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Meditation

Written by Aubry Smith, a contemporary trainer for a Christian international non-profit organization. This is an excerpt from her article “What Psalm 84 Teaches Us About Home.”

In these times of upheaval, all our typical sources of strength can easily be sapped. No longer can we rely on our experience and understanding, for this is new territory. When our resources are insufficient, it can be terrifying. These times of chaos can lead to blessing, however, as we are forced to cast ourselves on the strength of the Lord and find that he is enough for all our weakness.  The psalmist in Psalm 84 says that those whose hearts are set on pilgrimage are blessed. Our natural selves long for a home, for stability, for comfort, and for some measure of predictability. A heart set on pilgrimage recognizes that moving toward God often means leaving behind those very things. As we follow Jesus—who himself had “no place to lay his head” (MT 8:20)—we find that we become “foreigners and exiles” in this world. God becomes our place of belonging, our only true home, and this makes us foreigners in every other place in this world that we might have previously found refuge in…May we press on toward our true home, with our hearts set on pilgrimage. 

Prayer

Written by Henry Baron, contemporary author of the book “Talking With God.” 

I must follow you, Lord, on this journey. I must go where you went with eyes and ears wide open if I’m to change.… keep me listening, Lord of all.  Let me not get lost or hide among the heedless sons and daughters of my own Jerusalem.

Meditation

Written by Michael Cromartie, Vice President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. This is excerpted from his article “What Now? Faithful Living in Challenging Times.”

Many important commentators are saying we are living in a time of “great transition.” This “time of transition” is really the very nature of our lives in our earthly existence. We are always living in a time of transition. And so we are today. We have this tendency to see our era as the worst era in all of history. Times may be growing dark—but times have been dark since the Fall in the Garden of Eden. We are not, and will not, be the losers in history. The arc of history is long, but we know with confidence how it ends. And so there is comfort in the midst of all this transition: the central doctrines of the sovereignty of God and the providence of God over all of life, and over all of history and where it is going, should give us confidence that the principalities and powers of this age will not have the final word.

And therefore let’s continue to love our neighbors right where we are–in our work places, in our businesses, in all areas of life, and let’s ride out this cultural moment in the full confidence that God is the sovereign Lord of history and all of history is in His hands. Our task is to bless our neighbors, cultivate Shalom, and continue to remind people of the wonderful news of the gospel (especially since we will need to be poised to receive the wounded who will be the inevitable victims of our current cultural malaise and dysfunctions). Let us continue to keep doing all the good we can, in all the many ways we can, confident in our strong faith in our loving and merciful God. Knowing this will keep us from panicking; it will keep us from screaming, from freaking out, or from caving into the pressures that surround us on every side. And so we must do our various duties faithfully while living in exile, fully aware and confident that the final consummation of history and true justice will come with the restoration of the entire universe to its original, created glory. So, let’s continue to faithfully do our duties, even while in exile.

Prayer

This prayer if from the Roman Breviary, a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites published in 1482. It became known as the “Liturgy of the Hours.”

O almighty God, we seek the shelter of your protection.

Defend us from all evils, that we may serve you in peace and quietness of spirit;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Meditation

Written by Debbie Taylor Williams, a contemporary Christian author and founder of P.R.A.Y. with Passion Across the Nation.

“I need this. I need that.” Sometimes our human nature screams for what we want. We long for a magic genie to give or tell us what we want to have or hear. Sometimes we may be frustrated because we wish God would drop from heaven what we envision to be the perfect life.  What do we do when Jehovah Jireh, “The LORD will Provide,” doesn’t appear to provide what we want?  First, it is important to understand the context of God’s name, “The LORD Will Provide.”  It is when God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his son, as a test of his obedience. Abraham walked in faith, assuring Isaac that God would provide the sacrifice. The Hebrew words, “Jehovah Jireh,” means “the LORD will see to it.” God seeing to it that there was a substitute sacrifice for Abraham to use in place of Isaac foreshadowed Jesus “seeing to it” by providing Himself as our sacrifice. Now, what about those things on our wish list? God “sees to it.”  He has gifted us with His Holy nature to equip us to live beyond our human nature. God “sees to” our problems by instructing us in the Bible how to do life, relationships, money, parenting, envy, anger; and the list goes on. Jesus is God’s provision. The Bible is God’s provision. The Holy Spirit is God’s provision.  He is “seeing to it” above and beyond our daily and eternal needs.  Are we walking as Abraham, according to God’s Word, and therefore experiencing His provisions?

Prayer

Written by Debbie Taylor Williams, author of today’s devotional.

Heavenly Father, we praise You, Jehovah Jireh. You are the LORD WHO PROVIDES for not only our eternity but our every day. Help us not foolishly ignore Your daily presence and Word but rather see both as bountiful gifts that from heaven to see to our daily needs.Amen.

Meditation

Excerpted from an interview with N.T. Wright on his book “God and the Pandemic.”

Western churches for the last few generations have been failing in living and announcing God’s kingdom on earth as in heaven. The churches of late western modernity—including ‘conservative’ late western modernity—have been captive to a Platonic gospel of ‘going to heaven when you die’ which the younger generation has seen right through as the escapist nonsense it is. Fortunately the Bible offers something far more robust…Some younger people are drawn back to more traditional types of ‘institutional Christianity’—like meditative liturgical music, or Cathedral-style worship—because it gives the worshipers space to ponder and grow, without thrusting obvious and one-dimensional teachings at them all the time. My anxiety is that there may be a time-lag before our churches wake up to the truly biblical message, which is not that God wants us to go and live with him but that he wants to come and live with us, transforming, healing, and renewing the whole creation—and that he has decisively begun that in Jesus and is implementing it by his Spirit until Jesus comes again to complete the work. In that time-lag a generation may be lost. In particular, the western churches have cheerfully colluded with multiple divisions, so that Paul’s constant insistence on church unity is not even noticed, let alone preached on, let alone acted upon. If our churches even tried to be a bit more multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-generational, multi-colored, then more young people might just glimpse that this was always God’s intention for the church—to be a small working model of what God wants to do for the whole creation. This is simply an exposition of Ephesians 1-3.

Prayer

Written by Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596), an English sea captain and the second sailor to circumnavigate the globe.

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little, when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim. Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wilder seas where storms will show Your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push back the future in strength, courage, hope, and love. This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Meditation

Written by Ken Blanchard, a contemporary Christian writer who focuses on servant leadership.  This was excerpted from his article “6 Practices That Will Make You a Better Listener.”

As we begin to come out of the coronavirus pandemic and run smack into the turmoil around continuing racism in our country, I think it’s a good time to review an essential leadership skill: listening. So often the key to overcoming a difficulty—whether it’s in the workplace or at home—is to stop talking and start listening. I often like to joke that if God had wanted us to talk more than listen, he would have given us two mouths. Yet few people have mastered the art of listening. Why is this seemingly simple skill so difficult? Research published by Wendell Johnson in the Harvard Business Review examined one way the listening process goes wrong. Johnson found that because of how our brains work, we think much faster than people talk. As we listen to someone talk, we have time to think of things other than what the person is saying. As a result, we end up listening to a few thoughts of our own in addition to the words we’re hearing spoken. Usually we can get back to what the person is saying, but sometimes we listen to our own thoughts too long and miss part of the other person’s message. To sharpen your listening skills, learn to apply the following six practices: Resist the temptation to jump in, pay attention to body language, ask questions, reflect feelings, paraphrase and summarize. These practices are not easy—they require time and effort to master. But once you do master them, you’ll build more satisfying relationships. You’ll also avoid a lot of the errors, frustrations, and inefficiencies that come from unclear communication. Think of how our homes, workplaces, nation, and world could change for the better if we all learned to listen to one another.

Prayer

Dear God, as I strive to walk more closely with you, I pray that I will be able to reach out and show more love to all my neighbors in this world. Enlarge my circle of those I interact with.  Through your grace and mercy, teach me to truly listen to others and better understand others views and experiences. Teach me to take the time to just listen, not rush to judgement or quickly provide solutions. Allow me to empathize with their concerns and show compassion and love. Help me to become involved in ways that show much I deeply care. Allow me to represent you by loving and caring for all those I encounter. Be with me Holy Spirit, as I continue to grow in my walk with Jesus. Amen

El Olam, the everlasting God, the God of eternity, the God of the universe, the God of ancient days.  Our everlasting God is free from all constraints of time. He is the alpha and omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.  He is the God for whom one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day. Our God contains within Himself the very nature of time itself.

God’s everlasting love is promised throughout eternity. Because God is everlasting, God’s plans stand firm forever and are constant from generation to generation. While our lives may be short, El Olam has put a sense of eternity in our minds. We can fully trust in His promises and rely on His everlasting love because the plans of El Olam hold firm forever.

Our Scripture reflection is from Isaiah 40:27-31:

Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God” Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength They will soar on wings like eagles they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Shalom represents the peace that comes from living in harmony with God. Shalom is not a simple peace from external conflict. Instead, shalom is a covenant word, an expression of God’s faithful relationship with his people. We are intended to know the fullness of God’s perfect peace —  a state of peace with God, ourselves, and others. Shalom is a complete peace that can only come from a faithful God who promises to always be with us – in good times as well as in difficult, tumultuous times. When we pray to Jehovah Shalom we are praying to the Prince of Peace, God who IS peace itself.  Shalom.

Our Scripture reflection is from Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV):

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

With Lent behind us, I’ve developed a new idea for devotional inputs…The Names of God. Studying the names of God and the meanings behind them gives us historical and current perspective on the God we love. These will not be daily devotions, but I will try to post at least weekly! Each devotional will provide a short review of the name, followed by related scripture to contemplate.

I’ll start today with Elohim: God Creator.

Elohim (EL-OH-HEEM) is the most frequently used name for God in the Old Testament.  Elohim is the God Creator in Genesis, as well as the sustainer and the redeemer in Exodus, Isaiah and the Psalms.  In Hebrew, Elohim is a plural form in Hebrew that begins to reveal God’s triune nature of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Elohim is infinite and all powerful.  Elohim is righteous and knows our minds and hearts. We worship a mighty and strong Lord — Elohim who displays supreme power, sovereignty and faithfulness of covenant in His relationship with us.  Let us praise and worship our Lord God…our Creator and Redeemer.  Elohim.

Our scripture meditation for today is from Colossians 1:15-23 (The Living Bible translation):

 Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all, and, in fact, Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory. He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together.  He is the Head of the body made up of his people—that is, his Church—which he began; and he is the Leader of all those who arise from the dead, so that he is first in everything; for God wanted all of himself to be in his Son.

 It was through what his Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to him—all things in heaven and on earth—for Christ’s death on the cross has made peace with God for all by his blood. This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies and hated him and were separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through the death on the cross of his own human body, and now as a result Christ has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are standing there before him with nothing left against you—nothing left that he could even chide you for; the only condition is that you fully believe the Truth, standing in it steadfast and firm, strong in the Lord, convinced of the Good News that Jesus died for you, and never shifting from trusting him to save you. This is the wonderful news that came to each of you and is now spreading all over the world. And I, Paul, have the joy of telling it to others.

Today’s prayer is from the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Living God, through Jesus Christ

you emptied the power of death

and gave us the gift of life in fullness.

Now dry our tears and send us out

to tell the good news of the gospel:

Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

Today’s contemporary prayer was written by the Rev. Michaela Youngson a Methodist minister from London. She is a poet, author, and broadcaster.

When everything was dark
and it seemed that the sun would never shine again,
your love broke through.

Your love was too strong,
too wide,
too deep
for death to hold.

The sparks cast by your love
dance and spread
and burst forth
with resurrection light.

Gracious God,
We praise you for the light of new life
made possible through Jesus.
We praise you for the light of new life
that shone on the first witnesses of resurrection.
We praise you for the light of new life
that continues to shine in our hearts today.

We pray that the Easter light of life, hope and joy,
will live in us each day;
and that we will be bearers of that light
into the lives of others.    Amen.