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MEDITATION:

Written by Ron Lambros, contemporary pastor, speaker, teacher, and writer.  This is an excerpt from his book “All My Love, Jesus: Personal Reminders From the Heart of God.”

The strength and power needed to persevere in the Christian life are not revealed in moments of crisis by accident. They are nurtured in the quiet days of determined faith, Scripture reading, and private prayer. Then, when the moments of trial do come, we are prepared to react and overcome through the “training” which was done in secret.

Prepare your heart today for the trials that are just around the bend! Hold fast to your faith no matter the circumstance. Read God’s Word daily and hide it in your heart for the days of testing. Pray earnestly, consistently, and thankfully.  These are the keys to your success in the Christian life.

PRAYER:

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. It was compiled near Paris around 750.

O God, by the light of your Word

you scatter the darkness of ignorance.

Increase in our hearts the power of faith

which you have given us,

that no temptations may put out the fire

your grace has caused to burn in our hearts;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Watchman Nee (1903-1972), a Chinese church leader and Christian teacher. This is an excerpt from his book “The Normal Christian Life.”

What is the normal Christian life? We do well at the outset to ponder this question. It is something very different from the life of the average Christian. Indeed, a consideration of the written Word of God—of the Sermon on the Mount, for example—should lead us to ask whether such a life has ever in fact been lived upon the earth, save only by the Son of God Himself.  But in that last saving clause lies immediately the answer to our question.

The Apostle Paul gives us his own definition of Christian life in Galatians 2:20. It is “no longer I, but Christ.” Here he is not stating something special or peculiar—a high level of Christianity. He is, we believe, presenting God’s normal for a Christian, which can be summarized in the words: I live no longer, but Christ lives His life in me.

God makes it quite clear in His Word that He has only one answer to every human need –His Son, Jesus Christ. In all His dealings with us He works by taking us out of the way and substituting Christ in our place. The Son of God died instead of us for our forgiveness. He lives instead of us for our deliverance. So we can speak of two substitutions—a Substitute on the Cross who secures our forgiveness and a Substitute within who secures our victory.  It will help us greatly, and save us from much confusion, if we keep constantly before us this fact, that God will answer all our questions in one way only, namely, by showing us more of His Son.

PRAYER:

From The Mozarabic Rite, also called the Visigothic Rite or the Hispanic Rite, is a liturgical rite of the Latin Church once used generally in the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania), in what is now Spain and Portugal in the 500s.

Jesus our Master,

walk with us on the road

as we yearn to reach the heavenly country,

so that following your light,

we may stay on the way of righteousness

and never wander in the horrible darkness of this world’s night

while you, the way, the truth, and the life,

are shining within us. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Lisa Samra, a contemporary Christian author.

For ten years, my Aunt Kathy cared for her father (my grandfather) in her home. She cooked and cleaned for him when he was independent and then took on the role of nurse when his health declined.  My aunt served in faith and love. Her daily, consistent care was the result of her belief that God called her to this important work. Her labor was borne out of love for God and her father. She also endured in hope. My grandfather was a very kind man, but it was difficult to watch him decline. She gave up time with family and friends, and she limited her travels to care for him. She was able to endure because of the hope that God would strengthen her each day, along with the hope of heaven that awaited my grandfather.  Whether it is caring for a relative, helping a neighbor, or volunteering your time, be encouraged as you do the work God has called you to do. Your labor can be a powerful testimony of faith, hope, and love.

PRAYER:

Written by Francis of Assisi (c1181-1226) was an Italian Catholic friar, deacon and preacher. He founded the men’s Order of Friars Minor, the women’s Order of Saint Claire, the Third Order of Saint Francis and the Custody of the Holy Land.

Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned. and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

 MEDITATION:

Written by Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), a Scottish evangelist and teacher.

God intends for us to live a well-rounded life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside. Then we tend to fall back into self-examination, a habit that we thought was gone. Self-awareness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of our life in God, and self-awareness continually produces a sense of struggling and turmoil in our lives. Self-awareness is not sin, and it can be produced by nervous emotions or by suddenly being dropped into a totally new set of circumstances. Yet it is never God’s will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him. Anything that disturbs our rest in Him must be rectified at once, and it is not rectified by being ignored but only by coming to Jesus Christ. If we will come to Him, asking Him to produce Christ-awareness in us, He will always do it, until we fully learn to abide in Him.

Never allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it. Beware of allowing the influence of your friends or your circumstances to divide your life. This only serves to sap your strength and slow your spiritual growth. Beware of anything that can split your oneness with Him, causing you to see yourself as separate from Him. Nothing is as important as staying right spiritually. And the only solution is a very simple one— “Come to Me….” The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words. Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.

PRAYER:

Written by William Johnston (1921-2005), an eminent Church of Scotland minister and moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

God, to whom all hearts are open, to whom all wills speak and from whom no secret is hid, I beg you so cleanse the intent of my heart with the unutterable gift of your grace that I may perfectly love you and worthily praise you. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Chuck Swindoll, a contemporary Christian pastor, broadcaster, and author.

J. Oswald Sanders, in his book, Paul, the Leader, writes, “We form part of a generation that worships power—military, intellectual, economical, scientific. The concept of power is worked into the warp and woof of our daily living. Our entire world is divided into power blocs. Men everywhere are striving for power in various realms, often with questionable motivation.”

The celebrated Scottish preacher, James Stewart, made a statement that is also challenging: “It is always upon human weakness and humiliation, not human strength and confidence, that God chooses to build His Kingdom; and that He can use us not merely in spite of our ordinariness and helplessness and disqualifying infirmities, but precisely because of them.”

That’s a thrilling discovery to make. It transforms our mental attitude toward our circumstances. Let’s pause long enough here to consider this principle in all seriousness. Your humiliations, your struggles, your battles, your weaknesses, your feelings of inadequacy, your helplessness, even your so-called “disqualifying” infirmities are precisely what make you effective. I would go further and say they represent the stuff of greatness. Once you are convinced of your own weakness and no longer trying to hide it, you embrace the power of Christ. Paul modeled that trait wonderfully, once he grasped the principle. His pride departed and in its place emerged a genuine humility that no amount of hardship could erase.

PRAYER:

This prayer is from the 5^th century liturgy of the Syro-Malabar church, which traces its origin to Thomas the Apostle.

 O God, you are the bottomless well of peace,

the heavenly sea of love,

the fountain of blessings,

and the giver  of affection,

and you send peace to those who receive it.

Open to us this day the sea of your love,

and water us with the flowing streams of your grace.

Make us children of quietness, and heirs of peace.

Enkindle the fire of your love in us;

plant holy reverence for you in us;

strengthen our weakness by your power;

bind us closely to you and to each other

in one firm bond of unity;

for the sake of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 MEDITATION:

Written by Pete Greig,  a contemporary English pastor, author, and founder of the global 24-7 Prayer movement.  This is an excerpt from his book “How to Pray.”

To start we must stop. To move forward, we must pause. This is the first step in a deeper prayer life: Put down your wish list and wait. Sit quietly. “Be still and know that I am God.” Become fully present in place and time so that your scattered senses can recenter themselves on God’s eternal presence. Stillness and silence prepare your mind and prime your heart to pray from a place of greater peace, faith, and adoration. In fact, these are themselves important forms of prayer.

No one stares up at the Northern Lights thinking, “Wow, I’m incredible!” We are hardwired to wonder and therefore to worship. The Lord’s Prayer begins with an invitation to adoration: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your Name.” Having paused to be still at the start of a prayer time, the most natural and appropriate response to God’s presence is reverence. Try not to skip this bit. Hallowing the Father’s name is the most important and enjoyable dimension of prayer. Linger here, rejoicing in God’s blessings before asking for any more. Like an eagle soaring, a horse galloping, or a salmon leaping, worship is the thing God designed you to do.

PRAYER:

Written by William Bright (1824-1901), an English ecclesiastical historian and Anglican priest.

O almighty God,

every good prayer comes from you,

and you pour out the Spirit of grace and prayer

on all who desire it.

Deliver us from coldness of heart

and wanderings of mind

when we draw near you,

that with steadfast thoughts

and warmed affections

we may worship you in spirit and in truth;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 MEDITATION:

Written by Annie F. Downs, contemporary Christian author.

Everything you have, from your health to your friendships to a roof over your head to the food in your belly, is a gift from God. And we even have something else to be thankful for: that God doesn’t change! I love that about Him. We can hold tight to our never-changing God and be okay because, in every other area of life, change is pretty much guaranteed. And you know what? Brave people are willing to let go of everything as they hold tight to God, even when things start to change.

In the last three months, I have seen the most change in my personal and professional life that I’ve ever had. For my counselor, I listed every North Star person (you know, a person who is important to you and gives you guidance) who has left my life in the last three months, and the number is seven. Seven. And you know what? It’s okay. If I chose to live in a world where I hated change all the time, I would be really miserable. If I chose to put all my hope in people, I would be really miserable. (I’ve tried both. It’s always miserable.)

I don’t love change, but I know that God is always working for my good. So, I can say, “Man, this is the worst!” But I have a totally trustworthy God who is looking out for me. Does God need a reminder that He has all this under control? No, friend. He doesn’t. You do. I definitely do. We all do. Remembering that He’s the boss and His plans are for our good and He loves us — that can make us brave, even when everything that felt secure seems to be changing.

PRAYER:

From The Mozarabic Rite, also called the Visigothic Rite or the Hispanic Rite, is a liturgical rite of the Latin Church once used generally in the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania), in what is now Spain and Portugal in the 500s.

Lord Jesus Christ,

true God and truly human,

you do not change,

and you are holy in all your works.

Remove all our unbelief and doubt,

and fill our hearts with the gifts of your grace

that we may believe and know you as true God,

and by your miracles and mighty works

know you as Savior of all. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Os Guiness. A contemporary Christian author and social critic. This is an excerpt from his work “Purposeful Living for Today and Beyond.”

I’m speaking from quarantine to all of you presumably in quarantine. I think the heart of the challenge of the pandemic is that it strikes at modernity’s love of control, mastery — control through reason, science, technology, management — and suddenly the angel of death arrives and we realize we’re not in control. So it’s an extraordinary time for reflection and self-examination. I’ve certainly tried to think of it that way. We can think of it in terms of, say, America and the Western world, or the global world, or we can think of it as we’re doing this today in terms of our individual, personal lives.

I start my book, Carpe Diem Redeemed, with a time when I was on the Eurostar, going from Brussels to London. As you come into St. Pancras station, there are a number of dilapidated Victorian buildings splattered with graffiti. One of them reads like this: “You only live once, and it doesn’t last. So live it up. Drink it down. Laugh it off. Burn it at both ends. You can’t take it with you. You only live once.”  Now that of course was the famous YOLO philosophy (“You Only Live Once”). Many people who followed — they knew it came from the Greeks: “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” But what many people forget is that one of the original formulations was “You only live once — if then.” In other words, life is short, life is fragile, life is vulnerable, and the question is, How do we live it well? And how do we make sense of it in order to live it well?  I think we have to start thinking it through for ourselves, each of us, and I include myself, because we’re all in this world where life is short and fragile and vulnerable. 

PRAYER:

From The Mozarabic Rite, also called the Visigothic Rite or the Hispanic Rite, is a liturgical rite of the Latin Church once used generally in the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania), in what is now Spain and Portugal in the 500s.

O God,

you are the well of life,

and in your light we see light.

Shine the light of your holy knowledge on us

and show us your flowing fountain.

Give our thirsty souls living water

and shine your light from heaven on our darkened minds;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Lawrence W. Althouse, a contemporary Christian author. This is an excerpt from his work “A Distant Second,” published in the “Blount Countian.”

Freedom can be very elusive and fleeting because the dimensions of freedom evolve along with society. The Exodus from Egyptian slavery is one of the great liberation stories of all time. But, the world of 1300 BC (approximate date) was a radically different world from ours. The Israelite escapees made giant steps for human freedom, but they were limited to what was conceivable at the time… We are proud that dissident religious groups came here searching for religious freedom. But that pride must be tempered by the realization that many of the religious groups seeking freedom for themselves established colonies in which it was denied to others. Abraham Lincoln later commented in a letter, “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and under a just God, cannot long retain it.”

As William Lisle Bowles wrote, “The cause of freedom is the cause of God.” Tyranny, suppression, and injustice are abominations to the God who brought Israel out of Egypt. The conviction that “freedom is for me” must evolve into “freedom is for all.” We are getting there, but we are not there yet. The God who leads us to freedom is above all our human political institutions. Politics should be subservient to religion. Whether we are Republicans or Democrats, Liberals or Conservatives, our highest loyalty must be to God, not our party or ideology. In fact, Christians must be critics and watchdogs of all parties, starting with our own. We will support our party when it is responsive to God’s purpose and criticize it when it is not. The gospel will be our ultimate source of authority, not the ideology of our respective parties. Yet, despite our pretensions as a Christian nation, it is our party spirit and ideology, not the divine teachings of Jesus, that drive our governments at every level. Let Egyptians and Israelites know, as well as Democrats and Republicans: God first, party, a distant second.

PRAYER:

Written by Augustine of Hippo (354-430), an early Christian theologian, bishop, and philosopher.

Eternal God,

who are the light of the minds that know you,

the joy of the hearts that love you,

and the strength of the wills that serve you;

grant us so to know you

that we may truly love you,

and so to love you

that we may fully serve you,

whom to serve is perfect freedom,

in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

MEDITATION:

Written by Ron Moore, contemporary American pastor and Christian author.

David was on the run through no fault of his own. Jealous King Saul was in hot pursuit intent on putting him to death. David’s ragtag army was no match for Saul’s elite soldiers. David knew that if they ever caught him. they would most certainly tear him apart like a lion.

Have you ever been unjustly accused…at work, by friends, or even in your home? You admit that you are not perfect. You know you can say things that others misunderstand. But this time, at least, you are innocent. Your accusers are not intent on ripping you to pieces like David’s, but they are out to get you nonetheless. What do you do? Retaliate? Make similar accusations? Spread rumors? Mount an all out social media attack? No. Do what David did.

David found protection in God alone. God was his refuge so he made his appeal to the One who will “judge the peoples.” He is the One who knows your heart and will bring vindication. He is the righteous and just God. Can you trust God with accusations against you? He is more than capable to deliver you and deliver justice.

PRAYER:

This is a traditional Welsh prayer.

Grant me, O God, thy merciful protection; and in protection give me strength, I pray; and in my strength, O grant me wise discretion; and in discretion, make me ever just; and with my justice, may I mingle love; and with my love, O God, the love of thee; and with the love of thee, the love of all. Amen.