June 16, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 25, 40, 84
Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:14
Galatians 5:25-6:10
Matthew 16:21-28

II. Selections
Psalm 25:15
My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

Ecclesiastes 12:1-2
Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return with the rain ...

Galatians 5:25
If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Matthew 16:26
For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

III. Meditation: All the days of our lives
Creator God, in all the days of our lives
help us to remember you.
Even when the days of trouble come,
and we have no pleasure in our years,
give us strength to remember you.

Keep our eyes toward you,
and pluck our feet out of the net,
the net we weave for ourselves
as we try to gain the whole world
and thereby risk the forfeit of our lives.

In the good days, and the days of trouble,
we want to live by your Spirit,
to be guided by your Spirit.
What else can we give
in return for our lives?