Sacred Meditations

Our Lord Jesus teaches us two great commandments: first, to love God with every fiber of our being, and second, to love our neighbor as ourselves (see Matthew 22:34-40). In today’s meditation, Johann Arndt explores how we love from a pure heart. Source: Devotions and Prayers of Johann Arndt, selected …

We call upon the God who caused all the Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. We ask Him to grant that we may hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, so that we may ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life. Collect for Proper 28 …

Johann Gerhard has exhorted us to cultivate true humility–first, by pondering our condition as human beings, and second, by considering the example of Jesus Himself. In this fourth and final meditation, Gerhard exhorts us to take the servant’s place with Christ and cover the fire of our love for God …

True humility comes from considering our human condition and by pondering the example of Jesus Himself [Part 1]. Like a river flowing down a mountain, God’s grace flows downward to the humble, not upward to the proud [Part 2]. In today’s meditation, Johann Gerhard reminds us: it does not harm …

Johann Gerhard has encouraged us to cultivate true humility, first, by considering our lowly condition as human beings and, second, by considering the example of Jesus Christ Himself [Part 1]. In today’s meditation, Gerhard points us to lilies and mountain tops to show how God’s grace flows downwards, not upwards. …

“What is Man? What is a Bubble? They are alike Nothing.” Thus Johann Gerhard introduces his Meditation 34 on “The Cultivation of True Humility.” Here’s the first part of that meditation. Source: Sacred Meditations by Johann Gerhard, pages 192-193.

Johann Gerhard has been leading us to find consolation at the death of loved ones and friends. As St. Paul wrote, to live is Christ and to die is gain. While death is truly our fiercest enemy, Jesus’ death and resurrection has made it a “port of safety.” Life in …

We pray to God who sent His Son into this world to destroy the works of the devil, and we ask Him to make us pure as He is pure, so that we may be made like Him when He comes again. Collect for Proper 27 (the Sunday closest to …

Can nature show us anything about God’s will for our loved ones or friends when they die? Today Johann Gerhard—in his meditation “Consolation at the Death of Friends”—calls us to look to the types in nature to see God’s promise of resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Source: Sacred …

Johann Gerhard continues giving us consolation at the death of loved ones and friends. Gerhard previously spoke of our lost ones getting out of the stormy seas of this fallen world and into the safe harbor of eternal life with Jesus Christ. Today, Gerhard paints a beautiful picture of our …