Daily Meditations
Today it is fashionable to talk about the poor. Unfortunately, it is not fashionable to talk with them. –Mother Teresa
This is so true! Most of us would prefer to avoid the homeless or those begging on our streets. We see them as “less than” us. It’s as if we are concerned about becoming contaminated by them. We have to begin to look through Jesus’ eyes and see them as children of God just like us. Then we will be willing to talk with them.
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha
The light of a candle is not the only thing that can be shared. Love is never diminished by being shared. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. This is what Christ is all about. Love , love , love….if only we could stop all the anger and violence and just concentrate on loving each other the world would change.
Gracious God, do you despair of our every getting the message? Please help us to forget all the complex issues and just understand the message. Love is the way. AMEN
Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death! From Auntie Mame
This is so true. I wonder how often we stop to savor just being alive. Are we thankful for what we have instead of longing for what we don’t have.? Most of us in this county are so blessed compared to those living in third world countries. My husband and I lived in Panama for a while ( Many years ago) and it made me decide that everyone in this country should have to live in a place of horrible poverty and need for a least a year.
Take time to be aware of your blessings. Thank God always.
Loving God, forgive us for our lack of vision. We do not see the good around us as often as we should. Help us to see our blessings and give thanks. AMEN
Don’t assume you have to be extraordinary to be used by God. You don’t have to have exceptional gifts, talents, abilities, or connections. God specializes in using ordinary people whose limitations and weaknesses make them ideal showcases for His greatness and glory. –Nancy Leigh DeMoss
All through the Bible God uses the most unlikely people. Most of them complained that they couldn’t do what was asked. God just doesn’t take “no” for an answer. He will use us in ways we never thought possible.
Loving God, you know our abilities and our weaknesses. Help us to answer yes when you call on us. AMEN
I decided it is better to scream. . . . Silence is the real crime against humanity.
-Nadezhda Mandelstam, author
Most of us are aware that when something evil is going on silence allows it to continue. God calls us to step up. One who did and forfeited his life was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. During Hitler’s reign he left a place of safety in Britain and the US to return to Germany and work against Hitler. He was executed only a short while before the end of the war.
How many of us would be willing to go to prison or give our life to stop evil? I hope I would. Would you?
Gracious God, give us the strength and courage to face and fight evil. AMEN
Suffering is a journey deeper into the heart of life. From the movie The Human Experience
How shallow we can be if we have had very little problems in our lives. We just float through each day wondering why other people seem to struggle so. Compassion for those suffering is hard to grasp since we have nothing to measure it against. Travail in life is not what we would choose. But the fire of its pain brings the beauty of understanding and love for those who suffer.
Compassionate God, you sent you son to suffer and in so doing chose to experience our pain, sorrow, and grief. Help us to use what we have learned in our own trials to ease the path of others.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.1 John 2:2
A quiet day. Jesus is in the tomb. It is all over. His body was taken down and wrapped for burial. On this day he is gone. Take time on Holy Saturday to pause and think about what sort of day it was for the disciples.
Prayer: “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.” Taize
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” Matthew 20:28
It is so difficult to believe that someone would give his life for me. I don’t feel worthy of such a sacrifice. Think about it. You are standing on a street corner and a car comes up over the curb. The person next to you pushes you out of the way and is killed instead of you. Knowing this I would have to live my life differently.
That is why, knowing Christ’s sacrifice, I need to look carefully at how I am living my life.
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for sacrificing your life for me. I am unworthy of your love. Bring my life closer to your example. Amen
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
I really wish that I were never afraid. Fear can take over when something goes wrong. We have so many things to fear: poverty, homelessness, crime, disease.
We could spend each day cowering in our homes afraid to go out. Some people do. But God doesn’t want us to live like that. He has given us his peace. All we have to do is take it. Sounds easy but it never is.
Prayer: Father and Mother of us all, remind us that we are your children and you wish only good for us. Help us to grasp onto your promises and your peace and never let go. Amen
Going to church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car. Garrison Keillor
I love this quote. It reminds me that just attending church each Sunday doesn’t make me a Christian. Neither does attending Sunday School and church events. It is so easy to fall into complacency. I have to do more than that. Being a Christian is deeper, more taxing, more uncomfortable. Becoming a car might be easier.
Prayer: God of wisdom, I need to understand that I must “Go forth in the name of Christ” and do your work. Amen
Hear God in Other Voices 