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Meditation

Written by Hans Kung, a contemporary Swiss priest, theologian, and author. This is an excerpt from his book “The Church.”

The essential part of the Christian message is the idea of salvation for the whole community of people, of which the individual is a member. Closely linked to the idea of the Christian’s message is the outward sign which is at once a sign of grace and vocation for the individual and of his reception into the community of the people of God: baptism.  Since God’s call precedes any action and any faith on the part of the individual, and since this call is addressed to the whole people of God, the individual never stands alone, but within the community, just as the individual communities are part of the one community, the Church. The Church begins, not with a pious individual, but with God.

Prayer

Written by Meg Bucher, a contemporary Christian author.

Father, praise You for guiding us faithfully through this life. Fish live under the water, and though the wind chases the surface into a fury, schools of them swim peacefully under the surface. As the fish peacefully wait out the waves swimming under the water, we seek shelter under Your arms of pure love. Praise Jesus, who came to earth as a living reflection of Your love, to take us in His arms and show us how to weather the stormy seas of life.

Our great God, You are our rock. When our ship is tossed, we can throw anchor to the bottom and know that You will steady us. You will keep us from running aground as the storm passes through our lives without regard for the destruction left in the wake. 

Christ came to earth and followed Your will wholeheartedly, never doubting and never straying. He knew what His purpose was in life. It’s not as obvious for us, Father, and we struggle to find our trajectory on the surface of this globe. The earth shifts rapidly and we race to keep up. Forgive us, Father, for chasing after our own ambitions, goals, and fortunes. We confess the motives of our heart that steer us off of the path You have planned for us… the purpose You have placed in us. Each of us has been blessed with a gift that lights us up. Whether it’s being kind, good at math, stringing words together, running fast, starting businesses, or building airplanes, the number of talents that You have knit into the body of Your church is as endless as the personality traits that harbor them.

Meditation

Written by Martin de Porres (1579-1639), a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order. He founded orphanages for homeless children and cared for African slaves.

One day an aged beggar, covered with ulcers and almost naked, stretched out his hand, and Saint Martin, seeing the Divine Mendicant in him, took him to his own bed, paying no heed to the fact that he was not perfectly neat and clean. One of his brethren, considering he had gone too far in his charity, reproved him. Saint Martin replied: ‘Compassion, my dear Brother, is preferable to cleanliness. Reflect that with a little soap I can easily clean my bed covers, but even with a torrent of tears I would never wash from my soul the stain that my harshness toward the unfortunate would create.’

Prayer

A prayer from the PC-USA Book of Common Worship.

Holy God, your Word, Jesus Christ, spoke peace to a sinful world and brought humanity the gift of reconciliation by the suffering and death he endured. Teach those who bear his name to follow the example he gave us. May our faith, hope, and charity turn hatred to love, conflict to peace, and death to eternal life; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Meditation

Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013), an American philosopher known for his writings on Christian spiritual formation. This is an excerpt from his book “Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge.”

The most important thing about our fellowship with other disciples is that Jesus, the Trinitarian presence, should be in our midst. For that, we must meet “in his name”; that is, we meet for his purposes, with his resources, and in his presence. This will no doubt require some serious readjustments, given how “church” is generally practiced today. But it can be done if you and I are willing to walk with Jesus in doing it and not get caught up in superiority and in condemnatory comparisons as we look upon those around us—and especially upon those who do not agree with us or even attack us. If we come together in this way, Jesus’s idea of evangelism and “mission” will fall into place.  As Frank Laubach says: “The simple program of Christ for winning the whole world is to make each person he touches magnetic enough with love to draw others.” If we grow our fellowship in this direction, it will naturally affect those around us, whether in the fellowship or not. This kind of love and the “Presence” go with us wherever we go. They cannot be hidden. A “missional church,” in a wording often used today, is actually one that cannot be stopped from increasing, because it grows by contiguity—skin on skin.

Prayer

Written by Thomas Merton (1915-1968), an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist, and scholar of comparative religion.

O God, we are one with you. You have made us one with you. You have taught us that if we are open to one another, you dwell in us. Help us to preserve this openness and to fight for it with all our hearts. Help us to realize that there can be no understanding where there is mutual rejection.

O God, in accepting one another wholeheartedly, fully, completely, we accept you, and we thank you, and we adore you, and we love you with our whole being, because our being is your being, our spirit is rooted in your spirit. Fill us then with love, and let us be bound together with love as we go our diverse ways, united in this one spirit which makes you present in the world, and which makes you witness to the ultimate reality that is love. Love has overcome. Love is victorious. Amen.

Meditation

Written by Elton Trueblook (1900-1994), an author, theologian, and chaplain to both Harvard and Stanford universities.

When we begin to ask what the conditions of inner renewal are, we receive essentially the same answers from nearly all of those whom we have most reason to respect. Only one major answer is the emphasis upon discipline. In the conduct of one’s own life it is soon obvious, as many have learned the hard way, that empty freedom is a snare and a delusion. In following what comes naturally or easily, life simply ends in confusion, and in consequent disaster. Without the discipline of time, we spoil the next day the night before, and without the discipline of prayer, we are likely to end by having practically no experience of the divine-human encounter. However compassionate we may be with others, we dare not be soft or indulgent with ourselves. Excellence comes at a price, and one of the major prices is inner control. We are most free when we are bound. But not just any way of being bound will suffice; what matters is the character of our binding.  The one who would like to be an athlete, but who is unwilling to discipline his body is not free to excel on the field or the track. With one concerted voice the giants of the devotional life apply the same principle to the whole of life with the dictum: Discipline is the price of freedom.

Prayer

Written by Clement of Rome (35-99), Bishop of Rome and considered to be the first Apostolic Father of the Church.

May God, who sees all things, and who is the Ruler of all spirits and the Lord of all flesh – who chose our Lord Jesus Christ and us through Him to be a peculiar people – grant to every soul that calls upon His glorious and holy Name, faith, peace, patience, long-suffering, self-control, purity, and sobriety, to the well-pleasing of His Name, through our High Priest and Protector, Jesus Christ, by whom be to Him glory, and majesty, and power, and honor, both now and forevermore. Amen.

Meditation

Written by Carlo Carretto (1910-1988), an Italian religious author of the congregation of the Little Brothers of the Gospel. Excerpted from his book “I, Francis.”

And so, when we had a decision to make, we would open the Gospel at random, after having said a little prayer, and then we did whatever was written, without adding anything. This manner of action gave us a boundless liberty, and nurtured simplicity of heart with some solid food. Another important element taking shape in the community we were forming was the primacy of faith instead of structures. We felt ourselves to be a community in search of God, not a seminary for the priesthood. What made us one was Christ, and the imitation of him gave meaning to the manner of living of each one of us. There was the whole expression around us of the life of a simple Christian.

Prayer

Written by Angela of Foligno (1248-1309), an Italian Franciscan tertiary who became known as a mystic from her extensive writings about her mystical revelations. She also founded a religious community that cares for those in need.  It is still active today.

O Lord Jesus Christ, make me worthy to understand the profound mystery of your holy incarnation, which you have worked for our sake and for our salvation. Truly there is nothing so great and wonderful as this, that you, my God, who are the creator of all things, should become a creature, so that we should become like God. You have humbled yourself and made yourself small that we might be made mighty. You have taken the form of a servant, so that you might confer upon us a royal and divine beauty. You, who are beyond our understanding, have made yourself understandable to us in Jesus Christ. You, who are the uncreated God, have made yourself a creature for us. You, who are the untouchable One, have made yourself touchable to us. You, who are most high, make us capable of understanding your amazing love and the wonderful things you have done for us. Make us able to understand the mystery of your incarnation, the mystery of your life, example, and doctrine, the mystery of your cross and passion, the mystery of your resurrection and ascension. Blessed are you, O Lord, for coming to earth as a man. Amen.

Meditation

Written by Michael Youssef, a contemporary American pastor.

Nearly every day, it seems people invent a new way to shake their fists at God and His Word. As believers living in this sin-sick world, we must take care to keep ourselves “from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).  We do not isolate ourselves from the world, however, for then how could we bear witness? Rather, we are to live differently—but that’s often easier said than done.

God gives us hope through Paul’s letter to believers living in one of the most spiritually sick cities of the ancient world: Corinth. Some of the Corinthian believers were trying to keep one foot in the church and the other in the world, but that’s impossible to do. So, Paul earnestly writes to help the church confront this temptation—to bring them into wholeness in Christ by reminding them who they already are.  Paul calls the believers in Corinth—messed up as they are—saints.

Every time we deliberately sin, every time we fall into ungodly behavior, it is because we have forgotten who we are—and whose we are. We are children of God, made righteous by the blood of Christ. Armed with the Truth that God will remain faithful to us even when we are not faithful to Him—we are empowered to live holy lives as He is holy. You are saints; now live like it.

Prayer

Written by Francis of Assisi (c1181-1226), an Italian 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.

Most high, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me Lord, a correct faith, a certain hope, a perfect charity, sense, and knowledge, so that I may carry out Your holy and true command. Amen.

Meditation

Written by Dr. R.C. Sproul (1939-2017), an American theologian and pastor. He founded Ligonier Ministries and the Renewing Your Mind broadcast. This is excerpted from his devotion “Examining Calvin’s Rules of Prayer.”

For John Calvin, prayer was like a priceless treasure that God has offered to His people. Calvin’s first rule of prayer was to enter into it with a full awareness of the One to whom we are speaking. The key to prayer is a spirit of reverence and adoration. Calvin wrote of how easy it is for our minds to wander in prayer. We become inattentive, as if we were speaking to someone with whom we are easily bored. This insults the glory of God. Calvin’s second rule of prayer was that we ask only for those things that God permits. Prayer can be an exercise in blasphemy if we entreat His blessing for our sinful desires. John Calvin’s third rule of prayer was that we must always pray with genuine feeling. Prayer is a matter of passion: “Many repeat prayers in a perfunctory manner from a set form, as if they were performing a task to God . . . They perform the duty from custom, because their minds are meanwhile cold, and they ponder not what they ask.”  A fourth rule of prayer from Calvin was that it be always accompanied by repentance. A humble submission is required.

How does your personal prayer life line up with these rules? Do you pray with genuine feeling? Is your heart and mind framed as becomes those who are entering into conversation with God? Do you ask only for those things God permits? Do you accompany your prayers with repentance? If I can summarize Calvin’s teaching on prayer succinct, I would say this: The chief rule of prayer is to remember who God is and to remember who you are. If we remember those two things, our prayers will always and ever be marked by adoration and confession.

Prayer

From the Mozarabic Rite, a liturgical rite once used generally in what is now Spain and Portugal. Developed during Visigoth rule of the Iberian peninsula in the 500s AD.

Meditation

Written by Francois Fenelon (1651-1715), a French archbishop, theologian, poet, and writer.

Let us then think only of the present, and not even permit our minds to wander with curiosity into the future. This future is not yet ours; perhaps it never will be. It is exposing ourselves to temptation to wish to anticipate God, and to prepare ourselves for things which He may not destine for us. If such things should come to pass, He will give us light and strength according to the need. Why should we desire to meet difficulties prematurely, when we have neither strength nor light as yet provided for them? Let us give heed to the present, whose duties are pressing; it is fidelity to the present which prepares us for fidelity in the future.

Prayer

Written by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, a contemporary speaker, author, and doctor. 

Father, You know that sometimes life and the circumstances we face are just hard. But you are our source of peace. I pray for the one reading these words right now. I pray that whatever they are facing right now, that they would take a deep breath and inhale more of you and your peace while exhaling any of the worries that weigh them down. I pray that they would be anxious for nothing, but would come to you in prayer with all their needs, thanking you even now that you know how you’re going to take care of every last detail. I thank you that you care about the things that we care about, and that you are our source of peace in the midst of the storms. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Meditation

Written by Ken Boa, a contemporary pastor and President of Reflections Ministry. This is an excerpt from his devotion “The Source of Wisdom.”

Human nature has not changed. The wide array of wisdom found in Proverbs is just as relevant now as when it was first written. Whereas other books of the Bible deepen our devotional lives, Proverbs applies to our daily habits and points us to Christ through practical righteousness. He, after all, is the source of true wisdom. As we learn to apply the proverbs, we will be more conformed to His image.

One key application from Proverbs is how we use our words. The tongue is a powerful thing. While worldly wisdom might tell us to answer harshly and gain the upper hand, divine wisdom teaches to respond gently to promote peace and unity. We do well to examine ourselves for pride that might cause us to lash out against others in anger. Wisdom invites us to enter into calm conversation that can help us realize our own flaws. Walking in the power of the Spirit and abiding in Christ, we can watch our words and build one another up.

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. 

Look upon us, O Lord, and let all the darkness of our souls vanish before the beams of thy brightness. Fill us with holy love, and open to us the treasures of thy wisdom. All our desire is known unto thee, therefore perfect what thou hast begun, and what thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer. We seek thy face, turn thy face unto us and show us thy glory. Then shall our longing be satisfied, and our peace shall be perfect.

Meditation

Written by Jennifer Woodruff Tait, the managing editor of Christian History Magazine. This is an excerpt from her devotion “To Set the Mind on the Flesh is Death.”

Jesus sets us free from the sinful things we have done ourselves and are ashamed of, and from the sins that grow out of the sinful things others have done to us, and from the complex interplay of sin and death and flesh in all of our lives that enmeshes us in systems of sin. There is no catch. Paul could not be clearer: Jesus paid it all, as the old hymn says…We are not to set our mind on the things of the flesh. Only death lies that way. We are to set our mind on the things of the Spirit, and doing so will bring us life and peace beyond our wild imaginings.

In the turbulent times that face us now, this is a good reminder and an essential truth. In one of the confession prayers from my tradition, we repent of “the evil that enslaves us, the evil we have done, and the evil done on our behalf.” In each of our lives, in our families and workplaces, in our public statements and private thoughts, we need to think through how we have participated in the fallen world of death and how we can seek out the redemptive world of the Spirit instead. Because, truth be told, Jesus is already seeking us. Jesus stands ready to make us more than conquerors over that fallen world if we but let him conquer the sin in and around us.

Prayer

Written by Jennifer Woodruff Tait, author of today’s devotion.

Lord Jesus, keep us in Romans, Chapter 8. Help us remember that you paid it all; there is no condemnation in you, and when we confess our sin and receive your forgiveness, we are given freedom for life in the Spirit. Help us walk in the Spirit’s life every day. Amen.