Daily Meditations
Psalm 16: 1-2
1 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”[a]
I don’t understand people who have no relationship with God. Where do they turn when life is challenging? It is not the things that we accumulate that give us “the good.” It is our God who provides us with the things that bring us life. Life with God is good.
Amazing God, thank you for providing the good in our lives. AMEN
I may have shared this before but I absolutely love this from Romans. It gives me hope that no matter what God will be there for me and you.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen and Amen
Sometimes we spend so much time praying about our worries and for other people (important) but we forget to be glad. There is always something to be glad about. Look around you and be grateful and thank God.
God, you have given us so much. Remind us to be thankful. AMEN
God does not expect us to go around with gloomy faces. Who would want to be a Christian if we all looked like that? God wants us to look for the good and rejoice in it.
Loving God, help us to seek the good in life instead of concentrating on the bad. AMEN
Hospitality is a form of worship —————————The Talmud
Welcoming people is so important. I have been to churches where no one spoke to me. Obviously I was in no hurry to go back.
Being together over a dinner table is so important. Meals bring us closer together. Jesus left us with a meal for us to share. It is the ultimate hospitality.
Greet people in love and share meals of food and meals from the altar.
Generous God, help us to be as generous to others as you have been to us. AMEN
The Bible shows a relentless movement toward intimacy and divine union between Creator and creatures. For this to happen, there needs to be some degree of compatibility, likeness, or even “sameness” between the two parties. In other words, there has to be a little bit of God in us that wants to find Itself. —–Richard Rohr
The must be something of God in us. God created us and breathed into us the breath of life. His breath. In doing so we became a part of him. His breath remains with us forever.
Creative God, you gave us life and a part of yourself. Help us to acknowledge this part of us and give thanks. AMEN
Nature is perfect, wherever we look, but man always deforms it. ———J.C.F. von Schiller
God made us stewards of the earth. He made us and then expected us to care for everything else. Instead we listened to the part about being in charge and forgot the rest. If we can’t learn to be stewards (dictionary: manage or look after another’s property) before long there will be nothing to manage.
Abundant God, your plan was for us to care for your creation. Help us to do just that. AMEN
Praying shapes believing.-—————— Lionel L. Mitchell
Praying not only shapes believing but it also enhances it. The more time we spend in prayer the closer we become with God. Too often we think that prayer time has to be planned and formed. This is so wrong. Prayer can be just a moment where we want to thank God or tell him something….just like speaking to a friend. Rmember God is always there and hears us.
Nurturing God, you hear our every thought and prayer. Help us to tell you our thoughts at any moment. When we pray you hear. 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
Hear God in Other Voices 