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Meditation — December 15, 2011
Posted on Thursday, December 15th, 2011
Scripture:
Though the mountains fall away and the hills be shaken, my love shall never fall away from you, nor my covenant of peace be shaken, say the Lord, who had mercy on you. Isaiah 54:10
Prayer
The hour to awaken came too early for me this morning. Oh, what I would not give to return to sleep. Yet, I also see this time as precious to be listening.
Response
It is as if you were roused from sleep to relieve someone who has stood watch through the night, or perhaps many miles distant across many time zones—in any one of many areas of violence on the globe. Declare your love for the Lord even when your shoulders are weary. Realize as if for the first time how His love endures into eternity and cannot be shaken even when you might falter. The peace you experience, especially at times like this, is testament to a reality—to his covenant that is and will not be shaken.
Take this verse as a solemn acknowledgement of the Lord’s all embracing love. What can you compare this to—a friend who accompanies you on the last stretch of a race, running alongside shouting words of encouragement; a mentor so patient who quietly reviews his guidance though you seem to be fading; a philanthropist who contributes funds and resources so the worthy project can be completed; the reinforcements that arrive in time to save the day and defeat the enemy even if you neglected to request such assistance.
So you experience this peace that challenges your comprehension. You can honestly admit that you did not earn the peace, but here it is nonetheless. Not only do you feel love in this instant, but you accept finally that the depth of His love for you defies reason—given your missteps. So here you are in solitude able to utter words of thanksgiving and praise in the dark before sunrise. Hallelujah, praise God.
All for this morning.
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Meditation – December 14, 2011
Posted on Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
Scripture: And (Jesus) said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” Luke 7:22-23
Prayer: Lord, help me to see and hear the miracles that abound in my life.
Response: Is it any more startling to witness the conversion of spirit—whether it is your own or a close family member or a friend than what Jesus is suggesting to John’s disciples? Haven’t you met someone who seemed to be on a road to perdition, and then at your next encounter that person is transformed—gentle, listening, repentant. And that person didn’t have to be a panhandler—though many saints are so disguised—but someone who rode arrogance to success and maybe even respect.
So you see healing goes far beyond a prescription taken religiously—excuse the pun; It is like a shockingly cold shower that wakes you in the dullness of routine to what could be or is your life. It could be prompted by a deafening loss that roars through your consciousness, or the sudden appeal one experiences for repentance and redemption—the result perhaps of many prayers offered by strangers for your healing, or a word or sight with which you are familiar that you perceive for the first time, or grace in which you are enveloped without requesting.
So you see—miracles abound in what you observe and experience in the Lord’s presence in your life and those around you; yes, miracles in the recovery of the lost, the healing of the sick, the generous service by those once were self-focused, the openness of those once closed, the gentleness and forgiving of those who once judged. Consider the miracles that you observe at every [...]
December 13, 2011
Posted on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
Scripture: “What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. “Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. Matthew 28:28-31
Prayer: My life is replete with instances of repentance, so I can easily identify with the first son. Help me more and more be a son where my initial response is followed through with action, responding to the Lord’s will for me.
Response: True repentance is measured in the internal dialogue that takes place between the first denial and the acceptance of the Lord’s will for you in life, as well as the time that elapses before one’s clarity of purpose sounds clearly. Isn’t it so that you would have the Lord believe that you did not hear His will expressed, perhaps because you were distracted or so busy? But isn’t it true also that it was your self-absorption that contributed to your reluctance to be whom you were ordained to become. Isn’t it like pausing at a refreshment stop in the course of a long race, and not resuming the journey?
Think of the many stops you made before you realized that life is not standing idly by refreshing oneself. Now, that realization did not just happen, but rather is evidence of the Holy Spirit nudging you forward into areas of life not previously explored: like marriage, parenting, death-loss, love—always love, aging. And all the time, it might seem, or once seemed, attractive to linger in denial, but then comes that grace-filled nudge that has you back on the path, more determined than ever to complete the journey.
See [...]
Meditation – July 18, 2011
Posted on Monday, July 18th, 2011
Scripture: Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3 John 1:2
Prayer: The sermon yesterday raised the theme of equanimity in the face of trials, embracing the knowledge that we are children of God, tapping the hymn, It is Well with My Soul, to reinforce the theme. The tragedies endured by both the writer of the hymn, It is Well with My Soul, Horatio Spafford, (whose four children perished as the ship taking them and their mother to Europe) and Philip Bliss (who perished with his wife soon after writing the music when the railroad trestle collapsed as their train was heading west in a snow storm) who wrote the music, served as a special reminder to me of the Lord’s love and enduring peace, especially in tragedy. (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/t/i/itiswell.htm),
Response: It is in inexplicable tragedy that one stops, frozen to the spot where the tragedy was made known or experienced. It’s as if the ride at an amusement park suddenly comes to a grinding halt, and one must exit the ride and walk to the exit. If one was high above on a Ferris wheel, it was a long and treacherous climb down before continuing the journey safely on foot. In such instances, catch the words of John’s prayer: that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
What will it take for you to realize profoundly that all is well with your soul? Might it not be necessary from time to time to pause in mid-ride, head for the stairs and descend deep into your heart and repeat the words boldly or softly—It is well with my soul, and please don’t edit the phrase into the past tense.
Consider how your life would change, if you could approach the major and minor tragedies you face and will face, embracing the Lord’s loving presence that boldly proclaims all is well with your soul.
All for [...]
Meditation – July 17, 2011
Posted on Sunday, July 17th, 2011
Scripture: In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. Romans 8:26
Prayer: Could it be the groaning I hear are those of the Spirit interceding, providing the sounds to my inexpressible prayers that seek vainly for solutions?
Response: Those groanings substitute for those occasions when you are absolutely perplexed in life, when you circle round and round trying to encompass life’s mysteries—sometimes challenges—and are silenced by frustration, exasperation, fading endurance. And then, without warning or introduction, if you listen quietly, you hear reflected in your being a wordless accompaniment of heart deep emotion that carries you in silence. Words fail to capture the experience, though it is distinguished by a confidence that you were heard and most specifically.
More important at such times is the clarity that enshrines the challenge or frustration or sadness you encounter. It is as if a secret key has been applied to the inexpressible, a translation of sorts, so that you are relieved of your inability to express aloud those innermost feelings that reside in recesses of the heart so rarely visited.
Understand that this visitation of the Spirit is not meant as a demonstration of power, but rather the application of healing balm to an injured heart, and a reassurance to you that such healing is immediately available in the most stressful conditions and circumstances, at all hours of the day and in the darkest night of the soul.
All for this morning.
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