Daily Meditations
Jesus chose love rather than power. –————Suzanne Boyd
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.– John Dalberg-Acton
I think that the quote above makes if perfectly clear why Jesus made the choice he did. It did not please some of his disciples. They had a different plan. Jesus makes it clear with his ministry that his is the right choice. Power is an idol. Don’t make the mistake of choosing it.
Heavenly father, remind us that love is the only choice. AMEN
The truth is a person not a set of rules.————–unknown
The truth is a person and that person is Jesus. Jesus is not a set of rules. We humans have tried to turn our faith, our belief, our Christianity into a set of rules. A set of do’s and don’ts. Jesus said love one another. Love God and your neighbor. That’s all it takes. If we could just do those things life would be amazing.
Extraordinary God, help us to see the truth and follow it. AMEN
Worry does us no good at all and yet most of us do worry. Jesus tells us not to 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.
We need to do as Martin Luther says: “Pray and let God worry.”
Gracious Lord, remind us to turn out worries over to you and then let them go. AMEN
An ounce of parent is worth a pound of the clergy.———–Spanish proverb
Being a parent is one of the hardest jobs on earth. It is also one of the most important. What can matter more than shaping the lives of others. God sees us as his children and wants us to see what a loving parent looks like. Follow God’s example and love your children with all your heart.
Loving father, you remind us that you love us. Help us to share our own love and yours with our children. AMEN
There is no way to peace. Peace is the way. ———-A.J. Muste
The people who have taught us the truth of this statement come to mind quite easily. Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. It is obvious that they understood this. All of them changed the world in amazing ways by following the path of peace. It should be obvious to us that walking the path of peace changes things for the better. We should do the same.
Loving God, your son showed us the path of peace. Others followed his example. Help us to do so too. AMEN
Technology is not in itself opposed to spirituality and to religion. But it presents a great temptation. ———–Thomas Merton
We are still in the age of science. Those who revere science and technology have made of it an idol. It has taken the place of God. Just because science can’t prove that God exists doesn’t mean that God is gone. They can’t prove that He doesn’t exist either. I prefer to stay with my own belief.
Infinite God, I believe in you. Help us to see beyond what science can prove. AMEN
No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. ——————-Holy Bible 1 Timothy 5:23
See! The Bible tells us that it is ok to drink wine. I’m sure that Timothy means for us to do this in moderation. There are many things in the Bible that we can read as rules. Some think that drinking alcohol is wrong. If it is for them then they should abstain. The important thing to remember is that we can never be good enough to follow God on our own. Following rules will not work. It is not a bad thing to do but it will not save us. We are called to follow the path of Jesus the very best we can. We need to continue to try…always.
Loving God, we can’t reach you by following rules. Help us to follow Jesus instead. AMEN
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” …………………Martin Luther King, Jr.
When we are in the dark….with no light at all we feel disoriented. We need light coming from somewhere to give us balance and perception. We need the light. We need it to survive. Without light plants will not grow. The earth would be barren.
Just as much as we need light we need love. We need someone to hold up the mirror of love and show us our goodness. Without that we are barren.
God is willing to hold that mirror for us and let his light shine through us. Love and light give us life.
Amazing God, your grace has given us what we need to live as you call us to. Help us to remember that. AMEN
Time is something we take for granted. We think we have an unlimited amount. We don’t. That is a blunt statement but true. Because our time is precious we need to choose our priorities carefully. Do you set aside time for prayer? Do you take time for church? Do you read the Bible? We tend to put these things on the bottom of the list. Make sure you keep your priorities in order!
Gracious Lord, you allotted each of us time to follow you. Help us to remember what is important.
