Daily Meditations
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
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
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!
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
We are told to tell God’s story to others. When we do that we don’t often see any result. We are human and we want results! we want to be able to point and say “I did that” or “I finished that.” When we are dealing with God’s work it doesn’t usually happen like that. Something that we did or said may influence the life of someone but we may never see the result. We just have to trust that if we plant the seed God will take care of it.
Creator God, help us to trust that you will take care of the seed that we plant. Encourage us to continue planting. AMEN
Today in church we celebrated All Saints Day. Today people who were in church in Texas lost their lives. This day we hear the beatitudes. Today we heard about the peacemakers. We need to be the peacemakers. The way that the world is today peacemakers are needed more than ever before. We must seek peace. We must speak out against violence. We must speak out about Christ and our faith. This is not the time to be a silent Christian.
Loving God, your earth is under attack. Grant us the courage to speak your word. Help us to not be afraid to speak God’s word. AMEN
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ Martin Luther King, Jr.
To be Christian is to be willing to help. Each day we should ask the question: what am I doing? Is my idea of being Christian that I go to church? This is not enough. Each of us has a part to play in living out Christ’s call to us. Each of us can do something. I may be small and seem like a drop in the bucket but it may be just what someone needs. Follow Christ…do something!
Infinite God, remind us that are not Christians in isolation. Help us to see the needs of others and to help. AMEN
Hear God in Other Voices 