Daily Meditations
I profess to aim at perfection but in practice I like the way of perfection to be mapped out by me and not by God.-——————Pope John XXIII
This is so very true. I want to make my own plans and set my own path. It will be my idea of perfection. God has other plans. He sees the way clearly that we need to go. If only we would follow his path instead of ours.
Infinite God, I am sure you get tired of us wanting to be in charge of everything. Help us to listen for your voice and follow your path. AMEN
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength. –——Corrie ten Boom
I think tonight I will just refer us to Matthew about worry.
27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?[a] 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
Worry is a waste of time.
Lord, you care more for us than we can ever imagine. Thank you. Help us to know that you will be with us each moment. AMEN
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. ———————Charles A. Beard
Sometimes our lives can be filled with darkness. Nothing is going right. Life seems unmanageable. But it is true. When we can go outside, away from lights, we can see the stars to clearly. The trick is that we have to trust enough to go out and look up. God’s light will be visible to us if we just look. It only takes a little bit of light to change everything.
Amazing God, you created the light and the darkness and are present in both. When all we can see is darkness help us to look for your light. AMEN
Storms make trees take deeper roots. —————Dolly Parton
When things happen to rock my world I tend to reach out for God. Each storm moves me further into his arms and brings me closer to him. I am grateful that this is my response. Sometimes bad things can make us turn away from God. We that happens we miss the solace of being held in loving arms.
Loving God, thank you for your care for us and help us to reach for you in all the storms of this life. AMEN
Follow the grain in your own wood. –———-Howard Thurman
I bet you are wondering what in the world this has to do with God? It not only does, it is important. Each of us is god’s creation but each of us is different. I may not have been born to be famous or a movie star but my life has a purpose. God wants each of us to be the best ME we can be. There isn’t another person now, in the past, or to come who is just like you. You don’t have to be famous or a genius. Be you. God wants you to do that. BE YOU!
Creative God, you made each of us to be unique and fill the role that you created for us. Help us to do just that. AMEN
This morning I went to the church I used to work for. The Pastor told this story: (my words) A little girl was saying her prayers. God bless mommy and daddy, keep them safe. God bless me and keep me safe and God bless God because if God gets messed up we are all in trouble.”
How often do we spend time thanking God. Our prayers are frequently a want list. We may pray for others and for good things but we don’t take the time to thank him. He is the author of all good things. We could at least spend some time thanking him for our lives, for the earth, for everything. Do it!
Loving God, you have given us so much. Help us to remember to thank you each and every day. AMEN
Conflict cannot survive without your participation. ————-Wayne Dyer
The Bible shows us how to avoid conflict. It tells us to turn the other cheek. Not an easy thing to do. For most of us it has nothing to do with physical violence but instead using words (that may not be too kind). A person can’t argue by themselves. If you can’t keep your temper walk away. Words can hurt and cannot be taken back whether out loud or on social media.
Gracious Lord, you have called us to kindness and love. Help us to remember this when faced with unpleasant situations. AMEN
Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple. ———-Dr. Seuss
Sometimes we want to intellectualize our faith. We continue to ask question that have no logical answers. Questions that can’t be proved or disproved. We need to sit in silence and listen for God. God could answer all those questions but he knows we don’t need to know. We just need to trust in him.
All knowing God, we always want to be able to prove things and have understandable answers. Help us to trust that you know best. AMEN
Pope Francis insists that mercy is at the very top of the Christian hierarchy of great truths and everything falls apart whenever mercy is displaced by anything else or anything less.
The dictionary defines mercy as: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.
The Old Testament. Mercy: A Part of God’s Nature. Although people have the capacity for showing mercy, especially toward those with whom they already have a special relationship, a lack of mercy is more natural to the human condition. Mercy is, however, a quality intrinsic to the nature of God. It is for this reason that in some situations “merciful” was a sufficient description of God. from: Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology
Mercy is something we don’t always see as related to us. We think of a courtroom with a judge. But sometimes we are the judge. We can choose to be hard-nosed or forgiving. Notice that the dictionary includes forgiveness in the definition. Forgiving a hurt is mercy. We have opportunities to forgive and it is sometimes difficult to do. We may have to show forgiveness but work for a while on really forgiving.
Merciful God, you have forgiven us so much. Help us to show the mercy that you so readily give. AMEN
Faith is not the opposite of doubt. The opposite of doubt is disbelief. Doubts make us ask questions. They make us struggle, study more and learn. Doubts stretch us and make us grow. Don’t be afraid of having doubts. We can’t know everything. Only God has all the answers.
Amazing God, forgive us for thinking that we can know all the answers. Help us to continue to learn and grow in our knowledge of you. AMEN
Hear God in Other Voices 