With all the noise in the world, do you hear the voice of God? Your calendar tells you what to do, but do you remember who you are? Being comes before doing. This is a call to put first things first. Return to the Lord with this daily pattern of prayer and devotion. Set aside this time as a sanctuary. Find a space free of distraction and follow this pattern.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation
Lord Jesus, you once came to humanity in a rustic barn and a messy manger. Do not be distant from the rough places of our lives. We often find ourselves far from you. In mercy, come near to us, our Lord, Emmanuel; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Confession
Forgive my sins, O Lord – forgive me the sins of my present and the sins of my past, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body; the sins which I have done to please myself, and the sins which I have done to please others. Forgive me my wasted and idle sins, forgive me my serious and deliberate sins, forgive me those sins which I know and those sins which I know not, the sins which I have labored so to hide from others that I have hid them from my own memory. Forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all.
Word: Revelation 1:1-3
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants[a] the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”
Meditation: Spoiler Alert
Today’s meditation is written by Koleen Barnes.
I am a huge movie person, especially horror and suspense. I love the details that go into making movies that keep you on your toes, and like most people, I hate when the ending gets spoiled. Spoilers are a cultural phenomenon that occur when a person spoils the ending or an important plot point in a movie. I always try my hardest not to spoil things, but it takes some practice. Instead of asking “Can you believe what happened to so and so?!” I have to be more careful with questions when discussing a story and ask, “What is happening with so and so where you are in the series?”
Some stories just aren’t the same the second time around, or once you know the twist. There are hundreds of examples like Fight Club, A Beautiful Mind, The Sixth Sense, or even Romeo and Juliet. Once you’ve seen the ending, the rest of the story just makes more sense. It isn’t as scary or confusing because you’re in on the secret.
As Christians, we are fortunate enough to know the ending to all of this, not just a single story. We don’t have to be mindful of what questions we ask along the way because we already know the answer. Just like with movies, things in our lives make a bit more sense when we know where the plot ends.
Jesus did us a huge favor by not leaving us in suspense. We don’t have to worry about spoilers. He gave us the whole story while he was here with us, now all we have to do is listen. We don’t have to look far to see where our future lies. When things get jumbled in the plot that is our lives, we already know where to look and who to lean on to make sure that we get the happy ending that we were promised.
Lord, we thank you for giving us the best ending we could ever ask for. We thank you for the clarity to know our whole story because of you. We ask that you help us to focus on the story as well as the happy ending. Amen.
Benediction
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)