WATCHWORD:
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Commentary: How is it possible to obey this instruction to give thanks in all circumstances, especially when our circumstances are defined by discouragement that seems to surround us? What fuels thanksgiving when life seems to herald darkness? There is only one way, and Jesus tells us — I am the way and the truth and the life… John 14:6.
Meditation:
Jesus Speaks, Part 2
I have a weird mind, it plays out scenarios, sometimes a thought inspires and that leads into a meditation. Okay, I have a thought: I am sitting in my office, writing deathless prose, of course, when Jesus walks in! I knew it was Him, now standing right there, beside me, smiling. I am shaken…I am awed…I am speechless. I fall from my chair onto my knees. He reaches out…lifts me to my feet and says: ‘Do you love Me?’ I stammer out ‘Yes, Lord’. Then He utters those awful words: ‘Follow Me’.
My mind is suddenly in a whirl, I panic. I say, Master, I love you. Every morning I give the day to You. I read Your Word. I ask You to lead Me through all that I do. He smiles, and says again – ‘Stanley, do you love Me?’ Yes, Lord, You know I do. ‘Then come and follow Me.’
‘Oh, sovereign Lord, I just have a little more to write on this wonderful tribute to you.’
Then, suddenly, my mind, turns to Peter. (How did that happen?) Peter got the same invitation, and he just left his nets and boats, friends and family and followed. That thought was followed by still another, “Peter could not follow on his own, he could not believe on his own, he could not cultivate his faith on his own, but he could take the first step… leave his nets… and so his faith, his true love of the Lord, became possible.
For Peter, had he not followed, Jesus might have been his present help in trouble. He might have been the greatest man Peter ever met. But, He would not have been the Lord of his whole life. And Peter would not have become the denier, who was tempered into the Rock on which Christ built His church.
So how do I answer, there, in my room with Jesus? How? I try hard to do as Peter did, in my own meager way. I leave my nets, my boat, my busy work, try to separate myself from my preoccupation with comfort, and those low priority things that seem were so important, which take me away from Him.
And, again, Jesus says to me; ‘Come, follow me.’ Yes, Lord, I will follow, as I take one step away from my ‘nets’ and delete that bit of writing, open a blank page and ask the Lord of the Universe, ‘what would you like me to write?’
How would you have responded to that invitation? Jesus saying, ‘Come, follow Me’. You know, the reality is that we receive that call every day. Are you will to leave your favorite “whatever” and follow? Can you set aside your ‘important’ for His Eternal? Often His invitation is obscured by all the noise around us, but if we listen carefully, it’s there. Do you hear it? That still small Voice of Him, there, inside your heart, where the Holy Spirit resides. The invitation: Follow Me. What could be more important?
From Our Friend Mac McKinley:
Is your glass half empty or half full? Which way you answer depends on what we choose to focus on. (During the Pandemic) Isolation and avoiding contact with other people was contrary to our norm. Yet it was the safest action to prevent infection of the virus plague. World society has experienced other geographic infections. The worst in history was the more deadly infection of the Black Plague in Europe. It has been estimated that 100 million people died. That pandemic started in Mongolia, China, 1347 thru 1351, traveled to Europe by infected rats on ships. I choose to feel my glass is more than half full. Each day I focus on the future, my yard, my garden and all the things I can do to figuratively keep filling my glass all the way to the top. Each one a decision we make. That is the way it is with faith.
Closing Prayer:
Good morning Father, we start this day trusting in you, that you would lead us, according to your Holy Will. We start this day with gratitude for all the graces the fills our lives, graces that we understand, graces that we can feel and see, and those other graces that are hidden from our sight, elements of your love for us. We thank you Lord for this day that you have planned for us and we pray that you would grant us the wisdom to follow your plan each moment of this day. Help us to find the joy of life each moment of this day. Lord we pray that you’ll give us the broad understanding, the broad vision to hold each one of our loved ones in our minds and in Your gentle care. And so, Lord, as we travel through this day, we pray that we will finish at day’s having followed You, trusted You. With gratitude, Lord we give you all the honor and glory, in the name of Jesus. Amen.