You and Your Word, you will reject me from your heavenly kingdom.