Today’s reading
1 John 1:5-7
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).
Prayer
You are light. And today it is easy to believe in the fellowship of the light. Today, you lift me into the lightness of being and joy by the luminosity of your presence that glows and elevates my heart to heights of knowing you--and knowing you are love and intend me for the love you are.
The heaviness of recent days is gone, evaporated like so much morning mist in the radiance of your abiding. This time transformation happens in fellowship with companions who love and hope for the same things I do, which is to say, for you. They open their hearts and mouths, and I no longer hear them. I hear you, and again I know that I am not alone.
You keep telling me that, and I keep closing myself within the walls of my thoughts and meager resources until I am overwhelmed by the challenges of life you never intended me to face alone. You never intended any of us to face the day alone, to enter alone the dark night of our sorrows or despair unaccompanied by you, who are light.
Truly, you have made us for yourself. And you shine through the dark corridors of centuries and souls, lifting the lives of billions into the lightness of joy that comes only in the fellowship of the light.
Your brilliance glistens in all in which you are pleased to dwell. And it is your delight that we find the sound of your joy in the laughter of souls with whom we share the fellowship of the light, joined in a common heart, sharing a common hope, alight with radiance not our own.
Thank you for affording me the privilege of sharing fellowship in you who are light; may it be your pleasure that I should bask in and be the light you are. Amen.
--Pastor David L. Miller
http://prayingthemystery.blogspot.com/
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Friday, February 16, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Today’s reading
1 John 1:5-7
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).
Prayer
You are light, not merely light’s source, but light itself. How can I understand this? I stand beneath a cobalt winter sky, cloudless and cold. The blinding sun of mid-morning burns crystal white on a sea of snow coating the earth and freezing clumps of wet hair beneath my cap as I shovel, sweat and freeze all at once. I look at my boots, at the dull gray shovel in gloved hands, my head down lest I be blinded an intensity for which human eyes are not intended.
You are light. No more can I look into your face than I can face the sun. Yet, as I know the sun on my back, its wan winter weakness notwithstanding, I know you as the power of life, the light of being in all that is. The blinding sun of glistening winter mornings is your art, but did you have to make it so cold?
Without light Earth grows cold and the green shoots of spring never appear. Without you nothing ex-ists; life remains only a ambiguous possibility, for you are the light that shines in all that has life, all that is has being only because it shares in you who are Being Itself.
Light brings life, warmth, illumination, growth, freedom to move about and to see, to be, to live. To say you are light is to say you are life, power, wonder and joy. Yes, you are the joy of what tiny goodness moves me and my machine to my neighbor’s driveway. And though muscles ache, the soul soars, laughter fills my lungs and a shout of (could it be?) joy and determination throws me and my snow blower into the next snowy expanse.
Could it be that this joy is your light alight within me, and that I, too, am your art, the shining sculpture of you who are Light Itself? I think so, but I cannot see. The light is too much for me. Amen.
--Pr. David L. Miller
1 John 1:5-7
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).
Prayer
You are light, not merely light’s source, but light itself. How can I understand this? I stand beneath a cobalt winter sky, cloudless and cold. The blinding sun of mid-morning burns crystal white on a sea of snow coating the earth and freezing clumps of wet hair beneath my cap as I shovel, sweat and freeze all at once. I look at my boots, at the dull gray shovel in gloved hands, my head down lest I be blinded an intensity for which human eyes are not intended.
You are light. No more can I look into your face than I can face the sun. Yet, as I know the sun on my back, its wan winter weakness notwithstanding, I know you as the power of life, the light of being in all that is. The blinding sun of glistening winter mornings is your art, but did you have to make it so cold?
Without light Earth grows cold and the green shoots of spring never appear. Without you nothing ex-ists; life remains only a ambiguous possibility, for you are the light that shines in all that has life, all that is has being only because it shares in you who are Being Itself.
Light brings life, warmth, illumination, growth, freedom to move about and to see, to be, to live. To say you are light is to say you are life, power, wonder and joy. Yes, you are the joy of what tiny goodness moves me and my machine to my neighbor’s driveway. And though muscles ache, the soul soars, laughter fills my lungs and a shout of (could it be?) joy and determination throws me and my snow blower into the next snowy expanse.
Could it be that this joy is your light alight within me, and that I, too, am your art, the shining sculpture of you who are Light Itself? I think so, but I cannot see. The light is too much for me. Amen.
--Pr. David L. Miller
Monday, February 12, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Today’s reading
1 John 1:5-7
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).
Prayer
You are light. But my busy soul is stuck in darkness, refusing the loving fellowship you offer. Anxiety grips the heart amid commitments that appeared so reasonable when first made. We look at our meager store of time and resources and wonder: How is it possible to live and breathe deeply the sweet air of life when our bodies scramble to fulfill our promises?
Is this really life in your light? Is this mad scramble what you intend for us? Surely you desire that we find and surrender heart, mind and body to creative labor that reveals your eternal life and love for a world you so love.
But darkness often grips our souls, anxieties, fears, self-doubts, conflicts with self and others, doubts about your nearness and our worthiness. All this and more drags our hearts into the dark prison of self where there appears no way out beyond our feverish and futile labors. Our cramped souls find no room for one more person, one more need, one more request—or for you. The fullness of our days crowds out possibilities for fellowship with your divine light with those among whom you have placed us.
Still, You are the light of all, and our darkness cannot shut you out. The illumination of your light seeks out dusty corners of our souls. Our hunger for More reveals again that we are created for more than the mad rush. What is this desire if not the light or your presence calling us to the eternal life and love for which you intend us?
You are light, and all that is light, every experience and face that illumines our way, shines with your glory. Break into our crammed lives this day. Shine on us and in our midst. Draw us into the fellowship of beloved where the light of your love illumines our darkness and lifts us beyond our fears. Amen.
--Pastor David L. Miller
1 John 1:5-7
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).
Prayer
You are light. But my busy soul is stuck in darkness, refusing the loving fellowship you offer. Anxiety grips the heart amid commitments that appeared so reasonable when first made. We look at our meager store of time and resources and wonder: How is it possible to live and breathe deeply the sweet air of life when our bodies scramble to fulfill our promises?
Is this really life in your light? Is this mad scramble what you intend for us? Surely you desire that we find and surrender heart, mind and body to creative labor that reveals your eternal life and love for a world you so love.
But darkness often grips our souls, anxieties, fears, self-doubts, conflicts with self and others, doubts about your nearness and our worthiness. All this and more drags our hearts into the dark prison of self where there appears no way out beyond our feverish and futile labors. Our cramped souls find no room for one more person, one more need, one more request—or for you. The fullness of our days crowds out possibilities for fellowship with your divine light with those among whom you have placed us.
Still, You are the light of all, and our darkness cannot shut you out. The illumination of your light seeks out dusty corners of our souls. Our hunger for More reveals again that we are created for more than the mad rush. What is this desire if not the light or your presence calling us to the eternal life and love for which you intend us?
You are light, and all that is light, every experience and face that illumines our way, shines with your glory. Break into our crammed lives this day. Shine on us and in our midst. Draw us into the fellowship of beloved where the light of your love illumines our darkness and lifts us beyond our fears. Amen.
--Pastor David L. Miller
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