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Written by Thomas a Kempis (1418-1427), a German-Dutch canon and author. This is an excerpt from his book “The Imitation of Christ.”

To what have we come, Lord? Behold, we bewail a temporal loss. We labor and fret for small gain, while loss of the soul is forgotten and scarcely ever returns to mind. That which is of little or no value claims our attention, whereas that which is of highest necessity is neglected—all because man gives himself wholly to outward things. And unless he withdraws himself quickly, he willingly lies immersed in externals.

Prayer:

Written by Paige Deane, a contemporary author.

 Lord, you are so good to me. I don’t deserve your love and grace but I am so thankful for it. Your ways are higher than my ways and your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. Please help me submit fully to your lordship in my life. Give me the strength to resist the desires of my flesh. Help me to deny myself, and relinquish all that I have, and all that I am for you. Destroy my attachment to this world so that I can fully rely on you in every situation. I want to develop a strong relationship with you and to be your disciple. Help me to continue to pursue this goal every day, and to help others do the same. I give my entire self over to you Lord. Amen.

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Written by Chris Webb, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from his book “God Soaked Life.”

During one of the persecutions that afflicted the early church, the prefect of Rome arrested a young deacon called Lawrence. The prefect knew that one of Lawrence’s responsibilities was the care of his congregation’s property, and he demanded that Lawrence arrange to hand over all the wealth of church. Lawrence asked for three days to comply, time that he used to prepare for his next meeting with the authorities. After the three days had passed Lawrence came into the prefect’s presence surrounded by beggars and paupers: the lame and blind, the maimed and outcast, the widows and orphans gathered up from the backstreets of Rome. Lawrence waved his hand grandly over the pathetic crowd. “Here they are!” he announced. “Our pride, our glory, our treasure. I offer them to you. Behold, prefect: here is the wealth of the church!”

Prayer:

Written by David Platt, a contemporary pastor and author.

So God, we need your help today. Help us to live in absolute surrender to you for what you say is most important. Not for what this world says is most important. Help us. Help us to live differently, to think differently, to desire differently according to your word, not according to the ways of this world. We need your help. In every way today, in my life, and in the lives of those who are listening. Help us to believe that many who are first will be last and the last first and to live accordingly. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Written by Pete Grieg, a contemporary pastor and author.

Learning to hear God’s voice—his word and his whisper—is the single most important thing you will ever learn to do. I’m not exaggerating. Hearing God is not peripheral; it is integral to human history. Neither is it an optional extra for wild-eyed mystics and those who happen to be spiritually inclined. Hearing God is essential to the very purpose for which you and I were made. Without it everything falls apart. But when we learn to love God’s Word—to listen and obey—everything aligns.

Prayer:

Written by Ken Boa, a contemporary teacher, writer,  speaker, and President of Reflections Ministries.

Lord, teach me the wisdom of taking the time and care to listen to Your voice and seek Your wisdom and will for me. May I pause to hear what You want to tell me, and may I regularly make room for this to happen in my life. When I am busy and driven, I cannot hear what You want to tell me, and I crowd You out as I rush from one thing to the next. Instead, I ask for the grace to expose myself to Your Word and listen to its life-giving counsel. I also ask for a greater capacity to give attention to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit as He counsels, comforts, exhorts, convicts, encourages, and inspires me. May I additionally listen to the collective wisdom and insight that is available through the communion of saints, so that I will not endeavor to live the spiritual life on my own without these rich resources that You have given to me. Amen.

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Written by Ken Sande, a contemporary author and founder of Peacemaker Ministries.  This is an excerpt from his book “The Peacemaker.”

It is important to realize that if you do not glorify God when you are involved in a conflict, you will inevitably glorify someone or something else. By your actions, you show either that you have a big God or that you have a big self and big problems. To put it another way, if you do not focus on God, you will inevitably focus on yourself and your will, or on other people and the threat of their will.  One of the best ways to keep your focus on the Lord is to continually ask yourself these questions: How can I please and honor God in this situation? In particular, how can I bring praise to Jesus by showing that he has saved me and is changing me? Seeking to please and honor God is a powerful compass for life, especially when we are faced with difficult challenges…When displaying the riches of God’s love and pleasing him is more important than holding onto worldy things and pleasing yourself, it becomes increasingly natural to respond to conflict graciously, wisely, and with self control. This approach brings glory to God and sets the stage for effective peacemaking. 

Prayer:

Written by John Birch, a contemporary writer and poet  from the United Kingdom, who has written several books of prayers and studies Celtic prayer. He created the Faith and Worship website to provide prayer resources for worship.

Lord of heaven and earth,

of all nations and peoples,

all faiths and no faith,

reveal yourself

to those who are suffering,

reveal yourself

to all who are refugees,

reveal yourself

to those who are powerful,

reveal yourself

to all who are powerless,

reveal yourself

to ordinary people

in their everyday lives,

that this world

might reflect your love

and your glory. Amen.

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Written by Marilyn Brown Oden, a contemporary author.  This is an excerpt from her book “Abundance: Joyful Living in Christ.”

Our journey toward abundant living is like walking a spiritual labyrinth repeatedly, from an ever deepening inner space. We walk toward the center to be transformed by God’s love; then we walk outward to transform our small space in the world by reflecting God’s love. There is no intention to trick us or get us lost along the journey. But there is mystery. Always mystery. And awe. And amazing grace.

Prayer:

Written by Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009), a Christian cleric and writer.

Liberate us, we pray you, Lord, from the getting and grasping to which we are prone. Teach us the royal way of the law of the gift, that in giving not only things but ourselves we may know even now the life abundant you promise to bring to perfection in eternal life with you. Increase in us gratitude for your gift of yourself, and let that gift of gratitude inspire us to the greatness of living our lives as love in in response to love.

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Written by E. Glenn Hinson, a contemporary professor of Spirituality and author.  This is an excerpt from his book “Spiritual Preparation for Christian Leadership.”

 God’s power, love power, works in any human vulnerability. That perspective is one that many in our age and culture have difficulty understanding. We know a lot about power. Some say that our culture is obsessed with power. We want more power to run bigger electric generators so we can have more comforts and conveniences or more power to put up bigger payloads into space to terrify our enemies so they will not dare to threaten us. But our power logic, Paul would point out, is not God’s power logic. Our power logic runs, “The weak are weak. The strong are strong. In weakness is weakness. In strength is strength.” God’s power logic runs, “In your human weakness you may find my power.”

Prayer:

Written by Charles Stanley (1932-2023), an American  pastor, author, and speaker.

Thank You for encouraging me and comforting me, Father. Thank You for forgiving my sins and teaching me to walk in Your truth. Thank You that nothing is impossible for You. Thank You for the precious promises You bring to mind and Your presence, Your power, Your compassion, and Your loving-kindness toward me. I will put all my hope in You.

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Written by Mary Lou Redding, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “While We Wait.”

 When we anchor our hope in God’s steady love and good plans for us, hope becomes a permanent part of us. We have hope not because we are powerful or smart or resourceful but because of who God is.

Prayer:

Today’s prayer is from the Carmina Gadelica, a six volume set of prayers, hymns, blessings, songs, proverbs, and literary folkloric poems from the Gaelic speaking regions of Scotland. Compilation of these works began by Alexander Carmichel between 1860 and 1909.

Bless to me, O God,

The earth beneath my foot.

Bless to me, O God,

The path whereon I go ;

Bless to me, O God,

The thing of my desire ;

Thou Evermore of evermore.

Bless Thou to me my rest.

Bless to me the thing

Whereon is set my mind,

Bless to me the thing

Whereon is set my love ;

Bless to me the thing

Whereon is set my hope ;

O Thou King of kings,

Bless Thou to me mine eye ! 

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Written by Ken Boa, a contemporary author, theologian, and president of Reflections Ministry.  This is an excerpt from his book “Conformed to His Image.”

As a communion of three persons, God is a relational being. He originates a personal relationship with us, and our high and holy calling is to respond to his loving initiatives. By loving God completely, we discover who and whose we are as we come to see ourselves as God sees us. In this way, we become secure enough to become others-centered rather than self-centered, and this enables us to become givers rather than grabbers.

Prayer:

Written by Ken Boa, the author of today’s mediation.

Father, I give thanks to You because You are the lover of my soul; You pursue me and desire an intimate relationship with me. You lift me from the morass and put my feet on high places; You care so much for me that You take great measures to bring me back to You when I stray. Your love is causeless, measureless, and ceaseless. Your righteousness overcomes my guilt; Your holiness informs all of Your purposes; Your compassion reaches out to the lowly and downtrodden; Your mercy and grace extend far beyond my sin. May I delight in You, draw nearer to You, hold fast to You and remain faithful to You. I know that my soul cannot flourish in disobedience and opposition to Your loving intentions for my life. When I am attempted to wander from You, may I recall Your character and remember Your many blessings. Amen.

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Today’s meditation is from Joy! Lutheran Church.

Father’s Day is a great opportunity to remember and celebrate the fathers and father figures who have impacted our lives and helped mold us into the people God created us to be.   Being a father is not an easy job.  Just the word “father” can be synonymous with many duties our society places upon fathers such as leader, protector, and guide.  However, these burdens placed upon fathers is not what God says is most important.   Proverbs 20:7 reminds us that it is truly the integrity of a man that blesses his children.  Integrity is taught by the way one lives, modeling wisdom in both words and actions.  Integrity has everything to do with one’s character and principles, living out qualities like honesty, responsibility, accountability, loyalty, and trustfulness.  This integrity is what blesses children as they grow up, watching and learning.  Has there been a father or father figure that displayed integrity for you during your lifetime?  If so, celebrate that this Father’s Day. Not everyone can answer yes to this question though and if this is you, it could make for a more difficult day.   The good news is that whether your father was the greatest or fell short, you can always count on God, our Father, who we know possesses all of those qualities – honesty, responsibility, accountability, loyalty, and trustfulness.  Our heavenly Father embraces us as His own with unconditional love and that is something to celebrate.

Prayer:

Written by Debbie McDaniel, a contemporary author.

Dear God, we pray for your blessing, favor, and strength over every Dad in this world, for those who are seeking to walk closely with you in a dark world, and for those who just need to be reminded that you are real. We ask for your renewed courage, for your boldness, for your Spirit to fill them. Make them always aware and alert of the schemes of the enemy. We ask that you would keep their footsteps firm, and guard their way. We ask that you would help them to always stand strong, to be men of faith, to say “no” to what is wrong, and to say “yes” to what is right. We ask that you would fill their hearts with love, compassion, joy, and faithfulness, and cover their lives with great peace. Amen.

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Written by Cameron McAllister, a contemporary author and co-founder of Thinking Out Loud, a podcast about current events and Christian hope.

Looking on the large-scale decadence of many influential churches in North America, we’re in a unique position to appreciate that our slick presentations have not fostered men and women of spiritual maturity. Why? Because by and large we still don’t believe Paul when he says, “If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.” This age is precisely what is passing away. It’s characterized by restlessness and desperation because it’s shot through with impermanence. We, however, are the men and women who await the Day of the Lord, the Day that will bring every hidden thing to light and we are to live in the light of that reality, rather than the twilight of this perishing moment. How do we escape the morass of performance and worldly wisdom that’s infiltrated so many of our ministry efforts? Dallas Willard once remarked that he stopped trying to get people to do things, to somehow cajole them into eternal life. Instead, he focused on planting and watering and left the growth to God. It’s high time for us to do the same.

Prayer:

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), an American Quaker poet and abolitionist.

Dear Lord and Father of humanking,

Forgive our foolish ways;

Reclothe us in our rightful mind.

In purer lives Thy service find,

In deeper reverence, praise.

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,

Till all our strivings cease;

Take from our souls the strain and stress,

And let our ordered lives confess

The beauty of Thy peace.

Breathe through the hearts of our desire

Thy coolness and Thy balm;

Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;

Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire.

O still, small voice of calm. Amen.

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