Jesus' famous Parable of the Great Feast, what I call the Parable of the Lame Excuses (see Luke 14:15-24), suggest some reasons why people might pass up on God's great and incredible offer. In today's passage, also from Luke, we see four other things, possible hindrances or obstacles, that might impede or stop us from faithfully following and obeying Jesus. Sadly, I find that they are all too pertinent to my own life and choices. There are some challenging notions here, I would think. What about you? Anyway, something to ponder and think about. Hope you enjoy this meditation.

To me, today's passage and meditation are extremely helpful and useful, in that they address the question of our priorities in life. So often, if you are like me, it is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day details of daily living, the myriad of things that we have on our to-do lists, and fail to see or take stock of the bigger picture, the picture as God sees it. And, according to how I read today's passage, that bigger picture, God's picture, always has to do with people, so it is very timely to be reminded of that.

I think that the Lord is perhaps trying to tell me something, and maybe you as well. I just 'happened' a few minutes ago to look at my accompanying note for my September 2 meditation and noticed what its overall message was. It was about how we tend to look only to ourselves for strength and help and guidance rather than going to the Lord and relying upon the Lord. Often, if you are like me, God is my last resort--even if I bother to go to Him at all, which far too often I don't. Anyway, I don't know about you, but for me, I need to be more intentional and more frequent in going to the Lord.

Today's passage and meditation remind us just of how wonderful and caring our Saviour Jesus Christ is. He is interested in our entire beings, body, soul, spirit, everything that we are and everything we do. That means that there is not a single aspect of our beings, or of our lives, that is not of interest or importance to Him. Everything, without exception: what a wonder and a joy that is!

The Scripture passage for today returns to one of my favourite books of the Bible, the book of Jonah. I like it because it is so very real, so very human, and because it has some very real lessons for all of us--today's lesson, for instance, on the necessity of faith also issuing forth in action is always pertinent for my life, as it probably is for all of us. I hope you enjoy this meditation and find it helpful.

This morning I was rather surprised, and delighted, by the passage selected by the author of today's Forward Day by Day devotional booklet and by the meditation that this author penned. It had all to do with thanksgiving, which was rather appropriate given what day today is for us Canadians--and rather surprising, seeing that the author is American. Anyway, I was delighted.

And, true to what our author says, we need to make sure that our thanksgivings are actually directed to the real source of our blessings, namely God. Far too often, I read Thanksgiving weekend messages from school children or notes in the press expressing their thankfulness--without even once mentioning the name of God. It is almost as if they felt that the blessings just appeared from nowhere, or as if they somehow 'deserved' or merited or earned them, which, of course, is the furthest from the truth.

Today's speaks of our civic responsibilities, which seems rather appropriate to this Thanksgiving weekend.

This meditation speaks of our need to listen, to listen carefully to what God says, and respond appropriately.

The famous Parable of the Soils, often called the Parable of the Sower, graphically describes, in picture form, the various responses that people can have to the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. And while many of those responses take place with 'other people', my thought is that the situation of the weeds is the one that impacts us more frequently than the others. It may not centre on riches or pleasures, but on busyness instead, on our conflicted and over scheduled lives. I fear that these things may have the effect of choking out the good seed and preventing it from growing up and flourishing as it should. Instead, let us be like those faithful women mentioned here, who did let it grow and flourish in their lives, and which resulted in a great harvest of good works and giving.

Psalm 131 is one of the shortest books of the Bible, but even so, it still packs a punch. In a sense, I was quite taken aback by it. Coming from an English background where men were encouraged--no, expected--to be self-reliant, self-sufficient and independent, this psalm was a bit of a wake-up call--a call to sometimes be a bit more 'selective' in what we take on, and to more readily call upon others--including God--for help and advice.

It would seem that these days many, many folks are asking, "How in the world could all these things be happening in the world around us?" Injustice, discrimination, poverty, division, hostility, lack of respect and care, crime, and war and disruptions of various sorts seem to be everywhere. Often it seems that there is virtually no good news.

But these concerns and questions are nothing new. Countless people have wondered and asked about these things in times past. And certainly, Micah in today's passage, and Habakkuk a few days ago, were asking about this back in Israel's time. And the answer to them, as to us, is the same. All this bad stuff won't last, but God will, and God will bring about a time of justice, restoration and peace--but in His own good time. And so, in the meantime, we wait and we trust and we try our best to alleviate the problem and not to be part of the problem ourselves.

Life can be filled with a multitude of 'what ifs', such that we could rather become obsessed with the infinite range of past possibilities. However, dwelling on them and speculating about what 'might' have happened is a useless and unproductive pursuit. Better to simply seek the Lord and His will and seek to do it, and leave the rest to Him. That is what today's meditation is about.

Today's Scripture lesson and its preceding few verses have to be some of the most perplexing passages in the entire Bible--not for what it says literally, but in how we are to apply them. It concerns the question of judging. How can we ever, amidst the conflicting claims of life, avoid making some kind of judgment call? Anyway, that's what my meditation is about today. I hope you find it stimulating--and helpful.

Feeling overwhelmed? Wondering where in the world the world is going? I sometimes think that feeling this way is epidemic these days. Today's Scripture passage is therefore quite helpful, and in several ways. Firstly, to remind us that there's a battle going on, and a battle not with flesh and blood (fellow humans) as Paul reminds us (Ephesians 6:12) but with spiritual powers in the heavenly places. Secondly, to remind us that Satan and his minions are basically defeated foes--but still dangerous and desperate. And thirdly, that there is help, not only from God but also from Michael and his angels. And, here it gets a wee bit personal: a dear friend of mine, one of my spiritual parents, often described me as a Michael fighting for what is right and opposing what is evil and not of God. And, really, are we not all called to be Michaels? Anyway, something to think about.

One of our baptismal promises asks, 'Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?, and to be honest, doing so is not always that easy. Far too often we have questions or doubts, both about His ability and about His willingness. And we have this hesitancy both about His help and His leading. These are issues raised in today's Scripture passages and meditations. Can Jesus really help us--and, is He willing to do so? And, can Jesus be counted up to lead us forward, to guide us, especially in conditions or situations that seem strange and more than a wee bit bewildering and scary?