Yesterday's meditation, based on the gospel reading of Luke 11 vs. 1-13, focused on prayer and so does my meditation for today. Psalm 7 is one of what are called Psalms of Lament, where the psalmist pours out his heart to the Lord. It is a good reminder that we too can do that, and all the more so, because of our relationship to God through Jesus Christ. So, we can feel free to bring to God whatever concerns or griefs we have.

Today's gospel reading, Luke 11:1-13, is one of the most important passages in the entire Bible, as it contains Jesus' teaching on a most important subject, namely, prayer. Much can be gleaned elsewhere, either by His example or by His teachings or instructions in passing, but this passage is important as it encapsulates a whole bunch of teaching on the subject and does so in a sustained and unified manner. I hope you enjoy this meditation. If you would like to explore this further in more detail I also have a sermon that I wrote on it.

Often we say, and say rather glibly, that God can do anything, but when it comes down to it, when it comes down to practical applications and results, we scarcely believe it. In this, we are a lot like Sarah in today's passage. We all have trouble believing at times, and certainly we do need God's assistance in helping us believe. Anyway, I hope that today's meditation will inspire you.

Today's passage tells us something, something incredible and totally out of this world, about God's love for us. Imagine Jesus, at the Last Supper, knowing fully well the terrible and excruciating ordeal that lay ahead of Him and knowing fully well how we rather fickle humans, humans, claiming after all, to be His loyal friends, followers and disciples, would treat Him, still going ahead with that epic meal of renewal and remembrance, the Last Supper. It really says to me just how much He loves us, and reminds me of how much I should love Him, abide with Him, and obey Him, in return.

One of the most common mistakes that people make in interpreting and applying narrative portions of Scripture is forgetting or neglecting their immediate context and audience and deciding that the passage has a direct meaning and application to themselves. But, then, it leaves us with a very important question, namely, what relevance does it have for us today? Is it to be simply taken as a piece of interesting but irrelevant historical trivia?

Those were the kinds of questions that I found myself wrestling with today as I read and prayed over this passage from Joshua. The best that I could come up with is that in the sovereignty of God He desires to bless us but makes that blessing dependent upon our entering into a covenant relationship with Him (there symbolized by circumcision and the Passover meal). Anyway, that's what I took away from it. For further details of thinking you can of course read the full meditation. Hope you enjoy it.

Years ago, my brother and I used to play day-long games of Monopoly, and often, even after hours of play, there was no clear winner. One of its aspects is, of course, a pick-up card entitled 'Opportunity Knocks' and it was a sad occasion indeed if we were not able to put it to good use.

In a sense, life is like that. We are continually presented with the equivalent of 'Opportunity Knocks' cards, opportunities for good and for bad. Today's meditation speaks of the other kind of opportunity, opportunities to do what is not right, and of course, these ones will always be around to tempt us. So, as the Scriptures constantly remind us, we should make the best use of the time--and the opportunities--that are available to us.

Years ago, my brother and I used to play day-long games of Monopoly, and often, even after hours of play, there was no clear winner. One of its aspects is, of course, a pick-up card entitled 'Opportunity Knocks' and it was a sad occasion indeed if we were not able to put it to good use.

In a sense, life is like that. We are continually presented with the equivalent of 'Opportunity Knocks' cards, opportunities for good and for bad. Today's meditation talks about being ready, being prepared for Christ at His coming. And of course, opportunities abound both to be ready and not to be ready. So, as the Scriptures constantly remind us, we should make the best use of the time--and the opportunities--that are available to us.

what a privilege knowing and belonging to Christ is--something that is not ours by right--and of how that privilege also bears with it certain responsibilities.

We need to take our relationship with Jesus seriously

We need to take Jesus seriously and make sure of our relationship with Him.

Probably most of us, in our childhoods, played the game of Hide and Go Seek where whoever was 'it' cried out, 'Coming, ready or not.' In a sense, that is how our Lord is. However, there is a difference. In the children's game, the winning strategy was to keep still and do nothing, after, of course, ensuring that you had a good hiding place. But with Jesus, the idea is 'active waiting', namely being busy at our appointed tasks when He returns. But, of course, none of us know exactly when that will be. That is the underlying message of today's meditation. I hope you enjoy it.

Today I have some glorious good news. From my reading of Psalm 17, it would appear that David thinks that it is his personal sinlessness, his innocence before God, that entitles him to offer prayers to God and, in consequence, that ensures that his prayers will be heard. While sincerity and such like certainly do have a place in terms of answered prayer, thank God that our prayers do not depend upon this. Seeing as we are all sinners, we could never hope to approach God solely upon the basis of our own merits, our own sinlessness or innocence. But thanks be to God that we don't have to. God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, has opened up to us a new and living way, a total freedom of access to the Father. It is thus through Him and not through ourselves that we depend. Thanks be to God.

In my estimation, our modern world is rather ambivalent when it comes to wrong-doing and punishment. Some crimes, which to me seem rather heinous and awful, get off with relatively light (or short) sentences. On the other hand, some folks are punished in other ways, such as losing their jobs or reputation, simply on account of some off-the-cuff, unthinking remark or action from years ago.

This ambivalence, I think, also spills over to us and God. And, because we take sin and wrongdoing lightly, and God's anger and disapproval lightly, we also lose sight of just how radical His solution was, namely, the death of His Son, how utterly drastic it was. That's what it cost God for our salvation and healing. I think that bearing this in mind will help us have a healthier and more respectful relationship with God. Anyway, there's something to think about.

To me, it seems that our world, whether it be close to home in our families, churches or organizations, or further afield, is in the midst of a crisis of leadership. It is here that Moses' example and advice would be most fruitful, namely to disperse, delegate, the leadership among people of diverse gifts, wisdom, ability and experience, train them well and provide backup. And as Moses did, to try to get them raised up among their own people. I think that this is a helpful model for us in our world today.