until I, too, have fallen to hateful thoughts
and wished evil.
Lord, you understand.
you were despised and rejected,
and, being the Son of Man,
you know how it feels.
At least you could say,
'I have brought you glory on earth
by completing the work you gave me to do.'
I have only forced them to call in a mediator.
Lord, don't let my suffering be for nothing.
I give it to you as a sacrifice.
Please use it to restore your church.
And maybe I have learned something too;
that it's not enough to have good intentions.
If I am not led by you in every step
it will only end in more pain,
and not just for me.
Jesus, Son of Man,
thank you for all you suffered for me,
and that you understand my pain.
Perhaps,
Lord,
I now understand
just a fraction of yours.
~~~~~~
Various Meditations
Ps 113:5,6
Who is like the Lord our God
The one who sits enthroned on high,
Who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth.
Once we thought that the sun went around the earth
and that, as man was the pinnacle of God's creation,
so all things revolved around him.
Yet I go out at night and look at the stars,
see the moon and the planets,
watch as a shooting star plunges to its end,
and I think with David,
'What is man that thou art mindful of him?'
I am overwhelmed by the vastness of the heavens.
Man's triumph has been to throw a satellite into orbit
a few hundred kilometers above the earth,
or send a spaceship past Jupiter.
The heavens stretch a million light years or more.
Galaxies in unknown numbers lie beyond our own.
Who can comprehend the vastness of space?
Only Yahweh,
the LORD our God.
And His greatness is such that He has to stoop,
to get down off His throne onto His hands and knees
like a father looking into his child's dolls house
to look at the heavens and the earth.
Who is like the LORD my God?
~~~~~~
Ps 119:11
Thy word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against thee.
Thy Word!
The answer, the source of hope, the ultimate detector of sin,
God's radar to detect the approach of the enemy.
Who wouldn't give a king's ransom to possess such a defence system?
What surer target for the enemy to steal and destroy?
It must be hidden and protected at all costs
I will dig a big hole in my heart and bury it there.
But that which is buried is unusable
and corrodes away to nothing.
The word which is hidden becomes weak and pale
like a plant kept from the sun.
The Word is only of use when it is taken from its hiding place
like a sword taken from its scabbard,
that flashes in the sun
and sends the enemy cowering to its knees.
The Word not only detects the presence of sin,
it also fights against it.
Take it;
hide it;
treasure it,
but use it.
~~~~~~
The Widow's Mite
Lk 21:2 He also saw a widow put in two very small copper coins.
Sorry, God. It's all I have.
Once I had plenty to give.
I was married to Jacob, a rich man,
a shop keeper.
But one day,
the Romans came and carried him off.
I don't know what they thought he had done
but they confiscated everything
and left me with nothing.
I didn't know what to do.
The money soon ran out.
I sold everything
and moved into the cheapest place I could find.
And you looked after me.
There was always something left at the bottom of the barrel,
always a little oil in the jar.
I love you, Lord.
Take these two coins.
they aren't much
but they're all I have.
~~~~~~
Peter and the Haul of Fish (Jn 21:1)
Jn 21:3 'I'm going out to fish,' Simon Peter told them.
The pearly pink of dawn hangs over the grey mist,
the treetops hovering over the shrouded shoreline.
The cold gnaws at my bones, -
after three years away I'd forgotten what it's like -
and not a single fish to make it all worthwhile.
'Friends, haven't you any fish?'
The voice floats over the water like a curlew's call,
from a ghostly figure on a ghostly shore.
A fisherman's curse from the past springs to my lips
but before it comes out -
'Throw your net over the other side.
You'll find some fish there.'
I'm tired. I'm cold.
But maybe he's seen them rising.
Could be worth a try.
What now! Must have snagged the bottom.
Serves me right for listening to a landlubber.
Damn the man! We'll lose the net this way.
'Peter, that's not the bottom. That's fish!'
My oath, it is too. 153 big ones.
Can't get them into the boat.
Looks like the stranger was right after all.
'Peter, it's the Lord.'
John always catches on quicker than me.
Of course, it has to be Him.
He did this before, when He called us to follow Him.
'Where's me jeans? I can't meet Him in me jocks.'
My, she's cold in this water.
I'm glad Jesus has got the barbie going,
a fish and some damper.
Just the thing on a morning like this.
Funny how many times we had meals together.
There was the wedding at Cana,
and open-air barbies for four and five thousand -
we had fish and damper then too.
And then there was that last Passover when He told us to remember Him.
How could we ever forget?
~~~~~~
Abraham and Isaac (Gen 22:1)
Gen 22:2 - God said, 'Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love ..... and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering..
Sacrifice Isaac! Kill him, Lord?
You promised me descendants like the sand of the sea.
How can you want me to kill him?
No, it can't be you.
It must be a demon giving me these thoughts,
or just my own imagination.
I knew I shouldn't have had that goat cheese before going to bed.
What! It really is you!
Lord, why are you punishing me?
Have I failed you so terribly?
When I worshipped the moon in Ur of the Chaldees,
I didn't know any better.
And when you told me to leave, I left
without any idea where we would finish up.
Haran seemed a good place, and dad died there,
but, when you told me to move on, I did.
You promised blessing,
but we'd hardly arrived in Canaan when there was a famine.
I know I made a mistake, going down to Egypt,
and saying that Sarah was my sister,
but I came back.
You promised me the
land, so I let Lot choose.
Well, that proved a blessing in the long run
because you destroyed the cities of the plain,
but I did intercede for them.
You promised me a son of my own.
I tried to give you a hand and Hagar had Ishmael.
Sorry! I was wrong,
but you know how much I have suffered from Sarah for that mistake.
Lord, if there are other things I have done wrong, show me.
I'll put them right.
I'll do anything you want.
Kill me, Lord, not Isaac.
It's not fair to punish him because of what I've done.
And you said you would make him a blessing.
He can't be a blessing if he is dead.
What sort of God are you anyway?
All you do is make things harder and harder for me.
You only give to get me on your side
and then you take it all away again.
Why should I give away the only thing I have?
If you can't keep the promise you made
then you're no God of mine!
Sorry, Lord.
I didn't mean all that.
It's just all too much for me to face.
Lord, I want to say 'No!' but I can't.
You have looked after me,
blessed me and guided me all these years.
If you have made all those promises
of blessings and descendants,
you will keep them.
I don't know how that can be possible
but if you say you will, you will.
You are all powerful.
You can even raise the dead if you want to,
so I'm going to trust you,
and, if I am wrong,
it's the biggest mistake I will ever make.
Isaac, it's time to get up.
We're going on a journey ..... together.
~~~~~~
Here are two examples of bible readings taken as a prayer meditation in four parts: a teaching, a confession, a thanksgiving and a prayer.
Our Father (Mt 6:9)
Mt 6:9 Our Father in heaven,'
A Teaching.
Our Father - this teaches me about the relationship you have with me.
As a child is born, not by its own will but by that of its parents,
so I only exist because you willed it.
And now you take responsibility for me.
You love me and you want me to grow just like you.
You want me to think like you
and act like you.
You want people to say,
'Isn't he like his father?'
You want me to carry on the family firm here on earth -
LOVE UNLIMITED - JAHWEH AND SONS.
That's a big responsibility, Father.
That takes a lot of training,
so you sent your eldest son Jesus.
He showed me the ropes
and what it is all about.
Now you put me to work on the factory floor,
to start at the bottom and work up.
No preferential treatment here;
we all start on an equal footing.
But even if I make a mess of it
you are still my father.
I don't want to be a disappointment to you,
but, even if I am,
you are still my father.
A Confession
Our Father - I often forget the rest of the family.
I treat them like strangers,
as if they don't really belong.
I behave as if I have some privileged position in the family,
like Joseph with his coat of many colours.
Forgive me, Father.
And forgive me for the times I think I know better than you,
for the times when you have shown me so clearly
how to go about things
but I have done it my own way.
That neighbour, you said,
'Love him like yourself,'
but I decided he needed to be told straight out
what was wrong with him.
I've just lost another customer.
Father, forgive me.
A Thanksgiving
Our Father - thank you, Father,
for adopting me into your family.
It used to be very lonely before
and no one really understood me.
Thank you for all these brothers and sisters.
It's wonderful to be part of a family.
Thank you too, Father,
for loving me and training me.
I make so many blunders but
you never give up on me.
Thank you for not allowing me to go my own way;
I need your discipline.
Thank you too for all the extra presents you give
to show your love -
like that salmon the other Monday.
You didn't have to give it,
but you did.
Thank you, Father.
A Prayer
Our Father - I am reminded of my own family.
Jo's mum and dad are coming down to see us soon, Father.
Keep them safe when they travel.
I am reminded of my own responsibilities as a father too.
Sometimes I growl at the children,
not because of what they have done
but because I am in a bad mood.
Lord, I give you the right to work in me
and make me into the kind of father you want me to be.
And I'm asking you to do that.
Amen.
~~~~~~
Introductions
Ex 19:17 - Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God.
A Teaching
This teaches me that if I know you I can bring others to meet you.
I wonder what I should say.
'John, this is Jesus.'
No, I seem to remember that you should always introduce the younger to the older.
'Jesus, this is my friend John.
I used to know him while I was still a sinner.'
No, that doesn't sound too good. Maybe:
'Lord, here's another one just like me, all mixed up and needs straightening out.'
But that's not right either. Jesus already knows John and wants to straighten him out.
So perhaps if I do it the other way after all.
'John, I'd like you to meet someone who has done a tremendous amount for me.
I know he could help you too.
John, this is Jesus.'
A Confession
Lord, it's taken me a long time to get around to this.
John always knew me as one of the boys and, well,
you and he are different parts of my life.
I felt if he knew I was getting around with you he might laugh.
He might even be rude to you
and I would be embarrassed and not know what to do.
And often people are shy when they know that I know you.
When they know I'm a pastor they stop swearing
or tell me how they used to go to church but don't now.
So I don't admit I know you.
Sorry, Lord. Sorry I've hurt you.
A Thanksgiving
Thank you, Lord, for the first person who introduced me to you.
There was really more than one.
My mother -
she was a wonderful soul and always believed in you.
And old Miss Abbott -
she had more bishops in her family than anyone I've known.
Thank you for the evenings she spent telling me about you.
And for the padre at Naval College.
And for my brother.
He so badly wanted to introduce me to you
but I puffed smoke in his face, took another drink of whisky
and told him I knew you already.
A
nd for Frank who tried to tell us about you
and left us a copy of The Reason Why.
And for Edwin Orr who wrote that book Can God
which finally acted as a letter of introduction.
Thank you for all of them.
A Prayer
Lord, there are hundreds of people here
who are looking for someone who can change their lives,
making them worthwhile and happy.
They are looking for someone to lift their load of guilt and say,
'Your sins are forgiven.'
They look for someone to show them what is right and what is wrong
in this crazy, mixed up world.
You are the one who can do all of this for them.
Help me to introduce them to you.
~~~~~~
Follow Me
Mk 1:17 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said.
Follow me;
take the path I've trod.
I've already gone ahead,
cleared the track and marked the trail,
with scarlet blood.
Follow close;
with time the trail fades.
Others, trying other ways
will leave the path, making tempting tracks
which lead to Everglades.
Follow me.
My way lies through the wilderness;
lonely paths where Satan waits
to stumble, kill, destroy.
Take the Spirit's sword
and beat him till he leaves.
He will return with different ploy.
My way crosses storm-rent seas,
plunges through the howling gale,
walks the billows and,
when lightning flashes and thunder crashes,
stretches out a hand across the waters
to lift the sinking soul when strong faith falters.
My way parts the crowds to heal the sick;
leaves to free those bound by demon hordes;
teaches all who look for truth and life;
feeds the multitude hungry for its daily bread;
meets with silence the mobs howling for my blood;
forgives the ghouls who mock and wish me dead.
My way climbs the hill before the dawn
and meets with Father God in solitude.
My way follows His way,
turning neither left nor right
but pointing always to the long-sought goal,
His upward call and voiced 'Well done!'
and ends in emerald light around His throne.
~~~~~~
About the author
David was born in Portsmouth, UK in 1936 and served as a naval officer for fourteen years before emigrating to New Zealand. After a few years as a secondary school teacher he pastored churches in North and South Islands before moving to Queensland, Australia, where he retired and lives with his wife of 50 years. He makes annual mission trips to Zambia to work with an African pastor among AIDS orphans and widows. He joined Beerwah Writers Group in 2006 and has had poetry and short stories published in anthologies.
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