Pathways Press.com

Written by Max Lucado, a contemporary pastor and author. This is an excerpt from his book “In the Footsteps of the Savior.”

The word race is from the Greek word agon, from which we get the word agony. The Christian’s race is not a jog but rather a demanding and grueling, sometimes agonizing race. It takes a massive effort to finish strong. Likely you’ve noticed that many don’t. Surely you’ve observed there are many on the side of the trail. They used to be running. There was a time when they kept the pace., But then weariness set in. They didn’t think the run would be this tough. Or they were discouraged by a bump and daunted by a fellow runner. They may be Christians. They may come to church, but their hearts aren’t in the race. They retired before their time. Unless something changes, their best work will have been their first work, and they will finish with a whimper.  By contrast, Jesus’ best work was his final work, and his strongest step was his last step. Our Master is the classic example of one who endured. The writer of Hebrews goes on to say that Jesus “held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him” (Hebrews 12:3). The Bible says Jesus “held on,” implying that Jesus could have let go. He could have quit the race. But he didn’t. He “held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him.”

Prayer:

Written by Roy Lessin, a contemporary writer. This is an excerpt from his book “His Footsteps, My Pathway.”

Lord, You are my strength, my sanity, my security, my salvation. Your hand upholds me, Your grace sustains me, Your power supports me. Keep my feet moving forward, keep my faith looking upward, keep my hope pointing homeward. Make a roadway through every rugged mountain, make a pathway through every stormy sea, make a highway through every dark valley. I do not put my faith in my own timetable but in Your perfect plan. LORD, however long it takes, I will trust You I receive Your grace to endure all things with pleasantness of spirit, calmness of soul, and thankfulness of heart.”

Read Full Post »

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

The more you seek for God, the nearer He will be to you; every step that you take toward Him will bring you peace and consolation.

Prayer:

Written by Jessica Van Roekel, a contemporary writer.

Holy God, we bow before you, awestruck by who you are. You are light and life, grace and mercy, just and right, and filled with love and power. Let our hearts draw near to you today. We seek you with all our hearts because we know that our desires are found and fulfilled in you. We want to know you, Lord. You desire relationship and so we say, yes. Yes, Lord. Reveal yourself to us today as we seek your face. Without you our becoming loses its fire and our doing loses its purpose. Guide our steps and our hearts ever closer to you. Help us to know your voice and respond when you call. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Read Full Post »

Written by Thomas Kelly (1893-1941), an American Quaker educator and writer. This is an excerpt from his book “The Sanctuary of the Soul.”

It is an amazing discovery, at first, to find that a creative power and life is at work in the world. God is no longer the object of a belief; He is a reality, who has continued, within us, His real presence in the world. God is aggressive. He is an intruder, a lofty lowly conqueror on whom we had counted too little, because we had counted on ourselves.  Too long have we supposed that we must carry the banner of religion, that it was our concern. But religion is not our concern; it is God’s concern. Our task is to call people to “be still, and know that I am God,” to hearken to that of God within them, to invite, to unclasp the clenched fists of self-resolution, to be pliant in His firm guidance, sensitive to the inflections of the inner voice.

Prayer:

Written by Tiffany Thibault, a contemporary speaker and writer.

Oh Lord, please help me this day. Give me eyes to see how you are at work in every one of my circumstances. Lord, give me perseverance to increase my understanding of you. Give me a hunger to read your Word and to seek to know you more each day. Just as the dawn comes with its exact precision, help me to trust that You will also move in my life, in your perfect timing and in your beautiful way. In Your Name I pray, Amen.

Read Full Post »

Written by John Calvin (1509-1564), a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation.

For when Scripture enjoins us to lay aside private regard to ourselves, it not only divests our minds of an excessive longing for wealth or power or human favor, but eradicates all ambition and thirst for worldly glory, and other more secret pests. The Christian ought, indeed, to be so trained and disposed as to consider that during his whole life he has to do with God. For this reason, as he will bring all things to the disposal and estimate of God, so he will religiously direct his whole mind to Him. For he who has learned to look to God in everything he does, is at the same time diverted from all vain thoughts.

Prayer:

Written by Francis of Assisi (c1181-1226), an Italian Catholic friar, deacon, and preacher.

Lord God: you alone are holy, you who work wonders! You are strong, you are great, you are the Most High, you are the almighty King, you, holy Father, King of heaven and earth. Lord God: you are Three and you are One, you are goodness, all goodness, you are the highest Good, Lord God, living and true. You are love and charity, you are wisdom, you are humility, you are patience, you are beauty, you are sweetness, you are safety, you are rest, you are joy, you are our hope and our delight, you are justice, you are moderation you are all our wealth and riches overflowing. You are beauty, you are gentleness, you are our shelter, our guard and our defender, you are strength, you are refreshment, you are our hope. you are our faith. you are our love, you are our complete consolation, you are our life everlasting, great and wonderful Lord, all powerful God, merciful Savior! Amen.

Read Full Post »

Written by John of the Cross (1542-1591), a Spanish priest and reformer of the Carmelite way of life. This is an excerpt from his book “Loving God Through the Darkness.”

Endeavor to be inclined always:

Not to the easiest, but to the most difficult;

Not to the most delightful, but to the most distasteful;

Not to the most gratifying, but to the less pleasant;

Not to what means rest for you, but to hard work;

Not to the most, but to the least;

Not to the highest and most precious, but to the lowest and most despised;

Not to wanting something, but to wanting nothing.

Prayer:

Written by Annie McGuire, a contemporary Bible teacher and ministry leader.

Dear Lord, please tune my ear to your voice today. I want to be sensitive to your Spirit. Quiet the noise of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Soothe my soul with your still small voice. Allow me to hear your words above the relentless roars of the enemy. Silence my inner critic and help me to stay firmly planted on the solid ground of truth. Amen.

Read Full Post »

Written by Elizabeth J. Canham, a contemporary pastor and writer.  This is an excerpt from her work “Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?”

Wisdom is not limited to the ivory towers of a privileged few but is revealed in all walks of life for any who live in righteousness, justice, equity, and prudence. Wisdom comes into the heart of all who embrace God’s way.

Prayer:

Today’s prayer is from the Sarum Primer, a book of prayers and Christian worship resources from the 1500s, collected at the Salisbury Cathedral.

O God,

you count the number of the stars,

and call them all by their names.

Heal the contrite in heart,

gather together the outcasts,

and enrich us with the fullness of your wisdom;

through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Read Full Post »

Written by Stephen V. Doughty and Marjorie J. Thomson.  This is an excerpt from their book “The Way of Discernment.”

The monk Thomas Merton once asked an earnest student a question that he immediately answered himself: “How does an apple ripen? It just sits in the sun.” The student, James Finley, thought long about that image and years later wrote, “A small green apple cannot ripen in one night by tightening all its muscles, squinting its eyes and tightening its jaw in order to find itself the next morning miraculously large, red, ripe, and juicy.” The apple just sits in the sun. It is naturally positioned to receive the daily nourishment it needs to ripen. This is similar to how we mature in the fullness of God’s life; except we are not naturally positioned like the apple. We must place ourselves where we can receive the light of God, and this is the purpose of spiritual disciplines. Through them we position ourselves to receive the sunlight of God’s grace.

Prayer:

Written by a member of the St. Francis church in the UK. Every evening at 7:00 p.m. the Youth and Children’s team post a Prayer and light a candle and share it on Facebook. This is one of those prayers.

Lord,
as daylight fills the sky,
fill us with your holy light.
May our lives mirror our love for you
whose wisdom has brought us into being,
and whose care guides us on our way.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Read Full Post »

Written by John S. Mogabgab (1946-2014), a theologian, editor,  and friend of Henri Nouwen. This is an excerpt from an Editor’s Introduction to a 1992 edition of the publication “Weavings.”

Richard Baxter, the seventeenth-century English divine, once described the chief end of contemplation as “acquaintance and fellowship with God” (The Saint’s Everlasting Rest). The homely simplicity of Baxter’s definition points to the essential dimensions of contemplative life. It is, in the first place, a life of deepening acquaintance with God, a life of removing the layers of misunderstanding that obscure our relationship with the Holy One. As we strip away the fear, mistrust, anger, or pain that encases our heart, we come to see that our desire for God is in fact an echo of God’s far more encompassing and passionate desire for us. Contemplative awareness confirms that God is closer than we think, that there is no path to God that is not first God’s path to us. Contemplative life explores these paths; it is wholly dedicated to the one thing necessary; it is a life consumed with and by God, and therefore a life committed to ever more unguarded exposure to the love that is at once the source, transformation, and joy of human existence.

Prayer:

Written by Brother Alois, a contemporary priest.

Christ Jesus, to each one of us you say: “Do not be afraid. Come on further: follow me.” Listening to your voice in the Gospel gives us the courage to leave behind everything that hinders our walk with you, and to live for the people God entrusts to us. Amen.

Read Full Post »

Written by Rueben P. Job (1928-2015), an American writer and Marjorie J. Thompson, a contemporary minister, teacher, and writer. This is an excerpt from their book “Companions in Christ.”

A loving, living relationship with God is impossible without prayer. We cannot know the mind and heart of Christ, receive God’s direction, hear God’s voice, or respond to God’s call without this means of grace. We may enter God’s kingdom without the benefit of some of the means of grace but not without prayer. Prayer is so important that Jesus left even the needy crowd to pray. His entire life and ministry were set in the context of prayer. Those who choose to follow him can do no better than to take up his example.

Prayer:

Written by Eli Stanley Jones (1884-1973), an American Methodist missionary, theologian, and author.

Gracious Christ, teach me to pray. For if I fall down here, I fall down everywhere—anemia spreads through my whole being. Give me the mind to pray, the love to pray, the will to pray. Let prayer be the aroma of every act, the atmosphere of every thought, my native air. In Your name. Amen.

Read Full Post »

Written by L. B. Cowman (1870-1960), an American writer and author of devotional books.

Comfort does not come to the light-hearted and merry. We must go down into “depths” if we would experience this most precious of God’s gifts–comfort, and thus be prepared to be co-workers together with Him. When night–needful night–gathers over the garden of our souls, when the leaves close up, and the flowers no longer hold any sunlight within their folded petals, there shall never be wanting, even in the thickest darkness, drops of heavenly dew–dew which falls only when the sun has gone.

Prayer:

Written by Martin Luther (1483-1546), a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk and leader of the Protestant Reformation.

 Look, Lord, on an empty vessel that needs to be filled.

In faith I am weak – strengthen me.

In love I am cold – warm me and make me fervent

   so that my love may go out to my neighbor.

I doubt and am unable to trust you completely.

Lord, strengthen my faith and trust in you.

You are all the treasure I possess.

I am poor, you are rich, and you came to have mercy on the poor.

I am a sinner, you are goodness.

From you I can receive goodness, but I can give you nothing.

Therefore I shall stay with you.

Read Full Post »