Christian Living on Calling

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How Good to Center Down!

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:10, Psalm 62:1, Isaiah 30:15, Psalm 25:4-5, Lamentations 3:40, Matthew 6:19-21

How good it is to center down! To sit quietly and see one’s self pass by! The streets of our minds seethe with endless traffic; Our spirits resound with clashing, with noisy silences, While some...

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Loving and gracious God, we know we do

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Jeremiah 31:3, Micah 7:18-19, Romans 8:38-39, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Isaiah 1:18

Loving and gracious God, we know we do not always live the life to which we are called: We turn away from You, and from our true selves. You command us to shine Your light, but we often hide it instea...

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A Pastor’s Regret

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Thessalonians 5:11, 2 Corinthians 2:7-8, Isaiah 40:1-2; 2, Isaiah 40:1-2, 1 Kings 19:3-9, Lamentations 3:22-23 , Matthew 11:28-30 , 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 , Psalm 34:18

The Scottish pastor Ian MacLaren (1850–1907), renowned for his stories set in rural Scotland, was once asked near the end of his career what he would have done differently. His response was both simpl...

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The Doubts of a Church Planter

Author

Peter Chin

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 19:1–18 , Exodus 3:1–12, Lamentations 3:19–26 , Luke 7:11–17, 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 , Psalm 73:21–26

In this first-person memoir, Pastor Peter Chin shares a story that most pastors can probably relate to, the reality vs the expectation of a church-planter or even the pastor of an established church: ...

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Heavenly Father, we come before you as

Author

Charles Teixeira

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:105, John 10:27, Hebrews 4:14-16, Romans 8:26-27, Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Heavenly Father, we come before you as beggars in need of your voice. As we lift up our thoughts, songs, and prayers, we lean in to hear how you would speak back to us. We yearn to hear the voice of J...

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Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

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Scripture

Psalm 25:5, Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:25-26, James 1:2-4, Matthew 11:15, Romans 5:3-5, Isaiah 30:18

Waiting is a period of learning. The longer we wait, the more we hear about him for whom we are waiting.

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Author

Eugene Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 15:13, Psalm 130:5, Jeremiah 29:11, Philippians 4:6-7, Lamentations 3:25-26, Psalm 27:14

Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusions. It is not compelled to w...

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Father, as adults, we can fool

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 136:1, Matthew 19:13-15, 1 John 4:9-10, Mark 10:21, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 15:5, Psalm 121:1-2

Father, as adults, we can fool ourselves into being quite self-sufficient. Yet, You have called us to be precariously dependent upon You. When we see how Jesus welcomes the little children, we can als...

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Waiting is More than In-Between Time

Author

Jason Farman

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:25-26, James 5:7-8, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Habakkuk 2:3

Waiting isn’t an in-between time. Instead, this often-hated and under-appreciated time has been a silent force that has shaped our social interactions. Waiting isn’t a hurdle keeping us from intimacy ...

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Hope In God

Author

Eugene Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Romans 8:24-25, Psalm 27:14, Hebrews 11:1, Lamentations 3:25-26

Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusions. It is not compelled to w...

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Author

Lewis B. Smedes

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 10:36, Habakkuk 2:3, Psalm 37:7, James 5:7-8, Lamentations 3:25-26

Waiting is the hardest work of hope.

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Author

Emily Dickinson

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 2:3, Romans 12:12, James 5:7-8, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 130:5, Lamentations 3:25-26

To hope means to be ready at every moment for that which is not yet born, and yet not become desperate if there is no birth in our lifetime.

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Lord and God, you know what we are

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:3-4, Romans 8:34, Isaiah 53:4-5, Hebrews 7:25, Lamentations 3:22-23

Lord and God, you know what we are about to say in prayer, you know what we ought to say, and even what we need to say but cannot. Our sins trouble us, though they don’t trouble us as much as they sho...

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Almighty God, you have surprised us

Author

Scott B. Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 13:44, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 139:7-10, 1 John 1:9, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Luke 2:1-20, John 4:7-26, John 21:1-14, Luke 24:13-35, Matthew 17:1-8, Luke 2:25-38, Luke 1:35-38, Hebrews 13:2, Isaiah 43:19

Almighty God, you have surprised us with your presence in unexpected ways. In the expectations of our routine, we have missed the treasure that you place before us. We come to worship you in community...

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Waiting: Leaning into the Pain

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 16:2–4, Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:25–26, Matthew 4:2–4, Romans 8:24–25, Psalm 130:5–6

With the global coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, life stopped. Overwhelmed by the threat of a disease we couldn’t stop and for which we didn’t have the hospital capacity, everyone moved work and s...

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Joyful, joyful we adore Thee, God of glory

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 145:1-3, Psalm 51:10-12, Isaiah 1:18, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 John 1:9, Romans 5:8

Prayer of Adoration Joyful, joyful we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love – Holy and wonderful are You: Your grace is without measure, and Your purpose sure and true; Your power is unequaled and Y...

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O God, we thank you that you have not

Author

William Barclay

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Colossians 3:23-24, Psalm 119:105, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 Samuel 1:24-28, Acts 2:42-47

O God, we thank you that you have not treated us as we deserve. We thank you that, though you are Creator, Judge and King, you are also Father, so that, though we are wandering children, there is alw...

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Gracious God, you forgive us whenever

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 1:9, Romans 7:15-20, Galatians 5:16-17, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:8-9, James 1:22-25, Lamentations 3:22-23

Gracious God, you forgive us whenever we ask, and so we ask you now to forgive all of our sins. We need your grace again, for we often return to the same sins, over and over again. Your Spirit longs t...

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O God, Giver of all good, and Fountain

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Scripture

Psalm 118:24, James 1:17, Psalm 136:1, Philippians 4:19, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

O God, Giver of all good, and Fountain of all mercies, in whom are all the springs of our life; all glory, thanks and praise be unto thee for thine unfailing goodness; for thy faithfulness which is fr...

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Praising Slowness

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 37:7, Proverbs 19:2, Lamentations 3:25-26, 2 Peter 3:9, James 5:7-8, Ecclesiastes 3:1

In our culture slow is a pejorative. When somebody has a low IQ, we dub him or her slow. When the service at a restaurant is lousy, we call it slow. When a movie is boring, again, we complain that it’...

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Author

Frederick Buechner

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 6:12, Psalm 77:11, Ecclesiastes 12:1, Lamentations 3:21-23, Psalm 103:2

Maybe the most sacred function of memory is just that: to render the distinction between the past, present, and future ultimately meaningless: to enable us at some level of our being to inhabit that s...

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Loving God, you show us grace and

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Hebrews 12:28, Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 3:13, Lamentations 3:22-23, Luke 15:11-32, Jonah 3:1-10

Loving God, you show us grace and mercy, again and again and again. You shower gifts on us that we could never earn, and you are slow to punish us when we most deserve it. All too often, we forget to ...

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Author

Mal McKissock and Dianne McKissock

Keywords

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, John 14:27, Revelation 21:4, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 147:3

One of the greatest needs of all bereaved people is to have access to someone who will take a risk and be involved—someone who is not afraid of intense feelings, but who will encourage their expressio...

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Author

Barbara Kingsolver

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:24-25, Psalm 39:7, Isaiah 40:31, 1 Peter 1:3, Lamentations 3:22-23, Hebrews 10:23

The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.

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Author

Rainer Maria Rilke

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 23:4, Philippians 3:13-14, Lamentations 3:22-23, Isaiah 43:2, 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, Psalm 30:5, Romans 5:3-5

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.

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Author

Tertullian

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 8:24-25, Hebrews 10:23, Psalm 27:13-14, Lamentations 3:25-26

Hope is patience with the lamp lit.

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Unfulfilled Prayers

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Lamentations 3:25-27, James 5:13-16

My son has seizures and intellectual disabilities. A couple of years into that journey, I organized a global prayer vigil for my son. I recruited friends and colleagues in North America, South America...

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Author

Wendell Berry

Keywords

Hope

Scripture

Psalm 71:5-6, Isaiah 40:29-31, Romans 15:13, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Lamentations 3:22-23

Having hope is hard; harder when you get older.

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The Power of Silence in a Prayerful Life

Author

John Climacus

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 2:20, Lamentations 3:26, Psalm 46:10, Zephaniah 1:7, 1 Thessalonians 4:11

The Desert Saint John Climacus placed a strong emphasis on the role of silence in the life of prayer. In his guidebook to the spiritual life, he had this to say: Intelligent silence is the mother of...

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Author

Dick Ryan

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 4:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Lamentations 3:22-23, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 147:3, James 4:10

Healing begins when, in the face of our own darkness, we recognize our helplessness and surrender our need for control… we face what is, and we ask for mercy.

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