Daily Meditations
What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.
Plutarch
Our inward selves is what guides our outward journey. If we don’t work on the inside then we don’t have the strength that we need each day. The only way to work on the inside is by prayer, scripture reading, meditation and time spent with God. Each day we need that grounding to tackle the day. Don’t skip these steps.
God of learning, you have given us the things that we need to live each day. Help us to use them. AMEN
Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.
Robert H. Schuller
We all have problems. They crop up from time to time. The question is do you let the problem become your life? Turning to God in prayer is one of the first things to do to conquer a problem. Asking others to pray for you is the second. Problems always come but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and that light is God.
Incredible God, you are always there to hear us. Remind us to pray always. AMEN
It is so easy to sit back and let others take the lead. We are afraid that we can’t do things well enough. Jesus did not ask the disciples if they could do what he asked. He asked them to follow him but he expected them to lead others to Him. You can’t just follow. Christ asks us to lead!
Wonderful Savior, you called your disciples to learn your ways and then sent them out to do likewise. Teach us to step out and lead others to you. AMEN
Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you. Walt Whitman
As a child I learned a song about a sunbeam. I think it went “Jesus wants me for a sunbeam to shine for him each day.” How do we become sunbeams? There is only one way. John 8:12 says Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” We have to keep our face turned toward Jesus then we can reflect light to others and the shadows will be overcome.
Amazing God, remind us always to turn toward the light and help us to reflect that light to others. AMEN
One of my favorite hymns is The Servant Song. The third verse says: I will hold the Christ-light for you in the nighttime of your fear; I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear. Are we following through with this? We must hold the Christ-light for others. When they are in the darkest day they may not be able to do it for themselves. Be the Christ-light for someone else.
Gracious Lord, give us your Christ-light and help us to hold it up high. Remind us that others are in need and we can help. AMEN
Sometimes I don’t think we understand how wonderful is the grace of God. Think about it: it is freely given; we don’t have to do anything; it is always there for us. Too often we feel that we have to earn our way into heaven. We are called to be the best Christian we can but we cannot earn our way. There is no magic formula we can use. God loves us no matter what. Knowing that we are so loved should push us to follow in His ways. Remember! Grace is a gift!
Don’t be afraid to learn something new. God gave us the ability to seek wisdom. We are supposed to keep leaning and growing striving to be all God wants us to be. you don’t have to agree with everything you learn. God gives us the ability to discern what is right. Don/t be afraid to test and taste new things.
Omnipotent God, you made the world and everything in it. Help us to seek wisdom and continue to learn. AMEN
It is so easy to be caught in the depths of despair. It may be that we have lost someone we love, been fired from a job, gotten a terrible diagnosis or many other things. When we are down in the “valley of the shadow of death” it is easy to lose our way. We can’t see any light at all. However, there is always light. God is with us even when we can’t see it. We can hold on and know that his love is conquering the darkness and there will be light we can see.
Loving God, you have promised to be with us no matter what. Help us to trust that you are holding the light for us and we will see. AMEN
Have you stopped recently to look at God’s world? REALLY LOOKED? The world around us is so beautiful and so often we just float by without absorbing what we see. Just a simple thing like a blade of grass is beautiful. God created an amazing world. Take time to see it in all its glory.
Personally, I am stuck with one foot in the past and one foot in the present. Anthony Kiedis
Too often we get stuck following the familiar path. It is so much easier than doing something new. We are not willing to reach outside of our comfort zone. God expects us to explore all of our options. What we are called to do may not be the thing we are doing now. We tend to think that we have no talents but God uses EVERYTHING. Don’t be afraid to try something new to serve God.
God of creation, you know everything about us. Help us to seek the thing you want us to do and not be afraid to try something new. AMEN
Hear God in Other Voices 