Meditation: May 1

“So, when you pray in your private prayer language, don’t hoard the experience for yourself. Pray for the insight and ability to bring others into that intimacy.” 1 Corinthians 14:13  (MSG)

True love is never selfish. It takes pleasure in giving more than receiving. God has called us into deeper levels as our hearts are in sync with His own. Our thoughts and His thoughts become the same. Our passions and His passions align. Only then will our hearts soar beyond our intellect, or our abilities to articulate what is burning deeply within it. It is from the overflow of our hearts that a language that is not our own is given expression. Our prayers are in private and our language is privately expressed. Yet we are provoked by the Holy Spirit not to be ascetic with the pleasures of our private devotions. Pray that we may be able to share with others what we have privately shared with God. God is able to unleash within us the abilities to give expression to what He imparts so that all may benefit from the Divine impartation.

Meditation: December 8

“We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Our passions are borrowed. They are like second-handed clothing worn by another. Someone else took the time and put forth the effort to carefully select what we use, misuse, and had grown accustomed to having. We cannot love with such depths, nor release such passions as to choose to love when there is no reason. Maybe with our children to some degree God gives us a glimpse of loving them because they belong to us. But even in this, we merely see the shadow of love displayed upon a planet of people going their own way doing their own thing. It is His love that changes lives and provides guidance to a misguided people. Our love often is left with feelings of abandonment because we lack the power to achieve all that we have set out in our own hearts to accomplish. God’s love is life-giving. He loves us into life. It is because of His love that we are now alive. It is His life that really matters. He chose to share His life with us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This was a deliberate choice to love us without any reason. All we can do is accept His love by accepting His Word in keeping His commandments. This is the dearest and best expression of love made possible.

Meditation: September 27

“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14

The Apostle Paul uses the language of an athlete competing for the ultimate prize. The intermediate victories are not be become the level in which he was to settle, but his eyes were upon something much greater. They may be used as a means to lead him there, but ultimate prize was the fulfillment of the upward call. This has more to do with becoming someone than getting something. He qualified to enter in to the competition of becoming all that God had called him to become. And out of his becoming, he was enabled by the Holy Spirit to do all that God had called him to do. We too have been called by Almighty God to a standard of spiritual excellence. It is a standard of living out and giving a full and clear expression of the life of Jesus Christ upon the earth. The world is in desperate need of knowing Christ and He can only be known through His Church. He was aware of his imperfections and areas where improvements were needed. But also open for God to reveal to him any blind spots that he at that point was not able to see. His was a matter of progressing in Christ towards the ultimate goal that was before him. To be found in Him, not having his own righteousness or self-justification of deeds, but totally yielded to Christ. We must set this as our goal as well. He has called us to reach up in order that we may reach out and touch the world with His love and power. This can only happen when it is all of Him and none of us.

Meditation: July 21

“Storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” 1 Timothy 6:19

The grace of God produces works of righteousness. It is from a heart of love that we do the will of God and not for the sake of earning His favor. If we love Jesus Christ, we will do His will and find pleasure in doing it. Those who are rich often think of themselves as having all that they need. Paul’s admonishment was not that they become impoverished, but rather to make sure that their hearts are not held captive by the things of this world. Those who find greater pleasure here and now, but lack a heavenly perspective will sacrifice eternal life for what their money is able to buy them. When Christ is our foundation we store up riches for the time to come. Every act is centered in our love for the Lord and given full expression through how we use our resources. We participate with the Lord in what He is doing on the earth as fellow laborers in His garden and in the construction of His house. After our work is complete, we will spend eternity with Him giving full expression of what has been developed within us as result of our labor of love.

Meditation: September 3

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

Giving enables us to see the dimensions and depths of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Without personal sacrifice, we merely theorize rather than experience what He offers us so freely. It is impossible to understand the dynamics of His message and the glory of His life without participating with Him in releasing those things left in our hands to manage. The Holy Spirit will direct us to channel all things to acquire the greatest benefit. True freedom is freedom from the bondage of sin bred in selfishness.  What we have held too closely to have hindered the Lord from giving full expression of Himself to us. A freedom not yet experienced borne out of a need within us remains unmet. We were created to respond to God’s initiative in giving. None of what we manage is able to save our souls even though in the past we may have thought it would. True surrender is giving oneself completely to God. Only then is He given permission to direct us towards what is most important to Him. Today, what can you give that you thought that you could not do without? What is, or who is in need of your support that you might have thought was self-sufficient?  Where is the Lord directing you that you would otherwise never go? Unless you break free from the binding shackles of your familiar, life for you will always be the same. There is a new place for you, a place of complete deliverance. You get there by receiving the gift of God which will enable you to give beyond your former level of giving.

Meditation: December 8

“We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Our passions are borrowed. They are like second-handed clothing worn by another. Someone else took the time and put forth the effort to carefully select what we use, misuse, and had grown accustomed to having. We cannot love with such depths, nor release such passions as to choose to love when there is no reason. Maybe with our children to some degree God gives us a glimpse of loving them because they belong to us. But even in this, we merely see the shadow of love displayed upon a planet of people going their own way doing their own thing. It is His love that changes lives and provides guidance to a misguided people. Our love often is left with feelings of abandonment because we lack the power to achieve all that we have set out in our own hearts to accomplish. God’s love is life-giving. He loves us into life. It is because of His love that we are now alive. It is His life that really matters. He chose to share His life with us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This was a deliberate choice to love us without any reason. All we can do is accept His love by accepting His Word in keeping His commandments. This is the dearest and best expression of love made possible.

Meditation: September 3

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

Giving enables us to see the dimensions and depths of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Without personal sacrifice, we merely theorize rather than experience what He offers us so freely. It is impossible to understand the dynamics of His message and the glory of His life without participating with Him in releasing those things left in our hands to manage. The Holy Spirit will direct us to channel all things to acquire the greatest benefit. True freedom is freedom from the bondage of sin bred in selfishness.  What we have held too closely to have hindered the Lord from giving full expression of Himself to us. A freedom not yet experienced borne out of a need within us remains unmet. We were created to respond to God’s initiative in giving. None of what we manage is able to save our souls even though in the past we may have thought it would. True surrender is giving oneself completely to God. Only then is He given permission to direct us towards what is most important to Him. Today, what can you give that you thought that you could not do without? What is, or who is in need of your support that you might have thought was self-sufficient?  Where is the Lord directing you that you would otherwise never go? Unless you break free from the binding shackles of your familiar, life for you will always be the same. There is a new place for you, a place of complete deliverance. You get there by receiving the gift of God which will enable you to give beyond your former level of giving.